This study looks at the National Citizens' Technology Forum (NCTF), a modified version of the consensus conference, which took place in March, 2008 in six cities across the U.S. to understand how inclusive these methods of public participation are in practice. The research focused on two of these sites. Inclusion of participants was defined in terms of presence, voice and being heard. Transcripts of the audio-visual recordings of the proceedings were the main data of analysis. By focusing on the talk within these deliberative forums, the study looked at how the rules of engagement and status (ascribed and achieved) differences between participants can affect inclusion. The analysis did not reveal any substantial effects of ascribed characteristics on deliberation. Facilitation and the presence of expertise among the participants were found to influence inclusion and equality among participants. These findings suggest that organizers and facilitators of deliberative exercises have to be reflexive of their role as well as aware of the group dynamics. The results also address the larger questions within science and technology policy like the role of expertise and the public in decision making, the institutional design of participatory exercises, and their relation to the political culture and the policy process.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of South Carolina, 1988. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 215-229).

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:46:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JosianeRs_DISSERT.pdf: 1462489 bytes, checksum: 327c5eebf8debd320606e3a28455c8f8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-04-15 / This paper analyzes the political participation of Social Workers at the Social Service Regional Council Region 14th. The theoretical and methodological framework of this investigation has as its perspective the totality of social life and its determining relations within the object of study. To the production, analysis and collecting of data it was used a qualitative approach considering a bibliographical and documental research as well as a series of twelve interviews with 2005-2008 and 2008-2011 managing counselors of CRESS/RN. It was also used the data obtained from other special interviews held with the social workers in the period between 2007 and 2008. The results of this study allow and affirm the political dimension of Caseworkers and the CRESS/RN as a space of political activity with opportunities for effective and collective elaboration of strategies in order to reach the fulfillment of the ethical and professional policy of the Social Work. From a historical viewpoint, the beginning of this process is marked by the struggle for democracy, the end of military dictatorship, the establishment of the State of Human Rights. The Democratization of the so called Federal Council of Social Workers and its Regional Councils of Social Workers, CFAS / CRAS, respectively, area a result of the participation of the category in an effort to fight for democratization in Brazil. The objective of this research, so, is to understand which the socio-historical determinants are, that focus objectively and subjectively in the demobilization of social workers in CRESS Region 14th - in the contemporary and historical context. Among the results obtained we identified the ignorance of some professional workers and also of some advisors, regarding the existence and the role of the Council, as well as the commercialization of Education that compromises the quality of the professional training in its theoretical and methodological, ethical and political dimensions. According to our understanding, this shows a the presence of a non-critical professional profile based on a false reality, on the precariousness of employment contracts which undermine the political organization and submit the worker to various social exploring mechanisms such as double shift and ultimately the fragility of the management of the Regional Council -, as a consequence of the offensive capitalist system that ideologically invests to stop the political organization founded in a critical and democratic perspective. The low participation of some advisors and, in general, the category in CRESS / RN, despite its objective conditions, is a reality and it is presented to us as a challenge to future managements and policy consolidation to society. Inasmuch as the category intends to guarantee the high quality of its social workers, the demands of future counselors, their skills and abilities in dealing with regulatory issues, administrative policies that pervade the everyday life of CRESS / RN are necessary / Este trabalho analisa a participa??o pol?tica dos assistentes sociais no Conselho Regional de Servi?o Social 14? Regi?o. O marco te?ricometodol?gico desta investiga??o tem como perspectiva a totalidade da vida social e suas rela??es de determina??o com o objeto de estudo. Para a coleta, produ??o e an?lise dos dados utilizamos uma abordagem qualitativa atrav?s de pesquisa bibliogr?fica, documental e a realiza??o de doze entrevistas com conselheiras do CRESS/RN das Gest?es 2005-2008 e 2008- 2011 e profissionais da base, al?m da utiliza??o dos dados resultantes das entrevistas do trabalho de fiscaliza??o realizadas com os assistentes sociais no per?odo entre 2007 e 2008. Os resultados deste estudo possibilitam