scholarly journals Algorithmic Media Need Democratic Methods: Why Publics Matter

2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fenwick Robert McKelvey
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Management ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Public Deliberation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Communication Studies ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Technical Operation ◽  
Systèmes D’Information

Algorithms increasingly control the backbone of media and information systems. This control occurs deep within opaque technical systems far from the political attention capable of addressing its influence. It also challenges conventional public theory, because the technical operation of algorithms does not prompt the reflection and awareness necessary for forming publics. Informed public deliberation about algorithmic media requires new methods, or mediators, that translate their operations into something publicly tangible. Combining an examination of theoretical work from Science and Technology Studies (STS) with Communication Studies–grounded research into Internet traffic management practices, this article posits that mediating the issues raised by algorithmic media requires that we embrace democratic methods of Internet measurement.De plus en plus, les algorithmes gouvernent la base des médias et des systèmes d’information. Ce contrôle s’exerce au plus profond de systèmes techniques obscurs, loin de l’attention du monde politique et de responsables aptes à encadrer une telle influence. En outre, il remet en question la théorie classique du public. En effet, l’exploitation technique des algorithmes ne suscite pas la réflexion et la sensibilisation propres à éduquer le public. Ainsi, pour qu’ait lieu un débat éclairé, ouvert à tous, sur les médias algorithmiques, il faut privilégier de nouvelles méthodes, ou médiateurs, qui permettront de transposer les activités de ces médias en notions publiquement tangibles. La démarche proposée dans cet article associe l’étude de la communication, étayée par la recherche sur les pratiques de gestion du trafic Internet, à une analyse des travaux théoriques émanant de l’étude des sciences et des technologies. On y pose en principe que la résolution des questions soulevées par les médias algorithmiques passe par l’adoption de méthodes de mesure Internet démocratiques.

Strategies of stratification: Regulating market access in the era of personalized medicine

2021 ◽  
pp. 030631272110055
Author(s):  
Sarah Wadmann ◽  
Amalie Martinus Hauge
Keyword(s):  
Personalized Medicine ◽  
Patient Population ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Market Access ◽  
European Medicines Agency ◽  
The Political ◽  
Market Regulation ◽  
Publicly Funded ◽  
Pharmaceutical Markets ◽  
Danish Healthcare System

Personalized medicine raises the stakes of pharmaceutical market regulation. Drawing on pragmatist valuation studies and science and technology studies literature on personalized medicine and pharmaceutical markets, this article demonstrates how complex negotiations about the value of a pharmaceutical can constitute a market in various ways, while also shaping the concerned patient populations. Tracing the path of a pharmacogenetic treatment, Spinraza, from its approval by the European Medicines Agency to its adoption in the publicly funded Danish healthcare system, we show how the market was formatted through particular stratifications of the patient population. We conceptualize these seemingly technical moves as strategies of stratification, that is, the application of techniques to assemble and divide data – and what data are meant to represent – into groups delineated by certain characteristics. We argue that stakeholders’ use of strategies of stratification has important implications not only for market access, but also for the delineation of diseases and patient populations. Hence, it is crucial to make intelligible the mutual constitution of pharmaceutical markets and patient populations and the political efforts of delineating and connecting the two.

scholarly journals INTRODUCING MORE TRANSPARENT AND EFFICIENT LAND MANAGEMENT IN POST‐SOCIALIST CITIES: LESSONS FROM KYRGYZSTAN

2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Kaganova ◽  
Abdirasul Akmatov ◽  
Charles Undeland
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Public Deliberation ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Registration System ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Property Registration

