tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/digital-era-48062/articlesDigital era – The Conversation2023-03-29T19:02:52Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2012952023-03-29T19:02:52Z2023-03-29T19:02:52ZFor remote Aboriginal families, limited phone and internet services make life hard. Here’s what they told us<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517585/original/file-20230327-23-y6a0wp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C39%2C3742%2C2774&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s well understood that the <a href="https://www.goodthingsfoundation.org.au/the-digital-divide/">digital divide</a> disproportionately affects people living in regional Australian communities. Remote Aboriginal communities in particular are among the most <a href="https://www.digitalinclusionindex.org.au/first-nations/">digitally excluded</a>, yet there is little research looking at how these families experience digital inclusion.</p>
<p>Our research project, Connecting in the Gulf, shares stories directly from Aboriginal families living on Mornington Island, off the coast of Queensland in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Our <a href="https://research.qut.edu.au/dmrc/projects/connecting-in-the-gulf/">full report</a> is published online.</p>
<p>Working with the community, we developed a research method called “show and yarn” in which families showed us their devices and yarned about their experiences of digital inclusion.</p>
<p>Yarning is an Indigenous way of sharing knowledge. It was an important aspect of our work, since better outcomes are achieved when Indigenous people have a say in the design and delivery of <a href="https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/">policies, programs and services</a> that affect them.</p>
<h2>How do families living remotely connect?</h2>
<p>Mornington Island residents have poor quality mobile and broadband services, and few options. The island’s only mobile network, Telstra 4G, is concentrated on the township of Gununa and is prone to <a href="https://www.mornington.qld.gov.au/visiting-community/useful-information/">congestion and outages</a>.</p>
<p>The other main digital services are:</p>
<ul>
<li>a free community wifi spot in Gununa with a 100-metre radius</li>
<li>a few solar-powered and satellite-enabled outstation phones placed across the island</li>
<li>the option to purchase NBN satellite plans from certain providers. </li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515020/original/file-20230313-3089-tjavyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515020/original/file-20230313-3089-tjavyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515020/original/file-20230313-3089-tjavyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515020/original/file-20230313-3089-tjavyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515020/original/file-20230313-3089-tjavyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515020/original/file-20230313-3089-tjavyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515020/original/file-20230313-3089-tjavyu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A cyclone-proof, solar-powered outstation phone about 20km from the township of Gununa.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The island, which has about 1,200 residents, is slated to receive a major upgrade under the <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/media-communications-arts/internet/regional-connectivity-program-including-mobile-black-spot-opportunities">Regional Connectivity Program</a> sometime soon, but families were unaware of when this would happen.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/digitising-social-services-could-further-exclude-people-already-on-the-margins-103201">Digitising social services could further exclude people already on the margins</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Extending a culture of sharing</h2>
<p>The families we spoke to told us they use their mobile phones almost exclusively to make calls and access the internet. </p>
<p>In many cases, devices are shared between several family members, and data is shared via hotspotting when someone runs out. This is reflective of a broader culture of sharing, but can also be a source of conflict.</p>
<p>As one community member told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I hear a lot of people […] On Facebook, my mother is talking about hotspotting, they are sick of hotspotting […] I’ve got no data because we’ve got to hotspot for them […] If someone wants to use the internet to do a bank transfer, they’ll come up and ask. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Although families can purchase contract-based satellite internet connections, they spoke of poor past experiences, and a fear of being locked into contracts. They expressed that they would rather rely on prepaid credit than risk going into debt. </p>
<p>Interviewees also preferred to use data in their own homes despite the free community wifi spot, reflecting a family-oriented way of being. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514131/original/file-20230308-299-sn0as9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514131/original/file-20230308-299-sn0as9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514131/original/file-20230308-299-sn0as9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514131/original/file-20230308-299-sn0as9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514131/original/file-20230308-299-sn0as9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514131/original/file-20230308-299-sn0as9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514131/original/file-20230308-299-sn0as9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mornington Island residents showed us their devices and yarned with us about how they experienced digital inclusion.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Digital literacy is a challenge and opportunity</h2>
<p>The families spoke of a gap between young people who quickly learn how to use technology, and Elders who aren’t as savvy online. We heard stories of young people pestering family members for online passwords and hotspots, and then using and/or sharing these with other people without permission. </p>
<p>As one person explained:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Some family members do feel like you’re taking advantage of them at times, when they feel like ‘Oh, I should share’. And it’s the same way with the banking, with the money. They’d feel like they’re obligated to share.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>They also described how limited and unreliable mobile phone reception and coverage was impacting cultural activities. </p>
<p>For instance, phone reception stops just out of town and doesn’t cover most of the land and sea of the island. Sick and elderly people with safety concerns are scared to leave the township for activities out on Country. </p>
<p>One Elder suggested more young people would go out for cultural activities if outstations had better phone and internet coverage:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think it’ll make them happy and have that pride in being out on their own land […] Whether it’s newborn turtle, or crab, fish, and them showing it off and it’ll give them that self-pride and happiness […] ‘This is what I caught’ – and they’ll show more than one family (on Facebook).</p>
</blockquote>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514143/original/file-20230308-16-xz4ubd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/514143/original/file-20230308-16-xz4ubd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514143/original/file-20230308-16-xz4ubd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514143/original/file-20230308-16-xz4ubd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514143/original/file-20230308-16-xz4ubd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514143/original/file-20230308-16-xz4ubd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/514143/original/file-20230308-16-xz4ubd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some families had access to tablets and gaming consoles, mostly used by hotspotting prepaid mobile data.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s being done about the digital divide?</h2>
<p>In January, the federal government established a First Nations <a href="https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/rowland/media-release/albanese-government-establishes-first-nations-digital-inclusion-advisory-group">Digital Inclusion Advisory Group</a> to accelerate progress towards <a href="https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/national-agreement/targets">Closing the Gap targets</a>. An Indigenous Digital Inclusion Plan is also being developed, with contributions from <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/economic-development/indigenous-digital-inclusion-plan/indigenous-digital-inclusion-plan-idip-discussion-paper-submissions">key stakeholders</a>. Both of these developments are promising. </p>
<p>Boosting infrastructure in remote Aboriginal communities is not favourable for profits, given the small number of residents. Yet it’s essential for ensuring these families feel safe, that they can continue cultural practices, and access the many employment, health and education benefits of being online. </p>
<p>Most of all, we must listen to Indigenous voices and work with these communities to improve speed, reliability and access to services. Organisations such as <a href="https://indigimob.com.au/">InDigiMOB</a> are working hard to achieve this.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-inequality-why-can-i-enter-your-building-but-your-website-shows-me-the-door-182432">Digital inequality: why can I enter your building – but your website shows me the door?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201295/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessa Rogers receives funding from the Australian Research Council as a DECRA fellow. The Connecting in the Gulf project is funded by QUT's IGNITE Grant Scheme, and the AuDA Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amber Marshall has previously received funding for related research from the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) and Queensland Government. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kim Osman and Thu Dinh Xuan Pham do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Families living on Mornington Island have to make compromises due to a lack of digital services – including missing out on cultural activities on Country .Jessa Rogers, First Nations Senior Research Fellow, Queensland University of TechnologyAmber Marshall, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Queensland University of TechnologyKim Osman, Senior research associate, Queensland University of TechnologyThu Dinh Xuan Pham, Research Project Officer, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1940872022-12-06T13:13:46Z2022-12-06T13:13:46ZMusic streaming in South Africa – new survey reveals musicians get a raw deal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494168/original/file-20221108-19-6x725n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ihor Melnyk/Getty Images</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Musicians worldwide have been placing their tracks with global streaming platforms such as <a href="https://www.spotify.com/ng/free/">Spotify</a> for many years. South African musicians, however, have <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-lockdown-live-streams-working-for-south-africas-musicians-144946">reported</a> only sparse earnings from streaming music online. </p>
<p>When our <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-lockdown-live-streams-working-for-south-africas-musicians-144946">2020 survey</a> revealed this, we wondered if part of the reason was inexperience. At the time, COVID lockdowns had made live performances impossible, driving many South African musicians to try what looked like an alternative revenue stream.</p>
<p>In 2022 we broadened and deepened that research. And we discovered that earnings from music streaming remained poor. Further, <a href="https://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/doc_details.jsp?doc_id=540735">major</a> <a href="https://grassrootsmusicnetwork.org/live-streaming-music-uk-a-report-for-musicians/">international</a> <a href="https://grassrootsmusicnetwork.org/live-streaming-music-uk-a-report-for-musicians/">studies</a> were also now <a href="https://grassrootsmusicnetwork.org/live-streaming-music-uk-a-report-for-musicians/">demonstrating</a> the same earnings trend everywhere. </p>
<p>Those studies suggested that, without urgent reform, the entire streaming system was rigged against musicians. And genres and musicians on the periphery of the western-dominated music industry were hit hardest. </p>
<p>We heard from 279 music role players – artists, venues and local platforms – and took the international findings on board. The <a href="https://iksafrica.com/reports/Digital-Futures-Two-Taking-Music-Online-in-South-Africa.pdf">full report</a>, Digital Futures 2 Taking Music Online in South Africa, confirms, with much more nuance, that our 2020 findings were correct. </p>
<p>A much bigger sample spread across all provinces demonstrated that South African musicians weren’t beginners in the world of streaming: 77% of respondents had some involvement even before COVID struck. Just over 40% used methods including site analytics to monitor their business performance. But despite this, and despite the data also showing improved audiences and that more artists now owned their streaming rights, the earnings picture remained just as bleak.</p>
<p>“Poor” or “very poor” was how 63% of respondents rated their earnings. At best, streaming provided a supplement to other music-related earnings such as live performance or hiring out equipment. At worst it was a drain on them – because of platform fees. Without sponsorship, streaming would be impossible for most.</p>
<h2>Musicians are the losers</h2>
<p>South Africa’s musicians pay a dollar-equivalent fee to post their music on an international platform. They are allocated a payment whenever a track is streamed. But each stream is at best a few hundredths of a US cent, depending on the platform. What listeners pay doesn’t go directly to the artist. It goes into a global pot and is then allocated – after platform service fees are deducted. Allocations are made via complex algorithms based on many factors, including the artist’s existing share of the market and where their listeners are based.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/are-lockdown-live-streams-working-for-south-africas-musicians-144946">Are lockdown live streams working for South Africa's musicians?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>South African artists find themselves in the same boat as their international counterparts, even those in countries with far stronger digital infrastructures. The <a href="https://www.wipo.int/portal/en/index.html">World Intellectual Property Organization</a> goes as far as to suggest that streaming, currently controlled by a handful of global platforms, is corroding the ecosystem that nurtures music creativity. </p>
<p>Despite rising platform and label revenue from streaming, “there has been no trickle-down to performers,” the organisation <a href="https://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/doc_details.jsp?doc_id=540735">says</a>.</p>
<h2>Even worse in South Africa</h2>
<p>In South Africa, these problems are intensified by a massive <a href="http://www.digitaldividecouncil.com/what-is-the-digital-divide/">digital divide</a> and an undeveloped policy environment. Official policy on copyright – including the proposed <a href="https://static.pmg.org.za/2/220608B13D-CopyRight-2017_Final.pdf">Copyright Amendment Bill</a> – does not even discuss engagement with the dominant global platforms. Neither does it address the possibility of new forms of royalty designed for streaming rather than broadcast or publication. </p>
<p>South African audiences lack easy, affordable digital access. Production and the constant online promotional engagement needed by musicians are constrained by the same circumstances. </p>
<p>Survey respondents, meanwhile, expressed urgent concern about digital piracy, theft of intellectual property, illicit sharing and how social media companies “work off our original music”. Load-shedding, regularly scheduled power cuts due to a creaking power infrastructure, was often mentioned. Power problems particularly affect music whose largest potential audiences are in townships (often underdeveloped urban areas populated by black South Africans) or rural areas. One wrote: “Some of my fans don’t understand the streaming technology; some don’t have phones that allow them to stream.” Another: “Poor network and load-shedding compromise production.”</p>
<p>Our conclusion is that unless change happens, streaming offers a very limited future for South African musicians. </p>
<h2>What’s needed</h2>
<p>Respondents called for faster official action on bridging the digital divide and on developing other demand-side stimuli for the South African music industry. It is not enough to assist music creators (the supply side) if audiences cannot afford or access their products. Government should collaborate with the royalty collection agencies to engage with global platforms, respondents said. </p>
<p>Longstanding discontents around the efficient collection and disbursement of royalties in South Africa are now joined by an urgent need for policy engagement with global platforms to seek more equitable payment regimes. (Depressingly, though, collection agencies and labels were still characterised as poor communicators with musicians, as they had been in 2020.)</p>
<p>The musicians and music-providers who responded to this survey demonstrated solid practical experience in managing their activities. They acknowledged that “the world is changing fast”. They named areas where they would welcome further training and information, because “we need to create more consistently, regardless of the landscape of the country’s support.”</p>
<p>One striking and positive finding was about how respondents saw their reasons for streaming. In thematic analysis of all the open responses, a sense of social mission and purpose constantly recurred: inspiring listeners; providing hope; “expressing feelings that people are afraid to express”; and advocating for the beauty of Africa’s music heritage. Our respondents know they may be on their own and may not make money from posting music online, but they do it “not for seeking attention or likes, but to share our ghetto experiences and stories.”</p>
