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Technology Mediated Citizenship: What Can We Learn from Library Practices

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Electronic Participation (ePart 2020)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 12220))

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Abstract

Advanced digital societies in democratic societies are conceived to be sustained by informed, active and responsible citizens. While internet and information technologies are both hailed for their empowering potential for the citizens to express their civic and political rights, they also pose considerable literacy and usage challenges, and thus can raise exclusionary thresholds for these same aspirations. Digital skills and information literacy as preconditions for tapping into such technology potential, can thus affect the way citizenship is practiced and conceived by the members of society. Based on an extensive field study at Swedish libraries practices with helping and educating clients with a wide diversity of questions relating to digital technologies and e-services, we examine both empirically and conceptually how citizenship is practiced in an advanced digital society, in a universal welfare state. The analysis focused on citizenship practices in daily activities when technologies mediate participation and interaction among the public, civic and market actors. The conclusions contribute to the conceptualization of citizenship act and agency and elaborates on citizenship as a performative process.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department Management and Engineering IEI, Linköping University, 581 83, Linköping, Sweden

    Mariana S. Gustafsson, Elin Wihlborg & Johanna Sefyrin

Authors
  1. Mariana S. Gustafsson
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  2. Elin Wihlborg
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  3. Johanna Sefyrin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mariana S. Gustafsson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway

    Sara Hofmann

  2. Corvinus University of Budapest, Budapest, Hungary

    Csaba Csáki

  3. Danube University Krems, Krems, Austria

    Noella Edelmann

  4. Danube University Krems, Krems, Austria

    Thomas Lampoltshammer

  5. Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

    Ulf Melin

  6. Danube University Krems, Krems, Austria

    Peter Parycek

  7. University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Gerhard Schwabe

  8. University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Efthimios Tambouris

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Gustafsson, M.S., Wihlborg, E., Sefyrin, J. (2020). Technology Mediated Citizenship: What Can We Learn from Library Practices. In: Hofmann, S., et al. Electronic Participation. ePart 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12220. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58141-1_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58141-1_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-58140-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-58141-1

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