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Lin, Zhong Xuan. "Towards a politics of ourselves :Chinese internet celebrity's practices of self-governance." Thesis, University of Macau, 2017. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b3690692.
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Rossiter, Ned. "Processual media theory, organised networks and the politics of information societies." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2005. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/634.
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This thesis setss out to re-evaluate and re-think theories of communications media and theories of democracy formation under translocal, global and networked conditions. In order to do this, the thesis brings a combination of social and communications theory, political philosophy and "radical empiricism" to the study of the socio-technical dimensions of Net cultures. It examines the ways in which emergent networks of creativity, labour, organisation and intervention challenge the sovereignty of the state-corporation nexus, which functions tu restrict access and control information flows in the interests of security and profit. The thesis investigates the relationship between emergent forms of organisation and the seemingly de-nationalised realm of networks. It considers how democratic polities might be constituted in terms of material interventions within the network. The challenge of theorising and inventing new idioms of democracy within an informational paradigm underpins much of the inquiry within this thesis.
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Lou, Lai Chu. "Alternative political discussion in Macau's online forums." Thesis, University of Macau, 2008. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b1874131.
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Du, Juan. "Constructing the internet panoptic-fortification: a legal study on China's internet regulatory mechanism." HKBU Institutional Repository, 2018. https://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_oa/530.
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With the development of the information network technologies and the popularisation of the Internet, Chinese society is experiencing a Triple Revolution. Regulating the Internet has become a priority in China. In this context, this study seeks a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of China's Internet regulatory mechanism. Through the systematical analysis on Internet law in China, supplemented by the case study on how the issue of the Occupy Movement in Hong Kong was regulated, this study argues that China has developed a hybrid Internet regulatory model, which values both external defense and internal control in pursuit of the goal of cybersecurity, and which combines hierarchical regulation with horizontal monitoring to address challenges brought by contemporary network society. The Internet panoptic-fortification model is developed to illuminate China's Internet regulatory mechanism. The Internet panoptic-fortification model is featured by the centralised control from the authorities and ISPs, the establishment of Chinese sovereign cyberspace with jurisdictional and technical supports, the implementation of the network real-name system and the Internet-surfing record backup system to regulate individual Internet users, and the tight ideological control. This conceptual model reflects important aspects of Michel Foucault's account of governmentality, incorporating both centralised power and diffuse micro-power. This study suggests that China's Internet law to some extent has become an instrument for the state to promote the social discipline in the sovereign cyberspace, and the Internet regulatory mechanism serves for the national security and social stability in a broader context.
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Zhou, Yining. "Disappointment as an effect of curiosity and political apathy: modernation of self-efficacy and mediation of media selection." HKBU Institutional Repository, 2015. https://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_oa/172.
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The study adopts Uses and Gratifications (U&G) theory as the framework to test antecedents and consequences in using fanqiang (bypassing Internet censorship) as an alternative medium along with accessible Internet, TV, newspaper and radio as mainstream media in a Chinese context. By online between-group experimentation (N = 132 in the experimental group, N = 127 in the control group), the study shows that curiosity about forbidden political content and political apathy predict fanqiang and most accessible media use tendencies. Moderation effects exist between curiosity and self-efficacy in predicting fanqiang tendencies. Disappointment as an emotional effect is directly related to curiosity and political apathy, where the mediation effects of media use tendencies are not salient. Explicit Internet censorship increases curiosity about forbidden political content and decreases the dimension of lack of interest in political apathy. However, it does not change accessible media use tendencies and disappointment levels. Still, participants show fewer of fanqiang tendencies than with accessible media, except radio. The results highlight the cognitive roots of motivations and emotional constructs as a part of gratification in U&G research, that self-efficacy as a necessary requirement for curiosity to drive media use, and that information attributes can change motivations. We urge future scholars to build broader explications of political apathy when applied to different societies, to try diverse methods like experimentation in U&G research, and to adopt a sociopsychological approach when studying the influences and effectiveness of Internet censorship.
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Dubois, Elizabeth. "The strategic opinion leader : personal influence and political networks in a hybrid media system." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:35b1e408-a70a-4ea0-9c41-10d7df024ee9.
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Opinion leaders are important political players who bridge the gap between the political elite and the general public. Traditionally opinion leaders use social pressure and social support via interpersonal communication to personally influence the opinions, attitudes and behaviours of their everyday associates (who make up the general public). However, in a hybrid media system opinion leaders have access to added channels which mean they can communicate with audiences beyond their everyday associates and/or engage in non-interpersonal interactions, potentially setting the stage for opinion leaders to become more influential since they can access more members of the general public. Conversely, since the ability of opinion leaders to influence others traditionally relies on strong social bonds, even if audiences are accessible for information transfer, the lack of social connection could mean influence does not flow. As such, opinion leaders' channel choice in a hybrid media system is potentially very important. To investigate the patterns of channel use as well as motivations for, and impacts of, channel choices by opinion leaders, a two phase mixed-methods study is employed. Phase one includes online social network analysis of the #CDNpoli (Canadian politics) hashtag on Twitter and an online survey. Phase two investigates the communication practices of 21 specific digitally enabled opinion leaders drawn from the #CDNpoli network. Two hour in-depth interviews are paired with visualizations of the participants trace data. Telephone interviews with associates (alters) of the primary interviewee were conducted (N=27). This design is therefore responsive to the multi-channel reality of a hybrid media system and improves upon large scale and single channel studies which are most common in this line of research. Now strategic and, at times, impersonal, a fundamental shift in how influence is derived challenges theories of social influence and information dissemination. Two types of strategic opinion leaders emerge: enthusiasts and champions. Their strategies contribute to a wider trend - a "just-in-time" informed citizenry - where those who do not opt in to receiving messages from the political elite only get information at the last possible minute, such as during a scandal or an election. Future research and communication strategy must be sensitive to the varied aims and tactics of digitally enabled opinion leaders as well as the subsequent inconsistent relationship between the uninformed and their political system.
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Tsui, Heung-ling, and 徐香玲. "Media for cultural praxis: a case-study of Hong Kong In-Media." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2009. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B42664421.
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Toney, Jeffrey A. "Political engagement and social networking sites exploring the relationship between social networking sites and political engagement in young adults." Scholarly Commons, 2009. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/713.
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Social Networking Sites (SNS) have extremely high rates of young adult users. Facebook.com report.s that more than half of its users are of college age. Due to the increasing number of political figures and political information on SNS, this study analyzes the relationship between SNS and political engagement. Specifically, this study seeks to determine if adults' consumption of political information on SNS leads to higher levels of political engagement. Political engagement is broken down into three different variables: political knowledge, political interest, and political participation. This study draws its data from a sample of 355 undergraduate college students. Data was collected through a volunteer self-administered survey questionnaire. Three sections respectively measured political engagement, social networking site dependency for political information, and demographic information. Data were collected from a junior college and a private university in Northern California.
This study found a positive relationship between SNS dependency for political information and political interest and participation. In other words, individuals who depend on SNS for political information have higher levels of political interest and participation. There was no significant relationship found between political knowledge and SNS dependency. These results suggest that SNS may help foster political engagement in young adults.
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Aczel, Audrey M. "A communications analysis of the Chiapas uprising : Marcos' publicity campaign on the internet." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp01/MQ37181.pdf.
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Naidoo, Kameshnee. "Exploring new terrain--tackling a tri-media approach to the 1999 election : an analysis of online coverage of elections by media organisations in their respective countries and recommendations for multi-platform publishing within the South African Broadcasting Corporation to cover the national election." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1999. http://eprints.ru.ac.za/2311/1/NAIDOO-MJourn-TR99-61.pdf.
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This study attempts to analyse the way foreign media organisations have used the Internet to inform, educate and mobilise citizens for participation in their national election. These foreign experiences provide a framework with which to analyse the implications for the SABC as a public broadcaster of the next elections in South Africa.
The research was informed by theories of media and democracy. One of the most powerful features of the new technology is its technical ability to facilitate an interactive flow of information. This research examines the concept of cyberdemocracy and the implications for the SABC, especially as it is planning on launching an online election strategy. The democratic roles of journalism and the implications for the SABC are also discussed. As a public service broadcaster, the SABC is bound to educate, inform, and mobilise voters for participation, build community and national identity and scrutinise the poll in the interests of transparency, accountability and fair play. International journalists are advocating a new type of journalism, called public or civic journalism, which
combines these roles.
This research draws primarily on qualitative research methods, using a case study methodology. It draws upon direct observation and interview methodology in the
fieldwork. However, it also uses some quantitative methods in the analysis of the websites and the SABC research.Finally, the research analyses the situation at the SABC and provides recommendations for the election website within this context
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Farias, Deusiney Robson de Araújo. "Ciberativismo e campo político brasileiro: uma reflexão crítica sobre as vicissitudes das lutas políticas na era do ciberespaço." Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, 2017. https://tede2.pucsp.br/handle/handle/20249.
