Thank you for visiting my site.

This site contains some thoughts on a range of subjects which interest me. I will slowly add more subjects over time.

An understanding of the functioning of a society is important, particularly if you wish to address some of the social problems that are occurring, such as crime. A comprehensive theoretical understanding of social processes is necessary to ensure that any policy put in place addresses all aspects of the problem and does not have unforeseen consequences. The article "Sociology and Criminology" is part of my attempt to understand the workings of society. The approach offers a simple rational understanding of crime. It is my attempt at an over-arching theory of crime which strangely seems to be missing from crime theory. There are a lot of theories but they tend to only take account of crimes for a particular socioeconomic sector or crime type - no theory ties them together. Another thing that I noticed about current crime theory is the lack of a theory which takes account of a person's beliefs and philosophies. Some of the greatest crimes in history are due to misguided beliefs e.g. Hitler's belief in Aryan superiority and the numerous religious wars. So it is quite logical to me that belief and personal philosophy can also play a part in the lesser crimes of society.

The Internet is of course a subject of great interest. I have some concerns that the Internet will be dominated by big business and big Government, to the exclusion of community groups. It also concerns me that the Internet could be another force for the destruction of local neighbourhood community as people find it easier to communicate outside the community through the Internet. However this need not be the case if the community can realise the potential of the Internet to communicate, not just across the world but across the street. I have set up "The Strathmore Website" as an example of a community website and also written some further ideas in "Internet and the Community".

I have a complete section on suggestions for reforms of various types. I like looking at existing structures and rules, determining if there are issues with the structures and then suggesting reforms that might improve the way society works. Many are just the seeds of ideas and would require more work prior to implementation. Most are practical but some may not be implemented as they may disadvantage those that would have to implement the change.

The environment should be the concern of all citizens. I have listed some practical suggestions for changing our current approach to the environment in "Green Oversite".

The Not-a-Blog - The Miscellaneous Ideas page is a holding page for short pieces I have written. Some are based on letters I have written to various people or posts on other websites. Some are about ideas that I think are interesting or worthwhile, or stuff that I want to whinge about. Its not a blog because I don't post that often. Most new articles are listed in the right sidebar as well as being linked to in the index pages of the various sections listed in the left sidebar.

The Music, Talks and Documentaries page - provides links to clips on Youtube that are either some of my favourites or clips that I otherwise find interesting. Includes music clips, Ted(x) Talks and longer form documentaries, amongst other things, with some commentary.

Favourite Software is my selection of the most useful free software that I have found.

I hope you find some interest in the above articles even if you do not agree with the sentiments expressed. I encourage you to Email me if you wish to comment on any of the articles.

And finally - I know this is Australia and Oversite should really be spelt Oversight. Its a play on words. This is a web site so I am providing my oversight on this web site and on other web sites. I thought the naming was appropriate. Hilarious isn't it. (If not, it is too late to change it!)

Cheers!

Bruce Barbour.

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