Kelly McWilliam

Mediatisation and institutions of public memory: digital storytelling and the apology

Abstract Institutions of public memory are increasingly undertaking co-creative media initiatives in which community members create content with the support of institutional expertise and resources. This paper discusses one such initiative: the State Library of Queenslands ‘Responses to the Apology’, which used a collaborative digital storytelling methodology to co-produce seven short videos capturing individual responses to Prime Minister Kevin Rudds 2008 ‘Apology to Australias Indigenous Peoples’. In examining this program, we are interested not only in the juxtaposition of ‘ordinary’ responses to an ‘official’ event, but also in how the production and display of these stories might also demonstrate a larger mediatisation of public memory.

The Uses of Multimedia: Three Digital Literacy Case Studies

We identify some tensions between formal education and informal learning in the uses of popular literacy since the nineteenth century, in order to argue for a ‘demand-led’ model of education in digital literacy. We go on to analyse three case studies — digital storytelling, the Flickr photosharing site and the MMOG (massively multiplayer online game) Fury — to discuss issues arising from demand-led learning, which requires a procedural (not propositional) model of knowledge, a vernacular and informal model of creativity, and a ‘navigator’ and entrepreneurial model of consumer agency. In light of these examples, the article raises the question of how digital literacy can and should be taught.

Romance in Foreign Accents: Harlequin-Mills & Boon in Australia

This article is broadly interested in the adaptation and circulation of the mass-market romance genre as one example of the publishing industrys production and distribution of cultural artefacts within and across national borders. To consider this, the article focuses on the most successful mass-market romance publisher in the world, Harlequin-Mills & Boon, to ask the following questions: how has Harlequin-Mills & Boon, but particularly its international expansion into and operation in ‘foreign’ markets, been key to the contemporary success of the genre? What are some of the key strategies of the publishers adaptation of the genre to new national markets, particularly in terms of issues of generic repetition and difference? What can Harlequin-Mills & Boons negotiation of one national market, namely the Australian market, reveal about these questions in more detail? And how has the Australian offices recent shift from importing international content to commissioning local content signalled a critical shift in its adaptation of the genre to the national market? Ultimately, this paper proposes that these changes signal the publishers entrée into the creative economy and the Australian offices shift away from being a branch office and towards being a creative branch.

When Three's a Crowd Ex-Lovers and Lesbian Families in 2 Girls in Love.

Abstract This paper explores the role of the ex-lover within the lesbian family in the film The Incredibly True Adventure of 2 Girls in Love(1995). In the opening scenes of the film, teen protagonist Randy describes her family as a “normal, typical, regular lesbo household.” Randys family includes three lesbians: herself, her Aunt Rebecca, and Rebeccas girlfriend Vicki. The stability of this family, however, is threatened early in the film by the arrival of Rebeccas ex-lover in contemporary lesbian families. Specifically, the author argues that Lenas presence causes friction in Randys family because this family, though lesbian, is modelled on white, working-class, heteronormative conventions. Consequently, there are no available ‘narrative spaces’ or ‘roles’ for another adult within the ‘family,’ which means that the ex-lover, Lena. In this paper the argument is presented that this film offers an important examination of the role of the ex-lovers (Lenas) presence will necessarily cause friction. In this framework, there is no way for her to participate in the family without, in effect, filling a role already filled by the existing adults. In this way, 2 Girls in Lovebecomes the site for the contestation of a more flexible family model and, by extension, a ‘progressive lesbian identity.’ The author goes on to argue that the film critiques and, ultimately, challenges representations of lesbian families modelled on heteronormative conventions. In turn, the film begins to explore an alternative, more flexible, possibility for contemporary lesbian ‘families of friends,’ in which the ex-lover will always be an important part.

Investigating the potential of peer-to-peer communications in Australian bullying campaigns targeting youth

ABSTRACT Bullying is now recognised as a public health issue with well-documented impacts on mental health and well-being. In recent years, campaigns and interventions designed to reduce bullying, particularly among youth, have increasingly focused on digital media and social media in particular. The increased focus on social media has allowed a concomitant consideration of peer-to-peer communication as a means of facilitating behaviour changes. This paper hypothesises that anti-bullying campaigns employing peer-to-peer communications will be more effective than those without a (or with a limited) peer-to-peer component. To test this hypothesis, we assessed the impact of two Australian anti-bullying campaigns using a repeated-measures approach on 849 people aged between 16 and 24. The campaigns examined were the Inspire Foundation’s ‘Bullying – Don’t Stand By, Stand Up’ campaign, which ran on Facebook between June and September 2011 and relied entirely on peer-to-peer communication, and the Australian government’s ‘Bullying. No Way!’ campaign: an information-based website that contained limited peer-to-peer components. The study found that while both campaigns effectively influenced attitudes towards bullying, the Facebook campaign rated more highly regarding ‘honesty of message’, suggesting peer-to-peer communication has a stronger resonance for young people.