tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/social-trends-710/articlesSocial trends – The Conversation2021-02-17T13:20:12Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1551832021-02-17T13:20:12Z2021-02-17T13:20:12ZFaith in numbers: Behind the gender difference of nonreligious Americans<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384557/original/file-20210216-17-1dvydk6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5078%2C3380&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Woman are more likely to identify with a religion than men.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/colorful-background-girl-portrait-royalty-free-image/826756600?adppopup=true">Stock / Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of the most consequential stories in American religion in recent years is the rapid and <a href="https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/pf_10-17-19_rdd_update-00-020/">seemingly unceasing rise of “nones</a>” – those who respond to questions about their religious affiliation by indicating that they are atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular.”</p>
<p>According to some <a href="https://religioninpublic.blog/2020/10/07/the-decline-of-religion-continues-nones-gain-3-percent-in-one-year/">recent estimates</a>, around 4 in 10 millennials and members of Gen Z, a group that comprises those born after 1980, do not identify with a religious tradition. In comparison, only about <a href="https://religioninpublic.blog/2020/10/07/the-decline-of-religion-continues-nones-gain-3-percent-in-one-year/">a quarter of baby boomers</a> indicate that they are religiously unaffiliated. </p>
<p>Social scientists are only beginning to explore the demographic factors that drive individuals who no longer feel attached to a religious tradition.</p>
<p>But as <a href="https://www.eiu.edu/polisci/faculty.php/hendrickson.php?id=rpburge&subcat=">someone who follows the data on religious trends</a>, I note one factor appears to stand out: gender.</p>
<p>Scholars <a href="https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004319301_006">have long noted</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2329496516686619">that atheism</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.30664/ar.67492">skews male</a>. Meanwhile, critics have pointed toward the apparent dominance of male authors in the “new atheism” movement as evidence of a “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/sep/26/new-atheism-boys-club">boys club</a>.” Indeed, a quick scan of the best-selling books on atheism on Amazon indicates that <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Kindle-Store-Atheism/zgbs/digital-text/158554011">almost all of them are written by male authors</a>.</p>
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<p>According to data from the <a href="https://www.voterstudygroup.org/nationscape#">Nationscape survey</a>, which polled over 6,000 respondents every week for 18 months in the runup to the 2020 election, men are in general more likely than women to describe themselves as atheists, agnostics or nothing in particular. The survey, conducted by the independent Democracy Fund in partnership with the University of California, Los Angeles, was touted as one of the <a href="https://www.voterstudygroup.org/nationscape#">largest such opinion polls</a> ever conducted.</p>
<p>However, tracking the gender gap by age reveals that at one point the gap between men and women narrows. Between the ages of 30 and 45, men are no more likely to be religiously unaffliated than women of the same age. </p>
<p>But the gap appears again among older Americans. Over the age of 60, men are 5 to 8 percentage points more likely to express no religious affiliation.</p>
<p>Moreover, older Americans – both men and women – tend to be far less likely to identify as “nones” compared with younger Americans, according to respondents of the survey.</p>
<h2>The ‘life cycle’ effect</h2>
<p>What may be driving this pattern of young women and older women being less likely to identify as nones than their male counterparts? </p>
<p>One <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/3511021">theory in social science</a> called the “<a href="https://religioninpublic.blog/2019/09/04/what-ist-the-life-cycle-effect-does-it-appear-in-the-data/">life cycle effect</a>” argues that when people begin to marry and have children, some are drawn back into religious circles to raise their kids in a religious environment or to lean on support structures that religion may provide.</p>
<p>But once kids grow up and leave the house this attachment fades for many. I make this point in my forthcoming book called “<a href="https://www.augsburgfortress.org/store/product/9781506465852/The-Nones">The Nones</a>.”</p>
<p>The data on gender and those with no religious affiliation could indicate that this drifting is especially acute for men. One explanation could be that men are more likely to be religious when they are part of a family unit, but when children grow up, that connection becomes weaker. Unfortunately, the survey does not offer a direct test of this hypothesis.</p>
<p>But it would fit with survey research <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/05/13/gender-gap-in-religious-service-attendance-has-narrowed-in-u-s/">over the past five decades</a> that has consistently found that Christian <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/06/christian-women-in-the-u-s-are-more-religious-than-their-male-counterparts/">women are more likely than men to attend church</a>. </p>
<p>One word of caution about the data is necessary. The survey is just a single snapshot of the public in 2019 and 2020. It’s possible that this same pattern would look different if data were collected 20 years ago or 20 years from now. Either way, it offers a small window into how age and gender interact with the religious lives of Americans. </p>
<p>[<em>Insight, in your inbox each day.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=insight">You can get it with The Conversation’s email newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155183/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ryan Burge does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Younger and older American men tend to identify more with being religious ‘nones’ than women of the same age, but between 35 and 45 the rates merge. A data and religion expert probes why.Ryan Burge, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Eastern Illinois UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/679282016-11-01T19:07:15Z2016-11-01T19:07:15ZWhat effect will closet Trump voters have on the US Election?<p>Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump recently claimed “phony polling” is <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/world/us-election/the-truth-is-that-were-winning-says-donald-trump-20161024-gs9oaf.html">suppressing his vote</a> and predicted the outcome of the US election will be “<a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-plays-to-philly-suburbs-amid-grim-polls-predicts-brexit-times-5/article/2605280?custom_click=rss">Brexit times five</a>”.</p>
<p>By “Brexit times five”, Trump is referring to the surprising referendum result in favour of Britain leaving the European Union, an outcome that went against the predictions of most polls. Given the unexpected triumph of Britain’s “Leave” campaign, is it possible that Trump could produce a surprise result of even greater proportions?</p>
<p>Many explanations are put forward to account for voting patterns, especially when they don’t <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/opinion/sunday/whats-the-matter-with-polling.html?_r=1">match the polls</a>.</p>
<p>Good sampling methodology – that is, how to choose a group of people likely to reflect the characteristics of the broader population – is key to ensuring accurate and useful results. An understanding of likely voter turnout is also important, especially in the US and other countries where voting is voluntary.</p>
<p>But other factors, such as the language and wording used, can also effect the results of any survey, including electoral polls.</p>
<p>One likely factor in the discrepancy between the pre-referendum Brexit polls and the final result was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_desirability_bias">social desirability bias</a> – the human tendency to portray ourselves in the most favourable light. This bias may not necessarily be conscious. It’s common in social surveys, where the need to be seen to be doing “the right thing” can overwhelm honest responses.</p>
<p>For example, it’s socially desirable for people to disagree with the statement “<a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/ccp/24/4/349/">I sometimes feel resentful when I don’t get my own way</a>”, even though it’s likely everybody has felt this way at some time. Self-reporting of alcohol consumption is typically <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25486405">40-50% lower</a> than actual consumption rates.</p>
<p>In the case of Brexit, the “Leave” campaign became associated with xenophobia and racism. Because this was regarded negatively by mainstream society, it likely resulted in people understating their support for the “Leave” campaign when asked by pollsters.</p>
<p>Social desirability bias is exacerbated by the presence of other people, so it’s more prominent when survey questions are asked directly by an interviewer, either in person or over the phone.</p>
<p>If social desirability was a factor in the inconsistency between the Brexit polls and the final result, we should see a difference between the polls taken by telephone interviews and those conducted online.</p>
<p>Let’s look at the <a href="https://ig.ft.com/sites/brexit-polling/">polls</a> from the final week of the Brexit campaign. Out of five telephone polls, none predicted a win for “Leave”. Out of eight online polls, four predicted a win.</p>
<p>This is particularly surprising because one might expect lower polling for the “Leave” vote in online polls, since this method captures younger voters who were (at least publically) more <a href="http://time.com/4381878/brexit-generation-gap-older-younger-voters/">opposed to Brexit</a>. Assuming no other methodological issues were at play, this suggests that social desirability may have been a factor.</p>
<p>Like the “Leave” campaign, Trump’s campaign is associated with the socially negative attributes of xenophobia and racism, as well as sexism and allegations of sexual misconduct. This is likely to cause a social desirability bias with a tendency for people to under report their support for Trump.</p>
<p>Now let’s look at Trump’s “Brexit times five” claim. In both telephone and online polls taken during the last week of the Brexit campaign, the average result was 46.5% for “Remain” and 44.5% for “Leave”. Excluding the undecided voters, this equates to 51% for “Remain” and 49% for “Leave”.</p>
<p>The result of the actual vote was 48% for “Remain” and 52% for “Leave”. On the basis of this simplistic analysis, and with this particular mix of telephone and online polls, we could argue that social desirability bias suppressed the polled support for “Leave” by around 3%.</p>
<p>As of November 1, the US polling aggregation website <a href="http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2016-election-forecast/?ex_cid=rrpromo">FiveThirtyEight</a> says the national averages for the popular vote in the US election are 49.2% for Clinton and 44.5% for Trump, a difference of 4.7% in favour of Clinton.</p>
<p>If Trump is able to achieve “Brexit times five” – that is, gain 15% more votes on election day than the polls would suggest – he would indeed be well-placed for victory. But unlike Brexit, this result would need to be repeated in each state and reflected in the Electoral College votes, rather than just a single national vote.</p>
<p>Although important and often present, the effects of social desirability bias are likely to be relatively minor in polls that are properly conducted, and only likely to cause surprise results in a tight race. The degree to which the polling averages may be misled by social desirability bias depends on the mix of methods used to collect the answers – with a greater reliance on telephone polling more likely to capture a greater degree of bias.</p>
<p>So while it’s possible that Trump’s polling is depressed, and while he may win more votes than expected on Election Day, he’s still unlikely to win the Presidency.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67928/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Kusmanoff receives funding from the Australian Research Council and through the National Environment Science Programme's Threatened Species and Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hubs. Alex is a member of the Australian Labor Party and the Australian Republican Movement.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona Fidler receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Bekessy receives funding from the Australian Research Council and through the National Environment Science Programme's Threatened Species and Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hubs.</span></em></p>Given the failure of British polls to predict the outcome of Brexit, is it possible Donald Trump could produce a surprise result of even greater proportions?Alex Kusmanoff, PhD candidate, Inter-disciplinary Conservation Science and Research Group, RMIT UniversityFiona Fidler, Associate professor, The University of MelbourneSarah Bekessy, Associate professor, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/232242014-02-14T14:15:02Z2014-02-14T14:15:02ZThe three rules that stop a tech device from losing its cool<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41497/original/54y2p3z4-1392332205.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">"Hi! Is that the 1980s? I've got your phone. You can have it back."</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Computex e Forum </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the world of hi-tech devices, it is imperative to keep your finger on the pulse. Some of the most successful companies of our times, such as Apple and Google, are those that understand the power of cool and know how to exploit it. But our <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1071581913001328">research</a> has found not only that digital devices such as smart phones can lose their association with coolness over time but also that we may have been measuring cool all wrong.</p>
<p>Like past trends that were once cool – think leg warmers, jean jackets, and the Walkman – the iPhone, <a href="https://nest.com/uk/">Nest</a> and <a href="http://www.fitbit.com/uk">Fitbit</a> run the risk of losing their desirability if they don’t move with the times.</p>
<p>Our study found that the most coveted devices derive their coolness from three core values: they are attractive, original and have subcultural appeal.</p>
<p>The relationship between these three core values and overall coolness is stable. What varies is the attitudes of people towards these core values. Devotees and potential customers have a changing view of what is original and what has cultural appeal. </p>
<p>Until now, it was generally thought that coolness is an amalgamation of utility, innovation and aesthetics. Establishing that perceptions of coolness are associated with three different core values allows tech firms to more efficiently and precisely tailor their product design and marketing efforts.</p>
<p>We asked 315 college students to rate the coolness of 14 different products in the first part of our research. This threw up some interesting results about the role of usefulness in the coolness of a product. Record players, for example, were rated as cool by many of the participants, even though they aren’t as useful as they once were and are no longer original. A subculture has taken an interest in them and they are winning back favour, even if they can’t replace an iPod in terms of utility.</p>
<p>A follow-up study with 835 participants from the US and South Korea narrowed the list to four elements of coolness – subculture appeal, attractiveness, usefulness and originality. In a third study of 317 participants, usefulness no longer featured as a stand alone element and was simply considered part of the other three.</p>
<p>This is useful information for tech firms, whose very survival depends on being able to keep up with the competition. It can help take some of the guesswork out of manufacturing and marketing the products that are being pitched as the next big thing.</p>
<p>Coolness can be critical for helping a product stand apart from similar devices. Apple’s profits, for example, are largely driven by iPhone sales, a device that has enjoyed relatively stable and <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/connieguglielmo/2013/09/20/apple-faithful-a-very-weird-cult-line-up-to-buy-new-iphones-as-cook-cheers-them-on/">high level of cool</a> for several years. It is seen by many as the most beautifully designed smartphone on the market, but, ultimately, most smartphones function in very similar ways.</p>
<p>The Nest thermostat is another good case in point. Any decent thermostat can maintain your home’s temperature, but Nest’s design is novel and out of the ordinary. Turning on the air conditioning becomes a decidedly different experience with Nest than with a standard thermostat. It’s little wonder that Google, a company practically obsessed with cool, has swooped in to <a href="https://theconversation.com/googles-smart-home-strategy-starts-with-smoke-alarms-22096">purchase the company</a>.</p>
<p>Perceptions of coolness tend to raise user expectations, which helps explain why people are willing to line up for days or weeks in anticipation of a new iPhone or iPad release and how something as apparently mundane as a thermostat can become the most desired item of the day.</p>
<h2>When mass appeal kills your cool</h2>
