Open data governance: civic hacking movement, topics and opinions in digital space

AbstractThe expression 'open data' relates to a system of informative and freely accessible databases that public administrations make generally available online in order to develop an informative network between institutions, enterprises and citizens. On this topic, using the semantic network analysis method, the research aims to investigate the communication structure and the governance of open data in the Twitter conversational environment. In particular, the research questions are: (1) Who are the main actors in the Italian open data infrastructure? (2) What are the main conversation topics online? (3) What are the pros and cons of the development and use (reuse) of open data in Italy? To answer these questions, we went through three research phases: (1) analysing the communication network, we found who are the main influencers; (2) once we found who were the main actors, we analysed the online content in the Twittersphere to detect the semantic areas; (3) then, through an online focus group with the main open data influencers, we explored the characteristics of Italian open data governance. Through the research, it has been shown that: (1) there is an Italian open data governance strategy; (2) the Italian civic hacker community plays an important role as an influencer; but (3) there are weaknesses in governance and in practical reuse

Sociotechnical co-production of planning information : opportunities and limits of crowdsourcing for the geography and planning of bicycle transportation

Urban planners deploy civic technologies to engage publics with digital tools in a relative vacuum of theory, understanding of challenges, or benefits. The issue, Lewis Mumford might have framed, could be of authoritarian and democratic technics—whether the technology contributes more to top-down control or bottom-up understanding. Building from collaborative planning theory, co-production suggests ways people can leverage technologies to build urban solutions with or without professional planners. Empirical research shows that crowdsourcing to address planning questions with digital civic platforms can help fill or mitigate information gaps, including support for bicycling as a safe and comfortable travel mode. However, no research has addressed how crowdsourced information for bicycle planning offers new insights for safety, the geography of participation, or how its social construction impacts its representation of bicycling in a community. A new framework for evaluating co-productive planning is proposed, considering legitimacy, accessibility, social learning, transparency, and representation (LASTR). This dissertation addresses these concerns of safety, geography, and social construction through the LASTR framework using mixed-methods case studies in Portland, Oregon, and Austin, Texas. Bicycle volumes and street ratings through the crowdsourcing platform, along with geographic information system environmental data, and interviews with thirty-three informants form the basis for evaluating these issues. Viewed from pragmatism and social construction of technology, the social processes of planning and technological developments are intertwined and traced in tandem. The first three chapters frame the problems, build a background in theory, and describe the research questions, planning contexts, and data for analysis. The next three chapters are empirical, evaluating the use of crowdsourced information for bicycle safety, comparing the geography of crowdsourced participation with in-person meetings from both cities’ most recent bicycle planning process, and tracing the sociotechnical representation of crowdsourcing bicyclist information through interviews and case materials. The final chapter summarizes the findings and implications for practice and research. This dissertation shows that the biased representation of bicycling in these two crowdsourcing cases pose opportunities to identify safer bicycling routes and expand public participation geographies, but could exacerbate problems with aligning public improvements with the users of a specific technological approach. Further, the construct of crowdsourcing for urban planning remains flexible and therefore merits further study and knowledge transfer for practitioners and students.Community and Regional Plannin

YOU ARE THE WEAKEST LINK: ADDRESSING CYBER SECURITY CONCERNS WITHIN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OF NEW YORK

The evolving cyber threat landscape consistently challenges organizational cybersecurity defenses. Cyberattacks, which were once rare, have become alarmingly frequent. In response, organizations have traditionally focused on technological solutions; however, human error remains a leading cause of network data breaches. The lack of effective security measures aimed at mitigating human error leaves organizations, such as the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), vulnerable to cyber intrusions. The FDNY’s dependence on digital networks for day-to-day operations underscores the need for security measures that address both technological and human vulnerabilities. This research combines descriptive, evaluative, and prescriptive methods, including a red-team exercise simulating a social engineering attack, to assess how the current cyber threat environment affects the FDNY. The study uncovers significant vulnerabilities, particularly among frontline personnel, who are often overlooked in traditional cybersecurity practices. Based on the findings, the research proposes strategic recommendations to strengthen the FDNY’s cyber defenses. The study promotes a comprehensive “all-hands-on-deck” approach that highlights the importance of making cybersecurity a shared responsibility, encompassing everyone from frontline personnel to senior leadership. This approach offers insights and methods applicable to other organizations seeking to strengthen their cybersecurity posture.Distribution Statement A. Approved for public release: Distribution is unlimited.Civilian, Fire Department of New Yor

Candidate Privacy

In the United States, we have long accepted that candidates for public office who have voluntarily stepped into the public eye sacrifice claims to privacy. This refrain is rooted deep within the American enterprise, emanating from the Framers’ concept of the informed citizen as a bedrock of democracy. Voters must have full information about candidates to make their choices at the ballot box. Even as privacy rights for ordinary citizens have expanded, privacy theorists and courts continue to exempt candidates from privacy protections. This Article suggests that two disruptions warrant revisiting the privacy interests of candidates. The first is a changing information architecture brought on by the rise of the internet and digital media that drastically alters how information about candidates is collected and circulated. The second is a shift in who runs for office. As women and minorities—targets of the worst forms of harassment—increasingly throw their hats in the ring, this Article argues that competing democratic values should challenge previous assumptions about candidate privacy. Far from suggesting easy answers, this Article offers a framework for courts to weigh candidate privacy interests in a more nuanced way, drawing on vetting principles for aspirants to other positions of public trust. While there are good reasons candidates should have far less privacy than ordinary citizens, the reflexive denial of candidate privacy must have its limits if we care about nourishing our evolving democracy

