| 1. |
- Ekenberg, Love, et al.
(author)
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Deliberation, representation, equity : research approaches, tools and algorithms for participatory processes
- 2017
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Book (other academic/artistic)abstract
- What can we learn about the development of public interaction in e-democracy from a drama delivered by mobile headphones to an audience standing around a shopping center in a Stockholm suburb? In democratic societies there is widespread acknowledgment of the need to incorporate citizens' input in decision-making processes in more or less structured ways. But participatory decision making is balancing on the borders of inclusion, structure, precision and accuracy. To simply enable more participation will not yield enhanced democracy, and there is a clear need for more elaborated elicitation and decision analytical tools. This rigorous and thought-provoking volume draws on a stimulating variety of international case studies, from flood risk management in the Red River Delta of Vietnam, to the consideration of alternatives to gold mining in Ro?ia Montana in Transylvania, to the application of multi-criteria decision analysis in evaluating the impact of e-learning opportunities at Uganda's Makerere University. Editors Love Ekenberg (senior research scholar, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis [IIASA], Laxenburg, professor of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University), Karin Hansson (artist and research fellow, Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University), Mats Danielson (vice president and professor of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University, affiliate researcher, IIASA) and Göran Cars (professor of Societal Planning and Environment, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm) draw innovative collaborations between mathematics, social science, and the arts. They develop new problem formulations and solutions, with the aim of carrying decisions from agenda setting and problem awareness through to feasible courses of action by setting objectives, alternative generation, consequence assessments, and trade-off clarifications. As a result, this book is important new reading for decision makers in government, public administration and urban planning, as well as students and researchers in the fields of participatory democracy, urban planning, social policy, communication design, participatory art, decision theory, risk analysis and computer and systems sciences.
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| 2. |
- Bergholtz, Maria, et al.
(author)
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Framework for evaluating tools used in edemocracy : transparency, autonomy, consensus and pluralism
- 2014
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In: DSV writers hut 2014. - Stockholm : Department of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University. - 9789163774577
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The concept of e-democracy has been around for a while. However, the intercontextual understanding of this is still immature which complicates interdisciplinarity and communication with a diversity of stakeholders, resulting in a weak participation and implementation of e-services. This is even more emphasized in an international setting, not the least in the context of various European Union initiatives regarding e-service provision. To increase the participation in the context, e-democracy services can be utilized for strengthening individual capabilities as well as political processes. The effective design of such processes requires tools to support decision-making, collaboration, and collaborative decision-making, voting engagement and involvement in the democratic process. This article presents an evaluation framework suitable for tools for e-democracy aiming at forming a constructive base for implementing an efficient support for enabling an increased participation in vital democratic processes.
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| 3. |
- Brouwers, Lisa, 1967-, et al.
(author)
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Multi-criteria decision-making of policy strategies with public-private re-insurance systems
- 2004
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In: Risk, Decision, and Policy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1357-5309 .- 1466-4534. ; 9:1, s. 23-45
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article describes an integrated flood catastrophe model as well as some results of a case study made in the Upper Tisza region in north-eastern Hungary: the Palad-Csecsei basin. The background data was provided through the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and complemented by interviews with different stakeholders in the region. Based on these data, for which a large degree of uncertainty is prevailing, we demonstrate how an implementation of a simulation and decision analytical model can provide insights into the effects of imposing different policy options for a flood risk management program in the region. We focus herein primarily on general options for designing a public-private insurance and reinsurance system for Hungary. Obviously, this is a multi-criteria and multi-stakeholder problem and cannot be solved using standard approaches. It should, however, be emphasised that the main purpose of this article is not to provide any definite recommendations, but rather to explore a set of policy packages that could gain a consensus among the stakeholders.
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| 4. |
- Brouwers, Lisa, 1967-, et al.
(author)
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Simulation of Three Competing Flood Management Strategies : A Case Study
- 2002
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In: Proceedings of the Applied Simulation and Modelling (ASM). - Anaheim : actapress.
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We argue that integrated catastrophe models are useful for policy decisions, for which a large degree of uncertainty is a natural ingredient. Recently, much attention has been given to the financial management of natural disasters. This article describes the results of a case study performed in northeastern Hungary where different flood manage ment strategies have been explored and compared using an integrated catastrophe model. The area used for the pilot study is the Palad-Csecsei basin (the Pilot basin) where 4 621 persons live. The Pilot basin is located in the Upper Tisza region. An executable and geographically explicit model has been developed, linking hydrological, geographical, financial, and social data. The outcomes of the policy simulations are represented at different granularity-levels; the individual, the aggregated (entire basin), and the governmental.
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| 5. |
- Danielson, Mats, et al.
(author)
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Cross-disciplinary research in analytic decision support systems
- 2006
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In: ITI 2006. - Zagreb : University Computing Centre SRCE, University of Zagreb. - 9537138054 ; , s. 123-128
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A main problem in nearly all contexts is that unguided decision making is tremendously difficult and can lead to inefficient decision processes and undesired consequences. Therefore, decision support systems (DSSs) are of prime concern to any organization and there have been numerous approaches to such from, e.g., computational, mathematical, financial, philosophical, psychological, and sociological angles. However, a key observation is that efficient decision making is not easily performed by using methods from one discipline only. The case is rather that if real world decision making is taken seriously, several aspects must be included. This article describes some efforts of the DECIDE research group for approaching decision making and developing DSSs in a cross-disciplinary environment.
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| 6. |
- Danielson, Mats, et al.
