book reviews: the government machine and cyberactivism

Two reviews were included in the last issue of The Information Society. I can add my voice in recommending the first book [as I read it] but know nothing about the second. But that's what reviews are for.

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The Information Society
Volume 21, Number 5 / November-December 2005

A Review of: “Cyberactivism: Online Activism in Theory and Practice”
edited by Martha McCaughey and Michael D. Ayers. New York: Routledge, 2003.

Noriko Hara

A Review of: “The Government Machine: A Revolutionary History of the Computer”
by Jon Agar. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2003.

Christine Bellamy

recycling and open source skills for e-government

Now, two bits of good news in one day, I wasn't expecting that; as one is for the Italian government, I almost fell off my chair.

The first bit is about recyclying software in public admnistration, a portal that is. According to the press fanfare:

It is a ‘software bank’, encouraging the re-use of software and IT applicationsdeveloped or tailored by or for the public sector. Among other things, the portal provides guidelines for the re-use of software, methodological tools, a catalogue of re-usable applications developed by central government, tips for carrying out feasibility studies of software re-use, and a template for drafting re-use contracts. According to government estimates, software re-use could rapidly generate savings representing at least 10% of central administrations’ spending on software applications.

Apart from the saving [a chorus of 'who cares' was heard], it is just amazing that an adminstrator in say Turin will be able to use the same software as one in Naples. This, believe you me, is better than television in terms of cutural unification. Imagined political community and all that. Administrators of all counties, unite.

Which leads to the second bit of news. Not only sharing, but also open source innovation, via the Open Source Academy !! [I admit this is from the UK].

The Open Source Academy aims to encourage the use of Open Source software by local authorities throughout the UK, by demonstrating its benefits and by creating an environment where Open Source software is not only inviting, but also safe to use and adopt by all local authorities. It is also looking at best practice advice and guidance from those local authorities who are now experiencing the benefits of using Open Source in the development of their IT systems.

So, after all, public administration can innovate and share using the OS principles. Which has huge implication for traditionl Weberian [and not-so-Weberian] theories of PA.

conference: can e-democracy re-engage the public?

A date for your diaries.
23 November 2005, quite a nice summary of e-democracy research in Britain.

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Can e-democracy re-engage the public?

Wednesday 23rd November 2005, De Montfort University, Leicester.

Local authorities, encouraged by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, are experimenting with a range of electronic devices to enhance local democracy. But are these e-tools a solution to the problems facing local democracy, or a distraction from the real issues?

The conference will focus on the potential of, and limitations for, reinvigorating local political engagement through e-democracy.

Topics include: the prospects for e-democracy; the barriers to its successful implementation; the development of radical political movements on the internet; and the role of online discussion forums in developing deliberation. (See programme for further details).

[see participants below]

Attendance is free, but advanced registration is required.
To confirm your participation, please contact Caroline Laird [claird_at_dmu.ac.uk].

Programme

9.30 Registration/coffee

10.00 Introduction (Lawrence Pratchett)

10.10 Plenary Address

Prof Stephen Coleman (Oxford Internet Institute):
E-democracy and the question of power'

11.10 Coffee

11.30 e-Democracy under the microscope - contemporary research

Dr Lawrence Pratchett (LGRU De Montfort):
'Does local government need (or want) e-democracy ?'

Dr Jenny Pickerill (Leicester University):
'Radical politics on the net'

Dr Scott Wright (LGRU, De Montfort) and Professor John Street (UEA):
'Democracy, deliberation and design: the case of online discussion forums'

13.00 Lunch

14.00 e-Democracy in action - policy roundtable

Ian Johnson (Department for Constitutional Affairs)
Martin Vogel (BBC Action Network)
Ross Ferguson (Hansard Society)
Isobel Harding (Local e-democracy National Project)

15.30 Close / Tea

journal article: sars news reporting online

Two articles that put the Internet and crisis news in perspective. The first has to do with the import of the Internet in news circulation; the second takes online news at 'face value' as an object of study. However you look at it, this bears testimony to the growing importance of ICTs in crisis communications.

ASIAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION
VOL 15; PART 3 2005

Media, Crisis and SARS

Between Global and Local: The Glocalization of Online News Coverage on the Trans-regional Crisis of SARS
Lee, A. Y. L.
pp. 255-273

Framing the SARS Crisis: A Computer-Assisted Text Analysis of CNN and BBC Online News Reports of SARS
Tian, Y.; Stewart, C. M.
pp. 289-301

book: the coming of age of the internet in politics and advocay

You may have seen this coming out; it's about politics online, and more politics online, and even more politics online...

