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Whistleblowing in the Digital Age: Integrity Systems Research

Whistleblowing in the Digital Age: Integrity Systems Research. Dr Suelette Dreyfus Research Fellow, Dept of Computing and Information Systems The University of Melbourne. Background.

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Whistleblowing in the Digital Age: Integrity Systems Research

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  1. Whistleblowing in the Digital Age: Integrity Systems Research Dr Suelette Dreyfus Research Fellow, Dept of Computing and Information Systems The University of Melbourne

  2. Background • Dr Suelette Dreyfus – Research Fellow, University of Melbourne. Research work in the impact of technology on: Health, Education, Integrity Systems and Citizen-State Engagement. • Trained and worked as a staff journalist on Australia’s largest selling daily newspaper. • Non-Fiction Writer – Author of “Underground”

  3. Why is Whistleblowing Important?

  4. Trust in Our Institutions • We need to be able to trust our institutions such as: • government • banking system • police • churches • doctors • heroes Or else we can’t engage well with our society

  5. Google Images

  6. Whistleblowing(Integrity Systems) • “Whistle-blowers are organisation members (including former members and job applicants) who disclose illegal, immoral, or illegitimate practices (including omissions) under the control of their employers, to persons or organisations who may be able to effect action” (Near and Miceli, 1985) • Increasingly - includes organisation members such as volunteers, sub-contractors, church or university members who reveal serious wrongdoing

  7. What are Icelanders’ Attitudes to Whistleblowing? • Stratified national random sample survey, Adults, aged 18 - 64 • Using questions from the World Online Whistleblowing Survey • Across 3 countries –Iceland, Britain, Australia Total respondents – • Australia – 1211 (NewsPoll) • Iceland – 809 (Social Science Research Inst., Univ of Iceland) • United Kingdom – 2000 (ComRes)

  8. Inside Information Question 1: ‘Inside information’ is information that someone has because of their role in an organisation – for example, as an employee of a government department or a business, or as a member of an education, religious or community organisation. Often inside information is secret of confidential, for good reason. However, often it is also about important things going on within the organisation. Which of the following comes closest to your view? (Select one answer)

  9. Inside Information Q1: Is too much ‘inside information’ kept secret in organisations in your society?

  10. Inside Information and Serious Wrongdoing Sometimes, inside information can be about serious wrongdoing. This is when a person or organisation does things that are unlawful, unjust, dangerous or dishonest enough to harm the interests of individuals, the organisation or wider society. Which of the following comes closest to your view? Aim: what do people think their society currently permits / allows?

  11. Revealing Inside Information and Serious Wrongdoing Q2: Is it unacceptable for people to speak up about serious wrongdoing, if inside information would have to be revealed?

  12. Support for Whistleblowing Question 3: Which of the following best describes what you think should happen in your society? (Select one answer) Aim: what do people want their society to be like?

  13. Support for Whistleblowing Q3: Which of the following best describes what you think should happen in your society?

  14. The Whistleblower Source: www.lookfordiagnosis.com

  15. The Whistleblower Question 4: And how acceptable do you personally think it is for someone to reveal inside information about serious wrongdoing by each of these different types of people? (Select one answer)

  16. The Whistleblower How acceptable do you think it is for someone to reveal inside information about serious wrongdoing by people in different roles within an organisation?

  17. Changing attitudes to whistleblowers Source: www.thewhistleblower711.blospot.com

  18. The Obligation to Act Thinking about your role in the organisation you mentioned – how much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? (Select one answer per row)

  19. The Obligation to Act If I reported wrongdoing to someone in my organisation, I am confident something appropriate would be done about it. Source: www.cartoonstock.com

  20. The Obligation to Act If I reported wrongdoing to someone in my organisation, I am confident something appropriate would be done about it.

