Citizen participation

La participación ciudadana está entrando en una nueva era: la era de la tecnopolítica. Nuevas formas de organización, de coordinación, de acción cívica aupadas por una nueva ética y nuevas metodologías, y todo ello posibilitado por nuevas herramientas, espacios y actores.

No obstante, esta nueva era de emancipación ciudadana sigue requiriendo –probablemente más que nunca– unas instituciones democráticas especialmente responsivas a los cambios que están acaeciendo en la calle. Instituciones que se adapten, que innoven y que, en definitiva, se transformen para seguir siendo cadena de transmisión entre la voluntad de los ciudadanos y la toma de decisiones colectivas.

Este volumen analiza cómo el Ayuntamiento de Barcelona ha planteado esta transformación, y los impactos que la nueva estrategia puede suponer en los significados, las normas y el poder en la relación Administración-ciudadano. Supone un nuevo tablero de juego, aunque el resultado final de la partida todavía es incierto.

Las elecciones municipales de 2015 trajeron a muchas ciudades españolas lo que ha sido etiquetado como “ayuntamientos del cambio”: ayuntamientos cuyos alcaldes y representantes electos provienen de partidos que emergieron del Movimiento del 15M. Muchos de ellos, liderados por Madrid y Barcelona, intentaron incorporar a su acción de gobierno las mismas prácticas tecnopolíticas que tan útiles probaron ser para articular un amplio movimiento en plazas y calles.

Pero no solamente se pusieron en marcha las prácticas para la toma de decisiones a nivel local. También el ethos y los valores que las acompañaban acabaron guiando, con mayor o menor éxito, la relación entre el gobierno local y la ciudadanía. Estos valores orbitan el empoderamiento ciudadano, la participación, el compromiso y, en su expresión más ambiciosa, la devolución de soberanía del gobierno al ciudadano.

Este libro se centra en el entorno socio-político donde este fenómeno tiene lugar, especialmente en Madrid y Barcelona, las dos mayores ciudades del estado con dichos ayuntamientos del cambio, y cómo se desarrolló en Barcelona durante los primeros meses de 2016 durante la definición del Plan de Acción Municipal. Usando la Teoría de la Estructuración de Anthony Giddens, se evalúan ya no los resultados e impactos finales de este giro tecnopolítico en la toma de decisiones – seguramente demasiado pronto para ello – sino, por lo menos, los principales cambios en los significados, las normas y el poder que, como puntos de inflexión, pueden arrojar luz sobre las principales tendencias que estos movimientos políticos pueden estar desatando.

En la Parte I elaboramos un Documento de Política – Incrementando la calidad de la democracia mediante la devolución de soberanía – donde se presentan los principales vectores de cambio, los principales movimientos provocados por este nuevo ethos, y las claves y cuestiones a tener en consideración para entender los cambios cualitativos que, en nuestra opinión, ya forman parte del actual escenario político. En la Parte II – Participación ciudadana mediada por las TIC en España: un estado de la situación – repasa el fenómeno de la e-participación desde los principios del s.XXI hacia adelante y, muy especialmente, durante los hechos del 15M, proponiendo que las recientes iniciativas de participación mediada por las TIC en los municipios del cambio están muy lejos de ser meros ejercicios para sondear a los ciudadanos y son, en cambio, la punta de lanza de una red de ciudades para la tecnopolítica. Exploramos de forma crítica el papel de las TIC en la reconstrucción de la política en España y cómo desembocaron en los nuevos experimentos de democracia participativa como Decide Madrid, puesto en marcha en Madrid para apoyar el plan estratégico participativo del municipio, y decidim.barcelona, el proceso participativo de la capital catalana inicialmente inspirado en el anterior.

Esta parte aporta una visión general del marco legal e institucional en el ámbito de la participación mediada por las TIC en España. La primera sección describe el marco de las libertades políticas y cívicas en España. En la segunda sección se hace un mapa del panorama de la participación ciudadana mediada por las TIC. En la tercera sección, entraremos en las implicaciones de la mediación tecnológica para la democracia deliberativa y la ciudadanía transformadora.

