人们如何卷入公共参与事件——基于广州市恩宁路改造中公民行动的分析

本文旨在探讨是什么使得公民卷入现实的公共参与网络,影响这种公共参与的行动力、持续性和影响力的因素是什么。基于对广州市恩宁路改造中公民参与的研究,本文发现,虚拟社区虽然拓展了人们的现实联系,因其动员的广泛性而推动了公共参与的兴起,但能否转化为现实中有影响力的持续公共参与行动还与线下的联络和动员机制及其特性密切相关：基于人际网络的联络和动员推动了公共参与行动的行动力及其持续性,开放的城市空间则为这种现实的参与行动拓展了影响力。本文对不同联络和动员机制的区分,有助于从“历时性”和“差异化参与”的角度解释公民参与在转型期中国的发展。     

Pathways to age-friendly communities in diverse urban neighborhoods: Do social capital and social cohesion matter?

ABSTRACT

Using a social capital and social cohesion lens, we reposition the concept of civic engagement among older adults to examine pathways for building age-friendly communities. We analyzed data drawn from a Community-Based Participatory Research study in the Southern U.S. that explored lived experiences of older adults, age 55 and above, who participated in individual interviews (n = 15) and six focus group discussions (n = 45) to examine their perceptions of social identity, social connectedness, and civic engagement geared toward an age-friendly city. Findings indicated that several older adults had access to social networks and socially invested resources, thereby having opportunities for civic engagement and building age-friendly neighborhoods. However, social, cultural, linguistic, and structural barriers were more evident among certain diverse ethnic populations. Marginalized low-income minorities and immigrants, such as Hispanic participants, felt the lack of social cohesion among the larger society limited their ability to give back, thus decreasing their civic engagement activities. In contrast, Caucasian and African-American older adults were able to contribute to the political process through more civic participation activities. We provide implications for examining the role of social capital and social engagement to bolster civic engagement among older adults in building age-friendly communities.     

Mediated Political Communication in Australia: leading issues,new evidence

New 2007 survey data on political communication is used to study the relation between commercial and ABC/SBS television consumption and Australian political and civic culture. The first section outlines the demographic characteristics of viewers who rely, respectively, for their news and current affairs, on commercial as compared with public service television. This is followed by a profile of popular views on the concentration of media ownership in Australia. The paper then shows that levels of trust in other people are higher for those who rely on public service television. Similarly, knowledge about basic constitutional facts is shown to be positively related to a preference for public service television news consumption. The same holds for civic engagement. The conclusions imply that Australians generally favour stronger public interest regulation of commercial television broadcasting. The conclusion explains that media regulation in Australia generally lags behind public preferences for a more explicitly democratic regulatory regime.     

The Network Structure of Local and Extra‐Local Voluntary Participation: The Role of Core Social Networks*

Objective. First, we evaluate whether structural characteristics of people's family and friend social networks are associated with involvement in local and extra‐local civic participation. Second, we examine the interactions between social network attributes and personal characteristics on varied forms of participation. Methods. We draw on data from a random‐sample mail survey of 1,315 households. Results. Attributes of friend and family social networks are related to civic participation beyond the influence of human capital; however, the results from family and friend networks are substantively different. There are also differences in the way attributes of social networks are associated with local versus extra‐local participation. Finally, the interactions of human capital and social networks do not support previous research. Conclusions. Overall, the evidence substantiates extant theory on the effects that social relations have on civic engagement. However, the structure and constituency of networks and the form of civic engagement play an important yet undertheorized role.     

Required civics courses,civics exams,and voter turnout

Despite attempts at using civic education to increase the civic engagement of young people, education policy is slow to adopt the recommendations of research and great variation exists within the United States in how schools deliver civics instruction. We hypothesize that when states make civics requirements more uniform and demanding, statewide civic participation among young people increases. Using state-level data about civic education requirements and voter registration and turnout from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), we find no evidence that a mandated civics course increases registration or turnout, but we do find a positive relationship between having a state-mandated civics exam and both registration and turnout among young people. We conclude that accountability policies could make a difference in the delivery of civic education at the state level.     

