Trolls Just Want To Have Fun

2015 ◽  
pp. 1172-1206
Author(s):  
Shefali Virkar
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Body Politic ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
The Government

Over the last two decades, public confidence and trust in Government has declined visibly in several Western liberal democracies owing to a distinct lack of opportunities for citizen participation in political processes; and has instead given way instead to disillusionment with current political institutions, actors, and practices. The rise of the Internet as a global communications medium and the advent of digital platforms has opened up huge opportunities and raised new challenges for public institutions and agencies, with digital technology creating new forms of community; empowering citizens and reforming existing power structures in a way that has rendered obsolete or inappropriate many of the tools and processes of traditional democratic politics. Through an analysis of the No. 10 Downing Street ePetitions Initiative based in the United Kingdom, this article seeks to engage with issues related to the innovative use of network technology by Government to involve citizens in policy processes within existing democratic frameworks in order to improve administration, to reform democratic processes, and to renew citizen trust in institutions of governance. In particular, the work seeks to examine whether the application of the new Information and Communication Technologies to participatory democracy in the Government 2.0 era would eventually lead to radical transformations in government functioning, policymaking, and the body politic, or merely to modest, unspectacular political reform and to the emergence of technology-based, obsessive-compulsive pathologies and Internet-based trolling behaviours amongst individuals in society.

Trolls Just Want To Have Fun

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 21-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shefali Virkar
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Body Politic ◽  
The Body ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
The Government

Over the last two decades, public confidence and trust in Government has declined visibly in several Western liberal democracies owing to a distinct lack of opportunities for citizen participation in political processes; and has instead given way instead to disillusionment with current political institutions, actors, and practices. The rise of the Internet as a global communications medium and the advent of digital platforms has opened up huge opportunities and raised new challenges for public institutions and agencies, with digital technology creating new forms of community; empowering citizens and reforming existing power structures in a way that has rendered obsolete or inappropriate many of the tools and processes of traditional democratic politics. Through an analysis of the No. 10 Downing Street ePetitions Initiative based in the United Kingdom, this article seeks to engage with issues related to the innovative use of network technology by Government to involve citizens in policy processes within existing democratic frameworks in order to improve administration, to reform democratic processes, and to renew citizen trust in institutions of governance. In particular, the work seeks to examine whether the application of the new Information and Communication Technologies to participatory democracy in the Government 2.0 era would eventually lead to radical transformations in government functioning, policymaking, and the body politic, or merely to modest, unspectacular political reform and to the emergence of technology-based, obsessive-compulsive pathologies and Internet-based trolling behaviours amongst individuals in society.

The Changing Face of Electronic Aggression

2019 ◽  
pp. 414-434
Author(s):  
Shefali Virkar
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Body Politic ◽  
The Body ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Digital Network ◽  
The Government

Over the last two decades, public confidence and trust in Government has declined visibly in several liberal democracies, giving way instead to disillusionment with current political institutions, actors, and practices; rendering obsolete or inappropriate much of traditional democratic politics. Simultaneously, digital technologies have created huge opportunities for public bodies and agencies. In analysing the No. 10 Downing Street ePetitions Initiative based in the United Kingdom, this chapter engages with issues related to the innovative use of digital network technology by Government to involve citizens in policy processes and to buffer national security within existing democratic frameworks. The work examines whether the application of new digital platforms to participatory democracy in the Government 2.0 era leads eventually to radical transformations in government functioning and the body politic, or merely to modest, unspectacular political reform and to the emergence of technology-based obsessive-compulsive pathologies and trolling behaviours amongst individuals in society.