La Parte III – El caso de decidim.barcelona. Utilizando un marco de la Estructuración para una teoría de la participación ciudadana mediada por las TIC – analiza el desarrollo participativo del Plan de Acción Municipal (PAM) de Barcelona 2016-2019 que debía regir toda la legislatura. La primera sección repasa el contexto general de la ciudad en términos de participación política digital y explica el diseño y funcionamento general del nuevo plan y su proceso participativo. La segunda sección explica la metodología para el análisis, que se desarrolla en la tercera sección.

The article is devoted to the investigation of methods of countering the spread of extremism and terrorism in the Internet in the European Union and the Russian Federation. The study was carried out on the basis of an analysis of the bulletins issued by the official sources of Europol and in the UK on the issue. The author concludes that it is necessary to apply the administrative and legal mechanisms under consideration to counter extremism and terrorism in the Russian Federation.

Para que una persona o un grupo de personas puedan tomar decisiones con relación al espacio que habiten es necesario, en primer lugar, que estén informados. Necesitan conocer a fondo el lugar en el que se construye, además del funcionamiento, manejo y financiación de la construcción. En un proceso participativo las personas se informan, dialogan, colaboran, estudian y valoran alternativas. Pueden, en síntesis, negociar y decidir. Ser parte del proceso les ayuda a tomar conciencia, involucrarse y comprometerse con el espacio construido. Un proceso participativo es, por tanto, un proceso educativo y democrático. La participación puede verse con un proceso educativo, de compartir conocimientos. Cada cual aprende y enseña de lo que sabe. Según el educador brasileño Paulo Freire " …la participación, en cuanto ejercicio de la voz, de tener voz, de asumir, de decidir en ciertos niveles de poder, en cuanto al derecho de ciudadanía se halla en relación directa, necesaria, con la práctica educativo-progresiva… " [1] Participar implica, en consecuencia, tener voz, opinar, emitir un juicio relacionado a un asunto particular. Un discurso es cuestionado, puesto en tela de juicio, y puede ser modificado, convirtiéndose en un producto que no es de una sola persona sino de varias. Por tanto, en los procesos participativos se igualan las estructuras de poder, todos son educadores y todos son educados. Estos procesos se relacionan con la práctica educativo-progresiva ya que el conocimiento es construido por varios agentes, contrario a la práctica educativa tradicional en la cual existe un agente activo que posee todas las respuestas y agentes pasivos que se limitan a escuchar y recibir la información. Es por ello que participar es ser parte de un proceso, la construcción de un argumento que permite alcanzar un consenso mediante un diálogo.

The era of journalism and the participation of the readers on online media websites have changed online journalism. The research interest is now focused on removing the distinction between the publisher/entrepreneur and the journalist/user, with the ultimate goal of actively involving citizens in the journalistic process but also in the web presence of media websites. The evolution of technology, the deep media crisis and the growing dissatisfaction of the citizens, create the conditions for journalism to work with citizens, and in particular through citizen journalism and journalism crowdsourcing. This concept is a form of collective online activity in which a person or a group of people volunteer to engage in work that always involves mutual benefit to both sides. The main research question of this research concerns the analysis of the current situation regarding crowdsourcing, co-creation and UGC and the adoption of best practices such as crowdcreation, comments from the users, c...

The chapter discusses the multiplication of layers of reflexivity in the course of innovation processes. And it discusses different framings that are underlying different kinds of reflexivity, such as epistemic and political. This leads to a complex entanglement of different forms of reflexivities, as illustrated for the innovation of 'citizen panels' as a particular form of publication participation. Conclusions discuss conceptual implications for understanding innovation dynamics and practical challenges of doing innnovation in a horizon of liquified realities and values through endless spirals of reflexivity.

