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
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: DE210100525
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$421,625.00
Summary
Reconceptualising copyright to improve access to screen culture . This project examines the impact of copyright law in Australia’s screen industries, focusing on distribution and access to audiovisual material. It seeks to understand how copyright law and practice can better ensure that the wealth of humankind’s recorded creative output is available for people to enjoy, learn from, and reuse. It combines novel digital research methods with in-depth interviews to study the challenges of licensing ....Reconceptualising copyright to improve access to screen culture . This project examines the impact of copyright law in Australia’s screen industries, focusing on distribution and access to audiovisual material. It seeks to understand how copyright law and practice can better ensure that the wealth of humankind’s recorded creative output is available for people to enjoy, learn from, and reuse. It combines novel digital research methods with in-depth interviews to study the challenges of licensing and distribution in the screen industries, where copyright is at its most complex. It aims to provide rigorous evidence to inform the development of technology-neutral regulation for Australia's copyright industries, improve copyright licensing markets, and unlock the value of under-distributed screen content.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101435
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$452,000.00
Summary
Combatting Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour on Social Media. Online disinformation is a global problem that threatens national security and is harmful to society. However, current methods are not suited to detect coordinated disinformation operations that conceal their activity by co-opting and cultivating regular users, groups and social movements. This project develops cutting-edge methods and workflows to accurately distinguish genuine activity from coordinated inauthentic behaviour, and to ....Combatting Coordinated Inauthentic Behaviour on Social Media. Online disinformation is a global problem that threatens national security and is harmful to society. However, current methods are not suited to detect coordinated disinformation operations that conceal their activity by co-opting and cultivating regular users, groups and social movements. This project develops cutting-edge methods and workflows to accurately distinguish genuine activity from coordinated inauthentic behaviour, and to trace and evaluate the adoption of material spread by malicious actors across multiple platforms.Read moreRead less
Evaluating the Challenge of ‘Fake News’ and Other Malinformation. Encompassed by the disputed term ‘fake news’, overtly or covertly biased, skewed, or falsified reports claiming to present factual information present a critical challenge to the effective dissemination of news and information across society. This project conducts a systematic, large-scale, mixed-methods analysis of empirical evidence on the dissemination of, engagement with, and impact of ‘fake news’ and other malinformation in p ....Evaluating the Challenge of ‘Fake News’ and Other Malinformation. Encompassed by the disputed term ‘fake news’, overtly or covertly biased, skewed, or falsified reports claiming to present factual information present a critical challenge to the effective dissemination of news and information across society. This project conducts a systematic, large-scale, mixed-methods analysis of empirical evidence on the dissemination of, engagement with, and impact of ‘fake news’ and other malinformation in public debate, in Australia and beyond. It takes a triangulated approach, combining computational big data analytics with deep forensic analysis, to reveal the complex ‘fake news’ ecosystem, replace 'fake news' with more precise terminology, and provide recommendations for policy responses based on robust evidence.Read moreRead less
Using machine vision to explore Instagram’s everyday promotional cultures. The advertising-driven business models of social media platforms increasingly depend on automation. The technologies used by platforms are rapidly advancing, and include ‘machine vision’ systems that automatically classify faces, expressions, objects, and brand logos in images. The results are used to provide targeted content to users, often without their knowledge and without sufficient public oversight. Using a novel co ....Using machine vision to explore Instagram’s everyday promotional cultures. The advertising-driven business models of social media platforms increasingly depend on automation. The technologies used by platforms are rapidly advancing, and include ‘machine vision’ systems that automatically classify faces, expressions, objects, and brand logos in images. The results are used to provide targeted content to users, often without their knowledge and without sufficient public oversight. Using a novel combination of computational and cultural research methods, this project aims to: examine how machine vision works in platforms like Instagram; explore its role in everyday visual contexts through qualitative case studies of festivals, food, and lifestyle sports; and improve public understanding of machine vision systems.Read moreRead less
Digital media, location awareness, and the politics of geodata. This project aims to examine the increasingly pervasive role of location metadata, or geodata, in Australian smartphone practices and cultures and the implications this has for users, industry, and public administration. The project will deliver online and open resources to enhance public understanding of geodata and geoprivacy, as well as industry and policy recommendations that address the crucial issue of ‘location awareness’ in ....Digital media, location awareness, and the politics of geodata. This project aims to examine the increasingly pervasive role of location metadata, or geodata, in Australian smartphone practices and cultures and the implications this has for users, industry, and public administration. The project will deliver online and open resources to enhance public understanding of geodata and geoprivacy, as well as industry and policy recommendations that address the crucial issue of ‘location awareness’ in everyday digital media use. The project will generate new insights into the critical role of geodata in everyday digital media use and will contribute to broader public discussion about data privacy, surveillance and cybersecurity. Its findings will also provide industry benefits, enhancing developers’ understanding of how everyday users apprehend and negotiate the privacy implications of location services.Read moreRead less
Internet-distributed television: cultural, industrial and policy dynamics. This project aims to investigate the impact of global subscription video-on-demand platforms on national television markets. The rise of subscription video streaming has created significant challenges for Australian and international broadcast, media and cultural policy frameworks, which are struggling to keep up with audience viewing practices. This project will provide a comparative analysis of how governments are respo ....Internet-distributed television: cultural, industrial and policy dynamics. This project aims to investigate the impact of global subscription video-on-demand platforms on national television markets. The rise of subscription video streaming has created significant challenges for Australian and international broadcast, media and cultural policy frameworks, which are struggling to keep up with audience viewing practices. This project will provide a comparative analysis of how governments are responding and investigating the implications for debates about local content, local screen production, and media diversity. The project will provide an analysis of original production and programming strategies to identify new forms of trans-national media flow. The project will advance an understanding of media globalisation and provide media regulators options and opportunities for a convergent media policy environment.Read moreRead less
Advancing digital inclusion in low income Australian families. This ethnographic investigation explores the complex relationship between digital and social inclusion, and social infrastructure's role (education facilities, charities, government services) in supporting low-income families' social and economic participation. It gathers insights from families in six diverse communities from Far North Queensland to Tasmania, across diverse urban, regional and rural locations. It focuses on the digit ....Advancing digital inclusion in low income Australian families. This ethnographic investigation explores the complex relationship between digital and social inclusion, and social infrastructure's role (education facilities, charities, government services) in supporting low-income families' social and economic participation. It gathers insights from families in six diverse communities from Far North Queensland to Tasmania, across diverse urban, regional and rural locations. It focuses on the digital inclusion implications of children's home and school learning experiences, school leavers' transitions into work, and parenting in digital times. The project is a collaboration with Australia's leading digital inclusion organisations and will develop new practices, policies and sector wide solutions.Read moreRead less
Young Australians and the promotion of alcohol on social media. This project aims to determine how young people engage with alcohol and nightlife marketing on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Companies now leverage the power of social media to create advertisements that are made and shared by young people, targeted to them in particular times, places and contexts, and are thus difficult to monitor and regulate. The project will use computational, big social data app ....Young Australians and the promotion of alcohol on social media. This project aims to determine how young people engage with alcohol and nightlife marketing on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Companies now leverage the power of social media to create advertisements that are made and shared by young people, targeted to them in particular times, places and contexts, and are thus difficult to monitor and regulate. The project will use computational, big social data approaches and youth informants to assess the pervasiveness of branding on social media and how it shapes youth cultures. This work will extend media and cultural studies and support the development of effective monitoring and regulation of online marketing in general, with a particular focus on alcohol.Read moreRead less