Introduction: Communication and Civic Engagement in Comparative Perspective

The present era is defined by sweeping changes in economies, social institutions, political party systems, and communication processes in many nations. These changes go by various names from globalization to poststructuralism. The impact of these tectonic shifts in the political foundations of nations is greatly debated. In particular, considerable uncertainty surrounds the effects of various changes on the importance of politics for individual citizens and for the kinds of civic activities that people engage in and even regard as political. This is an important time for communication scholars to develop comparative frameworks that bring conceptions of social change together with how people located in various cultural, demographic, and audience groups define their relations to government and, more broadly, to civil society. At stake is our understanding of the role of communication in shaping these political relations, and in shaping the attitudes of citizens about politics, government, and society itself.     

新加坡青少年公民道德教育研究及启示

重视青少年公民道德教育是新加坡社会秩序和治安环境良好的重要因素之一。新加坡通过培养青少年核心价值观、培养青少年的领导力、减少社区青少年犯罪、为社区青少年提供技能培训与注重社会实践等方式开展实务教育。这对改善我国青少年公民道德教育、创新教育途径与方法、丰富教育形式和载体、强化教育社会功能具有重要启示。     

美国越南人族群的形成和政治参与

美国越南人族群是美国多民族大熔炉中的重要组成部分。20世纪70年代的越南难民潮导致了美国越南人族群数量的激增。他们抵达美国后通过不断努力在经济和社会生活中取得了长足进步,并为其政治参与创造了条件。美国越南人族群在过去30年间的政治参与发生了显著变化,从最初单纯重视游行示威,到逐渐学会运用多种方式参与到美国主流政治生活中去。他们的政治参与还存在着明显的右倾保守化、发展变化迅速等特点。     

当代英国华人社会与政治参与：以2010年大选为中心

本文以英国华人参与2010年下议院选举为中心,分析英国华人社会的变迁与政治参与。本文分为两个主要部分。第一部分讨论近20年来英国华人社会的结构及其特征,指出尽管华人人数迅速增加,但华人社会内部的多元化和碎片化的特征明显存在,这对华人社会内部凝聚力的形成和对英国国家认同感的建立有一定的阻碍作用。近来这一情形有所改变。第二部分围绕参加2010年选举的8位华裔候选人的政纲、组织、策略和选举结果,具体分析英国华人参政的成就与问题。结语部分探讨英国华人社会融合和参政的未来道路以及政策含义。     

Steven Chaffee and the Future of Political Communication Research

This article discusses four basic characteristics of Steven Chaffee's research: going beyond the "common research wisdom," careful explication of concepts, avoiding unsubstantiated charges against the media, and investigation of the social aspects of communication. The evolution of political socialization research is used as an example of how these characteristics have strengthened Chaffee's contribution to that area and to the larger field of political communication. It is argued that the future of this field would benefit from emulation of these characteristics. Continuing problems of political communication research are noted, and various emerging problems are discussed.     

The Practice of Deliberative Democracy: A Study of 16 Deliberative Organizations

This article investigates 16 organizations that attempt to foster better public deliberation in local and national communities. It develops a typology of these organizations and discusses them in the context of the scholarly literature on deliberative democracy. It particularly focuses upon the contributions these organizations may make to debates within the literature between advocates of relational and rational modes of deliberation. It finds that, much like the literature, practitioners of deliberative democracy wrestle with the competing demands of inclusiveness and group cohesion. Organizations attempt to solve this dilemma by stressing group action. However, this emphasis on action raises another dilemma associated with the relation between deliberative and representative models of politics. The essay concludes by suggesting that these organizations have accepted the challenge of improving public life through discourse that has been laid down by deliberative democratic theory. As such, they represent a natural experiment in deliberative democracy that deserves the serious attention of the scholarly community.     

Internet Regulation Process Model: The Effect of Societies,Communities, and Governments

The Internet is often seen as borderless and unmanageable and, therefore, not fully understandable. Starting from the assumption that it can be understood, we begin an attempt to organize the Internet by characterizing it as a behavior space in which groups categorized as societies, communities, and governments interact. We emphasize the utility of organizing the Internet and focus specifically on attempts by societies, communities, and governments to regulate the flow of information. We posit an Internet regulation process model that, we believe, explains most of the efforts to regulate the Internet. In addition, we provide some insight into the relationships between and within the various groups involved. Our conclusions center on the observation that political power (especially Western political power) has been a defining factor in the regulation of the Internet as governments have played a prominent role in regulatory action.     