The Urban Institute (UI) worked with five cities in post‐Soviet Kyrgyzstan to apply better management practices through the development of Strategic Land Management Plans. Kyrgyzstan transferred property to local governments, but municipal land management had remained poor owing to a proliferation of responsible agencies, lack of rule of law, corruption, and passiveness on the part of local governments. UI worked with local governments to make an inventory of municipal land, publicize the results, and develop a strategy that articulated principles for land management and an implementation plan. This led to several improvements including proper registration of parcels and proactive policies to lease and sell land through open competition. It also established a model for determining public policy that countered corruption and public deliberation of costs and benefits in the use of local assets. Donor involvement to promote good land legislation, the property registration system, and decentralization was also critical to success. Santrauka Urbanistikos institutas bendradarbiavo su penkiais posovietinės Kirgizijos miestais, kad, plėtodamas strateginės žemėtvarkos planus, įvestų geresnę vadybos praktiką. Kirgizijoje nuosavybė perduota vietos valdžiai, tačiau žemėtvarkos būklė savivaldybėse išliko vargana dėl atsakingų tarnybų gausos, įstatymų trūkumo, korupcijos ir vietos valdžios pasyvumo. Urbanistikos institutas bendradarbiavo su vietos valdžia, siekdamas inventorizuoti savivaldybių žemę, paskelbti rezultatus ir sukurti strategiją, pabrėžiančią žemėtvarkos principus ir įgyvendinimo planą. Tai leido kai ką patobulinti, įskaitant deramą sklypų registravimą ir aktyvią žemės nuomos bei pardavimo per atvirus konkursus politiką. Be to, sudarytas modelis, nustatantis viešąją politiką, kovojančią su korupcija, ir viešus sąnaudų ir naudos svarstymus naudojant vietinį turtą. Prie gerų žemės įstatymų, nuosavybės registravimo sistemos ir decentralizacijos sėkmingo propagavimo daug prisidėjo ir rėmėjai.

Medicine: Experimentation, Politics, Emergent Bodies

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Michael ◽  
Marsha Rosengarten
Keyword(s):  
Public Health Policy ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Judith Butler ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Political ◽  
Medical Evidence ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Healthy Human ◽  
Randomized Controlled

In this introduction, we address some of the complexities associated with the emergence of medicine’s bodies, not least as a means to ‘working with the body’ rather than simply producing a critique of medicine. We provide a brief review of some of the recent discussions on how to conceive of medicine and its bodies, noting the increasing attention now given to medicine as a technology or series of technologies active in constituting a multiplicity of entities – bodies, diseases, experimental objects, the individualization of responsibility for health and even the precarity of life. We contrast what feminist theorists in the tradition of Judith Butler have referred to as the question of matter, and Science and Technology Studies with its focus on practice and the nature of emergence. As such we address tensions that exist in analyses of the ontological status of ‘the body’ – human and non-human – as it is enacted in the work of the laboratory, the randomized controlled trial, public health policy and, indeed, the market that is so frequently entangled with these spaces. In keeping with the recent turns toward ontology and affect, we suggest that we can regard medicine as concerned with the contraction and reconfiguration of the body’s capacities to affect and be affected, in order to allow for the subsequent proliferation of affects that, according to Bruno Latour, marks corporeal life. Treating both contraction and proliferation circumspectly, we focus on the patterns of affects wrought in particular by the abstractions of medicine that are described in the contributions to this special issue. Drawing on the work of A.N. Whitehead, we note how abstractions such as ‘medical evidence’, the ‘healthy human body’ or the ‘animal model’ are at once realized and undercut, mediated and resisted through the situated practices that eventuate medicine’s bodies. Along the way, we touch on the implications of this sort of perspective for addressing the distribution of agency and formulations of the ethical and the political in the medical eventuations of bodies.

From Protectionism to Regionalism: Multinational Firms and Trade-Related Investment Measures

2004 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry A. Chase
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade Agreement ◽  
Multinational Firms ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Sunk Costs ◽  
Asset Specificity ◽  
The Political ◽  
Multilateral Trade ◽  
Commitment Problems

Trade-related investment measures (TRIMs) have been a key issue in regional and multilateral trade negotiations, but they have received little attention in theoretical work to date. This article analyzes the political economy of TRIMs to illuminate why regional arrangements have been a popular framework for eliminating them. The main argument is that multinational firms often demand safeguards when TRIMs are being liberalized, particularly if they have large sunk costs due to asset specificity. In general, regional arrangements are better equipped than multilateral rules to incorporate the safeguards these firms demand: regionalism requires governments to make binding commitments, and it creates opportunities to discriminate against outsiders. A case study of lobbying by U.S. companies with FDI in Canada from the early twentieth century to the negotiation of the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement illustrates these points. The article concludes that regional arrangements are likely to remain more active, and more successful, than multilateral discussions in managing the commitment problems inherent in liberalizing TRIMs.