  21. The Obligation to Act Management in my organisation is serious about protecting people who report wrongdoing. Source: www.cartoonstock.com

  22. The Obligation to Act Management in my organisation is serious about protecting people who report wrongdoing.

  23. Different Ways to Act In different societies, there are different views on the most effective way to get action to stop serious wrongdoing. Which one of these do you think is the most effective way in your society? (Select one answer)

  24. Different Ways to Act Which is the most effective way to get action to stop serious wrongdoing?

  25. The Role of the Media If someone in an organisation has inside information about serious wrongdoing, when do you think they should be able to use a journalist, the media, or the Internet to draw attention to it?

  26. The Role of the Media The breakdown of which situations respondents believe people should use the media to bring attention to serious wrongdoing that is proven by revealing inside information.

  27. Whistleblowing Globally There are moves in a number of countries to introduce new laws or revise old ones in order to bring law reform into line with public’s views on whistleblowing. • In the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) , the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2012 passed 8 months ago. It included specific protections for whistleblowers making disclosures to the Legislative Assembly or to a journalist • New Whistleblower Protection Bill introduced into the Australian Parliament. It sets out remedies including (also giving whistleblowers easy access to adverse action and unfair dismissal provisions in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)): • Immunity from liability • Protection from a defamation action • Ability to bring an action for damages as a result of a detrimental action taken against a whistleblower as a result of their disclosure • Reinstatement • A criminal offence of victimisation as against anyone who victimises a whistleblower by reason of their disclosure

  28. Summary • A large majority of Icelanders believe that whistleblowers should be supported, not punished, even if they reveal inside information • Icelanders perceive official channels to be the most effective way first option for reporting serious wrongdoing, but .. • There is overwhelming public support for whistleblowers being able to use different avenues, including types of media to bring attention to the wrongdoing.

  29. More Broadly .. • Citizens across a set of countries believe whistleblowers must be protected for revealing serious wrongdoing. • Whistleblowers need both official channels as well as alternative options (revelations made to the media or to MPs for example), and this is supported by public opinion across cultures. • There is a gap between the situation that exists in society and the public’s expectations and desires in various countries with regard to both whistleblowing and secrecy of information in institutions, including Iceland, the UK and Australia. • Closing this gap may begin to improve citizen confidence in government and broader society.

  30. Acknowledgements • The Australian Research Council (funder of the study) • Dr Wim Vanderkerckhove and the University of Greenwich (UK), Dr Andrew Clausen, University of Edinburgh • NewsPoll Australia, The University of Iceland’s Social Science Research Institute, ComRes (UK), Blueprint for Free Speech, Transparency International (Berlin) • The team: Prof AJ Brown, Prof Marcia Miceli, Assoc. Prof Simon Milton, Dr Reeva Lederman, Dr Rachelle Bosua, Jessie Shanzle • The International Whistleblowing Research Network members (for review and refinement of survey questions)

  31. References • Brown, A.J. (ed) (2008), Whistleblowing in the Australian public sector: Enhancing the theory and practice of internal witness management in public sector organizations. Canberra, ACT: ANU E-Press. • Dozier, J. B. , and M. P. Miceli, (1985), 'Potential predictors of whistle-blowing: A prosocial behavior perspective', Academy of Management Review, 10 (4), 823-836. • Ethics Resource Center, (2012), 'Just what is a whistleblower?', Retrieved May 31 from http://ethics.org/news/2011nbes-reporting?utm_source=NBES+. • Kaplan, Steve E., Kelly R. Pope, and Janet A. Samuels, (2010), 'The effect of social confrontation on individuals' intentions to internally report fraud', Behavioral Research in Accounting, 22 (2), 51-67. • Mazerolle, Paul, and Peter Cassimatis (2009), 'Whistling while they work: Some findings from a large study into public sector whistleblowing in Australia', Paper presented at the International conference on whistleblowing legislation and research, London, UK. • Miceli, Marcia P., and Janet P. Near, (1992), Blowing the whistle: The organizational and legal implications for companies and employees, New York: Lexington. • Near, Janet P., and Marcia P. Miceli, (1985), 'Organizational dissidence: The case of whistle-blowing', Journal of Business Ethics, 4 (1), 1-16.

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