<p>Coolness, however, can be a double-edged sword for devices. Tech companies that do a good job of generating hype around their products are, at the same time, building up hope that the product will perform faster or more smoothly than the uncool competition.</p>
<p>They therefore run the risk of setting the bar too high, not meeting those expectations and then creating a user backlash. The most successful devices tend to have a better track record of meeting those high hopes.</p>
<p>Tech companies are faced with the challenge of designing a product users will perceive as cool and that will also meet users’ raised expectations.</p>
<p>If a tech firm can continue to innovate and mold a digital device in a way that appeals to current thinking, the device is more likely to weather social change and maintain its coolness.</p>
<p>All is not lost if they fail to meet these requirements at the development stage. The company can simply adjust pre-release marketing to highlight the aspects of a new gadget that would meet those same appeals. Naturally, if a device doesn’t engender its own hype, you create hype on its behalf. </p>
<p>But even if they get it right at the start, cultural appeal can be especially difficult to maintain. Devices that are cooler help users fit in with their crowd and stand apart from other groups. When a device gains mainstream popularity, it may lose its subcultural appeal.</p>
<p>The same thing happens when some bands make it big and “sell out”. Their original fan base may be put off when a new, wider, audience catches on to the trend. Once a brand can no longer be used as a badge of pride that sets a group apart, they’ll drop it in a flash. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41573/original/hrfyyv5w-1392379831.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41573/original/hrfyyv5w-1392379831.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41573/original/hrfyyv5w-1392379831.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1635&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41573/original/hrfyyv5w-1392379831.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1635&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41573/original/hrfyyv5w-1392379831.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1635&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41573/original/hrfyyv5w-1392379831.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=2054&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41573/original/hrfyyv5w-1392379831.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=2054&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41573/original/hrfyyv5w-1392379831.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=2054&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">Cool, cooler, coolest. For now.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IPhone_montage.png">Dcoetzee</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>Cool devices also appeal to a user’s sense of style or attractiveness. Like the other components of coolness, perceptions of attractiveness tend to change over time. If you take every model of the iPhone and line them up chronologically, you can see both how Apple has modified the appearance of the phone over time to keep up the device’s aesthetics contemporary. It has grown smaller and more rounded to change with the times.</p>
<p>These core values of coolness are socially relative. Depending on subculture and preference, users may have starkly different perceptions of a device’s coolness. </p>
<p>Tech firms that either continue to innovate and evolve their product design are more likely to see their products’ association with coolness continue. But they’ve got to move fast, the cool consumer is a fickle friend.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23224/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Tamul 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>In the world of hi-tech devices, it is imperative to keep your finger on the pulse. Some of the most successful companies of our times, such as Apple and Google, are those that understand the power of…Daniel Tamul, Assistant Professor in Communications, Indiana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/220072014-01-20T04:03:48Z2014-01-20T04:03:48ZWhat price our fascination with cheaper 3D printing?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39160/original/33q8kc2x-1389833175.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">3D printed hat - just the thing for Melbourne Cup</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr/ Hindrik S</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The future of <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-3d-printing-and-whats-it-for-9456">3D printing</a> is firming up as it moves from do-it-yourself tinkerers to key players selling complete consumer solutions. This shift brings important ecological and socio-economic implications.</p>
<p>According to Google Trends, interest in 3D printing increased <a href="http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=%223d%20printing%22">tenfold</a> in the past two years and shows no signs of slowing down for 2014.</p>
<p>And it wasn’t just the gimmick of 3D printed wings adorning <a href="http://www.wired.com/design/2013/12/a-victorias-secret-angel-gets-a-pair-of-3d-printed-wings/">Victoria Secret models</a> that turned heads.</p>
<p>Online, all of those Google searchers were interested in printing everything from <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ultimate-iron-chef-when-3d-printers-invade-the-kitchen-17626">food</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DconsfGsXyA">guns</a> to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehnzfGP6sq4">houses</a> and even <a href="http://issuu.com/bartvandriessche/docs/cybercraft_s3446066">fascinators</a> (for the Melbourne Cup).</p>
<p>This year, even <a href="http://techcrunch.com/video/tech-crunch-martha-stewart-at-ces-3d-printers/518078572/">Martha Stewart</a>, the American home decoration magnate, declared 3D printing a “good thing” and ordered a few printers herself.</p>
<p>Post offices in <a href="http://www.3ders.org/articles/20131127-french-la-poste-to-offer-3d-printing-service-starting-with-three-offices.html">France</a> are rolling out 3D printers much like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI1UKfO2eiU">UPS Store</a> in the US. The UK grocery chain <a href="http://your.asda.com/news-and-blogs/3d-printing-on-tour">Asda</a> is dabbling in the technology as well, offering shoppers a chance to get a mini 3D printed model of themselves.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Create ‘mini me’ models of you and your family.</span></figcaption>
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<p>3D printing is starting to add up for consumers too. A recent experiment by Michigan Technological University showed that, by cheaply making “disposable” household items that would otherwise have to be bought elsewhere (think shower rings and smartphone cases), a US$2,000 3D printer would <a href="https://www.academia.edu/4067796/Life-Cycle_Economic_Analysis_of_Distributed_Manufacturing_with_Open-Source_3-D_Printers">pay for itself</a> in less than a year.</p>
<p>Why the explosion of interest? As was covered <a href="https://theconversation.com/creation-and-copyright-law-the-case-of-3d-printing-10305">here</a> and elsewhere, many key 3D printing <a href="http://3dprintingindustry.com/2013/12/29/many-3d-printing-patents-expiring-soon-heres-round-overview/">patents continue to expire</a>, and this allows new firms to innovate, compete and explore new business models.</p>
<p>As these 3D printing business models solidify, the bright promises of a new industrial revolution are meeting distinct ecological and social realities.</p>
<h2>3D junk</h2>
<p>Ecologically, while 3D printing may be “<a href="http://www.ecosmagazine.com/?paper=EC13276">greener</a>” than traditional manufacturing, economies of abundance instead of scarcity could create new problems.</p>
<p>3D printing might upend consumption patterns, but if the logic of economies of abundance that exist in digital content filter through to 3D printing, we’ll be awash in plastic junk.</p>
<p>Preliminary studies of the full environmental life cycle of <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/sc400093k">plastic products</a> suggest that distributed manufacturing with 3D printers can lower the environmental impact of a range of goods by over 40%.</p>
<p>That’s because 3D printing gets rid of the complex commercial logistics chains needed for each product, and the actual printing process allows more objects to be printed from less material.</p>
<p>However, as 3D printing continues to lower the barriers to manufacturing, conspicuous consumption may accelerate.</p>
<p>Think of how ephemeral our interest in digital content is. What if, instead of each new song or podcast you listened to, you downloaded a better smartphone case or must-have figurine for the kids?</p>
<p>How quickly would you get bored of each object if the next thing is just a click and 3D print away? What will we do with all the abundant, accessible, and cheap self-mass-production?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39095/original/hk2g9vky-1389755638.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39095/original/hk2g9vky-1389755638.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39095/original/hk2g9vky-1389755638.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39095/original/hk2g9vky-1389755638.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39095/original/hk2g9vky-1389755638.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39095/original/hk2g9vky-1389755638.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39095/original/hk2g9vky-1389755638.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39095/original/hk2g9vky-1389755638.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"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">3D printed smartphone cases.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr/Shapeways</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>3D printing may lessen commercial consumption, but a homemade flood of discarded objects may still fill childrens’ toy chests and parents’ sheds.</p>
<h2>Recycling</h2>
<p>Recycling consumer 3D printed objects is possible, but it takes energy and only makes production and consumption more efficient – not effectively sustainable. If production increases more than efficiency, we’re still at an environmental loss.</p>
<p>Recycling schemes that do exist are already following all too familiar patterns of global inequality. A group of “social entrepreneurs” suggest certifying “<a href="https://www.academia.edu/4067796/Life-Cycle_Economic_Analysis_of_Distributed_Manufacturing_with_Open-Source_3-D_Printers">ethical filaments</a>” to fuel the 3D printing drive via developing nations.</p>
<p>In this scheme, labourers in developing nations pick through landfills in “waste picker groups” looking for plastic scraps to sell to the new market of recycled filaments firms. At least we’re not buying “conflict filament” (think <a href="http://www.kimberleyprocess.com/en/faq">conflict diamonds</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-your-next-phone-be-fair-trade-21190">conflict minerals</a>). Although “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_SDzXmuewk">ethical</a>” petrochemicals are already being marketed.</p>
<h2>3D printing monetised</h2>
<p>Aside from the material-ethical implications of 3D printing business models, socio-economic implications are evolving too.</p>
<p>3D printing has so far required a “do it yourself” knack for experimenting and a free and open source knowledge base.</p>
<p>Now, firms are providing seamless, vertically integrated experiences attached to familiar Web 2.0 monetisation models. So, 3D printing is mirroring the corporate turn of Web 2.0 business models that offer services which monetise users’ data and relationships while shifting ownership of content to the business.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39100/original/kjrp6jtr-1389756929.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39100/original/kjrp6jtr-1389756929.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39100/original/kjrp6jtr-1389756929.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39100/original/kjrp6jtr-1389756929.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39100/original/kjrp6jtr-1389756929.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39100/original/kjrp6jtr-1389756929.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39100/original/kjrp6jtr-1389756929.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39100/original/kjrp6jtr-1389756929.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"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">3D collectibles, the new thing from a digital store.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">MakerBot (R)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For instance, onetime DIY darling 3D printing company <a href="http://www.makerbot.com/">Makerbot</a> recently unveiled its own proprietary <a href="https://digitalstore.makerbot.com/">online store</a>, where consumers can download exclusive snap-together toys and solid plastic figurines.</p>
<p>The files are similar to an iTunes music file, and come with similar <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalstore-production-cdn/tou/MakerBot_Digital_Store_TOU.pdf">Terms of Use</a>.</p>
<p>Users don’t own the content; they license <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalstore-production-cdn/tou/MakerBot_Digital_Store_TOU.pdf">unlimited prints</a> for personal, non-commercial purposes — although those terms may change at any time.</p>
<p>Of further concern is that the Makerbot file format that users pay for only works in Makerbot printers, and cannot be easily reverse engineered or remixed.</p>
<p>Note that Makerbot does continue to host a more open repository of objects, at <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/">Thingiverse.com</a>, where paid and free (as in beer and speech) content can be found.</p>
<p>Another company, <a href="http://pirate3d.com/">Pirate3D</a>, goes even further in ease of use and intellectual restrictions. Pirate3D hopes to manufacture Apple’s business playbook in the 3D printed world.</p>
<p>The firm aims to provide its customers with sleek design and vertical integration that makes 3D printing cool and ensures that it “just works”.</p>
<p>Like Makerbot, Pirate3D will also offer two tiers of free and paid goods, but keeps its <a href="https://theconversation.com/ip-patents-copyright-you-5421">intellectual property</a> even closer. Their main innovation is a printer that operates via their cloud.</p>
<p>Pirate3D’s cloud “treasure island” hosts curated objects for sale and print. It allows you to tweak their shape with a simple tablet application — no PC required to print.</p>
<p>Control of that digital content, including one’s ability to view, modify and print goods, resides with Pirate3D’s servers. We must hope that they don’t sink their own ship, or run afoul of copyright barons.</p>
<p>When Amazon has been known to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/technology/companies/18amazon.html?_r=0">delete books from Kindles</a>, the prospect of having your favourite 3D widget “disappeared” is real.</p>
<p>Finally, if you still wish to print your own content and make friends doing it, the communal aspect of 3D printing is alive, well and monetised.</p>
<p>For a small fee, the web service <a href="http://www.3dhubs.com/#about">3D Hubs</a> provides connections for “people who want to print to the people owning the machines”. Owners of machines can print jobs at their convenience.</p>
<h2>3D printed reality</h2>
<p>The evolving monetisation of 3D printing shows the industry is growing up: 3D printed goods are moving out of basements and into kitchens, playrooms and mainstream consumption patterns.</p>
<p>With that change comes market structures that mimic, for better and worse, the social and economic logics of successful web businesses. It will be interesting to see how well these models will work for consumers, industry and the environment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/22007/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke Heemsbergen 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 future of 3D printing is firming up as it moves from do-it-yourself tinkerers to key players selling complete consumer solutions. This shift brings important ecological and socio-economic implications…Luke Heemsbergen, PhD Candidate, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/148752013-06-04T20:46:11Z2013-06-04T20:46:11ZThe rise of Australia as a wine nation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/24810/original/k673f7m4-1370216011.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wine is increasingly becoming the drink of choice for Australians</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">isante_magazine</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Think of alcohol in Australian life and you probably think of beer: a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nszIJDswTBM">“hard-earned thirst”</a> and all that. </p>
<p>Yet our national drinking taste is undergoing a dramatic change. Not only are we drinking less overall, but beer no longer dominates the contents of the national glass. Consumption trends now show that wine may soon be our drink of choice in terms of the type of alcohol consumed. </p>
<p>Whereas 50 years ago Australians drank 20 times more beer than wine, the comparison has narrowed to only three times more beer by volume. Beer is lower in alcohol than wine so if we look at pure alcohol rather than total fluid consumed: very little <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/4307.0.55.0012010-11?OpenDocument">separates the two</a>. </p>
