Category Archives: Digital Identity and well being

Digital presence and participation, safety online, environmental impacts of digital tools, equality of digital access, digital wellbeing.

Navigating digital burnout and your right to disconnect

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Emeka Anele (Library Learning Designer) and Kat Cain (Library Partner for NIKERI & Divisions) – Deakin University

Prompt: Close up hands using navigation on mobile smartphone in decaying background. Viewing location map in a network via smartphone during road trip. Vector look.

Our professional landscapes significantly altered at the end of August 2024. Did you notice? Following international movements, the Australian government introduced laws focused on work-life balance and to address digital burnout. Digital burnout is a concern we all share, as boundaries between work and personal life are increasingly blurred. Add to this, deeply immersive technology that uses sophisticated algorithms and user-centric design to hook our attention all the time. Well, it’s a wonder we ever disconnect.

So, as Australia’s workplaces recognise the “right to disconnect” we must reflect on what this means for our work practices as information professionals. Previously, we highlighted “Digital wellbeing and striking a balance” as a complex need in our work worlds. What does properly disconnecting from work even mean for us? And what changes to work habits could impact our wellbeing for the better?

Understanding digital burnout

Digital burnout is when constant connectivity to digital devices leads to mental and physical exhaustion. Workplaces often require employees to juggle multiple digital platforms and communication channels. Recognising symptoms of digital burnout early is crucial.

Illustration grouping the symptoms of digital burnout under mental and physical. Mental symptoms include diminished interested in a job and feelings of exhaustion, anxiety or depression. Physical symptoms include chest pains, decreased energy and sleep disorders.

Creating a culture of digital wellbeing

Australia’s workplace policy shift highlights the importance of separating work from personal time. The right to disconnect allows employees to step away from work-related communications outside of their designated hours, fostering a healthier work-life balance.

Encouraging a culture of respect for this right within libraries can lead to improved mental wellbeing, reduced stress, and a more sustainable work environment. This involves not only adhering to the right to disconnect but also promoting it within the workplace. By supporting employees to recognise the signs of digital burnout workplaces can foster a supportive culture. A culture that protects employees mental health, thus lead to balanced and sustainable work practices.

Recommendations that help with digital disconnect

With so much advice out there, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. To make it easier, we’ve gathered some straightforward digital disconnect tips and resources:

  • Kat’s personal favourite: minimise meetings in the lunch period. And ditch the lunch and learn model!
  • Emeka’s personal favourite: turning off notifications for work related apps.
  • Use guides like how to do a digital detox, which assess your current digital habits and practical tips to reduce screen time.
  • Embrace digital wellbeing practices that align with the right to disconnect.
  • Choose a digital detox app that helps manage and reduce screen time.
  • Try a digital detox tool to remove digital distractions.
  • Attend workshops on managing digital workloads.
  • Set realistic expectations for response times. Perhaps you don’t need to respond to a message you receive at 4pm?

The time to disconnect is right now!

We now have a unique opportunity to prioritise our digital wellbeing in the workplace. For organisations and individuals to foster open communication about digital burnout.

Once your workday is over, seriously consider if it’s necessary to respond to work-related messages. It’s more important to take that time as an opportunity to unwind from work.

Wearable devices can now harvest our brain data. Australia needs urgent privacy reforms

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The blog group loved this article from The Conversation, originally published on 10 May 2024. We hope you do too!

Man sleeping on bed with smart sleep headband.
Girts Ragelis/Shutterstock

Edward Musole, University of New England

Recent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with or without the help of artificial intelligence (AI).

There’s also a newer product category that engages directly with the brain. It’s part of what UNESCO broadly defines as the emerging industry of “neurotechnology”:

devices and procedures that seek to access, assess, emulate and act on neural systems.

Much of neurotechnology is either still in development stage, or confined to research and medical settings. But consumers can already purchase several headsets that use electroencephalography (EEG).

Often marketed as meditation headbands, these devices provide real-time data on a person’s brain activity and feed it into an app.

Such headsets can be useful for people wanting to meditate, monitor their sleep and improve wellness. However, they also raise privacy concerns – a person’s brain activity is intrinsically personal data. This is particularly concerning when it comes to EEG headsets and wearables designed for children.

The subtle creep in neural and cognitive data wearables are capable of collecting is resulting in a data “gold rush”, with companies mining even our brains so they can develop and improve their products.

A serious privacy concern

In a background paper published earlier this year, the Australian Human Rights Commission identified several risks to human rights that neurotechnology may pose, including rights to privacy and non-discrimination. Legal scholars, policymakers, lawmakers and the public need to pay serious attention to the issue.

The extent to which tech companies can harvest cognitive and neural data is particularly concerning when that data comes from children. This is because children fall outside of the protection provided by Australia’s privacy legislation, as it doesn’t specify an age when a person can make their own privacy decisions.

The government and relevant industry associations should conduct a candid inquiry to investigate the extent to which neurotechnology companies collect and retain this data from children in Australia.

The private data collected through such devices is also increasingly fed into AI algorithms, raising additional concerns. These algorithms rely on machine learning, which can manipulate datasets in ways unlikely to align with any consent given by a user.

