Avatars and Identities. The avatar, a virtual representation of its user, is the key element of interface technology for everyday computer use in the twenty-first century. While specialist aspects of the avatar have received intensive attention from the technology industries and scholars, the focus of the work to date has been on the technical efficiency of the interface, rather than understanding the full social implications of its use. Through a historical, ethnographic and critical analysis o ....Avatars and Identities. The avatar, a virtual representation of its user, is the key element of interface technology for everyday computer use in the twenty-first century. While specialist aspects of the avatar have received intensive attention from the technology industries and scholars, the focus of the work to date has been on the technical efficiency of the interface, rather than understanding the full social implications of its use. Through a historical, ethnographic and critical analysis of the role of the avatar, in consultation with industry, this project offers a unique opportunity to develop a wider perspective that will contribute to an understanding of the uses and policies for the digital economy.Read moreRead less
Spreading fictions: distributing stories in the online age. As the first systematic, large scale, public analysis of audiovisual distribution in Australia, Spreading Fictions will greatly improve understanding of a vital area for Australia's economic and cultural future. The high priority governments give to policies encouraging local audiovisual productions reflects a belief in their cultural resonance at home and abroad and the economic significance of creative work. This project will help to ....Spreading fictions: distributing stories in the online age. As the first systematic, large scale, public analysis of audiovisual distribution in Australia, Spreading Fictions will greatly improve understanding of a vital area for Australia's economic and cultural future. The high priority governments give to policies encouraging local audiovisual productions reflects a belief in their cultural resonance at home and abroad and the economic significance of creative work. This project will help to maximise the effectiveness of those policies. As digital TV switchover proceeds and the National Broadband Network is built, data about how Australians are using more powerful, functional mobile devices and faster, cheaper fixed line access will be critical.Read moreRead less
Locating the mobile: intergenerational locative media practices in Tokyo, Melbourne and Shanghai. From providing convenience at a fingertip to helping criminal investigations, using locative media has become an essential part of everyday life for individuals, families, businesses and government. Responding to this nascent phenomenon, this project will provide the first cross-cultural, intergenerational study of locative media use.
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354670
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$40,000.00
Summary
Cultural Research Network: Cultural literacies, technologies, identities and histories. The Cultural Research Network's initial disciplinary base will be in cultural, media and communications studies. From this foundation it will build collaborative links with researchers from cultural history, cultural geography, cultural anthropology and creative industries to develop the capacity for innovative research into media and cultural technologies, cultural literacies, cultural histories and identiti ....Cultural Research Network: Cultural literacies, technologies, identities and histories. The Cultural Research Network's initial disciplinary base will be in cultural, media and communications studies. From this foundation it will build collaborative links with researchers from cultural history, cultural geography, cultural anthropology and creative industries to develop the capacity for innovative research into media and cultural technologies, cultural literacies, cultural histories and identities. To facilitate interdisciplinary exchange, the network will establish virtual connections, travelling master classses, seminars and symposia. The network will circulate people as well as ideas and information, bringing established Australian researchers into direct contact with postgraduates and young researchers in these fields, and pursuing international linkages.Read moreRead less
ARC Cultural Research Network. The Cultural Research Network's initial disciplinary base will be in cultural, media, and communications studies. From this foundation it will build collaborative links with researchers from cultural history, cultural geography, cultural anthropology and creative industries to develop innovative research into media and cultural technologies, cultural literacies, cultural histories and identities. To facilitate interdisciplinary exchange the network will establish v ....ARC Cultural Research Network. The Cultural Research Network's initial disciplinary base will be in cultural, media, and communications studies. From this foundation it will build collaborative links with researchers from cultural history, cultural geography, cultural anthropology and creative industries to develop innovative research into media and cultural technologies, cultural literacies, cultural histories and identities. To facilitate interdisciplinary exchange the network will establish virtual connections, travelling master classes, seminars and symposia. The network will circulate people as well as ideas, bringing established Australian researchers into direct contact with postgraduates and young researchers, and pursuing international linkages.Read moreRead less
Mobile Indonesians: social differentiation and digital literacies in the twenty first century. This is the first dedicated study of the social implications of mobile telephony's recent and rapid popularisation throughout the country. This project will study metropolitan, urban and rural users to understand how mobile phones create the new and unexpected social networks which will shape tomorrow's Indonesians.
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
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
Talking Country: Sharing Indigenous stories of place through mobile media. This project aims to investigate how media technologies can facilitate cross-cultural engagement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. There is a need to break down the barriers that limit cross-cultural engagement with heritage issues. Mobile media environments provide ways to build this engagement through place-based incentives. The project expects to develop a new model for practice-based research, two mobile a ....Talking Country: Sharing Indigenous stories of place through mobile media. This project aims to investigate how media technologies can facilitate cross-cultural engagement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. There is a need to break down the barriers that limit cross-cultural engagement with heritage issues. Mobile media environments provide ways to build this engagement through place-based incentives. The project expects to develop a new model for practice-based research, two mobile apps, two digital archives and a toolkit to guide people on driving, cycling and walking tours to Indigenous places of significance. This will offer valuable avenues to share knowledge on the importance of those sites, build cultural awareness and position Indigenous knowledges at the heart of place-based engagements.Read moreRead less
Aboriginal young people in Victoria and digital storytelling. Victorian Aboriginal youth are using digital technology to tell stories, (which assert and affirm their identities), and also to produce and consume information in creative and interactive ways, that are relevant to them. This project on digital storytelling will support creative approaches for building digital literacy, while increasing understandings of Aboriginal culture.