An Analysis of the Role of Higher Education Opportunity Expansion in Social Stratification

With higher education entering the public’s vision,the expansion of higher education opportunities has gradually become a hot topic.The lower class is eager to achieve class mobility through this opportunity,while the upper class firmly grasps the few high-quality places in higher education.What role will the expansion of higher education opportunities plays in the overall social stratification?This paper discusses the impact of the expansion of higher education opportunities on social stratification from the upper class and the lower class.

Does hukou still matter？ The household registration system and its impact on social stratification and mobility in China

The household registration system has been a basic institutional arrangement in Chinese society. Under this system, registered residence （hukou） plays an important role in resource allocation and interest distribution, and thus exerts a significant impact on social stratification and mobility. After nearly three decades of reform and opening up, does it still play a role, and, if so, what is this role？ Drawing on data from the China General Social Survey, we find that China＇s social stratification is characterized by the simultaneous existence of differentiation between urban and rural hukou and hierarchy within urban hukou; furthermore, there is a positive correlation between one＇s opportunities for social mobility and the possibility of changing and transferring one＇s hukou. Despite the increasing social mobility ensuing from market-oriented transformation, the hukou hierarchy and its structural influence on mobility within the institutional framework persist. The strongly conglutinative nature of the household registration system has given rise to social disparities. The basic direction for reform of the system should be unification ofhukou and free choice of movement from one place to another.

Research on the social stratificationof rural-to-urban migrants in China and paths to the granting of urban residency

Today,China has roughly 260 million rural-to-urban migrants,and most are young working-age people.The improving socioeconomic status of these migrants and structural optimization of their living conditions in urban inflow areas contribute significantly to China's economic development Using data from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey in 2018,this paper conducts an exploratory factor analysis and establishes a three-dimensional stratification framework and a standardized socioeconomic index for rural-to-urban migrants.Graphically,the social stratification of migrants shows an"onion-shaped"structure with a low gravity center and two ends that taper off.Class differentiation among rural-to-urban migrants is apparent.A blue-collar group,positioned in the lower middle part of the stratification scheme,account for 70%of the population.This paper presents a horizontal comparison of the socioeconomic situations of rural-to-urban with urban-to-urban migrants and finds the latter have a more advanced social structure.Education may be the most fundamental reason for stratification differences.The social structure of rural-tourban migrants improved significantly during the years 2012 to 2018.However,the primary gains accrued to elite and professional groups while the proportion to the total size of the migrant population of the disadvantaged group at the bottom of the social structure remained nearly the same.This change in social structure suggests that some blue-collar migrants,especially skilled workers,moved upward into the professional group;however,migrants at the bottom of the structure without adequate education and lacking vocational skills hardly moved upward.Thus,this paper proposes investing more in rural education to help effectively implement policies to address this problem.

The Socio-Economic and Political Structure of the Peasantry in the Tanzimat Reform Era

Modernization occurs through societies adopting and sustaining reforms that have socio-economic and political implications for individuals of that society. It is impossible for reforms that are ineffective on economic and political lives of large social classes, and that even have negative effects on such lives to achieve a social basis. During the Tanzimat era, although the Ottoman society lacked land ownership, small farmers and agricultural labourers who earned their living from the land served the elite class. In other words, the peasantry was the backbone of the Ottoman society. In this paper, the changes of the socio-economic and political structure of the peasantry were investigated during the modernization of the Tanzimat era during 1839-1876. The research was based on descriptive methods consisting of literature and archive reviews. As a result, although the Tanzimat era has modern civilization characteristics, there were no positive effects on social-economic and political conditions of the peasantry and moreover, the conditions for the peasantry greatly worsened.

Understanding gender and its intersection with social stratifiers on prevention and care seeking behavior of lymphatic filariasis in Nepal

BackgroundLymphatic filariasis (LF) is a debilitating and painful neglected tropical disease and is one of the leading causes of permanent disability. In many countries, the intersection of gender with various social stratifiers has influenced exposure to LF and ultimately impacting the disease burden and its elimination. This study aimed to explore the influence of gender and its intersection with other social stratifiers for the prevention and care seeking behavior of LF in Nepal.MethodsThis study employed qualitative research methods: in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) for data collection in Bardiya, Nepal. A total of 22 IDIs (11 male, 11 female) and 2 FGDs (1 male and 1 female) were conducted with the community people between January and March 2020. The participants were purposively selected to represent different social stratifiers including age, sex, ethnicity, occupation. The data collected were analyzed using a thematic framework approach with use of intersectional gender analysis matrix.ResultsThe study findings revealed that men spend more time outside their household compared to women while fulfilling their roles and responsibilities, largely determined by societal expectations and gender norms. This resulted in limited access to preventive health services for men, as they often missed annual mass drug administration programme in their community and limited access to preventive methods. Further traditional occupation, specific to particular ethnicity, influenced the vulnerability to LF for certain ethnic groups. The ability to prevent exposure varied among individuals. Although women made decisions regarding the use of protective methods, it was influenced by patriarchal and gender norms. They often felt a responsibility to take care and priorities males and other family members when resources are limited. The intersectionality of gender with other social stratifiers such as marital status, ethnicity, and geographical areas influenced individual’s ability to access information related to LF and care seeking.ConclusionsOverall, the findings emphasized how access to resources, division of work, norms and values and decision-making power alone and its interaction with various social stratifiers shaped peoples’ vulnerability to disease, ability to prevent exposure and response to illness.

Subjective Social Status,Income Inequality and Subjective Perceptions of Mobility(2003-2013)

Using a sample of over 90,000 urban and rura1 residents from the Chinese Social Survey(CSS)and China Genera1 Social Survey(CGSS)from 2003 to 2013,we analyzed the structural features and influencing factors underlying subjective social status in China.Our findings indicate that over these years,such identification has consistently assumed the shape of a bowling pin:those who“identify with a low social status”account for more than half of respondents,a much higher proportion than in most countries.At the individual level,the net effect on subjective social status of such objective indicators as education,income and occupation has been relatively small,and lessened over the ten years.The correlation between subjective perceptions of mobility and subjective social status is quite strong,but the upward impetus provided by perceptions of upward mobility weakened over the period.At the macro-level,the tempo of economic growth failed to raise the level of class identification,and income inequality had a markedly negative effect.Our research findings further demonstrate that curbing the income gap and increasing opportunities for mobility are important for raising the level of class identification during the transition period.