Housekeepings

2020 ◽  
pp. 127-163
Author(s):  
Arnold Michael

This chapter focuses on the significant and often invisible forms of “articulation work” (the work to keep things working) needed to maintain digital media in good working order and fit-for-purpose in the domestic media ecology. It considers the labor of investigating options for, making decisions about, and purchasing and setting up new technologies as well as their ongoing maintenance. This chapter examines both the work and who does the work of maintaining and managing digital media. It also examines the relations of power, authority, gender, labor, and expertise that go into decision making, appropriating, maintaining, and using household digital technologies. In doing so, it furthers empirical developments concerning the notion of domestic media ecologies.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Constantina Costopoulou ◽  
Maria Ntaliani ◽  
Filotheos Ntalianis

Local governments are increasingly developing electronic participation initiatives, expecting citizen involvement in local community affairs. Our objective was to assess e-participation and the extent of its change in local government in Greece. Using content analysis for 325 Greek municipal websites, we assessed e-participation status in 2017 and 2018 and examined the impact of change between these years. The assessment regards two consecutive years since the adoption of digital technologies by municipalities has been rapid. The main findings show that Greek local governments have made significant small- to medium-scale changes, in order to engage citizens and local societies electronically. We conclude that the integration of advanced digital technologies in municipalities remains underdeveloped. We propose that Greek municipalities need to consider incorporating new technologies, such as mobile apps, social media and big data, as well as e-decision making processes, in order to eliminate those obstacles that hinder citizen engagement in local government. Moreover, the COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted the need for enhancing e-participation and policymakers’ coordination through advanced digital technologies.


Author(s):  
E. V. Elnikova

The article deals with issues related to the exercise of the right to participate in the General meeting of participants (shareholders) of economic companies through the use of digital technologies. The Russian corporate legislation provides for the possibility of voting at the General meeting using electronic means. The conclusion is made that it is necessary to expand the dispositive regulation, which provides corporations with more opportunities to determine the directions necessary for them to implement new technologies. The advantages of using electronic voting forms in joint-stock companies with a large number of shareholders are considered. The risks associated with the use of digital technologies when voting at the General meeting are highlighted. Attention is drawn to the need to develop ways to ensure the evidence base for the Commission member of the Corporation’s actions by voting in electronic form. It was suggested that the introduction of digital technologies in the voting procedures at the General meeting of participants (shareholders) leads to a gradual leveling of the differences between decision-making in face-to-face and absentee voting.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashli Q. Stokes ◽  
Wendy Atkins-Sayre

Starting in 2013, SeaWorld faced a public relations disaster with the release of the documentary titled Blackfish that accused the company of mistreatment of its orcas. SeaWorld attempted to respond and rebuild its credibility, but activist group ‘People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) doubled down on the corporation through its rhetorical shock tactics, deepening the organization’s woes. The PETA/SeaWorld controversy does more than provide another example of poor corporate public relations decision-making made in light of an activist group’s savvy use of digital technology. We argue that the case helps explain how digital technologies fundamentally change activism, whereby activists can use rhetorical fracturing, or quickly using digital media to puncture a target’s narrative, to create messages that challenge an opponent’s legitimacy to cultivate public opinion, thereby pressuring corporate policy change. Recent activism scholarship points out how digital media transforms organizational-activist relationships in profound ways, but this essay contributes to a gap in public relations scholarship by showing how strategic, message-level digital activism helps contribute to broad societal change. Indeed, given that SeaWorld’s stock was down nearly 40 percent in 2015 and ‘is about 50% below its all-time high’, its profits were down 84 percent in 2015, and attendance has fallen more than 7 percent at its parks, the case illustrates how digital activist campaigns help reshape societal understanding of a controversial issue such as using animals for entertainment.