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Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq
Activism in cyberspace, also called cyberactivism, a transnational practice that puts us before invisible demands for techno excluded, and largely ignored by the political field, is presented as a solution to political problems, such as the collaborative public dialogue promotion and as online mobilization. In Brazil, the political struggles variations of recent years raise the following questions: what are the fundamental characteristics of activism in cyberspace and in the Brazilian political field? According to their characteristics, for what reasons do the demands and actions proposed by cyberactivists have little repercussion and support in the Brazilian political field and in society, often leading to temporary disappearance or at random? In response to these questions, we propose five hypotheses, namely: [1] political activism in cyberspace is part of an "activist protocampo"; [2] the hackeractivist has the potential to influence the political field through its actions of resistance; cyberactivists can simulate public opinion; The clickactivist or "like" activist is the maneuvering mass of the cyberactivist actions; [3] ciberactivism favors a much more alterity with the medium of communication and its connection links; [4] the political field is based on the blackmail game, characterized as its main conventional method of action / articulation; and [5] this form of activism provoked a political field reaction, which instrumented means capable of neutralizing actions in cyberspace and capitalizing on the results in favor of the image itself. The critical reflection on the Brazilian political and cybercultural reality aims at organizing a theoretical-methodological framework based on the deductive reasoning method, which is supported by two related symbolic models: [a] the political field as an autonomous microcosm, a socially structure based on a control and dispute system; and [b] activism in cyberspace, an emerging form of action with enormous political potential. Pierre Bourdieu's methodological view of relationally thinking about the object represented a fundamental part of our thesis. Likewise, the theoretical-epistemological framework formed in Brazil about activism in cyberspace contributed to the existing terms classification in the existing literature. Especially based on the concepts of Eugenio Trivinho, Jean Baudrillard, Fábio Malini, Henrique Antoun and Norberto Bobbio, we propose the concept of glocal activism, considering the global life organization modes added to the technomiditic local civilization arrangements resulted in a third social and political dimension, no longer local or global, but - just - glocal. This way, we conclude that, behind the political field visible power, there is an invisible power that acts through the blackmail game. In this dispute, hackeractivism has great potential to decrypt the existing game and eventually subvert the structures of power. This same action, however, makes us vulnerable to advanced digital technology, historically reinforcing the glocal phenomenon as an inexorable existential condition
O ativismo no ciberespaço, também denominado ciberativismo, prática transnacional que nos coloca diante de demandas invisíveis para tecnoexcluídos e, em grande parte, ignoradas pelo campo político, apresenta-se como solução para problemas políticos, como promoção de diálogo público colaborativo e como mobilização online. No Brasil, as vicissitudes das lutas políticas dos últimos anos fazem emergir as seguintes questões: quais as características fundamentais do ativismo no ciberespaço e do campo político brasileiro?; em que pesem suas características, por quais razões as demandas e ações propostas pelos ciberativistas têm pouca repercussão e sustentação no campo político brasileiro e na sociedade, muitas vezes chegando ao desaparecimento temporário ou ao ocaso? Como resposta a essas questões, propomos cinco hipóteses, a saber: [1] o ativismo político no ciberespaço faz parte de um “protocampo ativista”; [2] o hackerativista tem o potencial de influenciar o campo político por meio de suas ações de resistência; os ciberativistas podem criar simulacros de opinião pública; o clickativista ou ativista like é massa de manobra das ações ciberativistas; [3] O ciberativismo favorece muito mais uma alteridade com o meio de comunicação e seus links de conexão; [4] o campo político sustenta-se a partir do jogo de chantagens, caracterizado como o seu principal método convencional de ação/articulação; e [5] essa forma de ativismo provocou uma reação por parte do campo político, que instrumentalizou meios capazes de neutralizar ações no ciberespaço e capitalizar os resultados em favor da própria imagem. A reflexão crítica sobre essa realidade política e cibercultural brasileira visa organizar um arcabouço teórico-metodológico a partir do método de raciocínio dedutivo, baseada em dois modelos simbólicos conexos: [a] o campo político como microcosmo autônomo, estrutura socialmente estruturada sobre um sistema de controle e disputa; e [b] o ativismo no ciberespaço, forma emergente de ação com enorme potencial político. A visão metodológica de Pierre Bourdieu, de pensar relacionalmente o objeto, representou parte fundamental de nossa Tese. Igualmente, o arcabouço teórico-epistemólogico formado no Brasil sobre ativismo no ciberespaço contribuiu para a classificação dos termos apresentados na literatura existente. Especialmente com base nos conceitos de Eugênio Trivinho, Jean Baudrillard, Fábio Malini, Henrique Antoun e Norberto Bobbio, propomos o conceito de ativismo glocal, considerando que os modos de organização global da vida, somados aos arranjos locais na civilização tecnomidiática, resultaram em uma terceira dimensão social e política, já nem local nem global, mas – justamente – glocal. Diante disso, concluímos que, por trás do poder visível do campo político, existe um poder invisível que atua por meio do jogo de chantagens. Nessa disputa, o hackerativismo tem grande potencial para descriptografar o jogo existente e, eventualmente, subverter as estruturas de poder. Essa mesma ação, contudo, nos entrega ao domínio da tecnologia digital avançada, reforçando historicamente o fenômeno glocal como condição existencial inexorável
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Soma, Samantha Isabella. "Community, Conversation, and Conflict: a Study of Deliberation and Moderation in a Collaborative Political Weblog." PDXScholar, 2009. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1447.
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Concerns about the feasibility of the Internet as an appropriate venue for deliberation have emerged based on the adverse effects of depersonalization, anonymity, and lack of accountability on the part of online discussants. As in face-to-face communication, participants in online conversations are best situated to determine for themselves what type of communication is appropriate. Earlier research on Usenet groups was not optimistic, but community-administered moderation may provide a valuable tool for online political discussion groups who wish to support and enforce deliberative communication among a diverse or disagreeing membership.
This research examines individual comments and their rating and moderation within a week-long "Pie Fight" discussion about community ownership and values in the Daily Kos political blog. Specific components of deliberation were identified and a content analysis was conducted for each. Salient issues included community reputation, agreement and disagreement, meta-communication, and appropriate expression of emotion, humor, and profanity. Data subsets were analyzed in conjunction with the comment ratings given by community members to determine what types of interaction received the most attention, and how the community used the comment ratings system to promote or demote specific comment types. The use of middle versus high or low ratings, the value of varied ratings format, and the use of moderation as a low-impact means of expressing dissent were also explored.
The Daily Kos community members effectively used both comments and ratings to mediate conflict, assert their desired kind of community, demonstrate a deliberative self-concept, and support specific conditions of deliberation. The moderation system was used to sanction uncivil or unproductive communication, as intended, and was also shown to facilitate deliberation of disagreement rather than creating an echo chamber of opinion.
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James, Rina Lynne. "The Efficacy of Virtual Protest: Linking Digital Tactics to Outcomes in Activist Campaigns." PDXScholar, 2017. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/4008.
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Activists are increasingly relying on online tactics and digital tools to address social issues. This shift towards reliance on the Internet has been shown to have salient implications for social movement formation processes; however, the effectiveness of such actions for achieving specific goals remains largely unaddressed. This study explores how the types of Internet activism and digital tools used by activism campaigns relate to success in meeting stated goals. To address these questions, the study builds on an existing framework that distinguishes between four distinct types of Internet activism: brochure-ware, which is oriented towards information distribution; e-mobilizations, which treats digital media merely as a tool for mobilizing individuals offline; online participation, which is characterized by wholly online actions such as e-petitions or virtual protests; and online organizing, where organization of a movement takes place exclusively via the internet with no face-to-face coordination by organizers.
Ordinal regression models were conducted utilizing cross-sectional data from the Global Digital Activism Data Set (GDADS), a compilation of information on 426 activism campaigns from around the world that began between 2010 and 2012; additional data regarding the types of Internet activism used was also appended to the GDADS using source materials provided within the data set. The findings suggest that use of the Internet for mobilizing offline actions is negatively associated with campaign success, but that this does not hold true for protest actions organized without use of digital tools. E-petition use was also found to be negatively related to achievement of campaign goals.
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Escher, Tobias. "Does the use of the Internet further democratic participation? : a comparison of citizens' interactions with political representatives in the UK and Germany." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.669872.
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This thesis explores the implications of the Internet for democracy, re-evaluating the various claims and counter-claims that have been made for the Internet's democratic potential. Based on a framework to measure democracy that emphasises popular control and political equality, it assesses whether the Internet gives a greater and more representative share of the population the opportunity to participate in the political process by focusing on use of the Internet to contact political representatives. The analysis combines secondary analysis of population surveys with original data collected in two online surveys from more than 14,000 users of successful contact facilitation platforms in the UK (WriteToThem.com) and Germany (Abgeordnetenwatch.de) that enable sending messages to representatives. The results show that in both countries the Internet in general has only marginally increased the number of people engaged in contacting. At the same time, contact facilitation platforms as specific online applications have attracted large numbers of people who have never before contacted a representative. While all online means of contacting primarily amplify traditional participatory biases, such as for gender and education, they can at least selectively engage traditionally under-represented parts of the population, for example young people or low-income groups. The processes that shape these patterns are identified by developing a basic theory of contacting and using the similarities and differences between the findings for the two countries. It demonstrates not only that participation continues to be dominated by traditional determinants that cannot be completely overcome by technology, but also that Internet applications can shape participation patterns – if designed to appropriately adapt to the context in which they operate, which is rarely the case. This highlights the need to think carefully about how online platforms can be used, building on the – albeit limited – gains identified here, to strengthen them as a means of ensuring democratic participation.
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Ma, Yingying. "Impact of social media use on political participation : narcissism, perceived anonymity and social norms as mediators." HKBU Institutional Repository, 2019. https://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_oa/677.
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Social media use is a pivotal driver for political engagement. The present study extended previous research by exploring the simple and serial mediating roles of narcissism, perceived anonymity, descriptive norms, and subjective norms in this relationship. Structural equation modeling (SEM) with bootstrapping estimation was conducted for hypothesis testing using data from 579 Hong Kong university students. Modeling results revealed that perceived anonymity, descriptive norms, and subjective norms are significant mediators of the relationship between social media use and political participation. Moreover, descriptive norms, together with perceived anonymity, were found to mediate the relationship. Likewise, narcissism combined with descriptive norms proved to be significant mediators of the relationship. Additionally, a distal mediation effect of descriptive norms and subjective norms proved to be significant. Based on these results, a subsequent parallel mediation analysis was conducted, revealing that perceived anonymity is the most influential indicator among perceived anonymity, subjective norms, and descriptive norms of the relationship of social media use and political participation. The study concluded by comparing male and female respondents in terms of political participation. The result showed that male respondents were generally more active than female respondents in both online and offline political activities, which agrees with prior research findings. Collectively, the current study provides a new perspective from which we can further understand the effects of social media use on political engagement.
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Malherbe, Daniel. "The political use of ‘new’ media in the 2014 South African national election." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/96741.