afirmar a dimens?o pol?tica da profiss?o de Servi?o Social e o CRESS/RN como espa?o de atua??o pol?tica dos assistentes sociais com possibilidades efetivas para elabora??o coletiva de estrat?gias de a??o para efetiva??o do projeto ?tico-pol?tico profissional do Servi?o Social. Do ponto de vista hist?rico, o in?cio desse processo ? demarcado pelas lutas democr?ticas pelo fim da ditadura militar, a instaura??o do Estado de direito e a democratiza??o do ent?o Conselho Federal de Assistentes Sociais e Conselhos Regionais de Assistentes Sociais, CFAS/CRAS, respectivamente, a partir da participa??o de segmentos da categoria com as lutas dos movimentos sociais pela redemocratiza??o do Brasil. O objetivo desta pesquisa ? apreender quais os determinantes s?cio-hist?ricos que incidem objetiva e subjetivamente na desmobiliza??o dos assistentes sociais no CRESS-14? Regi?o no contexto s?cio-hist?rico contempor?neo. Entre os resultados obtidos identificamos o desconhecimento de segmentos da categoria profissional e de alguns conselheiros das atribui??es do Conselho, a mercantiliza??o da educa??o que compromete a qualidade da forma??o profissional em suas dimens?es te?rico-metodol?gica e ?tico-pol?tica formatando, assim, um perfil profissional acr?tico ou com cr?ticas baseadas na realidade aparente; a precariza??o dos v?nculos empregat?cios que fragiliza a organiza??o pol?tica e submete o assistente social a diversos mecanismos de sobreviv?ncia como a dupla jornada de trabalho e por fim a fragilidade das gest?es do Conselho Regional, produto da ofensiva do sistema do capital que investe ideologicamente para reter a organiza??o pol?tica fundada em uma perspectiva cr?tica e pela falta de participa??o efetiva de todos os conselheiros. A inexpressiva participa??o da categoria e de alguns conselheiros no CRESS/RN, a despeito das condi??es objetivas, ? uma realidade factual e apresenta-se como um desafio para as futuras gest?es na cont?nua consolida??o pol?tica do CRESS/RN perante a sociedade e a categoria ? medida que visa garantir a qualidade dos servi?os profissionais prestados ? popula??o e ao mesmo tempo oferecer servi?os e respostas de qualidade ? categoria de assistentes sociais o que exige dos futuros conselheiros habilidades no trato das quest?es normativas, pol?ticas e administrativas que perpassam o cotidiano do CRESS/RN

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:46:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 IlenaFB_DISSERT.pdf: 1622910 bytes, checksum: cf7c1572ab1d018e869c09ff0690d377 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-10-31 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / The following dissertation studies the insertion of peasant women in the conflict for land since the occupation process, dispossession and construction of the settlement New Horizon II, in the municipal district of Maxaranguape. It analyses their participation in the conflict Valley of the Hope", that resulted in the settlements New Life II and New Horizon II in the municipal district of Maxaranguape. The analysis exposes the reasons which took the peasant women, after the land conquest, to go back into domestic space and/or to assume positions of lesser relevance in the political organizations of the settlement. In the conflict Valley of the Hope, the women had a fundamental role, facing the police violence, being front line of the conflicts against the repression forces, risking their lives and the life of their families. After the conquest of the land, transformed into the New Horizon II Settlement, there are a lot of changes in the participation of the women. We can observe that, despite the protagonism of the families, in special of the women in the Valley of the Hope conflict, these female workers still experiment unequal social, economic, political and cultural conditions in relation to the men, expressing the gender inequalities which are found in the daily life of the settlement: in the community, in the domestic and agricultural task. The conflict for the land in the Valley of the Hope and the conquest of the settlement did not necessarily mean the incorporation of the emancipation of the peasant women. However, the political participation in the development of the conflicts allowed to the women the self discovering and the beginning of an emancipation process as gender. There are signals of continuities and ruptures of the present culture, almost always stimulated by the organization of the agricultural female workers / A presente Disserta??o estuda a inser??o das mulheres trabalhadoras rurais na luta pela terra desde o processo de ocupa??o, desapropria??o e constru??o do Assentamento Novo Horizonte II, no munic?pio de Maxaranguape. Analisa sua participa??o no Conflito Vale da Esperan?a , que resultou nos Assentamentos Nova Vida II e Novo Horizonte II, no munic?pio de Maxaranguape/RN. A an?lise incide sobre o desvelamento dos determinantes que levaram as mulheres trabalhadoras rurais, ap?s a conquista da terra, voltarem-se para o espa?o dom?stico e/ou assumirem cargos de menor relev?ncia nas organiza??es pol?ticas do assentamento. No conflito Vale da Esperan?a, as mulheres tiveram um papel fundamental, enfrentando a viol?ncia policial, sendo linha de frente dos conflitos com as for?as de repress?o, expondo suas vidas e a de suas fam?lias. Ap?s a conquista da terra, transformada no Assentamento Novo Horizonte II, h? mudan?as na participa??o