<p>But musicians need to eat in order to tell their stories. National training and demand-side interventions can help, but the problems of musicians with the streaming system are global and systemic, and need attention from policymakers on that level too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194087/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gwen Ansell leads the research team at IKS Cultural Consulting which conducted the survey. Her contract work there on this project was funded by Concerts SA</span></em></p>New survey shows poor earnings from music streaming made worse by the digital divide and a lack of policy.Gwen Ansell, Associate of the Gordon Institute for Business Science, University of PretoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1604882021-05-17T14:52:37Z2021-05-17T14:52:37ZNavigating a new digital era means changing the world economic order<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400012/original/file-20210511-23-al5bac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C4%2C992%2C661&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Online shopping and services have grown during COVID-19.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/online-shopping-paper-cartons-parcel-cart-1533914615">Natee Photo/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>COVID-19 has accelerated the growth in the digital economy through a dramatic increase in working from home, online shopping, digital entertainment, online services, among other areas. Ideas such as <a href="https://www.infrastructure-channel.com/article/-/content/telemigration-to-affect-the-service-sector">telemigration</a> in which people from different parts of the world work in virtual offices might once have sounded outrageous. Today, many are already working from home through video streaming. </p>
<p>A completely virtual future is perhaps unlikely, but such shifts are a fundamental challenge to how we organise societies. Laws and regulations governing trade, taxation, labour, and social security, among other areas, are largely based on geographically-defined states that contain and regulate our economic and social activities. </p>
<p>This applies to the global economic order which consists of agreements between states to manage interactions between them. For example, an international regime regulates services based on <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/serv_e/cbt_course_e/c1s3p1_e.htm">how the service is supplied</a>, in turn determined by where the buyer and seller are. For trade in goods, borders are used to implement rules such as tariffs and standards. </p>
<p>In taxation, the shift from physical to digital has resulted in a major challenge to <a href="https://taxfoundation.org/digital-tax-europe-2020/">taxation law</a>. Similarly, living in one country and working in another <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=851&langId=en%20%22%22">remains a bureaucratic challenge</a> even in some of the most integrated economies in the world.</p>
<p>Over recent years, there have been debates on how to deal with these changes amid ongoing technological shifts. At a fundamental level, we face two options. Is the task facing us is how we adapt our existing rules and regulations to accommodate these new technologies? Or do we need to think of completely new modes of regulations that govern our economic and social relations in a new technological age?</p>
<p>So far, the focus has been on the former. In trade, for example, discussions have focused, often with little success, on issues such as deciding if data flows are trade, how we impose tariffs on goods that are traded electronically, or whether an e-book is a good or a service. </p>
<p>Alternatively, we might want to think of the ongoing technological shift as a start of an entirely new world. A world that needs a radical rethink and new laws and regulations that accommodate the new technological era. But what would that look like?</p>
<h2>A digital Bretton Woods</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/onpoint/digital-bretton-woods-new-global-governance-model-by-rohinton-p-medhora-and-taylor-owen-2020-04">Some commentators have called</a> for a “digital <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bretton_Woods_Conference">Bretton Woods</a>” conference to set out a new regime of global governance for the digital age, <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/onpoint/digital-bretton-woods-new-global-governance-model-by-rohinton-p-medhora-and-taylor-owen-2020-04">including discussion on the</a> governance of artificial intelligence, data, tax arbitrage by multinational corporations, and international standards to measure the digital and intangible economy. James Balsillie, co-founder of the Institute for New Economic Thinking, <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/News/Seminars/Conferences/2018/04/06/6th-statistics-forum">called for</a> the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to catalyse a new Bretton Woods moment “to address these new global realities as a result of unprecedented digital forces shaping our world”.</p>
<p>Bretton Woods was the meeting of 44 states that took place in 1944 to discuss a new economic order for the post-war period. It resulted in the creation of the World Bank and the IMF and a proposal for an International Trade Organisation. </p>
<p>Among different visions for the world economy, the outcome of Bretton Woods was a compromise between the demands for full economic liberalisation by some in the US and opposition from other countries. John Ruggie, professor of human rights and international affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2706527?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">called</a> this compromise embedded liberalism. It was an international order that maintained a degree of global harmonisation that limited destructive competition between states but which allowed them to also pursue objectives related to employment and industry.</p>
<p>The Bretton Woods compromise and the relatively weak restrictions imposed by the international economic order for parts of the 20th century enabled some developing countries at the time, such as Korea and Singapore, to pursue trade and industrial policies to promote their economic and technological development. Over time, however, and through multiple channels, the balance in the global economic order titled towards global harmonisation. </p>
<p>Major powers, including the US and the EU, promoted stricter rules in areas including trade, investments, and intellectual property rights. This trend has resulted in a <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4417841?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">shrinking of policy space</a> for developing countries making it harder for them to pursue developmental policies. </p>
<h2>A compromise for the digital era?</h2>
<p>Current discussions on the governance of the digital economy resemble these earlier debates. The US, as the world’s digital economy leader, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/isr/article/22/3/671/5564378?login=true">has pursued a campaign</a> to remove barriers facing digital trade by promoting objectives such as free flow of data. </p>
<p>However, a number of developing and emerging economies such as South Africa, India and Indonesia, strongly resist this push, fearing its impact on national economies. As a result, there is now an impasse at the modern World Trade Organisation and a shift toward addressing these issues through <a href="https://unctad.org/news/developing-countries-and-trade-negotiations-e-commerce">plurilateral, regional, and bilateral avenues</a>. </p>
<p>We now face two extreme outcomes: advanced economies overcome this resistance and create strong rules on the digital economy, leading to a highly restrictive digital economic order that limits the economic and technological development of some countries and deepens the technological gap between the developed and developing world. </p>
<p>Or, a failure to reach any multilateral rules on the digital economy means the faster growing parts of the global economy remain outside the multilateral economic regime, driving fragmentation as states pursue their interests through other avenues. </p>
<p>While the existing multilateral order is highly flawed and biased against developing countries, fragmentation isn’t necessarily in the interest of these countries as the power imbalances in regional and bilateral relations are often more skewed toward the powerful nations. This scenario also undermines the globally-open nature of the internet, which brought benefits such as access to information, communications, and general freedoms.</p>
<p>Avoiding these two outcomes requires international efforts. A digital Bretton Woods could tackle some of these challenges and help shape thinking about the future of economic governance in the digital age. But we need to do more than just gather state representatives. We first need a broader discussion of how to regulate economic and social activities in the digital era. We also need to understand how the restrictive international order of recent decades has limited the ability of developing countries to promote development and how any new digital economic regime can avoid a similar outcome.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160488/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shamel Azmeh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The huge shift towards more digital working and trading are a fundamental challenge to the way countries agreed to interact with each other.Shamel Azmeh, Lecturer in International Development, Global Development Institute, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1541782021-01-29T05:13:21Z2021-01-29T05:13:21ZGoogle is leading a vast, covert human experiment. You may be one of the guinea pigs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381255/original/file-20210129-17-4so5r3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C26%2C5847%2C3869&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On January 13 the <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/google-blocks-australian-news-in-experiment-20210113-p56tqd">Australian Financial Review reported</a> Google had removed some Australian news content from its search results for some local users. </p>
<p>Speaking to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jan/13/google-admits-to-running-experiments-which-remove-some-media-sites-from-its-search-results">the Guardian</a>, a Google spokesperson confirmed the company was “running a few experiments that will each reach about 1% of Google Search users in Australia to measure the impacts of news businesses and Google Search on each other”.</p>
<p>So what are these “experiments”? And how concerned should we be about Google’s actions? </p>
<h2>Engineering our attention</h2>
<p>Google’s experiment (which is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jan/13/google-admits-to-running-experiments-which-remove-some-media-sites-from-its-search-results">supposed to run</a> until early February) involves displaying an “alternative” news website ranking for certain Australian users — at least 160,000, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jan/28/important-stories-hidden-in-googles-experiment-blocking-australian-news-sites">according to</a> The Guardian.</p>
<p>A Google spokesperson told The Conversation the experiment didn’t prevent users (being experimented on) from accessing a news story. Rather, they would not discover the story through Search and would have to access it another way, such as directly on a publisher’s website.</p>
<p>Google’s experiment is a form of “A/B testing”, which classically involves dividing a population randomly in half — into groups A and B — and subjecting each group to a different “stimulus”. </p>
<p>For example, in the case of web design, the two groups may be served different web layouts. This could be done to test changes to layout, the colour scheme or any other element. </p>
<p>Performance in A/B testing is judged on a range of factors, such as which links are clicked first, or the average time spent on a page. If group A perused the site longer than group B, the modification tested on group A may be considered favourable.</p>
<p>In Google’s case, we don’t know the motivation behind the tests. But we do know a small subset of users received different results to the majority and were not alerted.</p>
<p>The experiment has resulted in the promotion of dubious news sources over trusted ones, some of which have been <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/trump-qanon-impending-judgment-day-behind-facebook-fueled-rise-epoch-n1044121">known to publish</a> disinformation (which intends to mislead) and misinformation (false claims that are spread regardless of intent). </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-accc-is-suing-google-for-misleading-millions-but-calling-it-out-is-easier-than-fixing-it-143447">The ACCC is suing Google for misleading millions. But calling it out is easier than fixing it</a>
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<p>When asked about this ranking, Google’s spokesperson said it was a “single anecdotal screenshot” and the experiment didn’t “remove results that link to official government departments and agencies”. </p>
<h2>Intent to manipulate</h2>
<p>A/B testing is a widespread practice. It can range from being fairly benign — such as to determine the best location for an advertisement banner — to much more invasive, such as Facebook’s <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/everything-we-know-about-facebooks-secret-mood-manipulation-experiment/373648/">infamous mood experiment</a>. </p>
<p>In January 2012, Facebook conducted an experiment on 700,000 users without their knowledge or explicit consent. It adjusted users’ feeds to artificially boost either positive or negative news content. </p>
<p>One reported aim, according to Facebook’s own researchers, was to examine whether emotional states could spread from user to user on the platform. Results were reported in the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/111/24/8788.full">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.</p>
<p>Following the report’s publication, Facebook’s “experiment” was widely condemned by academics, journalists and the public as ethically dubious. It had a specific objective to emotionally manipulate users and didn’t obtain informed consent.</p>
<p>Similarly, it’s unlikely users caught in the midst of Google’s Australian news experiment would realise it. </p>
<p>And while the direct risk to those being tested may seem lower than with Facebook’s mood experiment, tweaking news results on Google Search introduces its own set of risks. As <a href="https://research.qut.edu.au/dmrc/2020/04/30/like-a-virus/">research</a> my colleagues and I has shown, platforms and news media both play a large role in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1329878X20946113">spreading conspiracy theories</a>. </p>
<p>Google tried to downplay the significance of the experiment, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jan/13/google-admits-to-running-experiments-which-remove-some-media-sites-from-its-search-results">noting that</a> it conducts “tens of thousands of experiments in Google Search” each year. </p>
<p>But this doesn’t excuse the company from scrutiny. If anything, it’s even more concerning.</p>
<p>Imagine if a police officer pulled you over for speeding and you said: “Well, I speed thousands of times each year, so why should I pay a fine just this one time I’ve been caught?”</p>
<p>If this is just one experiment among of tens of thousands, as Google has admitted, in what other ways have we been manipulated in the past? Without basic disclosures, it’s difficult to know. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381258/original/file-20210129-15-ljtpih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381258/original/file-20210129-15-ljtpih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381258/original/file-20210129-15-ljtpih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381258/original/file-20210129-15-ljtpih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381258/original/file-20210129-15-ljtpih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381258/original/file-20210129-15-ljtpih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381258/original/file-20210129-15-ljtpih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381258/original/file-20210129-15-ljtpih.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A report from the Australian Financial Review said ‘anecdotal evidence’ suggested Google was ‘experimenting with its algorithm to remove stories from Australian news publishers from its search results’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A history of non-disclosure</h2>
<p>This isn’t the first time Google has been caught experimenting on users without adequate disclosure. In 2018, the company <a href="https://ai.googleblog.com/2018/05/duplex-ai-system-for-natural-conversation.html">released Google Duplex</a>, a speech-enabled digital assistant that could purportedly make restaurant and other personal service bookings on a user’s behalf.</p>
<p>In the Duplex <a href="https://ai.googleblog.com/2018/05/duplex-ai-system-for-natural-conversation.html">demos</a>, Google played audio of an AI-enabled speech agent making bookings via conversations with real service workers. What was missing from the calls, however, was a disclosure that the agent opening the call <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/26/18112807/google-duplex-robot-calls-restaurants-businesses-transparency">was a bot</a>, not a human. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.afr.com/technology/google-duplex-humanlike-voice-raises-ethical-concerns-20180510-h0zw3f">Critics</a> questioned the <a href="https://mashable.com/2018/05/10/google-duplex-disclosures-robot/">deceptiveness of the technology</a>, given its mimicry of human speech.</p>
<p>Google’s <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/12/04/1013294/google-ai-ethics-research-paper-forced-out-timnit-gebru/">controversial dismissal</a> in December of world-leading AI ethics researcher Timnit Gebru (former co-lead of its ethical AI team) cast further shade over the company’s internal culture.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1334341991795142667"}"></div></p>
<h2>What needs to change?</h2>
<p>Digital media platforms including Google, Facebook, Netflix and Amazon (among others) exert enormous power over our lives. They also have vast <a href="https://theconversation.com/facebook-is-tilting-the-political-playing-field-more-than-ever-and-its-no-accident-148314">political influence</a>. </p>
<p>It’s no coincidence Google’s news ranking experiment took place against the backdrop of the escalating news media bargaining code debate, wherein the federal government wants Google and Facebook to negotiate with Australian news providers to pay for using their content. </p>
<p>Google’s spokesperson confirmed the experiment is “directly connected to the need to gather information for use in arbitration proceedings, should the code become law”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/googles-open-letter-is-trying-to-scare-australians-the-company-simply-doesnt-want-to-pay-for-news-144573">Google's 'open letter' is trying to scare Australians. The company simply doesn't want to pay for news</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>While users benefit from the services big tech provides, we need to appreciate we’re more than mere consumers of these services. The data we forfeit are essential input for the massive algorithmic machinery that runs at the core of enterprises such as Google. </p>
