This paper poses a question:How many types of social relations can be categorized in the Chinese context?In social networks,the calculation of tie strength can better represent the degree of intimacy of the relationsh...This paper poses a question:How many types of social relations can be categorized in the Chinese context?In social networks,the calculation of tie strength can better represent the degree of intimacy of the relationship between nodes,rather than just indicating whether the link exists or not.Previou research suggests that Granovetter measures tie strength so as to distinguish strong ties from weak ties,and the Dunbar circle theory may offer a plausible approach to calculating 5 types of relations according to interaction frequency via unsupervised learning(e.g.,clustering interactive data between users in Facebook and Twitter).In this paper,we differentiate the layers of an ego-centered network by measuring the different dimensions of user's online interaction data based on the Dunbar circle theory.To label the types of Chinese guanxi,we conduct a survey to collect the ground truth from the real world and link this survey data to big data collected from a widely used social network platform in China.After repeating the Dunbar experiments,we modify our computing methods and indicators computed from big data in order to have a model best fit for the ground truth.At the same time,a comprehensive set of effective predictors are selected to have a dialogue with existing theories of tie strength.Eventually,by combining Guanxi theory with Dunbar circle studies,four types of guanxi are found to represent a four-layer model of a Chinese ego-centered network.展开更多
This paper explores how the concept of social capital developed by Bourdieu and Coleman as well as the Chinese concept of guanxi(关系)or relationships facilitates students’access to postgraduate education in a case s...This paper explores how the concept of social capital developed by Bourdieu and Coleman as well as the Chinese concept of guanxi(关系)or relationships facilitates students’access to postgraduate education in a case study of a university in southeast China.The study comprises an initial survey of 381 first-year postgraduate students and a series of interviews with 30 participants.Social capital and guanxi inform analysis of the data.The results reveal that students from different social backgrounds employ different forms of social capital and guanxi networks in their decision-making about postgraduate education.They contribute to conceptualizations of how social capital is generated through guanxi in the Chinese educational context.展开更多
In recent years,the Chinese leadership has openly argued that the inter- national community has to exceed the dominance of the Western-based rules in international relations,since in the last two centuries these rules...In recent years,the Chinese leadership has openly argued that the inter- national community has to exceed the dominance of the Western-based rules in international relations,since in the last two centuries these rules have become globally accepted,China's claim seems to be a hardly imaginable vision.However, according to some scholars'view,there is a possible historical alternative for the international order,the so-called Chinese Tributary System,which once bounded the East and Southeast Asian states together.The present study examines whether the mainstream schools of the International Relations Theory provide an appropriate tool to understand the characteristics of this system.The study argues that the culturally based "guanxi model"can supply a better explanatory framework to understand the inner logic and the working mechanism of the Tributary System.展开更多
基金project number:20182001706the support of Tsinghua-Gottingen Student Exchange Project IDS-SSP-2017001.
文摘This paper poses a question:How many types of social relations can be categorized in the Chinese context?In social networks,the calculation of tie strength can better represent the degree of intimacy of the relationship between nodes,rather than just indicating whether the link exists or not.Previou research suggests that Granovetter measures tie strength so as to distinguish strong ties from weak ties,and the Dunbar circle theory may offer a plausible approach to calculating 5 types of relations according to interaction frequency via unsupervised learning(e.g.,clustering interactive data between users in Facebook and Twitter).In this paper,we differentiate the layers of an ego-centered network by measuring the different dimensions of user's online interaction data based on the Dunbar circle theory.To label the types of Chinese guanxi,we conduct a survey to collect the ground truth from the real world and link this survey data to big data collected from a widely used social network platform in China.After repeating the Dunbar experiments,we modify our computing methods and indicators computed from big data in order to have a model best fit for the ground truth.At the same time,a comprehensive set of effective predictors are selected to have a dialogue with existing theories of tie strength.Eventually,by combining Guanxi theory with Dunbar circle studies,four types of guanxi are found to represent a four-layer model of a Chinese ego-centered network.
基金supported by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Grant(No.2019M652836)Social Sciences and Humanities Youth Foundation of Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China(No.20YJCZH091)Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation(No.2019A1515110873).
文摘This paper explores how the concept of social capital developed by Bourdieu and Coleman as well as the Chinese concept of guanxi(关系)or relationships facilitates students’access to postgraduate education in a case study of a university in southeast China.The study comprises an initial survey of 381 first-year postgraduate students and a series of interviews with 30 participants.Social capital and guanxi inform analysis of the data.The results reveal that students from different social backgrounds employ different forms of social capital and guanxi networks in their decision-making about postgraduate education.They contribute to conceptualizations of how social capital is generated through guanxi in the Chinese educational context.
文摘In recent years,the Chinese leadership has openly argued that the inter- national community has to exceed the dominance of the Western-based rules in international relations,since in the last two centuries these rules have become globally accepted,China's claim seems to be a hardly imaginable vision.However, according to some scholars'view,there is a possible historical alternative for the international order,the so-called Chinese Tributary System,which once bounded the East and Southeast Asian states together.The present study examines whether the mainstream schools of the International Relations Theory provide an appropriate tool to understand the characteristics of this system.The study argues that the culturally based "guanxi model"can supply a better explanatory framework to understand the inner logic and the working mechanism of the Tributary System.
基金We are grateful to Shuye Wang, Hai Guo, and seminar participants at Renmin University for helpful comments. Xinchun Li acknowledges the financial support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China （NSFC projects No. 71232009 and No. 71172167）. All errors are our own.
