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The Transparency Game: Government Information, Access, and Actionability

Publication ,  Journal Article
Vakarelov, O; Rogerson, K
Published in: Philosophy and Technology
March 1, 2020

Democratic governments might be required by law to disseminate information to the people. This is called governmental transparency. What is the burden of transparency? We propose a “pragmatic information theory of communication” that places information accessibility as a foundation of transparency. Using a game model—the Transparency Game—we show that the pragmatic theory is the only one that makes it difficult for governments to appear transparent (transparency de vidi) while not actually being transparent (transparency de facto). There are two important consequences of understanding transparency through the theory: (1) Accessible information must be actionable, and (2) cognitive science plays a vital role in assessing the accessibility of information. These consequences can have implications for public policies that promote transparency.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Philosophy and Technology

DOI

EISSN

2210-5441

ISSN

2210-5433

Publication Date

March 1, 2020

Volume

33

Issue

1

Start / End Page

71 / 92

Related Subject Headings

  • 5003 Philosophy
  • 2203 Philosophy
  • 2202 History and Philosophy of Specific Fields
  • 1608 Sociology
 

Citation

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ICMJE
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Vakarelov, O., & Rogerson, K. (2020). The Transparency Game: Government Information, Access, and Actionability. Philosophy and Technology, 33(1), 71–92. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-019-0340-z
Vakarelov, O., and K. Rogerson. “The Transparency Game: Government Information, Access, and Actionability.” Philosophy and Technology 33, no. 1 (March 1, 2020): 71–92. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-019-0340-z.
Vakarelov O, Rogerson K. The Transparency Game: Government Information, Access, and Actionability. Philosophy and Technology. 2020 Mar 1;33(1):71–92.
Vakarelov, O., and K. Rogerson. “The Transparency Game: Government Information, Access, and Actionability.” Philosophy and Technology, vol. 33, no. 1, Mar. 2020, pp. 71–92. Scopus, doi:10.1007/s13347-019-0340-z.
Vakarelov O, Rogerson K. The Transparency Game: Government Information, Access, and Actionability. Philosophy and Technology. 2020 Mar 1;33(1):71–92.
Journal cover image

Published In

Philosophy and Technology

DOI

EISSN

2210-5441

ISSN

2210-5433

Publication Date

March 1, 2020

Volume

33

Issue

1

Start / End Page

71 / 92

Related Subject Headings

  • 5003 Philosophy
  • 2203 Philosophy
  • 2202 History and Philosophy of Specific Fields
  • 1608 Sociology