Home 
SOCIOLOGICAL STUDIES(Bimonthly)2015.3Vol.30May,2015
SOCIOLOGICAL STUDIES(Bimonthly)2015.3Vol.30May,2015SOCIOLOGICAL STUDIES(Bimonthly)2015.3Vol.30May,2015
2016-01-15
SOCIOLOGICAL STUDIES(Bimonthly)20153Vol.30May， 2015
MONOGRAPHIC STUDY
Research on National Governance System and Modernization of Governance Capacity
Grassroots Mobilization: Exploring a new model of state governance
Xie Yue & Dang Dongsheng1
Abstract：The administrative departments are the major components of state governance system, but the local governments implementation has been remaining low performance due to lack of effective supervision. This paper argues that grassroots mobilization is a supplementary mechanism of governance in order to overcome the dilemma of localism. The reason that mobilization from below could improve governance performance lies in that collective action could establish a horizontal accountability between local state and society. Such accountability could impose outside pressure on local agencies so that they implement policies better. By means of social movement theory, this paper tries to model grassroots mobilization and testify it by an environmental movement in rural area. This case study concludes that grassroots mobilization could operate in rational and peaceful manners to resolve social problems and develop into one part of state governance system as long as they happen under available conditions including politics and society.
Fluctuations in Policy Implementation Process and Local Governance
Chen Jiajian & Zhang Qiongwen23
Abstract：In China, public policies may be implemented inactively, and sometimes brought to mobilizations for implementation. The alternation of inactive implementation and mobilization implementation characterizes the process of policy implementation in China. Through analyzing the dynamic process of a case about policy implementation, this paper reveals that the problem in policy implementation is relevant to the circumstances of the policy implementation for local government. The low suitability of public policy for local society and variety of implementation pressures arouses the alternation of inactive implementation and mobilization implementation. Furthermore, this type of fluctuations in policy implementation will cause the accumulation and outbreak of problems in local governance.
The Changing Relationship between Chinese Urban Medical Profession and the State since the republican Period: From the perspective of the sociology of professionsYao Zelin46
Abstract：The relationship between professions and the state is one of the most important issues in the sociology of professions. Using the analytical framework of corporateclinical autonomy dynamic relationship, this article delineates and analyzes the changing relationship between the (western) medical profession and the Chinese state since the Republican period. Before 1949, growing medical profession and the newborn state was in “interconstruction.” From 1949, the communist regime transformed medical professionals into the members of work unit successfully. The profession was tamed and became functionary of the state. Although China began the reform in 1978, public healthcare institutions still dominate the delivery of healthcare services. Therefore, the practitioners are still dependent upon work units. Meanwhile, they have the dominance over both patients and medical enterprises, through which the profession gain economic interests from the market. But the cost is that the practitioners have become the buffer between patients and the government. Therefore the further reform of healthcare system should reconstruct the relationship between the profession and the state.
PAPER
The Origin and Transformation of Morality: On Durkheims intention of his study of religionChen Tao69
Abstract：Durkheim had been trying to establish a science of morality, which is another name of his sociology. This paper analyzes the dilemma of his social morphology, that is, how the morality changes can not be interpreted only by the social milieus. It was only in his study of primitive religion, which was guided by his theory of collective representations, had he finally found the way to interpret the place of the moral ideal in the transformation of the morality. The place of the sacred in the religious life is amount to the moral ideals in the social life. Moral ideals expresses the selfconscious of the society. They are externalized into the material institutions, which constitutes the primary cause of the reconstruction of the morality and society. The social fact, which Durkheims sociology tries to grasp, is the social conscious or the moral ideals inherent in the society.
Georg Simmels Social Theory of Freedom：An interpretation from the perspective of relational sociologyZheng Zuoyu96
Abstract：The sociological studies of freedom have been facing the dilemma between the sociological individualism and the sociological collectivism. The relational sociology rising in recent decades might be a way to break the impasse. This paper attempts to present the social theory of freedom of Georg Simmel, who can be seen as the relevant founder of the relational sociology, in order to open up a relationist approach for the sociological research on freedom. In Simmels theory, freedom is reckoned as the possibility of social action, which is generated from the social networks, and the form of freedom would vary with different societies. The objective freedom of individual, for instance, is the form of freedom in the contemporary capitalistic society based on the monetized economy. Simmel also elaborated that freedom as an empirical social phenomenon would lead to nonlinear and unpredictable consequences, so that freedom is a spring of both innovation and risk. Finally, this paper tries to point out the deficiencies of Simmels theory of freedom for the possible themes of further sociological researches.