What does the privacy law say?

Users should have complete transparency over what data their wearables collect, and how it is being used.

Currently, the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles govern the collection, use and disclosure of personal information in Australia.

Right now, Australians don’t have any legal protections from privacy infringement on their brain and cognitive data. Technology companies can mine the neural data of Australians – including children – and store this information outside Australia.

We urgently need to update the laws to provide more robust privacy protections for when neurotechnology comes into play. This would proactively protect the privacy of Australians of all ages at all times.

A child's hand in closeup tapping on a smartwatch screen.
With children having access to wearable devices, data privacy concerns intensify. StoryTime Studio/Shutterstock

How should we change the laws?

One potential solution would be to update our privacy legislation to work in conjunction with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), which regulates the supply of medical devices in Australia.

This would ensure wearables compatible with mobile apps and software that currently circumvent the TGA would fall within their stringent oversight. Such devices include fitness trackers and smartwatches, but also EEG headbands.

Doing this would mean these privacy-invasive technologies have to align with the TGA’s regulations, protecting the cognitive and neural data of Australians.

We could also establish additional data collection oversights to monitor neural data collection by companies within and outside Australia. This way, we could ensure compliance with privacy regulations and put into place measures that prevent unauthorised data collection or surveillance through wearables.

Such changes should also provide users with the right to access their neural and cognitive data. For example, users should always have the option to have their data permanently erased. Doing this would ensure that Australians’ data is treated in a transparent, ethical and legally sound manner.

Australia is at a pivotal crossroads. We need to address the risks associated with data harvesting through neurotechnology. The industry of devices that can access our neural and cognitive data is only going to expand.

If we make these reforms now, Australia could become a global leader in privacy protection. And we could all enjoy the benefits of wearable tech while knowing our privacy rights are stringently protected.

Edward Musole, PhD Law Student, University of New England

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Digital wellbeing and striking a balance 

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By Emeka Anele & Kat Cain, Deakin University Library

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the balancing act of work and wellness? You’re not alone.

You might be getting email prompts from your workplace about wellbeing, that you’re promptly ignoring. Or perhaps you’re outsourcing your digital wellbeing, by following certain accounts on social media?

What does digital wellbeing even mean?

In today’s VUCA work world, ensuring your wellbeing while still excelling at your job can seem like an uphill battle. If your work is largely in the digital ecosystem, striking a balance for wellbeing can be particularly tricky.

Digital wellbeing is all about finding a healthy balance between using technology and your overall health. Engaging with technologies in your day-to-day life in ways that are helpful rather than harmful to your mental and physical health.

Basically, it’s about knowing when to step away from your work computer, when to stop doom scrolling on your phone, or when to turn off Netflix and go to bed before the message “Are you still watching?” appears on your screen.

Image generated using Adobe Express using the prompt: a computer workstation in the foreground in a jungle with the silhouette of a person meditating on a rock towards a setting sun in the background.

Recommendations for Cultivating Digital Wellbeing Habits

There’s a mountain of wellbeing advice available online. It can really feel like being hit with an information avalanche before you’ve even figured out where to begin. To help you cut through the noise, we’ve rounded up some solid, reliable recommendations to get you started on your path to better digital wellbeing.

Whether working from home or on-site, there are useful wellbeing practices you can put into practice. Check out our suggestions below:

Remember you are a physical not digital being (for now 😉)

  • Eat well, sleep well and exercise well. These are three cornerstones of good health. Coffee is not a meal, try having actual food for lunch. Remember, the video you’re watching can be paused, so don’t compromise on sleep. Keep up physical activities, maybe take your phone on a walk. For more info read this HAYS blog.
  • Find spaces that promote separation from work and regularly use them! These spaces have been shown to support mental and physical replenishment. Take a break on your couch or find a sunny spot to work in. Check out more suggestions in this Conversation article.
  • Take breaks. It is important to take breaks to let your brain and body relax. Short breaks give you the ability to refocus on your work tasks. Read more in this short Student Space piece.

You need time away from the digital

  • Technology keeps us connected 24/7, which makes it difficult for the brain to switch off. Try no technology in the evening, like spending quality time with family and friends. Get outside. Go for a walk, tend to your garden, or read a book in the fresh air and sunshine. This Black Dog Institute article has more suggestions and a downloadable tips sheet.
  • Step away from the light! The blue light that is. Electronic devices with screens and energy-efficient lighting increase your exposure to blue wavelengths, which can impact on your health, such as disrupting your sleep. Devices typically have a filter, such as “Night Mode”, that can be applied to reduce exposure to blue light. Find out more about blue light impacts from Harvard Health Publishing.

Put mindfulness into your daily practice

  • The same Conversation article also highlights the importance of establishing end-of-day rituals. It can be hard to switch off your brain around work. Try meditation, journaling, listening to music, starting a hobby, or exercise.
  • Practice mindfulness techniques to help reduce stress levels and improve focus. Do a deep breathing routine to help you focus before working through one task at a time. Check out this Medium piece for more mindfulness techniques.
  • Play time! Wordle, newspaper quizzes, sudoku, etc. Playing games can support your wellbeing by bringing some light relief and enjoyment to stressful times. The University of Exeter have curated a collection of digital games for users to explore that support wellbeing.

