Jakob Linaa Jensen

Mona: Monadic Second-Order Logic in Practice

The purpose of this article is to introduce Monadic Second-order Logic as a practical means of specifying regularity. The logic is a highly succinct alternative to the use of regular expressions. We have built a tool MONA, which acts as a decision procedure and as a translator to finite-state automata. The tool is based on new algorithms for minimizing finite-state automata that use binary decision diagrams (BDDs) to represent transition functions in compressed form. A byproduct of this work is an algorithm that matches the time but improves the space of Sieling and Wegeners algorithm to reduce OBDDs in linear time.

Political Participation Online: The Replacement and the Mobilisation Hypotheses Revisited

This article discusses the state of political participation online more than ten years after the Internets great popular breakthrough as an everyday medium. Denmark is used as a case study to critically re-examine the frequently discussed replacement and mobilisation hypotheses on behalf of the Internet. The pure replacement hypothesis is rejected. Instead, it is found that the Internet still supplements rather than replaces other media, even among heavy Internet users. The Internet is one among several media used by ‘media omnivores’, and political participation online supplements rather than substitutes offline participation. More interesting, the mobilisation hypothesis is partly confirmed. Even though some online participation patterns resemble traditional ones, it seems as if the Internet finally is starting to mobilise younger generations. Further, traditional predictors behind political participation, efficacy and social capital seem to have less impact on online political participation. In the end, these findings are related to more overall discussions on the democratising potential of the Internet.

Citizenship in the Digital Age: The Case of Denmark

This article discusses citizenship in the age of new media using Denmark as a critical case study. It argues for the importance of considering cultural as well as political aspects of citizenship, and for the inclusion of emotions and belonging as well as rational political acts. There are strong relationships between the experience and practice of citizenship, and it is demonstrated that intensive media use and experience/practice of citizenship are highly interrelated: eager media users are also the most active and confident citizens. To a certain extent new media tend to reinforce existing behavior patterns and attitudes: those feeling engaged are those who use ICTs most widely, and new media provide them with yet another platform for practicing citizenship. It is also shown, however, that there is a segment of new media users who prefer online cultural and social activities to offline ones. As this segment grows, one might expect an expanded number of active citizens, mobilized by the new media themselves.

Augmentation of Space: Four Dimensions of Spatial Experiences of Google Earth

This article discusses and analyzes the online phenomenon of Google Earth, which poses a number of spatial ambiguities. By using a tourism perspective emphasizing the dynamics between physical, imaginary, and mediated experiences, four dimensions of Google Earth users’ practices are analyzed: a cartographic, an informational, an emotional, and a social dimension. It is argued that Google Earth facilitates an enhanced spatial and social experience, a spatial augmentation. It demonstrates that the Internet is not a space radically distinct from the space of the “real world.” Rather it is used and included as a part of the users’ social space by constant dynamics between physical, imaginary, and mediated experiences.

Methods for Analyzing Social Media: Introduction to the Special Issue

Social media are becoming increasingly attractive for users. It is a fast way to communicate ideas and can be a key source of information about how people interact. Today it is among the most influencial communication channels. For this reason, social media are important for audience research as well as for technologies that can be used in human services. Social media can be generally understood as web-based services “that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content” (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010, p. 61).

Virtual Tourist: knowledge communication in an online travel community

The exchange of knowledge and experience on the online travel community virtualtourist.com offers a practical example of how knowledge communication functions in web-based communities. This article takes an approach rooted in the emerging field of internet studies, combining quantitative analyses of the top-rated member postings with field research from the authors experiences as a member of the site and an analysis of the tone, themes, and aesthetic and emotional content in the member postings. The metaphor of a knowledge economy is used for the site to describe the hierarchy among members based on their activities in the community. The Virtual Tourist community can be seen as a truly global knowledge community in the sense that it brings together knowledge, identity, performance and aesthetics to communicate knowledge not only about tourism, but also about living in a global society.