Toddlers and tablets: exploring the risks and benefits 0-5s face online. Children aged between zero and five are experiencing an extraordinary shift in media consumption. They intuitively swipe screens and press buttons on tablet computers and smartphones, using apps and accessing the internet. With an estimated five-fold increase in their tablet usage (2012 to 2013), there is an urgent need for research and policy development to maximise benefit and minimise risk. This project is intended to in ....Toddlers and tablets: exploring the risks and benefits 0-5s face online. Children aged between zero and five are experiencing an extraordinary shift in media consumption. They intuitively swipe screens and press buttons on tablet computers and smartphones, using apps and accessing the internet. With an estimated five-fold increase in their tablet usage (2012 to 2013), there is an urgent need for research and policy development to maximise benefit and minimise risk. This project is intended to investigate family practices and attitudes around very young children's internet use in Australia and the United Kingdom, and is expected to contribute to public debate and evidence-based policy in Australia, the United Kingdom and Ireland. It aims to develop recommendations for policy makers and offers guidelines for parents of three age groups: zero to one, two to three and four to five.Read moreRead less
Assessing the impact of new communication technologies in developing countries and disadvantaged communities. This research will enhance understanding of the role of new technologies in communication with, and education of, disadvantaged groups as well as exploring the social changes they bring. Australia is committed to reducing poverty, to achieving the Millennium Development Goals and measuring the impact of development. Understanding how communication interventions may be better understood i ....Assessing the impact of new communication technologies in developing countries and disadvantaged communities. This research will enhance understanding of the role of new technologies in communication with, and education of, disadvantaged groups as well as exploring the social changes they bring. Australia is committed to reducing poverty, to achieving the Millennium Development Goals and measuring the impact of development. Understanding how communication interventions may be better understood is important to revealing how they support the achievement of better health, wellbeing, education and conflict reduction. This research will strengthen Australia's potential to lead in this field, to develop more effective development assistance and to apply such methods to Australian community development initiatives.Read moreRead less
Finding a Voice: Making Technological Change Socially Effective and Culturally Empowering. New information and communication technologies (ICTs) are heralded as remarkable tools for the development of marginalised communities. Research has shown that ICTs can contribute to development, but need to be introduced in ways that recognise local social networks and cultural contexts. This project takes a participatory approach to research, aiming to empower people through finding their own voice. We w ....Finding a Voice: Making Technological Change Socially Effective and Culturally Empowering. New information and communication technologies (ICTs) are heralded as remarkable tools for the development of marginalised communities. Research has shown that ICTs can contribute to development, but need to be introduced in ways that recognise local social networks and cultural contexts. This project takes a participatory approach to research, aiming to empower people through finding their own voice. We will establish a research network of local ICT initiatives across Asia and the Pacific region. Using ethnographic action research the network will be populated by local researchers in each of these initiatives, trained and supported by Australian researchers. This will increase understanding of how ICTs can be both effective and empowering.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100148
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$460,000.00
Summary
TrISMA - Tracking Infrastructure for Social Media Analysis. Tracking infrastructure for social media analysis: The tracking infrastructure for social media analysis (TrISMA) project establishes state-of-the-art technical and organisational infrastructure for the tracking of public communication by Australian users of social media, at large scale, in real time, and for the long term, addressing a significant gap in national research infrastructure. Social media are increasingly embedded in the Au ....TrISMA - Tracking Infrastructure for Social Media Analysis. Tracking infrastructure for social media analysis: The tracking infrastructure for social media analysis (TrISMA) project establishes state-of-the-art technical and organisational infrastructure for the tracking of public communication by Australian users of social media, at large scale, in real time, and for the long term, addressing a significant gap in national research infrastructure. Social media are increasingly embedded in the Australian media ecology, and systematic analyses of how public communication takes place via social media provide rich insights into a range of issues and debates of high importance to our society.Read moreRead less
When Your Face is Your ID: Public Responses to Automated Facial Recognition. This project would explore public attitudes toward the use of facial recognition technology in public and commercial spaces, schools, and workplaces with a national survey, focus group interviews, and four case studies. The project aims to generate new knowledge about public attitudes through a multi-method interdisciplinary approach that anticipates the future of the technology by studying its use in China. Expected ou ....When Your Face is Your ID: Public Responses to Automated Facial Recognition. This project would explore public attitudes toward the use of facial recognition technology in public and commercial spaces, schools, and workplaces with a national survey, focus group interviews, and four case studies. The project aims to generate new knowledge about public attitudes through a multi-method interdisciplinary approach that anticipates the future of the technology by studying its use in China. Expected outcomes include public reports on the survey and case studies, seven academic journal articles, and a book. The research would provide significant benefits by contributing new knowledge about how to implement the technology in accordance with Australian commitments to civil rights, ethics and democratic values.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100092
