JeDEM - eJournal of eDemocracy and Open Government
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Open Government and (Linked) (Open) (Government) (Data)
Get PDFThis article explores the opening and the free usage of stored public sector data, supplied by state. In the age of Open Government and Open Data it’s not enough just to put data online. It should be rather weighed out whether, how and which supplied public sector data can be published. Open Data are defined as stored data which could be made accessible in a public interest without any restrictions for usage and distribution. These Open Data can possibly be statistics, geo data, maps, plans, environmental data and weather data in addition to materials of the parliaments, ministries and authorities. The preparation and the free access to existing data permit varied approaches to the reuse of data, discussed in the article. In addition, impulses can be given for Open Government – the opening of state and administration, to more transparency, participation and collaboration as well as to innovation and business development. The Open Data movement tries to get to the bottom of current publication processes in the public sector which could be formed even more friendly to citizens and enterprises
Politician2.0 on Facebook: Information Behavior and Dissemination on Social Networking Sites – Gaps and Best-Practice. Evaluation Results of a novel eParticipation toolbox to let politicians engage with citizens online.
No full textThis article covers our findings on information behavior and dissemination of parliamentary decision-makers in terms of using Social Networking Sites like Facebook. The article investigates why politicians use those technologies and integrate them more and more in their everyday workflow. In addition to the purpose of social network usage, the focus of our paper is also on best practices and how to deal with challenges like authenticity of politicians’ online profiles. The results presented within the remit of this paper are the outcome of 16 semi-structured interviews that took place as part of an evaluation effort within the EU research project WeGov [1]. The overall aim of the project is to develop a toolbox that enriches the dialogue between citizens and politicians on the web
Simply slacktivism? Internet participation in Finland
Get PDFFollowing an initial euphoria over the democratising potential of the Internet, sceptic voices contend that participation via the Internet may increase existing inequalities and even weaken the influence of citizens. A central critique claims that the digital activities are nothing more than slacktivism, i.e. activities that enhance the feel good factor of the participant but have no impact on real life political outcomes. This study examines three accusations of slacktivism levelled against online participants: that they are detached from formal politics and therefore do not aim to influence political outcomes, that they are lazy citizens choosing easily accessible digital forms of engagement over more effective traditional activities, and that they are incapable of comprehending the functioning of the political system. The results suggest that there is little reason to be worried over any negative impact of the Internet on civic engagement, since the virtual participants are both active and competent citizens. In this sense, the accusation of slacktivism against the participants appears to be misguided
YouTubers as satirists: Humour and remix in online video
Get PDFThis article aims to discuss the role humour plays in politics, particularly in a media environment overflowing with user-generated video. We start with a genealogy of political satire, from classical to Internet times, followed by a general description of “the Hitler meme,” a series of videos on YouTube featuring footage from the film Der Untergang and nonsensical subtitles. Amid video-games, celebrities, and the Internet itself, politicians and politics are the target of twenty-first century caricatures. By analysing these videos we hope to elucidate how the manipulation of images is embedded in everyday practices and may be of political consequence, namely by deflating politicians' constructed media image. The realm of image, at the centre of the Internet's technological culture, is connected with decisive aspects of today's social structure of knowledge and play. It is timely to understand which part of “playing” is in fact an expressive practice with political significance
The Dynamics of Participation and Organisation in European Digital Rights Campaigning
Get PDFThe paper examines the participation characteristics within internet-based collective action by analysing the case of digital rights campaigning. Drawing upon empirical findings from a case study (the “Telecoms Package” campaign, 2007-2009), we discuss how digital rights activists organise, collaborate and mobilise using websites, mailing lists, wikis and instant messaging channels. Participation is individualised and malleable. However, successful digital rights’ campaigning requires political, technical and social skills. To intervene in EU policy-making, activists need technical and political expertise and technological skills. As a result and contrary to claims of inclusiveness and openness, digital rights campaigning is in fact dominated by a small group of highly specialised movement entrepreneurs who mobilise occasionally to demonstrate broader support to policy-makers. The emergence of internet-based campaigning does not necessarily equal to more inclusive forms of participation. However, it allows for the engagement of resource-poor actors in traditional policy settings such as the EU
