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Blogs and other online platforms for personal writing such as LiveJournal have been of interest to researchers across the social sciences and humanities for a decade now. Although growth in the uptake of blogging has stalled somewhat since the heyday of blogs in the early 2000s, blogging continues to be a major genre of Internet-based communication.

This article is the introduction to a special issue of Media International Australia (No. 145, November 2012) which seeks to ‘rethink’ ethnography and ethnographic practice. The authors consider the variety of ways in which changes in our media environment broaden what we think of as ‘media’, the contexts through which media are produced, used and circulated, and the emergent practices afforded by digital media.

The Digital Ethnography Research Centre (DERC) fosters cross-cultural, interdisciplinary and multi-sited research, especially in relation to the Asia-Pacific region.

Through research and critical engagement, the centre collectively seeks to push the boundaries and possibilities of ethnographic practice in, through and around digital media. DERC is a research centre in the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University.

Today there is growing agreement that literacy is at the center of all learning. Expectations for what it means to be literate are rising, and all educators must play a role in helping students meet these expectations. The new Common Core State Standards (CCSS), recently adopted by forty-six states and the District of Columbia, require the more complex literacy skills that all of today’s students need to be college and career ready. With new standards in place, attention is now turning to how states, districts, and schools are organised to implement them.

The search for school improvement models is not new, although technology can provide more opportunities for school improvement than in the past. Professional development and sharing good teaching practices among teachers is known to have positive effects on teaching practices and student learning. Digital technologies can enhance the possibilities for teachers to collaborate and share good practice both at school and in other places.

The purpose of this study was twofold. The primary purpose was to improve pre-service teacher education by using technology to help pre-service teachers bridge the gap between academic preparation and practice. The secondary, but still important, objective was to familiarize pre-service teachers in the use of technology to support their future pedagogical activities. Therefore, this research sought to develop a method for training undergraduate students in designing, implementing, and evaluating lesson plans to solidify the relationship between research, pedagogy, and teaching practice.

Integrating the use of digital technologies with pre-service teacher education in order to improve teaching practice is not well established in universities. The need to innovate and research new practices using digital technologies so that successes can be shared with colleagues and students can erode valuable and limited time. However, there would appear to be benefits from integrating digital technologies with pre-service teacher education, such as improving teaching practices through sharing and providing feedback.

This research was designed to provide Creative New Zealand (CNZ), a department of the New Zealand government, with information about a group who are vital to the development of quality art in New Zealand – young emerging artists and practitioners (YEAP) .

This report explores the relationship that parents of minor children have with public libraries. In some ways, parents of minor children are similar to other Americans who do not currently have minor children (“other adults” as referred to throughout this report) in how they view and use the library. But there are key differences that will be highlighted and explored in this report.

This report examines the inherent conflict of interest many media owners face in placing responsibility for content above their commercial interests and how this affects the practice of journalism in countries where independent news media already face challenges.

Recent focus in global discussions of media ethics has been on establishing and raising standards for rank-andfile journalists, including reporters and lower or mid-level editors. But there is a nascent effort to refocus a critical lens on the proprietors of media.

Verizon’s 2013 Data Breach Investigations Report provides insights into the nature of data breaches that can help organizations of all sizes to better understand the threat and take the necessary steps to protect themselves.

Once the Apple Isle, Tasmania’s size and isolation made it the butt of mainland jokes. But those qualities – and its stunning natural environment – are now seen as major advantages. And the buzz (and tourism) generated by MONA, and the island’s new identity as a research hub, suggests times are changing. Favel Parrett, Jo Chandler and Scott Rankin talk Tassie to celebrate Griffith Review’s Tasmania edition, with its editor, Natasha Cica.

By: Favel Parrett, Jo Chandler, Scott Rankin and Natasha Cica.

The Government brought forward delivery of the new White Paper by one year from its original 2014 timetable to address a number of significant international and domestic developments influencing Australia’s national security and defence posture internationally and domestically that have emerged since the 2009 Defence White Paper.

The White Paper considers in detail the implications of the changing strategic circumstances in our region for Australia's national security and defence, including:

This article explores the criminalisation and governance of sexting among young people.

The UK's creative economy is one of its great national strengths, historically deeply rooted and accounting for around one-tenth of the whole economy. It provides jobs for 2.5 million people – more than in financial services, advanced manufacturing or construction – and in recent years, this creative workforce has grown four times faster than the workforce as a whole.

The Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government (ACELG) at the University of Technology, Sydney has published a discussion paper about the research capacity within local government called Knowledge City. It focuses upon the work of a research unit within the City of Melbourne known as City Research and describes the difference an in-house research team can make to a council and its community. The paper features interviews with Council staff and key literature on the topic for broader interest by the sector.

Auckland Libraries is part of realising that vision for the people and city of Auckland. This document outlines the Te Kauroa – Future Directions for Auckland Libraries and the shifts we need to make over the next 10 years in order to contribute significantly to the lives of Aucklanders. It is clear from growth predictions that the current models of library service delivery will not meet the demands of an expanding, even more diverse region that is both urban and rural.

The purpose of this paper is to promote discussion across the sector between library leaders, information service providers, vendors, practitioners, students, commentators, colleagues in Australia and internationally – anyone and everyone with an interest in the field. The paper is intended to engage, excite, provoke. It is not our blueprint for the future.

Researchers of Tomorrow is the UK’s largest study to date on the research behaviour of Generation Y doctoral students (born between 1982 and 1994). JISC and the British Library jointly commissioned the three year study in 2009, which involved 17,000 doctoral students from 70 universities at various stages in the project.

Our research findings reveal: