论公共政策效能的衰减机制

公共政策效能衰减分为有效衰减和无效衰减两种形式。公共政策效能有效衰减是公共政策效能运行规律的反映,而无效衰减是在公共政策效能没有正常释放的情况下发生的,是影响公共政策目标实现的主要因素。公共政策共同体中,不同行为主体之间行为取向的多元化和行为方式的分散化是公共政策效能无效衰减的主要原因。公共政策共同体中各行为主体以理解为目的的交往活动,是减少公共政策效能无效衰减的重要途径。现有制度设计上的不完善,导致公共权力一定程度上的垄断化、碎片化和异质化,这是造成公共政策效能无效衰减的根本的原因。打造有利于公共政策共同体中各行为主体在平等互动基础上的有效的和全方位、深层次交往的制度性平台,实现公共权力在组织上、资源上和功能上的整合是克服公共政策效能无效衰减的根本途径。     

民主、信息公开与国家治理模式的变迁

在很长一段历史时间内,信息公开与民主制度并无关联,因为"精英民主"模式通常与保密文化密切相关,它既不鼓励公民参与,也不希望公民知悉政府的信息。直到参与式民主在近几十年取得主流话语权,信息公开才与公共参与一道成为民主制度不可或缺的组成部分。中国《政府信息公开条例》的实施,不仅有利于国家治理模式的转变,而且未来必将有助于民主的发展。     

Assessing state substance abuse prevention infrastructure through the lens of CSAP's Strategic Prevention Framework

Although the organizational structures and operating procedures of state substance abuse prevention systems vary substantially across states, there is scant empirical research regarding approaches for rigorous assessment of system attributes and which attributes are most conducive to overall effectiveness. As one component of the national cross-site evaluation of the SPF State Incentive Grant Program (SPF SIG), an instrument was developed to assess state substance abuse prevention system infrastructure in order to measure infrastructure change and examine the role of state infrastructure in achieving prevention-related outcomes. In this paper we describe the development of this instrument and summarize findings from its baseline administration. As expected, states and territories were found to vary substantially with respect seven key characteristics, or domains, of state prevention infrastructure. Across the six domains that were assessed using numeric ratings, states scored highest on data systems and lowest on strategic planning. Positive intercorrelations were observed among these domains, indicating that states with high capacity on one domain generally have relatively high capacity on other domains as well. The findings also suggest that state prevention infrastructure development is linked to both funding from state government and the presence of a state interagency coordinating body with decision-making authority. The methodology and baseline findings presented will be used to inform the ongoing national cross-site evaluation of the SPF SIG and may provide useful information to guide further research on state substance abuse prevention infrastructure.     

The unique effects of environmental strategies in health promotion campaigns: a review

Various strategies are used as tools in health promotion campaigns to increase health-related outcomes among target populations. Evaluations of these campaigns examine effects on changing people's knowledge, attitudes, and/or behaviors. Most evaluations examine the combined impact of multiple strategies. Less is known about the unique effects of particular strategies. To address this gap, we used highly systematic methods to identify and review scientifically rigorous evaluations of 18 campaigns that examined the unique effects of three sets of intervention strategies (entertainment education, law enforcement, and mass media) on changes in knowledge, attitudes, and practice with regard to various health behaviors. Results showed differences in evaluation processes based on the type of strategy used to promote campaign messages. For instance, evaluations of mass-media based campaigns were more likely to examine changes in knowledge, relative to evaluations of campaigns that used law enforcement strategies. In addition, campaign effects varied by particular strategies. Mass media-based campaigns were more likely to affect knowledge, relative to behaviors. Law enforcement and entertainment education-based campaigns showed positive effects on behaviors. The implications for planning and evaluating health promotion campaigns are described.     

Development of professional roles in the practice of public relations in Chile

Using survey responses of 577 public relation practitioners, this article examines role conceptions in Chilean public relations, as well as the effects that different individual and organizational factors have on their professional worldviews. The results show that how Chilean practitioners perceive their roles can be grouped into four different types: the long-term strategic, the short-term technical, the passive-complaisant, and the active-vigilant. In general terms, Chilean public relations practitioners distance themselves from the passive-complaisant role, giving greater importance to the other three. The findings also reveal that gender, education level, job commitment, perceived autonomy, organization type, and geographical location are the factors that better predict Chilean PR professional roles, while hierarchy level and organization's reach do not directly affect their perceptions.     

Trains,chains, blame,and elephant appeal: A case study of the public relations significance of Mary the Elephant

Using the media coverage of the hanging of Mary the Elephant, the purposes of this article are to discuss the major implications of the press agentry model of public relations, the impact of corporate decisions on the reputation of its surrounding community, and how the values related to societal issues such as animal cruelty change over time. Findings reveal that public pressure, intense police attention, and the counsel of a master press agent led the circus owner to make the decision to hang Mary and ultimately adulterate the reputation of the town of Erwin, Tennessee indefinitely.     

How young Chinese depend on the media during public health crises? A comparative perspective

Under the framework of media system dependency theory, this study investigates and compares traditional media dependency and Internet dependency in public health crisis situations in the context of Mainland China. 373 college students participated in the survey. Empirical data demonstrated that, during public health crises: (1) traditional media and the Internet play different roles for individuals; (2) higher level of threat perception leads to more intense Internet dependency, but does not do the same to traditional media dependency; (3) individuals’ Internet dependency intensity is higher than their traditional media dependency intensity; and (4) the Internet may influence the behavior of young Chinese more directly.     

Producing public goods in networks: Some effects of social comparison and endogenous network change

As actors participate in the production of public goods, processes of social comparison may affect the decisions about the individual contributions as well as the endogenously changing structure of an underlying social network. This leads to the transformation of an ordinary n-player Prisoner's Dilemma of collective action into an n-player coordination game. The paper uses agent-based simulations to trace the formation of public goods while varying network characteristics, such as density, segregation, or the strength of relationships. Additionally, the usage of both a forward- and a backward-looking agent model shows possible implications of different assumptions about the actors’ decision making.     

Pension policy in China, Singapore, and South Korea: An assessment of the potential value of the notional defined contribution model

The rate of population aging is increasing in the developing world and the trend is particularly dramatic in East Asia. One consequence is sharp increases in old-age dependency ratios which have major implications for the sustainability of current public pension schemes. These trends are pushing pension policy experts in many of these countries to search for new pension models that are more suited to the increased demographic pressures they will be facing in the decades ahead. In this article we discuss five alternative public pension models with a focus on the newest of these models, the notional defined contribution (NDC) approach. We consider three countries with very different pension systems in place, two from East Asia (China and South Korea) and one from South East Asia (Singapore). The central question we address is which (if any) of the limitations in these existing models might more adequately be addressed using a variant of the NDC model. We conclude that the NDC model has the most to offer China and the least to offer Singapore.     

Public relations and community: A persistent covenant

In the 21st Century global public relations professional community, the need for a postmodern reformation is compellingly evident. Most theorizing begins with basic assumptions about the three main social actors for which public relations has been practiced: (1) corporations, (2) nongovernmental and civil society organizations (NGOs and CSOs), and (3) governments. Questions about society itself are rarely examined, but when they do come up, scholars and practitioners tend to assume generally accepted values and mores. Neglected has been a robust criticism of the concepts upon which such paradigms have been built.