Community leadership: A comparison between asset-based community-led development (ABCD) and the traditional needs-based approach

A comparison study was undertaken between the asset-based community-led development (ABCD) approaches versus the traditional needs-based approach to community development relating to community leadership. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 24 community projects in South Africa for the study, of which 14 were sensitised to ABCD and 10 were not. The kind of community leadership developed in ABCD communities enabled communities to lead their own development by co-investing their own assets, and leveraging their assets with resources from external agencies. In comparison, although development took place, the leadership that emerged in the needs-oriented projects was more authoritarian in nature, and in some instances, seemed to establish a dependency on external agencies. Community leadership that contributes to projects that were more driven by community members complements the principles of appreciative leadership, which were more evident in ABCD-sensitised communities.     

Which Part of the Chinese Art Market Is More Worth Investing In? Applying the Quantile Regression to Analyze Chinese Oil Paintings 2000–2014

This article uses a quantile regression approach to analyze the structure of the hedonic characteristics of 12,701 Chinese oil paintings sold at auctions in China and Hong Kong during the period 2000–2014. A hedonic model for both the full sample and the 0.20, 0.40, 0.60, 0.80, and 0.95 quantiles of the price distribution is estimated. The result indicates that noticeable differences exist in painting characteristics across different price ranges. The empirical evidence also suggests that highly priced Chinese oil paintings have both higher expected returns and less risk than those that are priced lower, which appear to be favorable assets to invest in.     

传统生育文化对我国人口可持续发展的影响

我国的传统生育文化是在传统农业社会的经济和文化背景下产生的,现在仍然有着重要影响.为了实现我国人口的可持续发展,必须重视文化因素,推动旧的生育文化向新型生育文化转变,创造适合人口可持续发展的文化环境.     

国立中央大学造园教育的发展及影响

在1951年北京农业大学造园组设立之前,已经有 一些学校进行了长期的课程建设,国立中央大学在农科和工科 中都开设了造园相关课程。通过梳理国立中央大学园艺、森林 和建筑工程科(系)中庭园相关课程的开设情况、设置原因及 授课教师,分析造园相关的科研、实践及其对风景园林学科发 展的影响。研究发现国立中央大学造园相关课程主要由园艺系 发展而来,建筑系可选修,课程均有相应实习,由吴耕民、陆 费执、范赉、李驹、陈植、曾勉、毛宗良、刘敦桢、刘福泰、 章守玉等留学归国的骨干教师开设。师生们不仅将其教学体系 推广至全国,也进行了一些造园实践和研究,为中国风景园林 学科的发展奠定了坚实的基础。     

中药治疗股骨头坏死的作用机制研究进展

股骨头坏死是骨科难治疾病之一,其具有较高的致残率,严重影响患者身体健康和生命质量,给患者带来极大的心理压力。目前,中药治疗股骨头坏死颇有特色,逐渐被人们认可,故从近年来中药单体、中药经方、自拟方剂3个方面对治疗股骨头坏死的作用机制进行综述,期望为未来中药更加合理有效治疗股骨头坏死提供一定的理论支持。     

The visible hand: the role of government in China’s long-awaited industrial revolution

China is undergoing its long-awaited industrial revolution. There is no shortage of commentary and opinion on this dramatic period, but few have attempted to provide a coherent, in-depth, political-economic framework that explains the fundamental mechanisms behind China’s rapid industrialization. This article reviews the Embryonic Economic Development theory put forth by Wen (2016a). This article reviews the Embryonic Economic Development theory put forth by Wen . It illuminates the critical sequence of developmental stages since the reforms enacted by Deng Xiaoping in 1978: namely, small-scale commercialized agricultural production, proto-industrialization in the countryside, a formal industrial revolution based on mass production of labor-intensive light consumer goods, a sustainable ‘industrial trinity’ boom in energy/motive power/infrastructure, and a second industrial revolution involving the mass production of heavy industrial goods. This developmental sequence follows essentially the same pattern as Great Britain’s Industrial Revolution, despite sharp differences in political and institutional conditions. One of the key conclusions exemplified by China’s economic rise is that the extent of industrialization is limited by the extent of the market. One of the key strategies behind the creation and nurturing of a continually growing market in China is based on this premise: The free market is a public good that is very costly for nations to create and support. Market creation requires a powerful ‘mercantilist’ state and the correct sequence of developmental stages; China has been successfully accomplishing its industrialization through these stages, backed by measured, targeted reforms and direct participation from its central and local governments.     

The trend of the Gini coefficient of China (1978–2010)

ABSTRACT

This study proposes a new approach to analyse the effects of an overlap term on the calculation of the overall Gini coefficient and estimates China’s Gini ratios since the adoption of the economic reform and open-door policies. A decomposition of the Chinese Gini coefficient for 1978–2010 reveals that the key factor contributing to income inequalities is the income disparity between rural and urban inhabitants. We further investigate the features of this income inequality between rural and urban areas and employ statistical approaches to evaluate the effects of urbanisation and rural-to-urban average income on nationwide income inequality. The results show that accelerating the pace of urbanisation is mainly responsible for decreasing China’s income disparity. Drawing on these results, we conclude with suggestions for related policies.     

Examining the influencing factors of CO2 emissions at city level via panel quantile regression: evidence from 102 Chinese cities

Ascertaining the influencing factors of carbon dioxide emissions in Chinese cities is an important issue for policy-makers. This paper investigates the effect of several determinants on carbon emissions per capita in Chinese cities. Non-normally distributed and heterogeneous features of carbon emissions per capita in Chinese cities are considerably important. The empirical results demonstrate that GDP per capita has an increasingly positive impact on carbon emissions per capita due to the growth in household consumption. Urbanization has a slightly decreasing positive effect on carbon emissions per capita with a quantile increase resulting from continuous highway construction. Industrialization has a decreasing positive effect with carbon emission per capita quantile increases because of increasing energy efficiency and lower costs related to carbon reductions. The population has a decreasing negative effect on carbon emissions because of people’s increasing demand for environmental safety. The distributions of emissions per capita conditional on the 10th and 90th quantiles of independent variables also vary considerably. Specific policy implications are provided based on these results.     

Chinese competition and product variety of Indian firms

Using detailed firm-product-year data across manufacturing industries in India, and exploiting the exogenous nature of China’s entry into the WTO in 2001, we investigate the link between the impact of import penetration from China on the product variety of Indian manufacturing firms. We find: (i) robust and significant effects of product drop, with the effect coming only from competitive pressure in the domestic market; (ii) robust evidence of product drop or ‘creative destruction’ only for firms belonging to the lower-half of the size distribution; (iii) firms drop their peripheral/marginal products and concentrate on the core ones; and (iv) the result is strongest for firms producing intermediate goods. For an average Indian manufacturing firm, a 10 percentage point increase in India’s Chinese share of imports in the domestic market reduces the product scope of firms by 1.7–4.4%. In contrast, we find positive effects on product scope when firms are importing intermediate goods. We also find evidence of significant productivity effects and within-firm factor reallocation. Our results are consistent to a battery of robustness checks and IV estimation.     

生物多样性视角下城市闲置地的微更新 探索——以临时社区花园为例

生物多样性在城市环境中发挥着重要的作用。作为城市闲置地微更新的常见方式,临时社区花园能够带来很高水平的生物多样性和生态系统服务,是城市优化绿色空间的良好途径之一。社区花园在改善闲置地生境质量的同时,也受到植被结构和管理维护水平等因素的影响。通过对临时社区花园典型案例的分析,探讨了灵活的城市闲置地微更新方式在我国城市的适用性。