<p>As shown in the graph below, from 1961 to 2011, <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4307.0.55.001main+features72010-11">alcohol consumption overall</a> is lower than thirty years ago. Beer as pure alcohol dropped from 76% to 42% while wine consumption rose from 12% to 37%. Spirits increased from 12% to 20%. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/24786/original/bc48wbqx-1370052991.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/24786/original/bc48wbqx-1370052991.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/24786/original/bc48wbqx-1370052991.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24786/original/bc48wbqx-1370052991.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24786/original/bc48wbqx-1370052991.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=289&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24786/original/bc48wbqx-1370052991.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24786/original/bc48wbqx-1370052991.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24786/original/bc48wbqx-1370052991.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Overall alcohol consumption in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ABS</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the OECD <a href="http://www.oecd.org/health/health-systems/49105858.pdf">says that</a>: “wine consumption [is] increasing in many traditional beer-drinking countries and vice versa”, the closing of the gap between wine and beer in Australia says something especially intriguing about expressions of national identity.</p>
<h2>Changing national tastes and global wine trade</h2>
<p>This change in national taste over the past 50 years has been attributed to post-war migration from European wine countries, rising national prosperity, the increased power of women as consumers, and a more technologically sophisticated wine industry that matches its products with customer preference. </p>
<p>The influence of the wine industry is worth noting as Australia has taken more readily to wine-making than wine drinking. It is the world’s <a href="http://www.jacobscreek.com.au/about/media-room/information/australia-as-a-wine-country-(1)">fourth largest</a> wine exporter, but <a href="http://www.commbank.com.au/corporate/research/publications/commodities/agricultural-insights/2011/160611-International_Wine.pdf">only 12th</a> in per capita consumption. </p>
<p>Unlike the recent preference for wine drinking, the desire to create a successful wine export product – particularly to the UK – <a href="http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=997044012583652;res=IELHSS">can be traced</a> to the early colonisation of Australia. The achievement of this historical ambition has been emphasised with Australia’s <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/wine-sales-to-britain-break-billionpound-mark-20130521-2jxyo.html">status confirmed</a> as the UK’s number one source of wine, ahead of Italy, France and the US. The consequence of this is deeper than it might at first seem. </p>
<p>In global trade, wine commerce has long been a signifier of national economic maturity. UK marketer Hazel Murphy, who first facilitated the flood of Australian wine onto British supermarket shelves, described this from an Old World European perspective: wine export dominance signals a coming of age. </p>
<p>While alcohol is central to Australian culture, drinking beer, wine or spirits is not just an individual activity of daily life, but is also an inherently social one. Sociological research <a href="http://www.oup.com.au/titles/higher_ed/social_science/sociology/9780195551501">shows a strong link</a> between identity and consumption choices. The consumption of alcohol is not just a matter of individual choice, but also a matter of <a href="http://www.newcastle.edu.au/Resources/Institutes/Humanities%20Research%20Institute/Wine%20Studies/AllenGermov.pdf">cultural taste</a>.</p>
<p>While concerns over risky drinking behaviours have focused on how much people drink, what they’re drinking says something significant too about how individuals self-identify with particular social groups, lifestyles, and cultural values. This has implications for the complexity and diversity of national identity. </p>
<p>Wine denotes a cultured, not just cultural, identity. Research shows that the alcohol <a href="http://www.adelaide.edu.au/wine-econ/papers/0710_Zhao_Alcohol_EP_0410.pdf">least likely</a> to be chosen by Australian binge drinkers is light beer, followed by bottled or fortified wine. This has echoes of European folklore about national lifestyles which linked wine with responsible drinking. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/24814/original/b8pnkqzr-1370216577.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/24814/original/b8pnkqzr-1370216577.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24814/original/b8pnkqzr-1370216577.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24814/original/b8pnkqzr-1370216577.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24814/original/b8pnkqzr-1370216577.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24814/original/b8pnkqzr-1370216577.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24814/original/b8pnkqzr-1370216577.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Beer was increasingly the drink of the working classes from the 1860s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cambridge Brewing Co.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the 1800s, residents of European wine countries - regardless of social class - were thought to be better behaved (more civilised even) than those who took their alcohol brewed or distilled. This association between wine and civilised behaviour <a href="http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/parergon/summary/v017/17.1.martin.html">held surprising influence</a> among the ruling class in colonial Australia who looked to Europe as well as Britain to fashion their cultural environment.</p>
<h2>A ‘civilising drink’?</h2>
<p>Wine was often promoted as a “civilising drink”, and in the context of temperance movements, its consumption was imbued with notions of self-restraint in contrast to consumption of spirits and beer. A rise in binge drinking <a href="http://www.newcastle.edu.au/Resources/Institutes/Humanities%20Research%20Institute/Wine%20Studies/Adam%20Smith%20and%20Faith%20in%20the%20Transformative%20NSW.pdf">during the 1850s</a> gold rushes led to attempts to legislate for greater production of cheap wine to encourage sobriety among working men. </p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, in the decades after this, the socially prevalent British-derived labourers of colonial Australia refused to be transformed into wine bibbers. Their drink was beer, ale, and to a lesser extent, rum. </p>
<p>By 1901, ten times more beer than wine or spirits was consumed in NSW alone. By the 1950s beer had become deeply entrenched in popular notions of “Australianness”. This was emphasised in the <a href="http://books.google.com.au/books?id=vRUDgsInqSsC&pg=PT191&lpg=PT191&dq=%22Scale+of+Australianism%22&source=bl&ots=9V9EwsDFRd&sig=3J_Wkf8CC-HmRSpLUaGqHfVexRg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WhSsUdeAA4bfkgW9lYHgAQ&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAQ">1962 “Scale of Australianism”</a>, a bizarre “psychological test” devised to gauge the understanding of “New Australians” as to how to assimilate into contemporary Australian culture.</p>
<p>The test expected respondents to agree with the statement that “a good way for a man to spend his spare time is with a group of friends round a keg of beer” and disagree that “wine is a good drink to offer to a friend who just drops in for a visit”. </p>
<p>This resistance to wine drinking reflected white Australian fears that a changing way of life would weaken the nation: fears that have proven to be unfounded. It is in an environment of broader social acceptance of diversity in gender, class and cultural identities that Australians have turned to wine. </p>
<p>There is no longer a single national alcohol of choice. Cultural tastes have broadened. Let’s drink to that. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/14875/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Germov receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) on alcohol and harm minimisation. He also collaborates with wine companies on historical sociological research while also publishing critical wine studies scholarship independent of industry. John is the current Vice-President of the Australasian Council of Deans of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (DASSH). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie McIntyre’s book First Vintage: Wine in Colonial New South Wales (Sydney: UNSW Press, 2012) was published with support from the wine industry. She collaborates with wine companies on historical sociological research while also publishing critical wine studies scholarship independent of industry. </span></em></p>Think of alcohol in Australian life and you probably think of beer: a “hard-earned thirst” and all that. Yet our national drinking taste is undergoing a dramatic change. Not only are we drinking less overall…John Germov, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Education and Arts, University of NewcastleJulie McIntyre, Lecturer in History, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/126192013-03-26T03:23:00Z2013-03-26T03:23:00ZWe could be superheroes: the era of positive computing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/21285/original/qrxjw5tz-1363258089.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Technology such as the iPad has been found to affect our wellbeing both positively and negatively.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Tracey Nearmy</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Digital technologies have made their way into all aspects of our lives that <a href="https://theconversation.com/thumbs-up-facebook-might-actually-be-good-for-you-11889">influence our wellbeing</a> - affecting everything from social relationships and curiosity to engagement and learning. </p>
<p>Psychologists have generally focused on the negative impacts of using internet technologies or on the potential of these technologies to be used to help those suffering from mental health problems. </p>
<p>But recent advances in the development of tools go beyond prevention of disorders to actually promote well-being.</p>
<p>In fact, we may be entering an era of “positive computing”, in which technology will be designed specifically to promote wellbeing and human potential.</p>
<h2>A positive outlook</h2>
<p>The truth is, engineers such as myself aren’t known for our social and emotional intelligence. It’s no wonder we have seldom focused on the impact the technologies we create have on the psychological wellbeing of the people who use them. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/21397/original/2m4tfch7-1363652569.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/21397/original/2m4tfch7-1363652569.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/21397/original/2m4tfch7-1363652569.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=825&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21397/original/2m4tfch7-1363652569.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=825&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21397/original/2m4tfch7-1363652569.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=825&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21397/original/2m4tfch7-1363652569.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1037&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21397/original/2m4tfch7-1363652569.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1037&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21397/original/2m4tfch7-1363652569.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1037&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">n boyd</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The advent of <a href="http://www.positivecomputing.org/">positive computing</a> provides us with an opportunity to put human potential and wellbeing front and centre when imagining and creating future technologies. </p>
<p>The press keeps the public anxious about the negative impacts of using internet technologies with <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2175230/Too-time-online-lead-stress-sleeping-disorders-depression.html">regular articles</a> on stress and suggestions for coping. </p>
<p>Psychiatrists themselves are planning to add “<a href="https://theconversation.com/internet-use-and-the-dsm-5s-revival-of-addiction-10346">Internet Addiction</a>” to their official <a href="http://allpsych.com/disorders/dsm.html">Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders</a>. </p>
<p>But we are less aware of how these same technologies can be used to help those suffering from mental health problems, or how they might help all of us live happier and psychologically healthier lives. </p>
<p>Researchers have <a href="http://www.jmir.org/">begun to investigate</a> how internet technologies such as e-mail, and social media platforms such as Facebook, could support young people in crisis, adults suffering from depression, and encourage smartphone users to be more mindful.</p>
<p>Those efforts come as we are seeing technology, psychology and neuroscience converge. On one hand, engineers are getting more involved in issues of human emotion, values and well-being, as well as recognising the need for it and the science behind it. </p>
<p>There is also an emerging interest among mental health professionals to understand how technology can be used - not only to treat illness - but also for a larger mission to promote positive psychology and optimum mental health in everyone.</p>
<h2>New moves</h2>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ian-hickie-961/profile_bio">Ian Hickie</a> and I, at the University of Sydney, recently began a three-year project in collaboration with the <a href="http://www.yawcrc.org.au/">Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre</a> and the <a href="http://www.inspire.org.au/">Inspire Foundation</a>, in which we will conduct research to inform the development of an online clinic, a semi-automated triage system and an <a href="http://www.yawcrc.org.au/safe-and-supportive/online-wellbeing-centre">online hub</a> where young people can download tools and applications to help them improve their wellbeing. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/21398/original/9x7jkdfs-1363652794.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/21398/original/9x7jkdfs-1363652794.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/21398/original/9x7jkdfs-1363652794.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21398/original/9x7jkdfs-1363652794.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21398/original/9x7jkdfs-1363652794.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21398/original/9x7jkdfs-1363652794.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21398/original/9x7jkdfs-1363652794.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21398/original/9x7jkdfs-1363652794.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"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">chrisdejabet</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The Young and Well CRC is engaging in multidisciplinary approaches that bring software specialists together with psychologists and other mental health experts to create novel technologies specially designed to promote mental health.</p>
<p>In this, it is not alone. An increasing number of engineers and computer scientists are working, within multidisciplinary teams, on systems that promote pro-social behaviours such as altruism, empathy, resilience and mindfulness. </p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0055003;jsessionid=6153697949C9467C46BBDC53CFA3872D">recent study</a> published in PLOS One, a team at Stanford University, led by the cognitive psychologist <a href="http://tedx.stanford.edu/speakers-2012/jeremy-bailenson/">Jeremy Bailenson</a>, used augmented virtual reality games to develop helping behaviours - altruism, in other words.</p>
<h2>Simply super</h2>
<p>Half of the 60 participants who completed the study were given the virtual power to fly like Superman (the “superhero” condition), while the other half flew in a virtual helicopter. In the two-by-two design, participants in each of these groups were also allocated to either helping to find a lost sick child or tour a virtual city. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/21394/original/hd8ck5qs-1363652342.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/21394/original/hd8ck5qs-1363652342.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/21394/original/hd8ck5qs-1363652342.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21394/original/hd8ck5qs-1363652342.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21394/original/hd8ck5qs-1363652342.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21394/original/hd8ck5qs-1363652342.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21394/original/hd8ck5qs-1363652342.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21394/original/hd8ck5qs-1363652342.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"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jerome Ware</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>At the end of the virtual-reality experience, participants were confronted by someone who needed help (the <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/dependent-personality-disorder">dependent behavioural</a> condition). </p>
<p>The researchers measured the time to, and amount of, help provided by those in the different experimental conditions, and the results showed those in the superhero condition were significantly faster and helped more than those in the touring conditions. </p>
<p>Six of the touring participants didn’t help at all, while every one of the former superheroes did. </p>
<p>Although the researchers hypothesised that the embodied experience of helping facilitated the transfer of this behaviour to the real-world, other studies have shown similar correlations between “positive” pro-social games and pro-social behaviours with lower tech immersion. </p>
