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"Life without the internet, a very new technology, seems almost unimaginable for most people in western nations. Today the internet is intrinsic to media and communications, entertainment, politics, defence, business, banking, education, and administrative systems, as well as to social interaction. The Internet disentangles this extraordinarily complex information and communication technology from its place in our daily lives, allowing it to be examined anew" "Technology has historically been shaped by governmental, military, and commercial requirements, but the development of the internet is increasingly driven by its users. You Tube, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and many other emerging applications are shifting the way we express ourselves, communicate with our friends, and even engage with global politics. At the same time three-quarters of the world's population remain effectively excluded from the internet" "Packed with case studies drawn from around the world, The Internet presents a clear and up-to-date introduction to the social, cultural, technological, and political worlds this new media form is creating"--BOOK JACKET

The protection of young people from troubling and disturbing online content is rightly a high policy in Western nations. However, 'the child' is increasingly being defined as anyone below the age of majority : 18 in most nations. The significant age and maturity difference between primary school children and teenagers are recognised in most cinema classification schemes but less nuanced in terms of regulated online content. While there is considerable evidence that younger children benefit from vigilant support regarding what they access online, the legal and policy focus upon the regulated protection of teenagers risks constraining opportunities as well as risks, and may impact upon their online behaviour in ways that lead to unintended consequences. This paper is framed in terms of recent debates around the Australian Law Reform Commission's (ALRC's) National Classification Scheme Review (which considered content), and the Australian Government's Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy's Convergence Scheme Review (Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy's, 2011) (which considered the regulatory implications of converged media). It elaborates some of the issues arising from acknowledging that older children are agents who see themselves as having choices about what they do online.

It is twenty years since the last thorough review of the National Classification System, and those twenty years have witnessed the burgeoning of the internet and the impact of convergence on what used to be the separate spheres of media, telecommunications and information and communication technologies. Over that time there has been an increasing emphasis placed on children: the need to promote their opportunities in the digital world, and the responsibility of parents, policy makers, content providers and other adults to help protect them from risks. This paper examines the recommendations of the National Classification System Review bearing in mind the findings of AU Kids Online, a research project with 400 Australian children aged 9–16 and the parent most involved in their internet use. The AU Kids Online research was commissioned by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation and parallels the activities of the €2.5 million EU Kids Online research network, which was funded by the European Commission to ensure a robust evidence base for policy development in this critical area. Protecting children from harm while promoting confidence, competence and enjoyment, in terms of their digital skills and activities, is clearly a core concern of a revised National Classification System.

Consumers in liberal democracies have been invited to adopt a range of new or modified behaviours—from waste recycling through water restrictions; green energy; cycling and hybrid cars. Yet there has been extraordinarily little emphasis upon our primary consumption patterns: the practicalities of what we eat. This paper addresses the claimed environmental benefits of the vegan diet: a plant-based regime that excludes animal products—meat, fish, fowl, dairy and eggs. It asks why this regime has been so little discussed as a possible response to a range of ethical, health and environmental issues. Proponents of veganism claim that contemporary practices of growing plants to feed animals—which are reared to feed humans—is one of the most wasteful ways imaginable to treat the planet's resources. Further, vegans suggest that this everyday approach to furnishing the western table has ethical implications (in terms of the Animal Liberation agenda) and general health implications (The China Study). Veganism is also promoted as an effective way to respond positively to the dietary restrictions (Halal, Kosher) inherent in a range of world religions, thus promoting cross-cultural and inter-religious harmony. Latterly there have been (less authoritative) suggestions that the two major diseases of the affluent world—heart disease (Esselstyn) and cancer (Plant)—are preventable, or even treatable—with a vegan diet. Assuming that even a proportion of these arguments have merit, why is it that veganism remains such a minority pursuit in the face of a widespread social commitment to promote cultural sustainability?

Acknowledging and celebrating new energy around critiques of Australia's National Innovation System, this paper explores the design of an innovation system that would harness energy from the Creative Industries. The notion that the Creative Industries are an important element of Australia's innovation system has not, it seems, been self-evident. Indeed, while the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR) identifies four areas under 'Specific industries and sectors for Innovation', these areas are Biotechnology, Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), Nanotechnology and Pharmaceuticals. The entries under the 'Programs and services for Innovation' are likewise Creative Industries-free (although comparatively heavy on Science, Technology and Pharmaceuticals), while the pointers to 'Consultative forums for Innovation' exclude, for example, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCII). A majority of the sites and resources referred to, however, reflect the priorities of the Howard Government and address initiatives from that era. Things are changing. It is clear that today's Australian Government is prepared to accept that a revised National Innovation System may usefully draw upon the work carried out during the past decade concerning the nature and contribution of the Creative Industries. Work relating the Creative Industries to Innovation has been in two directions: firstly critiquing and exploring the development of the Creative Industries as a driver for innovation and, secondly, detailing the shortcomings of a National Innovation System that excludes Creative Industries as one of the major loci of activity. Assuming that a National Innovation System can be designed better – as the DIISR review appears to imply – how can it be designed to allow the Creative Industries to add value?