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Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Nuwe media het ’n duidelike impak op die manier waarop moderne politieke partye en partyleiers hulle verkiesingsveldtogte bestuur. Hierdie studie fokus daarom op die vraag: Hoe is nuwe media tydens die 2014 Suid- Afrikaanse nasionale verkiesing gebruik? Dit word gedoen deur konteks te gee aan wat nuwe media behels, hoe dit in die moderne politiek gebruik word, en wat die impak is wat nuwe media op verkiesings en verkiesingsveldtogte het. Drie gevallestudies, die Obama-veldtog, asook die 2014 verkiesings in Indië en Brasilië, word gebruik om spesifieke elemente oor die impak wat nuwe media op verkiesings het, uit te wys. Die ontleding word dan gebruik om ’n kriteria-raamwerk te skep waarteen spesifieke Suid-Afrikaanse politieke partye se gebruik van sosiale media in die 2014 verkiesing gemeet word, om hulle sukses al dan nie daarmee te bepaal. Die sukseskriteria maak dit moontlik om politieke partye in ’n rangorde te plaas en punte aan hulle toe te ken. Die punte-telling, uit ’n totaal van 50, word dan gebruik om te bepaal waarom die partye sukses behaal het, of nie. Nog 50 punte word toegeken op die basis van ’n subjektiewe oordeel oor taalgebruiken aanslag asook geteikende kieserskommunikasie op nuwe media platforms, meer spesifiek Twitter. Dit word gedoen deur insigte uit ’n studie van relevante literatuur oor die verkiesingveldtog, Suid-Afrika se demografiese en geografiese verskille asook om te oordeel of die partye wat in die studie bestudeer word kommunikasie strategieë benut het om die verskillende groeperings van kiesers te teiken. Die studie bevind dat die spesifieke partye, gemeet teen die raamwerk vir kriteria vir sukses, sowel as die subjektiewe opinie oor taalgebruik en aanslag in kommunikasie, hulle sleg van hul taak gekwyt het in die 2014 nasionale verkiesing in Suid-Afrika. Hulle het in meeste gevalle, met die DA as ’n uitsondering, nie geslaag om die nodige digitale-platforms te vestig en om suksesvol deur die nuwe media platforms te kommunikeer nie. Hulle het ook nie geslaag om die apatie van die Suid-Afrikaanse jeug aan te spreek nie en daar was ’n gebrek aan geteikende en relevante kommunikasie met spesifieke sosiale groepe. Die partye het ook nie daarin geslaag om die kiesers wat partyloos is, of van party wil verander, ’n beter opsie te bied nie.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: New media is seen as having a big impact on the way modern political parties run their campaigns during election periods. This paper focuses on answering the question: How was new media used in the 2014 South African national election? It does this by creating a context regarding the understanding of what new media is, how it is used in politics, and what impact it has on electioneering and political campaign strategies. Three case studies, the Obama campaign and the 2014 Indian and Brazilian elections, are used to highlight how new media has impacted on elections. This analysis is then framed into a set of criteria for success that is used to measure the chosen South African political parties against, to determine whether or not they used new media well in the 2014 South African national election. A set of criteria for success thus makes it possible to rank and assign points to each party and from those points determine whether that party used new media well or poorly. Each party is given a score out of 50. The other 50 points were awarded based on a subjective view regarding the actual use of language and focused voter communication on new media platforms, specifically Twitter. This was done by looking at the insights garnered from the literature regarding electoral campaigning, South Africa’s demographic and geographic differences and seeing if the parties analysed in this study employed communication strategies to target these voter differences. This study found that the parties identified, when measured against the set of criteria for success that was created and the subjective views of the way in which the parties communicated, did not use new media well in the 2014 South African national election. They failed in most cases, with the DA being the exception, to build the necessary online platforms or to communicate effectively through new media platforms. There was also too little focus on addressing voter apathy in the youth and there was a lack of targeted communication to specific social groups. Parties also failed to present themselves as a viable alternative to voters who did not already identify with a party or those who were looking for an alternative party.
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Chatur, Noorin. "Political outcomes of digital conversations : case study of the Facebook group "Canadians against proroguing parliament"." Thesis, Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Political Science, 2011, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10133/3100.
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Since the emergence of the Internet, scholars have had mixed opinions regarding its role in influencing levels of political participation. Two frameworks, the mobilization and the reinforcement theses, were created from these opposing views. The introduction of social networking websites (such as Facebook) offers new platforms with which to test these opposing theories on.
This study investigates the Facebook group ―Canadian‘s against Proroguing Parliament,‖ to determine: 1) what the members' motivations were for participating in the group, 2) whether the group attracted formerly marginalized voices to participate on the group, or simply reinforced those who were already active in the political process, and 3) whether the participation of members on the group translated into offline or real world political participation. The findings suggest that the group‘s members had a variety of reasons for joining the group. As well, the findings suggest that the group both mobilized reinforced its participants. Finally, the data indicates that in some instances, the group‘s members translated their online participation into real world political activity.171 leaves ; 29 cm
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Tickle, Sharon. "Assessing the "real story" behind political events in Indonesia : email discussion list Indonesia-L's coverage of the 27 July 1996 Jakarta riots." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 1997. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/35887/1/35887_Tickle_1997.pdf.
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The government-backed invasion of the Indonesian Democratic Party's Jakarta headquarters on the morning of27 July 1996, and the resulting violent riots in which
at least five people died marked a pivotal point in Indonesian politics generally, and the pro-democracy movement specifically. This was a newsworthy event which was covered extensively by the broadcast and print media globally, however the time taken to relay the story and the credibility of the reports was highly variable for
domestic as well as foreign media. Coverage by a national and regional Indonesian newspaper, as well as a national and regional Australian newspaper was compared
with the email discussion list Indonesia-L's coverage for the news values of timeliness and accuracy. The October 1996 reports into the incident by the Indonesian National Commission for Human Rights and Human Rights Watch/ Asia
were used as reference materials to evaluate the accuracy of the media reporting. The degree of government involvement in the attack on the PDI HQ was not reported by the Indonesian daily newspapers which also under-reported the number of victims while focussing on the law and order aspect of the story. Reportage by both the
national and regional Australian papers focussed on the violence of the riots which
posed a threat to President Soeharto 's rule, the role of the armed forces in
maintaining law and order, and also underestimated the number of victims. Indonesia-L disseminated the fastest and most accurate reports of the event with eyewitness
accounts providing considerable detail. Only two of the 18 postings were found to be sensationalistic and inaccurate. Implications for the future use of
computer-mediated communication, such as email discussion lists, as an alternative source of news which circumvents government control, as well as the time and commercial constraints of print media are discussed.
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Naidoo, Trusha A. "The implications of the personalisation of the media www.ubuntu.co.za for democracy." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/52537.
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Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2001.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This body of work is a post modern analysis of how the shift from mass to me media influences the role and structure of the media. Was McLuhan right, is the medium increasingly the message? Or is the post-modern media a totally different animal, a manifestation of popular culture and marketing rather than the socially responsible institution responsible for safeguarding democracy that it was envisioned to be by the American founding fathers? The underlying theme is the convergence of media and marketing and the resulting conglomeration and technological dependency forced on the reader and the writer. Who are the new mediators and how do they manage the media? In the mediatrix, the readers become media managers and the writers become surfers. The analysis begins with an examination of the contrast between real and virtual communities and how the media bridges this information gap. How does reporting in virtuality reflect reality? The body of the study has three parts, the shift from mass to me media, the alternative media spheres it has engendered and the controlling forces behind this transition. Throughout the study, mass media and me media are contrasted. The study ends with a look at the impact of technology .andpopular culture on the South African media and how the media will click through the future. Will the deeply entrenched communal values of ubuntu stave off the individualisation cocooning brings? That is, will the I before we focus of personalised media nurture the South African democracy or will itfoster mediocracy?
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die volgende tesis is n omskrywing van hoe die beweging van die massa-media na die ek-media die rol en die struktuur van die media beinvloed. Was McLuhan korrek, is die medium dikwels doe boodskap? Of is die post-moderne media n totale ander gedierte? n Manifestasie van die populere kultuur en bemarking, eerder as die sosiale verantwoordelike instituut verantwoordelik vir die behoud van demokrasie soos dit gevisualiseer is deur die Amerikaanse voorvaders? Die onderliggende tema is die bymekaarvoeging van media en bemarking en die konglomerasie en tegnologiese verantwoordelikheid geplaas op die leser en skrywer. Wie is die nuwe tussengangers en hoe bestuur hulle die media? In die "mediatrix" word die leser die media bestuurder en die skrywer word die net-sweefer. Die analise begin met die ondersoek na die kontras ussen egte en virtuele gemeenskappe en hoe die media hierdie informasie gaping oorbrug. Hoe word realiteit beinvloed deur rapportering in virtualiteit? Die liggam van die studie bestaan uit drie dele - die skuifvan massa-media na ek-media, die alternatiewe media sfere wat dit vorm, en, die beheerende invloede agter die transformasie. Reg deur die studie word die massa -media en die ek-media gekontrasteer. Die studie eindig met n opsomming van die impak wat tegnologie en populere kultuur op die SA mark het en hoe die media sal saamstem in die toekoms. Sal die diepere gelee gemeenskapswaardes van ubuntu die individualisme wat "cocooning" meebring afskiet. Sal die ek voor die ons van verpersoonlikte media die SA demokrasie aanhelp of medioker maak.
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Fung, Yat-chu, and 馮一柱. "Information technology and empowerment in information society: use of computers amongst senior persons." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2003. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31245298.
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Klaas, Brian Paul. "Bullets over ballots : how electoral exclusion increases the risk of coups d'état and civil wars." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:2492d39d-522f-494e-9549-28b3f6fc7db3.
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Does banning opposition candidates from ballots increase the risk that they will turn to bullets instead? Globally, since the end of the Cold War, blatant election rigging tactics (such as ballot box stuffing) are being replaced by 'strategic rigging': subtler procedural manipulations aimed at winning while maintaining the guise of legitimacy in the eyes of international observers. In particular, incumbents (in regimes stuck between democracy and authoritarianism) are turning to 'electoral exclusion', neutralizing key rivals by illegitimately banning certain candidates, in turn reducing the need for cruder forms of election day rigging. I used mixed methods - combining insights from an original global dataset with extensive elite interviews conducted in five countries (Madagascar, Thailand, Tunisia, Zambia, and Côte d'Ivoire) - to establish that electoral exclusion is an attractive short-term election strategy for vulnerable incumbents that produces a much higher chance of victory but comes with high costs in the longer-term. Global probit modeling (using electoral exclusion as an independent variable and coups d'état and civil wars as separate dependent variables) suggests that, since the end of the Cold War, excluding opposition candidates from the ballot roughly doubles the risk of a coup d'état or quadruples the risk of civil war onset. In spite of these risks, incumbents fall into this 'exclusion trap' because of the shortened time horizon that frequently accompanies competitive multi-party elections. Vulnerable incumbents worry more about the short-term risk of losing an election than the long-term but ultimately unknown risk that political violence will ensue after the election. Finally, the inverse corollary of these findings is that inclusion of opposition candidates during multi-party elections can be a stabilizing factor. Though it may seem counterintuitive, fragile 'counterfeit democracies' - and so-called 'transitional' regimes - may be able to stave off existential threats to regime survival by extending an olive branch to their fiercest opponents. These findings combine to form the overarching argument of this dissertation: when opposition candidates are excluded from the ballot, they become more likely to turn to bullets by launching coups d'état and civil wars.
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Breindl, Yana. "Hacking the law: an analysis of internet-based campaigning on digital rights in the European Union." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/209836.
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Digital rights activism constitutes an exemplary case of how internet affordances can be mobilised to engender political change. The values and principles stemming from the hacker imaginaire, and free and open source software practices, underpin digital rights activism, which uses the internet as a tool, object and platform for the protection of rights in the digital realm. The analysis focuses on how digital rights activists use and adapt the political affordances of the internet to intervene in European Union policy-making. Two original case studies of internet-based campaigning at the European level (the “No Software Patents” and the “Telecoms package” campaigns) provide in-depth insight into the campaigning processes and their impact upon parliamentary politics. The cases highlight the complementarity of online and offline collective action, by examining processes of open collaboration, information disclosure and internet-assisted lobbying. The success of the “Telecoms package” campaign is then assessed, along with the perspective of the targets: members and staff of the European Parliament.The belief in values of freedom, decentralisation, openness, creativity and progress inspires a particular type of activism, which promotes autonomy, participation and efficiency. The empirical evidence suggests that this set of principles can, at times, conflict with practices observed in the field. This has to do with the particular opportunity structure of the European Union and the characteristics of the movement. The EU favours functional integration of civil society actors who are expected to contribute technical and/or legal expertise. This configuration challenges internet-based protest networks that rely on highly independent and fluctuating engagement, and suffer from a lack of diversity and cohesion. The internet does not solve all obstacles to collective action. It provides, however, a networked infrastructure and tools for organising, coordinating and campaigning. Online and offline actions are not only supportive of each other. Internet-based campaigning can be successful once it reaches out beyond the internet, and penetrates the corridors of political institutions.