Take the First Step to Digital Wellbeing Mastery

These picks are designed to guide you towards more productive habits and healthier routines. However, taking on these recommendations all at once would just be overwhelming.

Our challenge to you is to choose one, just one, and put it into practice today! Leave a reply below to tell us what your choice was. Or if you want to challenge us in return, give us a recommendation on what else you would like the DixiDex Blog to explore in the digital wellbeing area.

What is doxing, and how can you protect yourself?

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The blog group loved this article from The Conversation, originally published on 13 February 2024. We hope you do too!

Rob Cover, RMIT University

The Australian government has brought forward plans to criminalise doxing, bringing nationwide attention to the harms of releasing people’s private information to the wider public.

The government response comes after the public release of almost 600 names and private chat logs of a WhatsApp group of Australian Jewish creative artists discussing the Israel-Hamas war.

As a result, some of the people whose details were leaked claim they were harassed, received death threats and even had to go into hiding.

While we wait for new penalties for doxers under the federal Privacy Act review, understanding doxing and its harms can help. And there are also steps we can all take to minimise the risk.

What is doxing?

Doxing (or doxxing) is releasing private information — or “docs”, short for documents — online to the wider public without the user’s consent. This includes information that may put users at risk of harm, especially names, addresses, employment details, medical or financial records, and names of family members.

The Australian government currently defines doxing as the “malicious release” of people’s private information without their consent.

Doxing began as a form of unmasking anonymous users, trolls and those using hate speech while hiding behind a pseudonym. Recently, it has become a weapon for online abuse, harassment, hate speech and adversarial politics. It is often the outcome of online arguments or polarised public views.

It is also becoming more common. Although there is no data for Australia yet, according to media company SafeHome.org, about 4% of Americans report having been doxed, with about half saying their private emails or home addresses have been made public.

Doxing is a crime in some countries such as the Netherlands and South Korea. In other places, including Australia, privacy laws haven’t yet caught up.

Why is doxing harmful?

In the context of the Israel-Hamas war, doxing has affected both Jewish and pro-Palestinian communities and activists in Australia and abroad.

Doxing is harmful because it treats a user as an object and takes away their agency to decide what, and how much, personal information they want shared with the wider public.

This puts people at very real risk of physical threats and violence, particularly when public disagreement becomes heated. From a broader perspective, doxing also damages the digital ecology, reducing people’s ability to freely participate in public or even private debate through social media.

Although doxing is sometimes just inconvenient, it is often used to publicly shame or humiliate someone for their private views. This can take a toll on a person’s mental health and wellbeing.

It can also affect a person’s employment, especially for people whose employers require them to keep their attitudes, politics, affiliations and views to themselves.

Studies have shown doxing particularly impacts women, including those using dating apps or experiencing family violence. In some cases, children and family members have been threatened because a high-profile relative has been doxed.

Doxing is also harmful because it oversimplifies a person’s affiliations or attitudes. For example, releasing the names of people who have joined a private online community to navigate complex views can represent them as only like-minded stereotypes or as participants in a group conspiracy.

A person using a laptop and smartphone simultaneously
There are steps you can take online to protect yourself from doxing without having to complete withdraw. Engin Akyurt/Pexels

What can you do to protect yourself from doxing?

Stronger laws and better platform intervention are necessary to reduce doxing. Some experts believe that the fear of punishment can help shape better online behaviours.

These punishments may include criminal penalties for perpetrators and deactivating social media accounts for repeat offenders. But better education about the risks and harms is often the best treatment.

And you can also protect yourself without needing to entirely withdraw from social media:

  1. never share a home or workplace address, phone number or location, including among a private online group or forum with trusted people
  2. restrict your geo-location settings
  3. avoid giving details of workplaces, roles or employment on public sites not related to your work
  4. avoid adding friends or connections on social media services of people you do not know
  5. if you suspect you risk being doxed due to a heated online argument, temporarily shut down or lock any public profiles
  6. avoid becoming a target by pursuing haters when it reaches a certain point. Professional and courteous engagement can help avoid the anger of those who might disagree and try to harm you.

Additionally, hosts of private online groups must be very vigilant about who joins a group. They should avoid the trap of accepting members just to increase the group’s size, and appropriately check new members (for example, with a short survey or key questions that keep out people who may be there to gather information for malicious purposes).

Employers who require their staff to have online profiles or engage with the public should provide information and strategies for doing so safely. They should also provide immediate support for staff who have been doxed.

Rob Cover, Professor of Digital Communication and Co-Director of the RMIT Digital Ethnography Research Centre, RMIT University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Library strategy and Artificial Intelligence

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by Dr Andrew M Cox, Senior Lecturer, the Information School, University of Sheffield.

This post was originally published in the National Centre for AI blog, owned by Jisc. It is re-printed with permission from Jisc and the author.

