Open Government, Social Media and Western Balkan Countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-44
Author(s):  
Mirela Mabić ◽  
Dražena Gašpar
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Assessment Index ◽  
The Public ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Balkan Countries ◽  
Yugoslav Republic ◽  
Facebook Pages

This article analyses the presence and activity on the field of social media in the countries that belonged to the same state in the past: Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH), Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia – these named as Western Balkan Countries (WBCs) – and, Slovenia and Croatia as EU member states. The authors have analysed the official profiles of the respective countries on social media and calculated the Facebook Assessment Index (FAI) for WBCs, and Croatia and Slovenia as a benchmark. The results show that Twitter and Facebook are the most used social media. In WBCs group, the FAI index could not be calculated for BIH and Serbia, while the other two countries had high index values. Benchmark countries have lower values but they are significantly highlighted by individual sub-indices. The governments of the researched countries mostly publish promotional information about their work. Consequently, they have a relatively small number of friends/followers/subscribers and comments/shares/likes on social media. Therefore, these countries fail to use the full potential of social media to increase visibility and transparency of their work and to ensure communication channel for idea and information exchange between government and citizens, making the public policies design more inclusive and increasing trust between government and citizens. The findings provide an insight into the nature of activity on social media in WBCs. While FAI scores show that WBCs do not lag far behind established benchmarks, the research proves that some of the weights proposed in the literature and used in the calculation of FAI index are too simplified to adequately evaluate posts on the Facebook pages. Hence, this article contributes above all to the awareness regarding further potentials and the interdisciplinary aspects of stately social media usage, in theory and practice alike.

Who is Setting Emotions? A Comparative Study on Emotion Diffusion in Social Media among Public, Government and Media during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuhuan Zhou ◽  
Yi Wang
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Time Point

BACKGROUND During the COVID-19 outbreak, social media served as the main platform for information exchange, through which the Chinese government, media and public would spread information. At the same time, a variety of emotions interweave, and the public emotions would also be affected by the government and media. OBJECTIVE This study aims to investigate the types, trends and relationships of emotional diffusion in Chinese social media among the public, the government and the media under the pandemic of COVID-19 (December 30,2019, to July 1,2020) . METHODS In this paper, Python 3.7.0 and its data crawling framework Scrapy 1.5.1 are used to write a web crawler program to search for super topics related to COVID-19 on Sina Weibo platform of different keywords . Then, we used emotional lexicon to analyze the types and trends of the public, government and media emotions on social media. Finally cross-lagged regression was applied to build the relationships of different subjects’ emotions. RESULTS The highlights of our study are threefold: (1) The public, the government and the media mainly diffuse positive emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic in China; (2) Emotional diffusion shows a certain change over time, and negative emotions are obvious in the initial phase of the pandemic, with the development of the pandemic, positive emotions surpass negative emotions and remain stable. (3)The impact among the three main emotions with the period as the time point is weak, while the impact of emotion with the day as the time point is relatively obvious. The emotions of the public and the government impact each other, and the media emotions can guide the public emotions. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study of comparing pubic, government and media emotions on the social media during COVID-19 pandemic in China. The pubic, the government and the media mainly diffuse positive emotions during the pandemic. And the government and the media have better effect on short-term emotional guidance. Therefore, when the pandemic suddenly occurs, the government and the media should intervene in time to solve problems and conflicts and diffuse positive and neutral emotions. In this regard, the government and the media can play important roles through social media in the major outbreaks. At the theoretical level, this paper takes China's epidemic environment and social media as the background to provide one of the explanatory perspectives for the spread of emotions on social media. At the some time, because of this special background, it can provide comparison and reference for the research on internet emotions in other countries.

scholarly journals MPs and Audiences on Social Media during Emergencies: Automatic and Manual Content Analyses of Facebook Posts

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 33-52
Author(s):  
Nili Steinfeld ◽  
Azi Lev-On
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Emergency Situation ◽  
Mixed Method Study ◽  
The Public ◽  
Content Analyses ◽  
National Leaders ◽  
Media Channels ◽  
Facebook Pages ◽  
Unique Dataset

Members of parliament’s (MPs) social media channels are significant arenas for communication between the public and national leaders. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper to explore how these channels function during emergencies. We present findings from a mixed-method study of automatic and manual content analysis of a unique dataset composed of all posts on Israeli MPs' Facebook pages during the entire 19th Israeli parliament. We compare scope of posting, engagement with posts, and the content in MPs' Facebook pages during “ordinary" periods and an “emergency” period, focusing on the 2014 Israel/Gaza war. Findings present MPs' social media pages as hubs of interaction between MPs and audiences in emergencies, even more so than during ordinary periods. MPs' social media pages involve significantly more posts (and engagement with posts) during emergencies. In addition, the content in them becomes more emotional, less personal, and focused on the emergency situation and the national leaders responding to it.

