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The impact of information and communication technology has been felt globally and the healthcare sector is not immune to the changes brought about by the introduction of new technologies. In contemporary clinical practice environments, information and communication technology skills are advantageous, not only to nurses, but also to the patients for whom they care. There is good evidence that these skills, appropriately utilised, can have a significant impact on patient outcomes. This scholarly paper presents the background to a project that explores graduate nurses' experiences of using information and communication technology in clinical contexts. A broad historical overview of the implementation of information and communication technology in higher education and healthcare in Australia is provided before discussing the extent to which the technology skills learnt at university are relevant or transferable to contemporary practice environments. The current levels and use of information and communication technology among new graduate nurses, the apparent dichotomy between technological versus humanised healthcare, and the need for national information and communication technology competency standards are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contemporary society nationally and internationally, the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) has become a vitally important component in the workforce, recreationally, and in schools. In Australia, as in many countries, there is a nation-wide priority within education systems that endeavours to ensure that in an increasingly digital world, students possess the ICT skills to participate fully in their schooling and, later in contemporary society. While progress has been made towards achieving these goals, research demonstrates that there is a general loss of engagement and confidence in ICT tasks as student progress through school systems. In order to explore what students currently in secondary schools think and feel about their use and engagement levels regarding ICTs, this paper draws on a pilot project conducted in Australian schools. This pilot study found that agency and design-based pedagogy concerning the use of ICTs were key factors in engaging students and promoting learning. To further explore the findings of the project, the authors have formulated a model of Digital Agency. This term, 'Digital Agency' is defined as the students' experience of autonomous technology learning in the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and by extension the Internet, have brought immense sociological transformations to humanity. Despite the development the Internet has brought to humanity, the Government of Papua New Guinea (GoPNG) has not lost sight of the fact that the use of ICTs and other related supporting devices are fraught with cybercrime and cyber insecurities that constitute challenges to global law enforcement agencies in PNG and other nations of the world. This paper reports the trends on victims of cybercrimes from 2001 to 2021 and presents an action plan for PNG. The data analysed in this study was explicated from the Internet crime reports published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and National White Collar Crime Center (IC3). The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and XGraph component of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences' Population Pyramid. The results confirmed that the number of Internet users that were defrauded increased exponentially from 2016 to 2021. Results from the data explicated from the World Bank on Internet use, revealed that the population of Internet users in PNG and Australia will increase at a minimum rate of 1% to 2% for the next few years. These findings suggest that cybercrimes will be on the rise as the number of Internet users increase at 1% to 2% in PNG and Australia in the next few years. The findings present appropriate strategies to address the incidences of cybercrimes in PNG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores tacit knowledge sharing. This case demonstrates the significance of knowledge sharing to organizational performance, by exploring the contribution of tacit knowledge sharing to the success of projects in the Australian Film Industry (AFI). The differences between knowledge sharing, collaboration and communication, and their interrelations are addressed. We also explore the concepts of knowledge, information, and data. In the interchanges reported here the knowledge shared is almost entirely tacit, and the "raw" data and information do not exist without the context that makes them knowledge. The paper includes the identification of many factors affecting knowledge sharing, not all of which have been identified by previous researchers. This research contributes to a better understanding of tacit knowledge and how that knowledge is shared. This in turn contributes to a better understanding of how knowledge management can be supported in a modern organization, where often the technology is used in ways not well understood by system managers and software developers. A better understanding can lead to better ICT design and support of knowledge sharing both within and across organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In 2017, the School of Medicine of the University of Notre Dame Australia implemented a data-informed mentoring program as part of a more substantial shift towards programmatic assessment. Data-informed mentoring, in an educational context, can be challenging with boundaries between mentor, coach and assessor roles sometimes blurred. Mentors may be required to concurrently develop trust relationships, guide learning and development, and assess student performance. The place of data-informed mentoring within an overall assessment design can also be ambiguous. This paper is a preliminary evaluation study of the implementation of data informed mentoring at a medical school, focusing specifically on how students and staff reacted and responded to the initiative. Methods: Action research framed and guided the conduct of the research. Mixed methods, involving qualitative and quantitative tools, were used with data collected from students through questionnaires and mentors through focus groups. Results: Both students and mentors appreciated data-informed mentoring and indications are that it is an effective augmentation to the School's educational program, serving as a useful step towards the implementation of programmatic assessment. Conclusion: Although data-informed mentoring is valued by students and mentors, more work is required to: better integrate it with assessment policies and practices; stimulate students' intrinsic motivation; improve task design and feedback processes; develop consistent learner-centred approaches to mentoring; and support data-informed mentoring with appropriate information and communications technologies. The initiative is described using an ecological model that may be useful to organisations considering data-informed mentoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to extend the theory relating to knowledge sharing barriers and enablers in the public sector information and communication technology (ICT) project context. Design/methodology/approach: A case study method was used whereby project managers from each of the seven departments of the Victorian Public Sector in Australia were interviewed about their knowledge sharing practice. A semi-structured interview instrument based on Riege's (2005) barrier framework was used to explore the barriers to knowledge sharing that they experienced