Suchergebnisse

Government by the people presupposes that citizens are fully aware of public matters and properly informed. Nowadays, this is well understood and increasingly accepted. However, there is still disagreement as to how citizens are to check their government and what the limits of such control should be. In my view, it is essential that this scrutiny is generally available to all citizens and that it is provided in binding legal terms, the application of which is subject to legal appeal. However, a less stringent standard of scrutiny is often provided. Indeed, confusion between concepts is patent in this field and overshadows what is really at issue—the recognition of a fundamental right for citizens, which forms a basis for the exercise of several other rights. The right of citizens to review the exercise of public power is ultimately the foundation of both the principle of democracy and popular sovereignty.

This article explores the issue of introducing children between six and ten years of age to robotics and investigates the use of robots in schools and in extracurricular activities. The central questions are 1) whether and how the introduction of robotics is addressed in political strategies and educational policies (RQ1), and 2) what the main actors in the introduction of robots in educational settings are (RQ2). Therefore, a pilot study in three European countries (Austria, Lithuania, Romania) was conducted, which included an analysis of national policy strategies, as well as interviews with three stakeholders per country. The article illustrates the specificities of the investigated countries presented as case studies and discusses them in a comparative way. The findings show that the investigated countries' educational policies aim at mirroring the Digital Agenda for Europe and that two opposite approaches to implementation of robotics (bottom-up vs. top-down) can be identified.

This article explores the issue of introducing children between six and ten years of age to robotics and investigates the use of robots in schools and in extracurricular activities. The central questions are 1) whether and how the introduction of robotics is addressed in political strategies and educational policies (RQ1), and 2) what the main actors in the introduction of robots in educational settings are (RQ2). Therefore, a pilot study in three European countries (Austria, Lithuania, Romania) was conducted, which included an analysis of national policy strategies, as well as interviews with three stakeholders per country. The article illustrates the specificities of the investigated countries presented as case studies and discusses them in a comparative way. The findings show that the investigated countries' educational policies aim at mirroring the Digital Agenda for Europe and that two opposite approaches to implementation of robotics (bottom-up vs. top-down) can be identified.