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The proliferation of digital technology has brought about rapid social and economic change, the consequences of which have not been evenly distributed. Older people, in particular, tend to be less engaged with digital technology and as a result, are said to be at risk of 'digital exclusion'. In this paper, we explore how digital technology is discursively linked to ageing and social and economic participation. The analysis is based on 38 interviews with representatives of industry, government and civil society asked to share their views of the opportunities and risks associated with age and participation in the context of rapid developments in digital technology. Using discourse analysis we identify two competing ways interview participants made connections between digital technology and its perceived effects on the economic and social participation of an ageing population. In the first, digital technology drives human progress as a 'fix' to some of the social and economic challenges associated with ageing but also demands a cautious approach to minimise unforeseen negative consequences. In the second, digital technology is a tool, whose development can be driven by humans in order to solve a range of problems, including economic and social participation in later life. We consider the implications of these two discourses, discussing the potential of each for achieving a sense of empowerment in the ageing community and addressing the challenge of lifelong participation.

AbstractDigital transformation within agriculture involves advances in information and communication technologies that promise a 'next generation' of agricultural technologies that will drive improvements in productivity and efficiency while reducing risks and negative impacts. Here, we discuss the Digiscape Future Science Platform, a program that seeks to facilitate the digital transformation of Australia's agricultural industries and land sector. Digiscape is one example of significant efforts internationally to realise the transformative potential of digital agriculture. However, there are significant socio‐ethical challenges associated with digital agriculture. Responsible innovation (RI) provides one conceptual lens to address such challenges, acknowledging the power of research and innovation to create the future and posing questions about the types of futures that societies want to encourage or avoid. This article uses insights from rural sociology and innovation studies, which can complement RI dimensions–anticipation, inclusion, reflexivity and responsiveness–to reflect on how RI can be implemented in digital agriculture initiatives. We draw on insights from interviews with researchers involved in Digiscape to show how RI dimensions can be blended with applied sociological theories and co‐innovation principles and identify recommendations to help foster responsible agricultural technology development.

The influence of language on communication about climate change is well recognised, but this understanding is under-utilised by those seeking to increase uptake of action for climate change. We discuss the terms, discourse, resistance, and agency, to assist in developing ways to progress social action for climate change. Using a review of academic literature about climate change, we explore three of the many dominant discourses that constrain action: the logical action discourse; the complexity discourse; and the culture of consumption discourse. While there are more discourses about climate change, especially in the popular literature, the ways these three operate in the peri-scientific sphere is under-recognised. We suggest that by examining the different framings of climate change, there is potential to create novel discourses and to start new processes of societal response. This paper challenges the dominant scientific framing of climate change and seeks to begin the process of creating change through changing discourses.