The Relationship Between Managerialism and Social Justice in the Development of a Community-Networking Project

The relationship between managerialism and social justice in the development of a community-networking project

Loreto Renata Bartos

Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work

30 October 2009

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Abstract The nature of debates about managerialism and social justice tend to be adversarial. The purpose of this study is to explore the nature of the relationship between managerialism and social justice. The thesis examines the nature of this relationship in the development of a community-networking project, a pilot website for young people in a high need community. The community-networking project was established through a novel contractual arrangement between government and a local community organization. In this study social values comprise the analytical lens used to map out this relationship. Kekes’ (1993) approach to ethical pluralism is used to explore the nature of relations between ideas about managerialism and social justice in the process of implementing policy. The study is contextualized in a minor policy proposal of the former federal Liberal Coalition government and associated with a 1998-99 Budget proposal concerned with improving access to and the coordination of family-related information and services including information relating to mental health, child care, youth and aged care (see Black et al. 2002: 10). The policy initiative was established to test a range of assumptions about strong communities. There are two facets to the field study. The first facet explores the process of the implementation of the policy initiative through the different perspectives of three key informants, and the second facet explores the views of end-users of the service to determine whether or not young people were empowered, in the sense of being able to access knowledge about their own lives in terms that have meaning for them. The tone of the study is influenced by my own direct involvement as ‘an insider’. Despite the explicit intentions that were supported by research and policy, pragmatic constraints limited the extent to which community organizations were empowered to act outside the demands of government organizations and in this instance, managerialism did act against social justice. However, this did not appear to prevent the end-users of the service that was established from achieving a sense of empowerment.

In Loving Memory of My Father

and For Juliana Widmer

Acknowledgments

Without the assistance of some very special people this thesis would not have been possible. I wish to acknowledge the thoughtful advice, wisdom, constant encouragement and the pointed questioning intended to enhance the academic rigour of this thesis provided by my supervisor, Professor Richard Hugman. My deepest gratitude goes to Richard. Thank you, Richard, for always being available to help maintain my momentum and focus. Also this thesis would not have been possible without the eternal patience, quirky remarks and good humour of my son, Jordan Bartos, my mother, my sisters and brothers. To all that showed an interest in my work, shared ideas, asked questions, offered assistance, I am forever grateful.

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Table of Contents Thesis/Dissertation Sheet i Originality Statement ii Copyright and Authenticity Statement iii Title page iv Abstract v Dedication vi Acknowledgments vii Table of Contents viii List of Figures ix Abbreviations x Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Social values: managerialism, social justice and value pluralism 5 Chapter 2: Social policy and social values 43 Chapter 3: Community and social capital 65 Chapter 4: Online communities and the digital divide 99 Chapter 5: Young people, social networks and social capital 123 Chapter 6: Research methodology 143 Chapter 7: The semi-structured interviews 185 Chapter 8: Survey results and analysis 237 Chapter 9: Conclusion 269 Appendix A FaCS Consent Form 303 Appendix B FaCS Semi-structured interview schedule 304 Appendix C PCF Consent Form 308 Appendix D PCF Semi-structured interview schedule 309 Appendix E PCS Consent Form 312 Appendix F PCS Semi-structured interview schedule 313 Appendix G Student Information Sheet for Penville Survey 317 Appendix H Student Consent Form 319 Appendix I Penville Survey 320 Bibliography 326

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List of Figures

Figure 1: Managerialism (ten core elements) 23 Figure 2: Definitions of social capital 82 Figure 3: Contractual arrangement 153 Figure 4: Penville Survey data 240 Figure 5: Participants’ reported access to the Internet 247

Abbreviations

ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics DBCDE Commonwealth Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy DCITA Commonwealth Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts FaCS Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services FaHCSIA Commonwealth Department of Family, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs FCNI Family and Community Networks Initiative GDP Gross Domestic Product ICT Information and Communication Technology IP Intellectual Property ISP Internet Service Provider IT Information Technology KHL Kids Help Line MOU Memorandum Of Understanding NGO Non-Government Organisation NOIE National Office for the Information Economy NSW New South Wales OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development PCF Penville Community Forum PCS Penville Community Services VIC Victoria

x Introduction

This thesis examines the nature of the relationship between managerialism and social justice in the development of a community-networking project, a pilot website for young people in a high need geographic community. The community-networking project was established through a novel contractual arrangement between government and a local community organisation. However, this arrangement raised questions about the pursuit of social justice as an objective and the managerialist intent of government to ‘efficiently and effectively’ control the use of funds. The central research question is concerned with the nature of the relations between managerialism and social justice in the policy process and the effects of this relationship on an actual project: the provision of a pilot website. The research question also comprises a series of sub-questions aimed at determining whether or not young people, the end-users of the pilot website, are empowered through access to information published on the pilot website and the opportunity to develop social connections. The information published on the pilot website is intended to help young people address a range of social issues and gain knowledge about their own lives in terms that have meaning to them as they transition into adulthood. These sub-questions are informed by a view that the objectives of empowerment should contribute to social justice (Rees 1991). In this study, social values comprise the analytical lens used to map out the relationship between ideas about managerialism and social justice in implementing policy. Kekes’ (1993) approach to ethical pluralism is used to explore the nature of the relations between managerialism and social justice. The nature of the relationship is contextualized in a minor policy initiative of the former federal liberal coalition government and associated with a 1998-99 Budget Initiative concerned with improving “access to, and coordination of, family-related information and services, including information and services relating to mental health, child care, youth and aged care” (Black et al. 2002: 10).

The policy initiative, known as the Family and Community Networks Initiative (FCNI) was established to test a range of propositions about strong communities with a particular focus upon building community capacity through the development of leadership and the creation of social capital using Information Technology (IT). The tone of the analysis is influenced by my own direct involvement, as an insider - a Centrelink employee - in the development of the community-networking project in a high need geographic community which is referred to throughout the thesis by the pseudonym of Penville. The field study explores a pilot project in which the competing tendencies of managerialism and social justice were observed and questions were raised about how they may coexist. This study focuses upon whether or not good community development practices were able to coexist and offset managerialist tendencies. The field study examines the process of selecting a community-networking project proposal and then considers the data collected from the end-users of the service to determine whether young people can achieve a sense of empowerment in the sense of being able to access knowledge about their own lives in terms that have meaning to them.

Overview Chapter One, Social values: managerialism, social justice and value pluralism, is concerned with defining the analytical approach and laying the conceptual foundations that comprise the intellectual scaffolding used in the thesis to explore the relations between managerialism and social justice. Chapter One states the central research question and set of sub questions that direct the structure of the thesis. Chapter One explores social values and establishes the core elements that comprise the working definitions of managerialism (Hood 1991; Pollitt 1995; Considine 1997) and social justice (Rawls 1971; Ife 1995; Rees 1991). The investigation of these concepts is confined to establishing clear working definitions for the purpose of the empirical investigation. The notion of value pluralism (Kekes 1993) is introduced. Chapter Two, Social policy and social values, examines what is policy, how policy is formed and

2 examines policy as an expression of social values (Hugman 1998; Colebatch 2002; McClelland 2006a) which includes the influence of ideas about models of governance and social justice, on the development of policy initiatives. Understanding how policy is formed is relevant to this study because it is through policy that managerialism and social justice find expression. The FCNI is concerned with testing assumptions about strong communities and new ways of working. Chapter Three, Community and social capital, discusses the many and varied perspectives on community (Cass and Brennan 2002; Everingham 2003), explores what comprises strong communities and examines the role of social capital (Cox 1995; Healy et al. 2004) in halting the demise of community (Putnam 2000), and also considers some approaches to social inclusion (Giddens 1998).

Chapter Four, Online communities and the digital divide, explores the nature of online communities which adds another layer of complexity to the meaning of community (Hopkins et al. 2004), how online communities can create social capital and examines the nature of the digital divide. Chapter Five, Young people, social networks and social capital, outlines the central developmental tasks of adolescence, examines the nature of young people’s social networks, and explores their use of the Internet.

Chapter Six, Research methodology, explains the blended analysis that comprises a mix of qualitative and quantitative methodologies used to address the central research question and sub-questions associated with the thesis and details the specific policy that underpins the field study. The analysis focuses upon two facets associated with the development of the pilot website. The first concerns the analysis of three semi-structured interviews with three key stakeholders involved in the process of the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region and the second facet comprises the analysis of survey data collected from 73 high school students. Chapter Six also explores the limitations of the field study. Chapter Seven, The semi-structured interviews,

3 comprises the analysis of the different perspectives of the three key stakeholders who were interviewed. The analysis is pursued using various thematic headings and provides empirical information about the influence of ideas about policy in action. Chapter Eight, Survey results and analysis, reviews the survey data collected from 73 high school students from two different high schools in the Penville region about the pilot website and the analysis of the survey data is organized around addressing the sub-questions. Chapter Nine, Conclusion, comprises the conclusion and makes general inferences based on the findings from the field study. The findings suggest that in this instance, despite the explicit intentions that were supported by policy and research, pragmatic constraints limited the extent to which community organisations were empowered to make their own decisions and act against the demands of government organisations. In this way, managerialism did act against social justice in the process of the implementation of the FCNI community-networking project; however, the end- users of the service provided were able to achieve a sense of power through being able to access knowledge about their own lives.

CHAPTER ONE Social values: managerialism, social justice and value pluralism

The nature of contemporary debate concerned with managerialism and social justice tends to be adversarial, with arguments for and against to be found at the extremes. On the one side there are those that strongly advocate the use of market principles that comprise the doctrine of managerialism or new public management in the delivery of human services (Drucker 1969; Osborne and Gaebler 1992; Keating 1993; Paterson 1997), while on the other side proponents of non-market models of delivery of social welfare argue that the state should continue to play some sort of role (Painter 1990; Rees et al. 1993; Considine 1997; Hugman 1998: 52). Over the last 15 years, in an era of unprecedented public sector reform, the role of markets and performance in the public sector have attracted enormous controversy (Bouckaert and Halligan 2008: 1).

This thesis is concerned with exploring the nature of the potentially adversarial relationship between managerialism and social justice in the delivery of a community-networking project with a particular focus on the provision of a pilot website for young people in a high need geographic community. This project was established in 2001 following a community consultation process that commenced in 1999. The central research question is: what can we learn about the nature of the relationship between managerialism and social justice in the development of a pilot website for young people in a high need geographic community? The pilot website was developed to operationalize a novel contractual arrangement between the Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services1 (FaCS), Penville Community Services2

1 Since commencing this field study, FaCS has undergone several name changes and is now known as the Commonwealth Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA). However, for convenience, throughout the thesis I have continued to use the departmental title that was current at the time of the field study.

(PCS) and Centrelink3. This study involves a consideration of how managerialism and social justice are contextualised in the FaCS FCNI program that was established to test propositions about ‘stronger communities’.

There are five sub-questions that relate specifically to young people’s views about the pilot website and whether or not the pilot website contributes to empowering young people through access to knowledge about their own lives. These sub-questions are as follows: What do young people value on the pilot website? What does the Penville Survey tell us about young people’s interests? What are young people’s perceptions regarding the purpose of the pilot website? Are there significant differences between girls’ and boys’ attitudes to the pilot website? What end-user knowledge and experiences should be incorporated into finding ways of increasing young people’s use of the pilot website? The field study data were collected in 2002 and 2004 (see Chapter Six).

The conceptual underpinnings guiding the field study derive from a view that both managerialism and social justice are social values. Therefore, a possible theoretical framework to guide the analysis of the relationship between managerialism and social justice is located in “a theory about the nature of values whose realisation would make lives good” referred to by Kekes (1993: 9) as value pluralism. The purpose of Chapter One is to explain the theoretical approach used to inform the analysis of the data collected in the field study. This Chapter opens with a discussion of social values which then moves on to defining managerialism and social justice with a view to establishing clear working definitions of both concepts for the purposes of the empirical

2 Penville Community Services is a pseudonym for one of the community organisations involved in the field study (see Chapter Six). 3 Following the 2004 federal election, the former Prime Minister John Howard announced the creation of a new ministry and the Department of Human Services that comprises six service delivery agencies and includes Centrelink (Centrelink 2005: 4; Howard 2004b).

6 investigation. Once these definitions have been established, the discussion focuses upon the notion of value pluralism which is followed by an assessment of its ‘suitability’ as a guiding perspective for purposes of the field study.

Social values Commentators such as Cornell argue that the notion of value provides a point of convergence for the social sciences and is a key bridging concept that can link together diverse specialized studies (in Kluckhohn 1962: 389). ‘Value’ is a loosely used term that needs to be tightly defined for the purposes of the analysis attempted in this thesis. There is an abundance of literature that explores values and how they impact upon peoples’ lives. According to Burch (1999: 77), “values have an overwhelming effect on policy” and for Myrdal values are embedded in policy designs despite “an established tendency to drive values underground, to make analysis appear scientific by omitting certain basic assumptions from the discussion” (in Gilbert and Specht 1986: 49). Briefly stated, values are considered to be “conceptions of the desirable” (Williams 1970: 441 and 1979; Kluckhohn 1962; Rokeach 1973; Eisenberg et al. 1989; Epstein 1989; Reader 1997; Vinson 1997; Burch 1999). This definition originates from the work of Kluckhohn (1962). Values are among the determinants of social behaviour and vary in importance. By upholding certain values we are participating in their reproduction and propagation. Values are kept alive each time we enact them. There are a number of different approaches to the study of values (see Howard 1969). Kluckhohn’s (1962) approach to values has its roots in social psychology and the social construction of phenomena.

Kluckhohn (1962: 395) defines a value as “a conception, explicit or implicit, distinctive of an individual or characteristic of a group, of the ‘desirable’ which influences the selection from available modes, means, and ends of action”. By emphasising the ‘desirable’ Kluckhohn distinguishes his approach to values by placing more emphasis on principles and broad conceptions, from approaches

7 that articulate valued entities. Kluckhohn (1962) argues that the affective (desirable), cognitive (conception) and conative (selection) elements of the definition are intrinsic to the notion of value. Williams (1970: 440) refers to a value as “any aspect of a situation, event or object invested with a preferential interest as being “good,” “bad,” “desirable,” and the like.

Values have distinctive features in a cultural system and are not necessarily universal and shared by all people (Williams 1970; Hugman 1998). Values comprise “our attitudes to things, rather than features of things” (Reader 1997: 279). They have a conceptual element, are affectively charged, the criteria used to set goals and are important not trivial concerns (Williams 1970; Vinson 1997). Values are interrelated and do not stand alone. They may also stand in opposition to each other and be incompatible (see Kekes 1993; Hugman 1998). “Over time the emphasis placed on certain values will change and new ones will emerge in response to changing circumstances” (Sedgwick 1994: 344). Hugman (1998: 13-15) argues that government action around the developed world (western democracies) regarding certain technical and structural action incorporates clear statements of value. For example, the New Right’s influence in government in Australia focuses upon ideas about the family and how it is defined, and how health and welfare policies are seen to either bolster or undermine that institution (Hugman 1998: 15).

According to Braithwaite et al. (2002) social institutions play a critical role in regulating the ways individuals think, act and relate to their communities. Braithwaite et al. (2002) argue that Australians make sense of policy reform in terms of the values they share with others and their government. Braithwaite et al. (2002) identify two basic value systems that underpin the relationship between Australian citizens and their government, one grounded in the provision of security, the other orientated towards harmony. Braithwaite et al. (2002) explain that the security value system is concerned with principles that protect one’s interests and further them in the existing social order. These

8 values guide how we divide up limited resources, determine what kind of competition between groups is permissible, and how we decide winners and losers. This is contrasted with the harmony value system which brings together values that aim to further peaceful co-existence through the social order that communicates mutual respect, the sharing of resources and facilitates cooperation to allow individuals to achieve their full potential. These values orient towards establishing connections with others, moving beyond individual grievances and dissatisfactions, and finding peace within ourselves and within our world (Braithwaite et al. 2002).

According to Braithwaite et al. (2002), the security value system is concerned with trust norms that involve government performance and outcomes. The government is considered trustworthy if it does not take risks, is predictable, efficient, consistent in its decision-making and accountable. In the harmony value system, a government is considered trustworthy if it keeps people informed, consults widely with the community, shares the goals of the people, treats citizens with respect, cares about the wellbeing of Australians and understands their position (Braithwaite et al. 2002). Consequently, the implications for how a policy initiative is understood are very different depending on the value lens used.

Values within organisations are not separate and compartmentalised. Rokeach (1973) contends that values are classified along a continuum ranging from higher- to lower-order, of the kind suggested by Maslow’s (1954) hierarchical theory of motivation. He states that values are actioned according to their hierarchy of importance and that differences among individuals stems not so much from the presence or absence of particular values, as in the “differential strivings for lower- and higher-order values” (Rokeach 1973: 94; Williams 1979). However, Williams (1979) argues that differences not only lie in hierarchical ordering of values but also in the relationships among values.

Means and end values A major source of conflict among values is associated with the tension between substantive values or end values related to outcomes and procedural or means values related to how an outcome is pursued – how things are done (Burch 1999: 81, 86). For Burch (1999: 86) the tough question is how to balance substantive ends and procedural means when they do conflict. In response to the question: does the end justify the means? He answers “yes, no4, maybe and who cares” (p. 86-87). For pragmatists, according Burch (1999: 87), the “maybe” response is justified only when all of the following conditions apply:  The end is important enough to warrant extraordinary means  There is no available alternative means that is less harmful or more ethical  The cost does not exceed the benefit  The means do no subvert the end itself

The subsequent field study explores these considerations in more detail. End values can be regarded as means to secure other ends (Howard 1969). End values are multi-dimensional and are not isolated and discreet. Arguments about the best way to develop policies and deliver human services, in a way that responds to the changes both in our economy and society, stem from decisions about are the rights methods and goals. There is lively debate about what kind of policies and values should prevail (Emy 1998: 17). Australia has undergone fundamental social and economic changes in the last 30 years and some commentators such as Howe (2007: 17) argue that we need to rethink the foundations of social policy as structural changes in our society have made it easier for people to become isolated and excluded. For Howe (2007) people’s lives have become more complex as they try to balance the changing

4 This approach involves the view that “certain principles are absolute and cannot be violated regardless of the end” (Burch 1999: 87)

10 nature of the ‘work contract’ (long service is no longer rewarded by employers) and the changes in the private sphere, in the ‘contract’ between men and women at home. What has occurred in social policy and the delivery of human services is driven as much by values as well as questions of technical efficiency.

The thesis now explores the definitions of managerialism and social justice respectively.

Public sector reform Bureaucratic reform has been occurring in many Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries over the last three decades. The OECD has been encouraging countries since the 1980s to move in a ‘market orientated direction’ to both stimulate and strengthen the commercial and business sectors (Henderson in Bryson 1992: 12). In the 1980s specific administrative doctrines emerged and “the desirability of management reforms in the public sector” crossed political divides (Painter 1997: 39). Over the last two decades, a plethora of labels and definitions have emerged throughout the literature to encapsulate the nature of this reform. There has been a significant paradigm shift (Barzelay 1992) across OECD countries in how national governments are now orchestrating the implementation of government policies through the public and private sector, and “it is not too much to regard this change as a cultural revolution” (Yeatman 1990: 13).

Paradigms work to structure knowledge, and the word ‘paradigm’ is used on this occasion to refer to “a loose framework of practical remedies in vogue at any particular time” (Considine 1997: 48). This ‘new’ paradigm essentially articulates an economic rationalist framework of ideas and standards that determines the goals of government policy and the kind of instruments that can be used to attain them (Halligan 1994). Halligan (2008: 121) has recently completed an extensive study on Centrelink where he describes Centrelink as

“the product of an unusual opportunity in the mid-1990s, which dictated some of the features of the organisation in terms of key principles (such as purchaser-provider functions) and the need for streamlining to achieve savings”.

Many terms have been used to describe the public sector reform process, the most frequently used terms and their respective definitions are examined. I prefer the term ‘managerialism’ and it is used throughout the thesis. Consequently, it is important that the term is clearly understood as well as the context in which it is being used, particularly because the same phenomena can be interpreted in various ways according to the values and motives of the analyst. This is certainly true in the case of public sector reform.

Managerialism This field study examines a minor policy proposal that was agreed to by the former Howard Government and allocated funds from the 1998-99 Budget. The former Cabinet agreed to the proposal at a time when the debate about managerialism was at its height. The debates that were current at the time of the process of the implementation of the FCNI community-networking project provide an appropriate context to understanding the findings from the field study. The issues raised in the debates in the late 1990s still have relevance today because “despite the flood of critiques, managing performance continues to increase and is arguably a dominant idea for governments” (Bouckaert and Halligan 2008). For other recent studies on public administration and public management see Lane (2005) and Halligan (2008).

One of the most common labels used to collectively explain public sector reform is ‘managerialism’. Managerialism has come to be associated with various initiatives adopted from the private sector and has been advanced as a political solution to inefficiency in the public sector (Alford 1993; Painter 1998). Many traditional forms of public administration have been swept away

(Painter 1998) and replaced by a package of reforms based on management (Halligan 1994).

The following labels appear in the literature as equivalent terms for, or have been used interchangeable with, managerialism: ‘market bureaucracy’ (Painter 1998), ‘new public management’ (Hood 1991), ‘corporate management framework’ (Considine 1997), ‘free market policy orientation’ (Emy 1998), ‘new managerialism’ (Fitzgibbon and Lim 1999) ‘government by the market’ (Self 1993), ‘entrepreneurial government’ (Osborne and Gaebler 1992) and ‘economic rationalism’ (Pusey 1991; Rees et al. 1993) to name a few. However, economic rationalism tends to be used as an overarching macro concept of which managerialism is an aspect which refers to a belief “in the capacity of the market to produce an efficient allocation of resources” (Rees et al. 1993: 7).

Managerialism borrows and adapts the culture of management developed by contemporary twentieth century capitalist firms, to public sector requirements (Yeatman 1990). Managerialism in the context of the public sector is about accountability to a set of management practices and principles. Values are juggled to suit the reform agenda. Fitzgibbon and Lim (1999: 13) argue that managerialism involves “many administrative necessities including increased central control of funding allocations, planning, program design; and reporting requirements through data collection, performance indicators, and monitoring”.

Pollitt (1993: 1) states that “managerialism is a set of beliefs and practices, at the core of which burns the seldom-tested assumption that better management will prove an effective solvent for a wide range of economic social ills”. For Hugman (1998: 123-124) this means that managerialism is: as much a value as a description of a mode of organisation precisely because it draws on ideological referents and beliefs. Good management is good, better management is better, without the requirement of saying what is to be managed or why.

The core beliefs associated with managerialism are summarised by Pollitt (1993: 2-3) as:  social progress is linked to the achievement of continuing increases in economically defined productivity;  these increases in productivity derive from the application of ever-more sophisticated technologies;  the use of these technologies can only be achieved with a labour force that operates in accordance with the productivity ideal;  management is a separate and distinct function where business success relies upon the qualities and professionalism of managers;  and lastly, managers must be given reasonable ‘room to manoeuvre’ - ‘the right to manage’.

The values that pertain to these beliefs lie in the concept of management itself. It is a composite of activities that help to identify and eliminate waste, resources are concentrated where the benefits are greatest and there is transparency and accountability of how money is spent. Management is not only important but also good. It is how the world should be. Objectives are clear, staff are motivated to achieve them, attention is given to monetary costs, and red tape and bureaucracy is eliminated. And all of this can be achieved through the introduction of good management practices (Pollitt 1993).

Pollitt (1993) goes on to argue that the pursuit of ‘better management’ is connected to a favourable analysis of corporate sector achievements over the last 50 years. Governments appear to have grown in size and cost without large gains in effectiveness or productivity. He also suggests that there is a sense that the authority of politicians has diminished since 1945 whilst the authority of senior corporate managers has increased and subsequently, has affirmed the superiority of the effectiveness of the methods employed by the latter group.

For Pollitt (1993) managerialism privileges certain groups and marginalizes or negatively values others. This is evidenced in the popularity of biographies of ‘corporate heroes’ and the villains are those that impede the path to greater productivity “they include, on occasions, trade unions (with their restrictive work practices), professions (ditto), politicians (who meddle and fudge) and bureaucrats (who slow everything down and are usually inefficient)” (Pollitt 1993: 8). He argues that stereotypes are common ideological building blocks because they have a powerful function in promoting appropriate attitudes.

Pollitt (1993: 9) also contends that management ideologies have sought to justify the authority of one group (managers) over another (the workers) through the promotion of a set of beliefs that highlight the special contribution of management with the view to “justify management’s special rights and powers”. He suggests that there may be other groups also in a position to benefit from the dissemination of managerialism such as owners and governments. He notes that even trade unions officials could benefit by being able to concede a certain ‘sphere’ to management, they can disown responsibility for certain ‘difficult’ or ‘awkward’ decisions (Pollitt 1993).

Added to this, Pollitt (1993) maintains, management ideology can provide the justification for a particular course of action. For Pollitt (1993: 10) “the justification may be pre- or post-hoc, but it is legitimation none the less”. Individuals who say they pursue a course of action “as a matter of good management practice”, are tapping “into a wider, socially approved paradigm of approved actions” (Pollitt 1993: 10).

Pollitt (1993) notes that managerialist ideologies developed outside the characteristic mode of thought of the policy-makers, administrators and service providers traditionally associated with the welfare state. Managerialist ideologies do not refer to “social needs, professional standards, deprivation,

15 community or equity” (Pollitt 1993: 11). Therefore, the transfer of managerialism from the corporate business sector to welfare state services represents the injection of an ideological ‘foreign body’, “the invasion of an alien belief system” where “the discourse of work objectives is separated from the technical performance of complex work” (Hugman 1998: 124), into a sector characterised by different traditions of thought (Pollitt 1993).

The term ‘new public management’ is described by Hood (1991) as a broad loose administrative label that comprises a number of administrative doctrines. For Hood (1991: 4-6) new public management is essentially a marriage of two different streams of ideas, built on the one hand by notions of public choice, transaction cost theory and principal agent theory and on the other, by notions of portable professional management that requires high levels of discretionary power to achieve results that are intrinsic to organisational performance, developed through appropriate organisational cultures, active measurement and the adjustment of organisational outputs.

Hood (1991: 4-5) asserts that new public management comprises seven administrative doctrines that ultimately rest on values. These component doctrines are listed as: hands on professional management in the public sector; explicit standards and measures of performance; greater emphasis on output controls; shift to disaggregation of units in the public sector; shift to greater competition in the public sector; stress on private-sector styles of management practice; and stress on greater discipline and parsimony in resource use. Hood (1991) contends that these elements may not all be equally present in all situations, there will be variations and all the elements are not fully consistent with each other. In other words, the use of administrative ‘tags’ is no substitute in specific cases, such as Centrelink, for empirically establishing the presence in measured degree of clearly defined characteristics of managerialism.

Self (1995: 339) identifies eight key concepts and practices associated with the market theories of economic rationalism used to reorganise the operations of government: “corporatisation of actual or potential trading functions; separation of policy from management and the delegation of management to the lowest practicable operating level; separation of the providing (financing) from service delivery; competition over service delivery and contracting out where cheaper; contract appointments for top posts and contractual relations within government; financial incentives and penalties for bureaucrats related to performance targets and appraisal; and open competition for key positions together with a reduction (or removal) of job security within the public service”.

Pollitt (1995) also argues that there is a common core to public sector reform in OECD countries and suggests that there is widespread agreement but not complete agreement about the contents or elements of the core, and these elements have come to be collectively known as the new public management. He goes on to identify eight elements, which are not always present in every case and the mixtures vary from country to country because different countries have different “historical trajectories” and reform “themselves within different constitutional frameworks” (Pollitt 1995: 134). However, Pollitt (1995) notes some signs of convergence in the 1990s, although some countries, such as Germany, Switzerland and Japan, have not to the same degree embraced the new public management reform agenda (Hood 1995).

Leading politicians in new public management countries believe that this reform process will result in “greater economy, greater efficiency, rising standards of public service, keener ‘ownership’ and enhanced autonomy for service managers/providers and, last but not least, greater responsiveness by staff to the users of public services of all kinds”, which to this point has largely been based on faith and doctrine rather than a demonstrable track record of performance (Pollitt 1995: 138).

Hood (1995) draws attention to the remarkable cross-national similarity in the public service reform agenda which raises the notion of ‘globalisation’. He defines globalisation as “the processes by which particular societies are coming to be incorporated into a single world” (Hood 1995: 168). According to Hood (1995), globalisation raises questions about the desirability of the indiscriminate cloning and borrowing of ideas, practices and structures, and moreover, the same direction may not be appropriate for all OECD countries let alone ex-communist regimes or developing nations. For Hood (1995) the indiscriminate export of ‘hand me down’ public sector reform ideas inhibits appropriate, context specific, variety in policy response. He poses questions about what needs to happen to promote greater diversity. But not all leading world states have adopted managerialism as the pathway to public sector reform. Moreover, he concedes that similarities may be only superficial and once we scratch below the surface we may find there are significant differences and even some divergence underlying the worldwide “econo- managementspeak” (Hood 1995: 169).

Public sector reform has been described by Painter (1990) not as a story of ‘progress’ towards an increasingly rational and more advanced system of administration, but as a political process reflecting choices among society’s values and existing ideologies. A choice is made amongst value systems and often reflects a choice between ‘hard’ values such as efficiency as opposed to ‘soft’ values like social justice. According to Painter (1990: 77): (The) objects of reform are administrative practices that, while characteristically depicted as ‘obsolete’, acquire that label not because it can with any certainty be said that the ‘science’ or practice of public administration has become more ‘advanced’, but because these practices stand in the way of the achievement of the values that currently are considered to be most important” (emphasis added).

But who decides which social values are most important? The emphasis on ‘doing more with less’ is said to come from increasing demands by taxpayers

18 for quality public services in a climate of declining revenues (O’Donnell et al. 1999). Yet Baldry and Vinson (1998) contend that people are willing to pay increased taxes for certain quality universal services such as health, education and aged care (see also Taylor-Gooby 1985; Papadakis 1990 and 1994; Papadakis and Shapiro 1992). Managerialism in the public sector can lead to a situation of distorted responsibilities and accountabilities because of a clash of very different and incompatible values, between a market values approach and a social responsibility values approach (Australian Catholic Social Welfare Commission 1993). These issues will be further explored in the latter part of this Chapter.

In contrast, Rhodes (1998: 19) contends that “there is no such thing as new public management” and that “public sector reforms vary along six dimensions: privatisation, marketization, corporate management, regulation, decentralisation and political control”. However, I would argue that all of these dimensions or characteristics are aspects of the same concept, collectively known as managerialism. These characteristics may not be equally present in every particular instance of public sector reform but they essentially inform the direction of the current reform process (Pollitt 1995). Hood (1991) has also been criticised by Painter (1998: 44) for asserting that new public management is apolitical, only concerned with improved efficiency, accountability and effectiveness in the conduct of government business.

Commentators such as Halligan and Power (1992) assert that the continuing disturbances in the international economy fuelled by the world oil crises in the early 1970s, created a climate in the English-speaking world, conducive to political management by the executive branch. They examine three principal dimensions of the policy process, that is, the management dimension; the political dimension; and the administrative dimension. They contend that managerialism reigns when management interests are dominant. Halligan and Power (1992) attribute managerialism to the executive branch policy process

19 and refer to the tensions inherent in the policy system between the respective administrative, management and political functions. These three dimensions interact and at any one time, one or two dimensions may dominate whilst the other is in retreat; and the mix fluctuates. The form of this patterning depends on the weight given to different values and “the values that are currently most prominent in the political system are those associated with responsiveness and accountability” (Halligan and Power 1992: 13). The objectives of managerialism expressed through these dimensions comprise end values, conceptions of the desirable sought after by government. Kelly (2006: 11-12) raises concerns that the pendulum has swung too far towards responsiveness under the former Howard Government’s reforms to the public service with a preference for results over process – the bureaucracy had to do more with less. This has led to some erosion in some areas of the public service of the capacity for sound research, evaluation and analysis, and that policy and research capability is in decline.

For Halligan and Power (1992: 12), the administrative system within the executive branch is concerned with “the maintenance of structures, rules and principles” that determine the way in which resources are disposed of and strong recognition is awarded to “the values of impartiality, continuity and procedural correctness”. The management system focuses upon the activity of organising and directing, and processing resources to ensure the most efficient and effective performance of tasks. More attention is paid to outputs than to inputs and procedures. The political system defines the patterning of authority in the executive and the function of the political system is to secure wide recognition of the preferred values of the executive.

A common theme throughout these doctrines and contested viewpoints is private sector pragmatism, business-like principles and efficiency. They reflect a pattern of rationalisation and cost containment strategies (Preston 1993). Managerialism in public sector reform, according to Schick, is about

20 sufficiently empowering “those who are responsible for government programmes and organisations…to act so that they can be accountable for their performance” (in Rowlands 1999: 225). In other words, managerialism refers to the development of “professional management skills in the Australian public service, with high discretionary power, (and this is seen to be) central to improved organisational performance” (Rowlands 1999: 230).

Considine (1997: 50) in his critique of managerialism, which he calls ‘corporate management’, defines its framework in terms of four key concepts: product format; autocratic instrumentalism; system integration; and purposive action. ‘Product format’ relates to a concern with outputs whereby a cost value is usually attributed and outputs are located in a real or imagined market (Considine 1997). Bureaucracies are re-modelled and concepts such as administrative independence and career commitment are displaced (Considine 1997; O’Neill 1999). The perception of those who rely on public sector activities is that they are “economic agents rather than political ones” (Considine 1997: 51).

Considine (1997: 51) defines ‘autocratic instrumentalism’ in the public sector as an outlook that regards the organisation as a tool “of executive management and the minister” and where, according to Thynne, “public servants emerge as little more than non-persons: publicly anonymous, politically neutral, but loyal instruments of ministerial authority” (in Considine 1997: 51). The primary issues for the organisation concern implementation and service delivery. Increased local control over resources is encouraged but not over policy and there is little opportunity for local managers to develop their own policy agenda. All key issues are controlled and decided by the executive, including all value choices. ‘System integration’ is described as a commitment to higher levels of consistency, that is, integration and uniformity across government services with each group of services having its own logical

21 and clear set of goals and objectives. Activities across departments are linked to a common purpose and duplication is avoided (Considine 1997).

‘Purposive action’ is borne out of the attitudes of politicians and key interests that centre around the role of the public sector in dealing with an economy prone to crisis (Considine 1997). Outputs may be used “as new forms of social and economic intervention” (Considine 1997: 56). Purposive action relies upon the development of private sector relationships, is concerned with outputs and levels of efficiency. It is best understood as a reform strategy administered by technically competent staff following policy guidelines set by elected ministers, as a means of generating focused, efficient and rational policy outcomes. Purposive action looks “to steer rather than adjudicate”, implies that governments will deal with the “overall direction” of their policies, and incorporates strong notions of leadership and systematic control (Considine 1997: 57).

Given the nature of the analysis undertaken in this thesis, a clear definition of the phenomenon that I have referred to, for the purposes of this study, as ‘managerialism’ is needed. This will be best served by a synthesis of the multi- dimensional approaches of Hood (1991), Pollitt (1995) and Considine (1997). Their approaches converge and there is consensus between the three authors about the core elements of managerialism (see Figure 1 page 23). The respective components of their definitions of managerialism have been synthesised into a list of ten core elements. This list comprises the working definition of managerialism used throughout the remainder of the thesis. The approach adopted invites the empirical investigation of concrete organisations, like Centrelink, on the basis that managerialism is best understood as a continuous variable rather than an ‘all or nothing’ category.

The elements that comprise the synthesised list in Figure 1 (see below) are not mutually exclusive but rather inter-related and overlap. They are

22 constructed in a manner that makes them easier to ‘operationalise’ for the purposes of the present study. The list blends the meaning attributed by each author to the constituent elements of their respective lists.

Figure 1: Managerialism (ten core elements) Separation of policy and service provision; implementation and service delivery are primary organisational concerns; key issues and value choices decided by the executive.

Active and visible management whereby persons at the top are ‘free to manage’; includes discretionary control and flatter hierarchies.

Accountability and performance is measured against mission statements, the definition of goals and targets, indicators of success are expressed in quantitative terms as measurable key performance indicators.

The allocation of resources and rewards are linked to measured performance aimed at benchmarking and best practice. Emphasis on results rather than process and procedures. Customer service focused interventions.

Breaking up monolithic units into corporatized units centred around products; cost value attributed to products; the use of contracts and performance agreements; decentralised ‘one-line’ budgets. Separate provision and production interests.

Use of term contracts and public tendering processes. Competition seen to be the key to lower costs and better standards.

Higher levels of consistency, integration and uniformity across government services; activities across departments linked to a common purpose to avoid duplication.

Flexible recruitment arrangements; the use of rewards and enhanced use of public relations techniques; and the use of ‘proven’ private sector management tools in the public sector.

Use of activity or formula-based funding; cutting direct costs; enhancing labour discipline; resisting union demands; curbing compliance costs; doing more with less.

Use of performance assessments to assess staff eligibility for salary increments; dismantling the career public service mentality; moves away from permanent employee appointments to term contracts.

Having established a working definition of managerialism, the thesis now progresses to an exploration of the meaning of ‘social justice’. As with the earlier exploration of ‘values’, the intention here is to draw from those elements of the topic that bear on the later empirical investigation.

Social justice FaCS and Centrelink, the two government organisations of central interest in the present study, claim to promote fairness in society by providing opportunities and support to individuals, families, communities and regions that they would otherwise be denied. Insofar as the lack of opportunity is somehow thought to derive from the workings of society or legacies of the past, the purposes of the social agencies in question increasingly have been described in terms of ‘social justice’. This catchcry of ‘social justice’ generally includes the philosophical and conceptual treatments of justice, fairness and equality (Frederickson 1994). For McClelland (2006b: 22) one of the key value tensions in the provision of welfare relates to the “tension between the principles of community responsibility towards others and that of personal responsibility towards one’s self”.

Contemporary debate on social justice tends to focus upon questions of distribution and equity (Grace 1994). McClelland (2006b: 30) asserts that “equity does not necessarily mean the achievement of equality”. For McClelland (2006b: 30) ideas about equity and social justice involve decisions about “who gets what and under what circumstances”. However, what is regarded as fair or equitable will vary according to different ideologies and philosophies about social justice which are underpinned by differences in ideas about the ends of welfare and the priority accorded to such things as needs, rights and desert (McClelland 2006b: 30). Braybrooke argues that the concept of need is basic to any conception of social justice and takes account of the circumstances and resources of a particular society (in Self 1993). Ife (1995: 65) notes that ‘need’ is neither objective nor value-free. According to Ife (1995: 66), Bradshaw’s four-fold typology of need5 breaks away from the view

5 Bradshaw’s (1972) four-fold typology comprises: felt need (personal perceptions, that is, need as experienced by the people concerned); expressed need (explicit statements made by the people seeking a form of service); normative need (judgements of need made by some authority in accordance with an accepted standard); and comparative need (need inferred by comparisons between individuals and groups and/or need inferred from

24 of need as a single concept. For Hugman (1998: 33), Bradshaw’s typology demonstrates that “the way in which the definition of need is produced is related to the meaning of need which emerges”.

For some social justice is a Holy Grail (Boulding 1988), and for others an “empty formula … used to assert that a particular claim is justified” and therefore it is “intellectually disreputable” (Hayek 1979: 3). There is little agreement about the meaning of the term. There is no universal meaning and many competing theories of social justice (Harvey 1991). Justice comprises a family of meanings and needs to be understood as a powerful mobilising force in everyday life rather than a hopelessly confused concept when examined in the abstract (Harvey 1991).

In the theory of justice proposed by Rawls (1999a: 4) he argues that a set of principles is needed to guide the selection of which social arrangements should be used to determine the division of advantages in a society and “for underwriting an agreement on the proper distributive shares”. He also asserts that these principles are in fact principles of social justice because they are a way of assigning rights and obligations in the major social institutions of society as well as defining the appropriate apportioning of the burdens and benefits of social cooperation. The major social institutions largely determine peoples’ rights and obligations as well as influencing their life prospects, what they can hope for and expect out of life (Rawls 1999a).

Consequently, for Rawls (1999a) the basic structure of society is a central concern of justice because its effects are so profound and present from the start of life. The structure of society comprises various positions that people are born into, and these different positions have different associated expectations, which in part are determined by the prevailing social, economic

comparison of service provision with national or regional norms (Hugman 1998: 33; Ife 1995: 66).

25 and political systems. Certain starting places are favoured by the institutions of society over others that “cannot possibly be justified by an appeal to the notions of merit or desert” and manifest as deep-seated inequalities (Rawls 1999a: 7). It is these presumably inevitable inequalities in the basic structure of any society to which the principles of social justice apply. Rawls’ (1999a: 11) principles of justice are chosen through an act of social cooperation and from behind a ‘veil of ignorance’ whereby “no one knows his place in society, his class position or social status, nor does any one know his fortune in the distribution of natural assets and abilities, his intelligence, strength and the like", everyone is situated similarly. In this way, according to Rawls (1999a), no one is advantaged nor disadvantaged in the choice of principles and therefore, they cannot be designed to favour an individual’s particular position.

Rawls’ essential domain of claims relate to his principle of justice as fairness whereby “each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive total system of equal basic liberties compatible with a similar system of liberty for all” (Rawls 1999a: 220), and a difference principle whereby “social and economic inequalities, for example inequalities of wealth and authority, are just only if they result in compensating benefits for everyone, and in particular for the least advantaged members of society” (Rawls 1999a: 13; Frederickson 1994). Once the requirement of the principle of justice have been satisfied, that is once ‘Fair Equality of Opportunity’ exists, the ‘Difference Principle’ comes into play (Schaller 1998). The Difference Principle requires the maximisation of the lifetime expectations of society’s least advantaged, through the re-organisation of the basic structures of a society, that are responsible for all the prevailing social and economic inequalities (Schaller 1998).

Schaller (1998: 369) notes that Rawls’ theory of justice has been criticised because Rawls “allows individuals voluntarily and deliberately to make themselves members of the least advantaged class and thereby eligible for the

26 benefits mandated by the Difference Principle - benefits they do not deserve”, which raises the age old debate about notions of the deserving and undeserving poor. However, Schaller (1998) asserts that the Difference Principle only applies to the lifetime expectations of those considered to be the least advantaged.

What is considered just and unjust is frequently in dispute (Nozick 1974; Rawls 1999a and 1999b; Hayek 1979; Goldsmith 1998; McClelland 2006b) as well as the kind of equality that the notion of justice requires (Cupit 2000). According to McClelland (2006b: 31) Rawls’ ideas about equality imply that there are different aspirations for equality whereby equality can mean: the achievement of some kind of minimum standard beyond which we are not troubled with the extent of the inequality; the achievement of equal opportunity for all that operates in a way that all can realize the same degree of well-being; and the achievement of equal outcomes which refers to equality on certain levels of well-being for different groups such as health. She argues that when we assess equality the concern relates more to equality between different groups rather than equality between individuals, and are more concerned about widespread inequalities that are mutually reinforcing than those with limited impact (p. 31).

The idea of social justice has been described as a “half-way house” between entrenched “mal-distributions of wealth” in nineteenth century Europe, on the one hand, and socialism on the other (Pearson 1998: 18). Moreover, Pearson (1998) suggests that the policy implementation of social justice in Australia tends to categorise disadvantage through the use of rudimentary programmatic indicators such as Aboriginality, femaleness, disability, and in this way perverts the ideal of impartial justice. He further argues that social justice policy interventions are clearly political and therefore, should not be considered as incontestable and immune from scrutiny merely because the notion of social justice is a wholesome sounding concept like ‘motherhood’ or

‘democracy’. Ife (1995: 18) argues that whatever one’s definition of social justice, it is no longer easy to make a strong case for the continuation of “a needs of strangers approach” to social justice as convincing evidence exists (see Le Grand 1982) that welfare has not been successful in reducing social inequalities though it may play a role in preventing it from becoming even greater.

Barry (1999: 87) refers to Le Grand’s (1982) work The Strategy of Equality. Le Grand tests the egalitarian view that equality can be achieved by the common consumption of welfare services that is not subject to price or selective means testing rather than traditional socialist methods of public ownership. Le Grand found that just because a public service is available to all equally and is universal, it does not mean that it will be consumed equally and this depends upon a wide range of factors that will vary across the population. In fact, Le Grand asserts that policies involving subsidies that rely on people’s decision to consume and use the service, favour the better off because the ‘opportunity cost’ for ‘middle class’ individuals is oftentimes much lower than it would otherwise be for the ‘working class’ individual. Barry (1999) argues that the general conclusion to be drawn from all of this is that constitutional and political concerns are of paramount importance in determining questions of redistribution. However, there can be political as well as market failure.

Ife (1995: 52) contends that Rawls’ principles of justice are “both highly desirable and important”, the issue is not whether these principles are needed but that the question is “whether they are sufficient”. He argues that Rawls’ principles are most commonly understood as applying to individuals. An analysis from an individual perspective is only one way of understanding social issues and social injustice, and provides a limited one-dimensional view of social phenomena that can be criticised for being innately conservative. Ife

(1995: 54) outlines four categories of analysis of social issues: the individual6; the institutional reformist7; the structural8; and the post-structural perspective9. He contends that there is some value in all four accounts as each identifies particular aspects of social issues and social change, and he adds that it is neither realistic or appropriate to focus upon one perspective to the exclusion of some or all the others (p. 54).

Cupit (2000) contends that there is a general requirement to treat people as equals and this requirement does not derive from the characteristics of individuals, or from ‘within’, because people differ enormously in their respective attributes. Rather, this requirement is better understood as being ‘imposed’, or at least deriving from ‘without’ (Mendes 1997). Gray notes that “the differences of opinion and values in our societies have become so great that the most effective way to understand the relations of a civil society is through notions of ‘complex fairness’” (in Gauntlett et al. 2001: 2).

An alternative view of social justice is proposed by Rees (1995). He promotes a humanitarian view of the future over one that is consumed with a search for justice. His case is not to dispute the value of the ideal of social justice or other principles associated with citizenship, commitments to universal services and the like, but to halt the postponement of humanitarian responses to suffering because of indecision about what is just. Rees (1995: 293) goes on to argue that the meaning of humanity transcends discipline boundaries and “implies a statement about quality of life”. An assessment about quality of life should recognise the inter-dependence of economy, society and environment,

6 According to Ife (1995: 54) solutions focus upon therapy, medical treatment, behaviour modification, moral exhortation and control. 7 In this account of social issues, solutions include: the reorganisation of institutions, more resources, more services and better training (Ife 1995: 54). 8 The structural perspective incorporates strategies that involve structural change, changing the basis of oppression, liberal movements and revolution (Ife 1995: 54). 9 Identified solutions comprise, for example, analysis and understanding of discourse, access to understandings, and challenge to the ‘rules’ (Ife 1995: 54).

29 coupled with, according to Vaclav Havel, “that touch of vision and humility which also recognises people’s minute place in the universe” (in Rees 1995: 293).

The requirements of social justice have been defined in the British Report of the Commission on Social Justice, Social Justice: Strategies for National Renewal, 1994 (the Borrie Report), in terms of a hierarchy of four ideas (Wilson and Wilson 1995). First, the foundation of a free society engenders a belief in the equal worth of all of its citizens and is expressed in political and civil liberties. That is, there is a commitment to a liberal non authoritarian society which echoes Rawls’ first principle. Second, as a consequence of the rights that follow from citizenship, everyone is entitled to have their basic needs for income, housing and other necessities met. Third, equal citizenship and equal respect require more than having basic needs met, and includes access to opportunities and life chances. Fourth, it should be conceded that not all inequalities are unjust but where they exist efforts should be made where possible to reduce and eliminate them. The Report supported the view that the aforementioned vision of justice can coexist with economic success in a competitive world (Wilson and Wilson 1995). However, Wilson and Wilson (1995: 336) express concern over the Report’s assertion that “we cannot have social justice without a decent measure of economic success” and argue that justice was about fair shares not about the total amount available to share. Surely a poor society with a low per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) cannot be regarded on that basis, as an unjust one.

There are several different perspectives on how notions of distributive justice should inform the development of social policy. According to Gilbert and Specht (1986) three core values shape the design of policy intended to achieve distributive justice outcomes: equality; equity; and adequacy10.

10 For Gilbert and Specht (1986: 52-55) equality comprises notions of numerical (to all an equal share) and proportional (same treatment of similar persons) equality; equity concerns

Wilenski argues that the value of equity as a guiding of administration should be elevated to the same level as efficiency, and humanity be raised to the same level as economy (in Orchard 1998: 113).

Wearing (1994: 185-193) notes that there are six distinct models or discourses on social justice present in Australian welfare services that in combination comprise a framework for understanding the possible service policy directions in Australia during the 1990s. He argues that these models organise the way in which professionals and administrators think about social justice. According to Wearing (1994: 186), the first model comprises a perspective whereby social justice is contingent upon economic growth or economic decline and the nation’s overall economic performance, and in this way is an adjunct to a nation’s economy. The second model promotes the notion that equity, access and participation in welfare services are determined by spatial density, which is illustrated in the ideology of ‘urban consolidation’ and includes strategies designed to save money on social infrastructure on the outskirts of cities by utilising space and services in the inner-city areas (p. 187). The third model links social justice with the proper functioning of quasi-markets for minority and differentiated groups and incorporates a user-pays approach where service users can expect to pay for the services if they have either a private or social wage income that may require some service users to integrate into the labour market (Wearing 1994: 188).

The fourth model of justice in service provision for Wearing (1994: 189) is based on a democraticising view of community development. It comprises a form of community management that focuses upon a framework of participatory democracy for local communities and cultures that deals with access, equity and participation in service programs. The fifth model concerns decentralised social justice and advances “the principles of access, equity and

fair treatment (people receive what they deserve moderated only by considerations for those unable to contribute through no fault of their own); and adequacy refers to providing a

31 participation at a local level with services resourced by state welfare planning and funding” (p. 190). According to Wearing (1994: 190) this model is a composite model of the previous four models and engenders specific strategies of urban planning for social policy. For Wearing (1994: 191) the sixth model connects “the ‘accountability’ of access and equity in welfare services to social justice rhetoric at a federal level”, which is linked to a broader debate about the measurement of social justice outcomes aimed at managing services with greater efficiency, that is concerned with developing a more efficient management culture.

From the discussion so far, it can be seen that there are many different ideas and approaches to formulating what constitutes the notion of ‘social justice’ and how it may be expressed in social policy. In this field study, two ‘different’ but compatible ideas about social justice are used. The first conceptualisation of social justice relates to the work of Ife (1995) and the second to Rees (1991). Both approaches, to varying degrees, draw on the work of Rawls. Given that this field study examines a community-networking project established in a high need geographic community and was intended to test assumptions about strong communities, the first notion of social justice used in this analysis derives from ideas about community development practices. Ife (1995: xi) argues that community development comprises a vision about how things might be organised differently so that ecological sustainability and social justice can be realised. He goes on to propose a model of community development that integrates an ecological perspective and social justice perspective. His social justice perspective is based on six principles: structural disadvantage; empowerment; needs rights; rights; peace and non-violence; and participatory democracy. Ife (1995: 177-199) outlines 22 principles that should inform a developmental approach to community work practice. The list is not intended to be prescriptive; also, the principles are not independent and relate to each other. The actual practice of community work varies, therefore,

‘decent’ standard of physical and spiritual well-being.

32 because each situation involves a process of determining how these principles might apply within a specific local context. Briefly stated these principles are: integrated development; confronting structural disadvantage; human rights; sustainability; empowerment; the personal and the political; community ownership; self-reliance; independence from the state; immediate goals and ultimate visions; organic development; the pace of development; external expertise; community building; process and outcome; the integrity of process; non-violence; inclusiveness; consensus; co-operation; participation; and defining need. The analysis of the perspectives of the three key stakeholders who were interviewed in the field study (see Chapter Seven) and the emerging themes illustrate aspects of a number of Ife’s (1995) community development principles.

The second set of ideas about social justice derive from Rees’ (1991) ‘empowerment prospectus’ (p. 10). He is concerned with examining the connection between the way in which power is defined or exercised and politics, and highlighting the importance of the interdependence of policy and practice. Rees (1991) argues that without a critique of politics and power as they are applied in different contexts, the constraints that effect the direction of the welfare state and the reasons why some forms of practice are encouraged and other forms are actively discouraged will not be properly understood. Without this critique, “the various tasks in social work and social welfare will … (simply) reproduce mirror images oblivious of shifting political alignments” (p. 4).

Rees’ (1991: 10) empowerment prospectus comprises the following ideas and concepts: biography11; power12; politics13; skills14; policy and practice and their

11 Biography provides a basis for analysis and encourages the use of ideas from various sources (Rees 1991). 12 Power is a multi-dimensional concept: the exercise of power can either liberate or restrict (Rees 1991).

33 interdependence15. He contends that achieving power “embodies the spirit and objectives of empowerment” (p. 40), and “the objectives of empowerment should contribute to social justice” (p. 65). Empowerment is a manifestation of the notion of social justice and according to Rees (1991: 66), addresses two related objectives: the more equitable distribution of resources and non- exploitative relationships between people; and enables individuals to achieve a creative sense of power through enhanced self respect, knowledge, confidence and skill.

Rees’ (1991: 89-98) ten stages in achieving power are listed as follows: understanding themes (concerned with biography and personal experiences of power and powerlessness); evaluating self-image and knowledge (concerned with an evaluation of people’s image of their ability to act in their own interests); specifying problems (concerned with encouraging people to have their own say in a way that carries with it the seeds of self-learning); developing awareness of policies (concerned with creating an awareness that services and resources exist that they are entitled to access, and demystifying what policy is about); developing the notion of choice (involves assertiveness and a familiarity with choice that is concerned with moving from the assumption that there is no alternative to a deliberation over what might be possible); experiencing solidarity with others (concerns the acquisition of language to explain problems in other than individual terms that encourages a sharing of ways to respond to such problems); acquiring and using language (concerned with the development of political literacy that involves making connections between one context of power and another); resisting a return to powerlessness (concerned with preventing a return to the familiar – giving

13 Political understanding is integral to a practice that seeks to address constraints and maximise opportunities (Rees 1991). 14 A mixture of interactive and political skills of evaluation, negotiation, advocacy and administration can combine to realise empowerment objectives (Rees 1991). 15 The interests of the status quo are served by the separation of policy and practice. “Policy may reflect practitioners’ use of discretion” (Rees 1991: 10).

34 permission to develop new roles needs to be accompanied with the provision of appropriate support); developing interactive and political skills (is about the experience of solidarity with other group members in a way that contributes to the development of interactive and political skills); and evaluation (concerned with whether the themes with which this process started have been redefined – has alienation and isolation been replaced by involvement and participation?). The Survey used in the field study comprises a range of statements and several open-ended questions that are intended to operationalise ideas about empowerment and how this might be achieved. The Survey includes statements and questions about whether the information was accessible, easy to locate, increased opportunities for informed decision- making and self-learning, developed awareness and social connection (see Chapter Eight).

