Jonathan Bishop is a British researcher and political activist, based in Pontypridd in Wales. He is noted for his work in designing, developing and researching e-learning systems and virtual communities and using new media technology, such as weblogs and websites to communicate with voters and encourage them to become involved in political activities.

Bishop gained his first degree in Multimedia Studies in 2002 at the University of Glamorgan in Pontypridd, during which he developed the Circle of Friends technique for social networking in virtual communities. He later went on to undertake a masters degree in E-Learning at the same university between 2002 and 2004. It was during this time that he developed the PARLE System, a piece of assistive technology for people with forms of autism like Asperger Syndrome, which enables them to take part in social situations that they usually find difficult or confusing.

In 2003 Bishop was elected to Llantwit Fardre community council as a Labour politician. He has successfully managed to persuade the council to adopt an E-government strategy and in 2004 he was shortlisted for the New Statesman New Media Awards along with Tom Watson MP and Steve Webb MP for using his website and weblog to communicate with the electorate. He regularly features in the Pontypridd & Llantrisant Observer and The Western Mail newspapers for his technological and political activities.

Partial Bibliography

• Bishop, J. (2003). The Internet for educating individuals with social impairments. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 19(4), 546-556
• Bishop, J. (2003). Factors shaping the form of and participation in online communities. Digital Matrix Magazine, July 2003
• Bishop, J. (2003). The microeconomics of education and the effect of government intervention. Poliphony 151 (2003), 13-17

External links

• Personal Homepage
• Weblog
• Feature in New Statesman
• RSS Feed of Regular Media Coverage