Reconstruction and reparations: Lessons from China and the Pan-African world

Abstract

This article addresses the role of the university and institutions of higher learning in carrying out the mandate of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR), held in Durban, South Africa in 2001. The active contribution of the university is anticipated in Article 98 of the Programme of Action published in the Report of the World Conference (2001), which clearly states:

We emphasize the importance and necessity of teaching about the facts and truth of the history of humankind from antiquity to the recent past, as well as of teaching about the facts and truth of the history, causes, nature and consequences of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, with a view to achieving a comprehensive and objective cognizance of the tragedies of the past.     

Daring to Be Heard: Advertorials by Organized Interests on the Op-Ed Page of The New York Times , 1985-1998

Advertorials are a form of outside lobbying that organized interests use to influence policymakers and attentive publics. It is apparent from their popularity that organized interests consider them to be an effective form of political communication. This article analyzes 2,805 organized interest advertorials that appeared on the lower right quadrant of The New York Times op-ed page from 1985 to 1998. Advertorials take two broad forms: (a) image advertorials, which are paid messages by organized interests designed to create a favorable climate of opinion, and (b) advocacy advertorials, which are sponsored messages intended to win support for an interest's viewpoints on controversial issues. Typologies of advertorials (11 categories), organized interests (21 categories), corporate and noncorporate economic interests (29 categories), and policy content (28 categories) are used to document annually and over time who is sponsoring advertorials, what types of advertorials are being used, what interests avail themselves of advertorial campaigns, which issue areas are receiving attention, what images and policy messages are being communicated, which organizations sponsor the most advertorials, and the timing of such political advertising campaigns. We find over time an increasing number of advertorials, an increasing number and diversity of sponsoring interest organizations, an increasing trend toward advocacy advertorials, a continuing but declining sponsorship dominance by corporate interests, a shifting policy issue emphasis that corresponds to events in the political environment, and evidence that organized interests employ a variety of sponsorship strategies.     

Intramedia Mediation: The Cumulative and Complementary Effects of News Media Use

This study focuses on one often overlooked political communication-based media effect, intramedia mediation, and the indirect effects that stem from relationships that exist among various forms of media use. Data from a 2000 national Annenberg election panel survey are used to assess a series of relationships between television and newspaper public affairs use and how these forms of media consumption affect citizens' knowledge of presidential campaign endorsements. The indirect effects that stem from the relationships that exist among these two forms of media use reflect the cumulative and complementary functions of mass communication consumption across time. An analysis of intramedia mediation in coordination with the study of the direct effects of public affairs media use on this study's outcome variable produces substantially larger overall effects for both forms of news use. Thus, the study of intramedia mediation contributes to a better understanding of the full range of media influences on a given outcome variable over the course of a political campaign. Ramifications of these findings are outlined and future lines of research summarized.     

A Review of: “With God on Our Side: George W. Bush and the Rise of the Religious Right”∗

Recent evidence supports the important political role that political network size and distribution plays at both the individual and system levels. However, we argue that the evidence is likely stronger than the current literature suggests due to network size measurement limitations in the extant literature. The most common approach to measuring political network size in sample surveys—the “name generator” approach—normally constrains network size measurement to three to six individuals. Because of this constraint, research often undercounts individual network size and also leads to a misrepresentation of the distribution of the underlying variable. Using multiple data sets and alternative measurement approaches, we reveal that political network hubs—individuals with inordinately large network sizes not captured by name generators—exist and can be identified with a simple summary network measure. We also demonstrate that the summary network size measure reveals the expected differences in communicative, personality, and political variables across network size better than name generator measures. This suggests that not only has prior research failed to identify network hubs, but it has likely underestimated the influence of political network size at the individual level.     

中国共产党的组织结构与党内民主的关系

中国共产党的组织结构是党的各项工作顺利进行的组织基础,以党内民主带动人民民主是我国民主政治建设的重要步骤。中国共产党的组织机构与党内民主之间存在关联,党内民主对中国共产党组织结构提出了新的要求。     

结构性问题破解与社会管理创新——基于社会结构视角的分析

当代中国社会问题大多都源于结构性问题。结构性视角可以成为分析和破解中国社会问题的一个有益视角。社会结构性问题的破解．社会结构性矛盾的解决,要求创新社会管理思路。社会管理创新是我国社会发展进程中的深刻变革,也是经济社会发展到一定阶段、社会经历了结构性变迁之后的必然抉择。社会管理创新的基本路径是有序推进社会结构性改革,培育公民社会和社会组织,注重公共服务型政府建设,最终建构出以公正为基础的三维制衡的现代社会结构。     

群体性事件发生原因研究的再审视——层次分析方法的引入与应用

层次分析方法就是将导致某一事件发生的原因进行分层。将层次分析方法应用到群体性事件发生的原因研究中,群体性事件发生的原因可分为结构、体制机制和个人三个层次。通过比较三个不同层次上变量的重要性,结构层次上的变量最为根本和重要,体制机制层次上的变量次之,个人层次上的变量可视为常数。加强对结构和体制机制层次上的变量的研究,有助于深入探究群体性事件发生的深层次原因。     

Positive Youth Development Among African American Adolescents: Examining Single Parents as a Factor

Over the past few decades researchers have begun to examine the importance of understanding positive youth development and the many contexts in which youth find themselves. The social contexts in which adolescent development occurs are varied and complex, particularly the development among African American youth. African American youth are faced with a number of challenges including living in single-parent homes, high teen pregnancy rates, and poor neighborhoods, yet many of these youth continue to thrive. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between family structure (single-parenting) and adolescent outcomes such as educational aspirations and sexual activity among African American adolescent youth aged 12–17. Approximately 462 African American youth were surveyed. A number of positive results emerged; for instance, there was a negative correlation between family structure and educational aspirations. The number of parents in the home did not interfere with youth wanting to complete high school and go on to college (r = ? .218, r² = .04, p < .05). The results also showed that as educational aspirations increased, the number of sexual partners decreased (r = ? .141, meaning that the more adolescents reported a desire to complete high school, they were less likely to report having sexual intercourse. These positive results should be promoted among African American youth so that those faced with these challenges will note that others have overcome and accomplished their goals. In this population educational aspirations were important. Limitations and future research are discussed.     

Urban planning and mental health

Abstract

Both the product and the process of city planning have been shown to have an influence on mental health. This paper presents a model of the process through which community design characteristics influence mental health. The model emphasizes the importance of local social interaction and physical stimulation, as well as adjustment mechanisms used to dampen stress resulting from undesirable levels of interaction and stimulation. The research on the relationship between four community design characteristics and social interaction, stimulation and mental health is then reviewed. An argument for the importance of citizen participation is also presented, stressing the influence of participation on both sense of control and the development of social support. Commonly employed participation techniques, however, differ in their ability to affect support and control. Neighborhood council programs are identified as having the greatest potential for influencing sense of control and social support. Finally the obstacles to improving community design and specific recommendations for the prevention of environmentally induced mental health problems are presented.     

关于长三角区域的国际科技合作发展的研究

长三角区域是中国国际科技合作最为成功的地区之一。该文首先介绍长三角区域的国际科技合作现状,然后探讨长三角区域在国际科技合作过程中遇到的一些问题,最后提出促进长三角区域国际科技合作的意见和应对措施。