A study of political commentary in the outlets of a major media corporation. This project will analyse the political commentary published or broadcast in the media outlets of a major media corporation and explore whether political commentators and columnists in these outlets share an agenda of conservative populism. The project will impact on a public policy debate on cross-media ownership and its consequences. It will enhance the international scholarly debate on media ownership and its connect ....A study of political commentary in the outlets of a major media corporation. This project will analyse the political commentary published or broadcast in the media outlets of a major media corporation and explore whether political commentators and columnists in these outlets share an agenda of conservative populism. The project will impact on a public policy debate on cross-media ownership and its consequences. It will enhance the international scholarly debate on media ownership and its connections with the content of mass media.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354839
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Transforming Knowledge Spaces: Open Technologies for Research Collaboration and Research Communication
. Technology has the potential to transform the means for scholarly collaboration and communication. Our proposal will achieve this potential, by deploying open source infrastructures to create new communication platforms. The Initiative will itself use collaborative writing systems to construct and energise the Network, which will match researchers requiring these new technologies with thos ....Transforming Knowledge Spaces: Open Technologies for Research Collaboration and Research Communication
. Technology has the potential to transform the means for scholarly collaboration and communication. Our proposal will achieve this potential, by deploying open source infrastructures to create new communication platforms. The Initiative will itself use collaborative writing systems to construct and energise the Network, which will match researchers requiring these new technologies with those who have the skills to build them. The outcomes will be an increase in the efficiency of traditional research collaborations as well as new kinds of collaboration and communication, for researchers and consumers of research across a range of disciplines.Read moreRead less
Australian television and popular memory: new approaches to the cultural history of the media in the project of nation-building. Despite its importance to our everyday lives since the 1950s, there is no history of television's role in Australian popular culture. This project will develop a series of collaborative histories that focus upon the popular experience of television and in particular its role in forming national culture. The research will not only involve conventional academic sources, ....Australian television and popular memory: new approaches to the cultural history of the media in the project of nation-building. Despite its importance to our everyday lives since the 1950s, there is no history of television's role in Australian popular culture. This project will develop a series of collaborative histories that focus upon the popular experience of television and in particular its role in forming national culture. The research will not only involve conventional academic sources, but also those connected with 'the people': memories, memorabilia, personal collections as well as the full range of popular and ephemeral publications which support the popular engagement with the medium. The project is the first to examine television's historical role in our national life.Read moreRead less
Music production and technology in Australian Film: enabling Australian film to embrace innovation. Given the increasing tendency of the US film industry to co-opt international talent and production bases into its global operation (New Zealand being a prime example), Australian cinema faces mounting hurdles in its quest for national and international success. While education centres such as AFTRS have contributed to excellence in key aspects of local production, Australian film music has been a ....Music production and technology in Australian Film: enabling Australian film to embrace innovation. Given the increasing tendency of the US film industry to co-opt international talent and production bases into its global operation (New Zealand being a prime example), Australian cinema faces mounting hurdles in its quest for national and international success. While education centres such as AFTRS have contributed to excellence in key aspects of local production, Australian film music has been afforded minimal attention. Consequently, music industry training and production often proceeds on the bases of vague assumptions and inefficient precedents. In-depth research is vital to inform national training, production and policy making so as to allow Australian cinema to embrace innovation and engage creatively with the international market.Read moreRead less
Crisis management simulation: developing a methodology for transforming communication response. The ability of any large corporation or public institution to handle a crisis can have major economic, environmental, social or cultural consequences. For the Australian Defence Force (ADF), effective crisis management communication can literally mean life or death. This project merges cutting-edge digital games technology with applied drama techniques to produce a crisis management game to simulate ....Crisis management simulation: developing a methodology for transforming communication response. The ability of any large corporation or public institution to handle a crisis can have major economic, environmental, social or cultural consequences. For the Australian Defence Force (ADF), effective crisis management communication can literally mean life or death. This project merges cutting-edge digital games technology with applied drama techniques to produce a crisis management game to simulate conflict and crisis scenarios. Working closely with the ADF to better understand organisational communication under extreme pressure, this new approach will build teamwork and break down barriers to effective crisis management. The methodology developed will have global application to public and private organisations.
