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Discussion Question For Next Week On Social Media

Incorporating arguments from this week's readings, reflect on whether blogging, coupled with blog group meetings, during this class has enhanced the democratic capacity of the classroom, fostered deliberation (as opposed to mere expression of pre-existing opinions) and fostered worthwhile relationships among class members.

I must insist that you incorporate ideas from the readings into your response, since this is not going to make for interesting blogging is it becomes a discussion of whether blogging was a time sink or a learning opportunity for you. Rather, it is an opportunity to connect your shared experience with a social technology and consider the specific arguments contained with the readings about social capital, the power of elites (me?), the limitations of anonymity associated with on-line interaction, the effects of collective discussion, and much much more.

Learning Networks Discussion Question

Snyder and Wenger describe a variety of Learning Networks (they also call them "communities of practice"), and the Nature Conservancy provides a history of their attempts to cultivate these voluntary associations across a variety of conservation domains, as well as an account of what features are required to succeed. As our two readings describe them, learning networks can help achieve some vital societal objectives, such as economic development, industrial innovation, civic health, and biodiversity protection. Yet the idea of learning networks, or "communities of practice", can be applied to a broad array of voluntary associations, whether intentionally organized or spontaneous. For instance, a study group, or a listserv, could be considered one. Look over the definition that Snyder and Wenger provide, and describe a community of practice that you have been involved in at some time during your life (I assure you, if you think flexibly enough, you'll be able to think of an instance). Be sure to note its "domain", "community", and "practice", and describe how your involvement in this learning network provided you with the ability to do something you wouldn't have been able to do on your own.

October Special Events

(REVISED October 8th)

Class,

I would like you to attend part or all of a campus special event this October, and provide a reflection on your experience.

The four events are:

1. Choices and Challenges: Political Participation in the Internet Age: October 30

2. Virginia Power Shift 2008: October 10-12

3. Sustainability Week: October 20-25

4. Robert Bullard on Environmental Justice in New Orleans: October 17

The minimum required attendance will be one featured event, which generally runs about 1.5 hours (although you are welcome and encouraged to attend more).

Afterwards, please prepare a blog post, minimum 600 words (approx two pages), that provides:

A. A full account of what event you attended.
B. Your topical impressions of the event, answering questions such as; i) What did you learn and why is this learning important, ii) Did you feel motivated to act, and if so how?
C. Your procedural impressions of the event, answering questions such as, i) Was it organized effectively, and how might it have been improved, ii) What role did the leaders and organize play in the event and what difference did they make?

Please submit your impressions on your blogsite, categorizing it under "Events". Also, you are required to provide a comment post on someone elses impression of their site visit.

Blog posts must be posted within four days of the event, and comments within six days.

Question for October 1 Class

From the explosion of media interest over the past couple of years, you would think that Climate Change is a new scientific discovery. However, the scientific community has been aware of the issue for decades, and there have been few credible scientists who are skeptical about climate change for some time. Your question has two parts First, drawing only from Creighton's explanation of how the media works, describe how it could be possible that the media might have played a role in delaying public recognition of this threat to civilization (perhaps with a little help from Exxon/Mobil and the Competitive Enterprise Institute…). Second, if you were the leader of an environmental advocacy organization and wanted to publicize the risks posed by climate change, describe what you might do to get the Editor of the Roanoke Times to assign a writer to the topic, as well as write it in a way that suited your group.

Meetings Bloody Meetings

Hi all,

During class yesterday, some of you expressed interest in seeing a video about meeting methods that I had accessed.

I had done a quick search for these videos, having heard about them years before, because I felt that we needed some other approach to understanding meeting methods - that my straight powerpoint-driven lecture wasn't doing the trick.

I've had a a look at these videos now, and think that they might work So I'm sending you the links to them, in the hope that some of you take some time (four videos, about an hour total) to watch some or all of them, and advise me on whether they are worth showing the next time I teach this class.

They are about as funny as this kind of thing can be, since they were written and acted by John Cleese, of those old Monty Python TV shows/movies and star of stage and screen. My concern is that they are targeted at a business audience, and may not translate fully to our interest in community involvement, or might not be interesting.

They are streamed from a website that is trying to sell them to corporate trainers - hence the enormous fee. The streamed versions are the same as the ones they sell, except having "preview" on the screen, which is only a little distracting.

See what you think, and please get back to me. I'll post this on my blog as well - you can comment on my blog. I will award those who do provide a thoughtful review of the entire set with extra credit equiv. to one blog post. Plus, I think you will learn something extremely valuable from these videos.

(note that the links are located halfway down the page, in red below orange type that says "click here", and are called "online previews":

http://www.rctm.com/Products/celebritiesgurus/johncleese/5618.htm

http://www.rctm.com/Products/celebritiesgurus/johncleese/5626.htm

http://www.rctm.com/Products/celebritiesgurus/johncleese/5605.htm

Regards,

Prof. B

Question for 10/17 Class On Participation Techniques

This week's question takes off on some themes that came out during your blog group discussions during last class, considering whether certain publicity approaches in Homan and the CEI readings were manipulative or dishonest.

Two weeks ago, we read in Vaneklausen's essay that "hidden power" was the ability to exercise influence by controlling who gets to the decision-making table and what gets on the agenda. The Hewlett-Packard case for today (Creighton's final reading) provides a good example of this – affordable housing advocates, who are portrayed as pesky interlopers, are effectively marginalized by Creighton's canny public participation strategy (p.s. if you don't agree with my interpretation, please write your opinion in the blog!). Lets have a go at exercising "hidden power" through public participation – take your pick to be either a force for change or an agent for the status quo:

Pick a (somewhat) controversial topic involving a community of your choice, and, drawing a range of specific approaches from this week's reading, design a public meeting that is intended to either minimize the ability of the community to organize and express its will, or to maximize it.

Discussion Question For 9/10 (and reminders)

The weekly assignment is:

1. Pick some specific reasons why you would want to convey some information about this issue to either your supporters, your target/response community, or the general public (see Homan). Be specific.

2. Define, in general terms how would you would get through to this audience (or as Smith calls them, this "market). Here is a place where the principles that address human behavior in the Smith reading would come in handy, particularly the idea of "values laddering".

3. Finally, define a medium and message that would work to convey this information to your chosen audience (see Homan). If you chose an information outlet you can't control, how would you succeed in using it (see Homan)?

Test Run Discussion Question For 9/3 class

This week's readings unpack the tricky concepts of "community" and "power" and suggest that public participation can mobilize power within communities.

Drawing from your personal experience (e.g. not from the nightly news), describe a real-world example of an application of power, and then answer each of the following questions:

1. Which definition of power (defined by either author) fits this example best?

2. Was this power empowering or disempowering? For whom?

3. Within what community did this take place (incorporate specific' definitions of community from the readings)?

4. In what way did this application of power help or hinder development of a "healthy community"?