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Transparency (humanities)



 
 
Transparency, as used in the humanities
Humanities

The humanities are academic disciplines which study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytic, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural science and social sciences....
, when used in a social
Social actions

In sociology, social actions refer to any Action that takes into account the actions and reactions of other individuals and is modified based on those events....
 context, implies openness, communication, and accountability
Accountability

Accountability is a concept in ethics with several meanings. It is often used synonymously with such concepts as Social responsibility, answerability, enforcement, blameworthiness, liability and other terms associated with the expectation of account-giving....
. It is a metaphorical extension of the meaning a "transparent
Transparency (optics)

In optics, transparency is the material property of allowing light to pass through. In mineralogy, another term for this property is diaphaneity....
" object is one that can be seen through. Transparent procedures include open meetings, financial disclosure statements, the freedom of information legislation
Freedom of information legislation

Freedom of information legislation, also described as open records or sunshine laws, are laws which set rules on access to information or records held by government bodies....
, budgetary review, audits, etc.

ing transparency and disclosure of bank activities are suggested to prevent future banking crises, underground banking
Underground economy

The underground economy or black market is a market where all commerce is conducted without regard to taxation, law or regulations of trade....
, unpublished accounts (clearstream
Clearstream

Clearstream Banking S.A. is the clearing division of Deutsche B?rse, based in Luxembourg.It was created in January 2000 through the merger of Cedel and Deutsche B?rse Clearing, part of the Deutsche B?rse Group, which owns the Frankfurt Stock Exchange....
), money laundering
Money laundering

The definition of money laundering is dependent on the jurisdiction in which the act takes place.In US law it is the practice of engaging in financial transactions to conceal the identity, source, or destination of illegally gained money....
, tax evasion, and other fraud.






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Transparency, as used in the humanities
Humanities

The humanities are academic disciplines which study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytic, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural science and social sciences....
, when used in a social
Social actions

In sociology, social actions refer to any Action that takes into account the actions and reactions of other individuals and is modified based on those events....
 context, implies openness, communication, and accountability
Accountability

Accountability is a concept in ethics with several meanings. It is often used synonymously with such concepts as Social responsibility, answerability, enforcement, blameworthiness, liability and other terms associated with the expectation of account-giving....
. It is a metaphorical extension of the meaning a "transparent
Transparency (optics)

In optics, transparency is the material property of allowing light to pass through. In mineralogy, another term for this property is diaphaneity....
" object is one that can be seen through. Transparent procedures include open meetings, financial disclosure statements, the freedom of information legislation
Freedom of information legislation

Freedom of information legislation, also described as open records or sunshine laws, are laws which set rules on access to information or records held by government bodies....
, budgetary review, audits, etc.

Uses


Banking

Banking transparency and disclosure of bank activities are suggested to prevent future banking crises, underground banking
Underground economy

The underground economy or black market is a market where all commerce is conducted without regard to taxation, law or regulations of trade....
, unpublished accounts (clearstream
Clearstream

Clearstream Banking S.A. is the clearing division of Deutsche B?rse, based in Luxembourg.It was created in January 2000 through the merger of Cedel and Deutsche B?rse Clearing, part of the Deutsche B?rse Group, which owns the Frankfurt Stock Exchange....
), money laundering
Money laundering

The definition of money laundering is dependent on the jurisdiction in which the act takes place.In US law it is the practice of engaging in financial transactions to conceal the identity, source, or destination of illegally gained money....
, tax evasion, and other fraud. Forcing banks to disclose more information about their lending and investment in deprived areas is suggested as part of the fight against financial exclusion

Corporate

Corporate transparency
Corporate transparency

Corporate transparency is a form of radical transparency: The construct removing all barriers to ?and facilitating of? free and easy public access to corporate, political and personal information and the laws, rules, social connivance and processes that facilitate and protect those individuals and corporations who freely join, develop and emb...
, a form of radical transparency
Radical transparency

Radical transparency is a management method where nearly all decision making is carried out publicly.All draft documents, all arguments for and against a proposal, the decisions about the decision making process itself, and all final decisions, are made publicly and remain publicly archived....
 is the construct of removing all barriers to —and facilitating of— free and easy public access to corporate, political and personal information and the laws, rules, social connivance
Connivance

A legal finding of connivance may be made when an accuser has assisted in the act about which they are complaining. In some legal jurisdictions, and for certain behaviors, it may prevent the accuser from prevailing....
 and processes that facilitate and protect those individuals and corporations who freely join, develop and embellish the process.

