Secondary user relations in emerging mobile computing environments

Mobile technologies are enabling access to information in diverse environ.ments, and are exposing a wider group of individuals to said technology. Therefore, this paper proposes that a wider view of user relations than is usually considered in information systems research is required. Specifically, we examine the potential effects of emerging mobile technologies on end-­‐user relations with a focus on the ‘secondary user’, those who are not intended to interact directly with the technology but are intended consumers of the technology’s output. For illustration, we draw on a study of a U.K. regional Fire and Rescue Service and deconstruct mobile technology use at Fire Service incidents. Our findings provide insights, which suggest that, because of the nature of mobile technologies and their context of use, secondary user relations in such emerging mobile environments are important and need further exploration.

Basic Religious Charities

Just over 44,000 registered charities filed their first Annual Information Statement (AIS) return with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) before the end of October 2014. Of these, 10,918 charities self-identified as Basic Religious Charities (BRCs). These are usually, but not always, unincorporated religious congregations which receive no or little government funding. Having a central agency for reporting, in the form of the ACNC, having access to information supplied in the AIS by registered organisations has allowed access to new measures of charities and their activities. In September 2014 the ACNC, in conjunction with Curtin University Not-for-profit Initiative, released a high-level report on the first AIS, and the data were also made available digitally through the Australian Government Data Repository. This factsheet builds on that report by focusing on BRCs.

Re-theorizing the “digital divide”: Identifying dimensions of social exclusion in contemporary media technologies

The digital divide is the disparancy in access to information, in the ability to communicate, and in the capacity to make information and communication serve full participation in the information society. Indeed, the conversation about the digital divide has developed over the last decade from a focus on connectivity and access to information and communication technologies, to a conversation that encompasses the ability to use them and to the utility that usage provides (Wei et al., 2011). However, this conversation, while transitioning from technology to the skills of the people that use them and to the fruits of their use is limited in its ability to take into account the social role of information and communication technologies (ICTs). One successful attempt in conceptualizing the social impact of the differences in access to and utilization of digital communication technologies, was developed by van Dijk (2005) whose sequential model for analyzing the divide states that: 1. Categorical inequalities in society produce an unequal distribution of resources; 2. An unequal distribution of resources causes unequal access to digital technologies; 3. Unequal access to digital technologies also depends on the characteristics of these technologies; 4. Unequal access to digital technologies brings about unequal participation in society; 5. Unequal participation in society reinforces categorical inequalities and unequal distributions of resources.” (p. 15) As van Dijk’s model demonstrates, the divide’s impact is the exclusion of individuals from participation. Still left to be defined are the “categorical inequalities,” the “resources,” the “characteristics of digital technologies,” and the different levels of “access” that result in differentiated levels of participation, as these change over time due to the evolving nature of technology and the dynamics of society. And most importantly, the meaning of “participation” in contemporary society needs to be determined as it is differentiated levels of participation that are the result of the divide and the engine of the ever-growing disparities. Our argument is structured in the following manner: We first claim that contemporary digital media differ from the previous generation of ICTs along four dimensions: They offer an abundance of information resources and communication channels when compared to the relative paucity of both in the past; they offer mobility as opposed to the stationary nature of their predecessors; they are interactive in that they provide users with the capability to design their own media environments in contrast to the dictated environs of previous architectures; and, they allow users to communicate utilizing multi forms of mediation, unlike the uniformity of sound or word that limited users in the past. We then submit that involvement in the information society calls for egalitarian access to all four dimensions of the user experience that make contemporary media different from their predecessors and that the ability to experience all four affects the levels in which humans partake in the shaping of society. The model being cyclical, we then discuss how lower levels of participation contribute to the enhancement of social inequalities. Finally, we discuss why participation is needed in order to achieve full membership in the information society and what political philosophy should govern policy solutions targeting the re-inclusion of those digitally excluded.

The fight for fair use in Australia: Copyright law in an age of cloud computing

Fair Use Week has celebrated the evolution and development of the defence of fair use under copyright law in the United States. As Krista Cox noted, ‘As a flexible doctrine, fair use can adapt to evolving technologies and new situations that may arise, and its long history demonstrates its importance in promoting access to information, future innovation, and creativity.’ While the defence of fair use has flourished in the United States, the adoption of the defence of fair use in other jurisdictions has often been stymied. Professor Peter Jaszi has reflected: ‘We can only wonder (with some bemusement) why some of our most important foreign competitors, like the European Union, haven’t figured out that fair use is, to a great extent, the “secret sauce” of U.S. cultural competitiveness.’ Jurisdictions such as Australia have been at a dismal disadvantage, because they lack the freedoms and flexibilities of the defence of fair use.