In the following study, the authors examine factors that explain citizen participation in crime prevention activities in Boston. Using survey data from a random sample, census data, and official crime and arrest data, the authors identified a wide range of individual- and community-based indicators that could potentially explain citizen involvement in crime prevention. Findings revealed that citizen involvement in collective

Citizens’ initiatives are the focus of public attention as part of the popular ‘do-democracy’ (associative democracy). However, it is not clear to what extent citizens are able to shape self-organization in a sustainable manner, what the important factors in this respect are and if citizens’ initiatives are the sole preserve of a better educated group of citizens. Through a secondary quantitative analysis of 56 citizens’ initiatives, this article offers an empirical contribution to answering these questions. The authors explore the effects of three possible factors on the sustainability of citizens’ initiatives: the network structure of the citizens’ initiative, the organizational design of the initiative and the revenue model. They show significant relationships between the organizational design of citizens’ initiatives and their sustainability. They also show a relationship between the network structure of these initiatives and their sustainability: initiatives that develop into a fully connected network or a polycentric network are more sustainable than initiatives with a star network. The personal characteristics of the initiators show a dispersal in age, descent, gender and retirement. Relatively speaking, many initiators have a high level of education: 80% has a higher professional or university education. But there are no significant relations between these personal characteristics and the sustainability of citizens’ initiatives.

Following a brief overview of the historical evolution of tree ordinances in the United States, this paper focuses on the devel- opment of tree ordinances in the state of Alabama to demonstrate how the tree ordinances evolve into law and the role such ordinances have on urban trees. Even though tree ordinances have a long history in the United States, they have been rapidly developing since the 1970s. Among the 100 municipalities that have some type of tree ordinance in Alabama, based on this investigation, the major respon- sibilities of tree ordinances include: having a tree commission (board), defining tree planting, removal and replacement of trees on pub- lic land, public tree protection and care, tree species selection, and dead tree removal on public and private property. Considering the broadness and complexity of urban trees, this paper indicates tree ordinances provide not only a legal framework, but also an effective tool to engage public participation and awareness of ur...

The purpose of this research was to examine the influence of globalization on Kenya’s public policy. The study begins by looking at the evolution of globalization. The thesis and hypotheses are clearly outlined and discussed in chapter 1 of the study. The study seeks to explore the processes of public policy making in Kenya and try to find out how the forces of globalization affect these processes and its outcomes.
The literature review was done with a wealth of extractions from well known authors and a rich source of publications to re-emphasize the fact that their ideologies were in line with the study objectives. This strengthened the study. The literature review focused a lot on the research questions and objectives. Thus, the areas largely explored in the literature review were economic internationalism, intergovernmental organizations and trans-border data flow.
The study explores in detail, the act of policy making, steps and outcomes in Kenya. In addition, it also enhances the reader’s understanding of globalization by exploring different forms of globalization. It gives a deeper introduction to globalization, taking the readers through the growth of globalization. Also, it explores the agents of globalization in detail including economic internationalism, trans-border data flow, and intergovernmental organizations.
The researcher then presents data analysis, presentation of data and interpretation of the collected data. This is done in form of graphs, tables and charts that clearly show correlation between the variables. This is accompanied by brief notes to explain each figure and chart, to further enhance the readers’ understanding of the data. Finally, the study gives the recommendation and conclusion. In this part, it is clear that Kenya’s policy makers have to strengthen policies that encourage and foster manufacturing in the country so as to strengthen its position in the international market. Of course innovation and creativity will be instrumental in doing this. Also, in the conclusion, the study discusses the importance of peace and stability in Kenya’s journey towards vision 2030.However, peace and stability cannot be achieved without good governance, yet human rights is obviously a prerequisite for good governance. In achieving all these, the international community through the agents of globalization has played a very significant role in the efforts to transform Kenya from a one party authoritarian state to a democracy and to invoke good governance in Kenya. And even though the democratic institutions are still weak and need a lot more stronger policies to strengthen and enhance them, we can say so far the country is in the right path towards achieving internal democracy. A lot of institutional reforms have been put in place in the last four years that still aim at making Kenya a more peaceful and stable nation and fostering good governance. Indeed, even in these reforms, the international community has played a significant role, more so through the Koffi Anan led Panel of African Imminent Personalities.
As a result of the study, it was recommended that public policy formulation and its outcomes should consider the process of globalization and its outcomes. This is because, as found out by the study, globalization and its forces significantly affect the lifestyle of the Kenyan citizens making it a force to reckon with while formulating public policies.
The recommendations were drawn from the data collected from a total of 83 respondents. The study took a downward-upwards approach as opposed to vice versa by interviewing the ordinary Kenyans and a few experts on issues to do with public policy. The researcher thought the opinions of the ordinary Kenyans were of utmost importance, since public policy is aimed at improving their livelihood. Therefore, there was need to gather their views on what they think is important for them, and what they think would enrich their lives. These views were later consolidated and classified as recommendations and will be important for policy makers as they formulate the policies.