On April 20th 2023 the Information School, University of Sheffield invited five guest speakers from across the library sectors to debate “Artificial Intelligence: Where does it fit into your library strategy?”

The speakers were:

  1. Nick Poole, CEO of CILIP
  2. Neil Fitzgerald, Head of Digital Research, British Library
  3. Sue Lacey-Bryant, Chief Knowledge Officer; Workforce, Training and Education Directorate of NHS England
  4. Sue Attewell, Head of Edtech, JISC
  5. John Cox, University Librarian, University of Galway

A capacity 250 people had signed up online, and there was a healthy audience in the room in Sheffield.

Slides from the event can be downloaded here . These included updated results from the pre-event survey, which had 68 responses.

This blog is a personal response to the event and summary written by Andrew Cox and Catherine Robinson.

Impact of generative AI

Andrew Cox opened the proceedings by setting the discussion in the context of the fascination with AI in our culture from ancient Greece, movies from as early as the start of the C20th, through to current headlines in the Daily Star!

Later on in the event, in his talk John Cox quoted several authors saying AI promised to produce a profound change to professional work. And it seemed to be agreed amongst all the speakers that we had entered a period of accelerating change, especially with Chat GPT and other generative AI.

These technologies offer many benefits. Sue Lacey-Bryant shared some examples of how colleagues were already experimenting with using Chat GPT in multiple ways: to search, organise content, design web pages, draft tweets and write policies. Sue Attewell mentioned JISC sponsored AI pilots to accelerate grading, draft assessment tasks, and analyse open text NSS comments.

And of course wider uses of AI are potentially very powerful. For example Sue Lacey-Bryant shared the example of how many hours of radiologists time AI was saving the NHS. Andrew Cox mentioned how Chat GPT functions would be realised within MS Office as Copilot. Specifically for libraries, from the pre-event survey it seemed that the most developed services currently were library chatbots and Text and Data Mining support; but the emphasis of future plans was “Promoting AI (and data) literacy for users”.

But it did mean uncertainty. Nick Poole compared the situation to the rise of Web2.0 and suggested that many applications of generative AI were emerging and we didn’t know which might be the winners. User behaviour was changing and so there was a need to study this. As behaviour changed there would be side effects which required us to reflect holistically, Sue Attewell pointed out. For example if generative AI can write bullet point notes, how does this impact learning if writing those notes was itself how one learned? She suggested that the new technology cannot be banned. It may also not be detectable. There was no choice but to “embrace” it.

Ethics

The ethics of AI is a key concern. In the pre-event survey, ethics were the most frequently identified key challenge. Nick Poole talked about several of the novel challenges from generative AI, such as what is its implication for intellectual freedom? What should be preserved from generative AI (especially as it answers differently to each iteration of a question)? Nick identified that professional ethics have to be:

  • “Inclusive – adopting an informed approach to counter bias
  • Informed & evidence-based – geared towards helping information users to navigate the hype cycle
  • Critical & reflective – understanding our own biases and their impact
  • Accountable – focused on trust, referencing and replicability
  • Creative – helping information users to maximise the positive benefits of AI augmented services
  • Adaptive – enabling us to refresh our skills and expertise to navigate change”

Competencies

In terms of professional competencies for an AI world, Nick said that there was now wider recognition that critical thinking and empathy were key skills. He pointed out that the CILIP Professional Knowledge and Skills Base (PKSB) had been updated to reflect the needs of an AI world for example by including data stewardship and algorithmic literacy. Andrew Cox referred to some evidence that the key skills needed are social and influencing skills not just digital ones. Skills that respondents to the pre-event survey thought that libraries needed were:

  •        General understanding of AI
  •        How to get the best results from AI
  •        Open-mindedness and willingness to learn 
  •        Knowledge of user behaviour and need
  •        Copyright
  •        Professional ethics and having a vision of benefits

Strategy

John Cox pointed to evidence that most academic library strategies were not yet encompassing AI. He thought it was because of anxiety, hesitancy, ethics concerns and inward looking and linear thinking. But Neil explained how the British Library is developing a strategy. The process was challenging, akin to ‘Flying a plane while building it”. Sue Attewell emphasised the need for the whole sector to develop a view. The pre-event survey suggested that the most likely strategic responses were: to upskill existing staff, study sector best practice and collaborate with other libraries.

Andrew Cox suggested that some key issues for the profession were:

  • How do we scope the issue: As about data/AI or a wider digital transformation?
    • How does AI fit into our existing strategies – especially given the context of institutional alignment?
    • What constitutes a strategic response to AI? How does this differ between information sectors?
  • How do we meet the workforce challenge?
    • What new skills do we need to develop in the workforce?
    • How might AI impact equality and diversity in the profession?

