A research report, this paper analyses the formation on citizen competences among university students, from a sample of 252 students in Bogotá D.C., Colombia. This is made through the design of a Likert questionnaire to analyse 4 categories: participatory democracy, social responsibility, the concept of person and human rights awareness. A lack of clarity in the concepts of State, Social State of Law, democracy, and person, among others was evidenced. Similarly, it was determined the importance of establishing clear criteria on a humanist, citizen and political university formation, as well as to create spaces in the classroom to ponder upon the categories studied in the personal and social levels. ; El presente artículo producto de la investigación analiza la formación en competencias ciudadanas en estudiantes universitarios, utilizando una muestra de 252 estudiantes en Bogotá D.C, Colombia, mediante el diseño de un cuestionario tipo Likert para el análisis de cuatro categorías: democracia participativa, responsabilidad social, concepto de persona y reconocimiento de los derechos humanos. Se evidenció falta de claridad en los conceptos de Estado, Estado Social de Derecho, democracia y persona, derechos humanos, entre otros. Así mismo, se determinó la importancia de establecer criterios claros de formación universitaria humanista, ciudadana y política en pregrado y posgrado y a la vez de crear espacios en el aula para la reflexión personal y social en torno a las categorías estudiadas.
This article explains the importance of knowledge and development of citizenship skills in a community, as a basis for citizen participation in government and local government, a source of social and economic development; In addition, it presents a proposal for training in this topic as a case study, carried out in the municipality of Zipaquirá - Cundinamarca; with the participation of a group of leaders of the municipality, guided by teachers and students of the University Unicoc. The information presented is part of the results of the research carried out by Unicoc's socio-juridical research group. ; El presente artículo, expone la importancia del conocimiento y desarrollo de las competencias ciudadanas en una comunidad, como base de la participación ciudadana en el gobierno y administración pública local, fuente de desarrollo social y económica; además, presenta una propuesta de capacitación en este tema como estudio de caso, realizada en el municipio de Zipaquirá – Cundinamarca; con la participación de un grupo de líderes del municipio, orientados por docentes y estudiantes de la Institución Universitaria Colegios de Colombia – Unicoc. La información que se presenta, hace parte de los resultados de la investigación realizada por el grupo de investigación sociojurídica de Unicoc.
Citizen competences are considered as a fundamental aspect in the social development of man with his environment, which allows him to carry out actions that are articulated with the different guidelines established by law, which leads the citizen to live in a coherent and peaceful way in a nation that tends for freedom of thought framed in a democratic society. That is why it is considered of high importance that in educational establishments there are spaces that tend for training in peaceful coexistence framed in the law of the educated. This article resulted from the research project: "Social Appropriation of citizen and mathematical competences making use of MIDTablets", in which the mediation of Information and Communication Technologies is proposed to support the training of citizens with competences citizens who ensure adequate behavior in society. This project was developed in 31 educational institutions in the district of Barranquilla-Colombia, with support from resources of both the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications (MinTic), and the Secretariat of District Education of Barranquilla, in compliance with national goals, departmental and district regarding the quality of education of the national population
Objective: To strengthen citizenship skills through critical reading in university education. Methodology: The methodological design was framed in a systematic and empirical investigation. The students of the Political Constitution and Textual Construction courses at the University of the Costa were taken as a sample. The findings found through the surveys evidenced the existing shortcomings in the interpretation of the components of citizen competence. Results and conclusions: The result of this research can be summarized in that the educational community, object of study, welcomes the initiative to strengthen citizen competencies and critical reading based on a didactic strategy. ; Objetivo: Fortalecer las competencias ciudadanas a través de la lectura crítica en la educación universitaria. Metodología: El diseño metodológico se enmarcó en una investigación sistemática y empírica. Se tomó como muestra a los estudiantes de las asignaturas de Constitución Política y Construcción Textual en de la Universidad de la Costa. Los hallazgos encontrados a través de las encuestas, evidenciaron las falencias existentes en cuanto a la interpretación de los componentes de la competencia ciudadana. Resultados y conclusiones: El resultado de esta investigación, puede ser resumido en que la comunidad educativa, objeto de estudio, recibe con beneplácito la iniciativa de fortalecer las competencias ciudadanas y la lectura crítica a partir de una estrategia didáctica.
