Interorganisational Relations and Goal Consensus: An Exploratory Study in Two Local Dutch Service Delivery Networks

The present study explores how similarity in policy preferences within pairs of organisations in service delivery networks (that is, goal consensus) is related to existing bilateral interorganisational relations. We distinguish between different types of interorganisational relations and hypothesise that stronger relations are positively associated with goal consensus. A social network analysis is performed using data on 546 ties in two complete service delivery networks in a medium-sized city in the Netherlands. Results indicate that the strongest association is between goal consensus and types of interorganisational relations that imply more strategic information exchange between members of the organisations – especially managerial interaction.     

加强我国网络虚拟社会有效管理的若干思考

经济社会的快速发展,为我国网络虚拟社会的不断成长提供了强劲动力,也给我国网络虚拟社会管理带来了新的、更多的问题。面对当前我国网络虚拟社会的违法活动有增无减、网络失范现象越来越严重、网络群体性事件多发、网络虚拟社会管理薄弱等一系列棘手问题,当务之急是切实加强对我国网络虚拟社会的有效管理。要按照加快社会建设与强化社会管理相结合、政府负责主导与社会协同参与相结合、网络技术管控与社会综合管治相结合的基本思路,不断提高我国网络虚拟社会管理的法治化水平,建立健全我国网络虚拟社会自律机制,加大对我国网络虚拟社会的高科技化管理力度,提高我国网络虚拟社会管理队伍的专业化水平,建立并完善我国的网络公共危机应急管理体制。     

地方政府应对网络公共事件能力问题研究

随着五联网成为社会舆论场的重心,网络公共事件不断发生,其不仅成为政府和社会各界关注的焦点。而且也是影响当前社会和谐稳定的关键因素,。因此,探讨网络公共事件的特征,把握网络公共事件的性质,厘清公共事件发生和发展过程中的演化要素,妥善地应对各类网络公共事件,提高地方政府应对、处置、引导和管理网络公共事件的能力,对于维护社会稳定具有重要意义。     

Disputes on the Question of Wartime Education and the Formation of an Educational Policy for the Guomindang in the War

Abstract

The divide between the Western-emphasized and Chinese-emphasized approaches in Chinese musical modernity has shaped the thinking and practice of Chinese music. In colonial Shanghai, where the divide was solidified, the divide was organizationally represented by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and the Great Unity Music Society. Both forces, however, engaged with the same ethical and political discourse of nation-building. For example, both looked up to the colonial Shanghai Municipal Orchestra as a desirable model. Assessing such subtle connections, this article uses the idea of network to overcome the dichotomatic limitation of the divide, while examining its foundation. Drawing upon concepts of “weak ties” and “conflictual ties,” this article shows how interdependence and rivalry overlapped in the emerging musical network, which shaped the new discursive, performance, and compositional practices in both forces. Both forces, indeed, were equally constitutive of the emerging “field” of music in Chinese modernity.     

The ‘Code of Silence’: Are Self‐Report Surveys a Viable Means for Studying Police Misconducts?

Police misconducts have very rarely been studied by the self‐report method because it is assumed that the ‘code of silence’ is too hard to break even in an anonymous survey research situation. In this study a self‐report method was carried out in a police unit in Finland. Respondents were shown a list of 16 possible conducts. They were asked whether they knew a police officer who had been engaged in misconduct mentioned in the list or whether they themselves had engaged in one or more of the misconducts mentioned in the list. The analysis results indicated that, in an anonymous self‐report survey context, police officers are clearly willing to report on service misconducts, both their own and those of their fellow officers. Thus, the assumed ‘code of silence’ does not seem as strong as the literature suggests.     