Crossing the River: The Coming of Age of the Internet in Politics and Advocacy
Karen A.B. Jagoda (ed.)

The political process is seeing the impact of disruptive technologies that are leading to dramatic changes in the marketplace of ideas and action. The book documents how attitudes changed about the convergence of the Internet and politics from 1998 through the 2004 election. Until only recently, the Internet played no role in campaigns as television advertising, direct mail and phone banks took the vast majority of campaign budget dollars. By 2004, candidates effectively used Internet tools for fundraising, persuasion, and mobilization. The focus of this collection of provocative essays and research from a broad range of leading political online strategists and Republican and Democratic insiders is on the most effective use of online tools in order to better allocate valuable campaign resources. Candidates, political strategists, campaign mangers, media planners and buyers, fundraisers, grassroots organizers, public affairs experts, Web publishers, political scientists, and entrepreneurs will gain insights into this new political landscape through the lessons learned and predictions from some of the political and advocacy online pioneers of the 21st Century.

journal article: exposure to online news

Two interesting articles about online news consumption, i.e. how and why citizens use the Internet for current affairs; which, to be fair, still represents a small proportion of time spent online.

JOURNAL OF BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA
VOL 49; NUMBER 3; 2005

pp. 332-348
The Seeds of Audience Fragmentation: Specialization in the Use of Online News Sites
Tewksbury, D.

Contemporary normative concerns that the Internet might fragment national audiences and polities are based on suggestions that the medium is particularly conducive to specialized use. However, relatively little quantitative research has explicitly examined this contention. This study evaluates outlet specialization within the context of online news reading. Analyses of news viewing by a nationally representative panel of Internet users reveal that the user demographic profiles of news sites are individually distinct. More important, the topics that readers view vary by the sites they access. In sum, the provision of news over the Internet exhibits ample signs of outlet specialization.

pp. 296-313
Impact of Popularity Indications on Readers' Selective Exposure to Online News
Knobloch-Westerwick, S.; Sharma, N.; Hansen, D. L.; Alter, S.

Selecting news online may differ from traditional news choices, as most formal importance indicators in traditional media do not convert directly to online news. However, online portals feature news recommendations based on collaborative filtering. To investigate how recommendations affect information choices, 93 participants browsed online news that featured explicit (average rating) or implicit (times viewed) recommendations or no recommendations (control group) while news exposure was logged. Participants picked more articles if the portal featured explicit recommendations, and stronger explicit recommendations instigated longer exposure to associated articles. Implicit recommendations produced a curvilinear effect with longer exposure for low and high numbers.

journal article: online advertising in the 2004 US election

This article claims that the Internet _does_ make a difference during elections, for young voters. But decide for yourself.

AMERICAN BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST
VOL 49; NUMB 2 CAMPAIGN 2004

DE/CONSTRUCTING THE MEDIATED REALITIES OF PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES, POLITICAL ADVERTISING, AND SHOWCASE SENATE RACES

pp. 265-278
Political Advertising in the 2004 Election: Comparison of Traditional Television and Internet Messages
Kaid, Linda L.
Postelnicu, Monica

Although television advertising remained a dominant form of communication in the 2004 presidential election, the Internet reached new levels of campaign importance, providing voters with information from candidates, the media, and independent sources. Internet sites not only provided online viewing of traditional television advertising but also provided voters with the opportunity to seek out additional information about television ads viewed on the Web. Drawing on theory and research related to channel variables, this study compared the reactions of young voters who experienced candidate advertising on television or on the Web. Results indicate that the channel really does make a difference. John Kerry’s ads were more successful in raising his image and learning scores when viewed on the Web with access to additional information sources. However, television viewing reduced feelings of political cynicism and alienation for young voters.

journal article: e-government and development

Two interesting articles on e-government, one from Claudion Ciborra of LSE fame...

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE
VOL 18; NUMBER 3; 2005

pp. 260-279
Interpreting e-government and development: Efficiency, transparency or governance at a distance?
Ciborra, C.

pp. 280-299
From government to e-government: a transition model
Davison, R. M.; Wagner, C.; Ma, L. C.

journal article: alternative websites in singapore

The Singapore one does not see [at least one I haven't seen]. Bu they sure have 20/20 at SiRC.