as part of their work. Findings: The study found that many of Riege's (2005) barriers did not apply in the public sector ICT project environment, demonstrating that context matters. In addition, five enablers were identified, resulting in a new model of enablers and barriers to knowledge sharing in public sector ICT projects. Research limitations/implications: This study focuses on a single case, the Victorian Public Sector, and consequently the results are not generalisable. Future research should explore the applicability of the model in other public sector ICT project contexts. Practical implications: The study highlights the relationship between knowledge sharing and the project manager and the role it plays in project delivery. The model presented provides a starting point for public sector practitioners to develop their knowledge sharing practice, potentially enhancing project outcomes in the process. Originality/value: This study examines barriers to knowledge sharing in an under-researched context, that of the public sector ICT project environment. It builds on current theory and provides insights for practitioners in the public sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well over 20 years since information and communication technologies (ICT) was first included as part of a future vision for Australia's schools. Since this time numerous national policies have been developed, which collectively articulate an official discourse in support of a vision for ICT to be embedded in our schools, and routinely used by 'digital' learners and 'competent' teachers alike. The purpose of this paper is to critique how ICT, teachers and learners are positioned in this vision by an analysis of national school-education ICT policies from 1989 to the present day, including the National Goals of Schooling policies, the Learning in an Online World suite of policies, several Ministerial Statements relating to ICT and the recent A Digital Education Revolution policy. This paper suggests that determinist views of technology and a utopian vision underpin these representations, which creates a flawed, future vision for ICT in school education and its use by teachers and learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present an investigation of the extent to which electronic resources are utilized in higher education in Australia. It seeks to explore the pattern and trend of accessing and using electronic resources in a university library for helping university libraries manage their resources better. This leads to the identification of the underlying motivation for such emerging patterns and trends in the use of electronic resources in the university library. It also aims to identify the critical factors for the effective and efficient use of electronic resources. Design/methodology/approach - An online survey was conducted to investigate the use of electronic resources in a university library and for identifying the emerging pattern and trend in accessing and using electronic resources. A comprehensive review of the relevant literature was carried out on the utilization of electronic resources, which led to the development of an online survey instrument with respect to the user profile, the frequency of use, the purpose of use, the reasons for use, and the critical factors for the effective and efficient use of electronic resources in a university library. Findings - The study reveals that the usage of electronic resources is common in a university environment with the rapid advance of information and communication technologies. It shows that the use of electronic resources is very much dependent on the user and the purposes of using electronic resources. The awareness and the quality of the available electronic resources are the two important factors for the effective and efficient use of electronic resources. The findings shed light on the use of electronic resources and help university libraries to understand better the perception and experience of users in using electronic resources, leading to more effective and efficient use of electronic resources. Research limitations/implications - The online survey was conducted in one university with a student population of about 57,000. It is a purposeful survey in which 305 valid responses to the survey were obtained. The survey was distributed through the university weekly news bulletin. As a result, the response rate to this survey is hard to determine owing to the insufficient information on the size of the real population in the survey. This is due to the fact that not everyone in a university will pay attention to every news item in the weekly bulletin. Originality/value - The paper provides, for the first time, empirical data for understanding the perception and experience of users on the use of electronic resources in a university environment. It identifies the critical factors for the effective and efficient use of electronic resources. Such findings are of practical significance for the continuous development of electronic resources in a higher education environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on an exploratory investigation of the perceptions of information and communication technology (ICT) as a field of study and work in German secondary schools. A total of 160 students from five secondary schools in Lower Saxony participated in the study in February 2007, and four teachers of the students were interviewed. The investigation is part of the research carried out by the authors within the Griffith University Women in Information Technology (WinIT) project, which has been studying the problem of low female participation since 1995. In this paper we discuss German school students' (male and female) and their teachers' views of ICT, its use at school and home, their influences in using technology, and their ideas about working with technology in the future. We drew on the challenges faced and opportunities available to teachers in the study to put this in context. We found that many senior secondary students have not decided what they want to do when they finish school, suggesting that the environment is ripe for them to receive relevant and useful information that may help them to choose to study tertiary ICT courses. By dispelling negative ICT perceptions and allowing students to make an informed choice as to whether to take up a career in ICT, we can hopefully encourage more students into this ever-growing and exciting industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid industrialization in recent decades has enormously increased demands for energy and mineral resources. At the same time, economically viable resources near the surface have been nearly depleted, and the mining industry is facing new challenges of processing low-grade ore, increasing depth, climate changes, and rigorous social and environmental constraints. Furthermore, accountability for major social and sustainable development problems in the mining sector has imposed a further economic burden on mining companies. These challenges in the mining industry can be solved through technical improvements and the optimization of the entire mining value chain using advanced information and communication technologies (ICTs) and automation techniques. This paper presents future prospects of the mining industry by reviewing the sustainable development in mining, the global trend of mining innovations and initiatives of major mining companies, and some new mining technologies in Australia. Furthermore, future prospects and blueprints of the mining industry are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the long history of monopolies, business