Citizen Consultation from Above and Below

2010 ◽  
pp. 332-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Axel Bruns ◽  
Jason Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Citizen Engagement ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Social Networking Tools

Citizen engagement and e-government initiatives in Australia remain somewhat underdeveloped, not least for a number of fundamental structural reasons. Fledgling initiatives can be divided into a number of broad categories, including top-down government consultation through blogs and similar experimental online sites operated by government departments; bottom-up NGO-driven watchdog initiatives such as GetUp!’s Project Democracy site, modelled on projects established in the UK; and a variety of more or less successful attempts by politicians (and their media handlers) to utilise social networking tools to connect with constituents while bypassing the mainstream media. This chapter explores these initiatives, and discusses the varying levels of success which they have found to date.

scholarly journals TOP-DOWN OR BOTTOM-UP? EMPLOYING A MIDDLE-GROUND APPROACH IN DESIGNING A UK ACADEMIC WRITING COURSE FOR ADVANCED CHINESE GRADUATES

2020 ◽  
pp. 095
Author(s):  
Ivo Ganchev
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Middle Ground ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Postgraduate Study ◽  
Writing Course ◽  
Second Tier ◽  
The Uk

This article documents the academic writing course design process for advanced Chinese learners aiming to pursue postgraduate degrees in business-related fields at their respective target universities in the UK. Four holders of BA degrees in the social sciences from second tier universities in Beijing were tested, surveyed and observed in detail to design a non-terminal twenty-hour pre-sessional writing course (ten two-hour sessions) to assist in their preparation for postgraduate study. All students held offers from Russell Group universities in the UK and had covered the IELTS requirement (6.5-7.0) for admission there prior to signing up for the EAP course discussed in this paper. The aim of the course is to enhance the students’ academic skills and improve their performance in the following year when they attend UK universities. The course design process is informed by two sets of principles, incorporating both a top-down and a bottom-up perspective. The former is framed within an understanding of EAP as academic, rather than language training. The latter is based on needs analysis of student-specific weaknesses explored through the use of a questionnaire, a diagnostic writing test and in-class observations. Both perspectives feed into the course goals and objectives which serve as a basis for the course rationale. Aiming to bridge the gap between Chinese undergraduate and UK postgraduate study, the course combines textbooks with authentic materials and formative with summative assessment. Reflections on major constraints and limitations are provided throughout the process. This documented case of academic writing course design aims to reveal challenges faced by EAP practitioners working with UK and Chinese institutions, and to present a middle ground approach to resolving tensions between top-down and bottom-up pressures in the context of course design for advanced Chinese graduates.

Participation or Pathology: Contradictory Tensions in Area-Based Policy

2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pete Alcock
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Central Feature ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Uk

This paper discusses some of the tensions revealed in the development and implementation of recent area-based approaches to social policy in England. Such programmes are now a central feature of Government policy practice, although similar programmes have been developed in the past in the UK and other welfare capitalist countries. They reflect concerns to combat social exclusion and ‘join-up’ service provision. They are also evidence of a shift towards more agency based policy practice – from ‘top-down’ to ‘bottom-up’ planning. Thus participation of citizens is a key element in all programmes. Some of the problems of securing such participation are discussed, including in particular the tendency for expectations of participation to lead to pathological interpretations of the causes of (and solutions too) social exclusion.

scholarly journals Exploiting satellite measurements to reduce uncertainties in UK bottom-up NO<sub>x</sub> emission estimates

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Pope ◽  
Rebecca Kelly ◽  
Eloise A. Marais ◽  
Ailish M. Graham ◽  
Chris Wilson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Chemistry ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variability ◽  
Nox Emissions ◽  
Ozone Monitoring Instrument ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Emissions Inventory ◽  
Monitoring Instrument ◽  
Hazardous Pollutants ◽  
The Uk

