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
Anglos Abroad: Memoirs of Immersion in a Foreign Language and Culture. A study of Anglophone narratives of language immersion offers a significant intellectual resource for thinking about ways in which Australian non-immigrant selves are shaped by culture and language: an issue with important implications for just practises within a wide range of national institutions and agencies, including education, immigration and social work. It thus contributes to the priority goal of strengthening Austral ....Anglos Abroad: Memoirs of Immersion in a Foreign Language and Culture. A study of Anglophone narratives of language immersion offers a significant intellectual resource for thinking about ways in which Australian non-immigrant selves are shaped by culture and language: an issue with important implications for just practises within a wide range of national institutions and agencies, including education, immigration and social work. It thus contributes to the priority goal of strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric (Research Priority 2). It also contributes to enhancing our capacity to interpret and engage with our region and the world through a greater understanding of other languages and cultures (Research Priority 4).Read moreRead less
Aftermaths of War: Violence, Trauma, Displacement, 1815-1950. This project aims to investigate the cultural, social and psychological aftermaths of wars between 1815 to 1950 from a comparative, transnational perspective. By connecting the displacement of people, the brutalization of warfare and the trauma associated with it, this study will offer a broader and more complex understanding of the experience of civilians and combatants in the wake of armed conflicts. In so doing, it will challenge t ....Aftermaths of War: Violence, Trauma, Displacement, 1815-1950. This project aims to investigate the cultural, social and psychological aftermaths of wars between 1815 to 1950 from a comparative, transnational perspective. By connecting the displacement of people, the brutalization of warfare and the trauma associated with it, this study will offer a broader and more complex understanding of the experience of civilians and combatants in the wake of armed conflicts. In so doing, it will challenge traditional periodizations which delineate between periods of war and peace, and seek to uncover the profound legacies of war not just within but beyond nation states. This will prompt a re-evaluation of our understanding of what constitutes warfare and its aftermaths.Read moreRead less
A cultural history of West Australian popular music, 1945 to 2010. The Valentines, The Triffids, The John Butler Trio all had their origins in the western Australian musical scene. This is the first cultural history of West Australia's popular music industry. It documents the life and times of its musical artists, bands, managers, recording studios, relevant radio programs since 1945.
Navigating urban spaces. This project aims to study how disabled people use smartphones to navigate the urban environment. Smartphones could improve urban accessibility and social participation for people with impairments. The project will study how this group uses smartphones to mitigate the effects of their impairments and compensate for inaccessibility in urban spaces. The study is expected to comprehensively map mobile phone use in urban space to inform design of the urban space, and the dev ....Navigating urban spaces. This project aims to study how disabled people use smartphones to navigate the urban environment. Smartphones could improve urban accessibility and social participation for people with impairments. The project will study how this group uses smartphones to mitigate the effects of their impairments and compensate for inaccessibility in urban spaces. The study is expected to comprehensively map mobile phone use in urban space to inform design of the urban space, and the development of apps as disabled people integrate with these spaces. This project intends to address wider problems related to the social participation of people with disability.Read moreRead less
Cross-Cultural Lives: a Study of Narratives by Migrants Between Languages. This project examines recent autobiographies of non-English-speaking migrants to Australia and investigates ways in which immigrants into a new language are challenged to become different persons, and how particular individuals respond to this challenge. It combines the disciplines of literary, cultural and ethnic studies to address issues profoundly affecting Australia as a multi-ethnic society. It seeks to identify some ....Cross-Cultural Lives: a Study of Narratives by Migrants Between Languages. This project examines recent autobiographies of non-English-speaking migrants to Australia and investigates ways in which immigrants into a new language are challenged to become different persons, and how particular individuals respond to this challenge. It combines the disciplines of literary, cultural and ethnic studies to address issues profoundly affecting Australia as a multi-ethnic society. It seeks to identify some essential prerequisites for cross-culturally sensitive education programs, taking into account an individual's need for psychological and linguistic continuity. At the same time it opens a new theoretical perspective for literary and cross-cultural studies, based on close study of life-writing by migrants.Read moreRead less
