Inf. PolityPub Date : 2019-08-27DOI: 10.3233/IP-190130
Huaxiong Jiang, S. Geertman, P. Witte
{"title":"Smart urban governance: An urgent symbiosis?","authors":"Huaxiong Jiang, S. Geertman, P. Witte","doi":"10.3233/IP-190130","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-190130","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":418875,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Polity","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130202699","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inf. PolityPub Date : 2019-08-27DOI: 10.3233/ip-190007
A. Meijer, C. Webster
{"title":"Governing Smart Cities: Why Do Academics Need to Study Trendy Concepts?","authors":"A. Meijer, C. Webster","doi":"10.3233/ip-190007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/ip-190007","url":null,"abstract":"In this issue of Information Polity we are delighted to present a set of thought-provoking papers on governing smart cities. These papers present a range of theoretical and empirical analyses of new emerging relations between new digital technologies and urban governance. A critical observer might question the choice of subject matter – why is it of interest to read a set of papers focused on a trendy concept like smart cities? Why don’t we focus on meaningful theoretical concepts such as socio-technological dynamics, informatization, the information polity or information intermediaries? Why don’t we just stick to strong theoretical narratives from disciplines such as political science, information science or organizational science? Information Polity is not the only journal that presents special issues on contemporary topics. At conferences and in journals, there is an observable trend for researchers to present research about the latest technological developments in their field. As academics in the field of e-government studies, we tend to focus on concepts that are en vogue, such as agile government, smart governance, artificial intelligence, blockchain, etc. Considerable effort is spent unpacking and repacking these concepts, often using the analytical tools embedded in different disciplinary approaches. In doing so, it is evident that narrow prescriptive labels are often not especially meaningful and that any new concept or approach needs to be understood and embedded in existing social-scientific theories of governance, democracy and the public sector. A cynic might argue that this energy could better be spent on ‘real’ academic work and that examining the latest industry terminology or policy jargon is actually a distraction to understanding the real institutional and normative changes occurring in our field. So why focus on a trendy concept like smart cities? A pragmatic explanation would be that we as academics have to use these concepts to obtain funding for our research. Funding agencies consistently ask for research that is related to current trends and topics, and this often means that proposals need to be connected to the latest hyped concept in the public sector. We understand how this works, but at the same time this is not the reason why we are presenting a special issue on governing the smart city. We cannot be naïve in these dynamics, but we also should not let the logic of the funder determine our research agendas. There are also a number of good reasons for focusing on emerging concepts like smart city governance. A practical reason is that we can use such terminology as a starting point for a conversation with practitioners, policy-makers and industry. By making reference to the latest policy and service delivery terminology, however trendy, gives us a chance to foster positive conversations with organizational actors. Academic jargon and complex impractical theoretical approaches are typically less attractive to practitione","PeriodicalId":418875,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Polity","volume":"43 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114166808","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inf. PolityPub Date : 2019-05-29DOI: 10.3233/IP-190160
Anneke Zuiderwijk, C. Hinnant
{"title":"Open data policy-making: A review of the state-of-the-art and an emerging research agenda","authors":"Anneke Zuiderwijk, C. Hinnant","doi":"10.3233/IP-190160","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-190160","url":null,"abstract":"This section presents a selection of papers on open data policy- making from the 19th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research 2018 (dg.o 2018). To position the research discussed in this section meaningfully, our introductory article aims to create an overview of the state- of- the- art of open data policy- making research and to derive an emerging research agenda from this overview. We found that much research has been done in the field of open data in the past few decades. However, the number of conducted systematic literature reviews concerning open data research is limited and literature reviews that have included aspects related to open data policy- making are even more rare. Our analysis of eight systematic literature review articles that include the topic of open data policy- making shows that these articles contain four main content-related elements: open data policy- making, a discussion of open data policy- making research, theory used in open data policy- making research and suggested areas for future research about open data policy- making. We discuss each of these areas and we outline emerging research directions categorized by three main topics: 1) open data policy- making and theory development, 2) open data policy- making effects, and 3) open data policy- making from a multi-actor perspective. Finally, we provide an overview of the papers included in this section on open data policy-making.","PeriodicalId":418875,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Polity","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121676031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inf. PolityPub Date : 2019-05-03DOI: 10.3233/IP-180107
