In the fall and winter of 1999/2000, efforts by federal, state, and local agencies to restore salmon habitat by protecting land adjacent to rivers and streams drew intense responses citizens in the Pacific Northwest. Despite efforts to "involve" citizens in the development of riparian protection policies, many did not believe their knowledge or concerns were considered or addressed. The PLACE (People Learning About Community and Environment) mapping technique was developed and tested as a way to improve the quality of citizen participation by improving their ability to help define the situation to be addressed by policy. The PLACE mapping technique is guided by LINCS (Learning-oriented, Interactive, Non-competitive, Collaborative, Systemic inquiry) theory, which suggests that contentious situations will be improved by increasing learning among community members. Participants in PLACE mapping sessions explore and learn from the knowledge and experiences of community members to appropriately identify the situation and criteria that need to be addressed by policy. The PLACE mapping technique is shown to promote learning among participants, but limitations are revealed in the format of project that restricts learning to isolated groups by limiting interactions among diverse interests. / Graduation date: 2002

Det talas idag om ett minskat stöd och identifikation till politiska partier. Forskning visar att unga människor spenderar mer tid och är mer benägna än äldre att använda Internet för att skaffa politisk information. I en enkätundersökning med 125 deltagare i fyra åldersgrupper undersöktes om unga i större utsträckning än äldre identifierar sig med icke-parlamentariska rörelser som för fram sina budskap på Internet. Hos deltagarna mättes graden av parlamentarisk och icke-parlamentarisk identifikation som funktion av ålder och Internettid. Unga hade en signifikant högre Internettid än äldre. Dock påvisades inga andra signifikanta skillnader mellan åldersgrupperna avseende identifikation. Området kring Internetmediet och dess effekt på politisk identifikation förefaller vara relativt begränsad, varför det skulle vara intressant att utveckla denna forskning i Sverige

The present text is based on a key note lecture (‘Civic Education, Democracy and Political Participation’) delivered at the symposium Globalization of School Subjects – Challenges for Civics, History, Geography and Religious Education, Karlstad University, 13–14 December, 2012. Drawing on recent developments in research on political participation and civic engagement, the text starts out with a discussion about different ways of understanding political passivity. Subsequently, the text turns to a brief analysis of ways in which schools may provide young people with political skills and competencies needed in a democratic society. Three dimensions of political citizenship are highlighted: political efficacy, political literacy, and political participation; and the analysis focuses on the impact of a number of different school-related factors on these three ‘citizenship competencies’.

Reviewing the literature on political participation and civic engagement, the articleoffers a critical examination of different conceptual frameworks. Drawing on previousdefinitions and operationalisations, a new typology for political participation and civicengagement is developed, highlighting the multidimensionality of both concepts. Inparticular, it makes a clear distinction between manifest 'political participation'(including formal political behaviour as well as protest or extra-parliamentary politicalaction) and less direct or 'latent' forms of participation, conceptualized here as 'civicengagement' and 'social involvement'. The article argues that the notion of 'latent'forms of participation is crucial to understand new forms of political behaviour and theprospects for political participation in different countries. Due to these innovations itcontributes to a much-needed theoretical development within the literature on politicalparticipation and citizen engagement.

State processes and programs are often constructed and implemented with the intention to ameliorate the lives of the inhabitants living within those borders. However, in order for citizens to benefit from these programs and processes, for example, anti-poverty programs and decentralization projects, their participation is a necessity. But societal contexts in which citizen participation occurs vary to great extents. It is important then to investigate these differences so as to further our understanding of the workings of participation. This research conducts a comparative analysis between two states in India, Kerala and Bihar, of contextual factors impacting participation. It shows that both trust in the state as well as formal education affect the level of participation of the population. This research engages with and attempts to add to the literature of participatory development by analyzing and explaining some of the impact that context has on participation of inhabitants.

