Digital Media’s Impact on Civic Engagement

2021 ◽  
pp. 193-214
Author(s):  
Michael A. Xenos

Like those before them, contemporary youth are in the process of forming habits and orientations toward civic life that can establish patterns of political engagement that follow them through their lifetimes. Unlike earlier generations, however, early 21st-century “born digital” youth face a dramatically different communications environment than that experienced by their parents and grandparents. This chapter charts a path toward effective evaluation research for broadband within the specific domain of political and civic engagement among young people. After introducing core dimensions and constructs relevant to such a research program, it reviews key theoretical models as well as particularly fruitful strands of scholarship that can make important contributions to a program of broadband evaluation research focused on youth engagement. The chapter concludes with a discussion of challenges and opportunities for future research, both in terms of key substantive questions and particularly useful methodological approaches.

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-39
Author(s):  
Kate Heron Pahl

In this article I argue that it is important to find a language to describe youth engagement practices in informal settings. I argue that many young people do not have the resources to be heard on visible platforms, but their work, and meaning making practices might provide important information about their ideas and relay key concepts about how communicational practices are constructed. Drawing on embedded, ethnographic and artistically informed projects with young people in communities, I argue for a deeper kind of listening. Artistic forms such as poetry, visual art, dance and music are important modes of engagement. I draw on cultural practice theory together with theory from new literacy studies and media studies to explore four questions: How do you craft what you know? How do you speak/make what you feel? How do you transform practice? How do you articulate action? I see these as components of the process of producing relationally oriented modes of address that others can also engage with. Taken together, they suggest a language of description for the mode that is civic engagement communicational practice, that is, oriented beyond individual experience but drawing from experience to make change happen in relational ways.


Author(s):  
Jennifer Earl ◽  
Sam Scovill ◽  
Elliot Ramo

The authors examine the debate over youth engagement as it has developed since 1990, especially the role of digital and social media. Despite panics over youth disengagement and the pervasiveness of the youth deficit model, contemporary research largely finds that young people are politically engaged, that new media facilitate youth engagement, and that new media usage tends to reduce inequalities between youth in political engagement. Beyond these general findings, the authors also examine how youth use digital and social media in the development of political knowledge and interest and when participating in campaigns and elections, social movements and protest, political consumption (e.g., boycotts and buycotts), and participatory politics (i.e., traditional and new forms of engagement such as making cultural interventions and circulating information and opinions). For each form of engagement, the authors also assess the role of digital and social media usage in making engagement more inclusive and equitable. The authors close by introducing evidence-based resources that young people have access to online to aid their engagement and thoughts about future research.


Data & Policy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Ronzhyn ◽  
Maria A. Wimmer

Abstract With the increased availability of data and the capacity to make sense of these data, computational approaches to analyze, model and simulate public policy evolved toward viable instruments to deliberate, plan, and evaluate them in different areas of application. Such examples include infrastructure, mobility, monetary, or austerity policies, policies on different aspects of societies (health, pandemic, skills, inclusion, etc.). Technological advances along with the evolution of theoretical models and frameworks open valuable opportunities, while at the same time, posing new challenges. The paper investigates the current state of research in the domain and aims at identifying the most pressing areas for future research. This is done through both literature research of policy modeling and the analysis of research and innovation projects that either focus on policy modeling or involve it as a significant component of the research design. In the paper, 16 recent projects involving the keyword policy modeling were analyzed. The majority of projects concern the application of policy modeling to a specific domain or area of interest, while several projects tackled the cross-cutting topics (risk and crisis management). The detailed analysis of the projects led to topics of future research in the domain of policy modeling. Most prominent future research topics in policy modeling include stakeholder involvement approaches, applicability of research results, handling complexity of models, integration of models from different modeling and simulation paradigms and approaches, visualization of simulation results, real-time data processing, and scalability. These aspects require further research to appropriately contribute to further advance the field.


