Future Planning Practitioners and the “Waipahu Talk Story”: Learning from and Reflecting on Participation

2020 ◽  
pp. 0739456X2095453
Author(s):  
Priyam Das ◽  
Yusraa Tadj ◽  
Scott Cloudwatcher ◽  
Cathi Ho-Schar
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Transit Oriented Development ◽  
Future Planning ◽  
The Social ◽  
Talk Story ◽  
Development Plans

Fifty years ago, Sherry Arnstein presented “a ladder of citizen participation,” highlighting the relevance of citizen participation for the social imperatives of her time. Today, there is widespread emphasis on public participation in planning practice. Planning education stresses its importance in addressing the principles of social justice. This prompted us to explore how graduate students on the threshold of becoming planning practitioners designed public engagement tools, and facilitated participation to examine proposed transit-oriented development plans. Our paper analyzes the nature of their engagement and reflection, spotlighting the potential and pitfalls of doing public participation. We find that enabling critical pedagogical approaches to engender collaborative and reflective practice benefits students, educators, and the profession in distinct ways.

scholarly journals Assessing the Implementation Process of Consulting Citizen Participation in Policy and Housing Delivery in South Africa

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
Henry J. Ssekibuule
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
South African ◽  
Housing Policy ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Public Issues ◽  
Year 2000

This article aims to assess the implementation process of consulting citizen participation and conflicts involved in housing delivery against the environment of the South Africanhousing need and housing policy. In this way the study wants to clarify the relationship between housing policy and housing practice. The article is based on the legislations and policies designed to foster and promote public participation in South Africa. These include legislation at both the national and local government levels and a survey of planning departments measuring the types of public participation strategies used by local governments. The article’s findings indicate that South African Municipalities need adopt a broader range of public participation techniques related to: voluntarism and public engagement, neighbourhood and strategic planning, and e-government. In contrast, the article’s findings indicate that South African Municipalities are more likely to crumple if they do not promote public participation through mechanisms such as annual community meetings and referendums on public issues. The conclusion of the article offers recommendations for expanding the scope of public participation and developing strategies that maximize citizen input in community development activities in both the Provincial and local spheres of government. The survey was conducted to identify the scope of public participation techniques used by local governments and the Department of Housing in Tyutyu housing project located in the Buffalo city metropolitan municipality. It is an initiative which was started in the year  2000 with the aim of alleviating housing shortage in the area. Formerly, the area was made up of mud houses that were constructed by the former Ciskei government. Later on, shacks were added in  the area. Originally, <br />these structures were meant to form agricultural rural village settlements. One limitation of this methodology is that it does not gauge the effectiveness of the participation techniques used by local governments and the department of housing or the intensity of public engagement. However, the results from this study provide future researchers with a mechanism for focusing future analysis. The findings can assist in identifying new directions for enhancing public participation in South Africa and globally.

Open Budgetary Meetings Amid a Pandemic: Assessing Connecticut’s Various Pathways to Public Engagement During COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 55-76
Author(s):  
Jodie Gil ◽  
Jonathan L Wharton
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Public Meetings ◽  
Open Meeting

This qualitative analysis of public participation in Connecticut open meetings highlights how Connecticut communities adjusted when the state’s open meeting law was temporarily revised under emergency order during COVID-19. A survey of officials in 95 municipalities found a majority had the same or more participation in budget deliberations during that time. Only about a quarter saw decreased public participation. A closer look at four communities highlights specific challenges and successes during the sudden shift in public meetings. Connecticut’s varied forms of government give multiple perspectives, which can provide insight for other communities looking to expand virtual access to open meetings.

“It’s Real, It’s Much More Real”: An Exploration of Values Based Reflective Practice ® as a Reflective Tool

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
Healthcare Settings ◽  
Positive Coping ◽  
Social Nature ◽  
The Social ◽  
Group Relationships ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Courageous Conversations

Values Based Reflective Practice (VBRP®) is a group reflection framework widely utilized within healthcare settings across Scotland, where groups of colleagues meet and discuss their workplace-based experiences using the VBRP® structure. The VBRP® model has previously been noted within HSCC as assisting “courageous conversations” about working in a caring vocation (Bunniss, 2021a, 2021b). Despite its national platform, however, there has been limited evaluation of VBRP®. Aim: This study explores the impact of VBRP® as a reflective tool among undergraduate medical students. Method: A qualitative action research methodology was used. Results: Three themes were identified from the data: overcoming barriers to reflection during VBRP®; enhancing reflection through the social nature of VBRP®; participants’ perceptions of reflection through the lens of VBRP®. Conclusion: VBRP® enabled deeper, more authentic reflection and enhanced written reflection abilities due to its social nature. It promoted the formation of peer support networks and positive coping mechanisms among medical students. Teamworking and group relationships were also improved.