Executive Summary

Introduction

This research report is a direct continuation of an earlier analysis (Medina-Guce 2019) on Development LIVE (DevLIVE) as a civic tech initiative of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) as supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). It uses a retrospective view to generate lessons learned from the DevLIVE pilot implementation and provide concrete recommendations for prospective analysis, specifically to input on the following policy development tracks of DILG:

• The continuing work in the Participatory Governance Cluster (PGC), which seeks to develop and implement civic tech as a governance innovation in national and local governments,
• The DILG’s commitment to the Open Government Partnership Philippine Action Plan 2019-2022 which specifies the implementation of a civic tech for citizen participation, and,
• The ongoing policy conversations to enhance DILG’s support and oversight functions on local government units (LGUs) in anticipation of implementing the Supreme Court ruling on the Internal Revenue Allotment computation.

The following assessment variables guide the research:

• Relevance of DevLIVE to the needs of its target benefiting publics: citizens and civil society organizations (CSOs), DILG central and local offices, and LGUs;
• Coherence of DevLIVE with the ecosystem of priorities, structures, and processes existing at the local level, specifically those intended for similar goals of increasing citizen participation and improving local governance;
• Factors affecting DevLIVE implementation effectiveness at the local level; and,
• Factors affecting DevLIVE implementation efficiency in terms of time, human resources, and cost implications to the stakeholders involved.

Moreover, since the COVID-19 lockdowns are recognized to have halted many of the pilot activities, the assessment also checks on the pilot implementation status and issues encountered in the DILG Regional and Field Offices, with the COVID-19 lessons informing the recommendations moving forward.

The assessment used a mixed-methods approach: (a) processing the DevLIVE backend data on registered users and feedback received, (b) online survey with the DILG Regions, and (c) key informant interviews with 27 participants from DILG Regions, CSOs, and LGUs.

Results and Findings

Pilot Implementation Status and Effects of COVID-19

1. COVID-19 compelled the shift of organizational resources (time and human resources) towards more urgent public health responses, which affected not only prematurely halted the DevLIVE pilot implementation field activities, but also paused most participatory platforms and citizen engagement activities at the local level. Despite such a scenario, civic tech's relevance to facilitate information and interaction between government and civil society, and among CSOs and their communities, is underscored even more.

2. While DILG Regions and Field offices were not able to continue with the orientations and field visits, DevLIVE data on the processing of reports show that most ‘valid’ feedback received (94.78%) have been ‘closed,’ which means that DILG offices have been able to follow-through its required review and monitoring for the feedback received.

3. DevLIVE user and feedback data also show good gender representation and an increased number of registered users and received feedback. It is worth noting that the percentage of ‘citizens’ users increased from 53.62% (2019) to 69.18% (2020), suggesting that citizens could engage with the app with appropriate strategies in place. 

Relevance to Stakeholder Needs

4. The pilot implementation surfaced DevLIVE’s observed relevance in three levels. First is the relevance of the technical accessibility, which allowed more citizens to participate even with low familiarity with the technical specification of projects that usually shape CSO monitoring forms. Second is the relevance of direct participation, which allowed another element to the ‘inclusion’ benefits of DevLIVE for citizen engagement. And third is the relevance of a safe space provided by DevLIVE that combines the anonymous reporting and validation components in the process.