Lost at the Starting Line: A reconsideration on educational inequality in China (1978-2008) Tang Junchao123
Abstract：The research is aimed to explore the change of educational inequality between different stages of school transitions in China. It is expected that, due to the mechanism of differential selection, life course and differential early education, the impact of students socioeconomic status and cultural background on their educational opportunities is expected to decline in secondary and higher education, while the impact of school level is supposed to rise. A multinominal logistic regression has been carried out to test such hypothesis based on data collected in CGSS2008. Results show that the early stages see the most severe inequality of educational attainment and, as students move up to higher stages of education, the contribution of SES and cultural background is largely replaced by the school level. Therefore, more emphasis should be put on the educational inequality of an early stage.
Intercounty Public Welfare Resource Allocation for Elderly: With an analysis of effects of spatial and institutional structures
Ma Yuna & Gu Jiafeng146
Abstract：This paper constructs spatial econometric models to analyze the effects of multiple factors on public welfare resource allocation in China. Using the county data of the “Chinas Census of 2010” and the “China Statistical Yearbook of 2010”, this empirical study has come to the following findings: (1) The institutional structure, such as family, economic, and social factors, has significant impact on the supply of beds in county social welfare institutes. (2) The spatial structure also has significant impact on public welfare resource allocation. There is significant spatial correlation in the supply of beds in county social welfare institutes. There will be bias in the analysis of the impact of the institutional structure if the spatial factor is neglected. (3)The supply of beds in county social welfare institutes has significant influence on that in the countys neighbors. Most of the counties have spatial spillover effects on their neighbors. Based on these findings, this paper proposes the dual structure of spatialinstitutional theory, which will remedy the weaknesses of the institutional determinism analysis to public welfare resource allocation, and also reveal the importance of family welfare to the public welfare.
From “the Game of Making Out”to“the Game of Boss”: Labor control in the informal employment
Zheng Guanghuai, Sun Hui & Wan Xiangdong170
Abstract：This study explored the labor control mechanism in the informal employment based on the fieldwork of small garment factories gathered around Zhongda Textile and Garments District in Guangzhou. Following Michael Burawoys concept of “the game of making out”, this article proposed a different game beyond the workplace:“the game of boss”. This construct illuminated why the informal garment workers still working hard even under unprotected workplaces. On the one hand, the practice and idea of “everyone can become a boss” blurred the boundaries between workers and bosses, so that hard work could be considered as the necessary “primitive accumulation of capital”. On the other hand, “everyone can become a manager” obscured the distinction between workers and managers, which helped workers understanding the market situation and industry rules gradually and then assisted them jump from workers to masters and finally, to bosses. “The game of boss” expanded previous researches about workplace games in two dimensions. It brought external factors back in the workplace while discovering the deepening ambiguity between workers and managers or bosses. Though there is no internal labor market in small garment factories, there is another one within the garment industry or the informal sector, which is broader and bigger. This finding urges labor scholars to rethink Burawoys “factory regime” and build new concepts, such as “industry regime” or “sector regime”.
REIVEW
Structuralist and Empiricist Institutional Research and Their Transition: A review of the theories of industrial relations in Europe and America
Wu Qingjun196
Abstract：From the 1920s, industrial relations as a separate research field have developed following two kinds of traditions. The first is about the institution research from institutional economics, the second is in regard to the research of job regulations from history and sociology. From the 1950s to 1970s, industrial relations system and Oxford school pluralism inherited these traditions, and established the basic analytical framework of industrial relations theories. Structuralism and empiricism are distinguished features in these studies. From the 1980s, along with the decline of industrial relations in Europe and America, scholars began to rethink the research traditions. The political economy of industrial relations, the strategic choice model and the theory of balance of industrial relations, contributed to opposing structuralism and empiricism.
New Computational Sociology: Sociological studies in the era of big data
Luo Wei & Luo Jiaojiang222
Abstract：The “New Computational Sociology Conference” held in Stanford University in August of 2014 posted a new concept of “new computational sociology”, showed us the infinite charm and bright prospects of new computational sociology. Based on a comprehensive interpretation and analysis of the existing research results of new computational sociology, the paper reviewed the history of new computational sociology, divided it into five areas by its major subjects: the obtain and analyze of big data, the amalgamation of quantitative and qualitative researches, internet social experiments, computer social simulation, and the development of new research software and technologies. The paper made an introduction and analysis of each of these five subjects via valid researches. Will the new computational sociology be the “revolution” of sociology？ The paper made an analysis and exploration with the help of Kuhns theory of scientific revolution.