Value Pluralism The theoretical framework I have chosen to illustrate the nature of the relationship between managerialism and social justice is value pluralism. I have chosen to use Kekes’ (1993) approach to ethical pluralism because he articulates a carefully considered and thorough approach to the practical resolution of value conflicts. The definitions of managerialism and social justice used in the field study have emerged from a discussion of these two concepts as social values. The following discussion of pluralism is intended to provide a brief sketch of the framework used to explore the relations between managerialism and social justice. It is confined to an explanation of pluralism with a view to outlining a ‘reasonable approach’ to the practical resolution of value conflicts based on the work of Kekes (1993). Pluralism has been defined by Kekes (1993: 9) as “a theory about the nature of the values whose realisation makes lives good” and is concerned with how these values stand in relation to each other, their identity “is of interest in so far as it is relevant to understanding their relations”. However, what comprises the ‘good life’ means different things to different people and discussions about what makes a life

35 good are ambiguous. Galston (2002) argues that there is no single conception of the human good because of the multiplicity of sources of morality. For Kekes (1993: 11) “good lives depend on both personal satisfaction and moral merit, and personal satisfaction depends upon the realisation of both moral16 and non-moral values17”. He goes on to state that the basic belief that unites pluralists is that “good lives require the realisation of radically different types of values, both moral and non-moral, and many of these values are conflicting and cannot be realized together” (p. 11).

Consequently for Kekes (1993), conflicts between reasonable conceptions of a good life and reasonable values must be recognised as unavoidable (p. 21). So the conflict between values is an indispensable aspect of making a good life. The conflict is often caused according to Kekes (1993) because of the incommensurability and incompatibility of the values. Kekes (1993: 21) contends that “the incompatibility of values is due to qualities intrinsic to the conflicting values”. Therefore, the realisation of some values either partly or entirely excludes the realisation of the other. The notion of incommensurability, according to Kekes (1993: 21), refers to a situation where there are some things that are so different that it is not possible to compare them. There is no common yardstick by which a reasonable comparison can be made. Lukes (1991: 33-34) contends that incommensurability at its simplest, is “the thought that, in some respects, certain things cannot be ranked”.

According to Galston (2002: 31) contemporary value pluralists are committed to both affirming the heterogeneous nature of values and denying the existence of comprehensive rank-orders among them. So no single value or set of values is overriding in all cases for the purpose of guiding action. That is

16 Kekes (1993: 18) defines moral values as humanly caused goods where the benefits and harms primarily affect others. 17 Non-moral values are defined as either naturally caused values (benefits and harms stemming mostly from non-human sources) or humanly caused values in which both the causes and the recipients are primarily ourselves (p. 18).

36 all values are conditional in that there is no value or combination of values that cannot be defeated by some other value that maybe more important in a particular context (Kekes 1993: 20).

For example, Elster contends that efficiency is a moral principle implicated in all distributive decisions (in Walzer 1995). However, Walzer (1995: 295-296) argues that “efficiency figures in the debates about family, work and citizenship, but it comes into its own only after we know the meaning and value of the goods they involve”. So what Walzer (1995) is alluding to is that efficiency is not an overriding principle and that consideration of other goods needs to be taken into account because once we move beyond the domain of basic goods, other “genuine goods (both moral and non moral) are qualitatively heterogeneous and cannot be reduced to a common measure of value” (Galston 2002: 30). Heterogeneity not only exists between goods but within.

Despite this, Galston (2002) contends that deliberate closure on a values argument is still possible as pluralism on the level of values does not in principle rule out the possibility of general rules for assigning weights to particular values or establishing some sort of partial ordering, and arriving at the right answers to specific situations. There may in fact be a compelling argument to conclude that certain trade-offs among competing goods are preferable to others and balancing is all but unavoidable. Therefore, one of the central questions becomes: is there a reasonable way of deciding which value should prevail in particular situations when there is a conflict among values?

Kekes (1993: 24) states that if values are plural, conditional, incommensurable and incompatible, unavoidable conflicts will continually occur. He explains the resolution of these conflicts in terms of the different systems in which conflicts over values occur. He contends that most of the conflicts that we encounter occur within particular traditions (that is, among people who follow the same

37 tradition and against a backdrop of a shared system of values that comprise the tradition) or within people (relates to the conception of a good life of the agent who faces the conflict) (p. 24). For Kekes (1993: 24-25): if we acted reasonably, either for ourselves or on behalf of our tradition, we would recognize that a large part of the explanation of why we are involved in the conflicts is that we are motivated by our conception of a good life or by the traditional system of values to which we adhere.

Consequently, Kekes (1993: 25) contends that by adopting this larger view suggested by conceptions of a good life or by traditions, the conflict at hand can be seen in a different light, because in most cases “the value of our conceptions of a good life or the value of the traditional system of values to which we adhere will be greater than that of either of the two values whose conflict we are facing”. In this way, the question to be resolved then becomes: “what should we do here and now so that we could resolve this conflict in a way that would be best from the point of view of the system of values that we, as disputants, share?” (p. 25). The approach proposed by Kekes (1993: 25) is “a cast of mind, a tendency to ask certain questions rather than others and to look for answers in a particular direction and not in different ones”. Interpretations about what would “be best” change the nature of disagreements to arguments about means, not ends. Disagreements about “the best” will be about the course of action that will most likely lead to our shared goal, namely, the maintenance of our common system of values (p. 26).

Kekes (1993: 26-27) qualifies this approach by stating that not all conflicts can be resolved this way. He offers two reasons, briefly stated: conflicts may occur between people who do not share a system of values; and values are not only means to good lives but also constituents of them – some values may be indispensible constituents and “if our system of values permitted the violation of such an indispensible value then the system would become unworthy of our allegiance” (p. 27).

Given the definitions of managerialism and social justice used in this field study, value pluralism provides an appropriate framework to guide the analysis of the relationship between these two important social values. Both can be considered ‘genuine goods’. They are clearly heterogeneous concepts and frequently come into conflict. The definitions of managerialism and social justice used point towards their incommensurability and incompatibility. This will be explored in more detail in Chapter Seven.

Concluding remarks This thesis is concerned with exploring the nature of the relationship between managerialism and social justice in the development of a community- networking project, a pilot website for young people in a high need community. The empirical study is contextualised in a minor policy proposal agreed to by the former Howard Government and was allocated funds from the 1998-99 Budget. The FCNI was established to test a range of propositions about strong communities in a way that contributes to ongoing strategy and theory. The FCNI was intended to explore building partnerships that put into practice social capital and community capacity philosophies. The community-networking project was established to operationalise a novel contractual arrangement between government and a local community organisation. However, this arrangement raised questions about the pursuit of social justice as an objective of policy and the managerialist intent of government to efficiently and effectively control the use of funds. Debate about the delivery of social policy is as much about core concepts such as need, citizenship and responsibility as well as the ways in which these services are provided. The empirical study was conducted at a time when the debate about managerialism was at its height and the nature of this debate tended to be adversarial. Despite this, these debates are still relevant today because managing performance continues to be a dominant idea for governments (see Bouckaert and Halligan 2008).

Chapter One was concerned with defining the analytical approach and laying the conceptual foundations that comprise the intellectual scaffolding used in the present thesis to explore the relationship between managerialism and social justice. The investigation of these concepts was confined to establishing clear working definitions for the purpose of the empirical investigation and identifying the theoretical framework used the guide the analysis. This Chapter opened with a discussion of social values. They are defined as ‘conceptions of the desirable’ (see Kluckhohn 1962) and social values have an overwhelming impact on policy. It is argued that both managerialism and social justice are social values. The ideas and philosophies that underpin the various conceptualisations of managerialism and social justice are explored.

Briefly, managerialism comprises a set of beliefs and practices that are based on a set of assumptions that better management will remedy a wide range of economic social ills without stating what is to be managed and why (see Pollitt 1993 and Hugman 1998). Managerialism involves practices that seek to identify and eliminate waste, concentrating resources where benefits are greatest, increased transparency and accountability in how public money is spent. In contrast, social justice incorporates some view of fairness and equity. The pursuit of social justice objectives incorporate ideas about equal worth, rights and responsibilities; entitlements to basic needs; and allows for a view that not all inequalities are unjust but where possible efforts should be made to reduce them. Social justice is concerned with protecting the less powerful and redistributing limited resources to those who are excluded from meaningful economic and social participation. Both values contribute to conceptualisations of the good life, however, what comprises a good life means different things to different people. Clearly, the intrinsic qualities of both values are incompatible and there is no common ‘measure’ by which a reasonable comparison can be made because these two social values are too different to compare.

Consequently, the theoretical framework chosen to guide the analysis is value pluralism and based on the work of Kekes (1993).

Those who support managerialism in the public sector reform process, advocate for greater efficiency that is increased outputs and keeping costs down. These views are concerned with means values. The critics of managerialism argue that this approach has been used by government to reduce public expenditure and shift the responsibility of government for welfare service provision on to poorly resourced non-government agencies and the very people who have welfare needs which is about ends. In other words, the use of market instruments by government is seen to be a push for increased efficiency, effectiveness and greater economy in the delivery of social welfare, whilst proponents of non-market models argue that the state should continue to play some sort of role.

There are two facets to the empirical study. The first facet examines the process of the implementation of the FCNI community-networking project in the Penville region through the perspectives of three key informants and second facet considers the views of the end-users of the service to determine whether they achieved a sense of empowerment through access to knowledge about their own lives in terms that have meaning for them. Two different but compatible conceptualisations of social justice are used in the field study. Both conceptualisations draw on the works of Rawls. Given that the empirical study focuses upon a community-networking project and intended to test assumptions about strong communities, the first conceptualisation derives from the work of Ife (1995) and incorporates ideas about community development practices.

The second conceptualisation is based in the work of Rees (1991), in particular, his empowerment prospectus and relates to the process of empowerment. For Rees (1991) the achievement of small goals comprise the

41 building blocks that enable people to think and act for themselves, to become more confident in addressing those social issues that affect them (p. 66). The end-users or intended beneficiaries of the community-networking project are young people. Young people as they transition from childhood into adulthood take on new roles that require coping and adaptation skills. Rees’ (1991) ten steps to achieving power focuses upon non exploitative relationships and the possibility of individuals achieving a creative sense of power through enhanced self respect, knowledge, confidence and skill. The second facet of the field study explores whether the possibility of these outcomes are realised for young people through access to information about their own lives.

The FCNI originated from a minor policy proposal. The next Chapter examines policy-making as a political activity based on value choices. The next Chapter explores how policy is formed and how social values shape the policy process.

CHAPTER TWO Social policy and social values

Social policy is important because it aims to improve people’s welfare, particularly the welfare of the most vulnerable in our society (McClelland 2006a: 5). Welfare brings together questions of individual well-being with social and economic relations, and neither sphere is free of subjective elements (Barry in Hugman 1998). Hugman (1998) asserts that decisions about what is the good life are inherently subjective and the conclusions reached rest on the philosophical and political starting points. Therefore, he argues that it is impossible to take welfare out of the political arena because to do so would imply that there is universal agreement about social values. Considine (2005: 1) contends that the “policies of government contain and express the conflicts and tensions of contemporary societies”. This Chapter examines how values influence and shape social policy. Social policy is a very broad concept insofar as it draws on the understandings from a range of disciplines – sociology, economics, psychology, philosophy, political science and history (McClelland 2006a). Understanding how policy is formed is relevant to this study because it is through policy that ideas about managerialism and social justice are actioned, and moreover, this study is concerned with exploring the relations between managerialism and social justice in the process of implementing policy.

Policy tends to refer to “what governments do, why they do it and what difference it makes” (Dye in Colebatch 2006: 1). The term ‘policy’ has no single clear meaning (Considine 1994 and 2005; Colebatch 2002; McClelland 2006a) and is used in a variety of different ways to describe a range of activities (Hogwood and Gunn 1984; Ham and Hill 1993). Policy-making is frequently portrayed as a rational process (DiNitto 1995). It is both political and contested. McClelland (2006c: 44) argues that power is exercised at all stages of the policy process in the way in which problems are defined and

43 acknowledged, in what options are considered, and during the decision- making process and implementation phase. She asserts that it is important to recognize whose interests are being met by the policy, who is likely to endorse the policy, and how much power is possessed by those who support the policy and those who oppose it (p. 51).

Policy is an elusive concept (Gilbert and Specht 1986) and is primarily concerned with structuring collective action through notions of authorised decision-making and usually associated with the administration of government. Colebatch (2002: 13) argues that policy is a “continuing process of social action and interaction”, it is ‘socially constructed’ and consequently, there is a lot of variation in the way people ‘do policy’. However, Colebatch (2006) and others argue that this view deflects attention away from the policy process which is far more complex.

So, the study of social policy “cannot be isolated from the study of society as a whole in all its varied social, economic and political aspects” (Titmuss 1974: 15). Titmuss (1974: 23-24) defines policy as: the principles that govern action directed towards given ends. The concept denotes action about means as well as ends and it, therefore, implies change: changing situations, systems, practices, behaviour. And here we should note that the concept of policy is only meaningful if we (society, a group, or an organisation) believe we can affect change in some form or another. He uses the word policy “in an action-orientated and problem-orientated sense” (p. 24).

This thesis is concerned with the exploration of the relationship between managerialism and social justice which is contextualized in a minor policy proposal agreed to by the former Howard Government. The FCNI was underpinned by FaCS’ ‘stronger communities strategy’ and the field study examines the way in which this policy was implemented. The FCNI was underpinned by an action-learning model of community development whereby

44 evaluation and monitoring was to inform and where appropriate modify the future direction of the community-networking project (see Black et al. 2002).

What is policy? Social policy involves debates about differences in values, about what is desirable and assumptions about what will work and the way individuals and societies behave (McClelland 2006a). Policy is also informed by shifting ideas about what works. Consequently, policies are rarely completely settled but rather frequently contested and revisited (McClelland 2006a: 7). In the absence of general consensus upon agreed social goals and values, DiNitto (1995) argues that it is expedient for governments to a pursue a variety of programs and policies simultaneously even if they overlap and conflict, in this way, a wider range of people and interest groups are satisfied. Colebatch (2002: 5) notes that there are two general approaches to writing about policy. The first is the ‘stage’ or ‘policy cycle’ approach where policy-making is generally perceived to be a logical succession or ‘series of unfolding stages’ (Gilbert and Specht 1986). For Gilbert and Specht (1986) “these stages are in a state of dynamic readjustment, feeding back data that alter the preceding information while forming the groundwork for data to follow” (p. 18). The second approach Colebatch (2002) refers to is ‘policy analysis’. This approach is concerned with devising a methodology for determining the outcome of a specific policy and for making comparisons between alternative policies in terms of their possible outcomes (p. 5). The empirical study presented in this thesis is not, in this sense, a policy analysis, rather it focuses on the outcomes of the application of policies.

For Colebatch (2002: 8) policy rests on three core assumptions about social order: instrumentality, hierarchy and coherence. Colebatch (2002) contends that instrumentality is concerned with the view that “organisation in general, and public organisation in particular, is to be understood as a device for the pursuit of particular purposes” (p. 8). That is, public organisations exist to

45 achieve objectives in specific areas. In this context, policy is to be understood in terms of objectives and the way in which to achieve them. For Colebatch (2002: 8-9) hierarchy is concerned with the notion that governing flows from people at the top giving instructions – policy is the authoritative determination of what will be done in some particular area – the backing of a single course of action. Similarly Considine (2005: 237) asserts that “policy is an authoritative allocation of effort which determines how individuals and groups will relate to one another”. Considine explains this by stating that “having the capacity to impose costs and benefits on a group of participants in a policy-making field means having legal power to create compliance … (and) … by understanding how this happens we take an important step in explaining why individuals and groups behave as they do” (p. 237). Colebatch (2002) explains that coherence refers to the assumption that all the bits of the action fit together and form part of an organized whole. Policy activity is concerned with coordination, mobilizing the value of coherence in an attempt to effect change.

According to Colebatch (2002) there are three central elements in the ways that the term policy is used: order (action is governed by a known formula of universal application and consistency), authority (implies endorsement by an authorized decision-maker) and expertise (this implies knowledge both of the problem area and the things that can be done about it) (p. 9-11). He argues that not all of these attributes will not be equally present at all points during the policy process and may in fact work against each other, so policy outcomes are likely to incorporate an ongoing tension between these attributes. The process of the implementation of the FCNI program in the Penville region provides an opportunity to consider how the tensions Colebatch (2002) refers to above play out in the delivery of policy.

Distinguishing between authority and power It is important to distinguish between authority and power because both find expression in the policy process (Hugman 1991; Rees 1991; Lukes 2005). This distinction is relevant to this field study because in this instance, FaCS has determined the nature of the policy intervention in advance, what options are to be considered in the decision-making process and implementation phase of the FCNI in the Penville region. In addition, the FCNI was underpinned by community development strategies intended to test assumptions about strong communities and the study considers the contested nature of the interests of the key informants during the implementation of the community-networking project.

Rees (1991: 13) examines the meaning of authority first partly because he contends that authority is the reference point for the exercise of power, and that the action of “individuals or groups can be justified with reference to some view of authority”. Fromm defines authority as ‘an inter-personal relation’ where one person looks upon another as their superior (in Rees 1991). The nature of this inter-relationship provides “people with the permission, incentive or justification to act” (Rees 1991: 13). Rees (1991) refers to Fromm’s three forms of authority: external, internal and anonymous18. They overlap and are not mutually exclusive. Rees (1991: 14) argues that “for every person that exercises authority another responds or complies”.

Similarly, Hugman (1991: 34) states that authority refers to “the exercise of legitimate command based on social status”. He contends that authority crumbles when force is exercised and adds that authority “includes legitimate power, but may also be seen where there is a genuine (that is, objective) consensus of interests” (p. 34). For Lukes (2005) when people act in concert,

18 External authority flows from a person or institution that represents the ‘rules’ that outline what a person can and cannot do; internal authority applies to a person’s conscience, their sense of ‘duty’ and use of personal discretion; and anonymous authority operates as a self evident given, often unchallenged and is pervasive in its influence (Rees 1991: 13).

47 in the absence of a conflict of interests, it is a case of ‘influence’ rather than ‘power’. He asserts that: power may or may not be a form of influence - depending on whether sanctions are involved; while influence and authority may or may not be a form of power - depending on whether a conflict of interests is involved. Consensual authority, with no conflict of interests, is not, therefore, a form of power (Lukes 2005: 35).

Power is a deeply contested concept because of disagreements about its meaning, “how to conceive it, how to study it and, if it can be measured, how to measure it” (Lukes 2005: 61). Morriss (2002) refers to power as a dispositional concept19 that operates in a plurality of contexts. He argues that because dispositional concepts “refer to relatively enduring capacities of objects … a dispositional property can exist and yet never give rise to anything that actually occurs” (Morriss 2002: 14, 17).

Lukes (2005) in his conceptual analysis of power identifies three views of power. He argues that we must think about power broadly rather than narrowly, and that “power is at its most effective when least observable” (Lukes 2005: 1). The one dimensional view of power concerns “a focus on behaviour in the making of decisions on issues over which there is an observable conflict of (subjective) interests, seen as express policy preferences, revealed by political participation” (p. 19). For Lukes (2005: 24- 25) the two dimensional view of power comprises a ‘qualified critique’ of the behavioural focus of the one dimensional view. It encompasses: a consideration of the ways in which decisions are prevented from being taken on potential issues over which there is an observable conflict of (subjective) interests, seen as embodied in express policy preferences and sub-political grievances (Lukes 2005: 25).

19 Power as a dispositional concept means that it is “neither a thing (a resource or vehicle) nor an event (an exercise of power): it is a capacity” (Morriss 2002: 19).

The three dimensional view of power according to Lukes’ (2005: 153) is behavioural in the widest possible sense to include action and inaction, conscious and unconscious, actual and potential, and is committed to the view that behaviour provides evidence both direct and indirect, for an attribution of the exercise of power. The three dimensional view considers the various ways potential issues are kept out of politics either through social forces and institutional practices or individuals’ decisions. Further, Lukes (2005) argues that this can occur in the absence of actual, observable conflict that may have been averted, though an implicit reference to potential conflict remains which may never be actualized.

Lukes (2005: 28) suggests that this potential conflict that may never be actualized could be regarded as ‘latent conflict’. He explains ‘latent conflict’ in the following way: “that there would be a conflict of wants or preferences between those exercising power and those subject to it, were the latter to become aware of their interests” (Lukes 2005: 153). Rees (1991: 40) suggests that Lukes’ radical analysis of power also inquires into: what might be in (peoples’) interests under different socio-political constraints and this implies the creative exercise of power to produce possibilities which might never have been anticipated, either by the parties who are defending existing interests, or by those who are demanding change.

Commentators such as Foucault argue that power should not be perceived as a fixed phenomenon but as “something which circulates” (not localised here or there) and individuals “are always in the position of simultaneously undergoing and exercising this power” (never in anyone’s hands) and “are the vehicles of power, not its points of application” (Foucault 1986: 234; in Rees 1991: 37). Foucault insists that individuals could be both subject to the effects of power as well as the vehicles for its articulation (in Rees 1991: 37). Foucault (1986) asserts that “power is employed and exercised through a net-like organisation and individuals circulate between its threads”, it is not something that some people possess and others do not (p. 234). Central features that comprise that

49 circulation are “the instruments for the formation and accumulation of knowledge and for studying techniques and tactics of domination” (Rees 1991: 37). Foucault argues that the essence of power “in personal relationships, in controversies within organisations and in the body politic at large … is to participate in, to influence or even take control of discourse” (Rees 1991: 38).

So the inference here is that power is not an isolated element in social life and Hugman (1991: 35) argues that “the structuring of social relationships through dominant communication” is central to understanding the concept of discourse. He goes on to state, in this circumstance, power is exercised “in the structuring of the social framework” within which ideas, interests and issues are formed and become known (p. 35). For Hugman (1991: 37) discourse is concerned with “the interplay between language and social relationships, in which some groups20 are able to achieve dominance for their interests in the way in which the world is defined and acted upon”. He states that language is an important vehicle of discourse through which power is communicated and reproduced. Hugman (1991: 50-51) contends that the aspects of power such as hierarchy, occupation, race and gender are interconnected (‘each has an effect on and is affected by the other’) and comprise a set of relationships that form part of the wider social structure. The consideration of social relationships provides fertile ground for a dialogue about social action that does not rely on explaining social action in terms of itself. The field study is concerned with a form of change, the empowering of community organisations to make decisions that encourage the development of more self-reliant communities. The first facet of the field study examines the process of the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region in detail, through the perspectives of three key informants to determine whether the managerial objectives of government

20 Hugman (1991: 37) explains that these groups comprise dominant economic classes; men within patriarchy; white people within the racism of colonial and post colonial societies as well as professionals in relation to service users.

50 during the implementation of the policy acted against the explicit intent to create stronger communities.

Alternative views on the dimensions of policy Ideas about how to make sense of policy are diverse. There are many frameworks for understanding how social policy is made, how it analysed and how policy change happens (see McClelland 2006c). For example, Colebatch (2002) states policy is created through a process of a continuing pattern of events that comprise a horizontal and vertical dimension and these two dimensions helps us to make sense of policy. Colebatch (2002: 23) contends that the vertical dimension sees policy as ‘rule’ and is concerned with the transmission downwards of authorized decisions, where the authorized decision-makers choose the course of action that maximizes the values that they hold and transmit them to subordinates officials for implementation. He states that this still applies to situations where subordinates have sent the courses of action up for endorsement because decision-makers still have to give their authority. The dimension focuses upon instrumental action, rational choice and the force of legitimate authority (Colebatch 2002: 23). It is concerned with the capacity of subordinates to give effect to the decisions. The vertical dimension is concerned with policy and hierarchy, the choice and pursuit of objectives that are determined by the ‘executive’. The tone is normative and focuses upon what ‘ought’ to be. The focus is upon how efficiently these authoritative choices are transmitted done the hierarchy and how effectively the policy is implemented. The vertical dimension gives policy legitimacy.

The horizontal dimension, according to Colebatch (2002: 23) refers to policy in terms of ‘the structuring of action’. He states that “it is concerned with relationships among policy participants in different organisations - that is, outside the line of hierarchical authority” (p. 23). Colebatch (2002: 127) argues that the horizontal dimension focuses upon policy as structured interaction. He

51 states that the horizontal perspective focuses on the range of participants involved in the policy process, the diversity of their understandings of the situation and the problem, the ways in which they relate to one another and the outcomes of those interactions (p. 127). According to Colebatch (2002: 127) it is “a pattern of interaction between participants engaged in different projects, rather than the clear pursuit of clear and shared objectives”. The interaction is not considered to be random because the policy process works to change conflict and participation into routine activities but the interaction will not be smooth and neat. There is likely to be overlap and conflict, and the action will feature negotiation and ambiguity rather than decision and order, as well as “identifying who is interested and from what perspective, in order to reduce uncertainty and make the policy issue more manageable” (Colebatch 2002: 127). The horizontal dimension incorporates an empirical tone and focuses upon what ‘is’. The horizontal dimension is about creating the intended effect of the policy. The vertical and horizontal dimensions are the elements of the same policy process. Colebatch (2002) states that the two dimensions are not alternatives rather each tends to assume the other (p. 24). The policy process is dynamic and the structural tension between the vertical and horizontal dimension feeds back into the policy process. Essentially, Colebatch’s (2002: 126) argument is that policy emerges from an organisationally complex process in which policy is a construct in use.

An alternative but compatible perspective on policy analysis is proposed by Gilbert and Specht (1986) who argue that there are at least two approaches to the analysis of values and policy. One where the focus is upon policy in the generic sense, rather than focusing upon the social constructs used in the intellectual process of making policy choices, the thrust of the analysis is addressed to understanding the general purpose of the policy mechanism. More specifically, the question focuses upon the extent to which the policy achieves distributive justice. When policy is analysed at this level of generality, three core values shape policy design: equality, equity and adequacy,

52 however, “these values are not always in harmony” (Gilbert and Specht 1986: 49).

The other approach is where the analytical focus is upon the examination of each of the policy’s dimensions of choice and the value preferences expressed therein. At this level, a much larger range of social values enter into the consideration of choice. To illustrate the influence of competing values on choice Gilbert and Specht (1986) examine four competing value dichotomies that comprise both an individualist and collectivist orientation. Each dimension of choice is examined using a dichotomy that describes a competing value orientation. ‘Allocation’ is examined using a dichotomy that comprises cost effectiveness and social effectiveness; ‘provision’ is examined using a dichotomy that comprises freedom of choice and social control; ‘delivery’ is examined using a dichotomy that comprises freedom from dissent and efficiency; and ‘finance’ is examined using a dichotomy that comprises local autonomy and centralisation.

Social values underpin the decisions about which social choices in public assistance are made. Gilbert and Specht (1986: 55) argue that the values of privacy, dignity, work and independence, for example, may influence eligibility criteria, the type of social provision, the design of the delivery and financial arrangements. In capitalist societies the value of equity is accentuated, those who work hard deserve to be rewarded, whereas, socialist societies tend to place a greater emphasis on equality. Gilbert and Specht (1986: 55) argue that: policy design may be analysed in terms of the quest for distributive justice as it is manifest in the differential realisation of adequacy, equity and equality. Although a policy may emphasize any one of these values, the emphasis is often tempered by the demands of the other two values as efforts are made to approximate distributive justice.

Colebatch’s (2002) approach to ‘making sense of policy’ where policy emerges from an organisationally complex process in which policy is a construct in use and Gilbert and Specht’s (1986) ideas about understanding the general purpose of the policy mechanism provide important frameworks that help to shed light on the process of the implementation of the policy associated with the FCNI program. The analysis of the perspectives of the key informants provides an opportunity to compare the different understandings and relationships among these ‘policy participants' from three different organisations that are all party to the same policy process. Gilbert and Specht’s (1986) ideas about the general purpose of the policy mechanism that relate to the extent to which a policy achieves distributive justice, influence the analysis about the extent to which the policy associated with the FCNI achieved social justice outcomes.

Policy and governance Social policy can be understood as a process for action to improve societal welfare that involves the activities of people, groups and institutions (see McClelland 2006a: 8), and conveys the sense that this activity is both deliberate and purposeful rather than erratic and random (see Colebatch 2002: 67). The term governance according to Colebatch (2002: 78) has become increasingly popular as a way of labelling the process of how we govern our complex society. He argues that this has occurred in part due to a growing awareness that governments simply do not make decisions and enforce them. Governments spend a lot of time negotiating with stakeholders both governmental and non-governmental to achieve agreed outcomes, and those outside of government are being increasingly recognized as stakeholders who have a right to say what should be done and who should carry it out. Moreover, the power of governments has also been limited by a number of factors that include, according to McClelland (2006c: 43-44) “the inability of the state alone to direct the kind of activity required to respond to

54 critical problems and issues such as unemployment, drug dependency and substance abuse, violence and poverty”.

Colebatch (2002) argues that the result of all of this kind of rethinking is that the task of governing is not seen so much as the making and implementing of decisions but as “the weaving together of the activities of a range of participants” (p. 78). For Colebatch (2002) governance involves a shift in focus from the vertical dimension, a process of authorized decision-making, that is, from governments giving orders to the horizontal dimension that recognizes the legitimacy of decisions that arise from negotiations between stakeholders. However, Colebatch (2002) argues what is not clear is how much this shift in focus is concerned with “a change in practice and how much it is a change in the account that people give of practice” (p. 79). Governance in the policy context may appear to be a way for governments to pursue their objectives using non-government intermediaries through the use of various types of structures and mechanisms to control third party providers. Understanding the nature of governance and its impact on the delivery of policy is important to the field study because the first facet examines a novel contractual arrangement between government and a local community organisation.

The rise to prominence of governance has been linked to the work of Osborne and Gaebler (1992) who progressed arguments that governments should ‘steer’ and not ‘row’. They argue that the most successful organisations are those that “separate top management from operations” so that “top management [can] concentrate on decision-making and direction” (Osborne and Gaebler 1992: 35). In this way, policy-makers are able to shop around for the most effective and efficient service providers. Managers can use competition between service providers, preserve flexibility to respond to changing circumstances and insist on accountability for quality performance to get the best value for their dollars. Shopping around can also stimulate experimentation and innovation. This approach can also provide more

55 comprehensive solutions to presenting problems. Consequently, Osborne and Gaebler (1992) argue that if government tapped into the benefits of the entrepreneurial process and the force of the free market, they could cut taxes and improve services at the same time.

Osborne and Gaebler (1992: 19-20) coined ten principles of entrepreneurial governance. Entrepreneurial governments: promote competition between service providers; they empower citizens by pushing control out of bureaucracies and into the community; they measure performance and focus upon outcomes; they are driven by goals - mission statements; they redefine their clients as customers and offer them choices; they prevent problems before they emerge; they put energies into earning money; they decentralise authority and embrace participatory management; they prefer market mechanisms to bureaucratic mechanisms; they focus not simply on providing public services but catalyzing all sectors - public, private and voluntary - into actions to solve their community’s problems.

One of the key principles underpinning the approach of the ‘would-be reformers’ is that government should only be involved in activities that could not be more effectively and efficiently carried out by the non-government agencies (Plowden 1994; Boston et al. 1996; Barr 1999). The public and private sector should be left to do what they do best (Barr 1999). However, for Boston (1998: 35) there is an “inherent tension between being a successful business while simultaneously providing a ‘social’ service to a large number of relatively poor, vulnerable and marginalised people” and is not simply resolved by a statement of corporate intent. It requires significant structural and attitudinal changes, customer service charters are not sufficient.

Commentators such as Rhodes (1998: 23) state that “pulling the central policy lever (steering) does not necessarily mean that things happen at the bottom”. Governments need to also strengthen strategic capacity to steer with other complementary changes. The mere separation of policy from implementation

56 is not in itself sufficient to guarantee that providers row in the desired direction. Policy implementation becomes more difficult because policy has to be negotiated with more than one agency and problems arise in coordinating multiple agencies. Rhodes (1998: 29) expresses reservations about “government picking up the skills of indirect management”. He argues that separating policy and service delivery can lead to institutional fragmentation. It obscures who is accountable for what. Effective and efficient service delivery depends on linking organisations together and not separating them in a process of competitive tendering. It is also more difficult for consumers to hold ‘one stop shop’ service delivery agencies to account. This can lead to eroding ministerial accountability and fending off blame when things go wrong.

The shift to entrepreneurial government is indicative of broader concurrent transformations in the notion of social citizenship in the Australian welfare state to a market-based and individualistic approach (see Wearing 1994). For Wheelwright (1993: 16) “when we choose an economic policy, we are also choosing a particular kind of society (author’s emphasis)”. Entrepreneurial government is informed by values which say ‘let the market decide’, that promote economic and managerial criteria to measure well-being (Rees 1993: 292, 303). For Considine (2005: 184) governance is “the more pragmatic twin of new public management” and using propositions derived from organisational economics seeks to treat policy actors as agents and principals in a production chain relationship that begins with voters and ends with consumers. He argues that this has led to the increased use of contracts in policy development and implementation.

For some commentators the use of governance in the policy context adversely impacts upon public debate. Hamilton (2004: 16) asserts that public debate is an integral part of the democratic process and an essential element of policy- making because no government or organisation has a monopoly on good ideas. However, the imposition of corporate management on community

57 managed services21 has meant that 90 percent of non-government organisations (NGOs) believe that organisations that speak out against government risk losing their funding, according to a survey conducted by The Australia Institute (in Hamilton 2004). Hamilton (2004) asserts that this is just one of the mechanisms used by governments in general to silence their critics (see Maddison and Scalmer (2006) for more on contemporary social movements and the stifling of public debate by governments). Further, local autonomous control is brought into question when you consider that only certain types of agencies are funded by government, and only in accordance with decisions made centrally; operating guidelines, performance measures and other standards are also covered by centrally determined regulations (Bryson and Mowbray 1981).

Similarly, Everingham (2003) argues that the strategic measures put in place by governments to ensure greater accountability from the community sector has weakened and significantly diminished the monitoring role of community- based organisations. Consequently, the government has positioned itself in such a way that the performance of community agencies is increasingly being monitored, leaving community agencies less able to play an advocacy role in the public arena and monitor the government’s performance (see Maddison et al. 2004 for similar views). According to Everingham (2003: 132), this is occurring at a time when inequalities are increasing and the social welfare system is targeting narrower and narrower categories of ‘need’. However, Rawsthorne (2005: 227, 237) contends that her research findings based on a sample of over 500 community organisations regarding the widespread use of contracts with service specifications, performance measures and reporting requirements between government and community sector organisations, indicate that the community development activities of these organisations have

21 Governments seek to ensure that the community sector understands the connection between efficiency and equity, and that “it is only through improving the efficiency of their service that agencies can provide more effectively for clients” (Everingham 1998:13).

58 been minimally affected and the adverse impacts of contracting have been less than anticipated.

In contrast, the advent of new public management for Keen (2006: 36) has changed the relationship between government and the non-government sector and it could be argued that the non-government sector are far more important now that they are sought after as agents of service delivery. Keen (2006: 37) contends that non-government organisations (NGOs) are important in identifying needs, policy development, providing services, assisting with policy implementation, linking government and community and sharing their expertise. Therefore, according to Keen (2006) NGOs play a critical role in the co-production of policy. Hancock (2006: 47) states that the relationships between government and non-government actors are based on trust, mutual recognition of usefulness, competency and legitimacy. She argues that one of the characteristics of modern governance is: a concern to order these relationships between government and non- government, with government recognising the non-government sector and incorporating it into official channels through community participation platforms and formal government-community sector partnerships and compacts (p. 48).

However, greater involvement with government compels NGOs to adopt more practices of government, particularly in the 1990s, when the policy discourse was about markets and efficiency which led to the increased use of competitive contracting, management reforms, service agreement frameworks, and quality and performance reporting requirements. But there has been a resistance, according to Hancock (2006: 48) to the use of output concepts such as “defining activity in terms of costed and measured units of service”.

There was also concern that the adoption of government and private enterprise approaches would undermine the social justice value base of community sector organisations. A study completed by Spall found that:

enterprise organisations (NGOs with enterprise, managerial and business-like behaviours) were more likely to have organisational systems and structures consistent with market models (strategic planning, targeted marketing, enhanced performance information systems, larger numbers of employees and volunteers, and higher levels of total income) than non-enterprise organisations (those less susceptible to market reforms)” (in Hancock 2006: 49).

Despite this finding, Spall’s study found that both types of organisations showed no statistically significant change in their commitment to fundamental social justice values (see Spall and Zetlin 2004). However, Cox and Caldwell (2000: 68) argue that “the social justice impacts of policies have usually post- hoc assessments rather than the driving force of policy formation.

Hancock (2006: 58) argues that some organisations see community sector- government relationships as collaborations rather than partnerships, given the unequal distribution of power in the contractualist relationship. Also, for Hancock (2006: 58) the outsourcing of service delivery to NGOs implies “that rising demands for services and the consequent unmet needs become the problem of the sector rather than government [and] partnerships become a risk-shifting strategy for the state” (see McClelland 2006c). Further, McClelland (2006c) contends that one way governments exercise power is “through the devolution of risk and responsibility to individuals and organisations” (p. 46).

Falzon (2008: 10) asserts that non profit organisations, big and small, play a vital role in shaping a more just and compassionate Australian society. He states that under the former federal Liberal Coalition government many nonprofits turned inwards in a struggle to survive let alone stand in solidarity with marginalised people, where competition replaced cooperation, and solutions were imposed from above (in some cases without consultation). He argues that we live in a society where the value of a human being is measured

60 by their ability to buy inclusion: a house, car, private health, private education, support, even connectedness (p. 8). Entrenched disadvantage has continued to exist despite economic growth - the continued existence of poverty alongside plenty (see Vinson 2007; Gillard 2008: 12). Falzon (2008: 10) contends that “all the necessary ingredients for social inclusion are already here. What we need in order to make it a reality, however, is a massive systemic redistribution of hope”. According to Falzon (2008) NGOs need to retain a sense that another kind of society is not only possible but absolutely necessary.

The notion of social justice finds expression in the social inclusion agenda of the current federal Rudd Labor Government (see Chapter Three for a detailed discussion on social inclusion). Gillard22 (2008: 13) states that social inclusion from the Government’s perspective means “coordinating policies across national, state and local governments and with the community sector to ensure no Australian is excluded from meaningful participation in the mainstream economic and social life of the country”. Gillard (2008) argues that Australia’s long term prosperity relies upon “securing the full social and economic participation of all Australians” (p. 13). She states that the overall goal is to give Australians the opportunity to: secure a job; access services; connect with family, friends, work, personal interests and neighbours; deal with personal crisis such as ill health, bereavement or the loss of a job; and have their voice heard (p. 13). In order to progress these goals which will require action on many different fronts, Gillard (2008) argues that the government’s economic and social policies have to be integrated so that the right support is offered, to the right individuals, groups and postcodes.

22 The Hon. Julia Gillard MP is the current Deputy Prime Minister and first Federal Minister for Social Inclusion.

Concluding remarks This Chapter explored how social values shape policy. It was argued that how policy is formed was relevant to this study because it is through social policy that ideas about managerialism and social justice are actioned. The empirical study examines the relations between these two values in the process of implementing the social policy associated with the FCNI. This Chapter examined various approaches to social policy and the dynamic nature of the policy process. Social values play a defining role in the policy process. Making policy is highly contested and for Considine (2005: 82) how we think about a problem, how it is defined, whose interests are included ‘in’ or included ‘out’ and which solutions are already being progressed are matters of significant importance. Moreover, policy interventions need to be intelligible to those whose support is needed for successful implementation and not just the best fit for the known facts (Considine 2005: 241).

Chapter Two examined how the relationship between government and the NGO sector has changed with the advent of new public management. Commentators such as Everingham (2003) and Maddison et al. (2004) contend that competitive contracting, management reforms and service agreement frameworks that include quality and performance reporting requirements have been used government to monitor and silence their critics. Moreover, the outsourcing of service delivery is one way governments exercise power through the devolution of risk and responsibility to individuals and organisations (see McClelland 2006c). In contrast, other commentators such as Keen (2006) argue that the NGO sector are far more important now that they are sought after as agents of service delivery. For Keen (2006) NGOs have a critical role in identifying needs, policy development, providing services, assisting in policy implementation, linking government and community and sharing their expertise. Therefore, NGOs play a vital role in the co-production and implementation of policy.

Similarly, Hancock (2006) asserts that one of the characteristics of modern governance is a concern with ordering the relationships between government and the NGO sector, “with government recognising the NGO sector and incorporating it into official channels through community participation platforms and formal government-community sector partnerships and compacts” (p. 48). However, greater involvement with government compels NGOs to adopt more practices of government. Nonetheless, she argues that the relationships between government and NGOs are built on trust, mutual recognition of usefulness, competency and legitimacy.

Community organisations continue to be important sites for participation and community development activities despite the changes in relations between government and community organisations (see Rawsthorne 2005). Moreover, those NGOs that have undertaken reforms around managerial and market strategies have not altered their commitment to social justice values (see Spall and Zetlin 2004). However, Hancock (2006) notes that there is resistance in the community sector to the use of output concepts such as “defining activity in terms of costed and measured units of service” (p. 48). Some NGOs see relationships between government and community sector as collaborations rather than partnerships given the unequal distribution of power in the contractual relationship (Hancock 2006: 58).

The field study provides an opportunity to look more closely at the relationship between government and two NGOs through the perspectives of three key informants, and to examine how the managerial practices of government impact on the implementation of policy intended to test assumptions about strong communities. The policy that underpins this field study is concerned with a form of change, empowering community organisations to make decisions that encourage the development of more self-reliant communities. Colebatch’s (2002) ideas about making sense of policy inform aspects of the analysis of the different perspectives of the three key informants associated

63 with the first facet of the field study, and Gilbert and Specht’s (1986) ideas about the extent to which policy achieves distributive justice underpin the discussion about whether the policy associated with the FCNI achieves social justice outcomes. In the context of the field study, this would focus upon whether or not young people achieve a sense of empowerment through access to sources of comprehensive information and support outside the confines of their geographical area to utilise on real or immediate problems. The field study also provides an important opportunity to consider how authority and power find expression in the process of implementing policy, and how policy and the structures that underpin the notion of governance shape service delivery outcomes.

The policy associated with the FCNI community-networking project was concerned with testing a range of propositions about strong communities and the capacity of IT to create social capital. The next Chapter examines ideas about what comprises community and the notion of social capital.

CHAPTER THREE Community and social capital

The idea of community is the subject of much debate and its usage can vary greatly from one context to another (Black and Hughes 2001: 9). The notion of community is an ideologically loaded concept, politically versatile and has significant resonance for many people (Everingham 2003; Bryson and Mowbray 2005; Stepney and Popple 2008). For example, Everingham (2003: 3) argues that Putnam’s (2000) narrative on community decline brings to mind two key questions: what kind of community has declined and what kind of community are the various contemporary discourses on community trying to re-constitute? She contends that “community has been a direct arm of government in Australia since the Whitlam government’s social policy reforms in the 1970s, which opened up the terrain of ‘community’ as the government’s main tool for social welfare reform” (p. 13). For Stepney and Popple (2008: 6) there is value in considering the concept of community in some detail as it helps to explain why it has retained significance as “a central organising focus for social policy, both locally and globally”.

Community is associated with a number of discourses such as the contemporary ‘third way’ discourse of ‘devolution’, ‘inclusion’, and ‘partnerships’, as well as with shifting responsibility and moving things out of state institutions. Community is also a term that is frequently used in the discussion of social capital (Black and Hughes 2001; ABS 2004). Commentators such as Bryson and Mowbray (2005: 91) contend that policy makers have seized on the utility of social capital to promote community as the site responsible for ameliorating social problems and disadvantage.

The policy that underpins the field study is concerned with testing particular assumptions about strong communities and the purpose of this Chapter is to examine the key discourses associated with the various conceptualisations of

65 community. The data associated with the field study were collected in 2002 and 2004 when the approach to community, at the federal level, was influenced by former Prime Minister Howard’s adherence to the neo-liberal economic agenda (see Everingham 2003: 16). The neo-liberal interpretation of community centres around providing a range of stop gap measures to facilitate individual self-reliance, focusing upon individual responsibility, the importance of family and participation in the world of work.

In the field study, FaCS through the process of the implementation of the FCNI attempted to test assumptions about strong communities using an amalgam of community development strategies to maximise cooperation, networking and service integration. This included amongst other things, a non-competitive inclusive process for developing and selecting project proposals, and building community capacity through the development of leadership (see Black et al. 2002). This Chapter examines how strong communities have been defined and possible strategies or ways to build them (Black and Hughes 2001; Gauntlett et al. 2001; Vinson 2004). In the field study FaCS assumes that IT has the capacity to create social capital and thereby contribute to strengthening communities. This Chapter also explores the different meanings of social capital, how it is created, forms of social capital and how it is contextualised in the discourse about community. The following section maps the trajectory of the idea of ‘community’ and is not attempting to categorically define the concept.

The idea of ‘community’ The term community is problematic as it can vary from one context to another because “it means different things to different people” (Ife 1995: 11; Black and Hughes 2001), and according to Bryson and Mowbray (2005) is most often associated with feelings of nostalgia, a motherhood word, of what is wholesome and good (Mowbray 1983 and 1985). Hillery (1955) identifies 94 definitions of community, many of which are inconsistent and differ with

66 respect to emphasis (Thompson 1971; Black and Hughes 2001). Most of these definitions incorporate themes associated with social interaction within a geographic area, common ties, sharing goals and social norms (Thompson 1971; Black and Hughes 2001). Etzioni (1994: 31) contends that when the term community is used, what typically comes to mind, is a place where people know and care for one another, the kind of place where asking “How are you?” is not a mere formality but a place where people actually care about the answer. Etzioni (1994: 31) describes this ‘we-ness’ as part of the essence of community. He explores the idea of community as a moral voice that speaks to its members, the moral voice does not merely censure but also blesses.

The German social theorists of the 18th and 19th Century are attributed with the ‘rediscovery of community’. The Greek ‘polis’ was defined as the ideal community, and gained wide acceptance as the archetype of a culturally and politically homogeneous, cohesive and participatory local social system (Bryson and Mowbray 1981; Mowbray 1985). Tonnies (2001 [1887]) further developed this traditional approach through the assumptions associated with the argument and imagery of Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft. He sought to explain the loss of communitarian social relationships and develop a typology of interpersonal association (Mowbray 1985: 45).

The theory of Gemeinschaft was couched in an examination of positive relationships between human beings based on mutual affirmation. According to Thompson (1971: 25), Tonnies gave relationships of prolonged social contact or consanguinity a central place in the formation of Gemeinschaft ties. These relationships underpin the ‘sense of belonging’ in Tonnies’ community and are ends in themselves. The polar type of bond, Gesellschaft, described relationships “as a purely mechanical construction, existing in the mind, and that is what we think of as Society [Gesellschaft] … a mechanical aggregate and artefact” (Tonnies 2001 [1887]: 17, 19). These relationships are

67 predominantly of rational will and directed towards particular objectives (Thompson 1971).

Consequently, Gemeinschaft refers to “real, intimate, emotionally cohesive and stable” relationships and Gesellschaft concerns “anonymous, individualistic, rational and contractual forms of association” (Mowbray 1985: 44). Mowbray (1985) argues that from here the communitarian view developed to impute a causal connection between the growth and development of cities and a decline of community on the one hand, and the growth and expansion of urban social problems on the other. So in effect, for Bryson and Mowbray (1981: 256) problems are ascribed to modern urban systems “rather than to a class society and a capitalist political order”.

For Etzioni (1994: 119) it is possible to have a modern society that requires a high concentration of labour as well as a great deal of geographic mobility that can still sustain a web of social bonds. He asserts that many cities have maintained or reclaimed some aspects of community - within cities exist urban villages. He suggests that the city as Gesellschaft with little or no moral base exists side-by-side with the image of Gemeinschaft which manifests in the urban villages that exist within the city (the neighbourhoods where people know each other, their shopkeepers and the local leaders) (p. 120). Etzioni (1994) also notes that there are new non-geographic communities that fulfil many social and moral functions of traditional communities such as work- based and professional communities. Etzioni (1994) is not arguing for a return to Gemeinschaft because amongst other things, traditional communities have been too constraining and authoritarian, but is suggesting that what is needed are communities that balance diversity and unity. Etzioni (1994: 127) states that: community is defined by two characteristics: first, a web of affect-laden relationships among a group of individuals, relationships that crisscross and reinforce one another … and second, a measure of commitment to a set of

shared values, norms, and meanings, and a shared history and identity - in short, to a particular culture” (in Rose 1999: 172).

So according to Etzioni (1994: 3), the communitarianism thesis is concerned with working with our fellow citizens to bring about changes in values, conduct and public policies, to safeguard and enhance our future. However, Shaver (2000: 3) argues that communitarianism assumes social agreement about “what is good, right and fair”. It envisages a society where mutual support predominates over self interest, and individual actions are tempered by respective for collective needs. It neglects that the social fabric of society is divided by, amongst other things, economic interest, urban and rural location, culture and religion (Shaver 2000).

In contrast, for Whitlam the word ‘community’ was a pseudonym for the state. Everingham (2001) argues that Whitlam chose the word ‘community’ rather than ‘the government’ or ‘the public purse’ to represent the idea that people would be better served through the public provision of goods and services because of its positive connotations compared with the negative connotations often attributed to government or state provision (Everingham 2001). Moreover, Whitlam’s choice of the word ‘community’ to describe the social collective is an affirmation of “the power of this concept to convey a democratic or popular image of the collective as directly representative of ‘the people’” (Everingham 1998: 3). This provides testimony to the importance of language and the associations that certain terms can convey. Community is conveyed as a process of democratisation. However, for Everingham (1998: 14) community has become “less and less associated with a radical politics of government facilitated collective action, and more and more associated with all that is not government”.

The political terrain of community in Australia has changed considerably since the Whitlam years in the early 1970s with the advent of economic rationalism,

69 and more recently ‘community’ has been proposed to fill the gap in social welfare as governments retreat (Everingham 2003). A lot of emphasis is now being placed on the need to ‘harness the resources of the community’ to provide the resources that simply cannot be provided by families or governments, without any analysis of the nature of the communities that are positioned ‘out there’ to take up this responsibility (Everingham 2003: 131). For example, Black et al. (2002: 10) note that the former Prime Minister Howard actively advocated for “the formation of social coalitions and partnerships between various government and community agencies and the business sector so there is shared ownership of, and responsibility for, social outcomes at a local level”. These partnerships have been promoted as a more effective means of building social cohesion and achieving social and economic improvements rather than solely relying on the external intervention by government (Black et al. 2002: 10). In this way community is portrayed as a resource that can be used by government as a partner in a social coalition to achieve social and economic outcomes (Everingham 2001).

The political versatility of the idea of community is further demonstrated in the Final Report (also known as the McClure Report) of the Reference Group established in 1999 by the former Howard Government to review the Australian welfare system. Cass and Brennan (2002) examine seven ways in which community is imagined in the McClure Report. Cass and Brennan (2002) contend that the McClure Report refers to a range of undefined conceptions of community that are never examined. There are various definitions of ‘community’ from the communitarian vision, in which the community is defined by its citizens who have important interests in common, to the contradistinction view of communities being a group of people distinguished by division and increasing inequality (socio-economic and political). The McClure Report does acknowledge deep divisions and inequalities but “seems unaware that these cannot be overcome by social policy alone, without recourse to employment, education and training, tax,

70 industry or wages policy” (Cass and Brennan 2002: 249). They argue that the Report almost relies solely on communitarian solutions and implies that a network of social obligations is the only way to address joblessness.

Ife (1995) contends that community in the traditional sense is not a significant aspect in contemporary industrial society especially in urban or suburban settings. More recently, the term is used to apply to “categories of people who engage in a particular purpose, task or function together, or who have some form of identity in common, though not necessarily associated with the same locality” (Black and Hughes 2001: 9). There are many types of communities. They are dynamic entities and their boundaries cannot be accurately defined. Communities constantly interact with each other, and there may be communities within communities (Black and Hughes 2001: 8). The ABS (2004: 8-9) has identified seven types of communities: a global community23; a national community with potent symbols of identity; communities sharing a loyalty to a state, ‘the bush’, or a specific city or area; communities of identity (such as people with a common cultural background or religious affiliation); communities defined by location; communities of interest where members share activities, attitudes or enthusiasms; and intimate communities of family and friends.

These differing views on what constitutes community amounts to what Everingham (2001 and 2003) refers to as the politics of community. Everingham (2001: 106) states that the politics of community identify ‘the community’ as “both the site of, and the solution to, the social problems associated with the new economic conditions”. In other words, for Everingham (2001) the term ‘community’ can easily slide from meaning ‘not the state’ to a

23 The global community comprises highly interdependent trade, travel and communications networks; deals with common problems (such as clean water, air and land; controlling the movements of people; global warming; the transmission of plant, animal and human diseases; global insecurity) that require coordinated responses and the capacity for effective negotiation (ABS 2004).

71 pseudonym ‘for the state’ depending upon whether the term is couched in the rhetoric of neo-liberal contractualism, the traditional left or ‘the third way’. Community is not a static construct and is manipulated through political processes (Everingham 2003) and commentators such as Bryson and Mowbray (1981 and 2005) contend that the notion of community is used by competing interests to further their objectives.

In summary, the meaning of community slides along a continuum of competing ideological interests. The term lends itself to a range of different constructions that incorporate different emphases. This stems from different views on the causes, nature, solutions and appropriate methods to remedy social problems (Everingham 2003). To understand the meaning intended we need to be familiar with the ideology that underpins the context of the language being used and how the term is situated in that language.

The field study provides an opportunity to look more closely at the political versatility of the idea of community. At the outset, FaCS used two different definitions of community. The FCNI was established to focus on high need communities either geographical communities or communities of interest, to be targeted for a non-competitive inclusive process for developing community- networking project proposals. The field study explores the different conceptualizations of community that are articulated in the semi-structured interviews conducted with three key stakeholders involved in the process of the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region.

Having looked at what comprises community and how it is imbued with various contested meanings, this Chapter now moves on to a consideration of community as a site for social inclusion, a possible policy fix for poverty and inequality. For Giddens the terminology of inclusion powerfully conveys the potential for positive policy action in which all actors from the three sectors of

72 the state, the market and civil society can work together in partnership towards an inclusive society (in Geddes 2005: 21).

Social inclusion The politics of community tends to conceptualise the problem of community as one of social order and can just as easily be used by the right, left or third way to constitute very different kinds of community, rarely making explicit the particular kind of community they are attempting to create (Everingham 2001: 117). The strategies promoted by the politics of community, according to Everingham (2001), focus upon mechanisms that promote social cohesion. In this way, community has been imbued with the responsibility of progressing the social inclusion agenda.

There are a range of alternative views on what comprises social inclusion that highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of the concept. Some commentators, according to Geddes (2005: 23) contend that the shift from government to governance, partnership and social inclusion is a version of neo-liberalism. Townsend and Gordon note that the global trend of rising inequality means that inclusion refers to inclusion within an increasingly unequal society (in Geddes 2005: 23). Whilst for others this policy paradigm shift represents what Geddes (2005) refers to as a ‘new centrism’ in politics and public policy - the third way.

For Giddens (1998) social inclusion is the defining characteristic of equality in the new politics of the third way. Social inclusion refers “in its broadest sense to citizenship, to civil and political rights and obligations that all members of a society should have, not just formally, but as a reality of their lives” (Giddens 1998: 102-103). Giddens (1998) states that it refers to opportunities and involvement in the ‘public space’. Access to work is the main context of opportunity because it is central to self esteem and standard of living; education being another. However, the New Policy Institute notes that work is

73 no guarantor of inclusion - major problems remain such as low pay and disadvantage within employment (in Geddes 2005: 22). Moreover, Martin (2005: 123) argues that social inclusion carries with it an implicit assumption that the goal of inclusion is shared by those who are excluded. He maintains that “social exclusion is a complex process to which the excluded may, unwittingly or not, contribute”. For example, many indigenous Australians “while seeking better access to goods and services provided by the wider society, nonetheless have no desire to join it, or to share aspects of its values, lifestyles or locales” (Martin 2005: 123).

