Policy Adoption and Policy Intensity: Emergence of Climate Adaptation Planning in U.S. States

The United States is experiencing growing impacts of climate change but currently receives a limited policy response from its national leadership. Within this policy void, many state governments are stepping up and taking action on adaptation planning. Yet we know little about why some states adopt State Adaptation Plans (SAPs), while others do not. This article investigates factors that predict the emergence of SAPs, both in terms of policy adoption and policy intensity (goal ambitiousness). Applying the diffusion of innovation theory, I consider the relative influence of internal state characteristics, regional pressures, and test for conditional effects between government ideologies and severity of the problem. The results show interesting differences between predictors that influence policy adoption and ambitiousness. States are more motivated to adopt a policy when faced with greater climate vulnerability, have more liberal citizenry, and where governments have crossed policy hurdles by previously passing mitigation plans. The intensity of policies and goal setting, moreover, is more likely to be driven by interest group politics and diffuse through policy learning or sharing information among neighboring states in Environmental Protection Agency regions. These findings support an emerging scholarship that uses more complex dependent variables in policy analysis. These variables have the potential to differentiate symbolic from substantive policies and capture finer information about predictors of importance.     

Protest by candlelight: A comparative analysis of candlelight vigils in South Korea

ABSTRACT

Protest activist leaders must make a series of decisions about the strategies they use; one such decision is the choice of tactic or performance, often informed by their cultural historic contentious repertoire. In South Korea's contentious repertoire, the use of candlelight vigils has become an increasingly prevalent form of protest tactic. Candlelight vigils have become an increasingly prominent tactic in South Korea’s repertoire over the last two decades, as evidenced by major candlelight vigils in 2002, 2008, and 2016-2017. In this study, we explore the ways in which candlelight vigils as a protest tactic have evolved over time in South Korea. We notably find that vigils emerged as a left-wing protest tactic in 2002, but right-wing protesters began adopting the tactic during the counter-protests opposing President Park Geun-Hye’s impeachment in 2016–2017 (Taegeukgi Giphoei). Additionally, we find that candlelight vigils drew participants from an increasingly wide swath of society over time and average citizens assumed greater organizational roles. This research not only contributes to the literature on South Korean social movements and civil society, but to understanding candlelight vigils as a distinct form of protest and how contentious repertoires evolve over time more broadly.     

The culture of risk regulation: Responses to environmental disasters

Disasters challenge the equilibrium of regulatory regimes and make policy shifts more likely. Using an institutional theory of cultural biases and the concept of cultural “surprise”, this article analyses the direction and intensity of media argumentation in respect of policy shifts. Instead of assuming a demand for greater State intervention after dramatic focusing events, as suggested by other theoretical frames, cultural theory opens a variety of options that range from embracing regulatory responses from different cultural biases to the radicalization of current, but failing, instruments. The analysis of media reaction to the environmental disasters caused by the oil spills of Exxon Valdez (United States), Erika (France) and Prestige (Spain) shows that the demand for more hierarchy does not monopolize the overall argumentation. The change demanded often implies a radicalization of a particular prevalent view where the associated institutional setting is failing its supporters.     

An Empirical Investigation of the Factors Affecting the Use of Social Networks in Human Resources Recruitment

ABSTRACT

The main objective of this study is to investigate the factors affecting the use of social networks towards recruiting human resources for organizations. Through an in-depth review of the relevant literature, a questionnaire was designed and distributed among the sample and collected data were analyzed using PLS-Software. Results revealed that 50?75% of organizations use social networks in their organizations and all the identified effective factors in the use of social networks for human resources recruitment were confirmed, except for “hope for performance”. “Facilitating conditions” have the highest impact on the usage of social networks in recruiting, “Social influence” identified as one of the most important factors in people’s behavioral intention for the usage of social networks in recruitment and “Effort expectancy” had the least impact on behavioral intention. In addition, Gender and the level of education have no impact on the behavioral intention and the behavior of usage of social networking.     

