Citizen Learning, Deliberation, and Reasoning in Internet-Mediated Technology Policy Forums

公众参与技术政策决策既有争议，也是可取的。这是有争议的，因为人们质疑公民理解和评估这些复杂问题的能力；民主参与之所以可取，是因为民主参与是公民参与的一种衡量标准，可能会改善决策及其结果。确定和发展更有效的公民参与模式将在公民有效参与方面发挥重要作用。该项目有几个目标：1)开发改进的工具，使公众有效地参与技术政策；2)创建基本知识，了解公民如何信任监管机构、科学家和公司；自我效能感；以及参与这些过程对学习的影响；以及3)为开发有效的互联网中介的国家技术政策参与模式提供信息。研究小组由科学修辞学、群体决策和政治学的教员组成，将根据丹麦的模式举行两次混合模式和六次互联网调解的共识会议。这些会议将有120名公民参加；每个小组15名公民将代表当地人民，并将审议就一个突出的技术问题达成协商一致的建议。这项研究包括测试一个团队开发的民主审议的创新措施。该项目还将通过调查性别、族裔、较低的社会经济地位与提高效力和对监管者的信任之间的关系，作为参与模式的结果，来检验政治学理论。该项目具有国家一级的影响，扩大了代表性不足群体的参与，并利用信息技术开发了新的参与方法。该项目还将让本科生和研究生参与研究；结果将广泛传播，包括向政策制定者和媒体公布结果和公民建议。

Public participation in technology policy decision-making is both controversial and desirable. It is controversial because of questions about the capabilities of citizens to understand and evaluate these complex issues; it is desirable because democratic participation is a measure of civic engagement and may improve decisions and their outcomes. Identification and development of more effective modes of citizen participation will play an important part in enabling citizens to participate effectively.This project has several goals: 1) to develop improved vehicles for effective public involvement in technology policy, 2) to create basic knowledge of how citizens' trust in regulators, scientists, and corporations; self-efficacy; and learning are affected by participation in these processes, and 3) to inform development of effective internet-mediated models for national technology policy participation. The research team, composed of faculty in rhetoric of science, group decision-making, and political science, will conduct two mixed-mode and six internet-mediated consensus conferences, based on the Danish model. These conferences will involve 120 citizens; each panel of 15 citizens will be representative of the local population and will deliberate to reach consensus recommendations on a prominent technology issue. The research includes testing an innovative measure of democratic deliberation developed by one of the team. The project will also test political science theory, by investigating relationships between gender, ethnicity, lower socio-economic status and increases in efficacy and trust in regulators, as outcomes of modes of participation. The project has national-level impact, broadens participation of underrepresented groups, and develops new participation approaches using information technology. The project will also involve undergraduates and graduate students in research; results will be distributed broadly, including publicizing the results and citizen recommendations to policy makers and the media.