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.     

Institutionalizing public relations in China: A sociological analysis of the Chinese Premier's Press Conference

Unlike previous studies that focus on the problems of public relations management, this study tackles the institutionalization of PR in China from a sociological perspective. Through the process of social construction, public relations is institutionalized according to changes in the larger environment, making use of different sources of legitimation. Focusing on the evolution of the Chinese Premier's Press Conference (CPPC), this study finds that the institutionalization of PR in China, especially in the realm of governmental practices, has varied in its structure, settings and contents, which are mixed with informal features within the Chinese social–political context. The CPPC has become a venue for top-down publicity for the powers that be. Because the organizational structure of the CPPC is more centralized than that of other governmental institutions, the form and content of its PR communications are mostly predictable. However, it is the process of the institutionalization of the CPPC that is revealing of how the Chinese government rationalizes its authority and legitimacy.     

Apps4Africa: A new State Department public diplomacy initiative

In 2010 the U.S. State Department funded an “Apps4Africa” contest to encourage development of socially conscious mobile applications for Africa. The initiative marked a significant departure from traditional public diplomacy efforts to expand diplomatic outreach beyond traditional government-to-government relationships. This case study analyses Apps4Africa to reveal its appropriateness as a model for future efforts and concludes Apps4Africa succeeded primarily because it responded to the changing dynamics of the 21st Century.     

Social media adoption among Turkish public relations professionals: A survey of practitioners

Social media is emerging as an important public relations tool and empowers two way symmetrical communications with publics and stakeholders. PR professionals are confronted with the swift rise of social media that forces practitioners to pay due and timely attention. They are not only excited about utilizing these tools together with conventional media, but are also excited about speaking directly to their publics and stakeholders without the involvement of any intermediaries. Through the perspective of UTAUT model, this paper examines the social media adoption of PR professionals in Turkey and how they employ social media tools both internally and externally. We employed a web-based questionnaire to 126 PR professionals who are members of the Turkish Public Relations Association. Findings reveal that Turkish PR professionals highly appreciate the importance of social media in recent PR practice. However, not all social media tools are equally adopted; e-mail is the most, and virtual world applications are the least adopted social media. It is also found that in the future, social networks are expected to be the most important social media, while corporate web sites get the second and mobile phone (PDA) applications get the third rank.     

建设服务型政府,实现公共服务提供主体多元化

服务型政府将满足公民需求作为最高工作目标,不仅要求强化社会管理和公共服务职能,更需要通过体制机制创新来促进公共服务的有效供给。其中,公共服务的供给机制有效与否是政府不同层级和不同部门都要面对的普遍性问题。针对公共服务的混合性和复杂性,以及我国在公共服务提供方面的问题,参考发达国家的政府改革经验,我国应培育多元化的公共服务供给主体,通过将分散、异质性的服务需求与非规模化的服务供给对接来间接满足服务需求。多元化供给机制有利于发挥行政机制、市场机制和社会机制的各自优势,并实现三者的有机结合,从而有利于整合各种社会资源,满足公民的异质性公共服务需求。     

创新、升级与培育——2013上海文化消费报告

在全国文化消费方兴未艾的背景下,上海文化消费尤为繁盛。在载体方面,创新与多元化趋势增强。由政府主导的基础型公共文化服务体系进一步完善,消费产品更加多样化,但仍存在公共文化机构数量不足、消费理念薄弱等问题。电影节、书展、动漫节、艺术节、艺博会五大节庆类公共文化平台在消费产品多元化、亲民化、国际化方面的趋势更加明显。新媒体作为市场主导的自主型文化消费载体,发展迅猛。网购、APP、微博经济、网络文学消费稳步增长。在客体方面,假日旅游和出境游消费火爆,私人影院等体验式消费备受青睐,演艺、奢侈品消费呈爆发式增长。在主体方面,上海已形成高、中、低3类消费主体并存的文化消费格局,阶层化倾向日趋明显。     

利益集团与社会管理:挑战与出路

利益集团显性化是当前我国经济社会发展过程中的一个突出现象。与阶级阶层分化相比,集团利益分化有着不同的特点。它的产生客观上要求一种新的社会管理方法来协调和化解不同集团间的利益分歧、矛盾和冲突。当前,我国尚处于"有利益集团现象,但无利益集团政治"的阶段。既有的利益集团管理仍沿袭社团管理的理念和方法,本质上是政治控制型管理和精英吸纳型管理在利益集团问题上的应用,不能适应我国集团利益分化的现状和特点。为此,要改革现有的社团管理体制,并构建与社团管理体制相衔接的利益集团管理。