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AbstractEthics-based auditing (EBA) is a structured process whereby an entity's past or present behaviour is assessed for consistency with moral principles or norms. Recently, EBA has attracted much attention as a governance mechanism that may help to bridge the gap between principles and practice in AI ethics. However, important aspects of EBA—such as the feasibility and effectiveness of different auditing procedures—have yet to be substantiated by empirical research. In this article, we address this knowledge gap by providing insights from a longitudinal industry case study. Over 12 months, we observed and analysed the internal activities of AstraZeneca, a biopharmaceutical company, as it prepared for and underwent an ethics-based AI audit. While previous literature concerning EBA has focussed on proposing or analysing evaluation metrics or visualisation techniques, our findings suggest that the main difficulties large multinational organisations face when conducting EBA mirror classical governance challenges. These include ensuring harmonised standards across decentralised organisations, demarcating the scope of the audit, driving internal communication and change management, and measuring actual outcomes. The case study presented in this article contributes to the existing literature by providing a detailed description of the organisational context in which EBA procedures must be integrated to be feasible and effective.

The term transition is a key term of the fourth national environmental policy plan (NMP4, 2001), which put forward transition management (Rotmans et al, 2000) as a new policy approach for dealing with persistent and highly complex societal problems such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, overexploitation of resources and health risks related to the use of dangerous, non-natural substances. The NMP4 selected the energy supply, mobility, agriculture and the use of biodiversity and natural resources as priorities for developing transition management activities. The Ministry of Economic Affairs (holding responsibility over energy and innovation policy) has since the NMP4 been the leading actor in the so-called 'energy-transition'. Several activities have been undertaken, based on the basic principles underlying transition management; long term visions as framework for short-term action, a multi-actor approach and a focus on learning and experiments. The approach has stimulated the involvement of a large number of stakeholders and led to the developments of shared visions, ambitions and strategies, experiments and projects. Besides, the approach itself has generated questions regarding regular policies, for example innovation and technology policies, and led to debates on policy integration and barriers in existing regulations. This discussion has been actively picked up by the Ministry and governmental advisory boards for energy and environment (Energieraad and VROM-raad 2004). It is an example of policy learning in which it was believed that sustainability requires some fundamental changes in functional systems, which in turn require policy-innovation. In this paper we will look at why the Ministry was interested in fostering an energy transition (where we will see that economic reasons, notably the willingness to create green energy business, was an important consideration). The paper will describe the policies and stakeholder process, which will be assessed from a transition management perspective. This means that the paper uses the multi-level, multi-phase transition management framework (Loorbach 2004b) to evaluate the energy-transition approach as developed by the ministry of Economic Affairs, in terms of content (what types of visions and experiments are developed?) and in terms of process (what kind of actors are involved, what instruments are used?). Special attention will be given to the nature of the policies developed and their difference with and implications for 'regular' policies. We will compare the difference with past policies and the changes in the system of governance. The paper will also seek to answer a more speculative issue: What are the prospects of the Dutch approach to achieve a transition and a flourishing sustainable energy business?

Although South African policy and legislation make provision for cluster foster care schemes (CFCSs) as a form of alternative care that provides children with care within a family context, clear guidelines regarding their operationalisation are lacking. This study explores the elements necessary to operationalise CFCSs. The discussion is based on a qualitative research study among managers of existing CFCSs. Findings provide an insight into the nature of CFCSs, management practices, the utilisation of different network structures in the community and support to and from the community.

Donors and development practioners are increasingly seeking ways to operationalise rights-based approaches to development. The Department for International Development's (DFID) Participatory Rights Assessment Methodologies (PRAMs) project was conceived as one response to the challenge of putting their rights agenda into practice. PRAMs, presently being piloted in Malawi and Peru, is seen as an instrument for supporting governments, civil society and other social actors in understanding their rights and obligations and creating the institutional change necessary to ensure participation, inclusion and obligation for all human rights for all people. Emerging lessons confirm that participatory rights assessment is qualitatively different from "conventional" people-centred approaches to development initiatives, with one participant concluding: 'once you understand - really understand - that you have rights, everything changes.' (IDS Bull/DÜI)

Drawing upon primary research funded by the UK Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), this article is about using data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) for operationalising human security in the contemporary operating environment. The idea of human security has gained much traction in the international community since its introduction in a 1994 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report and has more recently become a military concern. Yet, the core tenets of this idea remain contested, and the military role in support of human security remains an open question. Nonetheless, the concurrent increase in Open Data and AI does give rise to new opportunities to understand the various human security concerns. In response, DASA funded Projects SOLEBAY and HAMOC to research these concerns and the possibilities of data analytics for human security. Drawing on the research findings, we propose the idea of Population Intelligence (POPINT) as a new intelligence discipline to operationalise human security.