Doctorat en Information et communication
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished
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殷玉涵. "中國網絡公眾輿論看美國及政策含義." Thesis, University of Macau, 2012. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b2597680.
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Gu, Xiaoting. "The influence of social media on chinese college students' social activism." Scholarly Commons, 2012. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/839.
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Guided by Uses and Gratifications Theory, this study investigated the relationship between Chinese college students' use of social media and their social activism. Data collected from a goup-administered survey of 309 undergraduate students at a large university in eastern China was used to answer four research questions. The results indicated that Chinese college students who used social media for information seeking were likely to participate in individual social activism. Besides, students who used social media for self-status seeking and information seeking were likely to participate in collective social activism. No significant correlation between entertainment motivation and social activism were found. Neither can socializing motivation predict Chinese college students' social activism. In addition, gender had an impact on individual social activism and frequency of social media use could affect both individual and collective social activism.
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Michez, Jean-Claude. "Vers une convivialité mondiale en philosophie politique contemporaine." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/210573.
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La convivialité mondiale :Résumé.L’occasion de cette thèse fut à la fois le déclenchement de la première bombe nucléaire à Hiroshima en 1945 et le développement de nouveaux moyens de télécommunications qui révolutionnèrent les domaines informatiques au début des années cinquante. Pour mémoire, les frères Gutenberg, au milieu du XVème siècle, avaient mis au point un procédé typographique qui utilisait les caractères mobiles découvert en Chine au XIème siècle. L’imprimerie, puis l’édition, puis la presse écrite aboutirent finalement à l’avènement des médias de masse contemporains. Convaincus des conséquences fondamentales des débuts de l’informatique de masse sur l’évolution de la géo-sociologie, nous avons commencé dans notre travail, par la recherche d’un modèle sociologique pouvant représenter l’ensemble des habitants de notre planète. Norbert Elias nous apporta le résultat de son étude sur la monopolisation progressive dans des sociétés, dans son livre la « Dynamique de l’Occident ». S. Huntington, de son coté, développa dans « Le choc des civilisations », la réalité sociologique des huit principales civilisations actuellement en développement. A l’occasion de voyages dans des pays appartenant à ces différentes civilisations, nous avons entrepris de construire (p.p. 48bis et 52bis) une trame sociologique mondiale de départ, c’est-à- dire avant l’arrivée d’Internet. L’approche des paradigmes de Kuhn (p. 57), nous donna un support pour expliquer comment l’arrivée d’Internet dans le monde pouvait provoquer un changement, probablement irréversible, de paradigme sociologique.
La « fusion » des 6 niveaux d’Elias et des 8 civilisations de Huntington, provoquée, de proche en proche, par l’arrivée d’Internet, nous a conduit à définir un concept de convivialité (p. 62). Un tel concept existait déjà, à l’initiative de Brillat-Savarin au XIXème siècle, au niveau d’un groupe d’amis réunis en vue de faire bonne chère et de passer un moment agréable. Ivan Illich d’autre part (voir annexe 1), penseur de l écologie politique (1926-2002), donna un sens tout différent à son concept de convivialité. Nous avons entrepris quant à nous de définir et caractériser un concept adaptable aux quelques 48 domaines similaires mais distinct d’une recherche étendue à l’ensemble de la planète. Pour rappel, la « philia » d’Aristote ne dépassait pas le niveau sociologique de la cité-Etat, et renvoyait le reste du monde connu vers l’appellation de « barbaroi ».
Après le moment de convivialité décrit par Aristote dans « L’étique à Nicomaque », le monde retomba pendant plus de 2.000 ans dans le règne des autocrates et il fallut de timides débuts de démocratie en Angleterre, puis aux Etats-Unis et en France en 1789, pour constater un changement durable. Depuis une trentaine d’années par contre un grand nombre d’Etats-nations ont successivement évolué et basculé vers des régimes démocratiques :d’abord dans l’Europe du sud, puis dans les quelques pays de l’Asie du Sud Est. L’implosion de l’URSS en 1989 provoqua la création de démocraties beaucoup plus proches des modèles d’Europe occidentale que les pseudo-démocraties populaires de l’ex-bloc soviétique. Simultanément, la plupart des Etats-nations d’Amériques du Sud et du Centre connurent des transformations pacifiques profondes et évoluèrent vers des structures démocratiques. Aujourd’hui, la majorité des Etats-nations parmi les 190 que compte l’ONU, sont devenues des démocraties, au moins en cours de devenir.
Par ailleurs, au-delà du niveau des Etats-nations se développèrent des Rgionalismes Politiques (R.P.), constitués par le rapprochement d’un certain nombre d’Etats, y compris, depuis quelques décennies, les R.P. de l’Inde, de la Chine et de l’Union Européenne qui regroupe actuellement 27 pays. D’autres R.P. tels que l’ASEAN en Asie du Sud-Est ou le MERCOSUR en Amérique Latine prirent corps de façon progressive. On peut constater ces développements suivant des étapes qui commencent en général par des ententes sécuritaires modestes, suivies d’échanges commerciaux croissants, puis des accords financiers et douaniers. Tous ces développements correspondent à des degrés de convivialité croissants et progressifs ;la véritable interconnexion mondiale et instantanée qui est ainsi en voie d’établissement et qui s’étend à tous les domaines de l’économie, est encore rendue plus complexe par l’entrée en jeu de multiples sociétés transnationales cherchant à chevaucher et ignorer les Etats. Ce nouveau tissu de sociétés multinationales ou transnationales spécialisées et efficaces profite pleinement des techniques mondiales d’informatique. Sur le plan des relations politiques, les relations intra-régionales et inter-régionales ont incorporé les spécificités propres aux différentes cultures, provoquant un brassage exponentiel, quoique difficile à suivre tant son ampleur et sa variété sont grandes.
Nous avons tenté de résumé le degré de convivialité, suivants les domaines, à l’échelle globale de notre planète devenue aujourd’hui rétrécie et interconnectée. En fait, nous constatons que l’aspiration vers la paix, et la suppression des cas de non-convivialité dans tous les domaines est telle que la convergence des activités spécialisées, agit vite et un peu partout simultanément dans le monde. Nous avons examiné successivement quelques domaines spécialisés et avons abouti à la conclusion qu’il existe déjà aujourd’hui un grand nombre de consensus dans les sciences de la nature et les sciences humaines.
Tous les domaines sont-ils concernés ?Non, on peut constater par exemple que la convivialité inter-religions est toujours nulle, sinon conflictuelle en particulier lorsqu’il n’y a pas séparation bien définie et acceptée entre religion et politique, comme c’est le cas pour l’Islam. Les religions d’Asie, souvent plus anciennes que celles du Moyen-Orient et de l’Europe, semblent plus accoutumées à la convivialité par respect mutuel.
Nous avons esquissé d’autre part l’évolution contemporaine en philosophie où les positions radicales du XIXème siècle nous apparaissent évoluer vers « La Nouvelle Alliance », titre du dernier ouvrage de I. Prigogine. Celui-ci, en phase avec les nombreuses interrogations nées d’un relativisme généralisé et plein de nouvelles inconnues, oriente nos recherches sans a priori et dans le méthode pragmatique des essais-erreurs, qu’aborde de son coté H. Putman en philosophie.
Dans le domaine de la philosophie politique enfin, un renouvellement d’intérêts provoqué par les nouveaux dangers de destruction de la planète par les hommes, stimule les efforts de convivialité et la recherche de nouveaux objectifs d’écologie et de progrès raisonnables, bien éloignés des traditions classiques de recherche de pouvoir à tout prix.
Notre antithèse a cherché où il est devenu nécessaire de temporiser et réglementer nos volontés trop excessives. Notre conclusion enfin veut souligner que nous sommes parvenus aujourd’hui à nous consacrer à un plein travail de recherche dans tous les domaines et qu’il n’est pas temps de conclure mais au contraire d’avancer vers l’accomplissement d’un monde plus humain, plus juste et plus convivial.
Doctorat en Philosophie
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KÜBLER, Johanne. "Distant proximity : a comparative analysis of migrant netizen engagement before and during the Arab Spring." Doctoral thesis, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/46325.
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Defence date: 8 May 2017Examining Board: Professor Hanspeter Kriesi, European University Institute (Supervisor); Professor Olivier Roy, European University Institute; Professor Fiona B. Adamson, SOAS University of London; Professor Alexandra Segerberg, Stockholm University
The spread of the internet and migration are key dimensions associated with globalization and range among the most salient challenges of our times. Looking at the intersection of these two phenomena, this dissertation explores how the internet enables citizens of non-democracies living abroad to partake in the political discourse and online campaigns in their home countries. How does the fact of living in non-authoritarian countries affect the migrant’s position inside their online community? Using concepts from the contentious politics literature, I examine why migrant netizens adopt different roles in online campaigns in the years leading to and during the Arab uprisings at the examples of Tunisia and Morocco. I draw upon multiple empirical strategies including an analysis of web crawls of the Tunisian and Moroccan blogospheres, in-depth interviews with a number of key actors and frame analysis. I find that migrants were among the pioneers of political blogging, are well-integrated in their respective blogosphere and often occupy central positions. Political opportunity structures matter, thus the relative absence of repression allows migrants to act as radical mobilizers in highly repressive regimes like Tunisia. In contrast to that, migrant netizens in slightly more liberal settings like Morocco are less of a driving force than an equal partner in online discussions and campaigns, even if they might provide additional resources and establish contacts with international actors. Finally, the frame analysis reveals that radical migrant bloggers are likely to suffer from a lack of credibility due to their relative immunity to repression, unless they adapt their frames to the concerns of the wider blogger community, thereby enabling the creation of a broad coalition.
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Sheppard, Jillian Eve. "The internet, society and politics : political participation in Australia." Phd thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/156018.