Commercial,non‐profit and governmental residential elderly care in Flanders: Differences in client selection and efficiency?

Verschuere B, Moray N, Decramer A. Commercial, non‐profit and governmental residential elderly care in Flanders: differences in client selection and efficiency? Inspired by New Public Management, governments have stimulated competition, outsourcing and privatisation in the public sector. Also, in care of the elderly, there has been a substantial increase in commercial provision. The present study explored the presumed differences in the performance of public (governmental), private non‐profit and private commercial elderly care organisations. We used quantitative indicators on the population of residential elderly care organisations in Flanders (Belgium). Although we found that commercial elderly care facilities tended to be more input‐efficient while non‐profit and public elderly care facilities tended to be more attentive to recruiting and housing residents with high care needs, these results need to be interpreted in light of the regulatory framework in which the different types of elderly care facilities operate.     

Mobile use,personal values,and connectedness with civic life

This study aims to examine whether and how mobile communication enables citizens to translate their value orientations into their connectedness to the civic life. Specifically, we probe the indirect process in which different types of personal values predict key dimensions of engagement with civic affairs through patterns of mobile phone use. We show that individualism is indirectly associated with engagement with civic affairs through informational mobile use, whereas the link between collectivism and community involvement is positively intervened by relational mobile use. Additionally, socio-tropic empathy yields indirect relationships with civic engagement through informational mobile use. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Women,Health and Housing Assistance: Implications in an Emerging Era of Housing Provision

Women and the households that they head are over‐represented among the most economically and socially disadvantaged households in Australia. Recent changes in the provision of housing assistance for low income households in Australia have distinct implications for women and this paper examines the implications of these changes. Shifting the emphasis in housing assistance away from publicly provided and rent‐controlled housing to direct subsidisation of rents for private tenants has important, largely negative, consequences for the health, affordability and security of housing for many women. This situation is made worse given the current housing affordability crisis in Australia; a crisis that extends across all private housing tenures.     

市场社会中社会参与的路径问题——关系信任还是普遍信任

已有研究多数认为市场经济、社会参与有助于普遍信任的建立,“关系”则阻碍这种信任的形成。基于CGSS2005数据,本文应用结构方程模型和多层次线性模型分析了市场经济、社会参与和关系信任对普遍信任的多重影响。研究表明：以亲属信任为核心的关系信任对普遍信任具有消极影响;当社会组织成员间信任仍是一种关系信任时,社会参与对普遍信任也呈现出消极作用;市场经济发展能够提高普遍信任,但同时推动了“关系”的使用,从而使得当代中国的市场经济与普遍信任间存在着相反的双向影响。因此,在经济建设中必须进一步推动社会参与。社会参与不仅仅要关注于组织的增长,也需要在制度层面上给予“跨关系”成员交往更多的支持。     

Job Satisfaction in Public and Private Schools: Competition is Key

Should the public sector become more like the private sector? This is a key question in debates about public management. However, the public/private distinction includes many elements. Two of these are ownership and competition. These aspects are not always sorted out empirically. Another challenge is that dissimilar functional areas are studied which makes it difficult to isolate effects of privatization as such. We respond to these challenges by carrying out an empirical analysis of job satisfaction among teachers who teach Danish to immigrants. The teachers work in comparable schools, carry out the same task, and are subject to the same performance management system, but some of the schools are public, some are private, and some have been subject to competitive tendering. We demonstrate that competition has a greater impact than ownership upon job satisfaction. We also show that one of the key mechanisms which translate competition into reduced job satisfaction relates to changing relations between managers and employees. Advocates and opponents of privatization alike should pay more attention to specific aspects and mechanisms related to privatization, in particular the element of competition.     

