Local Rural Residents Research Articles

IL4 rs34142320 polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to Helicobacter pylori infection in Chinese Han population in northwestern China

Previous studies revealed that both Helicobacter pylori infection and some cytokine gene polymorphisms are risk factors for gastric diseases. The association between H. pylori and gene polymorphisms is worth exploring. Here we conducted a case–control study and systematically evaluate on association between H. pylori infection and IL4, TNFA, and IL10 polymorphisms in a Chinese Han population in northwestern China, where gastric cancer is the major burden on the health and the leading cause of death in local community. The Sequenom MassArray platform was used to screen the genotypes and 14C-urea breath test was employed to determine H. pylori infection status of 705 participants of the local rural residents. Significant association between H. pylori infection and the IL4 rs34142320 polymorphism was observed in the dominant model (OR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.40–0.80, P = 0.030). No significant association was found between IL4 rs2243250, TNFA rs1800630, TNFA rs1800629, TNFA rs1799964, IL10 rs1800871, IL10 rs1800896 and H. pylori infection. Haplotype analysis showed that T-DEL and G-C haplotypes of the observed IL4 SNPs were significantly associated with H. pylori infection. Our analysis demonstrated that the IL4 rs34142320 polymorphism has a protective effect on H. pylori infection in Chinese Han population.

Project Research on Improving Citizens' Health Level in the Comprehensive Base of Rural Tourism

This research describes a project to improve the health of urban residents while simultaneously increasing the income of local rural residents. The project investment is shared by the government, village collectives (individual villagers) and investors. The project will be completed in stages, and follow-up investment will be made after the basic projects in the early stage are running smoothly to build long-term recuperation places and further transform tourist attractions. When evaluating project effects, take multiple perspectives to evaluate, and try to digitize the results.

The Relationship between Symbolic Agricultural Products and Agricultural Economic Development Based on Numerical Analysis

The development of geographically indicative (GI) agricultural products can effectively promote the development of local rural residents’ per capita net income (PCNI) and the gross output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery (GOV-AFAHF). This paper takes agricultural products with geographical indications in Anhui Province as the object of study and uses numerical analysis to analyze their application, geographical distribution, and various distribution in detail. By comparing it with the central region, this paper conducts an empirical study on its impact on agricultural economic development, analyzes its related variables and data, draws its effect on farmers’ PCNI, and on this basis puts forward some countermeasures. In order to make the agricultural products with GI in Anhui Province develop better, according to the results of comparative analysis and empirical analysis, it puts forward suggestions for regulating the development of management industry associations, implementing the regional branding strategy of GI agricultural products, and increasing the construction of rural infrastructure. In addition, the experiment shows that under the condition of controlling other influencing factors unchanged, for every 1% increase in GI agricultural products, the average increase of PCNI of rural residents is 0.08%, which further confirms the conclusion that GI agricultural products can promote the development of GOV-AFAHF.

Platform ruralism: Digital platforms and the techno-spatial fix

Digital platforms have grown to exert substantial influence on the society, with increasing attention from scholars across a variety of disciplines. Compared with “platform urbanism” or the “platformization” of cities, how digital platforms entangle rural local society has received less scrutiny. In this article, we focus on “platform ruralism” and place the unfolding of digital platforms in rural areas in the neoliberal globalization process. Building on a series of field studies on rural e-commerce since 2016, we analyze how digital platforms sprawl into the rural local as the “techno-spatial” fix, which involves the construction of local “techno-spatial infrastructures.” Techno-spatial infrastructures revolve around local platform complementors who assemble local networks based on social and economic relations, partly driven by the use of social networking sites and mobile phones. In the meanwhile, local platform complementors also complement conventionally algorithm-based platform mechanisms. We also examine the structural implications of the techno-spatial fix of digital platforms. We contend that it results in the techno-spatial reification of digital platform in the local space. With techno-spatial infrastructures, digital platforms secure new markets by userifying local rural residents into platform users and reorganizing local networks. The local areas witness the centralization of local social and economic networks. The formation of these networks is driven by digital platforms, and these centralized networks are affiliated with digital platforms. This article places digital platforms and communication practices at the center of interrogation in rural China studies. It provides a range of cases to reflect on digital platforms and platform capitalism from the intersection of technology and spatiality.