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This thesis examines the effects of internet use on Australian citizens' propensity to participate in political activity. The study applies the 'civic voluntarism' model of political participation to the Australian case, theorising that internet use comprises a resource. It hypothesises that participation in Australia is a factor of an individual's free time, time spent using the internet, money, civic skills, internet-related skills, recruitment and engagement. Australia is an appropriate case study due to its institutional and cultural similarities with other advanced democracies, as well as its notable differences. Voting is compulsory for Australian citizens, and they are compelled to vote frequently and in complex systems. Previous research has found that compulsory voting has positive effects on participation between elections, as well as on the stability of the country's political parties. Australians have ample opportunity to participate in politics. The thesis analyses 2010 (and earlier) Australian Election Study data, supplemented by data from previous Australian Election Studies, the World Values Survey and Comparative Study of Electoral Systems. Descriptive, logistic regression and ordinary least squares regression analyses find that internet use leads to participation earlier in life than would occur otherwise, but that participants possess the high socioeconomic status of participants in other advanced democracies. Skills are particularly important: across a range of behaviours including electoral, campaign, communal and protest participation, the positive influence of internet proficiency over time spent online is evident. However, the determinants vary greatly between types of participatory act, revealing lowered costs of entry, and opportunities for low-resourced citizens to equip themselves to participate. The findings have implications for understanding how the internet impacts the changing face of participation in Australia, how citizens can be mobilised in the future and the prognosis for the health of Australia's participatory democracy.
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"Mediating the political impacts of the Internet: the case of China." 1999. http://library.cuhk.edu.hk/record=b5889956.
Full textAbstract:
Qiu Linchuan (Jack).Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 169-173).
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1
The Objectives --- p.1
The Assumptions --- p.2
The Case --- p.4
Methods --- p.9
The Conceptual Framework --- p.11
Chapter Chapter 2 --- Theoretical Background --- p.18
Communication Technology as A Democratizer --- p.18
Democratizer or Something Else? --- p.23
The Concept of Mediation --- p.27
The Mediationist Perspective --- p.33
Chapter Chapter 3 --- China's Cyberspace --- p.37
China 's Nets and Netizens --- p.40
Bamboo Curtains Unfurled --- p.53
Virtual Censorship vs. Mass Media Regulation: a Comparison --- p.67
Concluding Remarks --- p.75
Chapter Chapter 4 --- The Processes of Mediation --- p.79
Internet Audience and Their Exposure --- p.80
The Rugged Route from Exposure to Expression --- p.88
The Gap between Virtuality and Reality --- p.98
Concluding Remarks --- p.108
Chapter Chapter 5 --- The Consequences of Mediation --- p.110
Evaluating the Consequences --- p.110
Selecting Online Arenas --- p.113
Data Gathering and Coding --- p.119
Findings --- p.130
Concluding remarks --- p.147
Chapter Chapter 6 --- Discussions --- p.151
Summary --- p.151
Methodological Issues --- p.154
Broader Implications --- p.164
Bibliography --- p.169
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RONE, Julia. "'Don't worry, we are from the internet' : the diffusion of protest against the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement in the age of austerity." Doctoral thesis, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/51824.
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Defence date: 22 Februrary 2018Examining Board: Prof. Donatella della Porta, Scuola Normale Superiore, European University Institute (External Supervisor); Prof. László Bruszt, Scuola Normale Superiore; Dr. Sebastian Haunss. BIGSSS, Universität Bremen; Dr. Paolo Gerbaudo, King’s College London
This thesis focuses precisely on the anti-ACTA mobilization and the way it fits within the broader wave of contention. While the anti-ACTA campaign did not include occupation of squares (but only the more traditional protest marches), it shared many important features with other protests in the wave of contention, including the adoption of the Anonymous mask and the national flag as crucial symbols (Gerbaudo, 2017), the demand for more democratic decision-making, and most importantly – the belief in the Internet as a tool for empowerment that could contribute to a more horizontal democratic society (Beyer, 2014; Jarvis, 2014; Juris, 2012; McCarthy, 2015). The big difference is that for anti-ACTA protesters, the Internet was more than a tool - it became a cause in itself. People protested to defend Internet freedom, interpreted in a wide variety of ways by different actors, but most often as the freedom of sharing culture (and files) online, the freedom of not being 2 under surveillance, and the freedom of expressing oneself as a key prerequisite for the functioning of any democratic community.
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Lala, Girish. "Talking the talk : do words speak louder than actions in socio-political communities on the internet?" Phd thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/151391.
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"Subaltern public spheres on the Internet: a case study of a Chinese online discussion board." 2003. http://library.cuhk.edu.hk/record=b5896125.
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Zhang Weiyu.Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2003.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 170-177).
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
Introduction --- p.1
Chapter I --- Subaltern Public Spheres on the Internet --- p.5
Democracy and the Internet --- p.5
Public sphere as a democratic ideal --- p.7
Chapter ´Ø --- Habermasian public sphere --- p.8
Chapter ´Ø --- Multiple public spheres --- p.11
Chapter ´Ø --- Habermasian public sphere vs. multiple public spheres --- p.17
Public sphere and the Internet --- p.21
Chapter ´Ø --- Habermasian public sphere on the Internet --- p.23
Chapter ´Ø --- Multiple public spheres on the Internet --- p.27
Chapter II --- Subaltern Public Spheres in China --- p.30
The history of Chinese civil society --- p.30
Civil society in contemporary China --- p.32
Chapter ´Ø --- Definitions of civil society --- p.32
Chapter ´Ø --- Trade union and the caged social organizations --- p.34
Chapter ´Ø --- Entrepreneurial class and the incorporated social organizations --- p.36
Chapter ´Ø --- Discussions --- p.38
Multiple public spheres in contemporary China --- p.39
Chapter ´Ø --- Mass media and the dominant public sphere --- p.41
Chapter ´Ø --- The premises of subaltern public sphere in China --- p.42
Chapter ´Ø --- Subaltern public spheres in contemporary China --- p.44
Chapter III --- Research Questions and Research Design --- p.48
Research questions --- p.48
Research site: an online discussion board of movies --- p.48
Chapter ´Ø --- Why BBS? --- p.49
Chapter ´Ø --- Why movies? --- p.51
Research methods --- p.54
Chapter IV --- Bulletin Boards as Subaltern Public Spheres --- p.57
Introduction of Rear Window --- p.58
Chapter ´Ø --- The development of Rear Window --- p.59
Chapter ´Ø --- The contents on Rear Window --- p.61
Chapter ´Ø --- The users of Rear Window --- p.63
Accessibility of Rear Window --- p.65
Chapter ´Ø --- Accessibility of the Internet in China --- p.65
Chapter ´Ø --- Accessibility of xici.net --- p.66
Chapter ´Ø --- Accessibility of Rear Window --- p.68
Discourse on RearWindow --- p.73
Chapter ´Ø --- "Introduction of the discussions about ""Movies are a kind of politics""" --- p.75
Chapter ´Ø --- The goal of the discussion --- p.77
Chapter ´Ø --- The equality of the discussion --- p.80
Chapter ´Ø --- The rationality of the discussion --- p.85
Chapter ´Ø --- The communicative rationality of the participants --- p.89
Chapter ´Ø --- Other kinds of discourse --- p.93
Discussions and conclusions --- p.95
Chapter V --- Relationships among the Subaltern Public Sphere and the State --- p.98
The autonomy from the state --- p.100
Chapter ´Ø --- Control at the level of state --- p.102
Chapter ´Ø --- Control at the level of websites --- p.107
Chapter ´Ø --- Control at the level of boardmasters --- p.111
Chapter ´Ø --- Control through self-censorship --- p.112
The discursive resistance toward the state --- p.114
Discussions and conclusions --- p.125
Chapter VI --- Relationships between the Subaltern Public sphere and the Market Economy --- p.129
The Internet economy in China and the subaltern public sphere --- p.132
The pirate movie industry and the subaltern public sphere --- p.138
Private movie watching and the market economy --- p.142
Discussions and conclusions --- p.147
Chapter VII --- Relationships between the Subaltern Public Sphere and the Mass Media --- p.149
The competition between RearWindow and mass media --- p.151
The collaboration between RearWindow and mass media --- p.154
Discussions and conclusions --- p.159
Discussions and Conclusions --- p.161
Subaltern public spheres --- p.161
Democratic potential of the Internet --- p.165
Chinese civil society and Chinese public sphere --- p.166
Limitations of the study --- p.168
Bibliography --- p.170
Appendix: Survey Questionnaire --- p.178
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LEAL, Hugo. "The emergence of collective action networks : dynamic protest waves and mobilisation spirals in Egypt." Doctoral thesis, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/49126.
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Defence date: 27 November 2017Examining Board: Professor Donatella della Porta, European University Institute; Professor Hanspeter Kriesi, European University Institute; Professor Maha Abdelrahman, University of Cambridge; Professor Mario Diani, Università degli Studi di Trento
In broad terms, this research is inspired by the founding questions of social movement studies: what triggers the process of recruitment, mobilisation and spread that leads to the demise or success of collective action? In particular, I was puzzled by the mobilisation and emergence of Egyptian contentious actors: how and why collective action evolved in the country from seemingly random and disconnected events and agents? Using Egypt as a case-study and the first decade of the twenty-first century as time frame, I set to solve this puzzle and find an answer to the leading research question: Does the emergence of Collective Action Networks in Egypt explain the increasing levels of contention and, ultimately, the 25 January uprising? This question focuses on the topic that gives title to the thesis, which is the relation between the hypothetical emergence of CANs and 1) a phase of heightened contention from 2000 to 2011 and 2) the revolutionary situation of 25 January, 2011. It also provides the basis to assess the manifestation of the two other relational patterns that appear in the subtitle of the thesis, namely dynamic protest waves and mobilisation spirals. In addressing the research question, I mixed quantitative and qualitative methods, combining protest event data collection and analysis, social network analysis with interviews. This allowed me to test if, how and why Collective Action Networks emerged and whether the revolutionary situation of 25 January 2011 was an unexpected spontaneous uprising or the natural outcome of a decade of sustained mobilisation. The main finding of this thesis is that, indeed, the intensification of contentious action in Egypt, between 2000 and 2011, was the product an emergent and increasingly complex Collective Action Network that stirred up protest waves and mobilisation spirals thus determining the Egyptian 25 January revolution.
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Edwards, Daniel Martin. "The use of Internet communications technologies by global social movements in Australia." Phd thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/149939.
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"Cyberactivism in Hong Kong: a case study on a political online forum-- yumkung.com." 2005. http://library.cuhk.edu.hk/record=b5892569.
Full textAbstract:
Ma Lai Yee.Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-109).
