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
Australian Experiences of Algorithmic Culture on TikTok. This project is the first to systematically investigate how algorithmic content recommendation is shaping everyday Australian cultural experience over time, in the particular context of TikTok—the digital platform where Australians spend the most time online. The project provides critical evidence to support the government's ongoing policy initiatives intended to regulate the activities of digital platforms. Its methodological innovations ....Australian Experiences of Algorithmic Culture on TikTok. This project is the first to systematically investigate how algorithmic content recommendation is shaping everyday Australian cultural experience over time, in the particular context of TikTok—the digital platform where Australians spend the most time online. The project provides critical evidence to support the government's ongoing policy initiatives intended to regulate the activities of digital platforms. Its methodological innovations directly address the challenges of studying commercial platforms' recommender systems through a mixed-method research design combining computational and qualitative analysis, bridging universal and individual perspectives and introducing ‘citizen science’ approaches to the field of platform studies.Read moreRead less
Evaluating the Challenge of ‘Fake News’ and Other Malinformation. Encompassed by the disputed term ‘fake news’, overtly or covertly biased, skewed, or falsified reports claiming to present factual information present a critical challenge to the effective dissemination of news and information across society. This project conducts a systematic, large-scale, mixed-methods analysis of empirical evidence on the dissemination of, engagement with, and impact of ‘fake news’ and other malinformation in p ....Evaluating the Challenge of ‘Fake News’ and Other Malinformation. Encompassed by the disputed term ‘fake news’, overtly or covertly biased, skewed, or falsified reports claiming to present factual information present a critical challenge to the effective dissemination of news and information across society. This project conducts a systematic, large-scale, mixed-methods analysis of empirical evidence on the dissemination of, engagement with, and impact of ‘fake news’ and other malinformation in public debate, in Australia and beyond. It takes a triangulated approach, combining computational big data analytics with deep forensic analysis, to reveal the complex ‘fake news’ ecosystem, replace 'fake news' with more precise terminology, and provide recommendations for policy responses based on robust evidence.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
Internet-distributed television: cultural, industrial and policy dynamics. This project aims to investigate the impact of global subscription video-on-demand platforms on national television markets. The rise of subscription video streaming has created significant challenges for Australian and international broadcast, media and cultural policy frameworks, which are struggling to keep up with audience viewing practices. This project will provide a comparative analysis of how governments are respo ....Internet-distributed television: cultural, industrial and policy dynamics. This project aims to investigate the impact of global subscription video-on-demand platforms on national television markets. The rise of subscription video streaming has created significant challenges for Australian and international broadcast, media and cultural policy frameworks, which are struggling to keep up with audience viewing practices. This project will provide a comparative analysis of how governments are responding and investigating the implications for debates about local content, local screen production, and media diversity. The project will provide an analysis of original production and programming strategies to identify new forms of trans-national media flow. The project will advance an understanding of media globalisation and provide media regulators options and opportunities for a convergent media policy environment.Read moreRead less
Early Career Industry Fellowships - Grant ID: IE230100647
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$358,175.00
Summary
Improving the accountability of dark advertising on digital platforms. This project aims to improve accountability of dark alcohol advertising on digital platforms. Digital marketing practices are largely opaque, posing a critical challenge for regulation which traditionally relies on advertising being observable as a foundation for public accountability. This project will develop and translate cutting-edge approaches for monitoring dark advertising, building tools and expertise to observe digit ....Improving the accountability of dark advertising on digital platforms. This project aims to improve accountability of dark alcohol advertising on digital platforms. Digital marketing practices are largely opaque, posing a critical challenge for regulation which traditionally relies on advertising being observable as a foundation for public accountability. This project will develop and translate cutting-edge approaches for monitoring dark advertising, building tools and expertise to observe digital advertising and ensure consumer protection and fair market practices in the digital era. The project benefits researchers, civil society, government and the public by providing new methods to examine and monitor harmful digital marketing practices and informing regulatory solutions to mitigate harms.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100477
