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Inspired by the interplay between social structure of accumulation theory and labor process theory, this paper is to specify the particular mechanism that labor institutions take in accomplishing China’s rapid capital accumulation in the reform era. The paper starts by proposing a framework to understand the relation among overtime work, labor process, and the wage gap and presents the puzzling contradiction between low wages and the need to sustain the reproduction of labor power for Chinese workers. The paper then details the bi-directional determination between the subordination of labor in the workplace and the wage gap, and further analyzes the critical conditions for the stability of the current labor institutions and sustaining capital accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through a meta-literature review, this paper examines the changing contours of Chinese sociology of homosexuality in contemporary China. It unfolds the different theoretical orientations and methodologies that construct the modern male homosexual subject under major socio-economic and political changes. Chinese sociology of homosexuality started in the reform era and has been dominated by Western knowledge production and the political ideology of the communist party-state. Fused with the bio-medical model and the state's modernization project in the 1980s-1990s, the sociological study adopted a functionalist and positivistic approach with survey-based methodology in the main which focused on the etiology of homosexuality. A new transnational knowledge production of sociology of homosexuality has formed since the 2000s which has shifted towards a constructivist/ post-structuralist approach and reflexive qualitative methodology. The new sociological study examines the rise of male (as well as female) homosexual identity in China, questions the hetero/homosexual binary and discusses how an individual makes sense of homosexual identity to form same-sex intimate relationships. By tracing the epistemology of homosexuality in contemporary China, this paper rethinks the dominance of the Western construction and the role of the state in shaping the knowledge of homosexuality and proposes alternative spaces for theorizing Chinese sexual identities, desires and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By adopting the methods of economics and sociology, this paper analyzes the energy situation in rural China and the industrialization of making Straw Densification Briquette fuel in some detail. Straw Densification Briquette fuel has a promising future in China because of offical support and is likely to play an important role in rural energy structure adjustment, energy shortage relief and rural construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early twentieth-century China, as with other post-imperial states, faced the challenge of creating a nation encompassing different social groups and cultures. How to identify ethnic groups living in the borderlands and generate nationwide social cohesion became a fundamental question that concerned multiple intellectual communities. This article traces the formation of two approaches to ethnicity—ethnology and sociology—at that time. These two approaches, configuring "ethnic differences" in dissimilar ways, were received differently by the public. In the end, the ethnological approach prevailed and the sociological approach was marginalized. This outcome exemplifies a possible hierarchy of knowledge, but also involves the politics of knowledge. This article shows that the disparate visions of "ethnic others" were produced by intellectuals differently positioned within the social context of post-imperial China. The positionalities of these disciplines explain much of their intellectual alignment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since China began its reconstruction of sociology as an academic discipline in 1979, a number of Western sociological concepts have entered the field of Chinese sociology. This study aims to provide a bibliometric analysis of the literature pertaining to the sociological concept of ‘social capital,’ one among these newly imported popular constructs over the past several decades, to assess how and why the concept of ‘social capital’ has been ‘put to use’ by Chinese sociologists. Information on a series of variables was extracted after analyzing 118 articles that have focused on ‘social capital,’ written by Chinese sociologist and published between 2000 and 2011. The analysis results indicated an accelerated popularity of ‘social capital’ in Chinese sociological publications over this time period. In addition, the early adopters of ‘social capital’ among Chinese sociologists privileged the network domain but marginalized the social trust and civic participation domain of the concept, while recent years have witnessed a gradual embrace of the social trust and civic participation domains in Chinese sociologists’ writings. The trajectory of the cross-cultural encounter of ‘social capital’ is discussed in terms of China’s institutional context for the diffusion of this concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the 1970s onwards, women’s participation in gangs in the mainstream Western social contexts has been increasingly researched. However, the experiences of women in other cultural settings are rarely discussed. This qualitative study focuses on female members of the black-society style criminal organizations (BSSCO) in China. It starts with reviewing literature on female gang membership and on BSSCO so as to locate its discussions in the international criminological framework. This is followed by a methodology section, and then it analyses the empirical findings. This article seeks to provide some theoretical insights into the construction of female criminal membership in broader social contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For thousands of years, traditional China relied on a morality-based system of informal, socially enforced control. After its 1978 economic reforms, China embraced a more Western model of social control, based on laws and enforced by official governmental controlling organizations. However, few studies have examined correlates of formal and informal social control in a quantitative manner. This study analyzed data from 109 purposively selected residents in Hubei province and found that increased mobility was related to a belief that formal control was more effective. Collectivism was inversely related to the attitude that formal sanctions are a powerful deterrent to crime. Finally, satisfaction with police was positively related both to the belief in the deterrent value of formal sanctions and of informal sanctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two major approaches have dominated the field of the sociology of development: theories of modernization, which focus on developed countries, and theories of development, which concentrate on Latin America, Africa, and East Asia. However, the societal transition in China, Russia, and the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe has confronted the sociology of development with a series of new issues for which existing approaches may not be adequate: How should one evaluate the various paths to development in different countries and regions? How should one examine the state-society relationship in social development and transition? How can one deal with the social inequality in the process of development? These topics have expanded the scope of the sociology of development and provided an opportunity to construct new theories. I suggest that, in response to the ongoing societal transition, the field of the sociology of development needs, in addition to theories of modernization and theories of development, theories of transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the authors provide an overview of the situation of women in rural China as a backdrop for the photonovella process and inquiry activities conducted by the first author in three rural sites in China. They describe the key themes identified through analysis of the narrative accounts and photographs presented by groups of rural women. The photonovella enabled rural women to select from their pictures several photos of significance to them to show and describe these to women from other villages and to the researcher. Concerns, interests, hardships, and achievements of the women related to their work, families, and communities were voiced as they showed their photos. This method, used in conjunction with other qualitative methods—including focus group interviews, village visits, and survey data—provided information that complemented and enriched our understanding of rural women's lives in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional Chinese historical geography is closely related to yange dili. Concepts relating to man-land relations are the underlying theories. The Yugong Society played a key role in the transformation of the Chinese historical geography from yange dili to modern historical geography. In the second half of the twentieth century, Chinese historical geographers made substantial contributions. Two main themes are the geographical change through time and the reconstruction of past geographies. Major research topics include changes of national territories and administrative divisions, changes of physical environments, urban geography, population, agricultural geography, social and cultural aspects, general and regional geographies, historical cartographics, and other aspects. Chinese historical geography is indigenous, but with western influence. Nevertheless, the Chinese historical geography is still very much descriptive and lags behind the west in theoretical research. Most Chinese historical geographers are originally trained historians. Hence they are more interested in studies of changes through time than in researches of spatial variations. Chinese historical geography is maturing as a respected field of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which explores the issue of feminine beauty in China's modernization. Review of related literature; Methodology; Results and discussion.

Presents a study which investigated the concepts of fornication and adultery introduced by the late Qing reform in China. Review of related literature; Methodology; Results and discussion.

Presents a study which investigated the nostalgia exhibited by China's zhiqing generation in the 1990s. Review of related literature; Methodology; Results and suggestions.

Discusses the factors which affected the socio-economic diversification of Ningxia Province, China from 1929-1958. Division of the province into four areas; Description of the province before the Imperial Horse Pasturages, military colonies and agricultural reclamation; Information on the development policy in the 1930s and 1940s; Land tenancy and distribution in the province; Effects of the growth in population.

This essay assesses the usefulness of Max Weber's sociology, particularly his writings on China, for the analysis of East Asian industrialisation. Many scholars writing about modern Asia criticise Weber's views on the relation between Confucian values and the development of capitalism. This essay suggests that many of these critics misinterpret Weber's writing on China. Acknowledging that Weber made errors in interpreting China, the authors, nonetheless, argue that Weber's perspective is most valuable in analysing Asian economic development because of the institutional approach he developed. Weber's institutional approach is outlined and briefly applied in a comparison of Japanese and Chinese industrialisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]