Using machine vision to explore Instagram’s everyday promotional cultures. The advertising-driven business models of social media platforms increasingly depend on automation. The technologies used by platforms are rapidly advancing, and include ‘machine vision’ systems that automatically classify faces, expressions, objects, and brand logos in images. The results are used to provide targeted content to users, often without their knowledge and without sufficient public oversight. Using a novel co ....Using machine vision to explore Instagram’s everyday promotional cultures. The advertising-driven business models of social media platforms increasingly depend on automation. The technologies used by platforms are rapidly advancing, and include ‘machine vision’ systems that automatically classify faces, expressions, objects, and brand logos in images. The results are used to provide targeted content to users, often without their knowledge and without sufficient public oversight. Using a novel combination of computational and cultural research methods, this project aims to: examine how machine vision works in platforms like Instagram; explore its role in everyday visual contexts through qualitative case studies of festivals, food, and lifestyle sports; and improve public understanding of machine vision systems.Read moreRead less
Locating television: an international study of the changing socio-cultural functions of television. This project investigates the socio-cultural function of television in nation-states so far largely ignored by media studies: Mexico, Cuba and the Philippines. Combining cultural studies and anthropology, it uses publications and symposia to provide a more detailed global account of television's continuing influence in the post-broadcast era.
Selling the Sea: a comparative cultural analysis of urban fish markets. This project aims to conduct the first comparative interdisciplinary ethnographic study about how urban fish markets act as vital infrastructures connecting the oceans and cities, fishers, buyers, tourists and consumers. Through three case studies of the fish markets in Sydney, Dakar, and Manila, it expects to generate new knowledge about the local impacts of the global issues of overfishing, ocean warming, and geo-political ....Selling the Sea: a comparative cultural analysis of urban fish markets. This project aims to conduct the first comparative interdisciplinary ethnographic study about how urban fish markets act as vital infrastructures connecting the oceans and cities, fishers, buyers, tourists and consumers. Through three case studies of the fish markets in Sydney, Dakar, and Manila, it expects to generate new knowledge about the local impacts of the global issues of overfishing, ocean warming, and geo-political disputes about fishing regulations. The expected outcomes include new cross-cultural knowledge about the roles of fish markets, and enhanced international interdisciplinary collaborations. The rich theoretical and empirical results should provide significant benefits to academia, industry, and government policy-makersRead moreRead less
The Game of Being Mobile: A study of mobile gaming cultures. This is the first Australian study to examine the social uses of mobile gaming. Smartphones have put location-based and social media games in the hands of mobile users worldwide. Through ethnographic methods, this study will explore how mobile game consumption is reflecting, and being shaped by, complex social and technological practices integral to contemporary life.
The internet of toys: examining connected toys for children. This project aims to investigate the emerging communication world of the internet of toys where toys relate one-on-one to children and also connect to other toys, other children and/or database data. The project will examine the emerging benefits and risks of these connected toys through engaging with families and industry, as well as with regulatory and policy developments. It will inform and influence policy makers, toy designers and ....The internet of toys: examining connected toys for children. This project aims to investigate the emerging communication world of the internet of toys where toys relate one-on-one to children and also connect to other toys, other children and/or database data. The project will examine the emerging benefits and risks of these connected toys through engaging with families and industry, as well as with regulatory and policy developments. It will inform and influence policy makers, toy designers and families of children too young to understand the implications of data privacy and security that these toys bring. It will benefit decision-making regarding the design and regulatory environments in which these toys are made.Read moreRead less
Parents or peers: which group most affects the experiences of young people online, and how? This project investigates three sets of high school students who regularly interact online to discover how circles of friends influence each other's internet activity compared with parents. Understanding these dynamics will help drive innovation in Australia, maximising the benefits of young adults' internet activities while minimising risks.
Perceptions of harm from adolescents accessing online sexual content. This project aims to investigate Australian adolescents’ responses to online sexual content through a comparative communication-based study with teens in Greece, Ireland and Norway. The project seeks to generate knowledge through in-depth interviews with Australian high school students, aged 12-17, and their parents, comparing their perceptions with children and parents from other countries. The project will combine qualitativ ....Perceptions of harm from adolescents accessing online sexual content. This project aims to investigate Australian adolescents’ responses to online sexual content through a comparative communication-based study with teens in Greece, Ireland and Norway. The project seeks to generate knowledge through in-depth interviews with Australian high school students, aged 12-17, and their parents, comparing their perceptions with children and parents from other countries. The project will combine qualitative and quantitative data to explore why Australian teens might access sexual media more often than their peers overseas, and be more likely to feel bothered by it. Expected outcomes include strategies to support teens who feel affected by access to online sexual content, thus minimising negative impacts.Read moreRead less
Media Classification Systems: An International Comparative Study. The central question for media classification is 'by whom should this be consumed?' This project aims to examine the ways in which this question has been answered across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Encompassing case studies of India, Japan, the United States of America, United Kingdom, Brazil and China, and with a particular emphasis on Australia, the project is intended to produce a comparative history of the emerge ....Media Classification Systems: An International Comparative Study. The central question for media classification is 'by whom should this be consumed?' This project aims to examine the ways in which this question has been answered across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Encompassing case studies of India, Japan, the United States of America, United Kingdom, Brazil and China, and with a particular emphasis on Australia, the project is intended to produce a comparative history of the emergence of media classification systems based on the international exchange of policy approaches, ideas about public interest and the protection of minors and the circulation of media objects. This research aims to address the continuing significance of the media classification question in an era of media convergence.Read moreRead less
Sustainable Fish: a material analysis of cultures of consumption & production. This project is a multifaceted, innovative cultural analysis of the crucial role of fish and fishing in feeding a growing global population. Estimates are that the world’s population will be nine billion by 2050. It is imperative that innovative research strategies are developed to explore how to best respond to questions of food security in a sustainable manner. This brings challenges across numerous scales, includin ....Sustainable Fish: a material analysis of cultures of consumption & production. This project is a multifaceted, innovative cultural analysis of the crucial role of fish and fishing in feeding a growing global population. Estimates are that the world’s population will be nine billion by 2050. It is imperative that innovative research strategies are developed to explore how to best respond to questions of food security in a sustainable manner. This brings challenges across numerous scales, including: changing consumer tastes, new State, Commonwealth and international regimes of marine governance, and adapting fishing communities to new forms of livelihood. This project will provide the first in-depth cultural account of the complex entanglement of the economy, the environment and the humans involved in fish and fishing.Read moreRead less
Assembling and governing of habits. This project aims to examine how modern Western disciplines conceived of habits, and how these conceptions informed the techniques of mundane governance which managed habits. As cities face increasing pressures, the challenges of governing everyday habits prompt urgent questions about how habits are understood and managed. This project will study the governance of 'city habits' from the late 19th century to the present. The project will apply and deepen its de ....Assembling and governing of habits. This project aims to examine how modern Western disciplines conceived of habits, and how these conceptions informed the techniques of mundane governance which managed habits. As cities face increasing pressures, the challenges of governing everyday habits prompt urgent questions about how habits are understood and managed. This project will study the governance of 'city habits' from the late 19th century to the present. The project will apply and deepen its description of habit through case studies focused on contemporary Sydney. Its findings are expected to benefit city planners and policy makers by informing the organisation and regulation of habits.Read moreRead less