作为公共产品的城市管理--以无锡市为个案

城市管理是城市政府的主要职能,是城市政府为城市社会提供的最主要的公共产品之一。传统理念和体制下,城市管理公共产品供给模式效率十分低下,已不能适应城市发展的形势。在现代公共管理及公共产品供给理论框架内考察城市管理,不失为一种新的视角,是探索城市政府职能转变、城市管理体制创新的有效途径,有利于改善城市政府治理能力,整体推进城市社会的全面进步。     

韧性城市治理体系的构建困境与对策

在现代社会中,快速的城市化进程以及日益严峻的复合型灾害风险,使得传统城市安全治理体系与模式已无法满足需求,韧性治理理念逐渐引起重视。韧性城市治理体系具有健全的城市规划和设计、跨部门合作与协调、公众参与及社会创新、敏锐的风险识别力,以及快速的环境适应和恢复能力等特征。我国韧性城市治理体系构建面临城市建设规划有待升级、城市应急管理体系有待完善、城市空间结构有待优化、城市承载能力有待提升等问题。应升级建设规划,优化韧性城市空间结构;加强基础设施韧性,完善城市应急管理体系;加强生态系统韧性,提升城市承载能力;加强经济和社会韧性,提升城市综合治理水平,以建立完善的韧性城市治理体系。     

城市韧性与城市宜居性耦合协调研究——以长三角城市群为例

文章基于2010—2020年长三角城市群内26个城市的面板数据,结合长三角城市群城市韧性和宜居性发展现状,利用熵值法分别测算二者综合发展指数,在此基础上,进一步运用耦合协调模型进行定量分析。结果表明：长三角城市韧性与城市宜居性总体水平不断上升,相对而言,城市宜居性的发展水平要略高于城市韧性;两系统耦合协调指数较高,总体呈现出相对稳定的态势,区域内部上海耦合协调度保持在最高水平,协调城市类型主要以初级和中级协调为主;空间格局上耦合协调城市板块呈现出环绕式聚集分布。据此,提出通过加强韧性建设来提高城市抵御风险的能力、因地制宜以特色发展打造宜居韧性城市、城市转型实现长三角城市群协调发展等政策建议,进而推动长三角城市群整体综合发展能力,实现以点带面辐射整个城市群。     

Making space for ‘the social’: connecting sociology and professional practices in urban lighting design

Lighting is increasingly recognized as a significant social intervention by both lighting professionals and academic social scientists. However, what counts as ‘the social’ is diverse and contested, with consequences for what kind of ‘social’ is performed or invented. Based on a long‐term research programme, we argue that collaboration between sociologists and lighting professionals requires negotiating discourses and practices of ‘the social’. This paper explores the quality and kinds of spaces made for ‘the social’ in professional practices and academic collaborations, focusing on two case studies of urban lighting that demonstrate how the space of ‘the social’ is constrained and impoverished by an institutionalized division between technical and aesthetic lighting. We consider the potential role of sociologists in making more productive spaces for ‘the social’ in urban design, as part of the central sociological task of ‘inventing the social’ (Marres, Guggenheim and Wilkie 2018) in the process of studying it.     

Conjugal intimacy,gender and modernity in contemporary China

The new generation of modernity theorists have forecast the democratization of gender relations within intimate relationships in late‐modern times. Chinese society has undergone rapid and dramatic changes in its unique trajectory of political, social and economic reform. Using China as an example of a region which has been largely ignored in contemporary social theory, this article enters the debate to contest the extent to which conjugal relationships are democratized in line with modernity. We further test the assertion that modern marriages are characterized by increased self‐disclosure and communication between partners. Data from a national survey on Chinese families is analysed in relation to the level of self‐disclosure between husbands and wives; gender division of housework; household decision‐making; and home ownership. We highlight the impact of gender, cohort and location (urban, rural or migrant) on experiences of modernity and draw attention to the material, social and cultural factors which continue to shape conjugal relations in contemporary Chinese society. Based on our findings, we contest the argument that disclosing intimacy between intimate partners is a defining characteristic of modern relationships, and suggest that other social factors may condition degrees of self‐disclosure in marriage. Similarly, we question the extent to which heterosexual conjugal equality is attained: the cultural practices and values of patrilineal family organization, together with material circumstances, continue to influence marital relations in China.     

