Governance and Democracy in Northern Ireland: The Role of the Voluntary and Community Sector after the Agreement

Since 1998, Northern Ireland has been the subject of a unique experiment in governance and democracy. The experiment includes the establishment of a participatory Civic Forum in which the voluntary and community sector has an important stake. Beginning with a discussion of the merits of a participatory aspect to democracy in the contemporary age, this paper identifies factors that might help establish the Civic Forum as a successful participatory institution in Northern Ireland. Key factors include the attitude towards the Forum of political representatives and their willingness to foster a participatory dimension to the new democracy. Other important factors are inclusiveness and the balance of sectoral representation in the Forum.     

Model of religious schism with application to Islam

This is a study of religious schism. The purpose of the research is to explore the nature and causes of religious segmentation and realignment. A model of religious schism is developed and illustrated with reference to many different religions. The model is then directly applied to Islamic history. Schism occurs because of innovations in dogma or practice. These innovations must appeal to demanders of the religious product. However, the innovations themselves may be driven by organizational conflicts within firms supplying religion. A special situation is created when schism occurs within a state-supported supplier of religion. Our study leads us to revisit the debate between Hume and Smith over the effect of state religion. We side with Smith.     

Interdepartmental coordination and northern development

Abstract. This paper examines the relationship of past and current federal structures for northern policy development to existing federal northern policy requirements. Current policy-making machinery, arguably appropriate to an earlier era of northern development, now serves neither the interests of any constituency - native or non-native northerners or the northern resource development industry - nor the national interest. On the basis of a critical analysis of present arrangements, available institutional options for reform are identified and assessed. Far-reaching structural reforms are recommended including the abolition of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND). Sommaire. Les auteurs de cet exposé examinent le rapport entre les structures fédérales, anciennes et présentes, et les exigences actuelles de la politique fédérale dans le Nord. Le mécanisme actuel de la détermination des politiques, qu'on pouvait justifier à une époque plus ancienne du développement du Nord, nesert plus maintenant ni les intérêrs de groupes particuliers - habitants du Nord, autochtones ou non, industries développant ses ressources - ni l'intérêt national. A partir d'une analyse critique des dispositions actuelles, les auteurs identifient et évaluent les options institutionnelles existantes. Ils recommandent des réformesde grande envergure, dont l'abolition du ministère des Affaires indiennes et du Nord.     

APPLYING CASE STUDY METHODOLOGY TO CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATIONS

The child custody evaluation (CCE) can play a critical role in the resolution of custody disputes in the Family Court. There have been a number of significant methodological advances made in this field by various researchers over the past 20 years. It is timely that a scientifically‐based, integrative, methodological framework be developed within which existing methods might be situated. In this paper, case study methodology is proposed as an appropriate methodological framework for CCEs. The application of this methodology to CCEs is explicated with particular attention being paid to the methodological tasks of data collection and data interpretation. An orienting model is proposed to guide the collection of data, and strategies are described for applying population level research findings to individual cases in the form of risk and resilience models. Finally, coherence, analogy, and making methodology explicit are proposed as evaluation criteria for the CCE process and reports, and suggestions are made about outcome research.     

Governance Disclosure on the Internet: The Case of Australian State Government Departments

This paper examines corporate governance disclosures on the websites of Australian state government departments. The study focuses on the nature and extent of governance information and the ease of finding this information directly on department websites and also in annual reports which are downloadable from websites. Our sample comprises six departments from each of the six states in Australia, giving a sample size of 36 departments. Our findings indicate considerable variability in both the level of disclosure and the accessibility of the information disclosed. The study also highlights a lack of consensus regarding the meaning of governance and what governance comprises, together with the need for a more structured approach to communicating governance information to stakeholders.