According to Smyth et al. (2005) the adoption of a social inclusion framework as a new social policy paradigm in Australia has been gradual compared to Europe and the United Kingdom, and the Australian social policy and research communities have been somewhat sceptical about the concept. For instance, some analysts such as Whitehead argue that the social inclusion approach lends itself too readily to ‘blaming the victim’ because of its emphasis on the attitudes and behaviours of excluded groups (in Smyth et al. 2005: 41). Others contend that the strengths associated with the social inclusion framework “lie in its multidimensional approach, its dynamic rather than static analysis, its focus on community and spatial as well as individual and family resources, and its shift of emphasis from distributional to relational aspects of disadvantage” (Smyth et al. 2005: 41). This perspective on social inclusion according to Smyth et al. (2005) facilitates an emphasis on the development of freedom and capability.

For feminist scholars the language of social inclusion on the surface appears inclusive but the distinct experiences of disadvantaged and marginalised groups have largely been ignored in mainstream formulations of social inclusion (Goodwin 2005). The conundrum of social inclusion can be understood in terms of a ‘politics of presence’ where the problems of social inclusion have been, according to Phillips, restated not as ‘what’ is

74 represented but as ‘who’ is being represented (in Goodwin 2005: 97). In this conceptualisation those groups that identify themselves as being marginalised, excluded or silenced assert that it does matter who does the representing and demand to be present in decision-making forums.

Goodwin (2005: 97) refers to the problematic assumption that women as a group have particular interests distinct from and potentially in conflict with men, as it fails to adequately recognise the diverse objectives and priorities that exist between women. ‘Identity politics’ associated with either gender, race or class that reduces identity to a single position has an effect of universalising the experiences and interests of its constituents and by doing so suppresses difference amongst group members. Mouffe asserts that individuals need to be simultaneously “considered as constructed through different discourses and subject positions” (in Goodwin 2005: 97). Goodwin (2005: 97) states that the validity of identity politics has been challenged and alternatives have been proposed such as ‘category politics’ or ‘strategically mobilized identity politics’ as they better capture the highly constructed designations of women and men.

Social inclusion has been promoted through a range of community initiatives. There has been renewed and significant policy interest in the themes of place, community engagement and capacity building (Healy et al. 2004; Reddel 2005). Randolph (2004: 63) examines a range of place-focused initiatives funded by federal, state and local governments in Western Sydney that target disadvantaged communities for community renewal. He asserts that “the diverse range of programs, while important, is highly fragmented, lacks a coherent spatial targeting framework, is poorly related to either local social or physical planning processes, and is poorly integrated in terms of its local outcomes” (p. 63). Randolph (2004: 76) concludes that the scope of policy ideas associated with place-focused initiatives is underdeveloped in Australia and broader debate is needed on how governments, communities and the

75 business sector can effectively work together at the local level to deliver sustainable community outcomes. A diverse range of institutions that include the state, market, civil society structures and networks is needed to negotiate the complexities of social, political and economic life (Reddel 2005: 201).

With the election of the federal Rudd Labor Government in November 2007, social inclusion has been promoted as the new policy framework to alleviate entrenched disadvantage and create greater social equity in Australia. Gillard’s (2008: 13) view on social inclusion (see Chapter Two) focuses upon the federal government’s role in coordinating policies across every level of government with the community sector to ensure that no one is excluded from meaningful participation in the mainstream economic and social life of Australia, and making sure that this is a principal objective of every level of Australian government by setting national targets. For Gillard (2008) social inclusion is closely linked to meaningful participation of all Australians and involves the integration of social and economic policies across all levels of government in consultation with leaders in the community giving advice and running key programs. Gillard (2008) argues that achieving social inclusion requires action on many different policy fronts such as childhood development, education and vocational training, homelessness, and assisting people with physical and mental disabilities. However, given the current global financial crisis and its likely impact on Australia, it remains to be seen if the policy commitments of the Rudd Labor Government to social inclusion will come to fruition.

The notion of strong communities is informed by ideas about ‘inclusiveness’ and social cohesion (see Stone and Hughes in Vinson 2004). The policy that underpins the field study is concerned with testing assumptions about strong communities. The next section explores how strong communities have been defined, how they can be identified and achieved.

Strong communities The FCNI was an element of FaCS’ Stronger Communities Strategy. The Strategy was developed in order “to encourage the development of more self- reliant communities with a stronger social fabric” (Black et al. 2002: 11). The FCNI was considered to be a new way of providing material support to communities through the exploration and development of partnerships that put into practice social capital and community capacity philosophies. According to Black et al. (2002) the Stronger Communities Strategy was underpinned by a community strengthening approach that draws upon existing community strengths and resources, and helps communities to develop their capacities to create and implement their own solutions to identified problems (p. 11). This approach was informed by research that suggests that strong communities that feature high levels of social cohesion and a low level of social problems demonstrate a greater capacity to help themselves. Capacity in this context comprises leadership, motivation, knowledge and skills, networks and local assets (people, infrastructure and local resources) (see Black et al. 2002: 11).

FaCS used the FCNI to test these ideas about strong communities. The procedures used to implement the FCNI were designed to maximise the possibility of effective networking, cooperation and service integration (see Black et al. 2002). The procedures used to implement the FCNI comprised an amalgam of community development strategies that were intended to be flexible and responsive to the local circumstances of each high need community involved in the Initiative. This approach is consistent with how strong communities might be achieved. The Scottish Community Development Centre argues that community development supports the establishment of strong communities and identifies strong communities as ones that are: knowledgeable, skilled, empowered, participate, self-sufficient, stable, organized, and materially improved (in Black and Hughes 2001: 20). Further, Gauntlett et al. (2001: 4) assert that community development principles are

77 highly congruent with elements of social capital (the notion of social capital will be discussed in more detail below).

Stone and Hughes explore existing theories to identify a framework for achieving and identifying strong communities (in Vinson 2004: 31). They focus upon two theoretical perspectives: social cohesion and social exclusion. The first perspective, according to Vinson (2004) is relates to a characteristic of society concerned Stone and Hughes state that social cohesion “incorporates elements such as social connections, ties and commitment to a community … (it) … is also concerned with the reduction of social disparities, inequalities, breaks and cleavages” (in Vinson 2004: 31). Vinson (2004) argues that the second perspective, social exclusion with its focus on the individual, adds to our understanding of strong communities “by concentrating on the link between economic and social structures and those who stand outside them” (p. 31). He contends that “in practical terms it combines economic disadvantage and the inability to participate in social life” (p. 31). So for Vinson (2004) the ideas of ‘social cohesion’ and ‘inclusiveness’ begin to identify some important characteristics of strong communities.

Black and Hughes (2001: 31) define community strength as “the extent to which resources and processes within a community maintain and enhance both individual and collective well-being in ways consistent with the principles of equity, comprehensiveness, participation, self-reliance and social responsibility”. Gauntlett et al. (2001: 32) argue that the “key to building stronger communities is to have structures in place to identify community leaders and other highly-motivated community members”. The capacity to build community strength is enhanced “where the inputs of relevant professionals working in the community are mobilised and these skills are utilised in a multi-disciplinary framework” (Gauntlett 2001: 32).

These views on strong communities and how they might be achieved are compatible (see also Ife and Tesoriero 2006). The field study explores the approach used by FaCS during the process of the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region and its congruence with the literature associated with the propositions being tested. Several lines of research have contributed to the development of the former federal government’s policy concerned with stronger families and communities, in particular, the research that focused on community and the view that “as the social capital of a community is raised, so is community well-being and people’s quality of live” (see Black et al. 2002: 9). The concept of ‘community’ contextualises the notion of social capital. International agencies and governments world wide have embraced social capital as a way to remedy a range of economic and social ills. Ideas about social capital also underpin the FCNI program. The thesis now explores what comprises the notion of ‘social capital’, to uncover its purpose and examine how it has been absorbed into political rhetoric.

Social capital Society comprises a myriad of ways in which people connect to one another, linked by some common interests or characteristics (Cox 1995: 1). There has been increasing interest and debate surrounding what holds society together and what may cause it to come apart. Social capital is a way of thinking about the complex interaction of elements that contribute to the functioning of communities (Hopkins et al. 2004: 370). Putnam (2000: 18-19) argues that in recent years concerns about the changing character of society have been framed in terms of the concept of ‘social capital’ - the core idea of social capital theory is that ‘social networks’ have productive value.

Social capital is a deeply controversial concept: “views differ about what constitutes social capital, how it operates, to whom and to what the concept applies and how to delineate between its sources, manifestations and effects” (Productivity Commission 2003: x). The OECD (2001: 39) regard it as “a

79 relatively new term and its meaning is not universally agreed”. Social capital can have both positive and negative effects, and there is no agreement on whether social capital is always beneficial (Levi 1996; Portes 1998; Putnam 2000; OECD 2001; Fine 2001 and 2002; Harriss 2001; Stone 2001; Productivity Commission 2003; ABS 2004; Halpern 2005). Spies-Butcher (2002: 187) contends that social capital has been used by the state to get out of the way and led to policy prescriptions that are micro-focused rather than attempting to correct structural causes of inequality. Fine (2001: 123) asserts that social capital is unevenly distributed and is (dis)advantageously used by some at the expense of others.

In the field study the conceptualizations of social capital that inform FaCS’ Stronger Communities Strategy derive from the work of Putnam and Fukuyama (see Black et al. 2002). Consequently, the following discussion to some extent focuses upon Putnam’s work on social capital and the criticisms that his contribution has attracted whilst also focusing upon some of the key themes associated with any analysis of social capital.

Definitions of social capital Social capital is a multi-dimensional concept (Stone 2001; Productivity Commission 2003; ABS 2004: vii; Halpern 2005). Social capital comprises both structural and relational aspects (Stone 2001); and is widely regarded as “a resource that facilitates cooperation within and between groups of people” (Productivity Commission 2003: x). There are many definitions of social capital. The range of definitions reflects the different theoretical traditions from which the concept has emerged over time. Four possible approaches have been identified by the OECD (2001: 40): anthropological (involves humans having natural instincts for social order and association); sociological (deals with social norms and sources of human motivation); economic (focuses upon individual’s incentives to interact with others out of self interest to maximise

80 personal utility); and a political science strand (emphasises the role of institutions, social and political norms in shaping human behaviour).

The various definitions of social capital overlap and effectively refer to the same social process, where they differ most is in the ‘purpose’ for which the author employs the concept and the ‘analytic scale’ used, which should not be mistaken for contradictory definitions (Winter 2000: 29). They also vary according to their emphasis. The Productivity Commission (2003: 9) note that social norms and networks are ubiquitously accepted as the core elements of social capital. Trust is either considered to be an additional element or a close proxy for determining the level of social capital present in a community. Further, most authors view social capital as a ‘resource’ that people can use to realise their objectives, it is associated with relations in civil society and can arise at all levels of society (Productivity Commission 2003).

The following table, Figure 2 (see below), organizes selected definitions of social capital according to their different emphasis. They are not arranged in any order of importance. Some definitions share more than one category of emphasis, the categories are not mutually exclusive, but for simplicity and illustrative purposes each definition is ordered into only one category. The various categories of emphasis underlie how different definitions can be employed to promote the political agendas associated with either neo- liberalism or ‘third way’ politics. The ABS (2004) has adopted the OECD definition of social capital. The OECD definition is emerging as a basis for international comparability and allows for the consideration of social capital at a variety of levels.

Figure 2: Definitions of social capital Emphasis: functionality and actions  Social capital is defined by its function. It is not a single entity but a variety of different entities, with two elements in common: they all consist of some aspect of social structures, and they facilitate certain actions of actors - whether persons or corporate actors - within the structure (Coleman 1988: S98)  … refers to features of social organisation, such as trust, norms and networks, that can improve the efficiency of society by facilitating coordinated actions (Putnam 1993: 167)  Social capital includes the institutions, the relationships, the attitudes and values that govern interactions among people and contribute to economic and social development. Social capital, however, is not simply the sum of institutions which underpin society, it is also the glue that holds them together. It includes the shared values and rules for social conduct expressed in personal relationships, trust, and a common sense of ‘civic’ responsibility, that makes society more than just a collection of individuals (World Bank 1998: 5; Productivity Commission 2003: ix)

Emphasis: trust and cultural transmission  Social capital is a capability that arises from the prevalence of trust in a society or in certain parts of it. It can be embodied in the smallest and most basic social group, the family, as well as the largest of all groups, the nation, and all the other groups in between. Social capital differs from other forms of human capital insofar as it is usually created and is transmitted through cultural mechanisms like religion, tradition, or historical habit (Fukuyama 1995: 26)

Emphasis: reciprocity  … networks of social relations which are characterised by norms of trust and reciprocity and which lead to outcomes of mutual benefit (Stone and Hughes 2002: 1)  social capital … can be seen to have three basic components. They consist of a network; a cluster of norms, values and expectancies that are shared by group members; and sanctions - punishments and rewards - that help to maintain the norms and the networks (Halpern 2005: 10)  Social capital is: networks together with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate co-operation within or among groups (OECD 2001: 41)

Emphasis: cohesion and solidarity  Social capital differs from other ‘capital’ definitions because its primary uses relate to the qualities of social processes and relationship building rather than the more common measures of individual well-being (Cox and Caldwell 2000: 45)  … is the sum of relationships and networks that make for a flourishing society, that provide the basis for a general sense of well-being and promote integration (Gauntlett et al. 2001: 1)

Emphasis: economic properties and collective ownership  Social capital is the aggregate of actual and potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance or recognition - or in other words, to membership in a group - which provides each of its members with the backing of the collectively-owned capital, a “credential” which entitles them to credit, in the various senses of the word (Bourdieu 1986: 248-249)

Forms of social capital There are three forms of social capital: bonding social capital, bridging social capital and linking social capital. Bonding social capital refers to the intense social networks that involve strong ties to family and close friends. Bonding

82 social capital is a multi-stranded form of support that might be expected to play a greater role in emotional well-being (Halpern 2005: 20) but by creating strong in-group loyalty it may also create strong out-group antagonism (Putnam 2000: 23). Putnam (2000: 22) argues that bonding capital can be ‘inward looking’, by choice or necessity, and tends to reinforce ‘exclusive identities’ and ‘homogenous groups’. Stone and Hughes (2002: 4) define bonding social capital as trust and reciprocity in dense networks. Gauntlett et al. (2001: 2) refer to the distinction made by Gittell and Vidal between ‘bonding capital’ and ‘building capital’. They state that the former holds people closer together who already know each other and the latter brings people together who may not otherwise meet.

Bridging social capital comprises networks that are ‘outward looking’ that include people from different social settings. Bridging networks provide better linkage to external assets and are good for the diffusion of information (Putnam 2000: 22). These networks can generate broader identities and are extremely useful to people in terms of accessing information, opportunities and jobs (Putnam 2000: 23; Halpern 2005: 20). The bridging capabilities of social capital are enhanced by heterogeneous or diverse networks (Stone and Hughes 2002: 4). In a nutshell, bonding social capital is good for ‘getting by’ and bridging social capital is necessary for ‘getting ahead’ (Xavier de Souza Briggs in Putnam 2000: 23). The distinction between bonding and bridging is not to create ‘either-or’ categories but dimensions along which to compare different forms of social capital (Putnam 2000: 23).

The third category, linking social capital is being used to describe “the extent to which an individual’s, or community’s, networks are characterized by linkage between those with very unequal power and resources” (Halpern 2005: 25). Stone and Hughes (2002: 4) state that linking capital involves “social relations with those in authority which might be used to garner resources and power”. Halpern (2005: 327) argues that linking capital refers to

83 the “vertical links through the power and resource strata of society”. He contends that “linking capital may be provisionally viewed as a special form of bridging social capital that specifically concerns power - it is a vertical bridge across asymmetrical power and resources” (this leaves bridging capital to deal with the horizontal links across groups and communities) (p. 25, 327).

Putnam and social capital Putnam’s work on social capital despite being one of the most widely quoted sources (Spies -Butcher 2002) has attracted considerable criticism. Putnam (2000) contends that Americans have become increasingly disconnected from one another and that social structures have disintegrated. He examines the changing behaviour of Americans and attributes the falling levels of participation and civic engagement to “factors like ‘pressures of time and money’, urban sprawl, electronic entertainment, especially television, and generational change with the advent of ‘post-civic’ generations after 1965”; factors that Bryson and Mowbray (2005: 93) claim are abstract and depoliticized.

Putnam (2000) maintains that social capital has forceful and quantifiable effects on different aspects of our lives, and is not merely a nostalgic cuddly concept: “our schools and neighbourhoods don’t work so well when community bonds slacken, that our economy, our democracy, and even our health and happiness depend on adequate stocks of social capital” (Putnam 2000: 27-28). So according to Putnam, the cause of urban malaise in the US is a lack of social capital (Tarrow 1996).

Put simply, Putnam (2000) argues the ‘we need to reconnect with one another’ (p. 28). Fine (2001: 44) claims that whilst Putnam states that social capital is not an effective substitute for public policy, he continues to elevate “voluntary association (no matter what this is actually intended for, or what the content of the activities that bring people together) as the cause of differences in health,

84 wealth and happiness”, without adequately dealing with issues power - “obscuring the problems and possibilities of class politics”. Similarly, Harriss (2001: 12) claims that Putnam’s account of social capital depoliticizes the problems of poverty and social justice, promoting the importance of ‘voluntary association’ in civic engagement, paints out the need for political action. Spies- Butcher (2002: 175) contends that “Putnam develops his notion of social capital within the context of rational choice debates, particularly the debate surrounding the possibility of collective action”. However, Fine argues that a social capital theory embedded in a rational choice framework reduces the ‘social’ to a limited number of variables and loses the complexity and contingency required for social analysis (in Spies-Butcher 2002: 174).

Further, Tarrow (1996: 395-396) contends that if we define democracy as “popular sovereignty and individual rights” rather than institutional and policy performance (like Putnam), the absence of civic capacity is more likely to be the by-product of politics, state building and social structure. Therefore, the causes of malaise in US cities are more likely to relate to structural factors such as the flight of real capital. While the indicators of malaise may be civic, the causes are structural. Consequently, “policy makers who attack the lack of social capital by encouraging association would be attacking the symptoms and not the causes of the problem” (Tarrow 1996: 396).

Levi (1996: 50) argues that Putnam tends to focus upon social capital in a way that correlates with the outcomes he seeks. Further, she contends that Putnam fails to give an adequate account of alternative means to produce social capital, its various forms, uses and sources because of “his resolutely society-centred focus” and “often seems to place the blame for contemporary economic and political failings on the decline in secondary associations and traditional family structure” (p. 50-51). For example, Levi (1996: 52) states that Putnam recognises that “there is a strong relationship between a decline in certain kinds of associational membership and an increase in working

85 mothers”, however, he appears to rebuke the effects of this change, rather than consider institutional substitutes for the roles women once performed. The OECD (2001: 45) asserts that while much attention has been given to the role of voluntary and civic associations, recent debates and analyses of social capital have relatively neglected the key roles of families, schools and firms.

Fine (2002: 18) asserts that social capital has been used to elevate the virtues of civil society to pedestal status even though it is a fundamentally flawed concept. He claims that ‘social capitalists’ look for win-win cooperation and neglect underlying and inevitable conflicts of interest (p. 18). Fine (2002: 19) argues that Bourdieu’s use of the term social capital “in the early 1980s, alongside cultural and symbolic capital, to explain how non-economic forms of domination are linked to the reproduction of social stratification and interact with one and another and the economic” has been largely ignored in the more contemporary accounts of social capital. Fine (2002) claims that “social capital has studiously ignored questions of power, conflict, the ruling elite and the systematic imperatives of (contemporary) capitalism” (p. 18).

In contrast, Bourdieu (1986: 249) contends that the existence of a network of ‘connections’ is not a natural given, rather, the network of relationships is the product of either individual or collective investment strategies, “consciously or unconsciously aimed at establishing or reproducing social relationships that are directly useable in the short or long term”. Social capital is about: transforming contingent relations, such as those of neighbourhood, the workplace, or even kinship, into relationships that are at once necessary and elective, implying durable obligations subjectively felt (feelings of gratitude, respect, friendship, etc.) or institutionally guaranteed (rights) (Bourdieu 1986: 249-250).

For Putnam the focus is on ‘social networks’, whereas for Bourdieu, it is not enough to determine the existence of a network, it is also necessary to probe its cultural/ideological content and context because cultural, symbolic and

86 social capital are “socially and historically limited to the circumstances that create them” (Harriss 2001: 21).

Harriss (2001: 4) argues that for Bourdieu ‘connections’ play an important part in the reproduction of classes where, for instance, the investment in the membership of a prestigious club builds the sort of social capital that may be converted into economic capital. So the ‘possession’ of certain durable relationships may facilitate differential access to resources. In this view, Harriss (2001: 4) contends that social capital is definitely not an attribute of the whole of ‘society’ but rather an aspect of the differentiation of classes and is really an instrument of power. Pincon and Pincon-Charlot note that “entering the great bourgeoisie is accomplished through the accumulation of wealth. But this is not sufficient in itself. It takes time to build up the network of social relationships that is the guarantee of social standing” (in Harriss 2001: 125).

Shucksmith (2000) is concerned about whose capacity is actually being built by the current approaches to community development that focus upon building the capacity of localities. He argues that in fact it is the more articulate and powerful individuals and groups, that are better able to engage with programs to apply for grants, while others lacking this capacity, those socially excluded are unable to benefit from capacity building initiatives (p. 210). Shucksmith (2000: 216) in noting the neglected radical tradition of Bourdieu comments: The Putnam view, of cultural and civic institutions as positive elements, conflicts with the Gramscian view that these instruments of class domination which must be overthrown in order to establish a more equal society. Social capital may be relevant in both senses, on the one hand as a form of social control and on the other through the existence of tight networks dedicated to the violation of these rules (in Fine 2001: 124). This view concerns amongst other things modifying the notion social capital to bring Bourdieu back in and that social capital can incorporate anything and everything (Fine 2001: 124).

Social capital: a troublesome concept and implications for policy There have been ongoing debates on the problems of definitions of social capital and its possible ideological flaws and origins (Cox 2007: 503). Cox (2007) suggests that “social capital be seen as a portmanteau concept, a collection of overlapping and maybe contradictory measures of social connectivity that works as analytical tools offering interesting insights into the complexities of social systems” (p. 509). She suggests that we accept social capital as the equivalent of fuzzy logic, it works, the reasons why are not clear so rather than becoming embroiled in academic debates over its usefulness and relevance or otherwise, let us focus upon how to use it effectively (p. 503). Halpern (2005: 21) also notes that there are many distinctions, dimensions and rival conceptions of social capital, which should not be judged on the elegance of the theory but on their heuristic value to research and policy and their ability to explain empirical regularities.

Social capital is an evolving concept “that remains somewhat abstract and unsettled” and is presumed to be primarily good despite the negative potential of social networks (Productivity Commission 2003: iii; Winter 2000; Cox 2007). However, this has not halted the growing interest in the concept by international agencies and governments. The World Bank and the OECD have commissioned extensive research into social capital and related concepts (Productivity Commission 2003; ABS 2004) due to an increasing recognition that economic models of aid and development are not achieving the desired outcomes in developing countries (Cox and Caldwell 2000). The Productivity Commission (2003) completed extensive research to inform public discussion on social capital theories and concepts, related empirical work and possible ramifications for public policy development.

The welfare state, according to the OECD (2001: 51) has been cited as a possible cause of declining social capital by neo-classical commentators. For example, Norton (1998: 41) argues that since government has stepped in

88 there is much less private welfare provision. Essentially the argument is that voluntary, familial or inter-personal ties tend to weaken when social obligations become increasingly public in the welfare state and people have less incentive to deliver voluntary services (OECD 2001: 51). This approach discounts public institutions and highlights the role of close family ties in social capital creation (Healy et al. 2004: 331; Rowse and Mitchell 2005: 168). An alternative possibility according to the OECD (2001: 51) is that welfare state policies rather than ‘crowding out’ voluntary effort and initiative, can both practically and symbolically encourage solidarity. It is argued that this could be achieved by lowering the risks individuals face through social protection programs and by the provision of support for skills acquisition as a means to encourage and empower individuals to develop their potential. Evidence is cited from the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom that does not support the ‘crowding out’ hypothesis.

Cox’s Boyer Lectures on social capital in 1995 are regarded by several commentators as the starting point for debate about social capital in Australia (Winter 2000: 30). Commentators such as Bryson and Mowbray (2005) argue that several Australian governments have embraced Putnam’s work and they caution against an uncritical reliance on his work to legitimate their policy development because his evidence is far from transparent and his conclusions are not carefully supported by his plethora of data. Bryson and Mowbray (2005: 92) assert that when Cox features the term ‘social capital’ in the Boyer Lectures she is motivated by pragmatic reasons. They argue that “Cox sees it as meaning the same thing as concepts such as ‘social fabric’ but with the advantage of benefiting from the reflected status from other forms of capital” (Bryson and Mowbray 2005: 92). For Cox (1995) this idea is concerned with the use of ‘Econospeak’, that is, learning to translate “what we did into bean counting terms meant that we could talk to the animals and make some progress” (p. 77). Cox (1995: 15) defines social capital as “the processes between people which establish networks, norms and social trust and facilitate

89 co-ordination and co-operation for mutual benefit”. Cox advocates that “social capital should be the pre-eminent and most valued form of capital as it provides the basis on which to build a truly civil society” (in Hopkins et al. 2004: 370). Hopkins et al. (2004) assert that Cox’s contention is that in an age of economic rationalism, the value and social strengths that comprise a civil society are omitted from the political discourse.

Cox (1995: 18) claims that “high levels of social capital bring cooperation and norms” that may be called civic virtues, and these virtues provide “the basis for truly civil societies where the law rests lightly”. Cox (1995: 80) argues that Australia has the potential to be a very inclusive society and states that we need a level of social capital that can counter the distrust generated by competitive individualism, where the collective ‘we’ benefits us all. She adds that “we must learn to travel hopefully in a discomfort of contradictions, a concordance of contraries and a conjunction of opposites” (p. 81).

Stewart-Weeks (2000: 276) promotes the ‘logic of social capital’ and the important implications it has for public policy. He states that it is already having an impact on policy in terms of what is being done and how it is being achieved. He explains that the ‘logic of social capital’ derives from accepting that social capital is important. If you accept that social capital is important, it is logical that you also accept the primacy of relationships between people that comprise social capital. And if that is accepted, “the logic moves on to accept that people’s ability to form relationships as the basis for association has to have space to operate, a reason to operate and considerable autonomy to define the outcomes or results it is being called on to produce” (Stewart- Weeks 2000: 306). He claims that we are witnessing the emergence of a ‘new public policy’ which has the logic of social capital wired deep in its structures. Stewart-Weeks (2000: 305) concludes that the integration of the logic of social capital into public policy can be achieved through three elements: leadership

90 that comprises people from government and the community; knowledge about what is being done – what works and what does not; and innovation.

The dominant conceptions of social capital in Australia, for Healy et al. (2004) fail to recognise and build the role of non-local institutions (government and corporate) in strengthening the capacity of communities that have been adversely effected by rapid social and economic change. They argue that localised solutions do not address the structural origins of these problems, and those that insist on localised solutions absolve non-local institutions of government or business of the responsibility for local social capital creation, and burden families and to a lesser extent neighbourhoods with this task (p. 331). Healy et al. (2004) advocate a synergy model, a three dimensional model that challenges the primary emphasis on local neighbourhood development and comprises bonding, bridging and linking forms of capital in social capital creation. According to Healy et al. (2004: 333) the synergy model is based on three principles:  governments, corporations, and civic groups have different influences on communities’ capacities to achieve collective goals;  no sector possesses all the resources required to promote broad-based and, thus, sustainable development partnerships across the sectors are required;  the state has responsibility to, and diverse roles in, the creation of social capital

The model proposed by Healy et al. (2004) emphasises the significance of non-local ties for strengthening community capacities. They contend that in addition to the trust in governance and expert systems associated with these connections to non community members, “these linkages can facilitate citizens’ involvement in decision-making about the allocation of resources of government, business, or the NGO sector” (p. 333). Rowse and Mitchell

(2005: 169) argue that Healy et al. emphasise the complementarity of local and non-local institutions in building community capacity.

Publicly provided infrastructure and community services are a requisite condition for developing and sustaining supportive community networks particularly for vulnerable citizens, and moreover, help overcome some of the negative attributes of localised social capital that include an over reliance on female voluntarism (Healy et al. 2004: 332). For example, Lowndes (2000: 533) contends that analyses of social capital tend to ignore gender specific patterns of activity associated with charitable endeavour (voluntary work) and informal sociability. Analyses have steered clear of care-based networks, largely the domain of women, presumably because the social capital they create is not ‘convertible’ into political engagement and their contributions tend to be rendered invisible (Lowndes 2000: 536). However, Lowndes (2000: 536) argues that the social capital debate could benefit from more use of qualitative case studies and individual life histories, and has much to learn from existing literature on women’s unorthodox routes to political engagement. She maintains that “feminist political theory has long focused on what should become a central issue for the social capital debate - that is the relationship between the ‘small democracies’ of everyday life (that feature trust and mutuality) and the ‘big democracy’ of political parties and organised government“ (Lowndes 2000: 537). Overcoming the public/private split is a vital precondition for social capital analysis.

Policy-making associated with the purchaser-provider split and contracting out tends to cross portfolio boundaries. The Productivity Commission (2003) recommends that governments should consider modifying policies that damage or erode social capital and harness ways to use existing social capital to deliver programs more effectively. The increasing role of social capital in Australian public policy and the lack of robust tools for gauging it, has fuelled demand for a greater empirical understanding of the concept (Stone 2001;

Black and Hughes 2001; Gauntlett et al. 2001; Productivity Commission 2003; ABS 2004). The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has developed an Australian conceptual framework and indicators for measuring social capital in recognition of its increasing interest to a wide range of people and because of its links to individual and community well-being (ABS 2004). Diverse groups have recognised that social capital is a promising way to examine quality of life issues (Cox and Caldwell 2000).

A recent Australian empirical study on the ‘functional value’ of social capital by Stone et al. (2003: vii) examines the relationship between social capital and labour market outcomes using a random sample of 1500 Australians, to uncover “the relative impact of trust, bonding, bridging and linking relationships upon labour force status and successful job search method”. Overall, they found that social capital is important but the effects are uneven, and in some cases mirror or intensify existing inequalities in the labour market (p. vii). Whilst trust is considered to be a key aspect of social capital and integral to achieving a range of outcomes, the characteristics of respondents’ networks are more important in predicting labour force status and job search method used (p. 23). They found amongst other things, that the ‘social capital poor’24 are most likely to be unemployed, and if employed are much more likely to be employed as part-time workers than other social capital groups. The ‘informal emphasised’25 social capital group are more likely than the other groups to be

24 Stone et al. (2003: 11) use a cluster-based typology of social capital. Four clusters are identified: social capital rich; strong norms and civic connections; informal emphasised; and social capital poor. Respondents were grouped according to their individual profile of social capital. The ‘social capital poor’ refers to respondents who “have small informal networks, few connections with the wider community or with institutions … low levels of trust and reciprocity … informal networks are sparse - that is, their friends tend not to know one another” (Stone et al. 2003: 11) 25 The ‘informal emphasised’ group comprise respondents with “small but dense informal networks. They have high levels of trust and reciprocity within their informal networks. They have few connections at the neighbourhood level, with community groups, organisations or institutions. Low levels of trust and reciprocity within these types of networks are reported … trust and reciprocity in informal networks of familiars is not extended to people generally in the community, including strangers” (Stone et al. 2003: 11).

93 employed, and if employed are significantly more likely to be full-time employed.

Stone et al. (2003: 23) contend that their findings are consistent with and lend support for Granovetter’s ‘strength of weak ties’ theory26 (in this instance, professional contacts are a significant means of finding employment) but also demonstrate that the relative advantage of weak ties is not universal. For example, for those with limited social capital and more vulnerable links to the labour market, the ‘strength of close ties’ is of greater significance. According to Stone et al. (2003: 23) bonding ties appear to be more important for those respondents with limited connections, where friends and family are relatively important in securing employment. For others, bridging ties (such as professional ties) are more important, with the exception of informal networks that comprise members with diverse levels of educational qualifications that seem to increase bridging capabilities and the likelihood of successful job search through family and friends.

In concluding, Stone et al. (2003: 23) assert that it is not one type of network or network characteristic that determines labour market outcomes but rather the combination of various types of social capital. Moreover, they argue that there is a connection between a person’s socio-economic status and type of social capital that they possess. Stone et al. (2003) contend that social capital may act to reflect or worsen existing differences and inequalities between people with higher and lower socio-economic standing with respect to their labour market outcomes. The use of friends and family by those from lower socio-economic backgrounds to find employment, is less likely to result in ‘high quality work’ and those out of the labour force are less likely to have ties to paid work, compared to those from higher socio-economic backgrounds, who

26 Granovetter points out that “when seeking jobs - or political allies - the ‘weak’ ties that link me to distant acquaintances who move in different circles from mine are actually more valuable than the ‘strong’ ties that link me to relatives and intimate friends whose sociological niche is very like my own” (in Putnam 2000: 22-23).

94 are more likely to use professional contacts (Stone et al. 2003: 23). Finally, they note that people’s social capital varies and these different profiles lead to different types of labour force outcomes.

For Bryson and Mowbray (2005: 100-101) the use of social capital in the 21st Century version of policy-making comprises five elements:  it smooths the way for low cost communitarian solutions that focus upon more fashionable concepts such as community strengthening and capacity building;  Putnam’s reliance on colourful and categorical generalisations makes his words attractive for those seeking to promote particular policy directions;  the nostalgic allure of community is reinvigorated through its coupling with social capital and is in keeping with the language of the free market;  there are advantages in framing a community development discourse in the popular rationalistic approach to ‘evidence-based policy’ - linking social capital to community effectively provides a way of operationalising community involvement which can be measured through people’s membership of clubs and organisations; and  the ‘evidence approach’ used to social capital gives the appearance of legitimacy to the non-legitimate, declaring that locally based activities can fix fundamental problems and create greater well-being.

The fragmentation of communities has been associated with a weakening of social capital and the need for policy to address this in a way that strengthens communities (Gauntlet et al. 2001). The idea of community contextualizes social capital. Community and social capital have become key concepts in Australian social policy (Hopkins et al. 2004). Communities can be strengthened through networks that build social capital. The notion of community relates to the research question insofar as it provides the site for

95 exploring the relationship between managerialism and social justice, and whilst this study is not looking for evidence of social capital, the findings from the field study provide an opportunity to consider how young people might form social networks and be part of several communities simultaneously, thereby creating social capital.

Concluding remarks Community and social capital are interdependent, have a range of meanings, are politically versatile and can be manipulated to promote particular objectives. They are highly contested concepts. The concept of community contextualises the notion of social capital. Building stronger communities is inextricably linked to the creation of social capital. Several lines of research contributed to the former federal government’s policy concerned with stronger families and stronger communities, in particular, the research that focused on community and the view that “as social capital of a community is raised, so is community well-being and people’s quality of life” (see Black et al. 2002: 9). Ideas associated with the notion of social capital and community capacity philosophies underpinned the development of FaCS’ Stronger Communities Strategy (see Black et al. 2002). The creation of social capital was an anticipated outcome of the implementation of the FCNI. This empirical study does not involve specific measures to determine whether or not the process of the implementation of the FCNI created social capital and is primarily concerned with the relationship between managerialism and social justice. However, comments are made about how the implementation of the FCNI may have contributed to the creation of social capital in the Penville region.

This Chapter opened with a discussion of the idea of community, reviewed the key discourses associated with the various conceptualisations of community and noted that there is value in exploring the concept of community as it continues to be a central organising focus for social policy (see Stepney and Popple 2008). The notion of strong communities is informed by ideas about

96 inclusiveness and social cohesion (see Stone and Hughes in Vinson 2004). The FCNI program was informed by research that suggests that strong communities that feature high levels of social cohesion and a low level of social problems demonstrate a greater capacity to help themselves (see Black et al. 2002). The procedures to implement the FCNI comprised an amalgam of community development strategies that were intended to be flexible and responsive to the needs of each high need community participating in the Initiative. However, Shucksmith (2000) questions who actually benefits from the current approaches to community development that focus upon building the capacity of localities. He argues that it is the more articulate and powerful individuals and organisations that are better positioned to engage with programs to apply for grants that benefit, while others lacking this capacity, those that are socially excluded are unable to benefit from capacity building initiatives.

Gauntlett et al. (2001: 32) contend that the key to building stronger communities is to have structures in place that identify community leaders and other highly motivated people. Moreover, they argue that community building projects do better when the input from relevant professionals in the community are mobilised in a multi-disciplinary framework. Community building exercises recognise the interdependence of people, where people become dependent on each other to get things done. Community building involves: bringing people together; encouraging people to work with each other; developing structures that mean people become more dependent on each other to get things done; seeking ways in which everyone can contribute and be genuinely valued by others (see Ife and Tesoriero 2006: 185). Community-based programs facilitate the building of social capital where opportunities exist: to enable skill development; to enable the identification of funding sources and the capacity to bid for them; and to build better links with other community groups and organisations (Gauntlett et al. 2001: 32).

Social capital has become despite its roots in civil society, an instrument of governments of different political persuasions. Social capital can be used by the state as a means of transferring the responsibility for resolving social problems to families and local neighbourhoods, by developing policies that are informed by the view that public institutions can ‘crowd out’ local social capital (see Norton 1998 and OECD 2001). Social capital can be used to reinforce class, gender and racial differences, mask oppression and further augment existing unequal power relations inherent in community life (see Harriss 2001 and Fine 2002). Social capital can also be used to alleviate disadvantage and create a more inclusive society where important synergies in the relationship between civil society, the state and the market can combine to promote well- being and economic growth (see Cox 1995 and Healy et al. 2004). Cox (2007) suggests that we accept social capital as the equivalent of fuzzy logic, it works, the reasons why are not clear and we should focus upon how to use it effectively rather than becoming embroiled in academic debates about its usefulness or otherwise (p. 503).

Given that the nature of the FCNI community-networking project which is the focus of this study had to take into account IT and possibly relate to a website, the next Chapter explores the nature of online communities and the digital divide. It also includes an examination of the impact of information and communication technologies on social capital.

CHAPTER FOUR Online communities and the digital divide

Electronic or online communities add another layer of complexity to the meaning of community (Hopkins et al. 2004). Cars, planes, trains as well as innovations in telecommunications have long meant that it is possible to develop and sustain significant relationships outside one’s immediate physical locality (Kollock and Smith 1999; Quan-Haase and Wellman 2004). With the rapid development of information technology, community can be experienced through electronic forms of communication (Black and Hughes 2001: 8). The use of the term community in relation to online groups thus points to an important shift in the conceptualisation of community, to one that promotes the significance of social networks (Kollock and Smith 1999).

For Quan-Haase and Wellman (2004: 115) changes in the way people socialise has created a need to develop new models for conceptualising and measuring community. It is argued that socialising occurs beyond the boundaries of local neighbourhoods, so more “useful approaches define community not in terms of locality but as social networks of interpersonal ties that provide sociability, support, information, a sense of belonging, and social identity” (Quan-Haase and Wellman 2004: 115). They argue that contrary to the community-lost27 view that is associated with Tonnies and the weakening of Gemeinschaft relationships, community life has undergone radical transformations - communities are flourishing outside of neighbourhoods. They argue that industrialisation has not destroyed community but helped to transform its composition, practices, attitudes and communication patterns. The Internet is perceived as promoting positive change in people’s lives because of its quick diffusion to all strata of the population, decreasing costs

27 The community-lost view is concerned with the negative influence of industrialisation and other large-scale social changes such as urbanisation and bureaucratization (i.e. long work hours, regimented organisation, urban sprawl that creates isolation and a general lack of public places) on community life (Quan-Haase and Wellman 2004: 114).

99 associated with getting online, ease of use, and the variety of communication and information tools available (Quan-Haase and Wellman 2004: 117).

This field study is not only concerned with the process of establishing a community-networking project, namely, a pilot website for young people in the Penville region but also examines whether or not the end users derive benefits from the provision of the pilot website. A subset of research questions have been devised for this purpose (see Chapter One). Consequently, the purpose of this Chapter is to explore what constitutes online communities, the nature of the relationship between online communities and social capital, and what is meant by the digital divide in order to create the context for the analysis of the findings associated with the second facet of the field study. The digital divide is explored because of its negative potential to further entrench disadvantage and therefore, can limit the potential of IT to empower.

Online communities Computer networks are increasingly being used to connect people to people (Kollock and Smith 1999: 3). According to Quan-Haase and Wellman (2004), many analysts anticipate that a digital revolution will restore a sense of community by connecting family and friends near and far. Moreover, Sproull and Kiesler argue that the unique characteristics of digital communication have democratising as well as equalising effects by de-emphasising the ‘visibility’ of characteristics such as age, race and socio-economic standing (in Quan-Haase and Wellman 2004: 117). Putnam (2000: 176) asserts that computer-mediated communication is more egalitarian, open and task focused than face-to-face communication. However, for Tambini electronic service delivery by government may become increasingly illegitimate if citizens have paid for those services through taxes but have no access to them and a genuinely egalitarian approach requires a commitment to universal Internet access (in Hudson 2003: 275).

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Online communities meet any reasonable definition of community (Kollock and Smith 1999). Wellman and Gulia (1999a: 186) contend that computer- supported social networks develop norms and structures of their own, “they are not just pale imitations of real life” or some sort of artificial substitute for more traditional forms of community (Kollock and Smith 1999: 17). Computer- supported social networks such as electronic mail (e-mail), bulletin board systems, newsgroups and Internet Relay Chat provide companionship, social support, information and a sense of belonging (Wellman and Gulia 1999a: 169). Wellman and Gulia (1999a: 185-186) note that online relationships tend to be based more on shared interests rather than on shared social characteristics. They argue that the relationships people maintain in cyber- space are similar to those people develop in their real-life communities: they are intermittent, specialised and varying in strength. People maintain a differentiated portfolio of ties to obtain a wide range of resources but in cyber- space the market metaphor of shopping around for support in specialised ties is far more exaggerated (Wellman and Gulia 1999a: 186).

There are differing opinions on why it is important to study the impact of online communities. For instance, Kollock and Smith (1999: 4) assert that the Internet is a strategic research site through which fundamental social processes can be investigated. They contend that the Internet provides an opportunity to examine how online interaction impacts upon social action and organisational change. They state that “technology has its most profound effect when it alters the ways in which people come together and communicate” (p. 4). Huysman and Wulf (2004: 8) note the growing academic focus upon networks within and between organisations makes research into the relationship between IT and social capital even more important. New Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) bring with them important policy concerns (Hudson 2003). Commentators such as Hopkins et al. (2004: 373) argue that the social effects of Internet connectivity matter because “the growth of network computing is occurring in a policy vacuum”. This is of particular concern given

101 that governments, companies and private consortia are injecting large amounts of money into the provision of computer hardware and software, to facilitate public access to the Internet as well as to increase familiarity and the level of computer skills in non-networked applications in the wider community (Hopkins et al. 2004: 373).

The emergence of the Internet is a development too important to ignore (Hudson 2003). The rapid uptake and diffusion of the Internet has profoundly altered the way people communicate and access information. For Lin (2001: 238) it is a revolution based on the triumph of capitalism, the increasing world wide dominance of the English language (Fitzpatrick 2003) and technology that has transformed individuals, groups and the world with shocking speed. He notes that at the same time, it has increased the unequal distribution of capital between societies and individuals. Lin (2001: 238) sees a paradox in the simultaneous existence of a revolution which he argues furthers: the divide between those who gain access to more and richer capital and others who are being shut out of such opportunities and benefits, those in the cyber-networks have seen an equalisation of opportunities and benefits as wide-open competition and channels reduce power, and thus capital differentials, among groups and individuals.

Walsh (2001: 281) contends that once online the digital divide all but disappears. She argues that individuals use the Internet for similar reasons: to communicate; to access information; to have fun; and to shop. However, merely having access does not mean that the digital divide is solved because a divide may exist in people’s capacity to effectively use the Internet (Hargittai 2002).

Not all Internet use is social in the sense of connecting people. Quan-Haase and Wellman (2004: 120) note that Internet use is mostly web-orientated with people either looking for information or engaging in solitary recreations. However, the fact that people are not interacting in visible public places does

102 not mean they are isolated. They assert that online interactions need to be understood in connection with other aspects of a person’s life. The Internet is only one way of many ways in which the same people interact (Wellman and Gulia 1999a: 170). Similarly, Kollock and Smith (1999: 16) contend that critics of online communities claim that these communities are more isolated than ‘real-life’ groups, and their comments seem to be based on a comparison that appears to be linked to an ideal of community rather than the actual face-to- face communities as they are lived.

Four types of online communities have been identified by Cummings et al. (2003: 4-5): communities of practice; communities of purpose; communities of circumstance; and communities of interest. Communities of practice come into being when people with shared practice experience a need to share what they know and learn from others such as professional associations and skilled craft guilds. Communities of purpose exist when people join to campaign over a particular issue such anti-globalisation campaigns and environmental groups. Communities of circumstance refer to online communities in which members share the same position, life experiences or circumstance rather than a designated profession such as a quit smoking group. Communities of interest comprise online communities of people who share a common hobby or personal interest (Cummings et al. 2003).

Home computers and the Internet are used by people in many different ways and for many purposes. If people use the Internet for communication this usually augments traditional technologies for social contact (Kraut et al. 1998). Research on the effects of using the Internet on social involvement and psychological well-being by Kraut et al. (1998 and 2002) reveal that having more social resources and supports tends to amplify the benefits people get from using the Internet. For extroverts using the Internet, use is associated with increases in community involvement and self esteem, declines in loneliness, negative affect and time pressure - it is associated with the reverse

103 among introverts (Kraut et al. 2002: 67). Further, for people with more social supports using the Internet is linked to increases in family communication and greater increases in computer skill (Kraut et al. 2002: 67).

Gross et al. (2002: 86) completed a study into what adolescents do online and whether differences in their online activities and communication partners help us to better understand the relationship between adolescent Internet use and well-being. The research focused upon 130 seventh-grade students from an American middle class public school, the majority of whom were European American. They found that online communication for adolescents appears to be similar to the traditional ways young people interact in that: it primarily took place in private settings with friends who are part of the participants off-line lives; and online communication is directed towards everyday yet intimate topics (friends and gossip) and motivated by a desire for companionship (Gross et al. 2002: 86). With respect to instant messaging, Gross et al. (2000: 87) found that when adolescents feel connected and comfortable with their school peers, they use the Internet to seek additional opportunities to interact with them. But in situations where there are ongoing or even temporary feelings of social anxiety and loneliness, adolescents may use the Internet to avoid being alone and are more likely to communicate with people they do not know well (strangers versus friends). However, given some of the limitations of their study, Gross et al. (2002) conclude that for adolescents there is no simple main effect of Internet use and further research is needed.

There is no firm consensus on the nature of social interactions online or the effects of these interactions on social involvement and personal well-being (Kraut et al. 1998 and 2002; Gross et al. 2002). The next section explores the connection between online communities and social capital.

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Online communities and social capital There are a range of different views on the impact of the Internet on social capital. Putnam (2000: 172) describes the Internet as a powerful tool for the transmission of information. At best, he argues that computer-mediated communication facilitates more efficient and wider networks that strengthen our connections with the social world and increase our intellectual capital because information can be shared at literally no cost. Wellman and Gulia (1999a: 186) contend that the provision of information is a larger part of online ties than of real-life ties. Quan-Haase and Wellman (2004) note that evidence is accumulating to suggest that the Internet adds on to existing patterns of communication and is being used in a similar manner to other more traditional technologies. For example, as the amount of e-mail sent and received increases, interactions and phone calls do not decrease (Quan-Haase and Wellman 2004: 122). It appears that e-mail supports existing social communication and has not become a substitute for either phone or face-to- face contact.

Three conceptualisations of the way in which the Internet affects social capital have been identified by Quan-Haase and Wellman (2004: 116). The first approach, the Internet transforms social capital, concerns the Internet as a vehicle for inexpensive and convenient communication with far flung communities of interest. This approach relates to the view that major transformations in social contact and civic involvement away from local to group-based solidarities are possible, toward more spatially dispersed and sparsely knit social networks because of the low cost of the Internet and its asynchronous nature.

The second approach noted by Quan-Haase and Wellman (2004) is that the Internet diminishes social capital. This approach focuses upon the Internet’s capabilities to provide entertainment and information that draws people away from family and friends. Moreover, the facilitation of global communication and

105 involvement via the Internet weakens and erodes interest in local community and its associated politics. The final approach, the Internet supplements social capital, relates to the view that the Internet is another way of communicating that fosters existing social relationships that also build patterns of civic engagement and socialisation.

The distinction between the different dimensions of social capital increases our understanding of online communities. Hopkins et al. (2004: 371) assert that online relationships would seem more likely to contribute to relatively weak ties that comprise bridging capital rather than to highly personal relationships and strong multi-faceted ties that underpin bonding capital. However, they argue that online relationships may also contribute to bonding capital in situations where families and communities are divided by distance, and moreover, other media such as instant messaging is both a useful and inexpensive addition to people’s existing communication channels (Hopkins et al. 2004: 371; Fitzpatrick 2003; Quan-Haase and Wellman 2004). Kraut et al. (2002: 69) contend that research supports the view that people can form strong social bonds online and that relationships formed online can be carried over to the off-line world. But these relationships are comparatively rare, people use the Internet more to maintain relationships formed off-line.

There are two central arguments about the impact of online communities on ‘real’ communities. On the one hand, it is argued that online interactions adds to social connectedness in the real world and on the other, computers lead to social isolation and reduce psychological well-being (Hopkins et al. 2004: 375). There is little empirical evidence to support either argument, and the situation is likely to be far more complex than this dichotomy suggests (Hopkins et al. 2004).

The Internet affects how people communicate, make important life decisions, work and pursue leisure (Wellman and Gulia 1999a). However, according to

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Hopkins et al. (2004: 375) online connectivity is different from off-line connectivity except when the computer user is interacting with someone that they already know from face-to-face contact, the online relationship does not work in the same way as a real world relationship. They state that issues of identity and trust, honesty and responsibility can be subverted in an online environment. Kollock and Smith (1999: 23) argue that online interactions create new forms of deceit and new ways to establish identities.

Commentators such as Kraut et al. (1998) contend that social contact online can draw people away from face-to-face contact particularly for newcomers, in that as they used the Internet more their social contact off-line decreased and their depression and loneliness increased (in Quan-Haase and Wellman 2004: 120). Kraut et al. (1998 and 2002) note a paradox in their findings because the participants in their survey conducted in 1995-96 used the Internet heavily for communication which generally has positive effects. However, these commentators also note that as users gain more experience, though, the Internet is linked to “an increased number of weak on-line ties and a decreased number of stronger off-line ties” (Kraut et al. 2002; in Quan-Haase and Wellman 2004: 120). Putnam (2000: 179) asserts that the commercial incentives that currently influence Internet development will result in an increased emphasis on individualised entertainment and commerce rather than community engagement, and to prevent this and ensure the development of a more community-friendly technology, the incentive will have to come from outside the marketplace.

The Digital Divide Network assert that having access to a computer is only the first step in the development of online communities leading to the greater challenges of building literacy, creativity and civic skills, helping marginalised communities to find the content they need online, to generate their own content, and find employment in the new economy (in Hopkins et al. 2004: 374). Hopkins et al. (2004: 373) suggest that ICTs perform a similar function to

107 other kinds of human interaction but in different ways. Similarly, Lin (2001: 212) argues that social networks are increasingly being maintained and developed through electronic mediums.

Lin (2001) examines the emergence of cyber-networks and their associated social capital. He defines cyber-networks as “social networks in cyber-space, and specifically on the Internet” (p. 212). He explains that these are created by individuals and groups of individuals through e-mail, chat rooms, news groups, clubs, informal and formal organisations for the purpose of exchanges that include resource transactions and relations reinforcement. He contends that cyber-networks provide social capital insofar as they carry resources that go beyond the provision of information, many websites carry advertisements, provide avenues for exchanges and incentives to motivate users to take a particular course of action (p. 215). He argues that these virtual connections facilitate communication with others with few time and space constraints. Moreover, access to information coupled with interactive facilities not only make these networks a rich source of social capital “but also an investment for participants’ purposive actions in both the production and consumption markets” (Lin 2001: 215).

However, Internet networks are vulnerable to certain forms of normlessness and asocial behaviour which Fukuyama (1995: 195) associates with the activities of hackers who tend to be free spirits hostile to any form of authority. He states that the Internet community in its early years in the 1970s and 1980s was a fairly homogenous group comprising government and academic researchers with similar backgrounds and interests, who observed unwritten laws concerning Net etiquette that were internalised through a sense of reciprocal obligation. But as the number of users increased and became more heterogeneous, what started as a public good others started to exploit for private purposes. If networks are to become more efficient, this will only

108 eventuate if there is a high level of trust and the existence of shared norms of ethical behaviour amongst network members (Fukuyama 1995).

Online networks can be used as a means for social action and empowerment. Mele (1999: 305) asserts that depriving access to knowledge and information is a way of maintaining repression and preserving institutional power. He argues that online communication offers disadvantaged groups access to sources of comprehensive information and support outside the confines of their physical locale to utilise those resources on real and immediate problems. However, the implications for social change are unclear. He states that online communication may diminish negative aspects of face-to-face interaction between consumers and producers of information and knowledge, and modes of discourse that generate and maintain social inequalities but it does not eliminate them.

Other obstacles noted by Mele (1999: 306) to the grassroots application of computer-mediated communication for social change comprise prior training in computers and all the associated missing infrastructure for the inclusion of disempowered social groups in cyber-space. This may include for instance, support from a local Internet company and a University/tertiary training institution community outreach program. He argues that the rapid expansion in online information-based services has not been matched by similar growth in the availability and access to such services for historically disadvantaged groups.

Putnam (2000) identifies a number of challenges that the Internet poses to building social capital. The first is associated with the masking of non-verbal communication. He asserts that the poverty of social cues in computer- mediated communication restricts interpersonal collaboration and trust, particularly when the interaction is anonymous and not situated in a wider social context (p. 176). He lists depersonalisation, difficulties reaching

109 consensus, misrepresentation and a loss of solidarity as possible consequences of computer-mediated communication as it is much harder to generate trust and reciprocity. In fact this form of communication may require more frequent face-to-face contact whereby social capital becomes a prerequisite for, rather than a consequence of, effective computer-mediated communication (p. 177). Putnam (2000) notes that video and audio enhancements may reduce these difficulties when they become more widely available.

The next challenge listed by Putnam (2000: 177) is associated with overcoming the challenge of dealing with the greater homogeneity that the Internet can provide. One of the medium’s greatest attractions is its powerful specialisation functionality. People can connect on a single topic and if virtual communities become more single-stranded than real-world communities then this functionality is one of the more ‘subtler’ threats to bridging social capital as there is no certainty in how these communities will evolve. Putnam (2000) notes that tendencies toward community homogeneity pre-date the Internet. So the possibility of even more narrowly focused communities in cyber-space will depend on how the virtual world is integrated into our own social reality and how it is nested in our fundamental values. What could evolve are multiple cyber-clubs with overlapping memberships where weak ties that bridge amongst distinct groups creates an interwoven community of communities (Putnam 2000: 178-179).

