Ursula Maier-Rabler

Bio: Ursula Maier-Rabler is an academic researcher from University of Salzburg. The author has contributed to research in topics: e-participation & Politics. The author has an hindex of 7, co-authored 27 publications receiving 194 citations.

"Open": the changing relation between citizens, public administration, and political authority Towards researching the Public Value of Open Government

Abstract: Open" is not just a fancy synonym for transparent and accountable. The "Open" in Open Government, Open Data, Open Information, and Open Innovation stands for the changing relation between citizens and authorities. Many citizens no longer accept the passive stance representative democracy held for them. They take an active approach in setting up better means of collaboration by ICTs. They demand and gain access to their historically grown collective knowledge stored in government data. Not just on a local level, they actively shape the political agenda. Open Government is to be seen in the context of citizens' rights: the right to actively participate in the process of agenda-setting and decision-making. Research into open government needs to address the value of the changing relation between citizens, public administration, and political authority. The paper argues finally for the application of the Public Value concept to research into open government.

“Open”: the changing relation between citizens, public administration, and political authority

Abstract: "Open" is not just a fancy synonym for transparent and accountable. The "Open" in Open Government, Open Data, Open Information, and Open Innovation stands for the changing relation between citizens and authorities. Many citizens no longer accept the passive stance representative democracy held for them. They take an active approach in setting up better means of collaboration by ICTs. They demand and gain access to their historically grown collective knowledge stored in government data. Not just on a local level, they actively shape the political agenda. Open Government is to be seen in the context of citizens‘ rights: the right to actively participate in the process of agenda-setting and decision-making. Research into open government needs to address the value of the changing relation between citizens, public administration, and political authority. The paper argues finally for the application of the Public Value concept to research into open government.

Culture and Technology: A Mutual-Shaping Approach

Abstract: The aim of this chapter is to discuss the mutual influence between culture and technology on a broad interand transcultural level. Especially, how does information culture shape the meaning of information, communication, and knowledge, and consequently, the design, spread, and usage of ICTs in certain societies? Vice versa, we are interested in the ways in which the spread and usage of ICTs affect the predominating culture. We aim for a model that incorporates cultural as well as technological factors in order to provide a basis for future ICT research that goes beyond both technological determinism and social constructivism. We believe that new technologies indeed can contribute to more justice in the world in terms of access to knowledge and wealth, if sociocultural factors are taken into account more seriously. Current developments in the context of the UN World Summit on the Information Society raise awareness in this direction. At the same time, we are well aware that the loose notion and imprecise definition of the concept of culture allows for the exploitation of the term in empty political and techno-economical policies. Culture degenerates to an indispensable buzzword in the current ICT debate. This chapter is an attempt to introduce the concept of culture into the socioresponsible ICT research on equal terms with technology, economy, and society.

Cultural Aspects and Digital Divide in Europe

Abstract: This paper aims to make a contribution toward an improvement of European e-policy practice. It is inspired by the conviction that successful e-policy strategies can lead to balanced chances for all members in certain societies to aquire the absolutely indispensable capabilities for decision-making in the context of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Following the path of the development of e-policy papers it has to be stated that many goals have not yet been achieved. The techno-deterministic concepts ‘access’ and ‘usage’ seem not to reach far enough to get people really involved and informed. Many more aspects have to be considered in order to create a climate for innovation where different choices made by different individuals according to their different social, economic or cultural backgrounds do not lead automatically to the well known either or not, connected or not-connected, haves or have-nots, but to a variety of patterns of involvement. In this paper, we argue for different e-policy strategies according to cultural aspects in certain societies. And hereby we will focus on the cultural aspects of information itself, on the notion of information in different information cultures. It also seems important to mention at this stage that we believe that getting all members of society involved in the ICTinnovation process in order to provide the basis for informed decisions by each individual member is the most important task of e-policy. 1 1. E-policy Most governments around the globe emphasize the diffusion and implementation of ICTs in their countries as one - if not the only - major opportunity for economic competitiveness and as a chance to overcome social and economic divides within their states. In numerous policypapers - most are derivatives from the original "National Information Infrastructure: Agenda for Action" introduced in 1993 by the then new US Clinton-Gore Administration- these are unquestioned assumptions. Concepts like universal access and computer literacy form the guidelines for most of the so-called e-policy-papers. In principle, e-policy is the strategy for the introduction of ICT in a certain social environment. This strategy can be applied on different levels from organizational to global. This paper focuses on e-policy on a national and supra-national (EU) level.

