Citizens and Institutions as Information Prosumers. The Case Study of Italian Municipalities on Twitter

The aim of this paper is to address changes in public communication following the advent of Internet social networking tools and the emerging web 2.0 technologies which are providing new ways of sharing information and knowledge. In particular public administrations are called upon to reinvent the governance of public affairs and to update the means for interacting with their communities. The paper develops an analysis of the distribution, diffusion and performance of the official profiles on Twitter adopted by the Italian municipalities (comuni) up to November 2013. It aims to identify the patterns of spatial distribution and the drivers of the diffusion of Twitter profiles; the performance of the profiles through an aggregated index, called the Twitter performance index (Twiperindex), which evaluates the profiles' activity with reference to the gravitational areas of the municipalities in order to enable comparisons of the activity of municipalities with different demographic sizes and functional roles. The results show that only a small portion of innovative municipalities have adopted Twitter to enhance e-participation and e-governance and that the drivers of the diffusion seem to be related either to past experiences and existing conditions (i.e. civic networks, digital infrastructures) developed over time or to strong local community awareness. The better performances are achieved mainly by small and medium-sized municipalities. Of course, the phenomenon is very new and fluid, therefore this analysis should be considered as a first step in ongoing research which aims to grasp the dynamics of these new means of public communication

Citizens and institutions as information prosumers. The case study of italian municipalities on Twitter

The paper develops an analysis of the distribution, diffusion and performance of the official profiles on Twitter adopted by the Italian municipalities (comuni) up to November 2013. It aims to identify the patterns of spatial distribution and the drivers of the diffusion of Twitter profiles; the performance of the profiles through an aggregated index, called the Twitter performance index (Twiperindex), which evaluates the profiles’ activity with reference to the gravitational areas of the municipalities in order to enable comparisons of the activity of municipalities with different demographic sizes and functional roles

Citizens and institutions as information prosumers. The case study of italian municipalities on Twitter

The aim of this paper is to address changes in public communication following the advent of Internet social networking tools and the emerging web 2.0 technologies which are providing new ways of sharing information and knowledge. In particular public administrations are called upon to reinvent the governance of public affairs and to update the means for interacting with their communities. The paper develops an analysis of the distribution, diffusion and performance of the official profiles on Twitter adopted by the Italian municipalities (comuni) up to November 2013. It aims to identify the patterns of spatial distribution and the drivers of the diffusion of Twitter profiles; the performance of the profiles through an aggregated index, called the Twitter performance index (Twiperindex), which evaluates the profiles’ activity with reference to the gravitational areas of the municipalities in order to enable comparisons of the activity of municipalities with different demographic sizes and functional roles. The results show that only a small portion of innovative municipalities have adopted Twitter to enhance e-participation and e-governance and that the drivers of the diffusion seem to be related either to past experiences and existing conditions (i.e. civic networks, digital infrastructures) developed over time or to strong local community awareness. The better performances are achieved mainly by small and medium-sized municipalities. Of course, the phenomenon is very new and fluid, therefore this analysis should be considered as a first step in ongoing research which aims to grasp the dynamics of these new means of public communication

Platform Organisations in Social Innovation: A Lot of Old Wine in a Bottle

The article investigates the influence of platform ideas, schemes, and production models outside the high-tech industry. To do this, it studies the organisational models of seven social innovation initiatives active in Italy in different sectors and promoted by different actors. The initiatives, even if non-high-tech, can be put in order as platform organisations because they host interactions between a variety of organisations and people, differently arranged with respect to them and largely autonomous and heterogeneous in terms of their interests, social networks, and purposes. The main purpose of this research has three sub-objectives. The first is to observe the development of extensive 'platformisation' processes of production systems. The second is to deepen trends in the high-tech sector through the observation of the non-high-tech sector. Finally, to create useful and usable knowledge to help political parties, trade unions, associations and governments plan solutions to protect workers of the platforms. Using a critical approach, the article reveals that these organisations are less innovative than their supporters report for three reasons. Firstly, because the concept of community is abused to describe these organisations, which present themselves mainly as coalitions or networks because their members lack a common sense of membership; secondly, because the research downsizes the presence of prosumers and peer-to-peer production and describes production and consumption processes that take place at separate times and in which peer production is only a marginal part of the production reality. In the end, because of these organisations work thanks to the job of a small group of people with high cognitive skills and relational capital that trigger production by activating, managing and capitalising a small crowd of workers

