What's wrong with sociology? Its public image

In response to editor Stephen Cole's question—"What's wrong with sociology?"—the answer is nothing that cannot be overcome by clearer communications and better public relations. The problem is that the field is not held in high esteem by college administrators, legislators, and the public. Many see us as rebels of the 1960s, political liberals, and impractical thinkers with a penchant for jargon. Even our research is derided by some as a waste of money. The solution consists of strategies for overcoming our poor public image. Seven strategies for doing so are discussed: (1) Write clearly. (2) Write for a mass audience. (3) Seek board positions. (4) Strengthen our identity. (5) Teach sociology in high school. (6) Develop academic partnerships. (7) Emphasize outcomes: increase in tolerance and research skills.     

Public Enterprise Reform in Fiji Islands

Reforming the public sector has been on the agenda of nations throughout the world since the late 1970s. Fiji is no exception. It has embarked on reforming its commercial and industrial enterprises since the late 1980s. The government of Fiji has reformed most of its enterprises with an avowed objective of enhancing profitability, productivity, efficiency and accountability. This paper makes an attempt to share some of the experiences of public enterprise reform process in Fiji. It aims to analyze the background, process, contents and impact of the reform and examine the factors impeding the reform program. It highlights that (a) both internal and external factors were responsible for introducing reforms; (b) the reform efforts have not been able to produce desired results; (c) the structural inadequacies in institutions and organizations have created bottlenecks in the reform process; and (d) uncertainty in the political sphere has contributed further to policy shifts.     

Making Sense of Organizations in Public Management: A Back-to-Basics Approach

This article addresses some basic facts and ideas about organizations as a way of concluding the symposium. It identifies different types of organizations in terms of their legal-structural characteristics, and considers aspects of their legal power, ownership, financing, staffing, and outsourcing. It ends with some suggestions for further related research on organizations.     

Forest Fire Risk Management and Public Participation in Changing Socioenvironmental Conditions: A Case Study in a Mediterranean Region

Under current conditions of accelerated socioenvironmental change in the Mediterranean forested landscapes, fire is one of the most critical and difficult risks to tackle within the region. This article summarizes the lessons learned from a project based on the participatory integration of qualitative local stakeholders' knowledge with expert GIS fire simulations carried out in the County of El Bages, Catalonia, Spain. First, in this article, a theoretical model--the forest fire circle--is presented in order to explain the reasons for the rise in the damage and frequency of forest fires in this Mediterranean area. Second, it describes the methodology developed and the stages followed during the project. Results show that: (1) the advocacy of old forest reactive management paradigm assumptions and practices based on uncontrolled forest succession can put vast wooded areas of the Mediterranean basin at critical risk; and (2) forest fire management approaches that ignore the crucial role of long-term prevention and local capacity building strategies have failed. In the final section, the content and the specific dimensions of the old reactive paradigm that has characterized forest fire risk management in Catalonia are discussed and contrasted with the possibly emerging preventative paradigm.     

Public Meetings and Risk Amplification: A Longitudinal Study

This article offers longitudinal data tracking people who did and did not attend a series of public meetings in an upstate New York rural community grappling with the expansion of an existing solid waste landfill and remediation of an adjacent inactive hazardous waste site. Before and after the public meetings, mailed questionnaires measured risk perceptions and perceived credibility of risk managers (here, the state government agencies and the responsible industry) conducting the meetings. Respondents at each measurement point included meeting attendees and nonattendees, with some fluctuation over time when attendees at one measurement point were nonattendees at the next and vice versa. The results from the first survey indicate that following the first two public meetings, attendees perceived greater risks from the waste sites than did nonattendees; attendees also perceived the risk managers as less credible. After the third public meeting, the results showed that attendees' risk perceptions remained steady; however, perceptions of government agency credibility significantly decreased. After the fourth public meeting, the survey found that attendees' risk perceptions were again not significantly different, whereas perceptions of government agency credibility increased significantly. The industry's credibility also increased, though only among attendees who had attended the most recent public meeting, not among attendees who had attended both the third and fourth public meetings. For nonattendees, risk perceptions and credibility ratings did not change. The discussion examines how distinctive characteristics of communication at each public meeting may have resulted in different effects and proposes hypotheses for future research.     

公共利益的概念建构评析 ——行政伦理学的视角

文章系统地梳理了美国行政学理论发展过程中的“公共利益”观念的变迁;批判了诸种功利主义和技治主义行政学理论对于“公共利益”的片面甚至错误的看法;主张将“公共利益”取向视为行政人必备的一种精神,一种职业信仰和终极向往。     

基于医疗质量的公立医院绩效体系构建研究

目的：运用德尔菲法构建一套科学、可操作的公立医院绩效评价体系。方法：采用文献法研究国内外绩效评价理论,结合问卷结果形成初始量表。通过德尔菲法对指标进行两轮筛选及优化。结果：初步形成由“社会效益”、“质量安全”、“运行效益与效率”为基本结构的指标体系,包括3个一级指标、13个二级指标和72个三级指标。结论：该指标体系重点关注医院公益性及内涵质量,对公立医院绩效评价具有一定参考意义。     

公众参与引导下的重大工程社会矛盾化解机制

新时代网络社会的不确定性、突变性等特征极大地颠覆了重大工程社会矛盾的阶段演化特性,对传统封闭性的社会矛盾化解机制设计提出了新挑战,具有多元非中心性的公众参与在应对该挑战中可发挥重要的引导作用。基于裂缝假说分析重大工程社会冲突困境,提出建立与公众参与水平相匹配的参与制度是困境化解的关键路径;将公众参与成熟度作为公众参与水平划分工具,按照低、中、高将其划分为3 个水平;引入网络化治理理论,建立与公众参与水平相匹配的公众参与机制,即形成“政府主导-社区参与”型、“政府引导-社会组织介入”型、“政府与社会组织协同合作”型机制,推动公众参与引导重大工程社会矛盾的自我疏导、自我治理和自我化解,形成全民共建共享的网络化治理新格局。     

教育政策的利益分析——以择校问题为例

利益是公共政策分析的基本范畴,实现公共利益是教育政策制定最重要的目标。教育政策的利益分析包括利益主体分析、利益需求分析、利益实现方式分析以及利益结果分析四个方面。从利益分析的角度来看,择校问题实际上是由于优质教育资源供需矛盾而导致的,其中教育资源分配不均衡是根本原因。择校代表了一种个人的基本权利,体现的是个人利益。通过改革不合理的教育供给方式、增加教育服务供给,是治理择校问题、平衡公共利益和私人利益的有效途径。     

新媒体背景下公众参与生态文明建设的路径

党的十八、十九大均指出,生态文明建设功在当代、利在千秋。十九大进一步明确提出要构建“政府主导、社会协同、公众参与、法治保障”的生态文明建设新局面。《环境保护公众参与办法》的出台为公众参与环境保护提供了强有力的制度保障,但公众的参与程度与许多因素有关。在积极发动和鼓励公众参与生态文明建设的过程中,政府可发挥新媒体协商平台的作用,提高新媒体的回应能力,为公众参与生态文明建设提供保障;公众应借助新媒体互动平台的功能,进一步提升生态意识,践行生态行为,自觉维护生态环境;环保组织要发挥新媒体的聚焦作用,推动环保组织的成长壮大。