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$421,554.00
Summary
Advancing Human Perception: Countering Evolving Malicious Fake Visual Data. The aim of this project is to provide new effective and generalisable deepfake detection methods for automatically detecting maliciously manipulated visual data generated by misused artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. It will present innovative computer vision and image processing knowledge and techniques, enabling the developed methods to advance human perception in recognising fake data, enhance cybersecurity, and ....Advancing Human Perception: Countering Evolving Malicious Fake Visual Data. The aim of this project is to provide new effective and generalisable deepfake detection methods for automatically detecting maliciously manipulated visual data generated by misused artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. It will present innovative computer vision and image processing knowledge and techniques, enabling the developed methods to advance human perception in recognising fake data, enhance cybersecurity, and protect privacy in AI applications. The anticipated outcomes should provide significant benefits to a wide range of applications, such as providing timely alerts to the media, government organisations, and the industry about misleading fake visual data, and preventing financial crimes on synthetic identity fraud.Read moreRead less
Securing Web-based Services by Policy Coherence and Proof-checking. This project aims to develop a provably correct cybersecurity system for workflows, which enables organizations to provide flexible and more secure web-based services and business communication. The project expects to generate new knowledge, theoretic advancement and result in new technologies in the areas of internet of things and cybersecurity. The expected outcomes include a software tool with documentation, which helps organ ....Securing Web-based Services by Policy Coherence and Proof-checking. This project aims to develop a provably correct cybersecurity system for workflows, which enables organizations to provide flexible and more secure web-based services and business communication. The project expects to generate new knowledge, theoretic advancement and result in new technologies in the areas of internet of things and cybersecurity. The expected outcomes include a software tool with documentation, which helps organisations achieve operational excellence and security, and maintain a trusted environment for end users. This system will provide significant economic and commercial benefits to business and end users with highly secured web-services and improved productivity through a coherent framework and proof-checked workflows.Read moreRead less
Mapping & Harnessing Public Mistrust: Constitutional Values Survey 2023-27. Declining public trust is well recognised as a problem of democratic government, including in Australia. However solutions are more elusive, confounded by the reality that mistrust and distrust play not just negative, but positive roles in our existing political and constitutional traditions. This project aims to be the first to comprehensively map the positive values of mistrust in citizen political attitudes and experi ....Mapping & Harnessing Public Mistrust: Constitutional Values Survey 2023-27. Declining public trust is well recognised as a problem of democratic government, including in Australia. However solutions are more elusive, confounded by the reality that mistrust and distrust play not just negative, but positive roles in our existing political and constitutional traditions. This project aims to be the first to comprehensively map the positive values of mistrust in citizen political attitudes and experience, building on previous Constitutional Values Surveys (2008-21) to test new measures of the content of trust including a first-ever longitudinal study of changing trust over time. The results will inform concrete solutions to three key policy reform dilemmas, providing better answers for sustaining public trust overall.
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Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH230100013
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$5,000,000.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub for Future Digital Manufacturing. This Hub aims to grow and accelerate Australian digital manufacturing (DM) transformation by devising novel DM technology and commercialisation/adoption pathways. The Hub expects to transform industry by developing novel AI and IoT-powered DM technology that provides for dramatic improvement in manufacturing productivity, resilience and competitiveness. Expected outcomes include novel DM technology for digitally representing, predicting, and imp ....ARC Research Hub for Future Digital Manufacturing. This Hub aims to grow and accelerate Australian digital manufacturing (DM) transformation by devising novel DM technology and commercialisation/adoption pathways. The Hub expects to transform industry by developing novel AI and IoT-powered DM technology that provides for dramatic improvement in manufacturing productivity, resilience and competitiveness. Expected outcomes include novel DM technology for digitally representing, predicting, and improving production and its outcomes via an open platform that supports reusing industry co-created DM solutions. Through supporting advanced manufacturing priorities and Industry 4.0, the Hub should provide significant benefits by increasing Australian manufacturing productivity and resilience by 30%.Read moreRead less