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$403,250.00
Summary
Outbound Chinese social media platforms and platform governance . This project aims to investigate outbound Chinese social media platforms such as TikTok and the regulatory issues they raise. Chinese platforms are rapidly expanding in Australia and globally, yet they are poorly regulated, leading to the circulation of inappropriate and illegal content. This project expects to advance policy knowledge of the overseas operations of Chinese platforms, their self-regulatory measures, and external re ....Outbound Chinese social media platforms and platform governance . This project aims to investigate outbound Chinese social media platforms such as TikTok and the regulatory issues they raise. Chinese platforms are rapidly expanding in Australia and globally, yet they are poorly regulated, leading to the circulation of inappropriate and illegal content. This project expects to advance policy knowledge of the overseas operations of Chinese platforms, their self-regulatory measures, and external regulatory options. Expected outcomes of the project include improved understanding of the policy and regulatory implications of outbound Chinese platforms. Expected benefits include suitable policy advice on regulation of these platforms in Australia, targeted at reducing public exposure to harmful content. Read moreRead less
Mapping Australians' Media Use and Civic Attitudes. This project would address the need to better understand how patterns of media consumption in Australia are correlated with knowledge about current events, civic attitudes, and political polarisation. It would provide the first empirical study of the relationship in a fast changing media environment between the ways Australians access information about the news, their knowledge of current events, and their expressed civic values. Significant be ....Mapping Australians' Media Use and Civic Attitudes. This project would address the need to better understand how patterns of media consumption in Australia are correlated with knowledge about current events, civic attitudes, and political polarisation. It would provide the first empirical study of the relationship in a fast changing media environment between the ways Australians access information about the news, their knowledge of current events, and their expressed civic values. Significant benefits include a greater understanding of how Australians use the media to stay informed and how these practices shape values of crucial concern to democratic participation and deliberation. The findings would be shared through white papers, academic and public-facing publications, and workshops.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL210100051
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,518,080.00
Summary
Dynamics of Partisanship and Polarisation in Online Public Debate. Rapidly increasing partisanship and polarisation, especially online, poses an urgent threat to societal cohesion in Australia and other established western democracies; polarisation is also a critical cybersecurity concern when actively promoted by bad-faith actors to undermine citizens’ trust in democratic institutions. By introducing an analytical framework that distinguishes four key dimensions of polarisation, the Fellowship ....Dynamics of Partisanship and Polarisation in Online Public Debate. Rapidly increasing partisanship and polarisation, especially online, poses an urgent threat to societal cohesion in Australia and other established western democracies; polarisation is also a critical cybersecurity concern when actively promoted by bad-faith actors to undermine citizens’ trust in democratic institutions. By introducing an analytical framework that distinguishes four key dimensions of polarisation, the Fellowship aims to conduct the first-ever assessment of the extent and dynamics of polarisation in the contemporary online and social media environments of six nations, including Australia. The evidence is expected to enable an urgently needed, robust defence of our society and democracy against the challenges of polarisation.Read moreRead less
Social media in times of crisis: learning from recent natural disasters to improve future strategies. This project will analyse and evaluate how social media was used by emergency authorities, media organisations and citizens during recent natural disasters, including the January 2011 Queensland floods and Tropical Cyclone Yasi. The project will develop a framework for longer-term strategies for public communication during emergencies.
New Media and Public Communication: Mapping Australian User-Created Content in Online Social Networks. Understanding the ways people contribute to and use the Internet for a wide range of purposes is important to Australia's future from both a social and an economic perspective. Effective, evidence-based policy depends on developing a vastly improved understanding of the current level of Australians' online activities and interests. This project provides crucial, detailed baseline data on the so ....New Media and Public Communication: Mapping Australian User-Created Content in Online Social Networks. Understanding the ways people contribute to and use the Internet for a wide range of purposes is important to Australia's future from both a social and an economic perspective. Effective, evidence-based policy depends on developing a vastly improved understanding of the current level of Australians' online activities and interests. This project provides crucial, detailed baseline data on the social, cultural and technological dynamics of Australian online public communication, which can inform further government initiatives to strengthen the country's digital economy and to maximise civic engagement through media participation.Read moreRead less