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.

Good governance and confidentiality: a matter of the preservation of the public sphere

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 543-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Goede ◽  
Rostam J. Neuwirth
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Governance Transparency

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to discuss the concepts confidentiality and transparency in the context of good governance. Design/methodology/approach – After exploring the concepts of confidentiality, good governance and other relevant concepts, they are related to each other. Findings – When it comes to good governance, transparency is overrated and confidentiality is taken for granted. For good governance, there must be a balance between the two to preserve the public sphere. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the understanding of good governance and the evolution of the public sphere.

Autonomous vehicles: a review of the ethical, social and economic implications of the AI revolution

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shweta Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Autonomous Vehicles ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Autonomous Cars ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThere are ethical, legal, social and economic arguments surrounding the subject of autonomous vehicles. This paper aims to discuss some of the arguments to communicate one of the current issues in the rising field of artificial intelligence.Design/methodology/approachMaking use of widely available literature that the author has read and summarised showcasing her viewpoints, the author shows that technology is progressing every day. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are at the forefront of technological advancement today. The manufacture and innovation of new machines have revolutionised our lives and resulted in a world where we are becoming increasingly dependent on artificial intelligence.FindingsTechnology might appear to be getting out of hand, but it can be effectively used to transform lives and convenience.Research limitations/implicationsFrom robotics to autonomous vehicles, countless technologies have and will continue to make the lives of individuals much easier. But, with these advancements also comes something called “future shock”.Practical implicationsFuture shock is the state of being unable to keep up with rapid social or technological change. As a result, the topic of artificial intelligence, and thus autonomous cars, is highly debated.Social implicationsThe study will be of interest to researchers, academics and the public in general. It will encourage further thinking.Originality/valueThis is an original piece of writing informed by reading several current pieces. The study has not been submitted elsewhere.

scholarly journals A Review of the Halal Poultry Slaughtering from Welfare and Legal Perspectives: Analysis of Research Results

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 11-27
Author(s):  
Karrar Imad Abdulsahib Al-Shammari
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Animal Cruelty ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Public ◽  
Current Review ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Muslim Majority ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Controversial Aspect

The subject of halal slaughtering is one of the most widely discussed issues of animal cruelty and animal welfare in the public sphere. The discrepancy in understanding the contemporary and religious laws pertaining to animal slaughtering does not fully publicize to Islamic and Muslim majority countries especially with respect to interpreting the use of stunning in animals. The electrical stunning is the cheapest, easiest, safest, and most suitable method for slaughtering that is widespread and developed. However, stunning on head of poultry before being slaughtered is a controversial aspect among the Islamic sects due to regulations of the European Union and some other countries. The current review highlights the instructions of halal slaughtering, legal legislation, and the effect of this global practice on poultry welfare and the quality of produced meat.

scholarly journals Dealing with a hangover of Public Archaeology: Scattered thoughts on the Italian ‘Archeologia Pubblica’

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Francesca Benetti
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public Archaeology ◽  
The Public ◽  
National Conference ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
University Of Florence ◽  
The University ◽  
First Time ◽  
Scientific Topic

Public Archaeology is a young discipline, we all know that. It’s even younger in Italy, where public archaeology has not even reached ‘adulthood’. Cited for the first time by Armando De Guio in 2000 (De Guio and Bressan 2000), it was only a decade later that Public Archaeology has started to become ‘a thing’, thanks to some pioneering experiences at the University of Florence (Bonacchi 2009; Vannini 2011), and especially after a national conference in 2012 (in Florence: see Zuanni 2013 for a summary). Italian archaeologists’ first reaction was to overlap the new discipline with the experiences already in place, which in Italy were under the category of ‘valorizzazione’ (enhancement). They were not exactly the same: while Public Archaeology is characterised by a reflection on the objectives of the research from the very start, a focus on having a reliable methodology, and a strong element linked to evaluation, ‘enhancement’ experiences – while often valuable and successful – lacked the same structure and reliability. This is probably due to an underestimation of these practices as a scientific topic, thus deserving the same structure required for any other type of research. Often this resulted in a mere description of the activities carried out, with a generic objective like ‘increasing the knowledge of archaeology in the public sphere’ without really evaluating if the activities worked or not. Public Archaeology became a sort of a trendy subject, outdating the term ‘valorizzazione’, at least in most of the university milieu, and creating confusion on the subject and the methodology. This sometimes has led to a sort of ‘hangover’ effect, similar to what happens with summer songs: they sound fun when you first hear them, but after months you just want to move on! Few doctoral theses awarded in Archaeology have been devoted to topics related to Public Archaeology up to the present date and the risk is that after this ‘hangover’ the subject will be penalised in comparison to others.

