Mobile Culture: A Biography of the Mobile Phone. The Mobile Culture project will investigate the mobile phone as cultural object, investigating its history, cultural production, consumption, political economy and regulation. It will contribute new knowledge on the culture of a widely used new media technology, mobile communications. The study will provide fresh insights into central theoretical questions in cultural and media studies, such as the relationship between culture and technology, and ....Mobile Culture: A Biography of the Mobile Phone. The Mobile Culture project will investigate the mobile phone as cultural object, investigating its history, cultural production, consumption, political economy and regulation. It will contribute new knowledge on the culture of a widely used new media technology, mobile communications. The study will provide fresh insights into central theoretical questions in cultural and media studies, such as the relationship between culture and technology, and the use of political economy for cultural analysis. The study will devise innovative methods for new media study. Outcomes include a two-volume book, and workshop proceedings on mobile consumption, use, and policy.Read moreRead less
Young, Mobile, Networked: Mobile Media and Youth Culture in Australia. Mobiles are a common part of life for young Australians, yet there is very little reliable data about how these are used and their social and cultural implications - especially new services such as mobile music, cameras and television. The qualitative and quantitative data from this project will give a detailed, national picture of mobile media use, and will be highly valuable for Australian companies, policymakers, regulator ....Young, Mobile, Networked: Mobile Media and Youth Culture in Australia. Mobiles are a common part of life for young Australians, yet there is very little reliable data about how these are used and their social and cultural implications - especially new services such as mobile music, cameras and television. The qualitative and quantitative data from this project will give a detailed, national picture of mobile media use, and will be highly valuable for Australian companies, policymakers, regulators, non-governmental organizations as well as researchers. It will provide new knowledge to inform planning and innovation, and contribute to a better understanding of the social and cultural implications of mobile technologies.Read moreRead less
Investigating the future of Australian television. This project investigates the future of Australian television and the society 'served' by it. Regulation of free-to-air TV has tightly controlled the production and dissemination of news, information and entertainment in Australia. Now digital technology offers audio-visual content on many extra platforms, fixed and mobile. This sets up profound changes in Australian economics, politics and culture. Yet there is a marked lack of independent rese ....Investigating the future of Australian television. This project investigates the future of Australian television and the society 'served' by it. Regulation of free-to-air TV has tightly controlled the production and dissemination of news, information and entertainment in Australia. Now digital technology offers audio-visual content on many extra platforms, fixed and mobile. This sets up profound changes in Australian economics, politics and culture. Yet there is a marked lack of independent research available to Government and Industry to assist them to plan for the changes. And there is almost no context for careful public debate about these crucial changes. This project will play a vital role in promoting knowledge and informed, strategic decision-making for all constituencies.Read moreRead less
Film as Philosophy: Understanding Cinematic Thinking. The project benefits Australia by initiating collaboration between the disciplines of film and philosophy, establishing a network of scholars of international renown and a forum for their interaction to steer the future development of a significant field of contemporary interdisciplinary investigation. It will augment Australia's international standing in continental philosophy and serve the community by opening up a new research area that st ....Film as Philosophy: Understanding Cinematic Thinking. The project benefits Australia by initiating collaboration between the disciplines of film and philosophy, establishing a network of scholars of international renown and a forum for their interaction to steer the future development of a significant field of contemporary interdisciplinary investigation. It will augment Australia's international standing in continental philosophy and serve the community by opening up a new research area that stands to integrate film studies within the core of humanities education in tertiary institutions. This will ensure the ongoing relevance of philosophical and aesthetic research to contemporary cultural formations and stimulate ethical debates about culture and the mass media in the broader community.Read moreRead less
Avatars and Identities. The avatar, a virtual representation of its user, is the key element of interface technology for everyday computer use in the twenty-first century. While specialist aspects of the avatar have received intensive attention from the technology industries and scholars, the focus of the work to date has been on the technical efficiency of the interface, rather than understanding the full social implications of its use. Through a historical, ethnographic and critical analysis o ....Avatars and Identities. The avatar, a virtual representation of its user, is the key element of interface technology for everyday computer use in the twenty-first century. While specialist aspects of the avatar have received intensive attention from the technology industries and scholars, the focus of the work to date has been on the technical efficiency of the interface, rather than understanding the full social implications of its use. Through a historical, ethnographic and critical analysis of the role of the avatar, in consultation with industry, this project offers a unique opportunity to develop a wider perspective that will contribute to an understanding of the uses and policies for the digital economy.Read moreRead less
