Unified digital networking for wireless and optical access. The provision of broadband services is a high priority for the Australian government as evidenced by the various initiatives around Australia. The merging of backbone infrastructures for access environment will overcome unnecessary cost of maintaining and upgrading two separate networks for wired and wireless applications. The merged infrastructure will potentially provide inexpensive and cost-effective solutions for truly broadband ser ....Unified digital networking for wireless and optical access. The provision of broadband services is a high priority for the Australian government as evidenced by the various initiatives around Australia. The merging of backbone infrastructures for access environment will overcome unnecessary cost of maintaining and upgrading two separate networks for wired and wireless applications. The merged infrastructure will potentially provide inexpensive and cost-effective solutions for truly broadband services with a choice of wired or wireless connectivity to customers and will remove the rural-urban broadband divide that has been challenging Australia. The outcomes of this project can lead to new business ventures and will further strengthen the telecommunication industry.Read moreRead less
Creative Micro-computing in Australia, 1976-1992. 1980s micro-computers introduced many to the digital age. Despite the importance of early micro-computing to the digital present, this early period is yet to be scrutinised by digital media scholars. This project recovers the local history of this most important media technology in the period 1976-1992, across the spectrum of practices in digital arts and culture. Delving deeply into the history of creative software and hardware practices, seekin ....Creative Micro-computing in Australia, 1976-1992. 1980s micro-computers introduced many to the digital age. Despite the importance of early micro-computing to the digital present, this early period is yet to be scrutinised by digital media scholars. This project recovers the local history of this most important media technology in the period 1976-1992, across the spectrum of practices in digital arts and culture. Delving deeply into the history of creative software and hardware practices, seeking to understand early users and their encounters with computers, and collating metadata on the products of their practice, this project builds the foundation for securing and remembering Australian digital cultural heritage.Read moreRead less
Digital and data literacies for sexual health policy and practice. New digital practices present significant challenges for the fields of sexual health promotion and sexual healthcare provision. This Fellowship brings sexual health policy-makers and professionals into dialogue with young adult users of digital apps and social platforms, via participatory co-design methods. Outcomes include theoretical and applied frameworks for digital literacy and data literacy in the context of sexual health. ....Digital and data literacies for sexual health policy and practice. New digital practices present significant challenges for the fields of sexual health promotion and sexual healthcare provision. This Fellowship brings sexual health policy-makers and professionals into dialogue with young adult users of digital apps and social platforms, via participatory co-design methods. Outcomes include theoretical and applied frameworks for digital literacy and data literacy in the context of sexual health. Outputs include knowledge-translation resources for sexual health professionals that will help them better engage with young adult’s everyday practices of digitally mediated intimacy, in the context of broader understandings of content moderation and regulation, platform governance, data privacy and data security.
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The Mobile Media Moment: Investigating the Pivotal Role of Sport in Mobile Media Content, Markets and Technologies. Smartphones and tablet computers are transforming the production and circulation of media content in broadband economies around the globe. Recognising the phenomenal popularity and value of sport as a “premium” form of content, this project addresses the question of how sport affects the structure and operation of mobile media and telecommunications markets in Australia, China, the ....The Mobile Media Moment: Investigating the Pivotal Role of Sport in Mobile Media Content, Markets and Technologies. Smartphones and tablet computers are transforming the production and circulation of media content in broadband economies around the globe. Recognising the phenomenal popularity and value of sport as a “premium” form of content, this project addresses the question of how sport affects the structure and operation of mobile media and telecommunications markets in Australia, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. This project is significant because it offers pioneering and internationally focussed research that will explain how and why sport is embedded in the complex interaction between markets, industry practices, policy settings, and new consumer technologies in an age of mobile media.Read moreRead less
Aligning personalised news recommendations with the public interest . The project aims to investigate the growth of personalised recommendations in the Australian news sector, which sees readers and automated systems collectively adopting curatorial roles previously undertaken by editors. The research expects to provide the first evidence base around the adoption and deployment of personalised recommendations across the Australian news media. Expected outcomes include enhancing our understanding ....Aligning personalised news recommendations with the public interest . The project aims to investigate the growth of personalised recommendations in the Australian news sector, which sees readers and automated systems collectively adopting curatorial roles previously undertaken by editors. The research expects to provide the first evidence base around the adoption and deployment of personalised recommendations across the Australian news media. Expected outcomes include enhancing our understanding of how to sustain the important democratic role that the institution of journalism plays in a personalised and automated environment. Expected benefits include the provision of robust evidence to inform industry and policymakers, and support the development of best practice across the news media sector.Read moreRead less
