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.

The Impact of Web 2.0 on Public Engagement in the Israeli Home Front (From the 2006 Lebanon War to the 2014 Israel-Gaza Conflict)

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 52-63
Author(s):  
Galit Margalit Ben-Israel
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Home Front ◽  
User Generated Content ◽  
Asymmetric Conflicts ◽  
The Impact

This article deals with citizen engagement and public participation being in crisis on the Israeli home front, in the era of Web 2.0. Since 2004, Web 2.0 characterizes changes that allow users to interact and collaborate with each other in a social media dialogue as creators of user-generated content in social networking sites: Facebook, Twitter, blogs, wikis, YouTube, hosted services, applications, WhatsApp, etc. Since 2006, Israel is involved in asymmetric conflicts. The research defines the impact of Web 2.0 on public engagement in the Israeli home front. The case studies examined in the research are: 1) The 2006 Lebanon War (July-August 2006); 2) The Gaza War (27 December 2008 and ended on 18 January 2009); 3) Operation Pillar of Defense (November 2012); and 4) The 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT IN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN HONG KONG SAR, CHINA USING WEB 2.0: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (01) ◽  
pp. 1450002
Author(s):  
WAI MING TO ◽  
ANDY W. L. CHUNG
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessment ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Public Acceptance ◽  
Hong Kong Sar ◽  
The Web

Web 2.0 has transformed the way people obtain, understand, analyse and respond to information from a broad range of sources. Users spend several hours a day to access the Web, browse their favourite sites and respond to invitations from friends and other people to participate in discussions that affect their social and business lives as well as their environmental conditions. In this regard, knowing how to promote public participation and engagement in the early stages of environmental impact assessment (EIA) as well as how to gain public acceptance in the consultation phase of an EIA using the Web is important. This study describes how Hong Kong government departments employ the Web to disseminate information and proposes methods for public engagement using Web 2.0 technologies.

Science to the people: A 32-nation survey

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 876-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirils Makarovs ◽  
Peter Achterberg
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Science Policy ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
Reflexive Modernization ◽  
Governance Of Science ◽  
The People ◽  
Public Engagement With Science ◽  
Democratic Control

In this article, we analyze Special Eurobarometer (2010) data via multilevel regression modeling and answer two questions: (a) How a country’s democratization level is related to the rate of public engagement with science and (b) who are those citizens who participate in science policy-shaping and express their approval for democratic governance of science? Reflexive modernization and institutional alienation perspectives are used to examine those issues. It has been shown that more democratic societies on average have higher rates of public participation in science and support for democratic control of it. Moreover, those well educated and knowledgeable in the topic of science are more likely to engage with science, which supports the reflexive modernization perspective. However, distrust in scientists being considered as an indicator of institutional alienation from science is also crucial in both predicting actual engagement and support for public control over it.

Support for Sunshine Bargaining in Florida: A Decade Later

1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-50
Author(s):  
Jonathan P. West ◽  
Richard C. Feiock
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Demographic Factors ◽  
Predictor Variables ◽  
Public Employees ◽  
Attitudinal Factors ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
Open Meeting

Collective bargaining with public employees in Florida is conducted in the sunshine. This empirical study examines support for sunshine bargaining (SB) in Florida and the effects of open meeting requirements on negotiations. Perceptions of the pros and cons of open bargaining are reported, and the effects of predictor variables on support for SB are analyzed. Findings show substantial support for open bargaining and suggest the need for revisions in generalizations reported in the literature concerning the consequences of public participation on negotiations. Experience-based attitudinal factors were more powerful than level of participation or demographic factors in explaining support for SB.

scholarly journals Investigating the role of public participation in wind energy project development in Ontario

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anahita Asadolahniajami
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Wind Power ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Knowledge Broker ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Project Development ◽  
The Public

the past several decades, the scope of decision-making in the public domain has changed from a focus on unilateral regulatory verdicts to a more comprehensive process that engages all stakeholders. Consequently, there has been a distinct increase in public participation in the environmental decision-making process. While the potential benefits of public engagement are substantial in terms of identifying synergies between public and industry stakeholders that encourage project development, this participation does not come without its challenges. To meet global energy demands and fulfill ambitious targets for greenhouse gas reduction, renewable energy has received increased attention as a feasible alternative to conventional sources of energy. However, current literature on renewable energy, particularly on wind power, highlights potential social barriers to renewable energy investment. This study investigates the role of public participation by reviewing two case studies of the Ontario wind power generation market to identify the facilitators and constrainers that affected public input into wind project development in Ontario and recommends a participatory framework in the hope of improving public engagement in the wind project development decision-making process. The recommended framework in this research requires all stakeholders to reconsider their current roles in the decision-making process. The public should engage in project planning and monitor the decision-making processes to ensure that their concerns have been addressed. Developers should address public concerns through a consensus building process initiated early in their planning process. Federal and provincial governments have to reclaim their role of ongoing leadership and provide better criteria for implementation and evaluation of the public participation processes. Finally, the process requires a third party who is not only an intermediary, but also plays the role of a knowledge-broker to connect with stakeholders, share and exchange knowledge, and work on overcoming barriers. The knowledge-broker helps to fulfill the main requirement of the collaborative decision-making, which is effective communication.

