Advances in computer technology have enabled the collection, digitization and automated processing of huge archives of bioacoustic sound. Many of the tools previ- ously used in bioacoustics work well with small to medium-sized audio collections, but are challenged when processing large collections of tens of terabytes to petabyte size. In this thesis, a system is presented that assists researchers to listen to, view, anno- tate and run advanced audio feature extraction and machine learning algorithms on these audio recordings. This system is designed to scale to petabyte size. In addition, this system allows citizen scientists to participate in the process of annotating these large archives using a casual game metaphor. In this thesis, the use of this system to annotate a large audio archive called the Orchive will be evaluated. The Orchive contains over 20,000 hours of orca vocalizations collected over the course of 30 years, and represents one of the largest continuous collections of bioacoustic recordings in the world. The effectiveness of our semi-automatic approach for deriving knowledge from these recordings will be evaluated and results showing the utility of this system will be shown. / Graduate / 0984 / sness@sness.net

The Internet and the proliferation of other digital technologies have facilitated the emergence of electronic or e-government across the world since the early 1990s. The Internet has now evolved into Web 2.0, which provides greater opportunities and platforms for interaction and collaboration than in the past. Governments using Web 2.0 in their e-government strategies are now moving towards Gov 2.0, a model of government based on increased interaction and collaboration with citizens and other policy actors. This has required a corresponding evolution in the conception of citizenship in democratic countries. While the Citizen 2.0 model is still relatively new, emerging a couple of years ago, it promotes new expectations of how citizens will engage in the political process. This raises concerns about the barriers facing citizens today in the adoption of this new model of citizenship. Bringing together the literature about e-government, democratic citizenship and adult literacy, this thesis explores the difficulties in realizing Citizen 2.0 model. Using discourse analysis to identify the various discourses in each literature, this thesis argues that the challenges in the adoption of the Citizen 2.0 model in democratic societies, and particularly in Canada, exist partially because current adult literacy rates and their impact on political knowledge and participation, as well as technological barriers in leveraging Web 2.0 for political purposes. These challenges carry significant implications for the realization of the Citizen 2.0 model, but also for the successful implementation of Gov 2.0. / Graduate

Internet and new communication technologies have drastically changed the way we send and receive messages, changing also the professions engaged in the gathering and diffusion of information. The Internet is by many presumed to have had a democratising effect on journalism, as it can be used to spread counter-hegemonic information and dismantle false objectivity (Castells, 2009, Rodriguez 2012). In this thesis, I examine this assumption by targeting one example of alternative journalism practice online. Through a case study of Paraguayan independent news site E’a, the thesis investigates how digital media affects newsroom structures and organisation as well as the role and objectives of the journalists. Previous theories and research on old and new alternative media, offered by scholars such as Susan Forde, Chris Atton, Leah A. Lievrouw, Olga Guedes Bailey, Bart Cammaerts and Nico Carpentier, are set against the voices of the practitioners producing E’a in this qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews. The thesis comes to the conclusion, that the Internet brings both benefits and drawbacks in the case of E’a. As a cheap way of publishing news, the digital platform serves as a lifebuoy for a project with a very limited commercial base. But the low Internet access in the country (and therefore presumed low impact of the project) and the change in organizational structure (web journalism resulting in a less collaborative form of working) leave the majority of the practitioners with network pessimism and a growing desire offline. Potential future research could look closer at alternative newscontent online, how it is perceived by the readers, as well as group dynamics and gendered participation in the digital era.

This study develops an interdisciplinary exploratory approach for understanding concepts and tools for local participation that leads towards sustainability. The research goals include : identifying effective public participation criteria and sustainability criteria, identifying lessons that might be learned from Canadian communities that have used, and applied, public participation and sustainability initiatives, exploring how might these lessons be applied to a mid-sized community such as the City of Waterloo, and exploring how might citizen advisory committees be more effectively engaged to foster sustainability. The ultimate objective is to identify effective participation processes in order to foster sustainability using both secondary literature and a case study methodology. Findings were assessed in the analysis of lessons learned of communities located across Canada to be later refined and tested using the case study of the City of Waterloo, Ontario. The thesis contains an analysis of the conceptual literature and case study research to ascertain the factors that determine effective public participation processes towards sustainability and recommendations for citizen advisory groups that can be used by various local governance stakeholders in a Canadian context.