Another potential hurdle listed by Putnam (2000: 179) relates to whether the Internet will become a ‘niftier’ telephone - will it become the predominant means of active communication - will it crowd out face-to-face contact? He contends that it is too early to tell. However, studies do indicate that the Internet and emerging communication technologies complement and work to reinforce face-to-face contact (Quan-Haase and Wellman 2004). Putnam’s (2000) final challenge concerns ensuring that the future of the Internet is not

110 determined by some mindless technological imperative. The critical question is not what the Internet will do for us but what we will do with it? How do we tap and channel its enormous potential?

The next section examines what is meant by the digital divide. In the field study FaCS assumes that IT has the capacity to create social capital. The community-networking project(s) that FaCS sought to fund under the FCNI in the Penville region had to take into account IT or possibly relate to a website (see FaCS FCNI Minutes 1999a). Consequently, understanding the nature of the digital divide and its impact on the creation of social capital is integral to the analysis of the data collected in the field study.

The digital divide The Internet is able to connect people but can at the same time deprive people who are not connected (Huysman and Wulf 2004: 12). Castells notes that because our societies are unequal so is the diffusion of the Internet and the notion of the digital divide has become a critical dimension of inequality and social injustice (in Servon 2002: xvii). However, IT in itself does not function as a ladder out of poverty (Servon 2002: 6). There are differing views on the implications and importance of the digital divide and how it may be remedied. The term ‘digital divide’ has become popular in everyday language as ‘shorthand’ for virtually any and every disparity within the online community (Norris 2001). Holloway (2002: 52) asserts that understanding the nature of the digital divide is important for two reasons: public and private organisations continue to provide information, goods and services on the Internet and those already disadvantaged will be left behind; and a lack of skills and access to the Internet is exacerbating existing social divisions already evident between individuals and areas.

The digital divide has been defined in a number of ways. Servon (2002: 4) contends that understanding the digital divide goes beyond the problem of

111 access to cyber-space in the narrow sense of possession or permission to use a computer and the Internet. She contends that getting the definition of the digital divide right holds the key to finding appropriate solutions to remedy the divide because the way in which a problem is defined leads to the particular policy solution selected which can mean that the fixes are too specific (Servon 2002: 6; see also Norris 2001 and Holloway 2002).

Commentators such as Hargittai (2002) argue that as access to the Internet spreads, it is increasingly important to look at not only who uses the Internet but to distinguish between the varying levels of online skills amongst individuals. These barriers can be addressed through the development of suitable learning programs that also incorporate strategies to motivate those with negligible or low levels of IT literacy to engage in learning (West 2002). Hargittai (2002) argues that by exploring differences in how people use the World Wide Web we can determine if there is a second-level digital divide. She contends that people may have technical access but may still lack effective access because they do not know how to locate the information they need on the Internet. Hargittai (2002) asserts that people search for content on the Internet in different ways and there is a great deal of variation in whether individuals can find various types of content and how long it takes them to complete online tasks. She claims that young people (late teens and twenties) tend to have better online navigating skills than their older counterparts; experience with the technology is positively correlated to online skill; and differences in gender do not explain differences in people’s ability to find content online. Hargittai (2002) concludes that a second-level divide exists relative to the specific abilities of individuals to effectively use the Internet.

The former National Office for the Information Economy refers to the digital divide as a way to describe “the social implications of unequal access of some sectors of the community to information and communication technology and the acquisition of necessary skills” (in Holloway 2002: 52). For Putnam (2000:

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174) the digital divide refers to the social inequality of access to cyber-space. Alternatively, Norris (2001: 4) conceptualises the digital divide as a multi- dimensional phenomenon that comprises three distinct aspects: the global divide; the social divide; and the democratic divide. The global divide refers to the divergence of Internet access between industrialised countries and developing nations. The social divide comprises the gap between the information rich and the information poor in each country which points to the inequalities among the population within a nation (Hargittai 2002). The democratic divide refers to the differences between those who do and who do not use communication technology to engage and participate in public life (Bugeja 2005; Hargittai 2002).

Bridging the digital divide for Heath (1999) is the key social challenge of the 21st Century. Mehlman (2000: 72) contends that as the Internet pervades more of everyday life, the lack of access to the Internet becomes more of a distinct disadvantage. Heath (1999) argues that the divisions associated with the digital divide challenge the social fabric upon which the continuing growth of the Internet is predicated. Heath (1999) promotes the importance of using the Internet to broaden our perspective beyond the boundaries of e-commerce to ‘Net Social Benefits’. He explains that ‘Net Social Benefits’ refers to using the Internet to build community and assist those less fortunate by fostering ways to deliver social services via the Internet (p. 2). Heath (1999) goes on to suggest two ways to bridge the digital divide. Firstly, he refers to the importance of promoting the Internet and its related technologies as providing “a framework of meaning, that builds community, is a source of inspiration, links across generations, connects all citizens, respects diversity and generates ongoing economic benefit for all” (p. 5). Secondly, he suggests that because the Internet offers unprecedented opportunities to benefit all of society, governments, corporations, the non-government sector and individuals need to adopt a deep-seated ethic of service to ensure the

113 maximisation of these opportunities for all and that a strong sense of benefiting others underpins the roll-out of this new technology.

Pemberton states that those who are marginalised such as indigenous Australians, people who are homeless and people living in caravan parks have limited access if any at all to the Internet and patterns of technology use are a reflection of the systematic foundations of social inequality of material and cultural resources (in Mehlman 2000: 72). Putnam (2000: 175) refers to this as a kind of cyber-apartheid where bridging social capital is reduced as elite networks become less accessible to the ‘have-nots’. However, he suggests that the Internet could become a way of increasing community connectedness if the Internet is seen as a kind of 21st Century ‘public utility’, then inexpensive subsidised access that includes access to hardware and user-friendly software, could be made available at a range of community access points.

A study completed by Chia (2002: 4) for the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (VIC) found that the barriers to computer access and use for disadvantaged young people can be overcome through the provision of public Internet access sites. She contends that “these sites can also facilitate the development of valuable skills and opportunities for young people including social interaction and connectivity, self-confidence and self-esteem, motivation and interest towards information technology, and career and education opportunities” (p. 4).

Holloway (2002: 63) acknowledges the importance of programs that provide computer and Internet access through public libraries and various community online access points, and the provision of educational programs as significant steps in trying to address disparities in Internet access. However, he questions whether these programs and initiatives are targeting the most disadvantaged people. Holloway (2002: 63) asserts that free e-mail portals, chat sites and other websites designed to assist individuals locate goods and services in their

114 local area are of no benefit “to individuals if they do not have access to the Internet in situations that are convenient to them, and appropriate for their circumstances”.

Most initiatives that attempt to reduce disparities in Internet access, according to Holloway (2002), are generally organised for areas that are intuitively known to be disadvantaged and these decisions appear to lack rigorous spatial or locational analysis, particularly in metropolitan areas. There may be other disadvantaged areas, for instance, with high numbers of elderly residents that require facilities and programs. West (2002) argues that older people are among those most at risk of experiencing the digital divide. Different areas may require different programs to address unequal access to the Internet as different socio-economic factors may be effecting an individual’s willingness and ability to access information and services online, these will vary from person to person and place to place (Holloway 2002: 64). Norris (2001: 235) contends that the process of generational turnover can be expected to close some of the divisions in access given the level of investment in school access and training but gaps in access caused by differences in education, income and occupation remain significant.

Norris (2001: 91-92) argues that the problem of the digital divide lies “in broader patterns of social stratification that shape (access) not only to the virtual world but also full participation in other common forms of information and communication technologies”. She contends that this suggests that there is little point in trying to explain for example the online gender gap in terms of theories specific to this kind of technology (such as women’s computer phobias or the lack of non-aggressive computer games) because it ends in flimsy generalisations that may or may not be true. Poor families in affluent societies often lack common consumer durables and may be able to access the Internet from public libraries, community centres and schools. However, this is not the same as having automatic access via high-speed connections at

115 home or the office. She states that Internet technology is not going to stand still for as long as the market continues to demand ever smaller, faster and improved forms of delivery.

Other commentators such as Wood et al. (2002: 12) contend that few policy makers or funding bodies take into account the ways in which complex social interactions and hierarchies embedded in community life influence the uptake and diffusion of communication technology. They explore the impact of the rapid growth of communication technology on community organisations which they argue raises key questions about “how technology can be used as a tool to improve efficiency, generate innovation and facilitate social and economic opportunities for clients of such organisations” (p.1). Lack of access to up-to- date communication technology can seriously limit the ability of community organisations to effectively service their clients, restrict their ability to access government information, guidelines and application forms (given the increasing expectation that these documents will be accessed and submitted electronically), and reduce their administrative efficiency and thereby increasing costs (Wood et al. 2002: 4). Many community groups are struggling to deal with these issues and experiencing, according to Wood et al. (2002) an organisational version of the digital divide which impacts upon their effectiveness and productivity. These organisations are significantly “disadvantaged in terms of their ability to access the benefits of communication technology because of their limited financial and time resources, small size, restricted skill base and a lack of appropriately designed hardware and software to facilitate their core business” (p. 5). Further, a lack of access has profound implications for community organisations because as ‘the gatekeepers of local information’ they are best placed to create local content that is both relevant and useful and available online. For Kirschenbaum and Kunamneni (2001: 9) “these organisations and their resident constituencies have the wisdom, knowledge and experience to use IT

116 as a tool for building social and economic equity, and strong organized communities” (in Wood et al. 2002: 4).

Moreover, Wood et al. (2002) argue that if governments continue to devolve responsibility for processes of decision-making and project management to community-based organisations, without taking into account whether the community has the skills to achieve positive long-term outcomes, this leaves communities to cope best they can with critical issues such as informal power relations, community conflict, marketing, community consultation and mobilization (p. 12). In many cases, these matters are left to project committees that comprise unfunded volunteers that are being stretched far too thinly. Consequently, Wood et al. (2002: 13) assert that in order to maximise the benefits associated with communication technology this requires not only the introduction of hard technology (physical infrastructure) but also: the complementary and interlocking dimensions of soft technology (education and training; awareness-raising; leadership-building and other capacity-building activities) and a strong knowledge of social infrastructure (local networks; other community resources and services – including volunteerism; and other bodies that impact on the community organisation or its clients).

A framework for action to address the digital divide is proposed to maximise the potential of the introduction of technology to community organisations. The framework “emphasizes the role of soft technologies, social infrastructure and a partnership model of community development in successful communication technology implementation” in order to derive the greatest benefits for both community organisations and clients from the introduction and use of technology (Wood et al. 2002: 13). Wood et al. (2002) contend that a top-down approach does not work and that leadership for technology implementation has to be ‘built in the grassroots’ (p. 7). According to Wood et al. (2002) this in turn can provide a strong foundation for the growth of community social capital (p. 14). Wood et al. (2002:14) explain the process in the following way:

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Social capital emerges as community organisations share information and technology skills with clients, community groups, and other organisations, and receive the same in return because trust has developed in the partner relationships. It also emerges with the development of community and inter- organisational networks, both face-to-face and online, within and external to the community. Social capital is then, in turn, an enabler that stimulates community development and further facilitates the work of community organisations. In this way, access to technology is a core enabler in the networking, partnership-building, and sustainability of effective community organisations.

They conclude that the central role of technology in the community sector “is to support quality of life for clients” and a vision of technology that supports this view “is flexible, client-focused, transparent, and implemented in a culture that fosters knowledge-exchange, inclusive solutions and communication across and within organisations” (Wood et al. 2002: 14-15). In this way, “such technology contributes to the development of a community sector that is strong and integrated, and has the ability to collaborate within and across sectors and achieve recognition of its real importance and contribution to Australian social and economic well-being” (p. 15).

Two discussion papers were released by the former Commonwealth Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA)28 early in 2005 to stimulate public debate on issues involving the use and impact of the Internet on community and social capital building. Thirty five submissions were received in response to the papers released from non-profit organisations, government departments, individuals and private enterprises. This culminated in a DCITA Report (2005) that provides a synopsis of the main findings of discussion papers, an outline of the key issues and recommendations drawn from the submissions received on the role of ICTs in building communities and social capital.

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DCITA (2005: 1) identifies the major barriers to the adoption of ICT as “cost, ICT skills and techno-literacy (this is defined as the ability to manipulate ICT hardware and software to communicate and includes skills, knowledge, and the ability to read and write), strategic awareness of ICT and access to affordable and adequate ICT infrastructure, hardware and software and adequate, trusted technical support and advice”. The Report goes on to state that these barriers are “equally technical and social in nature” (p. 1). Therefore, a holistic view that recognises both the technical and social elements of the technology and the environment in which it is utilised, is integral to ensure the effective uptake and increased use of ICT in all contexts.

The Report states that the submissions received by DCITA support the view that ICT supplements social capital rather than diminishes it, and in particular ICT appears to be more effective in supporting bonding social capital. The submissions received also articulated that “there is a role for government, business and non profit organisations to develop and maintain trust by demonstrating leadership by using ICT for engaging with communities and ensuring access to ICT” (DCITA 2005: 12-13). Libraries, online access centres and tele-centres are regarded as organisations that not only provide access to technology but perform an important role in building confidence and trust in the technology.

The DCITA Report (2005: 18) concludes that there is a need for “a coordinated approach to leadership for ICT capacity building in the non-profit sector” and the key to developing solutions involve ensuring that “end-user knowledge and experiences are highly valued, and incorporated in the development of solutions”.

28 This Department is now known as the Commonwealth Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE).

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In summary, the way in which the digital divide is defined influences the type of policy solutions used to remedy the problem. Several studies indicate that public access of some sort may go at least part way to resolving this inequality. For some commentators the digital divide is an indication of wider social inequality that has the potential to reinforce culturally dominant social networks and broader patterns of social stratification.

Concluding remarks The changing ways people socialise, make important life decisions, work and pursue leisure adds a further layer of complexity to the debate about what community really means (see Wellman and Gulia 1999a and Quan-Haase and Wellman 2004). Commentators such as Hopkins et al. (2004) contend that there are two central arguments about the impact of online communities on ‘real’ communities: that online interactions add to social connectedness in the real world and the other, computers leads to social isolation and reduces psychological well-being, however, they assert that the situation is more complex than the dichotomy suggests. Community can be experienced through electronic forms of communication and computer networks are increasingly being used to connect people (see Kollock and Smith 1999).

Chapter Four examined a range of arguments associated with the capacity of electronic communication to build social networks. There is a lot of interest in community building through the use of technology because of the perceived potential of online communities to contribute to the health and well-being of individuals and social groups. For example, Gross et al. (2002) note that for adolescents online communication appears to be similar to the traditional ways young people interact in that, it primarily takes place in private settings with friends who are part of their offline lives, and online communication is directed towards everyday yet intimate topics and is motivated by a desire for companionship. Computer networks can promote participation in local

120 communities, which in turn can build community and therefore has the capacity to generate social capital (see Hopkins et al. 2004: 377).

Online networks can be utilised as a means of social action and empowerment, as a mechanism to promote social cohesion. Mele (1999) contends that online communication offers disadvantaged groups access to sources of comprehensive information and support outside the confines of their of their physical locale, resources that can be used on real and immediate problems. Some commentators contend that access to the Internet has an ‘equalising’ effect (see Lin 2001 and Walsh 2001). However, other commentators argue for those ‘shut out’ from the various forms of electronic communication, that is, they lack physical access and the skills to tap into the benefits and potential of cyber-space, this further entrenches existing social divisions and those already disadvantaged will be further left behind. The existence of the digital divide diminishes opportunities to create social capital. Getting the ‘definition’ of the digital divide right is the key to finding appropriate solutions to remedy the divide (see Servon 2002). For example, Chia (2002) contends that barriers to computer access and use for disadvantaged young people can be overcome through the provision of public Internet access sites. She adds that these access sites can facilitate the development of skills and opportunities for young people that include: “social interaction and social connectivity, self-confidence and self-esteem, motivation and interest towards information technology, and career and education opportunities” (p. 4).

Community groups can also experience an organisational version of the digital divide. According to Wood et al. (2002) these organisations can be disadvantaged in terms of their ability to effectively service their clients; restrict their ability to gain access to government information, guidelines and application forms for funding; reduce their administrative efficiency and thereby increasing their costs (p. 4). Wood et al. (2002) contend that community organisations have a key role to play in the uptake of community

121 technologies and leaderships for technology implementation has to be ‘built in the grassroots’. They argue that in order to maximise the benefits associated with computer technology this requires not only the introduction of the physical infrastructure but also the complementary and interlocking dimensions of soft technology (such as education and training and leadership-building) and a strong knowledge of social infrastructure (p. 13). Moreover, Wood et al. (2002: 14-15) assert that the central role of technology in the community sector “is to support quality of life for clients” and the vision of technology that supports this view “is flexible, client-focused, transparent, implemented in a culture that fosters knowledge-exchange, inclusive solutions and communication across and within organisations”.

In the field study, FaCS assumes that IT not only has the capacity to build strong communities and in doing so can create social capital. The field study is not primarily concerned with testing this interlocking assumption or creating measures to do so but rather the focus is upon the relationship between managerialism and social justice notwithstanding the potential of increases in social capital to produce a broad range of social justice outcomes. The field study does explore the potential of young peoples’ social networks and the capacity of the Penville pilot website to empower and assist young people to access sources of information about their own lives during periods of transition.

The next Chapter examines young people’s social networks, the importance of trust-based relations and role of social capital in shaping young people’s development as they transition from childhood into adulthood.

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CHAPTER FIVE Young people, social networks and social capital

Young people’s lives are currently being transformed by broad sets of economic, cultural and socio-political forces. In almost all parts of the world, the transition to adulthood for young people is more complex and contested because of neo-liberal economic and social reform (Jeffrey and McDowell 2004: 131). Young people today live in a world characterized by “novel information and computer technologies; a predatory culture based on the values of consumerism, commodification and competition; a volatile youth labour market characterized by increasing numbers of casual, part-time and low-paid jobs; an era of war, terrorism and insecurity; a world dominated by market, corporate and media interests” (Smyth 2008: 146). For Frydenberg (1997: 7) adolescence is regarded less as a stage than a number of circumstances in which youth find themselves within which options and gratifications are uniquely restricted. According to Frydenberg (1997) young people are limited by: their economic situation, subjected to changing legal constraints and juvenile- specific policies, influenced by a multi-media consumer industry, regulated to limited areas of work, characterised by restricted social intercourse and restricted in their degree of political participation (p. 7). It is from within these general circumstances that each individual young person brings their own unique life perspective to bear on the social setting.

There are two general approaches to writing about young people and adolescence. The first approach focuses upon intra-individual change that comprises the physical, cognitive and psychological changes associated with adolescent development. The second approach focuses upon a collective viewpoint of young people where youth is discussed as a group or category positioned within a societal context that incorporates the notion of change (Cotterell 2007: 13-14). In addition, both of these approaches incorporate ideas about the achievement of milestones or the notion of pathways, both

123 imply a sense that the individual young person is on a journey that is common to other young people of the same age as well as having unique characteristics the individualize each young person’s biography (Cotterell 2007: 14).

Brannen and Nilsen (2002) contend that young people need structured pathways, or at least signposts, in order to construct their own biography (in Cotterell 2007: 19). Wexler argues that what matters most to young people “is their struggle to become somebody, to establish their identity through social relations” and schools are one of the few public places where young people are engaged in the “interactional work of making meaning” (in Smyth et al. 2008: 144). According to Smyth et al. (2008) youth identities are also increasingly being constructed, either consciously or unconsciously, by forces external to school. Smyth et al. (2008) refer to, for example, the mass media’s massive apparatuses of representation and its capacity to regulate meaning “is central to understanding how the dynamics of power, privilege, and social desire structure daily life and identity formation of young people” (p. 145). For learning to have real meaning and purpose, according to Vibert and Shields, it needs to be anchored in the communal life and concerns of young people and the bigger issues confronting society (in Smyth et al 2008: 155).

The purpose of this Chapter is to help contextualise the data that comprises the second facet of the field study, that is, to help make sense of the data collected from the administration of the Penville Survey to 73 high school students. The Survey is designed to operationalise ideas about empowerment to determine whether the pilot website helps young people to gain access to knowledge about their own lives in terms that have meaning for them. The Survey includes statements and questions about whether the information published on the website is accessible, easy to locate, increases opportunities for informed decision-making and self-learning, nurtures awareness and social connection (see Chapter Eight). This discussion on adolescence focuses

124 primarily upon the broader issues that young people face as a group as they transition into adulthood. The Chapter examines aspects of psycho-social adolescent development relevant to the field study, the role of social networks and the impact of emerging technologies, in particular, the Internet in the resolution of the issues associated with young people’s search for identity, peer support and inclusion. The existence of the digital divide has been discussed in the preceding Chapter and will not dealt with again here.

Adolescent development There are a number of different approaches to change in adolescence. Adolescents face both physiological and psychological changes that are usually accompanied with movements towards independence and explorations of identity (Frydenberg 2008). The analysis of the Penville Survey data is informed by a developmental approach to change in adolescence rather than the alternative non-stage views of change which are linear and quantitative in nature, and incorporate the view that something that exists early in life merely becomes bigger and more pronounced over time (see Kroger 2004). Examples of non-stage approaches to change in adolescence include efforts to describe personality in terms of body build, character disposition or psychiatric diagnostic classification. Kroger (2004: 8-9) examines six developmental approaches to identity. The developmental models, in contrast to the non-stage views, attempt to detail how that which existed at earlier life stages becomes somehow transformed into something that is different but related to what existed earlier (Kroger 2004: 8). In these models, according to Kroger (2004: 9) it is possible to discern “qualitatively different stages of organisation, each with its own unique features that will never again exist in the same form”.

For Kroger (2004) the various developmental approaches to understanding how identity forms and changes in adolescence share the view that adolescence for most is a time of heightened activity in the loss and creation

125 of new balances (p. 208). This agreement is couched in an understanding that the process of identity formation is in fact a life-long enterprise (Kroger 2004).

Young people face similar developmental tasks in adolescence (Robbins 2001). Adolescence is widely associated with a series of transitions that result in changes in roles taken on by adolescents that require a repertoire of coping and adaptation skills (Graber et al. 1996). The significant areas of development that need to be addressed for both young women and young men during adolescence according to Robbins (2001: 7) include the exploration of personal identity and individualization, roles and sexuality, the exploration of relationships with peers, and development of self confidence and self esteem. Similar views are shared by Bynner (2007: 196) who lists the central concerns of adolescence as follows:  Developing a self identity in the light of physical changes  Developing a gender identity  Gaining a degree of independence from parents  Accepting or rejecting adult values  Shaping up to an occupational or unemployed role  Developing and extending friendships

For Robbins (2001: 7) the normal adolescent development process entails self absorption, impulsivity, issues of control in relation to adults and significant others, swings in mood and reliability. Consequently, maintaining a sense of balance while moving along new social and emotional paths is not always easy. She argues that young adolescents move from concrete to abstract thinking and have strong needs for achievement, and the recognition of accomplishments although they may express indifference towards these goals. She asserts that both males and females demonstrate an increased interest in values, ideas and social issues.

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The developmental tasks and adolescent concerns referred to by Robbins (2001) and Bynner (2007) are used to guide and inform the analysis of the Penville Survey data and provide the platform for answers to the subset of research questions posed at the beginning of this thesis.

Young people, peer relationships and social networks Adolescents are embedded in a myriad of relationships, most significantly peer relationships which include friendships and relationships with parents (Scholte and van Aken 2006: 175). Commentators such as Scholte and van Aken (2006: 180) note that several important transformations take place in adolescents’ relationships that distinguishes them from childhood relationships. In particular, “relationships become more stable over time and romantic relationships emerge” (p. 180). These transformations are accompanied with the formation of peer groups which are embedded in youth culture. For Scholte and van Aken (2006: 181) relationships in peer groups are generally characterized by symmetrical reciprocity and are organized around the principle of cooperation by equals, and in this respect differ from relationships with adults which are more vertical and characterized by unilateral authority. They contend that “relationships within the peer group offer the adolescent unique opportunities to understanding social possibilities that cannot be learned from relationships with adults such as parents” (p. 181). They assert that friendships can provide the opportunity and secure base for adolescents to talk about issues, and peer relationships are of great importance for adolescent adjustment as are the relationships that adolescents’ have with their respective parents (p. 194).

There is a growing body of evidence that people experience a greater sense of well-being that is they are healthier and happier, when they experience social belonging (Newman et al. 2007). A strong theme in the developmental literature according to Newman et al. (2007) refers to “the importance of early attachments and integration in a warm, responsive parent-child relationship for

127 positive mental health” and as significant relationships increase from childhood to adolescence, it is likely that a sense of peer group membership will develop (p. 242). However, according to Newman et al. (2007: 243) “not all adolescents are equally concerned about being a member of a group”. Adolescents inhabit a complex social environment that comprises many friendship groups, cliques and ‘crowds’ (also referred to as youth culture - see Scholte and van Aken 2006), and it is thought by some commentators that adolescent identity development emerges within the context of self-reported group affiliations (Newman et al. 2007). In a study by Newman et al. (2007) on three aspects of peer group membership in adolescence, namely, peer group affiliation, the importance of group membership and a sense of peer group belonging they found that: adolescents who viewed peer group membership as very important to them and had a positive sense of peer group belonging had significantly fewer behaviour problems than those who viewed peer group membership as very important but did not have a positive sense of peer group belonging (p. 241).

For Cotterell (2007: 16) the social development concerns of young people vary over different periods as young people move through adolescence to young adulthood. Young adolescents experience a different set of psycho-social transitions compared with older adolescents and youth, and the social development concerns of young people vary in significance across these different periods. Ahier and Moore (1999) argue that “in the negotiated life- path, it is important for young people to have access to social resources” (in Cotterell 2007: 19). In this way, “youth transition must be located and understood in terms of networks of relationships (mainly inter-generational) which provide the resources through which young people might actualise whatever options they may aspire to” (Ahier and Moore 1999: 517; in Cotterell 2007: 19). Cotterell (2007: 51) argues that the term ‘peer group’ is a convenient but vague term for all types of collectivities where youth are located and does not adequately represent the variety of group alliances that young people form with their peers. He contends that “whether or not we

128 belong to a group we are inescapably linked to others through a network of ties” (p. 51).

Features of cultures can also affect peer relations and thus reflect cultural differences in the social interactions of adolescents. Schneider argues that adolescent behaviour can be influenced by whether a culture is collectivistic or individualistic (in Scholte and van Aken 2006: 194). He argues that collectivistic cultures place a greater emphasis or higher value on group identity and collective responsibility compared to individualistic cultures that promote individual autonomy and responsibility. For example, a cross cultural comparative study of peer interactions between children completed by Goudena and Sanchez found that children in the collectivistic culture of Spain more frequently interacted with larger groups of peers compared to the individualistic Dutch culture where children interacted more frequently with dyads or small groups (in Scholte and van Aken 2006: 194). In addition, Schneider contends that in collectivistic cultures the extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents) plays a more significant role in people’s everyday life because members of the extended family often provide emotional and instrumental support, consequently, adolescents may have to rely less on friends than do children in individualistic cultures (in Scholte and van Aken 2006).

A social networks perspective on adolescent interactions provides a possible framework for describing the structures in social relations from both an individual and group standpoint which “shows that groups are not bounded entities but are linked to one another through the social ties of actors with overlapping memberships” (Cotterell 2007: 48, 52). According to Helve and Bynner (2007:1) young people are often seen as acquiring the benefits of social capital in education and the transition to work mainly through the social capital of their parents. However, in their move towards autonomy and independence from their parents, young people increasingly transfer their

129 allegiance to their peer group which provides the means to resolve identity conflicts and cope with uncertainties en-route to adulthood.

For Tolonen (2007: 29) Bourdieu’s notion of social capital which consists of several types of capital that are closely interconnected makes his theory potentially more useful in the context of youth research. Tolonen (2007) suggests that Bourdieu’s theory of different forms of capital and “their interconnectedness makes the theory potentially useful (when examining how individual young people are positioned in their social fields) since the social and cultural capital which young people have access to is surrounded by (if not converted into) certain material conditions – economic capital”. Social capital for Tolonen (2007) “refers to social networks, skills and recognition as well as to the emotional support and responsibilities carried by adults or children within these networks” (Helve and Bynner 2007: 3).

The existence of social capital in the myriad of relationships formed by young people is a distinct feature of their experience and another comes with the advances in ICT and various media.

Young people and the Internet Adolescents are the largest consumers of the Internet, particularly its communication applications such as e-mail, instant messaging, bulletin boards, blogs and chat rooms to connect with their peers and discuss typical adolescent issues such as sexuality, identity and partner selection (Subrahmanyam and Lin 2007). Authors such as Brignall and Van Valey (2005: 336, 340) argue that given the extraordinary growth in the use of the Internet it is vital to examine the potential impact of the Internet and especially computer-mediated communications on the nature and quality of social interactions among ‘cyber-kids’ because of its potential effect on ‘normal’ everyday social relations. They assert that the Internet itself is neither positive nor negative (it is inanimate) and to suggest that it is somehow inherently

130 liberating or enslaving is misleading. According to Brignall and Van Valey (2005) the Internet is credited with revolutionizing social interactions, politics, communities and society because of its capability to: circulate ideas to a wide audience, flatten hierarchies, dilute power from traditional elites who monopolize information, facilitate new and interesting forms of community, enhance citizen activism and encourage a generally more reflective society (p. 340). Whilst others refer to the darker side of online interactions which include entrenched social isolation, dysfunctional behaviour, results in less privacy, a lack of community and a weakened democracy.

Consequently, Brignall and Van Valey (2005: 344) argue that given that we know so little about the nature of social interactions that take place over the Internet, particularly by youth, it is clear that much research is needed. They concur with Wellman and Gulia (1999b: 334) who state that: the Internet … is not a separate reality. People bring to their online interactions such baggage as gender, stage in the life cycle, cultural milieu, socio-economic status, and offline connections with others (in Brignall and Van Valey 2005: 344).

For Subrahmanyam and Lin (2007: 659) with the growing use and popularity of Internet communication applications amongst adolescents, the Internet has become an important social context for their development and consequently, the Internet should be included as a contextual factor in developmental research when studying adolescent development. Livingstone (2003) asserts that children themselves play a pivotal role in establishing emerging Internet related practices. She argues that research into children’s use of the Internet needs to go beyond access issues to examine the nature of Internet use that takes into account “its nature and quality, social conditions, cultural practices and personal meanings” (p. 159). So by locating adolescent use of the Internet in everyday life, according to Livingstone (2003: 159), this counters the technologically deterministic assumption that the Internet is external to and therefore has an impact on society, and supports a conceptualisation that “it is

131 longer, multi-dimensional processes of social change that shape the introduction of technology - in the family and childhood, leisure and lifestyles, work and education and social values”.

For Suler (1998) there are four underlying and interlocking needs and motives that draw adolescents to the world of the Internet. He lists these as follows: identity experimentation and exploration; intimacy and belonging; separation from parents and family; and venting frustrations. The easy ‘click-in-and-out’ anonymous world of cyber-space provides a significant opportunity to meet people, find new friends and join new groups (experience a sense of belonging), and all these relationships become an important part of exploring one’s own identity. He argues that on the Internet there is an almost limitless array of people and groups with all kinds of personalities, values, backgrounds and interests to interact with. Suler (1998) also contends that the Internet provides a ‘neat’ way of dealing with the ambivalence and anxiety associated with the separation/individualization process, it allows young people to explore the new frontiers of cyber-space, thus going some way to meeting their need for independence whilst still being able to enjoy the comforts of home.

Suler (1998) goes on to state that one way young people can establish their own individual identity is by acquiring new facts and philosophies, which also includes the skills that may develop from that information. One of the attractive features of the Internet, not only for young people, is that there is little restraint on the information out there in the public domain. Many areas of cyber-space are minimally controlled by government, parents, school and adults in general. Consequently, the exploration of the information published on the Internet can satisfy the need for young people to feel separate and unique from one’s parents. According to Suler (1998) some would argue that much of the information on the Internet is junk but for adolescents it is a vast library covering any imaginable topic where you can find information about your favourite television stars and rock groups. Moreover, the Internet provides an

132 opportunity for young people to decide for themselves what is good information and what is not and publish their own information. However, for Suler (1998) there is certainly some information and skills that young people might seek that is better left alone such as methods of how to inflict violence, pornography and how to make a ‘sex drug’. But there are situations where access to information for personal reasons may be vital such as a young person wanting information about terminating an unwanted pregnancy or about being ‘gay’. Suler (1998: 4) argues that “freedom of information, the quality control of information, and the values that influence our attitudes about information are all issues that everyone must confront”.

Recent studies on Internet use have indicated that social companionship is one of the strongest motives for Internet use and young people like adults use the Internet to find friendship and romance (see Perse and Ferguson 2000; Hardie and Tee 2007). For young people that have grown up with the Internet, according to Brignall and Van Valey (2005) online activity is an important means of social interaction (in Hardie and Tee 2007: 35). However, Hardie and Tee (2007: 35) argue that high levels of Internet use that interfere in daily life have been linked to range of problems including decreased psycho-social well-being, relationship breakdown and neglect of domestic, academic and work responsibilities. What constitutes excessive use of the Internet is subjective and the classification of heavy Internet use as a clinical disorder (see study by Wan and Chiou (2007) on Taiwanese adolescents who are addicted to online games) is highly controversial. Hardie and Tee (2007: 43) assert that for some high levels of Internet use may not be a problem. They state that Internet activities for socially isolated and anxious people, for example, can be highly beneficial and provide important opportunities for information, support and social interaction (p. 43). But for others, high levels of Internet use may result in dependency and dysfunction, including neglect of work, family and social life. Hardie and Tee (2007: 36, 39) note that much of the research on excessive Internet use has been based on small, mono-

133 cultural student samples and as such, findings need to be treated as preliminary until they can be replicated on larger, culturally diverse samples.

Findings from a research study by Subrahmanyam and Lin (2007: 659) into the relationship between adolescent online activity and well-being suggest that loneliness is not related to the total time spent online, nor to the time spent on e-mail but is related to participants’ gender. Males reported more loneliness. They contend that the only variables that predicted loneliness were gender and participants’ perceptions about their online relationships. They assert that adolescents who thought that “their relationship with online partners was one that they could turn to in times of need were more lonely” (p. 659). They go on to state, “however, perceived support from significant others was not related to time spent online, time on e-mail, participants’ relationships with online partners, and to their perceptions about these relationships” (p. 659).

The Internet is increasingly being presented as a pedagogical tool for much of public education (Brignall and Van Valey 2005: 336). However, Dede (1996) argues that without human connectors the Internet is not necessarily an important educational tool (in Robbins 2001). He states that: Access to data does not automatically expand students’ knowledge; the availability of information does not intrinsically create an internal framework of ideas that learners can use to interpret reality …. To be motivated to master concepts and skills, students need to see the connections between what they are learning, the rest of their lives, and the mental models they already use (Dede 1996: 7-8; in Robbins 2001: 4).

Perse and Ferguson (2000: 343) conducted a cost-benefit study of 250 university students who were required to use the Web for coursework and found that learning was considered to be the most salient benefit of the Web followed by ‘Pass time’ and ‘Entertainment’. They noted that the participants in their study did not represent the typical home web user and respondents’ focus on educational uses of the Web and the informational benefits most

134 likely reflected their student-orientated concerns (Perse and Ferguson 355- 356).

Subrahmanyam and Lin (2007: 671) note that the Internet may be helping to narrow the gender gap in the time spent online that was typical in the use of earlier generations of computer applications where boys have tended to spend more time on earlier forms of computer technology such as computer and video games. Whereas the study by Hunley et al. (2005) into the relationship between adolescent computer use and academic achievement found, amongst other things, that there is a gender gap in the types of computer use, namely, that “boys tend to use the computer without the Internet more frequently, and girls tend to use the computer for homework purposes most often” (p.316).

There are many different ways to understand and explore adolescent use of the Internet. Gross (2004: 633) notes that with increasing adolescent use of the Internet over the last decade, a number of corresponding expectations that have emerged. She lists these expectations as: gender predicts usage; the Internet causes social isolation and depression especially in young people (Kraut et al. 1998 and 2002); and adolescents use the Internet for anonymous identity experimentation. Her study of 261 7th and 10th graders from suburban Californian public schools found that “adolescent boys’ and girls’ online activities have become more similar than different” (p. 633). Participants were asked to complete a self report in-school questionnaire and a detailed log over four consecutive days about their Internet activity. On average, Gross (2004: 633) found that they similarly described their online social interaction as:  occurring in a private setting such as e-mail and instant messaging;  with friends who are also a part of their daily offline lives; and  devoted to fairly ordinary but intimate topics such as friends and gossip.

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Overall, Gross (2004) did not find any associations between Internet usage and well-being and online pretending was reported as wanting to play a joke on friends more than to explore a future or desired identity.

In contrast, Robbins (2001) uses three major developmental tasks for adolescence (the search for identity; the pursuit of social connections; and a desire for competence and accomplishment) to analyse the use of Internet technology for eight young adolescent girls aged between 12 and 14 years. Her study involves the interview of eight girls, the analysis of six girls’ personal websites and the review of postings on a message board for young girls interested in online activity. She found that their patterns of Internet use were an effective match for the informants’ developmental tasks. The specific inferences Robbins (2001: ii-iii) drew are listed as:  online technologies offered informants multiple ways of negotiating social relationships;  Internet use supported the informants’ engagement in personalised, self-directed and self-initiated learning;  support from parents, siblings and peers provided the environment for each girl to develop confidence and competence in Internet use; and  the informants’ use of the Internet reflect women’s ways of knowing.

Robbins (2001: 128) explains the final inference drawn from her study in the following way: The girls in the study conveyed a need for learning experiences with technology that were connected, meaningful, and specific. They wanted to accomplish something specific rather than just know how to develop a program or complete a search. They wanted to make e-zines, consider web-based improvements for scientists’ work, add graphic elements that conveyed a message, adopt a pet to be cared for online, or get involved with helping others. They saw the computer and their Internet skills as vehicles for making things happen ... Girls seemed to thrive on thinking and speaking with each other.

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So for Robbins (2001) the findings of her study offers support for research that suggests/affirms for women the importance of connections with others. She confines her analysis to girls’ online activity and does not assert that boys are not interested in connecting with age peers online.

Larson (1999) examines ‘the uses of loneliness in adolescence’. He explores how the tension between social connection (located in expectations that a young person conforms to the peer group and has close and intimate friends) and individualism (associated with ‘coming of age’ where independence is identified as a central developmental task) in western society might create loneliness within the daily contexts of adolescents’ lives. He argues that these two imperatives are pursued in different contexts in the daily lives of adolescents: the peer and school setting is the context where the agenda of social connection is addressed and the family is a context in which the adolescent task of individuation is pursued. He claims that as western children enter adolescence they actively choose contexts of greater loneliness and loneliness has different significance when experienced in the context of peers, family and alone. In some settings it appears to be less of a risk factor and may be even useful.

Larson (1999: 261) contends that time alone is used, mostly at home, for “personal emotional regulation” where adolescents describe seeking solitude for restorative purposes and frequently demonstrate moods that have improved after being alone. Further he adds: It also appears to be a context for the reflexive project of identity exploration and development - they may put on their headphones and transport themselves to a private world of reflection and self-analysis.

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Larson (1999: 262) concludes that time alone can play a positive function in development when it comes “in limited doses, and can provide the context for adolescents’ reflexive project of constructing the much-valued personal self”.

In a scoping study that explores the barriers, the opportunities and attitudes of disadvantaged young people to the use of computers and Internet access, Chia (2002: 12) identifies four key ways in which the Internet has opened up positive opportunities for young people, namely: as an information resource; as a communication tool; as a source of vital skills; and as a source of self- confidence. Chia (2002) goes on to state that personal motivation to use computers and the Internet is driven by three interrelated factors, that is, personal interest; a willingness to learn; and an acknowledgement of one’s own high competency in the use of computers (p. 13-14). She argues that these factors lead to continued use of computers by young people. She also contends that using chat-rooms and playing games promotes social connectivity. Chia (2002: 14) explains this assertion in the following way: “while chatting encouraged online social connectivity, gaming encouraged offline social connectivity based on skill and a positive sense of competition”. She concludes amongst other things, that personal motivation is crucial to young people’s use of IT and therefore, it is important to recognise personal interests when identifying strategies to overcome the range of barriers to the use of computers and Internet access of disadvantaged young people. Consequently, “online activities such as chatting and gaming should be taken more seriously, as these activities may stimulate young people’s interests” (Chia 2002: 16).

Bynner (2007: 195) contends that leisure activity provides the vital arenas in which young people can begin to loosen their ties to family and find their own means of forging identity and building social capital of their own, and these forms of leisure activity change with age. The fashions and lifestyles of young people are not necessarily in themselves a sign of breaking with family but

138 rather signal a degree of autonomy in their own identity construction. According to Helve and Bynner (2007: 1) research on social capital tends to focus upon adults and the communities in which they live with little attention being directed towards the experience of younger age groups, in particular, adolescents and children. They assert that the existence of social capital in peer groups formed by young people is one distinct facet of their experience and another comes from advances in ICT and various media. They go on to state that the Internet provides access to a virtual world made up of an unlimited range of groups, unconnected by geographic proximity and supplies a setting for experimentation with new forms of relationships and new forms of identity, if not multiple identities (Helve and Bynner 2007: 2).

For Bynner (2007) ICT offers opportunities for identity work and experimentation unknown to previous generations of young people and supplies a means for extending friendship patterns (p. 200-201). He states that to create relationships with people unknown to you, or with people who present personas that are not their own in web-based exchanges tests trust to the very limit (p. 201). “This compels participants to build their own sets of rules and values that individuals have to sign up to before they join in” (Bynner 2007: 201). However, such experimentation has disturbing aspects such as the Internet seduction of vulnerable young people.

Concluding remarks Young people access the Internet for a range of reasons which include: to find information, to connect with friends, meet new people like themselves, share ideas, publish their own stories, play games, and more generally to pursue youth culture and progress their search for identity. However, there is not a lot of information about how interactions on the Internet differ from other forms of interactions (Brignall and Van Valey 2005). Much of the research on Internet use has involved small, mono-cultural student samples (see Hardie and Tee 2007). There is evidence to suggest that there are cultural differences in how

139 young people interact with one another (see Scholte and van Aken 2006). Nonetheless, the patterns of Internet use by young people appear to be an effective match for their developmental tasks (see Robbins 2001) and the online activity of adolescent girls and boys appears to be more similar than different (Gross 2004).

This Chapter explored various aspects of the psycho-social development of adolescents, the role of social networks and the impact of emerging communication technologies on resolution of issues associated with young people’s search for identity, peer support and inclusion. Adolescence is widely associated with a series of transitions that result in changes in roles taken on by adolescents that require a repertoire of coping and adaptation skills (see Graber et al. 1996). For Robbins (2001) the significant areas of development that need to be addressed during adolescence include: the exploration of identity and individualisation; roles and sexuality; the exploration of relationships with peers and the pursuit of social connections; a desire for competence and accomplishment that leads to the development of self- confidence and self-esteem. Young people in their move to towards autonomy and independence for their parents, increasingly transfer their allegiance to their peer group which provides the means to resolve identity conflicts and cope with uncertainties en-route to adulthood (see Helve and Bynner 2007).

Young people are the largest consumers of the Internet and consequently, the Internet has become an important social context for their development. (see Subrahmanyam and Lin 2007). For example, one way young people can establish their own individual identity on the Internet is by acquiring new facts and philosophies which also includes the skills that can develop from that information (see Suler 1998). Moreover, the exploration of the information published on the Internet may satisfy the need for young people to feel separate and unique from one’s parents. For young people who have grown

140 up with the Internet online activity is an important means of social interaction (see Brignall and Van Valey 2005).

Online technologies offer young people multiple ways of negotiating social relationships and Internet use supports young people’s engagement in personalised, self-directed and self-initiated learning (see Robbins 2001). Social capital exists in the online networks created by young people (see Helve and Bynner 2007). A study by Chia (2002) notes that personal motivation in young people to use computers and the Internet is driven by three interrelated factors: personal interest; a willingness to learn; and an acknowledgement of one’s own competency in the use of computers. Therefore, it is important to recognise personal interests when identifying strategies to overcome the range of barriers associated with the digital divide experienced by disadvantaged young people. In contrast, other commentators argue that high levels of Internet use that interfere in daily life have been linked to a range of problems including decreased psycho-social well-being, relationship breakdown and neglect of domestic, academic and work responsibilities (see Hardie and Tee 2007).

Understanding how young people resolve developmental tasks and derive benefits from the Internet is requisite in order to understand the findings from the second facet of the field study. The Penville Survey comprises questions that explore whether the process of the implementation of the FCNI community-networking project provided a service that assists young people to achieve small goals that enable them to think and act for themselves through gaining access to knowledge about their own lives in terms that are meaningful to them. So in this instance, the central role of communication technologies should be to support quality of life outcomes for young people in the Penville region (see Wood et al. 2002).

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The next Chapter outlines the research methodology for the field study. There are two facets to the field study and a mixed methodology is used to analyse the relations between managerialism and social justice.

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CHAPTER SIX Research methodology

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between managerialism and social justice. This study is progressed through the central research question: what we can learn about the nature of the relationship between managerialism and social justice in the development of a pilot website for young people in a high need geographic community? The underlying purpose of this question is to examine the process of the implementation of the FCNI to determine whether the service that was established empowered end-users. There are five sub-questions that relate specifically to young people’s views about the pilot website and whether or not the pilot website contributes to social justice objectives. These sub-questions are as follows: What do young people value on the pilot website? What does the Penville Survey tell us about young people’s interests? What are young people’s perceptions regarding the purpose of the pilot website? Are there significant differences between girls’ and boys’ attitudes to the pilot website? What end-user knowledge and experiences should be incorporated into finding ways of increasing young people’s use of the pilot website?

In order to progress this study a blended analysis that comprises a mix of qualitative and quantitative methodologies is used. More specifically, the field study is concerned with the process of the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region and the subsequent development of a pilot website for young people aged between 12 and 25 years. There are two facets to the field study. The first facet deals with the process of establishing the FCNI community- networking project in the Penville region and involves a qualitative analysis of three semi-structured interviews with key participants. The second facet of the field study draws on the findings from the administration of a survey among young people in the Penville area (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Penville

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Survey’ or ‘the Survey’), with a sample of 73 local high school students from two different schools. The field study data were collected in 2002 and 2004.

In recognition of the issues of confidentiality, I chose pseudonyms for the location of the field study ‘Penville’, the non-government agencies involved, and the three interviewees. The attribution of pseudonyms also serves to safeguard the identities of the Survey respondents.

In the field study, to ensure the appropriate distribution of FCNI projects one of the key criterion used by FaCS to guide project development and selection was that projects should focus upon ‘relatively disadvantaged’ or ‘high need’ communities (see Black et al. 2002: 32). Penville was identified by FaCS as a high need community using the following range of indicators – see FCNI Guidelines for Grant Applicants and Grant Application Form (in Black et al. 2002: 110): - labour force participation - youth suicide and attempted suicide rates - employment growth - part-time and - quality/range/accessibility of local social full-time amenities - unemployment rate - educational attainment - overall long-term unemployment rate - crime rates (including juvenile) - average weekly/annual income - index of economic resources - home ownership rate - level and type of local infrastructure - households renting public housing - health indicators - social security dependency rates - level of access to services - number of sole parent families - school dropout and truancy rates

The pilot website was funded by FaCS as part of the FCNI following a novel fee-for-service agreement between Penville Community Services (PCS), the purchaser, and Centrelink, the provider. The FCNI was established to test a range of propositions about strong communities. The central proposition is that strong communities, characterised by a high degree of social cohesiveness and a low level of social problems, exhibit a greater capacity to help themselves (Black et al. 2002: 11). The FCNI was an important element of

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FaCS’ Stronger Communities Strategy. It was considered to be a new way of providing material support to communities as well as an opportunity to explore ways of building partnerships that build social capital and community capacity (Black et al. 2002: 11). The policy associated with the FCNI is discussed in more detail below.

Background to the selection of the field study: participant-as-observer When I commenced my PhD studies in 2000 I was working full-time at Centrelink and wanted to examine the nature of the relationship between managerialism and social justice. Centrelink is widely regarded as the flagship of public sector reform (see Halligan 2008) and claims to promote fairness in society by providing opportunities and support to individuals, families and communities that may otherwise be go without (see Chapter One). The context of my workplace drove my interest in exploring this relationship. Whilst progressing this study I was already actively involved in the FaCS community consultations in the Penville region regarding the FCNI and its subsequent implementation in a high need community. Consequently, I was totally immersed in the ‘organisational setting’ of the field study for an extended period of time prior to the commencement of the research study and have been continuously thereafter.

In Gold’s four-fold typology (1958: 220) of ethnographic research roles, the participant-as-observer role is one where the researcher is regarded as a “complete participant” in that they are a fully functioning member of the social setting being studied and at the same time the other members are aware of the researcher’s status as a researcher (see Bryman 2008: 410). In this field study I was a participant-as-observer. According to Gold (1958: 220-221) there are two limitations to this role. Firstly the informants may become too identified with the researcher to continue functioning as informants. Secondly, the researcher may over-identify with the informants and start to lose their research perspective by ‘going native’ (Gold 1958: 221), that is, becoming too

145 wrapped up in the world view of the people that are being studied (Bryman 2008: 412).

My role as a researcher in the field study was overt. Whilst this field study is not an ethnographic study, there are features of the first facet of the field study that have the hallmarks of an ethnographic approach whereby data have been collected to offer versions of the researcher’s “experiences of reality that are as loyal as possible to the context, negotiations and inter-subjectivities through which the knowledge was produced” (see Pink 2007: 22). The central purpose of the semi-structured interviews with the three key stakeholders was to collect data about the process of the implementation of the FCNI, adding the voices of key participants rather than relying solely on my own observations, minutes from meetings, policy documents, reports and other personal notes from the field which may otherwise have increased the potential for bias. Richardson (1990: 28) notes that “knowledge is always partial, limited and contextual, and there is no escape from subjectivity”. Moreover, the informants were interviewed to obtain information about issues that I was unclear about.

My status as a researcher, whether an insider or not, concerns accessibility, establishing rapport and asking meaningful questions to obtain data (see Merriam et al. 2000). Being an insider in the field study assisted in knowing what questions to ask and how to ask them, as a researcher I accrued the benefits of existing rapport with the three informants, I had easy access to key players involved in the process of the implementation and the development of the pilot website. I was very familiar with the purchaser-provider culture within Centrelink. My status as an insider gave me ‘privileged’ access to all sorts of information about the complexities of establishing the pilot website from a Centrelink perspective.

However, there are several limitations to being an insider and participant because you are assumed to already “know” and getting respondents to

146 elaborate their answers was met with some bewilderment that stemmed from the view “why do ask this? You should know!” (see Merriam et al. 2000: 6). Moreover, I could not fully extinguish my status as the Centrelink project officer. My dual status as the project officer and researcher undoubtedly influenced the perceptions and the responses of those I chose to interview. McKie (2002: 267) argues that we cannot anticipate how those involved in the research may perceive the role, authority and ultimately the power of the researcher. Moreover, it could be argued that as the Centrelink project officer and researcher I had a vested interest in obtaining favourable findings particularly in relation to my own role in the project. In addition, due to my pre- existing work relationship and rapport with each of the informants, their responses may have been influenced by what they thought I wanted to hear.

Reflexivity is concerned with recognising one’s own social location and disentangling how that might shape the empirical analysis (Haney 2002: 286- 287). According to Plummer (2001: 34) “more and more researchers are turning to their own and others’ personal experiences as a basis for reflection and understanding”. The field study comprises, in part, the ‘stories’ of three people who have first-hand knowledge of the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region. As the Centrelink project officer and the researcher, my view will inevitably intrude into the analysis.

In the field study I dealt with my insider status by using triangulation as a way to increasing confidence in my findings. Using more than one method or source of data to explore a social phenomenon can mean that a better and richer picture of reality is obtained, one that is more substantive with a more complete array of symbols and theoretical concepts (Berg 1998: 4). Combining methods also provides a means of verifying findings (Bryman 2008). Silverman (2005: 380) defines triangulation as a comparison of different kinds of data such as quantitative and qualitative data, and the use of different methods such as observation and interviews to examine whether they

147 corroborate each other. However, combining methods does not guarantee internal and external validity (Fielding and Fielding 1986: 24).

I have sought to verify my findings in the following way. The findings from the first facet of the field study have been derived from a range of sources: the analysis of three lengthy semi-structured interviews; documentary material circulated by FaCS about the FCNI and the Minutes from their first community consultation in Penville; reports written by the consultant employed to complete a scoping project for the steering committee advising FaCS; the Black et al. (2002) Evaluation Report of the FCNI; steering committee meeting minutes; the Schedule from the FaCS Funding Agreement with PCS; the Deed Agreement between PCS and Centrelink; the formal agreements between Centrelink and the pilot website’s content providers; and a range of discussion papers and e-mails written by internal Centrelink stakeholders that relate to the development of the pilot website. The use of documents in this analysis is confined to facilitating a deeper understanding of the data collected. These documents are used to add range and depth to the analysis by way of providing additional information that was not discussed by the interviewees, and to increase the validity of the interpretation of the findings from the semi- structured interviews. The findings from the second facet of the field study were cross validated using survey data from the Reach Out! Website and Kids Help Line (KHL) (see below). No formal documentary analysis was undertaken. These documents are used as references and I do refer to the Reach Out! Website and KHL in Chapter Eight.

The FCNI program was evaluated by Black, Ainsworth, Hughes and Wilson from the Centre for Social Research at Edith Cowan University, WA in 2002. Prior to the commencement of the field study, I gained permission from FaCS to undertake this research. Consequently, the pilot website did not form part of the formal evaluation of the FCNI commissioned by FaCS, other than receiving a mention that it had been funded as part of the FCNI. The

148 evaluation commissioned by FaCS and completed by Black et al. (2002: 3) focuses upon the origins and development of the FCNI; details the terms of reference and approach used to the national evaluation of the FCNI; explores the efficiency, effectiveness and accountability of the FCNI; identifies outcomes and learnings; and makes recommendations for future initiatives of this kind. The evaluation by Black et al. (2002) provides an important source of cross-validation for this current study.

In order to obtain a more complete picture of the broader context of the field study, an understanding of the policy associated with the FCNI is required.

The policy associated with the FCNI The former federal liberal coalition government in the 1998-99 Budget, allocated funds totalling $8.3million to be spent over four years (1998-99 to 2001-02), to the Health and Families Services portfolio for a new minor policy proposal. Cabinet agreed to allocate the funds “to improve access to, and coordination of, family-related information and services, including information and services relating to mental health, child care, youth and aged care” (Black et al. 2002: 10). The submission to Cabinet proposed “a series of innovative projects to test the capacity for a business-driven on-line facility to draw together Commonwealth, State, Territory, Local government and community services for families” (Black et al. 2002: 10). There were three parts to the Initiative: the creation of an interactive ‘portal’ website; funding of up to $100,000 a year for up to three years for a community-networking project in 16 to 25 communities selected by FaCS on the basis of identified high need; and funding of up to $20,000 for a number of ‘one-off’ projects, in any suitable location, that contributes in some way to the general aims of the Initiative (FaCS FCNI Minutes 1999). The Initiative received further funding and continued to operate beyond 2001-02.

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The first part of the Initiative was the development of a ‘portal’ website. This was explained in the following way: “this means that it will be a central access point for information by providing linkages to other sites. It will not carry information itself” (FaCS FCNI Minutes 1999a: 2). It was intended to operate as a ‘gateway’ that will provide access to information and services for and about families and parenting across Australia.