method patents are a novel and recent edition. In the Digital Age, where time is money and speed is everything, innovative methods for undertaking business are as important to a business as the products or services it provides to its clients. In recent years several reviews, conducted in both Australia and internationally,4 have questioned the appropriateness of patenting business methods. This paper reviews the availability of business method patents in Australia in light of the 2006 decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court in Grant v Commissioner of Patents,5 which confirmed the need in Australia for a `useful product' to issue from the working of a method (business or otherwise) in order for the method to be patentable. This paper will review arguments both criticising and defending business method patents and consider whether business methods warrant special treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper uses data from a 15‐country study to discuss the factors which affect the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and learning technologies by disabled people and consequently their access to education. Significant differences were found both between and within countries: income and language were the main factors affecting availability. Thus, the greatest availability was in the higher income English‐speaking countries and the richer European countries. The main barriers to technology use included cost, lack of funding and lack of information. A particular disparity in technology access was found between the English‐speaking European population and Aboriginal speakers of indigenous languages in Australia, with considerably greater access by the former than the latter group. A number of recommendations are presented to increase access to learning and assistive technologies by disabled people. They include encouragement for developers to produce free of charge (minority language) technologies, research on more effective provision of technologies and personal assistance, assistive technology centres in all learning institutions, simple funding mechanisms and a fund to support technology provision in poorer countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we analyse labour productivity growth in the United States, four European countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands and United Kingdom), Australia and Canada between 1987 and 2003 from an industry perspective. Rather than analysing broad industry groups, we compare the pattern of growth in all industries through Harberger diagrams. We introduce new summary measures, which indicate the pervasiveness of growth patterns. These indicators show that investment in both information and communication technology (ICT) and non-ICT capital is fairly balanced or ‘yeasty’, driven by overall macro-economic conditions. However, growth of total factor productivity (TFP) is much more localized or ‘mushroom-like’. In particular we find a clear distinction between countries in continental Europe, in which TFP is decelerating after 1995 and becoming more localized, and Anglo-Saxon countries in which TFP growth is accelerating and becoming more broad-based, especially after 2000. The increased breadth of Anglo-Saxon TFP growth is consistent with delayed effects of intangible investments that are complementary to ICT investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to identify the basis of regional competence in industry sectors that are not key performers at the national level. The paper examines the ICT sector in two regions: Dresden (Germany) and Adelaide (Australia). The performance of Australia and Germany in ICT is not high by OECD standards. However, both Dresden and Adelaide have some competence in parts of the ICT sector that departs from national patterns. In Dresden the development of the ICT sector is more advanced than in Adelaide. In both regions, there are distinctive institutional features and policies that explain the development of the ICT sector. Further, in Dresden, the state has coordinated the ICT sector within the regional space, giving focus to institutional strengths in research and training, such that it is possible to describe the institutional environment as 'thick and coherent'. As such, the regional space of Dresden has experienced an agglomeration of ICT and can be regarded as more successful than Adelaide, where institutions and state initiatives are fragmented and incoherent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As governments operate in more dynamic and resource constrained environments the requirement for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) governance frameworks are assuming greater importance as tools for managing information system and technology projects. This exploratory paper looks at how governance frameworks for the electronic domain are influenced and shaped by the underlying legislation that gives rise to the government body, the practice of “good government,” and the allocation of public sector budgetary resources. This paper also analyses and describes what two public sector agencies in Australia are doing in terms of their ICT governance arrangements to ensure the success of their business and reduce the risk of ICT project failure. The two public agencies were selected from a wider study for their exemplary Information Technology (IT) and Information and Technology governance frameworks and processes that have been used to guide and direct ICT activities, including e-government and government e-business initiatives. Other organisations in the wider study displayed limited governance practices, with some notably problematic human resource and financial management information system implementations that hampered government e-business progress. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a study that examines an under-researched area, the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) in Australian home-based businesses (HBB). Design/methodology/approach – HBB constitute a large part of the economy, yet little is known of how they use ICT to improve their business operations. The study involved a case study comprising interviews with 30 business operators in the Western region of Melbourne, a major Australian city. The findings were analysed using a unique approach to Rogers’ (2003) Diffusion of Innovations, employing the innovation-decision process as a lens for the analysis. Findings – The study findings suggest that ICT application adoption in HBB participants is not uniform, with adoption of applications such as e-mail differing from adoption of newer applications, such as social networking. ICT use needs to be considered according to individual ICT applications and explained in the context of particular HBB. The study contributes to studies of innovation adoption, particularly in relation to the use of ICT applications in HBB. Research limitations/implications – It should be remembered that this study involved interviews with a broad selection of 30 HBB in the Western region of Melbourne, Australia. The results should be considered in the context of hypothesis generation in regards to HBB rather than hypothesis testing that can occur with larger samples. The authors feel that this study would be representative of the practices of ICT adoption in many such groupings of HBB in cities of major Western countries, but hesitate to claim that similar, specific uses of ICT applications would be matched elsewhere. Practical implications – This study has a number of practical implications. The results suggest that researchers should consider adoption of individual ICT applications in HBB. Further, policy