Questions: Agre, p. 210 & pp. 210-214.

1. What is the central problem for citizens in democracies?

The central problem is how each citizen can take part in politics and deal with political problems.

2. What skills do citizens need?

They need skills to deal with problems actively. In other words, they need skills to detect significant political issues, prepare efficiently, and organize social networks in order to solve the problems.

3. What term does the author use to describe the process citizens use to promote their concerns about an issue?

"Issue lattice."

4. What steps are the four steps in this process?

1) The Vertical Dimension

2) The Geographic Dimension

3) The Institutional Dimension

4) The Ideological Dimension

p. 212-214
Write two of your own questions on the ideas and issues raised in this section. Lead a class discussion next session.

5. How does the recent development of Internet technologies (e.g., blog, wiki) contribute to the process of democracy presented in the text?

6. Is social networking always useful for democracy as the author says? It sometimes gives dangers to democracy. For example, undemocratic terrorists and reactionaries often make use of social networks.

7. Based on the ideas and issues raised on these pages, what additions, deletions, or modifications suggest themselves to you in planning and implementing your Issue Entrepreneurship? Tell about your ideas.

Before reading the text, I was ignorant about the contribution of Issue Entrepreneurship to democracy. Now I will begin my Issue Entrepreneurship regarding it as an important democratic procedure.
Also I would like to investigate the value of social computing as a tool of IE.