scholarly journals Big Data for a Fairer Democracy?

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Heesen
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Big Data Analysis ◽  
Negative Freedom ◽  
The Public ◽  
Socially Relevant ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Machine Communication

Big data-analysis is linked to the expectation to provide a general image of socially relevant topics and processes. Similar to this, the idea of the public sphere involves being representative of all citizens and of important topics and problems. This contribution, on one side, aims to explain how a normative concept of the public sphere could be infiltrated by big data. On the other, it will discuss how participative processes and common wealth can profit from a thorough use of big data analysis. As important parts of the argument, two concepts will be introduced: the numerical public (as a public that is constituted by machine-communication) and total politicisation (as a loss of negative freedom of expression).

Hall of Mirrors: Media, Democratization, and the Public Sphere in Maranhão, Brazil

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 208-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julián Durazo Herrmann
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
The Public ◽  
Critical Elements ◽  
Strong Interference ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Public Sphere

Freedom of expression and access to diverse sources of information are seen as critical elements of democracy, although their concretization on the ground is subject to strong interference. Recent regime change in Maranhão, one of Brazil’s poorest states, has led to the emergence of new media and some expansion of the public sphere. The traditional oligarchy continues to dominate the media, however, and the opposition media replicate its exclusion of nonelite actors. The Maranhão experience confirms that normative approaches to the media either as automatic contributors to democracy or as instruments of elite manipulation have little value for understanding media dynamics. Liberdade de expressão, bem como o acesso a diversas fontes de informação, são considerados elementos críticos da democracia, ainda que a concretização desses fatores esteja sujeita a forte interferência. A recente troca de regime no Maranhão, um dos estados mais pobres do Brasil, tem levado ao surgimento de uma nova mídia e a uma certa expansão da esfera pública. Contudo, a oligarquia continua dominando a mídia tradicional e a mídia alternativa imita a prática de exclusão de atores não pertencentes à elite. A experiência do Maranhão confirma que tratamentos normativos que veem a mídia como contribuinte automática do processo democrático, ou como instrumento de manipulação da elite, teem pouco valor para se entender a dinâmica da mídia.

Paradox of Globalization: New Arab Publics? New Social Contract?

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 114-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila DeVriese
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Arab Spring ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
Political Strategy ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Arab Spring

AbstractBecause social media is playing an irrefutable role in the Arab Spring uprisings the central question in this article is to what extent Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in general, and social media in specific, are contributing to the democratization of the public sphere and shifting the monopoly on agenda setting in the Arab Gulf, particularly in the case of Bahrain? How will these technologies continue to shape contentious politics in the Middle East and will their utility for democratizing and expanding the public sphere persist in the aftermath of the Arab Spring? Or will the increasing liberalization of media and freedom of expression that had preceded the Arab Spring experience a repressive backlash as authoritarian states attempt to clamp down on social and traditional media—or even harness them for their own purposes as seen by Facebook intimidation campaigns against activists in Bahrain last Spring. Finally—using the lens of social movement theory—what repertoires of contention and political opportunity structures will pro-democracy activists use to keep their campaigns alive? Activists in the Gulf have not only incorporated the ICTs into their repertoire, but have also changed substantially what counts as activism, what counts as community, collective identity, democratic space, public sphere, and political strategy. Ironically this new technology has succeeded in reviving and expanding the practice of discursive dialog that had once characterized traditional tribal politics in the Arabian Peninsula.

scholarly journals Optimizing Bus Passenger Complaint Service through Big Data Analysis: Systematized Analysis for Improved Public Sector Management

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weng-Kun Liu ◽  
Chia-Chun Yen
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Big Data Analysis ◽  
The Public ◽  
Demand Chain ◽  
Customer Complaint ◽  
The Government

With the advances in industry and commerce, passengers have become more accepting of environmental sustainability issues; thus, more people now choose to travel by bus. Government administration constitutes an important part of bus transportation services as the government gives the right-of-way to transportation companies allowing them to provide services. When these services are of poor quality, passengers may lodge complaints. The increase in consumer awareness and developments in wireless communication technologies have made it possible for passengers to easily and immediately submit complaints about transportation companies to government institutions, which has brought drastic changes to the supply-demand chain comprised of the public sector, transportation companies, and passengers. This study proposed the use of big data analysis technology including systematized case assignment and data visualization to improve management processes in the public sector and optimize customer complaint services. Taichung City, Taiwan was selected as the research area. There, the customer complaint management process in public sector was improved, effectively solving such issues as station-skipping, allowing the public sector to fully grasp the service level of transportation companies, improving the sustainability of bus operations, and supporting the sustainable development of the public sector-transportation company-passenger supply chain.