das mulheres. Observou-se que apesar do protagonismo das fam?lias, em especial das mulheres no conflito Vale da Esperan?a, essas trabalhadoras ainda vivenciam condi??es sociais, econ?micas, pol?ticas e culturais desiguais em rela??o aos homens, expressando as desigualdades de g?nero presentes no cotidiano do assentamento: na associa??o, no trabalho dom?stico e agr?cola. A luta pela terra no Vale da Esperan?a e a conquista do assentamento n?o significou necessariamente a incorpora??o da emancipa??o das mulheres trabalhadoras rurais. Contudo, a participa??o pol?tica no desenvolvimento das lutas propicia as mulheres se descobrirem e iniciarem um processo de liberta??o enquanto g?nero. H? sinais de continuidades e rupturas da cultura vigente, quase sempre impulsionada pela organiza??o das mulheres trabalhadoras rurais

This thesis investigates if and how poor, mostly minority citizens can be mobilized by a campaign whose principal policy objective would materially enhance their lives by including them in a major public program. The question is put to the test through a multi-dimensional study of voter mobilization in Alabama during the 2014 election for Governor. At stake in the election was whether Alabama would expand Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act in Alabama, an issue emblematic of "submergedness" (Mettler, 2011). In order to understand the extent to which the policy was submerged - measured by knowledge and awareness of the policy, along with its key provisions - I distributed a survey to 868 Alabamians weeks before the election. The survey used the experimental design of conjoint analysis to test which aspects of the policy were most persuasive among the target population. Additionally, I performed a randomized field experiment across the four major metropolitan areas of Alabama, micro-targeting 6,021 registered voters living in the "Coverage Gap," citizens who could gain health insurance if Medicaid were expanded. The campaign yielded negligible effects on voter turnout among subjects in the Coverage Gap, even though the interventions shifted voter knowledge, 'surfacing' the policy. In addition to the survey and field experiments, this research benefits from qualitative insights gathered in 22 semi-structured interviews conducted among poor Alabamians, many of whom were uninsured. From these interviews, it became clear that the political disengagement of the poor is deeply entrenched, prohibitive of policy-based mobilization. Disengagement is driven by a complex mix of barriers to registration and perceptions of political inefficacy based on interpretations of extant policy designs. These results have important implications for our understanding of the limitations of policy-based mobilization, suggesting that more attention must be paid to how current policies shape predispositions for mobilization.

The role of the new media in young people’s lives has led to a debate about the potential of the internet as a means of influencing identity formation and youth participation. A growing body of academic research has shown an interest in understanding this influence. This thesis sets out to study political participation as a form of online engagement through the use of the various new media platforms and how it may affect the process of identity development of Arab youth in Britain. Prior to the recent political developments in the Middle East and the so-called ‘Arab Spring’, British Arab youth were suffering identity uncertainty and had expressed little interest in political participation. During the early stages of the Arab Spring, British Arab youth became involved, in one way or another, in political activities, mainly online. This research combines quantitative and qualitative methodologies in order to achieve accurate results. The targeted group for this study is those between 18 and 25 years old, who were born in Britain or have been living continuously in Britain for at least 10 years. Data collected includes a total of 178 questionnaire samples, and forty individual semi-structured interviews. The core argument of this study is that British Arab youth are willing to participate in politics as long as it is meaningful to them and to the people of their countries of origin. This engagement helps them to balance their cultural identity (Arab) with the host culture (British). That may not contradict with the fact that British Arab youth describe Britain as ‘home’ with confidence. In fact, the balance between Arab and British cultures serves as a stabiliser in the process of identity formation and reformation. The thesis also explores how this active political engagement is reflected, in general, on their own identity construction and development. The evidences of this study suggest that, while online media has a role in providing British Arab youth with accessible and effective online tools, the mechanism of participating and debating all issues without reservation, may contradict the cultural heritage of stepping back from political participation. Therefore, this research affirms the importance of online media tools for British Arab youth reaching new horizons. Participating in political activities is one form of negotiating identity formation or reformation, that in one way or another can contribute to a more effective role of the British Arab community in the public, political and cultural spheres of multicultural Britain.