<h2>No worries</h2>
<p>Technologies that foster the factors correlated to psychological wellbeing are only likely to become more common.</p>
<p>The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has recently funded <a href="http://www.news.wisc.edu/20704">a project</a> led by neuroscientist Professor Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to develop mobile applications that support the development of children’s mindfulness skills. </p>
<p>Prime Minister Julia Gillard <a href="http://teachers.reachoutpro.com.au/blog/2013/2/21/wellbeing@school-resources-launches-in-adelaide.aspx">recently launched</a> wellbeing@school, a component of ReachOut.com, a highly successful online service delivered by the internet-based <a href="http://inspire.org.au/about/">Inspire Foundation</a>. These resources are mapped to the Australian Curriculum and will be offered at no cost to schools.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/21286/original/95b48pmw-1363258450.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/21286/original/95b48pmw-1363258450.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21286/original/95b48pmw-1363258450.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21286/original/95b48pmw-1363258450.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21286/original/95b48pmw-1363258450.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21286/original/95b48pmw-1363258450.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/21286/original/95b48pmw-1363258450.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&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>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Lloyd Jones</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Research such as this, together with case studies from around the world, will be described in a forthcoming book I am co-authoring for The MIT Press with digital designer Dorian Peters at the University of Sydney. </p>
<p>The book, <em>Positive Computing: Technology for a Better World</em>, outlines the landscape of positive computing, an emerging field of research and practice dedicated to the investigation and design of technologies that support psychological well-being and human potential. </p>
<p>We believe that this research will bring together research and methodologies well-established in psychology, engineering, education and neuroscience, to begin a new era of digital experiences that are deeply human-centred. </p>
<p>It was Aristotle that said all our efforts in life are ultimately about seeking wellbeing - shouldn’t designers of technology be our allies on this journey?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/12619/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rafael A. Calvo receives funding from the ARC, the Young and Well CRC and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SCHRCA). Rafael A. Calvo has received funding from Google and the Office of Learning and Teaching</span></em></p>Digital technologies have made their way into all aspects of our lives that influence our wellbeing - affecting everything from social relationships and curiosity to engagement and learning. Psychologists…Rafael A Calvo, Professor and ARC Future Fellow, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/108302012-11-20T23:36:37Z2012-11-20T23:36:37ZRethinking long-held beliefs about the psychology of evil<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/17815/original/k8cbww6d-1353374105.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Protesters march against the torture at Abu Ghraib; we use social psychology to help understand why people commit such acts.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shrieking Tree</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Social psychology addresses many of the important questions that concern us as human beings. It’s also the subject of newspaper editorials on most days: why is there conflict between groups? How can it be reduced? Why do we trust some people and not others? What makes us angry? What are the consequences for our judgement and decision making?</p>
<p>A century of experimental research has applied itself to the task of addressing these and other fascinating questions. Yet this research is not routinely discussed publicly in any depth, and few people are aware it exists. </p>
<p>But there is one significant exception to this rule: work that addresses the question of why decent people sometimes commit appalling acts. This is a question that needs to be asked with alarming regularity — whether we are discussing the behaviour of bureaucrats in the Holocaust or torture at Abu Ghraib, corruption in Enron or phone-hacking at News International.</p>
<p>In all of these examples, academics and other commentators have one important body of social psychological research that they can (and do) turn to in order to make sense of the abuses they observe. Informed by Hannah Arendt’s analysis of the 1961 trial of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Eichmann">Adolf Eichmann</a>, this is generally referred to as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banality_of_evil">banality of evil</a> thesis. It suggests humans have a natural tendency to conform to the rules and roles that make up group life and to the authorities that represent and enforce them. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/17812/original/s65z2hmp-1353372856.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/17812/original/s65z2hmp-1353372856.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/17812/original/s65z2hmp-1353372856.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/17812/original/s65z2hmp-1353372856.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/17812/original/s65z2hmp-1353372856.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/17812/original/s65z2hmp-1353372856.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/17812/original/s65z2hmp-1353372856.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&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">Adolf Eichmann’s 1961 trial.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Israel National Photo Collection</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If there is only one idea you’ve learnt from social psychology, this is probably it. </p>
<p>And if you know the details of any social psychological studies, then these probably relate to the two programs of research that are usually taken to support the banality of evil thesis: Stanley Milgram’s Yale-based research on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment">Obedience to Authority</a> and Philip Zimbardo’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment">Stanford Prison Experiment</a>. </p>
<p>In the former, members of the general public were shown to be willing to administer apparently lethal electrical shocks to a stranger because they were asked to by an experimenter. </p>
<p>In the latter, college students were assigned to roles as prisoners and guards in a mock prison but the study had to be terminated after six days on account of the damage done to prisoners by increasingly cruel guards. As Zimbardo and colleagues put it, the lesson of these studies is that such abuse is a “natural consequence” of humans’ propensity to conform — even when that conformity has horrific consequences.</p>
<p>As scientific stories go, this is easy and dramatic to recount, and it certainly improves upon the suggestion that abuse is only ever a manifestation of the toxic personalities of wrong-doers. Indeed, for thirty years it was the best analysis on offer.</p>
<p>Over the course of the last decade, though, the banality of evil thesis has been subjected to increasing challenge — first from historians looking closely at the life and crimes of Nazis such as Eichmann and then from social psychologists like ourselves looking ever more closely at the specifics of the work of Milgram and Zimbardo.</p>
<h2>Revisiting the classic experiments</h2>
<p>In our case, a particular stimulus for our efforts was work we did together on the 2001 <a href="http://www.bbcprisonstudy.org">BBC Prison Study</a>. The goal was to revisit the issues raised by Zimbardo’s work in a study that had a similar structure but where we had no formal role and experimental interventions were designed to test pre-specified theoretical principles.</p>
<p>We made the former change because we were concerned Zimbardo’s own analysis was clouded by the fact he took on the role of prison superintendent in his own study. Telling his guards, “You can create in the prisoners … a sense of fear to some degree, you can create a notion of arbitrariness. … What all this leads to is a sense of powerlessness,” seems to conflict with his claims that the ensuing violence was an instinctive expression of participants’ conformity to pre-learned societal scripts.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/17811/original/phgy4rfr-1353372716.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/17811/original/phgy4rfr-1353372716.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/17811/original/phgy4rfr-1353372716.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/17811/original/phgy4rfr-1353372716.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/17811/original/phgy4rfr-1353372716.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/17811/original/phgy4rfr-1353372716.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/17811/original/phgy4rfr-1353372716.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Zimbardo’s prison experiment had a number of shortcomings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Prison image from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For us, Zimbardo’s leadership was a big part of the analytic story (as it is in all cases of tyranny), and we were struck not by the passive conformity of his guards but by their apparent enthusiasm for their task. We came to understand the guards were not merely conforming but instead displaying active followership. Furthermore, this followership appeared to be predicated upon identification with Zimbardo’s scientific enterprise.</p>
<p>Supporting this analysis, the guards in our study did not resort spontaneously to violence. Towards the end of the study there was, however, a move to introduce a more brutal regime. Critically, though, this only emerged once a subgroup of participants — under the influence of a charismatic leader — had come to believe that this was the best solution to problems the prison system was facing. </p>
<p>Tyranny, then, was not something participants slipped carelessly into. It was the result of conviction and hard work.</p>
<p>Spurred on by other data that support this argument, our most recent work has sought to see whether behaviour in Milgram’s paradigm could be subject to the same reanalysis. </p>
<p>The short answer is it can – and we outline the details in an article published today in the open-access journal <a href="http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1001426">PLoS Biology</a>. We discuss evidence that the destructive behaviour of Milgram’s participants can be predicted by the degree to which they identified with his scientific goals. Moreover, the behaviour seems to have reflected a willingness to work towards goals that sprang from genuine enthusiasm for science and for Yale — enthusiasms that Milgram went to some length to cultivate.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/17820/original/3jw8kz98-1353376094.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/17820/original/3jw8kz98-1353376094.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/17820/original/3jw8kz98-1353376094.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/17820/original/3jw8kz98-1353376094.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/17820/original/3jw8kz98-1353376094.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/17820/original/3jw8kz98-1353376094.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/17820/original/3jw8kz98-1353376094.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">Milgram’s study required members of the public to administer apparently lethal electrical shocks to a stranger.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Eben Regis</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The simple message of our research is that tyranny arises not from zombie-like conformity but from the twin processes of motivated leadership and engaged followership. What’s more, people proceed down the path to tyranny not because they are ignorant of the harm they are doing, but because they know full well what they are doing and believe it to be justified by ends that they perceive to be noble.</p>
<p>In these terms, what we need to be afraid of is not a nature that turns us into mindless automatons. Instead, it’s our acceptance of a particular model of “us” and “them” that commits us to the unthinkable, together with leadership that mobilises us to act on that commitment.</p>
<p>At the very least, 50 years on from Milgram’s research, it’s time to question the one thing we all thought we knew about social psychology.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/10830/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Haslam receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Reicher is named as consultant on ARC grants and has received funding from UK funding agencies (Nuffield, Leverhulme, ESRC).</span></em></p>Social psychology addresses many of the important questions that concern us as human beings. It’s also the subject of newspaper editorials on most days: why is there conflict between groups? How can it…Alex Haslam, Professor of Psychology and ARC Laureate Fellow, The University of QueenslandStephen Reicher, Professor of Psychology, University of St AndrewsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/67052012-05-01T20:43:24Z2012-05-01T20:43:24ZYou have been indoctrinated (oh yes you have)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/9998/original/zm6kbjzj-1335496094.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Indoctrination is one of the key forces at play in any society.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">flickr/lets.book</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Despite its association with totalitarian societies of the left and right, indoctrination is also a common feature of societies that describe themselves as free: those where the coercive powers of the state are weakest and the population cannot be easily controlled by violence and fear.</p>
<p>Although since the 1930s it has been primarily understood in pejorative terms, not all indoctrination should be seen as malignant. </p>
<p>It underwrites every faith-based belief system including all monotheistic religions. It is the primary means for the transmission of values from one generation to the next. And it would be difficult to imagine any educational curriculum – or parental advice to young children - without propaganda of some kind featuring extensively.</p>
<p>Indoctrination is particularly prevalent in minority and persecuted cultures, especially amongst 1st generation migrants, because it is seen as an essential tool for maintaining social cohesion, integrity, and ultimately, group identity.</p>
<p>In establishing traditions which must be followed, or taboos which need to be avoided, indoctrination first erects and then patrols the intellectual boundaries within which legitimate thoughts can be freely expressed. These boundaries are tightly prescribed but they must remain largely invisible if they are to be effective and remain unchallenged. </p>
<p>As <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_Rai">Milan Rai</a> argues, “we can no longer perceive the ideas that are shaping our thoughts, as the fish cannot perceive the sea.” Debate and discussion occurs, but within strictly controlled limits that may not be widely recognised.</p>
<p>In this way, a degree of ideological control is achieved in free societies, not by threats or intimidation, but by defining the spectrum of permitted thought: a voluntary rather than a coercive constraint, but no less effective.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/10002/original/r9hyy2fg-1335496716.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/10002/original/r9hyy2fg-1335496716.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/10002/original/r9hyy2fg-1335496716.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/10002/original/r9hyy2fg-1335496716.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/10002/original/r9hyy2fg-1335496716.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/10002/original/r9hyy2fg-1335496716.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/10002/original/r9hyy2fg-1335496716.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">North Korean soldiers cheering pro-regime slogans. Indoctrination is an essential tool of social control.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/YONHAP/KCNA SOUTH KOREA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Control is achieved by removing contestable ideas from the contest of ideas, making them instead presuppositions whose acceptance is actually a pre-requisite for discourse about a particular subject. </p>
<p>Making an idea implicit tends to protect it from being challenged or opposed. By being constantly reinforced, the idea comes to be accepted as part of the framework necessary to even start a discussion.</p>
<p>Paradoxically, this is easier in open societies which champion free speech and permit vigorous debates and discussion: said to be the lifeblood of all liberal democracies. </p>
<p>In truth, much of what is defined as dissent in these societies is in fact feigned and confined to the mainstream, which by definition is the only location where “serious” ideas can be found. On some issues, the spectrum of legitimate thought is very narrow.</p>
