Cloud computing has changed how businesses adopt information and communication technology (ICT) services that can be provisioned dynamically, providing more capacity and capability as required without the huge upfront capital expenditure. As consumers continue to use more and more online self-service portals, they increasingly leave digital footprints and personally identifiable information (PII) behind. Hackers, cloud configuration vulnerabilities, insider attacks, and accidental information security leaks are commonplace today, affecting tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of end-users. This article recounts the story of three of the most significant data breaches internationally, Sony PSN (2011), eBay (2014) and Yahoo! (2014), through the lens of news media at the height of the data breaches. The article captures a variety of cloud computing stakeholder perspectives, identifying key socio-technical considerations that need to be addressed over the longer term for the protection of the end-user, and the continuous improvement of cloud services.

Cloud computing services have enjoyed explosive growth over the last decade. Users are typically businesses and government agencies who are able to scale their storage and processing requirements, and choose from pre-defined services (e.g. specific software-as-a-service applications). But with this outsourcing has also come the potential for data breaches targeted at the end-user, typically consumers (e.g. who purchase goods at an online retail store), and citizens (e.g. who transact information for their social security needs). This paper briefly introduces U.S.-based cloud computing regulation, including the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), the Gramm Leach Bliley Act (GLBA), and the U.S. Stored Communications Act (SCA). We present how data breach notification (DBN) works in the U.S. by examining three mini-case examples: the 2011 Sony PlayStation Network data breach, the 2015 Anthem Healthcare data breach, and the 2017 Equifax data breach. The findings of the paper show that there is a systemic failure to learn from past data breaches, and that data breaches not only affect business and government clients of cloud computing services but their respective end-user customer base. Finally, the level of sensitivity of data breaches is increasing, from cloud computing hacks on video game platforms, to the targeting of more lucrative network and computer crime abuses aiming at invasive private health and financial data.

This paper is about stakeholders in the cloud computing value-chain. Early cloud computing literature focused on the technical aspect of the technology and viewed the provider and customer as essential value-chain stakeholders. The more users that use cloud services, the potential for data breaches increases. The review of the literature was carried out using a social-technical approach. Socio-technical theory encapsulates the social, technical and environmental dimensions of a system. The outcomes of the search indicated that there are two pertinent stakeholder types: operational and non-operational. Operational stakeholders include cloud providers, customers, enablers, resellers and third-party providers. Non-operational stakeholders include regulators, legislators, courts, non-government organisations, law enforcement, industry-standard bodies and end-users. The end-users are critically important in the cloud value-chain in that they rely on online services for everyday activities and have their data compromised. The cloud value-chain presents that cloud services encapsulate more than just technology services. The paper considers the complex stakeholder relationships and data breach issues, indicating the need for a better socio-technical response from the stakeholders within the value-chain.

The emergence of Online Social Networks (OSNs) has led to a change in the method of how communication occurs; from one user being a content creator with other users making the audience, to now allowing all OSN users to be both content creators and audience members. However, the effects of OSN usage on the communication behaviors of people in today's society are yet to be fully understood. This is of concern for society as advancements are being created in portable technologies leading to increased access to OSNs. The introduction of new OSNs may increase the influence OSNs have on human behavior in society. This paper provides a systematic review of the literature on this change in behavior from the perspectives of trust and decision-making. The results of this study show trust as a key component within decision-making and personality to play a role in how OSNs are used.

The relationship between physical activity and educational and health outcomes is well known. As the significance of digital devices continues to increase, along with societal reliance on them, the provision of programs that draw technology and physical activity together is increasingly important. The recent Pokemon phenomenon is an example of a digitally-driven physical activity that appealed to both adults and children alike. This paper reports on the proof of concept phase of a development that brings to digital life a physical activity program designed specifically for preschoolers. The aim of the JumpStart project was to find a way to engage more parents with their children in a physical activity. The brief from the customer was to ensure that the app was appealing to both parent and child with the view to creating a double motivation (push from the child and the parent). It was found through the design process that it was important for the application to appeal to both the child and their significant adult who would be an active participant in explaining and teaching the various skills. The proof of concept phase was introduced to a small group of child users. Informal feedback was collected to inform the completion of the proof of concept. Through the feedback, refinement of the design characteristics was uncovered which allowed a more comprehensive specification to be developed. Based on this proof of concept, the full application is now in development, continuing to explore the connection between co-location and collaboration in digital game design for preschoolers in a more comprehensive research study.

In 2010 the Australian government commissioned the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) to undertake a national project to facilitate disciplinary development of threshold learning standards. The aim was to lay the foundation for all higher education providers to demonstrate to the new national higher education regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), that graduates achieved or exceeded minimum academic standards. Through a yearlong consultative process, representatives of employers, professional bodies, academics and students, developed learning standards applying to any Australian higher education provider. Willey and Gardner reported using a software tool, SPARKPLUS, in calibrating academic standards amongst teaching staff in large classes. In this paper, we investigate the effectiveness of this technology to promote calibrated understandings with the national accounting learning standards. We found that integrating the software with a purposely designed activity provided significant efficiencies in calibrating understandings about learning standards, developed expertise and a better understanding of what is required to meet these standards and how best to demonstrate them. The software and supporting calibration and assessment process can be adopted by other disciplines, including engineering, seeking to provide direct evidence about performance against learning standards.

A world-first nation-wide community website scheme was established in Australia in 2006 to enhance existing, and build new, social networks within geographic communities. By doing so, it sought to promote geographic community engagement. Initially, this paper presents an overview of the scheme since its inception and review the current geographic community groups participating in the scheme. To date the scheme has had limited success in attracting a critical mass of communities that value the promoted benefits of social networks in this format, with only 154 community websites across Australia. While it has not achieved the expected level of uptake, the scheme has shown some potential in developing community engagement online. One example of these websites harnessing offline experiences and using shared bonds to establish and enhance social networks occurred during the Victorian bushfires in January/February 2009. Geography-specific community websites allowed individuals to connect during this tragic event - sharing experiences and coordinating re-building efforts. Six months on from the bushfires, many of the community websites based in affected areas showed high levels, when `owned' by the community, of activity and interaction between community members, demonstrating effective and meaningful social networks in action.

The Australian Domain Name Administrators have launched a new domain name space designed specifically for community groups to develop community Websites for the benefit of the local community. The purpose of the scheme under which these domains are issued is to link community members through community-managed Websites, and to encourage broad community participation and engagement. Despite broad community engagement during initial development, many changes have since been made to the policy governing these new domain names. This paper presents an overview of the scheme under which these community domains can be used, and identifies the changes made to the policy since it was initially proposed. A comparison of the proposed and implemented policies, and the communitypsilas feedback, is presented. Consideration of the impacts of these changes, made without concern for genuine community engagement, is provided to highlight the importance of community engagement to policy development.