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
Acknowledgements --- p.i
Abstract (English version) --- p.ii
Abstract (Chinese version) --- p.iii
Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction
Political use of the Internet: Utopian or distopian? --- p.1
Virtual communities and social movements --- p.4
Chapter Chapter 2 --- Political and Technological Landscape in Hong Kong
Chapter I) --- Political Background
The Handover of Hong Kong to China in1997 --- p.7
The Tradition of Pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong --- p.8
The 1 July Rally in2003 --- p.9
Chapter II) --- Technological Background
Internet Penetration in Hong Kong --- p.11
Chapter Chapter 3 --- Review of Literature
Chapter I) --- "Internet, Uses and Gratifications and political effects"
The Uses and Gratifications Approach: Theoretical assumptions --- p.14
Uses and Gratifications and the Internet --- p.15
Gratifications and Political media use --- p.17
"Internet usage, Gratifications and Political effects" --- p.19
Chapter II) --- "Social movement, collective identity and the Internet"
Social Movements in contemporary social context --- p.23
Collective Identity in Social Movements --- p.26
Identity Formation in Computer-mediated Communication --- p.28
The Internet as a Social Movement Medium --- p.30
Chapter Chapter 4 --- Cyberactivism in Hong Kong
1 July Protest and Cyber Activism in Hong Kong --- p.36
The Case: Yumkung.com --- p.38
Chapter Chapter 5 --- Methodology
Research Design and Sampling --- p.44
Survey Sample Profile --- p.45
Content Analysis --- p.46
Textual Analysis --- p.47
Measurements of variables --- p.48
Analytical Procedures --- p.50
Chapter Chapter 6 --- Results and Interpretations
Gratifications of Yumkung.com from Survey --- p.52
Gratifications of Yumkung. com from Content Analysis --- p.54
Collective Identity from textual Analysis --- p.60
Correlational Analysis of Collective Identity --- p.71
Predictors of Collective Identity --- p.74
Correlational Analysis of past political participations --- p.77
Predictors of past political participations --- p.80
Correlational Analysis of intentions for future political participations --- p.82
Predictors of intentions for political participations --- p.85
Chapter Chapter 7 --- Discussions and Conclusions
Uses and Gratifications and its Theoretical Contribution --- p.88
Collective Identity Formation in Yumkung.com --- p.92
Political Participations among Participants in Yumkung.com --- p.94
Theoretical and Practical Implications --- p.99
Chapter Chapter 8 --- Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research --- p.102
References --- p.105
Appendix 1 Questionnaire --- p.110
Appendix 2 Coding Guide of Content Analysis --- p.115
"Appendix 3 Invitation letter to Mr. Paul Lin, Yumkung.com's Webmaster" --- p.117
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"Selection and uses of internet news and implications for collective action and political participation: the contingent roles of social identity and efficacy." 2012. http://library.cuhk.edu.hk/record=b5549607.
Full textAbstract:
本論文以政治學及心理學的理論為基礎，探討社會人士的集體行動及政治參與行為及其背後的心理因素，以及網上新聞的普及對這些行為、意向是否具催化作用。根據政治學及社會心理學文獻，團體在社會得到的社會認定「social identity」）及個人對自身的政治功效意識 （「political efficacy」）往往是影響人們集體行動及政治參與（稱「團體參與行動」「intergroup participatory actions」）程度的決定因素。不過，個人/團體對集體行動的參與意向跟媒體使用及社會人士的實際參與之間的關係在文獻中似乎從未提到。然而，這方面的研究在現今數碼時代十分重要。關於網上新聞的影響，主要的文獻論述有二：工具性論述指出網上資訊澎湃、隨手可得，且成本極低，網上新聞的使用對社會人士參與政治有直接影響（本論文將驗證此觀點，是為假設一）；心理學論述指出網上新聞對人們的影響視乎個人既有的心理素質。本文主張個人參與集體行動及參與政治的意向在於人們是否能從這些行動中得到高度的「社會認定」及「政治功效意識」；而這兩方面又可隨著個人接觸的網上資訊增加而得以提昇，因為人們傾向選擇接收那些肯定他們既有看法及態度的資訊（即「選擇性暴露理論」），以及那些提昇他們對某社群歸屬感的資訊（即「使用與滿足理論」）。本文提出下列觀點，並加以驗證：網上新聞的普及提昇「個人功效意識」（假設二）、提昇「集體功效意識」（假設三）、提昇參與團體行動人士得到的「社會認定」（假設四），而個人/團體從社會認定中得到的滿足對他們實際參與團體行動有驅動作用（假設五）。
本文對在美國及香港具代表性的民意調查作出分析，分析結果跟上列的假設吻合。然後進行了一項實驗，其結果指出「個人功效意識」或可作為「政治功效意識」內一有效的獨立準則。本人在美國及香港進行民意調查（各地兩項；所涉及的調查相隔一年），並作迴歸分析，以驗證上述有關社會人士參與集體行動及政治意向的假設，研究重點包括人們的投票意向、示威意向、議題參與意向及公民參與意向。研究結果支持假設一（即工具性論述）及假設三（即有關「集體功效意識」的心理學論述）的有效性。假設二（有關「個人功效意識」）及假設四（有關「社會認定」）可作進一步驗證。研究中所有具統計學顯著意義的結果卻否定了假設五（有關「社會認定」對個人/團體帶來的滿足程度）的有效信度。
最後，研究局限、結果應用等亦會在文中細述。
Applying an interdisciplinary and integrative theoretical perspective and framework, this thesis is concerned with the role of Internet news on collective action and political participation, and the important moderating role of certain psychological antecedents on the relationship. The literature shows that identification with a group (social identity) and the feeling that one could make a substantive difference (political efficacy) are two important predictors of such actions (termed “intergroup participatory actions in this thesis). However, the processes that link the antecedents of participatory behaviors to media use and then to actual participation have been neglected. Such an examination is important in the digital age where the Internet provides citizens a media environment where access to information about politics and social causes is easy, cheap and abundant.
Two views of the impact of Internet are prevalent in the literature. The “instrumental“ view argues that Internet use has a direct effect on political participation and typically emphasizes the reduced costs and the relative “informational richness“ associated with Internet news use (Hypothesis 1). The “psychological“ view argues that the effects of the Internet depend to an extent on individual’s preexisting psychological dispositions. It is further hypothesized that two dimensions of political efficacy are important antecedents of participatory actions: ‘individual efficacy’ and ‘collective efficacy’.
The thesis argues that individuals’ willingness to participate in a collective action and participate in politics depends on high levels of social identity and political efficacy, which can be heightened by exposure to Internet news because individuals are likely to consume media content that reinforces their existing attitudes and opinions (as put forward by Selective Exposure Theory) and reinforces their psychological need to feel like a member of a social group (as put forward by Uses and Gratifications Theory). Conceptually, this means that individual efficacy (Hypothesis 2), collective efficacy (Hypothesis 3), and social identity (Hypothesis 4) will accentuate the effects of Internet news use on intergroup participatory actions. Moreover, social identity gratifications will accentuate the effects of social identity on intergroup participatory actions (Hypothesis 5).
Secondary data analyses of national data in the United States and Hong Kong provide initial support for the hypotheses. Moreover, an embedded quasi-experiment provides support for the validity of ‘individual efficacy’ as a unique dimension of political efficacy. Subsequent exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses also showed that both individual and collective efficacy to be unique dimensions of political efficacy, along with internal and external efficacy.
Regression analyses using two Hong Kong and two American samples collected a year apart test the hypotheses for a variety of participatory behaviors, including voting intention, protest intention, issue participation and civic participation. In general, the findings were supportive of the ‘instrumental’ view of Internet effects (H1) and the ‘psychological view’ with respect to collective efficacy (H3). There was less evidence for the effects of individual efficacy (H2) and social identity (H4). All significant interactions for social identity gratifications (H5) were in the opposite direction as hypothesized.
Implications of these findings are discussed and suggestions for further research are specified.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
Chan, Che Ming.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 232-247).
Abstract also in Chinese.
Acknowledgements --- p.iv
Contents --- p.v
List of Tables --- p.vii
List of Figures --- p.ix
Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1
Overview of the Thesis Structure --- p.6
Contributions to the Literature --- p.9
Chapter Chapter 2 --- Antecedents of Collective Action and Political Participation --- p.11
Collective Action and Political Participation as Forms of Intergroup Participatory Actions --- p.12
Perceived Injustice --- p.15
Efficacy --- p.19
Identification --- p.27
Summary and Way Forward --- p.34
Chapter Chapter 3 --- The Role of the Internet in Intergroup Participatory Actions --- p.37
The Mobilizing Potential of the Internet --- p.37
The Role of Internet News in Political Participation --- p.39
The Role of Internet News in Protests and Demonstrations --- p.43
The Internet and Participatory Actions in the Hong Kong Context --- p.45
Summary and Hypothesis --- p.46
Chapter Chapter 4 --- The Contingent Effects of Efficacy and Social Identity --- p.48
Efficacy, Selective Exposure, and Participatory Behaviors --- p.50
Social Identity, Selective Exposure, and Participatory Behaviors --- p.56
Social Identity, Uses and Gratifications, and Participatory Behaviors --- p.61
Summary of Hypotheses --- p.65
Chapter Chapter 5 --- Secondary Data Analyses of National Survey Data --- p.68
Theoretical Approach to Analyses --- p.68
American National Election Studies Survey (2004-2008) --- p.70
The National Annenberg Election Survey (2008) --- p.97
The PEW 2009 Values Survey --- p.110
Hong Kong Survey 2009 --- p.114
Summary and Way Forward --- p.118
Chapter Chapter 6 --- Measurement and Validation of Political Efficacy Dimensions --- p.124
Question Item Selection and Analytic Strategy --- p.125
Sampling and Operationalization --- p.129
Results --- p.131
Summary and recommendations --- p.153
Chapter Chapter 7 --- Predicting Intergroup Participatory Actions Among Young Adults --- p.156
Young Adults, the Internet, and Participation --- p.157
Sampling --- p.166
Operationalization --- p.166
Results --- p.174
Discussion --- p.187
Chapter Chapter 8 --- Discussion and Future Research --- p.200
Interdisciplinary Perspective of Intergroup Participatory Actions --- p.201
Complementary Explanations of Internet News Effects --- p.205
Expansion and Validation of Political Efficacy Dimensions --- p.212
Extension of Uses and Gratifications Theory --- p.213
Contributions to the Hong Kong Literature --- p.214
Appendices --- p.215
Chapter Appendix A --- Social Identity Studies in Hong Kong --- p.216
Chapter Appendix B --- Mass Media and Collective Action in the Hong Kong Context --- p.219
Chapter Appendix C --- Theoretical Basis for Group-Based Perspective of Uses and Gratifications --- p.222
Chapter Appendix D --- Questions Items in 2010 Surveys --- p.226
Chapter Appendix E --- Questions Items in 2011 Surveys --- p.229
References --- p.232
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Lonergan, Shawn William. "Cyber Power and the International System." Thesis, 2017. https://doi.org/10.7916/D88D07PH.