<p>The result is what digital media scholars call an “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1367549415577392">algorithmic culture</a>”. We feed these machines our data and in the process tune them towards our tastes. Meanwhile, they feed us back more things to consume, in a giant <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1461444815605463">human-machine algorithmic loop</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381262/original/file-20210129-17-179tdws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381262/original/file-20210129-17-179tdws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381262/original/file-20210129-17-179tdws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381262/original/file-20210129-17-179tdws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381262/original/file-20210129-17-179tdws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381262/original/file-20210129-17-179tdws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381262/original/file-20210129-17-179tdws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381262/original/file-20210129-17-179tdws.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Large tech enterprises such as Facebook and Google rely on user data to stay afloat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Until recently, we have been uncritical participants in these algorithmic loops and experiments, willing to use “free” services in exchange for our data. But we need to rethink our relationship with platforms and must hold them to a higher standard of accountability. </p>
<p>Governments should mandate minimum standards of disclosure for platforms’ user testing. A/B testing by platforms can still be conducted properly with adequate disclosures, oversight and opt-in options.</p>
<p>In the case of Google, to “<a href="https://www.engadget.com/2015-10-02-alphabet-do-the-right-thing.html">do the right thing</a>” would be to adopt a <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2014/06/29/ethics-in-a-data-driven-world/">higher standard of ethical conduct</a> when it comes to user testing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154178/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Angus receives funding from Australian Research Council through Discovery projects DP200100519 ‘Using machine vision to explore Instagram’s everyday promotional cultures’, and DP200101317 ‘Evaluating the Challenge of ‘Fake News’ and Other Malinformation’.</span></em></p>If this is just one experiment among of tens of thousands, as Google has admitted, in what other ways might users have been manipulated in the past?Daniel Angus, Associate Professor in Digital Communication, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1445282020-08-28T06:21:36Z2020-08-28T06:21:36ZThe story of a working man who lived through apartheid – and his struggles after it ended<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353179/original/file-20200817-22-cidz4w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Black labourers extracting sludge
on a mine near Johannesburg at the height of apartheid in the 1980s. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Turnley/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On 25 June, Mandlenkosi Makhoba, one of the last of a generation of grassroots worker leaders of the Federation of South African Trade Unions (<a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/federation-south-african-trade-unions-fosatu">Fosatu</a>), was laid to rest above the majestic Mahlabathini plain in KwaZulu-Natal. He was 78.</p>
<p>Industrial workers such as Makhoba formed the basis of Fosatu, established in 1979 when democratic workers’ organisations forced the apartheid system to <a href="http://www.historicalpapers.wits.ac.za/docs/fosatu/fosatu.pdf">recognise their trade unions</a>. This federation went on to win rights for black workers, contributed to a new workplace order and the establishment of national collective bargaining, while challenging racism and inequality in the workplace. It laid the basis for the formation of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) in 1985 with organised labour proving decisive in the transition to democracy. </p>
<p>Makhoba was, therefore, one of the “agents of change” who gave birth to South Africa’s modern labour movement. But he was not one of its beneficiaries. His death marks the passing of the era of the ‘labouring man’ – those industrial workers who were involved largely in manual labour, denied much formal education but stood for worker solidarity.</p>
<h2>A working man’s life under apartheid</h2>
<p>Makhoba’s life story illustrates the transition of established organised labour, from the voice of the dispossessed production worker struggling for recognition, to the relatively well protected suburban worker of today. He also represents the losers in the new South Africa, showing how inequality is consistently produced and reproduced. It tells the story of dreams lost and the need to recover the vision of a disappearing generation. </p>
<p>The stories of these working men and women has long been overshadowed by the big men and women of the successful struggle for democracy. Fortunately Makhoba lived to see the republication, in 2018, of his autobiography, <a href="https://www.nihss.ac.za/content/story-one-tells-struggle-all-metalworkers-under-apartheid"><em>The Story of One Tells the Struggle of All: Metalworkers under Apartheid</em></a>. His story prefigures what has happened both locally and globally, namely how organised factory- and mine-based manual labour became sidelined by both advances in technology and the rise of neoliberalism. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353357/original/file-20200818-20-1bvsihu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353357/original/file-20200818-20-1bvsihu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353357/original/file-20200818-20-1bvsihu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353357/original/file-20200818-20-1bvsihu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353357/original/file-20200818-20-1bvsihu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353357/original/file-20200818-20-1bvsihu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353357/original/file-20200818-20-1bvsihu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Mandlenkosi Makhoba 40 years ago.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Supplied by author</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>We first met Makhoba, a foundry worker on the East Rand, now Ekhuruleni, nearly 40 years ago while researching the changing world of work in the metal industry. This archetypal, barrel-chested ‘labouring man’ poured molten metal to mould machine parts long before health and safety was taken seriously.</p>
<p>Alongside so many of his compatriots, he had migrated from his rural home in the “<a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/homelands">Bantustan</a>” of KwaZulu to perform the toughest jobs that demanded physical strength and industrial discipline. “Bantustans” were the then mainly rural, undeveloped areas were black people were required to live under apartheid. </p>
<p>Seen as an unskilled “cast boy” under apartheid, Makhoba was paid considerably less than the white “supervisors” he had trained. “That made me angry,” he said at the time. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I don’t get the money he is getting, but I am supposed to be his teacher! How can a clever man be taught by a stupid man like myself?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Throughout his working life Makhoba oscillated between town and countryside. He lived in the sprawling <a href="https://www.csvr.org.za/publications/1794--the-human-face-of-violence-hostel-dwellers-speak">single sex hostel complex</a> for black male migrant workers in Vosloorus, to the east of Johannesburg, a bus drive from his workplace. He was deeply dissatisfied with the filthy conditions in the hostel and the lack of privacy, with 16 men to a room and not much better than the mine compounds and concrete bunks these hostels had replaced. Men had to cook after a long day’s work and travel. Theft was rife and excessive drinking and violent assaults marked the weekends.</p>
<p>Accompanying this sense of deprivation was the resigned acceptance of being unable to live a normal social life. Of greatest concern for Makhoba was going home to Mahlabathini, only to find the decline of parental authority. This affected him deeply.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When a man comes home there is no respect for him anymore, because he has been away from home for such a long time. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>The union</h2>
<p>It is not surprising then that in July 1979 Makhoba joined a fledgling metal union at the time, later to become the <a href="https://www.numsa.org.za/">National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa</a>. He said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I joined the union because workers are not treated like human beings by management, but like animals.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The men who joined the union came from similar districts in KwaZulu and elsewhere and shared the rigours of hostel life. They were, in other words, rooted in networks of mutual support.</p>
<p>Although Makhoba had been working in the city intermittently for 20 years when we first met him, his cultural world was shaped by his rural values: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I work here, but my spirit is in Mahlabathini. My spirit is there because I come from the countryside. I was born there and my father was born there.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In 1983 he was dismissed from the foundry for participating in an illegal strike. Following episodic periods of temporary employment, he returned home permanently. </p>
<h2>Deprivations of rural life</h2>
<p>In 1991 we tracked him down to his homestead on a mountain top in Mahlabathini. He had acquired 15 head of cattle, ten from the <em>ilobolo</em> (bride price) of his two oldest daughters. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353163/original/file-20200817-20-nmgl1i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353163/original/file-20200817-20-nmgl1i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=854&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353163/original/file-20200817-20-nmgl1i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=854&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353163/original/file-20200817-20-nmgl1i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=854&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353163/original/file-20200817-20-nmgl1i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1073&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353163/original/file-20200817-20-nmgl1i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1073&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353163/original/file-20200817-20-nmgl1i.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1073&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption"></span>
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<p>Fifteen people – his wife and 14 children – lived with him in the six rondavels of his neatly swept homestead where he had access to land on which he grew maize and some vegetables.</p>
<p>But a closer examination of this household revealed a sad reality: Mandlenkosi’s home was a picturesque version of a rural slum. The children spent their days doing household chores, chopping firewood and collecting water twice daily from the local stream half a kilometre away. Their diet, except on special occasions, was confined to mealie meal and they often faced hunger.</p>
<p>As the children matured and moved away, Makhoba suffered increasingly poor health. Unable to continue working at a local store, the lack of food intensified. As he drifted into the long autumn of his life, suffering with Parkinson’s disease, the family had become too poor to farm their land. The hopes of yesteryear, of a new start and a new, better society, had become “a dream”.</p>
<p>The inequality in life-chances that shaped Mandlenkosi’s life continues as his children are part of the growing millions of marginalised workers eking out an existence in the rural slums and informal settlements of our urban areas.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, today Cosatu is largely a home for relatively privileged public sector workers, a third of whom have post high school qualifications and <a href="https://witspress.co.za/catalogue/labour-beyond-cosatu/">40% have professional jobs</a>. Production in the foundry where Makhoba once worked is now largely robotised. </p>
<p>With many of the manual jobs disappearing, it is farewell to the traditional labouring man as the precarious worker of the digital age is ushered in.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144528/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Edward Webster receives funding from the Ford Foundation and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. He is affiliated to the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Stewart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The life story of Mandlenkosi Makhoba represents the losers in the new South Africa, showing how inequality is produced and reproduced generationally.Paul Stewart, Associate Professor in Sociology, University of ZululandEdward Webster, Distinguished Reserach Professor, Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1425632020-07-15T07:20:09Z2020-07-15T07:20:09ZWe could lose $30 billion in weeks from cyberwar. But the real loss is the erosion of public trust<p>The Australian Cyber Security Growth Network (AustCyber) on Monday released a <a href="https://www.austcyber.com/resource/digitaltrustreport2020">report</a> modelling the potential impact of cyberattacks and sustained digital outages on Australia.</p>
<p>The Digital Trust Report’s modelling suggests four weeks of partial “digital disruption” could displace up to 163,000 jobs and <a href="https://www.austcyber.com/file-download/download/public/926">damage</a> the economy to the tune of A$30 billion. </p>
<p>According to AustCyber’s report, that’s about 1.5% of our gross domestic product, or three-quarters of our annual defence budget.</p>
<p>The report also emphasises the devastating impacts digital disruption can have on public trust.</p>
<h2>The monetary costs of cyber disruption</h2>
<p>The report includes economic modelling by consultants <a href="https://synergygroup.net.au/">Synergy Group</a> which looked at the general public’s digital activity, as well as revenue from some indicative sectors including online retail, digital health, space, solar, and cybersecurity. </p>
<p>The modelling estimates a one-week disruption to digital activity would cost the economy A$1.2 billion directly, and A$5 billion including indirect impact. A four-week disruption could cost A$7.3 billion directly, and A$30 billion in total.</p>
<p>In this context, disruption means a significant drop in digital activity including any resulting loss of public confidence. This could be due to cyberattacks, a natural disaster or other large accident. </p>
<p>The report’s modelling is based on current levels of digital activity. As Australia continues to move online, risks and impacts will grow. For example, online sales currently account for 9.6% of Australian retail spending, but on current trends this is expected to grow to 25% within a decade. </p>
<p>The report also notes increasing digital dependency across Australia’s sectors. Some have travelled so far down the digital path, they wouldn’t be able to “step back” if faced with serious digital interruption.</p>
<p>This is especially true for the financial sector. Referring to the Reserve Bank of Australia, the report states digital transformation “is occurring to a point that commerce without digital technologies has become nearly impossible”.</p>
<h2>An attack on trust</h2>
<p>That said, it could be argued the risks of cyber failure are much more insidious and far-reaching than impact on revenue alone. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-is-under-sustained-cyber-attack-warns-the-government-whats-going-on-and-what-should-businesses-do-141119">recent wave of cyberattacks</a> announced by the prime minister, like most cyberattacks, <a href="https://www.cyber.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-06/ACSC-Advisory-2020-008-Copy-Paste-Compromises.pdf">worked by abusing trust</a>. They relied heavily on <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-70-percent-of-all-security-bugs-are-memory-safety-issues/">memory corruption</a> attacks (where programmers trust users) and spear phishing attacks (where users trust other people). </p>
<p>By exploiting trust, attackers also <em>undermine</em> trust. <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/public-services-are-too-hard-to-use-online-and-aren-t-trusted-20200218-p541wa">The Australian Financial Review</a> reported a survey of 1,600 digital service users and 20 government leaders across Australia and New Zealand. Two-thirds said a poor customer experience <a href="https://www.consultancy.com.au/news/1905/the-customer-experience-imperative-for-trust-in-governments">damaged</a> their trust and confidence in government.</p>
<p>Trust is needed for societies to work. As social psychologist Robert Cialdini <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Influence-Practice-Robert-B-Cialdini/dp/0205609996">observes</a>, the universal human <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/724ecialdiniwiki/chapter-1-weapons-of-influence/chapter-2-reciprocation">drive to reciprocate</a> allows us to do good now and trust that we will be repaid in the future.</p>
<p>Moreover, a lack of trust is what leads to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa75BfmXQH4">banks runs</a> (when large numbers of customers withdraw deposits due to solvency fears), <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/healthcoronavirus-australia-supermarkets/australia-gets-second-wave-of-toilet-paper-hoarding-idUSL4N2E312T">hoarding toilet paper</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-blame-social-media-for-conspiracy-theories-they-would-still-flourish-without-it-138635">conspiracy theories</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/four-experts-investigate-how-the-5g-coronavirus-conspiracy-theory-began-139137">Four experts investigate how the 5G coronavirus conspiracy theory began</a>
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<h2>Foreign influence potential</h2>