scholarly journals Oil Spill Response Policies to Bridge the Perception Gap between the Government and the Public: A Social Big Data Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joungyoon Chun ◽  
Jeong-Hwan Oh ◽  
Choong-Ki Kim
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Big Data Analysis ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ecological Damage ◽  
Social Big Data ◽  
Local Residents

Oil spills cause socioeconomic and ecological damage to the marine environment and local communities. Implementing policies to effectively cope with such incidents is a challenging task due to the negative public perceptions about governmental responses. Using social big data, this study analyzed such negative perceptions in South Korea and the factors influencing them. The findings indicate that the public pays relatively little attention to oil spills but expresses serious concerns about the economic and ecological damage and the health and safety of volunteers and local residents. To improve public perception of oil spills, response strategies should aim to (1) analyze it using social big data to reduce the gap between governmental and public spheres, (2) release timely and accurate information to resolve civil distrust and dissatisfaction, (3) minimize direct damage to local communities and ecosystems affected by oil spills, and (4) reduce the impact on volunteers’ and local residents’ health and safety. Furthermore, through a multidisciplinary approach that combines social big data analysis methods with marine scientific research, it can contribute to creating a disaster response policy tailored to policy consumers.

The big data public and its problems: Big data and the structural transformation of the public sphere

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 1424-1439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tauel Harper
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Public Debate ◽  
Media Production ◽  
Audience Analysis ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Media Preferences ◽  
Media Experience

The use of algorithms to mine big data for media preferences presents a transformation in the structure of the public sphere that is amplifying the tyranny of the majority. Whereas previous scholarship has lamented the fragmentation of the public sphere caused by the use of big data to inform audience analysis and media production, I argue here that fragmentation itself is not an implicitly bad thing for public debate, as fragmentation can encourage participation from the otherwise disempowered. Instead, I suggest that the use of big data to inform media production causes problems in the public sphere not because it fragments public debate, but because it somewhat paradoxically recentres public engagement around the complementary interests of the broad majority and profitability. The problem for public engagement is not that there are no overarching or all-encompassing media structures anymore but rather that these systems are informed by algorithms that promote a particularly populist ‘profitable and normal’ media experience.

scholarly journals Celebrity ‘Ulama’: Contiguity Religion and Popular Culture

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-131
Author(s):  
Intan Kumalasari ◽  
Darliana Sormin ◽  
Muhammad Irsan Barus
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
New Order ◽  
Religious Authority ◽  
The Public ◽  
For Profit ◽  
The People ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Public Sphere

Post-1998 is the spread of spiritualism discourse. The emergence of celebrity ‘ulama’ in Islamic expression of contemporary Indonesian treasury is one example of how popular culture with a set of ideologies taking advantage of the rise of Islam. Television became an agent of a culture to the people with his ability as a link between one culture with another culture. Televisions have unpacked the real with the imaginary. With television all things can be esthetizatied, the sacred and the profane into somersaults. Television media such strength finally gave birth to a new religious authority, called celebrities ‘ulama’. Factors caused by the emergence of celebrity ‘’ulama’ are sociological, which characterized by many people who prefer to watch the celebrity ‘ulama’ than watching Conventional Ulama. Then supported by sophisticated Tecnology Science, the stage, and commodification. This shows that Islam has been negotiating with the market and subsequently published widely in the public sphere as a form of freedom of expression in the new order in which the strength of the potential of Islam to be appreciated by the government. This can be described as a form of commodification of religion in the sense of religious values ​​commercialized for profit.

scholarly journals THE ANALYSIS OF ILLOCUTIONARY ACTS USED BY SHERLY ANNAVITA IN INDONESIA LAWYERS CLUB

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Lukluatul Maulidiyah ◽  
Didin Nuruddin Hidayat ◽  
Alek Alek ◽  
Maya Defianty
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
The Public ◽  
Illocutionary Acts ◽  
Tv Shows ◽  
The Public Sphere

Understanding the illocutionary speech acts performed by prominent speakers in a formal event may bring significant impacts to provide an in-depth explanation of the purposes that the speakers intend to deliver. Sherly Annavita, a young politician and social influencer, was invited to one of Indonesia's prominent TV shows. As an influencer, her statements have often initiated a social movement, which led the researchers to examine how she delivered her thoughts in the public sphere. The present study employed a descriptive qualitative approach to uncovered what illocutionary speech acts performed by the above-mentioned politician and the purpose in each speech act. Data analysis of this study found sixteen (16) illocutionary speech acts performed by Sherly. Assertive Illocutionary Speech Act dominated her statements, followed by Expressive and Directive Illocutionary Speech Acts, respectively. Further, of all speech acts performed, Sherly delivered seven purposes of her statement, namely expressing opinions, notifying, stating arguments, advising, thanking, praising, and criticizing.

