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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 2:47 am
Time: 2:47 am
Results for online communication
6 results foundAuthor: Lansdown, Gerison Title: Child Safety Online: Global Challenges and Strategies Summary: Over the past twenty years the Internet has become an integral part of our lives. We have eagerly embraced its potential for communication, entertainment and information-seeking. For many of today’s children, the Internet, mobile phones and other technologies are a constant and familiar presence. For them, the distinction between online and offline has increasingly become meaningless, and they move seamlessly between both environments. An increasing number of children can scarcely imagine life without a social networking profile; videos and photographs shared online – often in real time – and online gaming. Indeed, young people are at the vanguard of technological change Their coming-of-age in this era of exponential innovation has widened the generational divide between them and their parents, their teachers and other caregivers. This gap, while becoming less stark in industrialized countries, is wider in lower income countries where caregivers arguably have fewer opportunities to access information and communication technology. But the situation is changing rapidly There is no doubt that the Internet yields numerous opportunities and benefits for children in terms of its impact on their educational attainment and social inclusion. However, it has also exposed children to dangers that defy age, geographic location and other boundaries that are more clearly delineated in the real world. This has resulted in risks to children and young people of having abusive images of them shared on the Internet; of being groomed or lured into sexual conversations or exploitation by adult offenders; of being bullied or harassed online. Bearing this in mind, the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre has, in partnership with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in the United Kingdom, collaborated with a number of actors to undertake this study. The research explored children’s online behaviour, risks and vulnerability to harm, documenting existing preventive and protective measures to combat their online abuse and exploitation. The study draws on lessons from high- and middle-income countries, viewed through the lens of the dynamic that, given the speed of innovation, other countries may soon experience. What we have learned is that a singular approach to combating these crimes is not effective. What is required is a collective effort by policymakers, law enforcement agencies, social workers, teachers, parents and the private sector to systematically protect children. We have also discovered that many children are comfortable navigating the Internet and are able to avoid risks. They may see themselves as protectors of younger children and are themselves agents for change. Children should be allowed to express their views on how to mitigate risks, and they should be listened to and empowered to safely exploit the benefits of the Internet. However, we should not overestimate their ability to protect themselves. Ultimately, the onus lies with adults to put in place a framework that ensures children equal and equitable access to the Internet, along with a safer online environment. Access to knowledge, participation, leisure and play are fundamental rights of all children, as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child In today’s real and virtual worlds, it is our collective responsibility to ensure those rights for all children. Details: Florence, Italy: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2011. 32p., technical report. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 15, 2012 at: http://www.unicef-irc.org/article/825 Year: 2011 Country: International URL: http://www.unicef-irc.org/article/825 Shelf Number: 125276 Keywords: BullyingChild ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationInternet CrimesInternet SafetyOnline CommunicationPornography |
Author: Richardson, Roslyn Title: Fighting Fire with Fire: Target audience responses to online anti-violence campaigns Summary: This report documents young Muslim Sydneysiders' responses to a variety of online campaigns that promote non-violent political activism or aim to 'counter violent extremism' (CVE). In undertaking this study, which involved interviews with Muslim communities in Western Sydney - communities that have been targeted by both violent propaganda and government communication campaigns - two things became apparent. First, there's a pool of highly educated, discerning and media-savvy young people in these communities. Second, rather than merely being an audience for government-sponsored communication campaigns, they're creating their own websites, YouTube clips, radio programs and Facebook groups. - Some of these websites and other initiatives directly challenge violent narratives while others provide avenues for non‑violent political protest and expression. The popularity and reach of this entirely community-generated web content significantly outshines the reach of any government-sponsored internet-based CVE strategies developed to date. - The young people responsible for these initiatives, some of whom are communication professionals, understand and to some extent share their target audiences' needs and wants. As journalism and marketing graduates, they also have the professional know-how to produce high quality and attention-grabbing