Computing and Information Systems - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableWeb-Based STI/HIV Testing Services Available for Access in Australia: Systematic Search and Analysis(JMIR PUBLICATIONS, INC, 2023-09-22)BACKGROUND: Sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates continue to rise in Australia, and timely access to testing and treatment is crucial to reduce transmission. Web-based services have been viewed as a way to improve timely access to STI/HIV testing and have proliferated in recent years. However, the regulation of these services in Australia is minimal, leading to concerns about their quality. The purpose of this review was to systematically identify web-based STI/HIV testing services available in Australia and assess them on aspects of quality, reliability, and accessibility. OBJECTIVE: We aim to systematically identify and assess web-based STI/HIV testing services available in Australia. METHODS: A Google search of Australian web-based services was conducted in March 2022 and repeated in September 2022 using Boolean operators and search terms related to test services (eg, on the internet or home), STIs (eg, chlamydia or gonorrhea), and test type (eg, self-test). The first 10 pages were assessed, and services were categorized as self-testing (ST; test at home), self-sampling (SS; sample at home and return to laboratory), or self-navigated pathology (SNP; specimens collected at pathology center). Website reliability was assessed against the Health on the Net Foundation code of conduct, and service quality was assessed using a scorecard that was developed based on similar reviews, Australian guidelines for in-person services, and UK standards. Additionally, we looked at measures of accessibility including cost, rural access, and time to test results. RESULTS: Seventeen services were identified (8 ST, 2 SS, and 7 SNP). Only 4 services offered recommended testing for all 4 infections (chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and HIV) including genital, anorectal, and oropharyngeal sites, and 5 offered tests other than those recommended by Australian testing guidelines (eg, Ureaplasma). Nine services (1 SNP, 8 self-test) had no minimum age requirements for access. Reliability scores (scale 0-8) were similar between all services (range 4.75-8.0). Quality weighted scores (scale 0-58) were similar between SNP and SS services (average 44.89, SD 5.56 and 44.75, SD 1.77, respectively) but lower for ST services (22.66, SD 8.93; P=.002). Government-funded services were of higher quality than private services (43.54, SD 6.71 vs 29.43, SD 13.55; P=.03). The cost for services varied between SNP (Aus $0-$595; ie, US $0-$381.96), self-sample (Aus $0; ie, US $0), and ST (Aus $0-$135; ie, US $0-$86.66). The time to test results was much shorter for SNP services (~4 days) than for SS (~12 days) and ST (~14 days). CONCLUSIONS: This review identified considerable variability in the quality and reliability of the web-based STI/HIV testing services in Australia. Given the proliferation and use of these services will likely increase, it is imperative that Australia develops national standards to ensure the standard-of-care offered by web-based STI/HIV testing services is appropriate to protect Australian users from the impact of poorly performing and inappropriate tests.
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ItemSocio-technical context for insertable devices(FRONTIERS MEDIA SA, 2022-11-21)In this article, we show that voluntarily inserting devices inside the body is contested and seek to understand why. This article discusses insertables as a source of contestation. To describe and understand the social acceptability, reactions toward, and rhetoric surrounding insertable devices, we examine (i) the technical capabilities of insertable devices (the technical context), (ii) human reactions toward insertables (the social context), and (iii) the regulatory environment. The paper offers explanations to the misperceptions about insertables.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableIt's Still Rock and Roll to Me: A Model of Online Browsing Behaviour(Wiley, 2022-10)ABSTRACT Browsing has long been acknowledged as a critical information seeking strategy. Previous research on information browsing—browsing for books, videos or other items for which decisions have to be made based on an information surrogate—has focused on browsing in a physical context, and much of it predates technology found online today. We lack empirical data from the contemporary digital context to describe how people browse online. This study adopted scenario‐based interviews and observations to investigate people's online information browsing behaviour. Based on a qualitative analysis of the data, we proposed an online browsing journey model formed by four iterative activities: Choose the Browsing Collection, Select Candidates from the Browsing Collection, Inspect the Selected Candidates, Generate and Edit the Candidate list. This model offers novel insight into how people browse in the existing online context, which also forms the basis for further online browsing research.
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ItemNavigating Online Down Under: International Students’ Digital Journeys in Australia(Rowman & Littlefield, 2018)Research focusing on the experiences of international students tends to centre directly on their educational experiences rather than their everyday lives outside study. Moreover, much of this research has concentrated almost exclusively on the various impacts of the physical, geographic mobility of international students as they move from one country to another, with very little exploration of their digital experiences. There also exists extensive research on the social media and information seeking experiences of young people in different regions of the world. Some of this research provides a comparison between different sources of information and uses of social media. However, there has been little research on what happens when young people move between regions or countries. Borrowing Chang and Gomes’ (2017a) concept of the digital journey, where in crossing transnational borders, migrants might also cross digital borders, this chapter provides some concrete examples of the digital experiences of international students as they transition––wholly or partly––to the Australian digital environment. How do international students transition from certain online environments into others that may be completely different, even alien, to what they have previously experienced? Referring to qualitative and quantitative data collected from three separate projects conducted between 2012 and 2017, this chapter shows that in making the digital journey, international students in Australia do not so much quit their original digital comfort zones as widen their digital horizons. Understanding international students’ digital journeys is particularly significant since it has implications for future research in international student well-being and the provision of support services for students.
