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Bamboo is one of the world's fastest growing feedstocks and represents a promising nonwood resource that can be utilized in the pulp and paper industry. The timber varieties offer low feedstock costs, can be processed similarly to trees from a logistics standpoint, and have useful fiber properties for papermaking. Plantations have not yet been established due to propagation costs, limiting adoption of bamboo as a pulp feedstock to smaller pulp mills primarily in China, where there are native forests. Recent advances in micropropagation may allow lower establishment costs, but gradual introduction into the supply chain will be required. One concept is to gradually include bamboo feedstock into an established pulp mill as plantations are established, using co-cooking with a wood species. Previous work has shown that bamboo cooks fairly easily using the kraft process with conditions similar to hardwood species. Application: Producers considering adopting bamboo fiber as a portion of their fiber furnish for economic, unique property, or marketing reasons could utilize a strategy of co-cooking bamboo with either poplar or eucalyptus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Contaduría y Administración is the property of Facultad de Contaduria y Administracion-Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article reports on opening up international markets for wood and paper products according to the global forest industry at the World Trade Organization meeting in Hong Kong. The call builds on the negotiating proposal for trade liberalization in the forest products sector submitted by the Governments of Canada, China, New Zealand, Thailand and the United States. Vice president of Trade and Competitiveness of the Forest Products Association of Canada Marta Morgan says that all countries stand to gain significantly from freer trade in forest products.

This paper examines the practical use of The Audit Risk Model (ARM) in Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) settings. International Auditing Standards (IAS) suggest that auditors of financial statements rely on the ARM to plan audit engagements. Sixty practicing auditors (30 from Canada and 30 from China) performed risk assessments on Audit Risk (AR), Inherent Risk (IR) and Control Risk (CR) in light of identical case materials. Our findings suggest that there is no significant difference between Canadian and Chinese auditors when interpreting similar data to establish their risk assessments. Nevertheless, the information regarding ERP caused the biggest discrepancy both between and within the two groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Zhejiang University. Humanities & Social Sciences / Zhejiang Daxue Xuebao is the property of Zhejiang University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Asian Economies is the property of Institute of Developing Economies, JETRO and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The political economy of agrarian changes in rural China has attracted much scholarly attention. Yet these studies have placed limited emphasis on the role of food safety crisis, a critical issue that not only motivated consumption changes of urban residents, but also catalyzed a differentiated food production and supply scheme in rural China. Our extensive fieldwork revealed that more than 60% of rural farming households in China are adopting two distinctive farming approaches: conventional production with intensive usage of agrochemicals for selling to the market and ecological production with limited or no usage of agrochemicals for self-consumption, relatives and people with close social ties. This is what we call 'one family, two systems'. This paper conceptualizes and illustrates the widespread yet rarely discussed phenomenon with specific cases. We argue that 'one family, two systems' is farmers' self-protection response to the heightened food safety crisis. It reveals that the access to ecologically produced food in the common phenomenon is determined by farmers' social relations and thus is embedded in local social network. 'One family, two systems' fosters agrarian changes in at least two dimensions – the farmer-driven ecologicalization of food production and the re-embedding of food production and consumption in ecological systems and social relations in rural China. • 'One family, two systems' depicts the common differentiated food practices in China. • The food safety crisis catalyzes the proliferation of 'one family, two systems'. • 'One family two systems' is a self-protection mechanism of farming households. • Farmers' social circles are defined by their obligation and affection with others. • Access to quality food is determined by one's position in farmers' social circles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narrowing carbon inequality is crucial for coordinated and sustainable development. Based on a dataset of 283 Chinese cities for the period 2011–2017, and by employing the instrumental variable-generalized method of moments (IV-GMM) model, we test whether financial inclusion can achieve the dual dividends of inhibiting carbon inequality not only within cities, but also between cities. Further, this paper pays attention to the heterogeneous, direct, and indirect impacts of financial inclusion on carbon inequality. (1) The first finding is that financial inclusion achieves the dual dividends of narrowing carbon inequality within and between cities. (2) The mitigation effect of financial inclusion on carbon inequality is heterogeneous in terms of cities' administrative hierarchy, geographical location, and economic scale. (3) Six aspects of financial inclusion lead directly to the mitigation of carbon inequality. (4) The inhibitory effect of financial inclusion on carbon inequality is caused mainly by reduced intensity of carbon emissions and income inequality, which are two effective mediators. These findings help us devise solutions for eradicating carbon inequality by designing policies related to financial inclusion. • We examine the impact of financial inclusion on carbon inequality. • Financial inclusion achieves the dual dividends of narrowing carbon inequality both within and between cities. • The nexus is heterogeneous at different city levels, geographical locations, and