The Sociocultural Dimensions of Trust

Competitive advantage 

• World-renowned expertise on the sociology of risk and digital sociology
• Conducted extensive sociocultural research on how people make sense of risk and risk-taking and who they view as responsible for risks and harms
• Committed to public-facing research that gives social groups a voice in expressing their trust and distrust and how they would like corporations and government to respond to their concerns.

Impact 

• Better understanding of what the Australian public knows about risks such as personal data misuse and where they would like to see corporations and government act to protect their interests and thereby bolster their trust

Successful applications  

• Board representation on the Australian Privacy Foundation, the peak civil society group for protecting Australians’ interests related to their data and other privacy
• Invited to talk to community groups and government agencies on how Australians are using digital technologies and their concerns about their data privacy and security
• Invited to join an expert consultancy group convened by the Human Rights Commissioner in 2018 on the topic of human rights and technology
• Invited member of the Australian Council of Learned Academies’ Expert Working Group commissioned by the Chief Scientist to write a horizon scanning report on the Internet of Things, leading the sections that deal with the sociocultural aspects of Australians’ knowledge and experiences of ‘smart’ technologies and their concerns about potential risks to their privacy and security