Exclusions of the public sphere conception: examining deliberative and discourse theory accounts

The deliberative conception of the public sphere has proven popular in the critical evaluation of the democratic role of media and communication. However, the conception has come under sustained critique from poststructuralist- infl uenced theorists, amongst others, for failing to fully account for the exclusions that result from it being defi ned as a universal norm of public sphere deliberation. This paper examines how this critique may be answered. It does so fi rst by exploring how (sophisticated) deliberative theory can reply to the critique, and second by turning to the poststructuralist-infl uenced critics - specifi cally post-Marxist discourse theorists - and asking how they might provide a way forward. With respect to the fi rst, the paper fi nds that deliberative theory can, and often does, account for the exclusions in question much more than critics suggest, but that there remains concern about the conception's radical democratic status given that exponents (seem to) derive it extra-politically. With respect to the second, the paper fi nds that a post-Marxist discourse theory reading - that embraces radical contingency - of the deliberative public sphere conception provides a purely political framework for theorising deliberative exclusion (and associated politics), and thus off ers an ontological and democratic radicalisation of the public sphere conception. However, given the embrace of radical contingency, and thus acceptance of inelminable power, the paper concludes by indicating that this radicalisation may illicit concern about its radical democratic status

The corporate takeover of the online public sphere: A critical examination, with reference to 'the New Zealand case'

Much communications research is in agreement about the failure of mass media to adequately facilitate a public sphere of open and reflexive debate necessary for strong democratic culture. In contrast , the internet's decentralised, two-way communication is seen by many commentators to be extending such debate. However, there is some ambivalence among critical theorists as to the future role of the internet in advancing the public sphere. On the one hand, the internet is providing the means fot the voicing of positions and identities excluded from the mass media. On the other hand, a number of problem are limiting the extensiveness and effetivness of this voicing. One of the most significant problems is the corporate colonisation of cyberspace, and subsequent marginalisation rational-critical communication. It is this problem that i will focus on in this article, with reference to examples from what I refer to as the 'New Zealand online public sphere'. I show how online corporate portals and media sites are gaining the most attention orientated to public communication, including news, information, and discussion. These sites generally support conservative discourse and consumer practices. The result is a marginalisation online of the very voices marginalised offline, and also of the critical-reflexive form of communication that makes for a strong public sphere. I conclude by noting that corporate colonisation is as yet only partial, and control of attention and media is highly contested by multiple 'alternative' discursive spaces online

Is Twitter a Public Sphere for Online Conflicts? A Cross-Ideological and Cross-Hierarchical Look

The rise in popularity of Twitter has led to a debate on its impact on public opinions. The optimists foresee an increase in online participation and democratization due to social media's personal and interactive nature. Cyber-pessimists, on the other hand, explain how social media can lead to selective exposure and can be used as a disguise for those in power to disseminate biased information. To investigate this debate empirically, we evaluate Twitter as a public sphere using four metrics: equality, diversity, reciprocity and quality. Using these measurements, we analyze the communication patterns between individuals of different hierarchical levels and ideologies. We do this within the context of three diverse conflicts: Israel-Palestine, US Democrats-Republicans, and FC Barcelona-Real Madrid. In all cases, we collect data around a central pair of Twitter accounts representing the two main parties. Our results show in a quantitative manner that Twitter is not an ideal public sphere for democratic conversations and that hierarchical effects are part of the reason why it is not.Comment: To appear in the 6th International Conference on Social Informatics (SocInfo 2014), Barcelon

Trolling in asynchronous computer-mediated communication: From user discussions to academic definitions

Whilst computer-mediated communication (CMC) can benefit users by providing quick and easy communication between those separated by time and space, it can also provide varying degrees of anonymity that may encourage a sense of impunity and freedom from being held accountable for inappropriate online behaviour. As such, CMC is a fertile ground for studying impoliteness, whether it occurs in response to perceived threat (flaming), or as an end in its own right (trolling). Currently, first and secondorder definitions of terms such as im/politeness (Brown and Levinson 1987; Bousfield 2008; Culpeper 2008; Terkourafi 2008), in-civility (Lakoff 2005), rudeness (Beebe 1995, Kienpointner 1997, 2008), and etiquette (Coulmas 1992), are subject to much discussion and debate, yet the CMC phenomenon of trolling is not adequately captured by any of these terms. Following Bousfield (in press), Culpeper (2010) and others, this paper suggests that a definition of trolling should be informed first and foremost by user discussions. Taking examples from a 172-million-word, asynchronous CMC corpus, four interrelated conditions of aggression, deception, disruption, and success are discussed. Finally, a working definition of trolling is presented

