Risen from chaos: the development of modern education in China, 1905-1948

My PhD thesis studies the rise of modern education in China and its underlying driving forces from the turn of the 20th century. It is motivated by one sweeping educational movement in Chinese history: the traditional Confucius teaching came to an abrupt end, and was replaced by a modern and national education model at the turn of the 20th century. This thesis provides the first systematic quantitative studies that examine the rise of education through the initial stage of its development. It mainly contains three analytical parts. The first one sets out the jourey toward the birth of the first modern education system, and generalized the main virtues and progresses it brought to China. The second section provides long-term estimates on how much education progressed through 20th century based on a rich variety of indicators: literacy rate, enrolment ratio, and more importantly -- human capital stock (average years of schooling). This exercise allows putting Chinese accomplishments in education into international perspective. The last Chapter of this thesis tackles one hotly debated question that ‘what factors drove the rise of mass schooling (primary education)?’ Given its political turmoil and economic backwardness, the expansion of modern primary schooling that was mainly driven by increasing public efforts seems puzzling. What contributed to mass education’s noteworthy diffusion in China? Based on a dataset that covers more than one thousand counties, we find that economic factors have little power in explaining the variations in educational outcomes. In contrast, both informal practice of governance imposed by gentry (one important social group in Chinese history) and regional political stability presented their critical importance. The findings of this section not only contribute to pin down determinants of education expansion, but also shed lights on a growing literature stressing the importance of informal institution in providing public goods in non-democratic societies

The Effect of Hydrology on Soil Erosion

This Special Issue includes manuscripts about soil erosion and degradation processes and the accelerated rates due to hydrological processes and climate change. The new research included in this issue focuses on measurements, modeling, and experiments in field or laboratory conditions developed at different scales (pedon, hillslope, and catchment). This Special Issue received investigations from different parts of the world such as Ethiopia, Morocco, China, Iran, Italy, Portugal, Greece, and Spain, among others. We are happy to see that all papers presented findings characterized as unconventional, provocative, innovative, and methodologically new. We hope that the readers of the journal Water can enjoy and learn about hydrology and soil erosion using the published material, and share the results with the scientific community, policymakers, and stakeholders to continue this amazing adventure, facing plenty of issues and challenges

Poverty, inequality and living standards in rural China 1978-90 : A comparative study of Anhui and Yunnan.

This dissertation is concerned with trends in poverty, inequality and living standards among the counties and villages of Anhui and Yunnan since 1978. Trends in absolute poverty, measured by both income- and nutrition-based poverty lines, show only a small decline during the 1980s. Based on province-specific poverty lines, there is a substantial increase in the incidence of poverty during the late 1980s, over the incidence based on a national poverty line. The overall trend in living standards is of increasing dispersion, for Anhui and Yunnan relative to the national average, and between the counties of the two provinces. Living standards show little change for the counties of Yunnan, with declines outnumbering increases. In Anhui, the large increase in mortality between the 1982 and 1990 censuses contribute to declines in absolute living standards as well. Increases in spatial inequality are apparent from the output data; differentials in the rate of economic growth fuelling this increase in the 1980s. In essence counties thrive or languish based on the performance of their agricultural sector. Rapid improvements in yields for basic food stuffs, and expanding cash crop production in many regions, together cause income levels to rise, and therefore living standards, based on commodities, to increase as well. Where this is not the case, there is a lack of investment funds for the establishment of private and collective rural enterprises, and a lack of consumer demand. The low level of income, and the small size and slow growth in the xiangzhen give sector in disadvantaged areas also means that local governments are short of revenue, and therefore the costs of health care and education are left to the individuals requiring these services, exacerbating the gap between rich and poor in terms of achieved functioning. The question of how to increase the profitability of the agricultural sector in poor areas of China remains unsolved. Without a source of investment funds and increasing incomes to foster modern sector enlargement growth in rural areas, it is difficult to imagine an increase in either commodity or non-commodity based functioning in the poor regions of rural China in the near future

