Course C

Communications in the age of the internet

Course organiser:David Chapple and Bevan Clarke

11 Apr:
Bevan Clarke, 'The dawn of the internet and the web'. Bevan is an emeritus professor of Accounting and Information Systems of the University of Canterbury. When UC acquired its first computer in 1963 he picked up computing and has never put it down during a somewhat dizzying ride.

18 Apr:
Donald Matheson, 'Changing human communications in the internet age'. Donald is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Social and Political Sciences. Starting with the human attributes of language and how language is at the heart of self-awareness and of the social and cultural, he will consider what is changing and is at stake with the growth of digital and networked communications.

25 Apr:
ANZAC dayNo meeting.

2 May:
John Ascroft, 'Social, mobile, and connected'. John is the Chief Innovation Officer at Jade Software, a global software company based in Christchurch. He will discuss the outlook for e-commerce and how the uptake of consumer technologies, such as mobile phones and social networking, is driving new business models and opportunities for both customers and suppliers.

9 May:
Andy Prow, 'The dark side of computing and some spells to protect you'. Andy is the CEO of Aura Information Security ['Clear & simple cybersecurity'], a Wellington-based centre of expertise which advises and rescues firms from threats from malware coming out of the electronic frontier jungle. The firm’s flying squad offers assistance to organisations which discover that an external attack has abruptly brought their business systems to a grinding halt—or worse.

16 May:
Staffan Andersson, 'Computing for the young and the not-so-young'Staffan is a recently retired upper secondary teacher from Sweden where he has taught computing and programming to teenagers since the 1970s, through all that has happened with digital technology inside and outside schools. He is co-author to several books about using the Internet in schools. Staffan will speak about (a) the way schools are using computers and the Internet to address the needs and possibilities of the Digital Age, and (b) the many ways in which the senior generation can use digital tools to communicate and to enlarge and pursue their interests.