<p>One recent example is the aftermath of the global financial crisis (GFC) which began in 2007. Policy responses to the crisis in the US centred on how to stabilise or “reform” the global financial system, but within strictly controlled limits which largely preserved the status quo: exorbitant fees regardless of company share price or the performance of bankers, generous bonuses unrelated to share price or performance, innovative complexity of financial instruments and, most importantly, minimal regulation of the sector. </p>
<p>The challenge was to make the existing system work better, rather than replace it with something less volatile and dangerous, or more just and humane.</p>
<p>As a consequence of a concerted mobilisation by the business class and President Obama’s indebtedness to the finance community for funding his election campaigns, even minor proposals for long overdue reform were aborted. Despite a window of opportunity for wholesale reform at the height of the crisis, serious attempts at structural change were not even considered. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/10008/original/3djpjpf4-1335500998.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/10008/original/3djpjpf4-1335500998.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/10008/original/3djpjpf4-1335500998.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/10008/original/3djpjpf4-1335500998.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/10008/original/3djpjpf4-1335500998.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/10008/original/3djpjpf4-1335500998.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/10008/original/3djpjpf4-1335500998.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The financial crash of 2008 exposed many of the flaws in an economic model once seen as perfect.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Justin Lane</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>An elite consensus for preserving the privileges of the status quo prevailed over the interests of the general population. Consequently, the crisis will almost certainly be reprised, though for much of Europe it has been barely attenuated.</p>
<p>This outcome could not have occurred without the lowering of public expectations and propaganda which sought to limit any changes to the margins of the current system. It was presupposed that the existing system was the best that could be hoped for, and permitted policy discussion was confined to proposals which would not inhibit its workings in any meaningful way. </p>
<p>Extraordinary disparities of wealth and income, or the contrasting fortunes of bankers and pension holders, were seen as simply part and parcel of life. This is because it is vital that the system is seen as broadly legitimate, even by those who have the least to gain from it.</p>
<p>From the perspective of the bankers who launched an offensive against regulation, the campaign was a total success. We are no better prepared for the inevitable, next financial crisis today than we were five years ago.</p>
<p>Indoctrination and propaganda train us for obedience and conformity. They discourage us from thinking differently or creatively, particularly in dealing with new problems and challenges we face every day. </p>
<p>Instead they provide ready-made, pre-prepared answers so we don’t really have to think at all. Too often they attempt to constrain our possible futures by limiting our possible thoughts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/6705/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Scott Burchill 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>Despite its association with totalitarian societies of the left and right, indoctrination is also a common feature of societies that describe themselves as free: those where the coercive powers of the…Scott Burchill, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/49122012-01-14T13:49:57Z2012-01-14T13:49:57Z‘I Love Pho’: tough love, democracy and the Vietnamese journey<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6941/original/pn2sbcd5-1326546868.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Most people associate Cabramatta with crime and drug dealing, but the reality is much has changed since the 1990s.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a world of 24/7 news cycles and prejudice masquerading as insight, it is often very difficult to communicate the deeper analyses based on social science research. </p>
<p>Surprising then that a program based on such research and offering a complex analysis of the Vietnamese challenge to Australia’s multicultural vision should become one of the highest rating shows ever on SBS, reaching over 1 million viewers in its first episode (in both English and Vietnamese sub-titled versions).</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/onceuponatimeincabramatta">“Once Upon A Time in Cabramatta”</a>, the current three part SBS documentary on Vietnamese settlement and survival, has built its master narrative on an <a href="http://andrewjakubowicz.com/2012/01/01/read-background-paper-to-once-upon-a-time-in-cabramatta-ouatc/">academic paper originally prepared in 2002</a>. </p>
<h2>A new Cabramatta</h2>
<p>The early part of last decade was a time of tumultuous change among the Vietnamese, with the first major successful challenge to their reputation for drug-related violent crime. </p>
<p>A NSW Upper House inquiry in 2001, argued for by local councillor <a href="http://www.thangngo.com/archived%20main%20page.htm">Thang Ngo</a> and promoted by <a href="http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/members.nsf/0/BC83F47FEFC3937B4A25672E0002E1D6">Liberal Party defector Helen Sham-Ho MLC</a>, essentially presented the vision of the local population for a suburb that was properly policed, in which their safety was assured, and in which the common civilities of life could flourish. For more than a decade none of this had been possible. The situation had been amplified by two deaths. </p>
<p>The first was the 1994 assassination of local MP John Newman (local councilor Phuong Ngo has been convicted for organizing the crime); the second involved the 1995 murder of 21 year old Tri Minh Tran, the energetic and entrepreneurial leader of the 5T gang, with a consequential anarchic amplification of violence and disorder. At the time some suggestion was made that Phuong Ngo tried to have Tran murder Newman, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/s72739.htm">but he refused</a>. </p>
<p>The Underbelly-style “hook” for the series should not divert our attention from the longer term trajectory of the Vietnamese community in the area. The end of White Australia by government edict in the early 1970s just preceded (and made possible) the Vietnamese arrival and the formulation of multiculturalism as a rubric for public policy in relation to immigrant settlement. </p>
<h2>From White Australia to multiculturalism</h2>
<p>For a century Australia’s conversation about Asians had been saturated with racial superiority and racist hostility; the first Federation Parliament passed the Immigration Restriction Act in 1901 as one of its first moves to “imagine the nation”. The slow dissolution of the White perspective remained unfinished business in the Australian heartland when Labor under Whitlam in 1973 said race was no longer to be a factor in selecting immigrants or accepting refugees. </p>
<p>What we then have is a testing ground for theories of immigrant settlement, theories of multiculturalism as social policy, and theories of the politics of ethnicity in settler societies. While the Commonwealth under Fraser elected to take the refugees, and played a key role in negotiating the later orderly departure program with Vietnam and other regional nations, especially Malaysia, it was the states that would need to provide the services and facilities, and local government that would need to manage the “quintessential collision” of cultures and people. </p>
<p>In Victoria there was a succession of governments that championed multiculturalism, invested in services, and saw their roles as critically important in building social cohesion; there was also the perceived value of immigrant voters in key seats for both parties, and allegations of branch stacking were widespread, especially for the ALP. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6939/original/9dxhj6kv-1326546741.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6939/original/9dxhj6kv-1326546741.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6939/original/9dxhj6kv-1326546741.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6939/original/9dxhj6kv-1326546741.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6939/original/9dxhj6kv-1326546741.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1149&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6939/original/9dxhj6kv-1326546741.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1149&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6939/original/9dxhj6kv-1326546741.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1149&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mother of murdered NSW MP John Newman, Helene Neumann, at the sentencing of his killer, Phuong Ngo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nor were government actions always sufficient or effective, especially after Geoffrey Blainey’s 1984 speech on Asian immigration seemed to license the reinvigoration of a White Australia discourse. In NSW the long-running ALP machine led by Bob Carr was antipathetic to Asian settlement, was only minimally prepared to resource multicultural programs, and operated locally through branch-stacking, corruption and nepotism. </p>
<p>In a sense Cabramatta sits at the intersection of all the policy challenges that could be massed in one area, and exemplifies some of Blainey’s 1984 concerns. It was a working class area with a long-established immigrant population, mainly from Southern and Eastern Europe. Yugoslav and Russian communities were well-entrenched: Newman, a black-belt karate instructor, came from a Yugoslav post-war family, and served for many years on the Fairfield council. He was also an ex-Federated Clerks Union official; the union was one of the most right wing and conservative of the ALP’s key supporters. </p>
<p>The stability of ALP control was shaken by the emergence of new political players among the Asians, with new branch stacking starting to put pressure on local networks. As a “safe seat” there was little government interest in rocking the boat. </p>
<h2>Theory and practice</h2>
<p>In the 1920s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_E._Park">Robert Park</a> developed a typology of relations between new immigrants and established residents in the exploding metropolis of Chicago. Contact, conflict, accommodation and assimilation marked the successive stages of interaction, all driven by a Darwinian survival imperative in his ecological model of urban social life. </p>
<p>A generation later <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_K._Merton">Robert Merton</a> developed ideas about deviance through the application of the concept of “anomie”, where cultural values and social opportunities do not mesh. For the Vietnamese in Cabramatta, the social structure for mobility was closed by racism and corruption, overlaid by economic exploitation and family fragmentation. </p>
<p>As the series shows some of the young people growing up in the area in the 1980s were cut off from their parents (their language skills in Vietnamese were poor, while few of the parents spoke English), there were few if any community services or supports, and the street skills of wartime Saigon were the most useful capacities for survival in the new land. </p>
<h2>Survival on the streets of Cabramatta</h2>
<p>Competition meant muscling into a space either controlled by others, or taking advantage of an ecological niche to maximize returns on their skills. The heroin trade had flourished (ironically) during the Vietnam War, when US servicemen on leave served as an easy entry point for the drug, and allowed the establishment of the connections to Bangkok from where the drug could be cheaply sourced. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6940/original/j6zmkf3f-1326546784.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6940/original/j6zmkf3f-1326546784.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6940/original/j6zmkf3f-1326546784.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6940/original/j6zmkf3f-1326546784.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6940/original/j6zmkf3f-1326546784.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1123&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6940/original/j6zmkf3f-1326546784.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1123&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6940/original/j6zmkf3f-1326546784.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1123&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Police arrest a man in Cabramatta on heroin trafficking charges.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The police force was unable to protect the local population from its own predators, while leaders like Phuong Ngo were in effective public denial. The series tracks the development of the criminal networks and their capacity to elude the police and recruit ever increasing numbers of dealers and users, ultimately serving a thousand or more users a day who arrived by train at Cabramatta station, leaving behind bodies of those who succumbed to the drug. </p>
<p>By the late 1990s not only Hanson would have felt multiculturalism, if it meant letting in Asians such as those, was a fearful mistake. Yet at the local level the feeling was intense but the reverse: multiculturalism hadn’t so much “failed Australia” as failed the communities which sought its protection. As Howard wound back the funding for multicultural services, never very great, and coasted along with the Hansonite rhetoric which inflamed what he condoned, key Liberal Party members resigned – some to become independents such as Helen Sham Ho, others to create the new Unity Party. </p>
<h2>The coming of change</h2>
<p>The struggle by Thang Ngo, Helen Sham–Ho and others to force the oldest parliamentary chamber in the country to hear the voices of the traumatised Vietnamese should stand as one of the great political campaigns of modern Australia. Even as that campaign reached its peak and the Committee was due to report, government policy, after years of rhetoric, began to deliver. </p>
<p>Special legislation allowed the police to break up the drug houses, barricaded apartments used to sell and use drugs. The arrest rate rose dramatically, while sadly the death rate removed many of the dealers.</p>
<p>Attempts by Thang Ngo to get then Fairfield mayor Chris Bowen (today’s Immigration Minister) to back supervised injecting rooms with associated treatment and support services, were rebuffed without consideration. However a whole-of-government committee driven out of the Premier’s special projects unit tried to ensure that everyone was working in the same direction. </p>
<h2>I love pho</h2>
<p>By 2002, Generation 1.5 and Generation 2 were surfacing through the maelstrom of the previous 25 years. In an exhibition promoted by the extraordinarily brave community arts worker Cuong Le, called <a href="http://www.kultour.com.au/touring-08/ilovepho.html">“I love Pho”</a>, local young people (in 2012 well established in careers and professions) portrayed their struggles, triumphs and despairs through a myriad of art works and stories. </p>
<p>So what are the lessons? Leadership in both the immigrant community and in the local and wider society remains crucial. For the Vietnamese most of the leaders were still embroiled in émigré politics, seeing their time in Australia as a temporary sojourn before returning to a non-Communist Vietnam. Australia was too hard for most of them, and the chaos around them was not something they could easily manage. </p>
<p>Some may even have had a hand in opening up the illicit trade routes that fed the drug market, or helped develop the extortion and protection rackets, or grown wealthy from the widespread exploitation of Vietnamese women in the clothing outwork sector. </p>
<p>In recent years governments have placed a lot more emphasis on leadership development of young people from immigrant communities, while building detailed networks of community surveillance and consultation. </p>
<h2>Confronting structural racism</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6938/original/tyd5fr9n-1326546721.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6938/original/tyd5fr9n-1326546721.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6938/original/tyd5fr9n-1326546721.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6938/original/tyd5fr9n-1326546721.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6938/original/tyd5fr9n-1326546721.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6938/original/tyd5fr9n-1326546721.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6938/original/tyd5fr9n-1326546721.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Former One Nation leader Pauline Hanson claimed Australia was in danger of being “swamped” by Asian immigrants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A firm societal commitment to anti-racism is important, with no license being given to public figures who condone or support racism. In this we have been less successful, refusing as a nation to adopt human rights legislation. </p>
<p>If we do adopt anti-racism as a policy principle, then we need to be vigilant about internal exploitation within ethnic communities in the name of culture, and ongoing hostility between communities fed by racism. The new anti-racism partnerships, though desperately under-resourced, may tackle some of these questions. While there have been some significant public cultural heroes of Vietnamese origin (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luke_Nguyen">Luke Nguyen</a> being the latest), they do not appear among the mainstream representations of Australian life. </p>
<p>This structural racism persists in the Australian media, despite many attempts by artists and actors to gain a foothold. Most appearances are stereotyped and occasional, rather than rounded and continuing. </p>