Victoria Wang, David Shepherd, Mark D. Button
{"title":"The barriers to the opening of government data in the UK: A view from the bottom","authors":"Victoria Wang, David Shepherd, Mark D. Button","doi":"10.3233/IP-180107","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-180107","url":null,"abstract":"This paper explores some of the key barriers to Open Government Data (OGD) that responsible civil servants in the UK face as they try to comply with the UK-led OGD initiative. Empirically, we provide a quantitative analysis of the resources published on the government’s central OGD portal, data.gov.uk, and a unique insight into the publishing of OGD in the UK based on 22 interviews with responsible individuals at the operational level of publishing OGD. Our findings reveal that while the barriers to open government information have been substantially reduced, the barriers to open government data persist. Even the most enthusiastic responsible individuals face considerable obstacles in publishing OGD. Further, a key barrier to OGD in the UK is its impression management strategy based on its informational rather than data orientation. Due to the UK’s pioneering position in the OGD initiative, these findings are relevant to understanding and improving OGD programmes at local, national and international levels. The findings may, subsequently, lead to evidence-based strategies and policies.","PeriodicalId":418875,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Polity","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131900501","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inf. PolityPub Date : 2019-03-06DOI: 10.3233/IP-180086
J. Huňady
{"title":"The effect of the Internet on corruption awareness and corruption incidence in the EU","authors":"J. Huňady","doi":"10.3233/IP-180086","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-180086","url":null,"abstract":"It is obvious that the Internet connection brings several unquestionable benefits to people and society. However, not all of them can be seen at first sight. This study examines the potential effect of Internet usage on corruption awareness as well as experience with corruption and actual reporting of corruption cases. We conducted mainly IV probit and 2SLS regression based on the data from the Eurobarometer survey. We have found that intensity of Internet usage seems to be a significant factor affecting respondents’ knowledge about where to report the corruption. Internet usage appears to have a positive effect on the accuracy of corruption extent estimation in a country. Moreover, our results strongly suggest that those using the Internet frequently are more likely to report experiences of corruption. In line with this result, promoting of Internet usage and enabling Internet access can be seen as a potential anti-corruption tool. Our findings have several important implications for anti-corruption and bribery policies. Due to the fact that especially the initial installation cost proves to be the essential problem, the effective strategy should also include the subsidies for Internet access.","PeriodicalId":418875,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Polity","volume":"34 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122840857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inf. PolityPub Date : 2019-01-04DOI: 10.3233/IP-180093
Alberto Lioy, Marc Esteve Del Valle, J. Gottlieb
{"title":"Platform politics: Party organisation in the digital age","authors":"Alberto Lioy, Marc Esteve Del Valle, J. Gottlieb","doi":"10.3233/IP-180093","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-180093","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the interaction of organisational and technological changes adopted by parties to respond to members’ demands for more participation. We develop a term, platform politics, and create a framework for identifying how parties use platforms to open or close intra-party decision-making. The framework is then applied to two institutionalised parties (PSOE and PD) and to two movement-based parties (Podemos and M5S) of the changing party systems of Spain and Italy. We conclude that the tensions between existing organisational structures and the use of internet-based platforms create a series of unintended consequences for parties, which result in potentially disruptive outcomes.","PeriodicalId":418875,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Polity","volume":"81 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114176570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inf. PolityPub Date : 2018-12-10DOI: 10.3233/IP-180070
B. Klievink, H. V. D. Voort, W. Veeneman
{"title":"Creating value through data collaboratives","authors":"B. Klievink, H. V. D. Voort, W. Veeneman","doi":"10.3233/IP-180070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-180070","url":null,"abstract":"Driven by the technological capabilities that ICTs offer, data enable new ways to generate value for both society and the parties that own or offer the data. This article looks at the idea of data collaboratives as a form of cross-sector partnership to exchange and integrate data and data use to generate public value. The concept thereby bridges data-driven value creation and collaboration, both current themes in the field. To understand how data collaboratives can add value in a public governance context, we exploratively studied the qualitative longitudinal case of an infomobility platform. We investigated the ability of a data collaborative to produce results while facing significant challenges and tensions between the goals of parties, each having the conflicting objectives of simultaneously retaining control whilst allowing for generativity. Taken together, the literature and case study findings help us to understand the emergence and viability of data collaboratives. Although limited by this study’s explorative nature, we find that conditions such as prior history of collaboration and supportive rules of the game are key to the emergence of collaboration. Positive feedback between trust and the collaboration process can institutionalise the collaborative, which helps it survive if conditions change for the worse.","PeriodicalId":418875,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Polity","volume":"40 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127536412","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inf. PolityPub Date : 2018-12-10DOI: 10.3233/IP-170068
