Participatory Transformations

Learning, in its many forms, from the classroom to independent study, is being transformed by new practices emerging around Internet use. Conversation, participation and community have become watchwords for the processes of learning promised by the Internet and accomplished via technologies such as bulletin boards, wikis, blogs, social software and repositories, devices such as laptops, cell phones and digital cameras, and infrastructures of internet connection, telephone, wireless and broadband. This chapter discusses the impact of emergent, participatory trends on education. In learning and teaching participatory trends harbinge a radical transformation in who learns from whom, where, under what circumstances, and for what and whose purpose. They bring changes in where we find information, who we learn from, how learning progresses, and how we contribute to our learning and the learning of others. These trends indicate a transformation to "ubiquitous learning" ??? a continuous anytime, anywhere, anyone contribution and retrieval of learning materials and advice on and through the Internet and its technologies, niches and social spaces.not peer reviewe

Participatory design and participatory development: a comparative review

This paper examines literature in the twin domains of participatory interactive systems design and participatory approaches to international development. As interactive systems are increasingly promoted as a possible means of achieving international development goals, designers generally agree that participatory design approaches should be applied. However, review of the literature reveals that these two different traditions have more complex relationships, and questions must be asked about: the aims of participation, the forms of participation that are being advocated, and the skills and strategies required of practitioners. The findings suggest that successful integration of participatory interactive systems design into development will require careful reflection on the nature of development and the approaches adopted.</p

Participatory process management

Although the process of public and stakeholder participation continues to be intensively investigated and discussed in academic circles, the implementation of participatory methods in practice remains problematic. This can be attributed to the lack of knowledge transfer on the one hand, and the general underestimation of participatory approaches in planning processes on the other.\ud A possible solution - participatory processmanagement - is introduced in this article. Participatory process management means that all participatory activities are embedded in the overall planning activities of a project. The most significant criteria for a participatory process are identified as ’objectives’, ’constraints’ and ’process’which together forma framework for combining generally applicablemethodswith local constraints and the objectives of a project. Themain elements of the participatory management framework introduced here are levels and classes of participation and a generic process scheme includingmonitoring and evaluation of participatory processes. This work is based upon long-term experiences of consultants and scientists. However, the insights from the InterReg project TRUST are particularly valuable and confirm the hypotheses that different water management projects are comparable in terms of their participatory process performance. The participatory management framework is a step forward in closing the gap between scientific knowledge about participatory methods and their applicability in practice

Participatory Plant Breeding Methods for Organic Cereals

Formal breeding methods were not always suitable to address the very large diversity of both environmental conditions and end-user needs. Both were frequently encountered either in marginal areas of developing countries or in organic farms of EEC. Participatory plant breeding (PPB) methods represent alternatives aimed to improve local adaptation breeding, to promote genetic diversity, to empower farmers and rural communities. The term PPB refers to a set of breeding methods usually distinguished by the objectives (functional or process approach), institutional context (farmer-led or formal-led), forms of interaction between farmers and breeders (consultative, collaborative or collegial), location of breeding (centralized or decentralized), stage of farmers participation in the breeding scheme (participatory varietal selection or participatory plant breeding)… Among all these methods, the best strategies for organic breeding and their impacts on breeding techniques are discussed. A PPB program actually conducted at INRA – Montpellier (F), involves the whole organic durum wheat interprofessional organization, from farmers to consumers. It is used to assess the interest of a multidisciplinary approach and to discuss the role of each participant in such program. Must participation be seen as a means towards an end or an end in itself

Incentive Mechanisms for Participatory Sensing: Survey and Research Challenges

Participatory sensing is a powerful paradigm which takes advantage of smartphones to collect and analyze data beyond the scale of what was previously possible. Given that participatory sensing systems rely completely on the users' willingness to submit up-to-date and accurate information, it is paramount to effectively incentivize users' active and reliable participation. In this paper, we survey existing literature on incentive mechanisms for participatory sensing systems. In particular, we present a taxonomy of existing incentive mechanisms for participatory sensing systems, which are subsequently discussed in depth by comparing and contrasting different approaches. Finally, we discuss an agenda of open research challenges in incentivizing users in participatory sensing.Comment: Updated version, 4/25/201

Rethinking the participatory web: A history of HotWired’s “new publishing paradigm,” 1994–1997

This article critically interrogates key assumptions in popular web discourse by revisiting an early example of web ‘participation.’ Against the claim that Web 2.0 technologies ushered in a new paradigm of participatory media, I turn to the history of HotWired, Wired magazine’s ambitious web-only publication launched in 1994. The case shows how debates about the value of amateur participation vis-à-vis editorial control have long been fundamental to the imagination of the web’s difference from existing media. It also demonstrates how participation may be conceptualized and designed in ways that extend (rather than oppose) 'old media' values like branding and a distinctive editorial voice. In this way, HotWired's history challenges the technology-centric change narrative underlying Web 2.0 in two ways: first, by revealing historical continuity in place of rupture, and, second, showing that 'participation' is not a uniform effect of technology, but rather something constructed within specific social, cultural and economic contexts