Data protection 1998–2008

This article reviews key developments in data protection legislation, case law and practice between 1998 and 2008. Over this time data protection has become a mainstream compliance topic for business and government alike. Having started in 1998 as a specialist area of limited general application, over the decade this area of law has been widely applied to access rights, international transfers of information and data losses. We are now seeing major changes in enforcement of data protection legislation (including the power to fine and increased use of audits) which will continue the focus on compliance.     

Measurement of teen dating violence attitudes: an item response theory evaluation of differential item functioning according to gender

Accurate assessment of attitudes about intimate partner violence is important for evaluation of prevention and early intervention programs. Assessment of attitudes about cross-gender interactions is particularly susceptible to bias because it requires specifying the gender of the perpetrator and the victim. As it is likely that respondents will tend to identify with the same-gender actor, items and scales assessing attitudes about intimate partner violence may not have equivalent measurement properties for male and female respondents. This article examines data from 2,575 high school students who participated in a teen-dating violence intervention study. The majority of participants were Latino (91%), and the sample was nearly evenly split with respect to gender (51% female). Items from two scales (boy-on-girl violence, 4 items; girl-on-boy violence, 5 items) reflecting teens' attitudes about dating violence were calibrated with the graded item response theory (IRT) model and evaluated for differential item functioning (DIF) by gender. A total of three items, two from the girl-on-boy violence scale and one from the boy-on-girl violence scale, were identified as functioning differently for girls and boys. In all cases where DIF was detected, the item's attitudinal statement was easier to accept for the gender group that was portrayed as victim rather than perpetrator. For both scales, accounting for the identified DIF influenced inferences about the magnitude of mean differences in attitudes between boys and girls. These results support the use of IRT scores that account for DIF to minimize measurement error and improve inferences about gender differences in attitudes about dating violence.     

The Australian Government’s “White Paper on Reform of the Federation” and the Future of Australian Local Government

The Abbott Government announced its White Paper review of the Australian Federation on June 28, 2014. Set against this backdrop, discussions of the future of Australian local government may provoke an assumption that its role will be cruelled. However, reflection suggests that such an assumption is misplaced. In particular, when the complexities of regionalism in Australia are considered, the potential role of local government begs revisiting. We argue that local government ought to adopt a forthright position in the current debate, particularly with respect to financial reform.     

Legislating deliberative engagement: Is local government in Victoria willing and able?

Growing dissatisfaction with representative democracy and concomitantly, the increasing expectation that citizens assert more influence over public policy have seen the emergence of more participatory and deliberative forms of governance in public management practice. This article explores the attempt of the state government of Victoria, Australia to legislate for mandatory deliberative engagement as part of its local government strategic planning instruments. The ambition of the reform was significant; however, it was almost unanimously rejected by the local government sector. Based on analysis of the key themes that emerged from the submissions made during the 3-year Victorian Local Government Act Review process, we explore the limitations and barriers to implementing deliberative engagement practice at a local government level. We demonstrate that whilst the promise of participatory democracy might have been compelling, in the case of Victoria there were a series of contextual and capacity considerations that needed to be taken into account before the implementation of such reforms were pursued.     

The Crisis at the CBI

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) experienced a reputational crisis after a number of allegations of sexual harassment. Leading members of the organisation resigned and its resources were depleted. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) attempted to fill the void. The organisation survived a confidence vote, but the result may be a permanently weakened organisation. Apart from the 2023 crisis, there are deeper structural problems in business representation.     

Sexual Assault and the Meaning of Power and Authority for Women with Mental Disabilities

The sexual assault of persons with mental disabilities (also described as cognitive, intellectual and developmental disabilities) occurs at alarmingly high rates worldwide. These assaults are a form of gender-based violence intersecting with discrimination based on disability. Our research on the treatment of such cases in the Canadian criminal justice system demonstrates the systemic barriers these victims face at the level of both substantive legal doctrine and trial procedure. Relying on feminist legal theory and disability theory, we argue in this paper that abuses of trust and power underlie most sexual assaults of women with mental disabilities. We argue that existing Criminal Code provisions in Canada are inadequate to address this type of exploitation because courts have consistently failed to recognize that such abuses of power and trust are fundamentally inconsistent with any notion of voluntary consent.