<p>Modern cyberwar involves information warfare and influence operations that have an effect beyond immediate financial impact. While not known, it’s possible the <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-is-under-sustained-cyber-attack-warns-the-government-whats-going-on-and-what-should-businesses-do-141119">recent cyberattacks</a> on Australia also had a non-financial purpose. </p>
<p>If Australians start believing the country’s digital infrastructure can’t be trusted, faith in wider institutions may be damaged, too. We could see the emergence of the “fake news” narrative against media and politicians. Or we could see electronic <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/14/we-need-prepare-possibility-trump-rejecting-election-results/">election outcomes come into question</a>. </p>
<p>These are just some examples of how an attack on digital infrastructure can be an attack on society itself. And all this may be in the interests of a foreign nation state wanting to unravel Australian society from within.</p>
<h2>The need to prepare and learn from the past</h2>
<p>In 2001, US leaders and policy makers ran a simulation exercise called <a href="https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-work/events-archive/2001_dark-winter/about.html">Dark Winter</a>, modelling what might happen if the nation were to suffer a pandemic as an act of bio-terror. The timing was remarkable, coming shortly before 9/11 and the notorious <a href="https://www.npr.org/2011/02/15/93170200/timeline-how-the-anthrax-terror-unfolded">anthrax attacks</a>. </p>
<p>But despite the prophetic modelling, the US neglected to properly prepare for the COVID-19 crisis. In fact, in 2018 the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office of Preparedness and Response cancelled (with dreadful timing) a project that could have enabled the US to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/federal-government-spent-millions-to-ramp-up-mask-readiness-but-that-isnt-helping-now/2020/04/03/d62dda5c-74fa-11ea-a9bd-9f8b593300d0_story.html">generate 1.5 million N95 masks per day</a>. </p>
<p>Australia should learn from the US’s failures. AustCyber’s report says Australia’s “cyberattacks are increasing in number and severity over time”. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to flatten this curve, so what matters is how we prepare and respond to future attacks.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-cybersecurity-isnt-just-under-attack-from-foreign-states-there-are-holes-in-the-governments-approach-137403">Our cybersecurity isn't just under attack from foreign states. There are holes in the government's approach</a>
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<p>We must continue to build our national cyber capability, increase cyber awareness and training at all levels of society, ensure we have sovereign capability (rather than depending on others for critical infrastructure) and have contingency plans for when things do go wrong. </p>
<p>Perhaps even if voting becomes fully electronic one day, just in case of lost WiFi (or a blackout), it would be prudent to keep some good old fashioned pencils and paper ballots in the cupboard. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1282811970756857856"}"></div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142563/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Buckland does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Beyond the obvious risk of financial loss, cyberattacks can weaken our trust in digital infrastructure – and by extension, our trust in public institutions, too.Richard Buckland, Professor in Computer Security, Cybercrime, and Cyberwar, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1284682020-01-22T03:03:15Z2020-01-22T03:03:15ZDoes social media make us more or less lonely? Depends on how you use it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311264/original/file-20200121-117949-ted3ra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=71%2C80%2C5874%2C3853&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research by Relationships Australia released in 2018 revealed one in six Australians experience emotional loneliness, which means they lack meaningful relationships in their lives. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">SHUTTERSTOCK</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Humans are <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/471264/iot-number-of-connected-devices-worldwide/">more connected to each other than ever</a>, thanks to smartphones, the web and social media. At the same time, loneliness is a huge and growing social problem.</p>
<p>Why is this so? Research shows social media use alone can’t cure loneliness – but it can be a tool to build and strengthen our genuine connections with others, which are important for a happy life. </p>
<p>To understand why this is the case, we need to understand more about loneliness, its harmful impact, and what this has to do with social media. </p>
<h2>The scale of loneliness</h2>
<p>There is great concern about <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/letter/articles/vh-letter-47-loneliness">a loneliness epidemic</a> in Australia. In the 2018 Australian Loneliness Report, more than one-quarter of survey participants <a href="https://psychweek.org.au/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Psychology-Week-2018-Australian-Loneliness-Report.pdf">reported feeling lonely</a> three or more days a week.</p>
<p>Studies have linked loneliness to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25910392">early mortality</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21044327">increased cardio-vascular disease</a>, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8930743_Popularity_Friendship_Quantity_and_Friendship_Quality_Interactive_Influences_on_Children's_Loneliness_and_Depression">poor mental health and depression</a>, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0044118X03261435">suicide</a>, and increased <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31119308">social and health care costs</a>.</p>
<p>But how does this relate to social media?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-be-a-healthy-user-of-social-media-70211">How to be a healthy user of social media</a>
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<p>More and more Australians are becoming physically isolated. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1440783316674358?journalCode=josb">My previous research</a> demonstrated that face-to-face contact in Australia is declining, and this is accompanied by <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1440783316674358?journalCode=josb">a rise in technology-enabled communication</a>. </p>
<p>Enter social media, which for many is serving as a replacement for physical connection. Social media influences nearly all relationships now. </p>
<h2>Navigating the physical/digital interface</h2>
<p>While there is evidence of more loneliness among heavy social media users, there is also evidence suggesting <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1745691617713052">social media use decreases loneliness among highly social people</a>. </p>
<p>How do we explain such apparent contradictions, wherein both the most and least lonely people are heavy social media users? </p>
<p>Research <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1745691617713052">reveals</a> social media is most effective in tackling loneliness when it is used to enhance existing relationships, or forge new meaningful connections. On the other hand, it is counterproductive if used as a substitute for real-life social interaction. </p>
<p>Thus, it is not social media itself, but the way we integrate it into our existing lives which impacts loneliness. </p>
<h2>I wandered lonely in the cloud</h2>
<p>While social media’s implications for loneliness can be positive, they can also be contradictory. </p>
<p>Tech-industry enthusiasts highlight social media’s benefits, such as how it offers easy, algorithimically-enhanced connection to anyone, anywhere in the world, at any time. But this argument often ignores the <em>quality</em> of these connections. </p>
<p>Psychologist Robert Weiss makes a distinction between <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Loneliness_the_Experience_of_Emotional_a.html?id=KuibQgAACAAJ&redir_esc=y">“social loneliness”</a> – a lack of contact with others – and <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Loneliness_the_Experience_of_Emotional_a.html?id=KuibQgAACAAJ&redir_esc=y">“emotional loneliness”</a>, which can persist regardless of how many “connections” you have, especially if they do not provide support, affirm identity and create feelings of belonging. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-month-at-sea-with-no-technology-taught-me-how-to-steal-my-life-back-from-my-phone-127501">A month at sea with no technology taught me how to steal my life back from my phone</a>
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<p>Without close, physical connections, shallow virtual friendships can do little to alleviate emotional loneliness. And there is reason to think many online connections are just that. </p>
<p>Evidence from past literature has <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1745691617713052">associated heavy social media use with increased loneliness</a>. This may be because online spaces are often oriented to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563219303073">performance, status, exaggerating favourable qualities</a> (such as by posting only “happy” content and likes), and frowning on expressions of loneliness.</p>
<p>On the other hand, social media plays a vital role in helping us stay connected with friends over long distances, and organise catch-ups. Video conferencing can facilitate “meetings” when physically meeting is impractical.</p>
<p>Platforms like Facebook and Instagram can be used to engage with new people who may turn into real friends later on. Similarly, sites like <a href="https://www.meetup.com/">Meetup</a> can help us find local groups of people whose interests and activities align with our own.</p>
<p>And while face-to-face contact remains the best way to help reduce loneliness, help can sometimes be found through online support groups.</p>
<h2>Why so lonely?</h2>
<p>There are several likely reasons for our great physical disconnection and loneliness.</p>
<p>We’ve replaced the 20th century idea of stable, permanent careers spanning decades with flexible employment and gig work. This prompts regular relocation for work, which results in disconnection from <a href="http://rpatulny.com/2017/04/06/flexible-work-and-gender-inequities-in-work-and-care-lets-fix-the-incentives/">family and friends</a>. </p>
<p>The way we build <a href="http://rpatulny.com/2017/04/20/the-mcmansion-the-small-idea-with-the-big-cost/">McMansions</a> (large, multi-room houses) and <a href="http://rpatulny.com/2017/05/05/australias-east-coast-exopolis-the-post-sustainable-sprawl/">sprawl our suburbs</a> is often antisocial, with little thought given to developing <a href="http://rpatulny.com/2017/05/27/utopia-can-we-plan-future-cities-for-tomorrows-families/">vibrant, walkable social centres</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/size-does-matter-australias-addiction-to-big-houses-is-blowing-the-energy-budget-70271">Size does matter: Australia's addiction to big houses is blowing the energy budget</a>
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<p>Single-person households are <a href="https://mspgh.unimelb.edu.au/ageing-industry-network/newsletter-issue-12-may-2019/the-challenge-of-social-isolation-and-loneliness">expected to increase</a> from about 2.1 million in 2011 to almost 3.4 million in 2036. </p>
<p>All of the above means the way we <em>manage</em> loneliness is changing. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.routledge.com/Emotions-in-Late-Modernity-1st-Edition/Patulny-Bellocchi-Olson-Khorana-McKenzie-Peterie/p/book/9780815354321">In our book</a>, my co-authors and I argue people manage their feelings differently than in the past. Living far from friends and family, isolated individuals often deal with negative emotions alone, through therapy, or through connecting online with whoever may be available.</p>
<p>Social media use is pervasive, so the least we can do is bend it in a way that facilitates our real-life need to belong. </p>
<p>It is a tool that should work for us, not the other way around. Perhaps, once we achieve this, we can expect to live in a world that is a bit less lonely.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128468/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roger Patulny does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There is heavy social media use among both the most lonely and least lonely people. So what exactly is the relationship between social media use and loneliness?Roger Patulny, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1281252019-12-16T19:02:37Z2019-12-16T19:02:37ZFor a greener future, we must accept there’s nothing inherently sustainable about going digital<p>Digital technologies are often put forward as a solution to environmental dilemmas.</p>
<p>The spread of the internet came with claims of a huge reduction in printing, and by replacing paper with bytes, we thought we’d reduce our negative environmental impact </p>
<p>But this early promise of solving environmental problems may not be delivering because digital devices, like most technologies, also have environmental impacts. </p>
<p>Devices are powered by electricity – often produced in coal-fired plants – and are manufactured from materials such as metals, glass and plastics. These materials also have to be mined, made or recycled.</p>
<p>So, while digital technologies can facilitate environmental benefits, we shouldn’t assume they always do. <a href="https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030283063">My research</a> published this year shows much more needs to be done to debunk such myths. </p>
<h2>Measuring digital eco-footprints</h2>
<p>It’s difficult to measure the environmental impacts of our digital lives, partly because the digital ecosystems that facilitate the internet are complex. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/sustainable-shopping-the-eco-friendly-guide-to-online-christmas-shopping-88252">Sustainable Shopping: the eco-friendly guide to online Christmas shopping</a>
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<p>The United Nations Environment Assembly defines a <a href="https://un-spbf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Digital-Ecosystem-final-2.pdf">digital ecosystem</a> as “a complex distributed network or interconnected socio-technological system”. </p>
<p>Simply, digital ecosystems are the result of humans, digital infrastructure and devices interacting with one another. They rely on energy consumption at multiple scales. </p>
<p>The term “digital ecosystem” relates to ecological thinking, specifically in terms of how human-technological systems work. </p>
<p>However, there’s nothing <em>inherently</em> environmentally sustainable about digital ecosystems. </p>
<p>It’s worthwhile considering digital ecosystems’ environmental impacts as they grow.</p>
<p>In 2017, it was reported in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-06610-y">Nature</a> that internet traffic (to and from data centres) was increasing at an exponential rate. At that stage, it had reached 1.1 zettabytes (a zettabyte equals one trillion gigabytes). </p>
<p>As our digital use continues, so do our carbon emissions. </p>
<h2>Dangers of data centres</h2>
<p>Data centres majorly contribute to the carbon emissions of digital ecosystems. They are basically factories that store, backup and recover our data. </p>
<p>In April last year, it was estimated data centres around the world used more than 2% of the world’s electricity, and generated the <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/energy-hogs-can-huge-data-centers-be-made-more-efficient">same amount of carbon emissions</a> as the global airline industry (in terms of fuel use). </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sustainable-shopping-is-it-possible-to-fly-sustainably-88636">Sustainable shopping: is it possible to fly sustainably?</a>
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<p>While there is debate about the impact of flying on climate change, we’re less likely to evaluate our digital lives the same way. </p>
<p>According to British Open University <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/26/trouble-with-bitcoin-big-data-huge-energy-bill">Professor John Naughton</a>, data centres make up about 50% of all energy consumed by digital ecosystems. Personal devices use another 34%, and the industries responsible for manufacturing them use 16%.</p>
<p>Tech giants <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/9/17216656/apple-renewable-energy-worldwide-climate-change">such as Apple</a> <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/4/17197342/google-renewable-energy-climate-change">and Google</a> have committed to 100% renewable targets, but they’re just one part of our giant digital ecosystem. </p>
<p>Also, on many occasions, they rely on carbon offsets to achieve this. Offsets involve people and organisations <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/sep/16/carbon-offset-projects-carbon-emissions">investing in environmental projects</a> to balance their carbon emissions from other activities. For instance, people can buy carbon offsets when booking flights. </p>
<p>Offsets have been critiqued for not effectively reducing the carbon footprints of wealthy people, while absolving guilt from continued consumption. </p>
<h2>A carbon-filled road ahead</h2>
<p>With more digital technologies emerging, the environmental impacts of digital ecosystems are probably going to increase. </p>
<p>Apart from the obvious <a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-could-be-a-force-for-good-but-were-currently-heading-for-a-darker-future-124941">social and economic impacts</a>, artificial intelligence’s (AI) environmental implications should be seriously considered. </p>
<p><a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1906.02243.pdf">A paper published in June</a> by University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers revealed training a large AI machine could produce five times as much carbon as what one car (including fuel) emits over a person’s lifetime, on average. </p>
<p>Also, this figure only relates to training a large AI machine. There are various other ways these machines suck energy.</p>
<p>Similarly, bitcoin mining (an application of blockchain) continues to consume large amounts of energy, and is increasing on a global scale. According to the <a href="https://www.iea.org/newsroom/news/2019/july/bitcoin-energy-use-mined-the-gap.html">International Energy Agency</a>, bitcoin mining uses more energy than some countries, including Austria and Colombia.</p>
<h2>Putting the ‘eco’ back in digital ecosystem</h2>
<p>The digital ecosystem that supports our devices includes storage systems and networks that aren’t in our homes or workplaces, such as “the cloud”. But we should still take responsibility for the impact of such systems.</p>
<p>Satellites are in space. Wires run beneath footpaths, roads and oceans. </p>
