U2A1

For each objective you listed, you will need to decide on one or more methods to research it. Your methods might be one or more of the following: interview three professionals; observe a professional during the course of a meeting; observe a training course module; survey a small number of subjects; conduct a focus group; or review documents such as newsletters, policy manuals, training guides, and report on personal experiences. Remember, you need to have at least one method for each one of your objectives. For the objective that states that you will develop a project, your method will include the "designing and writing of a . . ." Compile a list of methods that you are considering to address each objective, and submit this for your instructor to review.

DIRECT DEMOCRACY RESEARCH

The methods to research and develop this concept can include interviews with politicians, some of them in the Georgia State Capitol and in the Athens City Hall and others via email. I don't know if I could arrange a trip to Washington, D.C. during this course but some time I would like to interview some politicians and government workers in Washington, D.C. in person though some perhaps could be contacted via the Internet through emailed surveys and questionnaires. Also, I hope to interview political science teachers at the junior high and high school levels as well as at the University of Georgia, Georgia State University, and Emory University. Some could be contacted in person or by telephone and some with email through the Internet to ask their thoughts on direct democracy and Internet voting. Also, some email questionnaires could be sent out to the general public or people that I know who are in my Internet address book including fellow participants in previous Capella courses.

Also, research would involve reading and commenting on books, magazine articles, trade journal articles, and online documents. Libraries can be used at the University of Georgia and Georgia State University as well as public libraries in Athens and Atlanta, GA. I also have a substantial library myself on books on the topics of direct democracy and Internet voting which I have accumulated while studying with Capella University. The research will involve analyses of the concepts and possible scenarios for the implementation of a direct democracy. Also, research will be done on organizations and countries that already use a similar system such as the one in Switzerland as described in Direct Democracy in Switzerland (2002) by Gregory Fossedal.

Part of this procedure is to develop a possible action plan for the implementation of the concept and to begin to develop a curriculum to prepare students and citizens for the implementation of direct democracy and, once it is initiated, to sustain its continuous operation. Part of this plan is to develop a concept to describe the governmental system and the infrastructure which will provide the framework of that governmental system.

In addition to the above mentioned methods of research and conceptual development, I plan on constructing a website for the concept to help create a forum of discussion principles of democracy and a method by which to dispense information pertaining to the topic. I am thinking of calling it �Democracy 2020� for a few reasons. One, it has a nice sound to it; two, it is easy to remember; three, the term 2020 signifies clear vision; and fourth, and primarily, the year 2020 is a goal for a year by which to have the concept implemented in its initial form. The phrase could be continued to be used even after the year 2020 unless another term is voted on to be used after that time.

My influences for this plan are many and varied. Ranging from the ancient Greek philosophers of democracy from around 500 B.C. to Adam Smith to Karl Marx to John Dewey to Sigmund Freud to Friedrich Nietzsche and to Jean-Paul Sartre, to name a few. Perhaps one of my influences is David Schwartz who wrote �The Magic of Thinking Big� and who I had as a professor in a marketing class who taught to start with a big idea. This concept will have macro and micro elements to it. The advantage of starting the concept at the macro, or national, level is that at the national level everything would filter down and the procedures would become standardized and universally understandable whereas if they all originated at micro, or local, level and then later all the subsystems would, perhaps with difficulty, try to later form the national system. In other words, if the system progressed from micro to macro then there would probably be a diversity of procedures that might be later difficult to consolidate. The idea is for the use of computer and Internet technology for voting on levels ranging from national/federal, to state, to local/city/town, down to organizations and individual schools and clubs, all the way down to the individual voter. All of this would be guided by the collective consciousness and the �unseen hand� as described by Adam Smith. --- Richard

Response from Howard Jacobs

Richard, as you know, I find the topic a fascinating idea. I have also voiced concern about the preparedness of people to participate "knowledgeably" in such a system and we have discussed this many times.

It would be interesting to get the opinions of those in office about such a system. I wonder if they would support it or resist because of their vested interest in the present system.

MY RESPONSE: No Jobs lost! (or no job left behind)

In response to your first point, I would hope that the educational system and media would supply the knowledge base to the participants in this system.

