Mapping and measuring urban-rural inequalities in accessibility to social infrastructures

Equal access to social infrastructures is a fundamental prerequisite for sustainable development,but has long been a great challenge worldwide.Previous studies have primarily focused on the accessibility to social infras-tructures in urban areas across various scales,with less attention to rural areas,where inequality can be more severe.Particularly,few have investigated the disparities of accessibility to social infrastructures between urban and rural areas.Here,using the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan urban agglomeration,China,as an example,we investigated the inequality of accessibility in both urban and rural areas,and further compared the urban-rural difference.Accessibility was measured by travel time of residents to infrastructures.We selected four types of social infrastructures including supermarkets,bus stops,primary schools,and health care,which were funda-mentally important to both urban and rural residents.We found large disparities in accessibility between urban and rural areas,ranging from 20 min to 2 h.Rural residents had to spend one to two more hours to bus stops than urban residents,and 20 min more to the other three types of infrastructures.Furthermore,accessibility to multiple infrastructures showed greater urban-rural differences.Rural residents in more than half of the towns had no access to any infrastructure within 15 min,while more than 60%of the urban residents could access to all infrastructures within 15 min.Our results revealed quantitative accessibility gap between urban and rural areas and underscored the necessity of social infrastructures planning to address such disparities.

Spatial Distribution Pattern and Influencing Factors of Bed-and-breakfasts(B&Bs)from the Perspective of Urban-rural Differences:A Case Study of Jiaodong Peninsula,China

There are significant differences between urban and rural bed-and-breakfasts(B&Bs)in terms of customer positioning,economic strength and spatial carrier.Accurately identifying the differences in spatial characteristics and influencing factors of each type,is essential for creating urban and rural B&B agglomeration areas.This study used density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise(DBSCAN)and the multi-scale geographically weighted regression(MGWR)model to explore similarities and differences in the spatial distribution patterns and influencing factors for urban and rural B&Bs on the Jiaodong Peninsula of China from 2010 to 2022.The results showed that:1)both urban and rural B&Bs in Jiaodong Peninsula went through three stages:a slow start from 2010 to 2015,rapid development from 2015 to 2019,and hindered development from 2019 to 2022.However,urban B&Bs demonstrated a higher development speed and agglomeration intensity,leading to an increasingly evident trend of uneven development between the two sectors.2)The clustering scale of both urban and rural B&Bs continued to expand in terms of quantity and volume.Urban B&B clusters characterized by a limited number,but a higher likelihood of transitioning from low-level to high-level clusters.While the number of rural B&B clusters steadily increased over time,their clustering scale was comparatively lower than that of urban B&Bs,and they lacked the presence of high-level clustering.3)In terms of development direction,urban B&B clusters exhibited a relatively stable pattern and evolved into high-level clustering centers within the main urban areas.Conversely,rural B&Bs exhibited a more pronounced spatial diffusion effect,with clusters showing a trend of multi-center development along the coastline.4)Transport emerged as a common influencing factor for both urban and rural B&Bs,with the density of road network having the strongest explanatory power for their spatial distribution.In terms of differences,population agglomeration had a positive impact on the distribution of urban B&Bs and a negative effect on the distribution of rural B&Bs.Rural B&Bs clustering was more influenced by tourism resources compared with urban B&Bs,but increasing tourist stay duration remains an urgent issue to be addressed.The findings of this study could provide a more precise basis for government planning and management of urban and rural B&B agglomeration areas.

Modelling Foot and Mouth Disease in the Context of Active Immigrants

This study employs mathematical modeling to analyze the impact of active immigrants on Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) transmission dynamics. We calculate the reproduction number (R0) using the next-generation matrix approach. Applying the Routh-Hurwitz Criterion, we establish that the Disease-Free Equilibrium (DFE) point achieves local asymptotic stability when R0 α1 and α2) are closely associated with reduced susceptibility in animal populations, underscoring the link between immigrants and susceptibility. Furthermore, our findings emphasize the interplay of disease introduction with population response and adaptation, particularly involving incoming infectious immigrants. Swift interventions are vital due to the limited potential for disease establishment and rapid susceptibility decline. This study offers crucial insights into the complexities of FMD transmission with active immigrants, informing effective disease management strategies.