Rhetoric and Critical Cultural Studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Sloop
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Graduate Programs ◽  
Affect Theory ◽  
Specific Area ◽  
Media Ecology ◽  
The Political ◽  
Communication Studies ◽  
Culture Study ◽  
Broad Area ◽  
The U.S

While each term denoting the area of “Rhetoric and Critical/Cultural Studies” denotes a broad area of academic study on its own, there are numerous to contain or capture a specific area of study. Regardless of how it gets cordoned off, the area is defined by similar themes. In one sense, the area now going under this banner begins with the march of British cultural studies (especially, the so-called Birmingham School under Stuart Hall’s leadership) into the U.S. academic discussion that began in the 1970s. As this particular study of culture found its way into communication studies departments across the country, many scholars emerging from their graduate programs were shaping the area of rhetoric and critical/cultural scholars in the very act of researching the ways meanings/ideology were constrained and enabled by the operation of the entire circuit of meaning (i.e., production, consumption, representation, identity, and regulation). As the critical/culture study of rhetoric and communication has grown, several themes have emerged: (a) the study of ideological and discursive constraints (often linked to a critique of neoliberalism); (b) the study of media ecology and its way of shaping meaning; (c) studies focusing on reception/agency/resistance; (d) studies concerning materialism and the ways communication is altered by the political economy; (e) studies based in performativity; and (f) studies based in affect theory. In general, regardless of the orientation, these studies are concerned with issues of power and action around intersectional axes such as gender, race, class, sexuality, ethnicity, class, and nationality.

De standenvertegenwoordiging in de Christelijke Volkspartij en de Parti Social Chrétien

Res Publica ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-127
Author(s):  
Jozef Smits
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Structure ◽  
Interwar Period ◽  
The Political ◽  
Founding Fathers ◽  
Political Position ◽  
New Methods ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
General Elections

The in 1945 established Christian Social Party (The Flemish CVP and the French speaking PSC) showed some important differences in comparison with the prewar Catholic Party. The structure of the CVP-PSC was unitary, based upon individual membership instead of the prewar federation of « estates » (standen) . With this unitary structure, the founding fathers of the CVP-PSC tried to avoid the conflicts between the estates, a permanent cause of criticism and disurtity in the Catholic Partyduring the interwar period. In spite of the new organizational structure of the CVP-PSC, new methods of informal recognition of the estates were introduced for the aggregation of their claims and their representation within the party.The way this informal recognition of the estates in the CVP-PSC was solved, is briefly described in the first part of this article. Subsequent to the survey of the evolution of the political position of the estates and their relation to the CVP-PSC, the composition of the lists of candidates in the CVP-PSC for the general elections of 8 november 1981 is discussed.  Special attention is paid to the balancing in number and the ranking ofcandidates from the estates. Finally, the representation of the estates in the parliamentary group of the CVP-PSC is calculated for the general elections of 1974, 1977, 1978 and 1981.

scholarly journals Political and financial background in board interlocking and earnings management in Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristian Baú Dal Magro ◽  
Roberto Carlos Klann
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Accounting Information ◽  
Real Earnings Management ◽  
The Political ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quality Of Accounting Information

Purpose Although board interlocking underlying forces are largely hidden, the purpose of this paper is to provide managers, auditors, analysts, regulators and other stakeholders with sociological board interlocking information considering the different backgrounds of their members. Design/methodology/approach The research sample gathered 1,606 observations from 2010 to 2017. For data analysis, the direct and indirect board interlocking linkages, considering the different backgrounds of board members, established the centrality indicators. Subsequently, the authors used these indicators according to each measured background in the regression models. Findings The results indicate that the political background of board interlocking members is positively related to real earnings management practices, while the financial background has a mitigating effect on such practices. Research limitations/implications The findings suggest that individual skills and interests conveyed across the corporate social network have shaped corporate governance, with distinct impacts on the quality of accounting information. Practical implications The authors conclude that both backgrounds could have implications on agency conflicts, increasing (policy) or reducing (financial) information asymmetry between the company and its various stakeholders, which indicates that the authors must consider sociological and not just economic aspects within corporate governance. Social implications The sociological background of individuals is necessary for the congruence of monitoring mechanisms, and consequently, the quality of accounting information. Originality/value This study examines the influence of the political and financial background of board interlocking members on real earnings management practices in Brazilian publicly traded companies in the International Financial Reporting Standards post-adoption period.