The former Department for Health and Family Services started work on setting up the specifications for the website and developing other aspects of the Initiative then called the National Strategies for Improved Access to Services for Families (Black et al. 2002). In October 1998, new Administrative Arrangement Orders established FaCS. The new Department inherited a range of functions from four previously separate agencies including the Department of Social Security and the Department of Health and Family Services. The National Strategies for Improved Access to Services for Families was reviewed, given a different focus and renamed in September 1999, so it aligned with FaCS’ first Strategic Plan that incorporated two new key emphases ‘stronger families’ and ‘stronger communities’. The initiative was renamed the Family and Community Networks Initiative (FCNI).

The aims of the FCNI were underpinned by FaCS’ ‘stronger communities’ strategy (see Black et al. 2002: 11). FaCS developed a stronger communities strategy that involves building new social coalitions between government, business and the community sector to encourage the development of more self-reliant communities. The strategy incorporates an approach to community strengthening that builds on existing community resources and strengths, in order to help develop their capacities to generate and implement their own solutions to identified needs. The approach is a move away from a one-size- fits-all program. Flexibility in tailoring support is seen as crucial if local leaders are to be successful in developing local solutions to local issues. The approach is based on research that suggests stronger communities with a

150 high degree of social cohesion and a low level of social problems have a greater capacity to help themselves. Capacity includes leadership and motivation, skills and knowledge, networks and local assets. The FCNI provided an opportunity to test these propositions in a new way that contributes to on-going strategy and theory. It is also a way to explore building partnerships that put into practice social capital and community capacity philosophies. The FCNI aimed to adopt and develop a new approach to the development and selection of projects (Black et al. 2002: 12).

The Penville region had been selected by FaCS for a community-networking project. It had been identified by FaCS as a high need geographical community. High need communities were selected “for a non-competitive inclusive process for developing project proposals” (Black et al. 2002: 12). I attended the first Community Consultation Meeting on 22 July 1999 held at Penville City Council convened by Penville Community Forum (PCF) on behalf of FaCS. PCF is a peak organisation in the Penville region. It was formed by the community and the community service providers as a key agency to service the community, to identify gaps and address those gaps to meet the needs of the community. The purpose of the consultation was to provide information about the FCNI. This included information about the aims of the Initiative; the major elements; the types of projects that could be funded under the Initiative; the basis of the community and project selection; as well as information about how to get involved. The community consultation was attended by a wide range of stakeholders that included community agencies, members of targeted groups, local residents, local institutions and government departments in a bid to engage a representative cross-section of the community, in accordance with the procedures for implementing the Initiative (Black et al. 2002).

The Penville community-networking project was to be developed by the Penville community as a whole and PCF was accepted by FaCS as the

151 coordinating agency for this process (FaCS FCNI Minutes 1999a: 3). I nominated and became a member of a 15 person steering committee established to advise FaCS regarding the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region. There was a delayed start to the implementation of the Initiative and consequently, the FCNI Budget was revised in 1999 (Black et al. 2002: 12).

The contractual arrangements The implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region proceeded pursuant to a FaCS Funding Agreement with PCS that created a novel contractual arrangement between FaCS, PCS and Centrelink. In the Schedule to the FaCS Funding Agreement with PCS the following was listed, amongst others, as part of the primary short-term project outcomes: “in partnership with Centrelink, design, provide and maintain a Penville Youth Self Help Website, a self directed learning tool for young people aged between 12 and 25, based on an innovative Swiss model” (emphasis added) (Schedule in FaCS Funding Agreement 2001: 9). This undertaking was also specified in greater detail in Part D of the Schedule - Nature of Project Activities. So in effect, this prevented PCS from selecting another provider for the pilot website and PCS was bound by the Agreement to work in partnership with Centrelink. Hence there was a formal contractual agreement between FaCS and PCS, and PCS and Centrelink. The FaCS Funding Agreement with PCS also created an informal agreement between FaCS and Centrelink as the specified partner with PCS in the development of the pilot website.

Consequently, PCS and Centrelink entered into a two page fee-for-service Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) where Centrelink agreed to develop and manage the pilot website. The MOU was later formalised in accordance with a Deed agreement drawn up by the national Business Alliance and Contracts Unit in Centrelink, where both parties (PCS and Centrelink) intended

152 that the terms of the Deed apply from the date they commenced to perform obligations under the pre-existing MOU.

Centrelink then entered into further formal agreements with the pilot website’s content providers. The purpose of these agreements was to outline the responsibilities of the respective content providers and Centrelink. It specifically included a content provider warranty for the information that was to be forwarded to Centrelink by each content provider for publication on the pilot website. The content providers included two Commonwealth government departments, two State government departments, a Local government agency, and three non government organisations. There was no payment associated with the content provider agreements.

The contractual arrangements associated with the development of the pilot website are diagrammatically depicted below (see Figure 3 below). PCF was not a party to the contractual arrangements that form part of this field study. The bold lines signify the formal agreements and the broken line represents the informal agreement between FaCS and Centrelink that was embedded in the FaCS Funding Agreement with PCS:

Figure 3: Contractual arrangement FaCS PCS

Centrelink

Content providers

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Ethical issues associated with the field study The decision to undertake social research involves a range of significant ethical considerations (for a full discussion see Hugman in press). These include for Mudaly and Goddard (2006: 46): “balancing the possible benefits of the study with the potential for causing harm to the participants; ensuring voluntary and informed consent; ensuring anonymity and confidentiality of data, and consideration of the possibility of abuse by the researcher or exploitation by the research process”.

The empirical work associated with the thesis was conducted in 2002 and 2004. Two separate applications for ethical clearance for research involving human participants were lodged with the University Ethics Committee at UNSW in June 2002 and March 2004 respectively. Although the applications were approved, the empirical work poses a number of significant ethical issues related to: (1) the anonymity and confidentiality of the semi-structured interview data given the very small number of informants – only three people were interviewed and moreover, the field study identifies the specific roles of the informants; and (2) data was collected from children which raises important considerations including issues about informed consent. With respect to the first set of concerns, the possible identification of the three informants was offset through the use of pseudonyms but this was somewhat diminished by the identification of the specific roles of the informants in the analysis of the findings from the field study. However, even though the amount of time that has lapsed since the empirical study is a limitation of the findings, the time delay in this instance also acts to safeguard the identities of the informants. The second set of ethical concerns are explained below.

Ethical issues in social research with children There are important differences between researching adults and researching children (see Mudaly and Goddard 2006). The second facet of the empirical study involves collecting data from children. Consequently, there are a number

154 of important ethical issues to consider. For Mudaly and Goddard (2006) when children are involved in research greater regard needs to be given to their ‘unique’ qualities coupled with the need to carefully assess and minimize risks to them. According to Mudaly and Goddard (2006: 46) the issues to consider are “how they understand the research process because of their developmental competences and experiences, their limited social power and their ambiguous legal status, which both protects and limits their rights”.

Similarly, for Best (2007: 12) the issue of adult authority and power is a core concern because researching children involves what she refers to as “studying down”. She contends that the authority adults command and structures of power are deeply enmeshed insofar as their authority stems from and is strengthened by a set of institutional and ideological arrangements “that produce differences in the roles adopted by children and adults in social settings and in the research encounter that creates a vast gulf between the resources each group collectively holds” (p. 12). Further, Best (2007: 14) argues that children and youth despite being a subject of research for almost a Century are largely excluded from the very social processes through which knowledge is created about them.

The focus of the literature on the ethics of social research with children, according to Morrow and Richards tends to focus upon informed consent to taking part in research (in Edwards and Alldred 1999: 265). Commentators such as Edwards and Alldred (1999: 265-266) assert that informed consent concerns providing clear and unambiguous information to potential research participants, in this instance children, about the purpose and nature of the particular empirical study so that they can make choices about participation and this may be an ongoing process throughout the research rather than a one-off event (see also Hugman in press). Weithorn and Scherer (1994: 167) contend that researchers are ethically bound to support the autonomy of their research participants as “there is a substantial difference in power between

155 researchers and their subjects; researchers are capable of engineering consent decisions, and researchers may misunderstand their subjects’ needs and preferences”. They contend that children are less likely to understand their rights to dissent or volunteer. They go on to state that research with children requires the researcher to be extremely sensitive to the particular effects of role constraints (children due to their dependency are often locked into a ‘subservient’ role and likely to respond with characteristic passivity) and institutional milieu (p. 169). Children in institutions such as schools may not assert their rights to dissent because of powerful norms that exist in these settings and therefore, researchers should conduct a formal assessment of the institutional milieu to evaluate how power is exercised and how members of that setting characteristically respond. Schools are highly structured environments. For Weithorn and Scherer (1994: 169) researchers should pay careful attention to how they word requests as children are more likely to make voluntary decisions to participate if researchers present alternatives to potential respondents including the participants’ right to dissent.

In the empirical study, potential respondents were given the choice to withdraw their consent at any time (see Student Consent Form Appendix H page 319 and the Penville Survey Appendix I page 320). In addition, potential respondents were given a choice as to whether they want to consent to participate in the Survey to Centrelink with information about the pilot website and/or for the purpose of providing data for my PhD study. Four respondents from the rural high school chose to participate in the Survey to provide information to Centrelink but not to contribute to the research that I was conducting. This suggests a capacity to exercise informed consent.

Other practical problems identified by Weithorn and Scherer (1994) relate to active encouragement and researchers should avoid mixed messages such as stating that the child is free to choose to participate whilst using voice tones and non-verbal communication that suggest otherwise. In the empirical study,

156 the Student Information Sheet, the Student Consent Form and the Survey were all placed on the keyboard of the computer terminals set aside by the respective schools to conduct the Survey. In this way I minimised any direct conversation with the potential respondents that could have constituted active encouragement to participate in the Survey. However, I was asked by several potential respondents at both schools to explain the information provided and it is difficult to track the impact of this. It may have reduced the capacity of these respondents to voluntarily assent to their participation; alternatively it may have enhanced their ability to consent. Without a separate process to verify this it is not possible to be more conclusive.

For Weithorn and Scherer (1994) the use of social persuasion where the researcher points out that the potential respondents’ peers have taken part in the study may hinder a child’s capacity to respond voluntarily. In addition, institutionalised sanctioned power will inhibit the capacity of children to voluntary assent (p. 170). In the empirical study, permission was sought from the District Superintendent at the District Office of the Penville Department of Education to conduct the Survey with the potential child respondents. Once obtained, further approval was sought from the respective Principals at two local high schools. These actions are likely to be understood by the potential child respondents in a way that suggests that the researcher has been imbued with institutionally sanctioned power to conduct the study within the school environment and consequently, is likely inhibit their capacity as to voluntarily ‘consent’ to their participation in the field study. Further, the children from the rural high school were all members of a computing class. I had no knowledge of whether those that participated in the Survey at the rural high school were asked to volunteer or told to participate by their teacher prior to any contact with the researcher. I can only assume their voluntary assent, which is to some degree supported by the decision of four children who dissented and did not give me permission to use their data of my PhD study (see above). An alternative view regarding the participation of respondents in the Survey may

157 simply lie in the fact that their participation may have had nothing to do with a latent desire to be ‘surveyed’ but rather participating in the Survey meant that they did not have to be in class (see Burgess 1984).

Weithorn and Scherer (1994: 171) conclude that by carefully adopting behaviours that establish an atmosphere of choice, researchers can do their best to maximize the possibility that children will respond to requests for participation in a competent and voluntary manner. In the empirical study, I did not specify where respondents were to sit, whether or not respondents should complete the Survey on their own or in consultation with their peers. The Student Consent Form comprised two levels of consent whereby respondents could choose between supplying data to Centrelink about the pilot website and/or for the purpose of my PhD study (see Appendix H page 319). As stated above, four children from the rural high school did not consent to allow their responses to be used in my PhD study. However, the use of the two tier Consent Form was problematic insofar as the potential respondents were being asked to consent to allow the data being collected from the Survey to be used by Centrelink to evaluate the pilot website as well as for my PhD study, in terms that were unlikely to be understood by those children who in fact assented to use of their data in my research. This is so despite assurances from both Principals prior to the Survey being administered, that the language used in the Student Information Sheet, the Student Consent Form and the Survey would be understood by the potential respondents. For example, the terms managerialism and social justice were not explained on the Student Consent Form.

In summary, research with children involves a range of important ethical considerations because of their unique qualities. Even though, the main thrust of the field study examines the relationship between managerialism and social justice in the development of a community-networking project, the collection of data associated with deciding whether the community-networking project

158 empowers end-users, in this instance children, needs to ensure that these respondents have been placed at minimal risk by participating in the research study and that safeguards were in place to reduce negative impacts on these respondents. The confidentiality of respondents was addressed through the collection of minimal demographic data. The only demographic information collected related to age, gender and postcode. The Survey incorporated elements of choice and thus enhanced opportunities, given the constraints of an institutional context, to voluntarily assent to their participation. In addition, the Survey was administered in an ‘everyday’ context that was familiar to all the potential respondents, their respective high schools.

First facet of the field study: the semi-structured interviews The first facet of the field study involves a consideration of how a particular conceptualization of ‘social justice’ that derives from ideas about community development practices proposed by Ife (1995) finds expression in the process of implementing the FCNI. Given that the first facet of field study involves an exploration of the process of the implementation, ideas about managerialism become part of analytical approach because the minor policy proposal despite its stated aims of testing assumptions about strong communities is being initiated by government and one of the official objectives of government is the efficient, effective and economical use of resources. Managerialism is a means value. Consequently, the process provides fertile ground to examine the nature of the relationship between managerialism and social justice.

Essentially, the first facet of the field study is concerned with an exploration of the process used by FaCS to establish the pilot website, an outcome intended to empower young people in a high need community. By focusing on the process of the implementation of the FCNI, it facilitates an opportunity to explore how tensions emerged between the stated objectives of the FCNI and what actual happened. The process represents the means through which the end product, the pilot website was achieved. The stated intention of the

159 process was to deliver a social justice outcome. For McKie (2002: 263-264) the use of qualitative research can provide some opportunity to chart and reconcile multiple stories of a project or policy provided the method(s) selected promotes participation. The implementation process is explored through the perspectives of the three informants and the analysis focuses upon to what degree did the assumptions that underpin the notion of stronger communities guide the actual process that led to the development of the pilot website. The implementation of the FCNI represents an attempt by FaCS to use a community development approach that involves collaboration and partnerships as a way of achieving social justice outcomes.

The first facet examines the views of three key stakeholders, FaCS, Penville Community Forum (PCF) and PCS involved in the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region. The semi-structured interview questions for each informant were worked out in advance and followed an outline of topics which also included prompts and probes. The questions were modified in keeping with the flow of the conversation. The perspectives of the informants varied according to the role they played in the implementation process. Despite this, there are overlapping themes evident in all three interviews. The respondents’ accounts are considered in terms of the milestones reached during the implementation process as well as analysed according to the themes that emerged during the semi-structured interviews. The themes are raised, to some extent, in chronological order as the implementation of the FCNI unfolded in the Penville region. The themes are considered in terms of what they tell us about the literature associated with that concept. The respective Interview Schedules comprised open questions with a set of prompts and probes that focus specifically upon aspects of the implementation process and take into account the various roles played by the informants in that process (see Appendices B, D and F).

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In the field study, the analysis of the semi-structured interviews is written in a narrative style. Polkinghorne asserts that “narrative meaning is created by noting that something is a part of the whole and that something is a cause of something else” (in Richardson 1990: 13). For Richardson (1990: 13) the narrative approach is contextually embedded, looks for particular connections between events and “the connections between the events is the meaning” (emphasis original). The analysis employs the type of reasoning that seeks to understand the whole (the process of the implementation of the FCNI) by the integration of its parts (the connections between the events that comprise the implementation of the FCNI). In other words, the experience of each informant is connected to each others’ experience and evaluated in relation to the larger whole.

The analysis of the semi-structured interviews in Chapter Seven progresses in the following order: Ted, Molly and Mary. These names are pseudonyms for the three key informants. Ted is the FaCS project officer, Molly is the coordinator of PCF and Mary is the general manager of PCS. The interviews provide a cumulative picture of the implementation process. Ted’s role as the FaCS FCNI project officer in the State Office was concerned with bringing about the implementation of the FCNI program in the Penville region; Molly as the coordinator for PCF at the time of the field study was involved in providing assistance to FaCS to help progress an effective consultation process; and Mary as the general manager for PCS was involved to the actual delivery of the FCNI program in the Penville region. Ted’s interview was the longest of the three interviews due to his more ‘intimate’ knowledge of the FCNI and his role as the FaCS project officer in the implementation process. Molly’s interview was the shortest given her role in the consultation process and the time that had lapsed between her involvement with the FCNI program and the date of the interview. The interviews are considered separately and then the common themes are discussed in the final section of Chapter Seven.

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The decision to interview only three people about the implementation process of the FCNI does not necessarily diminish the value of their observations and thoughts as other sources of data about the process are also drawn upon such as the Minutes from Committee Meetings and the Black et al. (2002) Evaluation Report of the FCNI program. These additional sources of data further contextualize the perspectives of the informants and increase the trustworthiness of the interview data. The use of a limited number of informants is much more indicative of a late decision to use a work opportunity to progress this field study. Moreover, the interviews comprise only the first facet of the research study. The second facet captures data from a larger cohort. However, interviewing only three people greatly reduces the level of anonymity available to the informants and consequently, they are likely to be far more cautious about their responses.

The interviews My decision to use interviews as a way of collecting data reflects what Mason (2002) refers to as the centrality of talk in our ways of knowing about the world. For Mason (2002) this approach to the acquisition of data gives some level of privilege to individuals as sources of data and she adds that asking, listening and interpretation are ‘theoretical projects’. So the task is to figure out how to organise the asking and listening to achieve the best conditions for creating meaningful knowledge (p. 227).

The semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face at different times and at different locations. The first interview was conducted on Friday 19 July 2002 with Mary. The second interview was carried out on Friday 23 August 2002 with Ted. The final interview with Molly was completed approximately 18 months later on Wednesday 31 March 2004. Molly ended her employment at PCF in December 2000 not long after the local consultative steering committee established by FaCS made their final decision on which community-networking project proposal to recommend to FaCS for FCNI

162 funding. The purpose of the third interview was to provide a more complete account of the circumstances associated with the establishment of the FCNI by FaCS in the Penville region particularly, given PCF’s auspicing role in facilitating the community consultation process for FaCS. However, given the additional time that had lapsed since the project was established in that region, some of Molly’s recollections were somewhat vague resulting in several responses such as “I can’t remember”. I used more prompts in my interview with Molly compared to the interviews with Mary and Ted.

My involvement with the implementation of the FCNI in Penville pre-dated my decision to conduct the field study. Consequently, I did not take steps to obtain Molly’s forwarding contact details and only learned of these details some time later. At the time that the FCNI was formally established in the Penville region, PCF only employed a coordinator and part-time administrative officer. The part-time administrative officer had little or negligible involvement with the FaCS Initiative. PCF had no further involvement in the implementation of the FCNI once the selection of a suitable community-networking project had been finalised. Consequently, the only person who possessed significant information about PCF’s involvement in the process of the implementation of the FCNI was Molly, the former Coordinator who I later interviewed despite the considerable lapse in time.

Mary and Ted were interviewed in their respective workplaces. Molly was interviewed at Centrelink. I had offered to interview Molly elsewhere but Molly was happy for the interview to be conducted at Centrelink. Each interviewee was given a Consent Form (see Appendices A, C and E pages 303, 308 and 312 respectively) to complete prior to the commencement of the interview. I explained that they could withdraw their consent and terminate the interview at anytime. I asked permission from each interviewee to audio-tape the interview so that I could obtain a full transcript of the interview. I explained to each interviewee that the purpose of the semi-structured interview was to obtain

163 information about their respective roles in the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region. The tape recorder was placed between myself and the interviewee. I had purchased 90 minute audio-tapes to record the interviews and found that the flow of the interviews with Mary and Ted were interrupted when I had to turn the audio-tape over to continue recording. This caused more of a problem for Mary than Ted. Mary’s interview was interrupted twice: once by a knock at the door because of an enquiry made by a staff member at PCS and by having to turn the tape over. Mary had to be prompted to re-focus her thinking.

I constructed an interview schedule for each semi-structured interview. I wanted to collect data about the community consultation, the selection process and the subsequent development of the pilot website that comprised part of a larger community-networking project. Each interview schedule incorporated a list of topics that were framed as open-ended questions, prompts and probes to elicit and clarify responses. This allowed for greater freedom, sequencing in the questions, their wording and the amount of time and attention given to each topic (Robson 1993: 237). The range of topics and the questions that comprised each interview schedule reflected the role played by that particular interviewee in the implementation process of the FCNI. The topics that I chose were derived from aspects of the definitions of managerialism (see Figure 1 page 23) and social justice explored in Chapter One. I used similar topics in the interview schedules for the interviews with Ted and Mary but the questions under each heading were different (see Appendix B and F pages 304 and 313 respectively). The interview schedule constructed for the interview with Molly comprised different topics and different questions (see Appendix D page 309). Where similar topics were used a slightly different angle or emphasis was pursued in the line of questioning depending on the respective role played by that particular person in the process of the implementation of the FCNI.

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The use of audio-tapes and transcripts In the field study audio-tapes were used to record the semi-structured interviews which were then transcribed verbatim for analysis. The interviews were audio-taped to ensure there was an accurate and true record of the interview; to counter the natural limitations of memory; to allow for thorough and repeated examinations of what was said; to open up the data to public scrutiny by other researchers; and to assist in countering claims that the analysis has been unduly influenced by the my bias and values (see Heritage in Bryman 2008: 451).

In the field study, I had to consider the extent to which a literal translation of the semi-structured interviews was needed, that is, whether all the pauses, faltering, fumbling and confusion of everyday talk was required (see Plummer 2001: 150). Should the text be smoothed and rounded out? Plummer (2001: 150) refers to Finnegan’s list of the quite ‘usual’ edits such as leaving out the “uh’s” and other hesitations; the false starts and corrections; omitting interview responses like “I see” or “yeah”; using standard spelling; use punctuation as normal; and otherwise do not correct and interpret. In deciding what to do I needed to consider the purpose of the transcript. I was seeking transcripts that were readable without losing their meaning, so consequently I did employ the edits suggested by Finnegan.

The analysis and use of themes Plummer (2001: 152) contends that the analysis of interviews “entails brooding and reflecting upon mounds of data for long periods of time until it ‘makes sense’ and ‘feels right’, and key ideas and themes flow from it”. For Silverman (2005: 153) “no meaning resides in a single unit of data so everything depends on how your units fit together”. In the field study, I initially read the interview transcripts to confirm that the content of each recorded interview was true and accurate. This was achieved by intently listening to each audio-tape whilst reading the transcription and correcting it as required. I then proceeded to

165 explore the interview transcripts multiple times I read and re-read the interviews. I began by approaching the data with a holistic reading of each interview. I sought to immerse myself in the different perspectives of each of the interviewees. As I read and re-read the transcripts I wrote notes in the margins. I started to cluster chunks of text from each transcript under headings and then reflected on these topics. For each of the headings there were a cluster of quotations. I began to notice similarities and differences between the responses of Ted, Molly and Mary. I started to see categories emerging from their comments. I read through the transcripts again to look for any patterns or themes. Each time I looked at the data I started to refine how the text was clustered to determine further topics and sub-categories.

The analysis of the text intensified in order to discern new possibilities in patterns and interpretations. I moved text around and reconsidered initial topics and used emerging themes to organise the data from the transcripts. My analysis was underpinned by the answer to: what does the data tell us about the theory? It was a progressive analysis in order to determine what we can learn about the relationship between managerialism and social justice in the process of the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region and the subsequent development of the pilot website. The analysis in Chapter Seven is organised around themes, each interview is examined separately then discussed together. The most common criticisms associated with the use of themes relate to the de-contextualization and the fragmentation of data (see Bryman 2001). Clustering chunks of text takes the data out of the context within which it appeared and removes the social setting. It also results in the fragmentation of data, in that the “narrative flow of what people say is lost” (Bryman 2001: 400-401).

The format of the analysis in Chapter Seven involves the use of embedded and longer quotations. Brief quoted phrases are embedded within my narrative to ‘help tell the story’ and are intended to focus the reader’s attention on the

166 analysis. I have used longer passages to communicate more complex ideas and to also illustrate how different ideas expressed by the informants have lead to similar conclusions.

Criteria used to evaluate the first facet of the field study Commentators such as Padgett (1998) assert that the validation of findings through replication is not an overriding concern in qualitative studies but rather the key issue in qualitative research is trustworthiness and authenticity. However, Bryman (2008: 380) argues that the ‘authenticity’ criterion is “thought provoking but ha[s] not been influential and [its] emphasis on the wider impact of research is controversial”. So, the authenticity criteria are not used here in relation to this study.

Trustworthiness for Bryman (2008: 377) comprises four criteria and each has an equivalent in quantitative research: credibility which parallels internal validity; transferability parallels external validity; dependability parallels reliability; and confirmability parallels objectivity. Credibility relates to obtaining multiple accounts of the social reality. In this instance only three accounts of the process were obtained. However, I used more than one method or source of data to study the implementation process. The interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Both the audio-tapes and transcripts of each interview are available as bona fide ‘public’ records of the interview data collected. Transferability involves the production of ‘thick’ descriptions. Thick descriptions are “detailed accounts of a social setting that can form the basis for the creation of general statements about a culture and its significance in people’s social lives” (Bryman 2008: 700). These stem from intensive study that provides a rich account of the social reality so that others can make judgements about the possible transferability of the findings to other settings. The findings from the first facet of the field study principally flow from the interview data from three informants, a very small sample, so despite the use of other sources of data, the generalizability of the findings is limited.

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Bryman (2008) states that dependability refers to the adoption of an ‘auditing approach’ where complete records are kept of all stages of the research process in an accessible format so that others can establish that proper procedures were followed and that theoretical inferences can be justified. This involves keeping documents and other information that relates to such things as: problem formulation, selection of research respondents, any field notes, interview transcripts and data analysis decisions. I have securely stowed the audio-tapes, transcriptions, my field notes, minutes from meetings and other documents associated with the field study for possible scrutiny by others. The final criterion, confirmability, is associated with being able to demonstrate that the researcher’s personal values or theoretical inclinations have not manifestly swayed the conduct of the research and overtly influenced the study’s findings.

For Padgett (1998) the biggest threats to trustworthiness come from reactivity, researcher and respondent biases. According to Padgett (1998), reactivity refers to the distorting effects of the researcher’s presence in the field; researcher biases relate to the temptation to filter one’s observations and interpretations through a lens clouded by preconceptions and personal opinions; and respondent biases range from the withholding of information by respondents that may be embarrassing or unpleasant to respondents trying to be too helpful and giving the answers they feel researchers want to hear. Padgett (1998) states that one of the clear advantages of using documents and existing data over interviewing and observation is their lack of reactivity.

The tone of the analysis is influenced by my own direct involvement in the development of the Penville pilot website (see discussion above). The tone of the field study is evident in how I have chosen to organise the data, how quotations and the experiences of the interviewees are treated in the analysis. The field study provides a description of the findings from the data collected. It

168 looks for particular connections between events and it is these connections that give meaning to the subsequent analysis.

The second facet of the field study: the Penville Survey The second facet of the field study builds on research into the perceived benefits to young people of access to information via the Internet and is specifically concerned with whether or not this access assists them to achieve a sense of empowerment. This Chapter now moves on to a brief explanation of the Penville pilot website; identifies some methodological considerations; details the content of the Penville Survey; describes the respondents and how they were selected; and the method used to administer the Penville Survey. Chapter Eight provides a descriptive analysis of the Survey data collected. The statistics generated were used to summarise and discuss the patterns of information that was obtained from the sample. I chose to analyse the data in this way as I considered this approach to be more compatible with the qualitative methodology used to examine the data collected from the semi- structured interviews. The analysis of the Survey data involves a consideration of young people’s views on the relevance and suitability of the pilot website in assisting them to achieve a sense of empowerment in the sense of gaining access to knowledge about their own lives in terms that have meaning for them.

The second facet looks at whether or not the end product, the pilot website, empowered young people using an alternative conception of social justice to that used in the first facet of the field study, one which derives from the work of Rees (1991) about ‘achieving power’. The Survey used in the field study comprises 11 closed-ended questions and several open-ended questions that are intended to operationalise ideas about achieving empowerment through young people expressing attitudes towards the information published on the pilot website. The Survey comprises closed-ended questions (statements) and open-ended questions about whether or not the information published on the

169 pilot website empowered respondents in the sense of being able to access knowledge about their own lives in terms that have meaning for them (see Chapter Eight). Moreover, the actual administration of the Survey was also a way of giving power to respondents to either record or not record their own views about the pilot website.

The pilot website The Penville pilot website is a static information only website that provides information about a wide range of social issues that impact upon young people in the Penville region. It includes information on: relationships; health; money worries; accommodation; sexuality; child abuse; drug and alcohol abuse; suicide; legal issues; education; work and local community events. These topics were identified by young people who attended a series of focus groups in the Penville region as important issues that impact upon young people aged between 12 and 25 years.

Eight content providers agreed to provide information for publication on the website and had either signed a formal Deed agreement with Centrelink to provide this information or entered into an informal arrangement to adhere to the responsibilities and obligations outlined in the content provider Deed agreements. The Penville website was designed and named by young people from the Penville region, and was launched in 2001 by the federal member for Penville. With the assistance of several Centrelink colleagues, I conducted a series of focus groups with young people from three different youth specific agencies in the Penville region. This culminated in the nomination of seven young people to form a working party to assist Centrelink in developing an appropriate pilot website for the region. The pilot website was specifically designed using frames for Microsoft Internet Explorer because this was considered to be the most common type of browser used to access the Internet. However, this choice proved to be problematic (see The procedure: the administration of the Survey below page 178).

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Ideas about Rees’ (1991) empowerment ‘prospectus’ (see Chapter One) inform the content of the statements that comprise the closed-ended questions in the Survey and respondents are asked to record their attitudes towards these statements using a Likert scale. From Chapter One, Rees (1991: 66) states that empowerment is an expression of social justice which addresses two inter-related objectives: the more equitable distribution of resources and non-exploitive relationships between people; and enables individuals to achieve a creative sense of power through enhanced self-respect, knowledge confidence and skill. Rees (1991) contends that through the achievement of small goals, in this instance, young people gaining access to knowledge about their own lives, this enables people to think and act for themselves, to become confident participants in addressing social issues that affect them (see Chapter Eight).

The Survey is primarily concerned with capturing data about the second objective – the achievement of a creative sense of power through improved self-respect, knowledge, confidence and skill. The Survey aims to capture data about whether the information published is accessible, easy to locate and understand; increased opportunities to gain knowledge about their lives; make informed decisions and assists in self-learning; develops self-awareness and social connections with others.

The Survey The quantitative methodology used in Chapter Eight embodies a broadly deductive approach to the relationship between theory and research where theory can “act loosely as a set of concerns” in relation to which a researcher collects data (Bryman 2001: 63). Quantitative research is primarily concerned with measurement. Measurement allows the researcher: to delineate fine differences between people in terms of the characteristics of the question … gives us a consistent device for making such distinctions …

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(and) provides the basis for more precise estimates of the degree of (the) relationship between concepts (emphasis original) (Bryman 2001: 66).

The Survey used a Likert scale to measure respondents’ attitudes to the closed-ended questions. One of the objectives of scaling is about being able to differentiate between people who fall at different points along an attitude continuum (De Vaus 1995: 252). One advantage of closed-ended questions identified by Alston and Bowles (1998: 108) is that respondents may be more likely to mark a point on a scale than take the time to write a comment. They also note a disadvantage to these questions in that “closed-ended questions could reflect the reality of the researcher rather than the people being researched” (p. 108). Open-ended questions do not anticipate results, they invite respondents to make comments and provide more scope for respondents to express their thoughts and feelings (Alston and Bowles 1998). Open-ended questions make no assumptions about how respondents may reply. For De Vaus (1995: 83-86) the wording of questions is fundamental and he argues that considerable attention should be given to developing clear, unambiguous and useful questions.

In the second facet of the field study, a self-completion questionnaire is used to collect a body of quantifiable data about the pilot website. A matrix format was used for the layout of the Penville Survey. The Survey was designed to explore four ideas about empowerment: self-respect, knowledge, confidence and skill. These ideas were then re-classified as more general concepts either pertaining to an ‘attribute’ or ‘attitude’.

Concepts derive meaning from the definitions attributed to them (see De Vaus 1995: 49-50). The Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines ‘self- respect’ as “respect for yourself which shows that you value yourself”; ‘knowledge’ as “understanding of or information about a subject which has been obtained by experience or study, and which is either in a person’s mind

172 or possessed by people generally”; ‘confidence’ as “the quality of being certain of your abilities or of having trust in people, plans or the future”; and ‘skill’ as “an ability to do an activity or job well, especially because you have practised it” (Cambridge Dictionaries Online 2009).

For the purposes of the Survey, these four ideas about empowerment were grouped together under more general concepts: ‘attitudes’ and attributes’. I considered that ‘self-respect’ and ‘confidence’ were ‘attitudes’ whereas ‘knowledge’ and ‘skill’ could be alternatively described as ‘attributes’. So for the purposes of this field study ‘attribute’ refers to “a quality or characteristic that someone or something has” and ‘attitude’ refers to “a feeling or opinion about something or someone, or a way of behaving that is caused by this” (Cambridge Dictionaries Online 2009). The operationalisation of ‘attributes’ primarily involved developing items or statements that directly related to the respondents’ ability to locate, understand and determine the value of the published information that captured ideas about the respondents’ level of skill and knowledge. Data about respondents’ ‘attitudes’ was collected using statements that sought to determine respondents’ thoughts and opinions about the pilot website that incorporated ideas about self-respect and confidence. The items in the Survey were worded to avoid extreme or predictable responses where respondents are all likely to agree or disagree with the statement.

Once having established what concepts I wanted to measure, I developed indicators of each concept which involved moving from the ‘abstract’ to something concrete and tangible. In determining how many indicators of each concept I would use, I was influenced by the characteristics of the intended sample of respondents, the time and location of the administration of the Survey. The Survey was to be administered to adolescent high school students during school time. Given that I was intending to survey high school students during school time at their respective high schools, I was conscious

173 of time constraints and not wanting to cause too much is disruption in the school day for both respondents and the school. This influenced the length of the Survey and number of closed-ended (statements) and open-ended questions used. I was also concerned about the wording of the questions, whether they would be easily understood and sought to ensure that the format of the Survey was user-friendly and easy to follow.

I developed a set of closed-ended questions that comprised a mixture of statements to measure the two concepts that were informed by four ideas about empowerment. I incorporated a level similarity and overlap into the statements to increase the reliability and validity of the findings generated from the collected data. A number of statements were used to measure each concept. Reliability involves the consistency of the measure of a concept (Bryman 2001: 70) and validity concerns whether a measure of a concept really measures that concept (Bryman 2001: 71-72). There was no ‘pre- testing’ of the questionnaire with a group of young people similar to those I wanted to survey. Instead I consulted with the Penville District Office of the Department of Education and the school principals at both high schools about the contents of the Survey to ascertain whether or not any of the students who were likely to participate would have any difficulties understanding the questionnaire. The feedback I received was that the Survey would be easily understood by the students.

The Survey included instructions on how to complete the questionnaire and collected minimal demographic data to assist in making comparisons between the two high schools, girls and boys. The Survey comprised a range of positive and negative statements to which respondents were asked to indicate the strength of their agreement or disagreement with each statement using a Likert scale. The collected data was converted to percentages and put in to a table to facilitate the descriptive analysis of the findings from the Survey (see Figure 4 page 240). Short quotations from the recorded responses to the

174 open-ended questions are used in the discussion of the Survey results in Chapter Eight. I have ‘piled up’ short indented quotations to illustrate the range of comments to each of the three open-ended questions that were included in the Survey. For Richardson (1990: 41) “piling up indented short quotations illustrates diversity within sameness, without diverting the reader to side topics” (see Chapter Eight). The data collected from the Survey is used to answer the sub-questions identified at the beginning of this Chapter.

Cross-validation of Survey findings The Penville pilot website was registered as a ‘dot com’ (.com) rather than ‘dot com dot au’ (.com.au) site and most of the visitors to the pilot website came from overseas rather than Australia. No funds were formally allocated for the local promotion and publicity of the pilot website. This in effect worked to limit the number of local visitors. Findings from the Reach Out! Online Survey 2004 indicate that for non-professional users, advertising on and offline plays a vital role in driving awareness about their website. Therefore, to increase confidence in the Survey data that was collected in 2002, it is cross-validated in Chapter Eight with the Reach Out! Online Survey 2004 and 2004 survey data from Kids Help Line (KHL). Reach Out! and KHL are prominent Australian non-government websites specifically designed for young people. The Penville pilot website provides links to KHL and Reach Out!.

KHL began in 1991 (KHL 2004a). It is Australia’s only free national telephone and online counselling service for children and young people aged between 5 and 18 years (Reid and Caswell 2005: 269). It is a service of BoysTown and operates from a single site in Brisbane. The KHL website was launched in 1996 which led to the introduction of e-mail counselling in 1999 followed by real-time web counselling in 2000.

Reach Out! is an initiative of the Inspire Foundation (www.inspire.org.au) and the Foundation is located in Sydney. Reach Out! is a web based service that

175 aims to improve the mental health and well-being of young people by helping them through tough times (www.reachout.com.au). This is achieved according to information published on the website through providing support information in a format that appeals to young people. Reach Out! does not offer online counselling. It was launched in March 1998 as a specific suicide prevention initiative. The focus of the website was broadened to help young people through tough times across a range of issues rather than providing information and support for those who are suicidal. It was thought that a focus on suicide may be counter-productive because the focus should be on solutions not the problem.

The Survey data was collected from 73 students from two public high schools, an outer metropolitan and a rural school, in the Penville region. The data was collected from 39 girls and 34 boys aged between 14 and 18 years. The Survey comprises 11 statements that respondents were asked to rate using a Likert scale which measured the extent to which respondents either ‘strongly agree’ or ‘strongly disagree’ with the statement. Five statements in the Survey deal with specific attributes of the pilot website and six statements explore young people’s attitudes to it. The Survey also includes two closed questions (that is, two ‘yes/no’ questions), one linked to an open-ended question designed to elicit further information; and two other open-ended questions (see Appendix I page 320 for the Survey questionnaire).

No factorial analysis was undertaken of the Penville Survey data. The Survey results provide descriptive information. This allows for a direct comparison with data from the Reach Out! Online Survey 2004 and the KHL Online 2004 data. The responses to the open-ended questions are dealt with after the analysis of the recorded responses to the Survey’s statements.

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The respondents I contacted and subsequently wrote to the District Superintendent at the Penville District Office of the Department of Education to seek permission to survey high school students from two local high schools about the pilot website. Prior to this formal request, I had informally approached the two high schools that I was hoping to survey. I spoke to the Principals at each high school and discussed the purpose of the Survey. They both received copies of the Penville Survey, the Information Sheet for the Survey (see Appendix G page 317) and the Student Consent Form (see Appendix H page 319). The Information Sheet provided background information about the pilot website, the content providers linked to the website and briefly stated the purpose of the Survey.

The outer metropolitan high school was chosen because there was an existing relationship between the high school and Centrelink. The outer metropolitan high school was participating in a successful Centrelink youth-out-servicing program that targeted students that were truanting and in recipient of Youth Allowance payments to reduce the likelihood of debt. The rural high school was selected to facilitate a comparison between students from different schools and geographic locations, girls and boys. The number of respondents and how they were selected at each high school differed. The students from the outer metropolitan high school involved in the Survey were selected either by their Year Adviser, the Deputy Principal and/or the School Principal. In contrast, the students from the rural high school were members of a computer class and selected by their teacher. Consequently, these students were more likely to possess a higher level of IT literacy than students from the outer metropolitan school that were more randomly selected.

The respondents were asked to provide demographic data such as age, gender and postcode. Thirty eight students, 20 girls and 18 boys participated in the study at the outer metropolitan high school compared to 35 students, 19

177 girls and 16 boys at the rural high school. The female respondents from the outer metropolitan high school ranged in age from 15 to 18 years. Girls aged 15 to 16 years comprised 80% of the female respondents. The male respondents at the outer metropolitan high school ranged in age from 14 to 17 years, and boys aged between 15 and 16 years made up 83% of the male respondents. At the rural high school, the female respondents were aged between 15 and 17 years, and 74% of the girls were aged between 15 and 16 years. The male respondents from the rural high school also ranged in age from 15 to 17 years, and 75% were aged between 15 and 16 years.

The procedure: the administration of the Survey I prepared an Information Sheet and Student Consent Form for each respondent. There were two tiers to the Student Consent Form. Students were asked to consent to participate in the Survey to provide Centrelink with data for an evaluation and/or consent to participate in the Survey to provide data for my PhD field study. At the time of the field study, I was still the Centrelink project officer for the Penville website and was required to provide data for an evaluation of the pilot website and therefore, data was being collected for two different purposes.

The Survey was conducted at the outer metropolitan high school on the morning of 30 July 2002 without the presence of a school teacher in the school library. All respondents were handed an Information Sheet, a Student Consent Form and the Survey to complete. I spoke to each participant about the Consent Form.

At the outer metropolitan school all respondents consented to participate in the Survey to provide data to Centrelink and to participate in the Survey as part of my field study. No time limit was set for the completion of the Survey. Students entered the library in ‘waves’, arriving either in groups, pairs or individually over a three hour period. Students were free to view the website by

178 themselves or in pairs. The home page of the pilot website was displayed on each computer terminal available to me for conducting the Survey. All computers used for completing the Survey in the school library had Microsoft Internet Explorer Browser installed.

In contrast, at the rural high school I placed an Information Sheet, a Student Consent Form and the Survey at each computer terminal for students to complete but did not individually speak to each participant about obtaining their consent. Interestingly, all respondents consented to provide Centrelink with data about the pilot website but five respondents (one girl and four boys) did not consent to allow me to use their responses for my PhD field study.

The interface used at the rural high school to view the website was Netscape Browser, this type of Browser does not support frames. Consequently, this altered the visual appearance of the website and did not provide the correct ‘view’ of some of the frames. I was not aware that the computers to be used for completing the Survey at the rural high school had Netscape Browser installed until the time the Survey was being administered. The Survey was conducted in the school’s computer room on the morning of 25 September 2002. The Penville website home page was displayed on each computer terminal. All the respondents at the rural high school were members of a computing class. There were two formal ‘sittings’ of respondents, the Survey was completed during class time in the presence of their teacher. The teacher selected all the respondents. The respondents were allowed to talk quietly to each other but tended to complete the Survey alone.

Limitations of the field study There are several significant limitations to the empirical work underlying the thesis. First, the empirical work was undertaken during the early part of this decade. Most of the data was collected in 2002, between July and September of that year, and a final interview was conducted in March 2004.

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Consequently, the data could be considered as dated. Although most studies have some time lag between the collection of data and the production of findings (for example, see Bell and Encel 1978), in this case the length of time means that the development of new ideas, policies and practices may have influenced the way in which research subjects responded to questions and also the way in which analysis proceeded.

Second, the first facet of the field study relies upon data from only three informants who were interviewed about the process of the implementation of the FCNI. So the study does not provide multiple accounts of social reality which would increase the reliability of the findings drawn from the interview data. Further, only two of the three informants were interviewed in 2002. The third informant, Molly was interviewed in March 2004 some 18 months after her involvement in the FCNI project and consequently, her recollections were not as ‘vivid’ as those of the other two informants who were interviewed not long after the implementation of the community-networking project in 2002. This resulted in some poor memory recall that produced comments such as: “I can’t remember”. The three informants were asked to comment on the similar procedural topics (see Appendix B page 304, Appendix D page 309 and Appendix F page 313), however, there were variations in the questions because of the different roles undertaken by the respective informants. Triangulation was used to ‘cross-check’ the findings from the interview data with other sources that comprised the Minutes of meetings, Reports and other documents that were circulated during the implementation phase of the FCNI project to increase confidence in the data collected.

Despite efforts to increase the reliability of the findings from the first facet of the field study, it is difficult to make general statements about the relationship between managerialism and social justice because it only draws upon the perspectives of three informants. Nonetheless, the perspectives of these informants are rich and in-depth and the basis for generalisation lies in raising

180 further questions from a comparison of the data collected from the informants with the literature. The field study provides an illustration of the how managerialism and social justice can interact in the implementation of policy that is intended to produce social justice outcomes for the end-users. There would be obvious difficulties in replicating the study given the researcher’s insider status and the individual accounts used. Qualitative research is concerned with capturing the lived experiences of individuals, in this instance, the stories of three informants’ involved in the implementation of a community- networking project in a high need community and no claims are being made that the research is replicable. Commentators such as Bryman (2008: 391- 392) list the most common criticisms of qualitative research as: it is too subjective; too difficult to replicate; there are problems with generalization; and a lack of transparency. Consequently, the findings from the interviews should be treated as preliminary and further research into the nature of the relationship between managerialism and social justice, using similar social settings, is needed.

Other important limitations of the empirical work relate to the second facet of the field study, in particular, the small sample size. The sample size comprised similar numbers of young people, in all 39 girls and 34 boys, from two schools that were representative of the area. The sample was homogenous in that all the Survey respondents resided in a high need geographic area and all the respondents were children. They were high school students of a similar age. No attempt was made to ‘recruit’ child respondents from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. In addition, there are ethical issues related to their ability to give ‘informed consent’ (it is legally acknowledged that children cannot enter into agreements that require a full understanding of their rights and the risks associated with their participation), “their varying competence according to age and cognitive ability, and their vulnerability to exploitation in research” (see Mudaly and Goddard 2006: 46-47). Law limits the competency

181 of children and they can only ‘assent’ to their participation in research (see Edwards and Alldred 1999).

Questions arise around whether or not each child that participated in the Penville Survey understood the Student Information Sheet provided and the nature of the research activity in which they had agreed to participate. Weithorn and Scherer (1994) assert that younger adolescents exhibit the highest levels of conformity and may be less sophisticated than older adolescents and adults in certain aspects of their decision-making and defer to the controlling influences of other people that they think are more powerful or authoritative than themselves, in this instance myself as the researcher and the teachers that facilitated their participation in the study (p. 154, 156). In other words, the child respondents may have agreed to participate out of conformity and a desire to please more powerful figures. I had no prior knowledge of the competencies of the children that participated in the research. In addition, despite asking the respective Principals of each high school that participated in the empirical study about the content and language used in the Student Information Sheet, the Student Consent Form and the Penville Survey, the child respondents may not have clearly understood the information provided and therefore, were not in a position to assent to their involvement in my research. According to Mudaly and Goddard (2006: 53) the key issues in the child’s assent include: the child’s competence and ability to assent; providing information about the study so that a child can decide about participation, and whether children’s assent can be voluntary. However, from the numbers of children who did participate it can be inferred that some did exercise their choice not to participate. Furthermore, of those who did participate the qualitative answers demonstrate an engagement with the questions.

The impact of the Penville Survey and potential risks of the research on the child respondents was unknown. The potential respondents that participated in

182 the Survey were selected by either their high school teacher, Year Advisor and/or the high school Principal. I was not involved in ‘recruiting’ the potential respondents. The use of surveys or questionnaires in research on human participants has been regarded as an example of a ‘minimal risk technique’ (see Koocher and Keith-Spiegel 1994). The empirical work is based on data collected from only 73 children. However, it could be argued, in this case, the sample size used in the empirical study is a reasonable number and is consistent with Koocher and Keith-Spiegel’s (1994: 57) view that “if risks effects are simply unknown, one should consider running a small pilot sample comprised of the least vulnerable but appropriate sample to check out risk elements before proceeding” (see also Mudaly and Goddard 2006: 51). The issue is rather whether the number of respondents from each school is a representative sample size for that particular School Year from which they are drawn, that is, what percentage do they represent of that entire class of students. I did not collect information about the total number of students that were enrolled in the respondents’ School Year at either school. The findings from the second facet of the field study also need to be treated as preliminary and have limited value due to the homogenous nature of the cohort and uncertainty about the representative nature of the sample size. There is a need to test the Survey findings using a culturally diverse and larger cohort of non-students from a range of different communities.

Notwithstanding the range of limitations outlined above, given the current global financial crisis and the continued focus upon the pursuit of managerial goals by governments, coupled with the social justice agenda based on social inclusion of the Rudd Labor Government this research study is still very relevant today

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Concluding remarks A multi-method approach was used to investigate the central research question and sub-questions posed at the beginning of this thesis. Understanding the three different perspectives on the process of the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region required intense listening, reviewing and reflecting. This qualitative approach enabled me to draw inferences about what the data tells us about the theory. My insider status brought benefits to the field study as well as limitations. I employed triangulation techniques to integrate data from multiple sources to increase the reliability and validity of my findings. I constructed the Survey to collect data about the pilot website from 73 high school students at two different schools in the Penville region. The Survey incorporated a Likert scale and was designed to investigate young people’s attitudes towards the pilot website to determine whether the published information assisted them in achieving power. My analysis of the data and my interpretations of the findings are presented in Chapters Seven and Eight respectively. My findings should be treated as preliminary and further research is needed.

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CHAPTER SEVEN The semi-structured interviews

This Chapter provides a description of the findings associated with the first facet of the field study outlined in the preceding Chapter. The first facet of the field study investigates the perspectives of three people involved in the process of the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region. It comprises an exploration of the themes that emerge from three semi-structured interviews and primarily examines what they tell us about notions of community; new ways of working; building community capacity; IT and social capital; participation and autonomous decision-making; and managerialism (the purchaser-provider split). It also explores the fee-for-service agreement between PCS and Centrelink to establish the pilot website. The interviews with the FaCS project officer, the coordinator for PCF and the general manager for PCS are examined separately. This is followed by a discussion of the common themes that emerge from the analysis. The interviews and themes are discussed in chronological order, that is, they chart the progress of the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region. The emerging themes are embedded in an analysis of the process of the implementation.

Notions of community and social capital The interview with the FaCS project officer, Ted contextualizes the process of the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region in terms of his understanding of Departmental policy and objectives. Ted is a pseudonym for the FaCS project officer. He worked at the FaCS State Office. He was the departmental representative responsible for implementing the FCNI program in the Penville region. Ted advised that FaCS had a new focus that incorporated high level outcomes associated with ideas about stronger communities which in turn helps families.

Ted said that in the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region:

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… we were looking at … developing projects … that brought people together in partnerships had them working together … there was an idea that within particular communities there was a need for people to work together more effectively, using that idea of the bonding, bridging, linking, you know, using the three different levels of ways that people relate to each other … with the expectation that actually would make for a stronger community.

So broadly speaking, the strategic framework that underpinned the implementation of the FCNI is associated with particular conceptualisations of community that seeks to test the view that community capacity can be strengthened through strategies that build social capital. This approach is based on clear assumptions about the nature of community that people want and can work together to strengthen families and communities. This approach also incorporates the idea that community development to a large extent rests on “the cooperative spirit, personal loyalties, civic duty and sound interpersonal relationships which are found in small communities” (Kotze 1987: 31).

Yet despite FaCS’ use of research to inform the strategic framework associated with the FCNI, their position largely ignores the contested nature of community articulated by Everingham (2003), Cass and Brennan (2002), Bryson and Mowbray (1981) and Thompson (1971). Ted made the following observations about the nature of community when asked about the representation on the consultative steering committee advising FaCS about the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region: …. it was a quite broadly represented steering group and I felt that the representation was good. What did seem to happen was, that it was possibly a little diverse and in the end there were a lot of different people, umm people have different agendas and different outcomes they were seeking from this process … [which] meant there were far too many different sectorial interests with many different agendas and different potential outcomes, and in the end it made it too difficult for them to agree on one single outcome.

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Ted went on to say that “what made things particularly difficult was that this was a project for Penville rather than being something a little more discreet within Penville, that might’ve made things easier had we (FaCS) tried to focus on particular outcomes for Penville rather than a big project simply for the whole region, I think that made it too difficult”. This seems to suggest that a more discreet and targeted project that focused on particular outcomes could have mitigated against the emergence of three rival project proposals rather than a recognition by Ted that competing and conflicting interests are part of community life, and a community-networking project would inevitably bring this conflict to the fore.

In other words, FaCS has ‘imagined’ community in a particular way (Cass and Brennan 2002; Everingham 2003). There are two aspects to the way FaCS had ‘imagined’ community: community is imagined to be in a state of decline and needs to be strengthened (Etzioni 1994 and Putnam 2000) coupled with a perception of community as enabling and facilitative service providers (Cass and Brennan 2002). For Everingham (2003: 12) the narrative on community decline fundamentally misrepresents the nature of community and the “glue of community is not found in the concept of social capital … but in subjectively experienced processes of identification” that sharpen the boundaries around ‘like persons’ to the exclusion of ‘different’ others. Further Everingham (2003) asserts that the indicators of community that are used by social capital researchers look for the presence or absence of community rather than the subjective dimension of community - its lived experience. This is captured in the sense of solidarity people subjectively experience through complex processes of identification that gives a sense of belonging to one community or another.

Moreover, the implications of what Ted has stated rests on the assumption that communities know their own needs and these only need to be ‘discovered’, if necessary with the assistance of a community development

187 worker (Kotze 1987) or in this instance, with the assistance of FaCS. It is further assumed that “the community has a creative ability which it is ready to release once the opportunity arises” (Kotze 1987: 33). Ted’s following observations encapsulate this view: I think it [the community] needs strong guidance and strong assistance and every so often, some communities have particular leaders who just step forward and lead it towards the right end and it all happens beautifully, but in many cases I think it just doesn’t happen … I don’t think there were any natural leaders in the [Penville] steering committee who stepped forward and carried it forward to the natural conclusion.

The inference here is that for Ted the diverse sectorial representation on the steering committee was not considered to be a barrier to agreement being reached. But rather the issue for Ted was more about whether members of the community possess the right mix of skills, particularly leadership, to take advantage of government initiatives intended to build community capacity.

Alternatively, Ted’s view could be understood in terms of Shucksmith’s (2000) concern about whether or not different sectorial groups are equally placed to engage with programs to successfully apply for funds. Shucksmith (2000) states that we need to question whose capacity is being built in the current approaches by government to community development, which tends to suit the more articulate and powerful individuals and groups.

Shucksmith’s (2000) contention is supported by the findings of Black et al. (2002: 33) in their evaluation of the FCNI, where they note that the processes of project selection ensured that FCNI projects were generally located in communities of high need. However, “some communities of very high need were not funded because such communities were not necessarily aware of the FCNI or did not have the capacity to develop an appropriate proposal” (p. 33). They state that this situation was further compounded by a tension that emerged between allocating funds to projects in areas of highest need and

188 supporting projects that were most likely to succeed. As a consequence, communities of high need with relatively effective organisations were more likely to prepare a well-documented proposal than those less effective community organisations and hence receive funding. Therefore, when comparing outcomes of the FCNI one should take account of pre-existing capacities (Black et al. 2002). So given these findings, it raises the question of whether a community development approach will ever be able to achieve greater resource equity across contested communities when organisations vary considerably in their respective levels of effectiveness.

Information Technology (IT) and social capital: the project proposals The potential for IT to strengthen communities underpinned the kind of project proposals FaCS sought to fund through the FCNI in the Penville region. The community-networking project had to take into account IT and possibly relate to a website (FaCS FCNI Minutes 1999a: 3). This provision incorporates a clear assumption that IT has the capacity to create social capital and build community. Given that the community-networking project proposal had to take into account IT and possibly relate to a website, when it came to deciding which project proposal or combination of proposals to fund, the ‘criteria’ Ted asked the steering committee to use did not include any real consideration of the benefits or disadvantages that might accrue from project proposals because of their IT focus. Rather, the criteria focused on developing community capacity, collaboration and sustainability. The implications are that there was an assumption that some sort of benefit would derive from project proposals that involve an IT component. No real regard is given to the barriers and challenges that comprise the digital divide (Holloway 2002) nor the potential of IT to reduce social contact off-line (Kraut et al. 1998 and 2002).

