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One of the most obvious characteristics of Iran's protests in September 2022 is the emergence of a type of cyber activism that, unlike mass activism, is formed first in cyberspace. Networks have redefined social action and structure in our societies and have important consequences on production processes, power, and culture, challenging political systems, and creating legitimacy crises. The subject of the present research is important because cyber activism has an external aspect and has changed the shape of Iran's social movements. This article is based on the Twitter data analysis method and using MAXQDA. Referring to Castells' network society theory, it addresses this question: What role did the Twitter play in September 2022 in Mahsa Amini's social movement? This article shows that the Twitter, in the context of existing dissatisfactions and in the absence of active organizations and parties, has led to an increase in cyberactivism in Iran. This cyberactivism encompasses mass self-communication, occupation of urban space, horizontal leadership, globalization of messages, mobilization and guidance of public opinion, nationalism, the subjectivity of women, and their identification has been its external manifestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Mülkiye Dergisi is the property of Mulkiye Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The research object is the evolution of the main strategic concepts that determine the impact of information technologies on the socio-cultural development of society at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries and lay the foundations of a new humanitarian science on the media, i.e. medialogy. The study is relevant since globalization and digital revolutions change not only the reality and spiritual existence of a person but also the science that studies all these issues. Within the socio-cultural system of media civilization, there is an obvious integration of various humanities that study the role of the media in the formation of civil institutions and personality. The study considers different approaches of both foreign and Russian scholars (sociologists, philosophers, culture experts, philologists) to media science in its historical context and modern realities. The study results substantiate strategic concepts of media science, its issues, and development prospects as a factor in the formation of a citizen in the globalized world.

Daniel Bell (1919–2011) and Manuel Castells (1942–) are the grand theorists of the information age. The article provides a detailed, up-to-date, comparative analysis of their writings. It begins with their methodologies, identifying numerous commonalities in their post-Marxian frameworks. The substance of their theories is then examined, where it is shown that both plausibly explain contemporary social reality in terms of the interplay of three forces: the information technology revolution, the restructuring of capitalism and the innovational role of culture. There are found to be major similarities in their accounts (the Kantian interpretation, social stratification) but also significant divergences (role of science, the fourth world, the normative content of culture). Suitably combined, Bell's and Castells's thought goes a long way towards delivering a persuasive sociological theory of the global information society. However, the article concludes by suggesting that extensive further work is needed to clarify the precise relationships between the three factors and their relative weightings in the equations required to explain recent social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the formidable but selective influence of Castells' analysis of the network society and the information revolution. First, the paper argues that the theorization and the style of writing this type of grand theory have both contributed to the success of those papers but also limited their long‐term influence. Second, it argues that Castells decisively contributed to identify the importance of global networks. However, his systematic use of this social form to explain the transformations proved in part misleading. Third, his analysis of spatial transformations is particularly interesting. As an urban sociologist, he has developed a sophisticated framework to articulate cities and urbanization processes in relation to global networks, neither reifying cities nor abandoning the concept contrasting European cities with metropolitan regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sammendrag Artikkelen er en teoretisk drøfting som knytter utfordringer i den samtidige lokaljournalistikken opp mot Manuel Castells’ teorier om nettverkssamfunnet. Castells’ tanker om at kronologisk tid og geografisk sted har mistet mye av sin relevans er omdreiningspunktet for diskusjonen. I teksten drøftes det hvordan økt globalisering, endret lokalforståelse og endrede publikumsprakiser skaper utfordringer for en svært stedbundet grein av journalistikken. Det pekes på at lokaljournalistikkens funksjon som minneforvalter, intersubjektiv identitetsskaper og lokal fellesskapsforvalter er under press. Dette skaper et behov for økt fokus på lokaldigital forankring innad i profesjonen – hvordan lokale medier både kan være en del av et større nettverk, men samtidig noe idiosynkratisk lokalt.

