Conditional impact of facebook as an information source on political opinions: the case of political reform in Hong Kong

This study is interested in the impact of Facebook as a source for political information on public opinion during political controversies. In a society where the mainstream media are under heavy influence by the dominant power and yet Internet communication is largely open and free, social media may become particularly important for the transmission of critical information and viewpoints. The social media information environment may exhibit an overall ‘anti-establishment bias.’ However, the impact of social media should vary across individuals depending on the extent and character of user selectivity. Analysis of data collected during the political reform debate in Hong Kong (N?=?3,246) show that reliance on Facebook as an information source relates negatively to support for the government’s reform proposal. But the relationship is strongest for people without a strong political orientation and people who do not name any newspapers as their main information source. General theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Building Reciprocal Partnerships for Service-Learning: The Experiences of Hong Kong Secondary School Teachers

With the maturation of the service-learning field in recent years, school–community partnerships have emerged as an important area for studying the effectiveness of this type of experiential education. However, the paucity of studies of school–community partnerships indicates that they are only beginning to be understood and thus require further investigation. Drawing upon 5 focus group interviews with 22 secondary school teachers in Hong Kong, this study gives examples of the diversity of service-learning partnerships and provides strategies for developing and maintaining effective partnerships. The research and practice implications of the present findings for promoting reciprocal school–community partnerships are discussed.     

Old wine in new bottles: a county-level case study of anti-corruption reform in the People’s Republic of China

This paper examines the role of the target-based responsibility system for building upright Party style and clean government in combating corruption in local China. It argues that the effectiveness of the target-based responsibility system in corruption control is compromised by a number of implementation hurdles in practice. Based on a close examination of one county, Shaanxi Province in the northwest China, this study shows that low measurability of the targets, the conflict between anti-corruption work and other evaluation targets, and the impact of patronage politics account for the implementation failure of the target-based responsibility system. The fundamental problem lies in that under China’s unified cadre personnel management system, political will can interfere with the handling of corruption on a case-by-case basis, no matter what kind of anti-corruption mechanism is employed. Under this context, the adoption of the target-based responsibility system in fighting corruption results in nothing more than “pouring old wine into new bottles.”

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The elevated risk for non-lethal post-separation violence in Canada: a comparison of separated, divorced, and married women

The purpose of the study was to shed light on the potentially differing dynamics of violence against separated and divorced women by their ex-husbands and violence against married women by their current husbands. Using a nationally representative sample of 7,369 heterosexual women from Cycle 13 of Statistics Canada's General Social Survey, available risk markers were examined in the context of a nested ecological framework. Separated women reported nine times the prevalence of violence and divorced women reported about four times the prevalence of violence compared with married women. The strongest predictors of violence against married women, namely, patriarchal domination, sexual jealousy, and possessiveness, were not significant predictors of violence against separated and divorced women. This suggested that post-separation violence is a complex phenomenon the dynamics of which can be affected by much more than domination and ownership.     

传染性法氏囊病病毒的生态学研究——非鸡禽鸟类自然感染传染性法氏囊病病毒的血清学调查

用传染性法氏囊病病毒（ＩＢＤＶ）单克隆抗体夹心阻断ＥＬＩＳＡ对麻雀、鸭、鹅进行了ＩＢＤＶ血清学调查，麻雀的阳性率为７．４％（４／５４），鸭的阳性率为９５．５％（３６３／３８０），鹅的阳性率为９．４％（１１／１１７）。表明ＩＢＤＶ传播已非常广泛，提示麻雀、鸭、鹅特别是鸭在ＩＢＤＶ生态和传播中可能起重要作用。     

Leaders,coalition politics,and policy‐formulation in China: The great leap forward revisited

This article is a detailed critique of the thesis contained in David Bachman's book on the origins of the Great Leap Forward (GLF). By adopting the so‐called “neo‐institutional” approach, Bachman argues that Li Fuchun and Bo Yibo, leaders of a “Planning and Heavy Industry Coalition” “which had defeated a rival “Finance Coalition “ in 1957, were responsible for initiating and determining the development strategy of the GLF. It follows that Mao's role in the “leap” was very limited; the GLF was made possible when he gave official blessing to the programs of the victorious coalition. The author examines the historical and documentary sources on the GLF to demonstrate the contradictions contained in Bachman's theoretical framework, and the many faulty ways he interprets the data. He argues that Bachman's attempt to debunk the Mao‐dominant model in policy‐making during the GLF is a failure.     

Acquiescence/Estoppel in International Boundaries: Temple of Preah Vihear Revisited

Boundaries between States have long been a major source of internationalconflicts, and international law has adopted the principlesof acquiescence and estoppel in stabilising and adjudicatingupon any such frictions. Whilst the principles have generallyserved their purpose, the International Court of Justice failedto apply them correctly in Temple of Preah Vihear, a decisionthat will be scrutinised herein against the essential elementsof acquiescence and estoppel.