Civic participation in Finland

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Civic Participation

scholarly journals Gamification-less: may gamification really foster civic participation? A controlled field experiment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Romano ◽  
Paloma Díaz ◽  
Ignacio Aedo
Keyword(s):  
Crisis Management ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Design Experiment ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Group Design ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Open Issue ◽  
Smart Communities

AbstractIn the context of smart communities, it is essential an active and continuous collaboration between citizens, organizations and institutions. There are several cases where citizens may be asked to participate such as in public decision-making process by informing, voting or proposing projects or in crisis management by sharing precise and timely information with other citizens and emergency organizations. However, these opportunities do not automatically result in participatory practices sustained over time. Mobile technologies and social networks provide the substratum for supporting formal empowerment, but citizen engagement in participation processes is still an open issue. One of the techniques used to improve engagement is gamification based on the humans’ predisposition to games. So far, we still lack studies that can prove the advantage of gamified systems respect to non-gamified ones in civic participation context. In this work, we present a between-group design experiment performed in the wild using two mobile applications enabling civic participation, one gamified and the other not. Our results highlight that the gamified application generates a better user experience and civic engagement.

Does Social Media Engagement Translate to Civic Engagement Offline?

2021 ◽  
pp. 089976402199944
Author(s):  
Jaclyn Piatak ◽  
Ian Mikkelsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Political Campaigns ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Engagement ◽  
Informal Volunteering ◽  
Using Data

People increasingly engage in politics on social media, but does online engagement translate to offline engagement? Research is mixed with some suggesting how one uses the internet maters. We examine how political engagement on social media corresponds to offline engagement. Using data following the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election, we find the more politically engaged people are on social media, the more likely they are to engage offline across measures of engagement—formal and informal volunteering, attending local meetings, donating to and working for political campaigns, and voting. Findings offer important nuances across types of civic engagement and generations. Although online engagement corresponds to greater engagement offline in the community and may help narrow generational gaps, this should not be the only means to promote civic participation to ensure all have a voice and an opportunity to help, mobilize, and engage.

scholarly journals The Participation of Senior Citizens in Policy-Making: Patterning Initiatives in Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Roberto Falanga ◽  
Andreas Cebulla ◽  
Andrea Principi ◽  
Marco Socci
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Senior Citizens ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Participatory Approaches ◽  
Aging Policy ◽  
Older Citizens

Worldwide, active aging policy calls for greater participation of senior citizens in the social, economic, and political realms. Despite emerging evidence of initiatives engaging senior citizens in social activities, little is known about the use of participatory approaches in the design and/or implementation of policies that matter to older citizens. This article identifies initiatives facilitating the civic participation of older people in policy-making in European Union member and associate states, drawing on a review of the literature, consultation of national policy experts, and exemplary case studies. Four main patterns of senior civic participation are identified: adopting consultative or co-decisional participatory approaches in policy design or policy implementation. The four are represented to varying degrees at different geographical levels (national, regional, local), with different actor configurations (appointed, elected/nominated, corporate representation), and with varying degree of institutionalization (temporary/permanent). Case studies illustrate approaches taken to enhance the quality and effectiveness of public services for senior citizens. Future research should strengthen this line of enquiry to cast further light on conditions facilitating the civic participation of senior citizens.

scholarly journals The Perceived Impact of Social Networking Sites and Apps on the Social Capital of Saudi Postgraduate Students: A Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Abdulelah A. Alghamdi ◽  
Margaret Plunkett
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

With the increased use of Social Networking Sites and Apps (SNSAs) in Saudi Arabia, it is important to consider the impact of this on the social lives of tertiary students, who are heavy users of such technology. A mixed methods study exploring the effect of SNSAs use on the social capital of Saudi postgraduate students was conducted using a multidimensional construct of social capital, which included the components of life satisfaction, social trust, civic participation, and political engagement. Data were collected through surveys and interviews involving 313 male and 293 female postgraduate students from Umm Al-Qura University (UQU) in Makkah. Findings show that male and female participants perceived SNSAs use impacting all components of social capital at a moderate and mainly positive level. Correlational analysis demonstrated medium to large positive correlations among components of social capital. Gender differences were not evident in the life satisfaction and social trust components; however, females reported more involvement with SNSAs for the purposes of political engagement while males reported more use for civic participation, which is an interesting finding, in light of the norms and traditional culture of Saudi society.

Civic Participation and Social Embeddedness: Differences Between Urban and Rural Communities

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-67
Author(s):  
Tuuli-Marja Kleiner
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Social Embeddedness ◽  
The Social ◽  
Multi Level

Does civic participation lead to a large social network? This study claims that high levels of civic participation may obstruct individual social embeddedness. Using survey data from the German Survey on Volunteering (Deutscher Freiwilligensurvey; 1999–2009), this study conducts macro- as well as multi-level regressions to examine the link between civic participation and social embeddedness. Findings reveal that civic participation on the sub-national regional level is not generally associated with social embeddedness, but it affects the participants’ and non-participants’ possibilities for friendships differently. This holds especially true in urban areas, but the effect cannot be found in rural areas. The analysis has implications for further research to enhance the social embeddedness of the excluded.

scholarly journals Land-Use Planning and the Public: Is There an Optimal Degree of Civic Participation?

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Miroslav Kopáček
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
Optimal Level ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Optimal Degree ◽  
Degree Of Participation

Civic participation has an irreplaceable role in the land-use planning process because it contributes a practical perspective to expert knowledge. This article discusses whether there is actually a level of civic participation that can be considered optimal, which would allow experts to effectively obtain information from everyday users of the territory, who have the best practical knowledge of it; experts may also gain sufficient feedback on intended developments, based on knowledge about civic participation from representatives of individual municipalities. The article also proposes measures that can promote an optimal degree of participation in the land-use planning process. The fieldwork was conducted in the form of semi-structured interviews with the mayors of municipalities with a population of up to 2000 inhabitants in selected districts of the Ústí Region (Czech Republic). The results suggest that the optimal degree of civic participation in land-use planning should have a representative extent, so it should not merely be a matter of individuals, but also one of groups of dozens of people, and such groups should encompass a balanced variety of characteristics; an optimal level of civic participation should also provide the maximum number of relevant impulses. Measures that may secure and foster an optimal degree of civic participation in land-use planning include (1) striving to avoid preferring purely voluntary participation; (2) simultaneously utilizing various tools to engage inhabitants; (3) educating inhabitants on a regular basis; and (4) consistently communicating and providing feedback, while also searching for informal means of communication and discussion.

Fighting Post-truth with Fiction: An Inquiry into Using Storification and Embodied Narratives for Evidence-Based Civic Participation

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-78
Author(s):  
Lobna Hassan ◽  
Sebastian Deterding ◽  
J. Tuomas Harviainen ◽  
Juho Hamari
Keyword(s):  
Civic Participation ◽  
Evidence Based
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