makers looking to support the use of ICT by HBB should consider that the HBB in this study had adopted different ICT applications and were at different stages of ICT adoption. This is worth considering when deciding upon policies relating to how to suppzort the HBB sector (such as provision of training support and so forth). Originality/value – The paper introduces a unique means to assess the adoption of ICT applications by examining their level of penetration, level of maturity and usefulness to HBB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper revisits the so-called 'ICT-productivity paradox' from a long-run perspective by using annual Australian data for 1965-2013. It provides estimates of long-run and short-run elasticities of labour productivity with respect to ICT capital deepening, and explores the nature of long-run causality among productivity growth and ICT and non-ICT capital deepening. The estimates of long-run elasticities are derived by employing both time-series and panel data econometric techniques. The empirical results provide strong confirmatory evidence of the long-run impact of ICT capital deepening on labour productivity in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on a national study, Re-imaging the Future: Music Teaching and Learning, and ICT in Blended Environments in Australia, which examined music educators' engagement with technologies and pedagogies during the pandemic. Data were collected via online survey (N = 105) between March and April 2021 and thematically analysed to answer two questions: What innovative approaches did music educators employ while teaching online? How did teachers use technology and media to support student learning? The two emerging themes (adaptive teacher practice and illustrations of learning) demonstrate how teachers modified their use of ICT, music technology and pedagogy to sustain online delivery of the curriculum. These display variations of teaching practice, diverse application of media (audio and video) and increased digital literacy. Participants implemented a myriad of twenty-first-century skills and technologies within their teaching. Recommendations are provided, embracing the ways Australian music educators responded to the challenges, exploring innovative digital teaching practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors which influence refugee migrants’ adoption of digital technology and its relevance to their social inclusion in Australia. Design/methodology/approach – This research developed a conceptual framework keeping the “use” of digital technology as the centre-piece of the digital divide. The empirical data were derived from a series of focus group discussions with refugee migrants in an Australian regional city, Toowoomba in Queensland. Findings – There is a digital divide among refugee migrant groups and it is based on inequalities in physical access to and use of digital technology, the skills necessary to use the different technologies effectively and the ability to pay for the services. The opportunities to use digital technology could support the social inclusion of refugee migrant groups in the broader Australian community. Research limitations/implications – Further research is required to examine whether this digital divide is unique in the regional context or common to Australian society and to confirm factors that might contribute significantly to refugee migrants’ social inclusion. Originality/value – This paper determined the role digital technology can play in building social capital and hence social inclusion among refugee migrant groups. Many of the factors identified as influencing refugee migrants’ use of digital technology can inform the Australian government and the information and communication technology industry in devising supportive policies and plans to reduce the risk of social exclusion, alienation and marginalisation among refugee migrant groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strategies used by vendors to disseminate information about new construction site technologies such as robotics, drones, and driverless excavators are important in their successful adoption and, ultimately, to the productivity of the construction industry. However, little research has been reported regarding the strategies that construction site technology vendors use to disseminate their products into the construction market. This paper addresses this gap in construction innovation research by focusing on construction site technology exhibitions as a specific technology innovation dissemination strategy. Using observational and documentary data collected from 221 vendors at two technology exhibitions in Australia, hard and fuzzy clustering analysis techniques were used to develop a new vendor dissemination classification framework that shows that construction technology vendors can be classified into five types by the range of dissemination strategies they use. These dissemination strategies can then be classified into five types based on their orientation to physical appearance, interpersonal relationships, and technology demonstration. The results show that the combinations of these strategies are directly related to the type of technology being disseminated. This research and the new theoretical framework presented represent an important counterpoint to the disproportionate focus on customers rather than vendors in the construction innovation literature and the historical focus on information communication technologies (ICTs) rather than emerging construction site technologies. It also addresses a neglect in construction innovation research of recent developments in mainstream innovation research that recognize the importance of customer–vendor relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses gaming in a Western Australian school for boys. The overriding ethos of the school is supportive of the potential of ICT to better engage students and deliver enhanced educational outcomes. The school sees game-based design as at the vanguard of innovation, but also accepts its important duty of care responsibilities. Tensions were revealed between the opportunities presented by educational gaming and the perceived problem of managing student distraction, particularly the tendency for students to spend large amounts of time playing games that have little or no educational value. The paper describes the forms of gaming that emerged at the school, considering both their educational impact and propensity to detract from students' opportunities to learn. It is argued that the perceived benefits and risks of gaming are not well understood, and that powerful political forces are at play which shape school policy, teachers' pedagogy, parent perceptions and student actions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

