My research interests include:
-role of new media in contemporary social movements and advocacy campaigns
-the intersection of new media and traditional political institutions (e.g. Parliament, municipal government)
the deliberative democratic potential of new media
-Canadian labour market and social policy Supervisors: Conrad Winn
Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Social Media & Society, 2015
This study analyzes the impact of Twitter use on electoral performance in the 2014 Ontario munici... more This study analyzes the impact of Twitter use on electoral performance in the 2014 Ontario municipal elections. An analysis of the extent of Twitter use, as well as the type of election-related tweets is also presented. It was found that the content of election-related tweets contained minimal discussion of electoral issues, consisting primarily of candidate campaign updates and messages of support from voters. Hashtag discussions follow a similar trend. Despite the shallow depth of discussion, this research suggests that the use of Twitter can have a positive impact on electoral performance for municipal candidates.
In 2012, Tuxedo Stan, a domestic long-hair cat, “ran for mayor” of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and a ye... more In 2012, Tuxedo Stan, a domestic long-hair cat, “ran for mayor” of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and a year later Stan’s brother, Earl Grey, “ran for premier” of Nova Scotia. What separated Stan and Earl Grey (who ran under the banner of the Tuxedo Party) from other politically minded felines was that the Tuxedo Party campaigns were not stunt or joke campaigns. While the cats could obviously not take office, the two campaigns were nonetheless political advocacy campaigns, with a clearly articulated message to make life better for feral and stray cats. This paper argues that the Tuxedo Party successfully elevated the issue onto the political agenda through their savvy mix of social media, and the use of positive imagery of cats in their campaigns.
The authors examine the use of new social media (NSM) by Canadian unions during electoral campaig... more The authors examine the use of new social media (NSM) by Canadian unions during electoral campaigns. The use of NSM by unions is emerging in Canada, and the authors study the 2011 federal and provincial elections, arguably the first time Canadian unions used NSM as part of their electoral strategies. The authors show that unions with close partisan ties to the New Democratic Party are more likely to embrace NSM as an electoral tactic than unions with no partisan ties or unions that engage in strategic voting.
Social media has been praised for its positive democratic impact by enhancing the power of indivi... more Social media has been praised for its positive democratic impact by enhancing the power of individuals to affect political change. Social media has been praised its positive impact on representative democracy, democratic participation and the deliberative quality of democracy. Governments and representatives are able to get instantaneous and widespread feedback on policies and actions, a larger number of voices are able to be heard and information can be acquired without being mitigated through the media, political parties governments or organizations. One of the greatest challenges to the democratic capacity of social media is online censorship. Censorship is the deliberate action to control or limit access to and the sharing of information. The paper is a descriptive study that attempts to categorize the methods and technologies used by governments, private corporations, and internet service providers (ISPs) around the world to control access to online content and will explore the democratic implications. The paper focuses on the methods that have been used to limit content related to expressing political views such as human rights, freedom of expression, minority and religious views as well as content related to conflicts and security such as armed conflicts, separatist movements, and militant groups. The paper draws upon existing literature to develop a matrix of web censorship that identifies censorship techniques including technical IP blocking, search engine removal, site removal, and self-induced censorship. The paper draws upon cases in industrialized countries including Australia, Denmark, Canada and the United States as well as developing countries including Syria, Egypt, China, Burma, Iran and India over the past 10 years. Data from government documents, newspapers, journal articles, interest groups and social media and search provider reports such as Google’s Transparency Report and Terms of Use policies is used.
This study analyzes the impact of Twitter use on electoral performance in the 2014 Ontario munici... more This study analyzes the impact of Twitter use on electoral performance in the 2014 Ontario municipal elections. An analysis of the extent of Twitter use, as well as the type of election-related tweets is also presented. It was found that the content of election-related tweets contained minimal discussion of electoral issues, consisting primarily of candidate campaign updates and messages of support from voters. Hashtag discussions follow a similar trend. Despite the shallow depth of discussion, this research suggests that the use of Twitter can have a positive impact on electoral performance for municipal candidates.
