How publics’ active and passive communicative behaviors affect their tornado responses: An integration of STOPS and SMCC

During imminent threat crises, such as natural disasters, publics have minutes to decide how to respond after receiving a warning. This study advances understanding of publics’ crisis communicative and noncommunicative behaviors in the context of tornadoes through combining and extending two theories: the social-mediated crisis communication (SMCC) model and the situational theory of problem solving (STOPS). Findings from a survey of Southeast U.S. residents (n = 1,585) indicate that STOPS is internally consistent and accurate at measuring its intended outcomes of communicative action in problem solving. However, the STOPS measures do not have a significant relationship with the desirable outcome for imminent threat crisis communication: individuals following government’s protective action guidance about tornadoes. In comparison, the expanded SMCC model predicts individuals’ self-reported compliance. Finally, variables from the SMCC model and tornado-specific variables were integrated into the STOPS model to explain individuals’ communicative engagement. Implications for theory and public relations practice are discussed.     

Fostering social capital in an international multi-stakeholder issue network

Scholars have theorized that public relations contributes to societies and communities by bringing attention to pressing public issues and fostering social capital in civil society networks. However, the extant research has studied civil society networks of NGOs, donors, and the media in transitional countries. This study extends the public relations model of civil society in two ways. First, it broadens the scope to an international context. Second, it draws from the multi-stakeholder issue network perspective to conceptualize a civil society network as a space where stakeholders of an issue mix their interests as they collectively address a pressing public issue. The literature on international and multi-stakeholder networks suggest that the international scope and the mixing of interests across sectors may restrict the production of social capital. The results from the social network analysis suggests that the mixing of interests across sectoral and geopolitical boundaries did not restrict the production of social capital. Rather, the patterns of the relationships among those on the core and those on the periphery of the network restricted the production of social capital. Such finding demonstrates how public relations’ functions like relationship building can have profound influences on social capital and civil society networks. The implications for public relations theorizing and research are discussed.     

Online crisis communication in a post-truth Chinese society: Evidence from interdisciplinary literature

Through a thematic content analysis of 118 journal articles from interdisciplinary fields, this study reviews the research trends of online crisis communication literature in a Chinese post-truth society, where objective facts play a diminishing role, and Chinese people are losing their trust, despite the best efforts of organizations to deal with fake news in crises. Results of this study disclose some unique crisis communication strategies (e.g., strategic distraction, rumor-rebuttal, fabrication, acting cute, and content censorship) in crises of China. Influential contextual factors such as the political system, cultural values, and media features are identified as well. Theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed, and a greater picture of online crisis communication in contexts is posited for future research.     

阿曼婚姻对等原则的社会基础、实践及前景

婚姻对等原则是中东传统社会中缔结婚姻的主要原则之一。伴随近代以来西方自由、平等观念的传入,中东国家民众逐渐认识到婚姻对等原则的不平等性。尽管大多数中东国家对此原则进行了修改,放弃将其作为法定择偶的标准,但该原则仍在阿曼广泛存在。本文基于婚姻对等原则的历史演变,从部落结构、伊斯兰教、父权制和人口构成等方面考察婚姻对等原则在阿曼社会存在的基础,分析该原则在现代阿曼社会变迁过程中面临的挑战及前景,为理解阿曼现代化进程和社会变迁提供新的视角。     

Design of ISD-1: an instrument for social diagnosis in care homes for older persons*

This article describes the design process and main features of an instrument developed for use in the specialist area of intervention in care homes for older persons. The essential aim of ISD-1 (instrument for social diagnosis) is to permit the correct formulation of social diagnoses and to standardise and define the professional language used by social workers. Its content has been organised into 4 dimensions of social diagnosis, divided into 15 sub-dimensions containing 83 diagnostic categories. This work was performed in Spain, in the 24 care homes of the Madrid Social Care Agency of the Community of Madrid, involving the participation of the 40 social workers practising in these centres. ISD-1 is an easily understood and used tool, of potential use for social workers practising in care homes for older persons and capable of being adapted for use in other institutional environments, as well as being capable of adaptation and translation for its application in other countries.     