State processes and programs are often constructed and implemented with the intention to ameliorate the lives of the inhabitants living within those borders. However, in order for citizens to benefit from these programs and processes, for example, anti-poverty programs and decentralization projects, their participation is a necessity. But societal contexts in which citizen participation occurs vary to great extents. It is important then to investigate these differences so as to further our understanding of the workings of participation. This research conducts a comparative analysis between two states in India, Kerala and Bihar, of contextual factors impacting participation. It shows that both trust in the state as well as formal education affect the level of participation of the population. This research engages with and attempts to add to the literature of participatory development by analyzing and explaining some of the impact that context has on participation of inhabitants.

Using secondary data from Pew's Early January 2004 Political Communications Study this thesis explains political identification, the range of media sources that a person uses, perceptions of political party bias and political participation using information about media use and perceptions of the media. The survey, which was conducted during the winter of 2003/2004, includes responses from 1506 individuals. Analytic techniques include means breakdowns, crosstabulations, correlations and multiple regression. Many associations are identified; however, in general, the media related variables were weakly related to dependent variables. The thesis speculates that the weak relationships can be attributed to a homogeneous range of available media content. Connections between the recent growth in the number of media sources and diversity in media content are discussed. The analysis finds that listening to talk radio, religious radio and watching the Fox News Channel were weakly associated with conservatism while use of non-profit media, including use of National Public Radio (NPR), the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) were weakly associated with liberalism. The thesis questions if the use of "sound bites" used on talk radio programs and some 24-hour television news channels is related to the conservatism of these audiences. A positive relationship between the amount of bias that a person sees in the news media and the range of news sources that a person uses was found. Sources include Internet, television and print media. The implications of these findings in the context of the agenda-setting framework and a homogenous media are discussed. Use of the Fox News Channel and talk radio were associated with perceptions of a Democratic Party bias in the news media. Ideas from Bourdieu and Passeron are used to understand how communication styles are related to the perception of talk radio as an alternative to the "liberal media". The implications of the prevalence of the perception of a "liberal media" are discussed and related to theoretical work from Gramsci and Abercrombie. Media that attempt to add diversity through new operational models are described. Associations between political participation and several types of media use were found. The finding that use of comedy television is related to some indicators of political participation is seen as demonstrating the difficulty in distinguishing information from entertainment-oriented programming. The analysis questions assumptions about the relationships between media use, electoral cynicism and political participation. The thesis argues that better tools from examining media use in general and in the Canadian context are needed.

Using secondary data from Pew's Early January 2004 Political Communications Study this thesis explains political identification, the range of media sources that a person uses, perceptions of political party bias and political participation using information about media use and perceptions of the media. The survey, which was conducted during the winter of 2003/2004, includes responses from 1506 individuals. Analytic techniques include means breakdowns, crosstabulations, correlations and multiple regression. Many associations are identified; however, in general, the media related variables were weakly related to dependent variables. The thesis speculates that the weak relationships can be attributed to a homogeneous range of available media content. Connections between the recent growth in the number of media sources and diversity in media content are discussed. The analysis finds that listening to talk radio, religious radio and watching the Fox News Channel were weakly associated with conservatism while use of non-profit media, including use of National Public Radio (NPR), the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) were weakly associated with liberalism. The thesis questions if the use of "sound bites" used on talk radio programs and some 24-hour television news channels is related to the conservatism of these audiences. A positive relationship between the amount of bias that a person sees in the news media and the range of news sources that a person uses was found. Sources include Internet, television and print media. The implications of these findings in the context of the agenda-setting framework and a homogenous media are discussed. Use of the Fox News Channel and talk radio were associated with perceptions of a Democratic Party bias in the news media. Ideas from Bourdieu and Passeron are used to understand how communication styles are related to the perception of talk radio as an alternative to the "liberal media". The implications of the prevalence of the perception of a "liberal media" are discussed and related to theoretical work from Gramsci and Abercrombie. Media that attempt to add diversity through new operational models are described. Associations between political participation and several types of media use were found. The finding that use of comedy television is related to some indicators of political participation is seen as demonstrating the difficulty in distinguishing information from entertainment-oriented programming. The analysis questions assumptions about the relationships between media use, electoral cynicism and political participation. The thesis argues that better tools from examining media use in general and in the Canadian context are needed.

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Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Texas, Aug., 2009. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.