<p>All the while, the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2014/05/13/simple-explanation-internet-things-that-anyone-can-understand/">Internet of Things</a> is creeping into old technologies and transforming how we use them. These underground and distant aspects of digital ecosystems may partly explain why the growing environmental impacts of digital are sidelined. </p>
<p>There are some ways people can find out more about responsible tech options. <a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/planet4-international-stateless/2017/01/35f0ac1a-clickclean2016-hires.pdf">A 2017 guide</a> by Greenpeace rated digital tech companies on their green credentials. It assessed a range of corporations, including some managing digital platforms, and others hosting data centres. </p>
<p>But while the guide is useful, it’s also limited by a lack of transparency, because corporations aren’t obliged to share information on how much energy is needed or supplied for their data centres. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/high-tech-consumerism-a-global-catastrophe-happening-on-our-watch-43476">High-tech consumerism, a global catastrophe happening on our watch</a>
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<h2>Holding big tech accountable</h2>
<p>The responsibility to make our digital lives more sustainable shouldn’t lie solely with individuals. </p>
<p>Governments should provide a regulatory environment that demands greater transparency on how digital corporations use energy. And holding these corporations accountable should include reporting on whether they are improving the sustainability of their practices.</p>
<p>One immediate step could be for corporations that produce digital devices to move away from planned obsolescence. One example of this is when companies <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/oct/24/apple-samsung-fined-for-slowing-down-phones">including Apple and Samsung</a> manufacture smartphones that are not designed to last. </p>
<p>Digital sustainability is a useful way to frame how digital technologies affect our environmental world. </p>
<p>We need to acknowledge that technology isn’t just a source of environmental solutions, but also has the potential for negative environmental impact. </p>
<p>Only then can we start to effectively transition to a more sustainable future that also includes digital technologies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128125/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica McLean does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Last year, it was estimated data centres around the world generated the same amount of carbon emissions as created by the global airline industry’s fuel usage.Jessica McLean, Senior Lecturer in Geography, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1156372019-05-05T07:35:13Z2019-05-05T07:35:13ZSudanese women are using social media to trade – and break gender barriers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/270718/original/file-20190424-121241-xuewjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Online activities enable Sudan's women to work at home without jeopardising social expectations</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">UfaBizPhoto/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-48027451/sudan-protests-the-women-driving-change">The role of women</a> in the recent protests in Sudan has attracted a great deal of attention. This is because women who try to have a prominent public role in the country face <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41931294#metadata_info_tab_contents">criticism</a> and can be accused of neglecting their family duties. This was particularly true after the introduction of Sharia law and Sudan’s <a href="https://redress.org/news/public-order-laws-in-sudan-continue-to-be-used-to-punish-and-control-women/act">public order laws</a> in 1983. These laws shaped gender norms and defined the position of women in Sudanese society.</p>
<p>But the rise of social media – and the use of smartphones – <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/parenting4digitalfuture/2015/11/04/the-world-in-your-hands-smartphones-and-womens-connectivity-in-sudan/">has enabled women</a> to transcend these traditional gender norms and challenge the boundaries between different spaces. </p>
<p>Four years ago I started <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/africa/article/navigating-immobility-female-entrepreneurship-and-social-media-in-khartoum/DFAD6F26F1B8426879F3774BA9B1CDDB">research</a> in Sudan’s capital Khartoum on a group of 45 Sudanese women entrepreneurs called Facebook traders – <em>tajirat al-Facebook</em>. The women used smartphones to trade goods such as cosmetics, garments, traditional Sudanese dresses, fashion accessories and perfumes from their homes. </p>
<p>My research showed that their online activities enabled them to work at home without jeopardising social expectations based on class, gender and religion. </p>
<p>Facebook and WhatsApp also allowed them to create spaces where they could socially interact exclusively with other women and contribute to broader political debates, like discussions around the recent uprising. Many Facebook traders posted flags and other iconic images from the uprising on their commercial adverts. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272189/original/file-20190502-103075-1b21haj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272189/original/file-20190502-103075-1b21haj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=738&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272189/original/file-20190502-103075-1b21haj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=738&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272189/original/file-20190502-103075-1b21haj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=738&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272189/original/file-20190502-103075-1b21haj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272189/original/file-20190502-103075-1b21haj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272189/original/file-20190502-103075-1b21haj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=927&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Facebook</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Business intertwined with political engagement and contributed to the protest from people’s living rooms. </p>
<p>This shows the potential that online activities by Sudan’s Facebook traders have helped women navigate restrictive environments. As one of the women said: “<em>ligayt nafsi fi-l-shughul</em>” – they found themselves in the business and, due to the business, were able to live their own lives. </p>
<h2>Facebook traders</h2>
<p>Khartoum’s Facebook traders are Sudanese women who are generally economically better-off because their husbands – or other male relatives – have well-paid jobs. They are well-educated and have enjoyed higher education opportunities at prestigious universities in Sudan and abroad. </p>
<p>But they ended their professional ambitions or careers when they got married and had children. Several women said that their husbands discouraged them from working outside the home. The husbands considered it their duty to financially support the family and were concerned about their own reputations. They were also concerned about their wives’ attention being taken away from the house and children. </p>
<p>For most, there was initially no direct economic motive to sell products. Several women started their online activities out of boredom and to escape the social isolation of being confined to the house. However, this has changed significantly. Because of the country’s economic downturn and inflation, their activities are now an important “hidden” addition to the household budget.</p>
<p>Online trade, through social media, meant the women could combine work with family, business and fun. It created opportunities for them to distract themselves from some of the constraints they faced as <em>rabbat bayt</em> (housewives), but also to be more actively engaged in city life in general. </p>
<p>Working from home gave the Facebook traders freedom. Relying on mobile phones, delivery boys, digital connectivity and online platforms, they navigated public life from the intimate sphere of the home. Doing business allowed the buyer and seller to enter into more private conversations in which daily experiences, private issues and emotions were exchanged.</p>
<p>Men were not allowed to participate in these all-female platforms. Some traders even indicated that they specifically switched from open pages to closed groups to avoid the involvement and control of men. </p>
<p>This meant that Facebook traders could organise their economic activities to fit in with the gender segregation codes of the Islamist project, yet also created spaces to make extra money in times of economic hardship.</p>
<p>My research shows that communications technologies have paved the way for a new kind of female entrepreneur who can pursue commercial goals of profit that are combined with social engagement.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115637/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Griet Steel currently works as an assistant professor at Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Planning. She received funding from the Flanders Research Foundation (FWO G.A005.14N) for the fieldwork for this research. </span></em></p>Women in Sudan have been resisting the controls placed on them for some time - by using their smart phones and social media to trade.Griet Steel, Assistant Professor , Utrecht UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1078362018-12-03T22:06:08Z2018-12-03T22:06:08ZThe promise of the “learn to code” movement<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248557/original/file-20181203-194953-16inz5r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Truly learning to code involves more than episodic experiences. Students should ideally develop a 'coding mindset.'</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/kwzWjTnDPLk">Nesa by makers/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This week, educators, students and the public around the world are participating in <a href="https://csedweek.org/">Computer Science Education Week</a> by organizing and leading one-hour coding tutorials. </p>
<p>By the start of the week, more than <a href="https://hourofcode.com/ca/events/all/ca">2,700 Canadian coding events</a> had been registered with <a href="https://code.org">Code.org</a>, a not-for-profit organization in the United States that promotes the week.
This annual event incorporates the spirit of the “learn to code” movement; it aims to attract interest and engage students from primary grades to senior secondary levels in developing coding skills. </p>
<p><a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/coding-21st-century-skill">Governments</a>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2017/10/18/considering-a-new-job-here-are-10-industries-in-need-of-programmers/#3c0905e65fe3">corporations</a>, <a href="https://k12cs.org">associations in the computer science field</a> and <a href="https://code.org/quotes">trend-setters</a> all assert that learning to code will play a key role in the future. In this context, learning to code is often presented as a panacea to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/careers/careers-blog/2015/apr/14/coding-isnt-just-for-the-next-zuckerberg-it-can-help-dentists-too">job market problems</a> of the 21st century. </p>
<p>But for educators, there are multiple factors to consider when deciding what coding skills and which approaches to promote. How should they present what coding offers? </p>
<h2>Disillusioned workforce</h2>
<p>We take particular interest in this topic. Together we combine years of training in computer science, educational technology and educational psychology; our research interest is to develop a teaching and learning model for introducing down-to-earth computer programming concepts and logic. </p>
<p>We want research in computer science education to suit the needs and characteristics of 21st-century learners.
Otherwise, the cost will be an ill-prepared and disillusioned workforce. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248112/original/file-20181130-194928-1h186mt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248112/original/file-20181130-194928-1h186mt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248112/original/file-20181130-194928-1h186mt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248112/original/file-20181130-194928-1h186mt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248112/original/file-20181130-194928-1h186mt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248112/original/file-20181130-194928-1h186mt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/248112/original/file-20181130-194928-1h186mt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The learn-to-code movement is promising and represents an answer to preparing learners for a digital future. Nonetheless, educators have a responsibility to ensure computer science education fully suits the needs and characteristics of 21st-century learners.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelpollak/14005409228">Michael Pollak/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why code?</h2>
<p>In an era of an insecure job market, when <a href="http://reports.weforum.org/future-of-jobs-2018/workforce-trends-and-strategies-for-the-fourth-industrial-revolution/?doing_wp_cron=1543552438.9746980667114257812500">redundant professions are projected to be eliminated while new ones arise</a>, learning to code gives hope to our collective imagination. </p>
<p>It creates the promise of alternative sources of income as well as opportunities for self-employment given the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2018/08/15/the-25-highest-paying-jobs-in-america-in-2018/#30f747d55fd5">demand of coding skills in a variety of industries</a>.</p>
<p>Learning to code is not just a younger-generation trend. For example, <a href="https://scratch.mit.edu">Scratch</a> is a <a href="https://scratch.mit.edu/statistics/">popular</a> tool used <a href="http://ims.mii.lt/ims/konferenciju_medziaga/ICER'10/docs/p69.pdf">in and outside of classrooms</a> to create, share and remix games. It allows intergenerational learning where youth, adults and seniors can <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15350770.2018.1404855">create game prototypes</a>. </p>
<p>Coding can be used to automate tasks, solve complex problems, forecast, or simulate events that did not happen yet. A trendy area of interest for businesses is <a href="https://www.morningfuture.com/en/article/2018/02/21/data-analyst-data-scientist-big-data-work/235/">data analytics</a>, a field involving
making sense of massive amounts of data.</p>
<p>When we live in a digital world, many problems we encounter with solving technical computer issues, controlling devices, or managing online brands can be solved with coding. </p>
<p>For a long time, researchers have associated coding with the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/00346543060001065">development of problem-solving skills</a>.
Jeannette Wing coined the term <a href="http://www.cs.cmu.edu/%7E./15110-s13/Wing06-ct.pdf">computational thinking</a> to denote attitudes and skills, including problem-solving and analyzing systems, that can be drawn from fundamental concepts of computer science. </p>
<p>This notion of computational thinking presented an opportunity for educators to explore how coding could be used as a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563214004634?via%3Dihub">means for developing other relevant skills, such as problem-solving, creative thinking and critical judgement</a>.</p>
<h2>Believe the hype?</h2>
<p>In the U.S., jobs for computer programmers are <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/computer-programmers.htm#tab-6">projected to decrease</a> because contracts are being outsourced. But the hype around coding is still increasing. </p>
<p>Due to this gap, critics suggest that the movement will potentially <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/21/coding-education-teaching-silicon-valley-wages">create a cheaper workforce</a>. Once everyone learns to code, the market will become overcrowded and employers will not need to offer a competitive salary.</p>
<p>While participating in a coding event may suggest that learning to code is easy, the truth is that episodic experience does not translate to coding skills. In making learning to code attractive, there is a danger of <a href="https://www.cs.utexas.edu/%7EEWD/transcriptions/EWD10xx/EWD1036.html">misrepresenting computer programming by oversimplifying concepts</a>. To develop as a coder requires effort, persistence and patience. </p>
<p>Computer science researcher Leon Winslow estimated in 1996 that it <a href="https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=234872">takes approximately 10 years to turn a novice into an expert coder</a>. Researchers have been debating the best way to teach introductory computer programming. There is <a href="https://www.seas.upenn.edu/%7Eeas285/Readings/Pears_SurveyTeachingIntroProgramming.pdf">no consensus yet on the answer</a>.</p>
<p>Further, how can we ensure that what kids learn today will be aligned with the jobs and needs of the future? We can only speculate.</p>
<h2>Fourth industrial revolution</h2>
<p>Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, highlights that with the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/about/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-by-klaus-schwab">emergence of the fourth industrial revolution</a>, information and the ability to manipulate it will be essential for survival in a future workforce. </p>
<p>We do know information management and manipulation will be key to creating and maintaining physical, digital and biological systems that will be part of our homes and workplaces. We know we have complex problems to solve. </p>
<p>Coding can help by processing raw observations into concrete simulations: that means using data from the past and present to create model scenarios to forecast the future. </p>
<p>Such simulations could be used to fight <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/420595/how-coders-can-help-fight-climate-change/">climate change</a>, to <a href="https://www.geotab.com/blog/reduce-traffic-congestion/">reduce traffic</a> and even to <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/how-coders-are-fighting-bias-in-facial-recognition-software/">fight racial bias</a> in social media. </p>
<p>Creativity and critical thinking will also be fundamental, <a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs">as these skills will probably be one of the only ways to compete with artificial intelligence</a>. </p>
<p>Workers will require swift decision-making skills in an accelerated work environment requiring flexibility and adaptability. </p>
<p>This scenario does not preclude the capacity to create and understand code. But the requirements are more complex.