Patient decision aids in routine maternity care: Benefits, barriers, and new opportunities

Background and aim Participation in decision-making, supported by comprehensive and quality information provision, is increasingly emphasised as a priority for women in maternity care. Patient decision aids are tools that can offer women greater access to information and guidance to participate in maternity care decision-making. Relative to their evaluation in controlled settings, the implementation of patient decision aids in routine maternity care has received little attention and our understanding of which approaches may be effective is limited. This paper critically discusses the application of patient decision aids in routine maternity care and explores viable solutions for promoting their successful uptake. Discussion A range of patient decision aids have been developed for use within maternity care, and controlled trials have highlighted their positive impact on the decision-making process for women. Nevertheless, evidence of successful patient decision aid implementation in real world health care settings is lacking due to practical and ideological barriers that exist. Patient-directed social marketing campaigns are a relatively novel approach to patient decision aid delivery that may facilitate their adoption in maternity care, at least in the short-term, by overcoming common implementation barriers. Social marketing may also be particularly well suited to maternity care, given the unique characteristics of this health context. Conclusions The potential of social marketing campaigns to facilitate patient decision aid adoption in maternity care highlights the need for pragmatic trials to evaluate their effectiveness. Identifying which sub-groups of women are more or less likely to respond to these strategies will further direct implementation.

Choosing a model of maternity care: decision support needs of Australian women

- BACKGROUND Access to information on the features and outcomes associated with the various models of maternity care available in Australia is vital for women's informed decision-making. This study sought to identify women's preferences for information access and decision-making involvement, as well as their priority information needs, for model of care decision-making. - METHODS A convenience sample of adult women of childbearing age in Queensland, Australia were recruited to complete an online survey assessing their model of care decision support needs. Knowledge on models of care and socio-demographic characteristics were also assessed. - RESULTS Altogether, 641 women provided usable survey data. Of these women, 26.7 percent had heard of all available models of care before starting the survey. Most women wanted access to information on models of care (90.4%) and an active role in decision-making (99.0%). Nine priority information needs were identified: cost, access to choice of mode of birth and care provider, after hours provider contact, continuity of carer in labor/birth, mobility during labor, discussion of the pros/cons of medical procedures, rates of skin-to-skin contact after birth, and availability at a preferred birth location. This information encompassed the priority needs of women across age, birth history, and insurance status subgroups. - CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates Australian women's unmet needs for information that supports them to effectively compare available options for model of maternity care. Findings provide clear direction on what information should be prioritized and ideal channels for information access to support quality decision-making in practice.

A review of potential contaminants in Australian livestock feeds and proposed guidance levels for feed

Contaminants of man-made and natural origin need to be managed in livestock feeds to protect the health of livestock and that of human consumers of livestock products. This requires access to information on the transfer from feed to food to inform risk profiles and assessments, and to guide management interventions such as regulation or Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point approaches. This paper reviews contaminants of known and potential concern in the production of livestock feeds in Australia and compares existing but differing state and national regulatory standards with international standards. The contaminants considered include man-made organic chemical contaminants (e.g. legacy pesticides), elemental contaminants (e.g. arsenic, cadmium, lead), phytotoxins (e.g. gossypol) and mycotoxins (e.g. aflatoxins). Reference is made to scientific literature and evaluations by regulators to propose maximum levels that can be used for guidance by those involved in managing contamination incidents or developing feed safety programs. © 2013 CSIRO.

Transcending disciplinary, cultural and national boundaries: Emergent technologies, new education landscape and the cloud workshop project

As technology continues to become more accessible, miniaturised and diffused into the environment, the potential of wearable technology to impact our lives in significant ways becomes increasingly viable. Wearables afford unique interaction, communication and functional capabilities between users, their environment as well as access to information and digital data. Wearables also demand an inter-disciplinary approach and, depending on the purpose, can be fashioned to transcend cultural, national and spatial boundaries. This paper presents the Cloud Workshop project based on the theme of ‘Wearables and Wellbeing; Enriching connections between citizens in the Asia-Pacific region’, initiated through a cooperative partnership between Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) and Griffith University (GU). The project was unique due to its inter-disciplinary, inter-cultural and inter-national scope that occurred simultaneously between Australia and Hong Kong.

