The DOI matches its Crossref record; 44 of the 46 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Radical Transparency?
Abstract
This article considers the cultural positioning of transparency as a superior form of disclosure through a comparative analysis with other forms. One, as yet under-examined appeal of transparency lies in its promise to circumvent the need for, and usurp the role of, narrative-interpretive forms of disclosure such as scandal, gossip, and conspiracy theories. This growing preference for transparency as a more enlightening, honorable mode of disclosure is not just a result of the positive qualities that are seen to be intrinsic to transparency (particularly e-transparency) itself, but a response to the perceived negative characteristics of other forms of disclosure. After questioning the opposition between transparency and narrative-interpretive disclosures, we can see the preference for the former to be, at least partly, ideological: Transparency reinforces neoliberal tenets as much as democratic ideals. WikiLeaks is invoked in this article as a case which draws on both e-transparency and narrative-interpretive forms of disclosure in a move that wrests transparency from the clutches of neoliberalism and refuses the traditional hierarchy between forms of disclosure. This hybrid form helps us explore the possibility and implications of non-ascendant, radical forms of transparency or, in other words, disclosure without political foreclosure.
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“As a part of the internal and external accountability processes, transparency can assist in facilitating algorithmic fairness.”
From Out of Context: Investigating the Bias and Fairness Concerns of “Artificial Intelligence as a Service” (2023) · cites this paper as [17]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Birchall, C.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Birchall, Clare
- ORCID
- Birchall, Clare
- Venue
- Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2014-01-13
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 77-88
- ISSN
- 1532-7086 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-356X
- OpenAlex
- W4239656662
- Cited by
- 123
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 21.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Culture Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies (publishedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Foucault, Power, and Ethics
- Social Sciences › Communication › Cultural Studies and Postmodernism
- Social Sciences › Linguistics and Language › Cultural and political discourse analysis
- Keywords
- transparency, disclosure, scandal, gossip, conspiracy theories, WikiLeaks, neoliberalism, democracy, radical transparency, ideology
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