Workshop discussions

Following the presentations from the speakers, those attending the event in person were given the opportunity to further discuss in groups the professional competencies needed for AI. Those attending online were asked to put any comments they had regarding this in the chat box. Some of the key discussion points were:

  • The need for professionals to rapidly upskill themselves in AI. This includes understanding what AI is and the concepts and applications of AI in individual settings (e.g. healthcare, HE etc.), along with understanding our role in supporting appropriate use. However, it was believed this should go beyond a general understanding to a knowledge of how AI algorithms work, how to use AI and actively adopting AI in our own professional roles in order to grow confidence in this area.
  • Horizon scanning and continuous learning – AI is a fast-paced area where technology is rapidly evolving. Professionals not only need to stay up-to-date with the latest developments, but also be aware of potential future developments to remain effective and ensure we are proactive, rather than reactive.
  • Upskilling should not just focus on professional staff, but all levels of library staff will require some level of upskilling in the area of AI (e.g. library assistants).
  • Importance of information literacy and critical thinking skills in order to assess the quality and relevance of AI outputs. AI should therefore be built into professional training around these skills.
  • Collaboration skills – As one group stated, this should be more ‘about people, not data’. AI requires collaboration with:
    • Information professionals across the sector to establish a consistent approach; 
    • Users (health professionals, students, researchers, public etc.) to establish how they are using AI and what for;
    • With other professionals (e.g. data scientists).
  • Recruitment problems were also discussed, with it noted that for some there had been a drop in people applying for library roles. This was impacting on the ability to bring in new skillsets to the library (e.g. data scientist), but on the ability to allow existing staff the time to upskill in the area of AI. It was discussed that there was the need to promote lifestyle and wellbeing advantages to working in libraries to applicants.

Other issues that came up in the workshop discussions centered around how AI will impact on the overall library service, with the following points made:

  • There is the need to expand library services around AI, as well as embed it in current services;
  • Need to focus on where the library can add value in the area of AI (i.e. USP);
  • Libraries need to make a clear statement to their institution regarding their position on AI;
  • AI increases the importance of and further incentivises open access, open licencing and digitisation of resources;
  • Questions over whether there is a need to rebrand the library.

The attendees also identified that the following would useful to help prepare the sector for AI:

  • Sharing of job descriptions to learn about what AI means in practice and help with workforce planning. Although, it was noted how the RL (Research Libraries) Position Description Bank contains almost 4000 position descriptions from research libraries primarily from North America, although there are many examples from RLUK members; 
  • A reading list and resource bank to help professionals upskill in AI;
  • Work shadowing;
  • Sharing of workshops delivered by professionals to users around the use of AI;
  • AI mailing lists (e.g. JISCmail);
  • Establishment of a Community of Practice to promote collaboration. Although it was noted that AI would probably change different areas of library practice (such as collecting or information literacy) so was likely to be discussed within the professional communities that already existed in these areas.

Workshop outcome

Following the workshop Andrew Cox and Catherine Robinson worked on a draft Working paper which we invite you to comment on @ Draft for comment: Developing a library strategic response to Artificial Intelligence: Working paper.

In-person versus Online: A Conversation

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by Peggy Hsu, Liaison Librarian, Federation University Australia, and Kayleen Wardell, Team Leader Client Services, Southern Cross University Library

Authors’ contact details: p.hsu@federation.edu.au and kayleen.wardell@scu.edu.au

Open laptop with gallery view of online meeting participants, on a desk next to a pottery cup
Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

 “The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air.

Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it.”

J. R. R. Tolkien. The Fellowship of the Ring. 1954

It’s starting to happen again. Attending events in person and seeing friends and colleagues from other institutions face-to-face.

Kayleen and I both attended the ‘CAUL: Enabling a Modern Curriculum Conference’ in early September 2022, which had both online and in-person days to the program, so it felt like the appropriate time to interrogate and debate our thoughts on ‘in-person versus online professional development’.

Webinar fatigue

Peggy: I. Love. Webinars.

I can see a webinar from anywhere in the world. With webinars, I don’t hurt my neck or back if I’m seated sideways, and *whispers* I can run to the bathroom with my headset on and still listen to the webinar. Plus, the links and attendee chat are often interesting.

Kayleen: I. Love. In-person events.

I enjoy being in the same physical space with others and engaging with them on a very visceral level. I am energised by their enthusiasm and love working together on activities at the event. This can be exhausting, but not as much as ‘webinar fatigue’.

Connections and networking

Peggy: I am an introvert with ‘weird hearing’. I strain to filter all the conversations happening around me, plus I feel weird sidling up to a group, inserting myself and then having said difficulty hearing the conversation. Ugh!.

I also forget names, like really quickly. I’m sorry and embarrassed now.

Kayleen: For me, the most amazing part of an in-person event is meeting the people who until that moment had only been faces on a Zoom screen.

And during the breaks, it’s great to engage in ‘face to face’ serendipitous or ‘water cooler’ conversations. Especially when standing in front of the vast array of teas, trying to work out which flavour you want to try, and then finding out that the person standing next to you likes that same tea. A conversation then ensues about the other things that you have in common. Pure gold!

Costs: Money or Time (Travel)

Peggy: I’m about 90 minutes from Melbourne, so not that far. For me, the event should ideally be longer than the time it takes travelling and if it’s on the other side of Melbourne, add another hour. Plus, why are universities not near train lines?

