Survival or Crisis? Funding Distribution from Grant-Making Foundations to Grassroots Social Organizations in China

The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake increased the need for disaster relief and reconstruction projects in China. This disaster created an upsurge of Chinese grant-making foundations, which then increased funding expectations. Many grassroots social organizations (SOs) in China believed that going forward, this level of funding would continue. However, the majority of grassroots SOs in China are currently facing an existential crisis. Their survival is being threatened by a shortage of funding from both local and foreign grant-making foundations. This research uses an empirical analysis of grant-making foundations and in-depth interviews, as well as observational evidence accumulated over a 10-year period, to explore the distribution of funding from foundations to grassroots SOs in China. The findings show that there are a limited number of Chinese grant-making foundations and that the foundations that exist do not include grassroots SOs in their funding scheme.

Spatiotemporal Evolution of Earthquakes in Longmenshan Fault and Adjacent Area, before and after the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake

Seismicity sequence following a main earthquake usually contains much meaningful information for unveiling the focal mechanism and predicting the reoccurrence interval of large earthquakes. The spatiotemporal evolution of earthquakes before and after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake (Ms 8.0) is analysed comprehensively in this study. The frequency-magnitude relation of the 3493 earthquake events retrieved from the database of the International Seismological Centre indicates that the adopted catalogue is complete for magnitudes ≥Ms 3.4. The seismicity during the 10 years before the Wenchuan earthquake remained stable, including the magnitudes and focal depths. However, seismicity attenuated sharply in the year following the Wenchuan earthquake, and the magnitude of earthquakes before the Wenchuan earthquake decreased gradually. The area of the seismogenic zone of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake was smaller than the earthquake stricken area. The earthquakes that occurred in the Longmenshan fault area and adjacent area in the study period were mainly shallow earthquakes. The focal depths of earthquakes in the study area became stable gradually after the Wenchuan earthquake, mainly within the range from 10 to 16 km. The earthquakes in the study area were mainly distributed with an along-dip distance of 0–20 km, and the seismicity was distributed uniformly along the fault strike.

Support for a “Jelly Sandwich” Model of the Tibetan Plateau

Computer modeling constrained by positional data collected in the aftermath of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake indicates the lower crust is less viscous than the upper mantle below it.

Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among child survivors of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake: a comparison between Chinese ethnic Han and Hui groups

Background Relatively few studies have compared posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms following a disaster among children of different ethnicities. We sought to investigate the differences in PTSD symptoms between the ethnic Hui and Han child survivors of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China. Methods This study collected data from 1,951 Han and 247 Hui child survivors of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China. The children ranged from 7 to 15 years of age. Earthquake-related exposures were measured using a modified version of the PsySTART Rapid Triage System. PTSD symptoms were evaluated using the University of California, Los Angeles PTSD-Reaction Index (UCLA PTSD-RI). Personality characteristics were assessed using the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (JEPQ). Multiple linear regression was used to investigate the association between the ethnicity and the severity of PTSD symptoms. Multiple logistic regression was used to investigate the association between the ethnicity and the percentage of screening positive for PTSD symptoms. Results The average UCLA PTSD-RI total score of the ethnic Hui group (27.01 ± 9.24) was significantly higher than that of the ethnic Han group (25.12 ± 9.17) (t = −3.05, p = 0.002), as were the avoidance/numbness (Hui: 10.02 ± 4.82; Han: 9.04 ± 4.60, t = −3.12, p = 0.002) and arousal scores (Hui: 9.36 ± 3.64; Han: 8.79 ± 3.42, t = −2.44, p = 0.015). The percentage of screening positive for D criteria (arousal symptoms) also differed significantly between the ethnic Han (41.9%, 95% CI [39.7–44.1%]) and Hui (48.6%, 95% CI [42.3–54.9%]) groups (χ2 = 3.97, p = 0.046). Ethnicity was associated with the avoidance/numbness symptom score following adjustments for sex, age, personality traits and earthquake exposure experiences by multiple linear regression (B: 0.61, 95% CI [0.04–1.17], p = 0.035). The initial significant associations between the ethnicity and the arousal symptoms score and the PTSD total score disappeared while adjusting for the subjective earthquake exposure experiences (Model 5: arousal symptoms, B = 0.41, 95% CI [−0.01 to 0.83], p = 0.056; PTSD, B = 1.00, 95% CI [−0.07 to 2.07], p = 0.066). The initial significant association between the ethnicity and the percentage of screening positive for D criteria disappeared while adjusting for the objective earthquake exposure experiences (Model 4: OR = 1.32, 95% CI [1.00–1.75], p = 0.052). Conclusion This study is the first to report the relationship between the ethnicity and PTSD symptoms among child survivors following a disaster. The findings of this study suggest that the trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy could also be an effective treatment for Chinese ethnic Hui and Han children who are suffering from PTSD. Future research could be designed to examine whether cultural differences in perceptions and interpretations may account for the variations in subjective experiences. More attention should be paid to the ethnic minority children with PTSD in the future.

Dynamic Process and Mechanism of the Catastrophic Taihongcun Landslide Triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake Based on Field Investigations and Discrete Element Method Simulations

The Taihongcun landslide, which was a remarkable geological disaster triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, had a volume of about 2 × 106 m3 and killed about 23 people. Through detailed field investigations, basic information of topography, geological structure and stratigraphy for the landslide were acquired and key kinetic characteristics of the landslide were identified. On the basis of filed investigations, 2D numerical models with discrete element method (DEM) were established to simulate the kinematics and failure process of the landslide. To ensure the validity of the dynamic calculations, the free-field boundary condition was developed and introduced intro the DEM models. According to filed investigations and DEM simulations, the dynamic processes of the Taihongcun landslide can be divided into four phases: fragmentation, projection motion, scraping, and granular debris flow and accumulation. In addition, the parameter analysis showed that the particle bond strength had a significant influence on the runout distance and landslide debris morphology. Finally, the possible mechanism of the Taihongcun landslide was determined: a rock mass of poor quality provided the lithological basis for this landslide formation; a joint set J1 in the back scarp and a weak interlayer of carbonaceous slate and shale between the upper sliding mass and the bedrock formed the rupture boundaries of the upper source area; a strong seismic ground motion was the external excitation that triggered the destructive landslide event; additionally, hypermobility was caused by the high elevation and topographical conditions of the landslide.