2.

The share of adult internet users who have a profile on an online social network site has more than quadrupled in the past four years -- from 8% in 2005 to 35% now, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project's December 2008 tracking survey. While media coverage and policy attention focus heavily on how children and young adults use social network sites, adults still make up the bulk of the users of these websites.

3.

AVCC policy statement, in response to the Government's various research reviews. The document sets out: sets out: the challenges that Australia faces as a nation in developing its research capacity; the investment that is needed to support the research capacity; and the research framework that will allow developing and supporting the research capacity.

4.

An Australian Law Reform Commission report on its major, two-year public inquiry (conducted jointly with the NHMRC's Australian Health Ethics Committee) contains 144 recommendations about how to deal with ethical, legal and social implications of the 'New Genetics'. The report covers a wide range of areas, including the regulation of human genetic research and genetic databases; genetic privacy and discrimination; and regulating the use of genetic testing and information in employment, insurance, immigration, parentage testing, sport and other contexts.

5.

Teachers Matter provides a comprehensive, international analysis of trends and developments in the teacher workforce in 25 countries around the world; research on attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers; innovative and successful policies and practices that countries have implemented; and teacher policy options for countries to consider.

6.

AustEd Online provides online access to education research and created by ACER Cunningham Library for the Australian Development Gateway. This component of the gateway links to over 12 500 full text documents and journal articles about Australian education and related overseas research.

7.

The Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) is developed and managed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). The AUSSE involves administration of the Student Engagement Questionnaire (SEQ) to a representative sample of first-year and later-year students at participating institutions. The aim of the AUSSE is to stimulate evidence-focused conversations about student engagement in university education.

8.

The Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research guides institutions and researchers in responsible research practices and promotes integrity in research for researchers. The Code shows how to manage breaches of the Code and allegations of research misconduct, how to manage research data and materials, how to publish and disseminate research findings, including proper attribution of authorship, how to conduct effective peer review and how to manage conflicts of interest. It also explains the responsibilities and rights of researchers if they witness research misconduct.

9.

The Report of the e-Research Coordinating Committee to the Government set out the policy issues pertinent to Australia securing maximum benefit from the use of e-Research techniques. The Report proposed strategic directions that should be pursued; and proposed further steps that would allow generation of an implementation plan. It provided essential groundwork for deliberations leading to the investment in Platforms for Collaboration capability.

10.

The ARC Strategic Plan is an integrated package identifying the objectives and investment strategies as well as the specific actions the ARC will undertake in its seven key areas of discovery, linkage, research training and career development, research infrastructure, priority setting, community awareness and governance. It also identifies the key performance indicators which will enable the ARC to measure its progress in delivering outcomes of benefit to the community.