Pedagogic practice often involves preparing the student for different roles in society as well as personal development. The aim of the thesis is to investigate how the concept citizen is understood by single individuals and is shaped in pedagogic practice. Its theoretical starting points are taken from sociological theories about society and from theories about education. It is primarily Jürgen Habermas’ theories about society and communication that provide the framework for this investigation and discussion. Even the criticism which Habermas has received is presented and discussed. Society is presented as divided in a private and a public sphere where the individual fulfils the role as a citizen by acting in the public sphere. Four empirical studies are carried out; interviews with single individuals, observations at a folk high school, observations in study associations and analysis of reports from European projects where folk high schools and study associations participated. The public sphere that is most apparent is an every day, local public sphere where single individuals and participants in folk high school and study associations discuss common matters. In the discussion there are few references to public political discussions on national or international level. Assuming that citizen is defined broader than as a relation between the individual and the state, the study presents and discusses a variety of ways to act as a citizen within and outside pedagogic practice, and also the obstacles. The thesis provides arguments for a discussion about the concept citizen and citizen action within pedagogic practice. There are also arguments for independent citizen actions outside the pedagogic context. Thereby the citizen action can be brought back to the pedagogic discussion for reflection.

In this Bachelor paper, I have studied the field of citizen wage, a revolutionary concept that challenges the current system of welfare, our view of society today, which can have implications on our perception of different spaces and patterns of movement between different rooms. The subject has on an academic level been discussed and accepted however not on a political level. Citizen wage is a concept of a broader meaning of a social security system that entails providing the states citizens with economic subsidy without any form of requirements around it. The subsidy should cover all basic costs of living and be collected through taxation. The idea is based on principles of human justice, that everyone has the right to a decent living, and the state is therefore obliged to distribute sufficient economic means for living without any conditions, as a right not as a solution. The main focus of this study has been to investigate the opinions of citizen wage in Sweden, what the main arguments for or against an implementation of citizen wage is perceived to be. This study is based on a literature study concerning subjects relevant when discussing citizen wage, as well as a quantitative study of a number of articles derived from Swedish press concerning the theme. The study resulted in findings that reflect a mostly negative outlook on citizen wage, however the large amount of positive articles indicate that there is an interest of implementing citizen wage in Sweden. Therefore one can ask if it is representative or not, that citizen wage is no longer found on any parties political agenda in Sweden.

This thesis seeks to uncover some of the cultural practices central to youth activist subcultures across three urban centres in Canada: Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. I undertake this work within the context of rising moral and state claims about the apparent need for ‘good citizenship’ to be exercised by young people, alongside a late modern relationship between liberalism, neoliberalism, and Canada’s history of class- and race-based exclusions. The theoretical framework bridges cultural and political sociology with youth cultural theory. It also draws heavily upon the work of feminist philosophers of agency and the state. The main methodology is ethnographic, and was carried out within a phenomenological and hermeneutic framework. In total, 41 young people, ages 13-29, were involved in this research. Participants self-identified as being involved in activist work addressing issues such as globalization, war, poverty and/or colonialism. The findings of this study suggest that the effects of the historical and contemporary symbol of the ‘good citizen’ are experienced within youth activist subcultures through a variety of cultural means, including: expectations from self and schooling to be ‘responsible,’ with its associated burdens of guilt; policing practices that appear to rely on cultural ideas about the ‘good citizen’ and the ‘bad activist’; and representations of youth activism (e.g. within media) as replete with out-of-control young people being punished for their wrong-doings. Wider effects include the entrenched impacts of class- and race-based exclusions, which manifest within youth activist subcultures through stylistic regimes of ‘symbolic authorization’ that incorporate attire, beliefs, and practices. Although findings suggest that many young people come to activism via a predisposition created within an activist or Left-leaning family, this research also highlights the relational means by which people from outside of this familial habitus can come to activist practices. Taken together, findings suggest that youth activism must be understood as a cultural and social phenomenon, with requisite preconditions, influences, and effects; that such practices cannot be disassociated from wider social inequalities; and that such effects and influences demand scrutiny if we are to reconsider the role of activism and its part in expanding the political boundaries of the nation-state.