Sport as a Communications Platform for Environmental Issues. This pioneering project aims to investigate the range of environmental and sustainability messages communicated by sport media, and how these messages negotiate the dilemma of promoting environmental awareness through events and activities that also generate adverse ecological impacts. By engaging sport media professionals, environmental claims-makers, policy-makers and journalists, this project seeks to deliver valuable knowledge that ....Sport as a Communications Platform for Environmental Issues. This pioneering project aims to investigate the range of environmental and sustainability messages communicated by sport media, and how these messages negotiate the dilemma of promoting environmental awareness through events and activities that also generate adverse ecological impacts. By engaging sport media professionals, environmental claims-makers, policy-makers and journalists, this project seeks to deliver valuable knowledge that informs industry decision-making, policy formulation and environmental awareness. The intended societal benefit is a new understanding of how environmental issues are communicated through popular media to large-scale publics, including how tensions in the communication of environmental change are negotiated.Read moreRead less
Teaching and Learning Science, Mathematics and Technology in Integrated Middle School Contexts. Integration is proposed as a significant curriculum reform strategy for Australian schools at the beginning of the century, particularly for early adolescents. Despite the claimed advantages for integrating school subjects, there is an absence of substantive empirical research to show if and/or how students learn in integrated settings. The proposed study addresses this research gap directly, by exami ....Teaching and Learning Science, Mathematics and Technology in Integrated Middle School Contexts. Integration is proposed as a significant curriculum reform strategy for Australian schools at the beginning of the century, particularly for early adolescents. Despite the claimed advantages for integrating school subjects, there is an absence of substantive empirical research to show if and/or how students learn in integrated settings. The proposed study addresses this research gap directly, by examining the teaching context and the characteristics of student learning in integrated science, mathematics and technology classrooms. This project employs detailed and elaborated case studies of six middle school classrooms to develop sophisticated understandings about the connection between integrated pedagogy and student learning and motivation.Read moreRead less
The Emergence, Development and Transformation of Media Ratings Conventions and Methodologies in Australia, 1930-2008. The media industry depends upon ratings. However, the ability of audience measurement companies to predict audience behaviour is in decline. Investigation into the conventions that govern the relationship between measurement and markets is now urgent. This project provides the first historical study of media ratings in Australia and internationally, the companies providing rat ....The Emergence, Development and Transformation of Media Ratings Conventions and Methodologies in Australia, 1930-2008. The media industry depends upon ratings. However, the ability of audience measurement companies to predict audience behaviour is in decline. Investigation into the conventions that govern the relationship between measurement and markets is now urgent. This project provides the first historical study of media ratings in Australia and internationally, the companies providing ratings and the media organisations using them. The study provides a detailed analysis of the emergence and transformation of media ratings in order to assist in the development of new practices and to promote better public and media industry understanding of the character, productivity, limits and challenges facing ratings conventions.
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Four South Pacific Museums: New Museums and Public Culture. The last decade has witnessed a global explosion in the development of new museums. Nowhere is this more striking than in our region where four major new museum buildings opened between 1998 and 2001.
FOUR SOUTH PACIFIC MUSEUMS will explore these regional developments by asking:
-How are they renovating their institutions through exhibitionary, architectural, technological, commercial and entertainment strategies?
-How are they re-n ....Four South Pacific Museums: New Museums and Public Culture. The last decade has witnessed a global explosion in the development of new museums. Nowhere is this more striking than in our region where four major new museum buildings opened between 1998 and 2001.
FOUR SOUTH PACIFIC MUSEUMS will explore these regional developments by asking:
-How are they renovating their institutions through exhibitionary, architectural, technological, commercial and entertainment strategies?
-How are they re-negotiating relationships between indigenous people and museums in post-colonial nations?
This interdisciplinary project will generate significant publications, evaluate contemporary museum practices, enrich debate about the cultural and civic roles of museums, and contribute productively to imagining their future.
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