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The social sciences are bedeviled by terminological promiscuity. Terms and phrases are used at one time in a certain context and later borrowed and applied in different circumstances to somewhat different phenomena. Sometimes different groups of actors or researchers simultaneously use the same term with somewhat different meanings. Such is the use of the term civil society. In this 5th Anniversary of the Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, it is timely to trace the evolution of the idea of civil society to its multiple guises in the present. The paper reviews the term’s 18th and 19th century roots, its recent resurrection and the opposing views of civil society, including views that question its applicability to non-western settings. It then discusses prospects for developing agreed approaches to the study of civil society. To guide our thinking the paper presents a brief overview of different approaches to defining civil society taken by some of the major so-called centres for civil society in Australia and internationally. The paper concludes by reflecting on these definitional challenges as it has played out at one particular cross faculty research centre, the University of Technology, Sydney’s Cosmopolitan Civil Societies Research Centre.

Microfinance has been one of the fastest growing 'industries' of the new millennium, with the sector now containing over 10,000 microfinance institutions (MFIs) with over $60 billion in assets (Microfinance Information Exchange 2011). This expansion has stimulated interest from both scholars and the mainstream media. There is a growing volume of academic research which broadly centres on two approaches: an âinstitutionalist perspectiveâ that highlights microfinance as an innovation in applying market solutions to social problems; and the other approach, often described as welfarist, that questions the capacity of an increasingly commericalised sector to realize a mission of poverty reduction. But do these themes and concerns permeate academic boundaries? Specifically, does media coverage in key donor and recipient countries confirm or challenge or even engage with these debates? To date much of this academic literature has overlooked how âmicrofinanceâ has been socially constructed in the public sphere through the mass media. Through its interpretation of events, the media can influence the way an issue is discussed and evaluated and in this way influence individual perceptions (Gamson 1988). In this article we present an analysis of recent media coverage of microfinance in one key donor country, the United States and one major recipient country, India. By conducting a media content analysis of 100 newspaper articles (sorted by level of relevance) that appeared in the top 10 highest circulating English language newspapers in India and the US over a 12 month period January-December 2008 we discuss how media coverage in these two countries differed in significant ways. The Indian media sample tended to focus on operational issues and report on specific business activity within the microfinance industry, in general treating it as a âregularâ part of the financial and banking system. While the US media sample made broader generalizations about the indust

The Australian Labor Party (ALP) formed government under Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in 2007 promising to consult with the not-for-profit sector on the development of a national compact. It was the governmentâs aim to forge a new settlement with the sector after eleven years of Liberal/National Coalition government during which contractual governance rather than relational governance was the norm. The provenance of the National Compact, launched in March 2010, can be traced back to similar framework documents for inter-sectoral cooperation in the United Kingdom (principally, The Compact) and Canada (the Accord). The National Compact) cannot be explained solely in terms of policy diffusion or the predilection of centre-right political parties for policy instruments of this sort. Rather, explanation requires a more nuanced contextual analysis of the political and policy environment within which these frameworks emerged. In this article we compare the range of factors contributing to the development of The Compact (UK), the Accord) (Canada) and the National Compact (Australia). We apply a similar analysis to policy frameworks in selected Australian states. We conclude that compacts arrive on the policy agenda via the opening of policy windows and through the actions of policy entrepreneurs. Policy windows and the attention of policy entrepreneurs might be both contextual and therefore, time-limited. We consider the range of factors that appear to have a bearing on the impact and durability of inter-sectoral policy frameworks in each jurisdiction in order to draw tentative conclusions about the prospects for the Australian National Compact.

This paper focuses on the spread of markets in North Korea and the role of women in this process. It does this by presenting individual accounts of North Korean female defectors and contextualizing these with data drawn from in-depth interviews with representatives of transnational and South Korean NGOs, government officials and North Korean experts and analysis of a variety of English and Korean language materials. In so doing the paper seeks to provide a more nuanced understanding of North Korean society at a time of unprecedented economic and social change.

Korea's current Green Growth strategy seeks to lessen the country's dependence on fossil fuel resources and promote significant investment into the development of alternative, environmentally-friendly energy sources. As part of this strategy Korea has been investing heavily in the development of various green energy industries in particular it has become one of the world's largest manufacturers of lithium based rechargeable-ion batteries to power electric or hybrid motor vehicles. The continued growth of this industry requires a secure and stable supply of lithium and to this end the Korean government has developed its so-called 'resource diplomacy' strategy which is designed promote relations with countries with significant lithium deposits such as Chile, Argentina and Bolivia. However, to date, resource diplomacy has been somewhat narrowly targeted at domestic policies that support Korean firms to invest directly in acquiring and developing lithium mines or to increasing the number of embassies in these countries. More recently the Korean government is considering broader diplomatic measures. The paper argues that resource diplomacy has the potential to be an effective means of achieving Korea's green growth objectives but that the success of this strategy must go beyond facilitating Korean direct foreign investment to become a more fully fledged cultural and foreign aid and development diplomacy strategy that promotes longer term, broader and deeper levels of engagement. This 'soft-power' approach is more likely to serve as an effective but subtle means to exert influence not only to promote specific Korean interests but to achieve longer term, mutually beneficial outcomes for both Korea and these South American nations.