Kayleen: I must admit that there are probably not many positives about the cost of travelling to an event in person. Unless the event is just around the corner or your boss is paying the bill. However, adding other activities to the trip, such as visiting colleagues in other libraries, can make it worthwhile.

Equity

Peggy: This article from Scientific American had some great points to make on equity provided by online events.

  • Easier access for disabled or people with children.
  • Environmentally friendlier, if you have a budget for travel.
  • Lastly, online is great for diversity.

The information that really blew my mind though was research reported by Allseated that at online scientific conferences, female attendance increased by 253% and genderqueer attendance “jumped by 700%”.

Kayleen: Peggy has raised some excellent points around specific elements of equity for attendees at online events.

There is also some great information provided by the Australian Human Rights Commission on hosting in-person meetings and events to improve the experience of attendees.

Wrap-up

There are positives and negatives to in-person and online-only events. Hybrid seems to be the way forward, but the technology may not be ready in terms of pricing, access, and ease of set-up. Still, worse, we might be stuck in a binary where the only perceived options are in-person or online, and we aren’t displaying pandemic adaptability and innovation.

References

Allseated. (n.d.). The Return to In-Person Events: What’s Changed. Allseated. Retrieved January 30, 2023, from https://allseated.com/blog/the-return-to-in-person-events-whats-changed/

Australian Human Rights Commission. (2021). Hosting accessible and inclusive in-person meetings and events. https://includeability.gov.au/resources-employers/hosting-accessible-and-inclusive-person-meetings-and-events

Liu, G. (2020, August 21). The Surprising Advantages of Virtual Conferences. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-surprising-advantages-of-virtual-conferences/

MyHub. (2022, May 24). Water Cooler Conversation: The Essential Guide For Hybrid Workplaces. https://www.myhubintranet.com/water-cooler-conversation/

Robinson, E. (2021, April 21). Study explains ‘cocktail party effect’ in hearing impairment. OHSU. https://news.ohsu.edu/2021/04/21/study-explains-cocktail-party-effect-in-hearing-impairment

The National Press Club (n.d.). Live, Virtual or Hybrid Events – Which Approach Is Best? The National Press Club. Retrieved January 30, 2023, from https://www.press.org/live-virtual-or-hybrid-events-which-approach-best

Wilson, A. (2021, September 15). What is Webinar Fatigue and how do we manage it? Lernium. https://www.learnium.com/2021/09/15/what-is-webinar-fatigue-and-how-do-we-manage-it/

Crypto scams will increase over the holidays – here’s what you need to know to not fall victim

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by Ashish Nanda, CyberCRC Research Fellow, Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation (CSRI), Deakin University; Jeb Webb, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation (CSRI), Deakin University; Jongkil Jay Jeong, CyberCRC Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation (CSRI), Deakin University; Mohammad Reza Nosouhi, CyberCRC Research Fellow, Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation (CSRI), Deakin University, Deakin University, and Syed Wajid Ali Shah, CSCRC Research Fellow, Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation, Deakin University

We loved this article from The Conversation, originally published on 14 November 2022

Each year, as the festive season arrives, we must also keep an eye out for potential scammers trying to ruin the fun. This is because scammers become more active during the holidays, targeting us while we have our guard down.

So far in 2022, Australians have lost around half a billion dollars to scams, which is already significantly more than had been lost by this time last year. The majority of these losses – around $300 million – have involved investment or cryptocurrency scams.

Researchers from Deakin University’s Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation had a opportunity to interview recent victims of these scams. Here is what we found.

Anyone can fall for a scam

I was shocked and could not accept that this happened to me although I was very careful […] I was numb for a couple of minutes as it was a large amount of money. – (26-year-old female office manager from South Australia)

These scams have become highly sophisticated and criminals have become less discriminating about whom they target. This is reflected in recent victim demographics, showing a wide variety of backgrounds, a more even distribution across several age groups, and an almost even split on gender.

So, how can you spot these scams and where can you get help if you have fallen victim?

If it sounds too good to be true, it might just be a scam

I was dumbfounded, to say that ground shattered under my feet would be an understatement, it will take me a very long time to recover from it, financially and mentally. – (36-year-old female, legal practitioner from Victoria)

Most crypto scams involve getting the victim to buy and send cryptocurrency to the perpetrator’s account for what appears to be a legitimate investment opportunity.

Cryptocurrency is the currency of choice for this type of crime, because it’s unregulated, untraceable and transactions cannot be reversed.

Victims of such scams are targeted using a number of different methods, which include:

Investment scams: scammers pretend to be investment managers claiming high returns on crypto investments. They get the victim to transfer over funds and escape with them.

“Pump and dump”: scammers usually hype up a new cryptocurrency or an NFT project and artificially increase its value. Once enough victims invest, the scammers sell their stake, leaving the victims with worthless cryptocurrency or NFT.

Romance scams: involves scammers using dating platforms, social media or direct messaging to engage with you, gain your trust and pitch an amazing investment opportunity promising high returns, or ask for cryptocurrency to cover medical or travel expenses.

Phishing scams: an old but still effective scam involving malicious emails or messages with links to fake websites promising huge returns on investment or just outright stealing credentials to access users’ digital currency wallets.