One of the most significant lifestyle and technological trends of the twenty-first century is the emergence and increased ubiquity of mobile information and communication technologies (mICT). The potential of mICT raises critical questions for planners, potentially enabling citizen engagement and enhancing the urban planning process through facilitating communication, interaction and collaboration between planning professionals and the public. To date, although technology has become integral to all functions within our urban environment, little is known about how urban planners perceive mICT and its current and potential future role in the planning process. This research explores this knowledge gap, via empirical data gathered from town planners of various sectors based in Queensland. The findings illustrate that these planners believed ICT offered strong potential to share information, creatively build community, connect with users of public spaces and adapt places in swift and temporary ways. This paper explores the issues of integrating mICT into planning practice and the affordances that these technologies offer for community consultation and placemaking. The paper aims to spark a discussion to find the best ways to overcome key barriers to making ICT part of the daily practice of planning professionals, including knowledge, skill, agency and time constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to explore what alliancing means in the context of Australian infrastructure projects. It aims to define alliancing in this context by identifying its hard elements and to explore the relationship between the academic and practitioner points of view. This paper explores the concept of alliancing in the context of large infrastructure projects by comparing the results of a literature and document study with results obtained from an interview series conducted in Australia. This research shows that alliancing can be identified by 25 hard elements. It seems the case that no single element is unique to alliancing, but rather it is the combination of elements that really makes the alliancing model a unique project delivery model. The study identified twelve project characteristics that make a project suitable for alliancing, along with an explanation of how the alliance elements address these characteristics. These findings will help assist academics and practitioners new to the alliancing model understand what alliancing is and when it is suitable to use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – A problem for many organisations today is what is referred to as the "knowing-doing gap" or the difference between possessing the knowledge and the actual application of it. This paper aims to explore the perception that differences exist with regard to soft or tacit knowledge-knowing and utilisation in the IT workplace, but at the level of gender and ethnic-culture specifically. Through a statistical examination of electronic survey results from two ICT organisations in Australia, the study explores the validity of such claims.Design/methodology/approach – Continuing from previous grounded theory research, a series of workplace scenarios testing for such knowledge utilisation were created. After trialling the initial scenarios on a pilot population, they were further refined and made part of an online survey questionnaire. Some 119 employees of two Australian ICT organisations rated how they would deal with soft knowledge situations both in principle and in practice. The sample was not selected along gender or cultural lines beforehand; however statistical analysis was conducted to determine if differences to situation-handling existed.Findings – The paper provides empirical insights into how genders and cultures deal with soft knowledge situations in different ways. The findings do tend to support certain stereotypes such as females generally appearing more passive, relationship and high context oriented and less individualistic. Whilst males appeared more achievement-oriented and individualistic, Anglo-males were closer to females for relationship and high context ideals.Research limitations/implications – Due to the limited sample size the research results may lack generalisability. Furthermore criticism of Likert scales also exists, as does the use of language other than English as a representation of ethnic culture.Originality/value – The study adopts a novel use of soft knowledge inventories when applied to the parameters of gender and culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing use of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT), a new method of bullying has emerged known as cyberbullying. It is indeed ironic that the advancement in communication tools designed to improve the life of mankind is also the cause of much pain. More and more frequently we do read or hear of cases of young children being victims because of the misuse of ICT which have in some extreme cases led to them committing suicide. Unfortunately the ICT's very nature of being accessible from anywhere and anytime, and its often anonymous nature makes it difficult to regulate what children say or do to each other. This paper discusses the scope of the cyberbullying problem amongst the young in Australia and considers what role the government, the courts and schools should play in detecting, deterring or preventing such conduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian cities rate high internationally on liveability and well-being indices. State and metropolitan governments are keen to promote the liveability of their cities as a means of attracting mobile capital, skilled labor, and tourists. An examination of the liveability-environmental sustainability nexus, however, suggests that Australia's capital cities have gained their high liveability ratings as a result of having inputs of high, and now unsustainable, levels of resource consumption—indirectly into their built environments and directly into their households. This paper explores the prospects for a socio-technical transition of key urban infrastructure systems—energy, water, waste, transport, communications and buildings—as a basis for winding back unsustainable levels of consumption while maintaining liveability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper seeks to identify aspects of work environment, culture or expectations that contributed to women's comfort or discomfort within the information and communication technology (ICT) industry. Design/methodology/approach - The study is empirical in nature and addresses the perspectives of 178 professional women currently working within the Australian ICT industry who responded to the `Women in ICT" survey conducted through James Cook University. Likert-scale responses were subjected to principal component analysis and then K-mean cluster analysis, distinguishing four groups of respondents. Explanations for group membership were then sought from responses to open-ended survey questions. Findings - There was common agreement among respondents that, when making their career decisions, they had expected to enjoy good community image, and that their work would be socially useful, satisfying and flexible. Respondents also agreed that careers in ICT are rewarding, and provide opportunities, and disagreed with prevailing negative stereotypes about the industry. Opinions diverged on the organisation-specific issues of management approachability and equality, as well as around respondents' confidence in their own technical ability and their intention to encourage young women to enter the industry. Originality/value - This paper identifies distinct patterns of response and thereby provides support for the thesis that the widely reported discomfort of women within the ICT industry is not a cultural (industry-wide) phenomenon but, rather, one that has its roots within particular workplace relationships. It is these relationships that appear to encourage or undermine confidence and women's intentions to encourage others to enter ICT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past few years Australian universities have sought to establish generic graduate attributes statements to meet the demands of external stakeholders. Within the area of information and communication technology (ICT), for example, professional organizations and employers want new ICT graduates to be able to talk with clients, create persuasive arguments and present work confidently. To meet such requirements, Australian ICT educators have explored a variety of methods to implement graduate attributes. The selection and content of delivery models, however, vary according to university policies and departmental cultures. In this paper we critically examine the dedicated, infused, and embedded approaches to the delivery of generic graduate attributes. To do this, we first trace the development of graduate attributes. Secondly, we present three diverse approaches by two ICT departments within the same university and discuss factors that lead to sustainable generic graduate attribute programmes. We conclude our paper with issues to consider when adopting implementation models and map out suggestions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The futures of regional communities are a matter of worldwide concern. In Australia, given the rapidly changing nature of rural and regional communities, a futuring program was proposed to explore 'community development' scenarios guided by local stakeholder participation. The venue for our futuring research was the regional city of Toowoomba, in Queensland, Australia. Over the past decade, Toowoomba has reacted to significant change in response to local and global effects, such as the resource boom and shifts in agricultural production. As a consequence there are a number of social, economic and environmental impacts whose cumulative effect could threaten the city's future vitality. An inter-disciplinary research team co-developed a Futuring Tool-Box (FTB) incorporating a comprehensive range of acknowledged tools and methods. A futuring workshop was held to identify the futures issues specific to Toowoomba. Participants were professionals, CEOs and NGOs living in the Toowoomba region, identified as actively futures-aware. This paper focuses on their voices and the future scenarios they co-created, and concludes with a suite of follow-up strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of communication technologies ( CTs) in Australian broadacre agricultural production using data over the period of 1990-2013. Allowing for cross-sectional independence in the data, the pooled mean group and augmented mean group techniques are applied to estimate dynamic relationships among variables. The empirical results demonstrate that CTs affect agricultural output positively in the long run. The estimated elasticity is 0.237. This result suggests that government policies that lift investment in telecommunication facilities are shown to contribute to an increase of output in Australia's broadacre agriculture in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current Australian policies and curricular frameworks demand that teachers and students use technology creatively and meaningfully in classrooms to develop students into 21C technological citizens. English teachers and students also have to learn new metalanguage around visual grammar since multimodal tasks often combine creative with critical General Capabilities (GC) with that of the of ICTs and literacy in the Australian Curriculum: English (AC: E). Both teachers and learners come to these tasks with varying degrees of techno-literacy, skills and access to technologies. This paper reports on case-study research following a technology based collaborative professional development (PD) program between a university Lecturer facilitator and English teachers in a secondary Catholic school. The study found that the possibilities for creative and critical engagement are rich, but there are real grounded constraints such as lack of time, impeding teachers' ability to master and teach new technologies in classrooms. Furthermore, pedagogical approaches are affected by technical skill levels and school infrastructure concerns which can militate against effective use of ICTs in school settings. The research project was funded by the Brisbane Catholic Education Office and focused on how teachers can be supported in these endeavours in educational contexts as they prepare students of English to be creative global citizens who use technology creatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia, Denmark, and the Republic of Korea are front-runners in the public sector use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) globally, resulting in a high degree of digitisation of public services production and delivery. While a multitude of factors may account for their successes, what is the role played by their strategic approach to governance and inter-governmental cooperation? How have their approaches to governance and multi-stakeholder cooperation influenced the success of their digital transformation, boosted innovation, and enabled them to rapidly respond to the pandemic crisis? The article's initial findings support past academic observations emphasising that the successful digital transformation of the public sector largely depends on strategic focus, a strong governance model, and a high level of intergovernmental cooperation. The analysis finds strong evidence that their existing governance and intergovernmental cooperation frameworks, in combination with their established service production and delivery ecosystems, have allowed the three countries to move towards real user-centric, integrated service production and delivery prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis also finds evidence of a relatively high level of public sector business continuity for service production and delivery in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions on mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People over 65 (or older people) are a growing proportion of the population in many developed countries including Australia. In the last 10 to 12 years interest from this group in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the Internet has also grown considerably. ICT has much to offer older people as a means of keeping in touch with family, perhaps in other parts of the world, to obtain information about health and financial matters, for entertainment and to further their education. It also offers possibilities for intergenerational cooperation with, for example, children coaching their grandparents. This paper concentrates on older people's use of ICT for education, some of this being formal but mostly informal, and adopts a socio-technical framework based on actor-network theory (ANT) to investigate this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the cointegration and causal relationships between Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and economic output in Australia using data for about five decades. The framework used in this paper is the single-sector aggregate production function, which is the first comprehensive approach of this kind to include ICT and non-ICT capital and other factors to examine long-run Granger causality. The empirical evidence points to a cointegration relationship between ICT capital and output, and implies that ICT capital Granger causes economic output and multifactor productivity, as does non-ICT capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rhetoric around global connectedness and advances in information communication technologies (ICTs) suggests that: Professional life for the marginalised and isolated language teacher should be easier; the experience of language learners in Australian schools should be more meaningful and bring them closer to the languages and communities that they are studying; and collectively this should be empowering for students and teachers and, in turn, empower the languages learning area with respect to its status and place within the curriculum. This paper examines these assumptions through a qualitative multiple case study