Ted advised that despite the use of a consultant to conduct public forums in the Penville region to solicit project proposals for FCNI funding in the end it was “mostly the people in the steering committee, who were fairly natural

189 leaders within the area anyway, (who) came forward with proposals … which were then considered against each other”. Ted thought that the proposals put forward by each organisation were in response to the needs they had identified in the Penville region. Ted did not think that this was a problem but thought it was interesting that in spite of the public meetings held, they did not actually contribute to the development of a possible proposal.

Briefly, the three project proposals were as follows: PCS - to extend a free 1800 telephone service to provide up-to-date information and develop a web database for service providers in the Penville region coupled with IT training for service providers and the community (proposed budget $60,000-$200,000) PCF - to develop a community services website in partnership with a private company for the Penville region, provide training for local services on inputting and updating information on the website, and the website would be self sustainable (proposed budget $130,000-$200,000) Centrelink - to establish an interactive website for young people aged between 12 and 25 years in the Penville region that provides information from a range of government and non-government content providers (proposed budget $50,000).

New ways of working: the use of principles and testing propositions Overall, the FCNI aimed to adopt a new approach to the development and selection of projects (Black et al. 2002: 12). According to Ted, FaCS was seeking to trial a new selection process through the FCNI that encouraged new ways of working that were aimed at building community capacity. There was no tendering process and no formal method of application. FaCS intended to work closely with the community in developing a community-networking project and preparing the funding submission (FaCS FCNI Minutes 1999a: 3).

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Ted referred to an emerging view that the traditional FaCS tendering process did not encourage collaboration and working together in partnerships. This view is embedded in one of the principles that guide the Community Builders program which states “partnership and networks are more effective than competition and are possible” (in Gauntlett et al. 2001: 28). Ted stated: There is … a view within the Department that the traditional tendering process tends to create more competition amongst organisations and agencies rather than creating … collaboration and partnerships and so … there was a very clear intention to try out this way of working as a means of testing the idea.

FaCS sought to encourage agencies to think about working together, sharing resources and making joint funding submissions. Ted stated that FaCS wanted to test the idea that through people working together they are more likely to come up with a project proposal that would be the most appropriate for their community. The nature of the community-networking project was to be determined by the community and was not limited by FaCS, other than that it must meet the general aims of the FCNI (FaCS FCNI Minutes 1999a: 3). Ted noted that “this was something we were learning as we went along. We had some idea of how we thought we might do it but it was pretty much a learning process for us”.

Ted stated that the process of identifying and selecting a FCNI project proposal was a good thing to attempt because he believed that “it’s worthwhile trying to get people to collaborate rather than compete, notwithstanding some of difficulties with the Penville project itself. I think it’s a good process”. He conceded that it was not the best process for all funding situations but it was good for the FCNI because: It’s logical, it fits in with the objectives that we’re trying to achieve, about having people work together more effectively. Building stronger networks, creating partnerships, sharing resources, sharing knowledge.

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For Ted just because things do not run smoothly does not mean that you abandon the principles that underpin new ways of doing things. Moreover, the learnings from such processes are important and can shape future action. In this way, learning for Ted becomes a valid outcome of testing new ways of working when there are other perceived benefits such as parties collaborating and working together in partnership. This is explored in more detail in the theme: Outcomes (see below page 198).

According to Ted new ways of working can also involve greater sectorial collaboration. Ted held the view that: “in principle there’s a lot of interest in seeing government and non-government sectorial collaboration take place, as a department, as a general policy, as a general principle FaCS is really interested in exploring those things”. In particular, it was hoped that partnerships would develop between government and community, and between business and community.

The differences of opinion and reservations about these “strong partnerships between government and community” is crystallised in comments made by members of the steering committee during the discussion of the Centrelink project proposal where concerns were raised about FaCS, a federal government department, funding another government agency. However, Ted did not feel that this was an issue because “the model being proposed (by Centrelink) is about community involvement and won’t be just increasing funding to Centrelink” (FCNI Steering Committee Minutes (2000b) - Minutes of Meeting 13/11/2000: 2). Nonetheless, the strength of the sentiment of the committee members is captured in the ‘Decision by Committee’ recorded in the Minutes of the Meeting where the initial choice of a community-networking project was made on 13 November 2000. The Minutes read: A major concern with funding Centrelink was the politics of funding another government organisation and thoughts around Centrelink being a huge organisation, which could utilise funding from within if the project was valued

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enough. The Centrelink project was otherwise viewed as a highly commendable project with innovative strategies for engaging young people.

These comments reflect aspects of the McClure Report (2000) and former Prime Minister Howard’s (2004a) position on the value and importance of social coalitions to ameliorate perceived social problems. The differences of opinion Ted refers to about how well strong partnerships between the government, business and community might work, are likely to be associated with different views on the causes, nature, solutions and the appropriate remedies to social problems (Everingham 2003). The complex nature of the relationship between government and community is illustrated in the provisions of the funding agreement between FaCS and PCS, where a community organisation is obligated by the terms of a funding agreement to work in partnership with a government agency. The implications of the FaCS Funding Agreement with PCS ‘sandwich’ a community organisation between two government bodies, a purchaser and a provider of services, with the accountability for delivering the outcome attributed to the community organisation.

Building community capacity through the development of leadership The strategic framework that underpinned the FCNI outlined in Chapter Six refers to ‘capacity’ which is said to include amongst other things leadership. Capacity is used in the following context: “strong communities, characterised by a high degree of social cohesiveness and a low level of social problems, exhibit a greater capacity to help themselves” (Black et al. 2002: 11). Community leadership has been identified by Gauntlett et al. (2001: 5) as an indicator of stronger communities. If we consider the implications of the approach used by FaCS to engage with and invite the Penville community to participate, as a trial location, in the selection of a community-networking project, this sheds some light on FaCS’ understanding of capacity as leadership and describes a shift in emphasis.

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Following the identification of Penville as a trial location for a FCNI community- networking project, FaCS sent out invitations to all the major stakeholders they could think of to introduce the FCNI, explain that FaCS was interested in “seeking a proposal from the area” and describe “the sort of ways in which we wanted to work”. Ted explained that: we asked the meeting to try and nominate a kind of lead agency, who would help to guide this whole process and Penville Community Forum [PCF] was nominated as the agency for that, that seemed like a logical choice, since their role was to represent community agencies. [But] there was no obvious agreement on the sort of proposal people would like to put to us to strengthen networks, build linkages, create capacity and so there was a decision made that a smaller short-term project would be a worthwhile way forward and that was to sought of, to scope out the nature of the larger project.

FaCS recognised the importance of the whole process being community led as well as the legitimate role PCF had in guiding that process given that their role was to represent community agencies. Ted thought that the smaller scoping project was a way to explain “who FaCS were and what we were trying to do with the FCNI because this was a different way of working … [for FaCS and] … we wanted to make sure that, that [this new approach] was better understood”. The chain of events outlined above could be understood as an approach by FaCS to ‘kick-off’ a community development process of the kind referred to by Ife (1995), where one-off project funds are used to facilitate initial consultation and participation in the development of a longer-term project (Black et al. 2002: 29).

However, the emphasis placed by FaCS on the notion of ‘capacity’ through the development and facilitation of leadership appears to shift when we consider the process associated with the final selection of a community-networking project for the Penville region. Ted stated that he stepped in at one point to try and help that process, something that he thought in the end was essential.

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The steering committee according to Ted seemed to lose its way. He thought there was a lack of clarity about what they were doing as a committee, notwithstanding the fact that three proposals had been identified by the steering committee and they were being discussed.

Ted stated that the intention was that the steering committee would always have quite strong control over the whole process by which the larger community-networking project was to be developed and selected. However, a number of problems emerged that Ted believed came down to some very practical things. He said that: at the very beginning the steering committee should have established it’s own sort of rules of engagement with the process and established it’s own sort of plan for how this was all going to turn out.

Ted’s decision to disregard the initial choice of the selection committee, establish the rules for the selection of projects, and conduct the selection over again coupled with his rationale for doing so departs from the role of government outlined by Gauntlett et al. (2001) in promoting civil society, building social capital and strengthening communities. They state that “the challenge is for government intervention to facilitate and empower community strength rather than to be a ‘top down’ provider of solutions” (Gauntlett et al. 2001: 2). It begs the question: did the selection process actually develop community leadership? If not, what structures needed to be put in place to actually facilitate it? Ted recalled it was not really something that he wanted to do but he found “taking a really sort of directive approach, it worked very well”.

Ted justified his intervention in terms of it creating a transparent selection process, therefore, making his actions legitimate given the ends. He advised that the final decision of the steering committee was a partnership between the PCS and Centrelink project proposals which he stated was based on a view that the partnership was perceived to hold “more value”. He added that

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“obviously, it couldn’t satisfy all of those who had an application in front of the selection team but the feedback I got was that they were satisfied that there had been a valid process and a fair process”. Ted does not appear to consider the role of motivation and the importance of maintaining community ownership over the processes in sustaining the interest of the steering committee members (see Ife and Tesoriero 2006).

An additional expression of capacity as leadership is found in the way FaCS identified a lead agency to conduct the FCNI community-networking project. Ted advised that as part of the extraordinary meeting of the steering committee (where the selection was conducted over again) it had to include a decision on the lead agency. He said in advance of that meeting there had been discussions involving representatives from the three organisations who had submitted project proposals, so at the meeting it was also “possible to make a decision for Penville Community Services (PCS) to take the lead, as the organisation that FaCS would fund. But that it would be a partnership between two proposals”.

One of the direct consequences of this leadership arrangement was that PCS would not only receive the entire budget for the implementation of the FCNI community-networking project in the Penville region but would also be accountable to FaCS for the entire project. More explicitly, PCS was accountable to FaCS for Centrelink’s performance. So with the development of leadership came responsibility, that responsibility was captured in the generalities and broad contractual outcomes incorporated by FaCS in the funding agreement with PCS. The emphasis on capacity as leadership in the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region tends to be more associated with accountability (transparency in the selection process) and responsibility (the nomination of a lead agency to conduct the FCNI project), a somewhat limited view of leadership.

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This raises the question of how do you strengthen community capacity and ownership when a government organisation has decided to implement a program to build social capital that attempts to employ community development principles. In this instance, the government organisation has defined the ‘need’ as well as the type of proposals it seeks to fund, which are tied to decisions about how the community-networking project(s) should operate that have far reaching effects with respect to accountability.

Participation and autonomous decision-making Ted recalled that the public forums carried out by the consultant to solicit possible FCNI project proposals were not hugely successful. “[It] just didn’t seem to work terribly well and so we didn’t get much community feedback or not as much as I would have hoped for”. Ife (1995: 113) argues that “people will participate if they feel the issues or activity is important”. He adds that this can be achieved if people themselves determine the issues or activity and decide its importance in contrast to someone from outside telling them what they should be doing.

Autonomy in the context of community development is concerned with communities designing and managing their own affairs, and is associated with a more decentralised structure of power and decision-making (Ife 1995). For autonomous decision-making to take place there needs to be some level of community ownership of the structures and processes that give the community control over things such as decision-making about local activities. For this to occur people need to be provided with the necessary skills, resources and confidence to undertake these responsibilities. So if we consider Ted’s intervention in the selection process and the principle of decentralisation, that “no decision or function should occur at a more centralised level than necessary” (Ife 1995: 76), there is a clear incongruence between the intent of the principle and Ted’s actions.

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The decision to conduct the selection over again and set conditions for the selection of project proposals, despite Ted’s claimed reluctance to do so, undermined the sense of autonomy the selection process was intended to have. Ted did not explain his intervention in terms of being a last resort after other efforts had failed to resolve the impasse. According to Ted, an impasse had been reached and he thought FaCS as the “potential funding body” should intervene to resolve the conflict. However, Ted could have asked the steering committee how to resolve the impasse and sought their advice on the best way forward. Kotze (1987: 31) notes that a ‘directive approach’ does not sit comfortably with the principles that underpin community development. So Ted’s actions raise questions about who was actually leading the process.

Outcomes For Ted two overall outcomes were achieved through the development of the pilot website: a very valuable website, and two, this invaluable experience of what it’s like to set up a website of this nature in community/business partnership ... We had learned some of the limitations and some of the real costs of trying to do something like this and I saw that not as a failure, but actually as a really useful, valuable outcome in itself.

Here Ted defines what he considers to be a successful outcome. He refers to the ‘learnings’ that came from the inability to establish the pilot website as originally intended. Learning is an intangible outcome that can contribute to an expanding knowledge base to inform and improve practice, to incorporate new ways of working or doing things, and develop more collaborative and inclusive processes. The incorporation of these kinds of learnings as valid outcomes moves towards the possibility of building more cohesive and inclusive relationships, and sustainable networks that provide the foundations for the development of social capital.

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Notwithstanding the obstacles, Ted said that there was no real talk about abandoning the project: Had it been impossible to set up the website at all, then that would probably not have been a hugely successful outcome since all we did, all we would’ve had were some learnings which seemed to indicate it was too hard. But what we had was a sense of what was realistic and achievable in trying to set up the website plus loads of learnings about what the barriers were.

In spite of the learnings identified by Ted associated with the selection of a community-networking project for the Penville region and the eventual outcomes linked to the development of the pilot youth website, he was non- committal about whether the selection process used was the best way to allocate funds. However, he noted that knowledge of the personalities of the key stakeholders played a part in ‘trialing’ or testing out new ways of working.

According to Ted, the personalities involved also influenced the assessment and manageability of risk. Ted’s views on the knowledge of the personalities involved in funded projects support similar findings in Black et al. (2002). Ted said that the success of the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region stemmed from the consultative approach used; flexible agreements to accommodate new ways of working; and the personalities of the stakeholders. Outcomes were achieved through the commitment and integrity of people, and the process of achieving an outcome was just as important as the end outcome. So in other words, the means are just as important as the ends obtained.

Penville Community Forum (PCF) The FaCS Project Proposal (1999b) for one-off project funds to employ a consultant to engage the Penville region in a consultative process to consider a project that could attract FCNI funds, described PCF as a peak organisation in the Penville region that works in collaboration with existing services, and comprises a wide membership that includes various non-government

199 organisations, government departments and residents. At the time of the field study, PCF had 85 members. Molly was the coordinator of PCF throughout the consultative process used by FaCS to establish the FCNI in the Penville region. Molly is a pseudonym for the coordinator of PCF.

Community and social capital: the role of PCF Molly stated that PCF: was formed by the community and the community service providers in the area, as a key organisation to service the community, to identify the gaps and also address those gaps identified, to meet the needs of the community.

In response to further questions about the role of PCF in the Penville community, Molly added that the main service of PCF: was to advocate for the needs of the community. It was seen as a united force of voices able to identify the gaps and help address those [gaps]. So [the main service was] liaising and networking with relevant government organisations or other community organisations to address the needs of the community.

Within Molly’s explanation is an understanding that community comprises different sectorial interests, and echoes ideas about civic duty and strong interpersonal relationships (see Kotze 1987). She recognises the role of community organisations and government in identifying the needs of the community through liaison and networking to help address those gaps. This recognition lends support to the views of Gauntlett et al. (2001: viii) who argue that there is an increasing acceptance of the importance of community participation and the role of community organisations in developing stronger communities. Moreover, they contend that government has a key role not only in the formation of policy but also in providing “more tangible assistance to voluntary and non-government effort by those people in communities who seek to respond to the needs around them” (p. 2).

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Social capital for Cox (1995: 15) refers to “the processes between people which establish networks, norms and social trust and facilitate co-ordination and co-operation for mutual benefit”. Molly’s explanation above suggests that the role of PCF is to build social capital through liaising and networking which establish norms and social trust to identify the needs of the community and address those needs through the combined efforts of its members. According to Molly, PCF “was formed by the community and the community service providers to service the community”. In other words, the role of PCF as a peak organisation was to connect and link members with a view to coordinating and facilitating cooperation for the mutual benefit of the group. In addition, Molly highlights the importance of talking with ‘one voice’ and working together to achieve a common purpose for the good of all rather than for the benefit of the individual. PCF brings community organisations, government and residents together in a group-orientated way to work together to improve services for local residents. This is essentially a community building activity and highlights the idea of interdependence and the importance of strengthening bonds between community members (see Ife and Tesoriero 2006). So in this way PCF has a clear role to play in coordinating a whole-of-community response to the FCNI and the identification of a community-networking project (see FaCS Project Proposal 1999b).

The description of the role of PCF provided by Molly also suggests that government organisations have a role to play alongside community groups and residents in the creation of social capital. Healy et al. (2004: 331) assert that non local institutions such as government and business have a role of play in local social capital creation, and to adopt a localised concept of social capital is to absolve these institutions of responsibility “and, instead, charges families and, to a lesser extent, [local] neighbourhoods with this task”.

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Molly was quick to identify that the FCNI consultative process being pursued by FaCS needed to be community led. This included educating FaCS about the geography of the region. Molly stated that: they [FaCS] thought Penville region was only two areas and the more we started to talk to them, I started to educate them that Penville is a region. So, it was a good learning curve for me to educate a department to tell them what Penville region was all about.

Here Molly raises the concept of mutual benefit. She states that her interaction with FaCS presented a learning opportunity, a chance for her to learn about educating a department about the region her organisation represented. For FaCS, they benefited not only from Molly’s geographic knowledge of the Penville region but also from the practical assistance PCF could offer through their network of contacts and considerable local knowledge (see FaCS Project Proposal 1999b).

To a large degree FaCS’ desire to test new ways of working that involved collaboration, networking and partnerships coincided with how Molly understood the role of PCF. Consequently both Ted and Molly saw the process of the consultation and widespread community involvement as integral to the successful implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region. Molly explained PCF’s role in the consultative process in the following way: PCF did a couple of papers … was dealing very closely with FaCS … [one] paper also included some of the limitations, some of the opportunities where to go from there and said that to do all that, we need a consultant to do it.

According to Molly, PCF was looking to identify “the first bit of the real need of the region” using some developmental money from FaCS to hire a consultant for this purpose. In this way, Molly was actively making efforts to ensure that community groups and local residents were given the opportunity to contribute to the consultative process so that the people themselves can determine the issue or the action needed rather than having someone from outside telling

202 them what to do. Molly’s view supports Ife’s (1995) contention that people will participate if they feel the issue or activity is important. However, in this instance FaCS limited this opportunity by setting the parameters. FaCS decided what was important (that is strong communities), made decisions about how stronger communities are achieved (through community-networking projects that take into account IT and possibly relate to a website), as well as identifying the kind of ways people should be working together (for example, Ted’s rules regarding what constitutes a valid selection process).

Information Technology (IT) and social capital: the search for proposals The following comprises part of an advertisement that appeared in the local Penville newspaper on 26 September 2000 announcing the venues of four planned public consultations: The Department of Family & Community Services [FaCS] has identified Penville as a region where they want to establish a “Family & Community” Networks Initiative project. The project is to be linked in some way to information technology; utilising technology to give people easier access to information about community service[s].

The wording of the advertisement suggests that FaCS held the view that IT not only has the potential to facilitate easier access to information about community services but also implies that IT has the potential to establish family and community networks. Given that Penville was identified by FaCS as a high need community and consequently, a region where they wanted to establish a FCNI project to test propositions about strong communities, their decision to link the project in some way to IT lends support to views expressed by Mele (1999). He contends that online networks can be used as a means for social action and empowerment. He argues online communication gives disadvantaged groups access to sources of comprehensive information and support outside their physical locale to use those resources on real and immediate problems (see Chapter Four).

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Moreover, there is an increasing recognition of the potential of IT to enhance social connectedness and Quan-Haase and Wellman (2004) argue that community can be experienced through electronic forms of communication because of changes in the way people socialise. They contend that community is better understood in terms of “social networks of interpersonal ties that provide sociability, support, information, a sense of belonging, and social identity” (p. 115). Further, Hopkins et al. (2004: 377) note that computer networks can promote participation in local communities which in turn is likely to build community and therefore have the capacity to create social capital.

Despite the string of public consultations, only three project proposals were identified which in the end were submitted by three different members of the steering committee advising FaCS about the implementation of the FCNI program. It could be argued that the reason for this lies in Molly’s response to questions about the suitability of a community-networking project that focused on IT given the needs of the Penville region. Molly’s reply included the following: I think when talking about the community, where the community ranges from young people to older people, from literate to illiterate. So IT was such a thing that not everybody had … whether I should say it as a luxury, as a commodity in their house to have a computer, let alone talking about an Internet connection.

Here Molly refers to the existence of a digital divide in the Penville region in terms of ownership and access: owning a computer is a luxury, a commodity not everyone can afford, let alone having an Internet connection. She explains that this led to some uncertainty in the community about the IT focus of the community-networking project. Molly’s observation about the digital divide in the Penville region raises questions about how many people will in fact benefit from the community-networking project given the age demographics of the population, the varying levels of literacy, and the disparities in access to this kind of technology. Further, how could a community-networking project

204 intended to strengthen community capacity and create social capital do so, if there was little apparent community support for an IT solution given that the public consultations did not actually lead to the development of a possible project proposal that would address the needs of the Penville region? Wood et al. (2002: 5) argue that a ‘top-down’ approach to the uptake of communication technology does not work and leadership for communication technology implementation has to be ‘built in the grassroots’ which in turn can provide a strong foundation for the growth of community social capital. Moreover, Molly’s specific reference to “young people … older people from literate to illiterate” incorporates ‘a client-focused’ approach to the uptake of communication technology and lends support to the argument of Wood et al. (2002) who contend that the central role of technology in the community sector “is to support quality of life for clients” (p. 14). In addition, a vision of technology that supports this view “is flexible, client-focused, transparent, and implemented in a culture that fosters knowledge-exchange, inclusive solutions and communication across and within organisations” (Wood et al. 2002: 14-15).

However, Molly’s views about the existence of a digital divide stand in contrast to the findings of a ‘snapshot’ survey conducted by the consultant early in the FCNI community consultation process. One of the initial activities set for the consultant was to take a ‘snapshot’ of the IT resources and skills across the Penville region. The snapshot study was conducted using a basic questionnaire and interviews with major local organisations. This study noted the following: that most agencies had computer, Internet and e-mail access; the skill level varied across the respondents but was still quite high despite few organisations having formal e-mail and Internet training; and IT access across Penville was considered to be quite high (FCNI Steering Committee Minutes (2000a) - Minutes of Meeting 28/8/2000).

The differences in views regarding the digital divide could be explained in terms of the different roles played by Molly and the consultant. Molly’s role as

205 the coordinator of a peak representative body was to achieve a united force of voice “to service the community, to identify gaps and address those gaps … to meet the needs of the community”. Whereas, the consultant was employed using FCNI funds set aside by FaCS for one-off projects that contributes in some general way to the aims of the Initiative (see Chapter Six for further details of the policy associated with the FCNI). Consequently, the consultant’s role was to facilitate the aims of the FCNI program not to determine whether the program was a suitable fit for the Penville region despite the funded position being situated under the auspices of PCF.

Further, the differences in Molly’s views and the findings of the consultant’s snapshot survey about the existence of a digital divide appear to stem from Molly’s general observations about the ‘heterogeneous’ mix of individuals who comprise the Penville region and reflects her ‘lived’ experience of community (see Everingham 2003). In contrast, the findings of the questionnaire derive from the responses recorded by employees from local organisations. From this we can see there are clear differences of opinion about the extent and impact of the digital divide in the Penville region. The different perceptions about the extent of access to and take up of IT exemplifies arguments not only about who is at most risk of experiencing the digital divide but incorporates notions about broader patterns of social stratification that shape access to and full participation in the various forms of ICTs that are currently available (see Norris 2001 and Holloway 2002).

New ways of working: the use of principles and testing propositions The approach used by FaCS to engage key stakeholders and the wider community in the Penville region was considered by Molly to be “pretty smart”. Her views lend support to Hancock’s (2006: 47) assertion that relationships between government and non-government actors in the “argy-bargy of policy work” are based on trust, mutual recognition of usefulness, competency and legitimacy, and these relationships change over time. For example, Molly said

206 that FaCS was happy for PCF and the steering committee to do the community consultation even though FaCS had the organisational capacity: “they already had the people who can run the show, who can also have the audience because they know the community very well”. Moreover: … I think that by having a government organisation where they have a more global understanding about the region but not a local understanding, and by having a local peak organisation that will give more, generates much more energy in the community and the service providers.

So for Molly, FaCS’ commitment to testing principles that supported new ways of working and incorporated community development practices in the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region had achieved a successful outcome. According to Molly, the joining of FaCS’ global understanding of the broader issues and PCF’s more ‘intimate’ local knowledge of the Penville region generated greater energy in the community and involvement in the FCNI, and illustrates a mutual recognition of usefulness. However, Hancock (2006: 45) notes that if non-government organisations are integrated into government structures of service provision they may be less able to give an outside view. So in this instance, whilst PCF received one-off FCNI funding for the ‘scoping’ project referred to above, they retained some level of role autonomy in implementation of the FCNI.

Yet Molly thought that: FaCS could’ve been much more constructive because some of the things that took place [were] more driven by PCF giving ideas to FaCS [about] what can be done and not done. This was I think [because] FaCS had just initiated these sort of projects, they were not very familiar with what PCF or Penville region is all about so they were not very sure what they were doing so having PCF participating and assisting FaCS was not a bad idea, so may be FaCS can look at other peak organisations in the region for future such projects.

Despite Molly’s criticism of FaCS, given the type of program being implemented, it would be reasonable to anticipate that the project proposals

207 and the selection of a suitable community-networking project would be driven by community organisations rather than a government department because local organisations are better placed to know the gaps in services and what projects are best suited to meet the needs of the local community. Molly thought that input from PCF was integral to the success of the consultation process pursued by FaCS due to their lack of local knowledge, which included a limited understanding of geographic size of the Penville region, and also FaCS did not know about PCF nor the role PCF played as a peak representative organisation within the region. Molly noted that FaCS needs to identify and engage with local peak organisations when trying to implement future initiatives of this kind. Molly’s comments give support to the assertion by Gauntlett et al. (2001: 32) that “a key to building stronger communities is to have structures in place that identify leaders and other highly motivated community-members”. It would appear from Molly’s comments above that FaCS all but “stumbled on to” the existence of PCF and that FaCS did not appear to have any structures in place to identify the lead organisations in the Penville region.

Molly’s views are also consistent with Rawsthorne’s (2005: 227) argument that despite the changes in relations between government and community organisations over the past decade that have reshaped funding arrangements (that is, the widespread use of contracts with service specifications, performance measures and reporting requirements), community sector organisations continue to be important sites for participation and community development activities.

Building community capacity through the development of leadership Molly believed that one of the functions of PCF as a peak community organisation was to take a lead role in assisting FaCS with their consultation process and to ‘educate’ FaCS about the Penville region. Molly held the view that “because Forum [PCF] was considered to be a peak organisation it took a

208 very lead involvement in the consultation process”. So in other words, Molly attributed PCF’s lead involvement in the consultation process to its standing as a peak organisation in the region. FaCS noted that PCF had already been involved with the introduction of the FCNI in Penville by organising and hosting the first consultation meeting in July 1999 and agreed that PCF’s lead role should continue (see FaCS Project Proposal 1999b). These actions could be understood as FaCS taking steps to augment the legitimacy of PCF’s lead role in the consultation process and by doing so, explicitly encouraging the development of community ownership over the process.

FaCS further endorsed the lead role taken by PCF through the grant of one-off project funds to employ a consultant to progress the general aims of the FCNI. The allocation of developmental money by FaCS enabled PCF to ‘buy in’ the skills needed and thereby enhanced the capacity of PCF to effectively lead the community consultation process. In addition, it could also be argued that FaCS was contributing to the development of social capital by facilitating an opportunity that was likely to improve the capacity of PCF to network and build better links with other community groups whilst raising awareness about the FCNI and presented opportunities to nurture the development of skills in areas such organising and running meetings (see Gauntlett et al. 2001: 32). This decision could also be understood in terms of a shared recognition by FaCS and PCF of mutual usefulness (see Hancock 2006).

Another example of community capacity building through the development of leadership is illustrated in PCF’s role with the steering committee. According to Molly, an agreement was reached between PCF and FaCS that a consultative steering committee needed to be established to “really look into this project”. PCF played a role in helping FaCS to determine the size of the steering committee. It was also agreed that PCF would oversee the administration of the committee. She explained this role in the following way:

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one of the thing[s] was, PCF will make sure that the steering committee meeting happens, will administer the meetings and also promote whatever the outcome from the steering committee meeting [that] comes out, to all the community, to the whole community of PCF. So that was the main role, to run the steering committee.

So essentially, PCF’s role was task-orientated and Molly saw the role of PCF as a “middle person”, a conduit between government and the community.

Participation and autonomous decision-making Molly was a member of the steering committee and attended the special steering committee convened by Ted. She also presented a proposal to the steering committee. Molly described the details of the actual selection process in the following way: The selection process … was quite open … everybody had the chance to talk … what I mean by everybody is the steering committee members and those who were [submitting proposals] … were given an opportunity to talk about it … And it was decided by the steering committee how the whole process was going to run.

Furthermore: … it was quite interesting to see the group dynamics and people’s agendas and everything, but end of the day, everyone worked co-operatively and [were] able to achieve the outcome … [which] project would come up from the consultation … there was a lot of group dynamics going on but it was a healthy thing, the discussion was pretty healthy.

The inferences from Molly’s recollection are that people participate when they are given a ‘fair’ opportunity to talk and contribute to an end process which is facilitated by structures that allow for autonomous decision-making to take place (see Ife 1995). She recalled that the atmosphere of the meeting was consensual: … there was no [ill] feeling [about] why my project was not there and your project was there, it was a pretty open, everybody had an opportunity to talk

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about why their project was important, so it was done in a very democratic way.

In this way, the selection process used was seen as transparent in that members of the steering committee understood and agreed to a particular process through which proposals would be discussed and selected. It was an important opportunity to talk openly about each proposal in order to achieve consensus and general agreement on which proposal or combination proposals would be recommended to FaCS for FCNI funding. Molly’s observations coincide with Ted’s views that the process of the selection of a project proposal was integral to the implementation of the FCNI despite FaCS (Ted) setting the ground rules for the final selection process (see above). However, it could also be argued that the initial decision of the steering committee was not acceptable to FaCS and therefore, the recommendation was referred back to the committee by Ted in order to achieve the ‘right’ outcome.

Yet Molly was uncertain about whether or not the community provided input into or had influence over the selection process, other than those community representatives that comprised the steering committee but assumed that service providers contacted by the consultant were talking to the community about the FCNI. She described her understanding of this as: “I just feel it was like … it was going bottom up and ground up … and up from there … so it was like going backwards and forwards”. Molly is describing what Ife and Tesoriero (2006: 171) refer to as the bottom-up (change from below) approach to community development and participation is central to change from below and integral to maintaining a focus on the process. They argue that the process is important not just as a means of getting somewhere but in its own right (p. 174). Molly’s observation that the process was open and everyone had an opportunity to talk lends support to this view.

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Outcomes Molly’s view of the overall outcome of the selection process was that: at the end of the day everybody had their say to talk about their own project. Everybody had a debate about certain things. Its quite normal to have that debate and understanding.

So there was an opportunity to weigh up the benefits and shortcomings of each proposal through debate. She then added: But obviously in a sense that if anybody’s putting a project up and that project is not graded high enough, people do feel offended. They may take it personally you think but, end of the day it was for the community and made by the community … I think that, the end of the day PCF is there to represent the community so whether “A” organisation got it or “B” organisation got it, that was not the point, the point was that it was made by the community and the community got it, that was much, much more important.

Molly’s views lend support to the legitimacy of the assumptions identified by Kotze (1987) that leadership in the community development process should remain selfless and decisions take place along democratic lines. So despite the differing agendas, according to Molly, consensus can still be reached. Molly’s comments demonstrate an understanding that the community comprises competing sectorial interests and illustrate her commitment to the view that community interests over-ride individual organisational interests. What was important for Molly was that the community made the decision and would receive the benefits of that decision. So for Molly decisions made by the community for the community are what count at the end of the day and not an individual’s reaction to the outcome of a selection process. For both Molly and Ted the process as well as the outcome is important.

Molly’s views regarding the outcome of the selection also lend support to Spall’s findings that the adoption of enterprise, managerial and business-like behaviours by some NGOs has not significantly impacted upon the

212 commitment of these organisations to social justice values (in Hancock 2006: 49). Research by Spall and Zetlin (2004: 285) found that: some enterprising organisations had undertaken significant reforms around managerial and market strategies but many organisations retained traditional structures and systems for operating. However change did not significantly impact on the organisation’s value base. This implies that nonprofits’ interpretive schema is more robust than initially thought.

This is contrary to views expressed by Maddison et al. (2004: viii-ix) that NGOs have been silenced by government tactics that include: freezing out, de-funding uncooperative organisations, the use of intimidatory methods and the micro-management of relationships between government and peak organisations (in Hancock 2006: 61-62; see Everingham 2003 for similar views). However, there is support for these views particularly for peak bodies that operate at a Commonwealth level (see Hancock 2006; Cass and Brennan 2002).

The FaCS FCNI consultation process commenced in July 1999 and concluded in December 2000 with the completion of a Final Report to FaCS written by the consultant. The length of time taken to conclude the consultation and later obtain Ministerial approval for the release of funds meant that the initial $300,000 that was available for the FCNI project in the Penville region was reduced to $180,000.

Penville Community Services (PCS) PCS is a community organisation that provides a range of services to people with disabilities and was identified as the lead agency to conduct the FaCS FCNI community-networking project in the Penville region. PCS had a representative on the steering committee advising FaCS about the implementation of the FCNI. Mary was not the original representative from PCS but stated that she later joined the steering committee when PCS decided to submit a project proposal, two or three meetings prior to the

213 commencement of the selection process. Mary is a pseudonym for the general manager of PCS.

Mary confirmed that PCS did not actually select the provider for the pilot youth website and there was no opportunity to select an alternative provider. Mary explained that the arrangement with Centrelink came about after a consideration of a range of ideas about possible community-networking projects, in the end it came down to three proposals, “then it was up to those organisations to get together to see how they could get the best outcome for the amount of money that was available”. Mary’s comments suggest that from the outset, a managerial approach underpinned discussions between those who planned to submit a project proposal for formal consideration by the steering committee, to determine in advance, which combination of project proposals was the best value for the money.

Community and social capital Mary stated that her knowledge of the people involved inspired confidence in the ‘partnership’ with Centrelink. Some organisations would see relationships between community organisations and government as collaborations rather than partnerships given the unequal distribution in power in the contractualist relationship (see Hancock 2006: 58). Nonetheless, Mary described a ‘can do’ attitude that incorporated dedication and commitment towards delivering an outcome despite the hurdles: I think I had great faith in the person who was pushing it, so I thought that if anybody was going to find a way, there would be a way found. Had they [Centrelink] not, I think we would’ve gone back to the advisory group to try to look at some other ways of providing it [the pilot website] … I don’t think that they [Centrelink] would have wanted one to lose face with the community. (emphasis added)

Winkworth (2005: 33-34) argues that “the relationships that representatives of government build with members of local communities and the personal trust

214 engendered by these relationships” are critical to the development of community capacity (see Cavaye 2001). Mary’s trusting relationship with representatives from Centrelink not only inspired confidence in achieving an outcome but created a learning environment conducive to the transfer of knowledge between the two organisations. This is captured in Mary’s comment: “I don’t think we ever sought of gave up the thought that you know, Centrelink had agreed to do it and they would meet what they had agreed to do and they did”.

Trust, according to Putnam (2000), is integral to the development of social capital. Consequently, the implications are that the FCNI community- networking project in the Penville region could be regarded as a partnership that contributed to the creation of social capital. So in the context of this discussion, community for Mary is about relationships and personal trust, conditions that foster opportunities for developing community capacity. Lyons (2000: 188) contends that if governments seek to encourage the development of social capital they need to reverse their movement towards a purchaser/provider split model and competitive tendering and go back to the old partnership model of funding or perhaps adopt collaborative arrangements between purchasers and providers. Mary’s observations so far about the nature of the ‘partnership’ between PCS and Centrelink suggest that the arrangement comprised a trusting relationship embedded in a perception of competency.

Mary also stated that Centrelink did not want to “lose face with the community”. FaCS had approved funding for an interactive website, however, the risks associated with delivering this outcome were considered too great and the only alternative, given the risks that an interactive website posed, was the development of a static ‘not interactive’ information only website. Some of the pressures to deliver a functional website included:

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 a media release by a former federal Liberal Senator on 12 April 2001 announcing the approval of $180,000 in Federal Government funding to PCS for an interactive information service in the Penville region that included the development, in conjunction with Centrelink, of an interactive self-help website for young people. This announcement created some imperative to deliver a website albeit in an alternative format.  the acceptance of the first instalment by Centrelink to progress work on the pilot website.  a domain name for the pilot website had been registered and there was a current hosting agreement with an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Information and Technology (IT) and social capital Mary made the following observations about IT and community agencies when she commented on the progress of the activities associated with their own project proposal to develop a web database: … when you get with the smaller services they seem to be fearful about technology. Some of them don’t have access to the Internet or even you know, have bought a computer but have not kept it up to date ... So although that ultimately having these things would be cost effective, it’s actually having both the time and the money to invest in technology.

Mary, like Molly, notes the existence of a digital divide in the Penville region. She comments on the value and benefits of having access to technology but observes that community organisations are often not well funded to invest in technology nor have the time to develop their IT skills and upgrade their hardware. Servon (2002) notes that getting the definition of the digital divide right holds the key to finding the appropriate solution. Here Mary refers not only to the lack of access to cyber-space in the narrow sense of possession or permission to use a computer and the Internet but she is also referring to what Hargittai (2002) calls the second-level divide that exists relative to the specific abilities of individuals to effectively use the Internet. Having technical access

216 but low levels of IT literacy and limited time or capacity to engage in learning to address low levels of IT literacy further entrenches the divide.

More broadly, Mary is referring to the impact of developments in communication technology on community organisations noting some of the barriers to the uptake of the technology whilst acknowledging how technology can improve efficiency: “having these things would be cost effective”. Similarly, research by Wood et al. (2002) into the impact of the rapid growth of communication technology on community organisations drew attention to an organisational version of the digital divide. They found that a lack of access to up-to-date communication technology can seriously limit the ability of community organisations to effectively assist their clients, hinder access to government information and reduce administrative efficiency which in turn increases costs (p. 14). Organisations that lack access to up-to-date communication technology are significantly disadvantaged often due to limited financial and time resources, their small size and limited skill base, and a lack of appropriately designed hardware and software to progress their core business (Wood et al. 2002: 5).

New ways of working: opportunities for inclusion For Mary new ways of working presented opportunities for a more inclusive approach to providing services and meeting the needs of her organisation’s client group. The following observations made by Mary recognise the potential of projects that involve IT to meet the needs of PCS’ established client base. The partnership with Centrelink also enabled PCS to become involved with a service that was directed towards meeting the needs of a much larger client base not just people with disabilities. Mary perceived the partnership as a trigger for considering different ways of working: For us it was probably quite a change from anything we have ever done before. PCS generally works with people with disabilities and this was actually a project for young people, regardless of whether they do or don’t have a

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disability … for me it was really about inclusion because it was saying that you don’t need to have a particular website for young people with disabilities.

Mary’s comments suggest that IT has the potential to break down barriers that exclude marginalised groups such as people with disabilities from the mainstream and can be an inclusive way to deliver services to a broader range of people. Her comments lend support for Lin’s (2001) view that once people have effective access to the Internet and cyber-networks, this results in an equalisation of opportunities and reduces power differentials between groups and individuals. Similarly, Chia (2002: 4) contends that when barriers to computer access and use for disadvantaged young people are addressed through, for example, public Internet access sites several flow-on benefits can accrue such as the development of valuable skills and opportunities for young people that include social interaction and connectivity, self-confidence and self-esteem, motivation and interest towards IT, career and education pathways. The development of these skills and opportunities create pathways that can facilitate opportunities for meaningful participation particularly for those who have been excluded from the mainstream.

Building community capacity through the development of leadership Mary thought that the selection process was “very cumbersome” and described it as a “very, very long drawn out process” and thought more could have been achieved had the “tenders or ideas” been put to the steering committee a lot sooner for consideration. Mary stated that “they wasted almost 12 months of what could’ve been project time, in actually deciding on what the projects were going to be … and probably quite a bit of funding that we could have had”. So for Mary the consultation process pursued by FaCS had some significant negative consequences. Mary’s view to some extent incorporates a managerial perspective (‘freedom to manage’) on the selection process. Her views on the merits of the selection process used by FaCS appear to be influenced by the decision to allocate the entire budget to PCS as the lead

218 agency for the FCNI in the Penville region coupled with PCS’ overall responsibility for the conduct of the community-networking project. Clearly the shorter project time and the reduced amount of money available directly impacted upon her organisation’s ability to deliver the overall outcomes for which PCS had been funded.

Mary’s comments reflect a narrow almost ‘economic’ view of leadership that is closely linked to financial issues, time constraints and the delivery of outcomes. Her view places an emphasis on the ‘end’ and diminishes the importance of the process or means of reaching a decision about which project proposals would be recommended to FaCS for FCNI funding. Mary does not appear to question the suitability of a community-networking project with an IT focus for the Penville region despite making references to what broadly constitutes an organisational version of the digital divide in Penville. Her comments are not located in a view of leadership that is aligned with building community capacity. Given that FaCS had already decided that IT has the capacity to create social capital, and that FCNI project proposals had to take into account IT and possibly relate to a website (see Ted’s comments above), an alternative view about encouraging the uptake of communication technologies based on notions of leadership can be found in the research completed by Wood et al. (2002). They contend that if governments are going to devolve responsibility for processes associated with decision-making and project management to community organisations, a top-down approach to the uptake and diffusion of communication technology is not going to work and leadership for technology implementation has to be ‘built in the grass roots’ (p. 7). They propose a model of implementation that emphasises the introduction of the physical infrastructure coupled with the complementary and interlocking dimensions of soft technologies (such as education and training), a strong knowledge of social infrastructure and a partnership model of community development. They argue that access to the technology is a core enabler in networking, partnership building and sustainability and requires an

219 accompanying vision of technology that is “flexible, client-focused, transparent, and implemented in a culture that fosters knowledge-exchange inclusive solutions and communication across and within organisations” (p. 14-15).

However, despite Mary’s entrepreneurial view of leadership this does not diminish her views on the importance of access to mainstream services for those who have been excluded, young people with disabilities and also lends support to the view that enterprising NGOs have largely retained their organisation’s value base and commitment to basic social justice values (see Spall and Zetlin 2004; Hancock 2006).

Community building: collaboration and coalitions - the partnership Mary stated that PCS had entered partnerships previously but had not actually contracted out any work. She explained that PCS was not free to choose another provider to establish the pilot website because the decision to fund the Centrelink project proposal formed the basis of an agreed partnership with PCS that had been recommended by the steering committee to FaCS for FCNI funding. Centrelink had proposed the pilot website to the steering committee. She stated that: …everybody was extremely happy with that proposal [Centrelink’s proposal] in the community and I think that they were really happy also to see whether it was possible to work with a Commonwealth Government department, at such a level.

Mary’s confidence in the arrangement was also strengthened by her prior knowledge and dealings with Centrelink, and the perceived benefits of partnering with a large government agency: I sought of know the sort of things that Centrelink could do, I know that they have lots of resources, I’m aware of the fact that there are a lot of people in there who know a great deal about their communities and are quite committed. So this was actually a chance of, for us to actually learn more.

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Further, Mary perceived the arrangement to be mutually beneficial to both PCS and Centrelink. It provided Centrelink with an opportunity to work more closely with the community and PCS with the opportunity to “learn more”. Partnerships that offer mutual and comparable benefits to those involved tend to foster better and more egalitarian relationships. Ife and Tesoriero (2006: 185) note that community building is about developing structures that mean people are more dependent upon each other to get things done, seeking ways in which everyone can contribute which results in being genuinely valued by others. For Mary, the arrangement between Centrelink and PCS illustrates aspects of a community building approach.

Mary’s comments also lend support to Hancock’s view (2006: 47) that relationships between government and NGOs are based on trust, mutual recognition of usefulness, competency and legitimacy. These relationships tend to be regarded by some NGOs as collaborations rather than partnerships (see Hancock 2006: 58). In addition, the outsourcing of services to NGOs often implies that the rising demands for services and the associated unmet need becomes the problem of the NGOs rather than government and therefore, partnerships become a risk shifting strategy (see also Cass and Brennan 2002; McClelland 2006c). However, in this instance due to novel contractual arrangement where PCS received the entire budget for the Penville FCNI community-networking project, the provider of the pilot website was Centrelink (government). The role of PCS in the contractual arrangement is perhaps better understood as an agent of the purchaser.

The purchaser-provider split: the fee-for-service agreement Mary’s initial thoughts about the contractual arrangement with Centrelink were that “it was rather exciting … because I don’t think anybody had ever done it before”. She identified a number of conditions that inspired confidence in the business relationship with Centrelink: I think because we had established fairly good relationships with people [at Centrelink] probably the fact that I’ve worked for them before and … I know

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that they have got very [good] systems in place, they would be very business- like. I thought that it would be probably a lot more straightforward than having to deal with a very small service that hadn’t done it before.

Moreover, Mary thought that the partnership with Centrelink added value in terms of the significant in-kind support that Centrelink could access and draw upon to deliver the pilot website: It would’ve been very difficult to have done it all, actually for the amount of money that was available, I think that the department’s [Centrelink] done very, very well because certainly I don’t think anybody else could have produced the pilot website for $50,000.

The Deed agreement between PCS and Centrelink to establish the pilot website was prepared by Centrelink’s Business Alliances and Contracts Unit. The Deed was preceded by a MOU that was considered inadequate by the Contracts Unit for a range of reasons including that it did not protect the interests of either party to the fee-for-service agreement. The Deed agreement covered contractual minutiae such as definitions; terms; Centrelink’s obligations; … etc. The term of the Deed was 12 months. Mary reflected that: I think next time it would be a lot simpler, this time it did take quite some time [to negotiate the details], but I think that was because it hadn’t been done before and … because we had originally sort of thought that we would do it just as this very simple, sort of almost, statement of partnership, you know.

Mary’s comments about the Deed agreement are similar to the views of commentators such as Hancock (2006: 48) who argue that “becoming more involved with government compels NGOs to adopt more of the practices of government” where for example, project activities are defined in terms of costed and measured units of service. However, she does express some resistance to the full adoption of like terms, that is, the full contractual minutiae in future agreements: “I think next time it would be a lot simpler”. Her comments support arguments that there is resistance by NGOs to the public management agenda particularly regarding government and private enterprise

222 output concepts (see Hancock 2006). According to Mary, PCS had an opportunity to negotiate some of the terms of the agreement with Centrelink. However, she added that: I don’t know if we’d wanted to change anything radically how we would’ve got on. If we had wanted to argue about and most of the things in there I thought were very reasonable … and clear, but if I think we had taken issue against say, who owned what on the site, I think it probably could’ve fallen over.

Mary accepted the terms of the Deed drawn up by Centrelink because she thought they were very reasonable but also felt unable to take issue over certain key aspects had she wanted to such as who owned the intellectual property rights. Centrelink was unable to establish the pilot website as first envisaged due a range of significant constraints which are explained in the discussion below about delivering the outcome. The development of the pilot website proceeded based on an agreement that Centrelink would transfer the domain name registration for the pilot website to PCS and terminate the existing ISP hosting agreement for the website, provided that PCS agreed to immediately enter into a new hosting arrangement for the pilot website. These undertakings were included in the Deed agreement.

So in retrospect, the Ownership of Intellectual Property clause for Mary was somewhat vexatious given that the pilot website was expected to become a sustainable enterprise without ongoing funding from FaCS - how could PCS continue to develop the website if it did not own the intellectual property? Mary articulated her concerns in this way: I mean the fact that it then turned around and became a PCS site, it’s now I suppose a little bit odd in that, if it’s a PCS site but we don’t actually have the intellectual property rights, it is a bit strange about how we will continue to develop the [web]site.

Moreover, PCS was accountable for Centrelink’s performance, in that PCS had reporting requirements associated with the delivery of the pilot website in

223 their funding agreement with FaCS, yet Centrelink owned the intellectual property. Mary’s concerns about the Commonwealth’s ownership of intellectual property are echoed in Black et al. (2002: 35) where they note that “in at least one case, the standard clause which gave the Commonwealth ownership of all intellectual property arising from the project was an insurmountable stumbling block for the auspicing body”. Mary’s comments about the contractual arrangement with Centrelink suggest that she saw PCS as the purchaser of the service but from Figure 3 (page 153) in the previous Chapter – at most PCS is an agent of the purchaser but has been placed in an unusual hybrid position. There were very limited opportunities for PCS to exercise effective purchaser control over the provider of the pilot website. So in effect, PCS has no purchaser control over the outcome.

Performance: delivering the outcome A range of problems were identified by key internal Centrelink stakeholders in efforts to progress the development of an interactive pilot website pursuant to the original MOU. The following comments by Mary about Centrelink’s attitude to the agreement illustrate her understanding of the nature of the concerns that were being identified by the internal Centrelink stakeholders: It’s something they’d never done before and there were so many different parts of Centrelink that hadn’t really been involved in the decision to go ahead. So while it was fine I think [to have] new business or something, then it was another section saying that ‘yes’ but you can’t put out something with the Centrelink name on it when it doesn’t meet these particular requirements … and [it had to be] designed in a particular way [but] the whole theme was that this [the website] was to be designed by the young people so that it would be more accessible by them.

This raises the question of how can the aspirations of young people be progressed within a large bureaucracy that is bound by a range of quite complex administrative constraints. In the end, according to Mary, Centrelink was able to work out these issues. This culminated in, amongst other things, Centrelink’s decision to transfer the domain name registration to PCS and terminate the existing ISP hosting agreement. These actions could be

224 understood as Centrelink (government) exercising power to devolve risk and responsibility to PCS (see McClelland 2006c). Alternatively, it could be argued that these actions meant that the ‘look and feel’ of the pilot website that had been proposed by a group of young people from the Penville region consulted during the design phase could be retained.

Mary’s recollections of the problems were as follows: certainly about how the [web]site would look. A lot of issues around confidentiality, that was a really big one which actually then effected some of the things we had wanted to do ... [There were] also issues around if a young person was in a particularly serious situation, we had a [web]site that didn’t guarantee to be able to respond immediately and that could leave people out on a limb particularly if they were suicidal or very depressed and we couldn’t get around to providing them with any sort of an answer for a few days.

Some adaptations to the pilot website were required to allow Centrelink to fulfil their contractual obligations with PCS. This was possible because part the underlying rationale for the FCNI was an action-learning model of community development, which meant that monitoring and evaluation was to inform and where appropriate, modify the future direction of the project (see Black et al. 2002: 39). Consequently, the flexibility that underpinned the FaCS Funding Agreement with PCS referred to by Ted created an opportunity to still deliver a successful outcome even though it was not exactly what was first envisaged due to range of administrative and pragmatic constraints. The flexibility that underpinned to FaCS Funding Agreement also served as a way for Centrelink to shift the risk associated with the delivery of the pilot website to PCS.

Accountability: payments linked to the achievement of performance outcomes PCS received the entire budget for the Penville community-networking project and consequently had direct reporting responsibilities to FaCS regarding the progress of the FCNI implementation. Mary stated that there was a system of

225 accountability in place to ensure outcomes were achieved and explained the overall responsibility of PCS in this way: We had to report back to the department [FaCS] what’s happening and to let them know of the progress of Centrelink and the progress of the other aspects of the program. So there was quite a strong [requirement] and we didn’t actually get the money downloaded to us until we’d provide those reports … So we certainly did have to link everything in together.

PCS had the responsibility of regularly reporting to FaCS about the progress of the FCNI community-networking project and this requirement was linked to the release of funds. It would appear that the FaCS Funding Agreement with PCS involved the payment of instalments similar to the Deed agreement between PCS and Centrelink.

Mary explained that the payments to Centrelink for the pilot website comprised three instalments. These instalments were linked to performance: … it was written into the Contract that payments were based on results, so they got their first payment and then they had to actually have the [web]site up and a launch by a certain date and then they got the next payment and now they’ve had the final payment. So there were things built in to ensure that it was an ongoing process.

Mary’s comments illustrate the public management practices of government that are used to ‘breaking up’ project activities into corporatized units whereby a cost value can then be attributed to the achievement of outcomes (full a more detailed discussion of managerialism see Chapter 1). The instalments were linked to the achievement of ‘milestones’ in the development of the pilot website rather than the delivery of a particular type of website. The fact that Centrelink was unable to deliver an interactive website did not preclude payment. Commentators such as Rawsthorne (2005: 238) contend that the negative impacts of contracting on community sectors organisations appears to be less than anticipated and that community organisations feel able to continue to play an important developmental role in community life.

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Outcomes: the benefits of contracting out a ‘service’ Rawsthorne (2005: 236) notes that the move to contracting by government on community sector organisations has affected collaboration between services in contrasting ways. Her research findings suggest amongst other things that smaller community organisations remain able to collaborate and may even do so out of necessity whereas larger community organisations tend to feel more isolated from peer organisations due to factors such as their experience of competition for funds (p. 236). In the context of the field study, PCS is a very small community organisation and Centrelink, a very large government agency. The nature and range of benefits noted by Mary that arose from the specified contractual arrangement with Centrelink to provide the pilot website largely focused upon ‘de-facto’ access to a greater pool of resources, a collaboration that arose out of necessity. Mary identified these benefits as: I think that they were very cheap to do what they said that they would do. It was definitely value for money. They had the resources to be able to provide such a good website. I think that because of their prior knowledge, because of the expertise within the department [Centrelink], that they could call on lots of different areas from consulting with young people to actually putting the website itself together to having somebody who could reinterpret the information provided by the [content] providers into a consistent format and language.

Other benefits identified by Mary relate to the benefits that accrue from access to legal resources and the credibility that comes with having a government agency as a partner: there’s no way that most government, non-government services would have been able to come up with the Deed of contract with the level of expertise that was put into that. Well if I think we’d had to pay for it by the hour we would’ve ended up with perhaps something not as good and one that was probably more open to litigation, more open to risk and it’s all about sort of risk. I think having Centrelink involved actually probably minimises some of the risks for the other services and it gives it a credibility particularly with other government departments ...

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The legal resources, expertise and reputation that Centrelink brought to the project significantly reduced the potential for misunderstandings but also ensured that a way would be found to deliver an outcome. For Mary, the collaborative partnership with Centrelink held much more than monetary value.

The use of contracts Mary made the following general observations about the use of contracts in the non-government sector when she commented on the use of formal agreements with some of the local non-government content providers: … for some of them … they considered it written in ‘legalese’ … for some small organisations it was a very, very daunting I think a contract to enter into … I think they found it difficult because it was such a legal document. It’s not what organisations are used to in the NGO [sector]. They have these sort of almost verbal agreements and I think that it’s something that the whole area needs to be better educated on because this is actually far ... safer.

Mary is suggesting that formal agreements may act as a deterrent for some community organisations because of the complex legal language used but in fact these agreements can work to better protect their interests. She thought that the non-government sector needs to be better educated on the importance and value of formal legal agreements. This point of view lends support to Shucksmith’s (2000) assertion that the more conversant an organisation is with the workings of funding agencies and the more familiar they are with the requirements of related agreements, the more likely they are to be successful in obtaining funding and resources.

