Open government data (OGD) has developed rapidly in recent years due to various benefits that can be derived through transparency and public access. However, researchers emphasize a lack of use instead of lack of disclosure as a key problem in OGD's present development. Previous studies have approached this issue either from the supply-side, focusing on data quantity and quality, or from the demand-side, focusing on factors that affect users' acceptance of OGD, but seldom consider both sides at the same time. This unique study compares the supply and demand sides of OGD and explores possible directions for the future development of OGD portals based on the discovered mismatches between the two. The authors improve OGD utilization by balancing the supply-side and demand-side according to citizens' demands through OGD portals. Based on the concept of an OGD ecosystem, four connected studies are explored. The first study built an evaluation framework for understanding the development of the OGD supply-side. The second study focuses on a survey conducted to analyze the awareness and utilization of OGD portals by citizens, who are the primary users and major beneficiaries of OGD on the demand-side. A third study compares the supply and demand sides based on Diffusion of Innovation theory. A final study tests the proposed usability criteria for building an OGD portal by carrying out a between-subjects experiment including a virtual agent. Each case study examines a unique aspect of OGD in China, and also offers reflections on future directions for developing OGD. Providing a unique and enhanced theoretical and practical understanding of OGD and its usage, as well as proposing directions for OGD portals' future development in order to encourage citizens' OGD utilization, this is a must-read for researchers and policymakers examining the impact and possibilities of OGD.

In 1939, residents of a rural village near Chengdu watched as Lei Mingyuan, a member of a violent secret society known as the Gowned Brothers, executed his teenage daughter. Six years later, Shen Baoyuan, a sociology student at Yenching University, arrived in the town to conduct fieldwork on the society that once held sway over local matters. She got to know Lei Mingyuan and his family, recording many rare insights about the murder and the Gowned Brothers' inner workings. Using the filicide as a starting point to examine the history, culture, and organization of the Gowned Brothers, Di Wang offers nuanced insights into the structures of local power in 1940s rural Sichuan. Moreover, he examines the influence of Western sociology and anthropology on the way intellectuals in the Republic of China perceived rural communities. By studying the complex relationship between the Gowned Brothers and the Chinese Communist Party, he offers a unique perspective on China's transition to socialism. In so doing, Wang persuasively connects a family in a rural community, with little overt influence on national destiny, to the movements and ideologies that helped shape contemporary China.

This is the first book-length history of Chinese teahouses in the English-speaking world or in China. "The Teahouse" examines economic, social, political, and cultural changes as funneled through the teahouses of Chengdu during the first half of the twentieth century. The images brought together in this work paint a complete picture of everyday culture in the most basic unit of public life. This microhistorical examination of the teahouse and public life takes us into the heart of a city to explore urban society in depth, and provides a new way to look at the Chinese city and at daily life.

Winner of the Urban History Association's 2005 Best Book in Non-North American Urban History Award.
In traditional Chinese cities, a lively street culture was an important part of popular culture, and street life was central to the daily lives of city dwellers, especially the lower classes. This book examines street culture in Chengdu, an under-studied inland city, during the transformative decades between 1870 and 1930, in order to explore various topics: the relationship between urban commoners and public space; the role that community and neighborhood played in public life; how the reform movement and the Republican revolution changed everyday life; and how popular culture and local politics interacted. Drawing on a rich array of Chinese and Western sources--including archives, local newspapers, gazetteers, personal records, folk literature, and field investigation--the author argues that life in public spaces was radically transformed in Chengdu during these eventful years.

This is the first book-length history of Chinese teahouses in either the English-speaking world or in China, examining economic, social, political, and cultural changes as funneled through the teahouses of Chengdu during the first half of the twentieth century. The images that are brought together in this work paint a complete picture of everyday culture in the most basic unit of public life. This examination of the teahouse and public life from the perspective of microhistory takes us into the depths of a city to explore urban society in depth and provides a new way to look at the Chinese city and at everyday culture.

