Civic Engagement in a Network Society
Introduction
Both individual and collective tasks whose role is to identify and address problems affecting the public are known as civil engagement. The various forms of civic engagement range from individual volunteer work to the participation of organizations in the electoral process. The research proposal aims at identifying practices and activities that would promote the likelihood of civic engagement among the young people based on information and communication technology.
Discussion
The proposed way through which young people can increase civic participation is the use of information and communication technology-based engagement practices. I believe the use of information technology can promote civic engagement among young people especially the social interactive sites. The first task is to identify the various public policies, both governmental and non-governmental policies that promote civic participation among the young people in the country. In order to identify the various policies, it would be essential to gather data and information based on the attitudes and experiences of young people towards the utilization of information and communication technology. The other step is identification of the various forms of offline and online opportunities that are present for civic engagement practices. Emphasis should also be laid on the various settings and how they support civic engagement among the young people. Answers to these issues can be obtained from various literature sources on civics and citizenship (Yang and Bergrud, 2008).
The key issues of research include distinguishing between citizenship and civics. While civics may be defined in terms of its connection to knowledge and working of a citizen’s system, citizenship may have a connection to the attitudes of different individuals who take part in the system. According to civics and citizenship literature, the capacity in both aspects helps in valuable civic engagement. The other key research issue is distinguishing between comprehension and skills and their relation to citizenship as well as activities based on information and communication technology. This research would especially be of use in education of citizenship, civics as well as in various engagement environmental settings (Yang, 2008).
The other key issue that the project seeks to investigate is the relationship between different policies and their outcomes. This information would be helpful in giving recommendations regarding the most appropriate polices that promote civic engagement in young people. Through observation of various outcomes, it would be possible to give a report on various policy outcomes. Hypotheses supporting the implementation of certain policies promoting civic engagement would be formulated.
One of the proposed research methodologies is the use case studies in various schools that have programs based on citizenships and civics focusing on online delivery. Observation and survey methods would be used to determine their learning experiences and their online relationship with civic insight and their attitudes towards citizenship. Internet site analysis is the other proposed research methodology that would be used to provide a comparative and quantitative comprehension on how different sites promote civic engagement (Yang, 2008).
There are a few controversies about the topic and one major concern revolves around safety issues. The privacy, security and safety of internet users are compromised once they are online and this may deter civic engagement process. There is adequate research regarding the topic of civic engagement in young people through information and communication technology. The topic can be adequately covered in a total of ten to twelve pages considering all the fundamental aspects.
Reference
Yang, K., & Bergrud, E. Civic engagement in a network society. IAP, 2008
Is this your assignment or some part of it?
We can do it for you! Click to Order!
