From social butterfly to engaged citizen: Urban informatics, social media, ubiquitous computing, and mobile technology to support citizen engagement

Web applications such as blogs, wikis, video and photo sharing sites, and social networking systems have been termed ‘Web 2.0’ to highlight an arguably more open, collaborative, personalisable, and therefore more participatory internet experience than what had previously been possible. Giving rise to a culture of participation, an increasing number of these social applications are now available on mobile phones where they take advantage of device-specific features such as sensors, location and context awareness. This international volume of book chapters will make a contribution towards exploring and better understanding the opportunities and challenges provided by tools, interfaces, methods and practices of social and mobile technology that enable participation and engagement. It brings together an international group of academics and practitioners from a diverse range of disciplines such as computing and engineering, social sciences, digital media and human-computer interaction to critically examine a range of applications of social and mobile technology, such as social networking, mobile interaction, wikis, twitter, blogging, virtual worlds, shared displays and urban sceens, and their impact to foster community activism, civic engagement and cultural citizenship.

The cultural economy moment?

This paper explores the rise of cultural economy as a key organising concept over the 2000s. While it has intellectual precursors in political economy, sociology and postmodernism, it has been work undertaken in the fields of cultural economic geography, creative industries, the culture of service industries and cultural policy where it has come to the forefront, particularly around whether we are now in a ‘creative economy’. While work undertaken in cultural studies has contributed to these developments, the development of neo-liberalism as a meta-concept in critical theory constitutes a substantive barrier to more sustained engagement between cultural studies and economics, as it rests upon a caricature of economic discourse. The paper draws upon Michel Foucault’s lectures on neo-liberalism to indicate that there are significant problems with the neo-Marxist account hat became hegemonic over the 2000s. The paper concludes by identifying areas such as the value of information, the value of networks, motivations for participation in online social networks, and the impact of business cycles on cultural sectors as areas of potentially fruitful inter-disciplinary engagement around the nature of cultural economy.

Mapping the territory of economic risk

It is widely contended that we live in a „world risk society‟, where risk plays a central and ubiquitous role in contemporary social life. A seminal contributor to this view is Ulrich Beck, who claims that our world is governed by dangers that cannot be calculated or insured against. For Beck, risk is an inherently unrestrained phenomenon, emerging from a core and pouring out from and under national borders, unaffected by state power. Beck‟s focus on risk's ubiquity and uncontrollability at an infra-global level means that there is a necessary evenness to the expanse of risk: a "universalization of hazards‟, which possess an inbuilt tendency towards globalisation. While sociological scholarship has examined the reach and impact of globalisation processes on the role and power of states, Beck‟s argument that economic risk is without territory and resistant to domestic policy has come under less appraisal. This is contestable: what are often described as global economic processes, on closer inspection, reveal degrees of territorial embeddedness. This not only suggests that "global‟ flows could sometimes be more appropriately explained as international, regional or even local processes, formed from and responsive to state strategies – but also demonstrates what can be missed if we overinflate the global. This paper briefly introduces two key principles of Beck's theory of risk society and positions them within a review of literature debating the novelty and degree of global economic integration and its impact on states pursuing domestic economic policies. In doing so, this paper highlights the value for future research to engage with questions such as "is economic risk really without territory‟ and "does risk produce convergence‟, not so much as a means of reducing Beck's thesis to a purely empirical analysis, but rather to avoid limiting our scope in understanding the complex relationship between risk and state.

Queensland Aborigines, multiple realities and the social sources of suffering. Part 2: Suicide, spirits and symbolism

This is the second part of a paper that explores a range of magico-religious experiences such as immaterial voices and visions, in terms of local cultural, moral and socio-political circumstances in an Aboriginal town in rural Queensland. This part of the paper explores the political and cultural symbolism and meaning of suicide. It charts the saliency of suicide amongst two groups of kin and cohorts and the social meaningfulness and problematic of the voices and visions in relation to suicide, to identity and family forms and to funerals and a heavily drinking lifestyle. I argue that voices and visions are used to reinterpret social experience and to establish meaning and that tragically suicide evokes connectivity rather than anomie and here cannot be understood merely as an individualistic act or evidence of individual pathology. Rather it is about transformation and crossing a threshold to join an enduring domain of Aboriginality. In this life world, where family is the highest social value and where a relational view of persons holds sway, the individualistic practice of psychiatric and other helping professions, is a considerable problem.

Global Creative Industries

The creative industries are the subject of growing attention among policy-makers, academics, activists, artists and development specialists worldwide. This engaging book provides a global overview of developments in the creative industries, and analyses how these developments relate to wider debates about globalization, cities, culture and the global creative economy. Flew considers creative industries from six angles: industries; production; consumption; markets; places; and policies. Designed for the non-specialist, the text includes insightful and wide-ranging case studies on topics such as: fashion; design thinking; global culture; creative occupations; monopoly and competition; Shanghai and Seoul as creative cities; popular music and urban cultural policy; and the rise of “Nollywood”. Global Creative Industries will be of great interest to students and scholars of media and communications, cultural studies, economics, geography, sociology, design, public policy, and the arts. It will also be of value to those working in the creative industries, and involved in their development.