In 1939, residents of a rural village near Chengdu watched as Lei Mingyuan, a member of a violent secret society known as the Gowned Brothers, executed his teenage daughter. Six years later, Shen Baoyuan, a sociology student at Yenching University, arrived in the town to conduct fieldwork on the society that once held sway over local matters. She got to know Lei Mingyuan and his family, recording many rare insights about the murder and the Gowned Brothers' inner workings. Using the filicide as a starting point to examine the history, culture, and organization of the Gowned Brothers, Di Wang offers nuanced insights into the structures of local power in 1940s rural Sichuan. Moreover, he examines the influence of Western sociology and anthropology on the way intellectuals in the Republic of China perceived rural communities. By studying the complex relationship between the Gowned Brothers and the Chinese Communist Party, he offers a unique perspective on China's transition to socialism. In so doing, Wang persuasively connects a family in a rural community, with little overt influence on national destiny, to the movements and ideologies that helped shape contemporary China.

This book presents the work of the RILEM TC 279-WMR, whose purpose was to facilitate the use of waste, marginal and secondary materials for roads by investigating the performance of road materials containing waste through round robin tests and the development of standard procedures for their selection, preparation, and use. The structure of this book includes an introduction, five technical chapters, and a conclusion. The topics addressed are: the use of asphalt binder additives such as plastic and rubber; the combined use of aggregate and filler substitute in paving mixtures (construction demolition waste, rubber, and steel slags); the environmental assessment and the potential sources of pollutants originated from the use of this recycled materials.

In traditional Chinese cities, a lively street culture was an important part of popular culture, and street life was central to the daily lives of city dwellers, especially the lower classes. By examining street culture in Chengdu, an under-studied inland city, during the transformative decades between 1870 and 1930, this book explores the relationship between urban commoners and public space, the role that community and neighborhood played in public life, how the reform movement and Republican revolution changed everyday life, and how popular culture and local politics interacted. local newspapers, personal records, folk literature and field investigation - the author argues that life in public spaces was radically transformed in Chengdu in the early 20th century, and that this resulted in the reconstruction of urban public space, the recreation of people's public roles, and the redefinition of the relations between ordinary people, local elites and the state. The author thus opens a new way of understanding Chinese urban society and culture during these transformative years.

To understand a city fully, writes Di Wang, we must observe its most basic units of social life. In The Teahouse under Socialism, Wang does just that, arguing that the teahouses of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, are some of the most important public spaces—perfect sites for examining the social and economic activities of everyday Chinese. Wang looks at the transformation of these teahouses from private businesses to collective ownership and how state policy and the proprietors’ response to it changed the overall economic and social structure of the city. He uses this transformation to illuminate broader trends in China’s urban public life from 1950 through the end of the Cultural Revolution and into the post-Mao reform era. In doing so, The Teahouse under Socialism charts the fluctuations in fortune of this ancient cultural institution and analyzes how it survived, and even thrived, under bleak conditions. Throughout, Wang asks such questions as: Why and how did state power intervene in the operation of small businesses? How was "socialist entertainment" established in a local society? How did the well-known waves of political contestation and struggle in China change Chengdu’s teahouses and public life? In the end, Wang argues, the answers to such questions enhance our understanding of public life and political culture in the Communist state.

To understand a city fully, writes Di Wang, we must observe its most basic units of social life. In The Teahouse under Socialism, Wang does just that, arguing that the teahouses of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, are some of the most important public spaces-perfect sites for examining the social and economic activities of everyday Chinese. Wang looks at the transformation of these teahouses from private businesses to collective ownership and how state policy and the proprietors' response to it changed the overall economic and social structure of the city. He uses this transformation to illuminate broader trends in China's urban public life from 1950 through the end of the Cultural Revolution and into the post-Mao reform era. In doing so, The Teahouse under Socialism charts the fluctuations in fortune of this ancient cultural institution and analyzes how it survived, and even thrived, under bleak conditions. Throughout, Wang asks such questions as: Why and how did state power intervene in the operation of small businesses? How was "socialist entertainment" established in a local society? How did the well-known waves of political contestation and struggle in China change Chengdu's teahouses and public life? In the end, Wang argues, the answers to such questions enhance our understanding of public life and political culture in the Communist state.