Expanding the Public Sphere through Computer ... - ResearchGate

More documents

Recommendations

Info

CHAPTER 1. COMPUTERS, CONVERSATION AND DEMOCRACY 12 themselves as members of a community, with an obligation to actively participate in its public affairs. They may be encouraged to discover that their own private interests are interdependent with others’ interests, and will potentially be able to integrate their private goals into public policies. This vision of democracy is expressed in the classical works of Aristotle and Rousseau, and modern interpretations by theorists such as Pateman (1970), Barber (1984) and Mansbridge (1983). If, on the other hand, opportunities for and engagements in political conversation are absent, individuals will be restricted in their “deliberations” to considering only their own preferences and values in reaching conclusions on important issues, will be unable to consider the preferences and values of others, and will not recognize the interests they have in common with their fellow citizens (Mill 1859, Stanley 1983, Barber 1984, Stanley 1988). Because participation in political discussion makes a crucial contribution to the development of a strong and positive democratic political identity, we should take seriously critical analyses reporting declines in the ability of and opportunities for citizens do so. Individuals who view themselves as having an important role to play in the political community; who take seriously the concept of selfgovernment and believe that the social contract is not only necessary but beneficial; and who believe that their concerns are at the least given voice, and perhaps even satisfaction, have the capacity to become public-regarding citizens in a democracy. A necessary condition for the development of a strong and positive democratic political identity is the ability to talk about politics with others (Pitkin & Shumer 1982, Stanley 1983, Barber 1984, Stanley 1988, Gamson 1992). People who can talk with one another have the potential for understanding, for empathy and for the identification of interests common to all (Barber 1984). Political discussion, then, is a fundamental building-block upon which public-regarding citizenship in a democracy is constructed. If the critics are correct, the decline of opportunities for political discussion may provide a partial explanation for the apparent decay of democratic values, and an obvious prescription for their revival. If skills and opportunities for political discussion were increased, we would expect to see a corresponding increase in the presence of individuals with positive democratic values willing and able to participate as citizens in a democracy. The primary opportunity to converse with citizens is found in those places called “associational space;” encompassing the “core settings of informal public life” (Oldenburg 1989). Oldenburg (1989) and Bellah, Madsen, Sullivan, Swidler & Tipton (1991) have identified the scarcity of associational space as one of the primary ills facing our polity. Create new settings for public interaction and pub-
CHAPTER 1. COMPUTERS, CONVERSATION AND DEMOCRACY 13 lic life, they suggest, and we may revive our democratic spirit and renew our public consciousness. It may be that the changing structure of communication in the late 20th century offers this possibility. By shifting the focus from communication based on transactions with large, homogeneous, undifferentiated and anonymous audiences (Lasswell 1948, Wright 1975) to communication based on exchange among small, heterogeneous, distinct and identifiable participants (Stevens 1981, Rogers 1986, Abramson, Arterton & Orren 1988, Neuman 1991), it might be possible to recapture the skills and reclaim the resources necessary to support opportunities for effective political discussion. Among the recent developments in communication technology which offer this shift in focus is the rapidly emerging medium of computer-mediated discussion, in which individuals use computers and computer networks to engage in conversations which take place over time. An example of a conversation using computer-mediated technology was presented in Section 1.1 on page 10. This type of communication, when focused on politics, can be an important contributor to developing the skills necessary for political discussion, and can in fact serve as the platform for a meaningful forum of political discussion.
Page 1 and 2: Expanding the Public Sphere through
Page 3 and 4: Contents Acknowledgements 7 1 Compu
Page 5 and 6: List of Figures 3.1 Structure of a
Page 7 and 8: Acknowledgements When one takes eig
Page 9 and 10: CHAPTER 1. COMPUTERS, CONVERSATION
Page 11: CHAPTER 1. COMPUTERS, CONVERSATION
Page 15 and 16: CHAPTER 2. THE PUBLIC SPHERE 15 2.1
Page 17 and 18: CHAPTER 2. THE PUBLIC SPHERE 17 Sch
Page 19 and 20: CHAPTER 2. THE PUBLIC SPHERE 19 sta
Page 21 and 22: CHAPTER 2. THE PUBLIC SPHERE 21 or
Page 23 and 24: CHAPTER 2. THE PUBLIC SPHERE 23 own
Page 25 and 26: CHAPTER 2. THE PUBLIC SPHERE 25 new
Page 27 and 28: CHAPTER 2. THE PUBLIC SPHERE 27 com
Page 29 and 30: CHAPTER 2. THE PUBLIC SPHERE 29 Hab
Page 31 and 32: CHAPTER 2. THE PUBLIC SPHERE 31 pub
Page 33 and 34: CHAPTER 2. THE PUBLIC SPHERE 33 the
Page 35 and 36: CHAPTER 2. THE PUBLIC SPHERE 35 ori
Page 37 and 38: CHAPTER 2. THE PUBLIC SPHERE 37 gen
Page 39 and 40: CHAPTER 2. THE PUBLIC SPHERE 39 pub
Page 41 and 42: CHAPTER 2. THE PUBLIC SPHERE 41 By
Page 43 and 44: Chapter 3 Technology & the Public S
Page 45 and 46: CHAPTER 3. TECHNOLOGY & THE PUBLIC
Page 57 and 58: Chapter 4 Abortion Discourse in the
Page 59 and 60: CHAPTER 4. ABORTION DISCOURSE IN TH
Page 61 and 62: CHAPTER 4. ABORTION DISCOURSE IN TH
Page 63 and 64:
CHAPTER 4. ABORTION DISCOURSE IN TH
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Chapter 5 Measuring the Public Sphe
Page 71 and 72:
CHAPTER 5. MEASURING THE PUBLIC SPH
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
CHAPTER 6. ANALYZING THE TALK.ABORT
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Chapter 7 The Expanding Public Sphe
Page 103 and 104:
CHAPTER 7. THE EXPANDING PUBLIC SPH
Page 105 and 106:
CHAPTER 7. THE EXPANDING PUBLIC SPH
Page 107 and 108:
Appendix A The talk.abortion newsgr
Page 109 and 110:
APPENDIX A. TALK.ABORTION: AUGUST 9
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
Page 163 and 164:
Appendix B Density Scores Table B.1
Page 165 and 166:
APPENDIX B. DENSITY SCORES 165 Tabl
Page 167 and 168:
Appendix C Supplemental Analysis 16
Page 169 and 170:
APPENDIX C. SUPPLEMENTAL ANALYSIS 1
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
BIBLIOGRAPHY 177 Best, Michael L. 1
Page 179 and 180:
BIBLIOGRAPHY 179 Fisher, Bonnie, Mi
Page 181 and 182:
BIBLIOGRAPHY 181 Hiltz, Starr Roxan
Page 183 and 184:
BIBLIOGRAPHY 183 Mansbridge, Jane.
Page 185 and 186:
BIBLIOGRAPHY 185 Pateman, Carole. 1
Page 187 and 188:
BIBLIOGRAPHY 187 Savicki, Victor, D
Page 189:
BIBLIOGRAPHY 189 U. S. Congress, Of
show all

Expanding the Public Sphere through Computer ... - ResearchGate

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?