MONOGRAPHIC STUDY
Research on National Governance System and Modernization of Governance Capacity
Grassroots Mobilization: Exploring a new model of state governance
Xie Yue & Dang Dongsheng1
Abstract：The administrative departments are the major components of state governance system, but the local governments implementation has been remaining low performance due to lack of effective supervision. This paper argues that grassroots mobilization is a supplementary mechanism of governance in order to overcome the dilemma of localism. The reason that mobilization from below could improve governance performance lies in that collective action could establish a horizontal accountability between local state and society. Such accountability could impose outside pressure on local agencies so that they implement policies better. By means of social movement theory, this paper tries to model grassroots mobilization and testify it by an environmental movement in rural area. This case study concludes that grassroots mobilization could operate in rational and peaceful manners to resolve social problems and develop into one part of state governance system as long as they happen under available conditions including politics and society.
Fluctuations in Policy Implementation Process and Local Governance
Chen Jiajian & Zhang Qiongwen23
Abstract：In China, public policies may be implemented inactively, and sometimes brought to mobilizations for implementation. The alternation of inactive implementation and mobilization implementation characterizes the process of policy implementation in China. Through analyzing the dynamic process of a case about policy implementation, this paper reveals that the problem in policy implementation is relevant to the circumstances of the policy implementation for local government. The low suitability of public policy for local society and variety of implementation pressures arouses the alternation of inactive implementation and mobilization implementation. Furthermore, this type of fluctuations in policy implementation will cause the accumulation and outbreak of problems in local governance.
The Changing Relationship between Chinese Urban Medical Profession and the State since the republican Period: From the perspective of the sociology of professionsYao Zelin46
Abstract：The relationship between professions and the state is one of the most important issues in the sociology of professions. Using the analytical framework of corporateclinical autonomy dynamic relationship, this article delineates and analyzes the changing relationship between the (western) medical profession and the Chinese state since the Republican period. Before 1949, growing medical profession and the newborn state was in “interconstruction.” From 1949, the communist regime transformed medical professionals into the members of work unit successfully. The profession was tamed and became functionary of the state. Although China began the reform in 1978, public healthcare institutions still dominate the delivery of healthcare services. Therefore, the practitioners are still dependent upon work units. Meanwhile, they have the dominance over both patients and medical enterprises, through which the profession gain economic interests from the market. But the cost is that the practitioners have become the buffer between patients and the government. Therefore the further reform of healthcare system should reconstruct the relationship between the profession and the state.
PAPER
The Origin and Transformation of Morality: On Durkheims intention of his study of religionChen Tao69
Abstract：Durkheim had been trying to establish a science of morality, which is another name of his sociology. This paper analyzes the dilemma of his social morphology, that is, how the morality changes can not be interpreted only by the social milieus. It was only in his study of primitive religion, which was guided by his theory of collective representations, had he finally found the way to interpret the place of the moral ideal in the transformation of the morality. The place of the sacred in the religious life is amount to the moral ideals in the social life. Moral ideals expresses the selfconscious of the society. They are externalized into the material institutions, which constitutes the primary cause of the reconstruction of the morality and society. The social fact, which Durkheims sociology tries to grasp, is the social conscious or the moral ideals inherent in the society.
Georg Simmels Social Theory of Freedom：An interpretation from the perspective of relational sociologyZheng Zuoyu96
Abstract：The sociological studies of freedom have been facing the dilemma between the sociological individualism and the sociological collectivism. The relational sociology rising in recent decades might be a way to break the impasse. This paper attempts to present the social theory of freedom of Georg Simmel, who can be seen as the relevant founder of the relational sociology, in order to open up a relationist approach for the sociological research on freedom. In Simmels theory, freedom is reckoned as the possibility of social action, which is generated from the social networks, and the form of freedom would vary with different societies. The objective freedom of individual, for instance, is the form of freedom in the contemporary capitalistic society based on the monetized economy. Simmel also elaborated that freedom as an empirical social phenomenon would lead to nonlinear and unpredictable consequences, so that freedom is a spring of both innovation and risk. Finally, this paper tries to point out the deficiencies of Simmels theory of freedom for the possible themes of further sociological researches.