The study incorporates work carried out by the Auckland Regional Child and Youth Engagement Project (ARCYE). The ARCYE project is part of the Auckland Sustainable Cities, 'Investing in Child and Youth Development' (ICYD) work strand which began in 2003 and was completed in June 2006. The researcher interviewed officers of the seven cities and district councils in the Auckland region and the Auckland Regional Council, all of whom had a child and youth focus within their organisation. The interviews examined the drivers for youth participation from a local government perspective. They shared their experiences in engaging youth to participate in Council sponsored or supported initiatives. The objective was to find out what the benefits of youth participation were for Councils and also for the participating youth. The research supports the proposition that for the Auckland region's economic growth to be sustainable, the next generation of leaders, skilled workers, entrepreneurs, educators and parents must be critically involved in today's discourse concerning the region's development. Therein is the rationale for local government to engage young people. The research posits that the 'whole of government' (central government and local government with community) focus on investing in child and youth development is not random. Rather it is a strategic effort to prepare young people to become responsive to their region's growth and development. The downstream benefits may see engaged youth as a captive audience being open to influence from adults. The value or benefit of including young people in decision-making opportunities therefore needs to be carefully considered within a context of young people's apparent diminished status within society. Youth participation with local councils needs to be real: Young people participating and contributing to the improvement of their communities. As a corollary youth rights within an adult-controlled and managed society requires careful monitoring to minimise the exploitation of young people by adults.

The current local governance environment in Australia is very complex. One reason for this complexity is that in keeping with the principles of ‘good governance’, there are increasing expectations to involve citizens in policy, planning and practice. In addition, with population ageing, an increasing proportion of these citizens belong to the ‘group’ known as ‘seniors’ or ‘older people’. This growing proportion of older people is accompanied by increased diversity including in relation to culture and language, socio-economic status, health and disability, as well as different cohorts and life experiences. A key challenge for local governance is not just how to include older people, but how to include such a diverse range of older people, in ways consistent with the principle of inclusiveness. Attention to inclusion is not only a critical component of good local governance practice, but is also a key policy focus in Australia and overseas. Inclusive local governance in ageing communities is not simply about ‘involving seniors’. To be truly inclusive requires an approach to citizen participation that is grounded in evidence about seniors’ needs and preferences, and the motivations, barriers and characteristics that impact on their engagement. However, given the many ways in which seniors differ, ensuring citizen engagement practices are truly inclusive will be increasingly difficult. This thesis explores these issues by asking: What are the key challenges for local governments in facilitating and supporting genuine and inclusive citizen participation in local governance for seniors? The research is based on the premise that addressing the challenge of including older people in local governance requires a sound understanding what motivates, facilitates and impedes seniors’ participation, and the relationships that these factors have with diversity. A review of the available literature addressing seniors’ political participation identified a multiplicity of motivating, impeding and facilitating factors and highlighted some potential challenges relating to the breadth and complex nature of the evidence. However, there was limited consideration of aspects of diversity beyond the direct effect of demographics. The intention of the thesis, therefore, was to explore the challenges to inclusive practice by developing an in-depth understanding of the factors that motivate, facilitate and impede seniors’ participation in local governance activities, as well as the ways in which aspects of diversity impact on their participation, motivations and barriers. The study used a two-stage mixed-method design, involving a series of focus groups at Stage One and a large scale survey at Stage Two, both conducted in one local government area in south-east Queensland, Australia. Findings from the study identified a complex web of interrelated factors impacting on participation in a number of ways. Motivations and barriers were both self- and other- directed, and were related to individual, social and government domains. Findings also highlighted the importance of diversity to seniors’ participation in governance, with different levels of diversity impacting on who participated, the motivations and barriers that were reported, how important they were, and how they were experienced, as well as their impact on participation. Subsequent synthesis and interpretation provided insights into how local governments can better understand the nature of these challenges if they are to pursue inclusive governance. Overall, results from this study demonstrate that developing inclusive local governance practice is not straightforward, and ensuring opportunities for the participation of seniors from diverse backgrounds presents particular challenges. There are two key conclusions from this study. First, there is significant complexity within the evidence base. This relates particularly to the operation of and patterns among these factors, and relationships between them. Identification of this complexity highlights the value of developing a nuanced understanding of the significant factors and the way they work within the specific local governance context, as well as the limitations of a superficial knowledge of the factors impacting on participation. Second, diversity is important. It impacts on participation both directly and indirectly, highlighting the importance of a deeper understanding of the impact of diversity for inclusive practice. In order to ensure that equal opportunities for participation are available to all seniors, diversity at all levels must be considered and built into appropriate processes. Challenges to local governments’ facilitation and support of inclusive participation by seniors in local governance arise as a result of this complexity within the evidence base and the various impacts of diversity. This thesis identifies and discusses a number of these key challenges, from one local government region, in order to inform inclusive local governance practice.

Thesis (M. Hous. M.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006.