Framing and Exposing Community Issues through Video Participatory Research

Video participatory research (VPR) is an emergent methodology that bridges visual methods with the epistemology of participatory research. This approach is motivated by the “crisis of representation” or “reflective turn” (Gubrium & Harper, 2013) that promotes research conducted with or by participants, conceptualizing research as praxis (Lather, 1991). In this manuscript, the authors argue that VPR can be used to explore issues directly impacting individuals involved with adult education and vocational training. Primary investigators work with community co-researchers to document issues in the community, analyze this audio-visual material, and produce and distribute video projects, exposing policy makers and key stakeholders to a community's concerns. When implementing the VPR process research teams account for intentionality of form and content, apply a multi-perspective analysis to the complex layers of data produced by video, and plan for distribution of work on the personal and local level as well as in the public sphere (i.e., at the micro and macro level).

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Role of Spiritual Intelligence in Public Policy in the African American Pentecostal Church

Journal of Pentecostal Theology ◽

10.1163/17455251-bja10014 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 145-161

Author(s):

James B. Smith

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

African American ◽

Spiritual Intelligence ◽

Policy Issues ◽

The Public ◽

The Government ◽

Community Issues ◽

The Public Sphere ◽

Policy Engagement ◽

The Church

Abstract Although many U.S. faith-based organizations have become partners with the government, the African American Pentecostal Church (aapc), which holds spirituality as a means of serving humanity as its theological framework, has remained a silent partner in public policy engagement. With the framework of spiritual intelligence, this qualitative case study addresses the perceptions of African American Pentecostal leaders regarding how the church’s theology may have an impact on the public policy engagement of its parishioners. Twelve African American Pentecostal Bishops were interviewed, and data were coded and analyzed to identify themes. Results revealed that participants use their spirituality to connect with public policy issues that relate to their personal experiences. Findings also indicated that the aapc is not an organized denomination, but rather a conglomeration of factions. Lack of an organized epicenter and lack of training and development of its leaders prevent this church from engaging in the public sphere. Although members embrace their responsibility to care for the needs of others, the church lacks a collective response to community issues. Findings may be used to prepare the next generation of aapc leaders to unify the church to offer spiritual solutions to public policy issues.

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Who Is Listening? When Scholars Think They Are Talking to Congress

The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science ◽

10.1177/0002716214552053 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 657 (1) ◽

pp. 265-273

Author(s):

Kenneth Prewitt

Keyword(s):

Public Sphere ◽

Science Policy ◽

The Political ◽

Political Climate ◽

Short Term ◽

Social Scientists ◽

Public Funds ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

The Public Sphere

The editors asked for my view on whether, in the current political climate, the recommendations in this volume of The ANNALS are likely to be heeded. The question that precedes this one is whether the volume’s contributors understand why policy-makers make use of science at all. “No” is the obvious answer, though I see this not as a failure particular to their effort but rather as a broader failure of social science. Getting the science right is a necessary but not sufficient step in getting it used. Social scientists have not investigated the use of science in policy in a serious way. They must if science is to have influence in the public sphere. I also comment on the political climate, unhelpfully described by many worried observers as antiscience. It is more informative to say that there is a Congress-led effort to push science policy and federal expenditures toward short-term and narrow national goals. This is harmful to science and consequently to the nation, and scientists should explain why. But they must also respect that science policy and setting priorities for spending public funds are congressional responsibilities.

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Public policies, interfaith associations and religious minorities: a new policy paradigm? Evidence from the case of Barcelona

Social Compass ◽

10.1177/0037768612460800 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 59 (4) ◽

pp. 570-587 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Mar Griera

Keyword(s):

Religious Diversity ◽

Local Level ◽

New Governance ◽

Local Authorities ◽

Religious Minority ◽

The Public ◽

Policy Paradigm ◽

Governance Tools ◽

Solid Foundation ◽

The Public Sphere

Religious diversity is posing new and urgent challenges to local authorities and there is no solid foundation of expertise in dealing with this issue at the local level. In some European cities, interfaith platforms are providing local authorities with new governance tools to cope with the challenges of religious diversity and are generating new ways of framing and representing religion in the public sphere. The author takes the city of Barcelona as a case study with the aim of exploring the emergence of a new model for dealing with religious minority issues that goes beyond State–Church relations and the political legacies in this area.

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Relocating Civil Society: Theories and Practices of Civil Society between Late Medieval and Modern Society

Social Science History ◽

10.1017/ssh.2016.35 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 1-17 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Maarten F. Van Dijck ◽

Bert De Munck ◽

Nicholas Terpstra

Keyword(s):

Civil Society ◽

Political Culture ◽

Voluntary Associations ◽

Modern Society ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Associational Life ◽

The Public ◽

Civic Virtues ◽

The Public Sphere ◽

The Church

Civil society is widely considered as a crucial element in contemporary society. Academics and policy makers have traditionally associated it with voluntary associations and organizations, assuming that associational life is an ideal intermediary between citizens and government. While members of associations form large social networks, which they can mobilize at critical moments, the conviviality of group sociability fosters the development of a set of common values, such as a democratic political culture and other civic virtues. Its origins are generally situated in the eighteenth century, and are mostly attributed to secularization, Enlightenment thinking, the birth of the “public sphere,” and growing emancipation from oppressive structures such as the church and the state.

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Decision Making at the State and Local Level: Does Science Matter?

