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
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100443
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$395,220.00
Summary
Tweet Reach: Using Twitter to Increase Information Exchange in People with Communication Disabilities. With as many as seven per cent of Australians having a physical and/or communication disability and being disenfranchised from information, Twitter offers a valuable form of social media allowing short segments of text communication that bypasses impaired speech. This project will evaluate the impact of training designed to increase the use of Twitter for information exchange in people who have ....Tweet Reach: Using Twitter to Increase Information Exchange in People with Communication Disabilities. With as many as seven per cent of Australians having a physical and/or communication disability and being disenfranchised from information, Twitter offers a valuable form of social media allowing short segments of text communication that bypasses impaired speech. This project will evaluate the impact of training designed to increase the use of Twitter for information exchange in people who have little or no speech and who need information for better inclusion, empowerment and evidence-informed decision-making. Outcomes will inform policies and practices in training vulnerable populations to use social media for increased information exchange and will promote inclusion of all people with disabilities in social media campaigns.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100202
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$409,204.00
Summary
Too quick or too slow? Unpacking digital temporalities in networked Vietnam. This project aims to study how digital media shape ordinary people’s lived experience of time in Vietnam. It investigates the hidden costs of promoting a digital future without accounting for stagnating structural reforms on the ground. Using ethnographic research, the project examines the lives of online petty traders, rideshare Grab bikers, tech developers, and residents in designated high-tech neighbourhoods to revea ....Too quick or too slow? Unpacking digital temporalities in networked Vietnam. This project aims to study how digital media shape ordinary people’s lived experience of time in Vietnam. It investigates the hidden costs of promoting a digital future without accounting for stagnating structural reforms on the ground. Using ethnographic research, the project examines the lives of online petty traders, rideshare Grab bikers, tech developers, and residents in designated high-tech neighbourhoods to reveal how fast-paced digital technologies, slow-moving infrastructural change, and indelible sociocultural histories intersect. Expected outcomes include vital new knowledge of Southeast Asian digital cultures that will benefit the sustainability of Australian aid in technological development in Southeast Asia.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100140
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$436,968.00
Summary
Improving the Outcomes of Indigenous Boarding School Graduates. This project generates evidence that is urgently needed to improve Indigenous Australian boarding school outcomes, by examining the life paths and experiences of recent graduates. It draws on rich qualitative data regarding Indigenous graduate experiences, to examine practices that affect retention, attainment, post-school pathways and cultural wellbeing. This project expands a novel Indigenous research method, photoyarn, to amplify ....Improving the Outcomes of Indigenous Boarding School Graduates. This project generates evidence that is urgently needed to improve Indigenous Australian boarding school outcomes, by examining the life paths and experiences of recent graduates. It draws on rich qualitative data regarding Indigenous graduate experiences, to examine practices that affect retention, attainment, post-school pathways and cultural wellbeing. This project expands a novel Indigenous research method, photoyarn, to amplify the voices of Indigenous participants using digital co-research processes. Providing first-hand evidence to inform Indigenous education policy, this project also produces best practice guidelines for Australia's boarding school industry, toward closing the gap in Indigenous boarding graduate outcomes.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240101049
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$432,485.00
Summary
Modeling the Diffusion of Evolving Rumours in Social Networks. This project aims to model the complex evolution and diffusion process of evolving rumours in social media. This project expects to develop new theories and associated techniques from operational research (adaptive genetic algorithms), mathematics (network theory), and machine learning (generative adversarial networks) to tackle the challenges in this project. This project aims to develop (1) novel models for the evolution of a rumou ....Modeling the Diffusion of Evolving Rumours in Social Networks. This project aims to model the complex evolution and diffusion process of evolving rumours in social media. This project expects to develop new theories and associated techniques from operational research (adaptive genetic algorithms), mathematics (network theory), and machine learning (generative adversarial networks) to tackle the challenges in this project. This project aims to develop (1) novel models for the evolution of a rumour, (2) novel models for the diffusion of an evolving rumour, and (3) techniques for detecting the diffusion sources of the original rumour and its mutations. This not only will constitute a major advancement in the theory and application of rumour study but also lead the decision-makers in debunking rumours.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100483
