One does not simply meme about organizations: Exploring the content creation strategies of user-generated memes on Imgur

This study explores how online publics are engaging with organizations by creating and sharing brand-related content online, outside corporate-controlled communication environments. This research employs a quantitative content analysis of memes shared on the social networking site Imgur to reveal how user-generated content conveys meaning about organizations. The analysis reveals brand-centric memes are generally classified as orphan memes, or memes that have distinct textual and visual characteristics separating them from established or emerging meme families. Memes about organizations are neither an overwhelming reflection of biting criticism or support, but rather a reflection of online public engagement with organizations that primarily use humor and textual brand features (or quiddities) to convey their commitment and satisfaction with the organization and unite meme families.     

Public participation and the politics of humiliation

ABSTRACT

The article contends that the most popular form of Public Participation (PP) in SA is public protest, which, as a result of historical continuity, represents a direct response to the humiliations experienced by the poor, unemployed and socially excluded. Despite an enlightened human rights Constitution, if citizens are treated as consumers and left to the vagaries of the market PP mechanisms are likely to fail as they do not address the real social issues at the root of the discontent.     

What does Brunei teach us about using Human Development Index rankings as a policy tool?

The Bruneian Government has set an ambitious target to achieve a top 10 ranking on the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Human Development Index (HDI) by 2035. To achieve its objective (described in a national strategy document called the Wawasan 2035), Brunei's economy needs to grow by 6% to 7%. Is setting an HDI target a good way to govern Brunei's policy‐making? Is it a good way to govern any country's policy‐making? In this article, we look at the role of HDI‐rank targets in economic and fiscal policy. We show that such a headline target (much like a profit target in a private company) automatically sets targets for growth in various economic sectors and fiscal policy targets. As such, HDI‐rank targeting may provide a useful mechanism for co‐ordinating development policies and for monitoring progress against a wide range of development goals using only one number.     

Paradox of public sector capacity building: Lessons from MATT2 UK–Bangladesh co‐operation

This study focuses on the Government of Bangladesh and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) public sector capacity‐building project under collaborative public governance. It examines the efficiency and effectiveness of a foreign‐funded and multistakeholder‐led public sector capacity‐development initiative dubbed Managing at the Top Stage 2 (MATT2) project, and how it contributed to the human resource capacity development in Bangladesh. A combination of data from Government sources, in‐depth interviews, focus group discussions, participant observation and author analysis was adopted. The results showed the project to have been largely successful, despite some challenges.     

Measuring long‐term trends in policy coherence for development

This article measures long term trends in policy coherence for development. Based on result chains, it develops a counterfactual methodology, and then applies it to assess changes in inputs, outputs and outcomes over time. While the literature does not indicate any significant change in policy coherence for development over the last decade, this research finds that, if the time scale is lengthened to 50 years, an overall increase in policy coherence for development of the Dutch government, vis‐à‐vis the DR Congo, in the domains of finance and security, can be detected. These changes in policy coherence for development inputs seem to have contributed, in conjunction with similar policies from other countries, in some instances, to positive outcomes in the DRC.     

政府问责视野中的国家精品课程复核研究

运用新公共服务理论和行政优益权理论分析,国家精品课程建设实质上是教育部为向公众提供优质的高等教育服务、确保优质资源的开放共享,而与申请国家精品课程的高校签订的行政契约,政府作为公共利益的集中代表,有权对国家精品课程建设给予监督并实施复核。     

嵌套博弈视角下的农村公共产品治理机制研究

农村公共产品治理不是一个孤立的博弈,而是嵌套在其它博弈之中。农村基层现有的自上而下的决策体系,使参与人的策略受上级政府偏好的约束。这种嵌套形成了实质上的政府单边治理机制,这是导致农村公共产品治理效率不足的主因。农村公共产品的多样化与复杂性,要求不同的主体参与不同类型的公共产品治理。改革农村基层权力结构,建立以农户需求为导向、自下而上的公共产品决策体系,形成有利于多边治理的新的博弈结构。在改变后嵌套博弈中,农户、企业及非盈利组织都有参与农村公共产品治理的积极性,他们与基层政府、上级政府共同建立起分工协调的多边治理机制,从而提高农村公共产品的治理效率。     

公益诉讼是防范经营性国有资产流失的新路径

公益诉讼是防范国有资产流失的重要制度安排,有助于把社会民众的法律监督权与行政、司法机关对违法行为的审查权有机结合起来,发挥社会对国有资产运营的监督制约功能,增强国有资产经营者行为的规范性;进而形成权利监督权力的机制,为追究国有资产流失行为人的法律责任提供司法传障。     

占道模型:侵占公共利益的原因分析

对于目前各种公共利益和资源的侵占行为分析其原因是十分必要的。从常见的占道模型中,我们会找到侵占公共利益的行为存在的主观原因和客观原因。这些原因主要有:公共利益事实上的产权模糊或不明晰,各级政府及其工作人员对其控制的公共利益管理不善甚至监督不力、责任不清、责任被淡化,我国民众整体的法律意识水平不高甚至个别人法治观念淡薄,社会转型时期的公共利益供应不足等。