Engaging the Public in regulating for ethical journalism. Part Two: Focus Groups

This report details the second part of a pilot project aimed at examining the public's perception and understanding of journalism and its regulation in the UK. The ‘Engaging the public in regulating for ethical journalism’ study seeks to understand how journalism might better meet public expectations and the role of regulators in this dynamic

Public engagement in local government: the voice and influence of citizens in online communicative spaces

The communications and engagement strategies of local councils play an important role in contributing to the public's understanding of local democracies, and their engagement with local issues. Based on a study of the local authority in the third largest city in the UK, Leeds, this article presents an empirically based analysis of the impact of new opportunities for public engagement afforded by digital media on the Council's communication with citizens. Drawing on over 20 face-to-face semi-structured interviews with elected politicians, Council strategists, Council communications specialists, mainstream journalists, and citizen journalists, the article explores perceptions of the Council's engagement and communication with citizens from the perspective of a range of actors involved in the engagement process. The research asks what the differing motivations behind the Council's communications and engagement strategies mean for the way that digital media are and might be used in the future to enhance the role of citizens in local governance. The research suggests that while there are no grounds for expecting digital media to displace existing channels of public engagement, digital media are beginning to play an important role in defining and reconfiguring the role of citizens within local governance

Public Engagement & Cultures of Expertise Scoping Report

This scoping project investigated public, civic and cultural engagement using Leeds as a case study for a wider snapshot of British culture and practices. The scope is broken into three sections. The first looks at formal modes of engagement such as consultation and the power relations of institutions and their publics. The second investigates data itself and the claims made on behalf of digital content in the name of engagement. The third investigates everyday practices of engagement from the perspective of community groups. What is engagement in a digital environment and what does it look like? What new modes and practices of engagement are emerging, and what kinds of cultural products result? What are the implications of these new forms of engagement and new cultural products for communities and cultures

Turning Ideas into Proposals : A Case for Blended Participation During the Participatory Budgeting Trial in Helsinki

Balancing between online-offline stages of participatory procedures is a delicate art that may support or hinder the success of participatory democracy. Participatory budgeting (PB), in particular, is generally rooted in online platforms, but as our case study on the City of Helsinki PB trial suggests, face-to-face events are necessary to engage targeted and often less resourceful actors in the process. Based on a longer-term participant observation, covering the PB process from its early to ideation phase to the current stage of proposal development for the final vote, we argue that the process has thus far been successful in blending online-offline components, largely supported by the active support of borough liaisons who have served as navigators between the different stages. From the point of view of co-creation, different stages of the PB process (ideation, co-creation) call for different strategies of online-offline participation. Effective mobilization of marginalized actors and interactions between public servants and citizens seem to benefit from face-to-face processes, while city-wide voting and discussion can effectively occur in the online platform.Peer reviewe

Analysis of Dentists’ Participation in Continuing Professional Development Courses from 2001-2006

Currently in Western Australia (WA) there is no requirement for dentists to participate in continuing professional development (CPD). The aim of this study was to determine the participation pattern of dentists in WA in CPD activities. Data was collated regarding registrants for courses conducted by the University Continuing Dental Education Committee. Information concerned number of courses attended by each dentist, location of work and year of graduation from university. Details of subject, length and type of courses conducted were also gathered. Most courses were half to one day in duration with many subjects covered. Between 10.1-24.4% of dentists registered in WA attended at least one course each year. Low numbers of recently graduated and older dentists attended courses. Similar percentages of metropolitan and rural dentists attended courses. Participation in CPD activities of dentists in WA was low. Half day or evening courses appear to be favoured by dentists