Political Science and Politics ◽

10.1017/s1049096515001183 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 49 (01) ◽

pp. 21-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Susan G. Mason

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Decision Making ◽

Local Level ◽

Policy Decision ◽

The State ◽

Public Officials ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Policy Decision Making ◽

State And Local

ABSTRACTScience is believed to be an important part of public policy decision making because of its inherent characteristics of measurability, rigor, objectivity, replication, and peer review. The purpose of this research was to explore the linkage of science to public policy decision making. The research explores what state and local public officials know about science and how much they actually use science in their decision making. Interview results with public officials in the State of Idaho demonstrate that policy makers ultimately see science as only one element in the mix. Findings suggest that equal attention and debate should be given to how science interacts with all of the other factors that affect the public policy making process.

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Citizen Relationship and Grievance Management System (CiR&GMS) through Multi-Channel Access for e-Government Services

International Journal of E-Services and Mobile Applications ◽

10.4018/ijesma.2015040103 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 43-67

Author(s):

Velamala Ranga Rao

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Management System ◽

Local Level ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Single View ◽

Face To Face ◽

The Public ◽

Initial Stage ◽

State And Local

Citizens are demanding greater access to interaction with government through their preferred channels or devices. The private sector uses different channels for their services, citizens except same level of services from the public sector. Therefore public sector needs to focus on creating multiple delivery channels (Traditional such as face to face, Telephone and Modern channels such as Website, E-mail, SMS), so that citizens can have ‘channels of choice', depending on specific needs, demands and preferences in order to increase citizens' participation and satisfaction. For this reason, the paper's purpose is 1) To understand multi-channel architecture, Integration, Management and its Strengths & Weakness 2) To develop a frame work for Citizen Relationship and Grievance Management System (CiR&GMS) for a single view 3) By applying proposed framework, To identify what types of channels are providing to access public services at National, State and Local level governments in India as a case study 4) To find out challenges and issues in implementation of multi-channel service delivery. The key findings of the case study are: a) There is no declining in providing traditional channels after introducing modern channels b) Many departments are offering mixed channels c) Usage of Mobile/SMS, Social media and Wi-Fi hotspots based channels are in initial stage d) t-Government channel is not yet initiated in any department e) Multi-channel integration and management is not yet initiated by many departments, these departments are managed channels as separate silos. The proposed framework may provide some guidance to the decision and policy makers in the public sector. However, such initiatives have many challenges to the developing countries like India.

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Nudge and the Manipulation of Choice

European Journal of Risk Regulation ◽

10.1017/s1867299x00002762 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 3-28 ◽

Cited By ~ 151

Author(s):

Pelle Guldborg Hansen ◽

Andreas Maaløe Jespersen

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Dual Process ◽

Central Component ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Public Acceptability ◽

Central Tenet ◽

Cass Sunstein ◽

The Public Sphere ◽

Behavioural Policy

In Nudge (2008) Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein suggested that public policy–makers arrange decision–making contexts in ways to promote behaviour change in the interest of individual citizens as well as that of society. However, in the public sphere and Academia alike widespread discussions have appeared concerning the public acceptability of nudgebased behavioural policy. Thaler and Sunstein's own position is that the anti–nudge position is a literal non–starter, because citizens are always influenced by the decision making context anyway, and nudging is liberty preserving and acceptable if guided by Libertarian Paternalism and Rawls’ publicity principle. A persistent and central tenet in the criticism disputing the acceptability of the approach is that nudging works by manipulating citizens’ choices. In this paper, we argue that both lines of argumentation are seriously flawed. We show how the anti–nudge position is not a literal non–starter due to the responsibilities that accrue on policy–makers by the intentional intervention in citizens’ life, how nudging is not essentially liberty preserving and why the approach is not necessarily acceptable even if satisfying Rawls’ publicity principle. We then use the psychological dual process theory underlying the approach as well as an epistemic transparency criterion identified by Thaler and Sunstein themselves to show that nudging is not necessarily about “manipulation”, nor necessarily about influencing “choice”. The result is a framework identifying four types of nudges that may be used to provide a central component for more nuanced normative considerations as well as a basis for policy recommendations.

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Gendered power transformations in India’s Northeast: Peace politics in Nagaland

Cultural Dynamics ◽

10.1177/0921374017709232 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 29 (1-2) ◽

pp. 63-82 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Rita Manchanda ◽

Seema Kakran

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Property Rights ◽

Public Sphere ◽

Peace Process ◽

The Public ◽

Key Stakeholders ◽

Power Transformations ◽

Customary Laws ◽

The Public Sphere ◽

The Relationship

As the middle space for ‘post ceasefire-cold peace’ politics expanded in Nagaland in India’s Northeast, the Naga women’s question has emerged as symbolic of the intense social churning in traditional hierarchies around three sites of inequality: decision-making in the public sphere, patriarchal customary laws and property rights. The article tracks the shift in Naga women’s peace politics, from motherhood politics to asserting more equal modes of citizenship, and explores the emancipatory potential of Naga women’s emergence in the public sphere as key stakeholders in the peace process within a context of growing tensions in the relationship between gender and ethnicity.

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Global Governance, Participation and the Public Sphere

Government and Opposition ◽

10.1111/j.1477-7053.2004.00125.x ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 39 (2) ◽

pp. 314-335 ◽

Cited By ~ 99

Author(s):

Patrizia Nanz ◽

Jens Steffek

Keyword(s):

Public Sphere ◽

Global Governance ◽

International Organizations ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Institutional Settings ◽

Decision Making Processes ◽

Public Scrutiny ◽

The Public Sphere ◽

Rule Making

AbstractWe argue that the democratization of global governance will ultimately depend upon the creation of an appropriate public sphere that connects decision-making processes with transnational constituency. The emergence of such a public sphere would require more transparency in international organizations as well as institutional settings in which policy-makers respond to stakeholders’ concerns. Organized civil society plays a key role by exposing global rule-making to public scrutiny and bringing citizens’ concerns onto the agenda. We illustrate the prospects and difficulties of building a transnational public sphere with the example of the WTO.

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