5. Despite the halt in the pilot implementation activities because of COVID-19, the potential relevance of DevLIVE for the different groups were identified, e.g., CSOs for more inclusive evidence-gathering for agenda-development, DILG for enhancing its citizen participation initiatives and exercising LGU oversight, and LGUs for trust-building with citizens and improving performance. DevLIVE is also seen as a potent anti-corruption tool, especially for citizens reporting ‘ghost projects.’ These potential use value of DevLIVE come with corresponding assumptions and further enhancements in the DevLIVE tech, processes, and policy environment.

Coherence with Local Stakeholders and Potential for Mainstreaming

6. For CSOs and citizens, coherence of DevLIVE means meeting CSOs and citizens on their current functions and capacities, notably through: (a) mainstreaming its implementation and use with participatory platforms such as the Local Development Councils (LDCs) and Local Special Bodies (LSBs), and the Project Monitoring Councils (PMCs); and (b) familiarizing the public about DevLIVE.

7. For DILG Region and Field Offices, coherence and the potential for mainstreaming are identified with three main directions: (a) Co-ownership with local CSOs not only for promotion but more so in the monitoring and use of DevLIVE data for agenda-setting and policy-making; (b) Streamlining of DevLIVE with other citizen engagement platforms and programs; and (c) Developing an enabling policy ecosystem so that DILG could deliver on DevLIVE’s higher-level outcomes of citizen participation, participatory governance, and particularly, anti-corruption.

8. For Local Government Units, coherence means enabling them to swiftly and effectively respond to citizen feedback, especially to the ‘red flags,’ which has been the primary effect of receiving the validated reports from DILG. Enabling swift LGU response could be pursued through providing LGUs access to a dashboard with a local disaggregation of the feedback without compromising the anonymity of the citizens reporting; providing LGU with DevLIVE accounts that allow them to upload their investigation response; and intensifying visibility and buy-in among local political actors who, for most areas, were minimally involved with the DevLIVE pilot implementation processes.

Effectiveness of Local Implementation

9. Practical hindrances to effective DevLIVE implementation revolved around issues of internet connectivity, gadget availability and compatibility, and user readiness to use the app.

10. During the pilot, effective engagement practices involved high levels of strategic coordination among DILG offices, CSOs, and LGUs. This includes stakeholder groups leveraging on each other’s networks and resources, and when possible, organizing activities with their respective constituencies (for CSOs and LGUs). Further inclusion of the youth (students and Sangguniang Kabataan) and professional and neighborhood associations were also observed. Making DevLIVE an agenda in various participatory and collaborative platforms was also seen to encourage more citizens' participation.

Efficiency of Implementation (Section 3.5)

11. Potential gains of DevLIVE for efficiency are clearly articulated by stakeholders, as DevLIVE is seen as (a) a more cost and time-efficient alternative for CSOs and citizens to send feedback to their municipal governments, (b) a mechanism to help CSOs prioritize which communities to visit for public dialogues, and (c) a strategic way to adjust to the funding and mobility restrictions during and post-pandemic to conduct community-level activities.

12. The remaining issues for efficiency revolve around the costs needed by DILG and CSOs to continue and intensify the work of mainstreaming DevLIVE. There are suggestions towards more efficient prompts for DILG when new or updates on feedback reports are received and for LGUs to become more directly involved in locating projects on-site. 

Recommendations

On the technical components of implementation: Recommendations include improving project data accuracy for ease in project identification during site visits and reflecting the real-time status of feedback, and addressing accessibility and inclusiveness through diversifying input options for feedback (beyond the Android app) and enabling CSO accounts that could submit multiple feedback from different citizens who may not have their own gadgets or internet access.