Identifying the Determinants of Nongrain Farming in China and Its Implications for Agricultural Development

Promoted by rapid industrialization and urbanization, the structure and spatial pattern of farming in China has changed greatly, and nongrain farming (NGF) has become more common. However, excessive NGF in some areas is not conducive to sustainable agricultural development and threatens China’s food security. In this study, we briefly analyze the stage characteristics of NGF in China and investigate the spatial agglomeration of NGF and its influencing factors from the perspective of spatial econometrics. The results showed that the average annual growth rate of NGF in China from 1985 to 2019 was 0.64%, and there was a growing positive spatial correlation between NGF in each province. Spatial Durbin model (SDM) estimation showed that both the per capita disposable income of local rural residents and the local urbanization rate promoted the development of NGF, while local per capita farmland, road density, and the functional orientation of the main grain-producing areas had a negative impact on NGF. The per capita disposable income of rural households and urbanization rate in neighboring areas had a promoting effect on the development of NGF, while road density in neighboring areas was negatively correlated with NGF. Ultimately, some targeted measures are proposed to promote China’s agricultural development in the new era.

Telemedicine Assessment for the Mental Health of Rural Residents Based on the Safety Degree of Housing in Seismically Active Regions.

Earthquakes inevitably affect the mental health of local residents. In seismically active regions of Southwest China, local rural residents' dilapidated housing with poor seismic performance aggravates the impacts of earthquakes on their mental health. These residents' mental health is difficult to recognize because of the lack of appropriate assessment methods. In addition, rural residents in the area have a low socioeconomic status and cannot access adequate mental treatment. Thus, telemedicine could be an effective approach to assist mental health practice in such areas. However, the lack of telemedicine assessment factors in these areas makes it difficult to complete the correct triage and prioritization of rural residents' mental health quickly and effectively. To provide a foundation for applying telemedicine to assess the risk of mental health problems that rural residents in seismically active regions experience, this paper studied whether the degree of safety of housing can affect mental health. In this study, nine villages near the epicenter of the 2019 6.0-magnitude earthquake in Changning County, China were randomly selected, and 162 valid questionnaires were completed. SPSS statistical software was used to analyze the collected data. First, the satisfaction of rural residents with the degree of safety of housing significantly affected the K6 score and whether they suffered from mental problems. Second, the mental health of rural residents living in reinforced concrete frame structure housing was obviously superior to that of those living in other types of housing. Next, the most significant factor affecting mental health was the degree of wall cracks. Finally, a new approach was developed to assess and prioritize the mental health of rural residents by using degrees of housing safety and smart technology in seismically active regions. The telemedicine assessment approach is expected to be used in the future for mental health evaluation and the large-scale data scoring of rural residents.

Neighbourhood satisfaction in rural resettlement residential communities: the case of Suqian, China

Against the background of large-scale urbanisation and rural land expropriation, rural resettlement residential housing has been built to accommodate local rural residents in the peripheral areas of China. To explore the context-specific policy implications for improving neighbourhood satisfaction (NS) of residents in rural resettlement residential communities (RRRCs), this paper examines the determinants of NS, and their spatial effects, in rural resettlement residential neighbourhoods using Suqian, in Jiangsu Province, as a case study. This study contributes to the current literature in two ways: it constitutes the first attempt to examine NS among RRRCs; second, our spatial model helps to gain further understanding of horizontal and vertical spatial dependence effects. Our results indicate that income, gender, age, family structure, number of years living in a community, transport and architectural age all have significant effects on NS in RRRCs.

Clustering, growth and inequality in China

Abstract This study examines the effects of China’s industrial clusters on regional economic growth and urban–rural income inequality within a region. A density-based index (DBI) is developed to capture the unique features of cluster development in China. From a county-level DBI panel data constructed based on firm- and county-level datasets, we find that clusters enhance local economic growth substantially. Moreover, the existence of entrepreneurial clusters (clusters mainly consist of nonstate-owned firms) helps to reduce local urban–rural income inequality by increasing the income of local rural residents. We also find that the clustering effects on growth and reduction of inequality are less significant in more urbanized regions or megacities. Identification issues are carefully addressed by deploying two-stage estimations with instrumental variables and Granger test.

Cancer diagnosis and care among rural-to-urban migrants in China

IntroductionCancer is a leading cause of death in China. Rural-to-urban migrants are a group of over 260 million people in China sometimes termed the ‘floating’ population. This study assessed the...

Current status and job satisfaction of village doctors in western China.