scholarly journals L’ « animateur de communauté politique »

2016 ◽  
pp. 70-99
Author(s):  
Lena Alexandra Hübner
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Community Management ◽  
The Political ◽  
Communication Studies ◽  
Theoretical Discussion ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
German Politics ◽  
Facebook Pages ◽  
Community Manager

Cet article propose une discussion théorique autour de la notion de l’animateur de communauté dans le domaine politique. Plus précisément nous nous intéressons au rôle que ce dernier joue dans l’émergence de débats délibératifs au sein d’échanges ayant lieu sur les pages Facebook de partis politiques allemands. En s’appuyant sur les recherches portant sur les modérateurs de forums politiques et sur la recherche à propos de la gestion de communauté en communication marketing, le texte se questionne sur la relation entre l’animateur de communauté, son public et le parti politique. Ce faisant, trois hypothèses sont élaborées. Premièrement, le statut de l’animateur de communauté au sein de son équipe pourrait jouer un rôle dans le développement des échanges sur les pages en question. Deuxièmement, la modération silencieuse ne favoriserait pas l’émergence de débats. Troisièmement, le maintien de la frontière de l’espace de discussion susciterait des tensions entre internautes et partis politiques. À travers le concept du gatekeeping (contrôle des flux d’information), il est possible de capturer les rapports de force qui se déploient entre la communauté, l’animateur et le parti politique dans ce contexte. This article reflects a theoretical discussion about the notion of community management in German politics. It shows the role that the community manager plays in exchanges that take place on Facebook pages of political parties. More precisely, the article focuses on the community manager’s influence on the emergence of deliberative debates. Referring to research about moderation of political parties’ discussion forums as well as to marketing and communication studies on community management, this text questions the relation between community manager, its public and the political party. In doing so, three hypotheses are elaborated. First, the community manager’s status within the communication department and the party itself could play a role in the development of exchanges on the pages in question. Second, silent moderation would not favour emergence of debates. Finally, the maintenance of the frontiers defining the sphere of discussion may provoke tensions between the participants and the party. By applying the concept of gatekeeping, we are able to capture the power relations between users, management and political party in this context.

The political significance of data visualization: Four key perspectives

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torgeir Uberg Nærland
Keyword(s):  
Social Theory ◽  
Data Visualization ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Public Deliberation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Progressive Change ◽  
The Status ◽  
Data Visualizations

Practitioners and scholars alike assume that data visualization can have political significance—as vehicle for progressive change, manipulation, or maintaining the status quo. There are, however, a variety of ways in which we can think of data visualization as politically significant. These perspectives imply differing notions of both ‘politics’ and ‘significance’. Drawing upon political and social theory, this chapter identifies and outlines four key perspectives: data visualization and 1) public deliberation, 2) ideology, 3) citizenship, and 4) as a political-administrative steering tool. The aim of this chapter is thus to provide a framework that helps clarify the various contexts, processes, and capacities through which data visualizations attain political significance.

From Information Availability to Factual Accountability

2019 ◽  
pp. 39-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Graves ◽  
Chris Wells
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Democratic Society ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Political Information ◽  
The Political ◽  
Communication Studies ◽  
Information Availability ◽  
Information Order

Theories of democracy in communication studies have emphasized the importance of citizens encountering quality political information and incorporating that information into their views. These emphases on exposure tend to take the truth of the information being consumed for granted. Today, the problem of truth has become more visible, inviting reconsideration of how we expect truth to operate in democratic society. In this chapter, we suggest the need to consider not only the availability of information but also the conditions under which leaders and other communicators are held accountable for the veracity of their claims—a process we call factual accountability. We argue that members of the political elite, news media, and citizens each have roles to play in establishing factual accountability, but trends in each of these realms pose challenges to a truth-driven information order. We conclude with suggestions for reconstructing factual accountability as a basis for public conversation.

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