economic scales. • Financial inclusion indirectly affects carbon inequality through carbon emissions intensity and income inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, building energy consumption is growing rapidly in China and it accounts for about 30% of the total energy consumption. Solar energy, as a type of renewable energy, will greatly alleviate the pressure of the building energy consumption if it is widely used in residential buildings. Firstly, this paper briefly introduced the characteristics and distribution of solar energy resources in China. Secondly, this paper summarized the three types of solar energy utilization: light-gathering utilization, solar energy photo-thermal utilization and photovoltaic utilization. Among them, photo-thermal technology is suitable for solar-powered residential buildings (SPRBs) in terms of current technology and economy. Thirdly, authors analyzed the passive SPRBs and active SPRBs, where the active SPRBs are more intelligent due to its flexibility and controllability. Based on the above analysis, to realize the harmony between solar technologies and building appearance, authors put forward building integrated solar energy (BISE) design in the consideration of technology and aesthetics. The development and application of solar technologies in residential buildings embodies the concepts of energy conservation, environmental protection and sustainable development, and it will promote the development of building energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the combination of institutional theory and a literature review, the paper contemplates the weak enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in China by legal, economic, political, social, and cultural institutions. It indicates that the legal system cannot be solely responsible for weak enforcement of IPRs. Only by changing the whole IP institutional environment over time will IPRs be well enforced. IP environment analysis and corresponding proactive actions are suggested for foreign companies to overcome institutional barriers in the environment. The paper also puts forward advice to Chinese policymakers on improving the whole IP environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approaching policy research from a cultural perspective, this paper proposes that understanding engineering education practice and policymaking in China requires considerable sensitivity to context. By adopting a historical-philosophical analysis methodology, this paper analyzes how three fundamental concepts (engineering, engineer, and education) are linked to a variety of beliefs, assumptions, and ideas that are partially unique to the Chinese cultural context. More specifically, these concepts are discussed in relation to three partially distinct philosophical frameworks: Confucianism, Marxism, and economic pragmatism. Our analysis in this paper draws on studies in comparative education and Chinese studies as well as policy reports released by the Central Government. Based on the analysis, the paper suggests taking a cultural approach to studying engineering education policy, with important implications for both Chinese and Western scholars and policymakers. This paper should be of interest to comparative education scholars, international engineering educators, and education policymakers with a global focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the economic cost incurred by China’s foreign oil dependence during 2001–2015. By categorizing the cost into three different welfare components, namely wealth transfer, potential output loss, and disruption loss, our results show the annual welfare loss is between $7.58 billion to $168.24 billion (constant 2000 US dollars), or equivalent to between 0.57% and 3.93% of China's GDP. Wealth transfer is the dominant component, contributing 71% of the cost during the whole research period. As a result of international oil price fluctuation, disruption loss contributes 22% of the welfare loss. The other 6% is attributable to the decline of China’s potential output. Taking 2015 as the benchmark, sensitivity analyses show that international oil price change brings asymmetric impacts, i.e., a 10% rise of crude oil price rise will increase the cost by $4.08 billion while the same extent of price drop reduces the cost by $4.72 billion. Every barrel of additional domestic oil production reduces the welfare loss by $16.91, while the conservation of a barrel saves $20.50. Based on the results of this study, policy relevant insights are provided with respect to supply side and demand side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ecosystem services and value evaluation have become research focus of ecology, ecological economics, environmental economics and other frontier fields; moreover, it is a national economic accounting and an important basis for market operations. At present, studies of ecosystem services falls far from what the nation needs. This paper summarizes progress of Chinese ecosystem services and valuation research during the past decade. We discussed some key issues and future directions in ecosystem services function. An aim of our paper is to provide ideas for the development of ecosystem services and evaluation research in China, and support a more detailed reference for government. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Informal settlements become an intriguing spatial dimension of urbanization in those countries which experience the systemic shift from socialism to neoliberal regimes. This paper takes chengzhongcun(s) (literally meaning ‘villages encircled by the city’ boundaries) as a case to explore the dynamics of informal settlements in post-socialist China that has certain distinctive features related to the legacy of socialist institutions and restructuring of urban space by various forces. The paper details the political and economic contexts, as well as the ways in which chengzhongcun(s) are transformed into functional but unregulated urban space. It also elucidates the policy approach towards formalizing chengzhongcun(s) and confrontation involving in government-led redevelopment. The analysis illustrates how spatial informality is shaped by the interaction of economic interests and political considerations in a post-socialist economy with retaining the rural–urban dualism of land ownership and the control of urban citizenship. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Economic growth has a close relationship with reducing levels of management; theoretically speaking, reducing levels of management will help promote economic growth. Direct control of counties is the most typical form of reducing management layers. Whether it promotes and facilitates economic growth? This paper, taking a typical provincial county-Hai nan Province as an example and using a combination of vertical and horizontal analysis method, has collected the 20-year time span of data for analysis. The study finds that direct control of Hai nan has a certain role in its economic growth, as follows: in the economic base of poor conditions, the province has maintained a high growth rate within 20 years, greatly reducing administrative costs, etc. , but this effect is not statistically significant and the time is not persistent. This paper will give an explanation through economics and management theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well recognised that a significant amount of solid waste is produced from construction work. The increasing generation of construction waste such as used timber formwork, obsolete concrete and packaging, has caused significant pollution to the environment and risen public concern particularly in densely populated cities, such as Hong Kong. The minimization of construction waste has therefore become a pressing issue in pursuing the practice of sustainable construction. This paper shows the betterment of replacing in situ concreting with precast slabs for temporary works to improve sustainable construction performance. Construction waste from the obsolete concrete constitutes a large part of the construction solid waste in a typical building project. The reduction on the obsolescence by using precast slabs can significantly contribute to improving sustainable construction performance. This study identifies cost saving and the betterment of environmental performance by using precast concrete slabs over the in situ concreting. The data used for analysis in the paper were collected from statistics reports and a case study in Hong Kong construction practice. From the case study results, about 43.93%, 64.01% and 70.70% of the cost of using cast in situ concreting can be saved by reusing precast slabs once for temporary works, twice and three times respectively. The findings provide evidence for promoting the use of precast slabs for temporary works, and contribute to the improvement of sustainable construction performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the puzzle of economic development, there is moderate agreement around one issue: that entrepreneurial, export-led development is likely to produce higher economic growth rates than inward-looking development. This paper begins by taking an overall look at the size and competitiveness of the economies of India, China, and Taiwan, with particular reference to the software and the information technology (IT) sectors. It then focuses on the role of software export entrepreneurship in India and Taiwan as exemplars for other sectors and for formulation of government policy. In Taiwan, successful exporters constitute a model deemed worthy for other companies to emulate. In India, whether the booming software sector will prove to be a sufficient exemplar and catalyst for change throughout the economy and government remains an open question. The paper concludes by taking a look at another related export sector—IT-enabled service exports. Throughout the various sections of the paper, government policy implications remain an important backdrop. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The growth of urban centres all over the world creates major concerns for the designers, architects and environmentalist. But the growth of Chinese cities, Hong Kong in particular is of greater concern considering the rapid population and economic growth of the country. Considering the challenge of Hong Kong city as one of the recent metropolitan cities of the world with the growing challenges of housing, informal settlement, public space and infrastructure adequacy this study is inevitable at this moment. This paper investigates, the nature of informal settlement and the adequacy of infrastructure provision in Hong Kong; and assess socio-economic characteristics of such settlement to foster the required future urban growth that is resilient and sustainable. The study adopts case study methodology, mixed methods exploratory approach of data collection and analysis. Primary source of data collection through the use of reconnaissance survey, observation, direct interaction with resident and stakeholders of selected settlements with the support of literature search (secondary data) were adopted. Data were analysed, interpreted, and results integrated to reflect the characteristics of informal settlement and infrastructure adequacy in Hong Kong urban centres for future resilience. Recommendations were made according to the research findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China’s economy has been rapidly growing over the past few decades; however, increasingly more modern cities are facing problems caused by poor city planning, such as traffic networks, resource distribution and routine management. Optimization methods are urgently needed during city development. From location planning perspective, the residential area issue is discussed in this paper. Based on this issue, a numerical-analysis-based method is proposed for selecting proper residential areas in grid transportation networks. First, a grid layout is introduced to formalize a real traffic network. Furthermore, to guarantee its approximation, a considerable amount of data are obtained from real-world scenarios based on the shortest routes to demonstrate the problem of traffic jams. Then, a quantitative evaluation system is proposed, which quantitatively evaluates the specified location with the traffic flow distribution index, traffic congestion index and infrastructure convenience index. Each index reflects the attitude of citizens from a unique perspective, which affects the final location planning and selection. Finally, an analytic hierarchy process is designed to analyse all these indices together for a comprehensive