网络舆论形成的原因与规避机制探析

网络舆论虽是社会舆论的一部分,但在形成原因与破解之道等方面却有其自身的独特性。社会失范事件的刺激、表达机制的缺失、网络的工具性优势、网络传媒的利益诉求及价值共识的内在支撑等是其形成的主要原因。因此,应立足于政府、法治、网络媒体与网民的四重视角,建构以政府疏导为主体、以法治建设为保障、以网络媒体为关键、以网民素养提升为基础的规避机制。     

涉警网络舆情中公安机关公信力建设探究

网络媒体的崛起构建着涉警网络舆情生态。正面、负面或中性类型的舆情都与公安机关公信力相关联。当前公安机关公信力危机的主要症结在于自身建设不过硬和涉警网络舆情引导培育不到位两个方面。公安机关必须采取“软”“硬”兼施策略：既练好网下硬功夫,取信于民,又增强网上软实力,授信于众,稳步创建和提升涉警网络舆情中的公安机关公信力。     

网络反腐的功能缺陷与完善理路

网络反腐是信息时代新技术在政治生活特别是反腐倡廉领域中的运用。作为反腐新形式和新载体,网络反腐已呈现出效果初显、个性鲜明、势头正兴、期待较高的新态势。与此同时,受拘于主体的认知度、要件的完备性、机制的成熟度和短暂的实践期,作为新生事物的网络反腐也存在着缺陷。解决问题的关键路径:一是在思想认识上,要科学、全面、准确定位,即网络反腐是网络民主和网络政治参与的重要形式,而不是网上反腐与利用网络反腐;网络反腐是反腐倡廉体系的有机部分和新生长点,而不是对既有体系的取代和颠覆。二是在实践操作上,应为网络反腐提供良好的法律、政策与技术支持,构建契合网络民主真义、体现网络机理特征的网络反腐机制。     

Social Network Analysis of German Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq

ABSTRACT

Why do Westerners become foreign fighters in civil conflicts? We explore this question through original data collection on German foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq, and test three sets of hypotheses that revolve around socioeconomic integration, online radicalization, and social network mobilization. We conduct link analysis to map the network of German foreign fighters prior to their mobilization, and marshal evidence to assess the validity of competing explanations. We find only modest support for the integration deficit hypothesis, and meager support for the social media radicalization theory. Instead, the preponderance of evidence suggests that interpersonal ties largely drive the German foreign fighter phenomenon. Recruitment featured clustered mobilization and bloc recruitment within interconnected radical milieus, leading us to conclude that peer-to-peer networks are the most important mobilization factor for German foreign fighters.     

Disputes on the Question of Wartime Education and the Formation of an Educational Policy for the Guomindang in the War

Abstract

The divide between the Western-emphasized and Chinese-emphasized approaches in Chinese musical modernity has shaped the thinking and practice of Chinese music. In colonial Shanghai, where the divide was solidified, the divide was organizationally represented by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the Great Unity Music Society. Both forces, however, engaged with the same ethical and political discourse of nation-building. For example, both looked up to the colonial Shanghai Municipal Orchestra as a desirable model. Assessing such subtle connections, this article uses the idea of network to overcome the dichotomatic limitation of the divide, while examining its foundation. Drawing upon concepts of “weak ties” and “conflictual ties,” this article shows how interdependence and rivalry overlapped in the emerging musical network, which shaped the new discursive, performance, and compositional practices in both forces. Both forces, indeed, were equally constitutive of the emerging “field” of music in Chinese modernity.     

Notes on recent dissertations

The growing popularity and use of news Web sites around the world provides new possibilities for studying the position of the United States in the world system charted by digital news items. In this article, we look at 35 popular news sites in 10 different languages over a 2-year period, in order to assess the position of the United States in world news as well as to identify possible explanations for it. Our findings show that the United States is by far the most prominent country in the news sites that we studied from around the world, except for the French and Arabic ones. The network structure of news links clearly exhibits its key position as the centerpiece of a global system. Economic factors better explain America's news prominence than political, social, and geographical factors. Yet, none of the many variables we examined could explain the large gap between the news prominence of the United States and that of the rest of the world. We discuss possible reasons for these findings and suggest directions for further studies in the field.

[Supplementary material is available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Political Communication for the following free supplemental resource: network data.]     

Social Mobilization and the Networked Public Sphere: Mapping the SOPA-PIPA Debate

This article investigates the public debate over proposed U.S. legislation designed to give prosecutors and copyright holders new tools to pursue suspected online copyright violations. We compiled, mapped, and analyzed a set of 9,757 stories published over 16 months relevant to the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA), Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). This study applies a mixed-methods approach that combines text and link analysis with human coding and informal interviews to map the evolution of the controversy over time and to analyze the mobilization, roles, and interactions of various actors. We find a vibrant, diverse, and decentralized networked public sphere that exhibited broad participation, leveraged topical expertise, and successfully reframed a debate and focused public sentiment to shape national public policy. A network of small-scale commercial tech media, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and individuals fulfilled the fourth estate function; traditional media then amplified the work of these actors. The campaign involved substantial experimentation and rapid development of mobilization strategies. We observe an increased public awareness of an agenda originating in the networked public sphere, which emerged successfully despite substantial expenditures attempting to produce a mass media narrative that favored the legislation. Moreover, we witness what we call an attention backbone, in which more trafficked sites amplify less-visible individual voices on specific subjects. The data suggest that, at least in this case, the networked public sphere enabled a dynamic public discourse that involved both individual and organizational participants and offered substantive discussion of complex issues contributing to affirmative political action.     

The Coevolution of Networks and Political Attitudes

How do attitudes and social affiliations coevolve? A long stream of research has focused on the relationship between attitudes and social affiliations. However, in most of this research the causal relationship between views and affiliations is difficult to discern definitively: Do people influence each other's views so that they converge over time or do they primarily affiliate (by choice or happenstance) with those of similar views? Here we use longitudinal attitudinal and whole network data collected at critical times (notably, at the inception of the system) to identify robustly the determinants of attitudes and affiliations. We find significant conformity tendencies: Individuals shift their political views toward the political views of their associates. This conformity is driven by social ties rather than task ties. We also find that political views are notably unimportant as a driver for the formation of relationships.     

Interorganisational Relations and Goal Consensus: An Exploratory Study in Two Local Dutch Service Delivery Networks

The present study explores how similarity in policy preferences within pairs of organisations in service delivery networks (that is, goal consensus) is related to existing bilateral interorganisational relations. We distinguish between different types of interorganisational relations and hypothesise that stronger relations are positively associated with goal consensus. A social network analysis is performed using data on 546 ties in two complete service delivery networks in a medium-sized city in the Netherlands. Results indicate that the strongest association is between goal consensus and types of interorganisational relations that imply more strategic information exchange between members of the organisations – especially managerial interaction.     

Local Democracy in a Digital Age: Lessons for Local Government from the Manchester Congestion Charge Referendum

Local government in England has, in general, struggled with exploiting the much heralded democratic potential of the Internet. Evaluations of the local e-democracy initiatives, funded as part of the New Labour Government's e-government programme, were largely unfavourable. Since this initiative ended usage of the Internet has arguably reached a critical mass opening new opportunities for local policy makers interested in more effectively involving citizens in the local decision-making process. This article illustrates these opportunities by drawing on new empirical evidence of the online political activity associated with the 2008 Manchester Congestion Charge referendum. It also serves to highlight the political challenges facing local government and argues that if the Internet is to be used for strengthening local democracy then local government must become a fit for purpose institution and develop strategies that tackle the online influence of vested economic interests and the problem of enacting local citizenship online.