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'Sites' of resistance: alternative websites and state-society relations

British Journal of Sociology
Ho K. C.; Baber Z.; Khondker H.
Volume 53, Number 1, 1 March 2002, pp. 127-148

Much attention has been focused on Singapore's attempt to use information technology to build a knowledge-based economy. This paper examines the implications of the unintended consequences of the Internet in the restructuring of state and society relations in Singapore. We use the data on Singapore-based and Singapore-related websites to show (a) the diversity of positions expressed by civil society organizations, fringe groups and even mainstream segments of society; (b) the negotiation process between the state and civil society over various rights and how developments in cyber-space have implications for 'reality'; (c) how censorship and content regulation itself is a more complex multi-dimensional process such that while local politics is regulated, the multi-ethnic character of the resident population has led to greater religious tolerance such that religious groups banned in some countries have found a safe haven in Singapore and have used the city-state as a strategic Internet node.

journal article: the cultural and social impact of e-gov

this is a nice way to get going again with the blog. I was at three conferences in a row and had little chance to blog; it was more like coffee and a good old chat. Whoever said that blogs are a great tool to track events...

But here you are:

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION QUARTERLY
VOL 22; NUMB 3 (2005)

pp. 354-373
E-government: An analysis for implementation: Framework for understanding cultural and social impact
Evans, D.; Yen, D. C.

e-voting in estonia: results and comments

Now, this was worth trying. But it did not work, frankly. 1 % of votes cast electronically is simply not a critical mass. Amen.

Municipal elections 2005

Registered voters 1059292
Votes: 502479
valid (e-votes included) 496345
invalid 6134
Turnout 47%

Number of e-votes cast 9681
repeat e-votes (more than 1 e-vote per voter) 364
Number of e-voters 9317
E-votes counted 9287
Canceled e-votes 30
E-vote turnout (voters/e-votes) 1%


But read the reports, quite a few additional insights.

• Jason Kitkat was first on the ball; he provides a hugely readable essay on the topic.

• This is a report with all the figures from the Estonian Electoral Commission. Laudable example of transparency, well done.

• This is a sober commentary from Thierry Vedel.

call for papers: New technologies and News

New technologies and News: Convergences and Divergences

A special issue of 'Scan', edited by Chris Atton & Graham Meikle

The study of news has always been central to the study of the media. But while the rise of new technologies such as the Net, mobile phones and digital TV has attracted enormous scholarly interest and has reinvigorated the field, there has not as yet been as much research on news and these new technologies as there might be. Some recent research has emphasised online journalism as a set of professional practices developed from existing journalistic philosophies and routines, though often privileging the dialogical nature of the medium to generate news agendas with media audiences (Deuze and Dimoudi, 2002). Other work emphasises journalism as a set of deprofessionalised practices that privilege grassroots 'native reporting' as a distinctive feature of an 'alternative journalism' (Atton, 2003). Such research highlights the potential of new
technology use to enable new configurations of news production, distribution and reception; new modes of authorship and audiencehood; new kinds of producer and consumer. This special issue of 'Scan' invites
contributions that are able to push forward our thinking about the modalities of news production and reception. We are particularly interested in papers that combine theory and practice to critically explore the claims made for the various manifestations of these practices.

Who uses online news? What do they use it for? How is credibility judged? To what extent are relationships changing between reporters and readers, between news outlets and consumers, in a media environment that can be customised? How significant are participatory news and discussion projects such as Indymedia (http://www.indymedia.org/en/index.shtml), Wikinews (http://en.wikinews.org), OhmyNews (http://english.ohmynews.com/) or Slashdot (http://slashdot.org/)?

What of news values and news content? What contributions are made to the discussion of news by online art and satire projects such as Tenbyten (http://www.tenbyten.org), News Reader (http://turbulence.org/works/twotxt/nr-index.htm) or The Onion (http://www.theonion.com)? And what of blogging? The blog may be just as much the province of the professional journalist as the amateur and, indeed, the much-vaunted 'independence' of blogs is often curtailed by a reliance on dominant news agendas and framing mechanisms (Haas, 2005).

Answers on a postcard to...

Chris Atton
Napier University, Edinburgh

Graham Meikle
Macquarie University, Sydney

Submission dates and guidelines
Completed papers should be sent to the issue editors by 30 April 2006.
Refereeing and revisions to be completed by 31 May 2006, for a June 2006
launch.

Maximum length is 6,000 words.

'Scan' (http://www.scan.net.au) is a refereed quarterly online journal
of media arts and culture, hosted by the Media Department at Macquarie
University, Sydney.

References
Atton, Chris (2003) 'What is "Alternative" Journalism?', Journalism:
Theory, Practice and Criticism 4(3): 267-272.

Deuze, Mark and Dimoudi, Christina (2002) 'Online journalists in the
Netherlands: Towards a profile of a new profession', Journalism: Theory,
Practice and Criticism 3(1): 85-100.

Haas, Tanni (2005) 'From "Public Journalism" to the "Public's
Journalism"? Rhetoric and reality in the discourse on weblogs',
Journalism Studies 6(3): 387-396.