Participation or further exclusion? : Contestations over forest conservation and control in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

This Ph.D. thesis Participation or Further Exclusion? Contestations over Forest Conservation and Control in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania describes and analyses the shift in the prevailing discourse of forest and biodiversity conservation policies and strategies towards more participatory approaches in Tanzania, and the changes in the practises of resource control. I explore the scope for and limits to the different actors and groups who are considered to form the community, to participate in resource control, in a specific historical and socio-economic context. I analyse whether, how and to which extent the targets of such participatory conservation interventions have been able to affect the formal rules and practices of resource control, and explore their different responses and discursive and other strategies in relation to conservation efforts. I approach the problematic through exploring certain participatory conservation interventions and related negotiations between the local farmers, government officials and the external actors in the case of two protected forest reserves in the southern part of the East Usambaras, Tanzania. The study area belongs to the Eastern Arc Mountains that are valued globally and nationally for their high level of biodiversity and number of endemic and near endemic species. The theoretical approach draws from theorising on power, participation and conservation in anthropology of development and post-structuralist political ecology. The material was collected in three stages between 2003 and 2008 by using an ethnographic approach. I interviewed and observed the actors and their resource use and control practices at the local level, including the representatives of the villagers living close to the protected forests and the conservation agency, but also followed the selected processes and engaged with the non-local agencies involved in the conservation efforts in the East Usambaras. In addition, the more recent processes of change and the actors strategies in resource control were contextualised against the social and environmental history of the study area and the evolvement of institutions of natural resource control. My findings indicate that the discourse of participation that has emerged in global conservation policy debate within the past three decades, and is being institutionalised in the national policies in many countries, including Tanzania, has shaped the practices of forest conservation in the East Usambaras, although in a fragmented and uneven way. Instrumental interpretation of participation, in which it is to serve the goals of improving the control of the forest and making it more acceptable and efficient, has prevailed among the governmental actors and conservation organisations. Yet, there is variation between the different projects and actors promoting participatory conservation regarding the goals and means of participation, e.g. to which extent the local people are to be involved in decision-making. The actors representing communities also have their diverse agendas, understandings and experiences regarding the rationality, outcomes and benefits of being involved in forest control, making the practices of control fluid. The elements of the exclusive conservation thinking and practices co-exist with the more recent participatory processes, and continue to shape the understandings and strategies of the actors involved in resource control. The ideas and narratives of the different discourses are reproduced and selectively used by the parties involved. The idea of forest conservation is not resisted as such by most of the actors at local level, quite the opposite. However, the strict regulations and rules governing access to resources, such as valuable timber species, continue to be disputed by many. Furthermore, the history of control, such as past injustices related to conservation and unfulfilled promises, undermines the participation of certain social groups in resource control and benefit sharing. This also creates controversies in the practices of conservation, and fuels conflicts regarding the establishment of new protected areas. In spite of this, the fact that the representatives of the communities have been invited to the arenas where information is shared, and principles and conditions of forest control and benefit sharing are discussed and partly decided upon, has created expectations among the participants, and opened up opportunities for some of the local actors to enhance their own, and sometimes wider interests in relation to resource control and the related benefits. The local actors experiences of the previous government and other interventions strongly affect how they position themselves in relation to conservation interventions, and their responses and strategies. However, my findings also suggest, in a similar way to research conducted in some other protected areas, that the benefits of participation in conservation and resource control tend to accrue unevenly between different groups of local people, e.g. due to unequal access to information and differences in their initial resources and social position.

Population, globalization and urbanization: Trends and underlying prosesses

Third World hinterlands provide most of the settings in which the quality of human life has improved the least over the decade since Our Common Future was published. This low quality of life promotes a desire for large number of offspring, fuelling population growth and an exodus to the urban centres of the Third World, Enhancing the quality of life of these people in ways compatible with the health of their environments is therefore the most significant of the challenges from the perspective of sustainable development. Human quality of life may be viewed in terms of access to goods, services and a satisfying social role. The ongoing processes of globalization are enhancing flows of goods worldwide, but these hardly reach the poor of Third World countrysides. But processes of globalization have also vastly improved everybody's access to Information, and there are excellent opportunities of putting this to good use to enhance the quality of life of the people of Third World countrysides through better access to education and health. More importantly, better access to information could promote a more satisfying social role through strengthening grass-roots involvement in development planning and management of natural resources. I illustrate these possibilities with the help of a series of concrete experiences form the south Indian state of Kerala. Such an effort does not call for large-scare material inputs, rather it calls for a culture of inform-and-share in place place of the prevalent culture of control-and-command. It calls for openness and transparency in transactions involving government agencies, NGOs, and national and transnational business enterprises. It calls for acceptance of accountability by such agencies.

