Addressing Online Hostility in Australian Digital Cultures. This project aims to provide a comprehensive account of Australians’ experiences of online hostility, abuse, trolling and extremist hate speech, which have increased over the past decade. The research expects to analyse the experiences of diverse Australian online users, moderators and stakeholders, to determine their practices, attitudes, and innovations, and their perceptions on how to address this social problem. Expected outcomes of ....Addressing Online Hostility in Australian Digital Cultures. This project aims to provide a comprehensive account of Australians’ experiences of online hostility, abuse, trolling and extremist hate speech, which have increased over the past decade. The research expects to analyse the experiences of diverse Australian online users, moderators and stakeholders, to determine their practices, attitudes, and innovations, and their perceptions on how to address this social problem. Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced understanding of the support needs and remedies to online hostility among a diverse cross-section of Australians. This will provide significant benefits by providing roadmaps for improved intervention, support, regulation and education on digital communication in Australia.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101558
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$400,000.00
Summary
Taking humour seriously for online safety. Harmful humour impacts on women’s wellbeing online, but is poorly managed by social media platforms, and has not been integrated into online safety regulation and policy. This project aims to bring together sociocultural theory, social media analysis, and interviews to better understand the dynamics of harmful humour online in Australia. It will work with users, community leaders and industry stakeholders to evaluate current platform and policy response ....Taking humour seriously for online safety. Harmful humour impacts on women’s wellbeing online, but is poorly managed by social media platforms, and has not been integrated into online safety regulation and policy. This project aims to bring together sociocultural theory, social media analysis, and interviews to better understand the dynamics of harmful humour online in Australia. It will work with users, community leaders and industry stakeholders to evaluate current platform and policy responses and how they could be improved. The anticipated outcomes include theoretical advances, workable principles for better content moderation processes that reduce harm without restricting healthy expression, and evidence-based contributions to debates on online safety regulation.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL230100075
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,107,127.00
Summary
Mediated Trust: Ideas, Interests, Institutions, Futures. Declining trust in social and political institutions is linked to the rise of populism, misinformation and civic disengagement. Acknowledging the key role of digital media in enabling trust or promoting mistrust, this project explores mediated trust at societal, institutional and interpersonal levels. The research will leverage a novel framework of 'ideas, interests and institutions' applied to major case studies from news media, digital p ....Mediated Trust: Ideas, Interests, Institutions, Futures. Declining trust in social and political institutions is linked to the rise of populism, misinformation and civic disengagement. Acknowledging the key role of digital media in enabling trust or promoting mistrust, this project explores mediated trust at societal, institutional and interpersonal levels. The research will leverage a novel framework of 'ideas, interests and institutions' applied to major case studies from news media, digital platforms, corporations and the WHO; and develops innovative methods for analysing the relationship between communications and trust. These will deliver world-first integrative approaches for Australian policymakers, industry and regulators to address both crises of trust and our digital futures.Read moreRead less
The ABC, its Archives and its Audiences. This project aims to enable deeper understandings of the role of Australia’s principal public service broadcaster in the lives of audience members across the country, and the community needs and interests that have shaped it. The project, in partnership with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the National Archives of Australia, is significant because it will uncover and interpret paper records relating to listeners and viewers during the broadcas ....The ABC, its Archives and its Audiences. This project aims to enable deeper understandings of the role of Australia’s principal public service broadcaster in the lives of audience members across the country, and the community needs and interests that have shaped it. The project, in partnership with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the National Archives of Australia, is significant because it will uncover and interpret paper records relating to listeners and viewers during the broadcaster’s first 50 years. Expected outcomes include an enlarged and more discoverable media archive for the benefit of researchers, industry and all Australians; an innovative audience-centred approach to the ABC’s history; and enhanced academic, archival and media collaborations. Read moreRead less
Cartoon Nation: Australian Editorial Cartooning - Past, Present, and Future. This landmark study aims to facilitate a new scholarly and public appreciation of Australian editorial cartooning: something often celebrated, but seldom studied seriously. At a moment when the art-form is transitioning, the study will elucidate its enduring democratic and cultural significance, revealing diverse stories told through cartoons. Expected project outcomes include: pioneering new scholarship; the enhancemen ....Cartoon Nation: Australian Editorial Cartooning - Past, Present, and Future. This landmark study aims to facilitate a new scholarly and public appreciation of Australian editorial cartooning: something often celebrated, but seldom studied seriously. At a moment when the art-form is transitioning, the study will elucidate its enduring democratic and cultural significance, revealing diverse stories told through cartoons. Expected project outcomes include: pioneering new scholarship; the enhancement of cross-institutional networks; and improved capacity for collaboration between academia and industry (professional bodies and collecting institutions). The project will benefit the nation, providing a truer understanding of the defining Australian sense of humour, press, and political culture, across more than 200 years.Read moreRead less