Advertising & Promotion : An Integrated Marketing Communications Approach, 2nd Edition [Book Review]

Advertising & Promotion’s second edition maintains a sharp and updated focus on the advertising industry, providing interesting ideas for both students and advertising professionals. Not only does the author demonstrate how agencies, businesses and organisations research, create and monitor particular campaigns, but also the extent to which advertising texts are themselves embedded in everyday contemporary culture. For me one of the strengths of the book is how the research brings together the managerial side of the industry, its sociology and political dynamics, with the cultural and ethical implications of advertising consumption.

Defending the patch : a labour geography analysis of unions’ construction of and responses to the problem of declining union membership amongst youth

If the trade union movement is to remain an influential force in the industrial, economic and socio/political arenas of industrialised nations it is vital that its recruitment of young members improve dramatically. Australian union membership levels have declined markedly over the last three decades and youth union membership levels have decreased more than any age group. Currently around 10% of young workers aged between 16-24 years are members of unions in Australia compared to 26% of workers aged 45-58 (Oliver, 2008). This decline has occurred throughout the union movement, in all states and in almost all industries and occupations. This research, which consists of interviews with union organisers and union officials, draws on perspectives from the labour geography literature to explore how union personnel located in various places, spaces and scales construct the issue of declining youth union membership. It explores the scale of connections within the labour movement and the extent to which these connections are leveraged to address the problem of youth union membership decline. To offer the reader a sense of context and perspective, the thesis firstly outlines the historical development of the union movement. It also reviews the literature on youth membership decline. Labour geography offers a rich and apposite analytical tool for investigation of this area. The notion of ‘scale’ as a dynamic, interactive, constructed and reconstructed entity (Ellem, 2006) is an appropriate lens for viewing youth-union membership issues. In this non-linear view, scale is a relational element which interplays with space, place and the environment (Howett, in Marston, 2000) rather than being ‘sequential’ and hierarchical. Importantly, the thesis investigates the notion of unions as ‘spaces of dependence’ (Cox, 1998a, p.2), organisations whose space is centred upon realising essential interests. It also considers the quality of unions’ interactions with others – their ‘spaces of engagement‘(Cox, 1998a, p.2), and the impact that this has upon their ability to recruit youth. The findings reveal that most respondents across the spectrum of the union movement attribute the decline in youth membership levels to factors external to the movement itself, such as changes to industrial relations legislation and the impact of globalisation on employment markets. However, participants also attribute responsibility for declining membership levels to the union movement itself, citing factors such as a lack of resourcing and a need to change unions’ perceived identity and methods of operation. The research further determined that networks of connections across the union movement are tenuous and, to date, are not being fully utilised to assist unions to overcome the youth recruitment dilemma. The study concludes that potential connections between unions are hampered by poor resourcing, workload issues and some deeply entrenched attitudes related to unions ‘defending (and maintaining) their patch’.

Retracing the Roots and Ideals of Confucian Principles of Governance: the Art of Regulating Governance without Legal Rules in Chinese Societies

Confucius was and still is one of the most eminent Chinese philosophers. Such is the importance of Confucius’s teachings; it had influenced all aspects of social life in Chinese societies. In the post-Enron, post-Worldcom, and post-Global Financial Crisis era there are raising doubts in the mantra of the so-called conventional wisdom about law and economic order. Whilst many recent publications offered solutions to those problems like advocating for more laws, rules or reforms in regulatory institutions to enhance the regulation of corporate governance. What Confucius advocated was a non-legal, social mode of regulation based on moral ideals that should be embedded into the minds of every person. Whilst this is an ancient concept from primitive societies, its relevance and merits could be seen in modern Chinese societies like Hong Kong. In essence, Confucian principles of governance build on relational and paternalistic order based on moral ideals.

Book review : Kellett, M (2010) Rethinking children and research : attitudes in contemporary society

Rethinking Children and Research characterizes Mary Kellett’s vision as campaigner and sociologist actively working for and with children for many years. The book itself is not only visionary; it is informative, thought provoking and pragmatic. From a contemporary standpoint, the manuscript presents a detailed synopsis of the shifts in thinking about research with children and provides an appraisal of the theoretical movements that have driven a participatory research agenda. A strong theoretical approach of the combined lenses of sociologies of childhood and rights discourse is introduced early in the book. From the outset, the reader receives loud and clear, the key message of the book: that children in research should and can be included as competent members who lead research in the study of their everyday lives. The argument for a more mutual research approach is shaped throughout the book using research examples and practical suggestions on how this might be achieved. Overall, the reader is left feeling compelled to adopt such an approach.

Welcome to the jungle : HCI after dark

The transformation of urban spaces that occurs once darkness falls is simultaneously exhilarating and menacing, and over the past 20 months we have investigated the potential for mobile technology to help users manage their personal safety concerns in the city at night. Our findings subverted commonly held notions of vulnerability, with the threat of violence felt equally by men and women. But while women felt protected because of their mobile technology, men dismissed it as digital Man Mace. We addressed this macho design challenge by studying remote engineers in outback Australia to inspire our personal safety design prototype MATE (Mobile Artifact for Taming Environments).

