Brand Innovation and Value-Creating Practices of the City of Johannesburg’s Twitter Community

Abstract

Brands facilitating and sustaining healthy brand communities on social networks such as Twitter benefit from collaborative engagements where members are inspired to suggest innovative ideas, solve problems and enjoy a sense of commitment to their social membership co-creative space. We explored how brand innovation practices contribute to the collective value-creating practices within the social media-based brand community hosted by the official City of Johannesburg (CoJ) Twitter account. This purposive sample include 1,232 tweets during Youth Day, followed by one in-depth, semi-structured interview with the social media manager of the CoJ Twitter account to confirm and contextualise findings. Thematic analysis in a qualitative design found five of six brand innovation practices, namely animation, openness, linking, structuring and theorisation. The CoJ social media-based brand community was co-created innovatively owing to high levels of engagement, room for fun and effective communication on service delivery issues so that the brand community continuously increases its membership and commitment. Findings confirmed eight of twelve value-creating practices, namely welcoming, empathising, governing, evangelising, justifying, grooming, customising and commoditising. The healthier a brand community, the more extensive the variety of innovation practices for a brand.     

中国城市社区协商民主实践创新:定位、特征与时代意义

21世纪以来,随着"中国特色社会主义协商民主"概念的提出,协商民主作为一种民主形式和制度安排,已经成为当代中国特色社会主义民主政治的重要内容。在政府改革的逻辑中,城市社区协商民主是作为中国协商民主体系的多层次形态之一而被纳入改革视域的。伴随着国家对基层认识和管理方式的不断深化,推进城市社区协商民主已经成为中国民主政治制度中不可或缺的组成部分。因此,深化对我国城市社区协商民主的定位、主要特征与时代意义等重要问题的认识,将有助于推进基层社区协商民主实践的进一步发展,完善中国特色社会主义协商民主体系。     

On the Legal Regulation of Algorithms

Increasingly, algorithms challenge legal regulations, and also challenge the right to explanation, personal privacy and freedom, and individual equal protection. As decision-making mechanisms for human-machine interaction, algorithms are not value-neutral and should be legally regulated. Algorithm disclosure, personal data empowerment, and anti-algorithmic discrimination are traditional regulatory methods relating to algorithms, but mechanically using these methods presents difficulties in feasibility and desirability. Algorithm disclosure faces difficulties such as technical infeasibility, meaningless disclosure, user gaming and intellectual property right infringement. And personal data empowerment faces difficulties such as personal difficulty in exercising data rights and excessive personal data empowerment, making it difficult for big data and algorithms to operate effectively. Anti-algorithmic discrimination faces difficulties such as non-machine algorithmic discrimination, impossible status neutrality, and difficult realization of social equality. Taking scenarios of algorithms lightly is the root cause of the traditional algorithm regulation path dilemma. Algorithms may differ in attributes due to specific algorithmic subjects, objects and domains involved. Therefore, algorithm regulation should be developed and employed based on a case-by-case approach to the development of accountable algorithms. Following these development principles, specific rules can be enacted to regulate algorithm disclosure, data empowerment, and anti-algorithmic discrimination.     

Value-Added Tax (VAT) Development and Reform History—A Study of VAT Evolution Around the World and in China

Value-added Tax (VAT), a turnover tax levied on the value appreciated in commodities production, circulation and sale, has been widely practiced by economies worldwide for its neutrality. From the international perspective, European Union VAT and New Zealand VAT stand out as characteristic models of VAT development and reform history. With changing economic development models and the growth of e-commerce businesses, VAT systems have been upgraded to meet taxation challenges brought about by the digital economy. Recently, VAT policies and measures have been introduced particularly to combat the COVID-19 impact. In China, the VAT system has been reformed constantly over the past 40 years and has been converging with international practice. China now needs to address emerging VAT issues through legislation, tax incentives, and tax-rate grades so as to meet challenges in VAT collection and management and to suit the “new normal” of economic development.     

