Sex offenders in a risk society : setting limits on freedom

The commendable intention to protect children from risk must be weighed against loss of personal freedom when imposing extended supervision orders under the Serious Sex Offenders Monitoring Act.

Science in school and society

This article describes the insights generated from a series of focus groups conducted around significant areas of science research and development, with practitioners of science and technology, and policy and education people from industry and government. The participants in these groups had a great deal to say about how important the understandings and attitudes of members of the community were to their field of activity, as well as the way science is practiced in contemporary settings. On the basis of the evidence we argue that school science should take as its focus the development of understandings of, and attitudes to, science for citizens generally. We suggest that this means, for both future citizens and scientists, that practice in school science needs to change to better represent contemporary science practice.

Non-government organisations and the dialectics of state and civil society

This paper is concerned with envisioning the development of non-government organisations (NGOs) in Australia over the next 200 years. It begins with a discussion of a hypothetical NGO, providing vignettes of its activities in 2104 and 2204, and sketching out contextual factors that might influence NGO development. This discussion is followed by an outline of the methodology upon which the projections indicated in the hypothetical case-study are based. Three methodological approaches are used. The first approach begins from an analysis of current contextual trajectories, and projects the role of NGOs within these trajectories. The second approach postulates that the changes that will occur will be affected by the reflexive nature of social change, involving continual reflection and action. The third methodological approach draws on this notion of reflexivity, but emphasises that social change is not only a reflexive process, it is also a dialectical one. The dialectical approach rests on the premise that change occurs through a process of the accumulation of contradictions, challenge and resolution. Using these methodological approaches the paper proceeds to identify three factors which will influence the Australian NGO sector in the next 200 years. These factors are the shifting relations between the state and civil society, including the rise of the neo-authoritarian state in the 21st century; the ways in which least advantaged people are dealt with and, finally, the idea of risk society. While it is more difficult to identify the contextual and NGO trajectories into the 22nd and 23rd centuries, the paper postulates a more utopian vision for NGOs in Australia in 200 years time, where the category of people who had been previously marginalised disappears, and the major roles of NGOs are to ensure cultural diversity and develop civil labour.

The influence of collectivism in society and its implications for research on information systems and national culture

This paper argues that the nature of IS research that deals with indigenous culture must be informed as much by context as it is by culture models, which has been the focus of such research in the past. This is considered important because it better reflects the meaning of the data collected for the researcher. To appreciate the importance of context this papers also argues that research subjects from designated individualist societies will inform the researcher in different ways from those subjects located in collectivist societies. To illustrate the practical implications of this argument the paper reports three separate case studies in IS research where the researchers reflect on the impact that a collectivist view has had on the research findings. The paper suggests that (1) similar ethnicity and appearance are significant in gaining the trust of subjects in a collectivist society; that is the researcher is part of the in-group as they belong to the same culture or ethnic group; that (2) who introduced the researcher to the subject is significant in that trust is best reflected when a member of the group/collective plays an important role in the research process itself; and that (3) an ability to (a) communicate in the natural language and (b) understand the implicit body language and (c) cultural codes is important in gaining significant and more meaningful research outcomes. This is enabled via the implicit meanings embedded in members of the collectivist society.

Making up (for) society? Stitch, bitch and organisation

We discuss the emergence of the craft movement known as Stitch’nBitch. Prevalent around the globe, particularly among women, this movement organises in local places, such as hotels and cafes, and virtually using the Internet. The women meet to knit, stitch and talk, using new technologies as an enabler and resource exchange. At the same time, their presence can be seen, in part, as a response to social and technological changes, both at work and in wider society. We introduce five themes to assist in the interpretation of this new form of organising, discussing (1) remedial, (2) progressive, (3) resistance, (4) nostalgic, and (5) ironic possibilities and we draw on illustrative interview data to outline possibilities for further research.