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$382,267.00
Summary
Digital sovereignty and colonialisms in the Russian-Ukrainian war. This project investigates how weaponisation of information and communication technologies affects territorial integrity of sovereign democratic states. Documenting and analysing the architectures, practices and discourses surrounding digital sovereignty in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied territories, it contributes a unique regional case to understanding how digital communication infrastructures can be used as tools of colonial expans ....Digital sovereignty and colonialisms in the Russian-Ukrainian war. This project investigates how weaponisation of information and communication technologies affects territorial integrity of sovereign democratic states. Documenting and analysing the architectures, practices and discourses surrounding digital sovereignty in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied territories, it contributes a unique regional case to understanding how digital communication infrastructures can be used as tools of colonial expansion. Expected outcomes include a theoretical model of colonial techno-geopolitics and a suite of critical visual approaches to mapping the topographies of digital sovereignty. Benefits include a set of policy recommendations on building and preserving resilient information and communication ecosystems. Read moreRead less
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
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101138
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$333,000.00
Summary
Cinema and the brain: Eisenstein-Vygotsky-Luria’s collaboration. This project aims to investigate an important collaboration between a leading filmmaker, a neuroscientist and a psychologist: the revolutionary Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, the founder of contemporary neuroscience Alexander Luria, and the cultural psychologist Lev Vygotsky. These three pioneers conducted a research program from the 1920s to the 1940s that addressed the neural basis and semiotics of screen aesthetics. This ....Cinema and the brain: Eisenstein-Vygotsky-Luria’s collaboration. This project aims to investigate an important collaboration between a leading filmmaker, a neuroscientist and a psychologist: the revolutionary Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, the founder of contemporary neuroscience Alexander Luria, and the cultural psychologist Lev Vygotsky. These three pioneers conducted a research program from the 1920s to the 1940s that addressed the neural basis and semiotics of screen aesthetics. This project intends to use this collaboration as a paradigmatic case study, identifying principles underlying the relationship between the brain sciences, cinema theory and psychology. It is expected that the project findings will be applicable in the educational sector, the film industry and in digital media policy and development.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100779
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$396,935.00
Summary
Co-design using participatory urban media. This project aims to use participatory urban media to test the effectiveness of co-designed screen-based interfaces in helping government and urban planners to better understand and design for rapidly urbanising cities by engaging designers and city stakeholders. Using Chongqing in China as a case study, it intends to generate new knowledge about the value of participatory urban media installations as transformative interventions in traditional urban de ....Co-design using participatory urban media. This project aims to use participatory urban media to test the effectiveness of co-designed screen-based interfaces in helping government and urban planners to better understand and design for rapidly urbanising cities by engaging designers and city stakeholders. Using Chongqing in China as a case study, it intends to generate new knowledge about the value of participatory urban media installations as transformative interventions in traditional urban design. Expected outcomes include a reproducible approach to co-designing urban media for participatory engagement between city stakeholders and citizens which should significantly increase the capacity of Australia-China design partnerships to manage pressing regional urban and placemaking problems.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100510
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$350,977.00
Summary
How first-in-family males transition to Australian university life. This project aims to study how gender, ethnicity and social class affect Australian males from low socio-economic backgrounds as they transition to university. Despite an emphasis on widening participation in the Australian university sector, the path to university is still precarious, particularly for first-in-family students. Males from low socio-economic backgrounds remain severely underrepresented in higher education, and ho ....How first-in-family males transition to Australian university life. This project aims to study how gender, ethnicity and social class affect Australian males from low socio-economic backgrounds as they transition to university. Despite an emphasis on widening participation in the Australian university sector, the path to university is still precarious, particularly for first-in-family students. Males from low socio-economic backgrounds remain severely underrepresented in higher education, and how these students experience university life is unclear. The project will use qualitative research to better understand the experiences of first-in-family males entering universities in different locales/institutions across Australia. Expected outcomes include improved targeted support systems to enable their success.Read moreRead less