F. Zhao, Suwastika Naidu, A. Chand, Gurmeet Singh, Aarti Sewak, Maureen Karan
{"title":"Social networks, cultural orientations and e-government adoption behavior: A Fijian study","authors":"F. Zhao, Suwastika Naidu, A. Chand, Gurmeet Singh, Aarti Sewak, Maureen Karan","doi":"10.3233/IP-170068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-170068","url":null,"abstract":"Research demonstrates that social networks have an intrinsic relationship with culture. However, very limited research – theoretical or empirical – has examined how social networks, along with cultural orientations, influence e-government adoption. In this paper we seek to address the gap. Based on social network theory, as well as the culture models of Hofstede (2001) and House et al. (2004), we develop a research model to study the relationships between social networks, cultural orientations and e-government adoption behavior. We then test the model empirically by means of a survey in Fiji where community-based social networks are an integral part of people’s lives. Our results demonstrate in detail how social networks and cultural orientations influence e-government adoption. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.","PeriodicalId":418875,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Polity","volume":"50 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117216325","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inf. PolityPub Date : 2018-12-10DOI: 10.3233/IP-180009
J. Heawood
{"title":"Pseudo-public political speech: Democratic implications of the Cambridge Analytica scandal","authors":"J. Heawood","doi":"10.3233/IP-180009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-180009","url":null,"abstract":"On 29 July 2018, the House of Commons Select Committee on Digital, Culture, Media and Sport published a report on ‘fake news’ (DCMS, 2018). Oddly, but perhaps appropriately, the report wasn’t actually about fake news. The Select Committee explained that, although they had begun by looking at fake news, they had been diverted by a series of stories about a company called Cambridge Analytica1 that were published in the Observer earlier this year. In those articles, Carole Cadwalladr,2 the Observer journalist, had revealed that Cambridge Analytica, or companies linked to Cambridge Analytica, had used the personal data of about 200,000 Facebook users to build up detailed psychological profiles of up to 87 million Facebook users. Whilst the initial 200,000 users had voluntarily completed a personality test, they had not necessarily known how their answers would be used, and the 87 million users who were profiled had most certainly not given their informed consent for this (Cadwalladr, 2018). Cambridge Analytica used this massive database to help political campaigners in the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries to target Facebook users with highly specific messages. This ‘microtargeting’ has been defined as ‘a type of personalised communication that involves collecting information about people, and using that information to show them targeted political advertisements’ (Borgesius et al., 2018: 81). Cambridge Analytica used a profiling tool called OCEAN to categorise Facebook users on the basis of their ‘Openness’, ‘Conscientiousness’, ‘Extraversion’, ‘Agreeableness’ and ‘Neuroticism’. They then helped their clients to target users with the most effective messages. The Select Committee observed that Cambridge Analytica ‘might play on the fears of someone who could be frightened into believing that they needed the right to have a gun to protect their home from intruders’","PeriodicalId":418875,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Polity","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128175869","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inf. PolityPub Date : 2018-12-10DOI: 10.3233/IP-170069
S. Walle, Zane Zeibote, Sergejs Stacenko, T. Muravska, K. Migchelbrink
{"title":"Explaining non-adoption of electronic government services by citizens: A study among non-users of public e-services in Latvia","authors":"S. Walle, Zane Zeibote, Sergejs Stacenko, T. Muravska, K. Migchelbrink","doi":"10.3233/IP-170069","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-170069","url":null,"abstract":"This paper analyses citizen motives for not using electronic government services. Using \u0000qualitative interviews among users of Citizens´ Service Centers in Latvia, this paper analyses \u0000the motives of citizens not to use electronic government services but to rely on non-electronic \u0000equivalents or on in-person assistance. It expands the literature on e-commerce and egovernment through an explicit focus on non-adoption rather than adoption. Findings show a \u0000higher than expected importance of hardware and internet availability, as well convenience \u0000factors as important reasons for non-adoption. The research furthermore reveals that the \u0000well-intentioned supply of non-electronic alternatives may hamper the take-up of egovernment. A number of recommendations for the further development of electronic \u0000government services follow.","PeriodicalId":418875,"journal":{"name":"Inf. Polity","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134362935","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}