Amplifying Indigenous news: a digital intervention. This project aims to road-test, document and analyse an innovative strategy for amplifying Indigenous voices in news media. The project will deploy and assess the impact of a new digital application designed to enable access to a diverse range of Indigenous voices, stories and agendas. The anticipated outcomes will assist the project’s industry partners meet their strategic goals of increasing the level of Indigenous media representation in Aus ....Amplifying Indigenous news: a digital intervention. This project aims to road-test, document and analyse an innovative strategy for amplifying Indigenous voices in news media. The project will deploy and assess the impact of a new digital application designed to enable access to a diverse range of Indigenous voices, stories and agendas. The anticipated outcomes will assist the project’s industry partners meet their strategic goals of increasing the level of Indigenous media representation in Australia, and consolidate their roles as leading outlets for Indigenous content and coverage. These outcomes are also expected to improve public understanding of issues affecting Indigenous Australians and contribute to more informed and inclusive policy discussions.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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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100092
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$403,250.00
Summary
Outbound Chinese social media platforms and platform governance . This project aims to investigate outbound Chinese social media platforms such as TikTok and the regulatory issues they raise. Chinese platforms are rapidly expanding in Australia and globally, yet they are poorly regulated, leading to the circulation of inappropriate and illegal content. This project expects to advance policy knowledge of the overseas operations of Chinese platforms, their self-regulatory measures, and external re ....Outbound Chinese social media platforms and platform governance . This project aims to investigate outbound Chinese social media platforms such as TikTok and the regulatory issues they raise. Chinese platforms are rapidly expanding in Australia and globally, yet they are poorly regulated, leading to the circulation of inappropriate and illegal content. This project expects to advance policy knowledge of the overseas operations of Chinese platforms, their self-regulatory measures, and external regulatory options. Expected outcomes of the project include improved understanding of the policy and regulatory implications of outbound Chinese platforms. Expected benefits include suitable policy advice on regulation of these platforms in Australia, targeted at reducing public exposure to harmful content. Read moreRead less
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 Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL210100051
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,518,080.00
Summary
Dynamics of Partisanship and Polarisation in Online Public Debate. Rapidly increasing partisanship and polarisation, especially online, poses an urgent threat to societal cohesion in Australia and other established western democracies; polarisation is also a critical cybersecurity concern when actively promoted by bad-faith actors to undermine citizens’ trust in democratic institutions. By introducing an analytical framework that distinguishes four key dimensions of polarisation, the Fellowship ....Dynamics of Partisanship and Polarisation in Online Public Debate. Rapidly increasing partisanship and polarisation, especially online, poses an urgent threat to societal cohesion in Australia and other established western democracies; polarisation is also a critical cybersecurity concern when actively promoted by bad-faith actors to undermine citizens’ trust in democratic institutions. By introducing an analytical framework that distinguishes four key dimensions of polarisation, the Fellowship aims to conduct the first-ever assessment of the extent and dynamics of polarisation in the contemporary online and social media environments of six nations, including Australia. The evidence is expected to enable an urgently needed, robust defence of our society and democracy against the challenges of polarisation.Read moreRead less
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
Aligning personalised news recommendations with the public interest . The project aims to investigate the growth of personalised recommendations in the Australian news sector, which sees readers and automated systems collectively adopting curatorial roles previously undertaken by editors. The research expects to provide the first evidence base around the adoption and deployment of personalised recommendations across the Australian news media. Expected outcomes include enhancing our understanding ....Aligning personalised news recommendations with the public interest . The project aims to investigate the growth of personalised recommendations in the Australian news sector, which sees readers and automated systems collectively adopting curatorial roles previously undertaken by editors. The research expects to provide the first evidence base around the adoption and deployment of personalised recommendations across the Australian news media. Expected outcomes include enhancing our understanding of how to sustain the important democratic role that the institution of journalism plays in a personalised and automated environment. Expected benefits include the provision of robust evidence to inform industry and policymakers, and support the development of best practice across the news media sector.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100416
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$452,727.00
Summary
Beyond broadcasting: Community radio as a model community organisation. With 20,000 volunteers, almost six million weekly listeners, and 50 years of history, Australia has one of the most well-established community radio sectors in the world. Yet discussions about community radio are limited to debates about media. Community radio stations are diverse and community-engaged organisations, with much more to offer than just what's on air. This research aims to explore community radio as a model for ....Beyond broadcasting: Community radio as a model community organisation. With 20,000 volunteers, almost six million weekly listeners, and 50 years of history, Australia has one of the most well-established community radio sectors in the world. Yet discussions about community radio are limited to debates about media. Community radio stations are diverse and community-engaged organisations, with much more to offer than just what's on air. This research aims to explore community radio as a model for successful, sustainable, and diverse community organisations. The findings of this project will help other community organisations improve their community connections and engagement, and articulate their value, which will contribute to re-engaging Australians in civic life.Read moreRead less
Supporting the sustainability of Australia's local news ecosystem. This project aims to understand how Australia’s main public broadcaster, the ABC, can best support public interest journalism in rural and regional communities, with a specific focus on fragile and underserved areas of the nation’s local news ecosystem. The project will develop new knowledge around media power and how news providers can work together to secure the sustainability of local news. Expected outcomes include a framewor ....Supporting the sustainability of Australia's local news ecosystem. This project aims to understand how Australia’s main public broadcaster, the ABC, can best support public interest journalism in rural and regional communities, with a specific focus on fragile and underserved areas of the nation’s local news ecosystem. The project will develop new knowledge around media power and how news providers can work together to secure the sustainability of local news. Expected outcomes include a framework to identify and define areas of news need, an assessment of existing interventions and road-tested approaches to improve information quality. The project should provide benefits by supporting forms of local journalism that ultimately enhances the demographic health and social fabric of small towns and cities.
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The ABC, its Archives and its Audiences. This project aims to enable deeper understandings of the role of Australia’s principal public service broadcaster in the lives of audience members across the country, and the community needs and interests that have shaped it. The project, in partnership with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the National Archives of Australia, is significant because it will uncover and interpret paper records relating to listeners and viewers during the broadcas ....The ABC, its Archives and its Audiences. This project aims to enable deeper understandings of the role of Australia’s principal public service broadcaster in the lives of audience members across the country, and the community needs and interests that have shaped it. The project, in partnership with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the National Archives of Australia, is significant because it will uncover and interpret paper records relating to listeners and viewers during the broadcaster’s first 50 years. Expected outcomes include an enlarged and more discoverable media archive for the benefit of researchers, industry and all Australians; an innovative audience-centred approach to the ABC’s history; and enhanced academic, archival and media collaborations. Read moreRead less