10 research outputs found

    Mapping eParticipation Research: Four Central Challenges

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    The emerging research area of eParticipation can be characterized as the study of technology-facilitated citizen participation in (democratic) deliberation and decision-making. Using conventional literature study techniques, we identify 105 articles that are considered to be highly relevant to eParticipation. We develop a definitional schema that suggests different ways of understanding an emerging socio-technical research area and use this schema to map the research contributions identified. This allows us make an initial sketch of the scientific character of the area and its central concerns, theories, and methods. We extend the analysis to define four central research challenges for the field: understanding technology and participation; the strategic challenge; the design challenge; and the evaluation challenge. This article thus contributes to a developing account of eParticipation, which will help future researchers both to navigate the research area and to focus their research agendas

    The shape of eParticipation: Characterizing an emerging research area

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    The phenomenon of eParticipation is receiving increasing attention, demonstrated by recent technology implementations, experiments, government reports, and research programs. Understanding such an emerging field is a complex endeavor because there is no generally agreed upon definition of the field, no clear overview of the research disciplines or methods it draws upon, and because the boundaries of the field are undecided. Using conventional literature review techniques, we identify 131 scientific articles considered important for the field's theoretical development. This sample provides the starting point for a grounded analysis leading to the development of an overview model: the field of eParticipation seen from a researcher's perspective. The model provides structure for understanding the emerging shape of the field as well as an initial indication of its content. It also provides the basis for developing research agendas for the future

    Visions of the Future in Budgetary Discourse

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    Whilst there is ample precedent to argue against the common-sense notion that the ideological leanings of political parties are congruent with their implementation of fiscal policy (Boix, 2000; Garrett & Lange, 1991; Hibbs, 1977; Liargovas & Manolas, 2007), there is a relative dearth of research on the role of discourse in shaping fiscal policy with one notable exception by Maatsch (2014). With this in mind, we approach the issue of examining fiscal policy through a fixed, contested and subverted within particular texts” (Howarth, 2005, p. 341). This paper examines how the future is constructed in Irish budget speeches delivered between 1970-2015 using a combination of close readings and collocate analysis of the word future over four subcorpora. We commence with a brief overview of extant literature on the role of discourse in policy process analysis before outlining our methodological approach. This is followed by an overview of key results and analysis, concluding with discussion and final remark

    The diffusion of e-participation in public administrations:A systematic literature review

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    Research on e-participation has grown significantly in the last years. This review focuses on public administrations, which are central actors in the solicitation and organization of e-participation and in the process of diffusion of more democratic decision-making in government contexts. However, research indicates that public administrations often struggle with technological and organizational changes, which suggests that e-participation initiatives may fail due to barriers within public administrations. Although researchers have paid considerable attention to the diffusion of e-participation in public administrations, research so far is multi-disciplinary and fragmented. The aim of this literature review is to structure and systematize the literature regarding phases of e-participation diffusion (adoption, implementation and institutionalization) and levels of analysis (micro, meso, and macro) to map the extant field of e-participation diffusion research and to provide a starting point for future research. The analysis shows that research has concentrated on the phases of adoption and implementation, and on the external context of public administrations (macro) and the organizational (meso) level. Overall, the review identifies major research gaps and offers avenues for future research