Castells (human towers) are, amongst intangible cultural heritage elements, one of the most incompatible with a pandemic context, because it involves a large number of participants in extreme physical proximity. Moreover, when the time for a progressive return to activity arrived, the colles (teams) had to face dilemmas that questioned a key element in their speech. Thus, the idea that castells are open to everyone's participation has clashed against limits imposed by the authorities with health criteria, causing controversy and contradictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the digital age, space has become increasingly structured by the circuitry of global capital, communications and commodities. This 'network society' splinters and fragments territorial space according to the hidden logic of networked global capital; with successful criminal entrepreneurs connecting bases in low-risk, controllable territories with high-profit markets. Drawing on a recent, large-scale study of organised crime in Scotland, in this paper we elaborate the relationship between place, territory and criminal markets in two contrasting communities. The first is an urban neighbourhood with a longstanding organised crime footprint, where recognised local criminal groups have established deep roots. The second is a rural community with a negligible organised crime footprint, where the drug economy is serviced by a mobile criminal network based in England. Through comparison of the historical roots and contemporary routes of these criminal markets, we note both similarity and difference. While both communities demonstrated evidence of 'networked territorialism', key differences related to historical and social antecedents, in particular the impact of deindustrialisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the findings of a study exploring the information practices of members of a religious organization. Its focus is the "Mahamevnawa Buddhist Monastery." Particularly, this paper focuses on the study's findings in relation to participants' information practices in constructing their understanding of "the Temple." The study is informed by an information practices theoretical perspective, drawing on work from a variety of disciplines, including Castells' space of flows, and Fisher's information grounds. Data was gathered from participant observation, interviews with both monks and devotees and email follow-ups, and analysis of the online presence of the temple through its website. Five social constructs for the temple appear frequently in the interviews: Virtual space; Physical/geographical place; Virtual space; Symbol; Process and practices; and Organization. Participants' information practices are not only limited to spiritual purposes but also are linked to various social practices, activities, and interests. The study's findings suggest that constructions of place play a hitherto underexplored role in the multi-layered relationship between people and information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to demonstrate the importance and value of collaboration between members of a formalized network of Fringe festivals. The research was informed by Castells (the network society, space of flows, and space of places) and Richards (network-centric eventfulness, pulsar and iterative events), as well as publications that critique their work. The article combines theoretical and conceptual frameworks with primary evidence, thus responding to prominent criticisms of the foundation texts. Primary research was focused around an innovative case study, utilizing two-mode social network analysis (SNA), documentary evidence, and interview data. The history and characteristics of the Fringe network in question were found to be influential in the nature and characteristics of its member festivals. A policy of collaboration is in the network's DNA, and was therefore inherited by those festivals established under its supervision (the majority of those in the network). This collaboration has taken the form of shared projects, integrated administrative and management functions, and coordinated touring opportunities between the festivals. The article finds that the network itself is now in a preeminent position in terms of its influence on the member festivals. This has positive implications for the network's overall efficiency and effectiveness. Further research may reveal additional benefits and disadvantages for the member festivals, and their various stakeholders. Replicating the research with other Fringe networks would also be revealing, as each such network has a number of unique characteristics. This is primarily an explorative article of value to critical event studies researchers, it complements existing applications of SNA techniques and approaches to events, and contains additional references to festival communities and places. The article also has practical value for Fringe festival producers in terms of strategic management and inter-Fringe collaborations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dit is geen oordrywing om te praat van die tyd waarin ons leef as een van media-oorheersing nie. Die blote feit dat die Amerikaanse president die samelewing op hol kan jaag deur middel van sy tydige en ontydige "tweets" is simptomaties hiervan, asook uitdrukking van wat Manuel Castells die "netwerk-samelewing" noem. Laasgenoemde is moontlik gemaak deur die tegnologiese rewolusie wat terugstrek tot by die uitvinding van die radio, en wat in die konstruksie van die internet gekulmineer het. Wat minder bekend is, is dat hierdie globale rewolusie ʼn fundamentele verandering in mense se ervaring van tyd en ruimte meegebring het - wat Castells die "ruimte van vloei" en "tydlose tyd" noem. Kortweg: die menslike lewensfeer is deurgrondelik omvorm deur tegnologiese ontwikkelinge. Die vraag is