During the last two years there have been mounting references to a “skills gap”, “skills shortage... more During the last two years there have been mounting references to a “skills gap”, “skills shortage” or “skills mismatch” in the Canadian labour market by the Conservative government. This paper utilizes a discourse analysis of speeches, Parliamentary committee discussions, federal budgets, reports by business and labour organizations as well as national newspapers to identify the dominant and alternative storylines that have been constructed pertaining to the skills gap. Analyzing storylines within the discourse is a valuable strategy for analyzing wicked policy problems because storylines allow for the simplification of complex problems. Hajer argues that storylines help construct problems and are used to assign blame, responsibility and heighten the urgency of a problem (Hajer 1995: 63). Storylines can also legitimize and empower actors as “fixers” (Stone 1989: 295) as well as enable and constrain policy development by blocking the flow of differences in meaning and serve as the basis of the interpretive processes (Fischer 2003: 79). This paper shows that the dominant storyline that has been constructed identifies that high unemployment is the result of skills gaps caused by mismatches in the existing educational qualifications in society and the demands of the labour market. The dominant storyline has shaped existing policies, including the Youth Employment Strategy and immigration policies, and a focus on publicizing labour market information to encourage individuals to pursue careers and education in “high-demand” fields. The dominant discourse advances a conception of state-societal-educational relations that individualizes the problem of unemployment and assumes that education should be subservient to labour market needs.
In 2012, Tuxedo Stan, a domestic long hair cat, ‘ran for mayor’ of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Tux... more In 2012, Tuxedo Stan, a domestic long hair cat, ‘ran for mayor’ of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Tuxedo Stan campaign, ran by Tuxedo Stan’s human companions, the Chisholms, started out to raise awareness with regards to the feral and stray cat populations in Halifax, claiming that a new strategy was needed, as “neglect isn’t working anymore.” Tuxedo Stan was an unprecedented success: the campaign garnished national and international media attention, and the Tuxedo Party gained tens of thousands of followers on social media. The success of the campaign resulted in the Halifax city council spending $20 000 on a strategy to help feral and stray cats in the city. Stan’s brother, Earl Grey, ‘ran for premier’ of Nova Scotia in the 2013 provincial election, once again using social media to draw attention to the lack of protection for cats in The Animal Protection Act. Stan received a great deal of media attention, and all three electorally viable parties in Nova Scotia issued statements responding to the campaign. Our paper analyses the factors that led to the success of the Tuxedo Party, a truly grass-roots political movement, dedicated to the protection of cats. We have performed a qualitative content analysis of the Tuxedo Party’s campaign and posts on social media, along with a quantitative analysis of the social media activity. We argue that the use of images of cats - a major phenomenon on the internet - mixed with exceptionally savvy use of new social media, combined to make this campaign a major success.
The authors examine the use of new social media (NSM) by Canadian unions during electoral campaig... more The authors examine the use of new social media (NSM) by Canadian unions during electoral campaigns. The use of NSM by unions is emerging in Canada, and the authors study the 2011 federal and provincial elections, arguably the first time Canadian unions used NSM as part of their electoral strategies. The authors show that unions with close partisan ties to the New Democratic Party are more likely to embrace NSM as an electoral tactic than unions with no partisan ties or unions that engage in strategic voting.
British Columbia Political Studies Association Conference, May 2012
Social media has been praised for its positive democratic impact by enhancing the power of indivi... more Social media has been praised for its positive democratic impact by enhancing the power of individuals to affect political change. Social media has been praised its positive impact on representative democracy, democratic participation and the deliberative quality of democracy. Governments and representatives are able to get instantaneous and widespread feedback on policies and actions, a larger number of voices are able to be heard and information can be acquired without being mitigated through the media, political parties governments or organizations. One of the greatest challenges to the democratic capacity of social media is online censorship. Censorship is the deliberate action to control or limit access to and the sharing of information. The paper is a descriptive study that attempts to categorize the methods and technologies used by governments, private corporations, and internet service providers (ISPs) around the world to control access to online content and will explore the democratic implications. The paper focuses on the methods that have been used to limit content related to expressing political views such as human rights, freedom of expression, minority and religious views as well as content related to conflicts and security such as armed conflicts, separatist movements, and militant groups. The paper draws upon existing literature to develop a matrix of web censorship that identifies censorship techniques including technical IP blocking, search engine removal, site removal, and self-induced censorship. The paper draws upon cases in industrialized countries including Australia, Denmark, Canada and the United States as well as developing countries including Syria, Egypt, China, Burma, Iran and India over the past 10 years. Data from government documents, newspapers, journal articles, interest groups and social media and search provider reports such as Google’s Transparency Report and Terms of Use policies is used.
An analysis exploring the social cost of poverty in the Niagara Region. It includes the cost of ... more An analysis exploring the social cost of poverty in the Niagara Region. It includes the cost of social transfers (Employment Insurance, Ontario Works, Housing, Hostels and Homelessness), health care, crime, lost earnings and productivity. It is estimated the social cost of poverty in Niagara is $277.7 million per year.
Working paper exploring the potential to use social media data for program evaluations. There is ... more Working paper exploring the potential to use social media data for program evaluations. There is a discussion of the practical and ethical considerations associated with using this data as well as a number of suggestions for determining whether it is appropriate to use the data.
Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Social Media & Society, 2015
This study analyzes the impact of Twitter use on electoral performance in the 2014 Ontario munici... more This study analyzes the impact of Twitter use on electoral performance in the 2014 Ontario municipal elections. An analysis of the extent of Twitter use, as well as the type of election-related tweets is also presented. It was found that the content of election-related tweets contained minimal discussion of electoral issues, consisting primarily of candidate campaign updates and messages of support from voters. Hashtag discussions follow a similar trend. Despite the shallow depth of discussion, this research suggests that the use of Twitter can have a positive impact on electoral performance for municipal candidates.
In 2012, Tuxedo Stan, a domestic long-hair cat, “ran for mayor” of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and a ye... more In 2012, Tuxedo Stan, a domestic long-hair cat, “ran for mayor” of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and a year later Stan’s brother, Earl Grey, “ran for premier” of Nova Scotia. What separated Stan and Earl Grey (who ran under the banner of the Tuxedo Party) from other politically minded felines was that the Tuxedo Party campaigns were not stunt or joke campaigns. While the cats could obviously not take office, the two campaigns were nonetheless political advocacy campaigns, with a clearly articulated message to make life better for feral and stray cats. This paper argues that the Tuxedo Party successfully elevated the issue onto the political agenda through their savvy mix of social media, and the use of positive imagery of cats in their campaigns.
The authors examine the use of new social media (NSM) by Canadian unions during electoral campaig... more The authors examine the use of new social media (NSM) by Canadian unions during electoral campaigns. The use of NSM by unions is emerging in Canada, and the authors study the 2011 federal and provincial elections, arguably the first time Canadian unions used NSM as part of their electoral strategies. The authors show that unions with close partisan ties to the New Democratic Party are more likely to embrace NSM as an electoral tactic than unions with no partisan ties or unions that engage in strategic voting.
Social media has been praised for its positive democratic impact by enhancing the power of indivi... more Social media has been praised for its positive democratic impact by enhancing the power of individuals to affect political change. Social media has been praised its positive impact on representative democracy, democratic participation and the deliberative quality of democracy. Governments and representatives are able to get instantaneous and widespread feedback on policies and actions, a larger number of voices are able to be heard and information can be acquired without being mitigated through the media, political parties governments or organizations. One of the greatest challenges to the democratic capacity of social media is online censorship. Censorship is the deliberate action to control or limit access to and the sharing of information. The paper is a descriptive study that attempts to categorize the methods and technologies used by governments, private corporations, and internet service providers (ISPs) around the world to control access to online content and will explore the democratic implications. The paper focuses on the methods that have been used to limit content related to expressing political views such as human rights, freedom of expression, minority and religious views as well as content related to conflicts and security such as armed conflicts, separatist movements, and militant groups. The paper draws upon existing literature to develop a matrix of web censorship that identifies censorship techniques including technical IP blocking, search engine removal, site removal, and self-induced censorship. The paper draws upon cases in industrialized countries including Australia, Denmark, Canada and the United States as well as developing countries including Syria, Egypt, China, Burma, Iran and India over the past 10 years. Data from government documents, newspapers, journal articles, interest groups and social media and search provider reports such as Google’s Transparency Report and Terms of Use policies is used.
This study analyzes the impact of Twitter use on electoral performance in the 2014 Ontario munici... more This study analyzes the impact of Twitter use on electoral performance in the 2014 Ontario municipal elections. An analysis of the extent of Twitter use, as well as the type of election-related tweets is also presented. It was found that the content of election-related tweets contained minimal discussion of electoral issues, consisting primarily of candidate campaign updates and messages of support from voters. Hashtag discussions follow a similar trend. Despite the shallow depth of discussion, this research suggests that the use of Twitter can have a positive impact on electoral performance for municipal candidates.
During the last two years there have been mounting references to a “skills gap”, “skills shortage... more During the last two years there have been mounting references to a “skills gap”, “skills shortage” or “skills mismatch” in the Canadian labour market by the Conservative government. This paper utilizes a discourse analysis of speeches, Parliamentary committee discussions, federal budgets, reports by business and labour organizations as well as national newspapers to identify the dominant and alternative storylines that have been constructed pertaining to the skills gap. Analyzing storylines within the discourse is a valuable strategy for analyzing wicked policy problems because storylines allow for the simplification of complex problems. Hajer argues that storylines help construct problems and are used to assign blame, responsibility and heighten the urgency of a problem (Hajer 1995: 63). Storylines can also legitimize and empower actors as “fixers” (Stone 1989: 295) as well as enable and constrain policy development by blocking the flow of differences in meaning and serve as the basis of the interpretive processes (Fischer 2003: 79). This paper shows that the dominant storyline that has been constructed identifies that high unemployment is the result of skills gaps caused by mismatches in the existing educational qualifications in society and the demands of the labour market. The dominant storyline has shaped existing policies, including the Youth Employment Strategy and immigration policies, and a focus on publicizing labour market information to encourage individuals to pursue careers and education in “high-demand” fields. The dominant discourse advances a conception of state-societal-educational relations that individualizes the problem of unemployment and assumes that education should be subservient to labour market needs.