Changing Indigeneity Politics in Indonesia: From Revival to Projects

Through the discourse of indigeneity, rural communities around the world are joining a global network of rural justice seekers. By articulating grievances collectively, they demand state recognition while seeking support from NGOs and international development organisations. In Indonesia, the manifestation of indigenous ‘adat’ politics is no longer confined to the national struggle for the recognition of land rights, but instead, has proliferated into many localised short term ‘adat projects’. This introduction to the TAPJA special issue on adat demonstrates that both the rural poor and local elites can be the initiators or recipients of these adat projects but, at the current juncture, the latter are better positioned to benefit from such projects. The special issue shows that in Indonesia, where adat is often firmly entrenched in the state, the promotion of indigeneity claims can work in contradictory ways. Findings from across the special issue show that adat projects tend to reinforce the power of the state, rather than challenging it.     

English proficiency in Australia, 1981 to 2016

Using Australian census data, the paper examines the incidence of poor English competency in Australia from 1981 onwards. The paper examines English competency in relation to various characteristics such as sex, age, language spoken, visa type, citizenship, duration of residence and location. It finds that there was a sharp rise in the numbers of people not speaking English well between the 2011 and 2016 Censuses and special attention is given to this rise in the paper. Recently, the Australian Government unsuccessfully legislated for the introduction of a requirement of English competency at the level of IELTS 6 (the commonly used university entrance level) as a condition for the award of Australian citizenship. The paper argues that this test would have led to a very large number of disenfranchised Australian permanent residents and this would be a highly undesirable result. Nevertheless, employment and social participation are strongly influenced by English competency and residents with poor English are disadvantaged. The policy suggestion is made that participation in a course of English language training for those without functional English skills could be made a precondition of the award of permanent residence—without the application of a passing grade.     

基层维稳的“人墙”模式及其反思——基于小镇在某祭祀活动中的维稳实录

维护社会稳定是基层治理中的重要工作。在节日及重大活动中保持社会秩序稳定,防止诉求者在政府认为不适当的时候,以不适当的方式对外宣泄诉求是基层治理中常规的维稳内容。文章通过描述鄂北一个小镇在某次祭祀活动中的维稳过程,试图说明,目前小镇乃至于全国多数乡镇在维持社会稳定中,惯用一种以人盯人为手段,利用很多人员构筑出多层次的"人墙",将可疑对象控制在"墙"内,最大程度限制其向外界宣泄诉求的"人墙"模式。尽管,在多道"人墙"的阻隔下,维稳效果能达到治理者的预期目的,但这种维稳模式成本过大,而且只是暂时隐藏矛盾而不能真正解决问题,从长远看,不具有可持续性。同时,采取这种方式维稳可能激发诉求者对政府的不满,暴露政府维稳工作的"软肋",甚至可能导致政府和诉求者的关系陷入恶性循环,其最终后果可能是大幅度提高政府维稳的成本和代价。     

试论农村环境保护中公众参与现状与提升策略

农民在农村环境保护中公众参与不足,总体体现为被动参与状态。这归因于农民在观念上欠缺整体性的认识,环境权利意识薄弱,农村环保公众参与的法律规定不明晰等。将农民的公众参与由被动化为主动有三大策略,包括健全农村公众参与环境保护的法律法规,提高农民的环境权利意识;加强环境信息公开,激发农民参与环境保护的主观能动性;发展农村环境保护的社会组织,丰富公众参与渠道等。     

公共责任:社会工作机构的价值选择

社会工作机构的出现是中国社会工作职业化的一个发展,它为社会提供专业社会服务,也为多数的社会工作者提供就业岗位、工作机会、成长空间。社会工作机构独特的公益性质、伦理使命和伦理精神使得公共责任成为社会工作机构中的一个核心问题。社会工作机构公共责任的实现,是一个以制度规范为保障的内外部监督机制完成的他律过程,更是一个由他律走向由内在伦理精神驱动的自律过程。所以,需要建构多元共治的社会工作机构的责任体系。