Technological Ecosystems in Citizen Science: A Framework to Involve Children and Young People

Alicia García-Holgado, Francisco José García-Peñalvo and Paul Butler
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Alicia García-Holgado: GRIAL Research Group, Computer Science Department, University of Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
Francisco José García-Peñalvo: GRIAL Research Group, Computer Science Department, University of Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
Paul Butler: Nexus Research, D18 Y1K0 Dublin, Ireland

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 5, 1-16

Abstract: Young people are distinguished as a social group with the capacity to drive new behaviours and understandings in today’s society. However, most young people consider that people in charge of decision-making processes are not addressing their concerns. The WYRED project proposes a framework for citizen science based on a technological ecosystem to promote the transfer of perspectives, ideas, and knowledge among young people and decision-makers on issues related to the digital society. The work goal is to analyse the model proposed through a citizen science case study centred in identifying the ideas and opinions of children and young people between 7 and 30 years old, concerning gender stereotypes on the Internet. A total of 69 children and young people from Belgium, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom have interacted for two weeks in a private space guaranteed by the defined ecosystem. The results of the analysis of the interaction between young people and facilitators (with different profiles: educators, researchers and decision-makers) demonstrate that the use of technological ecosystems to sustain the development of citizen science projects allows for the improvement of knowledge transfer processes between children and young people with stakeholders, as well as the analysis of these processes.

Keywords: citizen science; open science; digital society; gender stereotypes; decision making; young people; technological ecosystem; knowledge management; virtual communities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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