Management

Radical transparency
Radical transparency

Radical transparency is a management method where nearly all decision making is carried out publicly.All draft documents, all arguments for and against a proposal, the decisions about the decision making process itself, and all final decisions, are made publicly and remain publicly archived....
 is a management
Management

Management in business and human organization activity is simply the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leadership or directing, and Control an organization or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal....
 method where nearly all decision making is carried out publicly. All draft documents, all arguments for and against a proposal, the decisions about the decision making process itself, and all final decisions, are made publicly and remain publicly archived.

Media

Media Transparency
Media transparency

Media Transparency is the concept of determining how and why information is conveyed through various means.This is a specific case of the topic, Transparency ....
 is the concept of determining how and why information
Information

Information as a Conveyed concept has a diversity of meanings, from everyday usage to technical settings. Generally speaking, the concept of information is closely related to notions of constraint, communication, control system, data, form, instruction, knowledge, Meaning , stimulation, pattern, perception, and knowledge representation....
 is conveyed through various means. If the media and the public knows everything that happens in all authorities and county administrations there will be a lot of questions, protests and suggestions coming from media and the public. People who are interested in a certain issue will try to influence the decisions. Transparency creates an everyday participation in the political processes by media and the public. One tool used to increase everyday participation in political processes is Freedom of Information
Freedom of information legislation

Freedom of information legislation, also described as open records or sunshine laws, are laws which set rules on access to information or records held by government bodies....
 legislation and requests. Modern democracy
Democracy

Democracy is a form of government in which power is held directly or indirectly by citizens under a free electoral system. It is derived from the Greek language d?????at?a , "popular government" which was coined from d???? , "people" and ???t?? , "rule, strength" in the middle of the 5th-4th century BC to denote the political syst...
 builds on such participation of the people and media. There are, for anybody who is interested, many ways to influence the decisions at all levels in society.

Politics

In politics transparency is introduced as a means of holding public officials
Official

An official is someone who holds an office in an organisation or government and participates in the exercise of authority .A government official or functionary is an official who is involved in public administration or government, through either election, appointment, or employment....
 accountable and fighting corruption
Political corruption

Political corruption is the use of governmental powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption....
. When government
Government

Government is the body within any organization that has the authority to make and the power to enforce laws, regulations, or rules. Typically, the government refers to a civil government -- local, provincial, or national -- but commercial, academic, religious, or other formal organizations are also administered by governing bodies....
 meetings are open to the press
Mass media

Mass media is a term used to denote a section of the media specifically envisioned and designed to reach a mainstream such as the population of a nation state....
 and the public
Public

Public, adj, is of or pertaining to the people; relating to, or affecting, a nation, state, or community; opposed to Private sector; as, the public treasury, a road or lake....
, when budgets and financial statements
Financial statements

Financial statements are formal records of a business' financial activities.In British English, including United Kingdom company law, financial statements are often referred to as accounts, although the term financial statements is also used, particularly by accountants....
 may be reviewed by anyone, when laws, rules and decisions are open to discussion, they are seen as transparent and there is less opportunity for the authorities to abuse the system in their own interest.

In government
Government

Government is the body within any organization that has the authority to make and the power to enforce laws, regulations, or rules. Typically, the government refers to a civil government -- local, provincial, or national -- but commercial, academic, religious, or other formal organizations are also administered by governing bodies....
, politics
Politics

Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behaviour within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporation, academia, and religion institutions....
, ethics
Ethics

Ethics is a word for a philosophy that encompasses proper conduct and good living. It is significantly broader than the common conception of ethics as the analyzing of right and wrong....
, business
Business

A business is a legally recognized organization designed to provide good s and/or Service to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalism economies, most being privately owned and formed to earn profit that will increase the wealth of its owners....
, management
Management

Management in business and human organization activity is simply the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leadership or directing, and Control an organization or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal....
, law
LAW

LAW may refer to:* Anti-tank warfare, e.g. the US Army M72 LAW or the British Army LAW 80*Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights ...
, economics
Economics

File:Ballard Farmers' Market - vegetables.jpgEconomics is the Social sciences that studies the Production theory basics, Distribution , and Consumption of Good and Service ....
, sociology
Sociology

Sociology is a branch of the social sciences that uses systematic methods of Empiricism and critical theory to develop and refine a body of knowledge about human social structure and activity, sometimes with the goal of applying such knowledge to the pursuit of social welfare....
, etc., transparency is the opposite of privacy
Privacy

Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively....
; an activity is transparent if all information about it is open and freely available. Thus when courts of law admit the public, when fluctuating prices in financial markets are published in newspapers, those processes are transparent.