Spatiotemporal Evolution and Influencing Factors of Urban-rural Construction Land in Rural Industrialized Areas in China:Case Studies in Changyuan City and Xinxiang County of Henan Province

Since China’s reform and opening up in 1978,the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization in China had led to dramatic changes in the pattern of urban-rural land use.In this paper,we focused on the rural industrialized areas in central China(Xinxiang County and Changyuan City of Henan Province).We used the average nearest neighbor index,spatial statistical analysis,and a structural equation model to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution and influencing factors of urban-rural construction land based on multisource spatial data and survey data.The results showed that:1)from 1975 to 2019,the spatial distribution of urban-rural construction land in rural industrialized areas had evolved from homogeneous distribution to local agglomeration.In terms of comparative analysis of cases,the spatial distribution of urban-rural construction land in Changyuan City had shown a trend from diffusion to agglomeration,and Xinxiang County had overall shown a spatial change from homogenization to agglomeration and then to regional integration development.2)The hot spots with increased urban-rural construction land significantly expanded,and they had a high degree of spatial overlap with industrial development.Among them,Xinxiang County was concentrated in central and marginal areas,and Changyuan was mainly concentrated in central urban areas.3)From the evolution of spatial proximity of urban-rural construction land,rural industrialized areas generally decline,showing the characteristics of internal differentiation in the rate of change.4)Industrial development,social economy,the policy environment,and urban development played a positive role in promoting the expansion of urban-rural construction land in rural industrialized areas.To promote the optimal use of regional land and the integrated development of urban-rural areas,we should combine the advantages of regional endowment,formulate development strategies according to local conditions,and adjust the way that land is used in a timely manner.

A new approach towards the sustainability of urban-rural integration:The development strategy for central villages in the Abbasiya District of Iraq using GIS techniques

The development of rural areas usually has a positive impact on the urban-rural integration. This study explores an innovative approach to stimulate rural development by proposing qualified villages as central villages that can provide basic urban services for their residents and residents of neighboring villages. This approach can contribute to overcoming the various problems that rural areas faced at the social, economic, and environmental levels. It seeks to achieve spatial sustainability of rural areas, representing a new approach by integrating urban development methods to revitalize rural villages. The study analyzed 15 villages belonging to Abbasiya District of AL Kufa City in the Najaf Governorate of Iraq. Based on the GIS techniques and the analysis of urban service indicators(village population, percentage of urban building materials used in villages, distance between village and health centers, distance between village and main roads, nature of economic activity, distance between village and educational institutions, distance between village and drinking water sources, number of communication towers, and distance between village and urban administrative center), this study proposed that Abu Gharb and Albu Ghraib can served as central villages in Abbasiya District in the future. This study establishes a new rural spatial structure to achieve rural sustainable development, improves the development status of rural areas, and provides a theoretical basis for the government and relevant institutions to use urban service indicators, achieving rural sustainable development and formulating relevant development policies in Abbasiya District.

Thinking about Value Realization of Ecological Products under the Background of Urban-rural Integration in Chengdu“Western Control”Area

Chengdu's development strategy of“western control”has laid a solid ecological background for 8 western districts,cities and counties and cultivated good ecological resources.The integrated urban-rural development in the new era will realize the balanced development of urban and rural areas and give full play to the value of rural ecological resources through the“powerful combination”of urban and rural areas.To realize the urban-rural integration and high-quality rural development in Chengdu“western control”area,it is necessary to enhance the awareness of ecological resources and ecological products,and carry out unified planning of ecological infrastructure,ecological material products and ecological service products in the whole“western control”area.Meantime,ecological restoration must be carried out scientifically,and scene design for value transformation of ecological products should be implemented innovatively.

Inflammatory bowel disease among first generation immigrants in Israel:A nationwide epi-Israeli Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research Nucleus study

BACKGROUND Israel has a high rate of Jewish immigration and a high prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease(IBD).AIM To compare IBD prevalence in first-generation immigrants vs Israel-born Jews.METHODS Patients with a diagnosis of IBD as of June 2020 were included from the validated epi-IIRN(Israeli IBD Research Nucleus)cohort that includes 98%of the Israeli population.We stratified the immigration cohort by IBD risk according to country of origin,time period of immigration,and age group as of June 2020.RESULTS A total of 33544 patients were ascertained,of whom 18524(55%)had Crohn’s disease(CD)and 15020(45%)had ulcerative colitis(UC);28394(85%)were Israel-born and 5150(15%)were immigrants.UC was more prevalent in immigrants(2717;53%)than in non-immigrants(12303,43%,P<0.001),especially in the<1990 immigration period.After adjusting for age,longer duration in Israel was associated with a higher point prevalence rate in June 2020(high-risk origin:Immigration<1990:645.9/100000,≥1990:613.2/100000,P=0.043;intermediate/low-risk origin:<1990:540.5/100000,≥1990:192.0/100000,P<0.001).The prevalence was higher in patients immigrating from countries with high risk for IBD(561.4/100000)than those originating from intermediate-/low-risk countries(514.3/100000;P<0.001);non-immigrant prevalence was 528.9/100000.CONCLUSION Lending support to the environmental effect on IBD etiology,we found that among immigrants to Israel,the prevalence of IBD increased with longer time since immigration,and was related to the risk of IBD in the country of origin.The UC rate was higher than that of CD only in those immigrating in earlier time periods.

