Focus on Food Chains Your food takes a long path from its production to your table. Food chains are the complex journeys food products undertake before consumption. From protected and patented seeds, to convoluted transport systems involving many stop-offs and changing of hands, by plane, boat, or train, often our food comes to us through a long chain of production originating half-way around the world, when sometimes we could get…
Author Archives: Kennedy Cassy
Focus on Healthcare Communication (A lot of) communication and (some) fake news on drugs and health are encountered daily in social media. The health sector is centred on integrity – or often the lack of it. Communication and fake news on health matters are of interest to not only political and social organisations but also private companies, particularly in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. We must not forget the huge…
Focus on Integrity in Civil Services Should we fight against the corruption itself, or against the politician who corrupts? It is a question often heard in this debate. However, it is also necessary to consider how corruption develops “on-the-ground”. Where does it come from? How is an officer of the law tempted away from integrity and why? Integrity must be safeguarded from the bottom-up, just as much as by politicians…
Focus on the Perception of Corruption Given that corruption often occurs behind closed doors, measuring it presents a constant challenge. Surveys most often rely on the perceptions of citizens as a primary indicator of corruption, such as Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index and the World Bank’s Control of Corruption. Commonly, a sample group is interviewed and asked to respond to questions such as: “Do you think corruption is particularly widespread…
Focus on the CumEx Files The notorious case of the CumEx Files can teach us valuable lessons about the use of technology to combat fraud and corruption. Published in October 2018 by a cooperation of newspapers from eleven countries, the CumEx files (CXF) refers to a media investigation into the biggest case of tax fraud in European history. For more information see www.cumex-files.com. The CumEx case involves a strategy of…
Focus on E-Governance E-governance is the application of communication and information technologies to government service and affairs. When innovative technologies are incorporated into systems of government, they become more transparent and the relationship between citizens and politicians more trusting and honest. The implementation of e-governance tools can simplify administrative procedures – increasing efficiency as well as transparency. Based on the example of Brazil, this episode plays through the implications of…
Focus on Blockchain Blockchain is based on a growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked using cryptography. It is a secure database that contains the entire history of the exchanges made. This technology has a vast number of potential applications, from e-trading to vital records management. While tainted with the association of cryptocurrency and illicit payments, blockchain can, in fact, be used to render transactions more transparent, leaving…