A key in addressing future challenges through coding lies in assessing opportunities to complement the learn to code movement. </p>
<h2>A coding mindset</h2>
<p>We want to propose that beginner coders could start with an attractive and engaging activity, but should also explicitly develop what could be called “the coding mindset.” </p>
<p>This mindset represents a gradual development of computer programming knowledge and strategies, but also includes analyzing systems, solving problems, persisting in front of errors, being resourceful and collaborating.</p>
<p>To teach the coding mindset, educators need to include more explicit foundational computer science concepts and competencies, such as <a href="https://research.hackerrank.com/developer-skills/2018/">creating algorithms to solve problems, debugging existing programs, and designing systems to accomplish new tasks or gather data</a>. </p>
<p>Learning to code should not be intimidating. But it should fulfil promises, not simply hype mythic dreams.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107836/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ann-Louise Davidson receives funding from SSHRC and Concordia University</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ivan Ruby does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Learning to code is often presented as a solution to job market problems of the 21st century, but are students really learning the competencies they will need?Ivan Ruby, Ph.D. Student, Concordia UniversityAnn-Louise Davidson, Concordia University Research Chair, Maker culture; Associate Professor, Educational Technology, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/979072018-06-19T12:14:17Z2018-06-19T12:14:17ZWorld Cup VAR: technology is transforming the beautiful game<p>You may have noticed something different in the 2018 World Cup. <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/17/sport/fifa-world-cup-video-assistant-referees-spt/index.html">For the first time ever</a>, the Virtual Assistant Referee (VAR) system is being used to help make decisions during games. And already we are seeing it cause controversy. </p>
<p>It’s no surprise that VAR has caused debate, considering the furor that surrounded VAR in the English FA Cup and the Bundesliga. But although VAR receives huge attention, we should not forget that it is only the most visible example of the digitalisation of football, where data and technology is used to improve performance and decision-making. And digitisation is already transforming the game of football. But it is also leading many people to fear that the game is changing too fast and leaving fans behind.</p>
<h2>Decision making on the field?</h2>
<p>VAR is a form of technology that is supposed to help referees make near-accurate decisions. As the game progresses, assistant referees away from the stadium watch instant replays of incidents. Over wireless headsets, they communicate with the referee, advising them on any <a href="https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/var-world-cup-2018-what-how-which-decisions-make/">game-changing incident</a>. VAR is supposed to only assist referees in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44208431">four main areas</a>: goals, penalties, red cards and mistaken identity. But ultimately, the referee still has the final decision.</p>
<p>In 2017, VAR was introduced into the FA Cup for the first time. It was quickly blamed for ruining “the beautiful game”, by <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/fa-league-cups/var-danny-rose-tottenham-rochdale-nonsense-controversial-video-assistant-referee-a8234481.html">players</a> and <a href="http://www.skysports.com/football/news/13865/11271418/mauricio-pochettino-worries-var-could-kill-emotion-in-football-and-slams-embarrassing-first-half">managers</a> alike. Specific matches, especially between Tottenham and Rochdale in the FA Cup quarter final, caused particular ire after a Tottenham goal was reversed by VAR for reasons that were unclear.</p>
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</figure>
<p>There were remarkable scenes in the Bundesliga also. At half time, during a game between <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/43791511">Mainz 05 and SC Freiburg</a>, the teams were ordered back onto the pitch so that a retrospective penalty could be given after a VAR decision. Fans and players alike were less than happy.</p>
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<p>VAR has already made its mark on this year’s World Cup. Although it has received <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jun/18/video-assistant-referees-world-cup-">positive feedback</a> by some, it continues to cause intense debate. The technology was criticised for not <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jun/17/brazil-switzerland-world-cup-match-report">flagging a penalty</a> that allowed Switzerland to score against Brazil. And others criticised its role in the awarding of a <a href="http://www.goal.com/en/news/france-score-from-hugely-controversial-var-penalty/a7zb6wosxfgf1oq5dtq8tbsh2">French penalty against Australia</a>. Many England fans also questioned the technology when the referee <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44434276">did not award a penalty</a> after Harry Kane was wrestled to the ground by Tunisia’s Ferjani Sassi twice. Yet Tunisia scored on a penalty given for a similar foul.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Does this push not count as a foul?</span></figcaption>
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<h2>The ‘digitalisation’ of football</h2>
<p>Over the last few decades, it feels as if every aspect of life has been touched by “digitalisation”. And it has had a major impact in <a href="https://www.inc.com/aj-agrawal/3-ways-technology-has-changed-the-sports-industry.html">nearly every aspect of football</a>. Whether it be TV coverage, ticketing or, perhaps most revolutionary of all, its capacity for teams to analyse and measure performance.</p>
<p>The unprecedented amount of data and information, that is produced through the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/internet-of-things-1724">Internet of Things</a>, objects that are connected to the internet, enables better customised training. Teams can now <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/02/internet-of-things-sport-six-nations">collect enormous amount of data</a> on how individual sports men and women perform in training and in actual matches. Coaches can use this data to give incredibly personalised feedback. It can also enable managers to <a href="https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/iot-and-big-data-in-football">make tactical decisions</a> based upon live data, such as how far someone has run, where on the pitch they have been playing, and how many passes they have made, during the game. The future of football might be one in which teams are picked and play in a certain way “because of what the data says”. </p>
<p>Digitalisation is one of the major reasons why sport has transformed from a game played for entertainment and leisure into an industry worth over <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/darrenheitner/2015/10/19/sports-industry-to-reach-73-5-billion-by-2019/">1.5 trillion US$ globally</a>. You only need to look at <a href="https://www.grin.co/blog/the-rise-of-esports-influencers-and-their-impact-on-brands">eSports</a>, now a $400m industry, to see how digitalised sport has become. </p>
<p>But with VAR, many feel that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2018/jan/13/var-football-referees-emotional-game">digitalisation has gone a step too far</a> and made football feel unnatural. There is something strange when fans have to hold off celebrating a goal until they receive confirmation from VAR. Many sports, particularly football, have a rich and symbolic heritage which some see as being under threat due to digitalisation. And it is not going to stop, with the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/dem/monitor/sites/default/files/DTM_IoT%20-%20Reshaping%20the%20sport%20industry%20v1.pdf">Internet of Things</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44038006">virtual reality</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41029101">augmented reality</a> increasingly being used in training grounds.</p>
<p>VAR might be getting the decision right (or not) and digitalisation might be making football more lucrative while improving the performance of players and the tactics of managers. But such “progress” also threatens to hamper the excitement and the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2018/jan/13/var-football-referees-emotional-game">spirit of the game</a>. The fear is that as the relentless progress of technology continues, football might just lose the magic that made it so special.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>More evidence-based articles about football and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/world-cup-2018-11490?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">World Cup</a>:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-keep-footballers-fit-and-fuelled-for-a-world-cup-97803?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">How to keep footballers fit and fuelled for a World Cup</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/world-cup-all-the-ways-footballers-and-fans-can-be-hacked-97572?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">World Cup: All the ways footballers and fans can be hacked</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/does-spending-big-in-the-football-transfer-window-get-results-two-experts-crunch-the-data-89184?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">Does spending big in the football transfer window get results? Two experts crunch the data</a></em></p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97907/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Olatunbosun Olaniyan works with Dr. Benjamin Dehe, Prof. David Bamford and Dr. Sara Ward. He has no other interests or associations to disclose.</span></em></p>VAR is part of a wider trend of digitalisation that threatens to make football less natural and spontaneous.Olatunbosun Olaniyan, PhD Candidate in Business and Management Studies, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/974052018-05-30T11:56:04Z2018-05-30T11:56:04ZHow Britain can remain a soft power superpower after Brexit<p>Art is a universal language and, to my mind at least, British art and culture represents the best in class – it’s hard to imagine the global artistic and cultural landscape without the contribution of Britain. English remains the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/9781118411360.wbcla047">lingua franca of the world</a> and the medium through which a great deal of art and culture – especially literature and poetry – is expressed. </p>
<p>Intrinsically, art and culture can <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-art-and-culture-contribute-more-to-an-economy-than-growth-and-jobs-52224">contribute more to an economy</a> than growth and jobs. Although art and culture can be manifested in everything human – including the normal business of everyday life – their economic values are <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46mwr9">hard to quantify</a>. </p>
<p>But the economic benefits of art and culture are not the main reason they are important. Art and culture <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/apr/27/value-of-arts-and-culture-to-society-peter-bazalgette">play a civilising role</a> for society and the wider world. Art can be exciting, thought-provoking, elevating, reflective of society, romantic, and sometimes a <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/mary-mccarthy/street-art-as-a-tool-for-_b_15329722.html">tool for change</a>.</p>
<p>In 2015, Britain came first in the <a href="https://softpower30.com/">Portland Soft Power 30 index</a> and, in 2016, Britain came second after the US. France claimed the top spot in 2017, with Britain second and the US in third. Could it be that the Brexit vote and election of Donald Trump in 2016 diminished the soft power of the UK and US? </p>
<p>Perhaps. Certainly, the organisers of the index noted that were the UK to leave the EU “there would likely be a negative impact on global perceptions of Britain thereafter”. Forfeiting membership of a major multilateral organisation would also have a negative impact on objective measures of the UK’s soft power.</p>
<h2>Bond, Burberry and the Rolls Royce</h2>
<p>Portland names the sub-indices in its measurement of soft power as: digital, culture, enterprise, education, engagement and government. And this covers a considerable amount of ground. Other factors often taken into account include tech products, friendliness and luxury goods – brands such as Aston Martin, Burberry and Rolls Royce are unrivalled for projecting British values around the world. Also taken into account are foreign policy and “liveability”.</p>
<p>The UK’s rich civil society and charitable sector further contribute to British soft power. Major global organisations that contribute to development, disaster relief and human rights reforms such Oxfam, Save the Children, and Amnesty International – <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43163620">recent scandals notwithstanding</a> – are key components in the UK’s overall ability to contribute to the global good.</p>
<p>Major sporting institutions, such as <a href="https://www.premierleague.com/">the Premier League</a>, are a huge function in projecting soft power to the rest of the world. One thing that struck soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, was that the countries had already been occupied by Premier League clubs, whose <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/nicholas-mazzei/britain-should-be-a-soft-power_b_12575488.html">shirts were massive sellers in both</a>.</p>
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<h2>Virtual bridges to the world</h2>
<p>Art, culture and globalisation have one thing in common. They force us to think about the rest of the world, not just ourselves. We live in an era when it’s important to be sensitive not only to economic opportunities but also to social and political values nation to nation. One must have what the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-misunderstood-business-concept-in-china-2011-2?IR=T">Chinese call “guanxi”</a>. Guanxi (Chinese: 关系) is best described as the relationships that individuals cultivate with other individuals and is a central idea in Chinese society.</p>
<p>Given the all-encompassing ubiquity of the worldwide web (<a href="https://webfoundation.org/about/vision/history-of-the-web/">another British export to the world</a>) is it possible to use new technologies as <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-m-eger/if-art-is-a-universal-lan_b_806787.html">virtual bridges</a> across the vast distances separating cultures? In this respect, Britain not only has a larger digital economy than its European competitors, it <a href="https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2017/06/can-britains-digital-economy-global-leader/">leads the world in digital engagement</a>. In an age of digital growth of music, film and TV, Britain’s huge archive of material will allow it to not only extend Britain’s cultural reach, but also to make some much-needed export revenue.</p>
<p>The UK shouldn’t underestimate the ability of its artistic and cultural material to have a powerful diplomatic effect – in Top Gear’s 2011 Middle East special, the three presenters discovered that not only did Syria show Top Gear, but that they were also extremely popular there. </p>
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<p>Empirical <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tolu_Olarewaju2">evidence from</a> <a href="https://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/schools-and-departments/leicester-castle-business-school/the-first-global-conference-on-creating-value.aspx">my recent research suggests</a> that digital capabilities – such as social media participation – and country-level characteristics – such as art and culture – complement each other. </p>
<p>In other words, the impact of art and culture is greater when social media participation is higher. So a society such as Britain with its fantastic artistic and cultural material and a large digital economy should be able to spread this art and culture around the globe rapidly, and to greater effect. </p>
<p>Since immigration was one of the key issues during the Brexit debate and gave many people in the world a negative impression of Britain, it can only benefit the country to aggressively promote its artistic and cultural output – especially in ways that stress a sense of multicultural empathy. </p>
<p>Hopefully this will help to change the impression of Britain as a xenophobic society that is intolerant of immigrants. Britain is a soft power superpower and it needs to promote that fact.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97405/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tolu Olarewaju does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Britain has always been good at projecting its values to the world. It’s going to need that soft power once it leaves the EU.Tolu Olarewaju, Lecturer in Economics, Staffordshire UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/938632018-04-10T09:05:13Z2018-04-10T09:05:13Z‘Making Indonesia 4.0’ and supporting digital startups is good, but what about the small low-tech entrepreneurs?<p>As Indonesia pushes to create more digital startups and prepares the manufacturing industry to embrace digital technology, authorities should not forget micro-entrepreneurship. </p>
<p>These small household-based businesses account for the bulk of firms, employment and GDP in Indonesia. Micro-entrepreneurship provides a productive source of economic welfare for families, especially the poorest.</p>
<p>President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) recently launched an industry roadmap, “Making Indonesia 4.0”. This details the country’s vision to boost the manufacturing industry’s competitiveness through the use of technology. Prioritising the food and drink, automotive, textile, electronics and chemicals sectors, the government hopes the roadmap will help create 10 million new jobs by 2030.</p>