investigation of the use of information communication technologies (ICTs) in secondary school language classes. The study explores the perceptions and experiences of early adolescent language learners and those of their teachers. It also identifies and examines a range of contextual factors that both complicate and nuance the technology and languages learning nexus. The findings of the study question the assumption of 'automaticity' associated with ICTs and an enhanced/improved language learning experience for all those involved. This study finds that experience with technologies can impact negatively on both learners and teachers. This, in turn, can have an adverse influence on perceptions about languages and their status in schools. At a time when schools are investing heavily in information communication technologies, and when they are having to manage the introduction of the Australian Curriculum: Languages, the findings of this study serve to highlight the place of the 'critical' in terms of languages in Australian schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates an installation of paintings exhibited at Macquarie University Gallery in 2009 in the exhibition called Raft - The Drifting Border (2002- 2004). The installation comprises of 147 miniature paintings depicting ever lighthouse in Australia. The title of the work, Border Protection is assembled to form the map of Australia. Borders like maps are a form of communication and information about places at different times and different situations. The installation identifies how the function of a lighthouse has changed as well as attitudes to the Australian coast with the division surrounding the asylum seeker debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Web 2.0 technologies are becoming more popular in the everyday lives of students. As a result, teachers and designers have begun to explore their use in formal education. This paper presents evaluation findings from a collective case study of six Web 2.0 implementations in Australian higher education. The research was undertaken as part of a larger study that sought to understand how today’s students use information and communication technologies to support their learning. Conducted across three universities, the research included a range of disciplines, class sizes and year levels. A common evaluation strategy was used in order to collect comparable data from which commonalities and differences could be identified. This paper provides an overview of the study, describes the methodology used, summarises the implementation experiences of staff and students involved and presents the key findings. The results suggest that most students had little prior experience with relevant technologies and that many struggled to see the value of using Web 2.0 technologies for learning and teaching, both of which have important implications for the design of appropriate learning tasks. While the argument can be made for improving the design through better task-technology alignment, this study also highlights inherent tensions between Web 2.0 and educational practices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines undergraduate student perceptions of the learning utility of video podcasts. The perceived and actual effectiveness of the technology was assessed by written questionnaire, focus groups and assessment results. The podcasts were perceived as effective in supporting learning, largely by offering a flexible and visual learning experience. They were also viewed as a useful resource for revision and assessment, stimulating factual recall. There were no significant differences, however, between examination grades from cohorts prior to and post-adoption of podcasts. There is a need to unite the technology with reflective discussion and critical application in a social constructivist framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information communication technologies have permeated new consumer markets at remarkable speeds, diffusing to even the most remote and economically marginalised populations. In remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory of Australia, residents have until recently been isolated from these symbols and facilitators of globalisation. But the rapid diffusion of Internet based technologies in recent years raises important questions about future residential migration aspirations as residents engage with the global order. In this paper we critically review these ‘technologies of change’ for their propensity to alter remote Indigenous spatiality. We propose a theoretical reconstruction of transitional migration theory, as it has been previously applied, and denote the implications for policy makers, researchers and service providers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Global and digital connectivity transform Australian classrooms by creating rich environments for inquiry learning. Developing inquiry learning in this Information Communication Technology (ICT) context is an Australian educational goal. Recently the Australian Curriculum reform and the Digital Education Revolution has become a catalyst for teachers to overcome the ubiquitous disconnect between traditional and digital pedagogies and reconceptualise practice and curricula. The National vision for ICT in School Education (2008) creates opportunities and imperatives for transformative pedagogies to sync with key learning areas and raises questions about how ICT pedagogical disconnect may be overcome. This paper reports findings from multi-site case studies which focus on the bridging the pedagogical disconnect by investigating the ICT experiences and pedagogy of History teachers in K-12 Catholic schools [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia, the Government has called for a national set of learning and teaching standards against which to regulate for quality assurance in the higher education sector. In 2010, eight discipline groups were sent out into the community; their task was to gather the threshold set of academic standards defining their profession. After a year of stakeholder consultations, the Engineering and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) group arrived at 5 threshold learning outcomes necessary for inclusion in ICT curricula. It is expected, but not yet mandated, that these threshold learning outcomes will be used by Australian academics to design and align their ICT curricula and by accreditation bodies to measure against. In anticipation of future regulatory constraints, this paper proactively attempts to assess the Network and Systems Computing degree at Victoria University with respect to the published threshold teaching and learning outcomes. This paper highlights the difficulty in applying these outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In late 2008 the State of Victoria, in Australia, released 'Freight Futures: The Victorian Freight Network Strategy' (DoT, 2008). This was the first major Australian State Freight Strategy that recommended the implementation of an information communication technology (ICT) public domain portal that would enable small and medium enterprises (SMEs) within the freight transport sector to achieve higher levels of productivity and efficiency through access to, and use of, an internet based e-freight portal, utilising software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications. This was a planning initiative that may be seen as a next step compared to the Tsinghua University e-freight software applications that were listed on a 'public domain' marketplace, or even wider in application than the Port community efreight portals that Singapore and other