<h2>The power of democracy</h2>
<p>However the most important lesson must surely be that the history of a suburb like Cabramatta presents a test of Australian democracy and its capacity to fully represent the interests and serve the needs of all its citizens. The worst part of the Cabramatta story is where democracy failed the local people, the best where they used it to rise against the tide. </p>
<p>I am not suggesting that somehow Cabramatta or the Vietnamese have become pure; crime still exists, Vietnamese Australians are still members of gangs that roam with criminal intent, as are people of many other ethnic backgrounds and those with long Australian pedigrees. </p>
<p>However the capacity of people to now believe that they have a stake in Australia and that the wider society has a stake in their well-being, marks a truly dramatic turn-around. or more recent communities and those that are still ravaged by crime and violence, the sense of reciprocal recognition and obligation may still be the challenge unmet. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/4912/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Jakubowicz provided the background paper, was interviewed for, and undertook script advice for the SBS production "Once Upon a Time in Cabramatta". He was (very modestly) rewarded for the script advisory role.</span></em></p>In a world of 24/7 news cycles and prejudice masquerading as insight, it is often very difficult to communicate the deeper analyses based on social science research. Surprising then that a program based…Andrew Jakubowicz, Professor of Sociology and Codirector of Cosmopolitan Civil Societies Research Centre, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/48852012-01-11T02:19:49Z2012-01-11T02:19:49ZJay-Z, Beyoncé, baby Blue Ivy and the art of naming<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6865/original/wwb3fc3s-1326241059.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=94%2C55%2C2844%2C1905&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Celebrities Jay-Z and Beyonce called their newborn child Blue Ivy. But can the rest of us get away with less orthodox names?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>American rock band Modest Mouse’s song <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmqlI5rSuws">Black Cadillacs</a> (2004) has a particularly wonderful opening:</p>
<p><em>And it’s true we named our children /
After towns that we’ve never been to</em></p>
<p>Inside a song filled with negative imagery about graves and funerals, the suggestion is that there are <em>better</em> modes of naming children. Even in those cases where the parents might even have <em>been</em> to the places they’re using as first names – think the Beckhams’ son Brooklyn or Alicia Key’s baby Egypt – the names are still regularly considered unusual at best, crass at worst. </p>
<p>The recent birth of Beyoncé’s baby <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/9001909/Why-Beyonce-named-her-daughter-Blue-Ivy.html">Blue Ivy</a> and the release of the 2011 Victorian <a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/weird-and-wonderful-names-for-babies/story-fn7x8me2-1226239348738">baby name report</a> has again put the name game on the agenda. Once again magazines will print the top 20 crazy celebrity offspring names and newspapers will again spotlight the latest peculiarities. This week granted Beyoncé fans the opportunity to analyse whether husband Jay Z’s favourite colour was the inspiration <em>and</em> treated snobs to a chance to eyeball a list of bastardised incarnations.</p>
<p>So what motivates the bizarre creations, the peculiar spellings and the gifting of one’s offspring the burden of learning the phonetic alphabet just to order a Papa India Zulu Zulu Alfa over the phone? And what becomes of the Pilot Inspektor, Apples and other oddly named celebrity spawn and their Victorian non-celebrity Beyden and Blayde counterparts? Surely no one holds public office, performs heart surgery or works on a construction site with a name like Fifi Trixibelle?</p>
<p>Presumably every parent sees their child as unique, as special, as distinct from all the other red-faced screamers in the nursery. So what better way to acknowledge this than with a unique, special and distinct name? And if you’re a celebrity of the paparazzi-tipping-off ilk, surely a sure fire way to get yourself - and your offspring - remembered by the plebs is with a name that, even if widely loathed and lampooned, won’t soon be forgotten?</p>
<p>Infamy of course, isn’t the only rationale. For some, shuffling about the Scrabble tiles to concoct something vaguely pronounceable also allows parents to demonstrate creativity. Rather than simply reading the baby name book like all their lazy Lamaze class colleagues, instead, they made up their own. One might even speculate that a little parental smart-arsery is involved. Surely when actor Rob Morrow named his daughter Tu, or Nicolas Cage named his son Kal-el, some parental tittering was involved. </p>
<p>A couple of years ago I had a lovely student with a particularly odd name. My quizzing of him prompted him to quiz his parents about it. Academics, they turned out to be. Who wanted to give him a name to <em>challenge</em> him. Sociological inquiry or child abuse? Such a fine line!</p>
<p>For the celebrity babies with their fruity, flowery, off-beat, off-kilter names, perhaps all that is tinseltown and fame and wealth makes any name <em>without</em> a high Scrabble score seem bizarre. In some Melbourne schools something similar might unfold, in others however, I dare say such names serve merely as grounds for getting hassled and harangued.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6867/original/6n3h64yc-1326243195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6867/original/6n3h64yc-1326243195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6867/original/6n3h64yc-1326243195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6867/original/6n3h64yc-1326243195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=915&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6867/original/6n3h64yc-1326243195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1149&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6867/original/6n3h64yc-1326243195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1149&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6867/original/6n3h64yc-1326243195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1149&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">A rose among the Warnes - even the simplest name can have difficulties.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dave Hunt</span></span>
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<p>Of course, it’s hardly all doom and gloom: every name has its calamities, even for those thoroughly innocuous ones that dare use real vowels instead of Ys. With my name for example, the heartbreak lies with no descending characters and thus a missed opportunity for extensive swirling and flourishing. Even with a two syllable, thoroughly Anglosaxon surname, I still have to spell it every time: “Rose like the flower, Warne like the cricketer,” as cringe-worthy as the descriptor feels. </p>
<p>And even then, for a kid who gets mocked mercilessly for a decade or so, the ludicrous moniker needs not be permanent: there’s always the option to follow the leads of Woody Allen and Doris Day and a host of other celebrities and simply <a href="http://www.glamorati.com/celebrity/2008/50-celebrities-real-names/">change it</a>. </p>
<p>To some people American state first names, names with apostrophes and accents, soap star tributes and Star Trek influences - or in the case of my aunty’s offspring, after dogs that “ran away” - are tacky, classless and sentence the child to a lifetime of ridicule. To others however, such names exude mystery and originality. Good names, upstanding names, old-fashioned names are all thoroughly subjective and reveal little on their own except our own prejudices.</p>
<p>Besides, today’s Jaxson and Jazmin will be tomorrow’s grandpa and grandma and suddenly a name that looks pretty ridiculous today will seem thoroughly institutional during roll call at <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbpjBheO53U">Shady Pines</a> in a few generations times.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/4885/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Rosewarne 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>American rock band Modest Mouse’s song Black Cadillacs (2004) has a particularly wonderful opening: And it’s true we named our children / After towns that we’ve never been to Inside a song filled with…Lauren Rosewarne, Senior Lecturer, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/48812012-01-09T04:17:27Z2012-01-09T04:17:27ZChopper Read, Coles and Twitter: going down and staying down?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6824/original/qgbv7b5k-1326083289.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Curtis Stone and Normie Rowe in a Coles ad that has attracted the ire of a fake Chopper Read.</span> </figcaption></figure><p>It is a very 21st century story. A <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/RealChopperRead">Twitter account</a> purporting to be that of noted Australian criminal <a href="http://www.chopperread.com/">Mark Brandon “Chopper” Read</a> takes offence <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U-Qfn8eFRg">to an ad</a> featuring ageing singer <a href="http://www.normierowe.com.au/">Normie Rowe</a> and uses his social media popularity to call for a boycott of the supermarket chain.</p>
<p>Read is of course a popular culture icon in his own right, having been portrayed by Hollywood star Eric Bana in the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0221073/">award-winning film Chopper</a> as well as having put his name to numerous “true” crime books.</p>
<p>But what does this strange scenario tell us about how the media, social and otherwise, operates in Australia in 2012? Chopper Read is famous for using his fists, and far worse, to attack opponents rather than a keyboard.</p>
<p>The Conversation spoke with University of Canberra social media researcher Julie Posetti about what Chopper - real or otherwise - taking on Coles demonstrates about how we live, shop and Tweet.</p>
<h2>What does it say when a probably fake Chopper Read can attack a major brand like Coles on Twitter and get such a response?</h2>
<p>I haven’t done the full research to determine if the @RealChopperRead account is indeed actually Chopper Read but in many ways whether it is fake or real is immaterial.</p>
<p>I would argue that even if they do know that it is a fake account then that may indicate that the source or the level of influence calling for action is less relevant than the cause itself.</p>
<p>Having reviewed the video which has gone viral via Twitter – the ad at the centre of all this – I certainly thought it was pretty lame, to use an unacademic term. It is also spurious. I think there is something distasteful and unethical about Coles’ claim to have hormone-free meat as if this is a claim to individual aversion of such hormones when my understanding is that this is the case with all supermarkets.</p>
<p>I think people were responding both to the colourful character that is either the Real Chopper Read or the Fake Chopper Read but also responding in a way that we now see as almost a commonplace Internet meme that has arisen based on strong feelings in response to a video or some sort of visual stimulus.</p>
<p>It is difficult to make judgements about whether this indicates some sort of fundamental shift in the Australian public sphere. I think it is highly likely that this is not so much a shift in terms of people’s responses but a shift in terms of the way in which people are being aggregated on social media.</p>
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</figure>
<h2>Is this simply a means by which people can amplify what they would have thought anyway: “It is a crap ad”?</h2>
<p>We are seeing an amplification of views, a faster uptake of resistance where any kind of rebellion, whether it is against a brand, or capitalism, is able to get traction more quickly online. </p>
<p>The reality is that despite some criticism of social media and its capacity to actually effect real change or real action, if this translates to people avoiding Coles for whatever reason, then the effect is significant.</p>
<p>These sorts of conversations were likely to have been going on pre-Twitter and pre-Facebook and pre-Youtube. They have been public conversations, albeit in public spaces that are less visible than Twitter, conversations that have occurred at the pub, or in the supermarket queue, picking up the kids from school, in the office, at the photocopier, whatever the scenario, these are the sorts of conversations that people probably would have had.</p>
<p>Even if this had been a traditional television ad it would have stimulated critique and it probably would have resulted in satirical takes. I can see Eric Bana, who played Chopper Read, doing something on one of those old comedy shows that used to be watercooler conversation starters back in the day. Before we blame Twitter or Facebook for a fundamental shift in who people trust and how they behave, think about that reality.</p>
<h2>Can companies truly manage their brand on social media?</h2>
<p>You have got to acknowledge, whether you’re a brand, a government, a corporation, a not-for-profit, or a media organisation for that matter, it is impossible to ignore the power of integrated, instant globally linked conversation now. A backlash can be very severe and have immediate effects, fair or not.</p>
<p>That is one of the issues we have to come to grips with. Ordinarily you would have had the traditional media as a filter in this, now they may respond by reporting on the Twitter effect rather than actually investigating the Coles marketing phenomenon itself.</p>
<p>Companies “managing” their brand is becoming almost a misnomer in terms of how we used to understand public relations and reputation management. Now it is much more about understanding the shift that is taking place and placing emphasis on engagement and appropriate responses and transparency, as opposed to the kind of traditional approach which might have been to hit back with very expensive advertising combined with spin and denial. That is not going to work in this environment.</p>
<p>We see a very large scale example of mixed approaches with the way <a href="https://theconversation.com/were-hopping-mad-now-so-how-will-qantas-win-us-back-4096">Qantas handled its recent controversies</a>.</p>
<h2>Should Coles engage in this or just let it pass? And isn’t the fact that they got so many clicks still good publicity?</h2>
<p>There is traction measured by hits and visits and purchases, which is fundamentally important in terms of retail. But there is also the important measurement of tone, and if the conversation is wholly negative regarding your brand then that has to be taken to into account.</p>
<p>Some of the more sophisticated social media monitoring tools are now focusing on tone as well as the traction that comes from mentions. There is that old thing which still rings true to a certain extent that there is no such thing as bad publicity but I think that there actually is (such a thing as bad publicity) and while it is good to have your brand being talked about, it is rarely a positive to have your brand being trashed. </p>
<p>I’m not a brand manager but my instinctive response, based on my research of social media communities and also as a consumer, is that ignoring it old school style is not going to cut it but perhaps a savvy social media manager for Coles might use humour and wit in engagement, acknowledge people’s reactions and use that as part of a response to this to try to defend Coles’ reputation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/4881/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Posetti has previously received Federal Government funding to undertake research into journalism and multiculturalism</span></em></p>It is a very 21st century story. A Twitter account purporting to be that of noted Australian criminal Mark Brandon “Chopper” Read takes offence to an ad featuring ageing singer Normie Rowe and uses his…Julie Posetti, Assistant Professor in Journalism, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/41442012-01-04T19:49:18Z2012-01-04T19:49:18ZDo you know your neighbour? Lending a hand and the Queensland floods<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/5216/original/queensland_floods.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australians willingly helped their neighbours when it was needed during the Queensland floods of 2011.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr/RaeAllen</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Neighbours are a source of growing aggravation in Australia and we are lodging more official complaints about each other than ever before. Excessive noise or odour, inadequate levels of property maintenance, roaming animals and general forms of anti-social behaviour are all potentially cause for complaint.</p>
<p>Yet the overwhelming message that flowed from events like the <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/floods">floods</a> in Queensland and Victoria last year was one of neighbours, friends and even strangers rallying to assist flooded residents in their hour of need.</p>
<p>As the waters rose, neighbours banded together to sandbag each others’ homes and move possessions to higher ground. Once they receded, information, food, homes and equipment were freely shared. Observers lauded the spirit of community that prevailed. </p>
<p>So, why are neighbours still there when needed even if their noise, smells and habits are cause for complaint the rest of the time? </p>
<h2>Poor planning</h2>
<p>The rise in neighbourly tensions has been attributed to poor council planning laws which create increasingly dense living areas. Otherwise blame has been put on the breakdown of society, which has reduced familiar neighbours to intolerant and inconsiderate strangers.</p>