scholarly journals Implementing Social Media - Practical Reflections from County Governments During Hurricane Matthew

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
Public Agencies ◽  
Media Content Analysis ◽  
County Governments ◽  
Content Creation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Facebook Pages

Social media is an important avenue for information dissemination and public communication in emergency management. Through social media content analysis and in-depth interviews, this study explores how county level emergency management agencies use their Facebook pages to communicate with the public, using Hurricane Matthew as a case study. The findings reveal some areas of congruence between literature and practitioner experience. The results suggest that public agencies integrate flexible social media strategies, which emphasize one-way communication when the public expects larger volumes of information and directions, and two-way communication when the public might have individualized needs. Furthermore, the findings show that visual content (e.g. pictures) are more likely to garner higher levels of public engagement on Facebook. Last, the study provides several practical suggestions for content creation and interaction on social media for emergency purposes.

scholarly journals Usage of Facebook by Student Leaders in Creating Awareness Regarding Covid-19 in Guwahati

2022 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Farha Yashmin Rohman ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Student Leaders ◽  
Young Generation ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Media Creation ◽  
Facebook Pages

Pandemic like COVID-19 has triggered disruptions in personal and collective lives globally. It is not only a pandemic, but also an Infodemic of misinformation about the virus which raises demand for reliable and trustworthy information. With the advent of social media creation and consumption of news have been changing among the young generation. Student leaders have taken on additional work and assumed new responsibilities by volunteering in their communities and creating awareness among the public about the accuracy of information and measures to be taken against the deadly virus. This study explores the use of Facebook handles by the student leaders of two universities in Guwahati in creating awareness about the health-related messages regarding Covid-19 and its vaccination. The researcher will use critical discourse analysis to evaluate the use of social networking sites by the students’ leaders. To understand the usage by the leaders, Facebook pages of the leaders would be followed and studied backed with unstructured interviews with the leaders to understand the purpose of and pattern of using the social media handles.

“We are all in this together:” police use of social media during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaochen Hu ◽  
Beidi Dong ◽  
Nicholas Lovrich
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Police Agencies ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Police Community Relations ◽  
Facebook Pages

PurposePrevious studies consistently indicate that police agencies tend to use social media to assist in criminal investigations, to improve police-community relations and to broadcast both crime- and non-crime-related tips promotive of public safety. To date, little research has examined what content the police tended to post on their social media sites during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachBy selecting the 14 most widely attended police agencies' Facebook accounts, the current study collects and analyzes a sample of 2,477 police Facebook postings between February 1 and May 31, 2020. By using a mix-method approach, the study addresses three research questions: 1) What kinds of messages did the police tend to post on their Facebook pages before and during this pandemic? 2) What types of COVID-related police Facebook postings were made? 3) How did the public react to COVID-19-related police Facebook postings?FindingsThe findings suggest that the police have come to believe that social media can be used as an effective police−public communicative tool in stressful times. The findings also suggest that social media platforms have become a routinized tool of police−public communications which can, to some appreciable extent, substitute for the in-person contacts traditionally relied upon in community policing.Originality/valueThis study of police use of social media explores the question of whether the use of these media can serve as an effective tool to connect the police with the public under circumstances where in-person contacts are greatly constrained. Some public policy implications emerging from the findings reported are discussed, along with implications for further research along these lines.

Social Media in Emergency Management

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clayton Wukich
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
The Public ◽  
Interactive Nature ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
Media Applications

Social media applications such as Facebook and Twitter enable the rapid transmission of public warning messages in the event of a disaster. This augments traditional channels such as television and radio and may indeed save lives. The interactive nature of social media enables other types of information exchange beyond the one-way broadcast of warnings and guidance that has long characterized risk communication. Authorities monitor social media data for situational awareness, and they can solicit input from the public and engage in more deliberative conversations. In turn, the public initiates communication by asking questions, providing input, and requesting help. They expand the reach of official messages by sharing with friends and followers. Therefore, from an emergency management perspective, social media applications can disrupt the traditional one-way mode of communication and improve the efficacy of efforts to communicate risk. Research from across academic disciplines (e.g., computer science, communication, information systems, public administration, and sociology) illustrates: (a) the need for social media in emergency management; (b) the related benefits of use; and (c) the best practices used to attain those benefits. This offers a roadmap for authorities to effectively implement social media in their organizations while avoiding potential pitfalls.