major ports have already built. Efficiencies for the target user groups using these e-freight applications are identified as delivering significant productivity benefits to the user communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developments in information and communications technology (ICT) have changed how people in nations like Australia conduct their lives. Widespread access to the internet, use of social media and the capacity to manage vast amounts of information and to communicate instantly with people all across the world have fundamentally changed our personal and professional lives. While the use of ICT has increased exponentially for most Australians, those held in our prisons have not had the same access to this technology. The emerging use of ICT in prisons promises to transform the daily lived experience of prisoners. This paper explores some of the ways ICT is being implemented in Australian prisons and internationally, and considers the challenges, risks and benefits of bridging the 'digital divide'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to examine the direct and indirect effects of the use of electronic markets (e-markets), access to online data and trading partner collaboration on operational performance. Design/methodology/approach -- This study involved survey data from 233 Australian firms. Data were provided by members of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Australia, who reflected upon relevant practices and performances of their firms. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings -- The results show that whilst all three direct effects are non-significant, when the indirect effects are taken into account, the total effects are significant in strength. This suggests that use of e-markets, access to online data and collaboration with trading partners, when taken in isolation, are not as effective as could be expected. However, when these factors are implemented together, their value and impact becomes significant. Research limitations/implications -- The study is limited to Australian firms. Practical implications -- The results highlight that investments in information and communication technology must be deployed in an holistic manner, for example, by combining use of web-based applications and market mechanisms with effective data sharing and collaboration, if they are to produce significant improvements in operations. Originality/value -- While e-markets may have been viewed as a mechanism for reducing the costs of inputs and/or as a new demand channel, this study establishes that more value can be extracted when this technology is viewed and exploited in a more strategic manner. E-markets should be used in concert with access to data and collaboration with trading partners who are able to exploit the opportunities for mutual benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delivering technology projects on time with a specified budget and resources has emerged as a strategic imperative in the highly competitive business world. One of the project challenges is increasingly tied to diffusion (spread) of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) innovation. This paper presents an empirical study that examines how ICT innovation is diffused within technology projects. Based on the case study methodology within 12 organisations in Australia and Germany, it emerged that ICT innovation is diffused formally alongside standard project management phases and informally within informal networks. The findings are synthesised in a new framework that seeks to inform theory and practice about formal and informal processes of ICT diffusion in technology projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers have a central role in developing new learning models in schools. This paper describes a study that explored teachers' confidence and competence in using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as they participated in an ICT development project conducted by an Australian education system in 12 primary schools. The project aimed to develop ICT integrated teaching practices by providing in-class equipment and teacher professional development in ICT use, curriculum development and teaching strategies. The study used qualitative data from teacher records of Professional Development and Action Learning to identify three of four stages proposed to describe teachers' ICT learning. Teachers moved from gaining basic ICT skills, to conducting ICT-focused lessons and eventually appropriate ICT integration. Teachers who progressed to the third stage were able to exploit additional learning opportunities and begin to make fundamental changes to their pedagogy, but needed more time to reach the final stage of challenging existing pedagogical structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual Australia is not a well-defined or agreed concept. This discussion paper conceptualises Virtual Australia as a 'virtual [digital] model containing and representing all non-trivial objects and their contextual environment - from blue sky to bedrock - in real world Australia'. It describes a scenario for Virtual Australia, one or two decades from now, in which the locations and conditions of non-trivial objects and their environment are updated automatically through a combination of remote sensing and wireless communication technologies in support of a 'Supranet'. It then examines the concept of the 'Supranet' - a pervasive information network based largely on wireless technology linking the physical world to a virtual model in real time - and develops and discusses three principal characteristics of the Supranet: the ability to have or collect specific information (know); the ability to process information (think); and the ability to communicate that information. If, in the near future, any or all non-trivial devices are to some extent able to know, think and communicate, the potential for object autonomy will be realised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Certain patterns of interaction between people point to networks as an adequate conceptual model to characterize some aspects of social relationships mediated or facilitated by information and communication technology. Wellman proposes a shift from groups to networks and describes the ambivalent nature inherent in an egocentric yet still well-connected portfolio of sociability with the term 'networked individualism'. In this paper, qualitative data from an action research study of social networks of residents in three inner-city apartment buildings in Australia are used to provide empirical grounding for the theoretical concept of networked individualism. However, this model focuses on network interaction rather than collective interaction. The authors propose 'communicative ecology' as a concept which integrates the three dimensions of 'online and offline', 'global and local' as well as 'collective and networked'. They present their research on three layers of interpretation (technical, social and discursive) to deliver a rich description of the communicative ecology they found, that is, the way residents negotiate membership, trust, privacy, reciprocity, permeability and social roles in person-to-person mediated and direct relationships. They find that residents seamlessly traverse between online and offline communication; local communication and interaction maintains a more prominent position than global or geographically dispersed communication; and residents follow a dual approach which allows them to switch between collective and networked interaction depending on purpose and context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]