Towards a Code of Cyberethics for a Municipality in South Africa

Cybertechnology has had a significant impact on our social and moral systems. Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with what is considered to be right and wrong. One of the ways in which ethical standards in the public service in South Africa can be promoted is by developing Codes of Conduct that set a standard of behaviour to be followed within specific occupational categories. One occupational category is Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The diversity of ICT applications (such as supply chain management) and the increased use of ICT (such as e-Business) have created a variety of ethical issues. Kantian Ethics is based on the idea that duty is fundamental and ‘principle based’. The authors suggest that principle based theory should serve as backdrop to a Code of Cyberethics for a public service entity (a metropolitan municipality) in South Africa. In this paper the concepts of cybertechnology and cyberethics are introduced. eThekwini Municipality, the most populous municipality in South Africa, is selected as the environment for the formulation of a Code of Cyberethics. The methodology for the formulation of a Code of Cyberethics for eThekwini Municipality is described

Canada's (Post) "New Age" Spiritual Centers and the Impact of the Internet in the Context of Digital Religion

As a phenomenon that has had overwhelming social, cultural and political influence, the internet has become so embedded in our lives that it is difficult to imagine how we communicated or accessed information before its invention. It is not surprising, then, that the web is also a very active religious environment with religious and spiritual groups using it extensively to proclaim their beliefs and to be in contact with their followers. In a macro sense, web-based religion is any online activity, from the simple dissemination of information about a religious group or church to full web-based religious practice. It can be understood as occurring along a spectrum from religion online at one end to online religion at the other. First developed by Christopher Helland and further refined by Lorne Dawson, religion online means the use of the internet as a means of providing essential information about, or by, religious groups, movements, and traditions. At the other end of the spectrum, online religion sees the internet as a space that permits the practice of religion or ritual, or worship. In other words, rather than use their web browsers to simply search for information, religious followers use the web as an integral part of their religious lives (Helland, 2000; Dawson, 2005). However, a new term has entered the academic vocabulary and is being applied to online/offline religious praxis and that is Digital Religion. This latest definition brings a broader meaning to online/offline religion because it accepts the reality that current religious practice co-exists in an online and an offline world simultaneously and the rapid growth of digital technology has included religious or spiritual movements. This dissertation focuses on three New Age spiritual groups in Canada (English Canada only): the Universal Oneness Spiritual Center1 in Toronto, Ontario, the Centre for Spiritual Living in Calgary, Alberta and Unity Vancouver in Vancouver B.C., and reviews how these three groups use the internet in their everyday activities such as ritual, prayer and meditation and compares and contrasts the pros and cons of online and offline New Age spirituality, paying particular attention to issues of social, cultural and geographical differentiation in the light of Digital Religion

Institutional perspective of digital open government implementation : a case study from Kuwaiti Ministry of Home Security

Digital open government uses avenues such as online means, websites, etc., to communicate with the citizens. For sharing data and delivering it in the digital open government service, we need digital facilities such as computers, mobile and fixed phones, amongst others, to facilitate access to government information systems with less stress. There is a wide gap experienced by the population and its citizens in terms of communication and services provided by the government of Kuwait. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to offer a conceptual framework after analysing the key practices, enablers, opportunities, and motivators of digital open government (DOG), especially in the context of the Arab countries. Therefore, the context has been explored through applying the institutional theory that would lead to understanding the institutional issues that have generated public and institutional values through DOG in Kuwait. As this research is interlinked with political, social, cultural, economic and technological context, the interpretivist epistemological position is being taken to interpret the overall institutional context of DOG in Kuwait. The qualitative research method has been employed to collect in-depth data using semi-structured data collection tools from professionals and citizens. It has been found that there is uncertainty in policies, lack of professional commitment, and extra-political pressure that negatively impact the overall institutional efforts to generate public and institutional values through DOG. Therefore, this research suggests that institutional collaboration, transparency, trust, public participation, and institutional participation are required to lead toward the public and institutional values of the DOG. The theoretical contribution of this research is that this research applies institutional theory in the context of DOG value generation; consequently, through using the institutional theoretical lenses, this research proposes an institutional DOG value model, which is a theoretical contribution of this research. The practical contribution of this research is that it provides in-depth knowledge for the government to generate public and institutional value from DOG successfully, and this research also identifies the enablers of DOG, among which are included participation, trust, collaboration, and transparency to generate value through DOG successfull

Data protection and transborder data flows : implications for Nigeria's integration into the global network economy