On feedback loops and processes: Recommendations include specific action points to further evidence-informed policy-making and government responsiveness, inclusion and CSO co-ownership, and public awareness and stakeholder buy-in.

On policy support: Recommendations include tracks for mainstreaming of DevLIVE (and citizen feedback mechanisms) into DILG’s priorities, programs, and processes, and concrete approaches to support outcome-oriented policy for citizen participation, participatory governance, and anti-corruption.

Presentation contributed to training session to strengthen the watchdog capacity of volunteers and journalists in Romania. The presentation uses data from a survey of Norwegian neighborhood to show various ways that NGOs can influence decision-making in local government.

**Policy Paper Developed under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Participatory Governance Cluster, “Paving the Road to SDGs through Good Local Governance” Project (March 2019 to March 2020)

This policy paper addresses the question, how could national government address the prevalent uneven power relationship between local government and civil society in Local Development Councils (LDCs)? The analysis identifies policy formulation and implementation gaps that have contributed to the persistence of uneven power relations, specifically concerning (a) size and proportion of the LDC composition, (b) political intervention in the selection of civil society organization (CSO) representatives, (c) LDC functionality and development planning, (d) LDC Secretariat, (e) the relationship of LDC with the Executive Committee and Sanggunian, and (f) the policy ecosystem of incentives and sanctions on the LDC. The discussion of such gaps is coupled with recommendations for policy reforms and areas for capacity building engagements for both local government and civil society organizations.

Das im Januar 2014 in Kraft getretene Gesetz zur Suche und Auswahl eines Standortes für ein Endlager für Wärme entwickelnde radioaktive Abfälle (StandAG) setzt neue Maßstäbe im Bereich des Öffentlichkeitsbeteiligungsrechts. Es erfordert, unter anderem, die Herstellung eines ‚offenen und pluralistischen Dialogs’ mit der Öffentlichkeit sowie eine Dokumentation, über welche Punkte im Verfahren Akzeptanz besteht. Für das deutsche Verfahren stand das Schweizer Suchverfahren Pate. Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht daher im Rahmen einer vergleichenden Darstellung, inwieweit und inwiefern die deutschen bzw. Schweizer Regeln über die Öffentlichkeitsbeteiligung bei der Endlagersuche die Befriedungsfunktion der Öffentlichkeitsbeteiligung am Verwaltungsverfahren zu realisieren vermögen.

Since protest forced the US Navy off Vieques Island, Puerto Rico in 2003, the US military has embarked on one of the largest environmental remediation projects it has ever undertaken. This article explores the way a narrowly conceived, technocratic cleanup process is translated onto an island with a deep history of grassroots mobilization and antagonism towards federal authority. The Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) is a crucible for considering the uneasy dynamics of cleanup. US law enshrines the RAB as the principal venue for "public participation" in the cleanup process. However, the prevailing technocratic framework, constrained by under-resourced bureaucratic agencies, clashes with more encompassing concepts of environmental justice. Citizen members of the RAB, nonetheless, approach the committee as a point of access to information about the remediation process, and leverage their participation as a tool for advancing a broader set of environmental justice claims.

Des protestations ont forcé l'US Navy à quitter l'île de Vieques, à Puerto Rico, en 2003. Depuis lors, l'armée américaine a mené l'un de ses plus grands projets d'assainissement de l'environnement. Cet article explore comment un processus de nettoyage technocratique est traduit sur une île avec une histoire profonde de mobilisation de la base et d'antagonisme envers l'autorité fédérale. Le Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) illustre la dynamique difficile du nettoyage. La loi américaine fait de la RAB le principal lieu de «participation du public» au processus de nettoyage. Cependant, le cadre technocratique dominant, contraint par des organismes bureaucratiques sous-financés, se heurte à des concepts plus englobants de justice environnementale. Les citoyens membres du RAB approchent le comité comme un point d'accès à l'information sur le processus d'assainissement. Ils utilisent leur participation comme un outil pour faire avancer un ensemble plus large de revendications de justice environnementale.