Spatial pattern of urban-rural integration in China and the impact of geography

Urban-rural integration (URI) is a global challenge that is highly related to inequalities, poverty, economic growth, and other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Existing research has evaluated the extent of URI and explored its influencing factors, but urban-rural linkages are seldom incorporated in evaluation systems, and geographical factors are rarely recognized as the influencing factors. We construct a URI framework including regional economy, rural development, urban-rural linkage, and urban-rural gap. Based on a dataset consisting of 1,669 counties in China in 2020, we reveal the spatial pattern of URI and find a high correlation between the spatial pattern of URI and the relief degree of land surface (RDLS). Using structural equation modeling, we discover that topography has direct ( − 0.18, p < 0.001) and indirect ( − 0.17, p < 0.001) effects on URI. The indirect negative effects are mediated through the infrastructure, and the combination of localized advantages and modern technical conditions could mitigate the negative impact of topography. Finally, we identify 742 counties as lagging regions in URI, which can be clustered into eight types. Our findings could facilitate policy designing for those countries striving for integrated and sustainable development of urban and rural areas.

Acculturation Gap Between Two Generation Immigrants:An Analysis of Fresh Off the Boat

Globalization facilitates the transnational and trans-regional flow of population.As new comers,immigrants need to adapt to new culture and conventions.The way of acculturation varies from individuals even within an immigrant family,with a problematic asymmetry that children acculturate faster than their last generations,as the acculturation gap-distress model demonstrates.However,empirical studies indicate that acculturation gap does not always associate with family and youth maladjustment,and parent’s attitude towards the host and origin culture rarely influences children.This paper analyses Fresh Off the Boat,a teleplay adapted from a Chinese American writer Eddie Huang’s memoir,to revile how different generation immigrants adapt to their new life.This paper finds that parents’orientations to Chinese and American culture affect their children,which is different from the previous study.Findings suggest that maintaining heritage culture is important for young immigrants’adjustment,while accepting host culture is crucial for their parents.Therefore,adopting a strategy of integration may be the ideal way of acculturation.

Research on Intergenerational Writing in Contemporary German Immigrant Literature

With the deepening of globalization,immigration and pluralism have become increasingly common social phenomena.The research of the resulting immigrant literature is an important way to understand the mental journey of immigrant groups and their construction of cultural identity.In the German-speaking area,immigrant literature has gradually taken center stage over the years,becoming an important part of the German language literature,and immigrant writers have also frequently won various literary prizes,which can be described as particularly dazzling.Meanwhile,generations of writers have been thinking about and exploring the intergenerational relationships and differences among immigrant groups in the context of their own experiences.This paper will focus on some outstanding immigrant writers and discuss the intergenerational writing in immigrant literature by means of their works.

Ableism and (Neo)Racism in School Placement Processes in Quebec: School Personnel Interpretations of Immigrant Student Difficulties - A Secondary Publication

The school placement processes of students from immigrant backgrounds considered to be in“difficulty”is an international concern at the intersection of works relating to special education and those concerning the school experiences of students from immigrant backgrounds or racialized groups.The research problem of this article concerns the identification of these students as disabled or as having adjustment or learning difficulties.From a perspective anchored in Disability Critical Race Studies,this ethnographic study documents different interpretations of perceived difficulties made by school actors with regard to seven primary school students from immigrant backgrounds.Five interpretation types are presented:(1)medicalization by dismissal of cultural markers,(2)medicalization by professional constraint,(3)medicalization by cultural deficit,(4)precautionary wait,and(5)cultural differentialism.Our results help to shed light on the special education overrepresentation phenomenon regarding these students and to understand how ableism and(neo)racism contribute to it.