Civil society and global governance : the possibilities for global citizenship

In this article we reassert the role of governance as well as of civil society in the analysis of citizenship. We argue that to analyse global civil society and global citizenship it is necessary to focus on global governance. Just as states may facilitate or obstruct the emergence and development of national civil society, so too global governance institutions may facilitate or obstruct an emerging global civil society. Our key contention is that civil society at the global level thrives through its interaction with strong facilitating institutions of global governance. We start with a discussion of civil society and citizenship within the nation-state, and from there develop a model of global civil society and citizenship. Through analysing the impacts of various modes of global governance, we identify strategically appropriate forms of political and social engagement that best advance the prospects for global citizenship.

The commitment of public sector Sweden to codes of ethics

This article examines the results of a study conducted of the top 100 public sector units in Sweden. These units are comprised of entities of government, municipalities, and county councils. The aim of the study was to examine and describe the commitment to codes of ethics in these Swedish public sector units. This article reports on the responses of those public sector units that possessed a code of ethics. The construct of commitment was measured by a consideration of the inputs, objectives and outputs of the code across six areas. The commitment to codes of ethics has an interest for those involved in the public sector in Sweden and society in general. Most public sector units are in the early stages of development and assimilation into overall ethics policies in code artefacts. On a specific level there are customized codes of ethics that are not always documented in a generic artefact. Theoretical and managerial implications are provided. Furthermore, suggestions for further research are proposed.

Can the overcommercialization of cause-related marketing harm society?

The role of social responsibility within business has been debated for decades. It appears that there is a growing understanding that doing the right thing for society can not only be good for business but is also a responsibility of the modern corporation. Causes, corporations, and society have benefited from corporate involvement with social issues. However, it also appears that in some cases, there may be potential pitfalls associated with merging social and corporate objectives. The "overcommercialization" of some activities designed to benefit society may in fact harm those that these activities are trying to help. This article examines potential pitfalls associated with cause-related marketing and provides recommendations for reducing the potential negative consequences

Families, cultural resources and the digital divide: ICTs and educational (dis)advantage in the e-society

By concentrating on cases of family engagement with information communication technologies at a very local level, this paper tries to illustrate that issues related to 'access' and social disadvantage require extremely sophisticated and textured accounts of the multiple ways in which interrelated critical elements and various social, economic and cultural dimensions of disadvantage come into play in different contexts. Indeed, to draw a simple dichotomy between the technology haves and have-nots in local settings is not particularly generative. It may be the case that, even when people from disadvantaged backgrounds manage to gain access to technology, they remain relatively disadvantaged.

Public sector ethics in Sweden : a 4P-model of internal and external determinants in codes of ethics

This article summarizes and aggregates the results of a study conducted of the largest 100 public sector organizations derived from three categories in Sweden. These categories of organizations comprise 40 entities of government, 40 municipalities, and 20 county councils. The objective was to describe the determinants of codes of ethics in Swedish public sector organizations. This research reports on the responses of 27 organizations that possessed a code of ethics. The principal contribution is a 4P-model of seven internal and external determinants in public sector codes of ethics. The identified determinants relate to four principal sectors of a society, namely: public community sector, private corporate sector, private citizen sector, and political/policy conduct sector.

Codes of ethics best practice in the Swedish public sector: a PUBSEC-scale

Examines business ethics in Swedish public sector organizations, and in particular, explores the content of public sector codes of ethics; suggests that it is possible through such an analysis to gain an understanding of an organization's performance in this area. Describes the questionnaire survey sent to public sector organizations (government, county councils, municipalities) requesting information on how they developed an ethical ethos into their daily operations, and details the analysis undertaken into their codes of ethics. Draws on case studies with public sector units representing best practice, in respect to codes of ethics, to develop a customized public sector scale (PUBSEC-scale) consisting of seven dimensions and 41 items. Makes suggestions as to how the PUBSEC-scale could be used; points to the differences between the codes of ethics in the public and private sectors; looks at what the private sector can learn from the public sector; makes suggestions for further research.