Trolls Just Want to Have Fun

2017 ◽  
pp. 111-162
Author(s):  
Shefali Virkar
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Body Politic ◽  
The Body ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Digital Network ◽  
The Government

Over the last two decades, public confidence and trust in Government has declined visibly in several liberal democracies, giving way instead to disillusionment with current political institutions, actors, and practices; rendering obsolete or inappropriate much of traditional democratic politics. Simultaneously, digital technologies have created huge opportunities for public bodies and agencies. In analysing the No. 10 Downing Street ePetitions Initiative based in the United Kingdom, this chapter engages with issues related to the innovative use of digital network technology by Government to involve citizens in policy processes and to buffer national security within existing democratic frameworks. The work examines whether the application of new digital platforms to participatory democracy in the Government 2.0 era leads eventually to radical transformations in government functioning and the body politic, or merely to modest, unspectacular political reform and to the emergence of technology-based obsessive-compulsive pathologies and trolling behaviours amongst individuals in society.

The Changing Face of Electronic Aggression

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 29-46
Author(s):  
Shefali Virkar
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Body Politic ◽  
The Body ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Digital Network ◽  
The Government

Over the last two decades, public confidence and trust in Government has declined visibly in several liberal democracies, giving way instead to disillusionment with current political institutions, actors, and practices; rendering obsolete or inappropriate much of traditional democratic politics. Simultaneously, digital technologies have created huge opportunities for public bodies and agencies. In analysing the No. 10 Downing Street ePetitions Initiative based in the United Kingdom, this chapter engages with issues related to the innovative use of digital network technology by Government to involve citizens in policy processes and to buffer national security within existing democratic frameworks. The work examines whether the application of new digital platforms to participatory democracy in the Government 2.0 era leads eventually to radical transformations in government functioning and the body politic, or merely to modest, unspectacular political reform and to the emergence of technology-based obsessive-compulsive pathologies and trolling behaviours amongst individuals in society.

Consulting the British Public in the Digital Age

2015 ◽  
pp. 1763-1788
Author(s):  
Shefali Virkar
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Body Politic ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
The Body ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Digital Network ◽  
The Government

Over the last two decades, public confidence and trust in Government has declined visibly in several liberal democracies; giving way instead to disillusionment with current political institutions, actors, and practices, and rendering obsolete or inappropriate much of traditional democratic politics. Simultaneously, digital technologies have opened up huge opportunities and raised new challenges for public institutions and agencies. Through an analysis of the No. 10 Downing Street ePetitions Initiative based in the United Kingdom, this chapter will engage with issues related to the innovative use of digital network technology by Government to involve citizens in policy processes within existing democratic frameworks. The work examines whether the application of new digital platforms to participatory democracy in the Government 2.0 era leads eventually to radical transformations in government functioning and the body politic, or merely to modest, unspectacular political reform and to the emergence of technology-based pathologies and addictive behaviours amongst individuals in society.

Consulting the British Public in the Digital Age

2015 ◽  
pp. 199-225
Author(s):  
Shefali Virkar
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Body Politic ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
The Body ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Digital Network ◽  
The Government

Over the last two decades, public confidence and trust in Government has declined visibly in several liberal democracies; giving way instead to disillusionment with current political institutions, actors, and practices, and rendering obsolete or inappropriate much of traditional democratic politics. Simultaneously, digital technologies have opened up huge opportunities and raised new challenges for public institutions and agencies. Through an analysis of the No. 10 Downing Street ePetitions Initiative based in the United Kingdom, this chapter will engage with issues related to the innovative use of digital network technology by Government to involve citizens in policy processes within existing democratic frameworks. The work examines whether the application of new digital platforms to participatory democracy in the Government 2.0 era leads eventually to radical transformations in government functioning and the body politic, or merely to modest, unspectacular political reform and to the emergence of technology-based pathologies and addictive behaviours amongst individuals in society.