The ambivalence of losing weight after bariatric surgery

This study is grounded in a phenomenological lifeworld perspective. It aims at providing rich descriptions of lived experience of the process of losing weight after obesity surgery. Two women participated in in-depth interviews four times each during the first postoperative year. Based on the women's experiences, a meaning structure—the ambivalence of losing weight after obesity surgery—was identified across the women's processes of change. This consisted of five core themes: movement and activity—freedom but new demands and old restraints; eating habits and digestion—the complexity of change; appearance—smaller, but looser; social relations—stability and change; and being oneself—vulnerability and self-assurance. These core themes changed over time in terms of dominance. The experience of ambivalence is discussed according to a phenomenological perspective of the body as lived experience

Srečanje Habermasovske javnosti s kibernetsko stvarnostjo

A number of Internet-democracy commentators have proposed that online communications may facilitate the Habermasian public sphere of communicative rationality. In contrast, Mark Poster and other cyber-postmodernists claim that this public sphere notion is "outmoded" in relation to online practices. They argue that cyberspace represents a "hyperreality" in which the rational subject is radically decentred. As such, cyber-postmodernists argue, cyberspace undermines communicative rationality and the public sphere. The concept is seen to be useless for evaluating democratic interaction through the Internet. In this paper I evaluate this argument by exploring actual cyberspace experiences of selfhood and by looking further at the notion of communicative rationality. My investigation shows that the Internet does indeed alter interactions in new ways, but that the changes that result are not as radically hyperreal as some cyber-theorists claim, and, furthermore, that these changes are able to be taken into account by the public sphere conceptio

Raziskovanje internetne javne sfere: onstran "prve faze"

In recent years much has been said about the possibility of the Internet facilitating and extending the public sphere of informal rational-critical communication between private affairs and official decision making. However, the abundant speculation has not yet been matched by extensive empirical research. Ongoing theoretical debate about the validity and content of the public sphere conception makes empirical evaluation difficult, as does the Internetćs constitution through a vast and dynamic array of human interactions, cultural contexts, and social institutions. Despite these difficulties, a number of pioneering studies have attempted to investigate theNet-public sphere relation. In this paper I offer a critical reflection upon some of these early studies, a reflection that explores three reoccurringmethodological problems and their possible solutions, with the aim of providing strategies for developing more meaningful Net-public sphere research. These problems involve: developing a normative conception of the public sphere suitable for critical analysisimproving the transition betweentheory and empirical evaluationand adequately explaining and extending findings. My suggested solutions include the specification of publicsphere criteria from Habermas\u27 theory of communicative rationalitythe identification of a variety of case sensitive indicators that can facilitate the transition between criteria and practiceand the suggestion that explanation and extension of findings be undertaken by way of comparative case study research.V zadnjem času je veliko razprav obravnavalo možnosti interneta za spodbujanjein širitev javne sfere neformalnega racionalno-kritičnega komuniciranja med javnimi zadevami in uradnim odločanjem. Teh razprav ne spremlja izčrpno empirično raziskovanje. Tako potekajoča teoretska razprava o javni sferi kot sestava interneta iz dinamičnih interakcij, kulturnih kontekstov in družbenih institucij otežujeta empirično preskušanje. Kljub tem težavam je nekaj pionirskih raziskav poskušalo razjasniti odnos med internetomin javno sfero. Avtor ponuja kritičen pogled na zgodnje raziskave, v katerem opozarja na tri ponavljajoče se metodološke probleme - normativno konceptualizacijo javne sfere, primerno za kritično analizo, izboljšanje prehoda med teorijo in empiričnim vrednotenjem ter ustreznost pojasnjevanja raziskovalnih izsledkov - in možne rešitve: specifikacijo kriterijev javne sfere na osnovi Habermasove teorije komunikativne racionalnosti, identifikacijo občutljivih indikatorjev, ki omogočajo prehod med kriteriji in prakso, ter primerjalne študije primerov