Influence of Rural Social Capital and Production Mode on the Subjective Well-Being of Farmers and Herdsmen: Empirical Discovery on Farmers and Herdsmen in Inner Mongolia

Rural areas are crucial to the realization of sustainable development goals (SDGs). Rural social capital is indispensable for these areas to fulfil the SDGs. As China pursues rural revitalization, it is essential to achieve the sustainable development of rural areas within the agropastoral transition zone (APTZ) in northern China. The same applies to the SDGs’ realization in other APTZs across the globe. From the micro perspective of individual farmers and herdsmen, this article collected 732 microscopic datapoints through repeated rural surveys, and adopted the multivariate ordered probit model to empirically analyze how the subjective well-being of farmers and herdsmen in northern China’s APTZ was affected by the individual (person) and collective (community) layers of rural social capital. Specifically, the production mode was introduced to study the relationship between social capital and subjective well-being, and social capital was measured by a self-designed theoretical analysis framework, which covered six dimensions and two layers (person and community). It was verified that the individual social capital and collective social capital were mutually replaceable in terms of the effect on the subjective well-being of farmers and herdsmen. Additionally, this article examined the influence of different production modes on the social capital and subjective well-being of farmers and herdsmen, and discussed how the same amount of social capital contributes differently to the subjective well-being of farmers and herdsmen under different production models. The results showed that: (1) Social capital significantly promoted the subjective well-being of farmers and herdsmen, and social network was the leading contributor among the dimensions of individual social capital, while social trust was the leading contributor among the dimensions of collective social capital. By the contribution to the subjective well-being of farmers and herdsmen, the six dimensions of social capital can be ranked as social network > social trust > social participation > social standard > social fame > common vision. (2) Individual social capital and collective social capital were mutually replaceable in terms of enhancing the subjective well-being of farmers and herdsmen; when the individual social capital was insufficient, the collective social capital would exert a much greater influence on the subjective well-being of farmers and herdsmen; when the individual social capital grows, the farmers and herdsmen would depend less on collective social capital. (3) The same amount of social capital contributes differently to the subjective well-being of farmers and herdsmen under different production models; by contribution strength, the production models can be ranked as pure herdsmen (PH) > pure farmers (PF) > non-farmers/herdsmen (NFH) > farmers + herdsmen (FH). Finally, several policy suggestions were provided to improve the subjective well-being of farmers and herdsmen in APTZ. The results show that collective social capital eliminates the negative effect of individual social capital shortage on the subjective well-being of farmers and herdsmen. Thus, it is suggested to consider not only the construction of macroscopic hardware environment, but also to roll out policies and measures to improve the subjective well-being from the micro perspective of farmers and herdsmen. These suggestions are concentrated on the implementation of China’s rural revitalization strategy, and the creation of relevant institutions and cultural environments, as well as the optimization of the internal hierarchy of farmers and herdsmen’s social capital. The research results may help to promote the subjective well-being of farmers and herdsmen in rural areas within the APTZs of China and the world, and provide a reference and a path to realize SDGs in China and similar places across the globe.

Evaluation of Rural Landscape Resources Based on Cloud Model and Probabilistic Linguistic Term Set

Rural landscape resources are important ingredients of rural revitalization and modernization in developing countries and regions. Evaluation methods play a crucial role in the development planning, design, transformation, and protection of these resources. However, there has been a lack of research on the evaluation of rural landscape resources, especially from the perspective of rural revitalization. Based on previous evaluation methods and expert consultations on landscape planning and design, we proposed a new approach for evaluating rural landscape resources by establishing a new index system and using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and probabilistic linguistic Cloud Model. To demonstrate its applicability and effectiveness, we applied our model to the case of a village (Xiapu) in Guangdong, China, determined the parameter set of its rural landscape resources, and obtained related results showing that the method is practical and can reflect the value of resources objectively and efficiently. Based on this model, further suggestions are provided to improve the design and other utilizations of rural landscape resources.

Rural Revitalisation Process of Nation-Building in Nepal

Government of Nepal has been trying to revitalize rural areas after 1950s as a strategy of nation-building. The demands of ethnic groups are basically inclined with quest for ethnic identity, equality, and greater representation in the political structure. Among the ethnic groups, the largest groups are Janajati, Madhesi and Dalits. In this stance, this library based study tried to look at problems and prospects of balance development as an outcomes of revitalization process of nation-building. At the same time the study also tried to identify essential driver of rural revitalization in Nepali context. The study found that equal distribution of development is difficult in terms of its social, regional and cultural diversity. Poverty, unemployment, landlessness, rapid population is major push factor in Nepal to overcome from this problem. Besides these problems there are some prospects through which rural setting can be revitalized economically, socially, politically such as agriculture. One essential driver of rural revitalization is rurbanomics, an approach that emphasizes the linkages between rural and urban economies. Growing urbanization in most countries enhances the importance of rural areas—by boosting demand for food, diverse diets, and goods and services that the rural economy can meet. Rurbanomics, therefore, frames rural and urban economies as equal partners.Ending hunger and malnutrition to achieve both the Sustainable Development Goals and climate goals requires us to initiate a range of evidence-based actions to advance rural revitalization in all regions of the world. Rural revitalization represents the most realistic way to achieve such a dramatic transformation to ensure that rural people and rural areas can thrive for generations to come.

Analysis on the Existing Main Problems and Countermeasures of Rural Education

At the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, the party put forward the 14th five year plan and the long-term goal of 2035, it put forward that we should not only give priority to the development of agriculture and rural areas and comprehensively promote rural revitalization, but also strive to build an educational power, improve farmers' scientific, technological and cultural literacy and promote the revitalization of rural talents. Human resources are the first resource for China's economic and social development, and education is the main way to develop human resources. Rural Revitalization needs talent revitalization, which is inseparable from the revitalization of rural education. However, there are still some problems to be solved in rural education. This paper combs the problems existing in the school running conditions, teachers, family education, education quality, local culture and the development status of rural vocational education, analyzes the causes of the problems, and puts forward the countermeasures for the development of rural education. Such as increasing investment in Education funds, strengthening the construction of school standardization; Improving the economic treatment and social status of rural teachers, strengthening the construction of rural teachers and enhancing their sense of rural belonging; Strengthening the role of family education and sharing the responsibilities of vulnerable groups; Improving the quality of education and creating local characteristic courses; Vigorously developing rural vocational education. Through these measures, we can promote the healthy and sustainable development of rural education. At the same time, the government, society, schools and families need to work together to attach great importance to and strive to solve the problems existing in rural education. Therefore, this article combs the problems existing in rural education and seeks solutions in order to help the rapid development of rural education.

A Study on the Guarantee Mechanism for the Professional Development of Rural Elementary School Teachers in the Context of Rural Revitalization: Based on Contiguous Poverty-stricken Guangxi Border Areas

Due to the lack of professional development time and awareness, well-directed training content, respect for teachers and value for education, the professional development of rural border elementary school teachers is a problem that needs to be solved urgently. The study suggests that the teaching faculty should be complemented and strengthened, the contents of teacher training should be “localized,” the internal drive of teachers should be stimulated, the respect for teachers and education should be promoted, thus improving the overall quality of the teaching faculty and promoting the balanced development of compulsory education.