egter - in die lig van sekere verskynsels waarop iemand soos onder andere Sherry Turkle wys - of hierdie toedrag van sake, wat vereis dat mense wat in die mediasfeer tuis wil wees tot die status van "digitale boorlinge" moet aspireer, nie onvermydelik gepaardgaan met ʼn sekere affektiewe en intellektuele afstomping nie; waarop sy bevestigend antwoord. Hierdie vraag sou maklik as uitdrukking van tegnofobie gelees kon word, maar, soos Bernard Stiegler aantoon, is dit nie die geval nie. Enersyds, so meen Stiegler, lei die huidige tegniek, in die gewaad van mnemotegniese apparate soos slimfone, tablette en skootrekenaars (waardeur jy toegang verkry tot onder andere sosiale media), na wat hy "ver-idiotisering" noem. Andersyds kan - en moet - ʼn mens leer hoe om hierdie "uitwendige memoriseringsapparate" vir wat hy "kritiese intensivering" noem aan te wend, ten einde die stryd teen die gevangeneming van mense (veral kinders) se "aandag" te kan wen. Per slot van sake, volgens Stiegler is skole (en mens sou sosiale media kon byvoeg) vandag die arena waar die stryd gevoer word vir die aandag van skoliere en studente deur die siniese gebruik van tegniek en media deur neoliberale kapitalisme, uitsluitlik met die oog op bemarking. Vervolgens word gepoog om hierdie problematiek in perspektief te stel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent debates in sociology consider how Internet communications might catalyse leaderless, open-ended, affective social movements that broaden support and bypass traditional institutional channels to create change. We extend this work into the field of leisure and lifestyle politics with an empirical study of Internet-mediated protest movement, Stand Against Modern Football. We explain how social media facilitate communications that transcend longstanding rivalries, and engender shared affective frames that unite diverse groups against corporate logics. In examining grassroots organisation, communication and protest actions that span online and urban locations, we discover sustained interconnectedness with traditional social movements, political parties, the media and the corporate targets of protests. Finally, we suggest that Internet-based social movements establish stable forms of organisation and leadership at these networked intersections in order to advance instrumental programmes of change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hileya: Scientific Bulletin / Gileya is the property of GILEYA Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Lately, castells, or human towers, have been strengthened as a symbol of the Catalan identity in parallel to them being raised to heritage status, attaining the highest official distinction as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as recognised by UNESCO. Because of this, there must be a stable place to permanently exhibit this pastime: the Museu Casteller de Catalunya, in Valls. The article reviews the history of the museum (conceived more than half a century ago) as well as its inclusion in the heritage status process of castells and the urban regeneration involved in it being situated in the old quarter in Valls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his Information Age trilogy, Manuel Castells documents the transformation of economic power by means of network affordances. In more recent work, he has built an account of the linking of economic power with cultural and political power through 'Murdochization' or 'the networking of networks'. Whilst Castells' account of power has thus developed to acknowledge the integration of economic, cultural and political interests within networks, his account of 'counterpower' remains largely focused on cultural and political resistance in the form of protest. Here we explore a case of economic counterpower, the unauthorized livestreaming of digital sports broadcasts. Analysis of this particular case (of counterpower) is particularly significant, given the centrality of Murdochization in Castells' account of power in the network society. Emerging out of, alongside, and in response to the growth of, Murdochized digital media sports networks, we explore the scope and limits of livestreaming as a form of economic counterpower and counter-Murdochization. In this article, we document Castells' theory of network power, the centrality of Murdochization to that account, and the centrality of monopoly control over digital sports broadcasting to Murdochized media empires. The scope and resilience of alternative streaming media in switching live sports programming from pay to view to free sharing is then examined. The failure to date of all attempts to prohibit free streams shows the ongoing viability of such economic counterpower. However, whilst dominant actors cannot eliminate economic counterpower, where dominant actors choose not to broadcast, no switching of content can take place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ‘network metaphor’ impoverishes our understanding of power. Its binary logic of inclusion/exclusion leaves it blind to relations of exploitation. However, instead of ideological critique – the standard Marxist approach - this paper reconstructs Marx’s theory of exploitation from a common “process-relational ontology” that is shared by both network theorists and Marx. From this shared ontology it becomes possible to demonstrate how Marx’s materialization of process through ‘production’ and his understanding of relations as ‘internal’ and ‘contradictory’ lead him not into an inclusion/exclusion cul-de-sac but rather to a critique of exploitation writ large. This paper concludes by briefly demonstrating how the theory of exploitation that emerges from Marx’s process-relational ontology is ideally suited to understanding and critiquing the intensification and extensification of exploitation under informational capitalism.