Machiavelli Confronts 21st Century Digital Technology: Democracy in a Network Society

Abstract: Computer science and informatics have great potential to improve citizen engagement with public officials, voting, access to public information and other democratic processes. Yet progress towards achieving these aims on a wide scale remains slow. A main reason for this lack of progress is that digital technologies create the potential to alter significantly the relative influence of different groups and actors in the political process, and thereby quickly become embroiled in a political debate that crosses and complicates technical discussions. These political conflicts and uncertainties have been made more transparent in applications of the Internet and related Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to support democratic processes. The challenges created by these techno-political tensions, and how to address them, were the overall cross-cutting themes that emerged from the interdisciplinary Dagstuhl Seminar on Democracy in a Network Society, on which this paper is based. The seminar involved a multidisciplinary group of computer and social scientists, legal scholars, practitioners and policy experts who aimed to chart the latest technical approaches to e-democracy and governance. Their intention was not to tell politicians how to maintain and enhance their power with the support of new technologies, in the manner of Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli’s 16th Century adviser to the prince. Instead, participants explored how new technologies could enhance or constrain the power of politicians and the general public, depending on how the technologies and the systems based on them are designed and implemented.

Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community

Abstract: The present historical moment may seem a particularly inopportune time to review Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam's latest exploration of civic decline in America. After all, the outpouring of volunteerism, solidarity, patriotism, and self-sacrifice displayed by Americans in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks appears to fly in the face of Putnam's central argument: that \"social capital\" -defined as \"social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them\" (p. 19)'has declined to dangerously low levels in America over the last three decades. However, Putnam is not fazed in the least by the recent effusion of solidarity. Quite the contrary, he sees in it the potential to \"reverse what has been a 30to 40-year steady decline in most measures of connectedness or community.\"' As an example of how the current \"war on terrorism\" could generate a durable civic renewal, Putnam points to the burst in civic practices that occurred during and after World War II, which he says \"permanently marked\" the generation that lived through it and had a \"terrific effect on American public life over the last half-century.\" 3 If Americans can follow this example and channel their current civic

Special issue on innovation through open data: a review of the state-of-the-art and an emerging research agenda: guest editors' introduction

Abstract: For decades good governance scholarship has focused attention on the importance of government openness [26], [34]. Since the 1960s, Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation has formed the backbone of institutional support for opening information and documents [76] and participatory processes [4], [79]. However, FOI represents a passive approach to releasing information. Persons or organizations must still request the information they want, referred to casually, as freedom of information requests. Since the 1990s, publishing documents on websites or using communication technologies to engage citizens in participation processes has signaled a more proactive approach to releasing government information and political engagement. Since 2003, governments have re-envisioned their passive and proactive approaches to include an open data agenda, [18], [62], where publishing documents and data in open formats, [35], [63] is the preferred way. Collectively, these developments have forged the basis for what has been commonly referred to as the open government and data movements [30]. Open data practices and policies are praised for their potential to generate public value, particularly through innovation, economic growth, and transparency, [5], [9], [18], [21], [81]. The nature and character of open data has been hailed for its innovative capacity and transformative power [19], [35], [40], [45], [80]. Various studies have confirmed that proactively releasing public and private data in open formats creates considerable benefits for citizens, researchers, companies and other stakeholders, such as business creation or having the ability to understand public or private problems in new ways through advanced data analytics, [5], [9], [18], [21], [81]. Only a handful of articles examine both the unintended consequences and negative side effects of opening data, [33] and the underlying causal mechanisms that actually lead to the desired open data benefits [5]. Open data research is still in its infancy, and as a result, the extant literature uses limited application and development of theory toward understanding the open data phenomenon. While scholars acknowledge diverse perspectives, it is not clear which theories are most relevant, nor whether a single or integrated theory is needed. This special issue is part of a series of two special issues about open data. This issue focuses on the relationship between innovation and open data, while the second special issue emphasizes research on open data related to transparency and open data policies. To realize the practical benefits of this transformative practice and to develop theory, more research needs to focus on understanding how innovation occurs through open data activities. The papers in this special issue begin to address this gap. The introductory article discusses the state-of-the-art with respect to understanding the context of open data innovation, developments, challenges and barriers, presents an overview of open data research and outlines emerging research directions.