Matching Items (5)
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- All Subjects: civic engagement
- All Subjects: Political Science
- Resource Type: Text
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
Deliberative democratic theorists contend that legitimate democratic decision-making must proceed through reasoned and inclusive discussion. Deliberative theories of democracy have been subject to critique, but these critiques generally focus not on whether quality deliberation is desirable but rather on whether it is achievable, as a practical matter.
To address the question of whether and how deliberative ideals might be achieved, and through what method, I examine interest-based or integrative problem-solving as a successful model that might provide such insights. Focusing on three instances of its usage to address complex, multi-stakeholder issues in the labor-management context, I demonstrate how integrative models have enabled participants to overcome historically toxic relationships, incorporate participation by stakeholders with different perspectives and needs, and address tumultuous changes in their fields and institutions.
I then unpack the mechanics of interest-based methodology, beginning by examining its theoretical origins in the work of Mary Parker Follett. Building on that theoretical foundation, I examine how Follett’s theories have been implemented in contemporary interest-based processes, focusing in particular on how Follett’s transformative view of conflict resolution contrasts with the more transactional model promoted by most deliberative democrats. This difference is directly reflected in the techniques used in Folletian conflict resolution processes, which seek to capitalize on the existence of conflict to drive effective and meaningful participation. Follett’s integrative methods, I contend, directly answer many of the critiques of traditional processes of deliberative democracy.
Last, I consider the implications of interest-based methods for political decision-making. These include what types of issues, communities, and participants most lend themselves to deliberative models of decision-making; the critical role of training and facilitation to the success of deliberative models; and the ways in which process can be used to address the issues of capacity, power, epistemology, and feasibility that have plagued more traditional modes of deliberation when empirically tested. From this analysis, I conclude that interest-based models are worthy of continuing study and implementation in the political context, and I suggest avenues of further potential study and trial implementation.
To address the question of whether and how deliberative ideals might be achieved, and through what method, I examine interest-based or integrative problem-solving as a successful model that might provide such insights. Focusing on three instances of its usage to address complex, multi-stakeholder issues in the labor-management context, I demonstrate how integrative models have enabled participants to overcome historically toxic relationships, incorporate participation by stakeholders with different perspectives and needs, and address tumultuous changes in their fields and institutions.
I then unpack the mechanics of interest-based methodology, beginning by examining its theoretical origins in the work of Mary Parker Follett. Building on that theoretical foundation, I examine how Follett’s theories have been implemented in contemporary interest-based processes, focusing in particular on how Follett’s transformative view of conflict resolution contrasts with the more transactional model promoted by most deliberative democrats. This difference is directly reflected in the techniques used in Folletian conflict resolution processes, which seek to capitalize on the existence of conflict to drive effective and meaningful participation. Follett’s integrative methods, I contend, directly answer many of the critiques of traditional processes of deliberative democracy.
Last, I consider the implications of interest-based methods for political decision-making. These include what types of issues, communities, and participants most lend themselves to deliberative models of decision-making; the critical role of training and facilitation to the success of deliberative models; and the ways in which process can be used to address the issues of capacity, power, epistemology, and feasibility that have plagued more traditional modes of deliberation when empirically tested. From this analysis, I conclude that interest-based models are worthy of continuing study and implementation in the political context, and I suggest avenues of further potential study and trial implementation.
ContributorsGenna, Ignazio (Author) / Crittenden, Jack (Thesis advisor) / Simhony, Avital (Thesis advisor) / Kirkpatrick, Jennet (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
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
Although politically motivated suicides have spawned some of the largest and most impactful protest movements in recent memory, there remains a lack of research on similarities between events. Previously, each famous suicide has been taken to be a random phenomenon, which cannot be replicated. This paper serves to demystify the concept of politically motivated suicides, and to draw connections between events; this research is undertaken with the acknowledgement that these world shaping events are rarely the first politically motivated suicides in their time. Two main factors combine to spell success for these events. The presence of symbolic and powerful images, and messages from the death of an actor, combined with a social group which is able to harness and direct those images, determines the potential for a politically motivated suicide to escalate issues to a national scale. In this paper I connect litterature on the individual action of politically motivated suicide with the collective action field, and through a series of case studies investigate the importance of the action of suicide, and how social groups utilize the death of the actor. This change in thought reflects the concept that specific factors, not chance, combine to determine the outcome of these potentially nation changing events.
ContributorsFassbender, Eric Robert (Author) / Wright, Thorin (Thesis advisor) / Kirkpatrick, Jennet (Committee member) / Bates, Denise (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020