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Australian responses to the images and discourses of terrorism and the other: establishing a metric of fear. The world was changed on 9/11. Small-scale studies indicate half the Australian non-Muslim population is now anti-Muslim and up to 80% of Muslims are in a siege mentality. This research examines Australian perceptions of the other, of terrorism, of refugees and of fears about these. In seeking to analyse these influences upon contemporary society, the project investigates ways that policy ....Australian responses to the images and discourses of terrorism and the other: establishing a metric of fear. The world was changed on 9/11. Small-scale studies indicate half the Australian non-Muslim population is now anti-Muslim and up to 80% of Muslims are in a siege mentality. This research examines Australian perceptions of the other, of terrorism, of refugees and of fears about these. In seeking to analyse these influences upon contemporary society, the project investigates ways that policy can drive appropriate communication responses to racism and to social isolation, particularly in supporting fear-filled communities. Arguing that the global response to 9/11 is out of proportion to the events themselves, the study suggests strategies to support ethnically diverse groups that feel threatened by media discourses and adverse public opinion.Read moreRead less
An ethnographic investigation into the everyday work and communication cultures of public transport transit guards: reducing risk and injury. This research improves the safety of public transport for workers and passengers with flow-on benefits at local and national levels. The main health and safety risk transit guards face is attacks upon them, or injury incurred while intervening in assaults they witness. Conventional initiatives have not impacted greatly on injury rates but culture and commu ....An ethnographic investigation into the everyday work and communication cultures of public transport transit guards: reducing risk and injury. This research improves the safety of public transport for workers and passengers with flow-on benefits at local and national levels. The main health and safety risk transit guards face is attacks upon them, or injury incurred while intervening in assaults they witness. Conventional initiatives have not impacted greatly on injury rates but culture and communication change strategies offer potential ways forward. Strategies that reduce incidents confer clear community benefits and competitive advantage. Effective management of such challenges assists with the recruitment and retention of appropriate staff, improving profitability. Benefits include reduced costs of public transport, increased passenger load, and positive environmental impacts.Read moreRead less
Improved communication with heart patients in the context of the gift economy. Coronary Heart Disease is Australia's biggest killer and a patient's diagnosis is a traumatic event. A majority of patients resists the implications of their disease and fails to follow medical recommendations fully. Humanities research enables increased understanding of, and better communication with, heart patients yet has not been extensively used to understand how patients make sense of their new status. HeartNET, ....Improved communication with heart patients in the context of the gift economy. Coronary Heart Disease is Australia's biggest killer and a patient's diagnosis is a traumatic event. A majority of patients resists the implications of their disease and fails to follow medical recommendations fully. Humanities research enables increased understanding of, and better communication with, heart patients yet has not been extensively used to understand how patients make sense of their new status. HeartNET, a therapeutic website, is used to investigate construction of the self as a heart patient and the research also applies gift economy theory to online interactions which help both self and others. Benefits include patient support and improved health outcomes, reducing human and financial costs to the community and Australia.Read moreRead less
Evaluating the effectiveness of online support in building community, promoting healthy behaviours and supporting philanthropy. The Heart Foundation (WA) provides quality support services and communications for patients in rural, remote and regional WA but they find that distance creates problems. They also seek to cultivate active donor engagement.
Audience research and cultural studies tools are used to investigate two different communications environments in terms of whether these have an ....Evaluating the effectiveness of online support in building community, promoting healthy behaviours and supporting philanthropy. The Heart Foundation (WA) provides quality support services and communications for patients in rural, remote and regional WA but they find that distance creates problems. They also seek to cultivate active donor engagement.
Audience research and cultural studies tools are used to investigate two different communications environments in terms of whether these have an effect on patient/donor participation rates (and attitudes and behaviours linked to participation). A web site will be developed to support online Heart Foundation communities and these audiences will be compared with current communication practice. Findings will inform future charitable and health promotion initiatives.
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Defamation and Privacy: Law, Media and Public Speech. This project investigates important recent legal changes in defamation and privacy, laws which can considerably limit public speech. It addresses the urgent need in law for a more sophisticated understanding and evaluation of the practices of media professionals. It will assist lawyers and judges apply the changed laws, contribute to scheduled reviews of legislation, assist publications and journalists deal with risks of legal liability, deve ....Defamation and Privacy: Law, Media and Public Speech. This project investigates important recent legal changes in defamation and privacy, laws which can considerably limit public speech. It addresses the urgent need in law for a more sophisticated understanding and evaluation of the practices of media professionals. It will assist lawyers and judges apply the changed laws, contribute to scheduled reviews of legislation, assist publications and journalists deal with risks of legal liability, develop critical academic and legal debates about the media, and clarify the parameters of lawful public speech. It promotes better legal understanding of popular media forms, which have key roles in contemporary economies and public debate.Read moreRead less