    Public participation in the Geoweb era: Geosocial media use in local government

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    Advances in spatially enabled information and communication technologies (ICTs) have provided governments with the potential to enhance public participation and to collaborate with citizens. This dissertation critically assesses this potential and identifies the opportunities and challenges for local governments to embark on emerging geo-enabled practices. This dissertation first proposes a new typology for classifying geo-enabled practices related to public participation (termed here as geo-participation) and demonstrates the emerging opportunities presented by geo-participation to improve government-citizen collaboration and government operations. This dissertation then provides in-depth examinations of geosocial media as an exemplar geo-participation practice. The first empirical study assesses the potential of repurposing geosocial media data to gauge public opinions. The study suggests that geosocial media can help identify geographies of public perceptions concerning public facilities and services and have the potential to complement other methods of gauging public sentiment. The second empirical study assesses the usefulness of geosocial media for sharing non-emergency issues and identifies an important opportunity of enabling citizen collaboration for reporting and sharing non-emergency issues. Altogether, this dissertation makes several conceptual, empirical, and practical contributions to local government adoption of geo-participation. Conceptually, the proposed typology lays the foundation for researching and implementing geo-participation practices. Empirically, this dissertation tells a story of opportunities and challenges that sheds light on how local governments may adopt geosocial media to solicit citizen input and enable new forms of government-citizen interaction. Practically, this dissertation develops a tool for processing text-based citizen input and models of implementing geosocial media reporting that can help local government develop proper strategies of adopting geosocial media

    Discursive Approaches to Politics in Malaysia

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    This open access book examines Malaysian politics using a linguistic perspective. It explores how language serves to (de)legitimise governance, and its subsequent policies and activities in Malaysia. Grounded in discourse studies, this edited volume presents research on the discourses produced by and on Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional from 2008 to 2020, studying how political actors (de)legitimise their governance through discursive means. The thirteen original chapters select spoken, print and digital texts in English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil, and deploy varied theoretical and methodological approaches. Their linguistic analysis unearths the language features and strategies that facilitate (de)legitimation. It shows how political actors shape the discursive representation and evaluation of multiple concerns in Malaysia. Consequently, Discursive Approaches to Politics in Malaysia: Legitimising Governance improves our understanding of contemporary Malaysian political discourse. It is of interest to graduates and researchers in the field of discourse studies, seeking to understand the discursive contours of politics in this developing Asian country. ; This open access book examines Malaysian politics using a linguistic perspective. It explores how language serves to (de)legitimise governance, and its subsequent policies and activities in Malaysia. Grounded in discourse studies, this edited volume presents research on the discourses produced by and on Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional from 2008 to 2020, studying how political actors (de)legitimise their governance through discursive means. The thirteen original chapters select spoken, print and digital texts in English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil, and deploy varied theoretical and methodological approaches. Their linguistic analysis unearths the language features and strategies that facilitate (de)legitimation. It shows how political actors shape the discursive representation and evaluation of multiple concerns in Malaysia. Consequently, Discursive Approaches to Politics in Malaysia: Legitimising Governance improves our understanding of contemporary Malaysian political discourse. It is of interest to graduates and researchers in the field of discourse studies, seeking to understand the discursive contours of politics in this developing Asian country

    Discursive Approaches to Politics in Malaysia

    Get PDF
    This open access book examines Malaysian politics using a linguistic perspective. It explores how language serves to (de)legitimise governance, and its subsequent policies and activities in Malaysia. Grounded in discourse studies, this edited volume presents research on the discourses produced by and on Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional from 2008 to 2020, studying how political actors (de)legitimise their governance through discursive means. The thirteen original chapters select spoken, print and digital texts in English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil, and deploy varied theoretical and methodological approaches. Their linguistic analysis unearths the language features and strategies that facilitate (de)legitimation. It shows how political actors shape the discursive representation and evaluation of multiple concerns in Malaysia. Consequently, Discursive Approaches to Politics in Malaysia: Legitimising Governance improves our understanding of contemporary Malaysian political discourse. It is of interest to graduates and researchers in the field of discourse studies, seeking to understand the discursive contours of politics in this developing Asian country. ; This open access book examines Malaysian politics using a linguistic perspective. It explores how language serves to (de)legitimise governance, and its subsequent policies and activities in Malaysia. Grounded in discourse studies, this edited volume presents research on the discourses produced by and on Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional from 2008 to 2020, studying how political actors (de)legitimise their governance through discursive means. The thirteen original chapters select spoken, print and digital texts in English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil, and deploy varied theoretical and methodological approaches. Their linguistic analysis unearths the language features and strategies that facilitate (de)legitimation. It shows how political actors shape the discursive representation and evaluation of multiple concerns in Malaysia. Consequently, Discursive Approaches to Politics in Malaysia: Legitimising Governance improves our understanding of contemporary Malaysian political discourse. It is of interest to graduates and researchers in the field of discourse studies, seeking to understand the discursive contours of politics in this developing Asian country