Women in the Chinese Military

This dissertation provides a sociological analysis of patterns of women's military participation in ancient China (5000 years ago-1840), during the post-Opium War period (1840-1949), and in modern times. It addresses three sociological issues: 1) under what conditions have Chinese women taken part in military operations? 2) Do Chinese women participate in direct combat? 3) Does the military institution facilitate women's social mobility to education, jobs and higher social status? The following questions are also addressed: does Chinese women's military participation go through cycles of expansion and contraction? What are the People's Liberation Army (PLA) women's evaluations of their military lives? The study scrutinized 717 Chinese military women from the secondary sources and 230 PLA women through a survey conducted in Beijing in 1992. Women participate in Chinese conventional and unconventional warfare across time. From the first female general, Fu Hao, who lived about 3200 years ago, to the 12 women generals who serve in the PLA today, women's frequent presence has been observed in both regular and irregular military formations. Chinese women participated in direct combat--50% in this study with a 12% combat casualty. Female guerri11a fighters suffered the heaviest, but no casualty of women has been recorded since 1949. Sixteen percent of these women commanded battles. Seventeen percent ranked major and above, 3.5% of them became national leaders. Most women warriors are of the Han nationality. Nearly half of the ancient and the PLA women were from official and officers' families. Cultural and ideological support for women's military participation has also been frequent. Military service is one of the social mobility channels which allow women to achieve or hope for social recognition or higher status. The scope of women's military participation goes in cycles of expansion and contraction, particularly affected by group security situation and shortage of manpower. Women's representation in regular military formations has been increased. Modem military women in mainland China and Taiwan are career makers. Most PLA women did not expect combat participation nor becoming a woman general

