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.

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 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.

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.

Challenges for an SNS-based public sphere in 2016

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (7) ◽  
pp. 1106-1123
Author(s):  
Kyle John Lorenzano ◽  
Miles Sari ◽  
Colin Harrell Storm ◽  
Samuel Rhodes ◽  
Porismita Borah
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Political Polarization ◽  
Political Discussion ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
2016 Election ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Willingness To Use

PurposePolitical polarization and incivility manifested itself online throughout the 2016 US presidential election. The purpose of this paper is to understand how features of social media platforms (e.g. reacting, sharing) impacted the online public sphere during the 2016 election.Design/methodology/approachAfter conducting in-depth interviews with politically interested young people and applying deductive coding procedures to transcripts of the interviews, Dahlberg’s (2004) six normative conditions for the public sphere were used to empirically examine this interview data.FindingsWhile some participants described strategies for productive political discussion on Social Networking Sites (SNS) and a willingness to use them to discuss politics, many users’ experiences largely fall short of Dahlberg’s (2004) normative criteria for the public sphere.Research limitations/implicationsThe period in which these interviews were conducted in could have contributed to a more pessimistic view of political discussion in general.Practical implicationsScholars and the public should recognize that the affordances of SNS for political discussion are not distributed evenly between different platforms, both for the sake of empirical studies of SNS moving forward and the state of democratic deliberation.Originality/valueAlthough previous research has examined online and SNS-based political discussion as it relates to the public sphere, few attempts have been made understand how specific communicative practices or platform-specific features of SNS have contributed to or detracted from a healthy public sphere.

Structural Analysis to Measure the Influence of Think Tanks’ Networks in the Digital Era

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 363-395
Author(s):  
Juan Luis Manfredi-Sánchez ◽  
Juan Antonio Sánchez-Giménez ◽  
Juan Pizarro-Miranda
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Structural Analysis ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Think Tanks ◽  
The Public ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Public Sphere

Ideas fuel power, giving means, understanding and arguments to the public sphere. Think tanks are the most influential actors in creating and disseminating such ideas in the field of international relations. This article analyses the networks of relations among think tanks in order better to understand their nature and the ways in which they operate in a global reality, organized by geographical areas. The research method is by structural analysis, using raw data collected on Twitter. Most of the think tanks selected are those categorized by the gotothinktank.com study. The main conclusions are that English is the predominant language, that geography still matters in influencing ideas and that us-based think tanks lead the social media conversation.

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.

scholarly journals Social media as public sphere: a stakeholder perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 212-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Rohde Johannessen ◽  
Øystein Sæbø ◽  
Leif Skiftenes Flak
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Communication Preferences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Stakeholder Perspective ◽  
The Public Sphere

Purpose This paper aims to examine major stakeholders’ communication preferences in eParticipation initiatives and discuss how this affects the public sphere. Despite the potential of social media, it has proven difficult to get people actively involved in the decision-making processes. There is a need for more research on how stakeholders manage and use social media to communicate. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted as a qualitative case study. Data sources include interviews, social media content, document analysis and field notes. Findings Communication preferences of stakeholders vary according to their salience level. Stakeholders with higher salience are less likely to participate in social media, whereas those who are less salient will use every available medium to gain influence. This challenges the opportunity to create a traditional public sphere in social media. Research limitations/implications The authors contribute to a better understanding of who participates in social media and why. Stakeholder salience analysis shows that in the case of citizen-initiated eParticipation, social media cannot be seen as a Habermasian public sphere. Practical implications The authors suggest two approaches for government officials’ handling of social media: to treat social media as a channel for input and knowledge about the concerns of citizen groups and to integrate social media in the formal processes of decision making to develop consultative statements on specific policy issues. Social implications The study shows that power and urgency are the most important salience attributes. These findings indicate that social media may not be as inclusive as early research indicates, and less active social media users may have power and influence through other channels. Originality/value The findings extend current knowledge of the public sphere by adding the stakeholder perspective in addition to existing evaluative models of the public sphere.

Forensic Iconicity: The Experimental Law’s Whatness in Digital Culture

Pólemos ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-145
Author(s):  
Cristina Costantini
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Political Theology ◽  
Symbolic Representation ◽  
Digital Culture ◽  
The Public ◽  
Material Medium ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
Structural Ambiguity ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Public Sphere

AbstractThinking about the whatness of the Law in the digital era means to return to question its ontological abyss and its metaphysical violence. The essay rests on the idea that Law, to declare or to command, to condemn or to absolve, needs a material medium of communication that allows its sensible perceptibility. At the same time, the concrete appearances of the Law in the public sphere are partial and paradoxical: they are haunted by an ontological excess that resists against a conclusive form of mundane apprehension. Forensic Iconicity is the expression coined to figuratively depict the structural ambiguity between ostensibility and concealment that marks the Law’s presentialness. The aim of the work is to explore the transmutations and the displacements of the ancient bodies of symbolic representation of the Law up to the current dispersion in algorithmic sequences and digital traces. Moreover, according to the view proposed, the unresolved relationship between the abstract prophecy of Law and its physical precipitate has been captured and explained by the means of different paradigms, moving from political theology to algorithmic angelism.

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