    Creando la "ciudad simbiótica": una propuesta para el diseño participativo interdisciplinar y la construcción colaborativa de sistemas de software cívico

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    La idea de que Internet podría utilizarse para mejorar el funcionamiento democrático de nuestros sistemas políticos es tan antigua como la propia Internet. La realización de este anhelo se ha visto limitada, sin embargo, tanto por problemas técnicos como por la falta de voluntad política y permanece hoy en día en un estado apenas embrionario. La investigación académica, por su parte, ha tendido a alinearse con la agenda de los actores gubernamentales y ha promovido y estudiado experiencias de participación administrativa con un potencial transformador y esclarecedor muy limitado. Esta tesis doctoral lleva a cabo, en primer lugar, un análisis crítico de los principales avances conceptuales, metodológicos y técnicos promovidos desde los campos de la participación ciudadana y la democracia digital. Combinando "trans-disciplinariamente" enfoques provenientes de la Ingeniería de Sistemas, la Sociología Política y la investigación etnográfica se llevaron a cabo una serie de trabajos de campo y de experimentos aplicados que han fundamentado el desarrollo de modelos conceptuales con capacidad para englobar las formas más emancipadas de participación digital. Sobre esa base teórica y conceptual, la tesis plantea un marco de referencia para orientar los procesos de diseño y construcción colaborativos de plataformas de Software Cívico que se atiendan las necesidades de los actores sociales afectados. Siguiendo esta metodología se realizarán en un futuro una serie investigaciones aplicadas de alto impacto y con un gran potencial para vincular sinérgicamente la investigación académica con su aplicación al entorno social

    Creando la "ciudad simbiótica": una propuesta para el diseño participativo interdisciplinar y la construcción colaborativa de sistemas de software cívico

    Get PDF
    La idea de que Internet podría utilizarse para mejorar el funcionamiento democrático de nuestros sistemas políticos es tan antigua como la propia Internet. La realización de este anhelo se ha visto limitada, sin embargo, tanto por problemas técnicos como por la falta de voluntad política y permanece hoy en día en un estado apenas embrionario. La investigación académica, por su parte, ha tendido a alinearse con la agenda de los actores gubernamentales y ha promovido y estudiado experiencias de participación administrativa con un potencial transformador y esclarecedor muy limitado. Esta tesis doctoral lleva a cabo, en primer lugar, un análisis crítico de los principales avances conceptuales, metodológicos y técnicos promovidos desde los campos de la participación ciudadana y la democracia digital. Combinando "trans-disciplinariamente" enfoques provenientes de la Ingeniería de Sistemas, la Sociología Política y la investigación etnográfica se llevaron a cabo una serie de trabajos de campo y de experimentos aplicados que han fundamentado el desarrollo de modelos conceptuales con capacidad para englobar las formas más emancipadas de participación digital. Sobre esa base teórica y conceptual, la tesis plantea un marco de referencia para orientar los procesos de diseño y construcción colaborativos de plataformas de Software Cívico que se atiendan las necesidades de los actores sociales afectados. Siguiendo esta metodología se realizarán en un futuro una serie investigaciones aplicadas de alto impacto y con un gran potencial para vincular sinérgicamente la investigación académica con su aplicación al entorno social

    Public budget dialogue - an innovative approach to e-participation

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    The potential of the internet has been recognised to enhance government initiated citizen communication. Despite limited experience so far, some lessons for designing online-participation have been learned: Ensuring the external and internal relevance of online consultation processes seems crucial. Some measurements to ensure the external and internal relevance will be set out in a description of an e-participation process in Esslingen, Germany, the first project to use web-based discussion forums as an instrument to inform and consult the public about the municipal budget
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