Lost at the Starting Line: A reconsideration on educational inequality in China (1978-2008) Tang Junchao123
Abstract：The research is aimed to explore the change of educational inequality between different stages of school transitions in China. It is expected that, due to the mechanism of differential selection, life course and differential early education, the impact of students socioeconomic status and cultural background on their educational opportunities is expected to decline in secondary and higher education, while the impact of school level is supposed to rise. A multinominal logistic regression has been carried out to test such hypothesis based on data collected in CGSS2008. Results show that the early stages see the most severe inequality of educational attainment and, as students move up to higher stages of education, the contribution of SES and cultural background is largely replaced by the school level. Therefore, more emphasis should be put on the educational inequality of an early stage.
Intercounty Public Welfare Resource Allocation for Elderly: With an analysis of effects of spatial and institutional structures
Ma Yuna & Gu Jiafeng146
Abstract：This paper constructs spatial econometric models to analyze the effects of multiple factors on public welfare resource allocation in China. Using the county data of the “Chinas Census of 2010” and the “China Statistical Yearbook of 2010”, this empirical study has come to the following findings: (1) The institutional structure, such as family, economic, and social factors, has significant impact on the supply of beds in county social welfare institutes. (2) The spatial structure also has significant impact on public welfare resource allocation. There is significant spatial correlation in the supply of beds in county social welfare institutes. There will be bias in the analysis of the impact of the institutional structure if the spatial factor is neglected. (3)The supply of beds in county social welfare institutes has significant influence on that in the countys neighbors. Most of the counties have spatial spillover effects on their neighbors. Based on these findings, this paper proposes the dual structure of spatialinstitutional theory, which will remedy the weaknesses of the institutional determinism analysis to public welfare resource allocation, and also reveal the importance of family welfare to the public welfare.
From “the Game of Making Out”to“the Game of Boss”: Labor control in the informal employment
Zheng Guanghuai, Sun Hui & Wan Xiangdong170
Abstract：This study explored the labor control mechanism in the informal employment based on the fieldwork of small garment factories gathered around Zhongda Textile and Garments District in Guangzhou. Following Michael Burawoys concept of “the game of making out”, this article proposed a different game beyond the workplace:“the game of boss”. This construct illuminated why the informal garment workers still working hard even under unprotected workplaces. On the one hand, the practice and idea of “everyone can become a boss” blurred the boundaries between workers and bosses, so that hard work could be considered as the necessary “primitive accumulation of capital”. On the other hand, “everyone can become a manager” obscured the distinction between workers and managers, which helped workers understanding the market situation and industry rules gradually and then assisted them jump from workers to masters and finally, to bosses. “The game of boss” expanded previous researches about workplace games in two dimensions. It brought external factors back in the workplace while discovering the deepening ambiguity between workers and managers or bosses. Though there is no internal labor market in small garment factories, there is another one within the garment industry or the informal sector, which is broader and bigger. This finding urges labor scholars to rethink Burawoys “factory regime” and build new concepts, such as “industry regime” or “sector regime”.
REIVEW
Structuralist and Empiricist Institutional Research and Their Transition: A review of the theories of industrial relations in Europe and America
Wu Qingjun196
Abstract：From the 1920s, industrial relations as a separate research field have developed following two kinds of traditions. The first is about the institution research from institutional economics, the second is in regard to the research of job regulations from history and sociology. From the 1950s to 1970s, industrial relations system and Oxford school pluralism inherited these traditions, and established the basic analytical framework of industrial relations theories. Structuralism and empiricism are distinguished features in these studies. From the 1980s, along with the decline of industrial relations in Europe and America, scholars began to rethink the research traditions. The political economy of industrial relations, the strategic choice model and the theory of balance of industrial relations, contributed to opposing structuralism and empiricism.
New Computational Sociology: Sociological studies in the era of big data
Luo Wei & Luo Jiaojiang222
Abstract：The “New Computational Sociology Conference” held in Stanford University in August of 2014 posted a new concept of “new computational sociology”, showed us the infinite charm and bright prospects of new computational sociology. Based on a comprehensive interpretation and analysis of the existing research results of new computational sociology, the paper reviewed the history of new computational sociology, divided it into five areas by its major subjects: the obtain and analyze of big data, the amalgamation of quantitative and qualitative researches, internet social experiments, computer social simulation, and the development of new research software and technologies. The paper made an introduction and analysis of each of these five subjects via valid researches. Will the new computational sociology be the “revolution” of sociology？ The paper made an analysis and exploration with the help of Kuhns theory of scientific revolution.