ASBTRACT This paper examines the practices and activities of videogame fans online. In scrutinising a variety of player-produced texts including walkthroughs, fanart, theorising and FAQs, the authors seek not only to highlight the creativity and vibrancy of the participatory culture of videogame fandom but also to examine the ways in which discussion and the production of such texts are used by...

A contemporary debate in media studies concerns participation and empowerment, and to what extent digital media shift power to the citizens. This study assesses the long-term viability of participatory journalism using Swedish content and user data. Inclusion of comments and blog-links on news sites increased from 2007 to 2010, and decreased rather dramatically from 2011 onward. Posting user co...

The authors are involved in a project aiming at the development of a methodology for participatory modeling (DEMO) as a tool for public participation in water resource management. In this paper, some examples of different degrees of stakeholder influence in six key dimensions of participatory modeling are identified and discussed. Arnstein’s (1969) critical discussion of different degrees of “r...

Crowdsourcing (geo-) information and participatory GIS are among the current hot topics in research and industry. Various projects are implementing participatory sensing concepts within their workflow in order to benefit from the power of volunteers, and improve their product quality and efficiency. Wheelmap is a crowdsourcing platform where volunteers contribute information about wheelchair-ac...

Strategic decision makers are frequently faced with unstructured problems that cannot be solved adequately by analytical means. In such situations, a better decision-making approach is one based on stakeholders’ participation. A particular form of such an approach is known as participatory modelling, whereby participatory methods are used for knowledge elicitation while simulation modelling tec...

This paper reviews recent innovations in the use of participatory tools and methods that are relevant to urban areas. This includes the use of participatory approaches for understanding poverty, involving children, identifying livelihood opportunities, and monitoring and evaluating projects. It also highlights recent literature which discusses how participatory and conventional research and pla...

Just as the notion of participatory approaches has been subjected to questioning and criticism, so has the more specific notion of participatory approaches to monitoring and evaluation. There are parallel possibilities of tokenism and even of manipulation, here, just as there are parallels around the need for more critical reflection and dialogue. Even if not actually manipulative, participator...

Comprehensive animal health surveillance programmes require components that ensure the overall sensitivity and timeliness of surveillance data. Participatory epidemiology (PE) is the application of participatory rural appraisal techniques to the collection of epidemiological intelligence. Participatory disease searching (PDS) is the use of PE techniques in active disease surveillance and outbre...