The culture of implementing Freedom of Information in Australia. In partnership with three Australian Information Commissioners/Ombudsmen this project aims to map the culture of administering Freedom of Information (FOI) laws across a number of Australian jurisdictions. The study aspires to capture and analyse the attitudes among FOI practitioners, government agency managements and political leaders toward information access implementation. The project aims to provide the partner organisations w ....The culture of implementing Freedom of Information in Australia. In partnership with three Australian Information Commissioners/Ombudsmen this project aims to map the culture of administering Freedom of Information (FOI) laws across a number of Australian jurisdictions. The study aspires to capture and analyse the attitudes among FOI practitioners, government agency managements and political leaders toward information access implementation. The project aims to provide the partner organisations with an increased understanding of the culture of administering FOI to inform training/awareness programs and campaigns in order to increase the functionality of FOI. Well-functioning access to information systems is crucial both for good governance and Australia's participation in the digital economy.
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New approaches measuring Australia’s creative workforce: Beyond the Census . This project aims to develop new approaches to measuring Australia’s creative workforce to address increasingly urgent questions about the value of this growing but poorly understood part of the economy and society. It expects to develop and demonstrate novel methods for capturing a range of creative activity currently at the margins of traditional measurement typified by the Census. Expected outcomes, which will benefi ....New approaches measuring Australia’s creative workforce: Beyond the Census . This project aims to develop new approaches to measuring Australia’s creative workforce to address increasingly urgent questions about the value of this growing but poorly understood part of the economy and society. It expects to develop and demonstrate novel methods for capturing a range of creative activity currently at the margins of traditional measurement typified by the Census. Expected outcomes, which will benefit industry partners, the cultural and creative industries, and international scholarship, include new understandings of the scope of creative qualifications, the contribution of creatives working outside the creative industries, the extent of second and other incomes, and the value of volunteering and online entrepreneurship.Read moreRead less
Cartoon Nation: Australian Editorial Cartooning - Past, Present, and Future. This landmark study aims to facilitate a new scholarly and public appreciation of Australian editorial cartooning: something often celebrated, but seldom studied seriously. At a moment when the art-form is transitioning, the study will elucidate its enduring democratic and cultural significance, revealing diverse stories told through cartoons. Expected project outcomes include: pioneering new scholarship; the enhancemen ....Cartoon Nation: Australian Editorial Cartooning - Past, Present, and Future. This landmark study aims to facilitate a new scholarly and public appreciation of Australian editorial cartooning: something often celebrated, but seldom studied seriously. At a moment when the art-form is transitioning, the study will elucidate its enduring democratic and cultural significance, revealing diverse stories told through cartoons. Expected project outcomes include: pioneering new scholarship; the enhancement of cross-institutional networks; and improved capacity for collaboration between academia and industry (professional bodies and collecting institutions). The project will benefit the nation, providing a truer understanding of the defining Australian sense of humour, press, and political culture, across more than 200 years.Read moreRead less
Comedy Country: Australian Performance Comedy as an Agent of Change. Comedy Country aims to investigate the development of comic performance and its transformational relation with, and impact on, Australian society, culture and the creative industries from the aftermath of World War 2 until the present. The project’s key hypothesis is that since the 1950s comic performance has not merely reflected a changing Australia but helped drive social and cultural transformation. The project partners with ....Comedy Country: Australian Performance Comedy as an Agent of Change. Comedy Country aims to investigate the development of comic performance and its transformational relation with, and impact on, Australian society, culture and the creative industries from the aftermath of World War 2 until the present. The project’s key hypothesis is that since the 1950s comic performance has not merely reflected a changing Australia but helped drive social and cultural transformation. The project partners with two festivals, five cultural collecting organisations and a media production company to build interdisciplinary Humanities and Social Sciences/industry collaborations in digital methods for archive research and transmedia communication, and deliver digital exhibitions, documentaries, podcasts and scholarly histories.Read moreRead less
Empowering Australia’s Visual Arts via Creative Blockchain Opportunities. This project investigates the provision of a blockchain-based solution for protecting the intellectual property and provenance of visual art, and ways to empower its economic, cultural, and social value and benefits. By exploring innovative non-fungible token (NFT) opportunities in a global cyber security context, we will co-design a user-friendly and compliant tool for expanding the creation and movement of art on existin ....Empowering Australia’s Visual Arts via Creative Blockchain Opportunities. This project investigates the provision of a blockchain-based solution for protecting the intellectual property and provenance of visual art, and ways to empower its economic, cultural, and social value and benefits. By exploring innovative non-fungible token (NFT) opportunities in a global cyber security context, we will co-design a user-friendly and compliant tool for expanding the creation and movement of art on existing virtual galleries and smart contract-enabled platforms. Building on interdisciplinary synergies between creative and IT practices, we will interrogate the efficacy, risks and governance surrounding this global technology, and produce vital new knowledge for engaging with risks and opportunities in the digital economy.Read moreRead less