campaigns. Furthermore, when they take the lead in creating these initiatives they generate more interest and praise from their target audiences than when they merely support government‑sponsored programs. - Outside of the online space, young people from across Sydney's Muslim communities engage in a range of activities that directly assist others to move away from violent and criminal paths. A number of the respondents in this study, for example, are volunteer youth mentors who assist young people identified by their schools, the justice system or both as 'vulnerable' (to criminalisation). These interventions in real life are augmented by their efforts through online forums to reach out to young people they identify as at risk. - The efforts of these young volunteers both inside and outside the online space seem largely unknown beyond their immediate communities. Nevertheless their contribution in creating communities that are empowered and resilient to violent messaging may be considerable. The core recommendation of this report is: Where possible, government agencies should support existing popular community-driven anti-violence online campaigns rather than prioritising the development of new websites to counter violent narratives. Government agencies should directly engage with the young people involved in these popular initiatives and investigate ways to support them and their campaigns where possible. - While this study offers many findings that government agencies and communities might view with optimism, it also reveals that there are significant barriers that undermine young Muslim Sydneysiders' engagement with CVE communication campaigns and government agencies. These barriers are also likely to undermine government agencies' engagement with the young communication professionals who are currently producing a range of popular anti-violence campaigns. The report identifies and discusses these barriers. However, it is anticipated that from the large amount of data collected there will be subsequent publications describing some in greater detail. - The most significant barrier identified in this study relates to the pervasive prejudice young Muslims report experiencing as a result of being Muslim and/or of Arab background. Many of the study's respondents rejected government-produced CVE websites because they felt such strategies perpetuate the stereotyping of Muslim communities as potentially threatening and deviant. From their perspective, Australia's CVE agenda fuels Islamophobia, making them more vulnerable to discrimination including verbal and physical attacks. - The respondents also rejected the government's CVE agenda because they perceived government agencies as doing little to address social issues of greater importance to them. This includes the violent crime and socioeconomic disadvantage experienced by those living in their Western Sydney suburbs. In this respect, they believed that government agencies' engagement with them on CVE issues is largely self-serving and does little to address the 'real' violence they see afflicting their communities. - Another significant barrier undermining young Muslim Sydneysiders' engagement with Australia's CVE agenda is their lack of trust in government agencies. Some perceive an irony when the Australian Government asks them to support campaigns denouncing violence when it is waging violent wars in other countries. Government CVE interventions in Muslim communities have also fuelled community paranoia and young Muslims' belief that they are under constant surveillance. As a result of a variety of issues affecting Muslim communities inside and outside Australia, the respondents perceived the Australian Government as not being 'on their side' and not representing their interests. - While some respondents displayed a deep cynicism about the Australian Government and its CVE agenda, for moral and religious reasons many were devoted to assisting 'at risk' youth in their communities. The ASPI research team also found that even self-described 'radicals', 'conservatives' and those who decry Australia's counterterrorism policies, want to engage better with police and other government agencies. This report offers 13 recommendations to facilitate this engagement and enhance communication campaigns that challenge violence. - However, this report also offers a warning that online communication strategies are unlikely to provide a solution for those at greatest risk of becoming involved in violent extremism. The respondents of this study, who included sheikhs involved in deradicalisation work, argued that one-on-one intervention strategies are a far more effective way to reach and influence vulnerable individuals. - This study shows that it's difficult to motivate young people to view government-sponsored CVE websites; it's undoubtedly much more of a challenge to entice 'at risk' youth to visit such sites. - By focusing on Muslim youth this report potentially supports discourses that position Muslim Australians as a 'problem community' and security threat. The research team doesn't support such views and sees them as counterproductive to our aim of enhancing government agencies' interaction with young Muslims. In fact, this study shows that the securitisation of Muslim communities directly causes young Muslim Sydneysiders to reject CVE websites and shun interaction with government agencies. - Nevertheless, some of our respondents expressed deep concern about groups and individuals in their communities sympathetic to using violence to achieve political-religious aims. Some