[Air-l] New research project

[W.Lusoli]

Dear all - 

Just a short intro to a new research project we're running at ESRI, Salford, UK:

Parliamentary representation in the Internet age.

The research looks into parliamentarians' use of internet based technologies in
the UK and Australia. In particular, we are examining the role of new
technologies in shaping the work of MPs and the nature of parliamentary
representation. 

The project is wide ranging, as we are looking at a number of complementary
issues, and does involve a range of research activities and methodologies:

.	Regular analyses of parliamentary/MPs websites to assess the function of
such sites (over the next two years);
.	Postal surveys of parliamentarians to gauge the attitude toward, and
importance of, Internet communication and online participation;
.	Interviews with MPs to understand Internet communication strategies, and
their associated benefits and problems;
.	Public opinion survey to evaluate citizen awareness, usage and problems
of Internet communication with representatives;
.	Focus group assessment of the design and content of parliamentary
websites. 

And much, much more... ;)

We are right now doing MPs interviews, and the first responses are encouraging.
You can find more info at http://www.ipop.org.uk

If you have an interest in the topic, or are doing similar research, please do
get in touch, we'd be happy to hear from you.

Best regards, 

Wainer
(on behalf of the team)

PS Also take a look at the updated links section, quite a few new things
included.

--------------------------
Wainer Lusoli
Researcher @ ESRI
University of Salford

http://www.ipop.org.uk
w.lusoli at salford.ac.uk
+44 (0)161 2955654
--------------------------