Author(s):  
Janinka Greenwood ◽  
Lynne Harata Te Aika ◽  
Niki Davis

Maori people have a history of adaptation of new technologies. In recent decades Maori innovators have taken and adapted digital technologies for a range of purposes that can be broadly defined as educational. In this chapter, the authors examine three cases where groups have utilised, and ‘colonised’, a range of particular technologies in order to build capacity for their tribal groups and wider community. In this way they use technologies as tools to overcome some of the financial, social and political deprivation caused by historic and continuing colonisation. The authors initially locate their exploration in a discussion of the historical context of colonisation, Maori movement towards self-determination, and in a discussion of Maori values and approaches to knowledge. They then present the three cases, beginning with one from a formal tertiary education programme (a Maori one), then examining a tribal initiative for language revitalisation and finally looking at a national use of digital media through Maori television.1


Author(s):  
Natalya Ivanovna Shaposhnikova ◽  
Alexander Aleksandrovich Sorokin

The article consideres the problems of determining the need to modernize the base stations of the cellular network based on the mathematical apparatus of the theory of fuzzy sets. To improve the quality of telecommunications services the operators should send significant funding for upgrading the equipment of base stations. Modernization can improve and extend the functions of base stations to provide cellular communication, increase the reliability of the base station in operation and the functionality of its individual elements, and reduce the cost of maintenance and repair when working on a cellular network. The complexity in collecting information about the equipment condition is determined by a large number of factors that affect its operation, as well as the imperfection of obtaining and processing the information received. For a comprehensive assessment of the need for modernization, it is necessary to take into account a number of indicators. In the structure of indicators of the need for modernization, there were introduced the parameters reflecting both the degree of aging and obsolescence(the technical gap and the backlog in connection with the emergence of new technologies and standards). In the process of a problem solving, the basic stages of decision-making on modernization have been allocated. Decision-making on the need for modernization is based not only on measuring information that takes into account the decision-makers, but also on linguistic and verbal information. Therefore, to determine the need for upgrading the base stations, the theory of fuzzy sets is used, with the help of which experts can be attracted to this issue. They will be able to formulate additional fuzzy judgments that help to take into account not only measuring characteristics, but also poorly formalized fuzzy information. To do this, the main indicators of the modernization need have been defined, and fuzzy estimates of the need for modernization for all indicators and a set of indicators reflecting the need for upgrading the base stations have been formulated.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Bushra Mahadin

Purpose-This paper aims to investigate factors that affect customer switching from Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles (ICEV’s) to Hybrid Electrical Vehicles (HEV’s), in Jordan for the period of (2010-2014).Design/methodology/approach-A self-administered survey was hand-delivered to the targeted sample of car users in Jordan. The authors delivered 400 questionnaires to customers, from which 333 were deemed valid for the analysis, corresponding to the percentage of (83.25%) which indicates the validity of the study. Findings- There was no difference in switching behavior between (ICEV’s) and (HEV’s) based on gender in the Jordanian market. Fuel consumption efficiency was the number one variable that supports the switching behavior towards (HEV's), followed by Eco friendliness, lower taxes and technological features. Price and the current trend in the market were the least supporting factors. In addition to that the perception of the battery life of (HEV's), limited choices in the market, lack of information and fear of the relatively new technology were the major hindering factors of choosing an (HEV).Research limitations-Future research needs to investigate other factors that may affect customers’ behavior such as perceived image, trust, and subjective norms. Future research should investigate into the importance of environmental awareness and new technologies, and gender differences in behavior. From an international marketing standpoint, comparative studies between Jordanian and non-Jordanian customers are potential areas of future research for international marketing strategies and cross-cultural consumer behaviour analysis. Practical implications-The paper identifies the determinants of switching behavior. marketers should focus addressing customers concerns in terms of providing enough information and building awareness towards the technology and it's benefits towards the society and the environment.Originality/value-Our study is one of the few in Jordan that investigates the switching behavior towards vehicles technology. Our study is thought to have made a modest contribution to consumer behaviour literature and, specifically, for decision making process. It offers marketers insights into the determinants of switching behavior towards the hybrid vechicle technology and how this contribute to consumers’ decision making process and attitudes to achieve the intended behavioural outcomes