SITUATIONAL CAUSES OF OFFENDING: A FIXED‐EFFECTS ANALYSIS OF SPACE–TIME BUDGET DATA

Situational theories of crime assert that the situations that people participate in contain the proximal causes of crime. Prior research has not tested situational hypotheses rigorously, either for lack of detailed situational data or for lack of analytical rigor. The present research combines detailed situational data with analytical methods that eliminate all stable between‐individual factors as potential confounds. We test seven potential situational causes: 1) presence of peers, 2) absence of adult handlers, 3) public space, 4) unstructured activities, 5) use of alcohol, 6) use of cannabis, and 7) carrying weapons. In a two‐wave panel study, a general sample of adolescents completed a space–time budget interview that recorded, hour by hour over the course of 4 complete days, the activities and whereabouts of the subjects, including any self‐reported offenses. In total, 76 individuals reported having committed 104 offenses during the 4 days covered in the space–time budget interview. Using data on the 4,949 hours that these 76 offenders spent awake during these 4 days, within‐individual, fixed‐effects multivariate logit analyses were used to establish situational causes of offending. The findings demonstrate that offending is strongly and positively related to all hypothesized situational causes except using cannabis and carrying weapons.     

The social network of hackers

Social researchers are facing more and more challenges as criminal networks are expanding in size and moving to the Internet. Many efforts are currently under way to enhance the technical capabilities of researchers working in the field of cybercrimes. Rather than focusing on the technical tools that could enhance research performance, this article focuses on a specific field that has demonstrated its use in the study of criminal networks: social network analysis (SNA). This article evaluates the effectiveness of SNA to enhance the value of information on cybercriminals. This includes both the identification of possible targets for follow-up research as well as the removal of subjects who may be wasting the researchers' time. This article shows that SNA can be useful on two levels. First, SNA provides scientific and objective measures of the structure of networks as well as the position of their key players. Second, fragmentation metrics, which measure the impact of the removal of n nodes in a network, help to determine the amount of resources needed to deal with specific organisations. In this case study, a tactical strike against the network could have had the same destabilising impact as a broader approach. The resources saved by limiting the investigation targets could then be used to monitor the criminal network's reaction to the arrests and to limit its ability to adapt to the post-arrest environment.     

Networks as strategic repertoires: Functional differentiation among Al-Shabaab terror cells

This article explains variation across the characteristics and structure of Al-Shabaab (AS) networks as a function of strategic repertoires. From a comparison of domestic and transnational AS recruitment and fundraising networks in the United States, the article generates hypotheses about the characteristics and structure of networks and how traits such as brokers, centrality characteristics of nodes, international linkages and use of funds are related to a network's purpose. The implications of these observations are twofold: The nature of a terror organisation's network is indicative of the organisation's strategy; conversely, the organisation's strategy will affect the nature of the network. On the one hand, knowing the function of the network makes it possible to counter it by detecting and debilitating the nodes. On the other hand, knowing the structure of a network makes it possible to surmise its purpose. The article concludes that, from a network perspective, terrorist recruitment and fundraising are distinct problems that require differentiated law-enforcement and security-intelligence approaches.     

Social network analysis and small group ‘dark’ networks: an analysis of the London bombers and the problem of ‘fuzzy’ boundaries

Social network analysis (SNA) is believed to be capable of revealing significant insights into crime and terror groups, including identifying important individuals and unique approaches to disruption. However, SNA has a number of theoretical and practical limitations, particularly when applied to ‘dark’ networks. While most analysts certainly acknowledge at least some of these limitations, we need to know more about their potential impact in a crime intelligence context. This article aims to go some way towards that end by placing greater scrutiny on the problem of ‘fuzzy boundaries’ when applied to small group networks. SNA is applied to the groups responsible for the 7 July 2005 London bombings and the 21 July 2005 attempted London bombings. The article concludes that while SNA is a valuable tool for understanding crime and terror groups, the age-old problem of fuzzy boundaries can have a profound impact on the analysis of small dynamic networks.     

Local Democracy in a Digital Age: Lessons for Local Government from the Manchester Congestion Charge Referendum

Local government in England has, in general, struggled with exploiting the much heralded democratic potential of the Internet. Evaluations of the local e-democracy initiatives, funded as part of the New Labour Government's e-government programme, were largely unfavourable. Since this initiative ended usage of the Internet has arguably reached a critical mass opening new opportunities for local policy makers interested in more effectively involving citizens in the local decision-making process. This article illustrates these opportunities by drawing on new empirical evidence of the online political activity associated with the 2008 Manchester Congestion Charge referendum. It also serves to highlight the political challenges facing local government and argues that if the Internet is to be used for strengthening local democracy then local government must become a fit for purpose institution and develop strategies that tackle the online influence of vested economic interests and the problem of enacting local citizenship online.