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Faced with the challenges of rural population decline, combined with the widespread expansion of homesteads in rural areas, local Chinese governments hope to strictly control and minimize rural housing land. Accurately decomposing the process of rural housing expansion and revealing its driving factors will be helpful for land-use regulation by the government.

In this study, an unusually rich dataset of rural housing registration from Pudong New Area in Shanghai is employed. The study aimed to decompose the fragmented accumulation process and its expansion determinants on rural housing assets. The dataset covers all samples of rural households and housing plots at 72 surveyed villages in six towns.

Housing offers profitable capital and earning assets to villagers at the urban fringe, so they have a powerful incentive to build and expand more. The results of this analysis showed that the expansion of rural housing is largely due to the haphazard construction of auxiliary rooms by villagers, especially on plots of arable land that are adjacent to their houses that have been stealthily converted into auxiliary rooms and sheds. Low costs and weak penalties have led to an increase in rent-seeking expansions to rural houses. Houses with the smaller initial areas, families with more laborers and household heads, and the proximity of villages to downtown with convenient living services were the main driving factors for expanding houses. A concerted effort is needed to control the disorganized and unlicensed expansion of housing. This effort should include formulating areas for free use by villagers, high taxes on overused areas, serious penalties for unlicensed housing expansion and effective land-use planning.

An understanding of the expansion status and control measures related to rural houses in Shanghai provides an important reference that can help to guide the formulation of rural housing policies, and the sustainable development of cities worldwide. Of course, this study cannot generalize about housing distribution and expansion status worldwide based on the study area in China, because China's land tenure policies are unique. But land registry data exists that makes research like this feasible. There is a need to carefully examine the detailed housing distribution in each country before it can be decided on how best to address the disorderly increase in rural housing stock, and promote the reduction of rural residential expansion.

First, the process of rural housing expansion by using an unique dataset which covers ten thousands of samples is revealed. Second, the results have policy implications for reducing the amount of idle and inefficiently rural homestead. The focus is on rural housing growth and its driving factors in Shanghai, and the villagers' motivations for housing expansion are explored.

China is the world’s largest user market for digital technologies and experiencing unprecedented rates of rural-urban migration set to create the world’s first “urban billion”. This is an important context for studying nuanced adoption behaviours that define a digital divide. Large-scale studies are required to determine what behaviours exist in such populations, but can offer limited ability to draw inferences about why. The purpose of this paper is to report a large-scale study inside China that probes a nuanced “digital divide” behaviour: consumer demographics indicating ability to pay by electronic means but behaviour suggesting lack of willingness to do so, and extends current demographics to help explain this.

The authors report trans-national access to commercial “Big Data” inside China capturing the demographics and consumption of millions of consumers across a wide range of physical and digital market channels. Focusing on one urban location we combine traditional demographics with a new measure that reflecting migration: “Distance from Home”, and use data-mining techniques to develop a model that predicts use behaviour.

Use behaviour is predictable. Most use is explained by value of the transaction. “Distance from Home” is more predictive of technology use than traditional demographics.

Results suggest traditional demographics are insufficient to explain “why” use/non-use occurs and hence an insufficient basis to formulate and target government policy.

The authors understand this to be the first large-scale trans-national study of use/non-use of digital channels within China, and the first study of the impact of distance on ICT adoption.

This paper analyses Hanoi consumers' evaluation of food risk and response to the perceived risk.

The authors employed the mixed method approach that integrates segmentation analysis on the survey data and information from group discussions.

Based on consumers' risk rating of six food groups and level of food safety worry, the authors identified four distinct consumer segments: low, moderate, high and very-high-risk perception. The authors found the existence of widespread food safety concerns among Hanoi consumers. Living in an urban region was associated with a higher level of food risk perception. Moderate, high and very-high-risk perception segments exhibited a very low level of institutional trust and subjective control over hazards. Response to the perceived risk differed across segments. “Very high-risk perception” was associated with the most risk-averse behaviour, putting more effort into seeking food safety information and engaging more in supermarket purchase. Consumers with a low and moderate perceived food risk participate more in self-supply of food to reduce their food safety concern.

