A nation of 'Good Sports'? Cultural citizenship and sport in contemporary Australia. Australia is widely regarded as both characterised and united by sport, but the established sport-nation nexus is undergoing significant change. This project addresses current uses and meanings of sport, media and spectatorship in advancing knowledge and policy relating to sport's dynamic relationship to national identity and cultural citizenship.
Creative innovation in a new digital economy. This project aims to investigate how the digital genre of the mobile webtoon is transforming media ecosystems in Australia, South Korea and America. While smartphone apps and platforms have enjoyed increasing global penetration since the late 2000s, there has been limited scholarly attention paid to interactions between webtoon artists, platforms, policymakers and global readers. The project will generate new knowledge about cross-media storytelling, ....Creative innovation in a new digital economy. This project aims to investigate how the digital genre of the mobile webtoon is transforming media ecosystems in Australia, South Korea and America. While smartphone apps and platforms have enjoyed increasing global penetration since the late 2000s, there has been limited scholarly attention paid to interactions between webtoon artists, platforms, policymakers and global readers. The project will generate new knowledge about cross-media storytelling, aesthetics and technologies by applying big data methods to analyse the production and reception of innovative mobile content. Through its case studies, the project will provide practical knowledge to Australian enterprises seeking to join the digital economy and capitalise on future opportunities in the global media environment.Read moreRead less
Understanding pornography in Australia: public discourses and pornographic texts. This project will offer a detailed, large-scale analysis of the place of pornography in Australian culture. It will interview 300 producers and distributors of pornographic texts, and almost one thousand consumers of these texts. Using insights from this research into the ways in which pornography is understood by those involved with it in Australia, one hundred popular pornographic videos will be analysed to under ....Understanding pornography in Australia: public discourses and pornographic texts. This project will offer a detailed, large-scale analysis of the place of pornography in Australian culture. It will interview 300 producers and distributors of pornographic texts, and almost one thousand consumers of these texts. Using insights from this research into the ways in which pornography is understood by those involved with it in Australia, one hundred popular pornographic videos will be analysed to understand what is in them, and how they are used.
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Lifted from the Ironing Board: The ABC Women's Session, 1935-1973. The Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) broadcast radio programs for women from 1936 to 1971. This project provides the first history of these programs. It will document the establishment and decline of the 'Women's Session' during this period via internal ABC correspondence and audience research, scripts and listeners' letters. It will therefore provide a case study of the dynamic relationships between media production, cir ....Lifted from the Ironing Board: The ABC Women's Session, 1935-1973. The Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) broadcast radio programs for women from 1936 to 1971. This project provides the first history of these programs. It will document the establishment and decline of the 'Women's Session' during this period via internal ABC correspondence and audience research, scripts and listeners' letters. It will therefore provide a case study of the dynamic relationships between media production, circulation and reception that will contribute to understandings of gender formation through popular culture. It will also forge new ways of understanding how women have contributed to the cultural life of the nation during the twentieth century.Read moreRead less
Media Classification Systems: An International Comparative Study. The central question for media classification is 'by whom should this be consumed?' This project aims to examine the ways in which this question has been answered across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Encompassing case studies of India, Japan, the United States of America, United Kingdom, Brazil and China, and with a particular emphasis on Australia, the project is intended to produce a comparative history of the emerge ....Media Classification Systems: An International Comparative Study. The central question for media classification is 'by whom should this be consumed?' This project aims to examine the ways in which this question has been answered across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Encompassing case studies of India, Japan, the United States of America, United Kingdom, Brazil and China, and with a particular emphasis on Australia, the project is intended to produce a comparative history of the emergence of media classification systems based on the international exchange of policy approaches, ideas about public interest and the protection of minors and the circulation of media objects. This research aims to address the continuing significance of the media classification question in an era of media convergence.Read moreRead less
