Hi all, Here is a report of a grant given by NSF to Carnegie Mellon to develop software to better enable online fora for citizen deliberation.
dennis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [From the IP list] >Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 23:07:08 -0400 >Subject: [IP] Carnegie Mellon Team Wins $2.1 Million to Build > Online Forum for Citizen Deliberation >From: Dave Farber <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: ip <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >List-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >List-Help: <http://v2.listbox.com/help?[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >List-Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, ><http://v2.listbox.com/subscribe/?[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > >------ Forwarded Message >From: Seth Grimes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 22:36:21 -0400 (EDT) >To: David Farber <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [cpsr-activists] Fwd: Carnegie Mellon Team Wins $2.1 Million to >Build Online Forum for Citizen Deliberation > >> >>Carnegie Mellon Team Wins $2.1 Million to Build Online Forum for Citizen >>Deliberation >> >>PITTSBURGH - The National Science Foundation has approved a three-year >>$2.1 million grant to support a Carnegie Mellon University team of >>"electronic democracy" researchers. >> >>The research team, led by faculty members Peter M. Shane, Peter Muhlberger >>and Robert Cavalier, seeks to develop and test software that would enable >>large numbers of citizens to use the Internet more effectively to learn >>about, deliberate and act upon community issues. >> >>The "Virtual Agora Project" named for the ancient Athenian marketplace >>will seek to identify how information technology can best be used to >>support "electronic democracy" and to demonstrate the value of >>computer-mediated communication for building a widespread and inclusive >>political community. >> >>Through a variety of experiments and comparisons between online >>deliberation and face-to-face dialogue, the team hopes to learn about how >>online communication affects its participants and how it contributes to >>the quality of their decision making. >> >>The software they develop could lead to new forms of online civic >>engagement, including public hearings to inform government decision-making >>processes, new forms of public opinion polling, and new tools for >>community organizing and problem solving. >> >>The software, including so-called "audio bulletin boards," will be >>designed to be accessible to anyone with a modem and modest computing power. >> >>Peter M. Shane, a principal investigator on the project and director of >>Carnegie Mellon's Institute for the Study of Information Technology and >>Society (InSITeS), said, "The Virtual Agora Project will be a major leap >>forward in both our understanding of how people's knowledge and values are >>affected by online deliberation and the translation of that understanding >>into usable software." >> >>Shane, an expert in constitutional and administrative law, played a >>leading role in founding Carnegie Mellon's e-democracy research program >>two years ago. >> >>"The NSF grant will help us figure out under what circumstances the >>Internet might become a medium for meaningful and enduring civic dialogue >>on an inclusive basis," Shane said. "As a public law scholar, and as a >>citizen, that's my key objective." >> >>Peter Muhlberger, the lead social scientist on the team, said, "We hope to >>shed light on how online participation affects civic engagement. We will >>study how much conflict, consensus and community-mindedness emerge among >>participants, whether trust and social capital rise, how inclusive >>involvement proves to be and whether citizens perceive outcomes as >legitimate." >> >>"Our goal is to develop online communication and information tools that >>empower citizens to identify what problems their communities face, >>intelligently discuss which policies best address these problems and >>effectively communicate their considered opinions to policy makers," >>Muhlberger said. >> >>Robert Cavalier, the principal investigator who will oversee the technical >>development of the "virtual agora," directs the Multi-Media Lab in the >>Carnegie Mellon Philosophy Department's Center for the Advancement of >>Applied Ethics. "We face a major challenge," Cavalier said, "of developing >>high-telepresence audio and video web software for collaborative >>information sharing and deliberation. We are going to try to enable users >>to express nonverbal cues easily and to develop mutual communicative >>knowledge, which is a key component of successful face-to-face interaction." >> >>Cavalier also said that he is hopeful that the team's software will result >>in advances not only in how issues are discussed online, but also in how >>they are visually represented. "There is great potential to improve >>deliberation by improving the ways in which participants can track the >>arguments voiced and the positions at stake," according to Cavalier. >> >>Jeffrey Hunker, dean of the H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and >>Management, regards the Agora Project as a good example of Carnegie >>Mellon's pioneering interdisciplinary work. >> >>"The Agora Project marks another milestone in the Heinz School's >>commitment to create and disseminate knowledge relevant to managing >>information technology in the public interest," Dean Hunker said. >> >>The faculty research group will also include two faculty members in >>Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science: Robert Kraut, a social >>psychologist who is a leading authority on human-computer interaction, and >>William Scherlis, a software engineer with extensive experience in >>e-government research and the development of collaborative software. >> >>The Virtual Agora Proposal was among 465 information technology proposals >>seeking funding this year from the National Science Foundation at what the >>NSF calls "the medium level" of funding. NSF decided to fund only about 15 >>per cent of the proposals presented. >> >>One of 28 expert panels reviewed each of the 465 applications, providing >>NSF program officers with reviews from at least three independent experts >>prior to the program decision. The panel evaluating the Virtual Agora >>proposal gave it their "highest rating" among the proposals it reviewed. >> >>The NSF award will bring more than $900,000 to Carnegie Mellon in its >>first year. Because the project has already been approved for three years >>based on "scientific/technical merit," the remainder of the funding is >>contingent only on Congress's continued funding for the NSF and the >>project meeting its expected goals. >> >>Professor Shane believes that "the quality and interdisciplinarity of >>Carnegie Mellon" were critical to the credibility of his team's proposal. >>"The fact that we bring together three different schools and that our >>software is being developed mainly in the Philosophy Department makes an >>important statement about Carnegie Mellon's uniquely collaborative spirit >>and capacities. The NSF has given us an exceptional opportunity to do >>basic research that could turn out to be profoundly helpful in the real >>world of democracy," he added. >> >>* * * >> >>Please do not "Reply" to this message. For further information, please >>contact Peter M. Shane, Director, InSITeS, at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or (412) >>268-5980. > >------ End of Forwarded Message > >------------------------------------- >Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