analysis, and case studies and experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The generated residential location can be considered as a technical reference for further city planning and development decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, China's art market has developed at an unprecedented rate. In a country that barely had an art market two decades ago, reported auction revenues for 2012 were up 900 per cent from 2003, to $8.9 billion. In 2015, China's art market represented 32 per cent of the total global auction market and became the second-largest market globally in terms of total sales value for fine and decorative art. However, as the market has grown, so has its dark underbelly. China's home-grown auction houses have been plagued by forgeries, default payment problems, illegally traded objects and long-standing suspicions of price manipulation. To clean up the art market, on 28th October, 2016, China's State Cultural Relics Bureau published the amended Provisions on the Administration of Cultural Relic Auction. This paper focuses on the highlights brought by the new Auction Law and aims to answer questions as to whether the new law is sufficient to address the problems occurring in the current auction market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online peer-to-peer lending is a new but useful finance method for small enterprises that is conducted on the website. In this paper, we used the existing personal information to evaluate the potential borrowers who are well-qualified. A neutral network is used to help a borrower decide whether he can successfully loan from the P2P company. Our data is obtained from the PaiPaiDai website and is preprocessed proficiently. Our experimental results show that our method can achieve the precision exceeding 95%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global major shipbuilding industry has already shifted to the Asian reason, mainly China, South Korea and Japan; the three shipbuilding giant in the world. China has been implementing shipbuilding as a strategic industry at the beginning of this century to establish itself as a major maritime power. It is now the world largest shipbuilder in terms of gross tonnage and value. This paper tries to find out China's shipbuilding efforts and strategies that have enabled the country to make its shipbuilding industry competitive and efficient. This research is based mainly on data collection from shipbuilding stake holders of China and SWOT analysis of China shipbuilding has been done on this basis. Present world economic status, China economic status, global shipbuilding trend, order and China shipbuilding growth have also been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many major agricultural regions worldwide are experiencing drastic landscape transformations. Examining the complex links among agricultural landscape dynamics (ALD), land use and land cover (LULC) change, socioeconomic development and government planning is pivotal to enhance the efficiency of agricultural landscape management. With a case of the Ningbo region (China), this paper employs the structural equation modeling (SEM) to quantify and compare the relationships between ALD and economic transition as well as the mediating LULC factors in different spatial planning zones. ALD are quantified by time series remotely sensed imageries and a set of landscape metrics; and economic transition is described by a set of indicators from three aspects (globalization, decentralization and marketization). Results show that ALD present similar trend in the two spatial planning zones between 1979 and 2013. However, the magnitude of ALD is larger in the non-urban planning zone. In particular, agricultural landscapes change into the fragmented, irregular, decreased, and isolated patterns at a more rapid pace. Economic transition drivers and LULC mediators differ remarkably between the two spatial planning zones. For the urban planning zone, economic transition influences ALD through construction land morphological changes and water body spatial density increases. For the non-urban planning zone, economic transition influences ALD through forest morphological changes and construction land spatial density increases. In addition, the relative importance of ALD determinants differs between the two spatial planning zones. Marketization plays a more critical role in driving ALD in the urban planning zone, while decentralization has a stronger impact on ALD in the non-urban planning zone. It is argued that land use master plan for agricultural landscape protection should be implemented in the non-urban planning zones and land use plan in the two spatial planning zones should be integrated. This study contributes to the understanding of the complex mechanism of ALD in response to economic transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Relations / Uluslararasi Iliskiler is the property of International Relations Council and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The operation of a seaport is highly dependent on the ocean climate, where a necessary consideration of the later is essential to govern the normal running of the seaborne transportation. To estimate the port risks associated with the climate factors is a challenging task. Not only because of the complexity in the weather, but also the variations in the daily trade volume. This paper develops an approach of estimating the economic losses of port disruptions induced by extreme wind events, and conducts a study for two selected ports, Ningbo and Shanghai. The loss considers both the variation in the daily cargo throughput and the climate. The throughput is analyzed in a regression analysis which accounts for both the long term trend and yearly cyclic components. The likelihood of port disruptions is estimated from a climate analysis based on the historic record at both ports. The calculation of the total economic loss is split into four parts, namely, reputational loss, loss to the shippers, loss to the carriers and loss to the ports. The results are illustrated in a comparison between Shanghai and Ningbo to provide the information of associated risks within different months. The study is also extended to investigate the influence of extreme wind events on the port of Shenzhen which is located in a different geographical region for comparison. The impact of the extreme wind events on the ports and the economy is then discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

