Does Coproduction of Public Services Support Government's Social Equity Goals? The Case of U.S. State Parks

The growing phenomenon of government-supporting charities prompts the question of whether these institutions help or hinder public values of equity in service access. Logit and tobit regression analysis using multiple data sources from the California and Florida state parks systems compares public parks with and without supporting “friends” groups. The results suggest that while parks philanthropy has produced real benefits in rallying citizen support for improved public spaces, it also introduces some distributional consequences that policy makers should not ignore. Namely, a philanthropic failure hypothesis is supported whereby wealthier Florida counties with greater income inequality are more likely to benefit from a charity supporting a nearby state park. Finding no similar result in California, the authors conclude that the association between community wealth and park charity presence may also depend on state characteristics such as the funding structure of each state park system, not just community wealth differences.     

中央环保督察:压力型环境治理模式的自我调适—一项基于内容分析法的案例研究

本文旨在利用内容分析法全面展示中央环保督察这一中国环境治理场域下的最新治理实践。中央环保督察的启动是中央政府对压力型环境治理实践中失衡的央地关系、府际关系和政社关系的主动调适,并试图消解因上述关系失衡可能引致的合法性风险。环保督察的实施一方面实现了环保压力的再传导,并通过引导地方政府的注意力来塑造其对环境治理的长期偏好,另一方面也通过建立督查信息链改善了央地间的信息不对称。但由于环保督察内生于压力型体制,因而其领导、组织和运行的微观机制还无法摆脱对运动式治理的路径依赖,这反映了转型期中国环境治理实践的特点:复杂繁重的环境治理任务呼唤进一步完善以法治化为核心的常规治理,但替代性治理机制的匮乏使中央在短期内仍需借助高规格的环保督察来倒逼地方政府完善常规治理。     

Plugged In

When people fabricate stories about a person,especially a popular star,and then spread them online,they cannot hide behind screens.They can easily be traced and taken to court.A report released on December 19,2019by the Beijing Internet Court showed that about 28 percent or 41,948,of Internetrelated cases filed from January to November of the same year were related to reputation infringement.     

The Soft Strength

Taijiquan, an ancient Chinese martial art recently listed as a world intangible cultural heritage, builds both physical and mental strength Upon receiving the news that Taijiquan was decorated with a world intangible cultural heritage accolade on December 17, 2020, Chen Ziqiang was teaching a Taijiquan class in his hometown.     

The Soft Link

An NGO's efforts to promote people-to-people diplomacy between Chinaand the United States It was on Harvard's campus that Liu Xi hit upon the idea to set up a program to bring the real China to more Harvard students.Liu attended a master's program at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) from 2013 to2015.While studying in the U.S.,she realized that many Americans have a biased view of China.     

Mouth Covered,Masks Talk

Masks hide half the face,but new designs have made them objects of expression Much of the world may be paralyzed by COVID-19,but not fashion.Face masks,the new accessory du jour amid the pandemic,have opened up a new avenue of creativity in the fashion industry.     

SKY ROCKETING

正Private rocket developers in China have taken off, embarking on a long marchChinese private rocket developer, i-Space has successfully completed a test run on a new engine it hopes will power its next test rocket later this year. The breakthrough was made on April 26, just three days before China's launch of Tianhe, the core module for its first permanent space station Tiangong.While visually less spectacular than the launch of Tianhe, the iSpace test run was important for the company as it prepares for its next attempt to send a rocket into orbit.     

Breaking Into the Olympics

正From b-boys to Olympic athletesWhen they fell in love with breakdancing,or breaking, these young boys in beanie hats and baggy clothes never could have imagined this fringe cultural offering would one day become a mainstream Olympic sport.Shang Xiaoyu felt star-crossed when breakdancing foot rocked its way into his life.Considered a bad student who frequently skipped class and got into fights with other students in junior middle school,this millennial had no idea how his life could,and would,be changed dramatically by a niche dance genre.Shang was 13.It was a regular day at school when he happened to pass through a classroom where a handful of students were practicing their breaking moves.A mere glance of the scene made him stop in his tracks.This looks super cool,Shang said.I must learn how to do that.     

The Virus Variant Woes

正After over 20 days of zero domestic COVID-19 cases,a newly emerging cluster is sounding the alarm across China.Locally transmitted cases had been reported in 17provincial regions in the country as of August 4,according to the National Health Commission (NHC).