A critical analysis of the official proposal of the Colombian State on political education based on the formation of citizen competencies is presented. This is done a brief account of political education in Colombia, then this proposal is analyzed in the context of the global context, to finally present some conclusions on the need to move forward, not only in the formation of citizens from school , but in the transformation of schools into truly democratic scenarios. ; Se presenta un análisis crítico de la propuesta oficial del Estado colombiano sobre educación política fundamentada en la formación de competencias ciudadanas. Para ello se hace un breve recuento de la educación política en Colombia, luego se analiza esta propuesta en el marco del contexto mundial, para, finalmente, presentar algunas conclusiones sobre la necesidad de seguir avanzando, no sólo en la formación de ciudadanos desde la escuela, sino en la transformación de las escuelas en escenarios realmente democráticos.
This study explores the growing interest of governments in co-production and self-organisation by examining the framing of roles and responsibilities of citizens and professionals in care reforms. As in many other western countries, the Dutch welfare state is subject to major reforms, shifting responsibilities back towards society. A qualitative content analysis of policy letters of the Dutch national government shows that newer roles (citizen-as-co-producers) do not substitute traditional roles (citizen-as-clients), but constitute a new layer resulting in an expansion and diversification of roles for regular providers. Activating, supporting and partnering with citizens are framed as new competences of professionals.
Receiving media content on the Web, considered as a global information space, is typified by an inherent paradox. Most of the time, information accessibility is not fully exploited. Confronted with « overinformation », users' digital consultation is limited to restricted circles, even « hyperlocal ». Circles are mostly regulated by algorithm selection and by the use of translation and adaptation of the information to a target reader. This tendency accentuates the reader's ethnocentrism, going for a « national preference » imposed. As mediators, journalists, just like teachers, convey prevailing representations and participate in spreading knowledge in society. This PhD thesis looks into professional digital readers' linguistics uses and representations, aka digital journalists. The qualitative research reinforced by quantitative data focuses on three aspects of mediation: reception, production and intercomprehension. The investigation is contextualized in two complementary territories of Southern Europe: Sassari in Sardegna (Italy) and Barcelona in Catalonia, (Spain). The data analysis helps us identify six different profiles of digital readers according to their reading habits and ways of accessing Web content. This study takes inventory of intercomprehension strategies with a strong informational and educational potential. Reading in several languages encourages the comparison and confrontation of information that is culturally, politically and socially different. Understanding those issues and knowing those strategies enables mediators, teachers or journalists, to develop a plurilingual informational competence towards learners or receptors seen as readers citizens. By becoming a "plurilingual researcher" instead of a "multilingual consumer", digital readers would have all the necessary tools to transform information in knowledge. ; La recepción de contenidos mediáticos en la Web, vista esta como espacio de información global, presenta una paradoja: el acceso a la información suele estar infrautilizado. Al ...
Receiving media content on the Web, considered as a global information space, is typified by an inherent paradox. Most of the time, information accessibility is not fully exploited. Confronted with « overinformation », users' digital consultation is limited to restricted circles, even « hyperlocal ». Circles are mostly regulated by algorithm selection and by the use of translation and adaptation of the information to a target reader. This tendency accentuates the reader's ethnocentrism, going for a « national preference » imposed. As mediators, journalists, just like teachers, convey prevailing representations and participate in spreading knowledge in society. This PhD thesis looks into professional digital readers' linguistics uses and representations, aka digital journalists. The qualitative research reinforced by quantitative data focuses on three aspects of mediation: reception, production and intercomprehension. The investigation is contextualized in two complementary territories of Southern Europe: Sassari in Sardegna (Italy) and Barcelona in Catalonia, (Spain). The data analysis helps us identify six different profiles of digital readers according to their reading habits and ways of accessing Web content. This study takes inventory of intercomprehension strategies with a strong informational and educational potential. Reading in several languages encourages the comparison and confrontation of information that is culturally, politically and socially different. Understanding those issues and knowing those strategies enables mediators, teachers or journalists, to develop a plurilingual informational competence towards learners or receptors seen as readers citizens. By becoming a "plurilingual researcher" instead of a "multilingual consumer", digital readers would have all the necessary tools to transform information in knowledge. ; La recepción de