Author(s):  
Natasha Thomas-Jackson

RAISE IT UP! Youth Arts and Awareness (RIU) is an organization that promotes youth engagement, expression, and empowerment through the use of performance and literary arts and social justice activism. We envision a world where youth are fully recognized, valued, and supported as artist-activists and emerging thought leaders, working to create a world that is just, intersectional, and inclusive. Two fundamental tenets shape RIU’s policies, practices, and pedagogy. The first is that creative self-expression and culture making are powerful tools for personal and social transformation. The second is that social justice is truly possible only if and when we are willing to have transparent and authentic conversations about the oppression children experience at the hands of the adults in their lives. We are committed to amplifying youth voices and leadership and building cross-generational solidarity among people of all ages, particularly those impacted by marginalization. Though RIU is focused on and driven by the youth, a large part of our work includes helping adult family members, educators, and community leaders understand the ways in which systemic oppression shapes our perceptions of and interactions with the young people in our homes, neighborhoods, institutions, and decision-making bodies.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Joseph Van Bavel

We review literature from several fields to describe common experimental tasks used to measure human cooperation as well as the theoretical models that have been used to characterize cooperative decision-making, as well as brain regions implicated in cooperation. Building on work in neuroeconomics, we suggest a value-based account may provide the most powerful understanding the psychology and neuroscience of group cooperation. We also review the role of individual differences and social context in shaping the mental processes that underlie cooperation and consider gaps in the literature and potential directions for future research on the social neuroscience of cooperation. We suggest that this multi-level approach provides a more comprehensive understanding of the mental and neural processes that underlie the decision to cooperate with others.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily L. Dennis ◽  
Karen Caeyenberghs ◽  
Robert F. Asarnow ◽  
Talin Babikian ◽  
Brenda Bartnik-Olson ◽  
...  

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability in children in both developed and developing nations. Children and adolescents suffer from TBI at a higher rate than the general population; however, research in this population lags behind research in adults. This may be due, in part, to the smaller number of investigators engaged in research with this population and may also be related to changes in safety laws and clinical practice that have altered length of hospital stays, treatment, and access to this population. Specific developmental issues also warrant attention in studies of children, and the ever-changing context of childhood and adolescence may require larger sample sizes than are commonly available to adequately address remaining questions related to TBI. The ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) Pediatric Moderate-Severe TBI (msTBI) group aims to advance research in this area through global collaborative meta-analysis. In this paper we discuss important challenges in pediatric TBI research and opportunities that we believe the ENIGMA Pediatric msTBI group can provide to address them. We conclude with recommendations for future research in this field of study.


Author(s):  
James C.  Root ◽  
Elizabeth Ryan ◽  
Tim A. Ahles

As the population of cancer survivors has grown into the millions, there is increasing emphasis on understanding how late effects of treatment impact survivors’ ability return to work/school, ability to function and live independently, and overall quality of life. Cognitive changes are one of the most feared problems among cancer survivors. This chapter describes the growing literature examining cognitive changes associated with non-central nervous system cancer and cancer treatment. Typical elements of cancer treatment are discussed, followed by a description of clinical presentation, self-reported and objectively assessed cognitive findings, and results of structural and functional neuroimaging research. Genetic and other risk factors for cognitive decline following treatment are identified and discussed, together with biomarkers and animal models of treatment-related effects. This is followed by a discussion of behavioral and pharmacologic treatments. Finally, challenges and recommendations for future research are provided to help guide subsequent research and theoretical models.


Author(s):  
Kelly C. Allison ◽  
Jennifer D. Lundgren

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fifth edition, of the American Psychiatric Association (2013) has designated several disorders under the diagnosis of otherwise specified feeding and eating disorder (OSFED). This chapter evaluates three of these, night eating syndrome (NES), purging disorder (PD), and atypical anorexia nervosa (atypical AN). It also reviews orthorexia nervosa, which has been discussed in the clinical realm as well as the popular press. The history and definition for each is reviewed, relevant theoretical models are presented and compared, and evidence for the usefulness of the models is described. Empirical studies examining the disorders’ independence from other disorders, comorbid psychopathology, and, when available, medical comorbidities, are discussed. Distress and impairment in functioning seem comparable between at least three of these emerging disorders and threshold eating disorders. Finally, remaining questions for future research are summarized.


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