Datafication: threat or opportunity for communication in the public sphere?

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derina Holtzhausen
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Big Data ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Strategic Communication ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Communication Practice ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the threats and potential of Big Data for strategic communication. It explains the concepts of datafication and Big Data and establishes the social and cultural context of Big Data from the way those constructing algorithms superimpose their value systems and cultural references onto the data. It links Big Data and strategic communication through the segmentation devices and strategies both use and propose discourse analysis as a valid method for the critique of Big Data. The importance of strategic communication for the public sphere suggests that Big Data can pose a serious threat to public discourse. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual and theoretical paper that first explains and interprets various new terms and concepts and then uses established theoretical approaches to analyze these phenomena. Findings – The use of Big Data for the micro-segmentation of audiences establishes its relationship with strategic communication. Big Data analyses and algorithms are not neutral. Treating algorithms as language and communication allow them to be subjected to discourse analysis to expose underlying power relations for resistance strategies to emerge. Strategic communicators should guard the public sphere and take an activist stance against the potential harm of Big Data. That requires a seat at the institutional technology table and speaking out against discriminatory practices. However, Big Data can also greatly benefit society and improve discourse in the public sphere. Research limitations/implications – There is not yet empirical data available on the impact of datafication on communication practice, which might be a problem well into the future. It also might be hard to do empirical research on its impact on practice and the public sphere. The heuristic value of this piece is that it laid down the theoretical foundations of the phenomena to be studied, which can in future be used for ethnographic research or qualitative studies. It might eventually be possible to follow personalized messages generated through datafication to study if they actually lead to behavior change in specific audience members. Practical/implications – As guardians of the public sphere strategic communication practitioners have to educate themselves on the realities of Big Data and should consciously acquire a seat at the institutional technology table. Practitioners will need to be involved in decisions on how algorithms are formulated and who they target. This will require them to serve as activists to ensure social justice. They also will need to contribute to organizational transparency by making organizational information widely available and accessible through media bought, owned, and earned. Strategic communicators need to create a binary partnership with journalists of all kinds to secure the public sphere. Social/implications – The paper exposes the role of algorithms in the construction of data and the extent to which algorithms are products of people who impose their own values and belief systems on them. Algorithms and the data they generate are subjective and value-laden. The concept of algorithms as language and communication and the use of Big Data for the segmentation of society for purposes of communication establish the connection between Big Data and strategic communication. The paper also exposes the potential for harm in the use of Big Data, as well as its potential for improving society and bringing about social justice. Originality/value – The value of this paper is that it introduces the concept of datafication to communication studies and proposes theoretical foundations for the study of Big Data in the context of strategic communications. It provides a theoretical and social foundation for the inclusion of the public sphere in a definition of strategic communication and emphasizes strategic communicators’ commitment to the public sphere as more important than ever before. It highlights how communication practice and society can impact each other positively and negatively and that Big Data should not be the future of strategic communication but only a part of it.

scholarly journals Intellectual Freedom and Social Justice: Tensions Between Core Values in American Librarianship

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Emily J. M. Knox
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Core Values ◽  
Intellectual Freedom ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
Hate Groups ◽  
Ethical Philosophy ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

AbstractOver the past few years, tensions between two core values in U.S. librarianship, intellectual freedom and social justice, have roiled the profession. This conflict was most recently seen in the insertion and subsequent removal of “hate groups” to the list of entities that cannot be denied access to library meeting rooms in the American Library Association’s Meeting Rooms Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights. This paper is intended to provide context for this conflict. It begins by situating its arguments within ethical philosophy, specifically the study of values or axiology. It then provides an overview of the theoretical foundations of the values of liberalism. Next, the paper discusses the values of truth and freedom from harm in librarianship. Finally, it suggests that a fuller understanding of the library’s place within the public sphere is a possible model for mitigating the tensions currently found in American librarianship. The paper is intended to provide a theoretical foundation for further research.