Outcomes: active learning Mary identified some of the learning she had gained from the partnership with Centrelink in the following way: I would not have considered intellectual property rights. It gave much more direction about content, about what would happen.

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The agreement gave clarity to the partnership. Not only did Mary learn from the partnership with Centrelink but also thought she could transfer that learning to other partnerships and gave the following example: … and I’ve actually used some of that [learning] now … PCS has been developing a training program with another community organisation and while we still, it’s a much simpler agreement, we actually discussed all those issues and we discussed things like, okay when we’ve left [ended the association] who owns the intellectual property rights, what happens if the community organisation we are working with decides that they want to sell this program.

So for Mary by making the details of the partnership explicit this helped to avoid “hurt feelings” and also served to clarify the details of how the partnership is to actually work. In this way, the use of formal agreements is more likely to increase the commitment of the parties to the agreement and also helps to ensure that what is agreed to actually happens. Mary’s comments suggest that the partnership with Centrelink involved a process of skill-sharing and skill development that facilitated an opportunity which enabled Mary to acquire knowledge and apply that learning outside of the partnership, in a different and meaningful context (see Ife and Tesoriero 2006: 318-319).

Common themes: a complex story Ideas about community, collaboration and partnership were common to all three interviews. Ted’s conception of community was somewhat more abstract and theoretical compared to the views expressed by Molly and Mary. This is not surprising given that Ted is employed by FaCS and FaCS commissions broad ranging research. Ted is concerned with testing principles about stronger communities and building social capital using new ways of working, whereas Molly and Mary provide a more subjective or ‘lived’ dimension of community. They are talking from their lived experience of being active members of the Penville community. Their context of community is grounded

229 in what they know and understand. Hence Mary’s concern about the loss of money and project time rather than being interested in the process of ensuring wide spread community consultation and collaboration in the development and selection of a FCNI project proposal to fund. Molly’s role though was concerned with representing the interests of a range of community stakeholders, so the process from her point of view was understandably more important and vital. So, in effect, Ted’s and Molly’s interests in promoting wide community consultation and broad involvement largely coincided.

Mary was the only informant to raise concerns about the loss of project time and funds to implement the FCNI in the Penville region due to the lengthy consultation process. Given the overall extent of the accountability of PCS to FaCS for the implementation of the community-networking project this is not surprising. Her comments also illustrate an ‘entrepreneurial’ view of leadership that was compatible with the specified contractual arrangement with Centrelink. The flexibility incorporated in the FaCS Funding Agreement with PCS referred to by Ted ensured that an outcome could still be reached despite the significant pragmatic and administrative constraints that were identified during the pilot website’s development. The built-in flexibility in the funding agreement enabled the project to respond to changing or unforseen circumstances.

The explicit partnership between PCS and Centrelink crystallised an opportunity to share and ‘pool’ resources despite the unequal distribution of power between the two contracting parties, as well as providing an environment for skill-sharing that fostered mutual learning and the transfer of knowledge. Mary clearly expressed this in her observations about the benefits that accrued to PCS from the partnership which at the same time provided an opportunity for Centrelink to work more closely with the community. The community-networking project in the Penville region facilitated an opportunity to strengthen community capacity. The indicators of stronger communities

230 identified by Gauntlett et al. (2001: 5) comprise: knowledge and skills; networks and partnerships; community leadership; local solutions to local problems; and community capacity to use best practice.

These indicators of stronger communities find expression in the following aspects of the Penville community-networking project. There are clear references to an explicit sharing of skills, resources and knowledge that are evident in the various comments made by all three informants about the benefits and learnings that derived from the consultation process and/or the implementation of the community-networking project. Networks and partnerships were formed during the FaCS consultation process that were later crystallised in formal agreements between a range of parties that not only included FaCS, PCS and Centrelink but also eight content providers. Community leadership in the implementation of the FCNI in the Penville region is evident in PCF’s lead role in the FaCS consultation process and the level of accountability attributed to PCS by FaCS for the entire budget for the conduct of the community-networking project. However, ideas about the development of leadership through building community capacity were constrained by clauses written into the FaCS Funding Agreement with PCS that limited for example, PCS’ ability to choose another provider for the pilot website and the decision by both FaCS and Centrelink to retain the intellectual property rights in their respective contractual agreements with PCS.

For Ted some communities have particular leaders that step forward and possess the right mix of skills to bring a community decision-making process to its natural conclusion. So where this is lacking, communities then require “strong guidance and strong assistance”, hence Ted’s decision to intervene in the selection process and conduct the selection again. So leadership for Ted is associated with transparent and competent decision-making. Also Ted’s view of leadership is concerned with assumptions around the willingness of community members to actively respond in an effective way to ‘invitations’ by

231 government organisations to access funding opportunities to implement government initiatives.

The capacity of the Penville region to find local solutions to local problems was clearly limited by FaCS’ decision to test propositions about strong communities in 16-25 high need communities that had to take into account IT and possibly relate to a website. This meant that Penville as a high need community was invited by FaCS to find an IT solution to a problem FaCS had defined, employing a particular process determined in advance by FaCS that involved the development and subsequent selection of a community-networking project proposal to recommend to FaCS for FCNI funding. In effect, this constrained any real opportunity for the Penville community to provide local solutions. The problem was defined externally, that is, the community needed to be strengthened because it was in demise, with FaCS deciding what was needed to remedy the problem.

IT is identified by FaCS as the way to generate social capital, build networks and strengthen community capacity. However, the subjective or lived community experiences of Molly and Mary do not reflect the same view. They refer to the digital divide at both an individual and organisational level. They identify the problems of access to the physical infrastructure and to the Internet, the varying levels of literacy, lack of training, insufficient time and resources to invest in technology. Having access, the technical skills to effectively navigate the Internet to sufficiently benefit from that access, and the funds to keep abreast of changes in IT, are all integral to the potential of cyber-networks to contribute to stronger communities. Wood et al. (2002) contend that leadership in the uptake of communication technology has to be built into the ‘grass roots’. In this instance, it was a top-down approach.

All three informants identified opportunities or examples of the capacity to use best practice in the implementation of the FCNI community-networking project

232 in the Penville region. For Molly FaCS was “pretty smart” to accept PCF’s offer of assistance to lead the consultation process because FaCS had a global understanding about the region but not a local understanding. So according to Molly by having PCF, a local peak organisation involved, this generates much more energy in the community and amongst service providers than might have otherwise occurred. For Mary an opportunity to use and develop best practice is associated with the terms of the Deed with Centrelink. This is an area she thought the community sector needed to be better educated on as formal agreements would better protect organisations in the community sector, reduce risk and would avoid “hurt feelings, broken agreements or litigation”. She identifies the value of managerial practices in the development of formal agreements. These views do not appear to influence her commitment to social justice concerns (see Mary’s comments about opportunities for inclusion above). This is not to say that she unreservedly embraces the full terms of all the contractual minutiae (see Mary’s comments about the fee-for-service agreement above).

For Ted the capacity to use best practice was linked to the learnings associated with establishing the Penville community-networking project because it was the first to be implemented under the FCNI program. The approach utilised new ways of working that were largely underpinned by a community development approach, the learnings from the implementation of the first community-networking project could be taken into account and inform the development of later projects. This view is confirmed in comments made by Black et al. (2002: 5) that the FCNI was intended to be a form of action learning. Also Ted identified other learnings associated with setting up websites in community/government partnership.

In sum, it would appear that the strategies pursued by the FaCS project officer in the process of the implementation of the FCNI community-networking project in the Penville region, to some extent, ‘crowded out’ or softened the

233 managerial doctrine (see Figure 1 page 23) associated with competitive tendering and other managerial aspects of the objectives of government concerned with efficiency, effectiveness and economy in the administration of public policy. Further, it could be argued that the high level outcome ‘stronger communities and stronger families’ that informed the objectives of the FCNI, and underpinned the community development approach to the community- networking project, were constrained by bureaucratic, financial and legislative limits rather than simply a managerialist agenda. These constraints are important and can serve as the best defences for what happened in the field study.

Nonetheless, the positive aspects of the partnership with Centrelink were tinged with a sense of powerlessness. This is best captured in Mary’s view about the terms of the Deed with Centrelink: I don’t know if we’d wanted to change anything radically how we would’ve got on … if I think we had taken issue against say, who owned what on the site, I think it probably could’ve fallen over. I don’t know that we could’ve made it that PCS owned the intellectual property rights. At the time we didn’t try but I don’t think it would’ve been successful.

Mary’s perceived sense of powerlessness is evident in her comments about negotiating with Centrelink regarding who owned what on the pilot website and in particular, the ownership of the intellectual property. Her comments imply weak control and no real choice, other than acceptance of the terms prescribed by Centrelink. The novel contractual arrangement at the heart of the field study did not operate in a way that gave PCS ‘freedom to manage’ despite PCS receiving the entire budget and having the overall responsibility for the implementation of the FCNI community-networking project in the Penville region. In effect, PCS has a purchaser (FaCS) determining the terms of the partnership and the provider (Centrelink) prescribing the terms of how the service will be provided. In this instance, PCS is an agent of the purchaser (FaCS) with PCS placed in an unusual hybrid position. This situation

234 undermines the development of conditions that are conducive to the realisation of stronger communities.

Leadership, having the right mix of skills to guide community processes and inclusive decision-making, is regarded by Ted as one of the key factors integral to successful community development and strengthening communities. Yet this view stands in marked contrast to the weak control experienced by PCS over formulating the terms and the direction of the contractual process. Moreover, the broad representation on the consultative steering group advising FaCS about which project proposal(s) should comprise the community-networking project in the Penville region and Ted’s intervention in the selection process, does not ameliorate the situation of powerlessness experienced by PCS, nor does it adequately deal with the contested nature of community that comprises a diverse mix of powerful and marginal interests (Everingham 2003).

Opportunities for genuine participation in identifying local problems and finding solutions through autonomous decision-making processes are critical to motivating communities to become more self-reliant. This is not to argue that specified partnerships with government agencies are unproductive and detrimental to communities taking an active role in the identification and resolution of problems. Government agencies play a vital role in enabling communities to become self-reliant. The exchange of knowledge, skills and the associated learnings of the kind Mary refers to, as well as access to adequate resources and funding are also integral to building trust, developing networks and making stronger communities. However, limits to what is achievable within the context of this kind of partnership needs to be recognised.

In light of what comprises the indicators of stronger communities (Gauntlett et al. 2001) and given the unique characteristics of individual communities,

235 different sorts of ‘inputs’ may be required to establish the various conditions conducive to the development of these indicators. The challenge lies in recognising what is required to motivate individual communities to become more self-reliant. An approach in one community may not work in another. In this way community development is not being stretched beyond its natural limits. Kotze (1987) argues there are limits to what can be achieved through community development. If we merely adopt a community development approach to making stronger communities, this may not be sufficient in itself.

This Chapter has reviewed in detail the process associated with the FCNI community-networking project in Penville, through the views of three key informants. A comparison of these different perspectives shows that, despite overt intentions that were supported by theory and policy, pragmatic constraints limited the extent to which community organisations were empowered to make decisions and to act outside the demands of government organisations. Young people contributed to the process during the design phase. They were involved in determining what information should be published on the pilot website, how the pilot website should ‘look and feel’, and giving it a name. The next Chapter looks at the views of the end-users of the service that was created and considers whether the apparent intrusion of managerialism in the process did act against social justice.

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CHAPTER EIGHT Survey results and analysis

This Chapter comprises the findings from the second facet of the field study. It reviews the data collected from the administration of the Penville Survey that was specifically designed for this study in order to gather information from young people about the pilot website. The Survey was completed by 73 high school students from two different high schools in the Penville region and examines whether the published information on the pilot website assists the respondents to achieve power in the sense of being able to access knowledge about their own lives, in terms that have meaning for them. In this field study, the process used to establish the pilot website directly contributed to the final ‘specifications’ and functionality of the end product. The conception of social justice that underpins the analysis of the Survey data is based on the work of Rees (1991) outlined in Chapter One. The findings from the Survey data collected in this field study are cross-validated with the Reach Out! Online Survey 2004 and 2004 survey data from Kids Help Line (KHL) to increase confidence in the findings. The findings from the Survey data inform the answers to the subset of research questions posed at the beginning of the thesis. The sub questions were designed to draw out higher level generalities from the Survey data and provide the foundations for the subsequent discussion about whether the published information on the pilot website assisted the respondents to achieve power. The discussion of the Survey data draws upon Rees’ (1991) ideas that comprise his ten steps in achieving power.

Research into adolescent use of the Internet suggests that access to emerging communication technologies may be more beneficial than harmful to young people, can assist young people to resolve developmental issues as they transition into adulthood, and that the experiences of young people themselves should be used as a benchmark for evaluating the significance of

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IT for this generation (see Suler 1998 and Robbins 2001). The preceding Chapter closely examined the process of establishing the pilot website, a community-networking project intended to strengthen community capacity and this Chapter builds on those findings through the analysis of the Survey data with a view to drawing inferences about whether the process used led to an outcome that had the capacity to empower the respondents. Young people from Penville contributed to the process of establishing the website during the design phase providing vital information about what content should be published on the pilot website, how it should ‘look and feel’. The Survey data also provides an opportunity to draw general conclusions about whether the involvement of young people in the process aided in obtaining an outcome that assisted their peers to achieve power. The flexibility incorporated into the FaCS Funding Agreement with PCS contributed to the possibility of altering the project’s activities to deal with unforseen barriers which ensured that an outcome could still be delivered despite the constraints and also allowed for the contribution made by the young people involved in the design phase to be retained (see Mary’s comments in Performance: delivering the outcome in Chapter 7 page 224).

The following research sub questions are answered below in the discussion of the Survey data:  What do young people value on the pilot website?  What does the Penville Survey tell us about young people’s interests?  What are young people’s perceptions regarding the purpose of the pilot website?  Are there significant differences between girls and boys attitudes to the pilot website?  What end-user knowledge and experiences should be incorporated into finding ways of increasing young people’s use of the pilot website?

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The word ‘value’ in the context of this analysis refers to “how useful or important” the pilot website is to the respondents (Cambridge Dictionaries Online 2009). For a broader discussion of values see Chapter One.

Ideas about self-respect, confidence, knowledge and skill underpin the creative sense of power that informs the second of two related objectives articulated by Rees (1991) concerned with the process of empowerment (see Chapter One). For Rees (1991: 66) “the achievement of small goals is a building block in the process of enabling people to think and act for themselves, to become confident participants in addressing those social issues which affect them and which are linked to social justice generally”. Young people as they transition from childhood into adulthood take on new roles as they move through a range of ‘normal’ adolescent developmental tasks (see Chapter Five) and in doing so can experience a sense of powerlessness and vulnerability. According to Rees (1991: 67) vulnerable people need “encouragement and support before they can begin to revise their own opinion of themselves, let alone take effective action on their behalf”. The Survey is concerned with collecting data that relates to that aspect of the process of empowerment associated with achieving a creative sense of power through the achievement of small goals linked to notions of self-respect, confidence, knowledge and skill. As discussed in Chapter Six, the analysis of the ‘attributes’ of the pilot website provides an opportunity to capture information about respondents’ level of knowledge and skill, and the exploration of respondents’ ‘attitudes’ towards the pilot website facilitates an opportunity to obtain information about young people’s perceptions of self- respect and confidence.

The Survey results The Survey results for both high schools are recorded in Figure 4 (see below). The sample size for responses to the statements varied at both high schools

239 because either not all respondents recorded a response to each statement, or recorded more than one response to a statement.

Figure 4: Penville Survey data Outer Rural Metropolitan High High School School Statements Rating girls boys girls boys It was easy to find my way A or SA 94% 73% 100% 100% around the website. N 0% 20% 0% 0% D or SD 6% 7% 0% 0% I need instructions to find A or SA 6% 0% 0% 6% my way around the N 0% 17% 5% 6% website. D or SD 94% 83% 95% 88% I could not find the A or SA 16% 22% 0% 13% information I wanted on N 10% 22% 0% 0% the website. D or SD 74% 56% 100% 87% I did understand the A or SA 72% 82% 84% 75% language used. N 6% 6% 0% 6% D or SD 22% 12% 16% 19% The information was not A or SA 5% 6% 0% 0% helpful. N 0% 22% 6% 25% D or SD 95% 72% 94% 75% I feel that the information on the website will help A or SA 79% 59% 63% 62% me make better decisions. N 21% 29% 26% 19% D or SD 0% 12% 11% 19% The website will not increase the existing ways A or SA 11% 35% 11% 19% I access information I N 50% 35% 45% 37% want. D or SD 39% 30% 44% 44% The information on the website will increase my A or SA 85% 72% 89% 81% knowledge of options N 15% 22% 0% 19% available to young people D or SD 0% 6% 11% 0% in the Penville region. The website was very A or SA 58% 50% 79% 56% visually attractive. N 32% 28% 21% 44% D or SD 10% 22% 0% 0% I would never return to the A or SA 0% 12% 5% 0% website. N 5% 35% 11% 33% D or SD 95% 53% 84% 67% I would recommend the A or SA 75% 44% 63% 50% website to someone else. N 15% 28% 32% 44% D or SD 10% 28% 5% 6%

Key to table: A or SA = either ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ with the statement N = recorded a ‘neutral’ response to the statement D or DS = either ‘disagree’ or ‘strongly disagree’ with the statement The numbers represent the percentage of the total number of either girls or boys that responded to the particular statement.

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In situations where more than one response to a statement was made, these responses were disregarded and thereby reduced the sample size for that statement. The statements in ‘italics’ comprise statements about with the website’s attributes, the remaining statements concern young people’s attitudes to the website. The statements in Figure 4 (see above) are listed in the same order as they appear in the Survey questionnaire. In some instances, the percentages recorded in Figure 4 have either been rounded up or down to ensure that the cumulative total for the three ratings assigned to that particular statement equalled 100 percent.

Attributes of the pilot website The first five statements of the Survey concerned distinct attributes of the pilot website. By and large, the findings with respect to the respondents’ views regarding these attributes are robust in that they demonstrate over 70% reporting positive facets of the website. The strongest findings recorded by respondents concerned the ability to navigate and move around the website. More specifically, these attributes related to the ease with which respondents were able to find their way around the website and whether instructions were necessary to navigate the website. The majority of girls and boys from both high schools either ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that it was easy to find their way around the website. The only group to record ‘neutral’ responses to this statement were the boys from the outer metropolitan high school. Also the majority of girls and boys recorded that they did not need instructions to find their way around the website so we may conclude that the website was accessible.

The ratings recorded by boys at the outer metropolitan high school to the next statement ‘I could not find the information I wanted on the website’, are significantly different to those recorded by the other groups. A higher ‘neutral’ response was recorded and just 56% of boys ‘disagree’ or ‘strongly disagree’ with the statement. Whereas the findings with respect to this statement are

241 strong across all other groups with above 70% disagreeing or strongly disagreeing. The majority of respondents across all groups ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that they understood the language used on the website.

The girls from the outer metropolitan high school found it easier than the boys from the same high school to find the information they wanted and found the information on the website more helpful than boys. Yet a greater proportion of boys from the outer metropolitan high school understood the language used on the website compared to girls from the same high school. At the rural high school the ratings for girls and boys largely coincided in that both groups rated the statements similarly, all the findings from each statement are 75% or above. The strongest findings regarding the website’s attributes came the responses recorded by the students from the rural high school. On two occasions for girls and on one occasion for boys, 100% of respondents rated the statement(s) in the same way. All respondents found it easy to find their way around the website and a significant majority of all respondents reported that they did not require instructions to navigate the website. All girls and a majority of boys at the rural high school reported that they could find the information they wanted on the website. A majority of girls and boys understood the language used on the website and found the information helpful.

The girls from both high schools consistently recorded similar ratings to the statements. This is evidenced in the number of findings for girls above 70% listed in Figure 4 (see page 240) compared to boys. The boys from the outer metropolitan high school consistently recorded the most varied responses across all of the attitudinal ratings compared to any other group except on one occasion, namely, in response to the statement: ‘I need instructions to find my way around the website’. This would suggest there were greater differences of opinion between the boys from the outer metropolitan school compared to any other group. The least spread across the ratings was recorded by the girls

242 from the rural school compared to any other group. This would suggest the girls from the rural school held the most similar opinions about the website’s attributes.

Overall, the responses recorded by the students at the rural school to the statements on the attributes of the website were at times stronger and less spread across the ratings than that recorded by the students at the outer metropolitan high school. This finding is most likely associated with the fact that all the students who undertook the Survey at the rural high school did computing as a school subject and were more likely to possess better computer skills. The female respondents at the rural high school consistently reported similar views and there was greater consensus across this group of respondents. Nonetheless, the responses to the statements concerned with attributes of the website between the two schools were very similar.

The Reach Out! Online Survey 2004 asked their survey respondents to rate: Ease of language; Attractiveness of design; Ease of getting around the site; Range of information; Usefulness of the content; Credibility of information; Helpfulness of content; Ease of finding information you want; and Download speed using a Likert scale ranging from ‘Excellent’ to ‘Not at all good’. The highest rating the Reach Out! Website received across all these site attributes, from a base sample of 853 non-professional users, was on ‘Ease of language’ which was rated by 46% of users as ‘Excellent’. The following three attributes were rated by 37% of users as ‘Excellent’: ‘Usefulness of the content’, ‘Credibility of the information’ and ‘Helpfulness of the content’. These four attributes amongst several others were measured in the Penville Survey and overall received comparable if not higher ratings.

Young people’s attitudes to the website The Survey included six statements concerned with capturing young people’s attitudes towards the content of the website. There was greater variation in the

243 ratings recorded by respondents to these particular statements compared to the statements concerned with the website’s attributes. The respondents’ attitude to the statement: ‘I feel that the information on the website will help me make better decisions’ was mixed. All groups recorded ‘neutral’ responses to this statement. The only strong finding with respect to this statement was recorded by the girls from the outer metropolitan school where 79% ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ with the statement.

The highest ‘neutral’ response recorded by students was to the statement: ‘The website will not increase the existing ways I access information I want’. The girls from the outer metropolitan school recorded the highest ‘neutral’ response (50%) followed by the girls from the rural school (45%). The other significant finding with respect to this statement was that girls and boys from the outer metropolitan school had opposite views, in that 39% of girls ‘disagree’ or ‘strongly disagree’ with the statement compared to 35% of boys who ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ with the statement. In contrast, 44% of girls and boys from the rural school both ‘disagree’ or ‘strongly disagree’ with the statement.

The other statement that attracted a high ‘neutral’ response was: ‘The website was very visually attractive’. Both girls and boys from the outer metropolitan school recorded responses across all three ratings. The boys from both schools agreed least with the statement. The strongest finding for this statement was recorded by the girls from the rural school, 79% of girls ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ with the statement.

There was consensus and strong findings of 70% or above across all groups with respect to the statement: ‘The information on the website will increase my knowledge of options available to young people in the Penville region’. All groups ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ with the statement. The boys from the outer metropolitan school were the only group to record responses across all three

244 ratings to this statement and that group also recorded the highest ‘neutral’ response to the statement. A strong finding of 80% or above for the rating ‘disagree’ or ‘strongly disagree’ was recorded by girls from both schools to the statement: ‘I would never return to the website’ compared to the boys who were much more non-committal, in that one third of the boys from both schools recorded ‘neutral’ responses. Of all four groups, the boys from the outer metropolitan school are the least likely to return to the website.

The girls from both schools are more likely than boys to recommend the website to someone else. Responses to this statement were recorded across all three ratings. The boys from the rural school recorded the highest ‘neutral’ response to the statement followed by the girls at the same school.

Overall, more girls than boys thought the information provided on the website would help them make better decisions. Girls and boys at the outer metropolitan school disagreed about whether or not the website would increase the ways they access information. A significant proportion of boys, particularly those from the outer metropolitan school, thought the website would not increase the ways they access information. This is consistent with KHL Online 2004 data which found that girls made 90% of online contacts and boys 10%, and that boys are more likely to use the telephone than online options compared to girls. The Reach Out! Online Survey 2004 also reported that their site visitors are predominantly female rather than male aged between 15 and 17 years. Male users of the Reach Out! website tend to be older (23 years +). This might help explain why the boys from the outer metropolitan school consistently recorded ‘neutral’ responses to all of the statements and why the number of ‘neutral’ responses increased to statements about their attitude towards the website. However, both girls and boys thought the website would increase their knowledge of options available to young people in the Penville region.

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Around 50% of both girls and boys at the metropolitan school found the website to be very visually attractive. When it came to rating whether or not respondents at the metropolitan school would return to the website and whether these respondents would recommend the website to someone else, a significantly higher proportion of girls thought they would return to the website and recommend the website to someone else compared to boys who were more non-committal than girls.

There was greater consensus between girls and boys from the rural school about their attitudes to the website. A majority of girls and boys equally agreed that the website would help them make better decisions. There was a significant ‘neutral’ response to this statement. Girls and boys at the rural school were almost equally divided over whether the website would increase the ways in which they access information they needed and recording a ‘neutral’ response to this statement. Yet, a substantial majority of both girls and boys thought the website would increase their knowledge of the options available to young people in the Penville region. Female respondents at the rural school found the website more visually attractive than boys who recorded more of a ‘take it or leave it attitude’. More girls than boys said they would return to the website and recommend it to someone else.

Access to the Internet Participants were asked whether or not they had access to the Internet at home and to self-report on their level of Internet activity. Figure 5 (see below) details the patterns of access to the Internet recorded by respondents from both the outer metropolitan high school and the rural high school. No explanation was given for the ‘access’ terms used in the Survey and consequently, the responses recorded reflect the respondents’ perception of what the access terms mean.

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Figure 5: Participants’ reported access to the Internet Outer Rural High Metropolitan School High School Access girls boys Girls boys Always 40% 43% 21% 38% Regularly 25% 0% 42% 31% Sometimes 25% 43% 27% 25% Infrequently 10% 7% 5% 6% Never 0% 7% 5% 0%

More girls (80%) than boys (67%) at the outer metropolitan school reported that they had access to the Internet at home. Whereas at the rural school, more boys (94%) than girls (74%) had access to the Internet at home. The Internet activity of respondents was similar across both schools. However, more boys than girls at both schools reported that they were ‘always’ on the Internet. More students from the outer metropolitan school reported that they ’always’ access the Internet compared to students from the rural school. This finding tends to support KHL Online 2004 data which found that 80% of online contacts made by young people tend to come from metropolitan areas and the remaining 20% from rural and remote locations. The Reach Out! Online Survey 2004 also reported that the majority of their visitors come from metropolitan areas and most visitors are from NSW.

Open-ended questions The Survey included the following open-ended questions: Is there anything you would change about the website’s appearance? If so, what would you change?; What did you think about the website?; and How could we improve the site? The boys and girls responses are initially explored separately.

The Boys The appearance of the website The boys responses to the website’s appearance largely comprised comments about the website’s attributes. Their responses primarily focused upon

247 possible improvements to enhance navigation around the website by either using “names or words for each link” on the home page or making the selectable icons more obvious to the user, these could “be outlined when hovered over by the mouse”. Two boys reported that they were confused by the purpose and layout of the cartoon caricature of young people on the home page. Of the two boys, one noted that the home page needed to be altered because “it could be confusing for other perhaps younger users”. On the other hand, someone else suggested that the pictures should be made “more comical”. There were mixed responses about the use of colour, one boy suggested “more background colours not just whites and stuff” whilst another boy in contrast suggested “a better background colour like white or light blue”.

Several comments were made by some of the boys from the outer metropolitan school about adding more information. The boys were not specific about what other information should be included on the website other than one boy who requested “advice on religion”.

Overall, the boys reported that they want a clear and unambiguous home page design with obvious selectable links or icons, and a website that is easy to navigate. Several comments were made about putting in place changes that would increase the user’s ability to effectively move around the website. The comments from the boys also incorporated a concern for younger users that could become confused by ‘poor’ home page design. These views bring to the fore the importance and value of websites that young people find ‘easy to use’.

Attitudes to the Penville website Boys’ attitudes towards the website ranged from “it was great and helpful” to “boring, non interesting to me”. However, generally the boys’ comments were positive and supportive of the website. Boys attitudes to the website also appear to be influenced by how easy they found the website to navigate. Nine boys from across both schools recorded the following comments:

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It has a very good layout, is very easy to navigate and has lots of useful information for young adults.

The website was very educational. I have a girlfriend & so read about the boyfriend/girlfriend section & it was very helpful.

I think that this website is very helpful, because it tells me about things I didn’t know.

It was easy to find the sources and was presented so we can find all accessible information without looking too hard.

It had a lot of info and examples and stuff. Its a good site to go into if you have family trouble.

It seems a good way for people my age to access information to help them with choices or difficulties in their life. A very good idea.

Informative, helpful, a decent government initiative.

It is good for helping young people to decide/make what at times may be very important choices.

I honestly think that it’s a great way for people to find out more about why things happen & help kids become more aware of the dangers that threaten us.

These boys’ attitudes incorporate themes concerned with the importance of being informed, having access to helpful information and making decisions. There is a common thread in these quotes that young people do encounter problems, experience periods of transition and require information to help them move forward. The Reach Out! Online Survey 2004 reported that their key target group visitors access their website because they feel that it is a site for people like them. The Reach Out! Online Survey 2004 also found that getting help ‘during a tough time’ was the main reason for visiting the site. Kids

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Help Online 2004 data identified the top five reasons why young people contact KHL online as mental health concerns; relationships with family; relationships with friends and peers; emotional/behavioural management; and partner relationships which is largely consistent with the attitudes to the Penville website listed here.

It is not only important to include information that is relevant to young people but also to ‘package’ that information in an appropriate user-friendly format. This view is captured in the following two comments about the pilot website: “Could be better with things that might attract people e.g. Skateboarding, music, pictures that can relate to the info” and “it needs fun things to do”.

Young people are concerned about their education and finding work. Two boys made the following comments: Overall it was quite good but on some sections such as universities and selective high schools section could use more info.

It was helpful in finding out where to start to look for a job.

The emerging themes here concern participation and thoughts about the future, ‘where to from here’. The universality of adolescent issues was captured in the following comment from one boy: “the website is useful for people browsing from Australia or Overseas”. Findings from the Reach Out! Online Survey 2004 suggest that non-professional users are more in favour of those aspects of the Reach Out! Website that provide real/practical guidance and advice. These findings support the comments recorded by the respondents who answered the Survey’s open-ended questions. Moreover, the Reach Out! data found that next to talking to friends, that Reach Out! was perceived by non-professional users as a web-based service they could access during tough times.

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The more ambivalent comments about the Penville pilot website from four boys include: It lacked some information people need or want to know.

It’s alright, just needs more information and make it more interesting.

It was okay but it did not interest me.

It’s OK for young people but I wouldn’t say it would get many people over the age of 17 years.

The theme underpinning these quotes is a lack of information, though little detail as to what information is lacking is provided except for the young person’s comments in the previous paragraph about universities and selective high schools. The other emerging theme is the website’s lack of appeal for these respondents. The comment made by one of the boys about the website not appealing to “many people over the age of 17 years” coincides with data collected from the Reach Out! Survey in 2004 where 28% of respondents reported that the Reach Out! Website was targeted at ‘someone younger than me’. The Reach Out! Online Survey 2004 reported that of the repeat users the main reason for visiting the website in the last three months, under 14 year olds are most likely to use the Reach Out! site when going through a difficult time, and older users (23 years +) are more likely to be visiting for research purposes.

From this information provided about the boys’ attitudes to the Penville pilot website, they value access to good information that is relevant to young people, to help them make informed choices and is presented in an appropriate user-friendly format. Their views also incorporate an awareness of broader societal expectations to participate which are illustrated in the requests for more information on selective high schools, universities and finding work.

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Ways to improve the website The comments made by the boys about how to improve the website include very specific suggestions about the content such as “with the drugs, (include information about the) dangers of using drugs. It would help a lot if it would give some examples of the key points demonstrated eg. poor coordination - can’t see properly” and “talks on religion” (a recurrent theme for one particular boy). Others were less specific one boy stated that the website could be improved by “adding more info about the subjects” and another merely requested “more info”. On these occasions, little direction is offered as to what this content might be. Nonetheless, these views are consistent with the findings from the Reach Out! Online Survey 2004 which found that Fact Sheets rated highly (50% of respondents liked them a lot) amongst non- professional users of the site.

One boy suggested that the pilot website could be improved “by asking the youth what they would like to see put on the site” this clearly involves including young people in decisions about what information should be published on the website. Another boy suggested “add a survey … show film clips on some problems that have been solved”. This comment exemplifies that young people learn in a variety of ways. Whilst another thought that a forum should be created “where users can provide feedback to people as well as Centrelink staff”. This is a reference to the importance of civic participation to young people in shaping their cultural identity and rights to self-expression of the kind alluded to by Livingstone (2003: 151-152). These views are important to the future development of the pilot website and find support in the recommendations made by DCITA (2005) that the key to capacity building is the incorporation of end-user knowledge and experiences in the development of solutions.

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Two boys suggested “advertising” as a way of promoting the website. This view is supported by the findings of the Reach Out! Online Survey 2004 which found that advertising on and off-line plays a critical role in raising awareness about their site. Most other comments related to making the links on the home page more obvious, making the cartoon drawing on the home page less confusing and “more realistic”. One suggestion was made to “employ web page designers”.

The ways suggested to improve the pilot website concern young people’s search for identity that incorporates seeking out good information that gives young people options, mastery over decision-making and cultural self- expression. In particular, adding functionality to the website that allows for civic participation is an example of what one young person values and considers integral to developing a wider political voice, in order to assert themselves as independent and autonomous individuals.

The Girls The appearance of the website Girls made similar comments to the boys about the layout of the home page. Two girls recorded the following comments: “the first page is confusing. You can only guess what the pictures mean” and “the home page I guess it’s alright but it doesn’t make the viewer want to read on if you get what I am trying to say”. Another girl suggested: “make the buttons where the links are brighter, make them stand out so the user can tell if that button leads to another topic”. There were comments about the better use of colour, the inclusion of other and more pictures, in particular, one girl made the following comment about one picture: “not so out there with the picture of the chick suiciding”. These comments concern visual enhancements to more effectively engage users and increase navigation around the website. There is a clear underlying purpose to the suggestions.

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Two girls referred to the inclusion of “more drawings, fashion, chat sites, help- line numbers”. Another suggested “have moving things and vocal devices”. Other suggestions include “put real-life stories in the site, like stories from people who have experienced these problems to make people aware of what can happen”. This view was also echoed in comments made by the boys. The inclusion of real-life stories was highly rated in findings from the Reach Out! Online Survey 2004 where it was reported that 1 in 2 non-professional users ‘Liked a lot’ the ‘Stories’ section on Reach Out! Website.

Like the boys, the girls suggested visual enhancements to increase navigation around the website that also incorporated the importance of connections with others through areas of common interest.

Attitudes to the website The girls’ attitudes to the website were also very positive. Their comments largely coincide with the boys views and again reinforce the importance of ‘ease of use’. Eight girls, from both schools, made the following range of comments: It’s very helpful and it’s a great idea. It surely gave me more knowledge about topics which I was unsure of.

It is very informative and easy to get to the part you are after.

It was helpful & a lot of the things on it are true.

It was informative and quick to get into your chosen area.

It was easy to understand so the younger people can use it too.

It helped me find out about things I didn’t know before which I thought was good.

It was a good website and very interesting, good for people to learn.

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It was a worthwhile website for people who have problems or are involved in these areas. It may also be helpful for school projects.

The predominant theme emerging for the girls was the importance of access to relevant and clear information that they can trust. The information had credibility if they could identify with the content, this is particularly illustrated in the comment by one girl that “a lot of things on it are true”. The content on the website was perceived by girls more as “advice” rather than static information. So the information published on the website for girls was a way of making connections between themselves and others, it had greater meaning. Learning was also a strong theme for the girls as well as developing ways to solve problems and access help. Three girls commented specifically on the importance of problem solving.

I think it is helpful for teenagers and many more should know about it to solve their problems.

Most of the subjects are what young people can relate to so its really good for advice and helping to make the right decisions.

It is a good website. It gives good advice on everyday problems that you may have or someone you know who has them.

The importance of knowing ‘where to go’ is captured in the following statement by one girl: “it’s good and if someone needs help they know where to go”. However, another girl noted that the website “didn’t have many links to phone numbers or people who could help” and yet another suggested “add more links to people or phone numbers you can contact for help”. This comment from one girl provides some confirmation that adolescent issues are not geographic specific but are widespread (this was also mentioned by some of the boys):

I thought that the website had a lot of useful information for teenagers not only in Penville but all across Australia.

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Concerns raised by one girl highlights issues regarding ‘lack of access’ and an awareness of the digital divide: It had plenty of information but some people that need the info might not have access to the net.

These comments lend support to Robbins’ (2001) findings that for girls their experience with Internet technology needs to be connected, meaningful and specific. Overall, the attitudes of the girls to the pilot website were more positive than the boys. This finding could be explained by KHL data which found that girls are more likely to access web-based or online services compared to boys (KHL 2004b Information Sheet No. 27). KHL data collected in 2004 showed that girls comprised 90% of online contacts compared to only 10% of boys, and two thirds of the clients using online services were aged between 15 and 18 years. Boys were more likely to access the KHL telephone service compared to online options, boys made up 24% of calls to the KHL telephone service. This suggests that boys prefer to talk on the phone rather than communicate online. This lends support to the finding from the Penville Survey data where only 59% of boys compared 79% of girls from the outer metropolitan school, and 62% of boys compared to 63% of girls from the rural school surveyed said they would use the pilot website to help them make better decisions.

Ways to improve the website Several suggestions were made by the girls about how to improve the website which included: Putting some things that help teens get part time work.

Have a chat room where people can talk about their problems.

May be topics more directed at younger teens as well.

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Have some letters from kids on the Internet that have come to the website and gotten help.

May be some more problems that people have in the world like: people falling pregnant at an early age, or some more information.

More info or even reports from people who have been affected by drugs, sex abuse etc.

Play music in the background and make it go with the things you clink into. eg. Love - play lovely songs, drugs - play sad songs.

Chats, fashion, games, fun stuff and horoscope.

The girls like the boys made suggestions about improving the navigation around the website, using more and brighter colours or pictures to create appeal. Advertising the website more was also raised by the girls, one girl stated that “before today I didn’t know it existed”. Girls like boys wanted information about finding work. There was a particularly strong interest in real- life problems and finding out about how others have coped. There was a concern for younger teens to ensure that the information on the website also met their needs. For girls, they saw the website as a way to find and exchange information. They also made several suggestions that sought to strengthen their connections with the website, facilitate greater interaction amongst users and build social networks.

Discussion The findings from this survey provide descriptive information about what young people think about the pilot website’s attributes as well as their attitudes towards the pilot website. The Survey comprises 11 statements to which the participants were asked to respond and three open-ended questions. The following discussion addresses the five questions posed at the beginning of this analysis. Each is answered in turn. Overall, the data provides the

257 subjective views of 73 young people about the pilot website. The range of fixed-responses to the statements that comprise the Penville Survey provide the context for understanding the responses to the open-ended questions that help to illuminate these findings. The answers to the open-ended questions provide more detailed and specific information about young people’s views about the website’s attributes and their attitudes toward it.

What do young people value on the pilot website? The word ‘value’ has been defined earlier in the Chapter in terms of what young people thought is useful and important about the pilot website. Information about what young people value on the website comes from the ratings recorded by respondents to the Survey’s statements as well as the answers to the open-ended questions. The strongest findings across all groups from the 11 statements were associated with the five statements concerned with the website’s attributes and its specific features. In particular, the strongest findings were associated with the first two statements (it was easy to find their way around the website and they do not need instructions) in the Survey concerned with navigation around the website. Young people also value language that is easily understood and information that is helpful. These findings suggest that the respondents’ possessed the skills needed to locate and understand the published content and infers a level of mastery over gaining access to information from a static information only website. Being able to successfully access information increases confidence and self esteem.

The findings from the statements and the open-ended questions that comprise the Penville Survey were largely consistent. The open-ended questions allowed respondents to elaborate on their views about the website. The findings from the statements concerned with the website’s attributes and the responses recorded by participants to the open-ended questions were mutually reinforcing. If anything, the written responses helped to explain what the respondents ‘liked’ or ‘disliked’ about the website’s attributes. Both boys

258 and girls held similar views about the attributes of the pilot website. They made similar suggestions to improve its visual appearance and enhance navigation around the website. These suggestions include changing the home page, better use of colour, highlighting links to make them more obvious to the user, and more pictures. These views centre around increasing the website’s ‘ease of use’ and improving its visual appeal (cosmetic changes). There were also suggestions about including music.

From this the inference is that young people value websites that are easy to use, visually stimulating and have an audio component. This is supported by Reid and Caswell’s (2005) research on KHL. Their research shows that ‘ease of use’ (young people are very familiar with computers and online techniques) is important to young people which consistent with the findings from the Penville Survey. Some of the other benefits referred to by Reid and Caswell (2005) concern ‘ease of access’ (no face-to-face required) and ‘control over access’ (can choose when to connect or disconnect). All of these features build confidence in emerging technologies and provide opportunities for young people to exercise control over how and when they access assistance or support.

Other things young people value on the pilot website come from the inferences that can be drawn from the suggestions made by young people about how to improve the website. Young people want good and reliable information that they can trust about the issues that confront them, this information needs to be specific and relate to them. They value the opportunity to connect with other people like themselves through chat sites and forums that also provide feedback to government officials as well as through reading ‘real-life’ stories about how other young people deal with their problems. These suggestions concern the acquisition of language to explain problems that encourage a sharing of ways to deal with issues, which in turn nurtures political literacy that

259 involves making connections between their own circumstances and those of others.

The number and range of written responses to the Survey’s open-ended questions, and the references made by several young people to include ‘fun things to do’ on the website supports the view that young people also value the opportunity to participate when it is offered. Suggestions made by several respondents concerned with including information on selective schools, universities and how to find work supports the view that young people also seek information about opportunities to participate. The desire to participate is further illustrated in the written responses of two different boys who recorded comments to the effect that they wanted to make suggestions about possible improvements to the pilot website but could not think of any. To some degree it could be argued that the focus upon participation by some of the respondents is concerned with replacing ideas of alienation and isolation with involvement and interaction in the pursuit of future goals.

What does the Penville Survey tell us about young people’s interests? The comments made by the respondents about the website and their suggestions for improvements supports the view that young people use the Internet as a source of information (Livingstone 2003). The interests reported by young people appear to be an effective match for the respondents’ developmental milestones of the kind reported by Robbins (2001) and Larson (1999). There were several comments about the importance of having access to information that will help them search for identity and make informed decisions as they deal with the range of social and personal issues, to do with relationships, moral dilemmas, health problems, schooling and finding work. There are universal ‘interests’ that connect young people and this was clearly articulated in comments made about the website’s relevance to other young people outside the Penville region and across Australia. These findings from the Survey data support the view that young people are interested in the

260 development of new roles that are accompanied with support and accessible information which includes access to help line telephone numbers.

There was widespread interest amongst respondents in learning which is illustrated in the range of comments made about being able to connect the information published on the website to real-life problems that confront young people. The Survey data tells us that young people are interested in real-life stories and hearing about how people like themselves cope with their problems. The data also tells us that young people want to be able to express their views through forums and access opportunities through the pilot website to ‘chat’ with one another. The request for real-life stories was a recurrent theme in the responses to the open-ended questions. These suggestions are linked to the importance of biography and personal experiences of real problems and how these are solved. This is concerned with imparting knowledge and life skills to others in similar circumstances. Problems often comprise experiences of powerlessness.

In sum, many references were made by both boys and girls to learning (compare with Robbins 2001). Their desire for information appeared to be linked to the connections they could make between the information provided on the pilot website and whether they, as individuals, could identify with the content (whether it had direct meaning and relevance to them and was packaged in a user-friendly format). This is aptly captured in the following comments by two different respondents: “a lot of things on it are true” and the other refers to the inclusion of testimonials: “have some letters from kids on the Internet that have come to the website and gotten help”. These comments are about the importance of experiencing solidarity with their peers in a way that contributes to the development of interactive and political skills.

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What are young people’s perceptions regarding the purpose of the pilot website? Information about young people’s ideas about the purpose of the website comes from their written responses. Young people’s perceptions regarding the purpose of the pilot website appear to be associated with a search for identity; a sense of belonging; access to information (“info on religion”, “falling pregnant at an early age”, “sex abuse” and “the effects of drugs”); and advice on how to deal with the problems/dilemmas that face young people. The website was perceived by one boy as “an excellent website for teenagers who have problems … and they don’t have anyone they can talk to” and therefore, a possible alternative to face-to-face/voice-to voice contact. Both boys and girls suggested that the pilot website should include “topics more directed at younger teens”. One boy thought that “I wouldn’t say it would get many people over the age of 17 years”. The clear inference here is that the purpose of the pilot website is to provide advice to guide decision-making. This is further illustrated in another suggestion by one boy to “show film clips on some problems that have been solved”. A desire for information that promotes learning is a key underlying theme in the suggestions made by the respondents. These findings support the view that young people seek to act in their own interests and want to be able to evaluate options or new ways of doing things for themselves and thereby sow the seeds of self-learning.

The respondents perceived that there was both a ‘social’ and ‘non social’ purpose to the website. This is illustrated in the range and type of suggestions made by respondents about how to improve the website. The girls’ suggestions tended to be more ‘social’ than the boys’. Several girls expressed interest in links to chat sites, horoscope, games and fashion. The suggestion by two female respondents to include links to chat sites supports Robbins’ (2001: 128) view that girls “seemed to thrive on thinking and speaking to each other” and chat rooms enable girls to carry on group conversations in which all participants can see each other’s messages.

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The boys’ suggestions tended to focus more on the addition of further information and providing some opportunity to develop the civic/political self, this found clear expression in one boy’s suggestion to create a forum “where users can provide feedback to people as well as Centrelink staff”. This is not to infer that boys are not interested in accessing social connections online. Two different boys made the following suggestions about how to attract people to the website such as the inclusion of: “skateboarding, music, pictures that relate to the information” and “fun things to do”. This finding also provides evidence of young people seeking to act in their own interests by having their own say about how things ought to be and finding their own way forward.

Adolescents’ search for identity involves a process of experimentation and learning, and the various suggestions made by young people incorporate a range of ways in which young people explore their identity and come to understand the world. One boy’s repeated request for “info and talks on religion” is an example of the kind of identity exploration pursued by young people. Some of this identity exploration is pursued alone and adolescence is a time when young people increasingly invoke rights to personal jurisdiction over matters that directly affect them (Larson 1999: 249).

Are there significant differences between girls’ and boys’ attitudes to the pilot website? Girls and boys held similar views about the Penville pilot website. The only real difference was associated with the ratings recorded by the boys from the outer metropolitan school to the 11 statements in the Survey. But overall, the findings from the Penville Survey lend support to the research by Gross (2004: 633) which found that boys and girls activities online have become more similar than different. Girls and boys held similar views about the website’s attributes and made similar suggestions for improvements to enhance these attributes.

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The responses of the girls and boys differed in relation to their attitudes towards the pilot website. However, despite the variation there were common themes that emerged in the written responses by the girls and boys to the open-ended questions. The girls’ attitudes to the website and their suggestions for improvements reflected Robbins’ (2001: 128) findings that girls are seeking experiences with Internet technology that are “connected, meaningful and specific”. From the Survey data it appears that boys also seek similar experiences with Internet technology, but one that mirrors their own search for identity and connections.

Larson (1999: 244) identifies ‘independence’ as one of the central developmental tasks for adolescents. He argues that this search for independence tends to pull adolescents in conflicting directions and can manifest in rebellious attitudes that can set them up for experiences of social isolation. The boys’ responses from the outer metropolitan school to the Survey’s statements could be understood in terms of Larson’s (1999: 261) argument and further observation, that adolescents in western cultures are under more pressure to distance themselves from emotional ties to their families and seek acceptance from their peers.

The Survey at the outer metropolitan school was conducted in the school library without the presence of a school teacher and allowed for greater interaction between respondents. The participants arrived in ‘waves’ over a three hour period either in groups, pairs or individually. This setting was less formal than the one at the rural school and perhaps created a greater opportunity for the boys to interact and consult one another. This difference in procedure would help explain the more diverse range of ratings recorded by the boys from the outer metropolitan school than any other group to the 11 statements in the Penville Survey. Moreover, the boys that participated at the outer metropolitan school were more randomly selected than those at the rural

264 school and were not members of a computing class that had been selected by their teacher to participate in the Survey.

What end-user knowledge and experiences should be incorporated into finding ways of increasing young people’s use of the pilot website? Examining what young people value on the pilot website and their interests provides the foundation for shaping strategies and determining ways to increase young people’s participation and connection with the website. The DCITA Report (2005) recommends that end-user knowledge and experiences should be incorporated into the development of solutions to create social capital using ICT. Robbins (2001) has argued that the developmental tasks of young people, in particular for girls, are an effective match for their online activities.

Consequently, young people’s search for social connection, identity and independence needs to be taken into account when considering ways to build networks for young people using ICT so that they can negotiate these developmental tasks. Taking on board the range of improvements suggested by the respondents which include: visual and audio enhancements; better navigational techniques; the development of features that provide opportunities to talk with others, share common interests (fashion, horoscopes and skateboarding) and provide feedback through forums; as well as the inclusion of real-life stories and publication (in a user-friendly format) of other age appropriate information, are all integral to strengthening young people’s connection with the pilot website.

However, the pilot website did not appeal to all respondents. Therefore, it is important to note that young people want and do access information in different ways and through different mediums. The Internet is only one of those mediums. The pilot website provides a medium through young people interact that adds to, compliments and supports their existing methods of

265 engagement with others. Gross (2004: 646) notes that despite the growing role of online communication in the lives of teenagers, they continue to appreciate the value of traditional social interaction. She goes on to state that the alternative to weeknight online and phone communication for adolescents does not tend to be face-to-face interaction with peers but instead solitary pursuits such as homework or listening to music.

The social connection of adolescents with their peers is an important developmental task to combat the risk factors associated with loneliness (Larson 1999) and emerging communication technologies can effectively promote these social networks and connections for young people to mitigate against such risks. Reid and Caswell (2005: 286) note that the service offered by KHL highlights the importance of new technologies in assisting children and young people who are seeking help because it allows for contact through more than one medium (telephone and online). They argue that by integrating technological advances as part of KHL’s service offer, KHL is further empowering young people to develop and enhance the skills needed to experience rich and fulfilling relationships in a changing society.

The value of advertising in creating awareness of the pilot website was raised by several respondents. If we are to promote young people’s interest in participation in the social (connections with friends and like individuals), civic (rights and feedback to government officials) and economic realms (selective schools, university and work) we need to provide opportunities for this to happen in a range of contexts. By creating opportunities for young people to build networks and social connections through a virtual medium this contributes to building social capital, the development of trust and community.

There are two notable limitations to the second aspect of the field study. Firstly, the respondents are all high school students and therefore comprise a homogenous sample. The sample does not include non students. Moreover,

266 the students from the rural high school who members of a computing class were educated and experienced in using the Internet thereby reducing the incidence/likelihood of access issues regarding navigation of the website and finding the information they wanted. Secondly, the focus on educational uses of the website and informational benefits probably reflect the student- orientated concerns of the selected sample (see Perse and Ferguson 2000: 356). These findings should be treated as preliminary and further research using a larger group of non-students is needed.

Concluding remarks The findings from the Penville Survey provide information about what the respondents’ value. They seek information to help them make informed decisions to assist their passage through adolescence into adulthood and look for increased certainty in their decision-making. The achievement of these ‘small goals’ are the building blocks to enable young people to think and act for themselves, in a way that increases their confidence in being able to address those social issues that effect them and are linked to social justice generally (see Rees 1991). From the data the inferences are that young people have been empowered through a service that provided: access to new information; builds upon existing knowledge and experience about their own lives; and is presented in a format that has meaning and relevance to them (adolescents are the largest consumers of the Internet – see Chapter Five).

The findings from the Survey data support the view that young people seek to empower themselves in a range of ways that focus upon the development of new roles, the experience of solidarity with others like themselves and want to have their own say in a way that plants the seeds of self-learning. The focus upon participation and future pathways is concerned with replacing powerlessness and isolation with involvement and interaction. Young people need encouragement and support to successfully navigate the developmental

267 tasks of adolescence so that they can take on new roles, revise opinions of themselves and take effective action on their own behalf.

In addition, the data suggests that these young people pursue or would like to pursue the same kind of activities and interests online as they do offline in their everyday lives such as reading horoscope, chatting, watching film clips, finding and locating helpful information. Another broad inference from these findings is that the involvement of young people in the design phase of the process of establishing the pilot website increased the likelihood that the pilot website would comprise published content that was meaningful to young people and therefore facilitate an opportunity to access knowledge about their own lives. So despite managerialism acting against social justice during the process of the development of the pilot website it does not appear to have significantly impacted on the potential of the respondents to experience a sense of empowerment through access to knowledge about their own lives in terms that having meaning to them.

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CHAPTER NINE Conclusion

The overall purpose of this thesis is to explore the nature of the relationship between managerialism and social justice. The central research question and sub questions are designed to progress this analysis. The exploration of this relationship is contextualized in the process of the implementation of the FCNI program and the development of a pilot website for young people in a high need community referred to throughout the field study as Penville. The initiative was part of FaCS’ stronger communities strategy that involved building coalitions between government, business and the community sector to encourage the development of more self-reliant communities (see Black et al. 2002). The strategy was based on research that suggests that stronger communities with a high degree of social cohesion and low level of social problems have a greater capacity to help themselves (see Chapter Six).

There are two facets to the field study. These facets explicitly exist and together. The first facet of the field study examines the process involved in establishing the pilot website through the perspectives of three key informants and the second facet examines whether the process facilitated an outcome, the pilot website that assisted young people experience a sense of empowerment through gaining access to knowledge about their own lives. The field study uses a mixed methodology to collect data, semi-structured interviews and a survey respectively.

The definitions of managerialism and social justice used in the field study have emerged from a discussion of these two concepts as social values (see Chapter One). Managerialism is defined in terms of ten core elements (see Figure 1 page 23). Two different but compatible conceptions of social justice are used in the field study both in varying degrees draw on the work of Rawls. The first conceptualization derives from ideas about community development

269 practices and relates to the work of Ife (1995). The second conceptualization of social justice comes from Rees’ (1991) ideas about the process of empowerment, how it is defined and exercised, and the importance of the interdependence of policy and practice. The relations between managerialism and social justice are examined using Kekes’ (1993) approach to the resolution of value conflicts. Kekes’ (1993) framework is used because it is well crafted, thoroughly considered and a practical approach to the resolution of conflicts that arise between values that make up the ‘good life’. The approach to value conflicts is couched in terms of Kekes’ (1993) approach to ethical pluralism.

The field study data were collected in 2002 and 2004 (see Chapter Six). The policy associated with the field study relates to a minor policy proposal that was allocated funds from the 1998-99 Budget of the former federal Liberal Coalition government. Despite the lapse of time since the field study was completed, the nature of the relations between managerialism and social justice is still very relevant today given the impact of the current global financial crisis, the explicit social inclusion agenda of the Rudd Labor Government and the managerial objectives of government to ensure that public funds are allocated in efficient, effective and economically responsible manner.

The central research question outlined in Chapter One is: what can we learn about the nature of the relationship between managerialism and social justice in the development of a pilot website for young people in a high need geographic community? There are five sub questions that relate specifically to the Survey data collected about the pilot website. These are:  What do young people value on the pilot website?  What does the Penville Survey tell us about young people’s interests?  What are young people’s perceptions regarding the purpose of the pilot website?