As far as the job security of those politicians and government workers already in office, my idea will have the public voting with the legislators, in a separate house, (in the first phase of the plan as an opinion poll collection method) so that the elected legislators will remain in their positions. If anything, it would create more jobs rather than fewer; however, as a result of this system, we might find substantially more lobbyists drowning their sorrows on an ideological skid row. Richard

From Penny Abstetar:

Richard, I have read with interest your presentation of your proposed project in unit 1 and your discussion of research here. Though you and I have not met up in previous courses to have heard of this topic already--as several people have alluded to--I believe I have a firm grasp of the theory and practice behind direct democracy.

With the project, what is your ultimate goal--and this might be beyond the scope of this class? Effect a change in our political system? Publish and have others consider this possibility? Something else?

I find your topic very interesting and am looking forward to observing as you progress through this course. Warm regards --- Penny

MY RESPONSE: Of, For, and By the People

My ultimate goal is to help achieve the ultimate goals of the philosophers of ancient Greece of around 500 BC (and Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Jefferson) which is a government of, for, and by the people.

After this class and getting all my materials together I will see what I can do about presenting this to the public (in publications,etc.) but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. --- Richard

From Mike Minaudo :

Interesting topic. I have not heard much about direct democracy before. It sounds like it can create quite a bureaucracy.--- Mike

MY RESPONSE: Volunteer Army

It'll be sorta like the volunteer Army in that no one will have to join unless they want to. Happy Honeymoon! Richard

From Brad Richardson

Hi Richard- What are the grassroots efforts that need to be accomplished to get Direct Democracy off the ground? Can it be started locally through school boards, city councils, county supervisors and move to larger centers? How long before it is taught across the nation? Would this too have to begin local and move national? Very aggressive research! Good luck. Take care --- Brad Richardson

MY RESPONSE: Grassroots Efforts

The grassroots efforts would involve getting the public enthusiastic about the idea. -- to get the word out, maybe someone should tell Oprah about the idea. The goal is for this idea to permeate every aspect and level of society to make a working democracy. The concept could start being discussed right away (as we are doing now) and it can be taught in schools when it becomes part of the accepted educational curriculum. Every social movement really begins with an individual or collections of individuals, but now that we have the technology of a mass media and the Internet, the collection of all individuals of a nation (or of the world, for that matter) can be communicated with instantaneously, so that is another reason for starting this on a national level. --- Richard

From Alisa Hunt:

Hi Richard, I understand what you mean about not staring small and having bits and pcs to make work on the national scale. Consider what's happening in much of our education system.

Have you thought about testing it on a smaller scale? I don't mean starting small and working ot larger. I just mean testing it on a smaller scale so you can work out the bugs and such. Just a thought. --- Alisa

MY RESPONSE: Pilot Tests

As I mentioned to Brad: every social movement really begins with an individual or collections of individuals, but now that we have the technology of a mass media and the Internet, the collection of all individuals of a nation (or of the world, for that matter) can be communicated with instantaneously, so that is another reason for starting this on a national level. But you are right, some pilot tests should be done on a smaller scale to work of the functionality of the procedures. These could be done in schools, universities, clubs, small towns, neighborhoods, etc. --- Richard

From Katherine

I admire your courage in trying to change the world. Your top-down approach makes logical sense when you describe it, but will it work in the "real-world"? Most of the time, there's at least a model on the micro-level which the macro-level leaders can follow. For example, small jurisdictions enfranchised women, giving proof to the argument that women could successfully participate in the body politic, before women's suffrage was granted nationally.

In your research have you found examples of top-down social or political movements? --- Kathy

My reply to Katherine:

We could be dealing in semantics but I think there are many examples of top-down changes. Some involve violent changes or revolutions such as assassinations of political leaders (such as the execution in 1642 of King Charles I in England and the beheading in 1793 of Marie Antoinette in France) , political coups, or forceful removal of leaders as was done recently by the U.S.A. in Iraq supposedly to affect a top down change -- the U.S. officials are looking for Osama bin Laden for the same reasons. Also, I think there are top-down changes when new ideas are involved such as was the case with the Internet where the design and concept was created at the top and is now used by everyone at the bottom. I think of the idea I am suggesting in this vein, though an idea first introduced on a relatively large scale by Solon in Athens, Greece in 594 BC can hardly be considered new -- the new part is using new technology (specifically the Internet) to achieve an ancient ideal. Also, I think of the implementation of my suggestion as being gradual and evolutionary -- somewhat like the introduction of the euro currency which was first discussed in the 1950s -- rather than sudden and revolutionary. --- Richard