Proceedings of the Sempre MET2018: Researching Music, Education, Technology

MET 2018 Researching Music - Education - Technology (MET2018) 26–27 March 2018 Following the great success of its inaugural conference held by the University of Hull in 2010, MET2014, and MET2016 at IOE London, this fourth two-day conference (#sempreMET) was hosted by the Department of culture, Communication & Media, IOE, University College London, at the University of London’s iconic Senate House. Although the 'musicking' humanity has been reliant on technology from the very beginning of its musical journey, we cannot deny that, nowadays, technology changes, develops, and its role is being redefined at a dramatically greater rate. This sempre conference aimed to celebrate technology's challenging role(s) and provide a platform for critical discourse and the presentation of scholarly work in the broader fields of digital technologies in: music composition and creation music performance music production (recording, studio work, archival and/or communication of music) diverse musical genres (e.g. popular, classical, world, etc.) creativity/ies real world praxial contexts (e.g. classroom, studio, etc.) assessment of musical development and/or assessment of performance computational musicology music and Big Data (a special call for chapters for an edited OUP VOLUME will be posted soon) the music industry special educational contexts/needs The conference provided opportunities for colleagues to present and discuss ideas in a friendly and supportive environment, as well as to provide a meeting point for academics, scholars, teachers, and practitioners who were seeking to form connections and synergies with participants from around the world

Optimising Emotions, Incubating Falsehoods: How to Protect the Global Civic Body from Disinformation and Misinformation

This open access book deconstructs the core features of online misinformation and disinformation. It finds that the optimisation of emotions for commercial and political gain is a primary cause of false information online. The chapters distil societal harms, evaluate solutions, and consider what must be done to strengthen societies as new biometric forms of emotion profiling emerge. Based on a rich, empirical, and interdisciplinary literature that examines multiple countries, the book will be of interest to scholars and students of Communications, Journalism, Politics, Sociology, Science and Technology Studies, and Information Science, as well as global and local policymakers and ordinary citizens interested in how to prevent the spread of false information worldwide, both now and in the future

Towards an aligned South African National Cybersecurity Policy Framework

This thesis measured and aligned factors that contribute to the misalignment of the South African National Cybersecurity Policy Framework (SA-NCPF). The exponential growth rate of cyber-attacks and threats has caused more headaches for cybersecurity experts, law enforcement agents, organisations and the global business economy. The emergence of the global Corona Virus Disease-2019 has also contributed to the growth of cyber-attacks and threats thus, requiring concerted efforts from everyone in society to devise appropriate interventions that mitigate unacceptable user behaviour in the reality of cyberspace. In this study, various theories were identified and pooled together into an integrative theoretical framework to provide a better understanding of various aspects of the law-making process more comprehensively. The study identified nine influencing factors that contributed to misalignment of the South African National Cybersecurity Policy Framework. These influencing factors interact with each other continuously producing complex relationships, therefore, it is difficult to measure the degree of influence of each factor, hence the need to look at and measure the relationships as Gestalts. Gestalts view individual interactions between pairs of constructs only as a part of the overall pattern. Therefore, the integrative theoretical framework and Gestalts approach were used to develop a conceptual framework to measure the degree of alignment of influencing factors. This study proposed that the stronger the coherence among the influencing factors, the more aligned the South African National Security Policy Framework. The more coherent the SA-NCPF is perceived, the greater would be the degree of alignment of the country's cybersecurity framework to national, regional and global cyberlaws. Respondents that perceived a strong coherence among the elements also perceived an effective SA-NCPF. Empirically, this proposition was tested using nine constructs. Quantitative data was gathered from respondents using a survey. A major contribution of this study was that it was the first attempt in South Africa to measure the alignment of the SA-NCPF using the Gestalts approach as an effective approach for measuring complex relationships. The study developed the integrative theoretical framework which integrates various theories that helped to understand and explain the South African law making process. The study also made a significant methodological contribution by adopting the Cluster-based perspective to distinguish, describe and predict the degree of alignment of the SA-NCPF. There is a dearth of information that suggests that past studies have adopted or attempted to address the challenge of alignment of the SA-NCPF using the cluster-based and Gestalts perspectives. Practical implications from the study include a review of the law-making process, skills development strategy, a paradigm shift to address the global Covid-19 pandemic and sophisticated cybercrimes simultaneously. The study asserted the importance of establishing an independent cybersecurity board comprising courts, legal, cybersecurity experts, academics and law-makers to provide cybersecurity expertise and advice. From the research findings, government and practitioners can draw lessons to review the NCPF to ensure the country develops an effective national cybersecurity strategy. Limitations and recommendations for future research conclude the discussions of this study

New methodological perspectives on observation and experimentation in Science

[Abstract] Observation and experimentation are central topics of philosophy and methodology of science. The empirical sciences have commonly been associated to observational and experimental processes, because they have been considered crucial for testing the contents of these. Thus, observation and experimentation have received attention from different angles, and they have been historically relevant in the advancement of science. Their philosophical-methodological analysis includes some key aspects —those related to axiological, epistemological and methodological issues. New Methodological Perspectives on Observation and Experimentation in Science deals with a classic topic that is seen from new angles. Its nine chapters seek “non-traditional” aspects, trying to extend the boundaries of this philosophical-methodological theme. They are presented in five sections: 1) A Philosophical-Methodological Context; 2) Experience and Scientific Observations; 3) Empirical Support and Experiments in Science; 4) Changes in the Framework on Observation and Experimentation; and 5) Enlarging the Philosophical Scope: Law and Ecology