Full textAbstract:
This dissertation is comprised of three separate papers that address how cyber power contributes to national power and the implications for international security posed by cyber operations. The first paper, “Cyber Power and International Stability: Assessing Deterrence and Escalation in Cyberspace,” posits that there are unique attributes that define the cyber domain and that have direct implications on deterrence and escalation dynamics between state actors. The second paper, “Arms Control and Confidence Building Measures for the Cyber Domain,” explores at various mechanisms that states have traditionally used to foster stability and prevent inadvertent conflict and assesses their applicability to controlling cyber operations. Finally, “The Logic of Coercion in Cyberspace” delves into the role of cyber operations as both inadvertent and deliberate signals and assesses their utility as a coercive instrument of statecraft.
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"The empowerment of subaltern groups in Chinese cyberspace: a case study of Gandanxiangzhao Forum." 2007. http://library.cuhk.edu.hk/record=b5893450.
Full textAbstract:
Tang, Li.Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 130-137).
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1
Chapter 2 --- Literature Review --- p.9
Chapter 2.1 --- Subaltern Public Sphere --- p.9
Chapter 2.1.1 --- Public Sphere: Liberal Model --- p.9
Chapter 2.1.2 --- Criticism on Unitary Public Sphere --- p.11
Chapter 2.1.3 --- Subaltern Public Sphere --- p.12
Chapter 2.1.4 --- Criteria for Subaltern Public Sphere --- p.14
Chapter 2.1.5 --- External Parties --- p.16
Chapter 2.1.6 --- Public Sphere in the Cyberspace --- p.17
Chapter 2.2 --- Public Sphere in Contemporary China --- p.19
Chapter 2.2.1 --- Application of the Concept of Public Sphere in China --- p.19
Chapter 2.2.2 --- Dominant Public Sphere in China --- p.21
Chapter 2.2.3 --- Subaltern Groups in China --- p.23
Chapter 2.2.4 --- Subaltern Public Spheres in Chinese Cyberspace --- p.25
Chapter 2.2.5 --- HBV Carriers Group and the Forum --- p.28
Chapter 3 --- Research Design --- p.32
Chapter 3.1 --- Overall Conceptual Framework --- p.32
Chapter 3.2 --- Research Questions --- p.33
Chapter 3.3 --- Research Methods --- p.36
Chapter 3.3.1 --- Textual Analysis --- p.36
Chapter 3.3.2 --- Interviews --- p.39
Chapter 4 --- Brief Overview of the Forum --- p.43
Chapter 4.1 --- Overall Development --- p.43
Chapter 4.2 --- Structure --- p.46
Chapter 4.3 --- Users --- p.50
Chapter 5 --- Empowerment on the Discursive Level --- p.53
Chapter 5.1 --- Characteristics of the Forum --- p.53
Chapter 5.1.1 --- Alternative Topic --- p.53
Chapter 5.1.2 --- Alternative Information of HBV --- p.54
Chapter 5.1.3 --- Discourse of Self-Narrative --- p.59
Chapter 5.1.4 --- Forum Accessibility --- p.61
Chapter 5.1.5 --- Relative Equality --- p.62
Chapter 5.2 --- Rhetoric of Innocence --- p.64
Chapter 5.2.1 --- Attribution of the Spread of HBV --- p.65
Chapter 5.2.2 --- Attribution of Discrimination --- p.68
Chapter 5.3 --- Summary --- p.70
Chapter 6 --- Empowerment and Collective Action --- p.73
Chapter 6.1 --- The State --- p.73
Chapter 6.1.1 --- State's Impact on HBV Carriers --- p.75
Chapter 6.1.2 --- Resistance Enabled by the Internet --- p.76
Chapter 6.1.3 --- Challenges from the State --- p.84
Chapter 6.1.4 --- Compromise with the State --- p.86
Chapter 6.2 --- The Market --- p.88
Chapter 6.2.1 --- Market Domination --- p.89
Chapter 6.2.2 --- Resistance against the Market --- p.91
Chapter 6.2.3 --- Challenges from the market --- p.99
Chapter 6.3 --- The Mass Media --- p.101
Chapter 6.3.1 --- Mass Media's Domination --- p.102
Chapter 6.3.2 --- Forum's Efforts to Get Favourably Represented --- p.106
Chapter 6.3.3 --- Mass Media's Influence over the Forum --- p.111
Chapter 6.4 --- Summary --- p.113
Chapter 7 --- Conclusion and Discussion --- p.116
Chapter 7.1 --- Assessing Empowerment Capacity --- p.116
Chapter 7.1.1 --- Formation of a Subaltern Public Sphere --- p.116
Chapter 7.1.2 --- Discursive Empowerment --- p.117
Chapter 7.1.3 --- Transformed Relationships with External Parties --- p.118
Chapter 7.2 --- Internet and Empowerment --- p.123
Chapter 7.3 --- Limitations of the study --- p.127
Bibliography --- p.130
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Pillay, Nadas Ramachandra. "Political super branding through the use of social media technology : the Barack Obama presidential campaign in 2008." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10321/946.
Full textAbstract:
A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master’s of Technology: Fine Arts, Durban University of Technology, 2013.This study seeks to examine the exponential growth of social media technology as a key component in recent American political campaigning, as well as its use and impact on the larger disciplines of marketing and branding. Adopting the approach of a case study with the focus firmly on the current American president, Barack Obama, the study identifies the key media and technologies used in the build-up to the 2008 American presidential elections in order to unpack and understand how such media channels, technological platforms and patterns were successfully utilised. References are also made to the concepts of ‘branding’ and ‘super branding’ in the discussion, and to the myriad ways in which social media has helped create and roll-out what has since become commonly known as ‘brand Obama’. To provide a framework for the discussion and in order to further understand the rapid growth and proliferation of social media on the political campaigning landscape, a comparison is made with the 2004 American presidential election campaign. This, it is posited, will assist us understand the drivers of new media technologies especially as they are used to create and impact positively on the growth of political super brands.
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Tobias-Mamina, Rejoice Jealous. "Digital media exposure, political attitudes and perceptions as antecedents of voting intentions: a Zimbabwean perspective." Thesis, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/24060.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph.D. (Business Science))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic & Business Sciences, 2017With the contemporary diffusion of media technology, the majority of researchers have come to position the Internet as a political instrument that has the potential to stimulate consumer behaviour. The Internet has expanded persistently as a news source and digital technologies have become more accessible and abound with user generated content. These digital media backdrops afford a valuable opportunity to empirically examine the effects of digital media effects on consumer decision-making. It is therefore important to examine how consumer perceptions and attitudes towards voting impact their decision-making in order for political marketers or politicians to develop coherent strategies that offer a conducive environment sufficient to influence voting decision-making. Whereas previous studies on voting behaviour have merely explored voting behaviour in a global context, the current study investigates the effect of digital media exposure on perceptual and cognitive constructs within a Zimbabwean context. Moreover, few studies have explored this topic in a consumer behaviour context amongst the Zimbabwean constituency. This study aims to determine whether digital media exposure influences voter-consumers’ intention to vote in subsequent Zimbabwe presidential elections. In order to empirically test the effect of digital media exposure on perceived image of a political party (PI); perceived image of a presidential candidate (PPC); attitude towards voting (ATV) and voting intention (VI), a conceptual model premised on the reviewed political marketing literature was developed. The model proposed four distinct domains that drive voting intentions. In this conceptualised model, digital media exposure is the predictor variable, while perceived image of the presidential candidate, attitude towards voting, perceived image of the political party, are mediators and voting intention is the single outcome variable. By exploring the significance of digital media use on voter behaviour, this study contributes towards specific contextual knowledge on consumer behaviour and political marketing in developing countries particularly Zimbabwe. The present study is positioned in the positivist research methodology, and assumes a deductive approach within the quantitative paradigm to test the proposed hypotheses. This study uses stratified probability sampling to arrive at the required number of provinces for the study. Using quantitative methodologies based on the nature of the research questions, data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire from 305 eligible voters from selected Provinces and Districts in Zimbabwe selected through stratified probability sampling to arrive at the required number of provinces for the study.The measuring instrument was designed from existing scales, which were adapted to suit the present study. The data analysis ii | P a g e was done in SPSS 24 for demographic data analysis and AMOS 24 was used for the structural equation modelling and path modelling. The findings support all the hypotheses in a significant way except H1 and H5. Likewise, voter-consumers’ perception of the presidential candidate has an influence on the attitude towards voting and all latter perceptual and attitudinal variables have significant influence on voting intention. Important to note about the study findings is the fact that digital media exposure has a stronger effect on perceived image of the political party (H3) than attitude towards voting (H2). However, perceived image of the political party strongly influence attitude towards voting. Remarkably, the relationship between perceived image of the presidential candidate and attitude towards voting is robust. The findings indicate that digital media exposure can have a strong influence on voting intention through attitude towards voting. The contribution of this study is threefold: Firstly, by exploring the significance of digital media exposure on voting behaviour, this study adds to contextual knowledge on relationship marketing, political brand management and experiential marketing (the final stage of the mental brand responses), consumer marketing and specifically, political marketing. Secondly, as a growing body of literature explores the use of digital technology in political campaigning/marketing to create a competitive advantage, this study provides researchers with a broad understanding of this phenomenon among voting citizens in developing countries particularly Zimbabwe. Theoretically, it is positioned in political marketing and contributes to theoretical literature that focuses on consumer behaviour, branding and brand relationship. Lastly, by investigating digital media exposure and its influence on consumers’ voting intention, the findings provided political marketing practitioners with a better understanding of strategies that can be employed to influence citizens’ voting behaviour, through the use of digital media. The study thus submits that politicians ought to pay attention to both media agenda and brand image in order to build a positive attitude towards voting which significantly influences the intention to vote. In order to maximise voter ‘purchase’, marketers can implement strategies to encourage positive behaviour from voter-consumers and exploit multi-sensory experiences in order to influence voting intentions. The study makes a significant contribution to brand management literature and consumer behaviour literature by systematically exploring the impact of media exposure on brand image and attitude towards voting in Zimbabwe. The study demonstrates that political data can be used in consumer behaviour studies and provides a theoretical method for predicting voting intentions using voter behaviour in the form of voter perception of political parties and perceived image of a presidential candidate as well as attitude towards voting. The study further highlights the significance of using digital technologies and ingenuity to create a comparative advantage as well as a differential advantage.
MT 2018
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KIES, Raphaël. "Promises and limits of web-deliberation." Doctoral thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/10477.