Modelling spatial and temporal urban growth

Summary In an effort to better understand the complexity inherent in the urban growth process, the aim of this research was to develop a theoretical framework and methodology that focused on: ? 1. Analysing the complexity of the urban growth system and evaluating the current methods available for modelling this complexity; ? 2. Monitoring the urban growth of a fast growing city (Wuhan) in a rapidly developing country (P.R.China), based on remotely sensed imagery, and evaluating its structural and functional changes by modelling; ? 3. Developing and demonstrating a quantitative method for the comparative measurement of long-term temporal urban growth; ? 4. Developing and demonstrating an interpretable method for urban growth pattern modelling; ? 5. Developing and demonstrating a spatially and temporally explicit method for understanding the urban growth process. First, urban growth is defined as a system resulting from the complex dynamic interactions between the developable, developed and planned systems. Second, with remotely sensed imagery (SPOT and aerial photographs) and secondary sources, this research presents a methodology for monitoring and evaluating structural and functional changes in the last five decades. Third, this research presents an innovative method for the temporal measurement of longterm urban growth for the purpose of comparing urban sprawl. By using the concept of relative space, the temporal complexity can be transformed into spatial complexity, indicated by the complex spatial interactions between urban sprawl and urban social and economic systems. Fourth, this research presents a preliminary multi-scale perspective for understanding spatial patterns based on spatial hierarchical theory. The spatial hierarchies comprise planning, analysis and data, which are interrelated. Multi-scale in analysis hierarchy refers to the probability of change (macro), the density of change (meso) and the intensity of change (micro). Fifth, this research presents an innovative method for understanding spatial processes and their temporal dynamics on two interrelated scales (municipality and project), using a multi-stage framework and dynamic weighting concept. The multi-stage framework aims to model local spatial processes and global temporal dynamics by incorporating explicit decision-making processes. Finally, this research has found that complexity theories such as hierarchy theory and selforganising theory are very helpful in conceptually and methodologically understanding the specific complexity of a complex system. Spatial and temporal modelling based on complexity methods such as cellular automata can improve the analytical functions of GIS with the aid of remotely sensed imagery. Summary In an effort to better understand the complexity inherent in the urban growth process, the aim of this research was to develop a theoretical framework and methodology that focused on: ? 1. Analysing the complexity of the urban growth system and evaluating the current methods available for modelling this complexity; ? 2. Monitoring the urban growth of a fast growing city (Wuhan) in a rapidly developing country (P.R.China), based on remotely sensed imagery, and evaluating its structural and functional changes by modelling; ? 3. Developing and demonstrating a quantitative method for the comparative measurement of long-term temporal urban growth; ? 4. Developing and demonstrating an interpretable method for urban growth pattern modelling; ? 5. Developing and demonstrating a spatially and temporally explicit method for understanding the urban growth process. First, urban growth is defined as a system resulting from the complex dynamic interactions between the developable, developed and planned systems. Second, with remotely sensed imagery (SPOT and aerial photographs) and secondary sources, this research presents a methodology for monitoring and evaluating structural and functional changes in the last five decades. Third, this research presents an innovative method for the temporal measurement of longterm urban growth for the purpose of comparing urban sprawl. By using the concept of relative space, the temporal complexity can be transformed into spatial complexity, indicated by the complex spatial interactions between urban sprawl and urban social and economic systems. Fourth, this research presents a preliminary multi-scale perspective for understanding spatial patterns based on spatial hierarchical theory. The spatial hierarchies comprise planning, analysis and data, which are interrelated. Multi-scale in analysis hierarchy refers to the probability of change (macro), the density of change (meso) and the intensity of change (micro). Fifth, this research presents an innovative method for understanding spatial processes and their temporal dynamics on two interrelated scales (municipality and project), using a multi-stage framework and dynamic weighting concept. The multi-stage framework aims to model local spatial processes and global temporal dynamics by incorporating explicit decision-making processes. Finally, this research has found that complexity theories such as hierarchy theory and selforganising theory are very helpful in conceptually and methodologically understanding the specific complexity of a complex system. Spatial and temporal modelling based on complexity methods such as cellular automata can improve the analytical functions of GIS with the aid of remotely sensed imagery. Summary In an effort to better understand the complexity inherent in the urban growth process, the aim of this research was to develop a theoretical framework and methodology that focused on: ? 1. Analysing the complexity of the urban growth system and evaluating the current methods available for modelling this complexity; ? 2. Monitoring the urban growth of a fast growing city (Wuhan) in a rapidly developing country (P.R.China), based on remotely sensed imagery, and evaluating its structural and functional changes by modelling; ? 3. Developing and demonstrating a quantitative method for the comparative measurement of long-term temporal urban growth; ? 4. Developing and demonstrating an interpretable method for urban growth pattern modelling; ? 5. Developing and demonstrating a spatially and temporally explicit method for understanding the urban growth process. First, urban growth is defined as a system resulting from the complex dynamic interactions between the developable, developed and planned systems. Second, with remotely sensed imagery (SPOT and aerial photographs) and secondary sources, this research presents a methodology for monitoring and evaluating structural and functional changes in the last five decades. Third, this research presents an innovative method for the temporal measurement of longterm urban growth for the purpose of comparing urban sprawl. By using the concept of relative space, the temporal complexity can be transformed into spatial complexity, indicated by the complex spatial interactions between urban sprawl and urban social and economic systems. Fourth, this research presents a preliminary multi-scale perspective for understanding spatial patterns based on spatial hierarchical theory. The spatial hierarchies comprise planning, analysis and data, which are interrelated. Multi-scale in analysis hierarchy refers to the probability of change (macro), the density of change (meso) and the intensity of change (micro). Fifth, this research presents an innovative method for understanding spatial processes and their temporal dynamics on two interrelated scales (municipality and project), using a multi-stage framework and dynamic weighting concept. The multi-stage framework aims to model local spatial processes and global temporal dynamics by incorporating explicit decision-making processes. Finally, this research has found that complexity theories such as hierarchy theory and selforganising theory are very helpful in conceptually and methodologically understanding the specific complexity of a complex system. Spatial and temporal modelling based on complexity methods such as cellular automata can improve the analytical functions of GIS with the aid of remotely sensed imagery. Summary In an effort to better understand the complexity inherent in the urban growth process, the aim of this research was to develop a theoretical framework and methodology that focused on: ? 1. Analysing the complexity of the urban growth system and evaluating the current methods available for modelling this complexity; ? 2. Monitoring the urban growth of a fast growing city (Wuhan) in a rapidly developing country (P.R.China), based on remotely sensed imagery, and evaluating its structural and functional changes by modelling; ? 3. Developing and demonstrating a quantitative method for the comparative measurement of long-term temporal urban growth; ? 4. Developing and demonstrating an interpretable method for urban growth pattern modelling; ? 5. Developing and demonstrating a spatially and temporally explicit method for understanding the urban growth process. First, urban growth is defined as a system resulting from the complex dynamic interactions between the developable, developed and planned systems. Second, with remotely sensed imagery (SPOT and aerial photographs) and secondary sources, this research presents a methodology for monitoring and evaluating structural and functional changes in the last five decades. Third, this research presents an innovative method for the temporal measurement of longterm urban growth for the purpose of comparing urban sprawl. By using the concept of relative space, the temporal complexity can be transformed into spatial complexity, indicated by the complex spatial interactions between urban sprawl and urban social and economic systems. Fourth, this research presents a preliminary multi-scale perspective for understanding spatial patterns based on spatial hierarchical theory. The spatial hierarchies comprise planning, analysis and data, which are interrelated. Multi-scale in analysis hierarchy refers to the probability of change (macro), the density of change (meso) and the intensity of change (micro). Fifth, this research presents an innovative method for understanding spatial processes and their temporal dynamics on two interrelated scales (municipality and project), using a multi-stage framework and dynamic weighting concept. The multi-stage framework aims to model local spatial processes and global temporal dynamics by incorporating explicit decision-making processes. Finally, this research has found that complexity theories such as hierarchy theory and selforganising theory are very helpful in conceptually and methodologically understanding the specific complexity of a complex system. Spatial and temporal modelling based on complexity methods such as cellular automata can improve the analytical functions of GIS with the aid of remotely sensed imagery. In an effort to better understand the complexity inherent in the urban growth process, the aim of this research was to develop a theoretical framework and methodology that focused on: 1. Analysing the complexity of the urban growth system and evaluating the current methods available for modelling this complexity; 2. Monitoring the urban growth of a fast growing city (Wuhan) in a rapidly developing country (P.R.China), based on remotely sensed imagery, and evaluating its structural and functional changes by modelling; 3. Developing and demonstrating a quantitative method for the comparative measurement of long-term temporal urban growth; 4. Developing and demonstrating an interpretable method for urban growth pattern modelling; 5. Developing and demonstrating a spatially and temporally explicit method for understanding the urban growth process. First, urban growth is defined as a system resulting from the complex dynamic interactions between the developable, developed and planned systems. Second, with remotely sensed imagery (SPOT and aerial photographs) and secondary sources, this research presents a methodology for monitoring and evaluating structural and functional changes in the last five decades. Third, this research presents an innovative method for the temporal measurement of longterm urban growth for the purpose of comparing urban sprawl. By using the concept of relative space, the temporal complexity can be transformed into spatial complexity, indicated by the complex spatial interactions between urban sprawl and urban social and economic systems. Fourth, this research presents a preliminary multi-scale perspective for understanding spatial patterns based on spatial hierarchical theory. The spatial hierarchies comprise planning, analysis and data, which are interrelated. Multi-scale in analysis hierarchy refers to the probability of change (macro), the density of change (meso) and the intensity of change (micro). Fifth, this research presents an innovative method for understanding spatial processes and their temporal dynamics on two interrelated scales (municipality and project), using a multi-stage framework and dynamic weighting concept. The multi-stage framework aims to model local spatial processes and global temporal dynamics by incorporating explicit decision-making processes. Finally, this research has found that complexity theories such as hierarchy theory and selforganising theory are very helpful in conceptually and methodologically understanding the specific complexity of a complex system. Spatial and temporal modelling based on complexity methods such as cellular automata can improve the analytical functions of GIS with the aid of remotely sensed imagery