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 Are there significant differences between girls and boys attitudes to the pilot website?  What end-user knowledge and experiences should be incorporated into finding ways of increasing young people’s use of the pilot website?

The analysis of the data collected from both facets of the field study revealed several ‘recurring’ themes related to the relationship between managerialism and social justice in the development of the pilot website. In order to discern the precise nature of this relationship these themes have been organized around ideas that relate to new ways of working. The themes are interrelated and overlap. The use of these themes facilitates the exploration of some of the fundamental elements that comprise these broad social values. The field study illustrates the inherent nature of the conflict that underpins the relationship between managerialism and social justice and further demonstrates how a reasonable conflict resolution approach to decide which value should prevail in a given situation was pursued when there was conflict among these values. The purpose of this thesis is explore whether or not managerialism and social justice are incompatible values, that is, the realisation of one value either partly or entirely excludes the realisation of the other, and whether the values are so different it is impossible to make a reasonable comparison between them, that is, they are incommensurable values. An overview of Kekes’ (1993) ‘reasonable approach to conflict-resolution’ is outlined in Chapter One.

Each of the general themes illustrates an aspect or dimension of the conflict between managerialism and social justice. In the field study ideas about new ways of working are associated with: a range of assumptions about strong communities that involved an acknowledgement by FaCS that the tendering process caused competition; the importance of principles when testing new ways of working; the specified partnership and the delivery of a service intended to empower end-users.

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The FCNI and strong communities The FaCS FCNI program was based on a range of assumptions and concerned testing new ways of working that incorporated a community development approach (see Chapter Six). It was based on a range of assumptions about community (for a detailed discussion about ‘community’ see Chapter Three). Community is ‘imagined’ in a particular way that includes: community is in demise and requires strengthening; self-reliant communities have a greater capacity to generate and implement their own solutions to identified needs; communities know their needs and possess the right mix of skills to engage with programs and successfully apply for funds; and IT has the capacity to build community. The FCNI was supported by research and policy. However, as discussed in Chapter Seven, Everingham (2003) contends that the indicators of community used by social capital researchers focus upon the presence or absence of community rather than the subjective dimension of community – its ‘lived’ experience.

The role played by Penville Community Forum (PCF) throughout the FCNI consultation process provides an opportunity to examine alternative views about community and also provides some insight into the complex and varied needs of community.

In the pilot website project, PCF took on an educative role. For the coordinator of PCF, this generated a “good learning curve” and opened up opportunities for a meaningful and effective dialogue between government and the Penville community: I think that by having a government organisation where they have a more global understanding about the region but not a local understanding, and by having a local peak organisation [involved] that will give more, generates more energy in the community and the service providers.

These comments illustrate that even though a community may be considered high need area, that does not mean that the community is unable to mobilise

272 its existing resources, and lacks the capacity to problem solve and respond to locally identified needs. Commentators like Everingham (2003) argue that community spirit has not declined but intensified in the face of increasing globalisation and uncertainty and people turn inwards to look after their own and project fears on to others. However, the evidence from the field study suggests that Everingham (2003) overlooks the altruism in people. For example, the observation made by the coordinator of PCF about the final outcome of the selection process incorporates ideas about ‘selfless leadership’. This not only lends support to the assumptions raised by Kotze (1987) that the community development process takes place along democratic lines but also illustrates the level of good will that exists in the community: … I think that, the end of the day PCF is there to represent the community so whether “A” organisation got it or “B” organisation got it, that was not the point, the point was that it [the decision] was made by the community and the community got it, that was much, much more important.

Other inferences that can be drawn from the observations made by the coordinator of PCF about the role of PCF in the community consultation process concern the importance of effective communication, sharing information and inclusive practices that are both mutually beneficial and advantageous. The PCF coordinator explained the process of the community consultation as “bottom up … going backwards and forwards”. Gauntlett et al. (2001: 4) contend that a ‘bottom-up’ approach to community development involves working from the perspectives of people within the community in the definition of social issues and decisions about appropriate program responses. So despite the assumptions made by FaCS, the views expressed by the coordinator of PCF point to the possibility of seeing the consultation as ‘bottom-up’ and the flow of information and input went ‘backwards and forwards’.

The field study illustrates that community cannot be simply explained in terms of nostalgia and community decline or competing sectorial interests

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(Thompson 1971; Bryson and Mowbray 1981 and 2005). The ‘lived’ experience of community involves a deeper understanding of how people participate in the communities they feel they belong to. The coordinator of PCF explained that the main service of PCF in the following way: “it was seen as a united force of voices able to identify the gaps and help address those. So liaising and networking and networking with relevant government organisations to address the needs of the community”. In the field study it can be seen that FaCS had already decided the kind of community-networking project they wanted to fund, that is, it had to incorporate IT and possibly relate to a website which is based on the assumption that some sort of benefit would derive from project proposal(s) that incorporate an IT element (FaCS FCNI Minutes 1993a: 3). In this way, managerial elements associated with the implementation of the FCNI worked against empowering local community organisations to identify for themselves how their needs should be met. Moreover, the coordinator raised concerns about the suitability of a community-networking project that focused on IT and made important references to the existence of a digital divide in the Penville region. She stated: I think when talking about the community, where the community ranges from young people to older people, from literate to illiterate. So IT was such a thing that not everybody had … whether I should say it as a luxury, as a commodity in their house to have a computer, let alone talking about an Internet connection.

The coordinator’s observation about the digital divide in the Penville region raises questions about how many people will in fact benefit from the community-networking project given the age mix of the population, the varying levels of literacy, and the disparities in access to this kind of technology, and may also help explain why so few project proposals were submitted. Similar concerns were also raised by the general manager of PCS (see Chapter Seven).

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The FCNI was concerned with testing the idea that collaboration, sharing resources and networks contribute towards building social capital and stronger communities. From the field study, FaCS sought to test new ways of working by trialling a new selection process that was intended to be driven by the community, in particular, a broadly representative steering committee. There was an acknowledgment by FaCS that the traditional tendering process causes competition. This view makes explicit the nature of the conflict between managerialism and social justice. That is, values associated with managerialism such as efficiency and practicality (‘value for money’) that incorporate notions of performance and accountability are seen to be in conflict with values associated with social justice such as empowering community organisations to make democratic and autonomous decisions, and work collaboratively in meaningful partnerships that are of mutual benefit to all parties involved.

The views of the FaCS project officer quoted in Chapter Seven suggest that FaCS made an explicit decision in the FCNI to avoid traditional tendering practices in an attempt to examine new ways of working that encourage people to work together, share resources and make joint funding submissions. The purpose of this approach was to test the idea that through working together people are more likely to come up with a project proposal that would be most appropriate for their community. The inference of this goal is that FaCS was giving ‘priority’ to one value position over another, a social justice/community development approach over a managerial one.

The importance of principles when testing new ways of working The use of community development practices that are inclusive is integral to the development of stronger communities. Means and ends are equally important in community development. In Chapter One means and ends values are discussed. The means and ends in community development are interdependent, ends are inseparable from their means and should coincide

275 but this does not always occur. For example, the FaCS project officer strongly stated the importance of the process being community led. The transparency in the final selection process was stated as essential to ensure that the selection was perceived to be fair and legitimate by the community. However, a clear expression of managerialism can be found in the type of leadership that was exercised by the FaCS project officer when he decided to intervene in the selection process because he believed an impasse had been reached. He explained that the impasse occurred because of some very practical things that had not taken place such as the consultative steering committee did not establish: it’s own sort of rules of engagement with the process [nor] it’s own sort of plan for how this was all going to turn out.

He intervened and decided to conduct the selection of a community- networking project proposal over again. The implications of his decision ‘to steer’ the selection process had significant consequences. Had the FaCS project officer not intervened in the initial selection process, the Centrelink proposal to establish a pilot website may not have attracted funding. The initial selection made by the steering committee did not include the Centrelink proposal to establish a pilot website and the reasons for this were clearly stated in the ‘Decision by Committee’ (see Chapter Seven). The steering committee found the Centrelink proposal to be highly commendable with innovative strategies for engaging young people but the main reason for not recommending it for funding related to the politics of funding another government agency. This in turn raises questions about the extent of the role government can play in building community capacity. Whereas, for the FaCS project officer the main issues concerned the extent of community involvement, benefits of the project proposal to the community and project sustainability (see Chapter Seven). The reasons given by the steering committee for the initial choice of a community-networking project proposal provide evidence of a clear conflict of interests between the various

276 stakeholders charged with the task of selecting a suitable proposal to recommend to FaCS for FCNI funding.

The FaCS project officer used his authority as a form of power to set aside the initial decision of the steering committee. Authority refers to “the exercise of legitimate command based on social status” (Hugman 1991: 34). In this situation, according to Lukes (2005: 21-22), someone complies because they recognise that the command of another is reasonable in terms of their “own values - either because its content is legitimate and reasonable or because it has been arrived at through a legitimate and reasonable procedure”. The field study provides an example of authority as a form of power. The FaCS project officer used his standing as a representative of the potential funding body to intervene in the selection. He used his authority as a form of power to overturn the initial decision. The steering committee recognised the legitimacy of his intervention and agreed to abide by the rules he went on to establish for the final selection.

The leadership exercised by the FaCS project officer involved ‘freedom to manage’ the selection process when he perceived an impasse had occurred (the project officer used his discretionary control to intervene). His intervention “was (about) setting the boundaries. Okay, you can’t just you know talk about this forever you’ve got to come to a conclusion”. Moreover, the FaCS project officer’s view of leadership concerned individual people stepping forward, taking charge of the process and bringing it to a ‘natural’ conclusion, and recognising when the community needs strong guidance and strong assistance. The project officer’s views about leadership also imply that communities know their own needs and these only need to be discovered (see Kotze (1987) in Chapter Seven).

The leadership exercised by the FaCS project officer is different to the kind of leadership associated with community development referred to by Kotze

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(1987), Gauntlett et al. (2001) and Ife (1995) (see Chapter Seven). In contrast, the leadership demonstrated by the coordinator of PCF throughout the consultation and selection process is more aligned to the kind of leadership that is suggested by the literature as likely to result in building community capacity. However, the coordinator’s leadership was not strong and did not incorporate a directive element. Yet, it was grounded in a democratic process, it was largely selfless and dedicated to the community. Consequently, it can be seen as more altruistic than that exercised by the FaCS project officer. The inference here is that people have different conceptions or ideas about what comprises leadership.

PCF had also submitted a project proposal to the consultative steering committee for consideration that was successful at the initial selection but later set aside when the FaCS project officer decided to conduct the selection over again which ultimately resulted in it not being recommended to FaCS for FCNI funding. The coordinator of PCF did not allow this to influence her attitude towards the process, for the coordinator of PCF, “it was pretty open” and a “fairly democratic process”. Her comments about the final outcome, that it did not matter which agency was funded, the point was that the community received the funding and that is what mattered verifies her attitude towards the whole process.

This field study illustrates differing views about leadership: on the one hand as ‘action’ (people step forward and do things) and on the other as ‘relational’ (people have rules of legitimate authority). PCF as a representative and peak organisation had a legitimate role to play in identifying gaps and addressing community needs on behalf of the community. Aspects of the coordinator’s understanding of community leadership are evidenced in the role she undertook throughout the consultation process and later, in facilitating the administration of the steering committee which included the dissemination of information about the progress of the selection to the community. The

278 coordinator of PCF clearly understood the pivotal role PCF played not only in educating FaCS about the region but also in generating energy and involvement.

In a sense, the leadership exercised by the FaCS project officer steered the decision-making process and facilitated an outcome that was regarded by the general manager of PCS as ‘value for money’. Centrelink with its ‘economies of scale’ was well positioned to provide a large amount of in-kind support that could not be easily matched by other local community agencies submitting a proposal. In the words of the general manager of PCS: it would’ve been very difficult to have done it all, actually for the amount of money available I don’t think anybody else could have produced the website for $50,000. It would’ve been impossible to get that knowledge and expertise in and to have the resources to back some of those things.

Further, the emphasis on ‘value for money’ in the selection of a suitable community-networking project proposal may not have been made explicit but permeated discussions about the proposals. This is captured in the general manager’s explanation of the selection process: Everybody put up their proposals to the committee and it eventually came down to three ideas that were chosen and then it was up to those organisations to get together to see how we could get the best outcome for the amount of money that was available.

The decision by the FaCS project officer to intervene arguably gave effect to the realisation of an underlying objective of government, the efficient and effective allocation of resources. The outcome of the selection illustrates the use of economy, best ‘value for money’ by the steering committee in the decision-making process. The decision of FaCS project officer to intervene is contrary to the role of government envisaged by Gauntlett et al. (2001) in promoting civil society, building social capital and strengthening communities. They argue that “the challenge is for government intervention to facilitate and

279 empower community strength rather than be the ‘top down’ provider of solutions” (Gauntlett et al. 2001: 2). This view finds support in Ife’s (1995) contention that the community development vision seeks to provide an eventual alternative to government. He argues that this does not mean that government support should not be accepted because sometimes there is no viable alternative and sometimes government is needed to kick-off a community development process.

In contrast, the FaCS project officer’s decision to intervene did not occur soon enough for the general manager from PCS because in her capacity as the manager of the lead agency assigned with the responsibility of the FCNI implementation, it was: a very, very long, drawn out process. I think that perhaps people putting in tenders or ideas a lot sooner could have been achieved. It seemed to me that they wasted almost 12 months of what could’ve been project time, in actually deciding on what the projects were going to be we just lost at least 12 months of actual project time and probably quite a bit of funding that we could have had.

This perspective also articulates the importance of balancing a collaborative and consultative process with the possible implications, in this instance, reduced project time and less money available to complete to project. The general manager from PCS is clearly expressing these implications in terms of ‘business-related’ outcomes, the shorter time frame and reduced money available directly impacted on her organisation’s ability to deliver the outcomes for which it had been funded.

The debate between process and outcomes, in this instance, appears to relate to the respective interests of the specific stakeholder. FaCS was seeking to test new ways of working that concern strengthening community capacity using a community development approach and the ‘bigger’ picture of halting the demise of community. In contrast, PCS was concerned with getting the job

280 of establishing the community-networking project done. The concerns of each of these parties do not entirely coincide – there is a macro and micro agenda operating. The observations of the FaCS project officer about the lack of strong community interest in the FCNI and the poor attendance at the public forums, that the community “is so caught up in the day to day business that they have to conduct”, aptly reflects the extent of this incongruence between the government’s big picture concerns and that of the community.

Even so, the coordinator of PCF pointed out that the community also looks to government for guidance and direction. The input from PCF was integral to the success of the consultation process pursued by FaCS because of their lack of local knowledge which included a limited understanding of the geographic size of the Penville region, and more importantly, FaCS did not know about the existence of PCF prior to visiting Penville nor the role PCF played in the community. Greater congruence could have been achieved if government organisations better match their objectives with the needs and aspirations of local communities, this is likely to create greater opportunities for processes and outcomes to coincide and more truly reflect the daily reality of the everyday operations and activities of local community groups.

The idea that stronger communities can be achieved through the development of leadership to some degree, assumes that high need communities lack leadership. Gauntlett et al. (2001: 32) note the importance of having structures in place that identify community leaders and other highly motivated community individuals. However, in the field study there was no obvious strategy used by FaCS to identify these people. The use of these strategies could have achieved higher rates of attendance at the public forums, the submission of a broader range of project proposals, as well as greater overall community involvement in the consultation and selection process. Strategies are needed to optimise opportunities for wide and representative community participation, coupled with strategies that facilitate the development of a broad mix of skills,

281 to enable communities of varying capacities, to take advantage of funding opportunities (see Shucksmith 2000). This includes strategies to create a level of competency/skill to engage with programs and successfully apply for funds.

The FaCS FCNI consultation process was an opportunity to give shape to what some of these strategies could have been, where leadership capability is encouraged and developed along democratic lines to suppress individualism and is dedicated to the community (see Kotze 1987). The diverse representation on the consultative steering committee went some way to encourage input from professionals working in the local community, whereby their knowledge and skill provided some level of multi-disciplinary input into the selection process (see Gauntlett et al. 2001).

So, despite the explicit intentions associated with the process of the implementation of the FCNI, that were supported by theory and policy, pragmatic constraints restricted the extent to which community organisations were empowered to make decisions and to act outside the demands of the FaCS project officer. The opportunity for ‘autonomous community decision- making’ was compromised by the exercise of power. The type of leadership exercised by the project officer worked against the ability of community organisations to determine, in the first instance, which community-networking project proposal should be recommended for FCNI funding. The drivers that seem to be operating here appear to be managerial in nature and incorporate notions of ‘best value’ for the available money coupled with the pressures of meeting an overall time frame for the allocation of funds associated the FCNI29 and other budgetary constraints that resulted in less project money being available. Moreover, it could be argued that the FaCS project officer’s intervention was guided by an underlying interest in seeing government and community working together in partnership, despite the strong reservations

29 The ‘shelf life’ of the FaCS FCNI program was 1998-99 to 2001-02 inclusive.

282 expressed by steering committee members about increasing funding to a government agency (see Chapter Seven).

The specified partnership and the delivery of a service intended to empower end-users One of the key components of managerialism is ‘freedom to manage’ and refers to the ability of the purchaser to direct the provider service. The findings from the field study suggest that there were very limited opportunities, if any, for PCS to exercise effective purchaser control over the provider of the pilot website (Centrelink) despite being the lead agency and having the overall responsibility for the entire budget for the Penville FCNI community-networking project. The release of funds by FaCS to PCS was linked to the achievement of project milestones which included establishing a partnership with Centrelink. The partnership with Centrelink was specified in the FaCS Funding Agreement with PCS and PCS was not free to select an alternative provider for the pilot website. In this sense, PCS was the ‘agent’ of FaCS as purchaser, and not an independent entity. This almost puts PCS in the role of being a type on intermediary provider.

Rowlands notes that differing interpretations about the relative importance of managerial dimensions as expressed through purchaser-provider principles and partnerships creates a level of uncertainty and tension (in Halligan 2008). He explains that collegiate partnership “posits mutual objectives and enjoins trust and co-operation” whereas the formalism of purchaser-provider “encourages formalism and caution as to the other’s motives” (in Halligan 2008: 140). In the field study, PCS and Centrelink initially entered into a “sort of almost statement of partnership” (general manager of PCS), a fee-for- service agreement which was later formalised in accordance to a Deed because the initial MOU was considered to be inadequate. The formalization of the agreement better protected the interests of both parties to the agreement. However, in this instance, the provider of the service, Centrelink

283 drew up the terms of the contractual agreement with PCS and there were few areas of negotiation, which were confined to contractual minutiae concerned with time lines and grammatical errors.

Yet the underlying rationale the underpinned the FaCS Funding Agreement with PCS was an action-learning model of community development which meant that monitoring and evaluation was to inform and where appropriate modify the future direction of the project. In this way, the nature of the project activities could change to respond to unforseen barriers or changes in circumstances that supported the delivery of an outcome. This flexibility ensured that the contribution of young people involved in the design phase of the pilot website could be retained (see Chapter Seven).

The inclusion of standard clauses such as the Intellectual Property (IP) clause caused considerable angst not only for the general manager of PCS but also in at least one case, reported in the Black et al. (2002: 35) evaluation of the FCNI program, where this standard clause which gave the Commonwealth ownership over all IP arising from the project was an insurmountable stumbling block for the auspicing agency. This provides evidence that the general manager’s concerns about the ownership of IP were not isolated. This situation exemplifies the general manager’s sense of powerlessness and raises questions about the level of purchaser control that PCS could exercise over Centrelink which is further illustrated in her following comment about the terms of the Deed: I don’t know if we’d wanted to change anything radically how we would’ve got on ... if I think we had taken issue against say, who owned what on the (web)site. I think it probably could’ve fallen over. If community organisations have to relinquish ownership of their own project ideas to obtain funding, this seriously compromises the integrity of efforts by government to genuinely empower communities to become autonomous and

284 strengthen their capacity to generate and implement their own solutions to identified social problems.

Another key component of managerialism concerns the explicit use of performance measures and an emphasis on results (see Chapter One). Performance measures can serve as a control process for the purchaser over the provider. PCS’ control over Centrelink was linked to the achievement of set project milestones. This was limited to an ability to potentially withhold the payment of instalments if Centrelink failed to deliver the pilot website and an insistence that the problems Centrelink encountered during the development of the pilot website get sorted out so that the pilot website could be ready for a public launch by a particular date. At another level, the general manager from PCS saw the benefits of operating at a distance which is illustrated in the following comment: I think it’s actually been done with, from our point of view, with a minimum of fuss. Now, I don’t know whether in Centrelink, that’s the case because we could just say, what was that date for the launch, come on we need to get this sorted out.

Partnerships that provide meaningful opportunities to exchange or share information, knowledge, skill and resources build capacity and facilitate a range of learning outcomes. Cavaye (2001) argues that positive attitudes, networks, effective communication, trusting relationships, organisation and resources contribute to the achievement of outcomes and are integral to developing community capacity to improve a community’s economic and social situation (see Chapter Seven). The significance of these criteria to the development of community capacity is illustrated in the decision made by the general manager from PCS to accept responsibility as the lead agency for the entire community-networking project. This decision was influenced by the general manager’s prior knowledge and dealings with Centrelink which inspired confidence in the partnership, as well as the range of benefits that might accrue from the novel contractual arrangement.

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The general manager from PCS considered the partnership to be mutually beneficial to both PCS and Centrelink. It provided an opportunity for Centrelink to work more closely with the community and PCS with an opportunity to “learn more”. For the general manager, the community-networking project not only offered an opportunity for PCS to obtain funding and “to have contact with a great deal of resources and a great deal of knowledge” but also provided an opportunity to work in partnership with a government agency: “I think that we were really happy to (see) whether it was possible to work with a Commonwealth Government department (Centrelink) at such a level”. It also provided an opportunity for PCS to become involved with the provision of a service directed towards meeting the needs of a much larger client base than PCS would normally assist, that is, not just those people with disabilities and acted as a trigger for considering new ways of working. In particular, learnings associated with the use of more inclusive practices, namely, possible ways of breaking down barriers that keep disability somehow excluded from the mainstream.

The value of certain managerial practices such as the use of formal contracts was captured in the general manager’s comments about the frequent use of ‘verbal agreements’ in the non-government sector and some of the pitfalls of this practice. In this way, the use of contracts is portrayed as a generic instrumental activity (Painter 1998) that has the potential, according to the general manager from PCS, to avoid “hurt feelings, broken agreements or litigation”. The general manager referred to the benefits of being able to transfer knowledge about the use of formal contracts gained through the partnership with Centrelink to other partnerships; and recognising that having a significant partner like Centrelink, can increase a project’s credibility with other key stakeholders (see Chapter Seven).

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Trusting relationships are integral to successful partnerships and testing new ways of working. This is illustrated in the general manager’s comments about whether she held concerns about Centrelink being able to deliver the outcome: I had great faith in the person who was, was pushing it, so I thought that if anybody was going to find a way, there would be a way found.

Further, Winkworth (2005: 33-34) argues that “the relationships that government representatives build with members of local communities and the personal trust engendered in these relationships” are critical to the development of community capacity. Partnerships that offer mutual and comparable benefits to those involved in the partnership tend to foster better and more egalitarian relationships where partners see themselves as equal players.

So despite the managerial and pragmatic constraints that encroached upon the process of the implementation of the FCNI and delivery of the pilot website, this did not extinguish opportunities for active learning and other benefits that did accrue from the partnership between PCS and Centrelink. Active learning can contribute to the well-being of a particular group of individuals or the community as a whole. It can empower both individuals and community organisations, and is largely concerned with realisation of social justice objectives. The second facet of the field study explores the views of the end-users of the service that was created, the pilot website. The purpose of the second facet is to determine whether the intrusion of managerialism in the process did act against social justice in the sense of limiting the potential of end-users to achieve a sense of empowerment, through access to knowledge about their own lives in terms they that have meaning for them.

As discussed in Chapter One, ideas about self-respect, confidence, knowledge and skill underpin the creative sense of power that informs the second of two related objectives. These ideas, articulated by Rees (1991), are

287 concerned with the process of empowerment. For Rees (1991: 66) the achievement of small goals comprise the building blocks for enabling people to think and act for themselves, “to become confident participants in addressing those social issues which affect them and which are linked to social justice generally”. Young people as they transition from childhood into adulthood take on new roles that require a repertoire of coping and adaptation skills (Graber et al. 1996) as they move through a range of ‘normal’ adolescent developmental tasks (Robbins 2001; Bynner 2007) and in doing so can experience a sense of powerlessness and vulnerability.

According to Rees (1991: 67) vulnerable people need “encouragement and support before they can begin to revise their own opinion of themselves, let alone take effective action on their behalf”. The Survey is concerned with collecting data that relates to that aspect of the process of empowerment associated with achieving a creative sense of power through the achievement of small goals linked to notions of self-respect, confidence, knowledge and skill. As noted in Chapter Six, the analysis of the ‘attributes’ of the pilot website provides an opportunity to capture information about respondents’ level of knowledge and skill, and the exploration of respondents’ ‘attitudes’ towards the pilot website facilitates an opportunity to obtain information about young people’s perceptions of self-respect and confidence.

The findings from the Penville Survey provide information about what the respondents’ value. They seek information to help them make informed decisions to assist their passage through adolescence into adulthood and look for increased certainty in their decision-making. The achievement of these ‘small goals’ are the building blocks to enable young people to think and act for themselves, in a way that increases their confidence in being able to address those social issues that effect them (see Rees 1991). From the data the inferences are that young people have been empowered through a service that: (1) provides access to new information (“tells me things I didn’t know”);

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(2) builds upon existing knowledge and experience about their own lives (“I have a girlfriend & so I read about the boyfriend/girlfriend section & it was very helpful”); and (3) is presented in a format that has meaning and relevance to them (“it was easy to understand so the younger people can use it too”; and “I think it is helpful for teenagers and many more should know about it to solve their problems”). In addition, adolescents are the largest consumers of the Internet (see Chapter Five). For young people the Internet is an important means of social interaction (see Brignall and Van Valey 2005).

The findings from the open-ended questions presented in Chapter Eight support the view that young people seek to empower themselves in a range of ways that focus upon the development of new roles (such as in seeking information about teen pregnancy, part-time work, selective schools and universities), the experience of solidarity with others like themselves (“a lot of things on it are true”) and want to have their own say in a way that plants the seeds of self-learning. The focus upon participation and future pathways is concerned with replacing powerlessness and isolation with involvement and interaction. Young people need encouragement and support to successfully navigate the developmental tasks of adolescence so that they can take on new roles, revise opinions of themselves and take effective action on their behalf. Young people’s lived experience of community is largely concerned with achieving developmental milestones associated with balancing the tensions that exist between social connections (conforms to the peer group and having close and intimate friends) and individualism linked to ‘coming of age’ where independence is the central developmental task (see Larson 1999).

Further evidence which supports the view that respondents achieved a sense of empowerment from access to the information published on the pilot website is captured in the respondents’ interest and concern for each other. For example, various suggestions were made about the layout of the website to

289 ensure younger users did not find it confusing and therefore, could also benefit from access to the knowledge that was available coupled with suggestions to include other topics particularly for younger teens. Both girls and boys were concerned about the impact of the digital divide on young people who may not have access to the Internet and consequently, would be unable to access what many respondents’ thought was good and helpful information. The pilot website was viewed by one respondent as: “an excellent website for teenagers who have problems … and they don’t have anyone to talk to”.

Dissenting or negative views recorded by some of the respondents about the pilot website (such as “it was okay but it did not interest me”; “not interesting”; and “boring”), demonstrate that young people’s lived experience of community is diverse and not all young people will want to find out information about their own lives in the same way. Going online does not replace or diminish the importance of daily offline interactions and activities. Findings from the field study suggest that for those young people who go online, their online activities complement and extend their existing networks of support and the ways they access information and knowledge about their own lives rather than replacing more ‘traditional’ offline interactions (see Chapter Five).

A broad inference from these findings is that the involvement of young people in the design phase of the process of establishing the pilot website increased the likelihood that the pilot website would comprise published content that was meaningful to other young people and therefore facilitate an opportunity to access knowledge about their own lives in terms that have meaning for them. So despite the apparent intrusion of managerialism on the process, the findings from the Survey data suggest young people were able to achieve a sense of empowerment from access to the information published on the pilot website. However, not all young people are able to benefit from the opportunities that access to the Internet provides due to either a lack of knowledge, technical skill and/or physical access to the Internet.

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Social capital and the field study Commentators such as Ife and Tesoriero (2006) contend that community development is an obvious approach to halt the erosion of social capital (p. 18). They link the erosion of social capital in western societies to an erosion of civil society. For Cox (1995: 78-80) the ‘road rules’ for creating a truly civil society stem from amongst other things the notion that “communities must share resources, the haves with the have-nots, so no-one is left out” with the state protecting the less powerful and redistributing limited resources preferably to the poor and not to the rich, where the collective ‘we’ benefits us all. These ideas resonate with notions of social justice which imply some view of fairness and equity. Given that the field study examines a community- networking project in a high need community, the two conceptualisations of social justice that underpin the thesis draw from, in varying degrees, the work of Rawls (see Chapter One). The first conceptualisation derives from ideas about community development practices and the second from ideas about empowerment.

The FaCS FCNI program was established to test principles about stronger communities and was also a means to explore building partnerships that put into practice social capital and community capacity philosophies that essentially rested on assumptions about strong communities (see Chapter Six). Penville was identified by FaCS as a high need community and ‘invited’ to participate in the FCNI program. Empowerment through policy and planning according to Ife and Tesoriero (2006: 74) “is achieved by developing or changing structures and institutions to bring about more equitable access to resources or services and opportunities to participate in the life of the community”. They contend that this could be achieved through the acknowledgement of the existence of disadvantaged groups and taking steps to redress this disadvantage by ‘changing the rules’ to favour the disadvantaged (p. 74). Penville was specifically targeted by FaCS because it

291 was deemed to be a high need community in a state of decline and a different process was put in to select a suitable FCNI community-networking project intended to strengthen community capacity. Without this targeting, Penville may have lacked the capacity to engage with the FCNI program and successfully apply for funding (see Shucksmith 2000).

In Chapter Three it was argued that social capital depends on the building of trust and norms. In particular, the idea that such gains are experienced by communities as a whole is seen as very important. It is this very idea that is contained in the view of the coordinator of PCF about the outcome of the selection process: “whether organisation ‘A’ got it or ‘B’ organisation got it, that was not the point, the point was that it was made [the decision] by the community and community got it” evidences not only selfless and democratic decision-making but also a preparedness of individuals to work cooperatively for the benefit of the community rather than for the interests of the individual organisations that they represent. A view that lends support to the notion that inclusive decision-making structures can facilitate community participation and generate social capital.

Gauntlett et al. (2001: viii) note that there is increasing recognition of the significance of community participation and the role of community groups in developing stronger communities. In the field study, the coordinator of PCF in her explanation of the main service of PCF states that PCF: was to advocate for the needs of the community. It was seen as a united force of voices able to identify gaps and address those [gaps]. So [the main service was] … liaising and networking with relevant government organisations or other community groups to address the needs of the community. In essence, the coordinator of PCF is explaining that the role of PCF is to build social capital through networking and liaising to identify the needs of the local community and address those gaps through the combined efforts of its members. The function of PCF was to connect and link members with the view to facilitating cooperation between members for the good of the community.

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The role of PCF was to empower members of the community using an approach that involves local (community groups) and non local (government organisations) institutions to build community capacity through the identification of their own needs with a view to addressing those needs. Yet this function appears to be ignored by FaCS insofar as they determined the problem (the community was in decline) and the solution (an IT remedy was required). In addition, the coordinator of PCF thought that FaCS was “not very familiar with what PCF [did]” and found herself educating FaCS “to tell them what Penville region was all about”.

The FCNI was regarded by FaCS as an opportunity to test propositions about stronger communities in a way that contributes to ongoing strategy and theory (see Chapter Six). However, it could be argued that the approach by FaCS to the implementation of the FCNI in Penville did not centre upon ‘valuing the local’ but privileged knowledge, skills, processes and resources from outside that were ‘imposed’ on the community from ‘above’ rather than ideas for change from below - ‘bottom-up’ development (see Ife and Tesoriero 2006: 267). Further, it could be argued that FaCS, in practice, adopted a managerial approach to the FCNI informed by top-down ‘rationality’, planning and change. In contrast, other actions taken by FaCS demonstrate efforts to identify and validate local knowledge and expertise, for example, the decision by FaCS to support PCF’s lead role in the FCNI consultation process and the allocation of one-off funding to PCF to employ a consultant (see Chapter Seven). These actions lend support to the view expressed by Gauntlett et al. (2001: 2) that ”government has a key role not only in the formation of policy but also through more tangible assistance to voluntary and non-government effort by those people in communities who seek to respond to the needs around them”. Moreover, PCF’s role in the FCNI community consultation phase included: PCF will make sure that the steering committee meeting happens, will administer the meetings and also promote whatever the outcome from the steering committee meeting [that] comes out, to all the community, to whole community of PCF.

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Gauntlett et al. (2001: viii) contend that social capital is created through community-based programs that facilitate opportunities that: “enable skill development in areas such as organising groups and running meetings; enable the identification of funding sources and the capacity to bid for these funds; and build better links with other community groups and organisations, to publish achievements and to access information about other communities’ achievements”. All of these opportunities existed in varying degrees during the consultation process associated with the FCNI. PCF was involved in: (1) establishing the steering committee; (2) administering and running the steering committee meetings; (3) ‘buying in’ skills to employ a consultant to raise awareness about the FCNI, solicit project proposals and write the grant application for the steering committee; (4) the promotion of the outcome(s) from the steering committee to the whole community. All of these activities can contribute to building community capacity, strengthening links across the community and the creation of social capital.

The complementarity of local and non local institutions in building community capacity is noted by the coordinator of PCF in her comment: I think that by having a government organisation where they have a more global understanding about the region but not a local understanding, and by having a local peak organisation that will give more, generates much energy in the community and the service providers. This view emphasises the importance of local and non local institutions in building community capacity and concerns linking ‘the global’ with ‘the local’ in ways that lead to change (see Healy et al. 2004). In other words, the coordinator of PCF is referring to the different and diverse roles that local and non local institutions play in the creation of social capital, and the importance of the respective roles of the institutions involved. She is also referring to the interdependence of institutions in building community capacity.

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In the field study FaCS contributed to PCF’s capacity to build social capital and enabled PCF to facilitate community involvement in decision-making about the allocation of resources through the establishment of a steering committee. FaCS employed new ways of working underpinned by community development strategies to select a community-networking project that avoided the traditional tendering process which tends to create competition rather than collaboration and partnerships. This approach lends support to Cox’s (1995: 23) view that competition tends to militate against levels of trust and cooperation. The steering committee provided an opportunity to bring people together to select a suitable FCNI community-networking project proposal to recommend to FaCS for funding, and in doing so emphasised the idea of interdependence and strengthened the links between people. This process in turn led to the development of a specified partnership between PCS and Centrelink. Community building according to Ife and Tesoriero (2006: 279) is about ensuring that the processes of community development bring people together, endeavour to strengthen bonds between community members with a view to encouraging interdependence through activities that are group- orientated rather than individualistic. They argue that community building exercises can help create social capital through strengthening community ties in a way that makes further community development possible (p. 280).

Ideas about interdependence are articulated in the comments made the general manager of PCS about how the partnership with Centrelink came about and some of the benefits that accrued from the contractual arrangement. The general manager of PCS explained that the arrangement with Centrelink came about after a consideration of a range of ideas about possible community-networking projects, in the end it came down to three proposals, “then it was up to those organisations to get together to see how they could get the best outcome for the amount of money that was available”. The general manager’s comments suggest that from the outset, a managerial approach underpinned discussions between those who planned to submit a

295 project proposal for formal consideration by the steering committee, to determine in advance, which combination of project proposals was the best value for the money. However, it could be argued that through a group- orientated activity in which the organisations came together to discuss their respective project proposals, this created space for people to talk and encouraged an idea of interdependence that focused upon how the resources being made available through the FCNI program could be ‘shared’. So in this instance, what appears to be an overtly managerial practice lends itself to community building. Moreover, the partnership with Centrelink could also be interpreted as government recognising their role in local social capital creation.

Notwithstanding that the partnership between PCS and Centrelink is best understood as a collaboration rather than a partnership due to the unequal distribution of power in the contractualist relationship (see Hancock 2006), further ideas about interdependence and the importance of trust and cooperation in strengthening links between people are found in comments made by the general manager about why PCS entered into the partnership with Centrelink. The general manager of PCS identified a number of conditions that inspired confidence in the contractual relationship with Centrelink: I think because we had established fairly good relationships with people [at Centrelink] probably the fact that I’ve worked for them before and … I know that they have got very [good] systems in place, they would be very business-like. I thought that it would be probably a lot more straightforward than having to deal with a very small service that hadn’t done it before.

These comments suggest that for the general manager of PCS the partnership with Centrelink was underpinned by personal trust and the bonds between people. It was based on good relationships with people, on prior dealings with Centrelink and the general manager’s prior status as a previous employee. In this instance, the general manager of PCS links trust to ‘very business-like’ behaviour, in other words the managerial practices of government and having good systems in place. These comments lend support to the views expressed

296 by Healy et al. (2004: 333) that “the state has responsibility to, and diverse roles in, the creation of social capital” in local neighbourhoods. Moreover, the comments expressed by the general manager of PCS also lend support to Hancock’s view (2006: 47) that relationships between government and NGOs are based on trust, mutual recognition of usefulness, competency and legitimacy. Similarly, Winkworth (2005) notes that the personal trust that accrues from relationships that government representatives build with members of local communities has the potential to build community capacity.

Further information about community building derives from other observations made by the general manager of PCF about the perceived benefits of partnering with a large government agency: I sought of know the sort of things that Centrelink could do, I know that they have lots of resources, I’m aware of the fact that there are a lot of people in there who know a great deal about their communities and are quite committed. So this was actually a chance of, for us to actually learn more.

The comments by the general manager of PCS suggest that the arrangement with Centrelink had benefits for both PCS and Centrelink. It provided Centrelink with an opportunity to work more closely with the community and PCS with the opportunity to “learn more”. Community building is about developing structures that mean people are more dependent upon each other to get things done, seeking ways in which everyone can contribute which results in being genuinely valued by others (Ife and Tesoriero 2006: 185). The nature of the partnership with Centrelink did generate mutual dependence insofar as PCS would have not been in a position to provide the pilot website for the money made available and Centrelink would not have been able to provide the pilot website due to a range of complex administrative and legal constraints without PCS accepting the transfer of the domain name registration and agreeing to immediately enter into an ISP hosting agreement. Both the coordinator of PCF and the general manager of PCS make references to the digital divide for individuals and community organisations in

297 the Penville region so the potential to build social capital using a community- networking project that relates to the provision of a pilot website is diminished without adequate strategies that address access issues that include the provision of physical infrastructure and soft technologies such as education and training. Some commentators such as Walsh (2001) argue that once online access has an equalising effect and the digital divide all but disappears. However, the digital divide may continue to exist in people’s capacity to effectively use the Internet (see Hargittai 2002 and Holloway 2002).

Findings from the field study associated with the provision of the pilot website also provide information about social capital. As discussed in Chapter Five, community can be experienced through electronic forms of communication and computer networks are increasingly being used to connect people to people. Young people are one of the largest consumers of the Internet (see Subrahmanyam and Lin 2007). Reid and Caswell (2005: 286) note that the service offered by Kids Help Line (KHL) highlights the importance of new technologies in assisting children and young people who are seeking help because it allows for contact through more than one medium (telephone and online). They argue that by integrating technological advances as part of KHL’s service offer, KHL is further empowering young people to develop and enhance the skills needed to experience rich and fulfilling relationships in a changing society.

Computer networks can promote participation in local communities which in turn is likely to build community and therefore has the capacity to generate social capital (see Hopkins et al. 2004: 377). Online networks can be used as a means for social action and empowerment because online communication offers disadvantaged groups access to comprehensive sources of information and support outside the confines of their physical locale to utilise those resources on real and immediate problems (see Mele 1999). The findings from the Penville Survey provide information about what the respondents’ value.

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They seek information to help them make informed decisions to assist their passage through adolescence into adulthood and seek to pursue the same kind of activities and interests online as they do in their offline lives such as reading horoscope, chatting, watching film clips, finding and locating helpful information. The findings from the Survey data support the view that young people seek to empower themselves in a range of ways that focus upon the development of new roles, the experience of solidarity with others like themselves and want to have their 'own say' in a way that plants the seeds of self-learning and discovery. Moreover, the online activities of young people are an effective match for their developmental tasks (see Robbins 2001).

Young people need encouragement and support to successfully navigate the developmental tasks of adolescence so that they can take on new roles, revise opinions of themselves and take effective action on their own behalf. The achievement of these ‘small goals’ enable young people to think and act for themselves, in a way that increases their confidence in being able to address those social issues that effect them and are linked to social justice generally (see Rees 1991). Ideas about empowerment are linked to participation in community life. The focus upon participation and future pathways is concerned with replacing powerlessness and isolation with involvement and interaction.

In sum, social capital is an evolving concept and the field study illustrates that the creation of social capital comprises a collection of overlapping and contradictory measures that focus upon social connectivity but what is most important according to Cox (2007) is how to use it effectively to create a truly civil society. The field study illustrates that the effective use of social capital can help to thread together ideas about stronger communities, conceptualisations of social justice based on fairness and equity that find expression of community development activities that strengthen bonds between people, nurtures trust and enhances social connectivity in a way that increases participation in community life.

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The relationship between managerialism and social justice Managerialism and social justice are two important social values. The FCNI was shaped by ideas about strong communities and testing new ways of working that were informed by an action-learning model to community development and consequently, provided fertile ground to explore the relations between managerialism and social justice. The data from the field study provides some important insights into the relations between these two concepts. Pluralism is concerned with the relations between values and all values are considered to be conditional. Kekes’ (1993) reasonable conflict resolution approach to value conflicts provides an important perspective on the nature of the relationship between social justice and managerialism.

The analysis of the field study data using topics associated with new ways of working supports that managerialism and social justice are incompatible and incommensurable values and at various points during the process of the implementation of the FCNI decisions were made using elements of one set of values, managerialism that worked against and excluded to realisation of a different set of values associated with social justice. For example, the decision by the FaCS project officer to intervene in the selection process and conduct the selection over again altered the relations between managerialism and social justice tipping it in favour of a preferred managerial outcome, thus moving the conflict into the pluralist paradigm. His decision to intervene worked against empowering community organisations to make their own decisions in favour of the demands of government. The value conflict being addressed here by the FaCS project officer is whether the continued adherence to a community development approach in the implementation process is more important than obtaining a fair and transparent outcome that met the stated aims of the FCNI. In a sense there was a partial ordering of two overall objectives. The flow-on effect of his intervention led the selection of a

300 community-networking project that, in this instance, did empower end users of the service.

The comparison of the three different perspectives of the key informants captures the nature of this value conflict and illustrates that despite explicit intentions that were supported by policy and research, pragmatic constraints restricted the extent to which community organisations were empowered to make decisions and to act outside the demands of government organisations. However, despite this the young people, the intended beneficiaries of the service, were able to experience a sense of empowerment in that they were able to access knowledge about their own lives in terms that had meaning for them. It could be argued that some important social justice outcomes accrued from the managerial intervention in the process of the implementation of the FCNI. However, there is a contradiction in the way this was achieved by actions that might have been experienced as disempowering in the local community. The young people are only one possible point of reference (although a very important one). It is the views of people from PCF and PCS that have been quoted here and in Chapter Seven that suggest this was not the case.

The central evaluative claim of pluralism according to Kekes (1993: 12) is that although our commitments to moral and non moral values will produce conflicts that will invariably engender loss, despite this, the plurality of values is positive because it enriches the possibilities for living a good life and enlarges the range of conceptions of life that we may recognize as good. So in this instance, we can see that both the managerial and social justice goals co- existed throughout the implementation of the FCNI program in the Penville region but at various points, one or the other was given ‘greater weighting’. We need to balance the objectives of efficiency, effectiveness and economy (the needs of government) with the aspirations of the different sectorial interests that comprise community and the needs of the end beneficiaries of funded

301 programs. Community groups are not equally placed to engage with programs and successfully apply for funds. FaCS attempted to target communities of high need for community-networking projects but not all communities of high need were able to access the FCNI program.

The relations between managerialism and social justice are complex. A pluralist approach provides one perspective on how the conflictual relationship between these two social values can be resolved rather than an alternative resolution that lies in the exercise of power and the view that those with the money are in control. The findings from the field study provide an opportunity to consider an another way to resolve the conflict between managerialism and social justice which supports the view that the conflict between these values is necessary and can be resolved using a reasonable conflict resolution approach as both social values facilitate different aspects of the good life. These findings are preliminary and further research is needed into the nature of the relations between managerialism and social justice.

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Appendix A

FaCS Consent Form

I, Ted, project officer for the Family and Community Networks Initiative at FaCS, consent to participate in a semi-structured interview conducted by Loret Bartos that forms part of her postgraduate PhD research at the University of NSW on what we can learn about the relationship between managerialism and social justice in the development of the Penville pilot website.

I understand that I am free to withdraw at any time.

Name: ______

Signature: ______

Date: ______

I, Ted, agree to participate in the Centrelink evaluation of the Penville pilot website.

I understand that I am free to withdraw at any time.

Name: ______

Signature: ______

Date: ______

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Appendix B

FaCS Semi-structured interview schedule

The tendering process: What were the objectives of the FCNI?

What was the funding criteria for the FCNI?

Tell me about the process FaCS used to establish the FCNI in the Penville region. (How did FaCS make its selection of a suitable or combination of suitable Information & Technology proposals?)

What was the philosophy underpinning the selection process pursued by FaCS to establish the FCNI in the Penville region?

What issues arose as a consequence of the selection process used by FaCS to establish the FCNI in the Penville region?

Had FaCS used this process before to establish the FCNI project in another region? If not, why was the Penville region chosen for this type selection process?

What can you tell me about the process of identifying a lead agency for the FCNI project in the Penville region?

In hindsight, do you have any suggestions about how this process could have been improved or handled better?

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Attitude: What was FaCS attitude towards the FCNI selection process?

What were the problems associated with the selection process?

What were the benefits of the selection process?

How did the agreement work? Can you tell me about the reasons why Centrelink was sub contracted to PCS to develop the pilot Penville youth website as part of establishing the FCNI in the Penville region?

What was FaCS attitude to this arrangement?

What were some of the benefits and problems associated with this arrangement?

How did this arrangement influence the local FaCS working group for the FCNI in its decision to recommend the proposal to the Minister for funding?

Terms of the Agreement: Tell me about the terms of the funding agreement with PCS to establish the FCNI in the Penville region?

How clearly defined was Centrelink’s role in the FaCS funding agreement with PCS to assist PCS in establishing the FCNI in the Penville region?

What references in the FaCS funding agreement with PCS were made to Centrelink’s role in developing the pilot youth website?

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Were there any standard or set terms included in the funding agreement with PCS?

Who owned the intellectual property associated with the establishment of the FCNI project in the Penville region? How was this decided? Is that standard in all FaCS funding agreements?

What opportunity did PCS have to negotiate the terms of the FaCS funding agreement?

Performance: What performance measures are being used to determine whether PCS was implementing the FCNI in the Penville region as agreed?

How do these performance measures relate to Centrelink’s role in developing the pilot youth website?

What arrangements were put in place to measure Centrelink’s performance in delivering the website?

What was FaCS knowledge of the presenting issues confronting the establishment of the pilot website by Centrelink?

What was FaCS response to these issues?

How were they resolved by Centrelink?

Did you feel appropriately informed about these issues?

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Outcomes: Can you tell me about whether or not the selection process used by FaCS to establish the FCNI in the Penville region achieved the best allocation of the available funds set aside for the FCNI community-networking projects.

Accountability: How does PCS contracting out the development of the pilot website effect their overall responsibility to establish the FCNI in the Penville region?

The future: What do you see as the future for FaCS funding agreements with non government agencies identified as the lead agency that involve ‘fee for service’ subcontracts with Centrelink or other government departments?

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thank you for your time and assistance.

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Appendix C

PCF Consent Form

I, Molly, former Coordinator of Penville Community Forum, consent to participate in a semi-structured interview conducted by Loret Bartos. I understand that this interview forms part of her postgraduate PhD research at the University of NSW on what we can learn about the relationship between managerialism and social justice in the development of the Penville pilot youth website.

I understand that I am free to withdraw at any time and that my choice to withdraw will not affect my relationship with the University or any agencies involved in the Penville Community Forum.

Name: ______

Signature: ______

Date: ______

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Appendix D

PCS Semi-structured interview schedule What can you tell me about Penville Community Forum?

Who does the Penville Community Forum represent?

What role / service does the Forum provide?

The consultation process How did Penville Community Forum become involved with the Family & Community Networks Initiative (FCNI) project?

How did FaCS define the Penville region?

What was the Forum’s understanding of why the Penville region had been selected by FaCS as a location for the FCNI project?

What understanding did you have of the Forum’s involvement in the FaCS consultation process?

What role did the Forum actually play?

What opportunities were there for the Forum to determine how the FaCS consultation process could be organised?

What did you think of the consultation process used by FaCS?

How did the community respond to the FaCS consultation process?

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In the Forum’s view, did FaCS achieve what you believed they set out to achieve?

The steering committee How was the steering committee established to advise FaCS about which FCNI project proposals to fund?

What was the Forum’s role in setting up the steering committee?

Who were the members of the steering group and what organisations did they represent?

What was the Forum’s involvement in running the steering committee?

How well did the steering committee work?

Who did you feel was leading the steering committee?

Were there any issues?

The selection process Why did FaCS intervene in the selection process?

What amount of say did you feel the community had in the steering committee’s final decision on which proposals to recommend to FaCS for funding?

What were the Forum’s views on the selection process used by FaCS?

What was the Forum’s view on the final selection of projects recommended to FaCS for funding?

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Overall impressions In your view, do think FaCS should use the same consultation and selection process used in the FCNI project to decide which community projects to fund?

Why do you hold that view?

What did you think of FaCS’ understanding of community consultation and involvement in the selection of community projects to fund?

Thank you for your time and assistance.

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Appendix E

PCS Consent Form

I, Mary, general manager of Penville Community Services, consent to participate in a semi-structured interview conducted by Loret Bartos that forms part of her postgraduate PhD research at the University of NSW on what we can learn about the relationship between managerialism and social justice in the development of the Penville pilot youth website.

I understand that I am free to withdraw at any time.

Name: ______

Signature: ______

Date: ______

I, Mary, agree to participate in the Centrelink evaluation of the Penville pilot website.

I understand that I am free to withdraw at any time.

Name: ______

Signature: ______

Date: ______

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Appendix F

PCS Semi-structured interview schedule

The tendering process: Tell me about how you selected a provider for the pilot website.

What opportunity did you have to choose another provider?

Do you have any suggestions about how this process could have been better handled?

Attitude: What were your thoughts about contracting out work to a provider?

What were some your initial thoughts about entering into the fee-for-service agreement with Centrelink?

What are your thoughts now about the Deed agreement, given that the website has been established?

How would you describe Centrelink’s attitude towards the Deed agreement?

How did the Agreement work? How did the brokerage agreement with Centrelink work?

Terms of the Agreement: What did you think of the terms of the fee-for-service agreement?

What influence did you have over determining the terms of the agreement?

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Tell me about the process of negotiating the terms of the Deed agreement with Centrelink.

Can you tell about the control you had over setting the terms of the agreement with Centrelink?

What did you understand were your responsibilities and obligations as a party to the agreement with Centrelink?

Performance: What performance measures were used to determine whether Centrelink was implementing the pilot website as agreed?

How were the presenting issues confronting the pilot website resolved by Centrelink?

Did you feel appropriately informed about these issues?

Did Centrelink meet what PCS contracted Centrelink to do as part of the overall Family & Community Networks Initiative project?

What arrangements were place to measure Centrelink’s performance in delivery the website?

Outcomes: What were some of the outcomes of the Deed agreement for PCS?

What were the benefits of the agreement with Centrelink?

What were the problems of the agreement with Centrelink?

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What did PCS think of the end product?

Did you feel that you received value for money?

Purchaser questions: As the purchaser of a service, what did you think of how Centrelink went about providing the website?

Tell me about your influence over the implementation phase of the pilot website.

Did you feel appropriately consulted throughout the implementation phase of the pilot website?

Accountability: How did contracting out the website effect your overall responsibility to establish the Family & Community Networks Initiative in the Penville region?

Management: Tell me about the management of the website.

How does this arrangement work?

The future: What do you think is the future for the website?

What do you see as the future of the partnership arrangement with Centrelink?

Would PCS be involved in a similar agreement with Centrelink again?

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Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thank you for your time and assistance.

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Appendix G

Student Information Sheet for Penville Survey Centrelink was invited to become involved in a Department of Family and Community Services (FaCS) community consultation process in the Penville region in July 1999. FaCS intended to establish the Family and Community Networks Initiative (FCNI) project in the Penville region that involved building community using Information & Technology. Centrelink as a member of the steering group advising FaCS, proposed a pilot community website targeting young people aged between 12 and 25 years, to increase their options for access to information.

Following a process of negotiation, it was agreed that Centrelink would enter into a brokerage ‘fee-for-service’ agreement with Penville Community Services (PCS) to develop and establish the pilot website.

The pilot website was launched on 14 December 2001 by the federal member for Penville at Penville Centrelink. The website operates as a self-help tool for young people from the Penville region and contains information about a range of social issues and includes a feedback web-form. The topics are organized around life events to assist young people to make informed choices and include: relationships, sexuality, drugs, accommodation, work, money worries, abuse, suicide, rights, education and local events. The pilot website was designed and created in consultation with young people from the Penville region through a series of focus groups and workshops organized and facilitated by Centrelink.

The content published on the pilot website has been prepared by eight different providers who have entered into Deed Agreements with Centrelink. The content providers include two Commonwealth departments, two State government departments, a Local government agency, and three non

317 government organisations. The pilot website is managed by a steering committee that comprises a representative from each content provider, PCS and Centrelink. These content providers include government and non government organisations working together to help young people from the Penville region through periods of transition. The Penville Survey forms part of Centrelink’s evaluation of the pilot website.

318

Appendix H

Student Consent Form

I consent to participate in the Centrelink Penville Survey.

I understand that I am free to withdraw at any time.

Name: ______

Signature: ______

Date: ______

I consent to participate in the Penville Survey conducted by Loret Bartos that forms part of her postgraduate PhD research at the University of NSW on what we can learn about the relationship between managerialism and social justice in the development of the Penville pilot youth website.

I understand that I am free to withdraw at any time.

Name: ______

Signature: ______

Date: ______

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Appendix I

Penville Survey This survey is designed to collect feedback about a pilot website. The website was designed for young people aged between 12 and 25 years from the Penville region. It includes information on a range of social issues that may effect young people. You are asked about the ‘look and feel’ of the website, the language used, the different topics, and the quality of the information. You are required to tick just one answer.

The information collected is completely confidential. Only your age, gender and postcode are requested so that comparisons can be made between regions, age groups, boys and girls. If you do not want to answer a question you do not have to. You can withdraw from this study at any time.

Information about you: How old are you? ______Are you: O O female male What is your postcode? ______

Please indicate how you felt about the website by ticking only one rating out of 5 for the following statements.

On the scales, 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree.

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1. It was easy to find my way around the website.