| China’s air pollution crisis has had far-reaching effects on the environment and human health and has attracted considerable attention from the scientific community and the media,both domestically and internationally.The severe haze event from 2December to 14 December 2013 is nationwide haze pollution that involved almost all regions in the Middle East.Atmospheric pollution is one of the most visible environmental problems in China,which not only poses a risk to the public’s physical health but also makes the public psychologically depressed and bored during severe haze weather.Due to its publicity,mobility,and exposure,air pollution is more likely to be perceived.Thus,compared to other environmental issues,the public is possible to post negative information about air pollution on online platforms.This paper begins with a study of the natural attributes of atmospheric pollutants.In the next place,this study explores the field of public opinion created by media attention to the issue.Moreover,delving into the close links with the academic arena,in which experts and academics are the main participants.In addition,a public sphere is a public place where members of society openly discuss issues under common concern.The public arena also plays an important role in mediating the interaction and exchange of views between scientific experts and policymakers.Finally,discussions on air pollution bring together a range of information and perspectives in the policy arena and create a space for ongoing deliberation.This study follows a logical framework of interconnections between the problem definition-public opinion arena-academic arenapolicy arena in the policy process,leading to the following conclusions:First,a large number of studies have confirmed that respiratory diseases seriously affect the health of people in China.In this paper,we choose the time series method to estimate the results and find that air pollutants have a significant effect on the incidence of febrile respiratory diseases.This method identifies the reasons and processes by which air pollution is defined as a public issue,and provides a reference for how other social issues with high attention are defined as public issues.Secondly,news coverage,academic studies,and the Baidu index representing public attention imply that the issue of air pollution has acquired widespread attention.Based on semantic analysis,bibliometric,and panel data analysis methods,this paper finds that the number of reports,the number of studies published,and the Baidu index all reflect the high level of attention given to the issue by the community.Thirdly,the interactive links between the public opinion,academic,and policy arenas have contributed to the establishment of an air pollution policy agenda.There is no longer a gap between information about air pollution and the public in the Internet era.Public environmental health literacy is increasing,and the public has wider access to information.When haze pollution causes perceived risks,it prompts people to adopt more coping behaviors and creates a negative perception of environmental satisfaction.The permeability of air pollution is the reason why it can be freely and openly discussed widely on online platforms without the constraints of online censorship.The public who publish blog posts about air pollution also includes experts and scholars in the fields of environment and public health,and scientific knowledge about air pollution can also be disseminated through online platforms.This paper uses sentiment analysis to analyze the sentiment of haze-related blog posts and finds that the public’s attitude towards the discussion of air pollution is more rational.In the realm of public affairs,the more fully individuals’ fundamental aspirations are expressed,the more likely they are to influence the policy agenda through issue construction.Last but not least,the launch of the air pollution prevention and control policy agenda has provided ideas for the transformation of the environmental governance framework.The greatest impetus for advancing the institutional framework for environmental governance comes from the fact that environmental quality improvement is the area where the government and the public can most easily reach a consensus.The two forces,top-down and bottom-up,can create a synergy that is the most effective mechanism for driving change.The emphasis on mutual dialogue between the public and the government and their joint participation in the management of public affairs is the appreciation of the role of the public in public affairs in cooperative governance.For example,in the environmental field of air pollution control,not only is the state highly concerned about this,but public awareness of environmental protection is also rising rapidly.In 2013,the State Council issued the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution.After five years of efforts,the overall air quality of the country has been improved and heavily polluted weather has been reduced significantly.In the past two years,the national and local “Liang Hui” has paid great attention to air pollution control,with it becoming the most frequently mentioned buzzword in addition to reform.The possible innovations and contributions of this paper are summarised in the following four aspects: firstly,starting with the definition of the problem in the policy process,the reasons and mechanisms why the air pollution problem is defined as a public issue with the political attribute are investigated.Secondly,based on the public and politicized context of air pollution,the study examines the interaction between the public opinion,academic,and the policy arena,as well as the distribution of attention among the media,scholars,and the public.Thirdly,in terms of research methodology,the study combines time series,bibliometric,and sentiment analysis methods to consider the effects of the media on air pollution issues;the public sphere as a necessary condition for the emergence of a policy field;the initiation of air pollution policy agenda in the policy arena.This study also provides a new research perspective for related studies.Finally,at the theoretical level,the connotative dimensions of problem definition,attention configuration,and field theory for China’s air pollution prevention and control policy agenda are clarified to complement and improve the theoretical constructs underlying the policy process. |