One of the realities that developing countries like Nigeria have to face today is that national and international markets have become more and more interconnected through the global platform of telecommunications and the Internet. This global networked economy is creating a paradigm shift in the focus of development goals and strategies particularly for developing countries. Globalisation is driving the nations of the world more into political and economic integration. These integrations are enhanced by a globally interconnected network of economic and communication systems at the apex of which is the Internet. This network of networks thrives on and encourages the expansion of cross-border flows of ideas and information, goods and services, technology and capital. Being an active member of the global network economy is essential to Nigeria’s economic development. It must plug into the network or risk being shut out. The global market network operates by means of rules and standards that are largely set by the dominant players in the network. Data protection is a critical component of the regime of rules and standards that govern the global network economy; it is evolving into an international legal order that transcends geographical boundaries. The EU Directive on data protection is the de facto global standard for data protection; it threatens to exclude non-EU countries without an adequate level of privacy protection from the EU market. More than 50 countries have enacted data protection laws modelled on the EU standard. Access to the huge EU market is a major motivation for the current trend in global harmonisation of domestic data protection laws. This trend provides a compelling reason for examining the issues relating to data protection and trans-border data flows and their implications for Nigeria’s desire to integrate into the global network economy. There are two primary motivations for legislating restrictions on the flow of data across national boundaries. The first is the concern for the privacy of the citizens, and second, securing the economic well-being of a nation. It is important that Nigeria’s privacy protection keeps pace with international norms in the provision of adequate protection for information privacy order to prevent potential impediments to international trading opportunities.Public, Constitutional, and InternationalLL. D

Human capital and entrepreneurial intention in deprived areas: a case study of Nottingham, UK

In light of the relatively poor outcomes from the policies enacted to facilitate entrepreneurship in deprived areas that are not consistent with policymakers’ expectations, this research study constitutes the importance of human capital to investigate its influence on entrepreneurial intention in deprived areas. Due to the given barriers and difficulties objectively existing in such areas, this research study points out the inapplicability of those prevalently applied theories and models that emphasize general relationships. Meanwhile, it argues that the superficiality of policymakers’ preconceptions of a vicious circle has led to various barriers identified in such areas. Therefore, this research study draws upon existing literature to create a new entrepreneurial intention model with a particular relevance to deprived areas. By combining both secondary and primary data sources, quantitative data (i.e. a largescale secondary dataset and primary data collected through a survey) has been utilized to examine the existence of relationships in the new model, whilst qualitative data has been utilized to explore deeper possibilities behind them and reveal unexpected phenomena to further enrich comprehension of the relationships relating to entrepreneurship and human capital in deprived areas. This research study takes the first step in updating knowledge about the relationship between human capital and entrepreneurial intention in deprived areas, which can be regarded as a base for future researchers to further explore this specific field and rigorously test the new model. Moreover, a variety of bidirectional relationships between different neighbourhood mechanisms and different types of human capital found in this research study have revealed hidden factors to explain in more depth lower levels of human capital and entrepreneurship in deprived areas. In a disadvantaged environment, most importantly, this research study found local residents’ psychological barriers play a more severe and lasting role in hampering their personal, human capital and entrepreneurial development compared to the simple deficiencies in each per se. These findings provide a deeper perspective about underlying local residents’ specific demands for the government to consider adjustments to policy

The JET programme as a manifestation of Kokusaika (internationalization) in Japan

ABSTRACT:\ud This thesis focuses on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme, under which thousands of foreign graduates have been invited to work as language teaching assistants in Japanese schools, in the name of 'grassroots internationalization'. Although JET was launched in 1987 amid a wider government-sponsored campaign of internationalization (kokusaika), opinions have differed as regards the objectives and priorities of its creators, while the concept of kokusaika itself has also been subject to a wide variety of interpretations.\ud The thesis begins by offering five perspectives on kokusaika, as both a concept and a policy orientation. Two of these reflect common themes in 'Western' discourse on societal internationalization, namely ethnic/cultural diversity and globalization; while the remaining three pertain to more traditional Japanese policy concerns, i.e. the national economic interest, the 'national identity', and international prestige. Against this conceptual background, the Main Study assesses the characteristics of the JET Programme as an 'internationalization policy', both in te1ms of intended and de facto outcomes. Four aspects of the programme-'goals', 'operational policy', 'implementation' and 'perceived effects'-are examined, each in a separate chapter. \ud To reflect both 'official' and 'unofficial' positions, analysis is based on a combination of data from government sources (policy statements and documents) and first-hand accounts from 'ordinary' JET participants, i.e. 'grassroots discourses'.\ud The study detects a number of contradictions between the declared goals of the programme and the operational policy established for achieving them, and reveals a wide diversity of outcomes. Most fundamentally, the study finds that the 'internationalization' promoted by the JET Programme is geared less towards supporting systemic change within Japanese society than in furthering perceived overseas interests. \u

Towards a Code Of Cyberethics

Ethics and accountability are some of the cornerstones of public management. One of the ways in which ethical standards in the public service can be promoted is by developing a Code of Conduct that set a standard of behaviour to be followed. The diversity of information and communication technologies (ICT) and increased use of ICT have created a variety of ethical issues. In this paper, the process for formulating a Code of Cyberethics for eThekwini Municipality in South Africa is described. The development of such a code will also ensure service delivery that responds to citizens’ needs and improves the communication process with citizens