(author)
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Cross-Disciplinary Research in Analytic Decision Support Systems
- 2006
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In: ITI 2006. - Zagreb : University Computing Centre SRCE, University of Zagreb. - 9537138054 ; , s. 123-128
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A main problem in decision support contexts is that unguided decision making is difficult and can lead to inefficient decision processes and undesired consequences. Therefore, decision support systems (DSSs) are of prime concern to any organization and there have been numerous approaches to delivering decision support from, e.g., computational, mathematical, financial, philosophical, psychological, and sociological angles. A key observation, however, is that effective and efficient decision making is not easily achieved by using methods from one discipline only. This paper describes some efforts made by the DECIDE Research Group to approach DSS development and decision making tools in a cross-disciplinary way.
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| 7. |
- Hansson, Karin, et al.
(author)
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A framework for describing the social production of data in crowdsourcing
- 2016
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In: International Reports on Socio-Informatics (IRSI). - 1861-4280. ; 13:2, s. 27-34
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This overview of the handling of user profile data and user activity in some crowdsourcing tools provides a framework for analyzing data production processes in terms of embodiment (the participants’ social and cultural perspective) and gameplay (how the participants can interact through the tool). This can create a better understanding of the quality of the data in crowd produced environments, which can be particularly interesting in contexts were trustworthiness is aggregated in the network rather than provided by a single source (of unknown credibility), and as an alternative when normal sources cannot provide trustworthy information or information at all. By combining gameplay metrics with data indicating embodiment, the social production of data can become more transparent.
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| 8. |
- Hansson, Karin, et al.
(author)
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A framework for evaluation of flood management strategies
- 2008
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In: Journal of Environmental Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0301-4797 .- 1095-8630. ; 86:3, s. 465-480
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The resulting impact of disasters on society depends on the affected country's economic strength prior to the disaster. The larger the disaster and the smaller the economy, the more significant is the impact. This is clearest seen in developing countries, where weak economics become even weaker afterwards. Deliberate strategies for the sharing of losses from hazardous events may aid a country or a community in efficiently using scarce prevention and mitigation resources, thus being better prepared for the effects of a disaster. Nevertheless, many governments lack an adequate institutional system for applying cost effective and reliable technologies for disaster prevention, early warnings, and mitigation. Modelling by event analyses and strategy models is one way of planning ahead, but these models have so far not been linked together. An approach to this problem was taken during a large study in Hungary, the Tisza case study, where a number of policy strategies for spreading of flood loss were formulated. In these strategies, a set of parameters of particular interest were extracted from interviews with stakeholders in the region. However, the study was focused on emerging economies, and, in particular, on insurance strategies. The scope is now extended to become a functional framework also for developing countries. In general, they have a higher degree of vulnerability. The paper takes northern Vietnam as an example of a developing region. We identify important parameters and discuss their importance for flood strategy formulations. Based on the policy strategies in the Tisza case, we extract data from the strategies and propose a framework for loss spread in developing and emerging economics. The parameter set can straightforwardly be included in a simulation and decision model for policy formulation and evaluation, taking multiple stakeholders into account.
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| 9. |
- Hansson, Karin, 1973-
(author)
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A Framework for Evaluation of Flood Management Strategies
- 2007
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- During the last decades, a great deal of attention has been focused on the financial risk management of natural disasters. The reason is that the economic losses from floods, windstorms, earthquakes and other disasters in both the developing and developed countries are escalating dramatically. Catastrophic events, in particular floods, have contributed substantially to financial and human costs of disaster, accounting for over half of the fatalities and a third of the damages from all natural catastrophes worldwide. It has become apparent that an integrated water resource management approach would be beneficial in order to take the best interests of society and the environment into consideration. One improvement consists of models capable of handling multiple criteria as well as multiple stakeholders. In this thesis, a system approach is applied for coping with complex environmental and social decisions with respect to flood catastrophe policy formation, wherein the emphasis is on computer-based modelling and simulation techniques combined with methods for evaluating strategies. As a consequence, the SEMPAI framework is developed. The framework consists of a simulation model, a decision analytical tool, and a set of suggested policy strategies for policy formulation. The framework is applied to two different case studies and stakeholder workshops and assessments using expert interviews have demonstrated its appropriateness and applicability.
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| 10. |
- Hansson, Karin, 1967-
(author)
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Accommodating differences : Power, belonging, and representation online
- 2014
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- How can political participatory processes online be understood in the dynamic, conflicted and highly mediated situations of contemporary society? What does democracy mean in a scenario where inequality and difference are the norms, and where people tend to abandon situations in which they and their interests are not recognized? How can we accommodate differences rather than consensus in a scenario where multiple networks of people are the starting point rather than a single community?In this thesis, these questions are explored through an iterative process in two studies that have used or resulted in three prototypes and one art exhibition. The first study is of communication practices in a global interest community, which resulted in two prototypes: Actory, a groupware that takes differences rather than equality as the starting point for a collaborative tool, and The Affect Machine, a social network where differences are used as a relational capital. The second study is of communication practices in a local commonality where the art exhibition Performing the Common created a public space and involved participants. This resulted in Njaru, a collaborative tool with integrated decision support and visualization of representativeness.In summary, these works depart from the notion of the importance of belonging for e-participation, where the individual can be seen as a participant in several performative states, more or less interconnected trans-local publics. Here the individuals’ participation in the local public sphere compete with their participation in other communities, and affect the conditions for local democracy. This thesis contributes to a deeper understanding of these processes, and discusses how differences in democratic participation can be managed with the help of ICT.
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