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Subject: Revised Call for e-Democracy White Papers
Date sent: Mon, 7 Feb 2005 11:28:17 -0500
From: "Shulman, Stuart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
{Please forward to appropriate individuals and lists}
REVISED CALL FOR WHITE PAPERS
in conjunction with dg.o2005, The National Conference on Digital
Government Research
for an International Research Workshop on
Operational e-Democracy Research: Cross-National, Multi-Method,
Interdisciplinary Studies of Digital Government
Final copies must be submitted via the dg.o website by February 18,
2005.
http://dgrc.org/dgo2005/program/workshops/shulman_wrapped.jsp
Background
Electronic democracy (e-democracy) is attracting considerable policy,
technology and academic attention. At a policy level, experiments
range from e-voting to attempts to improve citizen deliberation
through on-line discussion groups. Technological solutions for
enhancing the functioning of contemporary democracies have been
proposed by both public and private actors. Academic attention has
focused on a range of issues, from attempts to address the security
issues associated with e-voting to empirical analyses of different
deliberative experiments and the formulation of normative
theory-driven analyses. However, the interdisciplinary study of
e-democracy suffers from three main problems:
1. Translating Traditional Problems of Democracy
Democracy is not a settled concept. The tools and techniques of
e-democracy implicitly articulate particular democratic values and
favour particular approaches to democracy. Yet most studies of
e-democracy leave these values implicit, assuming them to be given
normative preferences rather than inherently ambiguous and negotiated
ideals. For e-democracy to be properly studied it is necessary to
develop specific conceptualisations and new analytical frameworks
that
help academics from various disciplines test theories about the
impact
of the new digital landscape. Research on democracy must take into
account core democratic principles for developing new methods that
both focus on and involve the latest information and communications
technologies research.
2. Identifying Empirical Limitations and Opportunities
While discussions of e-democracy have existed for several years now,
the real application of them is relatively new. Consequently,
empirical studies are unable to analyse the long term effects of
particular e-democracy interventions or instruments. To resolve this
problem, it is necessary to design multi-method approaches that can
test newly translated theories and models of e-democracy. At
present,
empirical studies are too concerned with reporting existing
achievements rather than testing coherent, theory-driven hypotheses.
3. Building a Coherent Research Agenda
Different disciplines are concerned with different problems in the
area of e-democracy. At the same time, however, these problems cut
across each other. It is only by careful construction of a proper
interdisciplinary framework that it will be possible to build a
coherent and mutually beneficial research agenda.
Target Audience
U.S. and European scholars from a range of disciplinary backgrounds,
different empirical traditions, and theoretical orientations are
invited to participate in a half-day workshop (Sunday May 15, 2005,
from 8 am - 12 pm) to collaboratively build a research agenda for
future cross-national, multi-method, interdisciplinary studies of
e-democracy.
White Paper Instructions
Participants in the workshop are required to submit a 2-page,
single-spaced White Paper addressing the workshop theme: Operational
e-Democracy Research: Cross-National, Multi-Method, Interdisciplinary
Studies of Digital Government. Participants must address at least one
of the three problems highlighted above. Specifically, the White
Papers should discuss the types of emerging Digital Government
research problems that the author feels are amenable to international
dg.o-style research projects. White Papers for this workshop should
seek to identify opportunities for, and barriers to, cross-national,
interdisciplinary studies at the intersection of social, computer,
and
information sciences. No citations are required. Rather, these papers
ought to be written in the visionary mode, with a clear recognition
that the various disciplines represented are tough to fit together.
Final copies must be submitted via the dg.o website by February 18,
2005.
http://dgrc.org/dgo2005/program/workshops/shulman_wrapped.jsp
Workshop Chair & Contact Person
Dr. Stuart W. Shulman ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Assistant Professor
School of Information Sciences
Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
Senior Research Associate
University Center for Social and Urban Research
University of Pittsburgh, 121 University Place, Suite 600 Pittsburgh,
PA 15260
412.624.3776 (v) 412.624.4810 (f)
http://shulman.ucsur.pitt.edu/
Workshop Fee: $100 US for dg.o2005 registrants & $150 US for
non-dg.o2005 registrants
_____________________________________________
Dr. Stuart W. Shulman
Assistant Professor
School of Information Sciences
Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
Senior Research Associate
University Center for Social and Urban Research
University of Pittsburgh
121 University Place, Suite 600
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
412.624.3776 (v) 412.624.4810 (f)
http://shulman.ucsur.pitt.edu/
_____________________________________________
------- End of forwarded message -------
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