Producing ‘internal suspect bodies’: divisive effects of UK counter‐terrorism measures on Muslim communities in Leeds and Bradford

Research on UK government counter‐terrorism measures has claimed that Muslims are treated as a ‘suspect community’. However, there is limited research exploring the divisive effects that membership of a ‘suspect community’ has on relations within Muslim communities. Drawing from interviews with British Muslims living in Leeds or Bradford, I address this gap by explicating how co‐option of Muslim community members to counter extremism fractures relations within Muslim communities. I reveal how community members internalize fears of state targeting which precipitates internal disciplinary measures. I contribute the category of ‘internal suspect body’ which is materialized through two intersecting conditions within preventative counter‐terrorism: the suspected extremist for Muslims to look out for and suspected informer who might report fellow Muslims. I argue that the suspect community operates through a network of relations by which terrors of counter‐terrorism are reproduced within Muslim communities with divisive effects.     

Patterns of alcohol use and marijuana use among students at 2- and 4-year institutions

Objective: The objective of this study was to understand substance use patterns of alcohol, marijuana, and simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use among 2- and 4-year college students. Participants: Participants were 526 young adults aged 18–23 (n?=?355 4-year students; n?=?171 2-year students) recruited from February 2015 to January 2016 who were participating in a larger longitudinal study. Methods: Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify past-month classes of alcohol, marijuana, and SAM use. Results: Among both 2- and 4-year students, a four-class solution yielded the best-fitting model, with 2-year classes tending to include greater marijuana use and less alcohol use and 4-year classes tending to include heavy alcohol use. Demographic characteristics were largely similar across classes. Conclusions: Classes of alcohol, marijuana, and SAM use differed by education status. Screening and prevention efforts for 4-year students may need to be tailored for the needs of 2-year students.     

Implementing a college mental health program – an overview of the first twelve months

Objective: To evaluate the demographics and clinical utilization patterns among college students during the initial 12 months of a novel, multi-disciplinary, collaborative, college mental health program (CMHP). Participants: Undergraduate and graduate students receiving treatment at the CMHP from Jan-Dec 2015. Methods: De-identified data was obtained via electronic health records for all students receiving care through the CMHP. Results: 1.2 FTE clinical providers treated 278 undergraduate and graduate students during the year (65.1% < age 26, 53.6% female, 49.6% caucasian). There were 1822 CMHP outpatient visits, 318 other medical visits and 103 total emergency room (ER)/inpatient visits. Ten students were identified as high utilizers of ER/inpatient services, while charges to the CMHP totaled $470,157 and total charges to the Health System were $2,378,315. Conclusions: Students with complex psychiatric/medical co-morbidities received cost effective, convenient and integrative treatment. Over time, we hope to intervene earlier and decrease ER/inpatient visits.     

Community-based arts research for people with learning disabilities: challenging misconceptions about learning disabilities

This article presents some of the community-based artwork of a group of men with learning disabilities, who aimed to challenge some of the misconceptions associated with learning disabilities. People with learning disabilities regularly face many forms of direct and indirect stigma. The consequences of such negative perceptions may affect individuals’ social relationships and ensure that barriers are strengthened which prevent their full inclusion. The men in this project used a series of visual and creative methods to challenge some of these misconceptions by telling stories through art, demonstrating skill through photography, using poetry to talk about sexual identity and improvising drama and filmmaking to challenge stigma, and through sculpture expressed their voices. Thus, by doing so, they were able to challenge some of the stigma associated with learning disabilities, indicating that community-based arts research is a valuable way in which to promote the voices of people with learning disabilities.     

Through community eyes: the transition of international organizations from community aid to development in postconflict Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone experienced an 11-year civil war, brutalizing its people and destroying its communities. With the cessation of violence, international organizations helped to secure peace, deliver aid and supplies, and, after, assist with development projects. This grounded theory study, which aims to understand the role these organizations played from the viewpoint of community members in 2 communities, posits that community members’ regard of international organizations lessened as their efforts transitioned from securing the peace and relief efforts to aid for development. Highlighted are the successes and challenges of this work and a broad discussion of implications and recommendations.