Cinema and the Senses: Temporality of the films of Stanley Kubrick, Terrence Malick and Kumar Shahani. The resulting monograph, articles and seminars will provide new methodologies for Australian cinema studies which has tended to depend on Euro-American models. The project offers three distinct ways of thinking about an ecology of the human senses in and through cinema. The ideas on cine-synaesthesia would link up with current research on this topic in other disciplines such as neurophysiology, ....Cinema and the Senses: Temporality of the films of Stanley Kubrick, Terrence Malick and Kumar Shahani. The resulting monograph, articles and seminars will provide new methodologies for Australian cinema studies which has tended to depend on Euro-American models. The project offers three distinct ways of thinking about an ecology of the human senses in and through cinema. The ideas on cine-synaesthesia would link up with current research on this topic in other disciplines such as neurophysiology, painting and music. The interdisciplinarity of the project offers, to the public sphere of Australian cinema, cross-cultural and cross-media perspectives on film aesthetics. Read moreRead less
Women marginalised by mental health, disability or refugee status. Women impacted by mental illness, disability or refugee status are among society’s most vulnerable and disenfranchised groups. Such women can experience significant social exclusion, marginalisation and stigma, associated with reduced help seeking, deprivation of dignity and human rights, and threats to health, well-being and quality of life. However, many women demonstrate resilience and agency, associated with positive health o ....Women marginalised by mental health, disability or refugee status. Women impacted by mental illness, disability or refugee status are among society’s most vulnerable and disenfranchised groups. Such women can experience significant social exclusion, marginalisation and stigma, associated with reduced help seeking, deprivation of dignity and human rights, and threats to health, well-being and quality of life. However, many women demonstrate resilience and agency, associated with positive health outcomes. This research will identify how women negotiate stigma and potential marginalisation, to inform health policy, and target interventions for vulnerable women, generating much-needed insight on women’s embodiment of stigma, and strategies used to cope with, negotiate and resist their stigmatised identities. Read moreRead less
Branding Cities on the West Pacific Rim: Cinematic Traditions and Tourism Marketing Strategies in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Sydney. This innovative project emphasises brand-building as a part of visual culture, and cinema as a contributory influence to marketing decisions. It will produce a landmark study of media synergies in the contemporary world. It compares cinematic traditions and tourism marketing in cosmopolitan cities in the Australiasian region. The comparison, based on archival analysis ....Branding Cities on the West Pacific Rim: Cinematic Traditions and Tourism Marketing Strategies in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Sydney. This innovative project emphasises brand-building as a part of visual culture, and cinema as a contributory influence to marketing decisions. It will produce a landmark study of media synergies in the contemporary world. It compares cinematic traditions and tourism marketing in cosmopolitan cities in the Australiasian region. The comparison, based on archival analysis and on interviews with producers, policy makers, and consumers, will determine whether images of the city converge or compete in business practice and cultural production. The research complements recent major Australian initiatives to re-evaluate creativity in the media.Read moreRead less
A Gesture-Based Interface for Designing in Virtual Reality. Many design professions including architecture, fashion, and engineering can benefit from the outcomes of this project and may return financial benefits to Australia, since they heavily rely on sketching in the conceptual design process. Other areas, such as films, computer games, user interface design that involves storyboarding and visualization may also benefit from sketching in virtual reality. Further research may be carried out us ....A Gesture-Based Interface for Designing in Virtual Reality. Many design professions including architecture, fashion, and engineering can benefit from the outcomes of this project and may return financial benefits to Australia, since they heavily rely on sketching in the conceptual design process. Other areas, such as films, computer games, user interface design that involves storyboarding and visualization may also benefit from sketching in virtual reality. Further research may be carried out using a variety of VR facilities and a responsive workbench (3D interactive table-top display) to allow distributed Virtual Prototyping between geographically separated design teams, to assemble the product drawn using a force feedback device to place Australia in a leading position.Read moreRead less
The Staging and Framing of Comic Performance in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries. The aim of this project is to investigate the aesthetics of comic performance through an examination of low comic performance in nineteenth century American and English popular theatre and in the slapstick films of the early twentieth century. Uniquely combining the complementary specialisms in theatre and film this study will pioneer a highly original approach to achieve new ways of considering theatri ....The Staging and Framing of Comic Performance in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries. The aim of this project is to investigate the aesthetics of comic performance through an examination of low comic performance in nineteenth century American and English popular theatre and in the slapstick films of the early twentieth century. Uniquely combining the complementary specialisms in theatre and film this study will pioneer a highly original approach to achieve new ways of considering theatrical and cinematic comedy both historically and theoretically.Read moreRead less