Holobody: Advancing the Future of Mixed Reality Technologies. This project aims to advance our understanding and use of mixed reality technologies by pioneering a new approach to interaction in virtual systems that recognises, capitalises on, and expands the potential of the human body as a human-machine interface. The project expects to apply the unique, embodied methodologies of dance and movement technology, integrated with customised software, advanced visualisation and artificial intelligen ....Holobody: Advancing the Future of Mixed Reality Technologies. This project aims to advance our understanding and use of mixed reality technologies by pioneering a new approach to interaction in virtual systems that recognises, capitalises on, and expands the potential of the human body as a human-machine interface. The project expects to apply the unique, embodied methodologies of dance and movement technology, integrated with customised software, advanced visualisation and artificial intelligence, to develop next-generation principles of embodied interaction in virtual systems. Expected outcomes are improved assistive technology, new prototyping techniques for manufacturing, and improved productivity through interactive and immersive systems, benefiting Australian businesses, healthcare and the arts.Read moreRead less
Play it again: preserving Australian videogame history. This project aims to demonstrate and evaluate the emulation of obsolete operating systems and programs in a cloud-based environment to document, preserve, and exhibit digital cultural heritage. The challenge of preserving and accessing complex digital cultural heritage such as software is one that collecting institutions worldwide are facing. This project will address this challenge by recovering the history of Australian made videogames of ....Play it again: preserving Australian videogame history. This project aims to demonstrate and evaluate the emulation of obsolete operating systems and programs in a cloud-based environment to document, preserve, and exhibit digital cultural heritage. The challenge of preserving and accessing complex digital cultural heritage such as software is one that collecting institutions worldwide are facing. This project will address this challenge by recovering the history of Australian made videogames of the 1990s, preserving significant local digital game artefacts currently at risk, and investigating how these can be exhibited as playable software using the newest emulation techniques. The project expects to generate new knowledge needed by government, museums and industry to inform future strategy and infrastructure investment aimed at making a range of digital cultural heritage available to the public.Read moreRead less
Archiving Australian Media Arts: Towards a method and national collection. The early years of Australian digital media arts heritage are at risk. Australians were significant contributors to the development of media arts internationally, as well as making and exhibiting work nationally, yet only a tiny portion of the digital artwork by Australian artists has made it into institutional collections. Deteriorating disks and reliance on obsolete hardware and software mean that innovative digital pre ....Archiving Australian Media Arts: Towards a method and national collection. The early years of Australian digital media arts heritage are at risk. Australians were significant contributors to the development of media arts internationally, as well as making and exhibiting work nationally, yet only a tiny portion of the digital artwork by Australian artists has made it into institutional collections. Deteriorating disks and reliance on obsolete hardware and software mean that innovative digital preservation and access solutions are needed if these artworks are to be saved. Working with key cultural institutions, this project will conserve key media art case studies from the archives of media arts organisations, and develop a best practice method for the preservation of our digital media arts heritage.Read moreRead less
Artisanal making and the future of small-scale local production. Small-scale local production is essential to Australia’s post-COVID social and economic recovery. Employing a mixed methods approach, this project aims to identify the consumer identities, decision-making and sustainable artisanal production models underpinning contemporary demand for locally made goods. Moving innovatively beyond binaries of production/consumption and individual production sectors, the project expects to generate ....Artisanal making and the future of small-scale local production. Small-scale local production is essential to Australia’s post-COVID social and economic recovery. Employing a mixed methods approach, this project aims to identify the consumer identities, decision-making and sustainable artisanal production models underpinning contemporary demand for locally made goods. Moving innovatively beyond binaries of production/consumption and individual production sectors, the project expects to generate vital new knowledge about how markets for small-scale Australian production can be expanded. Expected outcomes of this project include the generation of robust data to inform strategies that will benefit operators in remaining competitive and support the development of new and emerging artisanal businesses.Read moreRead less
Legal and social dynamics of eBook lending in Australia’s public libraries. Legal and social dynamics of eBook lending in Australia’s public libraries. This project aims to develop an evidence base of quantitative and qualitative data about how eBooks are used in libraries. EBooks have tremendous beneficial potential, particularly for Australians in remote areas and those with impaired mobility or vision. However, libraries’ rights to acquire and lend them are more restricted than for physical b ....Legal and social dynamics of eBook lending in Australia’s public libraries. Legal and social dynamics of eBook lending in Australia’s public libraries. This project aims to develop an evidence base of quantitative and qualitative data about how eBooks are used in libraries. EBooks have tremendous beneficial potential, particularly for Australians in remote areas and those with impaired mobility or vision. However, libraries’ rights to acquire and lend them are more restricted than for physical books. Libraries and legal, social and data science researchers will investigate eBook lending practices and understand their social impacts. The project will identify ways of reforming policy, law, and practice to help libraries fulfil their public interest missions. This project is expected to enable libraries to extract more value from existing public investments.Read moreRead less