Dynamic media: innovative social and artistic developments in new media in Australia, Britain, Canada and Scandinavia since 1990. This study will foreground strengths and remedy weaknesses in Australian new media arts and innovative social uses of new media. By studying the international strategies for social use of dynamic media, this study will provide information for Australians to more extensively implement dynamic media within a social context. It will highlight the innovation of Australian ....Dynamic media: innovative social and artistic developments in new media in Australia, Britain, Canada and Scandinavia since 1990. This study will foreground strengths and remedy weaknesses in Australian new media arts and innovative social uses of new media. By studying the international strategies for social use of dynamic media, this study will provide information for Australians to more extensively implement dynamic media within a social context. It will highlight the innovation of Australian artists and researchers in the development of dynamic media and position these internationally. A major long-term benefit of this study will be an online database that will both profile and be accessible to Australian artists, arts organizations, new media researchers and social innovators. Read moreRead less
William Faulkner Between Cinema and Literature. Literature continues to react and adapt to an ever-more complex media environment, but there is still little in the way of detailed critical study to specify the strategies and tactics of literary survival in an audio-visual era. By attending to the unique and indicative case of William Faulkner, who wrote simultaneously for the films and the serious literary market, this project will develop a new critical model for understanding literature's ada ....William Faulkner Between Cinema and Literature. Literature continues to react and adapt to an ever-more complex media environment, but there is still little in the way of detailed critical study to specify the strategies and tactics of literary survival in an audio-visual era. By attending to the unique and indicative case of William Faulkner, who wrote simultaneously for the films and the serious literary market, this project will develop a new critical model for understanding literature's adaptation to a complex media environment. It will shed significant intellectual light on the present and future states of literary survival in advanced industrial nations like Australia. Read moreRead less
Cinematic Imaginations: American Literature and the Visual Media, 1905-1945. The advent of new visual media in the late C19th, and their rapid growth and industrialization in the 20th, obliged the traditional forms of literature to change. This project investigates that change in the American context, as a set of interlinked adaptations, in both literature and cinema, to more general social changes in an emergent mass-production economy. Arguing for a ?media ecology?, the project's originality i ....Cinematic Imaginations: American Literature and the Visual Media, 1905-1945. The advent of new visual media in the late C19th, and their rapid growth and industrialization in the 20th, obliged the traditional forms of literature to change. This project investigates that change in the American context, as a set of interlinked adaptations, in both literature and cinema, to more general social changes in an emergent mass-production economy. Arguing for a ?media ecology?, the project's originality is to establish a viable model for analysing this shift in the complexion of a culture, in terms of an explosive expansion of the cultural economy.Read moreRead less
Data Centres and the Governance of Labour and Territory. Focusing on data centres in Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney, the project aims to advance understandings of how these facilities are transforming ways of living and working in the Asia Pacific. Without data centres the world stops; these infrastructures are the core components of a rapidly expanding but rarely discussed digital storage and management industry that has become critical to global economy and society. The intended outcome of th ....Data Centres and the Governance of Labour and Territory. Focusing on data centres in Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney, the project aims to advance understandings of how these facilities are transforming ways of living and working in the Asia Pacific. Without data centres the world stops; these infrastructures are the core components of a rapidly expanding but rarely discussed digital storage and management industry that has become critical to global economy and society. The intended outcome of the project is a broadening of debates and research practices relevant to policymaking on the digital economy. The expected benefit is increased public knowledge about the social and cultural effects of data-driven economic change and, in particular, the growing importance of private data infrastructures.Read moreRead less
Skin Jobs: Biopolitics, Embodiment and Haptic Technologies. Haptic technologies use a combination of mechanical pressure and electrical impulses to simulate human touch, and have potential applications in a wide variety of fields including medicine, education, disability services, and entertainment. This project will contribute to the development of this technology, by locating the cultural meanings associated with touch and so enabling applications to be developed for specific audiences and u ....Skin Jobs: Biopolitics, Embodiment and Haptic Technologies. Haptic technologies use a combination of mechanical pressure and electrical impulses to simulate human touch, and have potential applications in a wide variety of fields including medicine, education, disability services, and entertainment. This project will contribute to the development of this technology, by locating the cultural meanings associated with touch and so enabling applications to be developed for specific audiences and users. The project thereby contributes to the development of smart technologies and, in its combination of resources from science and the arts, promotes a culture of innovation - both of which are essential to Australia's economic future.Read moreRead less