Chinese-language digital/social media in Australia. This project aims to study the production, content and use of digital/social media by mainland Chinese migrants in Australia. China’s global rise has generated widespread anxiety about its possible use of diasporic Chinese media to influence the world. This project expects to generate a new framework for analysing soft power and propaganda in digital/social media, while also undertaking a major rethinking of the concept of flexible citizenship. ....Chinese-language digital/social media in Australia. This project aims to study the production, content and use of digital/social media by mainland Chinese migrants in Australia. China’s global rise has generated widespread anxiety about its possible use of diasporic Chinese media to influence the world. This project expects to generate a new framework for analysing soft power and propaganda in digital/social media, while also undertaking a major rethinking of the concept of flexible citizenship. The study will produce a more accurate assessment of China’s influence through migrant media in Australia and elsewhere.Read moreRead less
Effects of pornography on audiences. This project aims to improve understanding of pornography’s effects on its audiences. Academic knowledge on this topic is silo-ed and often contradictory across humanities and social science disciplines. This project will synthesise these discrete traditions to produce a shared paradigm, vocabulary and evidence base so these disciplines can share their findings. The project will also provide a replicable case study of translation between humanities and social ....Effects of pornography on audiences. This project aims to improve understanding of pornography’s effects on its audiences. Academic knowledge on this topic is silo-ed and often contradictory across humanities and social science disciplines. This project will synthesise these discrete traditions to produce a shared paradigm, vocabulary and evidence base so these disciplines can share their findings. The project will also provide a replicable case study of translation between humanities and social sciences data archives. Making this knowledge comprehensible to policymakers, educators and parents is expected to improve public debate and policy outcomes about pornography, and aims to improve the healthy sexual development of young Australians.Read moreRead less
Listening in: improving recognition of community media to support democratic participation and wellbeing. New media forms and the community media sector in Australia provide increasing opportunities for diverse communities to speak up, share stories and find a voice. This project analyses the political listening practices necessary to support the potential for voice in this changing media environment. The project aims to contribute to community wellbeing by asking to what extent community media ....Listening in: improving recognition of community media to support democratic participation and wellbeing. New media forms and the community media sector in Australia provide increasing opportunities for diverse communities to speak up, share stories and find a voice. This project analyses the political listening practices necessary to support the potential for voice in this changing media environment. The project aims to contribute to community wellbeing by asking to what extent community media is heard in key mainstream institutions. Case studies examine the ways in which policymakers and journalists listen in to media produced by Indigenous, Muslim and Sudanese Australians.Read moreRead less
Discovering a ‘good read’: Pathways to reading for Australian teens. This project aims to support the school, library, and book industries to increase teenagers’ recreational reading. Matching the right book to the right reader is essential to increase young people’s motivation to read. Yet how cultural intermediaries should operate to best effect within the complex ecologies that shape young people’s text selection is unclear. The project expects to generate robust evidence on how teens discove ....Discovering a ‘good read’: Pathways to reading for Australian teens. This project aims to support the school, library, and book industries to increase teenagers’ recreational reading. Matching the right book to the right reader is essential to increase young people’s motivation to read. Yet how cultural intermediaries should operate to best effect within the complex ecologies that shape young people’s text selection is unclear. The project expects to generate robust evidence on how teens discover books and the cultural factors that influence their choices. Expected outcomes include strategies that libraries, schools, and the book industry can use to promote Australian content for young adults, and equip young people to participate more fully in the social and economic benefits of pleasure reading.Read moreRead less
Willing collaborators: Negotiating Change in East Asian Media Production. This project examines how media producers and investors from China, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong are moving into flexible and innovative forms of collaboration. Focusing on cinema, television, online video and mobile content in East Asia, the study enhances academic, industry and policy understandings of the dynamics of regional media production. In addition, the project investigates opportunities and challenges for Austra ....Willing collaborators: Negotiating Change in East Asian Media Production. This project examines how media producers and investors from China, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong are moving into flexible and innovative forms of collaboration. Focusing on cinema, television, online video and mobile content in East Asia, the study enhances academic, industry and policy understandings of the dynamics of regional media production. In addition, the project investigates opportunities and challenges for Australian and other international media companies. It addresses the urgent need to foster understanding of the media industries and cultures of Australia's regional neighbours in order to better equip the nation and its screen sectors to participate in the forthcoming "Asian Century". Read moreRead less