This paper critiques Holmes' (1997, pp. 26—45) chapter in Virtual politics: identity and community in cyberspace, which addresses differences between 'communities of broadcast and communities of interactivity'. The perspective adopted is informed by my extensive (140-interview) ethnographic survey of remote Western Australia following the (1987) introduction of broadcast television. Holmes' (1997, pp. 33—34) argument is that "what has been largely ignored is an appreciation of the property of broadcast's power of individuation (or metro-nucleation) of the population . the ascendancy of the Internet can be explained precisely by a new kind of commodification – the sale of lost levels of community back to the consumer." This is a seductive argument – and Holmes makes many other exciting and insightful comments – but it is not borne out by the experience of those in remote Western Australia, one of the last populations in the globe to receive television broadcasts.

AbstractDomestic photography and the family photograph album hold significance as artefacts "communicating an ideal familial image and reifying the familial bonds, and also preserving a memory of a specific time" (Sarvas and Frohlich, 2011, p. 148). However, today's practice of domestic photography is generally relocated to social media (Sarvas and Frohlich, 2011). Photographs previously found in the family photograph album are now likely to be located on the screens of phones and tablets.Using a Domestication of Technology framework, this article discusses how families are using Facebook to create, curate, share and archive family memories. It shows how families go through the phases of appropriation, incorporation, objectification and conversion when they adopt Facebook as the family photograph album. The authors also explore ways in which virtual family photograph albums can result in parental tension around domestic tasks of sharing and archiving family memories online, along with the possible implications of creating a potentially embarrassing, unauthorized digital footprint for their children.

When Barack Obama won the 2008 US Presidential election he did so partly as a result of harnessing the power of social media to communicate with, and enlist the support, of millions of Americans who had never previously been active in the processes of an election campaign. As a result of Obama's invitation and his use of new media, some of the poorest members of the world's wealthiest nation found themselves able to make a critical contribution through a myriad of small activities starting from seemingly inconsequential choices such as the selection of a mobile phone ring tone. Although "people power" is not a new force in politics, the Obama campaign set a fresh benchmark for inclusive ways in which to communicate to and with a holistic cross section of the American people, including many who would not have been previously seen as a critical "target market"/ This paper examines Obama's use of integrated communications and considers the potential implications for other campaigns which may have an inclusion agenda.

The biennial Digital Review of Asia Pacific is a comprehensive guide to the state-of-practice and trends in information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) in Asia Pacific. This third edition (2007–2008) covers 31 countries and economies, including North Korea for the first time. Each country chapter presents key ICT policies, applications, and initiatives for national development. In addition, five thematic chapters provide a synthesis of some of the key issues in ICT4D in the region, including mobile and wireless technologies, risk communication, intellectual property regimes, and localization. The authors are drawn from government, academe, industry, and civil society, providing a broad perspective on the use of ICTs for human development.

Hyperconnected societies offer new opportunities for the role of the individual voice. A deregulated world of information poses a paradox, however, in which fake news might conceivably underpin the political agenda more than informed research. The sheer amount of information available forces publics and audience members to seek shortcuts to knowledge through access to preferred academic, public intellectual or 'thought leader' perspectives. Drawing upon theories of deliberative democracy and open communication, this paper critiques the roles of academic, public intellectual and thought leader to move beyond discussion of the value of individual voices in the sharing of knowledge. It suggests that both public intellectuals and thought leaders illuminate how the individual voice makes an important contribution in providing continuity when open communication of research is disrupted by unruly speakers and publics.

On 23 August 2005, John Howard, then Prime Minister, called together Muslim 'representatives' from around the nation for a Muslim Summit in response to the London bombings in July of that year. One of the outcomes of the two hour summit was a Statement of Principles committing Muslim communities in Australia to resist radicalisation and pursue a 'moderate' Islam. Since then the ill-defined term 'moderate Muslim' has been used in both the political and media discourse to refer to a preferred form of Islamic practice that does not challenge the hegemony of the nation state and that is coherent with the principles of secularism. Akbarzadeh and Smith conclude that the terms 'moderate' and 'mainstream' are used to describe Muslims whom Australians should not fear in contrast to 'extremists'. Ironically, the policy direction towards regulating the practice of Islam in Australia in favour of a state defined 'moderate' Islam signals an attempt by the state to mediate the practice of religion, undermining the ethos of secularism as it is expressed in the Australian Constitution. It also – arguably – impacts upon the citizenship rights of Australian Muslims in so far as citizenship presents not just as a formal set of rights accorded to an individual but also to democratic participation: the ability of citizens to enjoy those rights at a substantive level. Based on the findings of research into how Australian Muslims and members of the broader community are responding to the political and media discourses on terrorism, this article examines the impact of these discourses on how Muslims are practicing citizenship and re-defining an Australian Muslim identity.