<p>It is true that neighbourhoods are changing and that good urban planning can help reduce potential conflict. Yet there is no evidence so far that suggests complaints are more likely to arise in high density or transition suburbs than any other. </p>
<p>Nor can we say that the close-knit ties we once enjoyed have been uniformly lost. Many people still have frequent and positive contact with neighbours. </p>
<p>There are therefore two ways we can explain this contradiction. The first relates to the tension between neighbourliness and privacy, the second to conflict and civility. </p>
<h2>Finding a balance</h2>
<p>Research shows that neighbourly support and interaction were particularly high in older working class suburbs. But so too were conflict and gossip. Everyone knew everyone else’s business.</p>
<p>Today, we are more protective of our privacy and expectations of neighbourly conduct have changed. “Good” neighbours are friendly but not too friendly, they keep a respectful distance but are there when needed.</p>
<p>This is a precarious balance based on an unspoken moral code. This makes breaches nearly impossible to avoid.</p>
<p>It also means we are less likely than ever to know our neighbours.</p>
<h2>Avoiding confrontation</h2>
<p>Social distance does not solve the issue of physical proximity. Neighbours may not know each others’ names but they learn a lot about each other nevertheless, some of it quite intimate.</p>
<p>This proximity requires careful management to prevent private lives encroaching upon others’ domestic spaces and causing offence. </p>
<p>It may be that neighbourly conflicts have not increased, simply that problem neighbours are now dealt with through formal channels rather than over-the-fence conversations. Low levels of social contact, coupled with the desire to maintain friendly distance and avoid conflict, renders people reluctant to confront offenders.</p>
<p>As a start, they may try to ignore the problem. But complaints to a third party offer a final resort, allowing complainants to remain anonymous and uninvolved. </p>
<h2>A costly habit</h2>
<p>The problem for councils, however, is that significant resources are expended in investigating petty disputes. Anonymous complaints also create an environment of suspicion among neighbours. </p>
<p>There is a possibility that the wave of goodwill exhibited during the floods will minimise neighbourly conflicts, or at least reduce registered complaints. But it may also create new sets of expectations about neighbours and new forms of conflict if these normative codes are breached. Time will tell.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/4144/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lynda Cheshire receives funding from The Australian Research Council (ARC Future Fellowship)
She is affiliated with the School of Social Science at The University of Queensland</span></em></p>Neighbours are a source of growing aggravation in Australia and we are lodging more official complaints about each other than ever before. Excessive noise or odour, inadequate levels of property maintenance…Lynda Cheshire, ARC Future Fellow in Sociology, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/46072011-12-07T03:13:50Z2011-12-07T03:13:50ZIs he or isn’t he? The tawdry pastime of sexuality speculation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6187/original/vhwz33yq-1323212080.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australian actor Hugh Jackman is the subject of persistent speculation about his sexuality.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Tracy Neary</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Straights, gays, and those vacillating somewhere on the periphery, have equally demonstrated a penchant for the game. Sitting back, stroking one’s chin and speculating on sexuality. Who’s gay? Who’s confused? Who’s flagrantly daring to deceive us all?</p>
<p>In recent days Hugh Jackman, not unlike every other man deemed too handsome or bestowed with too much rhythm or colour coordination to be straight, <a href="http://celebrities.ninemsn.com.au/blog.aspx?blogentryid=958242&showcomments=true">has again been hounded by gay rumours</a>. </p>
<p>While there’s an obvious story here about gender stereotyping - not to mention one viciously ugly and sexist attack on the woman he’s married to - a more interesting tale is the preoccupation with outing.</p>
<p>Just what underpins this fixation with uncovering sexual truths?</p>
<p>Perhaps the most obvious explanation is our fervour for a good ol’ fashioned witch-hunt. Such an idea reminds us that homosexuality is still too frequently deemed an abnormality and as such, anyone daring to live such a renegade lifestyle must be exposed for the deviant that they are. Narrow-minded, God-bothering conservatism thus underpins an apparent imperative to know precisely what stimulates those who teach our children, represent our electorate or drive our taxis. </p>
<p>At the other end of the spectrum are those who advocate for sexual identities to be owned, to be embraced, to be championed. Such a view positions the closet as a wretched place to be; that if more people out-and-prouded themselves, homosexuality could, triumphantly, become mainstream and acceptable. Implied here is that role models a’plenty would emerge if only those pesky celebrities would spring from their dark and dreary cupboards.</p>
<p>A more interesting explanation is a cultural obsession with labelling, categorising and rationalising. Evidently a fixation exists to quickly lock others in as either straight or gay, one or the other, and to have a sexual “truth” known and documented, so that we can all sleep better feeling we haven’t been duped.</p>
<p>Such behaviour, of course, is testimony to a widespread inclination to sideline all of those uncomfortable sexuality conversations. Rather than accepting sexuality as fluid, as God forbid changeable, instead, there’s an effort – be it well-intentioned or maliciously motivated – to out people; to force a sexual decision. To have something to point to that seemingly explains behaviour/career choice/dance prowess/spouse. To, in the process, pretend that we have our own sexuality all figured out.</p>
<p>While engaging in such a pastime, jubilantly, we don’t ever have to consider that our most dearly beloved may have had the odd same-sex fantasy. That way, we don’t ever have to consider our own capacity for same-sex attraction. That way we can simply pretend that the homosexual is other, is less than, and that this fundamental difference justifies granting disparate rights and dignities.</p>
<p>Not only does forced outing neglect an individual’s potential disinclination to have sex put at the forefront of their identity, but more problematically, it presupposes that “coming out” is something owed to others. Most disturbingly, and as relevant to celebrities, forced outing implies that declaring a fixed sexual identity is somehow the right thing to do for fans and for a “gay community”.</p>
<p>Not every gay person actually wants the burden of being a role model, of championing any causes or figure-heading any movement. Similarly, not every person who is intimate with someone of the same sex actually identifies as gay and thus not every seemingly closeted person has a closet to come out of.</p>
<p>Far more interesting than Hugh Jackman’s sexuality is the persistent public interest in it. Fans have fallen in love with a screen version him. Neglected, amidst all their fervent fandom, is that the person they love is an actor and is an embodiment of their projected fantasies. This is part of the Hollywood game. And in such a game, outing him – or any celebrity - is a complete waste of time; the artifice will always be more tantalising. </p>
<p>I wonder just what would happen if, rather than playing the sexuality speculation game, instead, we accepted sexuality as something malleable and expandable and reconstructable and not always easily classifiable. To, perchance, allow ourselves to live and let romp without needing to pathologise.</p>
<p>Of course, it’s just so much easier to sit around and ponder which celebrity’s pants look a little too tight or whose eyebrows are just a tad too plucked.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/4607/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Rosewarne 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>Straights, gays, and those vacillating somewhere on the periphery, have equally demonstrated a penchant for the game. Sitting back, stroking one’s chin and speculating on sexuality. Who’s gay? Who’s confused…Lauren Rosewarne, Senior Lecturer, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/44912011-11-30T03:20:16Z2011-11-30T03:20:16ZIs sex a human right? Ummm, yes … no … maybe … it depends on what you mean by sex really<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6042/original/sex-therapy-jpg-1322634598.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The upcoming SBS documentary Scarlet Road follows sex worker Rachel Wotton and her relationships with her disabled clients.</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Health care, fair trials and education are things we readily accept as human rights. </p>
<p>Unlike fresh air and food, we can actually live without school or a due process trial for a whole lot longer than without water, but of course, nobody is willing to give these things up. These aren’t rights as essential as peaceful protesting and voting and living without enslavement. </p>
<p>Sex should be included on this list. It is every bit as important as the right to practice one’s chosen religion or to not be discriminated against. It should be included on this list because, like religion, nobody should be forced to participate, but similarly, nobody should be denied access either.</p>
<p>Such a suggestion is of course, highly controversial as the <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/sexual-healing-20111125-1nxkc.html">new SBS documentary Scarlet Road </a>testifies. </p>
<p>Thinking of sex as a human right, of touch, of pleasure, of orgasm as a human right and our concept of rights get blurry; our passion and advocacy for rights becomes much less fervent when we need to initiate dialogue about arousal and pleasure and satisfaction. </p>
<p>Sex might be nice, it might even be wonderful, but survival is possible without it, wants aren’t the same as needs and social mores dictate that right-status is rarely granted to something with so many caveats attached. </p>
<p>Ours is not a culture where sex can be had with whomever we please whenever want, and thus considering sex as a human right would be a complicated assertion.</p>
<p>I’m not going to place sex in the same category as food or water, obviously no one will die without it. But people won’t die without property rights or breached privacy either, and we still consider these as fundamental. </p>
<p>I am instead, going to contend that for many people a quality life necessitates sexual contact and that just as access to public transport for the disabled, or postal services for the geographically isolated are crucial in a civilised, compassionate society, that access to sex needs to be considered just as important as other rights. I’m similarly going to argue that feeling uncomfortable talking about a topic is never reason enough to shelve it.</p>
<p>Before defending sex work services for the disabled, for the elderly, for the lonely, the kinky and the just plain horny, I will acknowledge that considering sex as a right raises some very obvious concerns related to consent and sex provision; concerns which I will of course, repudiate, but which need tabling nevertheless. </p>
<p>Considering sex as a human right, potentially offers justification for rape: it could be contended, for example, that a man was simply partaking of his marital rights; that a woman was just exercising her right to orgasm. The exercising of such rights, potentially opens up a Pandora’s box of legal defenses: rampant horniness suddenly sounds legitimate rather than tabloid laughable.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6041/original/sex-therapy-2-jpg-1322634155.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6041/original/sex-therapy-2-jpg-1322634155.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6041/original/sex-therapy-2-jpg-1322634155.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6041/original/sex-therapy-2-jpg-1322634155.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6041/original/sex-therapy-2-jpg-1322634155.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6041/original/sex-therapy-2-jpg-1322634155.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/6041/original/sex-therapy-2-jpg-1322634155.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=601&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">Is sex a human right? It isn’t as simple as saying yes … or no.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">SBS</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Similarly, to contend that a person has a right to sexual conduct implies that for those not in a relationship or without ready access to a willing partner, that a partner must be supplied; that people need to be provided to service this right. </p>
<p>These are both valid concerns, but concerns which are easily mitigated by that fabulous liberal dictum of choice. Sex may be a right, but like free speech, it cannot be exercised at the expense of others: you cannot force people to listen to your ramblings and you can’t force another person to have sex with you. </p>
<p>Similarly, while considering sex as a right provides justification for the sex industry, nobody should be forced to work in it; those who choose to need to be financially compensated - as in any other service industry - and those who don’t need to be offered protection.</p>
<p>Our culture readily accepts the outsourcing of all kinds of domestic services. We happily have our dogs walked, our lawns mowed, or shirts laundered all by people we don’t have breakfast with nor buy a card for on Valentine’s Day; our busy lives are readily propped up by the physical labour of others. </p>
<p>Sex has to be thought of in this way. No, maybe it’s not a romantic assertion, and perhaps not a politically correct one either, but pretending that sex is always about lovemaking and declarations of devotion is a naïve and discriminatory contention.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/4491/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Rosewarne 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>Health care, fair trials and education are things we readily accept as human rights. Unlike fresh air and food, we can actually live without school or a due process trial for a whole lot longer than without…Lauren Rosewarne, Senior Lecturer, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/40762011-11-28T19:36:55Z2011-11-28T19:36:55ZLooking beyond the parody to define the hipster<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/5794/original/500px-Hipster.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C67%2C446%2C364&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">"Hipsters" are mocked at the moment, but do we even know who they really are?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons/Jack Newton</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The term “hipster” has become increasingly prominent in Australia’s urban lexicon this year. Even the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/">Sydney Morning Herald</a> has caught on, writing about “<a href="http://media.theage.com.au/property/domain/hipster-housing-2782484.html?&exc_from=strap">Hipster Housing</a>”, featuring a young bespectacled couple on the front of the weekend property pages. </p>
<p>It is a rather scathing phrase, used at the moment primarily as a criticism. Across the cartoons, <a href="http://dadsaretheoriginalhipster.tumblr.com/">jokes</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxZiae16Ry8">video parodies</a> and feature articles, a caricature emerges. </p>
<p>The hipster is that funny smelling kid in tight jeans who sits in front of you on the bus or tram, pre-rolling cigarettes and judging you through his Ray Bans because you don’t have an ironic tattoo, 80s facial hair or read the <a href="http://www.undergroundpress.org/faq/#whatarezines">zine</a> he and his friends author.</p>
<p>Yet my own experience with hipsters indicates that such representations share only a partial, albeit humorous, likeness to reality.</p>
<h2>How to define a hipster</h2>
<p>Further reading of the hipster commentary will see some gross inconsistencies emerge. </p>
<p>For some critics, hipsters are all about the latest trend, whereas others argue vintage and kitsch are more highly valued. Some say hipsters wear their jeans around their knees, yet others claim high-waisted pants to be the preferred style. Hipsters are simultaneously mocked for both insisting on individualism and adhering to conventions. </p>
<p>Overall, the varying media definitions of hipsters inevitably oversimplify what is actually quite a complex and significant cultural happening.</p>
<h2>Underneath subculture</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/5795/original/Screen_shot_2011-11-23_at_2.42.50_PM.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/5795/original/Screen_shot_2011-11-23_at_2.42.50_PM.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/5795/original/Screen_shot_2011-11-23_at_2.42.50_PM.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/5795/original/Screen_shot_2011-11-23_at_2.42.50_PM.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/5795/original/Screen_shot_2011-11-23_at_2.42.50_PM.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/5795/original/Screen_shot_2011-11-23_at_2.42.50_PM.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/5795/original/Screen_shot_2011-11-23_at_2.42.50_PM.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hipsters are bit more complicated than you’d think.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr/craigfinlay</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Perhaps the biggest problem in trying to qualify the hipster movement is the tendency to use a subcultural lens, which suggests there are a coordinated group of people performing these social acts with reason and intent. </p>