Open government
Open Government

"Open Government" is the first episode of the BBC comedy series Yes Minister, first broadcast 25 February 1980. In this episode, the final ' Yes Minister ' is uttered by Sir Humphrey Appleby....
 is the political doctrine
Doctrine

Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or "a body of teachers" or "instructions", taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system....
 which holds that the business of government and state administration should be opened at all levels to effective public
Public

Public, adj, is of or pertaining to the people; relating to, or affecting, a nation, state, or community; opposed to Private sector; as, the public treasury, a road or lake....
 scrutiny and oversight
Oversight

selfref|For Oversight in Wikipedia, see...
.

When military authorities classify
Classified information

Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular classes of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data....
 their plans as secret, transparency is absent. This can be seen as either positive or negative; positive, because it can increase national security
National security

The late political scientist Hans Morgenthau, author of Politics Among Nations, defines national security as the integrity of the national territory and its institutions....
, negative, because it can lead to secrecy, corruption
Political corruption

Political corruption is the use of governmental powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption....
 and even a military dictatorship
Military dictatorship

A military dictatorship is a form of government wherein the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....
.

Research

Scholarly research
Research

Research is defined as human activity based on intellectual application in the investigation of matter. The primary purpose for applied research is discovery , interpretation , and the development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe....
 in any academic discipline
Scientific method

Scientific method refers to techniques for investigating phenomenon, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering observable, empirical and Measure evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning....
 may also be labeled as (partly) transparent (or Open research
Open research

Open research is research, conducted in the spirit of free and open source software. If the research is scientific in nature it is frequently referred to as open science; open research can also include social sciences and the humanities....
) if some or all relevant aspects of the research are open in the sense of Open source
Open source

Open source is an approach to design, development, and distribution offering practical accessibility to a product's source . Some consider open source as one of various possible design approaches, while others consider it a critical Strategy element of their business operations....
, Open Access
Open access

Open access -- free online access -- can be provided in two ways: open access publishing and open access self-archiving, by its authors, of non-open-access publications ....
 and Open Data
Open Data

Open Data is a philosophy and practice requiring that certain data are freely available to everyone, without restrictions from copyright, patents or other mechanisms of control....
, thereby facilitating social recognition
Recognition (sociology)

Recognition in sociology is public acknowledgement of person's status or merits .When some person is recognized, he or she is accorded some special status, such as a name, title, or classification....
 and accountability
Accountability

Accountability is a concept in ethics with several meanings. It is often used synonymously with such concepts as Social responsibility, answerability, enforcement, blameworthiness, liability and other terms associated with the expectation of account-giving....
 of the scholars who did the research and replication
Reproducibility

Reproducibility is one of the main principles of the scientific method, and refers to the ability of a test or experiment to be accurately reproduced, or replicated, by someone else working independently....
 by others interested in the matters addressed by it.

Sports

Sports has become a global business over the last decades, and here, too, initiatives ranging from doping tests to the fighting of sports-related corruption are gaining ground on the footsteps of transparency activities in other domains.

Reading

While a liberal democracy
Liberal democracy

Liberal democracy is the dominant form of democracy in the 21st century. During the Cold War, liberal democracies were contrasted with the Communist People's Republics or "Popular Democracies", which claimed an alternative conception of democracy....
 can be a plutocracy
Plutocracy

Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy, or power provided by wealth.In a plutocracy, the degree of economic inequality is high while the level of social mobility is low....
, where decisions are taken behind locked doors and the people have very small possibilities to influence the politics between the elections, a participative democracy is more closely connected to the will of the people.

Participative democracy, built on transparency and everyday participation, has been used officially in northern Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 for decades. (In the northern European country
Country

Country may refer to the territory of a state, or to a smaller, or former, political division of a geographical region. In another meaning of the word, the country is also a term used to refer to rural areas....
 Sweden
Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
, public access to government documents
Constitution of Sweden

The Sweden Constitution consists of four Fundamental Law :* The Instrument of Government * The Swedish Act of Succession * The Freedom of the Press Act ...
 became a law as early as 1766.) It has officially been adopted as an ideal to strive for by the rest of EU.

Many countries in the world still have older forms of democracy, or other forms of government.

Some organizations and networks, for example, the GNU
GNU

GNU is a computer operating system composed entirely of free software. Its name is a recursive acronym for GNU's Not Unix; it was chosen because its design is Unix-like, but differs from Unix by being free software and containing no Unix code....
/Linux
Linux

Linux is a generic term referring to Unix-like computer operating systems based on the Linux kernel. Their development is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration; typically all the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed by anyone under the terms of the GNU GPL license...
 community and Indymedia, insist that not only the ordinary information of interest to the community is made freely available, but that all (or nearly all) meta-levels of organizing and decision-making
Decision making

Decision making can be regarded as an outcome of mental processes leading to the selection of a course of action among several alternatives. Every decision making process produces a final choice....
 are themselves also published. This is known as radical transparency
Radical transparency

Radical transparency is a management method where nearly all decision making is carried out publicly.All draft documents, all arguments for and against a proposal, the decisions about the decision making process itself, and all final decisions, are made publicly and remain publicly archived....
.