New wine in old bottles: The figure painting of Ren Bonian (1840-1895) in the context of nineteenth century Shanghai.

Ren Yi, self-styled Bonian (1840-1895), is rightly considered as one of the most prolific painters in late nineteenth century Shanghai. Like many of his contemporaries, the life of Ren Bonian was much entangled with social and economic change in the international city where new and old, local and foreign enterprises were assembled at that time. On this account his paintings often present a strong visual effect and delightful mood, as well as novelty, popularity and diversity to attract audience and facilitate commerce. This dissertation poses three broad questions: what was the relationship between the changes in society and artistic directions? What role do Ren Bonian's figure paintings play in the social relations of power, including those of class and gender? How do these help us to understand the artistic trends in Shanghai at that time'.' With equal attention given to history and art history, this dissertation provides a solid biography of Ren Bonian and a survey of the world in which painters such as Ren Bonian and his contemporaries lived in the first two chapters. In the third chapter, we explore the sources of Ren Bonian's learning, the roots of and the inspirations for his artistic language. Taking three types of his figure painting as examples, in the following chapter, our concern includes the popular literature, patronage and sexuality that possibly inspired Ren Bonian's choice of subject matter and visual performance. In the fifth chapter, we discuss the influences of both traditional training and the foreign stimuli on Ren Bonian's portraiture. The sixth chapter focuses on the serious problem of forgeries in relation to the rapid growth of his fame brought by Shen Bao and other media through the reproductions of his painting. A seal index and a chronological list of Ren's figure paintings are provided as appendices

Genetic and Morphological Variation in Tropical and Temperate Plant Species

Plants provide the foundation for the structure and function, as well as interactions, among organisms in both tropical and temperate zone habitats. To date, many investigations have revealed patterns and mechanisms generating plant diversity at various scales and from diverse ecological perspectives. However, in the era of climate change, anthropogenic disturbance, and rapid urbanization, new insights are needed to understand how plant species in these forest habitats are changing and adapting. Investigations of plants in both little-disturbed, more natural environments, as well as in urban areas in which crucial green infrastructure is ever more important for sustaining complex human societies are needed. This Special Issue of Forests will focus on plant variation from the perspectives of morphology, genetics, and function, especially plant interactions with biotic and abiotic factors. Research articles may address any aspect of plant evolution and community phylogenetics (explorations of patterns and mechanisms from diverse organismal levels, e.g., molecular, population, species, community, landscape, and ecosystem), plant functional traits (e.g., nutrient traits of leaf, stem, root; reproductive traits of flower, fruit, seed), and/or responses of plant species to changing environments (e.g., water, atmosphere, soil, human activities). Studies providing quantitative evaluation or description of interactions of plants with animals and microbes, both in natural and urban environments, including terrestrial and aquatic systems, are also welcome