In 2012, Tuxedo Stan, a domestic long hair cat, ‘ran for mayor’ of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Tux... more In 2012, Tuxedo Stan, a domestic long hair cat, ‘ran for mayor’ of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Tuxedo Stan campaign, ran by Tuxedo Stan’s human companions, the Chisholms, started out to raise awareness with regards to the feral and stray cat populations in Halifax, claiming that a new strategy was needed, as “neglect isn’t working anymore.” Tuxedo Stan was an unprecedented success: the campaign garnished national and international media attention, and the Tuxedo Party gained tens of thousands of followers on social media. The success of the campaign resulted in the Halifax city council spending $20 000 on a strategy to help feral and stray cats in the city. Stan’s brother, Earl Grey, ‘ran for premier’ of Nova Scotia in the 2013 provincial election, once again using social media to draw attention to the lack of protection for cats in The Animal Protection Act. Stan received a great deal of media attention, and all three electorally viable parties in Nova Scotia issued statements responding to the campaign. Our paper analyses the factors that led to the success of the Tuxedo Party, a truly grass-roots political movement, dedicated to the protection of cats. We have performed a qualitative content analysis of the Tuxedo Party’s campaign and posts on social media, along with a quantitative analysis of the social media activity. We argue that the use of images of cats - a major phenomenon on the internet - mixed with exceptionally savvy use of new social media, combined to make this campaign a major success.
The authors examine the use of new social media (NSM) by Canadian unions during electoral campaig... more The authors examine the use of new social media (NSM) by Canadian unions during electoral campaigns. The use of NSM by unions is emerging in Canada, and the authors study the 2011 federal and provincial elections, arguably the first time Canadian unions used NSM as part of their electoral strategies. The authors show that unions with close partisan ties to the New Democratic Party are more likely to embrace NSM as an electoral tactic than unions with no partisan ties or unions that engage in strategic voting.
British Columbia Political Studies Association Conference, May 2012
Social media has been praised for its positive democratic impact by enhancing the power of indivi... more Social media has been praised for its positive democratic impact by enhancing the power of individuals to affect political change. Social media has been praised its positive impact on representative democracy, democratic participation and the deliberative quality of democracy. Governments and representatives are able to get instantaneous and widespread feedback on policies and actions, a larger number of voices are able to be heard and information can be acquired without being mitigated through the media, political parties governments or organizations. One of the greatest challenges to the democratic capacity of social media is online censorship. Censorship is the deliberate action to control or limit access to and the sharing of information. The paper is a descriptive study that attempts to categorize the methods and technologies used by governments, private corporations, and internet service providers (ISPs) around the world to control access to online content and will explore the democratic implications. The paper focuses on the methods that have been used to limit content related to expressing political views such as human rights, freedom of expression, minority and religious views as well as content related to conflicts and security such as armed conflicts, separatist movements, and militant groups. The paper draws upon existing literature to develop a matrix of web censorship that identifies censorship techniques including technical IP blocking, search engine removal, site removal, and self-induced censorship. The paper draws upon cases in industrialized countries including Australia, Denmark, Canada and the United States as well as developing countries including Syria, Egypt, China, Burma, Iran and India over the past 10 years. Data from government documents, newspapers, journal articles, interest groups and social media and search provider reports such as Google’s Transparency Report and Terms of Use policies is used.
An analysis exploring the social cost of poverty in the Niagara Region. It includes the cost of ... more An analysis exploring the social cost of poverty in the Niagara Region. It includes the cost of social transfers (Employment Insurance, Ontario Works, Housing, Hostels and Homelessness), health care, crime, lost earnings and productivity. It is estimated the social cost of poverty in Niagara is $277.7 million per year.
Working paper exploring the potential to use social media data for program evaluations. There is ... more Working paper exploring the potential to use social media data for program evaluations. There is a discussion of the practical and ethical considerations associated with using this data as well as a number of suggestions for determining whether it is appropriate to use the data.
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Papers by Doug Hagar
Conference Presentations by Doug Hagar