Engaging energy saving through motivation-specific social comparison

Comparison is widely used in research projects and commercial products whose goal is to motivate energy saving at home. This research builds on fundamental theories from social psychology in an attempt to shed light on how to motivate consumers to conserve energy by providing relevant people for social comparison depending on consumer’s motivation to compare. To support the research process, the mobile application EnergyWiz was developed through a theory-driven design approach. Along with other features EnergyWiz provides users with three types of social comparison – normative, one-on-one and ranking. The results of interviews with prospective users are used to derive design suggestions for relevant people for comparison (comparison subjects).

The textures of globalization : biopolitics and the closure of xenotourism

In this paper, we explore the tensions around a recent controversial development in medical tourism: xenotourism in Mexico. We take this bioendeavor - now ceased - to be emblematic of the global character of contemporary biomedicine, providing insights into the production and operation of scientific knowledge. We explore this through what we call the “textures of globalization”: the anxiety regarding the extent to which Mexico was understood as an (in)appropriate venue for the generation of novel knowledge on xenotransplantation, and as a location for xenotourism. These tensions, which oscillated between calls for individual freedom (choice) and global regulation (standardization), ultimately led to the closure of xenotourism in Mexico.

Contexts, hybrids and network governance : a comparison of three case-studies in infrastructure governance

While hybrid governance arrangements have been a major element of organisational architecture for some time, the contemporary operating environment has brought to the fore new conditions and expectations for the governance of entities that span conventional public sector departments, private firms and community organisations or groups. These conditions have resulted in a broader array of mixed governance configurations including Public Private Partnerships, alliances, and formal and informal collaborations. In some such arrangements, market based or ‘complete’ contractual relationships have been introduced to replace or supplement existing traditional ‘hierarchical’ and/or newer relational ‘network-oriented’ institutional associations. While there has been a greater reliance on collaborative or relational contracts as an underpinning institutional model, other modes of hierarchy and market may remain in operation. The success of these emergent hybrid forms has been mixed. There are examples of hybrids that have been well adopted, achieving the desired goals of efficiency, effectiveness and financial accountability; while others have experienced implementation problems which have undermined their results. This paper postulates that the cultural and institutional context within which hybrids operate may contribute to the implementation processes employed and the level of success attained. The paper explores hybrid arrangements through three cases of the use of inter-organisational arrangements in three different national contexts. Distilling the various elements of hybrids and the impact of institutional context will provide important insights for those charged with the responsibility for the formation and key infrastructure and public value development.

Design of a model-generated repository as a service for USDL

SAP and its research partners have been developing a lan- guage for describing details of Services from various view- points called the Unified Service Description Language (USDL). At the time of writing, version 3.0 describes technical implementation aspects of services, as well as stakeholders, pricing, lifecycle, and availability. Work is also underway to address other business and legal aspects of services. This language is designed to be used in service portfolio management, with a repository of service descriptions being available to various stakeholders in an organisation to allow for service prioritisation, development, deployment and lifecycle management. The structure of the USDL metadata is specified using an object-oriented metamodel that conforms to UML, MOF and EMF Ecore. As such it is amenable to code gener-ation for implementations of repositories that store service description instances. Although Web services toolkits can be used to make these programming language objects available as a set of Web services, the practicalities of writing dis- tributed clients against over one hundred class definitions, containing several hundred attributes, will make for very large WSDL interfaces and highly inefficient “chatty” implementations. This paper gives the high-level design for a completely model-generated repository for any version of USDL (or any other data-only metamodel), which uses the Eclipse Modelling Framework’s Java code generation, along with several open source plugins to create a robust, transactional repository running in a Java application with a relational datastore. However, the repository exposes a generated WSDL interface at a coarse granularity, suitable for distributed client code and user-interface creation. It uses heuristics to drive code generation to bridge between the Web service and EMF granularities.

A review of rationale for allocating costs and payments in producing and supplying public sector information PART A of 2 Parts – Chapters 1, 2 and 3) 13 March 2011 version

This work reviews the rationale and processes for raising revenue and allocating funds to perform information intensive activities that are pertinent to the work of democratic government. ‘Government of the people, by the people, for the people’ expresses an idea that democratic government has no higher authority than the people who agree to be bound by its rules. Democracy depends on continually learning how to develop understandings and agreements that can sustain voting majorities on which democratic law making and collective action depends. The objective expressed in constitutional terms is to deliver ‘peace, order and good government’. Meeting this objective requires a collective intellectual authority that can understand what is possible; and a collective moral authority to understand what ought to happen in practice. Facts of life determine that a society needs to retain its collective competence despite a continual turnover of its membership as people die but life goes on. Retaining this ‘collective competence’ in matters of self-government depends on each new generation: • acquiring a collective knowledge of how to produce goods and services needed to sustain a society and its capacity for self-government; • Learning how to defend society diplomatically and militarily in relation to external forces to prevent overthrow of its self-governing capacity; and • Learning how to defend society against divisive internal forces to preserve the authority of representative legislatures, allow peaceful dispute resolution and maintain social cohesion.