Social accountability as social movement outcome: Protests in a Chinese city

ABSTRACT

Social accountability is a concept that has been used much in development studies and democratic theory to study informal ways for civil society to achieve social change and hold governments accountable. Surprisingly, it has been far less used in social movement scholarship and we argue that social accountability, understood as a combination of answerability, legal claim attainment, and sanction, is a useful way to examine social movement outcomes in China. Social accountability directs the focus of research towards the target of protest and not only whether the protest resulted in policy changes or not. Based on field work in 2013–2015, this article examines four cases of social protests in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. In line with previous research we find that when citizen claims accord with government policies and protesters are well-organized, local authorities tend to accommodate the protesters’ claims. However, answerability and sanction do not always follow the same pattern. Answerability can be relatively high also when legal claims are unsuccessful. This means that cases that are commonly seen as unsuccessful protests because the legal demands were not accommodated may still result in partial social accountability. In addition to the presentation of original empirical findings, the study makes a theoretical contribution by linking the two research fields of social movement and social accountability, which will be of interest to a wider scholarly audience.     

Unplanned sexual activity as a consequence of alcohol use: a prospective study of risk perceptions and alcohol use among college freshmen

OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to show how risk perceptions regarding unplanned sexual activity following alcohol use are prospectively related to subsequent alcohol consumption. PARTICIPANTS: Undergraduate students (N = 380) completed questionnaires at 2 time points during their freshman year. METHODS: In the middle of the academic year (T1), students estimated their risk of engaging in unplanned sex and reported their alcohol use during the previous term. Four months later (T2), they again reported alcohol use and indicated whether they had engaged in unplanned sex since T1. RESULTS: Students who consumed more alcohol at T1 rated their risk of unplanned sex more highly, suggesting relative accuracy. Those with higher risk perceptions consumed more alcohol at T2 (controlling for T1 use), suggesting that they maintained the high-risk behavior. Last, those who were unrealistically optimistic (ie, estimated low risk at T1 yet had unplanned sex by T2) reported greater alcohol use at T2. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the role that risk perceptions regarding sexual activity may play in college students' alcohol use.     

我国国际化城市郊区化研究——以上海市为例

一、问题的提出 在城市发展史上.前工业化时期城市空间扩展是十分缓慢的.城市的产业与人口向郊区迁移只是偶然现象.从工业化时期开始,西方国家城市空间以前所未有的速度由中心向四周扩张.城市存在的交通、教育以及犯罪等问题.特别是日益严重的环境污染与卫生问题.促使部分富裕人群先从城市中心区迁移到有新鲜空间与充足阳光的地带.     

Cold-related injuries in a cohort of homeless adults

People experiencing homelessness have an increased risk of cold-related injuries. This study determined the rate of emergency department (ED) visits for cold-related injuries among homeless adults and low-income controls in Toronto, Canada. Homeless individuals were recruited at shelters and meal programs. Age- and sex-matched controls living in low-income neighborhoods were selected. ED utilization was ascertained over 4-years of follow-up (2005–9) using administrative databases. A total of 16 ED visits for cold-related injuries were observed among 587 homeless men and 296 homeless women. The rate of ED visits was 6.7 (95% CI, 4.2–12.4) per 1000 person-years of observation among homeless men and 0.9 (95% CI, 0.03–5.6) among homeless women. ED visit rates were significantly higher among homeless men compared to low-income men (P?<?0.001) and significantly higher among homeless men compared to homeless women (P?=?0.03). Targeted public health interventions are needed to reduce the risk of cold-related injuries among people experiencing homelessness.     

城市道路改造模式探讨——以天津市气象台路为例

城市交通是一个城市发展的命脉,也可以直接体现一个城市的精神面貌.随着经济的发展,私人小汽车开始进入家庭,国内各大城市(北京、上海、广州)均投入大量资金进行城市基础设施建设,以应对机动化时代的到来.天津市近年来同样投入大量人力物力进行基础设施建设,特别是对城市道路的建设,先后完成道路卡口疏通、实施配套道路以及旧路改造.我们在看到这些辉煌成果的同时也应注意到以往工作中存在的不足:设计部门往往较多考虑地下管线、路基、路面、排水、景观等方面,在修建如此多的道路时,因种种原因,缺少交通设计环节,没有充分考虑通行安全和交通安全设施建设,以致道路建成后往往无法发挥出其全部的功能,造成了一部分资源的浪费.     