Since the mid 1970s there has been an increasing effort to adopt community participation as a necessary instrument for people driven development. NGOs and governments have come to use this participatory approach not only to empower local people, but also to give them a platform to plan and implement their own development projects. However in Zimbabwe, the government has failed to fund most projects and it has created a gap for NGOs to provide most, if not all services in rural communities. NGOs have been seen as better institutions to facilitate development projects and to engage local people to actively participate in development issues. Community participation is a central component in development projects as the projects respond to the people’s needs and that local people are in full control and ownership of these projects. This study is an assessment of community participation in NGO development projects in Zimbabwe. The study investigates the extent of community participation in development projects and it is guided by the Participatory Development (PD) theory. Research findings reveal that community participation is minimal in development projects of Bulilima and Mangwe districts in Zimbabwe. Local people are just passive participants of the development projects who are told what to do. The local people’s contributions and influences are sidelined in the planning and decision-making processes; instead these are made by the rural elite who plan and make decisions on behalf of the local people. It is the view of this study that the purpose of community participation is to create opportunities for local people to participate in planning, decision making, implementation, allocation and distribution of resources. The development projects should be responsive to the people’s needs. Similarly, participatory development just like community participation is a process whereby communities are given the opportunity to determine their future in terms of their needs and resources. In this regard, it is relevant that rural communities actively participate in planning, decision making, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects. By so doing, the projects become not only successful but also sustainable.

Ce travail étudie la possibilité de l’élargissement de l’éventail de participation politique à l’Administration, étant donné que l’État brésilien a des fins, des buts à réaliser et qu’il s’agit d’une démocratie “procéduraledélibérative”, où le peuple doit participer aux décisions touchant sa vie. En plus, la réalisation de l’intérêt général n’a qu’à gagner en efficacité si les décisions de l’État échappent le plus possible à la logique technocratique du “secret administratif” ; en effet, la participation des intéressés possédant la connaissance des données concrètes et des facteurs humains et techniques qui conditionnent une décision peut apporter un élément susceptible de la modifier, en obligeant l’Administration à expliquer les raisons de son action, ce qui en faciliterait l’exécution. C’est pourquoi nous étudions aussi bien le principe démocratique que le principe de la publicité, les formes possibles de participation des citoyens à l’Administration et les concrétisations de la publicité administrative en droit de savoir, droit de contrôle et droit de participation au processus administratif. / O presente trabalho investiga a possibilidade de aumentar o espectro de participação política na Administração, pela consideração de que o Estado brasileiro tem fins, objetivos a realizar e é uma democracia do tipo “procedimental-deliberativa”, em que o povo deve participar das decisões que afetem sua vida. Além disso, a realização do interesse geral só tem a ganhar em eficácia se as decisões estatais escaparem, o mais possível, da lógica tecnocrática do “segredo administrativo”, porque, graças à participação dos interessados, pelo conhecimento dos dados concretos e dos fatores humanos e técnicos que condicionam uma decisão, estes podem trazer algum elemento que a modifique, obrigando a Administração a explicar os motivos de sua ação, facilitando, assim, a execução. Por isso, estuda-se, tanto o significado do princípio democrático quanto do princípio da publicidade, as formas possíveis de participação dos cidadãos na Administração e as concretizações da publicidade administrativa em direito de saber, direito de controle e direito de participar do processo administrativo. / The present work investigates the possibilities of enlargement of the spectrum of political participation in Administration, considering that the Brazilian State has purposes to accomplish and it is a “proceduredeliberative” kind of democracy, one in which the people must participate in the decision processes, specially those concerning their lives. Besides, the accomplishment of general benefits has only to improve the efficacy of the State decisions escape, as much as it is possible, from the technocratic logics of “administrative secret”, thanks to the participation of the parts involved, and by the knowledge of concrete data and the technical and human factors that make contingent on a decision. These parts may bring some elements that could change the decisions, forcing the Administration to explain the reasons behind its actions, thus making it easier their execution. Because of this, the significance of the democratic principle is studied so extensively, as well as the publicity principle and the possible means of participation of citizens in Administration and the realizations of administrative publicity in the rights of knowledge, rights of control and rights of participation in the administrative procedure.