Datafication: threat or opportunity for communication in the public sphere?

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derina Holtzhausen
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Big Data ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Strategic Communication ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Communication Practice ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the threats and potential of Big Data for strategic communication. It explains the concepts of datafication and Big Data and establishes the social and cultural context of Big Data from the way those constructing algorithms superimpose their value systems and cultural references onto the data. It links Big Data and strategic communication through the segmentation devices and strategies both use and propose discourse analysis as a valid method for the critique of Big Data. The importance of strategic communication for the public sphere suggests that Big Data can pose a serious threat to public discourse. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual and theoretical paper that first explains and interprets various new terms and concepts and then uses established theoretical approaches to analyze these phenomena. Findings – The use of Big Data for the micro-segmentation of audiences establishes its relationship with strategic communication. Big Data analyses and algorithms are not neutral. Treating algorithms as language and communication allow them to be subjected to discourse analysis to expose underlying power relations for resistance strategies to emerge. Strategic communicators should guard the public sphere and take an activist stance against the potential harm of Big Data. That requires a seat at the institutional technology table and speaking out against discriminatory practices. However, Big Data can also greatly benefit society and improve discourse in the public sphere. Research limitations/implications – There is not yet empirical data available on the impact of datafication on communication practice, which might be a problem well into the future. It also might be hard to do empirical research on its impact on practice and the public sphere. The heuristic value of this piece is that it laid down the theoretical foundations of the phenomena to be studied, which can in future be used for ethnographic research or qualitative studies. It might eventually be possible to follow personalized messages generated through datafication to study if they actually lead to behavior change in specific audience members. Practical/implications – As guardians of the public sphere strategic communication practitioners have to educate themselves on the realities of Big Data and should consciously acquire a seat at the institutional technology table. Practitioners will need to be involved in decisions on how algorithms are formulated and who they target. This will require them to serve as activists to ensure social justice. They also will need to contribute to organizational transparency by making organizational information widely available and accessible through media bought, owned, and earned. Strategic communicators need to create a binary partnership with journalists of all kinds to secure the public sphere. Social/implications – The paper exposes the role of algorithms in the construction of data and the extent to which algorithms are products of people who impose their own values and belief systems on them. Algorithms and the data they generate are subjective and value-laden. The concept of algorithms as language and communication and the use of Big Data for the segmentation of society for purposes of communication establish the connection between Big Data and strategic communication. The paper also exposes the potential for harm in the use of Big Data, as well as its potential for improving society and bringing about social justice. Originality/value – The value of this paper is that it introduces the concept of datafication to communication studies and proposes theoretical foundations for the study of Big Data in the context of strategic communications. It provides a theoretical and social foundation for the inclusion of the public sphere in a definition of strategic communication and emphasizes strategic communicators’ commitment to the public sphere as more important than ever before. It highlights how communication practice and society can impact each other positively and negatively and that Big Data should not be the future of strategic communication but only a part of it.

scholarly journals Celebrity ‘Ulama’: Contiguity Religion and Popular Culture

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 516-523
Author(s):  
Intan Kumalasari ◽  
Darliana Sormin ◽  
Muhammad Irsan Barus
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
New Order ◽  
Religious Authority ◽  
The Public ◽  
For Profit ◽  
The People ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Public Sphere

Post-1998 is the spread of spiritualism discourse. The emergence of celebrity ‘ulama’ in Islamic expression of contemporary Indonesian treasury is one example of how popular culture with a set of ideologies taking advantage of the rise of Islam. Television became an agent of a culture to the people with his ability as a link between one culture with another culture. Televisions have unpacked the real with the imaginary. With television all things can be esthetizatied, the sacred and the profane into somersaults. Television media such strength finally gave birth to a new religious authority, called celebrities ‘ulama’. Factors caused by the emergence of celebrity ‘’ulama’ are sociological, which characterized by many people who prefer to watch the celebrity ‘ulama’ than watching Conventional Ulama. Then supported by sophisticated Tecnology Science, the stage, and commodification. This shows that Islam has been negotiating with the market and subsequently published widely in the public sphere as a form of freedom of expression in the new order in which the strength of the potential of Islam to be appreciated by the government. This can be described as a form of commodification of religion in the sense of religious values commercialized for profit. 

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