  • To promote transparency in politics
    Politics

    Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behaviour within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporation, academia, and religion institutions....
    , Hans Peter Martin, Paul van Buitenen
    Paul van Buitenen

    Paul van Buitenen is a Member of the European Parliament for the Netherlands and a European Union civil servant on unpaid leave during his stint as MEP....
     (Europa Transparant) and Ashley Mote
    Ashley Mote

    Ashley Mote is a non-inscrit Member of the European Parliament for South East England . An outspoken critic of fraud in the Institutions of the European Union, he himself was convicted of benefit fraud in 2007 for which he served a nine-month sentence and was described by the trial judge as "a truly dishonest man"....
     decided to cooperate under the name Platform for Transparency
    Platform for Transparency

    Platform for Transparency is a loose unofficial grouping within the European Parliament, established in 2005, for three Member of the European Parliament who are not affiliated to an official European political party....
     (PfT) in 2005.


  • A similar organization that promotes transparency is Transparency International
    Transparency International

    Transparency International is an international non-governmental organization addressing corruption. This includes, but is not limited to, political corruption....
    .


See also

  • Accountability
    Accountability

    Accountability is a concept in ethics with several meanings. It is often used synonymously with such concepts as Social responsibility, answerability, enforcement, blameworthiness, liability and other terms associated with the expectation of account-giving....
  • Accountability in the European Union
    Accountability in the European Union

    As with all public budgets, the EU's Community budget is also at risk of maladministration. Every year, the Court of Auditors reports on the management of the budget....
  • Comitology
    Comitology

    Comitology in the European Union refers to the committee system which oversees the delegated acts implemented by the European Commission....
  • Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
    Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

    The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative increases Transparency over payments by companies to governments and to government-linked entities, as well as transparency over revenues by those host country governments....
      (or EITI)
  • Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006
    Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006

    The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 is an Act of Congress that requires the full disclosure to the public of all entities or organizations receiving federal funds beginning in fiscal year 2007....
  • Freedom of information
    Freedom of information

    Freedom of information refers to the protection of the right to freedom of expression with regards to the Internet and information technology ....
  • Front organization
    Front organization

    A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agency, organized crime groups, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy groups, or corporations....
  • Glasnost
    Glasnost

    was the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of 1980s....
  • Lobbying
    Lobbying

    Lobbying is the practice of influencing decisions made by government. It includes all attempts to influence legislators and officials, whether by other legislators, constituent or organized groups....
  • Market transparency
  • Media transparency
    Media transparency

    Media Transparency is the concept of determining how and why information is conveyed through various means.This is a specific case of the topic, Transparency ....
  • Open science
  • Open society
    Open society

    The open society is a concept originally developed by philosopher Henri Bergson. In open societies, government is responsive and tolerant, and political mechanisms are Transparency and flexible....
  • Political corruption
    Political corruption

    Political corruption is the use of governmental powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption....
  • Regulation Fair Disclosure
    Regulation Fair Disclosure

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation Fair Disclosure, also commonly referred to as Regulation FD or Reg FD was an SEC ruling implemented in October 2000 ....
     (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Regulation)
  • Right to Information Act
    Right to Information Act

    The Right to Information Act 2005 is a law enacted by the Parliament of India giving citizens of India access to records of the Government of India and State Governments as well as private colleges....
  • Singapore issues
    Singapore issues

    The "Singapore issues" refers to four working groups set up during the World Trade Organization WTO Ministerial Conference of 1996 in Singapore....
  • SourceWatch
    SourceWatch

    SourceWatch , is an internet site which is a collaborative project of the Center for Media and Democracy . It was created by the CMD's research director, Sheldon Rampton....
  • The Emperor's New Clothes
    The Emperor's New Clothes

    "The Emperor's New Clothes" is a fairy tale by Denmark poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about an emperor who unwittingly hires two swindlers to create a new suit of clothes for him....
  • The Transparent Society
    The Transparent Society

    The Transparent Society is a non-fiction book by the science-fiction author David Brin in which he forecasts the erosion of privacy, as it is overtaken by low-cost surveillance, communication and database technology....
     (David Brin)
  • Transparency (Guatemala)
    Transparency (Guatemala)

    Transparency is a political party in Guatemala.At the last legislative elections in Guatemala, 9 November 2003, the party won 1.1% of the popular vote but no seats....
  • Transparent government
  • Whitewash
    Whitewash (censorship)

    To whitewash is to gloss over or cover up vices, crimes, or to exonerate by means of a perfunctory investigation or through biased presentation of data....
  • Public record


External links