Full textAbstract:
Defence date: 09 June 2008Examining Board: Prof. Peter Wagner, University of Trento and EUI Supervisor Prof. Alexander Trechsel, EUI Prof. Jürg Steiner, University of Carolina Prof. Hanspeter Kriesi, University of Zürich
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
In this work we will attempt to evaluate which of these scenarios is most likely to become prominent in the future by focusing essentially on three issues: 1) the usage of the online forum by observing how diffuse the phenomenon is and who the users of the online debates are; 2) The offer of the online political forum, by analyzing which are the political actors (civil society, media, institutional actors) who are more susceptible to host the online political debates; and 3) the quality of the online debates by assessing their deliberativeness. By elaborating a sophisticated method for measuring the deliberativeness of the online debates and by analyzing a great variety of online debates our objective is to provide an appreciation of the deliberative potential of the web-debates that avoids shortcuts and inappropriate generalizations, but that recognizes that this may be determined by a multiplicity of factors. From a theoretical perspective the results obtained through our investigations contribute to evaluate whether the deliberative model of democracy could be fostered by the virtualization of the political debates and, more generally, it should also contribute to the elaboration of a deliberative model of democracy that is grounded not only on theoretical principles and suppositions, as this tends to be the case, but also on empirical studies that test its adaptability to the 'real life politics'.
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Karnkowski, Krzysztof. "Blogosfera polityczna w Polsce." Doctoral thesis, 2013. http://depotuw.ceon.pl/handle/item/242.
Full textAbstract:
Blogosferę polityczną współtworzą blogi polityczne, ich autorzy, komentatorzy i czytelnicy oraz portale blogowe, umożliwiające publikację. Praca "Polska blogosfera polityczna" opisuje to zjawisko, przedstawiając najczęstsze motywacje autorów blogów i dominujące w tym środowisku poglądy. Omówiony został też jego szerszy kontekst, a więc przemiany na rynku medialnym i technologii web 2.0, w ujęciu praktycznym i społecznym, a także relacje blogosfery politycznej z polskimi mediami tradycyjnymi, takimi, jak prasa, radio i telewizja. Blogosfera została zanalizowana jako nowe medium i instytucja społeczeństwa obywatelskiego.The political blogosphere is created by political blogs and their authors, commentators and readers of blogs and portals enabling publication. Dissertation "Polish political blogosphere" describes this phenomenon, presenting the most frequent motivations of bloggers and dominant views in that environment. Its wider context has also been discussed, the changes of the media market and web 2.0 technology, in practical and social perspective, as well as the political blogosphere relations with traditional Polish media such as newspapers, radio and television. Blogosphere has been analyzed as a new medium and the institution of civil society.
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Carr, Madeline. "The irony of the information age : US power and the Internet in international relations." Phd thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/109586.
Full textAbstract:
Despite the pervasiveness of the Internet and its importance to a wide range of state functions, we still have little understanding of the implications of this technology for power in the context of International Relations. The Internet has led to a power paradox which forms the central 'puzzle' of this research project. President Obama has described as "the great irony of our Information Age" the fact that those states which have most successfully adopted and exploited the opportunities afforded by the Internet are also most vulnerable to the threats which accompany it. Power enhancing outcomes such as economic growth, and public diplomacy have to be balanced against the theft of intellectual property and attacks on critical infrastructure. No previous technology has been regarded concurrently as a source of power and vulnerability in quite the way that the Internet has. Existing International Relations theories of power, developed in the context of industrial technology, have struggled to incorporate the complexities of the Internet. For much of the 20th century, scholars of International Relations have regarded technology as a constitutive and material element of state power. An understanding of technology as an exogenous factor which impacts upon power and produces universal effects regardless of political context is a conception which misses as much as it reveals in the analysis of power in the information age. This thesis combines the Philosophy of Technology with theories about power from International Relations in order to build a conceptual framework for the study of state power in the information age. It utilises this framework for the study of how conceptions of US power have shaped and influenced three aspects of Internet technology; cyber security, Internet governance and network neutrality. In doing so, the study produces a set of findings which contribute some forward momentum to the stalled debates in International Relations about whether the Internet enhances state power more than it undermines it. The thesis clearly demonstrates that political decisions about technology have directly and profoundly influenced the way the Internet has developed that they have ongoing implications for how the power to control information is distributed. In addition, it was found that US politicians engage with multiple conceptions of power when they debate Internet technology. These conceptions of power can lead to contradictory policy implications and when they do, the decisions that politicians make about whether to privilege material power or social power lead to insights about how they expect US power to function in the information age. Finally, authority and legitimacy were found to be important factors in the exercise of power in this context but significantly, a sense of political authority was often absent in debates about Internet technology policy. These findings underscore the arguments running through this thesis. First, that the implications of the Internet for state power cannot be understood without deeply engaging in the political context in which they are situated and second, that the relationship between power and information technology differs qualitatively from the relationship between power and industrial technology.
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O'Brien, Matthew Steven. "Pragmatic humanism : through the eyes of Egypt." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/32698.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this study is to analyze the events that occurred throughout the Egyptian Revolution from January 2010 to February 2010 through pragmatic humanism. Tweets will be looked at from the book Tweets from Tahrir to show how the process unfolded. Building on the previous research, the tweets will be looked at through the lens of pragmatic humanism. The study will show how individuals can better the world they live in by experimenting with different methods and adapting to any failures they may encounter. The study will also show how the reach of the individual has become faster and further than previously possible. The elements of pragmatic humanism will be broken down into five main tenets. The study will take a thematic approach in analyzing the tweets through the perspective of the particular tenet. The study will also show the power of individual desires when they are able to combine with the social context of the time. The advent of Twitter has allowed individuals to test and experiment with hypotheses much quicker than before and allows them to make monumental changes to their reality in a much shorter period of time.Graduation date: 2013
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Hopkins, Kane. "Blogs, political discussion and the 2005 New Zealand general election : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD in Communication at Massey University." 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10179/1448.
Full textAbstract:
Communication technologies have altered the way people engage in political discourse. In recent years the internet has played a significant role in changing the way people receive political information, news and opinion. Perhaps the most significant difference as a result of advancements in communication and internet technology is how people participate in discussions and deliberate issues that are important to them. The 2005 New Zealand General Election fell at a time when functionality and access to fast and affordable internet allowed people to develop their own information channels and also determine how, where and to what level they participated in debate and commentary on election issues. The aim of this thesis is to examine how blogs were used to discuss political issues during the 2005 New Zealand General Election campaign period through the use of three inter-related methodologies. The methodologies used in the research are content analysis, interviews and a case study. Four blogs and the comments sections are analysed by way of content analysis for adherence to the rules of communicative interaction within the public sphere. Interviews were conducted with a number of people who blogged during the 2005 election campaign, to develop an understanding of their experiences and perceptions of the role blogging played in the election. A case study of politician and blogger Rodney Hide examines the role blogs play as a communication tool for politicians and the how they change the relationship between politician and voter. An explosion of academic literature in recent years has looked at the participative and deliberative nature of the internet and blogs as having opened new spaces and what implications that may have for democracy. Jurgen Habermas' seminal book, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, provides the theoretical basis for this thesis and the foundation for academic writing in this area. Habermas developed the normative notion of the public sphere as a part of social life where citizens exchanged views and opinions on matters of importance to the common good, so that wider public opinion can be formed.
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Katiambo, David. "Incivility in social media as agonistic democracy? : a discourse theory analysis of dislocation and repair in select government texts in Kenya." Thesis, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/26580.
Full textAbstract:
In an era when adversarial politics is condemned for either being archaic or right-wing extremism, proposing that incivility can be used to counter existing hegemonies, despite its potential to incite violence, is proposing an unorthodox project. By rejecting foundationalist approaches to the current incivility crisis, this study sees an opportunity for it to act as a populist rapture that defies simple binary categorisation and deconstructs incivility, at an ontological level, to reveal the deep meanings and concealed causes that contrast the grand narrative of hate speech. After an overview in chapter one, the study continues with a theoretical review of literature on incivility, guided by the works of radical democracy theorists who universalise what seems particular to Kenya. This review is followed by the description of Bakhtin’s concept of carnivalesque as utani, a joking relationship common in East Africa. For its theoretical perspective, the study is guided by Mouffe’s theory of agonistic democracy and a research method developed by transforming Laclau and Mouffe’s (1985) work in Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic, into a method for Discourse Analysis. Various concepts from Laclau and Mouffe’s work are used to innovate an explanation of how political practices in social media, both linguistic and material texts, enhance incivility and the struggle to fix a regime’s preferred meaning. Guided by Laclau and Mouffe’s Discourse Analysis, the study describes how the government is using linguistic tools and physical technologies to repair the dislocation caused by incivility in social media in its attempts to re-create hegemonic practices. Without engaging in naïve reversal of the polarities between acceptable and unacceptable speech, and considering that at the ontological level politics is a friend—enemy relation, the study argues that incivility in social media is part of the return of politics in a post-political era, rather than simple unacceptable speech. While remaining aware of the dangers of extreme speech, but without reinforcing the anti-political rational consensus narrative, incivility is seen as having disruptive counterhegemonic potential, that is, if we consider the powerplay inherent in democracy. It means that binary opposition is blind to the way power produces, and is countered through unacceptable speech.Communication Science
D. Litt. et Phil. (Communication Science)
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Di, Martino Luigi. "Public diplomacy and social media listening : examining the practices of Australia and Italy." Thesis, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.7/uws:50149.
Full textAbstract:
Public diplomacy is understood as the public and interactive dimension of diplomacy. Listening has long been considered a core public diplomacy activity; however, the introduction of social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have challenged and altered this activity. This thesis investigates how public diplomacy actors are (re)articulating their practices with the introduction of social media. It further considers how social media can be used more effectively to advance listening and engagement (with both foreign and domestic publics) in public diplomacy. To develop the theoretical foundations for this study, I connect public diplomacy scholarship with a new wave of literature that has argued that listening is a critical and previously neglected component of dialogic engagement. In the theoretical part of the thesis I develop the idea of a ‘spectrum of listening’, conceptualising listening as a set of diverse communicative choices and practices that are available to public diplomacy actors. Using this spectrum, this thesis endorses active listening and the embedded concept of dialogic engagement as a concrete yardstick by which to assess successful public diplomacy listening on social media. To explore ways in which social media can extend and enrich listening practices in public diplomacy, I focus my empirical research on Twitter. I argue that quantitative Twitter analytics represent an opportunity to conduct large-scale listening to foreign and domestic publics. However, I argue that such analytics, while useful, do not provide comprehensive insights about the quality of listening and engagement. In order to address this, I propose an innovative mixed method approach that combines ‘thick’ (focused and contextualised) and ‘thin’ (largescale) analysis. To develop and test this methodological approach, the study investigates two international events as exploratory case studies: the 2014 G20 summit in Australia and Expo 2015 in Italy. These cases exemplify the involvement of domestic and foreign publics in discussing and debating important global issues on social media, and the ways in which public diplomacy actors do and do not listen. In summary, I consider listening to be a representational force: a public and active response to publics who are increasingly demanding not only to participate, but also to be listened to. The findings demonstrate that thick and thin listening and, in particular, being seen to listen, are the condition sine qua non for conducting successful digitally mediated public diplomacy.