Abstract. Nitrogen oxides (NOx, NO+NO2) are potent air pollutants which directly impact on human health and which aid the formation of other hazardous pollutants such as ozone (O3) and particulate matter. In this study, we use satellite tropospheric column nitrogen dioxide (TCNO2) data to evaluate the spatiotemporal variability and magnitude of the United Kingdom (UK) bottom-up National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI) NOx emissions. Although emissions and TCNO2 represent different quantities, for UK city sources we find a spatial correlation of ~0.5 between the NAEI NOx emissions and TCNO2 from the high-spatial-resolution TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), suggesting a good spatial distribution of emission sources in the inventory. Between 2005 and 2015, the NAEI total UK NOx emissions and long-term TCNO2 record from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), averaged over England, show decreasing trends of 4.4 % and 2.2 %, respectively. Top-down NOx emissions were derived in this study by applying a simple mass balance approach to TROPOMI observed downwind NO2 plumes from city sources. Overall, these top-down estimates were consistent with the NAEI, but for larger cities such as London and Manchester the inventory is significantly (> 25 %) less than the top-down emissions. This NAEI NOx emission underestimate is supported by comparing simulations from the GEOS-Chem atmospheric chemistry model, driven by the NAEI emissions, with satellite and surface NO2 observations over the UK. This yields substantial model negative biases, providing further evidence to demonstrate that the NAEI may be underestimating NOx emissions in London and Manchester.

scholarly journals Large-scale innovation and change in UK higher education

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Brown
Keyword(s):  
Change Management ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Participatory Design ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Recent Attempt ◽  
Learning Technology ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Institutional Practice ◽  
The Uk

This paper reflects on challenges universities face as they respond to change. It reviews current theories and models of change management, discusses why universities are particularly difficult environments in which to achieve large scale, lasting change and reports on a recent attempt by the UK JISC to enable a range of UK universities to employ technology to deliver such changes. Key lessons that emerged from these experiences are reviewed covering themes of pervasiveness, unofficial systems, project creep, opposition, pressure to deliver, personnel changes and technology issues. The paper argues that collaborative approaches to project management offer greater prospects of effective large-scale change in universities than either management-driven top-down or more champion-led bottom-up methods. It also argues that while some diminution of control over project outcomes is inherent in this approach, this is outweighed by potential benefits of lasting and widespread adoption of agreed changes.Keywords: change management; top-down; bottom-up; distributive; leadership; innovation; collaboration; participation; participatory design; curriculum design; institutional practice; large scale; evolving culture; JISC; stakeholder(Published: 6 September 2013)Citation: Research in Learning Technology 2013, 21: 22316 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v21i0.22316

scholarly journals Marine protected areas in the UK: challenges in combining top-down and bottom-up approaches to governance

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 248-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER J. S. JONES
Keyword(s):  
Central Government ◽  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Burden Of Proof ◽  
Marine Conservation ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Governance Challenges ◽  
Main Components ◽  
The Uk

SUMMARYThis review outlines the policy frameworks for marine conservation zones (MCZs) and marine special areas of conservation (SACs), which are the main components of the emerging UK marine protected area (MPA) network. If current recommendations are implemented, the coverage of MPAs in English seas could rise to 27%. The governance challenges that this will raise are explored through case studies of MPA initiatives in south-west England. Whilst the initial processes by which MCZ recommendations have been developed provided for stakeholder participation (bottom-up), the main steer has been from central government (top-down). The subsequent designation and implementation of MCZs is likely to be more top-down. Marine SAC processes have, by contrast, been top-down from the outset. The fishing industry fears that more MPAs will lead to increasing restrictions, whilst conservationists fear that MPAs will not be sufficiently protected, potentially becoming paper MPAs. Both argue that the burden of proof should be placed on the other party. Such combinations of top-down (central government-led) and bottom-up (community and user-led) approaches and the related conflicts are typical of government-led MPAs in temperate countries that have higher governance capacities. Top-down approaches tend to dominate, but this does not mean that they cannot be combined with bottom-up approaches.

Psychology and Culture: Top Down Versus Bottom Up?

PsycCRITIQUES ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 50 (19) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Cole
Keyword(s):  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up
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