基层自治制度的理论阐述与路径选择

健全充满活力的基层群众自治制度,着力推进基层直接民主制度化、规范化、程序化是党的十九届四中全会决定的要求。通过开展基层社会治理体系和治理能力现代化研究,探索建立"自治、法治、德治"相结合的现代基层治理体系,加快形成共建共治共享的现代基层社会治理新格局。面对地方治理需求侧(社会公民的期望)与地方治理供给侧(地方政府能力)之间的落差,应摒弃地方政府与基层组织二元对立模式,建立全新的"分权、互动"基层自治的理论分析框架,将多元主体纳入地方治理体系来共同履行公共职责。通过借鉴国外的经验并经过创造性转化,为基层自治提供包括培养自治能力、培育自治组织、强化城乡社区自治协商、衔接居民自治与村民自治在内的充分而有效的制度供给。     

实现社会公正与中国工会的历史使命

建立完善社会公正保障体系是当前中国社会发展中的突出问题。文章结合党的十七大精神与工会十五大精神,从社会公正的目标与保障体系,改革完善分配制度,推进民主建设,扩大公共服务等角度,阐述对中国工会使命与作用的认识,中国工会必然要在建立完善社会公正保障体制的进程中扮演重要角色,承担起历史的重任。     

论实习学生劳动保障的责任人及相关责任

每年数百万顶岗实习学生都面对潜在的劳动伤害风险问题.对此,国家要尽快搭建起公平有序的实习生用工平台;学校应把好实习企业和实习岗位的质量关;企业要全面负责实习学生在岗行为管理;实习学生要信守协议、提高自我保护能力.     

中国养老保险统筹层次的改革路径与发展方向探讨

从国外经验出发,养老保险立法先行、确立时间表,通过合适的基金运作模式,各级政府的财政责任分担机制,养老保险的垂直管理和基金预算管理制度,以及历史债务和做实个人账户机制,用"三步走"的方式,先实现省级统筹,然后建立全国统一预算,分省余缺调剂的方式,逐步过渡到全国统收统支的模式,这是适合目前中国现状和社会保障未来战略发展的选择。     

Examining Temporal Associations Between School Connectedness and Early Adolescent Adjustment

This study examined (a) the associations between school connectedness and early adolescent adjustment problems over a 1 year period and (b) the equivalence of these associations across gender. Five hundred middle school students (53.4% female), initially in the 6th and 7th grades, participated in the two-wave study. Results from two-group cross-lagged panel analyses were consistent across boys’ and girls’ data. After controlling for baseline levels of adjustment problems, school connectedness predicted lower levels of early adolescent conduct problems 1 year later. Regarding the opposite direction of associations, and even after baseline levels of school connectedness were taken into account, conduct problems predicted lower levels of subsequent school connectedness. There were no cross-lagged associations between depressive symptoms and school connectedness, although elevated levels of baseline depressive symptoms predicted higher levels of subsequent conduct problems. Findings elaborate previous research by demonstrating that early adolescents actively shape the middle school environment.

Autonomy,Belongingness, and Engagement in School as Contributors to Adolescent Psychological Well-Being

Self-determination theory emphasizes the importance of school-based autonomy and belongingness to academic achievement and psychological adjustment, and the theory posits a model in which engagement in school mediates the influence of autonomy and belongingness on these outcomes. To date, this model has only been evaluated on academic outcomes. Utilizing short-term longitudinal data (5-month timeframe) from a set of secondary schools in the rural Midwest (N = 283, M age = 15.3, 51.9% male, 86.2% White), we extend the model to include a measure of positive adjustment (i.e., hope). We also find a direct link between peer-related belongingness (i.e., peer support) and positive adjustment that is not mediated by engagement in school. A reciprocal relationship between academic autonomy, teacher-related belongingness (i.e., teacher support) and engagement in learning is supported, but this reciprocal relationship does not extend to peer-related belongingness. The implications of these findings for secondary schools are discussed.