Creativity and cultural production in the Hunter: an applied ethnographic study of new entrepreneurial systems in the creative industries. This project will be an applied study of key collaborative groups across all the major creative industries in the Hunter region in New South Wales. Mapping these industries' approach to creativity and cultural production in the digital realm will provide detailed insights into the dynamic systems at the heart of creative industries.
Places in Transition: A Case Study of Cultural Planning in an Australian City. The overwhelming majority of local governments in Australia are developing cultural plans and placemaking strategies. Despite claims that cultural planning can achieve an ever-expanding range of social, aesthetic, economic and cultural objectives, there has been little systematic academic research investigating these claims, their framing assumptions, or the shifting relationship between place, social change, culture, ....Places in Transition: A Case Study of Cultural Planning in an Australian City. The overwhelming majority of local governments in Australia are developing cultural plans and placemaking strategies. Despite claims that cultural planning can achieve an ever-expanding range of social, aesthetic, economic and cultural objectives, there has been little systematic academic research investigating these claims, their framing assumptions, or the shifting relationship between place, social change, culture, art and policy within specific localities. Through a combination of policy analysis, case study and ethnographic research, this innovative interdisciplinary Project will explore cultural planning at both micro and macro levels. The Project contributes to international debates concerning the formation of cultural policy priorities and practices.Read moreRead less
Social media in times of crisis: learning from recent natural disasters to improve future strategies. This project will analyse and evaluate how social media was used by emergency authorities, media organisations and citizens during recent natural disasters, including the January 2011 Queensland floods and Tropical Cyclone Yasi. The project will develop a framework for longer-term strategies for public communication during emergencies.
Engaging with Social Media in Museums. This project will prototype the use of social media in museums to produce a new source of high-quality cultural information, and link regional, rural and international users with city-based institutions. It implements National Research Priority Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries: promoting an innovation culture and economy and smart information use.
The Australian museum sector is undergoing a period of substantial c ....Engaging with Social Media in Museums. This project will prototype the use of social media in museums to produce a new source of high-quality cultural information, and link regional, rural and international users with city-based institutions. It implements National Research Priority Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries: promoting an innovation culture and economy and smart information use.
The Australian museum sector is undergoing a period of substantial change in response to policy and technology initiatives, yet little formal collaboration exists between museums and researchers. This project brings some of the country's major museums together with the Smithsonian Institution, one of the world's foremost cultural institutions.Read moreRead less
The Place of Communication and Consumption: A Case Study of Australian Regional and Rural Cinema Exhibition. The project provides important, up-to-date analysis of a vital sector of Australia's growing service and knowledge economy. It will help government, film industry, arts and business organisations in the formulation of better policies and programs to assist in improving the quality of life for Australians living in regional and rural areas. It enhances research and training environments fo ....The Place of Communication and Consumption: A Case Study of Australian Regional and Rural Cinema Exhibition. The project provides important, up-to-date analysis of a vital sector of Australia's growing service and knowledge economy. It will help government, film industry, arts and business organisations in the formulation of better policies and programs to assist in improving the quality of life for Australians living in regional and rural areas. It enhances research and training environments for junior researchers and postgraduate students, adding value to investigations already in progress. The research also extends consultative and collaborative capacities in cultural experience enhancement and access, community media development and cultural tourism.Read moreRead less
Making animals public: the changing role of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in building public value and interest in wildlife documentary. This project will critically assess the Australian Broadcasting Company's (ABC) changing role in building public interest and value in animals through wildlife programming. Historical and strategic industry analysis will document how the ABC contributed to the development of the wildlife genre in Australia and how new external production models are im ....Making animals public: the changing role of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in building public value and interest in wildlife documentary. This project will critically assess the Australian Broadcasting Company's (ABC) changing role in building public interest and value in animals through wildlife programming. Historical and strategic industry analysis will document how the ABC contributed to the development of the wildlife genre in Australia and how new external production models are impacting on its public charter.Read moreRead less
The Special Broadcasting Service and Australian Cultural Democracy: Evolution, Uses and Innovation. This project seeks to assess the role and impacts of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) as a force for democratic change. Four key themes will be investigated: evolution, uses, innovation and cultural democracy, with the aim of documenting and critically assessing how SBS has used cultural difference as a resource for enhancing democratic inclusion and representation. The approach used will be ....The Special Broadcasting Service and Australian Cultural Democracy: Evolution, Uses and Innovation. This project seeks to assess the role and impacts of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) as a force for democratic change. Four key themes will be investigated: evolution, uses, innovation and cultural democracy, with the aim of documenting and critically assessing how SBS has used cultural difference as a resource for enhancing democratic inclusion and representation. The approach used will be primarily derived from new political theory which focuses on how democratic processes and practices can be deepened in increasingly complex multicultural societies. Such a comprehensive analysis of SBS's unique role has never been undertaken. The research will produce knowledge of SBS's past and present practices that can be used strategically to inform future policy developments and enhance the way the broadcaster approaches its Charter obligations.Read moreRead less
Increasing Visitor Frequency: approach to understanding and forecasting how cultural attraction visitors respond to various incentives to increase visitation rates. Museums have been steadily losing visitors over the past decade. While current research indicates that this may be attributed to greater leisure competition, little is understood about how people make choices to visit or not to visit cultural attractions. The aim of this project is to develop, demonstrate and test a Random Utility Th ....Increasing Visitor Frequency: approach to understanding and forecasting how cultural attraction visitors respond to various incentives to increase visitation rates. Museums have been steadily losing visitors over the past decade. While current research indicates that this may be attributed to greater leisure competition, little is understood about how people make choices to visit or not to visit cultural attractions. The aim of this project is to develop, demonstrate and test a Random Utility Theory (RUT)-based modelling approach allowing managers of cultural attractions to understand and predict the likely visitation consequences of potential initiatives. We wish to model visitor choices of museums versus other competing attractions to allow museums to identify specific strategic actions (or combinations) to achieve organisational goals.Read moreRead less
Sharing News Online: Analysing the Significance of a Social Media Phenomenon. The sharing of news via social media services is now a significant part of mainstream online media use and is an increasingly important consideration in journalism practice and production. This multidisciplinary project aims to be the first in Australia to analyse the scale, scope, forms and implications of online news-sharing on Facebook and Twitter. Using methods from computing science, linguistics and audience resea ....Sharing News Online: Analysing the Significance of a Social Media Phenomenon. The sharing of news via social media services is now a significant part of mainstream online media use and is an increasingly important consideration in journalism practice and production. This multidisciplinary project aims to be the first in Australia to analyse the scale, scope, forms and implications of online news-sharing on Facebook and Twitter. Using methods from computing science, linguistics and audience research this study aims to develop an analytical framework for monitoring, classifying and interpreting news-sharing practices that can inform media industry development, journalism education and digital media policy.Read moreRead less
Locating the mobile: intergenerational locative media practices in Tokyo, Melbourne and Shanghai. From providing convenience at a fingertip to helping criminal investigations, using locative media has become an essential part of everyday life for individuals, families, businesses and government. Responding to this nascent phenomenon, this project will provide the first cross-cultural, intergenerational study of locative media use.