To strengthen rural health services, the Chinese government has launched a series of policies to promote health workforce development. This study aims to understand the current status of village doctors and to explore the factors associated with village doctors’ job satisfaction in western China. It also attempts to provide references for further building capacities of village doctors and promoting the development of rural health service policy.A multistage stratified sampling method was used to obtain data from a cross-sectional survey on village doctors across 2 provinces of western China during 2012 to 2013. Quantitative data were collected from village doctors face-to-face, through a self-administered questionnaire.Among the 370 respondents, 225 (60.8%) aged 25 to 44 years, and 268 (72.4%) were covered by health insurance. Their income and working time calculated by workloads were higher than their self-report results. Being healthy, working fewer years, and having government funding and facilities were the positive factors toward their job satisfaction. Village doctors working with government-funded village clinics or facilities were more likely to feel satisfied.Problems identified previously such as low income and lack of insurance, heavy workload and aging were not detected in our study. Instead, village doctors were better-paid and better-covered by social insurance than other local rural residents, with increased job satisfaction. Government policies should pay more attention to improving the quality of rural health services and the income and security system of village doctors, to maintain and increase their job satisfaction and work enthusiasm. Further experimental study could evaluate effects of government input to improve rural health human resources and system development.

Сельская местность на удаленных подступах к Москве

<span class="myBoldChars"> </span><span>В статье рассматривается влияние Московской агломерации на сельскую местность окружающих ее регионов Центрального федерального округа по разным параметрам, связанным с пространственными различиями в изменении численности населения, его занятости и мобильности, хозяйственной деятельности, землепользовании и вторичном (дачном) освоении территорий. Анализируются характер сельского расселения вокруг Московской агломерации и его изменение в связи с продолжающейся урбанизацией. Показана инвариантность пригородно-периферийной организации этой территории. Постсоветская трансформация сельского хозяйства в России привела не только к сжатию землепользования вокруг Московской агломерации, но и к «точечному» развитию на ней индустриального сельского хозяйства с малым числом занятых, нацеленного на снабжение Москвы и крупных городов. При этом мелкое частное хозяйство с истощением трудового потенциала, с одной стороны, и возможностями заработков вне сельского хозяйства, с другой, свертывается. Адаптацией местного населения к безработице в сельской местности стали трудовые возвратные миграции в Московскую агломерацию, которые пока удерживают население в деревнях. При этом летом окружающие Московскую область территории заполняют городские, в том числе московские, дачники, численность которых во многих районах превышает число сельских жителей. Сочетание точечной индустриальной сельской экономики с массовым развитием сезонной дачной рекреации на данном этапе является магистральным путем развития сельской местности на этой большой территории.</span>

Investigation of Collapsed Building Incidents on Soft Marine Deposit: Both from Social and Technical Perspectives

A collapsed incident occurred on 10 October 2016 in Wenzhou City, China, which resulted in 22 casualties and 6 injuries. Most of victims were migrant laborers (rural dwellers who move to urban for a temporary work), who rented apartments in these residential buildings, which were originally constructed by local rural residents. This case report investigates the collapsed incident as well as other similar previous incidents. From the perspectives of both social and technical aspects, this report analyzed the Chinese rural land use policy with relevant technical factors. These incidents reveal social problems of the existing dual structure land-use policy in China. Chinese dual structure land-use policy caused deficiencies in the supervision of the construction market in rural area so that the following technical factors were not well supervised by the various quality control departments: (1) poorly quality of residential buildings, (2) unauthorized rooftop additions, and (3) differential settlement caused by the uneven distribution of underlying Wenzhou clay under creep conditions. Mandatory regulation by the government for any construction in China, particularly for the construction of self-constructed house building sites in rural areas, was recommended to minimize the resettlement issue of migrant workers.

Amenity/Lifestyle Migration in the Chilean Andes: Understanding the Views of “The Other” and Its Effects on Integrated Community Development

Within the context of domestic amenity/lifestyle migration, we are interested in understanding the way local rural residents and migrants: (1) view each other; and (2) how those views affect an integrated community development. Using alterity theory as a guiding framework, we engaged in a qualitative study to examine such views and their effects along the lines of three axes: an epistemological (what people know about the other), an axiological (how people value the other), and a praxeological (how people interact with the other) one in the Chilean community of Malalcahuello. Findings suggests that, overall, both types of residents know little of the other, have and constantly reproduce negative value judgments of the other, and relate only in mundane non-significant ways. We provide explanations of how these relate to the reported diminished community development efforts in town.

