Digital Commons Network^™

Not Just A Tool. Taking Context Into Account In The Development Of A Mobile App For Rural Water Supply In Tanzania, Robert Hoppe, Anne Wesselink, Rob Lemmens

Robert Hoppe

The 'eGovernance' hype around the potential of mobile phone and geoweb technologies for enhancing 'good governance' is soaring. In East Africa, the extensive use of mobile telephony adds to the imagined promises of ICT. We reflect on the assumptions made by the proponents of such tools, using our own action research project as an example. We took great care to consider context in the development of software for enhancing empowerment and accountability in rural water supply in Tanzania. However, we found that the rural water supply context in Tanzania is much more complex than the contexts for which successful mApps …

Critical Assessment Of The Literature Regarding The Public Costs Of Roadway Damage Due To Fracking, Brent Ritzel

Brent Ritzel

Many government bodies have raised concerns regarding preservation of existing public roadway systems from infrastructure damage, and roadway degradation in particular, due to the impact of fracking-related truck traffic on roads that are simply not designed for that level and intensity of usage. This significant heavy usage imposes both immediate and long-term cost burdens on taxpayers, and can create unfunded liabilities for the wide range of levels of government (jurisdictions) responsible for maintaining the roadways (from township to federal). This acceleration in roadway consumption has manifested a financial need that is not easily funded by traditional fee mechanisms.

This paper’s …

The Harmful, Nontherapeutic Use Of Animals In Research Is Morally Wrong, Nathan Nobis

Nathan M. Nobis, PhD

It is argued that using animals in research is morally wrong when the research is nontherapeutic and harmful to the animals. This article discusses methods of moral reasoning and discusses how arguments on this and other bioethical issues might be defended and critiqued. A basic method of moral argument analysis is presented and used to show that common objections to the view that “animal research is morally wrong” fail: ie, common arguments for the view that “animal research is morally permissible” are demonstrably unsound or in need of defense. It is argued that the best explanations why harmful, nontherapeutic research …

Land Restitution, Traditional Leadership And Belonging: Defining Barokologadi Identity, Robin L. Turner

Robin L Turner

How do government policies and practices affect struggles over collective identity and struggles over land? Examining the interconnections among collective identity struggles, land struggles and state policies and practices in post-apartheid South Africa, this paper argues that the government's contradictory policies and ambivalent practices have aggravated collective struggles over the boundaries of belonging. Specifically, the differing definitions of community set forth in traditional leadership, land tenure and land restitution policies exacerbate existing divisions among ‘communities’ concurrently subject to these policies and create practical policy dilemmas for decision-makers. This paper illustrates the interplay between public policies and collective identity struggles through …

Multi-Interest Decision-Makers: The Multiple And Diverse Interests Of Policy Advisory Committee Members, Mary Alice Haddad

Mary Alice Haddad

Innovation In The Not For Profit Sector: A Regional Australian Case Study., Grant Cairncross, Charlie Brennan, Julie Tucker

Grant Cairncross

This paper explores the impact of the “Innovation Farm,” a social innovation project that aimed to help long-term unemployed, highly disadvantaged jobseekers living on the Coffs Coast of the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales, overcome barriers to employment and/or further training. The project was delivered by the Coffs Harbour Employment Support Services (CHESS), a not-for-profit, social enterprise organisation. It was funded from 2009-2012 by the Australian Federal Government’s Department of Employment Education and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) through the Department’s Innovation Fund. The research found that whilst the project achieved a commendable level of success its on-going viability was compromised …