Detecting, Locating and Tracking Human Faces using Skin Colour. With growing concerns for national security and public safety, government agencies in Australia and around the world are taking strong measures to introduce biometric-enhanced official identification documents such as passports, visas, and ID cards. The proposed face detection and tracking system will play a key role in personal identification and human activity monitoring. The developed system will have a huge potential in surveill ....Detecting, Locating and Tracking Human Faces using Skin Colour. With growing concerns for national security and public safety, government agencies in Australia and around the world are taking strong measures to introduce biometric-enhanced official identification documents such as passports, visas, and ID cards. The proposed face detection and tracking system will play a key role in personal identification and human activity monitoring. The developed system will have a huge potential in surveillance, security, law enforcement, and ICT. This project will contribute to building a knowledge economy in Australia and help safeguard and protect Australia from terrorism and crime. Furthermore, its outcomes will enhance the reputation of Australia as a leader in frontier technologies and smart information use.Read moreRead less
Exhibitionism: codifying and communicating planning culture in Australia 1913-1951. This project will illuminate the emergence of Australian urban planning in the early 20th century through the novel lens of major community exhibitions. The focus is on the staging, content, outcomes, significance and latter-day lessons of these highly visual exhibitions in shaping and communicating an understanding of planning values.
Surfacing urban wetlands in two urban renewal sites in Sydney. Urban wetlands in Australia provide benefits for climate change mitigation, pollution reduction, habitat provision and socioecological connection. However, in large cities like Sydney, urban wetlands are unseen because undergrounded, and, therefore not adequately understood. This illegibility, and loss of understanding by residents, planners and policy makers impedes wetlands' good management. This project surfaces wetlands through v ....Surfacing urban wetlands in two urban renewal sites in Sydney. Urban wetlands in Australia provide benefits for climate change mitigation, pollution reduction, habitat provision and socioecological connection. However, in large cities like Sydney, urban wetlands are unseen because undergrounded, and, therefore not adequately understood. This illegibility, and loss of understanding by residents, planners and policy makers impedes wetlands' good management. This project surfaces wetlands through visualisation in a multimodal knowledge platform focusing on two urban renewal sites, Green Square and Marrickville South. We leverage design ethnography to develop resources for strengthening multiple stakeholders’ socioecological engagement through methods empowering just, creative and open participation.Read moreRead less
William Faulkner Between Cinema and Literature. Literature continues to react and adapt to an ever-more complex media environment, but there is still little in the way of detailed critical study to specify the strategies and tactics of literary survival in an audio-visual era. By attending to the unique and indicative case of William Faulkner, who wrote simultaneously for the films and the serious literary market, this project will develop a new critical model for understanding literature's ada ....William Faulkner Between Cinema and Literature. Literature continues to react and adapt to an ever-more complex media environment, but there is still little in the way of detailed critical study to specify the strategies and tactics of literary survival in an audio-visual era. By attending to the unique and indicative case of William Faulkner, who wrote simultaneously for the films and the serious literary market, this project will develop a new critical model for understanding literature's adaptation to a complex media environment. It will shed significant intellectual light on the present and future states of literary survival in advanced industrial nations like Australia. Read moreRead less
A Design History of Australian HIV/AIDS Public Health Campaigns 1983-2004. This project investigates the differing roles of governments and community organisations as influential factors in the formulation of graphic representations which characterise the prevention campaigns used in the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Australia 1983-2004. It explains how graphic representations, functioning as an index of official and public responses to the epidemic, impact on the aesthetic and professional autonomy of t ....A Design History of Australian HIV/AIDS Public Health Campaigns 1983-2004. This project investigates the differing roles of governments and community organisations as influential factors in the formulation of graphic representations which characterise the prevention campaigns used in the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Australia 1983-2004. It explains how graphic representations, functioning as an index of official and public responses to the epidemic, impact on the aesthetic and professional autonomy of the designer. Complimenting existing quantitative assessments this study uses a textual-visual analysis and triangulation method to demonstrate the agency of these institutional constraints placed within the broader range of material forms relating to the campaigns including brochures, posters, and videos.Read moreRead less