Home‐ownership,housing regimes and income inequalities in Western Europe

Norris M, Winston N. Home‐ownership, housing regimes and income inequalities in Western Europe This article compares the structural features of home‐ownership systems in European Union 15 (EU15) countries (home‐ownership rates, mortgages and public subsidisation of this tenure) with data on inequalities in outcomes (variations in home‐ownership access, risks and standards between income groups). Its purpose was to assess the relevance of the debate on the convergence and divergence of housing systems, which has dominated the comparative housing literature. The article concludes that, depending on the level of analysis adopted and the particular variables selected for examination, elements of both convergence and divergence are evident in Western European home‐ownership systems. The comparative housing literature has also largely failed to capture the key inter‐country cleavages in home‐ownership systems that are between the Northern and Southern EU15 countries. These shortcomings are related to methodological and conceptual problems in the literature.     

When it Works and Where it Fails: Spatial,Temporal, and Budgetary Constraints to Civic Environmentalism*

Objectives. With its focus on civic engagement, market‐based tools, and public‐private partnerships, the model of civic environmentalism has been successful in dealing with small, localized problems. Yet, a serious investigation of its use to deal with large‐scale, complex problems has not been undertaken. This article expands on the original model and applies it to the problem of the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Methods. An exploratory case‐study framework is used to analyze the usefulness of this second‐generation model of environmental policy. Archival data sources, in the form of media reports, congressional hearings, case histories, and organizational websites, were used to develop the case study. Results. The case study demonstrated that polycentric governance, local‐level participation, civic leadership, and voluntary, incentive‐based programs were integral components of the model of civic environmentalism. However, in the case of the Gulf of Mexico's dead zone, the model's success is limited by spatial, budgetary, and temporal factors, as well as a lack of issue salience and minimal negative impacts on fishery resources. Conclusions. In the end analysis, civic environmentalism faces significant barriers when applied to large‐scale, complex environmental problems such as the Gulf of Mexico's dead zone. In this case, the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Task Force will continue to have difficulties in generating a more successful implementation plan unless it broadens its base of support, develops the social capacity of its stakeholders, and resolves the debate over the science behind its action plan.     

The role of civic leadership in fostering economic resilience in City Regions

This paper examines the role of civic leadership in fostering economic resilience in City Regions. Extant research on resilience has examined ‘economic’ factors. This paper adds to the academic discourse by considering how effective leadership shapes economic development within sub-national economies. Through a case study of the Sheffield City Region (SCR), UK, the paper considers the role of civic leadership in enabling Local Enterprise Partnerships to work collaboratively to foster resilience. The paper finds that while civic leadership is emergent in the SCR, it holds potential to foster economic resilience by bringing together the public, private and third sectors to develop locally informed strategies. The paper concludes with implications for governance issues in City Regions and how the challenges and impacts of civic leadership may be assessed over time.     

Why do tenants leave social housing? Exploring residential and social mobility at the lowest rungs of Australia's socioeconomic ladder

Historically, social housing in Australia operated as a springboard for social mobility. For many working families, public housing tenancy was an opportunity to save for a house purchase deposit. Latterly, tenant exits from public to private housing have declined to very low levels. This has raised concerns about systemic barriers to residential and social mobility for social renters, and about the consequent longer waiting times for applicants in need of social housing. Drawing on administrative data collected by social housing providers in NSW and Victoria, and in‐depth interviews with 95 former and current social housing tenants in both states, this paper examines tenant attitudes, intentions and motivations as regards future house‐moves. We argue that the primary disincentives to exit relate to affordability and security of tenure in private rental, rather than factors related to the social housing system itself.     

