Studying civil society across the world: Exploring the Thorny issues of conceptualization and measurement

Abstract

The debate about the usefulness of the civil society concept for social analysis has reached a critical stage and calls for its abandonment are mounting. To prove its relevance for policy, practice and research, better operational concepts and more rigorous empirical research on civil society are required. This article examines the possibilities and pitfalls of cross-national civil society research as a crucial area of empirical civil society studies. It explores the definition, conceptualization, operationalization and measurement of civil society through a critical examination of existing international efforts at comparative civil society analysis. A functional approach to defining civil society and a two-dimensional operational concept of civil society, according to its (1) structural and (2) cultural features, are proposed as suitable tools to study the phenomenon cross-nationally. The article also reviews the Civicus Civil Society Index as an innovative tool to assess the state of civil society and discusses the insights and challenges emerging from its current application in more than 50 countries. The paper concludes that international comparative civil society studies are both possible and necessary, but cautions that more attention needs to be paid to the development of appropriate operational concepts and measurement models.     

江苏省现代循环农业技术研究与实践思考

该文简述了现代循环农业发展的理念和基本内涵,阐明了江苏省发展现代循环农业的现实需求,系统总结了江苏省农科院现代循环农业技术的研究与模式探索,提出了加快现代循环农业发展的技术路径与对策建议。     

政府绩效评估中的公民参与:我国的实践历程与前景

本文立足我国各地政府20多年来的实践,对政府绩效评估活动中的公民参与进行系统回顾、评价与展望。第一部分通过相关理论的讨论,为政府绩效评估中的公民参与构建了一个概念体系和分析框架。第二和第三部分通过历史回顾和比较,描述分析我国政府绩效评估实践中公民角色和地位的演变。第四部分在现实评价的基础上,提出推进政府绩效评估中公民参与理想模式和重点努力方向。     

黑龙江省地方立法语言失范现象评析

黑龙江省地方立法语言中存在着较为严重的语法失范和逻辑失范现象,这直接影响了本省地方立法的质量,因此黑龙江省立法者应该提高自身法律语言规范意识;最高权力机关应尽快明确对地方立法语言的要求,设立相应的地方立法语言审查程序,将立法语言失范问题解决在危害发生之前,立法过程之中。     

法律原则适用初探

法律原则是法的宗旨与目的的凝练,是法律规则的基础或本源,在法律结构中居于核心地位。法律原则是法律规范的组成部分,它的适用是一个利益的衡量的过程,正确认识法律原则适用的条件、方法、情形等基本理论与实践问题,对法官利用法律原则的实践性机理,正确适用法律原则,具有重要意义。     

关于计算机警用生物模式识别的研究（下）

20世纪80年代,个人电脑、光学扫描这两项技术的革新,使得它们作为指纹取像的工具成为了现实,从而使指纹识别可以在其他领域中得以应用,如代替IC卡。现在,低价位取像设备的引入及其飞速发展,可靠的比对算法的发现为个人身份识别应用的增长提供了舞台。生物识别既然早已为人所知,为什么各种各样的生物识别技术在近年来才得以迅速发展呢?其关键在于现代信息技术为其提供了非常雄厚的技术支持。当今信息技术已超越了摩尔定律,成几何级数发展,各种先进的图像处理技术、计算机技术、网络技术得到了广泛的应用,从而使得基于数字信息技术的现代生物…     

船舶评估方法的运用及新技术的应用

船舶价值评估具有明显的特殊性和专业性，技术关联性多。综合性强，涉及面广。船舶评估现已形成技术和知识密集型的新兴服务业。本文介绍的船舶评估方法是对传统资产评估方法的创新和改革。长期从事船舶评估的评估人员．在进行不断研究和探索过程中，已总结出较为科学、合理的评估方法．我们称之为量化鉴定法。     

认知询问技术的应用及其效果评析——以定性实验结果分析为基础

认知询问技术作为侦查中询问证人、帮助证人进行回忆提取较为有效的方法，有其科学依据及实用价值。这一技术一经提出便受到侦查部门的重视，被英关法系国家及我国香港地区等的侦查部门广泛应用，并不断得到发展和完善。作为一种前沿技术，对其具体操作及效果的探讨、评析对我国的侦查实践工作有重要的现实意义。     

Events Data as Bismarck's Sausages? Intercoder Reliability,Coders' Selection,and Data Quality

Precise measurement is difficult but essential in the generation of high-quality data, and it is therefore remarkable that often so little attention is paid to intercoder reliability. It is commonly recognized that poor validity leads to systematic errors and biased inference. In contrast, low reliability is generally assumed to be a lesser concern, leading only to random errors and inefficiency. We evaluate the intercoder reliability of our recently collected data on governance events in UN peacekeeping and show how poor coding and low intercoder reliability can produce systematic errors and even biased inference. We also show how intercoder reliability checks are useful to improve data quality. Continuous testing for intercoder reliability ex post enables researchers to create better data and ultimately improves the quality of their analyses.