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- Creators: Kirkpatrick, Jennet
- Creators: Department of English
Description
Civic engagement is often defined as political activism; to be a part of governmental decision making, the practices thereof, and various efforts of participation in voting. However, civic engagement is also known for its role within non-political work, such as community building and development. Because of the former definition many members of our society have a tendency to not embrace the full potential of their community roles. It is always about who is a Republican, who is a Democrat, who looks better, or who has a better name. Now it must be noted that this is not in absolute, not all members of our society work in this thought process, but many still do. If that doesn't come as a surprise to you, then the simplicity of how you can be an engaged member will. As a student attending Arizona State University at the West campus in Phoenix, Arizona, I have chosen to challenge the traditional view of civic engagement and prepare this development plan for the campus community. Having done so, I not only discovered the paths that one can take to be engaged in such matters, but also continued my role as a civil servant.
ContributorsWaldie, Howard William (Author) / Ackroyd, William (Thesis director) / Smith, Sharon (Committee member) / Alvarez Manninen, Bertha (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Millennials turn out to vote at significantly lower rates than the rest of the population, sparking commentary on their apathy and lack of contributions to American society. This thesis attempts to paint an accurate description of why these trends have persisted in the past, and finds that there are many complex reasons that serve as explanations. Many of these reasons can be explained by an analysis of Millennials' characteristics and political attitudes, which research has found includes a prioritization of achievement and Independent political ideologies. Additionally, by differentiating between civic engagement and political engagement, data and research find that Millennials choose forms of civic participation over political participation as an active choice and alternative avenue for electoral participation. Ultimately, Millennials are disillusioned with the politically polarized landscape and are unable to navigate the saturated information environment to make confident voting decisions. The rest of the thesis explores organizations, campaigns, and potential reforms that attempt to turn out Millennials. A thorough evaluation of campaigns' and nonpartisan organizations' efforts reveal the best practices for reaching Millennials, which include prioritizing substantive policy discussions, implementing grassroots and bottom-up organizational strategies, and avoiding flashiness and pandering. Another clear area for potential reform is civic education, which is currently not prioritized in the public education system. Some education reforms that would be particularly effective at reversing these negative trends include allowing for political debate within the classroom, teaching civics through more vibrant and hands-on curriculum and directly highlighting and perpetuating the importance of voting in the classroom. This thesis evaluates these and many other potential policy reforms that will encourage Millennials' political engagement as they further enter into adulthood.
ContributorsBockrath, Stephanie Michelle (Author) / Gruber, Diane (Thesis director) / Kirkpatrick, Jennet (Committee member) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
There exists a strong correlation between successful democratic governance and citizen participation. Pulling this sense of civic engagement to the furthest end of the spectrum, author and political theorist Benjamin Barber expresses the benefits of citizen independence and self-governance though political deliberation in a variety of texts, one of which being Strong Democracy. While the United States currently operates on a "democratic" base, the overall lack of political efficacy undermines democratic effectiveness. Benjamin Barber outlines a series of solutions and employment strategies in order to increase efficacy and bolster civic engagement and bring about a culture of self-legislation, but in his analysis seems to overlook the collaborative capacity of the Internet, more specifically social media outlets and blogs. This study will examine the use of the Internet in various political manners, to observe if the presence of platforms such as social networks and blogs are facilitating or hindering the push towards a more civic-republican political structure. While research has displayed that the numbers on political internet-usage are consistently increasing, it is evident that not all forms of online-engagement are beneficial towards Barber's Civic Republican ideals, and may serve to strengthen the current unsound system. Through this study, I argue that certain methods of political activity over the Internet may work to support the collaborative democratic culture, and increase a sense of Civic Republicanism through political creativity, deliberation and online-action. If we are to one day achieve the goal of recovering a true sense of cooperative democracy, these forms of participation may play a significant role in the struggle for change, and must be facilitated through both civic education and the cooperation of elites. If this Internet-mediated political deliberation continues to develop, I believe that it has the capacity to act as a significant catalyst towards Barber's Civic Republican ideals and an overall shift in the political culture.
ContributorsSalute, Nicholas John (Author) / Kirkpatrick, Jennet (Thesis director) / Halavais, Alex (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The thesis analyzes the apathetic youth turnout myth and researches to see if voter suppression can explain the reason behind low youth turnout. This thesis is a study done with Arizona State University students to assess their level of voter turnout, their levels of political engagement, and if they have experienced voter suppression. Respondents were also asked about the support given by ASU in terms of helping with the voting process. Results indicate that Arizona State students have high levels of political engagement, and that 1 in 5 ASU students have experienced voter suppression. Furthermore, ASU students on a whole are uncertain about the role ASU should play in supporting students with the voting process.
ContributorsNovotny, Catherine Ann (Author) / Lennon, Tara (Thesis director) / Kirkpatrick, Jennet (Committee member) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies, Sch (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
In recent years, it has become evident that American civic literacy is in a sharp decline. Many scholars agree that young adults are becoming increasingly less engaged in activities involving the application of civics and that this may hinder the democratic process. This thesis will focus on how historical perspectives can improve contemporary application of civics in order to solve the civic literacy crisis. The report will evaluate different approaches to improving civic engagement in order to gauge their effectiveness and the potential for their use in the United States. In analyzing the decline, we will look at work from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) like A Crisis in Civic Education and A Crucible Moment. Subsequently, we will provide a review of Megan McClure’s Tackling the American Civics Education Crisis and Robert D. Putnam’s Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital. We will present historical perspectives from the 19th and 20th century such as Thomas Jefferson, Alexis De Tocqueville and John Dewey in order to apply them to contemporary solutions for the decline. The contemporary perspectives of Harvard scholar Danielle Allen and various professors in the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership (SCETL) at Arizona State University will be analyzed and critiqued. The results of our research prove that historical perspectives, when applied to contemporary solutions, are an effective way to bout the civic engagement crisis in the United States. This information can be used to alter the curriculum in the classroom to encourage and prepare students to become civically literate and engaged in order to protect the democratic process.
ContributorsGiambanco, Niccolo Giuseppe Salvatore (Co-author) / Boering, Avery (Co-author) / Seagrave, Adam (Thesis director) / Voboril, Jakub (Committee member) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies (Contributor, Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The goal of this project was to develop a prototype for an educational tool that will help users understand how the voting system deployed by a government can affect the outcomes of elections. This tool was developed in Java SE, consisting of a model for the simulation of elections capable of supporting various voting systems, along with a variety of fairness measures, and educational and explanatory material. While a completed version of this tool would ideally be fully self-contained, easily accessible in-browser, and provide detailed visualizations of the simulated elections, the current prototype version consists of a GitHub repository containing the code, with the educational material and explanations contained within the thesis paper. Ultimately, the goal of this project was to be a stepping stone on the path to create a tool that will instill a measure of systemic skepticism in the user; to give them cause to question why our systems are built the way they are, and reasons to believe that they could be changed for the better. In undertaking this project, I hope to help in providing people with the political education needed to make informed decisions about how they want the government to function. The GitHub repository containing all the code can be found at, https://github.com/SpencerDiamond/Votes_that_Count
ContributorsDiamond, Spencer (Author) / Sarjoughian, Hessam (Thesis director) / Hines, Taylor (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Physics (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor)
Created2022-05