A lei de acesso à informação e a sua influência nos processos de atendimento às demandas da sociedade : estudo do caso do Centro de Documentação e Informação da Câmara dos Deputados

Examina a aplicação da Lei nº 12.527, de 18 de novembro de 2011 – a Lei de Acesso à Informação (LAI) – tendo como locus a Câmara dos Deputados e o seu órgão de gestão da informação, de relacionamento e de atendimento ao público usuário, o Centro de Documentação e Informação (Cedi) e, em particular, a Coordenação de Relacionamento, Pesquisa e Informação (Corpi). Analisa-se, à luz da Ciência da Informação, o impacto causado pela LAI no processo de provimento de informação e na disponibilidade da informação institucional para a sociedade, no contexto do amplo acesso às informações públicas, desejável na Câmara. A pesquisa, de caráter documental, firma-se em documentos e na legislação produzidos na esfera da Câmara dos Deputados. Para o estudo do caso, utilizou-se entrevista com servidores da Corpi, onde se colheram impressões sobre o impacto da LAI na dinâmica do trabalho de atendimento e pesquisa, identificaram-se os principais problemas percebidos e as suas sugestões de melhoria. Discorre-se, também, subsidiariamente, sobre a gestão da informação como parte do ciclo informacional e condição para o acesso à informação, tópico central desta pesquisa. Aborda-se a questão da cidadania e do controle social, bem o direito à informação e transparência governamental que subjazem à proposta de amplo acesso à informação pública preconizada pela LAI, em razão da mudança de paradigma e do regime de informação a que a LAI conduz. O estudo dos efeitos da LAI no âmbito da Câmara teve como marco temporal o período de maio a dezembro de 2012. Estima-se que os indicadores desta pesquisa possam contribuir com estudos futuros relacionados com a governança da informação na Câmara.

STREAM Journal, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp 1-17. April-June 2004

CONTENTS: BFAR moves on in Region 6, by Janice N. Tronco. Livelihoods initiatives in Sapian Bay, by Tee-Jay A. San Diego. Improving access to information through Barangay Learning Resource Centers, by Elizabeth M. Gonzales. The Philippines Fisheries Information System, by Agnes C. Solis. The contributions of planning activities in the participatory process, by Rommel P. Guarin. Inter-LGU alliance building: a key to sustaining the Integrated Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Council (IFARMC), by Josephine P. Savaris.

Transparência e participação social da gestão pública: análise crítica das propostas apresentadas na 1 Conferência Nacional sobre Transparência Pública.

Este estudo visa a contribuir para a reflexão sobre transparência e participação social da gestão pública brasileira, realizando uma análise crítica sobre as propostas elaboradas pelos participantes da 1 Conferência Nacional sobre Transparência e Controle Social no seu eixo 1. Por meio da análise, buscou-se identificar se as propostas elaboradas pela sociedade durante a 1 Consocial contribuíram para o exercício do controle social com base na transparência e no acesso a informação. A metodologia utilizada foi a pesquisa exploratória e a pesquisa participante. O pesquisador fez parte como membro integrante do grupo analisado, utilizando a participação em conferências nos fóruns de discussão para a formulação de propostas. A participação se deu na etapa municipal - nos municípios de Macaé e Rio de Janeiro -, na conferência regional Niterói-Mangaratiba; na estadual do Rio de Janeiro, na conferência livre do CRC RJ e na conferência virtual, com a descrição das etapas preparatórias. Por meio da análise das propostas priorizadas na última etapa da 1 Consocial, observou-se a necessidade de uma maior divulgação das informações referente à administração pública, à exteriorização das competências dos instrumentos de participação social e à capacitação do cidadão para o exercício da participação social. Algumas falhas foram detectadas na formulação das propostas, como o desconhecimento dos participantes a respeito das leis existentes sobre transparência e das atribuições das ferramentas de participação social. Constatou-se a necessidade de capacitar o cidadão para esse tipo de conferência, realizando seminários, reuniões, palestras explicativas e eventos culturais sobre o tema Transparência e Controle Social. Outro ponto a ser trabalhado para alcançar uma participação maior da sociedade nas questões governamentais consiste no ensino das crianças e jovens sobre a importância de se exigir transparência dos dados públicos e a busca por espaço nos instrumentos de participação. A Lei da transparência atenderá seus objetivos, na medida em que o cidadão tiver a consciência do seu papel primordial na busca e no acompanhamento da informação.

