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
Mobile Indonesians: social differentiation and digital literacies in the twenty first century. This is the first dedicated study of the social implications of mobile telephony's recent and rapid popularisation throughout the country. This project will study metropolitan, urban and rural users to understand how mobile phones create the new and unexpected social networks which will shape tomorrow's Indonesians.
Valuing News: Aligning Individual, Institutional and Societal Perspectives. This project aims to identify the links between the preparedness of individuals to pay for news, the value of news brands and organisational cultures of news publishers, and the social value of news in promoting a democratic public sphere. Its significance arises with the ongoing crisis of news media business models, which is raising new questions about the future of journalism, and the changing role of governments worl ....Valuing News: Aligning Individual, Institutional and Societal Perspectives. This project aims to identify the links between the preparedness of individuals to pay for news, the value of news brands and organisational cultures of news publishers, and the social value of news in promoting a democratic public sphere. Its significance arises with the ongoing crisis of news media business models, which is raising new questions about the future of journalism, and the changing role of governments worldwide in financing news production. Its expected outcomes include advancing debates about how to support public interest journalism, and the value of news as both a commodity and a public good. It will be of benefit to industry, policymakers and the community in addressing the prospects for Australian journalism. Read moreRead less
Redesigning Australian film and television production for Multichannel Environments, 1995-2009. The project has clear national benefits in that it represents a new approach to understanding the difficulties and opportunities confronting Australian situated audio-visual production at a time of profound change. In centering the transformation of the production industry under the impact of structural adjustment to multi-channeling and increasing transnationalization, the study promises new perspect ....Redesigning Australian film and television production for Multichannel Environments, 1995-2009. The project has clear national benefits in that it represents a new approach to understanding the difficulties and opportunities confronting Australian situated audio-visual production at a time of profound change. In centering the transformation of the production industry under the impact of structural adjustment to multi-channeling and increasing transnationalization, the study promises new perspectives on strategic policy and industry priorities which will strengthen the capacity for innovation and international linkages among producers, policy makers and educators. It fits the national priority of 'Frontier technologies for building and transforming Australian industries' related to 'promoting an innovation culture and economy'.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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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 Screen Comedy. This project will analyse the different types of screen comedy produced in Australia in order to understand how comedy has shaped a sense of who we are as Australians. It will provide an understanding of why some Australian comedies and comedians succeed at home but not abroad and whether comedy can claim to be representative of an Australian way of life. It will make a contribution to a network of current research projects into the history and aesthetics of Australian ....Australian Screen Comedy. This project will analyse the different types of screen comedy produced in Australia in order to understand how comedy has shaped a sense of who we are as Australians. It will provide an understanding of why some Australian comedies and comedians succeed at home but not abroad and whether comedy can claim to be representative of an Australian way of life. It will make a contribution to a network of current research projects into the history and aesthetics of Australian television and film, producing synergies in national media research.
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Books as Media: The Cultural Economy of Literary Adaptation. The project will benefit three key Australian communities: (1) researchers; (2) cultural creators; and (3) cultural policy-makers. (1) The project builds upon Australia's existing research excellence in Media and Cultural Studies and cross-blends this with emerging research strengths in publishing studies and book history. (2) Australian authors, publishers and screen producers who seek access and exposure to international audiences wi ....Books as Media: The Cultural Economy of Literary Adaptation. The project will benefit three key Australian communities: (1) researchers; (2) cultural creators; and (3) cultural policy-makers. (1) The project builds upon Australia's existing research excellence in Media and Cultural Studies and cross-blends this with emerging research strengths in publishing studies and book history. (2) Australian authors, publishers and screen producers who seek access and exposure to international audiences will gain a detailed understanding of how adaptation's global economy functions. (3) The project informs Australia's cultural policy framework by focusing on enhanced marketing and promotion of Australian cultural content rather than input assistance schemes.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
Breaking silences: media and the Child Abuse Royal Commission. This project aims to analyse the role of media, journalism and social media activism in the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2013-17) (RCIRCSA). By focusing on the nexus between media and commissions of inquiry in the digital era, the project will investigate the impacts of a rapidly changing media environment on this national 'listening' exercise. The project will use a case study approach to crit ....Breaking silences: media and the Child Abuse Royal Commission. This project aims to analyse the role of media, journalism and social media activism in the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2013-17) (RCIRCSA). By focusing on the nexus between media and commissions of inquiry in the digital era, the project will investigate the impacts of a rapidly changing media environment on this national 'listening' exercise. The project will use a case study approach to critically analyse the role of a transitioning local, national and social media in triggering, reporting on and keeping alive the findings of the royal commission, ensuring victims of institutional child sexual abuse are heard, and justice is upheld.Read moreRead less