Ponzi schemes: a type of investment scam where the scammers use cryptocurrency gathered from multiple victims to repay high interest to some of them; when victims invest more funds, the scammers escape with all the investments.

Mining scams: scammers try and convince victims to buy cryptocurrency to use in mining more of it, while in reality there is no mining happening – the scammers just make transfers that look like returns on the investment. Over time, the victim invests more, and the scammers keep taking it all.

Although methods evolve and change, the telltale signs of a potential scam remain relatively similar:

  • very high returns with promises of little or no risk
  • proprietary or secretive strategies to gain an advantage
  • lack of liquidity, requiring a minimum accumulation amount before funds are released.

Where to seek help if you’ve been scammed

I felt helpless, I didn’t know what to do, who to reach out to, I was too embarrassed and just kept blaming myself. – (72-year-old male, accountant from Victoria)

If you think you have fallen victim to one of these scams, here is what you need to do next:

  • inform the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) here or reach out to relevant authorities as per advice on the ScamWatch website
  • reach out to your friends and family members and inform them of the scam; they can also be a source of help and support during such times
  • as these events can have a psychological impact, it’s recommended you talk to your GP, a health professional, or someone you trust
  • you can also reach out to counselling services such as LifeLine, beyond blue, Sucide Call Back Service, Mens Line, and more for help and support.

If you ever find yourself in a difficult situation, please remember help and support is available.

Finally, to prevent yourself becoming the next statistic over the holiday period, keep in mind the following advice:

  • don’t share your personal details with people online or over a call
  • don’t invest in something you don’t understand
  • if in doubt, talk to an expert or search online for resources yourself (don’t believe any links the scammers send you).

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Declutter your digital writing – for inclusion, clarity and better reader experience

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Originally posted on Deakin University Library’s DigiBytes blog

By Rachel Wilson and Kat Cain of Deakin University, republished with permission from the authors

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

Decluttering is not just about your digital files, your cutlery cupboard, or your work desk – it also is a handy approach for digital writing. Clutter distracts from the clarity of your writing. Unnecessary words, complicated sentences, and redundancies can all mess up the flow of your writing. Which means your core message or learning point is lost within the word noise. 

Decluttering is a great strategy for writing in many different contexts, using plain language in digital spaces like blogs, guides, websites is critical and inclusive. It means your content is readily understandable, scannable, and straightforward. Most of all it makes your content more useful to your learner or reader.  Check out this Evolving web post for a good breakdown of why decluttered writing works so well for inclusion and why plain language matters. 

Strategies, concepts and tools to help 

Here are three key tips that can get you started in decluttering your digital writing. They can help you tighten your prose, your email, or your module text. In fact, these writing skills can be applied everywhere, not just writing web page content. 

Tip 1: Consider your audience 

Who are you writing for? 

  • Undergrads  
  • Professional staff 
  • Industry 
  • Researchers and academics  

Different reading levels are OK for different audiences. Vocab will change depending on the context. 

  • Grade 7-8 for your average audience  
  • Grade 10-12 for experts in your subject matter 

Tip 2: Use tools to Marie Kondo your content 

Using editing and grammar tools can give you a strong idea on how readable your content is, how clearly your message scans.  

Tip 3: Keep it clean and uncluttered 

There are a number of things you can do to keep your digital page clean. Avoid jargon and go for simpler wording where you can. Also carefully consider image use on your digital page as it can dilute your message. Use headings, lists and ‘calls to action’ to make your content more structured and scannable. Don’t cover too many topics in the same space!  

Key take away 

Don’t strive for perfection in your digital writing – we love iterative improvements. As Leo Tolstoy said “If you look for perfection, you’ll never be content” (Anna Karenina). 

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Hybrid working post COVID: how young professionals can optimise their time in the office (and why they should)

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By Gemma Dale, Lecturer, Faculty of Business and Law, Liverpool John Moores University

The conversation logo

This week, we are republishing an article originally published in The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

During the pandemic, around 100 million people in Europe switched to working from home – nearly half of them for the first time. This shift was rapid, with employees quickly noticing the benefits of remote work. These can include freedom from commuting, more time for personal wellbeing and increased productivity.

You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, here.

As we move on from pandemic restrictions, we’ve seen a strong, global demand for more flexible forms of working, particularly to retain an element of remote work. While some employees want to work from home permanently, most want what’s coming to be regarded as the best of both worlds: hybrid working. Only a minority of workers now want to return to the office full time.

One group which may be particularly keen on hybrid working is young professionals. And for this group, time spent in the office could be especially valuable.

Young people and remote work

Surveys undertaken during the pandemic indicated that generation Z (those born after 1996) were more likely to say that they were struggling with work-life balance and post-work exhaustion than older generations.

There are several possible reasons for this. Younger people may find it more difficult to establish a good homeworking set up, depending on their living arrangements. Those early in their careers may have smaller professional networks, leading to greater isolation. Or they may simply have less experience managing the boundaries between work and life outside of work, which can be made more difficult when there’s no physical office to leave at the end of the day.

