Dr M.G. Michael PhD (ACU), MA(Hons) (MacqUni), MTheol (SydUni), BTheol (SCD), BA (SydUni), DipProfCouns (AIPC) is a theologian and historian with cross-disciplinary qualifications in the humanities. Michael brings with him a unique perspective to Information Technology and Computer Science. His formal studies include Ancient History, Theology, General Philosophy, Political Sociology, Ethics, Linguistics, and Government. Presently he is an Honorary Senior Fellow in the School of Information Systems and Technology, at the University of Wollongong, Australia. He was previously the coordinator of Information & Communication Security Issues and since 2005 has guest-lectured and tutored in Location-Based Services, IT & Citizen Rights, Principles of eBusiness, and IT & Innovation. The focus of his current research extends to modern hermeneutics and the Apocalypse of John; the historical antecedents of modern cryptography; the auto-ID trajectory; data protection, privacy and ethics related issues; biometrics, RFID and chip implants; national security and government policy; dataveillance and überveillance; and more broadly the system dynamics between technology and society. Michael is a member of the Research Network for a Secure Australia (RNSA), and the American Academy of Religion (AAR). He has been the recipient of a number of scholarships and awards. Since 2006, Michael has presented papers at numerous IEEE conferences including the International Conference on Mobile Business, the International Conference on Mobile Computing and Ubiquitous Networking, RFID Eurasia, the International Conference on Management of Innovation and Technology, and Cultural Attitudes Towards Technology and Communication. In 2000 he was invited to present a paper “Revelation 20:4-5 Chiliasm in the Early Ecclesiastical Writers”, at the Millennium Conference on the Sea of Galilee and the City of Jerusalem (Israel). More recently he was invited to deliver a paper at the 29th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners (ubiquitous computing track) in Canada. He has guest edited the December 2006 volume of Prometheus on the theme of the “Social Implications of National Security”, and co-edited the proceedings of the First Workshop on the Social Implications of National Security on Citizens and Business, and also the proceedings of the Second Workshop on the Social Implications of National Security: From Dataveillance to Überveillance and the Realpolitik of the Transparent Society. His publications include papers for Quadrant, Prometheus, the IEEE Symposium on Technology and Society, and the Bulletin of Biblical Studies. Alongside Dr Katina Michael, his wife and colleague, he is credited for having introduced the concepts of ‘überveillance’ and ‘electrophorus’ into the privacy and bioethics literature.
Journal Papers (including editorials)
Towards a State of Uberveillance (with K. Michael), IEEE Technology and Society Magazine (2010)
Überveillance is an emerging concept, and neither its application nor its power have yet fully...
Uberveillance: Microchipping People and the Assault on Privacy (with K. Michael), Quadrant (2009)
Uberveillance is above and beyond, an exaggerated, and omnipresent 24/7 electronic surveillance. It is a...
A Research Note on Ethics in the Emerging Age of Uberveillance (Überveillance) (with S. J. Fusco and K. Michael), Computer Communications (2008)
Advanced location-based services (A-LBS) for humancentric tracking and monitoring are now emerging as operators and...
Historical lessons on ID technology and the consequences of an unchecked trajectory (with K. Michael), Prometheus (2006)
This paper traces the use of identification techniques throughout the ages and focuses on the...
National Security: The Social Implications of the Politics of Transparency (with K. Michael), Prometheus (2006)
This special issue of Prometheus is dedicated to the theme of the Social Implications of...
Books (including edited volumes)
Australia and the New Technologies: Towards Evidence Based Policy in Public Administration (with K. Michael), Dr. Katina Michael (2008)
This workshop addresses the application of evidence based policy in public administration. It specifically focuses...
Innovative Automatic Identification and Location-Based Services: From Bar Codes to Chip Implants (with K. Michael), Dr. Katina Michael (2008)
From Dataveillance to Überveillance (Uberveillance) and the Realpolitik of the Transparent Society (with K. Michael), Dr. Katina Michael (2007)
The 2007 Workshop on the Social Implications of National Security: from Dataveillance to Überveillance and...
The Social Implications of Information Security Measures on Citizens and Business (with K. Michael), Dr. Katina Michael (2006)
The 2006 Workshop on the Social Implications of Information Security Measures on Citizens and Business...
Book Chapters (including conference proceedings)
Exploring the Social Implications of Location Based Social Networking: An inquiry into the perceived positive and negative impacts of using LBSN between friends (with Sarah Jean Fusco and K. Michael), 9th IEEE International Conference on Mobile Business (2010)
Location based social networking (LBSN) applications are part of a new suite of emerging social...
Demystifying the Number of the Beast in the Book of Revelation: Examples of Ancient Cryptology and the Interpretation of the 666 Conundrum, IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (2010)
As the year 2000 came and went, with the suitably forecasted fuse-box of utopian and...
Social-Technical Issues Facing the Humancentric RFID Implantee Sub-culture through the Eyes of Amal Graafstra (with Amal Graafstra and K. Michael), IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (2010)
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and transponders have traditionally been used to identify domesticated animals so...
The Diffusion of RFID Implants for Access Control and ePayments: Case Study on Baja Beach Club in Barcelona (with K. Michael), IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS10) (2010)
RFID implants for humans have been used in a variety of contexts since their commercial...
Using a Social Informatics Framework to Study the Effects of Location-Based Social Networking on Relationships between People: A Review of Literature (with Sarah Jean Fusco and K. Michael), IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS10) (2010)
This paper is predominantly a review of literature on the emerging mobile application area known...
Media (including articles about the author's research)
Govt launches security research network (with Darren Pauli and K. Michael), ZDNet (2010)
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has sponsored a new online directory of...
Uberveillance cements its position as an official dictionary word (with K. Michael), UOW News and Media: Latest News (2010)
The word, ‘uberveillance’, coined by UOW researchers, is now gaining international acceptance and has been...
With Words That Last (with Sean Nicholls, Leesha McKenny, and K. Michael), Sydney Morning Herald (2009)
One Million Downloads for UOW’s Research Online (with Kate McIlwain, Michael Organ, and K. Michael), University of Wollongong Latest News (2009)
Seminar and Conference Presentation Material
Implementing Namebers Using Implantable Technologies: The Future Prospects of Person ID (with K. Michael), 'This Pervasive Day' Workshop, Imperial College London (2010)
The use of electronic-based physical access cards to secure premises such as government buildings and...
The Use of Mobile Social Networking in Illicit Networks: the medium is the message (with K. Michael, Sarah Jane Fusco, and Roba Abbas), Centre for Transnational Crime Prevention, University of Wollongong (2009)
The Dilemmas of using Wearable Computing to Monitor People: An Extended Metaphor on the Tracking of Prison Inmates and Parolees (with K. Michael and Roba Abbas), Australia and New Zealand Society of Criminology Conference: Crime and Justice Challenges in the 21st Century: Victims, Offenders and Communities (2009)
Wearable computing technology is increasingly being used to monitor people anywhere and anytime. Today, automated...
A Brief Introduction into the Use of Content Analysis in Qualitative Research (with K. Michael), Marketing Research Innovation Centre Retreat- University of Wollongong (2009)
The use of qualitative research in information systems and technology research is presently not well...
Demonstrating the Potential for Covert Policing in the Community: Five Stakeholder Scenarios (with Roba Abbas and K. Michael), The Social Implications of Covert Policing (2009)
This paper presents the very real possibility that commercial mobile tracking and monitoring solutions will...