Beyond the Build Environment: the Role of the Human Dimension towards a Co-ownership in a Sustainable Energy Community

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

Analysis of Croatian public museums’ digital initiatives amid COVID-19 and recommendations for museum management and governance

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges for public museums in Croatia. This study examines how museum management and professionals have responded to the closure of museums during the pandemic by exploring digital initiatives and online engagement with remote audiences. The authors analysed data from 162 Croatian museums registered in the Museum Documentation Centre in Zagreb to investigate the relationship between socioeconomic and demographic indicators and museums’ digital activities using multiple regression analysis. The findings revealed that half of the museums in the sample were active online, with social media being a commonly used platform. Interestingly, museums with a stronger online presence, lower regional unemployment rates, and a lower tourism development index were more likely to engage in activities during the pandemic. The authors conclude with recommendations for museum management and governance to embrace digital acceleration and adapt to the digital age. The study findings hold significant relevance for museums preparing for future pandemics or crises as they highlight the importance of digital initiatives and online presence in ensuring continued engagement with audiences during periods of closure. By leveraging digital tools and platforms, museums can overcome physical limitations and effectively reach remote audiences, thereby enhancing their resilience and adaptability in times of crisis. This study contributes to the understanding of museums’ digital transformation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and provides valuable insights for museum practitioners, policy-makers, and researchers to shape future strategies. Further research could explore the long-term impacts of digital initiatives on museums’ sustainability and visitor engagement beyond the pandemic context

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

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

From communication to communigation: a conceptual model to strengthen South Africa’s government communication system – the case of Mpumalanga Province

Text in EnglishThis study adopted a quantitative approach in order to produce numbers in relation to the diffusion of the new media. A descriptive quantitative survey was conducted – with sampling done in multi-stage probability – which comprised clustering, simple random, systematic, stratified sampling techniques, convenience and census sampling. A sample size of 379 respondents was selected, comprising 347 citizen-respondents and 32 government communicators (heads of communication). Data was collected utilising two (2) standardised questionnaires – one tailor-made for the citizens and the other for government communicators. Informed by the Diffusion of Innovations theory, this study has established that new media channels have difussed extensively within communities in the Province of Mpumalanga. This has provided a strong motivation to recommend that the communication policy of the South African government be amended, to include new media channels, like social media, as official government communication channels.Communication ScienceD. Litt. et Phil. (Communication

Inter-Municipal Cooperation as a Tool of Resilience in Small Communities

The hypothesis of the paper is that the resilience of small communities can be engaged by inter-municipal cooperation. The economy of scale of public services is a great challenge for the small communities in Europe. The review of the international models will focus on the models based on the merge of the municipalities and on the models based on the engagement of inter-municipal cooperation. The literature on these reforms will be reviewed. Based on the hypothesis, the regulation on inter-municipal cooperation and service provision of the rural areas in Hungary in the last two decades will be shortly presented. As part of this research, empirical research was carried out in a Hungarian rural area, which has a strong inter-municipal cooperation. Similarly, empirical research has been carried out in a Slovenian rural area which is based on the merge of the small communities. The advantages and disadvantages of the inter-municipal model, and the model based on the merge of the communities were compared in the paper: efficient units of public services provision can be established not only by the merge of the communities but by the establishment of inter-municipal associations. Although decision-making is more complicated, the small communities could be more resilient based on this model, because the flexibility and the community building of the small municipal model prevail as well. The merge of the municipalities offers more efficient decision-making, but the resilience engaged by the grassroots service provision requires some administrative actions in this model