Relations Between School and Immigrant Families in Albertan Francophone School: Perspectives of Settlement Workers in Schools - A Secondary Publication

In recent years,Francophone schools in Alberta,a province in western Canada,have seen significant ethnocultural diversification of their school population,thus reflecting recent migratory changes in Canada.The population of a Francophone school board located in an agglomeration of Alberta reflects these new migratory trends.A partial ethnodemographic portrait carried out in 2003 in six of its schools indicates that 50%of the pupils come from an immigrant background and come from 23 different countries;mostly from sub-Saharan African countries.This demographic reality,confirmed more than a decade later,represents a major structural change for Francophone schools.In Alberta,as in other Canadian provinces,inclusion is at the heart of discourse and educational practices.With a transformative aim,it intends to promote ethnocultural diversity in the classroom and equal opportunities through school equity practices.This article focuses on the settlement workers in schools responsible for bridging family,community,and school cultures.The analysis of the interviews of the four workers sheds light on and questions both the institutional practices and the personal strategies put in place to face the challenges encountered in this tripartite collaboration.

A Hybrid Immigrants Scheme for Genetic Algorithms in Dynamic Environments

Dynamic optimization problems are a kind of optimization problems that involve changes over time. They pose a serious challenge to traditional optimization methods as well as conventional genetic algorithms since the goal is no longer to search for the optimal solution（s） of a fixed problem but to track the moving optimum over time. Dynamic optimization problems have attracted a growing interest from the genetic algorithm community in recent years. Several approaches have been developed to enhance the performance of genetic algorithms in dynamic environments. One approach is to maintain the diversity of the population via random immigrants. This paper proposes a hybrid immigrants scheme that combines the concepts of elitism, dualism and random immigrants for genetic algorithms to address dynamic optimization problems. In this hybrid scheme, the best individual, i.e., the elite, from the previous generation and its dual individual are retrieved as the bases to create immigrants via traditional mutation scheme. These elitism-based and dualism-based immigrants together with some random immigrants are substituted into the current population, replacing the worst individuals in the population. These three kinds of immigrants aim to address environmental changes of slight, medium and significant degrees respectively and hence efficiently adapt genetic algorithms to dynamic environments that are subject to different severities of changes. Based on a series of systematically constructed dynamic test problems, experiments are carried out to investigate the performance of genetic algorithms with the hybrid immigrants scheme and traditional random immigrants scheme. Experimental results validate the efficiency of the proposed hybrid immigrants scheme for improving the performance of genetic algorithms in dynamic environments.

AN OVERVIEW ON THE URBAN-RURAL INTERACTION IN THE PAST 50 YEARS IN CHINA

China is a country with a long history of agricultural development,the tr adition of bureaucratic administra-tion and economic management system s for the social development.In its t ransition from traditional society to modern soci-ety during the past 50years,the rela tions between rural areas and urban a reas have been kept abnormal if considered from the point of view of the modernized co untries.Today,China still has its more than 70percent of population,bu t limited capital,lower technology and underdeveloped culture,in the rural areas.This unbalance forms not only the o bstacles to China’s modernization of social development,but also the barriers to th e society,economy and environment sustainable devel-opment.This paper focuses on the dis cussion about the coordinate develo pment of the relations between rural and urban in the past 50years,and the authors hold that only has the abnormal relation between the two areas been corrected,could China’s future development of natio nal economy be successful.

Effects of land use change on the spatiotemporal variability of soil organic carbon in an urban-rural ecotone of Beijing,China

Understanding the effects of land use changes on the spatiotemporal variation of soil organic carbon （SOC） can provide guidance for low carbon and sustainable agriculture. In this paper, based on the large-scale datasets of soil surveys in 1982 and 2009 for Pinggu District -- an urban-rural ecotone of Beijing, China, the effects of land use and land use changes on both temporal variation and spatial variation of SOC were analyzed. Results showed that from 1982 to 2009 in Pinggu District, the following land use change mainly occurred： Grain cropland converted to orchard or vegetable land, and grassland converted to forestland. The SOC content decreased in region where the land use type changed to grain cropland （e.g., vegetable land to grain cropland decreased by 0.7 g kg-1; orchard to grain cropland decreased by 0.2 g kg-l）. In contrast, the SOC content increased in region where the land use type changed to either orchard （excluding forestland） or forestland （e.g., grain cropland to orchard and forestland increased by 2.7 and 2.4 g kg-1, respectively; grassland to orchard and forestland increased by 4.8 and 4.9 g kg-1, respectively）. The organic carbon accumulation capacity per unit mass of the soil increased in the following order： grain cropland soil〈vegetable land/grassland soil〈orchard soil〈forestland soil. Therefore, to both secure supply of agricultural products and develop low carbon agriculture in a modern city, orchard has proven to be a good choice for land using.

