Rebecca Moody

New Media, Micromobilization, and Political Agenda Setting: Crossover Effects in Political Mobilization and Media Usage

In November 2007, Dutch secondary school students revolted against a requirement known as the “1040-hour norm.” New Web technologies, like instant messaging, YouTube, and social networking sites, played an important role in the mobilization effort. In this article, the authors argue that these technologies facilitate a shift toward micromobilization by individuals and small groups. In this “1040-hour norm” case study, the authors analyze how the course of the political agenda-setting process is being transformed through the interplay between processes of meso- and micromobilization, and through new micro-to-mass media crossover effects. When supported by micromedia, the effects of micromobilization can create strategic surprises for traditional intermediary organizations and policymakers.

Micro‐Mobilization, Social Media and Coping Strategies: Some Dutch Experiences

New social network technology provides individuals and small groups with powerful resources for rapid political mobilization. Such mobilization can create strategic surprises for policy-makers. Two cases of Web 2.0 driven micro-mobilization processes and one case of Web 1.0 driven micro-mobilization process are considered. In these cases policy-makers were taken by surprise because their repertoires of action were focused primarily on official arrangements of consultation and on the news coverage by traditional media. As a result, micro-mobilization may confront traditional intermediary organizations and policy-makers with rather ‘uncontrolled’ demands for change. These demands may act as ‘focusing events’ that challenge the legitimacy of public organizations, policy programmes and existing consultation and negotiation patterns. Governments need to respond to these focusing events and the paper ends by discussing some coping strategies governments may need to deploy.

Implementation of GIS-Based Applications in Water Governance

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are computer programs that are able to bring large amounts of data of both the physical and the social system together in one comprehensive overview shown digitally. GIS occurred very rapidly on the Dutch policy agenda. In this paper we analyze how the fast introduction process of GIS-based instruments in water management and more specifically in river flood management can be explained. By applying a range of classical models on agenda-setting, we show the important contribution of GIS to the water and flood issue in current spatial planning and policy development in the Netherlands.

Visual events and electronic government: What do pictures mean in digital government for citizen relations?

Abstract E-government is becoming more picture-oriented. What meaning do stakeholders attach to visual events and visualization? Comparative case study research show the functional meaning primarily refers to registration, integration, transparency and communication. The political meaning refers to new ways of framing in order to secure specific interests and claims. To what the institutional meaning relates is ambiguous: either it improves the position of citizens, or it reinforces the existing bias presented by governments. Hence, we expect that the emergence of a visualized public space, through omnipresent penetration of (mobile) multimedia technologies, will influence government–citizen interactions.

Visual Culture and Electronic Government: Exploring a New Generation of E-Government

E-government is becoming more picture-oriented. What meaning do stakeholders attach to visual events and visualization? Comparative case study research show the functional meaning primarily refers to registration, integration, transparency and communication. The political meaning refers to new ways of framing in order to secure specific interests and claims. To what the institutional meaning relates is ambiguous: either it improves the position of citizens, or it reinforces the existing bias presented by governments. Hence, we expect that the emergence of a visualized public space, through omnipresent penetration of (mobile) multimedia technologies, will influence government-citizen interactions.

Accountability and the Framing Power of Visual Technologies: How Do Visualized Reconstructions of Incidents Influence Public and Political Accountability Discussions?

In this article visual technologies and their use in three reconstructions after an incident are linked with accountability issues. Conclusions are drawn on the relation between administration, the choice of technology to create and distribute visual occurrences, and society and how visualizations are used to frame accountability issues.

Visualizations, technology and the power to influence policy

Abstract In this paper we explore the influence of visualizations and the technologies used to create and distribute them on the process and outcome of public policymaking. We will analyze nine qualitative case studies, three on agenda setting, three on policy design and decision making and three on policy evaluation. We find that the choice of the technologies used to create a visual event increases transparency and impacts policy greatly. Also we find that the type of story which is told affects the way policy is created or changed.

Values in Computational Models Revalued

This chapter aims to add to the technology debate in the sense that it aims to research the role of values and trust in computational models in the policy process. Six case studies in which a computational model was used within a complex policy context were research for the role values play within these models. Conclusions deal with the role of the designer of the model, the number of different actors, the amount of trust already present, and the question of agency by humans or technology. Additionally, margins of error within the model are discussed as well as authority by one actor over others concerning the model.