600 million mobile phone users in China daily use their mobile phones to engage with social media, whilst a similar number use the internet. In 2014 China is poised to become the world's largest economy, overtaking the United States of America. Understanding the Chinese culture within the modern context of social media for foreign businesses is increasingly important. With an internet penetration rate of only 46%, the growth potential for China's e-commerce markets is staggering. By examining the use of the mobile phone application WeChat (Wēixìn) as a case study during the 2014 Chinese Lunar New Year festival, this paper explores how traditional collectivist values of Chinese society are emerging online. We argue that social media is supporting China's traditional values by virtually linking a vast collectivist society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The understanding of the coupling relationship between tourism and the environment is important due to the complex interaction in environmental effects induced by tourism. This paper aims at introducing an index system and developing an integrated approach to evaluate the coupling coordination between tourism and the environment. The aggregated index system comprised two hierarchies, five aspects and 20 indexes, which were weighted by the information entropy weight (IEW). Furthermore, a coupling coordination degree model (CCDM) was established using panel data from 1995 to 2012 for Heilongjiang Province, China. The findings revealed that the degree of coupling coordination showed an upward tendency. Specifically, economic benefit and ecological quality had the greatest effect on the coupling system, indicating that they are the critical factors to be considered during macro policy-making. The results showed that the method combining CCDM with IEW can be implemented as an effective approach to evaluating the coupling relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the reform and opening up policy was initiated in 1978, the rural economic level and residential living standard have been greatly improved. China's rural building energy consumption has also rapidly increased. This research was designed to provide the overall context of energy efficiency in rural China and through evaluation demonstrates that current theory has significant gaps when compared to practice. Therefore, this paper presents a new theoretical framework to assist decision-makers. First, we analyzed the situation and the characteristics of building energy consumption in the countryside. During this situational analysis, we identified the challenges in rural building energy efficiency (RBEE) work. To promote the development of RBEE, the central and local governments have launched related policies, and some achievements have been made in RBEE. However, there are still some drawbacks in rural buildings, so based on the above analysis coupled with the low carbon framework, we re-assessed the development of RBEE. This allowed us to develop a new theoretical framework incorporating critical factors, such as development principles, building planning and design, construction, operation and the utilization of renewable energy. This new model could play an important practical role in directing policy-making and promoting the development of RBEE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using 1978-2010 annual economic data of Liaoning Province, this paper tracks the dynamic responses of agricultural fiscal expenditure and the added value of the primary industry with the VAR model and impulse response function, and confirms the leading and lagging relationships in time between the two variables through the Granger causality test. The findings indicate that there is a stable equilibrium relationship between them in the long run. Furthermore, the effect of agricultural fiscal expenditure on the added value of the primary industry is always positive and gradually increases with time. Meanwhile, the positive impact of the added value of the primary industry produces a strong cumulative effect to agricultural fiscal expenditure. Based on the Granger test, there exists only one-way causal relationship between the two variables; that is, agricultural fiscal expenditure only serves as the Granger cause of the added value of the primary industry in the short run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important part of academic papers which comply with the norms of social science research, citations themselves are of great research value. On the basis of the collection of citation data from top Chinese journals in economics, sociology, law and politics and on the basis of internal and international comparison research, we find that economics and sociology are more open to research abroad while law and politics are less open. And in these subjects, the level of citations to other social sciences is comparatively low. We also find that the percentage of self-citation in economics decreased significantly while that in sociology, law and politics increased moderately between 1998 and 2008 according to the results of the comparison of interdisciplinary citations. On the other hand, the percentage of interdisciplinary citation of sociology and law to economics are quite high, while the percentage of interdisciplinary citation of politics to economies is low. We think that the lack of interdisciplinary journals and the lack of researchers are two key reasons for the underdevelopment of interdisciplinary research in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To improve the invironment of Fenhe River basin, river wetland ecosystem restoration project was planned. Four methods were applied in this paper to evaluate the wetland ecosystem services according to the plan, which were market value method, shadow project method, results reference method and expense payment method.The results showed that the total value was 234 million rmb yuan, in which the value of water purification was the biggest, accounting for 46.1%. However, as not all the functions were taken into consideration during the study, smaller result was produced. Meanwhile, according to the main functions of the five parts in the plan, their basic values were calculated. It suggested that the basic value was determined by both area and value coefficient. The third part Yi Dam to Er Dam had the highest value because of the larger area and the biggest value coefficient. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The rapid growth of Chinese economy has tremend-ously stimulated the expansion of energy consumption. The structure of energy consumption in China is featured with the coal domination. Air pollution is becoming increasingly severe and causes enormous economic losses. As a result, we are confronted with the extremely arduous task to balance energy consumption and environmental protection. In order to avoid the situation that its rampant environmental pollution problem will worsen before it gets better, Chinese government has put high emphasis on the problem. The efforts made by Chinese government, including energy consumption structure improve-ment and control measures to air pollution, have been introduced and discussed in this paper. China possesses very abundant renewable energies such as wind, solar, geothermal and tidal. Applications of renewable energies, especially solar energy, can coordinate and improve the relationship between energy consumption and environmental protection. Therefore, Chinese government should make more efforts to set up priority of development for renewable energies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Revista de Sociologia e Política is the property of Revista de Sociologia e Politica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In China environmental pollution brought by economic development is so severe that 16 of 20 most polluted cities on the earth are here in mainland. It is of great essence and need to evaluate China's environment pollution level objectively to promote China's economic development sound and fast. This paper is based on the measurement of pollution index in China from 1999 to 2009, aiming at setting up an environment pollution model to explore the effects of trade openness, FDI, government rules, industry structure, capital deepening, and paths dependence on pollution index. Regression analysis indicates that FDI, economy development level, and pollution paths dependence have obvious positive impact on pollution index, that the tertiary industry proportion has obvious negative impact on pollution index in most of regions, and that capital deepening has obvious positive impact on pollution index in most regions. Though trade openness improves the east-region environmental quality and aggravates the middle-west environment pollution, environment rules have little obvious positive impact on environmental quality. However, technology progress has obvious positive impact on environmental quality in the middle east, but has little positive impact on the environmental quality in the west region. In order to promote the economy sustainable development, China should therefore increase foreign investment access environment threshold, optimize the construction of industry, implement green trade strategy, and perfect the environment systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the impact of FDI on China's domestic industry by empirical research using the data of china from 2000 to 2009, compares the differences of FDI's spillover effect between the labor--intensive industries and the technology--intensive industries, and analyzes the reasons from the foreign capital's scale, density and the technology gap, etc. The results show that FDI has positive effects on both the development of the domestic industry and its upgrade of industrial structure, but there is still ascending space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Since 2006, around 600 rainwater harvesting systems have been constructed for agricultural irrigation in Beijing. The financial and economic implications of using these systems are discussed less. It is important to understand the effectiveness of the investments spent on the rainwater harvesting systems. The paper aims to analyze economic and financial performance of the constructed rainwater harvesting systems in rural areas of Beijing through the method of cost benefit analysis. The economic analysis focuses on determining the contribution of rainwater harvesting systems to the development of society, carried out from the point of view of government. The financial analysis allows comparison of the financial implications of using groundwater with using rainwater for agricultural irrigation from the point of view of individual participant, namely the local farmers. The results show that the rainwater harvesting systems are economically feasible. This means rainwater harvesting have positive effects for society. However, the financial feasibility of rainwater harvesting systems depends on the charge for groundwater and on the size of the rainwater harvesting systems. If groundwater is not charged, the rainwater harvesting systems are not financially feasible. If groundwater is charged at 2Yuan/m3, only large size systems are financially feasible while small and middle sizes systems are not financially feasible. Under these circumstances, only large systems can run smoothly, while farmers may not use the small and medium-size systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The paper gives a critical assessment of the reaction of various trends of economics, when confronted with the diversified experience of postsocialist transformation and accompanying surprises, like the initial depression, the unexpected consequences of fast privatisation, or the unconventional policies and performance of China and Vietnam. It discusses the mainstream transition doctrine, and its gradual qualification, as well as institutionalist and evolutionary approaches of the systemic transformation problems. It concludes that this grand and painful historical experience has until now failed to substantially modify mainstream economics, even though its unfolding has strongly questioned the latter's theoretical and methodological premises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes a series of population census and by-census data from 1991 to 2006 to examine the economic adaptation of Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong, focusing on their employment, occupational and earnings