Reading routines: strategies of recall in graduate education

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Alan Fine ◽  
Hannah Wohl ◽  
Simone Ispa-Landa
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Graduate Program ◽  
Graduate Training ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Doctoral Program ◽  
Note Taking ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social

Purpose This study aims to explore how graduate students in the social sciences develop reading and note-taking routines. Design/methodology/approach Using a professional socialization framework drawing on grounded theory, this study draws on a snowball sample of 36 graduate students in the social sciences at US universities. Qualitative interviews were conducted to learn about graduate students’ reading and note-taking techniques. Findings This study uncovered how doctoral students experienced the shift from undergraduate to graduate training. Graduate school requires students to adopt new modes of reading and note-taking. However, students lacked explicit mentorship in these skills. Once they realized that the goal was to enter an academic conversation to produce knowledge, they developed new reading and note-taking routines by soliciting and implementing suggestions from advanced doctoral students and faculty mentors. Research limitations/implications The specific requirements of the individual graduate program shape students’ goals for reading and note-taking. Further examination of the relationship between graduate students’ reading and note-taking and institutional requirements is warranted with a larger sample of universities, including non-American institutions. Practical implications Graduate students benefit from explicit mentoring in reading and note-taking skills from doctoral faculty and advanced graduate students. Originality/value This study uncovers the perspectives of graduate students in the social sciences as they transition from undergraduate coursework in a doctoral program of study. This empirical, interview-based research highlights the centrality of reading and note-taking in doctoral studies.

scholarly journals Student Auditing of University Social Responsibility - Reform through Reflective, Experiential Learning?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Menezes ◽  
Márcia Coelho ◽  
Fernanda Rodrigues ◽  
Peter Evans ◽  
Brian Martin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Initial Data ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
European Universities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Teaching Support ◽  
The Impact

The emphasis on the social responsibility of higher education institutions emerged more systematically in the Post-Bologna European context. This paper presents an overview of a case study on a certificate in university social responsibility auditing, based on three European universities: Edimburgh, Kaunas and Porto. The goal is to develop an auditor training for students based on experiential learning, that is coherent and replicable in diverse contexts and that involves the various stakeholders. The project is based on a set of benchmarks of university social responsibility developed in the context of a European project, namely:  Research, Teaching, Support for Learning and Public Engagement; Governance; Environmental and Societal Sustainability; and Fair Practices. We will report on the initial data generated by the ESSA Project, in respect of student recruitment, baseline attitudes and the impact of participation in the training and the first audit.

scholarly journals Open science: policy implications for the evolving phenomenon of user-led scientific innovation

2010 ◽  
Vol 09 (01) ◽  
pp. A05 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Stodden
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Public Involvement ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Scientific Activity ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Knowledge Generation ◽  
Reproducible Research ◽  
Treatment Research

From contributions of astronomy data and DNA sequences to disease treatment research, scientific activity by non-scientists is a real and emergent phenomenon, and raising policy questions. This involvement in science can be understood as an issue of access to publications, code, and data that facilitates public engagement in the research process, thus appropriate policy to support the associated welfare enhancing benefits is essential. Current legal barriers to citizen participation can be alleviated by scientists’ use of the “Reproducible Research Standard,” thus making the literature, data, and code associated with scientific results accessible. The enterprise of science is undergoing deep and fundamental changes, particularly in how scientists obtain results and share their work: the promise of open research dissemination held by the Internet is gradually being fulfilled by scientists. Contributions to science from beyond the ivory tower are forcing a rethinking of traditional models of knowledge generation, evaluation, and communication. The notion of a scientific “peer” is blurred with the advent of lay contributions to science raising questions regarding the concepts of peer-review and recognition. New collaborative models are emerging around both open scientific software and the generation of scientific discoveries that bear a similarity to open innovation models in other settings. Public engagement in science can be understood as an issue of access to knowledge for public involvement in the research process, facilitated by appropriate policy to support the welfare enhancing benefits deriving from citizen-science.

scholarly journals The (re) urbanization of Honolulu: Colonialism and urban renewal in Hawaii

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 006
Author(s):  
Shea Charles B.A.
Keyword(s):  
Urban Renewal ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Transit Oriented Development ◽  
Cost Of Living ◽  
Community Based ◽  
The Social

In this essay, I explore the implications of (neo)colonialism on Keʻeaumoku street and look towards indigenous and community-based answers. As issues of gentrification, homelessness, and the rising cost of living plague Hawaiʻi, many look for ways to solve these issues as an “Us” (Hawaiʻi Residents) versus “Them” (Continental U.S. and International Corporations) dichotomy, as opposed to looking towards the broader issues of colonialism and the further implications. To do this, I specifically look at the Transit-Oriented Development and make connections between the historical and contemporary urbanization of Honolulu and the ongoing colonization of Hawaiʻi. I also suggest that the social action previously taken by communities in Kakaʻako should be used for the Keʻeaumoku street community. 

scholarly journals Building Resilience through Collective Engagement

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa Audrey O. Esteban
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
City Planning ◽  
Transformation Process ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Continuous Exposure ◽  
Basic Premise ◽  
Public Issues ◽  
The Social ◽  
Collective Engagement

The basic premise of this study is that the collective engagement of the citizens in a disaster-prone city helps transform their city to become resilient. Many urban managers encourage citizen participation by providing a venue for citizens to engage in public issues, including those of city planning and management. Citizen participation is important in building a cohesive community, empowering its citizens, and enhancing their sense of ownership of their community and city as a whole. The research underscores that collective engagement and action have an influence in the transformation of a city. The study will use the concept of resilience in the socio-ecological systems context to build a conceptual framework on the transformation process. Cities are ecological systems with both natural- and built-environment characteristics. Cities are complex multidimensional systems with both the social (human) and the ecological (natural and built environments) tied together. The changing landscape and continuous exposure to disturbances put pressure on the social and ecological systems of a city. The paper discusses collective engagement as a systemic process for how a disaster-prone city transforms itself to become disaster resilient. Using the concept of panarchy as a process of adaptation and transformation, the paper will build a conceptual framework that highlights collectiveness as a way to become resilient. The paper underscores that collective engagement and action have an influence in the transformation of a city.

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