Cautious Surfers: The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Negotiates the Wave of the Information Age

Due to the ongoing information revolution, diplomats find themselves in an increasingly competitive information-intensive environment where they have to prove that they still are relevant and needed. The article explores this general development by detailing how the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has related to the technological challenge. Drawing on personal interviews with MFA staff, study of MFA documents including reports from Norwegian embassies and delegations, as well as participant observation, reasons for the relative tardiness and path-dependence in implementing IT-supported organizational change at the MFA are explored.     

Television and attitudes toward foreign countries: A report on a survey of Scandinavian children

Children of all ages are more likely to use electronic sources of information such as television and radio-than they are print sources-such as newspapers and magazines-according to a variety of studies. This study examines whether this tendency continues if the children are forced by their primary and secondary school teachers to use multiple news sources-of their own choice-to follow an election campaign. Based on responses from an extraordinarily large sample of 24,348 children, this study focuses on media use by participants in the Kids Voting USA civics education program. Study results demonstrate that even when seeking campaign information in 1994, a non-presidential election year when the emphasis was more on state and local races, children overwhelmingly preferred television and radio as sources of information. Newspaper usage trailed both electronic forms even when a child's family subscribed to a paper. The study found no significant difference between White and non-White children in their choices and uses of information sources. The large sample size also allowed for a detailed look at often neglected subgroups such as Native American children (n = 1,114) and Asian-American children (n = 768).     

东亚电子信息产品的出口与经济增长

本文论述了东亚电子信息产业发展的历史和现状,分析了东亚电子信息产品出口与经济增长的关系, 指出东亚的经济增长过分依赖于电子信息产品的出口是导致2001年经济衰退的直接原因。     

阿拉伯国家信息技术发展与面临的挑战

进入21世纪,全球信息技术飞速发展.国际上传统的经济竞争模式转移到以科技、信息为代表的技术竞争上,信息竞争已成为在该领域处于弱势的发展中国家不得不面对的现实.阿拉伯地区各国政府面对信息全球化的机遇与挑战已开始重视并着手制定相应的发展战略.阿拉伯国家在信息技术领域与发达国家还有很大差距,但一些阿拉伯国家依托自身优势条件已在这一领域崭露头角.在信息全球化氛围中,阿拉伯国家如何面对信息技术发展的挑战,及采取何种应对策略,值得我们关注.     

中韩农业结构特征与一体化合作研究

依据农业生产和贸易层面对两国农业的互补性与竞争性及其变化情况的考察发现,两国农业在土地、劳动力和资本等农业生产要素上具有一定的互补性,成为农业一体化的促进因素;但两国农业生产的同质性以及中国对韩国的农产品单边出口贸易结构又制约着一体化进程。中韩农业一体化的条件尚不成熟,两国应作为中长期目标来推进;按照比较优势原则调整各自农业结构,在调整中开展多方位的深层合作是两国农业实现共同发展的途径。     

Negotiating the Marcellus: The Role of Information in Building Trust in Extractive Deals

New technology has expanded the opportunities for energy companies within the United States, often bringing them into populated communities and requiring them to negotiate deals with landowners. This case study focuses on how one group of landowners in northeastern Pennsylvania creatively reimagined the process of negotiating in a natural gas deal. They used collective bargaining for leverage, and the Internet and social media to level the informational playing field. These techniques allowed them to develop trust within the group and ultimately with one company, as they sought to protect their environment and enhance their financial gain.     

The Citizen-Consumer: Media Effects at the Intersection of Consumer and Civic Culture

Scholars in various fields have speculated that the commercialization of mass media has contributed to the decline of civic culture. They contend that the personal needs emphasized by product-saturated mass media diminish civic-mindedness by creating an individualistic consumption-oriented culture. Despite this critique, some scholars argue that mass media do not erode civic culture in favor of consumer culture; rather, the two are thought to be positively interrelated. Although these contrasting perspectives have been repeatedly discussed, research has rarely empirically investigated these contending claims. We examine media influences on civic and consumer culture while considering the interrelationships of consumer attitudes and behaviors with civic participation using the 2000 DDB Life Style Study. In doing so, we distinguish between news and entertainment media and between socially conscious and status-oriented consumption. A latent variable structural equation model is used to test hypotheses. Results suggest that consumption behaviors and civic participation are not conflicting, even though media foster commercial attitudes and motivate consumption. Overall, media effects on this dynamic are positive, suggesting that critiques of media demobilization may be misplaced.