believed it was important for their communities to develop online strategies to challenge violent narratives and provide more avenues for young people to express their views in a non-violent manner. In addition, some felt it was the correct role of government agencies to support communities in these endeavours. - On the whole this report challenges approaches that only discuss Muslim youth as being highly vulnerable and in dire need of empowerment to resist violent propaganda. Instead, it shows that some have taken a lead role in challenging violent narratives and are empowering themselves. This report is intended for use by government agencies and communities to inform their future work in this area. - Included as an appendix to this report is a separate ASPI study examining the online CVE strategies developed by five countries: UK, US, the Netherlands, Canada and Denmark. Details: Barton, ACT: Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 2013. 82p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 26, 2014 at: https://www.aspi.org.au/publications/fighting-fire-with-fire-target-audience-responses-to-online-anti-violence-campaigns/Fight_fire_long_paper_web.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Australia URL: https://www.aspi.org.au/publications/fighting-fire-with-fire-target-audience-responses-to-online-anti-violence-campaigns/Fight_fire_long_paper_web.pdf Shelf Number: 132545 Keywords: At-Risk YouthMedia CampaignsMuslimsOnline CommunicationRadical GroupsViolence PreventionViolent ExtremismYouth Violence |
Author: Winkler, Carol K., ed. Title: Visual Propaganda and Extremism in the Online Environment Summary: Visual images have been a central component of propaganda for as long as propaganda has been produced. But recent developments in communication and information technologies have given terrorist and extremist groups options and abilities they never would have been able to come close to even 5 or 10 years ago. There are terrorist groups who, with very little initial investment, are making videos that are coming so close to the quality of BBC or CNN broadcasts that the difference is meaningless, and with access to the web they have instantaneous access to a global audience. Given the broad social science consensus on the power of visual images relative to that of words, the strategic implications of these groups' sophistication in the use of images in the online environment is carefully considered in a variety of contexts by the authors in this collection. Details: Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute and U.S. Army War College Press, 2014. 256p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 12, 2014 at: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?pubID=1213 Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/display.cfm?pubID=1213 Shelf Number: 133295 Keywords: ExtremismExtremist GroupsOnline CommunicationOnline VictimizationRadical GroupsTerrorism |
Author: Anderson, Jessica Title: Online communities: Utilising emerging technologies to improve crime prevention knowledge, practice and dissemination Summary: Online communities are increasingly being recognised as a way of sharing ideas and knowledge among different practitioner communities, particularly when practitioners are not able to meet face to face. This paper explores the considerations associated with establishing online communities for crime prevention practitioners, drawing on research from across the community of practice, online community and knowledge management sectors. The paper provides an overview of the administrative considerations of online community development, as well as the key barriers and enablers to practitioner engagement in an online community, and the potential implications for a crime prevention-specific practitioner community. As such, it is a useful tool for those in the crime prevention sector wanting to maximise the influence of an existing online community or to guide those contemplating the implementation of an online community of practice in the future. Communities of practice (CoPs) are 'groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly' (Wenger 2006: 1). In recent years, online technologies have emerged as an important way of disseminating good practice and have often been developed to support CoPs. Online CoPs allow the transmission of tacit knowledge, which can form a crucial part of learning (Harman & Koohang 2005), particularly in relation to areas such as crime prevention (Ekblom 2010; Teng & Song 2011). From a technical perspective, online CoPs are relatively straightforward to establish, although in reality, the ongoing time and effort required to attract and sustain members can be resource intensive. Key considerations for the planning and establishment of online CoPs are explored in this paper, with a particular focus on the effective implementation of such communities for crime prevention practitioners. In some cases, CoPs emerge without external planning and establishment and this paper's exploration of issues that may affect ongoing participation can be applied to situations where a CoP is identified and supported, rather than specifically being established. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, April 2014. 10p. Source: Internet Resource: Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 462: Accessed April 20, 2015 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tandi/461-480/tandi462.html Year: 2014 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tandi/461-480/tandi462.html Shelf Number: 135262 Keywords: Crime Prevention (Australia)Online Communication |