Desde que protestas forzaron a la marina de Estados Unidos a abandonar Isla de Vieques, Puerto Rico en 2003, las fuerzas armadas estadounidenses emprendieron uno de sus mayores proyectos de descontaminación. Este artículo explora la manera en que un proceso de limpieza, tecnocrático y de estrecha planeación, se traduce a una isla con una larga historia de movilizaciones populares y de antagonismo contra la autoridad federal. La Junta de Consejo para la Restauración (RAB) es la razón para considerar la complicada dinámica en el proceso de limpieza. Las leyes estadounidenses consignan al RAB como la principal instancia para la "participación pública" durante la limpieza. Sin embargo, el marco tecnocrático que prevalece, limitado por agencias burocráticas con bajo presupuesto, se enfrenta con más amplios conceptos de justicia ambiental. Miembros ciudadanos de RAB, no obstante, se acercan al comité como punto de acceso a información relacionada con el proceso de limpieza y aprovechan su participación como una herramienta para avanzar hacia un más amplio conjunto de demandas de justicia ambiental.

Por meio da compreensão do ativismo de fãs como uma forma de resistência cotidiana cultural, econômica e criativa, o objetivo deste capítulo busca problematizar as relações entre participação, resistência e consumo de fãs do jogo on-line League of Legends (LoL). Enquanto suporte empírico, apresenta-se um mapeamento sobre algumas práticas do ativismo de fãs-jogadores no antigo fórum oficial de LoL no Brasil, a partir de uma triangulação metodológica com destaque para o uso de inspirações etnográficas. Após as reflexões teóricas e as análises, propõe-se uma tipologia das práticas de resistência cotidiana na comunidade de LoL baseada em quatro modos. Os resultados desta abordagem indicam que a diversidade do universo das produções digitais e práticas de parte dos fãs de LoL ressignificam as compreensões sobre resistência e participação, questionando a dualidade existente entre a cidadania e o consumo da cultura pop, agindo como catalizadores que reinterpretam e excedem os limites do fandom.

El objetivo de este trabajo es mostrar cómo se despliega la relación entre la configuración territorial municipal y la representación política en tres ciudades — Londres, Medellín y Río de Janeiro —. Se tiene como propósito explorar cuáles han sido las condiciones y procesos histórico-territoriales que han posibilitado o inhibido la descentralización político-administrativa y la participación ciudadana, tanto en el gobierno municipal como en sus respectivas unidades territoriales submunicipales, llámense estas comunas, boroughs o regiones administrativas. Se parte de problematizar las nociones de descentralización político-administrativa y participación ciudadana bajo la perspectiva de comunidad política territorial (polity), categoría donde se integran aportes y discusiones de autores tales como Dahl, Castoriadis, Raffestin, Habermas, Lefebvre y Harvey. Luego de ello, se muestra la disposición actual de la división político-administrativa de cada ciudad y se compara cómo estas configuran o no ámbitos de participación y representación política ciudadana. Dadas las grandes diferencias observadas, el trabajo avanza en una indagación histórica y territorial de los contextos político-normativos nacionales y los procesos territoriales en la constitución del espacio político urbano y municipal de cada ciudad, a la vez que se examina la existencia o no de matrices históricas de construcción territorial y participación política que ayuden a explicar tales diferencias.
Para una lectura del articulo completo y mejor visualización descargar el archivo de su sitio original: http://revistas.urosario.edu.co/index.php/territorios/article/viewFile/3368/3090

Citizen participation in the decisions that affect their lives is an imperative of contemporary society. For the first half of the 20th century, citizens relied on public officials and administrators to make decisions about public policy and its implementation. The latter part of the 20th century saw a shift toward greater direct citizen involvement. This trend is expected to grow as democratic societies become more decentralized, interdependent, networked, linked by new information technologies, and challenged by “wicked problems.” The purpose of this article is to summarize the past experiments in direct citizen participation—the forms they take, the challenges they raise (including the need for redefined roles for public officials and citizens), and the consequences they produce. By laying out what has been done in the past, we are better positioned to identify the critical issues and challenges that remain for researchers and practitioners to address in the future.