Residents’ attitudes on the contribution of cultural tourism in Tanzania

ABSTRACTThis study aimed at evaluating residents’ attitudes towards the contribution of cultural tourism to the social welfare of the local rural residents participating in cultural tourism activities by factoring gender and level of education as possible differentiating factors in residents’ attitudes. Based on survey of local people in northern part of Tanzania, a questionnaire was administered that yielded data that were subjected to a series of t-tests. The results indicate residents to have both positive and negative attitudes towards the contribution of cultural tourism. Gender differences are noted to relate with cultural tourism participation and attitudes towards the contribution of cultural tourism. Females benefit more from cultural tourism than males in economic terms. Having education raises the chances of locals having a more positive attitude towards cultural tourism. From the results, implications to facilitators in cultural tourism to further aid tourism contribution to the locals are derived.

Sustainable Household Food Consumption Patterns in Zhangye City of Heihe River

The transformation on the demand for Food plays an important role in the adjustment about prices of agricultural products and agricultural structure. The study, by utilizing the extended linear expenditure system, analyses the food consumption structure of rural residents in the Ganzhou of Zhangye city, determines the basic food consumption demand, the marginal propensity of consumption, the income elasticities of demand, the own- price and cross-price elasticities of local rural residents, which illustrates the influencing factors about food consumption of rural residents and forecasts the food consumption structure. The results show that the rural residents' expenditure on household basic food consumption reaches about 7050.35 Yuan; the marginal propensities of consumption for fruit and vegetable are relatively high (respectively, 0.062 and 0.106), followed by meat (0.044); the demands for various food are increasing, as income increasing, the largest income elasticity of demand is corresponding to fruit (1.354), the lowest to cereal (0.310); the fruit and vegetables own the relatively high own- price elasticities (respectively -0.879 and -0.442), the cereal owns the lowest one (-0.184). The price increase of cereal will greatly affect demand for other products; the consumption for meat is decreasing whereas for cereal is increasing with the rising size of rural households; As the improvement of household education level, it will lead to increased consumption of fruits (E = 0.297); the amount of cereal expenditures is continually growing nevertheless the share is declining with the increase of household income in 2012-2020. Therefore, making sure the stability of cereal output the government should encourage the cultivation of Economic crops and guide the development of stockbreeding. In order to attain the balance between supply and demand, it is important to adjust rationally the prices of fruits and vegetables on the basis of the stable price with cereal.

International amenity migration: implications for integrated community development opportunities

Amenity migration studies have been predominantly conducted in the global North. Furthermore, few have addressed issues directly associated with community development in the global South. In this study, we intend to fill this gap by examining the ways international amenity migrants and local rural residents interact with each other and engage in community development efforts. Findings from research in Costa Rica suggest that the relationships between members of both groups are mainly superficial, with no signs of the establishment of strong bonds between groups. Additionally, findings indicate that limited integrated efforts between the two types of residents exist, and local community development is primarily led by rural local residents. Suggestions are offered as to why members of both groups fail to establish joint community development efforts, and recommendations for improvements are provided.

TERRITORIAL DISPARITIES OF THE POPULATION FROM BACĂU COUNTY

The last census of 20 October 2011, confirmed the decrease in the stable population in most localities, although this did not occur uniformly across the county. The analysis aims to highlight the stable population evolution in the last two censuses, which mainly led to decreases in existent disparities between localities, to a slight increase of the degree of uniformity in this regard. If in urban areas, all localities have recorded drops, in the rural areas there were 11 localities with population increases, especially large suburban cities. This led to a slight decrease in the degree of variation in the area, from a coefficient of 45,6% at the census of 2002 to 43,4% in 2011 and the reduction in the ratio of the largest and smallest area, from 7,84 times to 6,08 times. If in 2002 there were 21 local rural residents under 3000 inhabitants, in 2011 their number increased to 26, while more than 10 thousand people do not exist in any village in the county, compared to 2 as they were at the previous census. Territorial disparities are found also among the population by age, existing only 8 villages where the average age has decreased compared to 2002, these being mainly poor localities from Valea Siretului, where the birth rate is higher.