scholarly journals The use of social media for engineering lecturers and students

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-78
Author(s):  
Achmad Shobirin ◽  
Dian Candra Leastari ◽  
Fidausi Nuzula ◽  
Fitri Umeidah
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Technology Acceptance Model ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
The Public ◽  
Data Collection Technique ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Acceptance Model

Social media provides convenience to the public in various aspects of life, one of which is ease of communication. Social media within the scope of education can be used as a medium of communication and information exchange between students and lecturers. This research purpose to determine the level of acceptance of social media use by lecturers and students. The data collection technique uses the Likert Scale survey method that refers to the TAM (Technology Acceptance Model). The results obtained from the research were respondents from lecturers (n = 3) and students (n = 56) in the Faculty of Engineering. The results of the research indicate that the use of social media has a positive influence on students and lecturers in the field of education.

scholarly journals BAHASA WANITA DAN PRIA PADA KOLOM TANGGAPAN THREAD “PEMERASAN DAN PELECEHAN SEKSUAL OKNUM DOKTER”

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Nesthy Kheren ◽  
Sarmiati Mia ◽  
Ernita Arif ◽  
Sazili Saman
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Rapid Test ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
The Public ◽  
Language Style ◽  
The Social ◽  
Draw Conclusion

Various social phenomena are often expressed on the social media twitter to attract responses from the public around the user. One of the interesting public responses in communication studies is language style. The issue of sexual harassment and violence against women is a common topic which gets a lot of response from the public. This research aims to analyze the differences between women and man language on the response column from a thread of twitter social media that is about a woman who had encountered a pressure and sexual harassment by the doctor who carried out the rapid test of SARS-CoV-2 on Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. This research was using qualitative content analysis approach toward thread’s response column on the twitter. We have found that the language style of man and women on the thread were different. The language of women relatively unclear compare to the man. The sentences created by the women used a lot of question tag at the end, whereas a man relatively did not. Women also did reluctantly to cuss and abuse compare to man. Women were relatively involved in conversation related with heart while men relatively involved in report conversation. Responses or interruptions by women were not to control, challenge, or threaten, but to support or emphasize the conversation. Meanwhile, men used more instrumental talk, report information, solve problems, and solve problems through information exchange. We also found a similarity between women and man, which was a language of draw conclusion.

Personal social media usage and its impact on administrative accountability: An exploration of theory and practice

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 469-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karabi C. Bezboruah ◽  
Martinella M. Dryburgh
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Internet Survey ◽  
Employee Behavior ◽  
Government Employees ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Private Lives

In the internet era, the boundaries between public and private lives of government employees are often blurred, resulting in enhanced concerns about administrative accountability and effectiveness. By adopting a multi-step qualitative methodology involving internet survey and analysis of illustrative examples, this research explores and examines how social media policies could assist in keeping the public and private lives of civil servants distinct. We find that very few public sector agencies have adopted social media policies in an attempt to regulate employee behavior. We conclude that social media sites, both private and official, could be an effective administrative tool if harnessed properly. We offer certain recommendations and strategies based on our findings that could assist in accomplishing the principles of ethical administration.

Not quite an echo chamber: ethnic debate on Ethiopian Facebook pages during times of unrest

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terje Skjerdal ◽  
Sintayehu Gebru
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Primary Means ◽  
Echo Chamber ◽  
The Government ◽  
Facebook Pages ◽  
Chamber Effect

Social media commonly function as alternative channels for debate in controlled media societies, often supported by the digital diaspora. This study takes a closer look at Ethiopia, where communication traditionally has been controlled by the government. The situation was particularly tense between 2016 and 2017, when a state of emergency act was declared following anti-government protests. The study scrutinizes three of the most popular online channels during the unrest (Ethiopian DJ, Mereja.com and Zehabesha), all of which used Facebook as their primary means of communication. The findings show that the stories posted by the sites were overwhelmingly political, with a particular focus on ethnic issues. Reader reactions show a slightly different pattern, concentrating less on politics and more on society and culture. This could be an expression of felt anxiety among the public due to the tense political situation. Interestingly, when users did comment on ethnic issues, they were not in agreement, but debated the issues intensely and fiercely. A diversity of views was represented. The study concludes that an echo chamber effect was not detected. For lack of appropriate channels for public discussion in the mainstream media, Facebook accommodated a space for political exchange during the state of emergency.

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