Social Media Battles: their Impact during the 2014 Greek Municipal Elections

The purpose of this study is to examine the use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube by candidates running for the 2014 Greek Municipal Elections by addressing the following questions: (1) which factors affect social media adoption by municipal candidates?, and (2) whether social media usage along with the popularity of candidates' social media pages influence candidates' vote share. Results indicate that social media are not very popular campaigning tools among municipal candidates in Greece. This implies that Greek candidates still rely on traditional ways to lure their voters. Furthermore, findings reveal that candidates running in large municipalities are more likely to utilize social media (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) as means of political marketing. In addition, challengers seem to prefer Facebook and Twitter as campaign tools while males tend to focus on YouTube to attract voters. Despite the low adoption rate, results suggest that candidates who made use of social media won more votes compared to candidates who were not social media users. Moreover, it was found that a candidate's Facebook page and YouTube channel popularity are good indicators of the candidate's vote share

Websites and social networks of communes in Slovakia: development and current state

One of the main features of today's information society is the availability of data of various kinds provided by various companies and organizations. In the following paper, we focus on evaluating the dynamics of development and the current state of existence of web pages of communes in Slovakia, which represent a database of their activities and serve as the main communication channel between citizens and self-government representatives. Another important channel is social networks, which are still enjoying huge popularity among internet users. On the basis of the results of an online questionnaire that involved almost 60% of the addressed self-governments, we will point out the adaptation of self-governments to the use of social networks. An important task of such research is the distribution of the obtained results to end users as well. This is achieved through an example of a description of basic technical and functional specifications by using the web page created by the authors of the contribution. This web page has the ambition of becoming a sort of central access point for all those interested in information about communes in Slovakia. By means of standard tabular, but also interactive graphic and map outputs, it gives an idea of selected indicators of self-governments in a user-friendly form, thus helping to increase client awareness of this specific issue.One of the main features of today's information society is the availabilityof data of various kinds provided by various companies and organisations. Inthe following paper, we focus on evaluating the dynamics of development and thecurrent state of existence of websites of communes in Slovakia, which represent adatabase of their activities and serve as the main communication channel betweencitizens and self-government representatives. Another important channel is socialnetworks, which are still enjoying huge popularity among Internet users. On thebasis of the results of an online questionnaire that involved almost 60% of the addressedself-governments, we will point out the adaptation of self-governments tothe use of social networks. One of the important tasks of such research is the distributionof the obtained results to end users. This is achieved through an exampleof a description of basic technical and functional specifications by using thewebsite created by the authors. This website has the ambition of becoming a sortof central access point for all those interested in information about communes inSlovakia. By means of standard tabular, but also interactive graphic and map outputs,it gives an idea of selected indicators of self-governments in a user-friendlyform, thus helping to increase client awareness of this specific issue

Assessing South African Government’s Use of Social Media for Citizen Participation

Social media are commended as e-participation reformation tools; consequently, governments around the world are adopting social media. South Africa is not exempt from this adoption trend; however, the extent to which social media is used for public participation is yet to be understood. This paper presents a qualitative study exploring social media as an e-participation tool through content analysis of social media pages of the South African government. The study found that while all provinces and municipalities have social media accounts, these platforms are used mainly for information broadcasting, viz., as an extension to their websites. There is limited engagement and participation; where these exist, it is due to the municipality posting information relevant to citizens’ lives and being intentional in responding to citizens’ comments. The study contributes to the social media discussion within the African government context and is a first step towards actualizing effective public participation through social media in South Africa

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

Explaining the Variation in the E-Government Characteristics of Municipal Websites: An Analysis of E-Content, E-Participation, and Social Media Features in Municipal Websites in Canada

This paper examines the variation of specific e-Government features in Canadian municipalities and it assesses the quality of municipal websites by evaluating their ability to meet criteria in the three areas of e-Content, e-Participation, and social media capacity. An e-Government Index was developed to evaluate website quality with respect to the three areas and a study of medium-sized Canadian municipalities – excluding those in Quebec – was conducted. The findings reveal that as a whole, medium-sized municipalities in Canada are more successful at developing the e-Content features of their websites compared to the e-Participation features, demonstrating that they are better at delivering information than they are at engaging citizens in online participation, and there is little use of social media in most municipalities

Keeping the Lights On in Rebel Idlib: Local Governance, Services, and the Competition for Legitimacy among Islamist Armed Groups