[pt] A análise do lastro e dimensão do Judiciário enquanto instância democrática, e de como a abertura de seu acesso e a revisão de seu papel podem contribuir para o exercício da democracia, foram os pontos nodais do trabalho desenvolvido, que alicerça sua base teórica na teoria da ação comunicativa de Habermas, buscando-se demonstrar, num primeiro ensaio de experimentação de suas categorias à práxis que resulta da inter ação dos Juizados Especiais com o Código de Defesa do Consumidor (Lei 9099/95 e Lei 8078/90), como estes podem atuar enquanto instrumentos de democratização do espaço público judicial. No desenvolvimento do tema, situamos o processo como modo de reprodução das enormes diferenças e conflitos encontrados no meio social, e como condutor de necessidades e expectativas sociais, vendo nele, ainda, uma peculiar forma de participação política da sociedade através do Judiciário, palco argumentativo para obtenção de entendimentos, capaz de traduzir um resultado com natureza deliberativa e não decisória. Buscou-se também demonstrar como pode ser atuado, de modo a permitir, no âmbito daquele espaço institucionalizado, uma maior efetivação dos direitos fundamentais, de como se processa a equalização de sintonias que permitam a redução das desigualdades ínsitas à realidade social, operando a transformação da igualdade jurídica para a material, a nível procedimental, e de como, reflexamente, pode esta alcançar efeitos pan-processuais concretos. Constatou-se, ainda, pela dinâmica dos dois microssistemas e de seus resultados, a potencialidade capaz propiciar a afetação do sentimento de alteridade, ainda que tênue, naqueles subsistemas auto-referenciais referidos por Habermas, que se contrapõem à sociedade como forças hegemônicas de dominação na contemporaneidade. Buscou-se, enfim, descortinar uma nova interação entre Judiciário, democracia e participação da sociedade, principalmente enquanto individualidades coletivizáveis, que possa potencializar as resistências e criar atalhos para efetivação dos valores que permeiam a tessitura de seus anseios por igualdade e dignidade. Num mundo descrente e adensado por complexidades e problemas múltiplos, que, cada vez mais, afetam globalmente os destinos e realidades mais remotas, qualquer caminho de reflexão e crítica, mesmo que através da releitura de um Poder de Estado, já constitui, em si, uma finalidade, por colocar num palco de discussão pública as legítimas expectativas da sociedade. / [en] The analysis of the ballast and dimension of the Judiciary while democratic instance and of how the opening of its access and the revision of its role can contribute to the exercise of democracy were the nodal points of the work evolved, which consolidates its theoretical basis on the theory of communicative action of Habermas, seeking to demonstrate, in a first attempt to experiment its categories to the praxis which results from the inter action of the Special Judiciaries with the Consumer´s Defense Code (Law 9099/95 and Law 8078/90), how they can perform as instruments of democracy in judicial public sphere. In the development of the subject we pose the process in such a manner as to reproduce the enormous differences and conflicts found out in social environment, and as a conductor of necessities and social expectations, also finding a peculiar form of society´s political participation through the Judiciary, argumentative stage for the reaching of agreements, which may express a result of a deliberative but not decisive nature. Also it was sought to demonstrate how process can be put into action so as to permit, within the scope of that institutionalized sphere, a greater effectiveness of fundamental rights, the equalization of syntonies which would permit a reduction of judicial inequalities inherent in social reality, operating the transformation of legal equality to material one, at the procedural level, and how, reflexively, this can reach concrete pan- prosecutional results. It was also noticed by the dynamics of the two micro-systems and their results the potential capacity of propitiating the affectiveness of alterity sentiment, albeit tenuous, of those auto-referential subsystems referred to by Habermas, which oppose society as supreme forces of domination in present days. It was also sought to unveil a new interaction among the Judiciary, democracy and social participation, mainly as collectivized individualities, which might potentialize the resistances and create short cuts to the accomplishment of the values which permeate the contexture of their longing for equality and dignity. In a disbelieving world crowded with complexities and multiple problems, which, more and more, globally affect the destinies and the remotest realities, any path leading to reflection and criticism, even through the re-reading of a Power of State, creates, itself, a finality, by putting on the stage a public discussion of the legitimate expectations of society.

Esta dissertação trata de examinar a participação política em Porto Alegre, Montevidéu e Santiago do Chile. Para isso, lança mão de variáveis pertinentes a três conceitos, quais sejam: avaliação de serviços, cultura política e capital social. Partiu-se das premissas de que uma melhor avaliação dos serviços, assim como aspectos como valores democráticos, interesse por política e maiores índices de confiança interpessoal e institucional poderiam incidir para que os cidadãos das três cidades participem da política, em partidos, conselhos populares e manifestações. O trabalho evidenciou que os impactos das diferentes variáveis se configuram muitas vezes de maneira diferente de acordo com o contexto examinado, não apenas em intensidade, com também em termos de natureza das relações. Além disso, tornou clara a relevância de elementos principalmente da cultura política, como interesse, atribuição de importância à participação e personalismo, e de capital social, com destaque para a dimensão de confiança institucional. / This dissertation analyzes the political participation of citizens in Porto Alegre, Brazil Montevideo, Uruguay and Santiago, Chile. To attain this objective it utilizes three variables derived from three key concepts: services evaluation, political culture and social capital. The study is based on the premise that a better services evaluation, as well as democratic values, political interest e higher levels of interpersonal and institutional trust could influence in the decision of the citizens of the three cities studied to engage in politics, political parties, popular councils and manifestations. The research evidenced that the impact of the different variables vary, given the context examined, not only in terms of intensity, but also in terms of the nature of the relations. Besides the study also showed the relevance of some elements of political culture such as interest in politics, political participation, personalism and social capital, especially institutional trust.