The role of public culture in the construction of contemporary Australian literature. Literature is not simply a body of texts; it is a cultural technology, affected by changing patterns of production and consumption. Witness the 'cult of celebrity', the phenomenal recent growth of literary festivals, literary internet sites, reading groups, changing patterns of literary marketing, education, employment and leisure. Academic scholarship, largely text-based, fails to engage with these public and ....The role of public culture in the construction of contemporary Australian literature. Literature is not simply a body of texts; it is a cultural technology, affected by changing patterns of production and consumption. Witness the 'cult of celebrity', the phenomenal recent growth of literary festivals, literary internet sites, reading groups, changing patterns of literary marketing, education, employment and leisure. Academic scholarship, largely text-based, fails to engage with these public and popular phenomena. Our project develops methods for describing and evaluating how these practices construct literary value and cultural identity, in ways that will bring academic literary analysis into a more informed, more creative engagement with public and popular culture in Australia.Read moreRead less
Family Internet: theorising domestic Internet consumption, production and use within Australian families. The proposed research interrogates the role of the Internet in Australian domestic contexts, specifically among families with school-aged children. The investigation will inform discussion about ways in which the Internet is becoming integrated within family life, including the relocation of school and work agendas to the domestic sphere.
The significance of the research lies in the growin ....Family Internet: theorising domestic Internet consumption, production and use within Australian families. The proposed research interrogates the role of the Internet in Australian domestic contexts, specifically among families with school-aged children. The investigation will inform discussion about ways in which the Internet is becoming integrated within family life, including the relocation of school and work agendas to the domestic sphere.
The significance of the research lies in the growing sociocultural importance of the Internet and its potential role as a catalyst for, and an enabler of, knowledge creation and management. Age, gender, power, pleasure, competencies and roles relating to Internet use within Australian family settings will all be addressed.
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Analysing global consumption patterns with a large number of commodities. This project provides estimates of the income and price sensitivities of consumption, for a large number of finely distinguished goods, across most countries. These, together with new ways of enhancing economic data (by recognising quality improvements of goods and uncertainty), will be of value to researchers, government and business.
International Comparisons of Consumption, Incomes and Prices. This project will provide insights into the workings of the world economy, and how it might change in the future. This will be beneficial to the Australian economy as the role of international trade in goods, people and capital is likely to become even more important to us in the future. The project will also enhance Australia's reputation for producing high-level research of both a fundamental and applied nature in consumption econ ....International Comparisons of Consumption, Incomes and Prices. This project will provide insights into the workings of the world economy, and how it might change in the future. This will be beneficial to the Australian economy as the role of international trade in goods, people and capital is likely to become even more important to us in the future. The project will also enhance Australia's reputation for producing high-level research of both a fundamental and applied nature in consumption economics and international economics. It is hoped that the training of research students will be a further benefit of the project.Read moreRead less
Parents or peers: which group most affects the experiences of young people online, and how? This project investigates three sets of high school students who regularly interact online to discover how circles of friends influence each other's internet activity compared with parents. Understanding these dynamics will help drive innovation in Australia, maximising the benefits of young adults' internet activities while minimising risks.
Junction Zones: Practices of Coexistence in Australasia and the Pacific. "Junction Zones" addresses three key national concerns post-2001: regional relations, border protection and security. As Australia faces an increasingly complex geopolitical environment, new interpretive and policy directions are needed to provide more nuanced analyses of the region, taking sociocultural as well as political and economic factors into account and engaging multiple disciplinary areas. The project contributes ....Junction Zones: Practices of Coexistence in Australasia and the Pacific. "Junction Zones" addresses three key national concerns post-2001: regional relations, border protection and security. As Australia faces an increasingly complex geopolitical environment, new interpretive and policy directions are needed to provide more nuanced analyses of the region, taking sociocultural as well as political and economic factors into account and engaging multiple disciplinary areas. The project contributes to these ends by considering alternative understandings of place, conflict and displacement; examining how differences are negotiated; and identifying emergent political relations, social identities and cultural forms. It proposes fresh conceptual and analytical tools for understanding and responding to the region.Read moreRead less
A novel DNA motif involved in plant mitochondrial stress responses. The future of Australia's agriculture is threatened by limited water resources, temperature extremes and soil salinity. This project aims to unravel how plants are able to adapt to this continuously changing environment, by focusing on the role of mitochondria - cellular compartments essential for energy metabolism and plant stress responses.
The Game of Being Mobile: A study of mobile gaming cultures. This is the first Australian study to examine the social uses of mobile gaming. Smartphones have put location-based and social media games in the hands of mobile users worldwide. Through ethnographic methods, this study will explore how mobile game consumption is reflecting, and being shaped by, complex social and technological practices integral to contemporary life.