Public investment,social services and productivity of Chinese household farms

This article examines the impact of village‐sponsored infrastructural investment and social services on the productivity of Chinese farm households, using detailed farm‐level data for the period 1986–90. The main findings are that the public facilities and services provided by village collectives augmented productivity growth of farm households, and that the expenditures on public good activities in the sample villages were below the optimal level. The problems of under‐investment in public projects were particularly acute in low‐income villages.     

Immigration and the Remaking of New York

Abstract

The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act abolished quotas that favored European immigrants, and for the first time placed all countries on an equal footing. The law resulted in increased overall immigration, and altered the sources of immigrants to the U.S. Since 1970, New York City has absorbed 2.6 million immigrants, primarily from non-European sources, who have dramatically altered the City's racial/Hispanic mix. Using immigration and birth records, as well as data from decennial censuses, this paper examines immigration to New York and assesses the demographic impact of these flows on the City's population.

Current immigrant flows have noticeably increased the ethnic diversity within the major race/Hispanic groups. This is largely due to increases in refugee flows, and to recent changes in immigration law that allow for “diversity” visas, which are aimed at countries that are under-represented in immigration flows to the U.S. Diversity immigration has provided New York with a continuing flow of new groups, most recently from Bangladesh, Mexico, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal, who have established enclaves in many of the City's neighborhoods. The increasing diversity poses serious challenges for social service and health care professionals, who need to devise new strategies to deal with the disparate socioeconomic backgrounds, cultures, and belief systems of new ethnic groups. This is especially important given that New York's ethnic mix will continue to be churned, especially by way of diversity immigration and refugee flows from all parts of the globe.     

新起点新挑战新姿态新平台——记首届中欧政党高层论坛

5月的北京绿树满城、春意盎然,随气温一同日益升高的还有中欧党际交流的热度。24—25日,由中国共产党倡议并主办的首届中欧政党高层论坛在北京举行。欧洲政党对于中国共产党的高层政治对话倡议高度重视,回应积极。共有来自欧洲22个国家、35个政党及2个欧洲地区性政党、3个欧洲议会党团的高层领导人出席了论坛,     

A positive interpretation of the expansion of urban services in Latin America,with some Colombian evidence

It is argued that the contemporary phenomenon of rapid urbanisation cum rural‐urban migration with a high share of new urban jobs located in the service sector is likely to be an appropriate response to the agricultural, manufacturing, and service production functions available to the countries in question. There is at present no reason to believe it to be a less efficient process than the historical pattern in now developed countries, where production of goods provided relatively more urban employment than it does today. The nature of technological change between then and now appears to be a key factor in explaining the difference in patterns.     

Paan and Gutka Use in the United States: A Pilot Study in Bangladeshi and Indian-Gujarati Immigrants in New York City

Smokeless tobacco and areca nut are popular with South Asians and South Asian immigrants, most commonly used as paan and gutka. Their regular use leads to oral cancer. The South Asian community in the U.S. is rapidly growing, where paan and gutka are readily available. The study was the first exploration of the migration of the paan and gutka habits, and their use in the U.S.A 108-item questionnaire on paan and gutka usage and beliefs was administered to 138 first-generation Bangladeshi and Indian-Gujarati immigrant adults at community sites in the New York metropolitan area. Forty-five percent Indian-Gujaratis reported ever-regular paan use; of which 5% are current users. Thirty-one percent reported ever-regular gutka use; of which 77% are current users. Thirty-five percent Bangladeshis reported ever-regular paan use; of which 70% arc current users. Nine percent reported ever-regular gutka use; of which 67% are current users. Bangladeshis are more likely to identify paan as causing oral cancer. Indian-Gujaratis are more likely to identify gutka as causing oral cancer.Between the two communities, there were significant differences in paan and gutfca usage, migration effects, and oral career risk perception. There is a need for comprehensive migration studies on the determinants of usage, and for community-specific interventions for these carcinogenic products.     

NGOs,social change and the transformation of human relationships: A 21st-century civic agenda

Globalisation shifts the balance of power from public to private interests, including NGOs. However, sustainable development requires a change in power relations that runs much deeper than this: a shift from using power over others to advance our selfish interests, to using power to facilitate the self-development of all. This demands constant attention to personal change, and a series of reversals in attitudes and behaviour. In this paper we argue that NGOs-as explicitly values-based organisations-have a crucial role to play in supporting these changes through their programme activities, constituencybuilding work and organisational praxis. The decline of paternalistic foreign aid and the rise of more genuine international co-operation provide an excellent opportunity to advance this agenda. The paper provides a detailed rationale for these claims and a set of examples that show how power relations could be transformed by civic-led approaches in economics, politics and the structures of social power.     

New Labour's modernization in the public sector: a neo-Durkheimian approach and the case of mental health services

Five accounts of New Labour's style of public management reform can be identified in the recent academic literature. Although each has merits, none is wholly convincing. After a discussion of their scope and limits, this article offers a distinctive account, grounded in wider social theory, which also synthesizes the most valuable elements in the five mainstream accounts. The article then uses the case of New Labour's reforms of the mental health system to support this account, showing how it exemplifies each of the 15 major strands of reform activity that have together been the hallmark of what in practice New Labour has meant by 'modernization'. This provides the basis for a critique of the limits and dangers of the New Labour style.     

A client-community assessment of the NGO sector in Uganda

Using original data from client-community assessments, we examine motivations in the Ugandan NGO sector. In general, client-community satisfaction with NGO interventions is high, even though some NGO staff are viewed as unresponsive, underskilled, or self-serving. We find evidence that NGOs endeavour to redress the balance between rich and poor, although more remote communities suffer neglect, possibly for cost reasons. NGOs are less inclined to maintain a permanent presence in more remote and poorer client-communities, which impacts negatively on their assessment scores. We also find evidence that NGOs too often operate in the same location, resulting in some duplication of effort. Finally, results indicate that community participation enhances satisfaction.     

新起点、新机遇与新考验——中国-东盟自由贸易区建立与运行的理性思考

2010年1月1日,中国-东盟自由贸易区正式建立,为中国与东盟更加广泛和深入的合作搭建了一个重要平台,中国与东盟的合作已站在了一个新的历史起点之上,必将面临着新的更大的机遇。作为一个“新生事物”,中国-东盟自由贸易区今后的正常运行,还将面临着新的考验,还需要我们共同的呵护,还需要我们对一些问题进行冷静的、理性思考。     

继往开来谱写新篇--李长春访问古巴、阿根廷、新西兰纪行

应古巴共产党、阿根廷和新西兰政府的邀请,中共中央政治局常委李长春同志于7月51日至20日,带着中国人民的美好情谊,对三国进行了为期两周的正式友好访问,在与三国多年来业已建立的友好关系基础上,续写了深化交流、扩大合作,增进友谊的新篇章。