The devil we know and the angel that did not fly: An examination of devil/angel shift in twitter fracking “debates” in NY 2008–2018

Recent work has applied the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) to examine narrative strategies in policy debates on social media platforms. We contribute to the literature by applying the NPF to fracking policy debates in New York using well-established Natural Language Processing tools, including sentiment analysis. We combine this computational approach with a qualitative hand-coding of pro- and antifracking Twitter influentials. This approach allows us to consider a much larger corpus of tweets over a much longer time frame than has been done thus far. We adapt and test NPF propositions related to the use of the devil/angel shift strategies before and after a major state-wide policy change, that is, a state-wide moratorium on high volume hydraulic fracturing or fracking. Overall, we find evidence for the use of the devil shift narrative strategy by the pro-fracking coalition aimed at the Governor prior to the moratorium. After the moratorium, the relative percentage of Tweets containing devil shift sentiments decreases as the pro-fracking coalition generally downshifts in its use of angel shift language without a corresponding increase in devil shift language, whereas, conversely, the anti-fracking coalition generally downshifts in its use of devil shift language without a general increase in angel shift language. When we shifted our analysis to Tweets containing fracking and the Governor, we found a similar postban decrease in devil shift language among anti-fracking users. Our findings offer lessons for using computational tools in the NPF as an approach to expand analytic ability and for the operationalization of concepts such as narrative strategies and policy entrepreneurs.     

中国语境下的媒介审判———以程序正义为视角简

媒体介入刑事审判更多地是对审判独立形成了一种干预,社会舆论的日益自由化和一定程度的不可控性,极易引起党政机关领导及国家司法行政机关的关注,转而对法官依照事实和法律独立地形成心证作出裁断产生干扰.但不可否认的是,媒介审判以其刚性的表征客观上也起到了其本质上监督审判运行的作用,对于现阶段完善我国的审判监督机制具有着某种意义上的积极作用.     

论新媒体环境下大学生思想政治教育面临的新机遇

新媒体环境下,大学生思想政治教育既面临着新的挑战,也面临新的机遇。各类新媒体给高校思想政治教育客体的学习生活带来了积极影响,极大地丰富了思想政治教育的内容,增强了其时效性、互动性和针对性,拓宽了思想政治教育的范围和空间,有利于思想政治教育新的方式方法的运用。     

Editor's note

This study applies Elisabeth Noelle‐Neumann's spiral of silence theory to the controversial issue of whether children with AIDS should be allowed to attend public school. The study tests the theory's hypotheses in light of two content analyses of the media's treatment of the issue. The findings offer tentative and qualified support for Noelle‐Neumann's theoretical propositions about the relationship between individuals' perceptions of the issue and the media's tenor of the issue; particularly that of television. The findings suggest the need to address the role of other agents of influence, including reference groups, and to use time‐based data to unravel the causal order of the relationships.     

试论传媒在中国-东盟自由贸易区建设过程中的角色定位和功能发挥

本文从理论上阐明中国-东盟自由贸易区（CAFTA）建设中充分发挥传媒作用的必要性和重要性,分析了传媒在CAFTA建设中的经济和文化作用,从而丰富和深化对自由贸易区建设产业内涵及动力机制的理解。     

Partisan Media and Engagement: A Field Experiment in a Newly Liberalized System

How does media exposure affect political engagement in newly liberalized systems? Some celebrate newly vibrant and diverse media, believing that they mobilize citizens. Others worry that these outlets, which are often partisan, dampen engagement. We theorize that exposure to political programming engenders interest in politics irrespective of program bias, but that interest does not necessarily beget action. Partisan media affect participation only when altering attitude strength, and thus motivations. To evaluate media effects on interest and participation, we conducted a field experiment in Ghana, in which subjects in tro-tros (commuter vans) were randomly exposed to different types of live talk radio. We find that partisan and nonpartisan media increased political interest, but not participation. Instead, exposure to alternate perspectives on cross-cutting media (i.e., those biased against subjects’ partisan preferences) heightened ambivalence and dampened participation, measured as signing a petition to parties. Partisan media simultaneously increased interest and decreased participation.     

司法中利益衡量受到的挑战及应对——以利益主体多元化为分析背景

面对中国利益主体多元化趋势,司法中利益衡量受到的挑战主表现在利益衡量标准的模糊、“媒体审判”的干预及法律之外社会中的多元道德观念。文章从明晰利益衡量内涵开始,指出实践中所受到的挑战并提出法律对策。     

暴力犯罪的媒体诱因与对策反思——规避模仿示范效应的新路径

媒体对暴力犯罪的不当报道,会对潜在犯罪者起到模仿示范效应。鉴于新闻传媒客观、如实反映事件的职业伦理,其应当于公众知情权与犯罪预防间寻求平衡。但此种平衡未必尽然体现为“冷处理”式的抑制,必要时,在恪守媒体报道“绝对禁区”的前提下,适度地对特定暴力犯罪予以“热处理”,不仅是无害的,而且,其本身即为规避模仿示范效应的另一种至关重要的途径。     

《监察法》与《刑法》衔接实施的基点、问题与路径

基于《监察法》的宪法性法律地位和全面依法治国方略等理论基点,《监察法》的有效实施需《刑法》与之有机衔接。然而,《刑法》在相应职务犯罪主体及相关犯罪对象、罪名体系、刑罚配置和认罪认罚从宽规定等方面,存在与《监察法》不相对接的诸多问题,使得依《监察法》意图实现的监察全覆盖等目标难以实现,并会滋生新的权力滥用风险。《监察法》与《刑法》衔接实施以上问题的有效解决,应是基于以上理论基点,通过法律解释和刑法修正的路径,完善《刑法》相应规定的司法适用规则和立法规范设置。     

First‐Hand Experience and Second‐Hand Information: Changing Trust across Three Levels of Government

Little is known about how different sources of information drive citizen trust in government. To address that gap this article compares disaster evacuees to observers, noting how trust differs as attention to media coverage increases. First‐hand experience supplies information to update trust through biological and personal processes and performance assessments, while secondary sources provide information about other people's experiences, filtered through lenses that take an active role in crafting information. These two types of information have varying effects depending on the level of government being trusted. Using surveys administered a year after Hurricane Katrina, I find that Katrina evacuees have the highest trust in federal government, until they start paying attention to media coverage, and that attention to coverage has the most dramatic effect on these evacuees compared to all other groups. I also find that increasing attention to second‐hand information corresponds with higher trust in local officials, and that this effect decreases as the level of government increases. It appears media coverage creates a comparison in the mind of hurricane evacuees, causing them to update their performance assessments based on comparing their own experience to that which they observe, thereby updating their political trust.