Comment to Penny:

I, too, am not sure what is meant by a hybrid course. I assume it means a mixture of techniques but I am not sure what those would be. Also, what is an IDOL program? --- Richard

Comment to Brad

There are so many possible uses for the Internet: using the Internet for academic advising is yet another good use of the Internet. --- Richard

U2A2

List the learning objectives you hope to achieve by studying this topic. When you complete this assignment, click Submit and proceed to Learning Activity u02d2 . There, you will paste in your proposed learning objectives and receive feedback from other Learners in your group. These are containede within the discussions.

U2D1

Discuss your interest and experience with the topic and specify what aspects of the topic you will study.

List your objectives for studying the topic.

Read everyone's comments and post a response to at least five classmates.

Comment to Karen:

Karen, I noticed that you were involved with development of the MPEG4 which I assume is the same product that I downloaded, purchased, and used in my TS5514 Advanced Graphics and Multimedia course. It is a very good product: I used it for making avi files to use in my multimedia project and plan on using it more in the future so thanks for your involvement with that product. --- Richard

Reply to Brad:

Brad, Yes, I agree. I think a website is how a forum can develop on the topic and information can be dispensed and regularly updated. --- Richard

U2D2

Before you begin this assignment, complete Learning Activity U02a2 .

Paste your learning objectives in this discussion. You may want to expand on the reasons why you selected these particular objectives. Comment on the objectives of the other learners in the group.

OBJECTIVES:

To conduct a thorough review of literature on the subject.
To research historical precedents of the subject.
To interview politicians, social studies and political science teachers, and the public.
To conduct questionnaires and surveys to relevant focus groups.
To develop a website on the subject.
To begin to develop a curriculum for the implementation and sustaining of a direct democracy. --- Richard

From Mike Minaudo:

It looks like the curriculum for implementation and sustainment of direct democracy is the capstone of your project. Very ambitious. --- Mike

MY RESPONSE: Practical Use of the Internet

The idea might sound ambitious but it is not nearly as ambitious as the Internet itself: it is another practical use of the for the Internet. --- Richard

U2D3

What research methods might you use to achieve these objectives?

RESEARCH METHODS:

Interviews.

Surveys and questionnaires.

Library research.

Internet searches.

Reading publications on the topic. --- Richard

From Howard:

Richard, I would be interested to learn how responsive people are to Internet surveys.

MY RESPONSE: Internet Surveys

I plan on making questionnaires referring to the Dillman book on how to conduct them and I hope to get some of the results during this course to show you and the other course participants. Richard

Reference:

Dillman, Don. (2000). Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Designed Method . New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

U2D3 comment to Alisa:

Have you thought about psychological, personality, and interest testing? One test is called the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) and I imagine there are others to choose from. --- Richard

Comment for Katherine: An idea for (federal)government revenue.

Here is something that could be considered for a referendum to be voted on by the public: a federal sales tax.

We would need to get our calculators out for this but I think if every retail sale in each of the 50 states had a 1 or 2 % federal sales tax then over a period of time the federal coffers could be filled and people would not even realize that they are being taxed -- sort of a pay-as-you-go plan with the funds flowing like water running through pipes. These would all be done with electronic transfers at cash registers so that it becomes automatic, similar to automatic bank drafts, without actual paper money cash payments required. Perhaps this process could substantially decrease, and eventually eliminate, the jolting lump sums and fines of income taxes that are now used to generate federal government revenue. Richard

Comment to Jon: Some thoughts about PhDs:

If everyone in the world had a PhD then they would not be special or valuable so they should be dispensed with care and selectivity after being earned by the doctoral candidate, as I would imagine they are, and the difficulty of obtaining them could be partly the cause of the high attrition rate.

Many people perhaps understandably want the respect accompanying the title �Dr.� I think most people think of a doctor as a medical doctor. In writing, the difference can be designated by attaching an M.D., PhD, etc. at the end of someone's name but in speaking they are all referred to as �Dr. Jones� so it would be helpful if there was a way of differentiating the types of doctors when speaking their titles since the types of doctors are very different from one another (of course, someone could add �he's a medical doctor� or �a cardiologist� or a �PhD in Physics� but these terms are not conveyed by the initial spoken title). Richard

Comment to Jon: Reasons to get, and requirements for getting, a PhD or a doctorate:

Desire: Many people would like to have a PhD or doctorate, just like many people would like to be wealthy, but the desire would need to need to be strong enough for the doctoral candidate to expend the time, effort, and expense involved in obtaining a doctorate.

