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Though it has been an anti-poverty instrument in China since the 1980s, little scholarly attention has been paid to Poverty Alleviation Resettlement (PAR) as a subset of Development-induced Displacement and Resettlement (DIDR). The small number of studies raise questions about the rationale for PAR and the degree of voluntarism. This chapter aims to understand PAR’s voluntary nature in China by asking: (1) what is PAR and what are its characteristics? (2) How voluntary is it? (3) What factors contribute or hinder volition? To address these questions, the chapter delves into the practice of PAR between 2013 and 2015, drawing on 34 cases in the provinces of Shaanxi and Shanxi. The findings demonstrate that currently, even though it presents a relatively high degree of voluntarism compared to other resettlement projects, there remain problems with the nature of this voluntarism. To reduce poverty, PAR in China should foster full participation for the resettled by introducing institutional and supervisory mechanisms, and providing post-resettlement support.

This chapter gives an overview of the changes in the welfare policies of China since 1949 when the Communist Party came to power. It shows that the welfare policies in China are centred on two themes: facilitating economic growth and social stability. Social stability to some extent is partially achieved by sustained growth, but not limited to growth. The development of the welfare state plays two roles: picking up the vulnerability exposed by the changes in economic growth; and responding to the social pressure that threatens instability. Despite the fact that China has moved from a command economy pursuing Communist ideology to a market economy following "Socialism with Chinese Characters", the approaches the state has responded to in changing welfare needs have not really drifted away from economic growth and social stability. Politically, the Communist Party and the government, though reluctant to make radical changes in the political system, had gone through some transformations.

INCOME INEQUALITY AND HAPPINESS IN 119 NATIONS All modern nations reduce income differences to some extent, and as a result there is an ongoing discussion about what degree of income inequality is acceptable. In this discussion libertarians oppose egalitarians and a principled consensus between these positions is not possible. Consensus can only be reached on the basis of a consequential ethic and one of these is the ‘greatest happiness principle’. In this paper the utilitarian approach is followed and the relation between income inequality and happiness in 119 nations is considered. Overall happiness is conceptualized as the‘subjective appreciation of life as a whole’ and is measured using responses to survey questions. We considered both average happiness and spread of happiness. We found little relationship between income inequality and average happiness in nations. There was no correlation with average happiness, a slightly positive correlation with average mood and a slightly negative correlation with average contentment. All these correlations became positive when wealth of the nation was controlled. Spread of happiness tended to be larger in income unequal nations, but this effect disappeared when wealth of the nation was controlled. Correlations reflect the balance of positive and negative effects; in the case of average happiness the positive effects prevailed and in the case of spread both effects balanced out. The data do not show a point where the balance shifts

Udgivelsesdato: May 2005, Three plasmids isolated from the crenarchaeal thermoacidophile Sulfolobus neozealandicus were characterized. Plasmids pTAU4 (7,192 bp), pORA1 (9,689 bp) and pTIK4 (13,638 bp) show unusual properties that distinguish them from previously characterized cryptic plasmids of the genus Sulfolobus. Plasmids pORA1 and pTIK4 encode RepA proteins, only the former of which carries the novel polymerase-primase domain of other known Sulfolobus plasmids. Plasmid pTAU4 encodes a mini-chromosome maintenance protein homolog and no RepA protein; the implications for DNA replication are considered. Plasmid pORA1 is the first Sulfolobus plasmid to be characterized that does not encode the otherwise highly conserved DNA-binding PlrA protein. Another encoded protein appears to be specific for the New Zealand plasmids. The three plasmids should provide useful model systems for functional studies of these important crenarchaeal proteins.

Udgivelsesdato: May 2005, Three plasmids isolated from the crenarchaeal thermoacidophile Sulfolobus neozealandicus were characterized. Plasmids pTAU4 (7,192 bp), pORA1 (9,689 bp) and pTIK4 (13,638 bp) show unusual properties that distinguish them from previously characterized cryptic plasmids of the genus Sulfolobus. Plasmids pORA1 and pTIK4 encode RepA proteins, only the former of which carries the novel polymerase-primase domain of other known Sulfolobus plasmids. Plasmid pTAU4 encodes a mini-chromosome maintenance protein homolog and no RepA protein; the implications for DNA replication are considered. Plasmid pORA1 is the first Sulfolobus plasmid to be characterized that does not encode the otherwise highly conserved DNA-binding PlrA protein. Another encoded protein appears to be specific for the New Zealand plasmids. The three plasmids should provide useful model systems for functional studies of these important crenarchaeal proteins.