Xiaoyi Jin

Children, Marriage Form, and Family Support for the Elderly in Contemporary Rural China The Case of Songzi

Using data from a survey in Songzi County of Hubei Province, this article analyzes the relationship between children’s gender and marriage form and their provision of old-age support to their noncoresiding parents in rural China. The results show that children’s gender and marriage form have significant influence on their likelihood of giving financial and housework support to their parents, but no significant influence on the amount of financial support or their likelihood of supporting their parents with agricultural labor in peak agricultural seasons. Thus, the authors find that in Songzi, where both virilocal and uxorilocal marriages have been historically accepted and commonly practiced, sons and daughters play basically the same role in providing old-age support for their noncoresiding parents, as do virilocal and uxorilocal couples. The article discusses how these findings relate to current and future problems of old-age security and son preference in rural China.

The Role of Social Networks in the Integration of Chinese Rural–Urban Migrants: A Migrant–Resident Tie Perspective

Using data from a survey of rural–urban migrants in a city in China, this paper investigates the relationships between migrant–resident ties and migrant integration. Migrant integration is assessed with respect to three dimensions: acculturation, socioeconomic integration and psychological integration. Migrant networks are divided into three categories: kin resident ties, non-kin resident ties and non-resident ties. The relation between resources embedded in migrant networks and socioeconomic integration is also examined by translating position-generator data into network resource indices. The results reveal that non-resident ties still make up the majority of migrant networks and migrant–resident ties are significantly associated with migrant integration. The roles of non-kin resident ties in migrant integration are more consequential. They have positive effects on all three dimensions. Considering the different effects of migrant networks on different dimensions of integration, many migrants risk being trapped in permanent poverty and falling into the underclass in city societies.

Marriage Form and Son Preference in Rural China: An Investigation in Three Counties*

Using data from two surveys in three counties among which the prevalence of uxorilocal marriage varies greatly, this paper analyzes effects of marriage form, as well as individual, family, and social factors on son preference in the context of strict birth control in rural China. It is shown that, under the Chinese patrilineal joint family system, son preference can be inferred from the reproductive behavior of couples in virilocal marriage but not from that of couples in uxorilocal marriage. However, the negative effect of uxorilocal marriage on son preference is likely to depend on other factors. For all three counties, women married after the 1990s are less likely to have preference for sons; in regions with low prevalence of uxorilocal marriages, son preference is stronger for virilocally married couples with more sisters or having first birth at older age, and for couples whose marriages were arranged by others; in regions with high prevalence of uxorilocal marriages but under-developed economies, higher educated women in uxorilocal marriages have stronger son preference. Son preference differs greatly among the three counties and increased prevalence of uxorilocal marriage may significantly weaken son preference. These findings relate to changes in rural family and marriage customs during the current demographic and social transition, and suggest new approaches to weakening son preference while maintaining low fertility in rural China.

Marriage form and family division in three villages in rural China

This paper presents a study of the influence of childrens marriage form and other characteristics on whether married couples in three villages in rural China establish a family separate from the joint family of their natal kin. The results reveal that, for children with a brother, sons in virilocal marriages are more likely than daughters in uxorilocal marriages to establish a family separate from that of their parents and do so earlier than these daughters. However, among children without a brother, sons and daughters do not differ significantly in whether or when they divide off from their extended family and set up a new family. The majority of family division occurs in the first 5 years after marriage for sons and daughters. Number of siblings and other characteristics also affect the likelihood of family division. We discuss demographic, socio-economic, and cultural causes underlying this phenomenon as well as its social implications.

Male Marriage Squeeze and Inter-provincial Marriage in Central China: evidence from Anhui

Since the 1990s, inter-provincial female migration for marriage has become important in central and eastern rural China. Using survey data from X County in rural Anhui Province, we explore the arrangement of inter-provincial marriages, as well as the characteristics of husbands and wives, marital satisfaction and marital stability for these marriages. We find that inter-provincial marriage is an important option for local men to respond to the marriage squeeze and the increasing expense of marriage. It helps to relieve the shortage of marriageable women in the local marriage market. Because this kind of marriage is based on economic exchange, but not affection, it is often subject to a higher risk of marriage instability, and can lead to such illegal behaviors as marriage fraud and mercenary marriage.

Marriage form and age at first marriage: A comparative study in three counties in contemporary rural China

Abstract Using data from two surveys in three counties in which the prevalence of uxorilocal marriage differs greatly, this article analyzes the effects of marriage form, individual, family, and social factors on age at first marriage and spousal age difference. The results show that, under the Chinese patrilincal joint family system, compared with the dominant virilocal marriage form, uxorilocal marriage significantly lowers womens age at first marriage, increases mens age at First marriage, and consequently increases spousal age difference. Education, number of brothers, adoption status, marriage arrangement, and marriage circle also significantly affect age at first marriage for both genders. Age at first marriage and spousal age difference vary greatly among the three counties. These findings address the process and consequences of change in rural family and marriage customs during the current demographic and social transition and may help to promote later marriage and later childbearing under the present low fertility conditions in rural China.

Bare Branches and the Marriage Market in Rural China: Preliminary Evidence from a village-level survey.

Using data from a village survey in rural China, this study explores the relationships between current prevalence of involuntary bachelorhood and its causes and social consequences at the village level. We find that bachelors, intercounty marriage, and marriage fraud exist in all regions, and are expected to become more serious with the increasing surplus of males born after 1980 entering the marriage market. The marriage squeeze and social problems related to the bachelors are more frequent in less-developed western villages, and heterogeneity within central villages is significant. Economic and sociodemographic factors are shown to be the major causes of the prevalence of bachelors at the village level in contemporary rural China. Our findings confirm the negative consequences of the marriage squeeze, and effective policies are urgently needed to respond to and prevent more negative consequences of gender imbalance in the foreseeable future.

Marriage Squeeze and Intergenerational Support in Contemporary Rural China: Evidence from X County of Anhui Province.

With China’s gender imbalance and increasingly severe male marriage squeeze, patterns of intergenerational support in rural areas are likely to undergo significant change. Using data from a survey of four towns from X county in Anhui province carried out in 2008, this article analyzes the effects of sons’ marital status on intergenerational support. Random-effect regression analysis shows that son’s marital status has strong effects on financial support to and coresidence with parents. Compared with married sons, older unmarried sons (so-called forced bachelors) tend to provide less financial support to their parents and are more likely to live with their parents. Parents’ support of sons, as well as the parents’ own needs and sons’ capabilities all affect the support provided by sons. These results show that both theories of exchange and altruism are simultaneously relevant in the context of the marriage squeeze of contemporary rural China.

Immune clonal selection network

Based on the Antibody Clonal Selection Theory of immunology, the general steps of ICSA (Immune Clonal Selection Algorithm) are presented in this paper The network framework of ICSA is put forward, and the dynamic characters of ICSA are analyzed based on the Lyapunov theory Then, this paper gives a novel Artificial Immune System Algorithm, Pseudo- Grads Hybrid Immune Clonal Selection Network (GHICSN) The simulation results of some functions optimization indicate that GHICSN improves the performance of ICSA to some extent.

Optimizing the Weights of Neural Networks Based on Antibody Clonal Simulated Annealing Algorithm

Based on the clonal selection theory, a new algorithm, Antibody Clone Simulated Annealing Algorithm, is put forward for optimizing the weights of neural networks. Combining the mechanism of the clonal selection and the simulated annealing, the new algorithm optimizes the weights using a population instead of single point so as to enlarge the searching range and overcome the shortcomings of the simulated annealing algorithm. The effectiveness of the method is proved by the experiments optimizing the weights of the forward neural networks.