Aestheticisation, rent-seeking, and rural gentrification amidst China's rapid urbanisation: The case of Xiaozhou village, Guangzhou

Amidst China's immense and rapid urbanisation, gentrification has spread from urban centres to peri-urban and rural areas. Employing an analytical perspective built from the literatures on counter-urbanisation, rural immigration and rural gentrification, this study examines the two-stage gentrification processes in Xiaozhou village, Guangzhou, China. Situating rural gentrification in Xiaozhou against broader backdrops – such as urbanisation in Guangzhou and the preservation regulations imposed by the local state – this article unveils the ways in which interplays between the aestheticisation of rural living and indigenous villagers' rent-seeking behaviour fostered rural immigration and gentrification. In Xiaozhou, grassroots artists' aestheticisation and colonisation of the village ignited an initial stage of gentrification. The subsequent commodification of rural land and housing, induced by increasing concentration of art students and middle class “elite artists”, led to deepened gentrification, studentification and eventually displacement of pioneer gentrifiers. In this process, local villagers' rent-seeking behaviour went hand in hand with aestheticisation and commodification of rural space. This finding questions the representations of victimised local rural residents in much of Western literature on rural gentrification. The special role played by the government policy and institutional arrangement in the stories of Xiaozhou also has the potential to add a new dimension to rural gentrification explanations. In sum, this paper shows that explanations of the perplexing dynamics of rural immigration and gentrification can benefit from more flexible and fluid conceptualisations of “gentrifiers” and “gentrification” as a whole.

Secondary Forests on Anthropogenic Soils of the Middle Madeira River: Valuation, Local Knowledge, and Landscape Domestication in Brazilian Amazonia

Secondary Forests on Anthropogenic Soils of the Middle Madeira River: Valuation, Local Knowledge, and Landscape Domestication in Brazilian Amazonia. Anthropogenic forests and soils are widespread throughout Amazonia and are the product of the landscape domestication process carried out by Amazonian societies since pre-Colombian times. Areas of Terra Preta de Indio (TPI, Amazonian Dark Earths) are recognized by local rural residents and associated with specific forms of use and management of these soils and associated secondary forests. We used a quantitative approach to investigate how secondary forests on TPI are recognized and used by local residents along the middle Madeira River, Central Amazonia. Sixty-two residents were interviewed in three riverside communities and listed the ethnospecies and their uses in secondary forests on TPI and on non-anthropogenic soils (NAS). Local residents mentioned more ethnospecies on TPI (mean ± standard deviation: 19.5 ± 8.9) than on NAS (17.4 ± 8.5), and the use value of the environment to the informants (UVia) was higher on TPI (19 ± 5.7) than on NAS (16.2 ± 6.0). Eleven ethnospecies were classified as anthropogenic soil indicators, among which three intensively used palms are widely recognized as indicators of anthropogenic areas and two are domesticated to some degree. The intimate and lasting interactions between humans and TPI have favored the maintenance of secondary forests in these domesticated landscapes with a diverse assemblage of useful and domesticated species. Rural residents in Amazonia recognize these forests as an important source of food and other resources. The use, management, and traditional knowledge related to these domesticated landscapes may provide useful information for the understanding of Amazonian historical ecology and for the design of more efficient biodiversity management and conservation plans.

Variation of cataract surgery costs in four different graded providers of China

BackgroundChina has the largest population of cataract patients in the world. However, the cataract surgery rate per million remains low in China. We carried out a survey on costs of cataract surgery from four different graded providers in China and analyzed differences in cost among these clinics.Methods1,189 patients were recruited for the study in four eye clinics, located in two provinces, Guangdong province in southern China and Hubei province in central China. The average cost of each cataract surgery episode was calculated including cost of intraocular lens, cost of drugs and facility cost. We also collected information on reimbursement and disposable annual income of local residents.ResultsMean total cost per cataract intervention of four different providers varied considerably, ranging from US$ 1,293 in Union Hospital to US$ 536 in Jingshan County Hospital. In all providers, except for Jingshan County Hospital, the cost exceeded annual disposable income of local rural residents. As to the proportion of patients with reimbursement, the figure for Union Hospital was only 36%, while for other three clinics it was more than 60%. There was a significant difference between mean reimbursement ratios, with the highest ratio in Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center being 71%.ConclusionsSignificant differences in costs of cataract surgery were found among the 4 different graded providers. A part of the cost was borne by patients. Proportion of patients with reimbursement and mean reimbursement ratios were higher in economically developed regions than in economically developing regions. Much more financial support should be directed into the rural New Cooperative Medical Scheme to raise the reimbursement ratio in rural China.