The Age of Catastrophe: A History of the West, 1914–1945

The Age of Catastrophe: A History of the West, 1914–1945. By Heinrich August Winkler, translated by Stewart Spencer (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2015), originally Geschichte des Westens: Die Zeit der Weltkriege (Munich: Beck Verlag, 2011), pp. xiii + 998. AU$114.00 (cloth), available in Australia through Footprint Books.     

Alcohol brands on Facebook: the challenges of regulating brands on social media

In September 2012, the Australian Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) made ‘landmark decisions’ relating to the use of Facebook by vodka brand Smirnoff and beer brand Victoria Bitter. The ASB determined that (i) a brand's Facebook page is a marketing communication tool, and (ii) all contents on the page fall under the industry's self‐regulatory code of ethics, including consumer‐created content such as user‐generated comments and photos. The decisions come in response to a submission that the authors made regarding the Facebook pages of the two brands. These submissions were based on a research project that had monitored the use of Facebook by several Australian alcohol brands since the late 2010 to identify how these brands use social media as experiential social spaces to engage consumers in the co‐creation of content. This article reviews the ruling by analysing the advertisers' response to the complaint, the regulators' justifications for the decisions, and the possibilities and limitations of regulating social media in general. It argues that although the ASB has acknowledged that brands are responsible for all contents on their Facebook pages, the regulators' approach is of limited effectiveness given the way Facebook allows brands to embed themselves in the mediation of everyday life. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

JOINT WORK PLAN 2003–2005

Between

The Bureau of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) and the Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)

And Between

The Bureau of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) and the Secretariat of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA)     

What police want from liquor licensing legislation: the Australian perspective

Qualitative interviews were undertaken with 53 Australian police officers with specialist expertise in liquor law enforcement to ascertain their perspectives concerning the liquor licensing legislation in Australia’s eight states and territories. Respondents generally indicated that current arrangements favoured the interests of the alcohol industry and did not sufficiently empower them to reduce alcohol-related harms. Other key themes included: ambiguity surrounding the police role in liquor licensing; difficulties in enforcing drunkenness-related offences; partnerships; strategies to enhance enforcement; data/intelligence gathering; and the separation of Ministerial responsibilities for liquor licensing and policing. Overall, police in Australia are not currently being given the tools they require to effectively reduce alcohol-related harms.     

Squaring Circles? Funding the Provision of Public Services

Reports reviewed in this article:
Institute for Public Policy Research, Building Better Partnerships: Final Report of the Commission on Public—Private Partnerships
Fabian Society, Paying for Progress: A New Politic of Tax for Public Spending