[ecrea] CfP Social Media in Government - Government Information Quarterly Special issue

Call for Papers

*Government Information Quarterly Special Issue

Social Media in Government*

*Article proposal due (500 words): August 1st 2012.*


Government Information Quarterly is seeking scholarly manuscripts for a
special issue on Social Media in Government, scheduled for publication in
July 2013. Government Information Quarterly (GIQ) is an international
journal that examines the intersection of policy, information technology,
government, and the public. In particular, GIQ focuses on how policies
affect government information flows and the availability of government
information; the use of technology to create and provide innovative
government services; the impact of information technology on the
relationship between the governed and those governing; and the increasing
significance of information policies and information technology in relation
to democratic practices. More information regarding GIQ is available at
http://www.elsevier.com/locate/govinf



The special issue is being edited by Dr. Rodrigo Sandoval-Almazan
(Universidad Autnoma del Estado de Mxico), Dr. J. Ignacio Criado
(Universidad Autnoma de Madrid), and Dr. J. Ramon Gil-Garcia (Centro de
Investigacin y Docencia Econmicas).



Scope

This special issue targets high-quality research on social media in
government, from economic, social, legal, policy, political, or other
related perspectives. Social media cover different Web 2.0 tools such as
blogs, microblogging, wikis, social networking, multimedia sharing, mashup
applications, tagging, virtual worlds, and crowdsourcing, among others. The
study of these different strategies and applications in public settings is
important to understand how the exchange of information between governments
and citizens may significantly transform the way in which the public sphere
operates, create new ways of governing, and/or enhance different forms of
participation. In other words, social media applications have the potential
to transform the mediation process between government actors, institutions,
and citizens. During the last few years, different public agencies across
the world have made advances in this field; thus, this special issue will
assess the existing potentials, pitfalls, opportunities, and/or risks
derived from the implementation of social media in government. The papers
are expected to emphasize policy aspects and political implications.



*Intended contribution*

This special issue welcomes contributions from different perspectives and
areas of research on social media in government. The issue seeks to bring
together international high quality research to produce theoretical and
empirical insights on aspects related to the adoption, use, results, and
impacts of social media in government settings, with a particular emphasis
on policy, as opposed to technical, aspects. In recent issues, GIQ hosted
some related contributions on cloud computing, transparency, openness, and
Web 2.0 alignment. This special issue attempts to provide an integrated
perspective on social media in government. To do so, it uses the structure
that follows, based on three main aspects: topics, tools, and goals. All
submissions should consider not only the technical aspects, but the social
and policy implications of the different tools and applications.



*Topics*

The manuscripts are expected to cover one or more of the following topics or
any other topic related to the main focus of the special issue:

-           Theories and discourses on social media in government. Social
media open up a cutting-edge field of research. What theories and discourses
can be applied to improve the analysis and understanding of the social media
phenomenon in government?

-           Access policy for social media. Social media in government imply
new challenges regarding the accessibility to public agencies in the digital
sphere. Who, and to what extent, can access social media in governmental
settings? What are the legal implications of social media accessibility in
government?

-           Disability policies using social media. Innovative routes to
deal with government for those with disabilities have come about from social
media. How can social media facilitate and encourage access to government
for all individuals?

-           Governance strategies for social media in government. Governing
social media in the public sector is based on political vision and strategic
management. Who should engage in formulating policies for social media in
government, and how can or should different governmental actors and social
agents participate?

-           Strategies/policies for implementation of social media in
government. Successful implementation of social media in government depends
on careful attention to different aspects. What are the most relevant policy
issues to adequately achieve the objectives of social media implementation?

-           Human resource management and new public sector profiles related
to social media. Social media introduce managerial requirements in public
agencies, including human resource management. How should social media be
managed with regard to public employees, and what should be the competencies
of social media managers in government?

-           Openness, transparency, and accountability through social media.
The implications of social media for openness, transparency, and
accountability in government derive from the nature of this set of tools.
How have open government requirements been met by public agencies? To what
extent are the regulations and standards of conduct in the digital sphere
applied in government?

-           Crowdsourcing, co-production, and citizen participation in the
public sector through social media. Social engagement is a fundamental part
of the adoption and diffusion of social media in government. How are social
media in the public sector?

-           Methodologies and methods to understand social media in
government. The study of social media in government may demand specific
methodological approaches from those used in previous studies of electronic
government.  How can social media affect traditional methodologies and
methods to understand the use and diffusion of ICTs in government?

-           Government use of information from social media applications,
including business intelligence, data warehousing, data mining, and
artificial intelligence, among others. The use of social media amplifies the
data at the disposal of public agencies. What are the most relevant uses of
data in government? How can governmental agencies use data derived from the
citizens to improve public policies?

-           Measurement tools to analyze and assess the use of social media
in government.

-           Social, economic, legal, and political effects derived from the
use of social media in government. Social media in government may alter
different areas of government-market interactions, as well as the
relationship between government and citizens. What are the most feasible and
important social, economic, legal, and political effects to address in the
near future as a consequence of social media's adoption in public agencies?

-           Social media limitations and challenges. Different challenges
and threats remain or are emerging for social media in government. What are
the most salient challenges derived from the use and diffusion of social
media in government?



*Tools*

Second, the expected social media applications analyzed for this special
issue may range from different types and nature-including, but not limited
to, the following:

-           Social networking (e.g., Facebook).

-           Microblogging (e.g., Twitter).

-           Multimedia sharing (e.g., YouTube).

-           Virtual Worlds (e.g., Second life).

-           Mashups and open data (e.g., Data.gov).

-           Questioning Tools (e.g., Quora).

-           Crowdsourcing (e.g., Mechanichal Turk,).

-           Collaboration Tools (e.g., Peer to patent and Wiki Government)



Irrespective of the technology application analyzed, the papers should
include social and policy aspects and implications.



*Goals*

Third, contributors should also focus on one or multiple goals derived from
the use of social media. The articles submitted to this special issue should
address social, policy, and managerial goals that are expected to directly
or indirectly derive from the use of social media in government. Among the
expected goals are:

-           Openness and transparency.

-           Public Policy of Social media participation and inclusion.

-           Policy effectiveness.

-           Managerial efficiency.

-           Citizen participation.

-           Cost savings.

-           Good governance (fight against corruption).

-           Public employee performance and satisfaction.


This special issue will publish articles able to assemble these three
dimensions/aspects (topics, tools, and goals) for a better understanding of
social media in government. Therefore, each article is expected to consider,
if possible, at least one topic, one tool, and one potential goal. However,
it will be highly valued providing knowledge about different aspects in a
single manuscript. We hope that this effort will contribute to understand
this emerging topic in a more systematic and integrative manner. It is also
expected to help delineating the research agenda on social media in
government for the coming years.



*Submission procedure and important dates*

The submission procedure will follow the usual norms and regulations of GIQ
and Elsevier. In addition, proposals will be evaluated by the guest editors
for scope and thematic appropriateness for the special issue, before
starting the review process. Below are the expected dates to prepare the
issue for publication in 2013:



Call for papers: June 2012.

Article proposal due (500 words): August 1st 2012.

Proposal notification: September1st, 2012.

Full article proposals due: December 1st, 2012.

Peer review results: February 1st 2013.

Final revised article due: March 1st, 2013.

Notification of final acceptance: April 1st, 2013.

Publication: July - October 2013.


Please, send proposals to:(socialmedia.giq /at/ cide.edu)