In Syria's rebel-held Idlib province, residents have established local governance bodies that provide needed services and simultaneously pose a political challenge to the regime of Bashar al-Assad. No overarching authority has replaced the state after it was forced from Idlib. Islamist and jihadist armed groups hold power at the local level, and have developed relatively sophisticated service coordination bodies. Yet ultimate decision-making power has typically sat with donor organizations outside the country. Localism and wartime conditions have also frustrated attempts to unify and rationalize service and governance in Idlib. Syrian rebels wanted Idlib to demonstrate an alternative to Assad's rule, but their efforts have been stymied by internal rivalries and problematic relationships between local rebel administrators inside Syria and international sponsors abroad. Idlib's trajectory mirrors the wider dynamics of Syria's war and fragmented opposition.This report is based on more than two dozen interviews conducted in person in Turkey and over WhatsApp with Syrians inside Idlib in May, July, August, September, and October 2016, as well as a review of relevant Syrian press and social media. Interviewees included Western development workers and Syrian activists, rebels, humanitarian workers, and officials involved in local governance and service provision. Restrictive border measures taken by the Turkish government and the security situation inside Idlib mean that access to Idlib is limited. Dangers include aerial bombing, but also the threat of kidnapping by entrepreneurial criminals and some of the groups referenced in this report. With some exceptions, independent Western researchers and journalists can no longer safely work inside Idlib province. This report instead relies on interviews conducted remotely, including with local council officials contacted through their councils' Facebook pages, or through in-person meetings in neighboring Turkey. This report aims to be transparent about its sources and methods, and its assertions should be considered in light of the limitations on qualitative research inside Idlib and the rest of northern Syria

Incentives for the adoption of e-government by Greek municipalities

Purpose: The research aims to identify the incentives that play an important role in the evolution of e-government in Greece at local scale and its actual development level. It also investigates the factors and the perceived barriers that affect the development of local egovernment in Greek Municipalities, as well as the benefits they derive from it. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research is based on a survey that was conducted through a questionnaire to all 325 Municipalities of the country and includes data from 109 Municipalities that participated in the quantitative approach. Findings: While e-government is spread at a relatively satisfactory level, it appears that only a few Municipalities are performing well. Results highlight also the two main incentives that motivate Municipalities to adopt e-government: The first is the improvement of the efficiency of information exchange with the external environment and the second is managing internal issues-relationships in conjunction with the existence of prominent IT departments. Amongst the main factors that affect e-government adoption by Local authorities, budgetary constraints stand out, while the lack of personnel specialized in Information Technologies is identified as common obstacle. Practical Implications: Findings suggest that an integrated approach to e-government is needed in order to enable organizations to minimize failures and to overcome barriers and counter risks. The capacity to align e-government applications with the increasing and evolving needs and requirements of the citizens is the key to optimizing the benefits of eGovernment at local scale. Originality/Value: There is no similar empirical research in the context of Greece; hence, it seems important to increase the knowledge about the drivers of e-government adoption, especially in the public sector at the local scale.peer-reviewe

Maximizing Electoral Participation: How Accessibility and Outreach Factors Impact Electoral Participation in Online Elections

Online voting in Canadian municipalities has proven to result in at least some moderate increase in the number of individuals participating in a given election. What is less apparent is how the implementation of these voting solutions affects voter turnout. This paper seeks to answer the question, what accessibility and outreach factors maximize voter turnout in online elections. This text will analyze six Ontario municipalities who have implemented internet voting for the first time in 2018. Assessing the effectiveness of their voter engagement strategies for that election period

Strengthening Democracy through Citizen e-Participation on Local Level in the Republic of Macedonia

The paper evaluates the types of e-democracy initiatives on local level in the Republic of Macedonia. E-democracy initiatives were classified by the elements of the democratic process, which they work to enhance: transparency, accountability and active participation. For the purpose of our research we analysed websites of the units of local self-government in the Republic of Macedonia in the period of 2017, with special emphasis on e-democracy initiatives in order to provide a framework for classification. The research discovered many outstanding local e-democracy initiatives. However, there is a little evidence that these initiatives have done much to ameliorate the problems on local level that Republic of Macedonia is facing, such as: weak democratic institutions and low level of citizen participation in democratic processes using ICT as intermediary. The paper also provides some recommendations for improving e-democracy initiatives on local level and their performance in general

E-democracy: exploring the current stage of e-government

Governments around the world have been pressured to implement e-Government programs in order to improve the government-citizen dialogue. The authors of this article review prior literature on such efforts to find if they lead to increased democratic participation ("e-Democracy") for the affected citizens, with a focus on the key concepts of transparency, openness, and engagement. The authors find that such efforts are a starting point toward e-Democracy, but the journey is far from complete