scholarly journals Engaging Theatre, Activating Publics: Theory and Practice of a Performance on Darwin

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 255
Author(s):  
Saul E. Halfon ◽  
Cora Olson ◽  
Ann Kilkelly ◽  
Jane L. Lehr
Keyword(s):  
Public Engagement ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Narrative Structure ◽  
Performance Model ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Educational Models ◽  
Unique System ◽  
Cultural Spaces ◽  
A Performance

The Theatre Workshop in Science, Technology and Society (TWISTS) is a unique public engagement project. Theoretically, TWISTS seeks to activate publics around contemporary science and technology issues by producing agonistic cultural spaces in which participants are confronted with and engaged by multiple perspectives. It thus seeks to enact a model of Public Engagement with Science and Technology (PEST) that is oriented toward neither individualized educational models nor policy deliberation and consensus. Its engaged STS performance model instead merges expanded notions of expertise with challenges and techniques derived from critical performance theory, such as recentering participants, rethinking purpose and evaluation, and reworking narrative structure. Practically, TWISTS’ four existing performance cycles have been sites for both extending and challenging the theory. Using a unique system of expert interviews, writing, and theater games, these performances were collaboratively derived by a range of participants. The “Living Darwin” performance serves as a case study for exploring the tensions of this collaboration. Negotiating a set of different perspectives over the place of Darwin in contemporary life, and the proper way to represent him and his influence, was challenging, but proved productive in developing a performance that raised these issues for the audience within an agonistic space.

scholarly journals Approaches to collaborative landscape analysis and planning

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 49-63
Author(s):  
Guillermo Reher ◽  
Véronique Karine Simon ◽  
Mateja Šmid Hribar ◽  
Lone Kristensen ◽  
Jørgen Primdahl
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Deliberative Democracy ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
International Agreements ◽  
Research Paradigm ◽  
Community Values ◽  
Territorial Planning

Abstract This paper aims to ground the research paradigm of public engagement within the field of landscape and heritage. Both the European Landscape Convention and the Faro Convention, major international agreements that shape both these dimensions, stress the need to reinforce the democratic nature of projects. This participation needs to go beyond informing stakeholders and formal hearings, and community values and ideas should be included in the planning process. This entails addressing the complexities of stakeholder deliberation and the solution of thorny problems. The present study examines in detail four case studies from the Netherlands, Slovenia and Denmark, in which public participation was crucial in different stages of the project development. The methodologies employed, as well as the effect that such engagement had on the general results, will be highlighted. Finally, the discussion of results will evaluate the findings through the lens of deliberative democracy within territorial planning.

scholarly journals Remaking Participation in Science and Democracy

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Chilvers ◽  
Matthew Kearnes
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Technology Studies ◽  
The Past ◽  
Socially Responsive ◽  
New Framework ◽  
Made In

Over the past few decades, significant advances have been made in public engagement with, and the democratization of, science and technology. Despite notable successes, such developments have often struggled to enhance public trust, avert crises of expertise and democracy, and build more socially responsive and responsible science and innovation. A central reason for this is that mainstream approaches to public engagement harbor what we call “residual realist” assumptions about participation and publics. Recent coproductionist accounts in science and technology studies (STS) offer an alternative way of seeing participation as coproduced, relational, diverse, and emergent but have been somewhat reluctant to articulate what this means in practice. In this paper, we make this move by setting out a new framework of interrelating paths and associated criteria for remaking public participation with science and democracy in more experimental, reflexive, anticipatory, and responsible ways. This framework comprises four paths to: forge reflexive participatory practices that attend to their framings, emergence, uncertainties, and effects; ecologize participation through attending to the interrelations between diverse public engagements in wider systems; catalyze practices of anticipatory reflection to bring about responsible democratic innovations; and reconstitute participation as constitutive of (not separate from) systems of technoscience and democracy.

Participatory Mapping, E-Participation, and E-Governance

2020 ◽  
pp. 147-175
Author(s):  
Pragati Rawat ◽  
Juita-Elena (Wie) Yusuf
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Frame Of Reference ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Participatory Mapping ◽  
Digital Government ◽  
Participatory Gis ◽  
Information And Communication

This chapter focuses on participatory mapping as an e-governance tool to facilitate public participation. Public participation is a key component of democratic governance, and there is a growing reliance on digital government tools such as the internet and social networking sites and geographic information systems (GIS). This chapter focuses on public engagement using information and communication technology, namely participatory mapping, known by a variety of terms such as participatory GIS (PGIS), public participation GIS (PPGIS), and voluntary GIS. While the analysis involves use of participatory mapping related to environmental issues, the chapter brings together seminal work from various fields of citizen engagement and participatory mapping. The idea is to create one common narrative for scholars and practitioners, bringing together various terminologies, practices, and studies in participatory mapping in the environmental arena that offers a beginner's frame of reference.

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