Author(s):  
Courtney Celian ◽  
Veronica Swanson ◽  
Maahi Shah ◽  
Caitlin Newman ◽  
Bridget Fowler-King ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Neurorehabilitation engineering faces numerous challenges to translating new technologies, but it is unclear which of these challenges are most limiting. Our aim is to improve understanding of rehabilitation therapists’ real-time decision-making processes on the use of rehabilitation technology (RT) in clinical treatment. Methods We used a phenomenological qualitative approach, in which three OTs and two PTs employed at a major, technology-encouraging rehabilitation hospital wrote vignettes from a written prompt describing their RT use decisions during treatment sessions with nine patients (4 with stroke, 2 traumatic brain injury, 1 spinal cord injury, 1 with multiple sclerosis). We then coded the vignettes using deductive qualitative analysis from 17 constructs derived from the RT literature and the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Data were synthesized using summative content analysis. Results Of the constructs recorded, the five most prominent are from CFIR determinants of: (i) relative advantage, (ii) personal attributes of the patients, (iii) clinician knowledge and beliefs of the device/intervention, (iv) complexity of the devices including time and setup, and (v) organizational readiness to implement. Therapists characterized candidate RT as having a relative disadvantage compared to conventional treatment due to lack of relevance to functional training. RT design also often failed to consider the multi-faceted personal attributes of the patients, including diagnoses, goals, and physical and cognitive limitations. Clinicians’ comfort with RT was increased by their previous training but was decreased by the perceived complexity of RT. Finally, therapists have limited time to gather, setup, and use RT. Conclusions Despite decades of design work aimed at creating clinically useful RT, many lack compatibility with clinical translation needs in inpatient neurologic rehabilitation. New RT continue to impede the immediacy, versatility, and functionality of hands-on therapy mediated treatment with simple everyday objects.


2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bridget Bwalya Umar

AbstractDifferent theories have been posited that try to explain the decision-making process of smallholders especially regarding the adoption of new technologies or new agricultural techniques. The objective of this paper is to review and re-assess the dominant household production theories to explain the decision making of smallholders practicing conservation agriculture (CA) in the southern, eastern, and central provinces of Zambia. It also discusses the potential role of CA toward economic development. It finds that the CA smallholders studied did not aim to maximize profits but tried to secure household consumption from their own production before any other considerations in risky and uncertain environments. Their response to economic incentives was contingent on minimizing risks associated with securing a minimum level of livelihood and investing into local forms of insurance. This paper concludes that the ability for CA to contribute to rural livelihoods and economic development would depend on how adequately the factors that hinder smallholder agricultural development in general are addressed.


Author(s):  
Steven Feldstein

This book documents the rise of digital repression—how governments are deploying new technologies to counter dissent, maintain political control, and ensure regime survival. The emergence of varied digital technologies is bringing new dimensions to political repression. At its core, the expanding use of digital repression reflects a fairly simple motivation: states are seeking and finding new ways to control, manipulate, surveil, or disrupt real or perceived threats. This book investigates the goals, motivations, and drivers of digital repression. It presents case studies in Thailand, the Philippines, and Ethiopia, highlighting how governments pursue digital strategies based on a range of factors: ongoing levels of repression, leadership, state capacity, and technological development. But a basic political motive—how to preserve and sustain political incumbency—remains a principal explanation for their use. The international community is already seeing glimpses of what the frontiers of repression look like, such as in China, where authorities have brought together mass surveillance, online censorship, DNA collection, and artificial intelligence to enforce their rule in Xinjiang. Many of these trends are going global. This has major implications for democratic governments and civil society activists around the world. The book also presents innovative ideas and strategies for civil society and opposition movements to respond to the digital autocratic wave.


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