contenidos mediáticos en la Web, vista esta como espacio de información global, presenta una paradoja: el acceso a la información suele estar infrautilizado. Al enfrentarse a la « sobreinformación », la consulta digital de los usuarios se limita a círculos restringidos, incluso « hiperlocales ». Estos círculos están regulados en parte por la selección algorítmica, el uso de la traducción y de la adaptación de la información a un « lector modelo ». Esta tendencia refuerza el etnocentrismo del lector orientado hacia imponer una « preferencia nacional ». Los periodistas y los docentes como profesionales de la mediación transmiten las representaciones dominantes y contribuyen a la difusión del conocimiento en la sociedad. Esta tesis se concibe para entender mejor los usos y representaciones lingüísticas de lectores digitales profesionales,en este caso los periodistas digitales. Esta investigación cualitativa apoyada de datos cuantitativos considera la mediación a través de tres de sus aspectos: la recepción, la producción y la intercomprensión. La investigación se ha desarrollado en dos territorios complementarios en el sur de Europa: Sassari, en Cerdeña (Italia) y Barcelona, en Cataluña (España). El análisis de los datos nos ha permitido elaborar seis perfiles de lectores digitales en función de sus costumbres de lectura y de sus vías de acceso a los contenidos digitales. El trabajo identifica una amplia gama de estrategias de intercomprensión con un fuerte potencial informacional y pedagógico. Leer en varios idiomas fomenta la comparación y la confrontación de informaciones culturalmente, políticamente y socialmente distintas. Entender estos retos y conocer estas estrategias permite al mediator, docente o periodista, fomentar el desarrollo de una competencia informacional plurilingüe para los estudiantes o receptores considerados sobre todo como lectores ciudadanos. Al volverse « investigador plurilingüe » en vez de « consumidor multilingüe », el lector digital tendrá las herramientas para transformar la información recibida en conocimiento. ; La réception de contenus médiatiques sur le Web, entendu comme un espace d'information global, présente un paradoxe. L'accessibilité à l'information y reste souvent sous-exploitée. Face à la surinformation, la consultation numérique des usagers se limite à des cercles restreints, voire « hyperlocaux ». Ces cercles sont régulés en partie par la sélection algorithmique, l'usage de la traduction et de l'adaptation des contenus à un lecteur cible. Cette tendance renforce l'ethnocentrisme du lecteur orienté vers une « préférence nationale » imposée. En tant que professionnels de la médiation, les journalistes comme les enseignants véhiculent des représentations dominantes et participent à la diffusion de connaissances dans la société. Cette thèse s'attache à mieux comprendre les usages et représentations linguistiques de lecteurs numériquesprofessionnels, en l'occurrence des journalistes web. Cette étude qualitative, confortée par des données quantitatives, retient trois aspects de la médiation : la réception, la production et l'intercompréhension. L'enquête s'est déroulée sur deux terrains complémentaires situés au sud de l'Europe : Sassari en Sardaigne (Italie) et Barcelone en Catalogne (Espagne). L'analyse des données a permis d'établir six profils de lecteurs numériques en fonction de leurs habitudes de lecture et moyens d'accès aux contenus en ligne. Ce travail recense un large éventail de stratégies d'intercompréhension avec un fort potentiel informationnel et pédagogique. Lire en plusieurs langues favorise en effet la comparaison et la confrontation d'informations culturellement, politiquement et socialement diverses. Comprendre ces enjeux et connaître ces stratégies permet aux professionnels de la médiation, enseignants ou journalistes, d'encourager le développement d'une compétence informationnelle plurilingue chez des apprenants ou récepteurs considérés avant tout comme des lecteurs citoyens. En devenant « chercheur plurilingue » plutôt que « consommateur multilingue », le lecteur numérique aurait les outils pour transformer l'information en connaissance. ; La ricezione di contenuti mediatici in internet, visto come spazio di informazione globale, presenta un paradosso: l'accesso all'informazione suole essere sottoutilizzato. Incontrandosi con la "sovreinformazione", la consultazione digitale degli utenti si limita a circoli ristretti, addirittura "iperlocali". Questi circoli sono regolati in parte dalla selezione algoritmica, l'uso della traduzione e la adattamento dell'informazione a un "lettore modello". Questa tendenza rafforza l'etnocentrismo del lettore orientato verso l'imposizione di una "preferenza nazionale". I giornalisti e i docenti come professionisti della mediazione trasmettono rappresentazioni dominanti e contribuiscono alla diffusione della conoscenza nella società. Questa tesi è concepita per capire meglio gli usi e le rappresentazioni linguistiche di lettori digitali professionali, in questo caso i giornalisti digitali. Questa ricerca qualitativa sostenuta da dati quantitativi considera la mediazione attraverso tre dei suoi aspetti: la ricezione, la produzione e la intercomprensione. La ricerca si è sviluppata in due territori complementari nel sud europeo: Sassari, in Sardegna (Italia) e Barcellona, in Catalogna (Spagna). L'analisi dei dati ci ha permesso di elaborare sei profili di lettori digitali in funzione delle loro abitudini di lettura e dei loro canali di accesso ai contenuti digitali. Il lavoro individua un'amplia gamma di strategie di intercomprensione con un forte potenziale informativo e pedagogico. Leggere in diverse lingue promuove il paragone e il confronto di informazioni culturalmente, politicamente e socialmente distinte. Comprendere queste sfide e conoscere queste strategie permette al mediatore, docente o giornalista, di favorire lo sviluppo di una competenza informativa plurilingue per gli studenti o recettori considerati in primo luogo come lettori cittadini. Trasformandosi in "ricercatore plurilingue" invece che in "consumatore multilingue", il lettore digitale possiederà gli strumenti per trasformare l'informazione ricevuta in conoscenza.
