Australian news media and Indigenous policymaking 1988-2008. Our research will enhance both journalistic and policymaking practice by providing comprehensive, contemporary data about the relationships between journalism practices and Indigenous policymaking processes. We will examine media texts, policy documents, public statements and journalists' and policymakers' local knowledge. The ways in which Indigenous issues are discussed through the public media have concrete policy outcomes that impa ....Australian news media and Indigenous policymaking 1988-2008. Our research will enhance both journalistic and policymaking practice by providing comprehensive, contemporary data about the relationships between journalism practices and Indigenous policymaking processes. We will examine media texts, policy documents, public statements and journalists' and policymakers' local knowledge. The ways in which Indigenous issues are discussed through the public media have concrete policy outcomes that impact on the lives of Indigenous Australians, on the relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and ultimately on Australia as a nation. As such, the research falls within theNational Research Priority area of maintaining good health, by aiming to strengthen Australia's social and economic fabric.Read moreRead less
Information and Cultural Exchange: a study of best practices in community building, participation and cultural citizenship through creative practices. This study relates to the NRP 2: 'Strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric'. This project offers new approaches to questions of cultural diversity beyond multiculturalism by bringing together the notions of culture and citizenship, thereby reframing the international debate over cultural citizenship within the Australian context. The p ....Information and Cultural Exchange: a study of best practices in community building, participation and cultural citizenship through creative practices. This study relates to the NRP 2: 'Strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric'. This project offers new approaches to questions of cultural diversity beyond multiculturalism by bringing together the notions of culture and citizenship, thereby reframing the international debate over cultural citizenship within the Australian context. The project places Australia at the leading edge of research on new media, creative practices and citizenship by developing models of 'evaluating evaluation' and benchmarking participation, belonging and cultural citizenship. The research will contribute to improved funding, evaluation and policy priorities for key Arts agencies such as The Australia Council and Arts NSW.Read moreRead less
Opportunities of Media and Communication Technology to Support Social Networks of Urban Residents in Mexico, South Africa, UK and Australia. This project will build advanced knowledge of how urban neighbourhood communities can be assisted to grow in healthy ways by the use of new media and Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). By careful attention to cultural and social assets in the community, innovations will be engendered which enhance economic and social development. This will ....Opportunities of Media and Communication Technology to Support Social Networks of Urban Residents in Mexico, South Africa, UK and Australia. This project will build advanced knowledge of how urban neighbourhood communities can be assisted to grow in healthy ways by the use of new media and Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). By careful attention to cultural and social assets in the community, innovations will be engendered which enhance economic and social development. This will lead to greater social inclusion, fair access to and smart use of information and services, urban sustainability and healthier local economies. Understanding the opportunities afforded by digital augmentation of social networks will help Australians negotiate the complex web of daily choices, access a greater social safety net and participate in the socio-cultural and socio-economic life of their neighbourhood and city.Read moreRead less
The reinvention of Indigenous media: Innovation, expansion and social development. Detailed examination of Remote Indigenous Media Organisations will provide much-needed evidence of the role that community media organisations play in communications uptake and use in remote communities. The success of RIMOs further suggests that investigation at the organisational level may yield lessons for social development more broadly. Content analysis will identify gaps and achievements in Indigenous media ....The reinvention of Indigenous media: Innovation, expansion and social development. Detailed examination of Remote Indigenous Media Organisations will provide much-needed evidence of the role that community media organisations play in communications uptake and use in remote communities. The success of RIMOs further suggests that investigation at the organisational level may yield lessons for social development more broadly. Content analysis will identify gaps and achievements in Indigenous media production, providing a deeper understanding of how local media interacts with and informs national textual systems. The project will also analyse communications innovations occurring in remote communities and assess the possibilities for Indigenous industry development.Read moreRead less
Young, Mobile, Networked: Mobile Media and Youth Culture in Australia. Mobiles are a common part of life for young Australians, yet there is very little reliable data about how these are used and their social and cultural implications - especially new services such as mobile music, cameras and television. The qualitative and quantitative data from this project will give a detailed, national picture of mobile media use, and will be highly valuable for Australian companies, policymakers, regulator ....Young, Mobile, Networked: Mobile Media and Youth Culture in Australia. Mobiles are a common part of life for young Australians, yet there is very little reliable data about how these are used and their social and cultural implications - especially new services such as mobile music, cameras and television. The qualitative and quantitative data from this project will give a detailed, national picture of mobile media use, and will be highly valuable for Australian companies, policymakers, regulators, non-governmental organizations as well as researchers. It will provide new knowledge to inform planning and innovation, and contribute to a better understanding of the social and cultural implications of mobile technologies.Read moreRead less