This paper explores the changing patterns of our relationship with the metropolis from the perspective of London-based writers that have shown an interest for cyberculture (Matt Whyman, Stella Duffy, Pat Cadigan, China Miéville). Taking as point of departure the collection of Internet stories edited by Maxim Jakubowski with authors from a variety of fields, including crime, mystery, science-fiction, fantasy, and even erotica, this paper will analyze how popular literature has understood the role of the city of London and its social networks in the new informational society. The theoretical approach used to read these short stories is indebted to the ideas of urban theorist and sociologist Manuel Castells and cyberculture theorist Donna Haraway.

Copyright of Przeglad Socjologiczny is the property of Lodz Scientific Society / Lodzkie Towarzystwo Naukowe and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Social fluidity is the case, and we intend to rise it to an ontology level. Some explanations will therefore be needed. On the one hand, historical arguments are helpful to state its actuality: the fact that the contemporary world tends to fluidification. On the other hand, “ontology” had to be reformulated and reoriented to social theory development itself. In this way, the interest points to the abolition of the traditional dichotomy based on the difference between ontology and ontic knowledge, in order to place world behavior and meaning processes at a same level of reality. The theory of forms will be questioned in its preeminence to undertake an ontology development. The new ontology pretended in this article is triggered by the question of Which could be the role of political resistance in such a world, decentered and entering a deforming process? A theory of the social time-space (STS) will be the way to replace resistances to particular contexts where domination spots have emerged. Being moved from the modernity paradox of destroy/reform (as a historical source of motion) to a scheme of fluids will be our final attempt.

Everyday life expands the debates about the role of capitalist production relations in the production of space and urbanisation to everyday life practices. The digital space has become part of everyday life with extensive use of social media by individuals and institutions as a key communication sphere. Dwelling on these, this paper explores the role of the digital space in the processes of the production of space and the role of the networked practices of local governments within those processes. Investigating the practices of local governments and their engagement with individuals opens up areas of exploration for everyday life, local governance and institutional politics. The paper explores these via two case studies about acts of everyday life: holiday-making during the re-running of an election campaign and New Year's Eve celebrations in Turkey. It discusses the dialectical relationship between the lived space and the conceived space (Lefebvre, 1991) and how everyday politics submerges with everyday life via the practices of local governments by focusing on the networked (Castells, 2004) engagements among local governments and with ordinary citizens through the use of social media. It concludes that the digital space acts as a conduit where the conceived and the lived are submerged. • The study offers a novel approach to the production of space by bringing the 'digital front' into the debates. • It brings together Social Network Analysis, and textual and visual content analyses by adopting these on Twitter data. • The study suggests that networked practices on social media become a part of the production of space from the digital front. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AstroTurfing and its online equivalent CyberTurfing not only pose a significant threat to consumers, but democratic discourse. Regulatory measures in place to prevent deceptive marketing do not grasp the nature of the threat. It is argued that people make decisions about consumer purchases by using heuristics -- mental shortcuts and other rules of thumbs. When making decisions, consumers and voters are often relying on incomplete and false information spread as part of an AstroTurfing campaign. Digitally mediated platforms are being manipulated by propagators to help spread false messages in order to advance specific agendas. As a result, consumer trust and democratic discourse are both undermined. It is argued that further regulation is required to combat the deceptive practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ‘urban question’ isn't a question with an answer—not like the ‘housing question’, which is in essence, ‘Is the private market model of housing provision separable from capitalist social relations?’ and to which Engels replied categorically ‘No’ (though it took a book to say it). But, like the housing question, the urban question is an invitation to deeper analysis of a superficially straightforward matter, with its roots, as is the case with so many concepts in critical social theory, planted firmly in Marx. This paper situates the urban question in history, tracing its lineage from Marx to Lefebvre to Castells to its recent iterations via Lefebvre's concept of planetary urbanisation. In the course of this journey the paper considers the meanings and usefulness of the question to critical urban research and action. The paper concludes that the underlying concepts of the evolving urban question do meaningfully engage with age-old and contemporary questions of how to bring about social change, and that their utility lies in the capacity of those asking the question to crystallise the possibilities of such change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Social Anthropology / Anthropologie Sociale is the property of Berghahn Books and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The digitally crowdsourced law for same-sex marriage was passed in Finland in 2014. Activists produced the draft text of the law on digital collaboration platforms, and support for the law was petitioned using strong digital identification. This article analyzes how the campaign for the Equal Marriage Law used new digital tools and created practices that affect democratic citizenship and power making. The campaigners succeeded in introducing to the national political debate the idea of a bill that had been twice rejected in the political process. This article introduces the typology of the mediating citizen to describe civic action that is able to affect representative politics in a constructive way and reprogram power. The radical legal framework, the Citizens' Initiative Act, offered a channel to pursue meaningful civic agency in Finland and counter the legitimacy crisis of representative democracies. In future efforts for enhancing digital civic participation such a channel for real impact should be part of the design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Para Manuel Castells la primera ley de la sociedad es una ley del poder: donde hay dominación hay resistencia a la dominación. En el presente artículo analizamos dicho postulado, que despliega entre 1976 y 2009, atendiendo a tres aspectos: sus aplicaciones concretas en la investigación social de nuestro autor, aquellos argumentos del propio Castells que tienden a refutarlo, y finalmente un diálogo acotado con la quinta proposición sobre el poder que formula Michel Foucault en Historia de la sexualidad . Tal recorrido nos permitirá identificar las operaciones teóricas principales y los movimientos de cambio conceptual que despliega nuestro autor en relación con dicha ley general, así como ensayar una crítica general a su posición

This article provides an empirical, field-based study of the production processes of transnational media outlet, the International Herald Tribune, as it negotiates and coordinates workflow and content with The New York Times. Using Manuel Castells’ concept of the space of flows, the article provides additional nuance to understand the relationship between material constructs and networked information. Time zones and geolocation remain important; the biggest node in the network does direct information; and the coordinated capacity for 24/7 content is more difficult that perhaps imagined by networked scholars. Both people and product are considered here in an effort to bring added nuance to the tension between materiality and networks in the production of information. While the International Herald Tribune has now been rebranded as the International New York Times, the same considerations and questions remain. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article analyzes articulations among urban enclaves, finance capital, and glass architecture by exploring MGM’s corporate investments in the Las Vegas CityCenter development and the Chinese enclave of Macau. CityCenter is an unsuccessful $9 billion master-planned urban community financed by MGM and Dubai World. Macau is a former Portuguese colony and Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China which has, since its return to the PRC in 1999, replaced Las Vegas as the world’s most lucrative site of casino gaming revenue. Taken together, CityCenter and Macau are illustrative of the political economy and cultural logics of financialization. Foreign investment from Las Vegas entrepreneurs has vitrified Macau, transforming it into a phantasmagoria of glass resorts. Macau in turn plays a crucial functional role in capitalism’s recomposition in East Asia, similar to the autochthonous role of the Italian city-states of Venice and Genoa in the historical origins of capitalism. In order to ‘read’ the cities of Las Vegas and Macau, I explore intertextual legibilities among fictitious capital that relies on glass fiber-optic technology to enable grand architectural projects; expressionist fictional representations of glass architecture and its utopian transformative potential; and glass buildings that themselves dissimulate in a manner not unlike fiction. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]