?his article refers to the current theoretical and policy debate on key competences, skills and qualifications, which every citizen in society must have or acquire, through a process of lifelong learning, in order to be able to cope with the challenges and demands of phenomena such as (economic) globalization, information technologies and multiculturalism as a result of the new character of migration flows. The recommendation of the EU Council and Parliament on key competences for lifelong learning, which include "social and civic competences", is indicative. The purpose of this article is two-fold: Firstly, to provide a contemplative review of some frequently used concepts within educational policy contexts. Secondly, to initiate a discussion on the relation between social capital and social competence, from a learning perspective, focusing on the question: Why is there such a huge interest in social skills and competences today, and what is the role of education (and what kind of education?) in the creation of social capital in society?
The purpose of forest policy is to enhance the sustainable production of benefits of forests to serve the needs of all citizens. Theory of system justification claims that low status groups are the most likely to support, defend and justify existing social systems. This study explores how various aspects of forest related competencies affect satisfaction with the political system and the desire to influence decision making. The effect of competence on system satisfaction and the desire to influence outcomes, is evaluated using survey data on Finnish citizens' attitudes on forest policy. The results were in line with system justification theory: Competence decreases system satisfaction and increases the desire to influence outcomes. The dissatisfaction with the system becomes possible only if people have adequate knowledge. Forestry competent people tend to be satisfied with the system, while people with conservation knowledge tend to be dissatisfied. The challenges to the inclusion of citizens' views in political processes are addressed. ; Peer reviewed
Globalization, understood as a process that has reduced the barriers that separate local contexts from international contexts, has increased and accelerated the economic, cultural, and political interactions among countries, organizations, and citizens (Giddens, 2000). From the business side, firms are increasingly involved in foreign ventures such as outsourcing, off-shoring, exporting, importing and investing in foreign countries that require the correct adaptation of managers to cultural differences. In fact, the inability of managers to face the cultural challenges of doing business abroad is one of the causes of business failures (Johnson, Lenartowicz, & Apud 2006; Black, Mendenhall, & Oddou, 1991). Rather than a lack of ability in the technical aspects of their job, a major factor in business failures (e.g., early return of an expatriate, poor choice of an export market, or problems running a foreign
This thesis examines the feasibility of lay citizen participation in the process of constitutional reform in Australia. While there have been increasing calls in recent decades for members of the general public to be more deeply involved in debates about constitutional change, there has been little scholarly inquiry into whether this is achievable. This thesis fills this gap by providing a detailed assessment of how individuals get involved in constitutional debate, and whether it is feasible for public involvement to become a more central component of Australia's c'onstitutional reform process. The thesis' theoretical framework is provided by participatory and deliberative democratic theories. Together, these theories provide a rich conception of citizen involvement that emphasises the ideals of broad participation, sound judgment and inclusiveness. The thesis' empirical analysis is structured around discussion of five challenges to participation that emerge from this theoretical literature: citizen willingness, equal participation, citizen competence in developing sound judgment, citizen competence in engaging in quality deliberation, and legitimacy. The thesis approaches these issues through a detailed examination of lay citizen participation in Australian constitutional debates during the period 1991–1999. It adopts a mixed methods approach, combining analysis of three main data sources: the 1999 Australian Constitutional Referendum Study, primary documentary material on the debates of the 1990s, and focus group interviews on perceptions and attitudes towards constitutional reform. The thesis' central argument is that greater lay citizen participation in the process of constitutional reform is achievable provided that, in the design of that process, careful attention is paid to a complex set of factors that foster and inhibit it. These factors are identified and discussed throughout the thesis and include the provision of participatory activities that are responsive to diverse personal motivations, the ...