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.

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.

The epistemic project of open diplomacy and the League of Nations: Co-evolution between diplomacy, PR and journalism

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 607-621
Author(s):  
Arne Lorenz Gellrich ◽  
Erik Koenen ◽  
Stefanie Averbeck-Lietz
Keyword(s):  
League Of Nations ◽  
Communication Studies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Communication History ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Collective Biography ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Method Approach

PurposeThe article discusses findings from a research project on the communication history of the League of Nations. It departs from the League's normative goal of “open diplomacy”, which, from an analytical standpoint, can be framed as an “epistemic project” in the sense of a non-linear and ambivalent negotiation by communication of what “open diplomacy” should and could be. The notion of the “epistemic project” serves as an analytical concept to understand this negotiation of open diplomacy across co-evolving actors' constellations from journalism, PR and diplomacy.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a mixed-method approach, including hermeneutic document analysis of UN archival sources and collective biography/prosopography of 799 individual journalists and information officers.FindingsIt finds that the League's conceptualisations of the public sphere and open diplomacy were fluent and ambivalent. They developed in the interplay of diverse actors' collectives in Geneva. The involved roles of information officers, journalists and diplomats were permeable, heterogenous and – not least from a normative perspective – conflictive.Originality/valueThe subject remains under-researched, especially from the perspective of communication studies. The study is the first to approach it with the described research framework.

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.

The joys and sorrows of a start-up’s interactions with the public sphere: a case from medical technology

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Wagrell ◽  
Enrico Baraldi
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Health Care Policy ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Development Partner ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
The Public Sphere

Purpose This paper aims to address the crucial interactions that a start-up enacts with actors from the public sphere in a context of medical technologies. The public actor commonly plays multiple roles, ranging from co-developers and financiers to large-scale users, which are all pivotal to the development and survival of the new venture. The paper investigates the possible “dark sides” of a start-up’s marriage with a public partner, departing from three specific roles the public sphere can assume in relation to a start-up: as a development partner, as a financer and as a customer. Design/methodology/approach The study builds on an in-depth empirical case study of a Swedish med-tech startup company. Findings The authors find the financing role to be least problematic, whereas the customer role is the most problematic in that it provides numerous barriers to the possible development and growth of a start-up firm striving to get new customers in a public setting. Examples of the most prominent barriers found are regulations, complex decision-making processes and assessment elements of med-tech products that are outside the control of the startup firm, hence issues that cannot be handled within inter-organizational relationships. Originality/value The study builds on 27 in-depth interviews, which were undertaken during 2005-2013, thus contributing detailed data about a start-up’s many and crucial interactions with different public actors. Departing from three different roles, a public partner can adopt in relation to a start-up, (development, co-financer and customer) provides results with managerial implications for start-up’s and policy implications for health-care policy.

The public sphere without democracy: some recent work in LIS

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 769-783 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Buschman
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
And Function ◽  
Role And Function

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze and re-direct recent schematic and empirical scholarship on Habermas’ theory of the public sphere in library and information science (LIS). Design/methodology/approach This paper conducts a critical analysis of the relevant literature in light of Habermas’ origination and use/purpose of the public sphere concept. Findings The authors examined here produced a schematic operationalization of the public sphere that thinned the concept, but in turn, that schematization has produced insight into the civil society functions and communications of libraries, both within and without. For this work to be meaningful, the considerations and contexts of democratic society must be reinserted. Research limitations/implications Further explorations of the relationship between the public sphere and civil society as they are manifested around and in libraries is called for. Additionally, Weigand’s approach to producing data/evidence on the public sphere and libraries should be furthered. Practical implications Understanding the role and function of libraries in democratic societies is essential for libraries to play a productive democratic role in those societies and thus, in guiding them. Social implications This paper helps to situate the bewildering circumstances of libraries who face both popular support and broad political-social questioning of their role and place. Originality/value This paper arguably interjects a more sophisticated and nuanced theoretical picture of the public sphere than prior precis presented in the LIS literature have undertaken. It also engages a unique set of empirical-theoretical students from another perspective in order to deepen and shift that research discourse.

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