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Government and public policy

5 important questions on Government and public policy

How did social media pay a central role in shaping political debates in the Arab spring (Iranian demonstrations)

A spike in online revolutionary conversations oftener preceded major events on the ground. Social Media helped spread democratic ideas across international borders (Howard et al., 2011).

- Do social media chance the probability of a given individual participating in social unrest? According to (Centola & Macy, 2007).

The spread of information is aided by weak ties, which potentially connect socially distant location in the network, participation in risky protests activity is an example of a ‘complex contagion’ which requires social affirmation from multiple sources (

What is a critique of Gladwell(2010) on complex contagion/protesting after being influenced on the internet

stated that a critical point is whether the participation involves risk-taking. Engagement in high-risk protests activity require influence through strong ties, and social media mainly facilities in weak ties.

What did Casilli & Tubaro (2011) find when researching agent based modelling

- “A complete absence of censorship does not only corresponds to lower levels of violence over time, but allows for significant periods of social peace after each outburst.”

The expectation is that there should be greater freedom in cyberspace than in the real world, and consequently there is resentment of any activity by governments and corporations aimed at constraining those freedoms (censorship). Is this true? And if not which groups are not in favour of more freedom?

- people with children, who are married, are older, are using the internet for religious content and are employed within the public sector ask for a greater demand in censorship in comparison to their counterparts.