The experience of women working in the sex and entertainment industry is an issue central to feminism, social and human rights movements, and ongoing political debate. Although now an area of scholarly research the clandestine nature of this industry makes research challenging and means many aspects remain unknown. In this paper, the researchers examine the working conditions of Korean women working in the sex industry in Australia. The paper reports on recent trends in patterns of migration and draws attention to the fact that increasing numbers of Korean women are utilising =working holiday` visas to work in the sex and entertainment industry and that under Australian law this practice is essentially legal. The paper also examines the nature of their service in the sex industry and details the conditions of their employment. Findings from this study aim to inform recommendations to policy makers in relevant government and non-government community service organisations.

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Until the drastic reduction in the flow ofinternational aid precipitated by US sanctions in 2005, International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) conducted significant operations in the Democratic People's Republic ofKorea (DPRK). The DPRK solicited assistance from the international community in 1995, after a major flood and subsequent chronic food shortage. Over subsequent years the country became increasingly dependant on international assistance. Given this dependence on foreign aid by one of the world's most isolated, repressive andpotentially dangerous regimes and the recent withdrawal of' many aid agencies, it is timely to examine the impact of NGO operations, not only in humanitarian terms but with regards to economic, political and social development. After discussion of the various theories relating to the role ofINGOs in economic, social and political development, including their potential to promote democratisation, the pdper examines the impact of the activities of international aid organisations participating directly or indirectly in the provision ofhumanitarian aid, assistance or development in the DPRK. Based on the findings of10 semi-structured telephone interviews with relevant INGO personnel, INGO documents and other economic and social data, the paper examines the impact of INGOs on three key areas: Humanitarian objectives, economic development andpolitical/ social development.

It is widely acknowledged that the quality of cen tre-based care for young children is a critical determin ant of a range of positive social, education and health-related outcomes (Barnett & Ackerman 2006; Vandell et al, 1988; Schweinhar t et at. 1993). Yet in 2001, Australia ranked at near the bottom of an OECD league table measuring how much countries invest in children's earliest years (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2001). Further, Australia's quality assurance regime for child care has been criticised, particularly for its failure to make reliable or comparable information on th e quality of child care services readily available to parents (Radich 2002; Hill, Pocock & Elliott 2007; Rush 2006).

Exploration of issues relating to commercialisation within the nonprofit sector.

Recruitment practices play a key role in organisational success (Cable & Judge, 1996). Designing an effective recruitment advertisement is critical in establishing the first link to appropriate potential employees (Backhaus, 2004). A consistent finding is that people join, succeed and stay with organisations where there is a strong alignment between the organisational culture and values and the individual s values and direction. People seek jobs with employers whose moral values match their own (Scott, 2000). It is a key in the perfect match.

Appreciating the many, varied and sometimes ambiguous elements within what may be called 'Korean culture' is crucial to a balanced assessment of its relationship to corruption. In particular, it is important to recognise its multivocality and thus its paradoxical relationship with its environment, its tendency to be shaped as well as shape modern institutions and the degree to which it is open to interpretation and contestation and thus to being compromised or altered to meet historical contingencies or political objectives. This approach provides the basis for the type of cultural analysis that can identify some of the cultural influences not only on some forms of corruption but on how a society understands the norms of good governance and what constitutes a deviation from these norms and thus what political corruption involves and why. It may also help us to understand how corruption can be disguised or justified within the Korean context. © Springer 2005.

This submission is on behalf of the Australian and New Zealand Third Sector Researchers (ANZTSR) and focuses on the role the ACNC has and can continue to play in promoting research. However, we wish to emphasise that, first and foremost, we believe that the ACNC should remain and continue its role because of the ACNC’s track record and ongoing potential to support the needs of the NFP sector of Australia and by extension the Australian community. In particular, ANZTSR believes that the ACNC is critical to the realisation of the regulatory reforms and the establishment of the institutional architecture needed to allow the NFP sector to operate transparently and to achieve its collective mission to enrich and in other ways work for the benefit of the Australian community.

This submission is on behalf of the Australian and New Zealand Third Sector Researchers (ANZTSR) and focuses on the role the ACNC has and can continue to play in promoting research. However, we wish to emphasise that, first and foremost, we believe that the ACNC should remain and continue its role because of the ACNC’s track record and ongoing potential to support the needs of the NFP sector of Australia and by extension the Australian community. In particular, ANZTSR believes that the ACNC is critical to the realisation of the regulatory reforms and the establishment of the institutional architecture needed to allow the NFP sector to operate transparently and to achieve its collective mission to enrich and in other ways work for the benefit of the Australian community.