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<p>In November 2016, Jokowi presented a four-year economic plan to transform Indonesia into the largest Southeast Asian digital economy. Indonesia aims to create <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/11/11/indonesia-wants-to-lead-the-region-in-e-commerce.html">1,000 high-tech startups</a> by 2020, with a combined value of US$10 billion.</p>
<p>Investing in <a href="https://www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/Entrepreneurial-ecosystems.pdf">high-growth startups</a> offers a strong potential to create jobs, spur innovation, increase productivity and internationalise local businesses. Indonesia’s hope that these 1,000 high-tech startups become medium and large firms and locomotives for the economy might come true. The sector is attracting foreign direct investments, some originating from investors such as <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/10/08/global-firms-join-rush-to-bet-on-indonesia-as-next-start-up-frontier-.html">Alibaba and Expedia</a>.</p>
<p>Additionally, helping the Indonesian manufacturing industry to take advantage of automation and data-exchange technologies is a wise step. </p>
<p>But high-tech startup success stories shouldn’t hide the fact that the Indonesian economy and population rely mainly on a myriad of micro and small businesses that are low-tech and low-growth. </p>
<h2>Mapping Indonesia’s businesses</h2>
<p>In 2013, the 57,000 Indonesian medium and large firms – companies with a yearly turnover of more than Rp2.5 billion (around US$180,000) – amounted to only <a href="http://www.depkop.go.id/">3% of employment</a> and contributed Rp2,220 trillion to the GDP. </p>
<p>In comparison, micro-enterprises and small firms employed about half of the Indonesian workforce. The 57.2 million micro-enterprises – companies with a yearly turnover less than Rp300 million – and 654,000 small firms (annual turnover between Rp300 million and 2.5 billion) were employing 105 million and 5.6 million people respectively. </p>
<p>Micro-enterprises and small firms contributed Rp3,755 trillion and Rp3,495 trillion to the GDP, respectively. </p>
<h2>Micro-enterprises not productive?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00074918.2011.585952">Most micro-enterprises are informal</a>. They specialise in the trade and services sectors and are run within the household in urban areas across the Indonesia archipelago. High-tech startups tend to concentrate in the Jakarta area.</p>
<p>Some studies assert that <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.20130533">micro-entrepreneurship is not very productive</a>, can <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/1807860?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">signal economic distress</a>, and that <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/262131">entrepreneurs earn less than salaried employees</a>. </p>
<p>In reality, if micro-entrepreneurship does not appear as lucrative, this is because these studies fail to account for both micro-entrepreneurs’ contexts and heterogeneity.</p>
<p>The returns to micro-entrepreneurship should not be analysed only in terms of cash income, nor from the sole perspective of the micro-entrepreneur. We should see how it provides livelihoods to families. </p>
<p>Indeed, primary objectives of micro-entrepreneurship are to augment the household’s consumption and savings, and diversify the sources of income. This contributes to economic welfare and provides means for families to cope with economic vulnerability triggered by events such as layoffs, falling ill or having their house inundated by flooding.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X15000923">research</a> shows that Indonesian households that run microbusinesses in addition to some salaried work, either formal or informal, have higher levels of income, consumption and assets, compared to similar households that rely only on salaried employment for their livelihood. These effects are stronger for the poorest households.</p>
<h2>A glimpse at the lives of micro-entrepreneurs</h2>
<p>Indonesians in general <a href="http://gemconsortium.org/report/49766">exhibit strong entrepreneurial intentions</a>, but numerous barriers hold them back.</p>
<p>Obtaining a business permit, or any administrative service, is a long, difficult and costly process. Pervasive corruption adds to the problems. For example, people have to <a href="http://riset.ti.or.id/ipk-indonesia/">bribe officials to get these business permits</a> or administrative services. </p>
<p>For Indonesian micro-entrepreneurs, who are mostly poor and have low education levels, red tape and corrupt practices push them to stay in the informality. They already have to deal with poor access to external finance and collective services, such as energy and clean water provision and transportation. Many end up not registering their businesses, or run them without permits. </p>
<p>Having micro-entrepeneurs stay in the shadows of the formal economy is both the outcome and the cause of the poor quality of local institutions.</p>
<p>This is unfortunate as micro-entrepreneurship can prevent the poor from falling further below the poverty line. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://fivetalents.org/blog/2017/8/18/inside-the-life-of-a-micro-entrepreneur-in-indonesia">Supiati</a>, who lives with her family in Jakarta, suffered from poverty and vulnerability. Supiati receives support from charity organisations Gerhati Foundation and Five Talents, which help groups in slum areas to access medical services. To support her family, Supiati prepares and sells simple food in the street. </p>
<p>Thanks to her small street food business, she could feed and send her kids to school. She could buy medicines to cure the chronic disease of her husband. She also bought a refrigerator that’s useful for her business and for the household. </p>
<p>In addition, she was able to extend her house. A new front room now serves as a kiosk for the business. These durable assets are a form of saving to reduce vulnerability, as they can be sold if necessary. </p>
<p><a href="https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2016/03/05/in-jakarta-making-a-living-in-the-formal-economy-not-easy-for-all/">Mawar</a> and her family also live in Jakarta. After being evicted from their home and relocated to a government-subsidised low-cost apartment, they have better living conditions, but have to pay a monthly rent. </p>
<p>This has created another form of insecurity. Mawar and her husband could not secure decent paying jobs due to their low education. For years, they managed to survive, barely, by combining incomes from precarious formal jobs in the factory and construction sectors, and informal jobs, such as selling scavenged cardboard collected throughout the city. </p>
<p>Mawar decided to open a small <em>warung</em> (small mom-and-pop stall) on the ground floor of her building. After a long wait, she finally obtained authorisation to establish her micro-business. This has brought in a complementary source of work and income for the family.</p>
<h2>Need for more aggressive support for microbusinesses</h2>
<p>In April 2016, President Jokowi announced a series of measures to improve local institutions, lower barriers to entrepreneurship and <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/04/28/jokowi-publishes-10-points-on-ease-of-doing-business.html">ease doing business</a>. But progress has been slow and these <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/10/20/disharmonious-bureaucracy-hampers-deregulation-effort-indef.html">reforms are hardly implemented</a>. </p>
<p>Indonesia should step up its efforts to foster micro-entrepreneurship, local economic development and the welfare of people. And as one stone may catch two birds, this will also contribute to curbing local corruption, durably.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93863/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Para penulis tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi di luar afiliasi akademis yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>Micro-entrepreneurs make up the bulk of the Indonesian economy and population. But red tape and corruption are keeping them from entering the ‘formal’ sector.Julien Hanoteau, Associate Professor of Sustainable Development, Kedge Business SchoolVirginie Vial, Professeure d'Economie, Kedge Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/905522018-02-02T10:34:57Z2018-02-02T10:34:57ZWhy putting the words ‘learning’ and ‘Facebook’ together isn’t an oxymoron<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204425/original/file-20180201-123849-17g7b8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has often spoken of the value of education and learning.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Brian Snyder</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s a rather impressive, if controversial, resume for a teenager: blamed for the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-blamed-trump-election-mark-zuckerberg-response-tone-deaf-2016-11">election of Donald Trump</a>, <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/article/facebook-blamed-for-1-in-5-divorces-in-the-us/">increased divorce rates</a>, <a href="https://www.nursingtimes.net/facebook-blamed-for-rise-in-syphilis/5012966.article">rising syphilis cases</a>, and <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article175970831.html">the advent of fake news</a>.</p>
<p>Facebook turns 14 on February 4. And the controversies continue unabated. But there’s one aspect of Facebook that should not be lost in all the noise: the extraordinary change it has brought about in how we connect, communicate, consume and share content – in the classroom, as well as in other spaces. </p>
<p>Putting the words “Facebook” and “learning” together may seem like an oxymoron. But my research has delved into the role Facebook has played in shaping how the new generation consumes and shares content. Understanding this is pivotal to understanding how we should be using technology to teach in the digital age. Quite simply, Facebook has changed the way that children learn.</p>
<h2>How students learn</h2>
<p>That’s what I’ve discovered through my research, which used a <a href="http://www.iiis.org/CDs2011/CD2011IMC/ICETI_2011/PapersPdf/EB962QE.pdf">cyber-ethnography</a> approach to try and determine how students are learning in our modern digital age. This involved essentially “living” with students while they connected, communicated, and learned in a Facebook space.</p>
<p>I spent an entire semester watching and interacting with students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa as they used a Facebook page as their primary learning portal. The students were given admin access to the space. This meant they could determine how the space was used: who had access to it, how it was designed, what was posted on the page, and even the level of anonymity of their posts. </p>
<p>This provided me with an opportunity to watch the students learn, unfettered from traditional learning constraints. However, it would take a while for the students to fully explore their learning within this new space. Initially the students would often attempt to defer to me and my guidance. Only after I repeatedly refused to control their learning experience did they begin to behave in a <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_build_a_school_in_the_cloud">self-oraganising way</a> and allow me to observe their “natural” learning patterns.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-6300-896-9_16">research</a> revealed that Facebook provided students with a series of learning affordances. Affordances are “can do” oppportunies, some intentional and others unintentional, that technology spaces provide. In this instance the research revealed that the affordances at play were accessibility, connection, communication, control and construction. These affordances provide valuable insights into how students learn in digital spaces.</p>
<p>Once I understood this, I could turn my attention to the key need: developing ways of teaching, called pedagogies, that are appropriate for the digital age. Currently the focus on technology – the <em>what</em>, has distracted us from pedagogy: the <em>how</em>. Without understanding how best to apply these new technologies’ affordances, educators will not be able to effectively impact teaching in the modern classroom.</p>
<p>However, providing educators with a list of “how tos” isn’t much use without a system that makes the list easy to implement. As Dan Schwartz, dean of Stanford’s Graduate School of Education, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/04/14/465729968/a-nobel-laureates-education-plea-revolutionize-teaching">says</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I can tell people they need to teach better. But if I don’t give them things that are easy for them to implement, they won’t do it.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Activating the classroom</h2>
<p>That’s where the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wake-Class-Activating-Digital-Age-Revolutionize/dp/1520885016">Activated Classroom Teaching (ACT) model</a> comes in. I developed this model in a bid to create a taxonomy of teaching and learning for 21st century classrooms. A taxonomy is an ordered arrangement of items. One of the most famous of these is <a href="https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/">Bloom’s taxonomy of thinking</a>. The ACT model attempts to provide a taxonomy of digital-age teaching approaches.</p>
<p>The ACT model consists of five digital-age pedagogies that seek to maximise the affordances of technology, modern students’ approaches to learning and the development of key 21st century skills such as creativity, problem solving, curiosity, critical thinking, etc.</p>
<p>The focus is a shift from passive ways of teaching (consumption) to active approaches (curation, conversation, correction, creation and chaos). This aligns with <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-common-sense-census-media-use-by-tweens-and-teens">research</a> that shows children are spending more than half their online time actively engaging: creating content, getting involved in “interactive consumption” and communicating.</p>
<p>Ignoring the tectonic shifts taking place in our classrooms is not the solution. Simply dropping technology into our classrooms is not the solution. Simply training teachers to <em>use</em> computers is not the solution. As British author and education expert <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms">Sir Ken Robinson</a> has said, we need a paradigm shift, but it’s more than that - we need a pedagogy shift. </p>
<p>The young teen, Facebook, has changed how we connect and learn. But, as the OECD pointed out in its <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2015/09/15/schools-wasting-money-on-computers-for-kids-oecd.html">global study</a> about educational technology: “If we want students to become smarter than a smartphone, we need to think harder about the pedagogies we are using to teach them. Technology can amplify great teaching but great technology cannot replace poor teaching.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90552/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Blewett is the author of the book "Wake Up Class!: 5 Activating Digital-Age Pedagogies that will Revolutionize your Classroom" and founder of the ACT Academy training site. </span></em></p>You may not “like” it, but Facebook has an important role to play in education.Craig Blewett, Senior Lecturer in Education & Technology, University of KwaZulu-NatalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/899592018-01-21T19:13:59Z2018-01-21T19:13:59ZTech diplomacy: cities drive a new era of digital policy and innovation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/202029/original/file-20180116-53292-13qk37z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cities will be driving globalisation and innovation in the emerging world order.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/map-pin-flat-above-cityscape-blue-502518658">28 November Studio/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>France recently appointed a tech ambassador to the Silicon Valley. French President Emmanuel Macron named David Martinon as “<a href="https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/french-foreign-policy/digital-diplomacy/events/article/digital-affairs-appointment-of-an-ambassador-22-11-17">ambassador for digital affairs</a>”, with jurisdiction over the digital issues that the foreign affairs ministry deals with. This includes digital governance, international negotiations and support for digital companies’ export operations. </p>
<p>The appointment is part of France’s <a href="https://au.ambafrance.org/France-s-international-digital-strategy">international digital strategy</a>, which is becoming a focus of its foreign policy. And France isn’t alone in doing this. </p>
<p>In early 2017, Denmark <a href="http://www.wired.co.uk/article/casper-klynge-first-ever-silicon-valley-tech-ambassador">appointed</a> a <a href="http://techamb.um.dk/en/">“TechPlomacy” ambassador</a> to the tech industry. <a href="https://twitter.com/DKTechAmb">Casper Klynge</a> is possibly the first-ever envoy to be dispatched to Silicon Valley with a clear mandate to build better relationships with major technology firms. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-in-the-future-of-democracy-16688">Cities in the Future of Democracy</a>
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<p>In an <a href="http://politiken.dk/udland/art5806849/Danmark-f%C3%A5r-som-det-f%C3%B8rste-land-i-verden-en-digital-ambassad%C3%B8r">interview</a> with Danish newspaper Politiken, Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen said:</p>
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<p>Big companies affect Denmark just as much as entire countries. </p>
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<p>He isn’t wrong. According to geopolitical strategist <a href="https://www.paragkhanna.com/">Parag Khanna</a>, the world’s top tech companies are <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/03/15/these-25-companies-are-more-powerful-than-many-countries-multinational-corporate-wealth-power/">achieving more international influence</a> and economic power than dozens of nations put together. In 2016, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/chart-us-companies-with-largest-cash-reserves-2017-8?r=US&IR=T">cash that Apple had on hand</a> exceeded the gross domestic product (GDP) of <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/03/15/these-25-companies-are-more-powerful-than-many-countries-multinational-corporate-wealth-power/">two-thirds of the world’s countries</a>. </p>