Local Culture/Global Space: Japanese Minority Sexualities and the Internet. After English (43%), Japanese (9%)is the most used language on the Internet. No study has addressed the specific ways in which Japanese language use affects Internet communication or how the Internet is being used by minoritised groups and individuals. The project will examine Internet use by minority sexualities in Japan in order to ascertain how individuals and communities who fall outside the 'mainstream' of society i ....Local Culture/Global Space: Japanese Minority Sexualities and the Internet. After English (43%), Japanese (9%)is the most used language on the Internet. No study has addressed the specific ways in which Japanese language use affects Internet communication or how the Internet is being used by minoritised groups and individuals. The project will examine Internet use by minority sexualities in Japan in order to ascertain how individuals and communities who fall outside the 'mainstream' of society interact with this new technology. The project will contribute to our understanding of how the Internet, a supposedly global medium, also facilitates the emergence of very local subcultures. The project will result in a series of conference presentations, journal papers and a book.Read moreRead less
New media voices in the Australian values debate. Long standing policy debates about Australian values have been reinvigorated in the context of a global war on terror. The Federal Government has identified Australian values as being central to the nation's security. Cultures are defined by their values, and media systems are the means by which they produce and propagate value systems. Safeguarding Australia means having coherent ways to teach identifiable, desirable, and relevant values. This p ....New media voices in the Australian values debate. Long standing policy debates about Australian values have been reinvigorated in the context of a global war on terror. The Federal Government has identified Australian values as being central to the nation's security. Cultures are defined by their values, and media systems are the means by which they produce and propagate value systems. Safeguarding Australia means having coherent ways to teach identifiable, desirable, and relevant values. This project investigates Australian values in education by identifying which institutions and traditions most influence Australian youth and how these influences are played out in new media forums such as YouTube and MySpace.Read moreRead less
Smart Communities - Applied research into integrated government services and regional networked neighbourhoods to support children and young people at risk. This applied research project investigates and provides directions for improvement in the life choices available to children and young people at risk in remote, rural and urban areas of Western Australia. It does this by (i) conducting a detailed study of children and young people at risk, as identified by government and non-government agen ....Smart Communities - Applied research into integrated government services and regional networked neighbourhoods to support children and young people at risk. This applied research project investigates and provides directions for improvement in the life choices available to children and young people at risk in remote, rural and urban areas of Western Australia. It does this by (i) conducting a detailed study of children and young people at risk, as identified by government and non-government agencies (ii) conducting quantitative and qualitative fieldwork into the communication patterns and information-seeking behaviour of children and young people at risk; (iii) exploring strategies and interventions through inter-agency co-operation in the provision of content and technology (as geographical or virtual communities).Read moreRead less
Liberal Machines: Information poverty, political culture and the uses of new communications technologies. This project examines two contentious issues in scholarly and policy debate: the nature and consequences of information poverty, and the consequences of new communications technologies for western political culture. Rather than focussing on the emancipatory potential of new technologies, we see these problems through the prism of liberal government, its history and prospects. In particular w ....Liberal Machines: Information poverty, political culture and the uses of new communications technologies. This project examines two contentious issues in scholarly and policy debate: the nature and consequences of information poverty, and the consequences of new communications technologies for western political culture. Rather than focussing on the emancipatory potential of new technologies, we see these problems through the prism of liberal government, its history and prospects. In particular we are concerned with liberalism's longstanding concerns with security, civil peace, freedom, and disadvantage. We explore contemporary developments in electronic government, digital media, online learning, cyber-democracy and wired communities. The result will contribute to our understanding of the political and intellectual uses of information technology.Read moreRead less
Aboriginal Femininity and Modern Identity: Gender and Race in the Late Colonial Visual Scene. The project is the first sustained cultural history of Aboriginal femininity in Australian from 1870-1967. It will draw on diverse forms of modern visual culture: painting, black and white drawing, mass commodity spectacle, film and photography, to investigate six modes of production of Aboriginal feminine visibility: the 'primitive' woman in Western exhibiting practices such as colonial museums: the pe ....Aboriginal Femininity and Modern Identity: Gender and Race in the Late Colonial Visual Scene. The project is the first sustained cultural history of Aboriginal femininity in Australian from 1870-1967. It will draw on diverse forms of modern visual culture: painting, black and white drawing, mass commodity spectacle, film and photography, to investigate six modes of production of Aboriginal feminine visibility: the 'primitive' woman in Western exhibiting practices such as colonial museums: the perceived failure of 'Mission Mary' to appear modern; the relation of Aboriginal femininity to imported forms of exoticism; the fetishism of Indigenous women; girl piccaninny kitsch in domestic and tourist ornaments; and the entrance of public Aboriginal women and celebrities into modernity.
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