AbstractArtificial intelligence (AI) offers much promise for improving healthcare. However, it runs the looming risk of causing individual and societal harms; for instance, exacerbating inequalities amongst minority groups, or enabling compromises in the confidentiality of patients' sensitive data. As such, there is an expanding, unmet need for ensuring AI for healthcare is developed in concordance with human values and ethics. Augmenting "principle-based" guidance that highlight adherence to ethical ideals (without necessarily offering translation into actionable practices), we offer a solution-based framework for operationalising ethics in AI for healthcare. Our framework is built from a scoping review of existing solutions of ethical AI guidelines, frameworks and technical solutions to address human values such as self-direction in healthcare. Our view spans the entire length of the AI lifecycle: data management, model development, deployment and monitoring. Our focus in this paper is to collate actionable solutions (whether technical or non-technical in nature), which can be steps that enable and empower developers in their daily practice to ensuring ethical practices in the broader picture. Our framework is intended to be adopted by AI developers, with recommendations that are accessible and driven by the existing literature. We endorse the recognised need for 'ethical AI checklists' co-designed with health AI practitioners, which could further operationalise the technical solutions we have collated. Since the risks to health and wellbeing are so large, we believe a proactive approach is necessary for ensuring human values and ethics are appropriately respected in AI for healthcare.

Among scholars in sustainability science, there is an increasing recognition of the potential of place-based research in the context of transformative change towards sustainability. In this research, researchers may have a variety of roles; these are determined by the researcher's engagement with the subject, the inherent theoretical, normative and methodological choices he or she makes, the researcher's ambitions in contributing to change, and ethical issues. This article explores the varied roles of research fellows within the European Marie Curie ITN research program on sustainable place-shaping (SUSPLACE). By analysing 15 SUSPLACE projects and reflecting on the roles of researchers identified by Wittmayer and Schäpke (Sustain Sci 9(4):483–496, 2014) we describe how the fellows' theoretical positionality, methods applied, and engagement in places led to different research roles. The methodology used for the paper is based on an interactive process, co-producing knowledge with Early Stage Researchers (fellows) of the SUSPLACE consortium. The results show a range of place meanings applied by the fellows. Varied methods are used to give voice to participants in research and to bring them together for joint reflection on values, networks and understandings, co-creating knowledge. Multiple conceptualisations of 'sustainability' were used, reflecting different normative viewpoints. These choices and viewpoints resulted in fellows each engaging in multiple roles, exploring various routes of sustainable place-shaping, and influencing place-relations. Based on our findings we introduce a framework for the 'embodied researcher': a researcher who is engaged in research with their 'brain, heart, hands and feet' and who integrates different roles during the research process.

Intro -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- About the Author -- Acronyms -- List of Figures -- List of Terms -- 1 Introduction: Representation as a Case for Upgrade -- References -- 2 The Idea of Democracy in Theory and Practice -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Decision Making and Democracy -- 3 Evolution of Democratic Thought -- 4 Democratic Deficit -- 5 Representative Democracy a Compromise -- 6 Legacy and Promise of E-Democracy -- 7 Conclusion -- References -- 3 E-Democracy -- 1 Introduction -- 2 The Overview of E-Democracy -- 3 E-Democracy Moments -- 3.1 Steps Towards a Swiss E-Democracy -- 3.2 Digitising the Electoral System of Representative Democracy -- 4 Digital Technology and Some Lessons for Democracy -- 4.1 Diverse Terminologies at an Infancy Stage -- 4.2 The Application of ICTs: Context and Framework -- 4.3 Political Will and Digital Leadership -- 4.4 ICTs and Digital Divide -- 4.5 Risks for Trusting the State's Digital Democracy -- 5 Measurement of E-Democracy: A Virtual Process -- 6 Conclusion -- References -- 4 Systems Theory in Politics -- 1 Introduction -- 2 An Overview of Systems Theory -- 2.1 Systems Theory and Political Theorising: Eastonian Value Free Empiricism -- 2.2 Systems Theory and Political Science: Towards Eastonian System Worldview -- 3 Eastonian Contributions to Political Theory -- 3.1 Eastonian Systems Analysis -- 3.2 Eastonian Systems Equilibrium: Input/Output and Support Stress -- 4 A Critique of Easton's Work -- 4.1 Inconsistency to Understanding Values -- 4.2 Inconsistency to Other Political Science Theory -- 4.3 Inconsistency to Adapt Communication Field -- 4.4 Inconsistencies with Parsimony and Abstraction -- 4.5 Inconsistency to Applied Political Science -- 4.6 Inconsistency to Engineering -- 5 Relation Between Re-Emergence of State and Eastonian System Worldview -- 6 Conclusion -- References.

Chapter 1. Introduction -- representation as a case for upgrade -- Chapter 2. The idea of democracy in theory and practice -- Chapter 3. E-democracy -- Chapter 4. Systems theory in politics -- Chapter 5. Understanding systems engineering -- Chapter 6. Applying systems engineering to create an e- democracy -- Chapter 7. A system engineered approach to e-democracy- a small island mauritius -- Chapter 8. Upgrading mauritius a legacy political system -- Chapter 9. A system engineered approach to e-democracy – a what if for Australia.