CCi digital futures 2014: the Internet in Australia

This report presents findings from the third survey of the Australian component of the World Internet Project. The survey was conducted in late 2013. This research is a project of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation at the Swinburne Institute for Social Research, Swinburne University of Technology. This report provides an overview of the study, presenting a broad picture of the Internet in Australia, with comparisons to our earlier 2007, 2009 and 2013 studies, and to the international findings of our partners in the World Internet Project. At the end of each section we have added some further analysis, examining aspects of the Australian data in more detail, and providing some international context using results from the findings of our international research partners. &nbsp

Regulation and social practice online

© 2016 Taylor & Francis. This article argues that everyday media practices are foundational to regulation on social media platforms. Beginning from a practice theory perspective, supported by qualitative research conducted on Facebook and Reddit, this paper shows how individual interactions with the platform and with other people on the site shape central regulatory norms on these sites. We suggest that our focus on practice complements existing studies that consider how regulation operates on social media platforms and shows how both practices and algorithms operate in conversation with one another in order to govern these sites. This research sets out an alternative trajectory of regulation, which is not based in law or privately established processes (such as EULAs, ToS or flags) but instead one grounded in the everyday practices of sociality, reciprocity, and perhaps even the maintenance of a particular community ideal

Go up in smoke:proof of concept study on tobacco craving in a VR environment

Background: Recent technological developments in virtual reality (VR) provide a potential to reduce the burden of tobacco addiction. Despite efforts to reduce smoking initiation and to increase smoking cessation, still approximately 19.2% of female and 25.7% of male adults in the Netherlands smoke. Recent research indicates even higher prevalence rates in vulnerable groups, such as individuals with intellectual disability, mental illness, or low socio-economic status. One of the factors in the persistence of tobacco related disorders, is that smoking cessation programs are only successful in about 10-16% of patients. Moreover, existing treatments may not be suitable for vulnerable groups, which might hinder uptake and effectiveness. Several studies in the area of VR have assessed the potential to evoke craving as part of cue-reactivity. However, research on cue-exposure therapy, which is based on the extinction of a conditioned response, reports only limited effects. Thus, teaching coping strategies in VR that are related to real-life situations, might be a potential approach for behavior change, especially in groups that barely benefit of existing cessation programs.Methods: This research comprises two evaluations with each three iterations as part of a user-centered development approach. Recruited participants were heavy smokers (Fagerström >= 5) from three Dutch healthcare institutions, involving individuals with intellectual disability, mental illness, and pulmonal issues. The first part of participants derived from every subgroup participated (1) to improve the cue-reactivity environment, procedure and related measurements. The other part applied (2) virtual coping strategies after being exposed to the previously improved cue-reactivity environment to explore and refine possibilities for craving reduction. Self-reported data (VAS, QSU-Brief), psychophysiological measures (GSR, HR), and eye-tracking were used as a potential continuous measurement of craving. Moreover, the think-aloud protocol was employed to improve the user’s experience based on the cognitive insights.Findings: Twenty-three participants participated in the first study group to improve the cue-reactivity and related measurements within the virtual environment. Preliminary results indicate a significantly increased level of craving after exposure compared to baseline. Participants in all subgroups successfully managed to use the VR-application while an increasing age revealed more problems in handling controls. Smoking-related cues and contexts were rated highly individually due to personal habits. The incorporated multimodal interactions involving smell, sound, and haptics have been identified to be important factors that influence cravings. Moreover, social influences and emotional distress have been reported to influence the urge to smoke. To continuously monitor craving levels in vulnerable groups, eye-tracking has been reported unfeasible due to complicate calibration procedures. Furthermore, motion artifacts and uncontrollable contextual variables might bias the measurement of galvanic skin responses.Discussion: The preliminary results are in line with the previous research in the field of VR cue-reactivity by showing significant increases in craving within the subgroup of vulnerable individuals. The iterative development approach indicates a need for highly personalizable environments with complex multimodal cues, that involve social interactions and affective influences. Future research should investigate the potential of coping skills training by providing scientifically validated relaxation and distraction exercises.Acknowledgement: This work is supported by the Pioneers in Health Care project GoUpInSmoke. The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Sytze Sicco Smit, Christa ten Bolscher, Saskia van Horsen, and all our participants

N-cycling and balancing of the N-deficit generated in the oxygen minimum zone over the Namibian shelf-An isotope-based approach

The northern Benguela upwelling system is a nutrient‐replete region with high plankton biomass production and a seasonally changing oxygen minimum zone. Nitrate:phosphate ratios in fresh upwelling water are low due to denitrification in the near‐seafloor oxygen minimum zone and phosphate efflux from sediments. This makes the region a candidate for substantial dinitrogen fixation, for which evidence is scarce. Nutrient and oxygen data, N isotope data of nitrate, nitrogen isotope ratios of particulate matter, particulate organic carbon content, and suspended matter concentrations on a transect across the shelf and upper slope at 23°S illustrate N‐cycling processes and are the basis for estimating the contribution of N‐sources and N‐sinks to the reactive nitrogen pool. It appears that N‐removal due to denitrification exceeds N gain by N2 fixation and physical mixing processes by a factor of >6, although inorganic N:P ratios again increase as surface water is advected offshore. Nitrate and ammonium regeneration, nutrient assimilation with N:P < 16, shelf break mixing, atmospheric input, and N2 fixation all contribute to the restoration of inorganic N:P ratios back to Redfield conditions, but in seasonally changing proportions. The Benguela upwelling system thus is a nutrient source for the oceanic‐mixed layer where N‐sources and N‐sinks are not in balance and Redfield conditions can only re‐adjust by advection and mixing processes integrated over time