The Use of Wikis for Regional Development Processes : An Empirical Analysis in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland
ISBN
978-1-897721-44-5
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2013-05-05
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Beauclair, Auréliane
Reynolds, Lesa
Abstract
The Web 2.0 ("social web") can be defined as the sum of new internet- tools and applications using the web as a platform for data which are created and controlled by the users collectively. It modifies communication patterns, personal attitudes, and political cultures worldwide - technological change causes social change. The observations can be interpreted as a kind of ‘transculturation' process in which foreign elements become introduced into established cultures. The increasing meaning of the Web 2.0 is discussed in different fields of politics and society but less reflected in regional development research.
At a first glance it seems promising to use such platforms to enhance the group of activists and to promote and discuss the issues of a regional development process. The discussion on (regional) governance is a discussion on the cooperation of different actors in (regional) decision making. A governance structure includes different types of actors with specific logics and a specific 'modus operandi' cooperating in network structures based on self-organization. Such structures are said to be bounded on a physical space, on proximity and personal connections. With the new tools of the social web it is possible to act in a new spatial and social dimension. They may change the influence of the regional actors on governance and even government structures. And they can provide new approaches to foster the local or regional identity.
The paper is based on a recent paper which delineated first considerations how to make web 2.0 applications useable for regional development processes. In regional development practice already some concrete endeavours has been made to use web 2.0 applications. The paper empirically investigates one of the most prominent web 2.0 applications for regional development, the so-called "Regio- Wikis', a kind of regionalized Wikipedia.
The paper is structured as follows: Section 1 sketches some theoretical considerations on the specific quality of web 2.0- applications with respect to regional development processes concerning concepts, users, target groups, culture, and inherent rationality. It particularly emphasizes the meaning of the social web for the exchange of information on the one hand and the knowledge transfer on the other hand (section 2). In section 3 the analysis concentrates on one of the most prominent web 2.0- applications, the wikis. It investigates the potential use of the tool for regional development. Section 4 empirically analyses for about 50 existing "Regio-Wikis' in German- speaking countries focussing on participants, users, and central issues. Section 5 summarizes the results with respect to the potentials and limitations of such wikis for regional development processes.
At a first glance it seems promising to use such platforms to enhance the group of activists and to promote and discuss the issues of a regional development process. The discussion on (regional) governance is a discussion on the cooperation of different actors in (regional) decision making. A governance structure includes different types of actors with specific logics and a specific 'modus operandi' cooperating in network structures based on self-organization. Such structures are said to be bounded on a physical space, on proximity and personal connections. With the new tools of the social web it is possible to act in a new spatial and social dimension. They may change the influence of the regional actors on governance and even government structures. And they can provide new approaches to foster the local or regional identity.
The paper is based on a recent paper which delineated first considerations how to make web 2.0 applications useable for regional development processes. In regional development practice already some concrete endeavours has been made to use web 2.0 applications. The paper empirically investigates one of the most prominent web 2.0 applications for regional development, the so-called "Regio- Wikis', a kind of regionalized Wikipedia.
The paper is structured as follows: Section 1 sketches some theoretical considerations on the specific quality of web 2.0- applications with respect to regional development processes concerning concepts, users, target groups, culture, and inherent rationality. It particularly emphasizes the meaning of the social web for the exchange of information on the one hand and the knowledge transfer on the other hand (section 2). In section 3 the analysis concentrates on one of the most prominent web 2.0- applications, the wikis. It investigates the potential use of the tool for regional development. Section 4 empirically analyses for about 50 existing "Regio-Wikis' in German- speaking countries focussing on participants, users, and central issues. Section 5 summarizes the results with respect to the potentials and limitations of such wikis for regional development processes.
Language
English
Keywords
social web
regional governance
spatial identity
information management
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
No
Book title
Shape and be Shaped : The Future Dynamics of Regional Development
Publisher
RSA Regional Studies Association
Publisher place
East Sussex
Start page
24
Event Title
Regional Studies Association (RSA) 2013 European Conference
Event Location
Tampere, Finnland
Event Date
05.-08.05.2013
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
222876
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
Präsentation_Walser_RSA_Tampere_8May2013.pdf
Size
1.33 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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