Vulnerabilidade de enfermeiros no cuidado a pacientes com HIV/Aids: um estudo de representações sociais

Vulnerabilidade e empoderamento apresentam-se como elementos presentes na vida profissional e pessoal dos enfermeiros. Delimitou-se como objeto de estudo as representações sociais elaboradas por enfermeiros que cuidam de pacientes com HIV/Aids acerca de sua vulnerabilidade no contexto do cuidar em enfermagem. O objetivo geral foi analisar as representações sociais construídas por enfermeiros acerca de sua vulnerabilidade no contexto do cuidado que exercem. Trata-se de pesquisa qualitativa, descritiva e exploratória, orientada pelo referencial teórico-metodológico das Representações Sociais em sua abordagem processual. Participaram do estudo trinta enfermeiros de um hospital público municipal do Rio de Janeiro. Como técnicas de coleta de dados foram utilizados o questionário sociodemográfico e a entrevista semiestruturada em profundidade. Como técnica de análise de dados adotou-se a análise de conteúdo temático-categorial proposta por Bardin, sistematizada por Oliveira e operacionalizada pelo software QSR NVivo 9.0. Entre os sujeitos, há predomínio do gênero feminino, da faixa etária de 41 a 45 anos, da realização de pós-graduação lato sensu e de tempo de atuação mínimo de 16 anos em HIV/Aids. Sete categorias emergiram na segmentação do material discursivo: 1) O acesso a informações, a formação profissional e o desenvolvimento da naturalização da aids através da experiência: elementos de vulnerabilidade e de empoderamento; 2) A instituição hospitalar e sua infraestrutura como polo de vulnerabilidade e de empoderamento nas construções simbólicas de enfermeiros que cuidam de pacientes com HIV/Aids; 3) Entre o risco e a prevenção: a vulnerabilidade e o empoderamento no contexto dos acidentes ocupacionais biológicos e as práticas preventivas adotadas por enfermeiros frente ao HIV/Aids no cotidiano hospitalar; 4) Relações interpessoais entre enfermeiro e paciente soropositivo para o HIV enquanto mediadoras da vulnerabilidade e do empoderamento de ambos; 5) As limitações psíquicas enfrentadas por enfermeiros no vivenciar do trabalho junto a portadores do HIV/Aids; 6) A busca pela espiritualidade e pela religiosidade como bases de apoio para a vida profissional contextualizada na aids; e 7) O HIV e a aids no contexto de diferentes modalidades de relacionamento: a presença do risco como elemento organizador da discursividade. Na vida profissional, as representações sociais da vulnerabilidade são compostas pela fragilidade, pelo risco e pela dificuldade. O empoderamento, por sua vez, emerge sustentado por um tripéformado pela proteção, suporte e satisfação como elementosdo bem-estar. Na vida pessoal, o risco possui centralidade nas representações. Já o empoderamento se mostra oriundo do bem-estar e da proteção. Conclui-se que a reconstrução sociocognitiva da vulnerabilidade e do empoderamento permitiu o acesso ao arsenal simbólico do qual o grupo dispõe para a superação do que o ameaça. Vulnerabilidade e empoderamento são, portanto, diversificados e mutáveis em suas bases e produtos e, em movimentos de balanço e contrabalanço, corporificam a díade vulnerabilidade-empoderamento.

Formação do enfermeiro na perspectiva da formação permanente: ambiguidades conceituais e questionamentos políticos

A educação permanente é estruturada e tem um eixo que define e configura demandas educativas no setor saúde, pensando neste processo de trabalho em saúde, e com política de educação trazendo definições hegemônica sendo recomendação como política para o setor saúde através das políticas do MS. O estudo avalia o conceito teórico/prático da operacionalização da política através da especialização em SF como proposta da educação em saúde. Método bibliográfico por existir um consórcio com estas características de formação. Pesquisa subsidiada, por entrevistas, devido a não possibilidade de acesso a documentos informativos sobre educação em saúde através do consórcio do MS. Apesar do consenso construído a partir de documentos oficiais do governo, a compreensão de seu real significado se torna algo divisível a partir da proposta. Este conceito vêem de encontro com a conceituação desta prática aos profissionais de saúde. A organização do trabalho, constrói uma cultura ainda fortemente hierarquizada, legitimando espaços de definição e operação de demandas, ao mesmo tempo que dificulta a criação de práticas mais horizontais que aproximem-se das reais necessidades educacionais pelo processo de trabalho em saúde. Este estudo demonstrou a fragilidade da educação permanente como conceito prático e como proposta das pólitcas públicas de saúde.