“Open”: the changing relation between citizens, public administration, and political authority
Get PDF"Open" is not just a fancy synonym for transparent and accountable. The "Open" in Open Government, Open Data, Open Information, and Open Innovation stands for the changing relation between citizens and authorities. Many citizens no longer accept the passive stance representative democracy held for them. They take an active approach in setting up better means of collaboration by ICTs. They demand and gain access to their historically grown collective knowledge stored in government data. Not just on a local level, they actively shape the political agenda. Open Government is to be seen in the context of citizens‘ rights: the right to actively participate in the process of agenda-setting and decision-making. Research into open government needs to address the value of the changing relation between citizens, public administration, and political authority. The paper argues finally for the application of the Public Value concept to research into open government
Is this local e-democracy? How the online sphere of influence shaped local politics. Empirical evidence from the Manchester Congestion Charge referendum
Get PDFThe debate on the potential of the internet to transform democratic practice appears to have settled around a balanced, empirically driven consensus that sees the internet as a political sphere of influence. This article acknowledges this and drawing upon a network ethnography approach provides empirical evidence demonstrating how this online sphere was used to influence the recent Manchester Congestion Charge referendum in the UK. It illustrates the online sphere as a locally contested political space where ‘politics as usual’ appears to prevail. Nonetheless, it also provides evidence of civic activists ably using the online network to get their voices heard and argues that prospects for this online sphere enhancing local democracy are in fact contingent upon the agency of these activists and local policy makers
Digital Citizenship and Activism: Questions of Power and Participation Online
Get PDFThe eJournal of eDemocracy and Open Government (JeDEM) is a peer-reviewed, Open Access journal (ISSN: 2075-9517) published twice a year. It addresses theory and practice in the areas of eDemocracy and Open Government as well as eGovernment, eParticipation, and eSociety. JeDEM publishes ongoing and completed research, case studies and project descriptions that are selected after a rigorous blind review by experts in the field
g4c2c: A Model for Citizen Engagement at Arms’ Length from Government
Get PDFThe recognition that Web 2.0 applications and social media sites will strengthen and improve interaction between governments and citizens has resulted in a global push into new e-democracy or Government 2.0 spaces. These typically follow government-to-citizen (g2c) or citizen-to-citizen (c2c) models, but both these approaches are problematic: g2c is often concerned more with service delivery to citizens as clients, or exists to make a show of ‘listening to the public’ rather than to genuinely source citizen ideas for government policy, while c2c often takes place without direct government participation and therefore cannot ensure that the outcomes of citizen deliberations are accepted into the government policy-making process. Building on recent examples of Australian Government 2.0 initiatives, we suggest a new approach based on government support for citizen-to-citizen engagement, or g4c2c, as a workable compromise, and suggest that public service broadcasters should play a key role in facilitating this model of citizen engagement
On the fabrication of sausages, or of Open Government and Private Data
Get PDFGovernments have become increasingly open and transparent over the last few years. Originally, this trend was largely based on the desire to give citizens access to governmental information, so that state policies and regulatory practices could be controlled and debated. The right to access of governmental data was directly linked with democratic values such as autonomous citizenship, public debate and control on governmental power. In the beginning of this century, emphasis has shifted to a new ground for requiring transparency, namely the re-use of public sector information. Re-use of governmental data by third parties is mostly executed by market parties with commercial interests. The principles of open government in general and based on re-use specifically may come into conflict with two rights, relating to intellectual property and to privacy. This article analyses the tension between open government policies and the protection of personal information from a legal perspective. Finally, it assesses whether and if so, how the two principles can be reconciled