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ItemHealth Misinformation Across Multiple Digital Ecologies: Qualitative Study of Data From Interviews With International Students(JMIR PUBLICATIONS, INC, 2022-07-05)BACKGROUND: Transient migrants such as international students have received limited support from host country governments throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. An increase in misinformation, resulting in poor health outcomes for individuals, may impact an already vulnerable group. OBJECTIVE: Existing research examines the spread of misinformation. Similarly, there is extensive literature on the health information behavior of international students. However, there is a gap in the literature focusing on international students' interaction with health misinformation. This exploratory research aims to address this gap by examining international students' interaction with health misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A total of 11 participants took part in semistructured interviews and a health misinformation-identification exercise via Zoom. The data collected were subjected to qualitative thematic analysis. Multiple rounds of coding, checked by other coders, revealed 2 themes and 6 subthemes. RESULTS: The 2 main themes that emerged were (1) approaches to dealing with health misinformation and (2) how international students navigate across multiple digital ecologies. Results show that international students who draw on multiple digital ecologies for information reliably identify misinformation, suggesting that the use of multiple digital ecologies may have a protective effect against health misinformation. CONCLUSIONS: Findings show that international students encounter health misinformation across multiple digital ecologies, and they also compare information across multiple ecologies. This comparison may support them in identifying health misinformation. Thus, the findings of this study combat narratives of international students' susceptibility to misinformation.
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ItemImpact of Electronic Health Records on Information Practices in Mental Health Contexts: Scoping Review(JMIR PUBLICATIONS, INC, 2022-05-04)BACKGROUND: The adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and electronic medical records (EMRs) has been slow in the mental health context, partly because of concerns regarding the collection of sensitive information, the standardization of mental health data, and the risk of negatively affecting therapeutic relationships. However, EHRs and EMRs are increasingly viewed as critical to improving information practices such as the documentation, use, and sharing of information and, more broadly, the quality of care provided. OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to undertake a scoping review to explore the impact of EHRs on information practices in mental health contexts and also explore how sensitive information, data standardization, and therapeutic relationships are managed when using EHRs in mental health contexts. METHODS: We considered a scoping review to be the most appropriate method for this review because of the relatively recent uptake of EHRs in mental health contexts. A comprehensive search of electronic databases was conducted with no date restrictions for articles that described the use of EHRs, EMRs, or associated systems in the mental health context. One of the authors reviewed all full texts, with 2 other authors each screening half of the full-text articles. The fourth author mediated the disagreements. Data regarding study characteristics were charted. A narrative and thematic synthesis approach was taken to analyze the included studies' results and address the research questions. RESULTS: The final review included 40 articles. The included studies were highly heterogeneous with a variety of study designs, objectives, and settings. Several themes and subthemes were identified that explored the impact of EHRs on information practices in the mental health context. EHRs improved the amount of information documented compared with paper. However, mental health-related information was regularly missing from EHRs, especially sensitive information. EHRs introduced more standardized and formalized documentation practices that raised issues because of the focus on narrative information in the mental health context. EHRs were found to disrupt information workflows in the mental health context, especially when they did not include appropriate templates or care plans. Usability issues also contributed to workflow concerns. Managing the documentation of sensitive information in EHRs was problematic; clinicians sometimes watered down sensitive information or chose to keep it in separate records. Concerningly, the included studies rarely involved service user perspectives. Furthermore, many studies provided limited information on the functionality or technical specifications of the EHR being used. CONCLUSIONS: We identified several areas in which work is needed to ensure that EHRs benefit clinicians and service users in the mental health context. As EHRs are increasingly considered critical for modern health systems, health care decision-makers should consider how EHRs can better reflect the complexity and sensitivity of information practices and workflows in the mental health context.
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ItemStrengthening Australia’s cybersecurity regulations and incentives: Response to the Department of Home Affairs Discussion Paper( 2021)The development of the regulatory and incentives framework is a key opportunity to align Australian enterprises’ cybersecurity practice with latest research, particularly on consumer protections, and emerging cyber threats and security challenges. The Australian Government has an essential role in establishing incentives to encourage best practice and consequences to combat poor practice. It will be increasingly important for government at all levels to act as a role model, by following best practice in the conduct of its public business.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableThe Hidden Harms of Targeted Advertising by Algorithm and Interventions from the Consumer Protection Toolkit(National Law School of India, 2021-01-01)Developments in pervasive data collection and predictive data analytics are allowing firms to target consumers with increas ingly precise personalisedbehavioural and contextual advertising. These techniques give rise to new risks of harm in the attention economy by unduly influencing or manipulating consumers' deci sions and choices, and by narrowing the product options visible and available to them. In many countries, the legal response to concerns about targeted advertising by algorithm has been focused on privacy protection and data rights. These are important initiatives. However; consent-based data rights are unlikely to provide a comprehensive or even adequate response to the risks of harm to consumers occasioned by the kinds of algo- rithmically targeted advertising that are now possible. This paper suggests that a suite of responses from the consumer protection toolkit are required to address the different and potentially harm ful manifestations of algorithmic ally targeted advertising. These include bans and warnings as well as making use of standard safe- ty-net prohibitions on misleading and unconscionable/unfair con duct already in place in many jurisdictions.
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ItemMapping the contours of digital journeys: a study of international students' social networks in Australian higher education(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2022-09-19)
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ItemBetter Health Explorer: Designing for Health Information Seekers(Association for Computing Machinery, 2015)A vast amount of health information has been published online, yet users often report difficulties in locating information in this particular domain. Based on our prior research, we consider four categories of online health information seekers who demonstrate mixed information needs. Although their searching needs are often well satisfied by entering keywords into search engines, their need to explore information is not so well supported, thus affecting their user experience and satisfaction. In this paper, we propose design principles for supporting the exploration of online health information. We present the rationale and the design process of a web app - Better Health Explorer - which is a proof-of-concept app tailored to health information exploration. This work contributes to the design of online health information systems as well as exploratory systems in general.