The paper provides empirical evidence on consumers' evaluation of food risk and their risk-reducing strategies to support the risk communication in Vietnam.

Enhancing institutional trust and risk communication including hazard education can improve consumer confidence in food.

This is the first segmentation study on consumer food risk perception in Vietnam.

The purpose of this study is to identify best practices for innovative primary care models and to describe a potential future primary care (PC) model for Texas to address the burden of chronic disease in a population-based approach.

A systematic literature review was conducted and identified 1,880 published records through PubMed using 26 search terms. After abstract and full-text review, 70 articles remained as potential models.

Although there is already a severe shortage of physicians in Texas, emerging practice patterns and choices among physicians are likely to erode access to primary care services in the state. Health-care leaders are encouraged to consider models such as complex adaptive systems for team-based care, pharmacist hypertension care management program and combined nurse-led care management with group visit structure.

As with any study, this research has its limitations; for example, models that might work in one state, or under a unique state-funded academic medical center, might not be “do-able” in another state within the nuances of a different funding mechanism.

Results of this research provide a model for implementing IPCM for the state of Texas first and will guide IPCM planning and implementation in other states.

This study is “land grant-centric” and focused on carrying out the mission of a major, top-tier research university with an emerging college of medicine at an academic medical center.

This study aims to investigate the factors that impact the solo travel intentions of millennial women in rural and urban areas. By exploring these factors, this research also sheds light on the similarities and differences in travel behaviors and motivations of women in different geographical contexts within India.

The current corona virus pandemic had a major impact upon the health, economy and education worldwide. In India, the government as a part of the nationwide lockdown closed all educational institutions, as a consequence of which, the teaching-learning, examination and placement scenario of students were affected. UNESCO estimated that about 32 crore students have been affected in India. The adoption of an online e-learning approach tried to minimize the academic loss and stress on students. However, the online teaching transition moved on an untested and unprecedented scale in a very short span of period. The present study analyses the perception and level of acceptance of transition from offline to online learning amongst the students of higher education in Punjab.

The analysis was carried out by surveying 200 students of higher education from Punjab belonging to different regions. An appropriate pre-tested questionnaire was framed on Google Forms. A five-point Likert scale was employed to determine the perception of students regarding quality of audio and video lectures, instructor's content, preparation, interactiveness, discussion regarding doubts and assessing likes and dislikes of students. The data were coded-decoded in SPSS by using descriptive statistics and factor analysis.

The study revealed the level of acceptance of online study among the students of higher education in Punjab. It is found that both online and offline modes of learning process have their own pros and cons. The sudden transition from regular mode to virtual mode was not an easy task for students either. The study revealed that both online and offline study modes have been accepted by students depending upon the availability of IT infrastructure as almost half of the respondents perceived online mode and the other half offline.

Punjab is a recognized state of northern India. In Punjab, the quality of higher education is good and students' satisfaction is always the priority of the educational institutions. At the time of the pandemic, this sudden transition from regular to virtual mode impacted education with students coming from diverse backgrounds like urban areas, rural areas, remote areas, rural-urban areas etc. So, in the light of this sudden transition, it is important to study the viewpoint of the students of Punjab. So, the present study was conducted to understand the perception of the students toward online learning during this ongoing pandemic. For this purpose, the study employed factor analysis. Application of factor analysis in this area is unique.

This brief highlights policies and procedures adopted by governments in South East Asia to increase better access to higher education among the lower socio-economic population groups. Increasing skills, knowledge, and competencies will create a competitive workforce for the manufacturing industry that is fast adopting Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) for increased production and viability. The brief also outlines the challenges faced in actualizing these policies. It highlights the impact of Covid-19 in accelerating technology use in higher education, as well as underscoring the increased gaps in access to higher education in the region due to Covid-19. The policy brief concludes with recommendations of best practices adopted in developed countries that are grounded in collaboration and sharing of resources.