Despite this, emerging evidence suggests that younger workers want remote and flexible work rather than a return to the office full time. Surveys vary, but generally indicate that around two-thirds of members of generation Z working in office jobs want a hybrid working pattern in the future – and they’re prepared to move employers to find it.

According to a recent survey by management consulting company McKinsey, employees aged 18–34 were 59% more likely to say they would quit their current role to move to a job with flexible working compared with older employees aged 55–64.

Young people looking at a computer

Younger workers are interested in flexible working arrangements.Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash

It’s worth going into the office sometimes

Remote and hybrid working can bring many benefits. For employees, remote work provides the opportunity to reallocate costly and sometimes stressful commuting time into activities that support work-life balance and health. Indeed, more than three-quarters of hybrid and remote workers report improved work-life balance compared with when they worked in an office full time.

Meanwhile, hybrid work provides autonomy and choice for employees. They can combine time at home for focused and independent work with time in the office for collaboration and connection. A hybrid working model can be good for productivity, inclusion and motivation.

However, the belief that work is best done in an office environment is pervasive – and young people in particular are thought to need to go into the office to build professional networks and to learn.

There could be some truth to the idea that young people early in their careers uniquely benefit from going into the office. Research conducted prior to the pandemic has associated being out of sight while working remotely with also being out of mind. Notably, people who work exclusively at home are less likely to receive promotions and bonuses.

Conversely, being with colleagues in person has been associated with greater career advancement. In part, this is probably because being physically present in the office appears to signal commitment to the organisation.

Can hybrid work address the risks of fully remote work and preserve the rewards associated with face-to-face interactions in the office? Only time will tell.

woman working at home with cat

Working at home has its benefits. Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash 

Finding the right balance

Before 2020, remote work was still relatively rare. Hybrid working at scale is a new concept.

But throughout the pandemic, perceptions about working from home have improved globally. The latest UK data suggests nearly one-quarter of working adults are now hybrid. So in the future, we’ll need to understand more about the impact of remote work both on organisations and the people who undertake it.

The challenge for younger employees is to identify an effective working pattern that suits both them and their organisation – and supports their career goals. As tempting as it may be to ditch the commute as often as possible, younger employees may instead wish to consider a more strategic approach.

When in the office, they should focus on personal visibility, and building and maintaining relationships with colleagues and managers. Networking and learning must be the focus of working in-person, and wherever possible, online meetings or independent work should be saved for remote working time.

Combine this with good wellbeing practices when working from home, especially around switching off from work, and hybrid might just deliver on its promises of better work for everyone – young and not so young alike.The Conversation

This article is part of Quarter Life, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.

You may be interested in:

Long social distancing: how young adults’ habits have changed since COVID

Working in the metaverse: what virtual office life could look like

Six misunderstood concepts about diversity in the workplace and why they matter

Welcome back!

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Welcome back readers!

We are so happy to be back, and we’ve been viewing a lot of messages around New Year’s resolutions this year. The basic premise seems to be:

Take care of yourself, and don’t expect too much.

How can we do this when we are bombarded by online news and social media posts? Here are a few tips:

  1. Minimise distractions by turning off any notifications on your phone from news, sports and games feeds.
  2. Try using the ‘Do not disturb’ feature (for example, in Microsoft Teams) so that you can focus on things that really do require your attention.
  3. Emphasise quality rather than quantity when it comes to digital relationships. Only follow or connect with those who add value (happiness, or meaning) to your life.
  4. Use your screen-time settings to create boundaries around how long you want to be online – that way you can avoid the endless scrolling late at night when you’re tired and need to switch off.
  5. Schedule your screen time as a regular appointment so that you get into the habit of keeping to time. This will help you choose to look at what is important to you, while putting a time restriction on the scrolling!
  6. Use your online calendar to communicate your availability to colleagues at work, so they know when you can be interrupted. For example, Microsoft Outlook has a ‘Show As’ feature that depicts your time as ‘free’, ‘working elsewhere’, ‘tentative’, ‘busy’, or ‘out of office’. Make sure your team is familiar with the different indicators.

There are lots of other ways to take care of yourself when engaging with digital technologies. You could find a YouTube channel that plays focus music or ambient noise, which will help you to de-stress. You could Google yourself and tidy up your online profile and privacy settings to make sure your digital security is spot on.

Above all, remember to forgive yourself if you happen to get lost in a digital rabbit hole on Facebook or YouTube. You’re still an okay person! None of us is perfect, and we’re all coping with less-than-ideal circumstances at the moment.

In the meantime, are you enjoying the blog? Would you like to know more about one of our topics, or do you have ideas for different posts?  Or perhaps you would like to write a post yourself?

Please drop us a line at digidexbloggroup@lists.caval.edu.au and we will send you our blog post template, which includes short guidelines on style, tone, length, and so on. We would love to make this year more about you, our readers, and we value all of your feedback.

Good luck to all, and remember to be kind to yourself! And in tricky moments always remember there is coffee coffee coffee ….

gif by Gilmore Girls @gilmoregirls https://media.giphy.com/media/3ohA2VFMnx7Fdd6SXu/giphy.gif