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
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100148
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$460,000.00
Summary
TrISMA - Tracking Infrastructure for Social Media Analysis. Tracking infrastructure for social media analysis: The tracking infrastructure for social media analysis (TrISMA) project establishes state-of-the-art technical and organisational infrastructure for the tracking of public communication by Australian users of social media, at large scale, in real time, and for the long term, addressing a significant gap in national research infrastructure. Social media are increasingly embedded in the Au ....TrISMA - Tracking Infrastructure for Social Media Analysis. Tracking infrastructure for social media analysis: The tracking infrastructure for social media analysis (TrISMA) project establishes state-of-the-art technical and organisational infrastructure for the tracking of public communication by Australian users of social media, at large scale, in real time, and for the long term, addressing a significant gap in national research infrastructure. Social media are increasingly embedded in the Australian media ecology, and systematic analyses of how public communication takes place via social media provide rich insights into a range of issues and debates of high importance to our society.Read moreRead less
Locating television: an international study of the changing socio-cultural functions of television. This project investigates the socio-cultural function of television in nation-states so far largely ignored by media studies: Mexico, Cuba and the Philippines. Combining cultural studies and anthropology, it uses publications and symposia to provide a more detailed global account of television's continuing influence in the post-broadcast era.
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.
Toddlers and tablets: exploring the risks and benefits 0-5s face online. Children aged between zero and five are experiencing an extraordinary shift in media consumption. They intuitively swipe screens and press buttons on tablet computers and smartphones, using apps and accessing the internet. With an estimated five-fold increase in their tablet usage (2012 to 2013), there is an urgent need for research and policy development to maximise benefit and minimise risk. This project is intended to in ....Toddlers and tablets: exploring the risks and benefits 0-5s face online. Children aged between zero and five are experiencing an extraordinary shift in media consumption. They intuitively swipe screens and press buttons on tablet computers and smartphones, using apps and accessing the internet. With an estimated five-fold increase in their tablet usage (2012 to 2013), there is an urgent need for research and policy development to maximise benefit and minimise risk. This project is intended to investigate family practices and attitudes around very young children's internet use in Australia and the United Kingdom, and is expected to contribute to public debate and evidence-based policy in Australia, the United Kingdom and Ireland. It aims to develop recommendations for policy makers and offers guidelines for parents of three age groups: zero to one, two to three and four to five.Read moreRead less
Australian cultural and creative activity: A population and hotspot analysis. This project aims to grasp the contemporary dynamics of cultural and creative activity in Australia. It represents a major innovation, bringing together population-level and comparative studies of local cultural and creative activity. The comprehensive project will advance the integration of quantitative and qualitative research strategies, painting a complete national picture, while also exploring the factors that are ....Australian cultural and creative activity: A population and hotspot analysis. This project aims to grasp the contemporary dynamics of cultural and creative activity in Australia. It represents a major innovation, bringing together population-level and comparative studies of local cultural and creative activity. The comprehensive project will advance the integration of quantitative and qualitative research strategies, painting a complete national picture, while also exploring the factors that are producing local and regional creative hotspots. The project will deliver outputs such as reports and forums that are framed in close collaboration with partners in order to deliver outcomes such as better-targeted policy and program initiatives. This will provide national cultural and policy benefits from placing the creative sector in front of policy makers as a vital contributor to high growth, labour-intensive economic activity in the context of the Australian economy in transition.Read moreRead less
Media innovation and the civic future of Australia's country press . At a time when the future of news and public interest journalism is facing unprecedented crisis, this research will take a participatory approach to developing and road-testing an innovations agenda for Australia’s country press in the digital era. Longstanding partners Deakin and Country Press Australia will provide the first comprehensive assessment of the sector’s civic value and provide urgently needed evidence and strategi ....Media innovation and the civic future of Australia's country press . At a time when the future of news and public interest journalism is facing unprecedented crisis, this research will take a participatory approach to developing and road-testing an innovations agenda for Australia’s country press in the digital era. Longstanding partners Deakin and Country Press Australia will provide the first comprehensive assessment of the sector’s civic value and provide urgently needed evidence and strategies to rethink media innovation, inform industry practice and federal communication policy. Outcomes will include realising the industry's collaborative potential as a driver of innovations that can increase quality news and information flows and ensure the sustainability of newspapers serving rural areas.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101616
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$423,150.00
Summary
The Bhutan-Wiki project: knowledge, literacy and orality in the digital age. This project investigates how a minority language community, the Bhutanese, strategically responds to the growing problem of digital colonialism on the Internet. Through a comparative study of English and Dzongkha Wikipedias, it will produce detailed analysis of the ways an oral culture transfers knowledge online and how collaborative media platforms can contribute to cultural resilience. Expected outcomes include new ....The Bhutan-Wiki project: knowledge, literacy and orality in the digital age. This project investigates how a minority language community, the Bhutanese, strategically responds to the growing problem of digital colonialism on the Internet. Through a comparative study of English and Dzongkha Wikipedias, it will produce detailed analysis of the ways an oral culture transfers knowledge online and how collaborative media platforms can contribute to cultural resilience. Expected outcomes include new digital applications and insights into emerging knowledge practices and institutions. This will provide significant benefits including new pathways to online inclusion for minority cultures, new methods of decolonization and insights into orality in the digital era.Read moreRead less
Understanding Intermedia Information Flows in the Australian Online Public Sphere. The emergence of new media forms has led to a profound transformation of the Australian media environment; mainstream, niche, and social media intersect in many ways, online and offline. Increased access to large-scale data on public communication online enables an observation of how the nation responds to the news of the day, how themes and topics unfold, and how interested publics develop and decline over time. ....Understanding Intermedia Information Flows in the Australian Online Public Sphere. The emergence of new media forms has led to a profound transformation of the Australian media environment; mainstream, niche, and social media intersect in many ways, online and offline. Increased access to large-scale data on public communication online enables an observation of how the nation responds to the news of the day, how themes and topics unfold, and how interested publics develop and decline over time. This project uses such observations to trace how information flows across media spaces, and to develop a new model of the online public sphere. It makes significant contributions to innovation in research methods in the digital humanities, and provides an important basis for policies aimed at closing digital and social divides.Read moreRead less