Challenging Codes

In Challenging Codes Melucci brings an original perspective to research on collective action which both emphasizes the role of culture and makes telling connections with the experience of the individual in postmodern society. The focus is on the role of information in an age which knows both fragmentation and globalisation, building on the analysis of collective action familiar from the author's Nomads of the Present. Melucci addresses a wide range of contemporary issues, including political conflict and change, feminism, ecology, identity politics, power and inequality.

Globalization has altered in significant ways the tools available to regulate international commerce. One result is the emergence of ethics codes, codes of responsible conduct, and best practice codes designed to win adherence to internationally acceptable norms of conduct on the part of corporations and other organizations interacting in the global market place. This volume looks at these developments with particular focus on five topic areas: respect for human rights, treatment of labor, bribery and corruption, environmental protection, and international finance and the control of money laundering. What is significant about these developments is the emerging emphasis on self-regulation as the primary method for raising standards of corporate conduct. The contributors examine the reasons for the emergence of ethical codes and the phenomenon of self-regulation within the context of globalization and look at the role of national governments, international government institutions and other international organizations in shaping and enforcing them. They also study the implications of these developments for corporate governance and the changing roles of national and international institutions in the regulation of international commerce.

Since the 1960s, school rules and regulations concerning apparel and hair have been the subject of litigation in the federal courts. Most of this litigation involves students’ assertions that their clothing and hairstyle choices are forms of expression that are protected by the First Amendment. In some cases, students have argued that school dress and grooming codes discriminate against them based on their gender or their racial or ethnic identity. I Got Dress Coded explores court cases, policies, and research on student appearance and dress codes. The impact of Constitutional protections of student speech on sexual orientation, politics, weapons, drugs, and alcohol are explored as well as restrictions targeting female students and prohibitions on student appearance that reflects a student’s racial and ethnic heritage.