Abraham Heschel

2021 ◽  
pp. 198-216
Author(s):  
Susannah Heschel
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public Intellectual ◽  
West Side ◽  
Reinhold Niebuhr ◽  
The Public ◽  
Prophetic Voice ◽  
The Public Sphere

The friendship between Abraham Joshua Heschel and Reinhold Niebuhr was both personal and intellectual. Neighbours on the Upper West Side of New York City, they walked together in Riverside park and shared personal concerns in private letters; Niebuhr asked Heschel to deliver the eulogy at his funeral. They were bound by shared religious sensibilities as well, including their love of the Hebrew Bible, the irony they saw in American history and in the writings of the Hebrew prophets, and in their commitment to social justice as a duty to God. Heschel arrived in the public sphere later, as a public intellectual with a prophetic voice, much as Niebuhr had been for many decades prior. Niebuhr’s affirmation of the affinities between his and Heschel’s theological scholarship pays tribute to an extraordinary friendship of Protestant and Jew.

scholarly journals Archives, libraries and museums in the Nordic model of the public sphere

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Håkon Larsen
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Archival Science ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Spheres ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of ALM organizations within a Nordic model of the public sphere. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper discussing the role of archives, libraries and museums in light of a societal model of the Nordic public sphere. Throughout the discussions, the author draw on empirical and theoretical research from sociology, political science, media studies, cultural policy studies, archival science, museology, and library and information science to help advance our understanding of these organizations in a wider societal context. Findings The paper shows that ALM organizations play an important role for the infrastructure of a civil public sphere. Seen as a cluster, these organizations are providers of information that can be employed in deliberative activities in mediated public spheres, as well as training arenas for citizens to use prior to entering such spheres. Furthermore, ALM organizations are themselves public spheres, as they can serve specific communities and help create and maintain identities, and solidarities, all of which are important parts of a civil public sphere. Research limitations/implications Future research should investigate whether these roles are an important part of ALM organizations contribution to public spheres in other regions of the world. Originality/value Through introducing a theoretical model developed within sociology and connecting it to ongoing research in archival science, museology, and library and information science, the author connects the societal role of archives, libraries, and museums to broader discussions within the social sciences.

The Academic-Media Nexus

2020 ◽  
pp. 55-70
Author(s):  
Michael McDevitt
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Strategic Communication ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Public Colleges ◽  
Risk Averse ◽  
Intellectual Work ◽  
The Public ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
New Form ◽  
The Public Sphere

The academic-media nexus represents a liminal space where intellectual work is regularly held up to public judgment. Three sources of control impinge on the nexus as a sphere for ideas that challenge orthodoxies: self-imposed instrumentalism of intellectuals; a new form of anti-intellectualism that features systemic surveillance of academic discourse; and the strategic communication of university administrations. The contemporary university is instrumental and strategic rather than anti-rationalist in the control of intellect. Still, mistrust of intellect thrives at private and public colleges, entrusted with preservation of cultural heritage. When faculty take risks in the public sphere, they should not assume that administrators will support them against populist blowback. A final section contemplates implications of risk-averse tactics for public perceptions of intellect and its contributions to political discourse and policy.

The evolution of the public sphere

Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 2201-2219
Author(s):  
José J. Blanco
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Media Theory ◽  
Language Games ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Dominant Paradigm

Purpose The purpose of this study is to rethink the issue of publicity from a cross-cultural and evolutionary perspective. Design/methodology/approach Assuming that there is a dominant paradigm in the studies of the public sphere centered on Habermas’ ideas, media theory (and especially Luhmann who is considered as a media theorist) is selected as a new context that provides different concepts, ideas, language games and metaphors that allow the re-foundation of the study of publicity. Findings Publicity as a social structure emerges – and acquires different forms during history – out of the complex dynamics resulting from the interaction between success media, such as power, and different kinds of dissemination media. Originality/value A research into the forms of publicity not only promotes awareness of the ubiquity of the phenomenon across cultural evolution, but also offers tools to make new discoveries and systematize what is already known about the subject and its ramifications.

Networks around entrepreneurs: gendering in China and countries around the Persian Gulf

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 268-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen ◽  
Shayegheh Ashourizadeh ◽  
Kent Wickstrøm Jensen ◽  
Thomas Schøtt ◽  
Yuan Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Persian Gulf ◽  
Private Sphere ◽  
Female Entrepreneurs ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Persian Gulf