<p>Granted in Sydney there are bars (<a href="http://www.chingalings.com/">Chingalings</a>, The Cricketers Arms), music festivals (<a href="http://www.lanewayfestival.com.au/">Laneway</a>, <a href="http://www.peatsridgefestival.com.au/">Peats Ridge</a>) and suburbs (<a href="http://newtownprecinct.com.au/">Newtown</a>, <a href="http://urbanwalkabout.com/surryhills/">Surry Hills</a>) where hipsters visibly congregate, but any notion of solidarity or collective ideology will be shattered if you ask these people if they think they are hipsters.</p>
<p>The most likely response is a strong refutation, often on the grounds that they were into, for example, vintage shops before they even knew what a Hipster was. </p>
<p>An ironic concession is also possible; “Yes I am the most hip hipster around, and I pride myself on that achievement.” </p>
<p>In a sense, both responses typify the hipster concerns of authenticity and subversion respectively. But attempts to see these responses as universal are also unsatisfying. Furthermore, if you are undertaking such bizarre ethnography, you are surely on the cusp of hipsterism yourself. </p>
<h2>Rebelling and conforming</h2>
<p>The other imposition on hipster culture is that it is resistant. Loose ties to independent media, youth rebellion, and past subcultures (including the original 1950s hipsters fabled in <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/norman-mailer/a-brief-history-of-norman-mailer/653/">Norman Mailer</a>’s essay “<a href="http://www.dissentmagazine.org/online.php?id=26">The White Negro</a>”) may have aided this diagnosis. </p>
<p>The immediate irony of non-conformity is that it inevitably leads to conformity of another kind; adherence to a new canon. This hypocrisy underpins a lot of the criticism of hipsters, yet there is another level of hypocrisy worth noting; the mainstream is becoming increasingly hipster.</p>
<p>The hipster aesthetic has emerged as the best form of sellable cool. Sydney publicans <a href="http://4bars.com.au/web/2011/08/03/operator-profile-james-wirth-james-miller/">James Wirth and James Miller</a> (The Flinders, The Abercrombie) have cottoned on to this nicely, purchasing formerly run down Sydney Hotels and revamping them with some tragically stylish memorabilia, cool music and attractive bar staff (a formula so successful even Sydney hospitality heavyweights <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/sydney-confidential/justin-hemmes-on-the-hunt-for-more-drinking-holes/story-e6frewz0-1226189332870">Justin Hemmes</a> and the Short brothers have been trying it out). </p>
<p>Fast-food chains like <a href="http://www.grilld.com.au/">Grill’d</a>, <a href="http://www.beachburritocompany.com/">Beach Burrito</a> and <a href="http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/food/index/article/-/9190521/review-mad-pizza-e-bar/">Mad Pizza e Beer</a> are all working on a similar charm. And most midrange car commercials these days seem to show hipsters bopping around carelessly to indie music.</p>
<h2>Hipster vs punk</h2>
<p><figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/5792/original/Screen_shot_2011-11-23_at_2.33.12_PM.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/5792/original/Screen_shot_2011-11-23_at_2.33.12_PM.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/5792/original/Screen_shot_2011-11-23_at_2.33.12_PM.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/5792/original/Screen_shot_2011-11-23_at_2.33.12_PM.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/5792/original/Screen_shot_2011-11-23_at_2.33.12_PM.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=705&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/5792/original/Screen_shot_2011-11-23_at_2.33.12_PM.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=705&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/5792/original/Screen_shot_2011-11-23_at_2.33.12_PM.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=705&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The contemporary hipster culture is particularly interested in authenticity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr/Platform 3</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure> </p>
<p>All this might seem to disqualify hipsters from the category of subculture. But even the original punk scene in London – perhaps the most mythologised of subcultures – was equally complex and contradictory. </p>
<p>What lent punk a singular narrative, crystallising it as an actual culture, was not its protagonists, but rather the media. The subsequent process of (mis)representation and reinterpretation was so unpredictable that punk music popped up some years later in America as the sound of <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1163931/neo-Nazism">Neo-Nazism</a>.</p>
<p>Perhaps the best way to rethink the issue is to consider a subculture the way we think of a national culture. Individuals or groups within a nation are both influenced by and distinguish themselves from the national culture, which whilst not without convention, is largely an abstract and fluid concept. </p>
<p>Furthermore, people do not belong specifically to this culture, but rather it is one of many that constitutes their identity and levels of association can vary greatly. Subcultural involvement is much the same.</p>
<h2>Hipsters gone global</h2>
<p>However, just as with punk, simplistic representations of hipsters cannot be separated from the lived experience. Hipsterism is a global phenomenon, suggesting the way it has spread is largely due to information exchange. </p>
<p>Furthermore, the day-to-day lives of hipsters, or people who look like hipsters at least, are affected by the stereotype promoted through the media and parody; hipsters might call other hipsters, hipsters insinuating they are merely following a hipster cliché. As you can see, it’s easy to get caught in circles here and things can get a bit surreal.</p>
<p>Whilst employed as an insult, and overused of late into relative ambiguity, the uprising of the term “hipster” has ultimately had the effect of strengthening an array of ideologies and styles that have been around for a while. </p>
<p>It is a cognitive social shift that can’t be removed from gentrification and the new style of “creative workspaces”, and it is not likely to slow given the strong presence of hipster types in the media promoting its use, even if through criticism.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/4076/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sam Egan 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 term “hipster” has become increasingly prominent in Australia’s urban lexicon this year. Even the Sydney Morning Herald has caught on, writing about “Hipster Housing”, featuring a young bespectacled…Sam Egan, Cultural Researcher, University of Notre Dame AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/18122011-07-06T04:28:38Z2011-07-06T04:28:38ZDown and out in Australia: the new way to define poverty<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/1828/original/hunger_Flickr_27147.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Being unable to afford one substantial meal a day and pay for home insurance are indicators of poverty.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr/27147</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Poverty is about more than just a lack of income. Those who experience it face unacceptable restrictions on their material and social wellbeing. Research can no longer focus on defining a poverty line, but we must measure the real impact on living standards and people’s ability to participate socially.</p>
<p>The two key ideas which have dominated the new approach to studying poverty are deprivation and social exclusion. </p>
<p>Both have their roots in the work of European sociologists – the UK’s <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/jun/09/obituary-peter-townsend">Peter Townsend</a> in the case of deprivation, and French scholars like <a href="http://www.serge-paugam.fr/index.php">Serge Paugam</a> in the case of exclusion.</p>
<p>As I show in my recent book, <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Down-Out-Peter-Saunders/9781847428387">Down and Out: Poverty and Exclusion in Australia</a> these ideas have transformed how poverty and other aspects of social disadvantage are conceived. </p>
<h2>What is deprivation?</h2>
<p>Deprivation exists where people face an enforced lack of socially perceived necessities. These are goods, activities, opportunities and capacities which are widely regarded as essential for those living in a particular society at a point in time. </p>
<p>In surveys conducted with colleagues at the <a href="http://www.sprc.unsw.edu.au/">Social Policy Research Centre</a> (SPRC) we asked people to identify from an initial list “things that no-one in Australia should have to go without today”. </p>
<p>We then focused on only those items that a majority agreed were essential and asked if people had each item and, if they did not, whether or not this was because they could not afford it. </p>
<p>Those who did not have and could not afford items regarded as essential by a majority in the community were identified as deprived.</p>
<h2>Modern essentials</h2>
<p>The “essentials of life” include a substantial meal at least once a day, home contents insurance, a separate bed for each child, an ability to buy medications prescribed by a doctor and access to dental treatment when needed. </p>
<p>Those who are forced to go without these items are experiencing a standard of living that does not meet community standards of acceptability. </p>
<p>They are poor in the sense of deprivation, particularly if they lack several items.</p>
<p>Very few Australians are deprived of some essential items – around one per cent in the case of a substantial daily meal and less than 2% in the case of a separate bed for each child. </p>
<p>But almost 10% could not afford home contents insurance and 14% (around one-in-seven) could not afford dental treatment when needed. </p>
<p>Over one-quarter were deprived of two or more essential items and 14 per cent were deprived of four or more items. This latter figure corresponds roughly to how many fall below a conventional (income-based) poverty line.</p>
<h2>Real hardships, not below a line</h2>
<p>One can draw a threshold that identifies deprivation in terms of the number of essentials items that are lacking.</p>
<p>This involves making a judgment, but because the items have been identified by community opinion not imposed by researchers, any such threshold is less arbitrary than a poverty line. </p>
<p>Alternatively, one can examine the kinds of items where deprivation is most pronounced or of most concern (take for example those items that relate to the needs of children) and examine what kinds of public policies are needed to address these deficiencies. </p>
<p>Such debate is more constructive than arguing over where to set a poverty line.</p>
<h2>Social exclusion</h2>
<p>Unlike deprivation, social exclusion can result from factors other than a lack of economic resources. Here, the focus is on what people do not do rather than what they cannot buy. </p>
<p>Exclusion, like deprivation, is multi-dimensional and covers instances where people are denied the opportunity to participate in the full range of economic, social and political activities. </p>
<p>Lack of resources may be one contributing factor, but others include discrimination (in employment practices etc), lack of access to key services, and lack of information. </p>
<p>Exclusion can be imposed by the actions (or inactions) of others, or it may be self-imposed – as in the case of those older people who withdraw socially because of unsafe streets.</p>
<p>We identified three domains of exclusion: disengagement (a lack of social and community participation), service exclusion (a lack of appropriate services - public and private) and economic exclusion (a lack of resources or low economic capacity). </p>
<p>Many forms of social exclusion are widespread: 44% do not have a week’s holiday away each year, 26% do not have access to a bulk-billing doctor and 14% could not raise $2,000 in a week in an emergency. </p>
<h2>Now do something</h2>
<p>Again, the diversity of the evidence can set in train a fruitful debate about cause and response that avoids futile disagreement over measurement. </p>
<p>This represents the dawning of a new age of research on poverty and social disadvantage. Now all we need is for the government to take note and address the underlying issues.</p>
<p><em>Peter Saunders’ book <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Down-Out-Peter-Saunders/9781847428387">Down and Out: Poverty and Exclusion in Australia</a> is launched today at the <a href="http://www.aspc.unsw.edu.au/">Australian Social Policy Conference.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/1812/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Saunders receives funding from the University of New South Wales and the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Poverty is about more than just a lack of income. Those who experience it face unacceptable restrictions on their material and social wellbeing. Research can no longer focus on defining a poverty line…Peter Saunders, Research Professor in Social Policy, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/21142011-07-05T02:01:24Z2011-07-05T02:01:24ZThe wilding of women: why the media should ease up on girls<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/2035/original/girls_drinking.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women should be allowed to have fun, without the media judging them.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Jack Tran</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Wilding, a word seldom used outside of sociology, describes compounded acts of immorality. Of teenagers, apparently, running amok. In packs usually, with rage and ribaldry in their eyes.</p>
<p>I was thinking about wilding while reading <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/lifematters/do-you-know-what-your-daughters-doing-tonight-20110629-1gqda.html">the recent Sydney Morning Herald report</a> on rompin’, drinkin’, screwin’, Facebook documentin’ teenage girls.</p>
<p>Of all the research on wilding, the most interesting contends that reports on the phenomenon are mere moral panic. Are exaggeration. Are concocted catastrophe when no real calamity exists. The exact same thing plays out in this report.</p>
<p>Worse than mere moral panic however, is the gender double standards apparent when journalists hand-wring and bemoan that <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98-GgVyinbo">girls have gone wild</a>.</p>
<p>Drinking, drug use, promiscuous sex and partying are hardly contemporary problems. The story is an oldie, not really a goodie, and this time it’s simply been repackaged with a social media angle. </p>
<p>The most ongoing, blatant, ear-worming harassment women get is from the media. Messages about them being too thin, too fat, having sex too young, stalking footballers, being stalked by footballers, wearing dresses cut too low.</p>
<p>Such messages are persistent, perplexing and most problematically focus the message _entirely _on women’s bodies.</p>
<p>This message, conveyed in a thousand different ways and using any number of social maladies and pop culture crazes, makes one very simple and sexist point: that the sum worth of a woman is her body. How it looks, how she uses it and who touches it. That nothing is more important.</p>
<p>This is a story, a mantra, a demand, that’s as old as time.</p>
<p>If any debate has come to dominate the feminist agenda in recent years, it’s the supposed sexualisation of girls. </p>
<p>Advertising, Lady Gaga and plastic dolls with heavy eyeliner are constantly waved around as “evidence” that today’s women are more wanton, more brazen, more promiscuous than ever before.</p>
<p>MTV gets blamed, sportsmen get blamed, department stores and Kanye West get blamed. </p>
<p>Conservatives, deceptively pretending to be acting on behalf of women, call for product boycotts, censorship and social media sanctions to apparently protect girls. Pretending, curiously, that their agenda is somehow more egalitarian than mere insistence that ladies keep their knees together and knickers clean.</p>
<p>In all this talk of women’s bodies, how egregious it is that ignored is the thinking woman being talked about as though she’s not in the room.</p>
<p>Pointing to video clips and explicit song lyrics and implying that any woman exposed is absorbing them passively, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwRISkyV_B8">ShamWow-like</a>, neglects media literacy, overlooks media savviness and completely ignores the ability of women to reject media messages as expertly as they may choose to accept them.</p>
<p>Allowing the antics of a boozy Saturday night or the latest drunken Facebook snapshots determine not only a woman’s identity but to pretend as though it speaks on behalf of her gender and generation is troublesome and unspeakably offensive.</p>
<p>Women testing the limits of their bodies, of challenging of authority, of thumbing their noses at social mores and antiquated judgments is nothing new.</p>
<p>Facebook merely provides journos with new images to pad out a very worn story.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/2114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren Rosewarne 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>Wilding, a word seldom used outside of sociology, describes compounded acts of immorality. Of teenagers, apparently, running amok. In packs usually, with rage and ribaldry in their eyes. I was thinking…Lauren Rosewarne, Senior Lecturer, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.