This page outlines some of my current research projects Disability and New Media Collaborator: Katie Ellis Proposed Outcomes: 1 Academic Book, 4 Refereed Journal Articles, 4 Academic Conference Presentations Time Frame: 24 Months “The power of the Web is in its universality.
Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.” This project in conjunction with Dr Katie Ellis at the University of Western Australia Disability Office is the largest I am currently working on. It explores how this early promise of the World Wide Web for access for all people regardless of disability has been challenged by more recent developments in the online environment from Web 2.0 to virtual worlds. The main outcome of this project
will be the production of a full manuscript on the topic over the next 12
months which has been accepted for publication by Routledge in New York. It has currently produced one academic manuscript: Kent, M & Ellis, K 2010, Disability and New Media, Routledge New York. Two refereed journal papers: Kent, M & Ellis, K 2010 'Community Accessibility: Tweeters take responsibility an accessible Web 2.0. Fast Capitalism Kent, M & Ellis, K 2008, ‘iTunes is pretty (useless) when you’re blind: Digital design is triggering disability when it could be a solution’, M/C Journal. Vol 11, Issue 3. July. <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/viewArticle/55>. As well as three refereed conference papers: Kent, M & Ellis, K 2009, ‘Online Virtual Communities and Disability’ paper presented at the Centre for Everyday Life Symposium ‘Media Technologies, Community and Everyday Life’ Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia. 2 September. Kent, M & Ellis, K 2008, ‘Disability and Web 2.0: Opportunity lost?’, paper for the Cultural Studies Association of Australasia Annual Conference, Kalgoorlie, 6–9 December. Kent, M & Ellis, K 2009, ‘Your
Avatar Looks Normal to Me’ Paper for the Towards A
National Disability Studies Agenda: Disability Studies Conference, Australia
UNSW June 26-27. Dr Ellis gave a
talk about our research in this area at the Workshop for Disability, Democracy,
Media & Listening in Sydney on the 10th October 2008 as part of
The Listening Project 2008. http://www.transforming.cultures.uts.edu.au/pdfs/listening_project_workshop_download.pdf
Both Dr Ellis and myself presented a paper ‘Online Virtual Communities and Disability’ at the Centre for Everyday Life Symposium ‘Media Technologies, Community and Everyday Life’ on 2 September 2009 at Murdoch University. http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/cfel/cfel_symposium.htm
We will produce three additional refereed journal articles, one that explores disability in the context of Virtual Worlds and Second Life and another that focuses on Disability and Social Networking Sites. We also hope to disseminate this research through a number of academic conferences. Isolation, illness and the Internet: Exploring the possibility of a second life for sufferers of ME Collaborator: Kirsty Best Time Frame: 24 Months I am working with Kirsty Best on her Australian Research Council Funded research exploring how the virtual world of Second Life might be used to overcome elements of the isolation experience by people who suffer from Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The study focuses on people with the condition in both cities and regional centres in Australia and Canada and involves the construction of a support centre on the Murdoch University campus in Second Life. Online Conferences and Authentic Assessment in Tertiary Education Collaborator: Matthew Allen Time Frame: 6-12 Months I am working with Matthew Allen on a paper that centres around the innovative design of a course developed and taught at Curtin University that centred around the students participation in an online conference. The paper will explore the methodology behind the course design as well as the look at the student responses to the course. Dancing Matt and ‘New’ Colonialism: The Happy Intersection Between Tourism and Web 2.0 Collaborator: Rebecca Bennett Proposed Outcomes: Refereed Journal Article and Conference Presentation Time Frame: 6-12 Months This research will explore the intersections between Tourism, Web 2.0, and Cultware. We use the ‘Dancing’ videos of Matt Harding posted on YouTube and at his website http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/ as a starting point to critically interrogate how these technologies and cultures are coming together. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to collaborate on this piece with Dr Bennett of Murdoch University.
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