Innovations in Information and Communication Technology Platforms for Public Administration

2015 ◽  
pp. 23-43
Author(s):  
Shefali Virkar
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Technology Platforms ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Global Communications

Over the last two decades, public confidence and trust in government has declined visibly in several Western liberal democracies, owing to a distinct lack of opportunities for citizen participation in political processes, and has given way instead to disillusionment with current political institutions, actors, and practices. The rise of the Internet as a global communications medium has opened up huge opportunities and raised new challenges for government, with digital technology creating new forms of community, empowering citizens, and reforming existing power structures in a way that has rendered obsolete or inappropriate many of the tools and processes of traditional democratic politics. Through an analysis of the No. 10 Downing Street ePetitions Initiative based in the United Kingdom, this chapter seeks to engage with issues related to the innovative use of network technology by government to involve citizens in policy processes within existing democratic frameworks in order to improve administration, reform democratic processes, and renew citizen trust in institutions of governance.

Workers' Councils and Political Stratification: The Yugoslav Experience

1978 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidney Verba ◽  
Goldie Shabad
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Open Channels ◽  
Professional Status ◽  
The Political ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Political Inequality ◽  
Extensive Survey ◽  
Using Data

Many students of citizen participation claim that one solution to the problem of political inequality in liberal democracies lies in the establishment of direct participatory channels in decentralized socioeconomic and political institutions similar to those found in Yugoslavia. Others argue that the availability of participatory channels in the workplace leads to the domination of these channels by a technocratic elite. Still other students of participation in Yugoslavia claim that participatory channels are dominated by the political elite, the League of Communists.In this paper, we examine this set of conflicting hypotheses by using data which come from an extensive survey of participatory activities in four Yugoslav republics. Our findings are consistent with the interpretation that workers' councils open channels for a more technocratically oriented participation. When it comes to other kinds of activity, affiliation with the League is more important than socioeconomic or professional status in determining who participates. But because League members come disproportionately from upper-status groups, there is not a marked difference in the extent to which membership in workers' councils and participation in other kinds of activity are biased in favor of the advantaged segments of Yugoslav society. In each case, but for different reasons, it is the upper-status citizen who is likely to be active.

Explaining Government Crowdsourcing Decisions

2020 ◽  
pp. 159-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilay Yavuz ◽  
Naci Karkın ◽  
Ecem Buse Sevinç Çubuk
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
Efficiency And Effectiveness ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Government

Crowdsourcing online has been popularly utilized especially among business organizations to achieve efficiency and effectiveness goals and to obtain a competitive advantage in the market. With the governments' increasing interest in using information and communication technologies for a variety of purposes, including generation of public value(s) and innovative practices, online crowdsourcing has also entered into the public administration domain. Accordingly, studies have investigated critical success factors for governmental crowdsourcing, or explored citizen participation in crowdsourcing activities in case studies. However, governmental decision to adopt online crowdsourcing as innovation has not been sufficiently examined in the extant literature. The objective of this chapter is to propose a theoretical model that explains the government adoption of crowdsourcing. Based on the review of case studies on governmental crowdsourcing, an integrated theoretical model of factors affecting government crowdsourcing decisions is developed.

Bridging the Political Gap?

2013 ◽  
pp. 1658-1677
Author(s):  
Yanina Welp
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
The Public ◽  
The People ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
High Level

Given the lack of transparency and the extent to which corruption is endemic to most Latin American countries, it is not surprising to find a high level of citizen distrust in political institutions. Parliaments and political parties are the institutions most affected by this crisis of representative democracy, and receive the lowest levels of public confidence. In recent years, many initiatives, including those based on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), have been developed with the aim of revitalizing democracy, increasing transparency in public management, and opening up new spaces for political participation. However, the consequences of such initiatives are still unknown while the potential benefits of e-participation remain controversial: Should parliaments promote e-participation in societies that experience such a huge digital divide? Should participation be a top-down process initiated by governments or parliaments? Or should they increase accountability and leave participation in hands of the people? The aims of this chapter are twofold: (i) to analyze to what extent parliaments are offering more and better information to the public, and are becoming more transparent and accountable through the use of ICTs, and (ii) to examine the spread and scope of participatory initiatives in the law-making process.

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