Social capital and community building through an electronic network

This paper describes a social policy experiment that explores current and potential links between trends in Australian public policy. The central example is provided by the implementation of a wired community set up in a low‐income public housing estate by an entrepreneurial not‐for‐profit internet service provider, InfoXchange. ‘Reach for the Clouds’, the wired community being established at Atherton Gardens in Fitzroy, Melbourne, is attractive to policy‐makers and funding bodies, combining community‐building, public‐private partnerships, self‐help and place‐based management. However, although the project is promoted as an exercise in community‐building through technology, many of the key assumptions are untested. It seems self‐evident that low‐income people who are socially and economically excluded would benefit from greater ‘connectedness’ with one another. However, it is not clear that such exchanges, online or off‐line, will build ‘community’. The paper attempts to establish some distinctions between online communities of interest and place based communities, untangling the relationship between social connectedness and models of social capital.     

Ownership differences in the provision of outpatient substance abuse services

The authors examine the assumption of the 1980s that the provision and costs of substance abuse services, among others, could best be met by expanding programs in the private sector. The study presents a comparison of public and private substance abuse services, based on data drawn from a national sample of outpatient units, and develops a profile of treatment and financing within three auspice (ownership) categories--private nonprofit, private for-profit, and public. An input-throughput-output framework was used to assess the public-private differences within a wide range of organizational characteristics.     

社会主义产权观念的理性思考及所有制问题辨析

在实际的社会生活及经济生活中 ,公有、私有都有其一般形态和极端形态 ,因而都客观地存在着积极和消极两方面的倾向。在社会主义产权制度改革的理论思考和实践过程中 ,要进一步克服对公有、私有这一类概念范畴的简单化、抽象化、片面化的理解倾向。不论公有经济还是私有经济 ,都必须注意防止其极端形态的生成 ,不断克服各自的消极倾向 ,弘扬各自的积极倾向 ,社会主义的改革才能不断走向成功的彼岸。     

Social capital and factors affecting civic engagement as reported by leaders of voluntary associations

In recent years, there have been substantial changes in levels and types of participation in voluntary associations. This paper reports findings from a series of in-depth interviews with the leaders of 32 state-wide voluntary associations in Texas. While the most influential studies of civic engagement and social capital have emphasized the role of culture and values, the data presented here indicate that economic variables are also of central importance. Work-related time constraints lead to decreased engagement. Developments such as forced voluntarism, the growing number of retirees, and corporate sponsored volunteering are changing the nature of civic engagement and some voluntary associations. There is evidence that younger volunteers are increasingly concerned with volunteering opportunities as means to pragmatic ends, such resume building.     

Religiosity,citizenship and attitudes to social policy issues

Many social policy objectives align with religious beliefs – poverty alleviation, compassion for the poor and addressing more generally the needs of the vulnerable and disadvantaged in society. Yet there are also conflicting views about means, including the role of the state in redistributing resources from the rich and powerful to the poor and powerless. Redistribution and poverty alleviation are central goals of the welfare state, although ideological and other differences mean that views about the need for, as well as the design, delivery and impact of social programs vary. Against this background, this paper reviews existing national and international studies that have examined how religious belief and practice are associated with the attitudes that underpin the welfare state: compassion, altruism, redistribution and egalitarianism, and the activities that are assumed to align with modern conceptions of ‘a good civic citizen‘: participation and engagement. The analysis draws on recent Australian survey data to examine whether the attitudes of those who actively practice their religious beliefs differ from other groups in society and, if so, whether those differences are consistent with the underlying goals of social policy.     

Debating group structure: How local,translocal, and national voluntary organizations promote democracy

America's changing civic universe has been the focus of great attention in recent years. A debate has ensued over what kinds of organizations made the United States a “nation of joiners.” Communitarian and social capital theorists assert that local organizations both anchored civic life in the U.S. in years past and hold the key to its future. Skocpol, on the other hand, insists that translocal organizations have historically proven most beneficial to democracy. This paper uses contemporary data to examine the merits of local, translocal, and national voluntary groups from the perspective of promoting civic and political engagement. Findings suggest that while strictly national organizations have few redeeming qualities, local and translocal groups promote civic engagement equally well. On this basis, the debate between Skocpol and the social capitalists and communitarians seems overblown. When it comes to the promotion of political engagement, however, translocal groups outperform their local counterparts.