大力发展北京创意产业,打造我国首个创意城市

一、创意时代的创意产业与创意城市 世界的经济社会发展经历了农业经济时代、工业经济时代、服务经济时代,现在正在迈向创意经济时代.20世纪80年代以来,虽然服务经济依然占据主导地位,但是创意经济的增长速度也很快,并且有着超越服务经济的趋势.在创意经济时代,一国的经济不再主要是由自然资源、工厂生产能力、军事力量或者科学和技术所构成.在创意时代,竞争力围绕一个中心,即一国或一个区域能动员、吸引和留住创意人才的能力.创意时代的来临,使推动经济增长的关键因素不再是技术或信息,而是创意.     

A city within a city: A “snapshot” of aging in a HUD 202 in Detroit, Michigan

Because of a recent surge of aging in place literature, we know a considerable amount about how older adults wish to remain in long lived-in homes and communities. However, there are still gaps in our knowledge. What happens when older adults live in a community that does not support their everyday needs? This paper represents an initial attempt to explore how one group of poor, non-white, central city residents in Detroit, Michigan make sense of and organize a new age-segregated home. Findings presented in this article are based on 30 in depth and photographic elicitation interviews with African American, low-income, older adults living in one Housing and Urban Development 202 (HUD 202). Findings suggest that participants in this sample cultivated a new urban space within the facility to compensate for the deficiencies of a deteriorated inner-city neighborhood. I use these findings to encourage broader conceptualizations and consideration for the aging in place model to be more inclusive to the lived experiences of older adults who occupy oppressed places.     

对中低收入家庭住房问题的基本认识与解决设想--以天津为例

改革开放以来,党中央和各级政府对解决中低收入家庭住房问题一直都非常关注,制定实施了一系列相关优惠政策,最大限度地维护中低收入家庭的住房利益.天津市在经历了多年的住房制度改革后,已初步建立起新的住房供应体制,即高收入者购买商品房,中低收入者购买经济适用房或是合作建房,最低收入者则可申请廉租房.城镇居民的人均住房使用面积从1978年的7.2平方米增加到2001年的15.9平方米;住房成套率也从1995年的74.3%上升到2001年的91.4%.但从"居者有其屋"的意义而言,城市中低收入家庭住房问题并没有完全解决,在市场经济制度初步建立之后,如何建立面向中低收入家庭主流市场的住房供应体制,还面临诸多理论认识和实际操作的问题.     

Bihari Muharram processions in Dhaka city: religious performance as a means of territorialising urban public space by a disenfranchised ethnic minority

The Biharis in Bangladesh are a heavily persecuted ethnic minority confined to slum like camps for nearly five decades. Using data from ethnographic research carried out in a Bihari camp and its surrounding areas in Dhaka city, this visual essay examines the ways in which the Biharis use religious processions to claim visibility, assert community identity and territorialise urban public space in a city that systematically denies them access to citizen rights.     

Community-Based Participatory Research as a Social Work Research and Intervention Approach

Social workers are now often expected to base their practice on solid empirical findings, but research can vary in terms of its usefulness and relevance to practice. Some social workers have criticized traditional research approaches, suggesting that they are not consistent with the profession's mission to serve vulnerable and disadvantaged populations (e.g., Finn, 1994 Finn, J. L. 1994. The promise of participatory research. Journal of Progressive Human Services, 5: 25–42. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). Community-based participatory action research may be an appropriate alternative that is participatory, empowering, and committed to social justice (Minkler & Wallerstein, 2008 Minkler, M. and Wallerstein, N. 2008. “Introduction to CBPR: New issues and emphases”. In Community-based participatory research for health, 2nd, Edited by: Minkler, M. and Wallerstein, N. 5–23. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.  [Google Scholar]). This article explores the connection between social work and CBPR, illustrating how CBPR can contribute significantly to achieving the field's goals.     

Wetland plant community variation across replicate urban to rural gradients: non-native species as both drivers and passengers in systems impacted by anthropogenic land-use

Urban Ecosystems - Anthropogenic land-use change impacts ecological communities in urban and rural landscapes, and wetlands are particularly vulnerable despite the valuable ecosystem services they...     

Children as Research Subjects: a Risky Enterprise

This paper is based on a qualitative research study, Children, Parents and Risk. This study looks at the ways in which risks to children are understood and managed by children and parents. The paper focuses on two areas of the research—gaining access and interviewing—in order to show how the research process itself has constituted an important source of data on childhood and risk.