Effective Practices for Interagency Data Sharing: Insights from Collaborative Research in a Regional Intervention

Data sharing adds considerable value to interagency programs that seek to tackle complex social problems. Yet data sharing is not easily enacted either technically or as a governance practice, especially considering the multiple forms of risk involved. This article presents insights from a successful data sharing project in a major region in east coast Australia involving a federally funded research partnership between two universities and a number of human services agencies. The Spatial Data Analysis Project sought to establish a community of practice for devising data sharing protocols and embedding data sharing into agency practices. Close dialogue between the project partners and mobilizing the authority of extant regulatory and legal frameworks proved effective in confronting risks and barriers. The article reveals effective practices for data sharing and derives lessons for other policy and governance contexts.     

Transnational Information Politics: NGO Human Rights Reporting, 1986–2000

What shapes the transnational activist agenda? Do non-governmental organizations with a global mandate focus on the world's most pressing problems, or is their reporting also affected by additional considerations? To address these questions, we study the determinants of country reporting by an exemplary transnational actor, Amnesty International, during 1986–2000. We find that while human rights conditions are associated with the volume of their country reporting, other factors also matter, including previous reporting efforts, state power, U.S. military assistance, and a country's media profile. Drawing on interviews with Amnesty and Human Rights Watch staff, we interpret our findings as evidence of Amnesty International's social movement-style "information politics." The group produces more written work on some countries than others to maximize advocacy opportunities, shape international standards, promote greater awareness, and raise its profile. This approach has both strengths and weaknesses, which we consider after extending our analysis to other transnational sectors.     

A Multi-Theoretical Framework to Assess Gendered Stalking Victimization: The Utility of Self-Control,Social Learning,and Control Balance Theories

Despite recent advancements in the criminological study of stalking, few theoretical tests have been conducted to date to explain stalking victimization among men and women separately. The current study individually and simultaneously extends three criminological theories to the study of stalking victimization: self-control, social learning, and control balance theories. Among a sample of 2,766 university students, a series of models were estimated for men and women separately to assess each set of theoretical variables net of control variables. Results reveal consistent significant positive relationships between stalking victimization and low self-control for men; differential peer association (e.g. friends are stalking victims) for men and women; and several social learning variables for only women. However, the control imbalance variables do not explain stalking victimization among men or women, net of other theoretical and control variables. The utility of a multi-theoretical approach to future stalking victimization research is discussed.