New online journal puts technology under the spotlight

Australia's first online journal examining the social implications of emerging technologies, from the internet and mobile phones to biotechnology and cybernetics has been established by the Australian Centre for Emerging Technology and Society at Swinburne University of Technology.

Centre director Associate Professor Michael Gilding said The Australian Journal of Emerging Technologies and Society (AJETS), to be published for the first time in October, would play an important role in examining the complex relationship between science and technology and the role of technology in society.

"Technological change is occurring at an unprecedented rate, and yet the social implications of it and ethical dilemmas that it creates are often overlooked. Our aim with AJETS is to build a broader public debate around the social impact of new technologies, drawing on a diverse range of viewpoints from psychologists, sociologists, political scientists, economists, media specialists, philosophers and scientists."

Assoc. Prof. Gilding said the journal was unique in that it would address the full range of technologies, taking an interdisciplinary approach that would appeal to a general audience.

"As a web-only publication AJETS will offer several benefits not normally found in print-based journals. For readers, it will offer accessibility via the web and the opportunity to interact with other readers through a "Discussion" section on the website.

"For authors, AJETS will provide a peer-reviewed outlet for scholarly papers without the long lag time between submission and publication. This solves the problem associated with traditional media - the pace of technological development is so rapid that in many cases articles are outdated by the time they reach the reader."

AJETS will be published three times a year, in February, June and October, beginning in October this year. The journal is currently calling for papers.

For more information and editorial guidelines, please visit http://www.swin.edu.au/sbs/ajets/

Item provided courtesy of Swinburne University of Technology