Minimal research has assessed the policy process of developing solar programs at the state level,... more Minimal research has assessed the policy process of developing solar programs at the state level, and no research yet has investigated how these policies characterize and engage with the target populations they are designed to benefit. Grounded in Schneider and Ingram's social construction framework (SCF) and applying computational methods (i.e., text analysis and machine learning), this research examines how low-income households are socially constructed in policy provisions, how their social construction has been reinforced through public participation, and how to classify low-income households among target populations. Based on the case of Massachusetts, this research analyzes the 2020 Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) Emergency Regulation as well as its public comments. We find that low-income households constitute a visible target group of this program and their characterizations as “deserving policy benefits” are positively constructed by policy makers. Furtherm...
Moving beyond technocratic approaches to climate action, climate justice articulates a paradigm s... more Moving beyond technocratic approaches to climate action, climate justice articulates a paradigm shift in how organizations think about their response to the climate crisis. This paper makes a conceptual contribution by exploring the potential of this paradigm shift in higher education. Through a commitment to advancing transformative climate justice, colleges and universities around the world could realign and redefine their priorities in teaching, research, and community engagement to shape a more just, stable, and healthy future. As inequitable climate vulnerabilities increase, higher education has multiple emerging opportunities to resist, reverse, and repair climate injustices and related socioeconomic and health disparities. Rather than continuing to perpetuate the concentration of wealth and power by promoting climate isolationism’s narrow focus on technological innovation and by prioritizing the financial success of alumni and the institution, colleges and universities have a...
Abstract Existing research on the targeted poverty alleviation program in China struggles to expl... more Abstract Existing research on the targeted poverty alleviation program in China struggles to explain the dynamics of policy implementation. This article incorporates individual-level factors such as street-level bureaucrats’ discretion and behaviors with institutional elements, thus combining structure-centered and actor-centered approaches. The data utilized is from 19 semi-structured interviews with township officials, local village cadres, and villagers located in an eastern province in China. By identifying and coding the policy perspectives of ‘street-level bureaucrats’ (i.e. village cadres in this case) through a two by two factorial table (combinations of the identifiability and the participation willingness of the target population), this study conceptualizes the policy output of ‘behaviors of implementers’ to categorize the policy implementation outcomes of the program. The four policy implementation patterns identified are supportive policy implementation, passive policy implementation, unsustainable policy implementation, and performative policy implementation. By isolating these four policy implementation patterns, this research provides insights on local governance and policy implementation in contemporary rural China.
Minimal research has assessed the policy process of developing solar programs at the state level,... more Minimal research has assessed the policy process of developing solar programs at the state level, and no research yet has investigated how these policies characterize and engage with the target populations they are designed to benefit. Grounded in Schneider and Ingram's social construction framework (SCF) and applying computational methods (i.e., text analysis and machine learning), this research examines how low-income households are socially constructed in policy provisions, how their social construction has been reinforced through public participation, and how to classify low-income households among target populations. Based on the case of Massachusetts, this research analyzes the 2020 Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) Emergency Regulation as well as its public comments. We find that low-income households constitute a visible target group of this program and their characterizations as “deserving policy benefits” are positively constructed by policy makers. Furtherm...
Moving beyond technocratic approaches to climate action, climate justice articulates a paradigm s... more Moving beyond technocratic approaches to climate action, climate justice articulates a paradigm shift in how organizations think about their response to the climate crisis. This paper makes a conceptual contribution by exploring the potential of this paradigm shift in higher education. Through a commitment to advancing transformative climate justice, colleges and universities around the world could realign and redefine their priorities in teaching, research, and community engagement to shape a more just, stable, and healthy future. As inequitable climate vulnerabilities increase, higher education has multiple emerging opportunities to resist, reverse, and repair climate injustices and related socioeconomic and health disparities. Rather than continuing to perpetuate the concentration of wealth and power by promoting climate isolationism’s narrow focus on technological innovation and by prioritizing the financial success of alumni and the institution, colleges and universities have a...
Abstract Existing research on the targeted poverty alleviation program in China struggles to expl... more Abstract Existing research on the targeted poverty alleviation program in China struggles to explain the dynamics of policy implementation. This article incorporates individual-level factors such as street-level bureaucrats’ discretion and behaviors with institutional elements, thus combining structure-centered and actor-centered approaches. The data utilized is from 19 semi-structured interviews with township officials, local village cadres, and villagers located in an eastern province in China. By identifying and coding the policy perspectives of ‘street-level bureaucrats’ (i.e. village cadres in this case) through a two by two factorial table (combinations of the identifiability and the participation willingness of the target population), this study conceptualizes the policy output of ‘behaviors of implementers’ to categorize the policy implementation outcomes of the program. The four policy implementation patterns identified are supportive policy implementation, passive policy implementation, unsustainable policy implementation, and performative policy implementation. By isolating these four policy implementation patterns, this research provides insights on local governance and policy implementation in contemporary rural China.
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Papers by Yutong Si