Denne artikkelen tar for seg resultatene av en undersøkelse av organisasjonsmessige endringer i barnevernet i Norge de siste årene. Dataene bygger på intervjuer med ledere og mellomledere ved tre barnevernskontorer og sammenlignes med funn fra tilsvarende undersøkelser. Undersøkelsen viser at endringene kan identifiseres med elementer som inngår i aksepterte definisjoner av New Public Management. Selv om de enkelt endringene til dels er vidtgående, kan de vanskelig sies å være uttrykk for en helhetlig administrativ reformpolitikk. Artikkelen tar særlig for seg reformer som har betydning for brukernes medvirkning og nytte av tjenestene. En foreløpig konklusjon går ut på at impulsen til styrket brukermedvirkning synes å komme fra de profesjonsansatte selv snarere enn fra overordnete instanser.

Worldwide, there is an increasing number of calls for institutionalizing deliberative democracy. The Parliament of the German-speaking Community of Belgium has paved the way in this direction by unanimously adopting a model for permanent citizen deliberation. It consists in a permanent Citizens’ Council drawn by lot, which can initiate Citizens’ Assemblies, also drawn by lot, whose mission it is to deliberate and formulate recommendations on the subject that the Citizens’ Council had submitted to them. At the end of the deliberations, the recommendations are discussed in a joint committee between the members of the Assembly and elected representatives. Unless there is a motivated opinion against it from the parliamentary committee and the minister in charge, the recommendations are supposed to be followed by parliamentary or governmental measures. In this paper, we aim at explaining how the initiative was born, how the model was designed and how it is implemented. In our analysis of the political process, we provide twelve factors to explain why such an advanced model of citizen deliberation came into existence. More generally, we argue that it could be a source of inspiration for democracies worldwide that seek to institutionalize deliberative citizen participation and render deliberation more systematic and maybe, in the long run, more systemic.

The main purpose of this paper is to explore how and what factors were caused to emerged and evolution of Ceylon Civil Service (CSS) under the colonial administration. Sri Lanka is one of the colonized country in the Asia which have colonial administration under the three European nations. There was a public service or civil service has been performed by the three European nations but formal civil service was established by the British colonial administration. Pre-colonial experience of the local administration of the Island was highly feudal one under the King domain period. Kandyan Kingdom was last administration of the Kingship and governance system I n the country. In 1796 British encroached the law country side and they could succeeded the entire country in 1815 with support of the King " s officers of the up country Kingdome. There are many terms have been used by the many scholars and writers for define of the decision making and implementation body of the government with regard socio economic development of the people in given country. Therefore many terms such as Civil service, Public service, Public administration etc. have been used for defined it in modern context. However, commonly, it has been define by the academia as term bureaucracy. Sri Lankan experience of emerging and evolution of civil service has a long historical time line with different context and back ground. It has come as a most modified Civil Service In today. Therefore, How and what factors have been caused to emerging of Ceylon Civil Service in the colonial period? This is mainly a historiography investigation with regard nature and establish of the administrative system by the colonial administration in the Island. Therefore, various scholarly writings and arguments with regard establishment of the beginning stage of Ceylon CivilService have been critically examined in this paper. The main outcome of this paper has been discovered that European domination of the Ceylon Civil Service has been negatively impact on colonization of the civil service at the British colonial stage. Political patronage, recruitment of the less qualified people for the civil service has been badly impact on their performance. Un-familiarization of the native culture. Language and customs of the native people that European officers have been failed to give a comprehensive service for the local people and society. But, however, some positive reforms and enhancement done by the colonial administration have been crucially and positively impact on prevailing public service by the time. It has been impact on long term quality and Ceylonization of the public service in Sri Lanka. This finding is significant in term study of the public service and civil service of the country. Also, this paper has been given a motivation and new path for researchers who desire to do an investigation with regard history of public administration in Sri Lanka.