“一方有难,八方支援”在疫情防控中的实践效度与精神向度

无论从实践效度还是精神向度看,"一方有难,八方支援"都为打赢疫情防控的人民战争、总体战、阻击战贡献了巨大力量。从实践效度看,它是一种行动力量,彰显了中国特色社会主义制度优势;从精神向度看,它是一种精神力量,为抗击疫情筑牢了精神防线,提升了防疫效能,为培育社会主义核心价值观、繁荣社会主义先进文化、构建人类命运共同体发挥了应有的作用。     

Use of Eucalyptus DNA profiling in a case of illegal logging

Eucalyptus is grown world-wide for paper pulp, solid wood, and other industries. Theft or illegal cutting of the trees causes hardship to owners of plantations and countries whose economies rely on the sale and export of eucalyptus products. Unfortunately, many of these crimes go unpunished due to lack of forensic evidence.Over 1200 short tandem repeat (STR) markers have been identified in the genomes of genus Eucalyptus and related species. However, their importance and utility in aiding forensic investigations of wood theft have not been explored. This study evaluated nine STRs for diversity and applied them to a case involving suspected wood theft.As expected, three dinucleotide STR markers showed greater variability but resulted in harder to interpret profiles. Four STR tetranucleotide markers evaluated in this study were found to contain additional repeat structures (dinucleotide or trinucleotide) that enhanced their variability but resulted in profiles with peaks at multiple stutter positions and heterozygote peak imbalance. The most promising STR markers were EGM37 and EMBRA 1374. Though less variable, they yielded robust and reproducible DNA profiles.All nine STR markers were applied to a case involving suspected wood theft. Samples were collected from seized wood and from remaining stumps in a plantation. No DNA match was found, thus eliminating the evidence samples as having originated from the forest. Dendrochronology analysis also resulted in an exclusion. This case study represents the first report using STR markers in any eucalyptus species to provide DNA evidence in a case of suspected wood theft.     

主体多元、权力交织与乡村适应性治理

多主体的共同在场使村治空间中交织着行政权力、村庄治权、经济权力和道德权威四种主要的权力类型。不同的权力来源决定了它们之间的异质性和各自有限的作用范围。从适应性治理的角度来看,过于规整的行政权力在乡村治理中欠缺及时的回应能力,而精英个人的经济权力和道德权威又兼具实用性和风险性。相比之下,灵活的村庄治权最具治理优势,但其自身正在内外因素的制约下不断弱化。为此,应从政策引领和机制监督两方面来促成有效的乡村多元治理,减少基层行政干预、强化村庄治权、规范私人权力并鼓励精英回归。     

栅格特征在打印文件检验中的应用研究

目的通过对打印文字栅格特征进行实验研究,总结其稳定性和易引起特征变化的因素,为二次添加打印和换页变造文件检验探索新的思路。方法以500个常用汉字为主要研究对象,选用不同品牌、不同型号激光打印机,设置不同分辨率或质量模式,用同一台电脑或不同台电脑安装不同驱动程序,打印中易宋体常用字不同字号的样本。通过对打印文字笔画细节特征进行比对分析,总结打印文字栅格特征的规律特点。结果打印文字存在三类栅格特征,一是横笔段厚度特征,二是竖笔段宽度特征,三是斜笔画阶梯特征。同一台打印机一次打印的文件,相同字体字号文字的栅格特征反映相同;不同打印机或同一台打印机连接不同版本操作系统的电脑,或安装不同驱动程序,或选择不同的打印分辨率,栅格特征可能发生变化。结论栅格特征在同一次打印的文件中具有稳定性,在不同硬件和软件环境下可能发生改变,可以为换页文件和二次添加打印文件检验提供新的思路。     

基层党建引领社区治理的实践进路与制度变迁

加强和创新社区治理是新时代的重要命题。党建引领社区治理存在着对社区党员人文关怀不足、基层党建与居民自治脱节、党建引领共驻共建单向性、基层党组织权责不匹配等问题。党建引领社区治理机制创新,在需求、技术、文化素质、激励机制和资源五大方面构建党建创新制度。要以增强党的组织力为核心,以社区组织间、党员和居民间关系的调适为基础,以邻里互助、居民自治、共驻共建为重点,以构建社区复合治理为目标,实现社区党建与社区治理的有效衔接,推动社区复合治理模式的生成。     

共有不动产执行中的争议处理——兼论执行立法草案相关条文的内容构成

共有不动产的执行是实务中的难点之一。其难处主要在于如何处理“析产”所引发的种种争议,对于这些争议的处理解决往往牵涉到“执行程序与诉讼程序”“执行部门的诉讼与另行起诉”“查封阶段与处置阶段”等因素的选择组合,在理论上则存在着“形式审查说”与“有限实质审查说”之观点分歧。以夫妻共有不动产的执行为研究重点,在梳理执行实务中常见应对方式的基础上,就相关争议的处理解决及基本程序的构建进行分析,并对民事强制执行立法草案既有的若干方案作出评价。