Factors Affecting Household Broadband Adoption in Australia

Broadband networking technology has grown in prominence, driven by increasing interest from researchers, organisations, the popular media and the public alike. Using a data set of more than 20,000 households, this study examines residential broadband adoption and growth over time. The study uses classification tree analysis, which allows for simple interpretive descriptions of the relationship between explanatory variables and adoption propensity without the need for strong distributional assumptions, a priori variable transformation or interaction specification. The study finds that broadband adopters typically live in a metropolitan centre and were also cable TV subscribers. Online banking, research and share trading were also significant drivers for uptake

Issues surrounding cyber-safety for Indigenous Australians

This inquiry examined issues surrounding cyber-safety for Indigenous Australians, particularly young people in remote and rural communities.Introduction to the inquiryOn 20 March 2013 the Committee adopted an inquiry into the issues surrounding cyber-safety for Indigenous Australians.This inquiry followed the Committee’s previous inquiries into Cyber-Safety and the Young and Cybersafety for Senior Australians. Following completion of those inquiries, the Committee believed that issues surrounding cyber-safety for Indigenous Australians warranted further, more in-depth investigation. Therefore, under paragraph (1)(b) of its Resolution of Appointment, the Committee adopted the inquiry which is the subject of this report.As a Select Committee, under paragraph (17) of the Resolution of Appointment, the Committee must present its final report to Parliament no later than 27 June 2013. The terms of reference, which can be found at the start of this report, are far-reaching and could not be accomplished in any depth in the available timeframe.The Committee, therefore resolved to use the available time to investigate to the extent possible what particular issues Indigenous people might be facing with cyber-safety. This brief report discusses those issues and finds that a longer, more in-depth investigation of the topic by a Committee in the 44th Parliament would be appropriate

The digital divide and social inclusion among refugee migrants: a case in regional Australia

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. 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. 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. 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. 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

Numerical modelling of moisture motion in heterogeneous soils using 1D-MIRBF method

In the present paper, we develop an efficient and accurate numerical approach based on one-dimensional-moving integrated radial basis function (1D-MIRBF) and fully implicit modified Picard method for simulating fluid movement in heterogeneous soils governed by the highly non-linear Richards equation. The major advantages of the proposed 1D-MIRBF method include (i) a banded sparse system matrix that helps reduce the computational cost; (ii) the Kronecker Delta property of the constructed shape functions, which helps impose the essential boundary conditions in an exact manner; and (iii) high accuracy and fast convergence rate owing to the use of the IRBF approximation. The performance of the present method is demonstrated through several 1--D and 2--D soil infiltration problems. Numerical results obtained are in agreement with other published results in the literature. This solver for moisture motion in soils will be incorporated into a surface-water-flow solver to handle the surface irrigation problem

Dropping off the edge 2015: persistent communal disadvantage in Australia

This report shows that complex and entrenched disadvantage is experienced by a small but persistent number of locations in each state and territory across Australia. Foreword In 2007, Jesuit Social Services and Catholic Social Services Australia commissioned ground-breaking research into place-based disadvantage across the nation. The resulting report, Dropping off the edge, built on previous work that Jesuit Social Services had engaged Professor Tony Vinson to undertake on its behalf and quickly became a critical resource for governments, service providers and communities attempting to address the challenge of entrenched and often complex geographical disadvantage. That report received over 284 scholarly citations and supported the establishment of the Australian Social Inclusion Board – a body charged with identifying long-term strategies to end poverty in Australia. Since the publication of Dropping off the edge, our organisations have received many requests to update the findings and produce a new report tracking the wellbeing of communities in Australia over the intervening time. Sadly, the current report drives home the enormous challenge that lies in front of our policy makers and service providers, as many communities identified as disadvantaged in 2007 once again head the list in each state and territory. As a society we cannot, and should not, turn away from the challenge of persistent and entrenched locational disadvantage, no matter how difficult it may be to solve the problem. We call on government, community and business to come together to work alongside these communities to ensure long term sustainable change. We hold hope that the young people and future generations in these communities will have a better outlook and life opportunities than is currently available to them. It is our belief that every Australian should have access to the opportunities in life that will enable them to flourish – to complete their education, to get a job, to access safe and affordable housing, to raise their children in safe communities and to see the next generation thrive. Jesuit Social Services and Catholic Social Services Australia are indebted to the dedication and perseverance of Professor Tony Vinson in leading this important research and analysis over the past 15 years. Julie Edwards Chief Executive Officer Jesuit Social Services Marcelle Mogg Chief Executive Officer Catholic Social Services Australi

Digital Divide in Universities: Internet Use in Ecuadorian Universities

New technologies have transformed higher education whose application has implied changes at all levels. These changes have been assimilated by the university community in various ways. Subtle differences among university students have emerged; these differences determine that the resources the network offers have been used in different ways, thus creating gaps in the university population. This study seeks to determine the level of incidence of the variable of university students’ incomes on the uses and intensity of use of the Internet tools and resources. Students were classified using factor analysis complemented through cluster analysis in order to obtain user profiles; these profiles were verified by means of discriminant analysis. Finally, chi-square was applied to determine the relationship between income level and user profiles. As a result, three profiles were identified with different levels of use and intensity of use of the Internet tools and resources, and statistically the incidence of income in the creation of those profiles was proved. To conclude, we can say that the income level falls mainly on the variables that define the access possibilities; gender has a special behavior; however, since the profile of the highest level has a double proportion for men, though women have better performance in general terms

The social sciences and the web : From ‘Lurking’ to interdisciplinary ‘Big Data’ research

Acknowledgements This research is supported by the award made by the RCUK Digital Economy theme to the dot.rural Digital Economy Hub (award reference: EP/G066051/1) and the UK Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) (award reference: ES/M001628/1).Peer reviewedPublisher PD