Creative Micro-computing in Australia, 1976-1992. 1980s micro-computers introduced many to the digital age. Despite the importance of early micro-computing to the digital present, this early period is yet to be scrutinised by digital media scholars. This project recovers the local history of this most important media technology in the period 1976-1992, across the spectrum of practices in digital arts and culture. Delving deeply into the history of creative software and hardware practices, seekin ....Creative Micro-computing in Australia, 1976-1992. 1980s micro-computers introduced many to the digital age. Despite the importance of early micro-computing to the digital present, this early period is yet to be scrutinised by digital media scholars. This project recovers the local history of this most important media technology in the period 1976-1992, across the spectrum of practices in digital arts and culture. Delving deeply into the history of creative software and hardware practices, seeking to understand early users and their encounters with computers, and collating metadata on the products of their practice, this project builds the foundation for securing and remembering Australian digital cultural heritage.Read moreRead less
Only at the movies: mapping the contemporary Australian cinema market. Only at the movies? is a three-year project that asks: What is the enduring appeal of cinemagoing and how is it changing? It will provide detailed analyses of formal film exhibition and distribution in Australia by combining economic, cultural and geospatial research with industry expertise.
Safety, risk and wellbeing on digital dating apps. This project aims to build an evidence-base scoping and strategic planning of health promotion campaigns targeting Australian dating app users. The rise of digital dating apps generates a number of issues regarding cultures of health and wellbeing, including concerns regarding risks of sexual assault, and sexually transmitted infection transmission. Popular media reports raise concerns regarding sexual privacy breaches, in the form of ‘revenge p ....Safety, risk and wellbeing on digital dating apps. This project aims to build an evidence-base scoping and strategic planning of health promotion campaigns targeting Australian dating app users. The rise of digital dating apps generates a number of issues regarding cultures of health and wellbeing, including concerns regarding risks of sexual assault, and sexually transmitted infection transmission. Popular media reports raise concerns regarding sexual privacy breaches, in the form of ‘revenge porn’, sexual harassment and sexual assault. Despite this, little evidence exists regarding the role apps currently play in users’ everyday negotiations of consent, condom use, contraception, and other aspects of sexual health and wellbeing. The outcomes of this project will establish foundations for future health interventions promoting sexual health and safety for digital dating app users, and take an innovative participatory approach. This will result in practical, strategic recommendations regarding the future planning, and implementation of digital health promotion campaigns targeting diverse populations, including heterosexual and same-sex-attracted young people aged 15-30.
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Locating the mobile: intergenerational locative media practices in Tokyo, Melbourne and Shanghai. From providing convenience at a fingertip to helping criminal investigations, using locative media has become an essential part of everyday life for individuals, families, businesses and government. Responding to this nascent phenomenon, this project will provide the first cross-cultural, intergenerational study of locative media use.
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
Young Australians and the promotion of alcohol on social media. This project aims to determine how young people engage with alcohol and nightlife marketing on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Companies now leverage the power of social media to create advertisements that are made and shared by young people, targeted to them in particular times, places and contexts, and are thus difficult to monitor and regulate. The project will use computational, big social data app ....Young Australians and the promotion of alcohol on social media. This project aims to determine how young people engage with alcohol and nightlife marketing on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Companies now leverage the power of social media to create advertisements that are made and shared by young people, targeted to them in particular times, places and contexts, and are thus difficult to monitor and regulate. The project will use computational, big social data approaches and youth informants to assess the pervasiveness of branding on social media and how it shapes youth cultures. This work will extend media and cultural studies and support the development of effective monitoring and regulation of online marketing in general, with a particular focus on alcohol.Read moreRead less
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
Museum Digital Social Futures. This project aims to understand and transform the digital experience of museum audiences post COVID-19 through collaborating with ACMI who pioneered digital curation methods through a Living Lab model. This project will generate new methods for engaging diverse audiences across social and digital worlds in domestic and public spaces through codesigning with national museum peak body, AGaMA, stakeholders. Expected outcomes include resources (i.e. toolkits for implem ....Museum Digital Social Futures. This project aims to understand and transform the digital experience of museum audiences post COVID-19 through collaborating with ACMI who pioneered digital curation methods through a Living Lab model. This project will generate new methods for engaging diverse audiences across social and digital worlds in domestic and public spaces through codesigning with national museum peak body, AGaMA, stakeholders. Expected outcomes include resources (i.e. toolkits for implementation), online repository (website) and symposium for knowledge sharing and transferring of learnings. This should provide significant benefits to the museums sector including digital innovation for social inclusion strategies and resources.
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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.