Motivation: Most people would want the knowledge, respect, and opportunities associated with a doctorate. I think a primary motive for obtaining a PhD would be to be qualified to teach at the university level since most universities require, depending upon the subject and situation, a doctorate to teach or to become a professor.

Location: Land-based institutions would require the doctoral candidate to live on or near the campus of the issuing institution for the duration of the doctoral program which is one of the advantages of a partly online program.

Time: The doctoral candidate needs to ask himself if the time required to obtain a doctorate is worth it since a good fraction of one's life would become consumed by the process of obtaining a doctorate.

Expense: The doctoral candidate needs to ask himself if pursuing a doctorate is financially worth it. The candidate would first need to have a financial source to pay for the program as they are engaged in the program and most graduating candidates would end the program in debt with a substantial loan to repay.

Effort: It requires a great deal of study, reading, and writing to obtain a doctorate which could be overwhelming to many people.

These are just some of the requirements, some would say obstacles, in obtaining a doctorate degree. --- Richard

Reply to a discussion about a comparison of the New and Old CourseRooms:

The main aspect that I do not like about the new CourseRoom format is the inability to edit and delete submissions. In another course, one of the learners wrote an expletive (hint: starts with s) and I am sure she would like to be able to change that word. I guess she should not have written it in the first place but now it is electronically etched in stone. The same goes with spelling, grammar, retractions, and even changes of mind: they all must now remain.

It reminds me of a course I took in teaching English as a second language and we all had to write hot and cold assessments of the course proceedings. The hot assessments were the immediate unpremeditated and emotional reactions and the cold assessments occurred a few days later and were more analytical, rational, and contemplative. So the CourseRoom entries fall toward the hot end of that scale -- maybe very warm. --- Richard

I think politicians are becoming more aware of the political uses of the Internet (they all have websites) and will adapt to the use of the Internet as a voting instrument as the concept becomes more developed.

Concerning political parties, I have always wondered why everyone feels they have to join one political party or another rather than independently voting for the candidate of their choice. ---Richard

Reply to Geri (and Tanneka): 4 to 6 million lost votes

To Geri: With your voting experiences in Florida that you mentioned in Unit One, I thought might be interested in the following statistics and the accompanying article. The report was written by some of the highest ranking academics in two of the highest ranking universities in the United States, Caltech and MIT. The report is titled: a Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project entitled Voting: What is, What could be.

This is an intriguing evaluative study that I would suggest for everyone to read, especially for those interested in future of democracy and political institutions. The evaluation was done by teams of researchers from Caltech and MIT and can be read in its entirety by activating the link in the reference below.

In Part One of the Report the authors say that:

"We estimate that between four and six million presidential votes were lost in the 2000 election. These are qualified voters who wanted to vote but could not or were not counted. (Losses occur for two reasons: first, some voters do not, or cannot, participate due to problems with voter registration or polling place practices; second, some votes that are cast are not counted due to problems with ballots.)

Two million ballots, two percent of the 100 million ballots cast for president in 2000, were not counted because they were unmarked, damaged, or ambiguous.

Of this two percent it is estimated that 0.5 percent did not intend to vote for president, so 1.5 percent (or 1.5 million people) thought they voted for president but their votes were not counted". (Caltech/MIT, 2001, 8).

In this well planned and conducted 92 page evaluative report there are numerous statistics as well as suggestions as to how to remedy the problems associated with public voting and how to incorporate new available technology to implement their suggestions. --- Richard

Reference:

Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project, California Institute of Technology and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Corporation. (2001). Voting: What is, What could be. Retrieved October 16, 2004 from http://www.vote.caltech.edu/Reports/july01/July01_VTP_%20Voting_Report_Entire.pdf

Comment to Alisa:

I will post the curriculums later but they would go through K-12 and post-secondary and adult education to prepare citizens to become voting members of a direct democracy system. Richard

Comment to Brad:

Thank you. I hope the website will have a positive effect. --- Richard