Cooperation through Code: The social outcomes of blockchain technology. This project aims to show the social consequences of using distributed ledger technology, including blockchains, for compliance, registries and regulatory processes. The project expects to generate new knowledge of how technology is changing administrative coordination between government and non-government entities. Expected outcomes include evidence of how blockchain technology is being applied to specific tasks and whether ....Cooperation through Code: The social outcomes of blockchain technology. This project aims to show the social consequences of using distributed ledger technology, including blockchains, for compliance, registries and regulatory processes. The project expects to generate new knowledge of how technology is changing administrative coordination between government and non-government entities. Expected outcomes include evidence of how blockchain technology is being applied to specific tasks and whether this improves on legacy systems. In addition to advancing social research on technological change, the project should provide benefits such as fairer strategies for effective regulation through technology, and an understanding of how these technologies in turn should be governed.Read moreRead less
Home helper robots: Understanding our future lives with human-like AI. This fellowship aims to understand and plan for the social effects of embedding ‘cute’ home helper robots into people’s everyday lives. The project is expected to generate new knowledge and resources to understand and respond to the emerging opportunities and risks associated with home helper robots, including their ability to support household tasks, and to provide child and aged care and companionship. Expected outcomes inc ....Home helper robots: Understanding our future lives with human-like AI. This fellowship aims to understand and plan for the social effects of embedding ‘cute’ home helper robots into people’s everyday lives. The project is expected to generate new knowledge and resources to understand and respond to the emerging opportunities and risks associated with home helper robots, including their ability to support household tasks, and to provide child and aged care and companionship. Expected outcomes include an improved understanding of anthropomorphised robots in everyday life and innovation in home helper robot theory and imaginaries. This should provide benefits such as informing robot design and policy to improve social outcomes, consumer protections and human-robot relationships.Read moreRead less
The Mourning After: Grief, witnessing and mobile media practices. This project aims to understand the role of mobile media in grief rituals as a reflection of our social and cultural lives. Grief is an important cultural practice which is crucial in recovery from loss and developing resilience. As magnified by the pandemic, mobile media rituals—from Instagram memorials to witnessing mass death and online funerals—play a significant role in contemporary grieving processes. Through ethnographic in ....The Mourning After: Grief, witnessing and mobile media practices. This project aims to understand the role of mobile media in grief rituals as a reflection of our social and cultural lives. Grief is an important cultural practice which is crucial in recovery from loss and developing resilience. As magnified by the pandemic, mobile media rituals—from Instagram memorials to witnessing mass death and online funerals—play a significant role in contemporary grieving processes. Through ethnographic inquiry, social media analysis and creative practice intervention, expected outcomes will include codesigned media-in-grief literacy frameworks, online resources and socially-engaged art exhibition. Benefits for understanding grief-in-media include building public empathy, connection and resilience. Read moreRead less
How Australian industries are pooling innovation resources and why this matters. Common pooling of resources for innovation is an emerging phenomenon in several Australian industries. This project will seek to explain why this is occurring, using insights from economic theory, and how pooling is harnessed for wider public good.
Australian television in the smart TV ecosystem. This project aims to investigate the cultural impacts of smart TVs in Australia. A majority of Australian adults now use an internet-connected (smart) TV set or streaming device, fundamentally changing the way content is discovered, accessed and experienced. This project expects to advance policy knowledge of the smart TV platforms built into these devices; their effects on public access; and how they structure users' viewing choices. Expected out ....Australian television in the smart TV ecosystem. This project aims to investigate the cultural impacts of smart TVs in Australia. A majority of Australian adults now use an internet-connected (smart) TV set or streaming device, fundamentally changing the way content is discovered, accessed and experienced. This project expects to advance policy knowledge of the smart TV platforms built into these devices; their effects on public access; and how they structure users' viewing choices. Expected outcomes of the project include improved understanding of the cultural, consumer and competition implications of emerging television technologies. Expected benefits include informed decision-making and improved policy options for government, consumers, public-service media and local screen industries.Read moreRead less