attainment. We pay particular attention to the adaptation of immigrants over time, and the effect of changes in the (overall) quality of the immigration cohort as a result of the immigration policy shift after Hong Kong's reunification with China in 1997. Results show that at the time of entry, mainland immigrants were less likely to be employed, more likely to be trapped in elementary occupations and to be earning much less than the natives. As they stayed longer, the gaps tended to decrease, but most immigrants were unable to reach parity with the natives with respect to earnings throughout their working lives. Men generally adapted at a faster pace than women. While new immigrants after 1997 fared worse in terms of employment and occupational attainment compared to those who arrived earlier (before 1997), there is no evidence to suggest that the changing cohort quality had any significant effect on overall income inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is based on a study carried out at ten Chinese universities and analyzes ways in which the global market economy has transformed Chinese higher education. It also identifies potential problems and pro-vides possible solutions to this economic transition. In the first section of the article, we provide a brief review of the Chinese social context and the resulting changes in policy development regarding the higher edu-cation subsector. Higher education trends from different studies are examined, after which a detailed description of this study of ten univer-sities in China and accompanying findings are presented. This paper concludes with a discussion regarding the problems and challenges fac-ing China's higher education in the context of a market economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tea culture has a long history in china, and along with the development of economy, tea house has become an important part of tea economy. Tea dress is an extension product of tea economy, and it is also a combination of profession -- specific individuality and artistic individuality. Tea dress should have its own characteristics, and follow the specialized development paths. This paper comes up with developing tactics for tea dress by using the 4p marketing theory. 1. Products should bear the core of cultural connotation; 2. Value system should be established on the basis of different regions and different types of tea; 3. Expanding tea market effectively should be based on existing tea products; 4. Professional tea dress may play a positive role in promoting the development of modern tea economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the trends in educational stratification during China's economic reforms in the 1990s. Based on the sample data of population censuses in 1990 and 2000, school – age children were matched to their parents' background information, and the effects of family background on their school enrollment and continuation were investigated. Results show that despite the substantial expansion of educational opportunities in the decade, family background continues to play an important role in determining school enrollment status and school transitions. During the decade, children of rural – hukou status became more disadvantaged compared to their urban counterparts, and the effect of their father's socioeconomic status on school enrollment was enhanced. Despite the fact that children of rural – hukou status gained relatively more opportunities at junior high school level, as a result of nationwide saturation at the 9 – year compulsory education, the rural – urban gap in the likelihood of transition to senior high school level enlarged, and the effect of their father's socioeconomic status increased – even after controlling for regional variations in economic development. © 2010 International Sociological Association Research Committee 28 on Social Stratification and Mobility. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much has been written on the role of state and state-owned enterprises which have been said to contribute to the Republic of Singapore's economic growth and development. In this paper, however, the authors highlight how the Chinese dialect clan associations, in partnering with the state, helped and contributed to economic development of the city state of Singapore. Among other things, the richness of the social networks run by the Chinese Clan Associations, in fact, multiply, if not support, the efficacy of state intervention by serving as partners in the development process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Culture is 'driver and enabler of sustainable development'. In the context of globalization, cultural exchanges are increasing, the role of language as a carrier of culture is more and more evident. Many countries even include it in the national strategy, and it became an important government action. Confucius Institute is an important platform for Sino-foreign cultural exchanges and mutual learning'. And the same of the other cultural institutes which have been mentioned in this paper. They are all playing a role of the international community civilization messenger, they are bridges to connect the native countries and abroad, they are Culture Ambassadors who help the comprehension and cooperation among people and countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based upon a selection and analysis of the theories of development of enterprises on the part of the School of Classic Economy and the theories on the sustainable development of modern enterprises, the present paper summarizes the researches upon the issues of the development of China's private enterprises done by the national and overseas intellectuals and thus put forward the writer's advice and suggestions accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper describes events in the last decade in China''s airline markets and clarifies some misunderstandings in regard to the 2002 airline consolidations that brought sweeping changes to that country''s aviation markets. Some possible reasons for the 2002 consolidations are inferred through analysing the data and facts of the late 1990s and early 2000s. We conclude that the consolidations may be a natural response to the changes that accompanied airline deregulation in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]