The comparative analysis of the foreign language competence among the citizens of Poland and Czech Republic has been accomplished. The received findings were compared with current observations of all-European linguistic tendencies. Having analysed various statistics the authors succeeded in assembling the social portrait of an average multilingual European. The authors have also considered the fact that over the past years the official percentage of multilingual citizens, both in Poland and the Czech Republic, has significantly decreased due to intensive emigration processes. In the authors' opinion, this problem is mostly of the socio-economic nature and demonstrates rather not the weakness of educational systems, but the ability of educational institutions of both countries to prepare competitive specialists who are able (due to the high level of foreign language competence) to find decent job in the labour-market of the United Europe. It has also been stated that since the foreign language competence has become a professional and cultural prerequisite for creation of the unified globalized Europe, and multilingualism has become a part of the European identity, the future specialists' foreign language training in Ukraine should be conducted precisely taking into account the prospects of European integration.
Defence date: 3 May 2016 ; Examining Board: Professor Hanspeter Kriesi, European University Institute, Supervisor; Professor Alexander Trechsel, European University Institute, Co-Supervisor; Professor Diana Mutz, University of Pennsilvania; Professor Rune Slothuus, Aarhus University. ; A competent citizenry is the key to the legitimacy of direct democratic decisions, but just how competent are citizens in direct democracy? Understanding how citizens reason and how they make their decisions is ever more important as the use of direct democratic instruments is growing throughout the world. I propose a concept of citizen competence based on reason-giving. A competent citizen is one who bases his or her decisions on substantive, policy-related arguments, and who considers a diversity of arguments before taking a decision. In this thesis I use a multi-method approach, combining three different datasets to analyze citizen competence in direct democracy: cross-sectional post-ballot surveys from 34 popular votes in Switzerland; a panel dataset covering two referendum campaigns in Switzerland; and a lab experiment conducted in Scotland during the Scottish independence referendum in 2014. I found, that citizens have a surprisingly accurate knowledge of the policy-related arguments of the debate. Furthermore, arguments are significantly associated with vote intention, even when controlling for party preference. This first results highlight the importance of meaningful arguments in political opinion formation. However, a second finding of my project is that citizens tend to process arguments in a biased way, preferring arguments compatible with their prior beliefs and partisan attachments, and disregarding or devaluing incompatible information. Yet this tendency for directional, motivated reasoning can be discouraged by holding individuals accountable for their views, that is, by making them justify their position to others. The conclusions I draw for the legitimacy of direct democratic decisions are mixed. While citizens are not as uninformed and minimalist as they are often depicted in public opinion research, they are still partisan and find it difficult to process information impartially. Therefore, in order to enhance the legitimacy of direct democratic procedure, providing citizens with diverse and balanced information is necessary, but not sufficient. They need to encounter an environment where they are motivated to be accurate, for example, by being expected to justify themselves to others in cross-cutting discussions.
The article discusses the issues of political competence, political activity and political communication in Lithuania. The concept of political competence is operationalized and measured in terms of threefold sub-levels: the level of political information, the congruence between the perception of left-right wing politics, and self-placement on the left-right wing political scale together with the actual voting preferences. Analysis revealed the dependence of the level of political competence upon demographic criteria and personal values. The main problem is incompatibility between the level of political competence and political activity. The most active citizens do not necessarily have substantial political knowledge while the most competent citizens often abstain from active civic and political involvement.