Author: Palmer, Tink Title: Digital Dangers: The impact of technology on the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and young people Summary: The internet has transformed how we all live, learn, work and communicate. Over the last twenty years the ways in which we interact and engage have evolved beyond imagination; for many people, the world online is as real as the world offline. For children - at the forefront of the digital revolution - the internet has created myriad opportunities. But it has also created risks. For every new piece of technology that can change how children access information, communicate or find entertainment, a new danger may present itself in a way that children, families and society may not immediately understand. Barnardo's is the largest provider of support to at risk and sexually exploited children in the UK, and runs specialist services in 47 local areas across the country. In 2014-15, these services supported 3,175 children, a 49 per cent increase on the preceding year. Our project workers have witnessed first-hand how the internet has transformed the nature of abuse and sexual exploitation. The concerns that we raise in this report build upon evidence that started to emerge when Barnardo's published Just one click! in 2004. This was one of the first publications in the UK to address the growing concerns amongst professionals about the ways in which children and young people may be at risk of harm online. More than a decade later, and now that the true scale of sexual exploitation of children in the UK is finally beginning to be recognised, it is even more crucial that we better understand the risks posed by the internet, and how we can address them. What is clear from the report is that the ways in which children can be sexually exploited online do not always follow the models of sexual exploitation that we are familiar with. Children at risk may be younger than those referred to services for offline sexual exploitation, and may not fit into standard definitions of 'vulnerable'. What is also clear from the report is that the problem of online sexual abuse of children impacts on the work of Barnardo's across all projects. As communication becomes ever more private and personal, due to mobile devices and instant connectivity, it can become all the more difficult to identify who is at risk, how they are at risk and where they are at risk. It is vital that policy and practice recognises the particular vulnerabilities that children now face, and respond to them. Drawing on research conducted with our services, this report makes a number of recommendations relating to service provision; training for professionals; and policy change. The recommendations are wide-ranging and emphasise the part that we can all play in protecting our children online. Details: Barkingside, Ilford, UK: Barnardo's, 2016. 92p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 13, 2016 at: http://www.barnardos.org.uk/onlineshop/pdf/digital_dangers_report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.barnardos.org.uk/onlineshop/pdf/digital_dangers_report.pdf Shelf Number: 137575 Keywords: Child Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationComputer CrimesInternet CrimesOnline CommunicationOnline VictimizationSocial Media |
Author: Great Britain. Department for Culture, Media and Sport Title: Child Safety Online: Age Verification for Pornography Consultation Response Summary: The manifesto commitment: 'We will stop children's exposure to harmful sexualised content online, by requiring age verification for access to all sites containing pornographic material' As was set out in our consultation, the Government's preferred approach to delivering this commitment is to establish a new law, requiring age verification (AV) controls for online pornography this was the manifesto commitment, and following consideration of the consultation responses, remains the Government’s intention. To underpin this, we will also establish a new regulatory framework, and we will ensure a proportionate approach by enabling the regulator to act in a sufficiently flexible and targeted way. Following analysis of the responses to the consultation, Government will now take several next steps. We will: 1. Bring forward legislation, in the Digital Economy Bill, to establish a new law requiring age verification for commercial pornographic websites and applications containing still and moving images, and a new regulatory framework to underpin it 2. Continue to work with payments firms and ancillary companies to ensure that the business models and profits of companies that do not comply with the new regulations can be undermined 3. Maintain ongoing engagement with pornography providers, age verification providers, and other parts of the industry, to ensure that the regulatory framework is targeted and proportionate, to achieve maximum impact and to enable compliance 4. Continue to work on broader internet safety issues, including work led by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS), and raising awareness and resilience Details: London: Department for Culture, Media & Sport, 2016. 37p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 28, 2016 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/534965/20160705_AVConsultationResponseFINAL__2_.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/534965/20160705_AVConsultationResponseFINAL__2_.pdf Shelf Number: 147419 Keywords: Child ProtectionInternet SafetyOnline CommunicationOnline VictimizationPornography |