Access to food through retail supply chain distribution can vary significantly among the urban poor and leads to household food insecurity. The paper explores this sustainable supply chain phenomenon through a field study among South Africa's urban poor.

Urban metabolic flows is the theoretical basis in the context of supply chain management (SCM). The field study comprised 59 semi-structured interviews in one South African township. Data were recorded, transcribed and translated, and coded using NVivo 12 to provide an inventory of eight themes categorized and patterned from the analysis.

Findings indicate societal factors play a significant role affecting food distribution, access and security from a spatial perspective of retail outlet locations and a nutritional standpoint regarding quality and quantity of food.

The study is exploratory in one township, and while rigorously conducted, the generalizability of findings is limited to this context.

The study practically contributes by providing guidance for food retailers and policymakers to include nutritional guidelines in their distribution planning, as well as the dynamics of diverse neighbourhoods that exist in modern urban contexts.

New forms of retail food distribution can provide better security and access to food for the urban poor, contributing to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2 Zero Hunger and 11 Liveable Cities.

The study is interdisciplinary and contributes by linking UN SDGs and SCM through urban metabolic flows from development studies as an overarching framework to enable analysis of relationships between physical, social and economic factors in the urban environment.

In what follows, I first unpack the context of East Asia where fast economic growth, demographic transition, shifting public policies, and historical legacies as well as emerging trends of family norms and practices jointly influence children's and youths' everyday lives and well-being. I show that albeit intraregional and intrasociety heterogeneities, childhood is part and parcel of the modernization project in this part of the world, which has attracted concerted efforts of intense investment from the state and the family, shaping a trajectory of childhood that is increasingly scholarized. I then sketch the landscape of childhood and youth studies in this region, calling for the intervention of childhood sociology as an approach to bring young people's own perspectives, voices, subjectivities, and actions to the fore. This is followed by an introduction to four compelling contributions that offer rich and nuanced insights into the pains and gains, pressures and perseverance of the growing up experiences of the young in rapidly changing East Asian societies.

Higher education should bring up the multifaceted development of human resources by promoting the knowledge-enabled population that will bring socio-economic mobility, peace and progress in society. Thus, the educational providers must undertake the duty to impart need-based higher education that makes people educated with a progressive, rational, analytical, and skilful mind. Hence, there is an urgent need to address some basic challenges of higher education such as required educational avenues or institutional set up against the demand of the population, achievements in global learning, providing room for equal access to learning, research on cost benefit analysis, educational innovations and partnership, use of educational technology, quality assurance mechanism, need for adequate funds for the expansion of higher education, and so on. Once these challenges are addressed, transformation of the society can be a reality, and Open and Distance Learning (ODL) system is one of the most viable ways for transforming a country like India. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

For this study, descriptive research methodology has been used, and analysis has been done based on the data extracted from the secondary sources of information such as Census of India 2011; India Human Development Report 2011; Human Development Report 2014, 2015; Economic Survey 2015-2016; NFHS-I, II, III and IV; Report of 11th Five Years Plan; 12th FYP; Annual Report 2015-16, MHRD; Annual Report of NSS, 2016, etc.

ODL can be raised as an alternative way for making education accessible and for providing scope for skill-based education at a minimum cost. In fact, ODL, in particular, can play a significant role in transforming and empowering the vibrant adult population of a country like India into productive human resources by providing need-based training and equipping them with need-based skills, which are necessary for maintaining a decent standard of living.

Through this paper, it could be realised how ODL provides the opportunity of education to a large section of people in the society irrespective of sex and age, and how ODL has made the people capable with basic and essential kills which are necessary for maintaining a decent standard of living.

ODL could be a most viable option to mobilise the higher education system in India. This paper helps to contextualise ODL in empowering and transforming society, and the finding, and discussions have been made with reference to the various initiatives taken in the field of skill-based education through ODL in a country like India.