Purpose Entrepreneurs are networking with others to get advice for their businesses. The networking differs between men and women; notably, men are more often networking for advice in the public sphere and women are more often networking for advice in the private sphere. The purpose of this study is to account for how such gendering of entrepreneurs’ networks of advisors differs between societies and cultures. Design/methodology/approach Based on survey data from the Global Entrepreneurships Monitor, a sample of 16,365 entrepreneurs is used to compare the gendering of entrepreneurs’ networks in China and five countries largely located around the Persian Gulf, namely Yemen, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Findings Analyses show that female entrepreneurs tend to have slightly larger private sphere networks than male entrepreneurs. The differences between male and female entrepreneurs’ networking in the public sphere are considerably larger. Societal differences in the relative prominence of networking in the public and private spheres, and the gendering hereof, correspond well to cultural and socio-economic societal differences. In particular, the authors found marked differences among the religiously conservative and politically autocratic Gulf states. Research limitations/implications As a main limitation to this study, the data disclose only the gender of the entrepreneur, but not the gender of each advisor in the network around the entrepreneur. Thus, the authors cannot tell the extent to which men and women interact with each other. This limitation along with the findings of this study point to a need for further research on the extent to which genders are structurally mixed or separated as entrepreneurs network for advice in the public sphere. In addition, the large migrant populations in some Arab states raise questions of the ethnicity of entrepreneurs and advisors. Originality/value Results from this study create novel and nuanced understandings about the differences in the gendering of entrepreneurs’ networking in China and countries around Persian Gulf. Such understandings provide valuable input to the knowledge of how to better use the entrepreneurial potential from both men and women in different cultures. The sample is fairly representative of entrepreneur populations, and the results can be generalized to these countries.

Becoming activist: the mediation of consumers in Animals Australia’s Make it Possible campaign

2019 ◽  
Vol 172 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-60
Author(s):  
Jane Mummery ◽  
Debbie Rodan
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ethical Consumers ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Advocacy Organisation

In 2008, the Australian Law Reform Commission journal, Reform, called out animal welfare as Australia’s ‘next great social justice movement’ in 2018; however, public mobilisation around animal welfare is still a contested issue in Australia. The question stands as to how to mobilise everyday mainstream consumers into supporting animal activism given that animal activism is presented in the public sphere as dampening the economic livelihood of Australia, with some animal activism described as ‘akin to terrorism’. The questions, then, are as follows: how to mobilise everyday mainstream consumers into supporting animal activist ideals? How to frame and communicate animal activist ideals so that they can come to inform and change the behaviour and self-understandings of mainstream consumers? This article is an investigation into the possible production and mobilisation of animal activists from mainstream consumers through the work of one digital campaign, Make it Possible. Delivered by the peak Australian animal advocacy organisation, Animals Australia, and explicitly targeting the lived experiences and conditions of animals in factory farming, Make it Possible reached nearly 12 million viewers across Australia and has directly impacted on the reported behaviour and self-understandings of over 291,000 Australians to date, as well as impacting policy decisions made by government and industry. More specifically, our interest is to engage a new materialist lens to draw out how this campaign operates to transform consumers into veg*ns (vegans/vegetarians), activists and ethical consumers who materially commit to and live revised beliefs regarding human–animal relations.

scholarly journals Big Data for a Fairer Democracy?

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Heesen
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Big Data Analysis ◽  
Negative Freedom ◽  
The Public ◽  
Socially Relevant ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Machine Communication

Big data-analysis is linked to the expectation to provide a general image of socially relevant topics and processes. Similar to this, the idea of the public sphere involves being representative of all citizens and of important topics and problems. This contribution, on one side, aims to explain how a normative concept of the public sphere could be infiltrated by big data. On the other, it will discuss how participative processes and common wealth can profit from a thorough use of big data analysis. As important parts of the argument, two concepts will be introduced: the numerical public (as a public that is constituted by machine-communication) and total politicisation (as a loss of negative freedom of expression).

scholarly journals Toward a Stronger Theoretical Grounding of Computational Communication Science

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Annie Waldherr ◽  
Stephanie Geise ◽  
Merja Mahrt ◽  
Christian Katzenbach ◽  
Christian Nuernbergk
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Complexity Theory ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Blind Spots

Abstract Computational communication science (CCS) is embraced by many as a fruitful methodological approach to studying communication in the digital era. However, theoretical advances have not been considered equally important in CCS. Specifically, we observe an emphasis on mid-range and micro theories that misses a larger discussion on how macro-theoretical frameworks can serve CCS scholarship. With this article, we aim to stimulate such a discussion. Although macro frameworks might not point directly to specific questions and hypotheses, they shape our research through influencing which kinds of questions we ask, which kinds of hypotheses we formulate, and which methods we find adequate and useful. We showcase how three selected theoretical frameworks might advance CCS scholarship in this way: (1) complexity theory, (2) theories of the public sphere, and (3) mediatization theory. Using online protest as an example, we discuss how the focus (and the blind spots) of our research designs shifts with each framework.

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