Artistic Practice in Australian Videogame Development. The game industry is the largest cultural industry in the world. Its economic growth relies in part on the artistic innovations of non-commercial developers and communities operating beyond the industry’s purview. Policymakers and researchers alike struggle to account for the cultural contexts and creative origins of game development. This project conceptualises and empirically investigates ‘artist-gamemaking’ to generate new knowledge on th ....Artistic Practice in Australian Videogame Development. The game industry is the largest cultural industry in the world. Its economic growth relies in part on the artistic innovations of non-commercial developers and communities operating beyond the industry’s purview. Policymakers and researchers alike struggle to account for the cultural contexts and creative origins of game development. This project conceptualises and empirically investigates ‘artist-gamemaking’ to generate new knowledge on the ambitions, techniques and histories of Australia’s game industry. It develops resources that will enable cultural institutions to better support them. This research is important as it articulates the cultural and economic value of a vital site of creative practice in contemporary Australia.Read moreRead less
The Monetisation of Children in the Digital Games Industry. This project aims to understand the monetisation of children in the digital games industry. It will employ innovative studies of children’s experiences in freemium games; parental attitudes and strategies; participatory research with game developers; and an examination of the platform and regulatory environment that shapes game monetisation. Expected outcomes include guidelines and recommendations for parents seeking to negotiate childr ....The Monetisation of Children in the Digital Games Industry. This project aims to understand the monetisation of children in the digital games industry. It will employ innovative studies of children’s experiences in freemium games; parental attitudes and strategies; participatory research with game developers; and an examination of the platform and regulatory environment that shapes game monetisation. Expected outcomes include guidelines and recommendations for parents seeking to negotiate children’s digital play; new ethical frameworks for the design and implementation of digital games for children; and actionable advice for policymakers and practitioners. This will bring significant benefits to Australian children, parents and game developers via improvements to the design of games for children.Read moreRead less
Comedy Country: Australian Performance Comedy as an Agent of Change. Comedy Country aims to investigate the development of comic performance and its transformational relation with, and impact on, Australian society, culture and the creative industries from the aftermath of World War 2 until the present. The project’s key hypothesis is that since the 1950s comic performance has not merely reflected a changing Australia but helped drive social and cultural transformation. The project partners with ....Comedy Country: Australian Performance Comedy as an Agent of Change. Comedy Country aims to investigate the development of comic performance and its transformational relation with, and impact on, Australian society, culture and the creative industries from the aftermath of World War 2 until the present. The project’s key hypothesis is that since the 1950s comic performance has not merely reflected a changing Australia but helped drive social and cultural transformation. The project partners with two festivals, five cultural collecting organisations and a media production company to build interdisciplinary Humanities and Social Sciences/industry collaborations in digital methods for archive research and transmedia communication, and deliver digital exhibitions, documentaries, podcasts and scholarly histories.Read moreRead less
Australian Journalism, Trauma and Community. This project aims to investigate the professional and personal costs of reporting on trauma for Australian journalists and the communities they engage with, by undertaking a groundbreaking historical study of journalists’ exposure to trauma over the past century. It seeks to generate new knowledge by transforming our understanding of the relationship between journalism and trauma and the wider implications for the profession and the public. Expected o ....Australian Journalism, Trauma and Community. This project aims to investigate the professional and personal costs of reporting on trauma for Australian journalists and the communities they engage with, by undertaking a groundbreaking historical study of journalists’ exposure to trauma over the past century. It seeks to generate new knowledge by transforming our understanding of the relationship between journalism and trauma and the wider implications for the profession and the public. Expected outcomes of this project include scholarly, education and public resources which will inform and broaden ongoing debates about Australian journalism. This will provide significant benefits for journalists and the public, creating urgent awareness and better support and training initiatives.
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Aligning personalised news recommendations with the public interest . The project aims to investigate the growth of personalised recommendations in the Australian news sector, which sees readers and automated systems collectively adopting curatorial roles previously undertaken by editors. The research expects to provide the first evidence base around the adoption and deployment of personalised recommendations across the Australian news media. Expected outcomes include enhancing our understanding ....Aligning personalised news recommendations with the public interest . The project aims to investigate the growth of personalised recommendations in the Australian news sector, which sees readers and automated systems collectively adopting curatorial roles previously undertaken by editors. The research expects to provide the first evidence base around the adoption and deployment of personalised recommendations across the Australian news media. Expected outcomes include enhancing our understanding of how to sustain the important democratic role that the institution of journalism plays in a personalised and automated environment. Expected benefits include the provision of robust evidence to inform industry and policymakers, and support the development of best practice across the news media sector.Read moreRead less