<p>Some of these global players are also influential policy actors in their own right. In 2016, <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/">Foreign Policy</a> presented its <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/11/17/watch-fps-diplomat-of-the-year-awards/">Diplomat of the Year Award</a> to Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google parent company Alphabet Inc. The award was in recognition of Google’s contributions to international relations through empowering citizens globally.</p>
<h2>What’s different about TechPlomacy?</h2>
<p>The recent ambassadorial appointments signify not only the important socio-economic and political roles of technology, but also how diplomacy is evolving and adapting to the disruptive changes in our societies.</p>
<p>These developments mark the prominence of tech-cities on the global scene. Nation states are no longer the only players in international affairs; cities are also taking centre stage. </p>
<p>As opposed to lobbying governments in the world’s capitals, the new breed of diplomats will target tech-cities with multi-trillion-dollar technology sectors. They will also rub shoulders and nurture a direct dialogue with organisations that have gigantic economic impacts. In 2016, for example, Google helped to <a href="https://economicimpact.google.com/reports/2016/ei-report-2016-ca.pdf">inject US$222 billion in economic activity</a> in the US alone. </p>
<p>The so-called “Google ambassadors” won’t be targeting Silicon Valley only. The <a href="http://techamb.um.dk/">Office of Denmark’s Tech Ambassador</a> has a team with physical presence across three time zones in North America, Europe and Asia. It will also connect with tech hubs around the world.</p>
<p>As part of an interconnected planet, these tech hubs will increasingly play a more active role in the global economy. Decision-makers are starting to recognise the imperative to establish good relationships and understand the tech giants’ policies and agendas.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/creative-city-smart-city-whose-city-is-it-78258">Creative city, smart city ... whose city is it?</a>
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<h2>Cities as autonomous diplomatic units</h2>
<p>The rise of cities as “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/04/around-the-world-mayors-take-charge/275335/">autonomous diplomatic units</a>” may be a defining feature of the 21st century.</p>
<p>Already, just <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2010/08/06/beyond-city-limits/">100 cities account for 30% of the world’s economy</a> and almost all its innovation. New York and London, together, represent <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2010/08/06/beyond-city-limits/">40% of global market capitalisation</a>. According to the <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/overview">McKinsey Global Institute</a>, the <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/urbanization/urban-world-mapping-the-economic-power-of-cities">top 600 cities generate 60% of global GDP</a> and are projected to be home to 25% of the world’s population by 2025.</p>
<p>McKinsey expects that 136 new cities will make it into the top 600 by 2025. All these new cities are from the developing world – 100 of them from China alone. </p>
<p>These <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/urbanization/when-cities-rule-the-world">global cities appear likely to dominate</a> the 21st century. They will become magnets for economic activity and engines of globalisation. <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2010/08/06/beyond-city-limits/">Khanna</a> argues:</p>
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<p>… [C]ities rather than states or nations are becoming the islands of governance on which the future world order will be built.</p>
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<p>He also suggests that <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/parag_khanna_how_megacities_are_changing_the_map_of_the_world/transcript">connectivity</a> through an expanding matrix of infrastructure (64 million kilometres of roads, 4 million kilometres of railways and 1 million kilometres of internet cables) will far outweigh the importance of 500,000 kilometres of international borders.</p>
<h2>Still more questions than answers</h2>
<p>As more cities assert their leadership on the world stage, new mechanisms and networks (e.g. <a href="http://www.c40.org/">C40 Cities)</a> could emerge. That could signal a new generation of diplomacy that relates and engages with cities rather than bilateral collaboration between nations. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-is-why-we-cannot-rely-on-cities-alone-to-tackle-climate-change-82375">This is why we cannot rely on cities alone to tackle climate change</a>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201833/original/file-20180114-101498-4zjkdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201833/original/file-20180114-101498-4zjkdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201833/original/file-20180114-101498-4zjkdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201833/original/file-20180114-101498-4zjkdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201833/original/file-20180114-101498-4zjkdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201833/original/file-20180114-101498-4zjkdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201833/original/file-20180114-101498-4zjkdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group connects more than 90 of the world’s major cities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Independent UK</span></span>
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<p>Although these new diplomatic outposts have generated some <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/national-security/article159128749.html">profound interest</a>, questions remain.</p>
<p>Will this era of tech diplomacy create collaborative ways to develop and achieve foreign policy priorities? Will it increasingly become a unifying global priority?</p>
<p>Do these appointments signify a transformation in international relationships? Will big tech companies also develop diplomatic capacities?</p>
<p>And will we witness the emergence of a post-national ideology of <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/titles/9544.html">civic-ism</a>, whereby people’s <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-a-bell/civicism-cities-nationalism_b_1138929.html">loyalty to the city</a> surpasses that to a nation?</p>
<h2>What comes next?</h2>
<p>Not everyone will be excited by these appointments. Many would downplay their significance. Others would argue that tech companies have been engaged globally for years, and that they do this anyway as part of their “business as usual” activities.</p>
<p>Whether you embrace or object to it, a new world order is emerging around cities and their economies, rather than nations and their borders. These cities may ultimately chart pathways to their own sovereign diplomacy and formulate their own codes of conduct. </p>
<p>It is anyone’s guess whether the future will bear any resemblance to TechPlomacy or something else we haven’t yet imagined. The significance of these appointments will become clearer as the envoys go to work and we begin to understand the possibilities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89959/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hussein Dia receives funding from the CRC for Low Carbon Living and the Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre.</span></em></p>Welcome to the era of TechPlomacy where a new world order is emerging around cities and their economies, rather than nations and their borders.Hussein Dia, Associate Professor, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/890942017-12-20T10:48:03Z2017-12-20T10:48:03ZMedia oligarchy and the shaping of news in Indonesia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199964/original/file-20171219-4997-1gafamn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Almost two decades after the authoritarian regime in Indonesia ended, democratisation in the media has yet to reach an ideal situation. Instead, oligarchy in the media industry is strengthening and ownership has been more concentrated on fewer players. </p>
<p>This is not exclusive to Indonesia. We can see similar situations in other countries. Technological developments in communication, which open new information channels, coupled with media oligarchy, have resulted in a surprising turn: <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/fa332f58-d9bf-11e6-944b-e7eb37a6aa8e">decreasing public trust in mainstream media</a>. As a consequence, people find an alternative to access information, which is social media. </p>
<p>In Indonesia, the wave of distrust was palpable during rallies led by Islamists at the end of 2016 to early 2017. Some rally participants rejected journalists from certain media outlets. They even <a href="https://tirto.id/wartawan-metro-tv-laporkan-pemukulan-di-aksi-112-ke-polisi-ciSH">resorted to violence</a> to reject the reporters.</p>
<p>However, the decline in trust in mainstream media has not been followed by growth of credible alternative media. Consequently, most people fall victim to hoaxes. Hoaxes and fake news become easily viral because people tend to seek information that would affirm their own beliefs. <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/08/31/police-investigate-saracens-motives.html">Some groups</a>see this as an opportunity to gain money from producing fake news. </p>
<p>To make it worse, the internet and social media have also empowered media oligarchs. Media owners are more aggressive in <a href="https://bisnis.tempo.co/read/344151/chairul-tanjung-beli-detik-com">buying competitors</a> to expand their media business, integrating with <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/indonesia-kompas-gramedia-to-acquire-scoop-for-undisclosed-amount-60744/">other businesses</a>, and investing in <a href="https://tekno.tempo.co/read/543974/ini-kata-bakrie-setelah-beli-path-rp-304-miliar">digital media</a> and communication infrastructure. </p>
<p>Some media owners also enter the political arena by forming parties and placing <a href="http://nasional.kompas.com/read/2014/11/20/15072891/Apa.Alasan.Jokowi.Pilih.Politisi.Nasdem.HM.Prasetyo.Jadi.Jaksa.Agung.">their cadres in governmental positions</a>. Similar to the political realm, media companies increasingly look like a dynasty: slowly inherited to family members.</p>
<h2>Understanding media oligarchy</h2>
<p>To understand contemporary Indonesia one must understand how media oligarchy works here. Media oligarchy shapes the news the public consume every day. News have become increasingly <a href="https://www.merdeka.com/peristiwa/dewan-pers-putuskan-rcti-salah-buat-berita-tak-jelas-sumbernya.html">biased and partisans</a>. The most obvious examples are news coverage on the presidential election in 2014. Media were between the two rival camps. </p>
<p>Published in 2012, <a href="https://www.academia.edu/7282028/Lim_M._2012_The_League_of_Thirteen_Media_Concentration_in_Indonesia?auto=download">a research by Merlyna Lim recorded 13 groups</a> controlling the Indonesian media. <a href="http://cipg.or.id/report-on-mapping-media-industry-in-indonesia/">Another research</a>, published in 2013 by Yanuar Nugroho and team, found most of the media were owned by 12 large groups.</p>
<p>The number shrank to eight in <a href="https://www.rowmaninternational.com/book/media_power_in_indonesia/3-156-a7a2e159-1f67-482c-8e03-05b1e0a15d7c">Ross Tapsell’s book published 2017</a>. Tapsell said these groups rose under a political system controlled by New Order oligarchs and Indonesian laws are not strict enough to limit media ownership concentration.</p>
<p>The differences in the number of media groups are the result of different methods. Tapsell only counted groups owning news outlets; he did not include Femina Group and Mugi Rekso Abadi Group (publishers of women and teen magazines). </p>
<p>The Indonesian media oligarchs are media owners who began their business from owning a TV station or a print media. With the arrival of digital technology, they began integrating their media into various platforms. Some outlets started to provide room for citizen journalism like Kompas with Kompasiana, Tempo with Indonesiana and Liputan 6 with Citizen Journalism.</p>
<p>Of course, opening up a channel for citizen journalist is fine as an attempt to give public opinion a space. But those channels are now dominated by certain opinion leaders, narrowing the diversity of voices there. There have been incidents where the <a href="https://dailysocial.id/post/kontroversi-kontrol-konten-kompasiana">administrator ban articles by citizens</a>. At the end of the day, the various platforms become more like their hosts, reflecting the interests of the oligarchs.</p>
<p>Experiences from other countries show when media oligarchs are stronger, the players would enter the political arena using their media as the main arsenal. This is especially true in the case of TV station owners.</p>
<p>In Indonesia, <a href="http://industri.bisnis.com/read/20170127/105/623397/pola-konsumsi-digital-di-indonesia-sepanjang-2016">more than 90% of the total population watch</a>. When media owners enter the political arena, they do so with business in mind. They can sway regulations to benefit their own businesses. The difficulty in revising Broadcasting Law since 2009 is an example.</p>
<p>The connection between politics, media and business is palpable in the case of Jakarta Bay reclamation. The case has earned a national spotlight in the past two years and two rivals in the TV industry—Metro TV and TVOne—have taken different stances. Their differences are not due to ideological differences but more because their owners are political players in two rivalling camps. In many issues like elections and <a href="http://www.remotivi.or.id/video-detail/17/Perspektif-yang-Hilang-dalam-Pembangunan">forced evictions</a> in Jakarta they take opposing standpoints. </p>
<h2>Today’s hot issues: reclamation and Meikarta</h2>
<p>News coverage in Metro TV and Media Indonesia newspaper regarding Jakarta Bay reclamation <a href="http://news.metrotvnews.com/editorial-media-indonesia/8Ky9QYYK-menarik-reklamasi-ke-rel-yang-benar">support the project</a>. The owner, media-magnate-cum-politician Surya Paloh is the founder of Nasdem party, which aligns themselves with the government. The group gives <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT4SCNaSEwI">a special space for Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan</a> about the importance of reclamation.</p>
<p>Both outlets publish editorials supporting the project. One of them says: “there is no single reason that can justify to not speed up the Jakarta Bay reclamation”. When the government halted the project, the TV station wrote in their website that the <a href="http://news.metrotvnews.com/editorial-media-indonesia/0k88lY9k-reklamasi-untuk-semua">“uncertainty would harm investors” and that reclamation is good for all</a>.</p>
<p>TV One, owned by political rival Aburizal Bakrie, has been critical toward reclamation. When Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, an avid supporter of reclamation, was the Jakarta governor, TV One was critical towards the project. The new governor, Anies Baswedan, wanted to halt reclamation and he got <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Acjb92_c-uQ">support from TV One</a>. </p>
<p>Another example is the recent spike in advertising and news about a new development near Jakarta, called Meikarta. For two months recently, the advertisement and news about the planned new city appeared daily in national newspapers like Kompas and Koran Tempo. Meikarta’s developer is Lippo Group, which also owns a media group publishing Suara Pembaruan, Investor Daily and Jakarta Globe.</p>
<p>Roy Thaniago made a rough calculation and estimated Kompas received <a href="http://www.remotivi.or.id/pantau/425/Habis-Iklan-Meikarta,-Gelaplah-Berita">Rp 170.2 billion (US$11.9 million) and Koran Tempo Rp 69 billion</a> from Meikarta ads.</p>
<p>I have sought confirmation on the numbers but Kompas’ chief editor Budiman Tanuredjo said he did not know about ads and directed me to the ad department. I got the same answer from Arif Zulkifli, a top official in Tempo group’s newsroom. I sent emails to both but did not get any reply.</p>
<p>However, one small event caught my attention. Kompas newspaper’s deputy executive director, Rikard Bagun, <a href="http://properti.kompas.com/read/2017/10/29/231000321/berisi-900-apartemen-lippo-tutup-atap-dua-tower-di-meikarta">was present during a ceremony of a tower in Meikarta</a>.</p>
<p>In total in 2017, Meikarta spent <a href="https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2017/10/27/iklan-meikarta-mencapai-rp-12-triliun">Rp 1.2 trillion</a> for advertisement in the television and print media.</p>
<p>The high amount of money going to print media is good news for them, amid the decline in the print media industry where newspapers are collapsing. However, our simple content analysis found that such amount of ads have affected the direction of news about Meikarta. It’s hard to find news that’s critical on the subject. But advertorials are much easier to find. I counted that from October 2017, an average of three advertorial articles appeared in Kompas’s digital arm, kompas.com, every day.</p>
<p>The two cases are examples on how media oligarchy shape the news. The public need policies from the government to free us from another media oligarchy trap enabled by the internet and social media.</p>
<p>Media literacy can safeguard us from entering a hoax wilderness through media literacy. Media literacy is not only about distinguishing facts and fiction, more than that, media literacy should help us understand what’s behind the news.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89094/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wisnu Prasetya Utomo tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham, atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi selain yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>We need media literacy not only to help us detect hoax and fake news but also to read the interest of media owners behind the news.Wisnu Prasetya Utomo, Researcher, RemotiviLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.