Development Path of Urban-rural Integration

The urban and rural areas are regarded as two major components of the regional economic system. Only through joint balanced development of the two can we achieve overall economic optimization and social welfare maximization. But the great social division of labor has separated urban areas from rural areas,which casts the shadow of city-oriented theory on cooperative relations between urban and rural areas. Mutual separation between urban and rural settlements and independent development trigger off a range of social problems. We must undertake guidance through rational development path of urban-rural integration,to eliminate the phenomenon of urban-rural dual structure,and promote the sustainable development of population,resources and environment in urban and rural areas as soon as possible.

Restrictions and Countermeasures of Rural Vocational Education in Urban-rural Integration

Developing rural vocational education is of great significance to urban-rural integration: developing rural vocational education is helpful to cultivating new farmers for construction of new socialist countryside,favorable to improving farmers' ability of finding jobs and starting undertaking, and beneficial to transfer of rural surplus labor and acceleration of urbanization. Restrictions on development rural vocational education mainly include: low value cognition of society and social assessment of rural vocational education; out of balance of cost and expected return of rural vocational education; the quality of supply of rural vocational education failure to satisfy demand of socio-economic development; imperfect rural vocational education system. In view of these,following countermeasures and suggestions are put forward: strengthen propaganda and guidance to build environment of public opinion for rural vocational education; push forward rural vocational compulsory education system to lay social foundation for rural vocational education; reinforce policy support to assist in building rural vocational education system; improve education system to build overall framework of rural vocational education; perfect laws and regulations to establish system and norm for development of rural vocational education.

Chinese Rural labors Transfer under the Coordination of Urban-Rural Development

The strategic significance of Chinese rural labor transfer is expounded.It is conducive to solving the three agricultural problems concerning agriculture,rural areas,and farmers and coordinating the urban and rural development;promoting the rational distribution of human resources and realizing the growth of national economy;restructuring industrial structure and improving Chinese market competitiveness.The problems in the transfer of Chinese rural labors are analyzed,which include the low overall cultural level of rural labors;imperfect organization developmental;weak management mechanism and imperfect supporting measures.The rational paths for Chinese rural labor transfer are pointed out,including break the urban and rural dual structure and realize the free move of rural labors;strengthen the organization construction to provide high-quality socialized service for rural labor transfer;perfect security system to foster favorable social environment for rural labor transfer;establish scientific management mechanism to realize the sustainable rural labor transfer.

Comparative Research on Prediction Model of China's Urban-rural Residents' Income Gap

By using the data concerning China's urban-rural residents' income gap from 1978 to 2010,this paper mainly researches the application of several kinds of models in predicting China's urban-rural residents' income gap.By conducting empirical analysis,we establish ARIMA prediction model,grey prediction model and quadratic-polynomial prediction model and conduct accuracy comparison.The results show that quadratic-polynomial prediction model has excellent fitting effect.By using quadratic-polynomial prediction model,this paper conducts prediction on trend of China's urban-rural residents' income gap from 2011 to 2013,and the prediction value of income gap of urban-rural residents in China from 2011 to 2013 is 14 173.20,15 212.92 and 16 289.67 yuan respectively.Finally,on the basis of analysis,corresponding countermeasures are put forward,in order to provide scientific basis for energy planning and policy formulation:first,strengthen government's function of public service,coordinate resources,and strive to provide an equal opportunity of development for social members,so as to promote people's welfare and promote social equality;second,breach industrial monopoly and bridge income gap between employees in monopoly industry and general industry;last but not the least,support,encourage and call for government to establish social relief fund,adjust residents' income distribution from the non-governmental perspective,and endeavor to promote the income level of low-income class.

The Chinese Urban-rural Dual Economic Structure Model and Analysis

Based on the characteristics of urban-rural dual economic structure in China,we build a dynamic endogenous urban-rural dual economic model closely linked to China's reality,and carry out mathematical economics analysis of optimized conditions for urban and rural sectors. The main results show that:(i) The labor growth rate of urban-rural sectors must be greater than the time discount rate,or else there would be a vicious cycle of diminishing returns in the sectors;(ii) The accumulation rate of physical capital and human capital of urban-rural sectors,and the rate of technological progress,need to be greater than the corresponding depreciation rate plus the time discount rate,otherwise there would be a vicious cycle of diminishing returns in the sectors;(iii) The low accumulation rate in the rural sector,and the occurrence of labor outflow,human capital loss and lack of investment,will expand income gap between urban and rural areas,which is a reason for solidification of urban-rural dual economic structure.