Thomas B. George - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
articles by Thomas B. George
Proceedings of the 54st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), 2021
Political action has a long history. Information systems provide new affordances for political ac... more Political action has a long history. Information systems provide new affordances for political action that go well beyond sending an email to elected officials or "liking" a political Facebook page. Digital activism -- political action enabled by Information Systems (IS) -- not only provides citizens with enhanced opportunities for organization and communication, but also allows opportunities to take direct political action and create greater impact with fewer resources. This paper seeks to explore and build theory on the use and impact of digital activism by extending Milbrath’s hierarchy of political participation to reflect digital activism. The paper contributes to both the IS and political science literature with a digital activism framework that builds on digital activism theory.
Papers by Thomas B. George
Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2021
This grounded theory study explores how bystander digital video distributed via social media docu... more This grounded theory study explores how bystander digital video distributed via social media documents perceived injustice and serves as an emancipatory technology. Using 30 examples, the study provides insight into how bystander videos impact perceived social injustice with potential visual evidence and how bystander videos ultimately shape larger social movements. We find that potential evidentiary video events break down into eight theoretical areas: instigation, target, place, perceived injustice, tools, witness, potential evidence, and outcomes. We find that while bystander video spread through social media can indeed serve as an emancipatory technology with substantial positive outcomes, care must be taken to avoid oversaturation that could result in desensitization and lower efficacy.
Proceedings of the 54st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), 2021
Political action has a long history. Information systems provide new affordances for political ac... more Political action has a long history. Information systems provide new affordances for political action that go well beyond sending an email to elected officials or "liking" a political Facebook page. Digital activism -- political action enabled by Information Systems (IS) -- not only provides citizens with enhanced opportunities for organization and communication, but also allows opportunities to take direct political action and create greater impact with fewer resources. This paper seeks to explore and build theory on the use and impact of digital activism by extending Milbrath’s hierarchy of political participation to reflect digital activism. The paper contributes to both the IS and political science literature with a digital activism framework that builds on digital activism theory.
Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2021
This grounded theory study explores how bystander digital video distributed via social media docu... more This grounded theory study explores how bystander digital video distributed via social media documents perceived injustice and serves as an emancipatory technology. Using 30 examples, the study provides insight into how bystander videos impact perceived social injustice with potential visual evidence and how bystander videos ultimately shape larger social movements. We find that potential evidentiary video events break down into eight theoretical areas: instigation, target, place, perceived injustice, tools, witness, potential evidence, and outcomes. We find that while bystander video spread through social media can indeed serve as an emancipatory technology with substantial positive outcomes, care must be taken to avoid oversaturation that could result in desensitization and lower efficacy.