Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the way moral discourses in stories about race and racism on social media perpetuate a worldview based on superiority and difference

Paper long abstract:

Cyber-racism is a relatively new and yet increasingly pervasive form of racism that contributes to the undermining of social cohesion. My research is approaching this issue through a narrative analysis of online representations of race and racism. The underlying assumption in my research is that the moral discourse in stories that are told about race and racism influences the way we view others, perpetuating particular worldviews. The moral discourse includes elements common to all societies such as judgments about who is included or excluded as part of the dominant culture, but is also contextual and evolving, based on historical and cultural aspects of a society. This paper will explore the moral discourse in stories about race and racism that are told on Australian social media sites relating them to common elements of race and racism in an Australian context. It will be argued that the moral discourse in these stories attracts supporters while at the same time intimidates and excludes those targeted as not fitting in to the dominant Australian culture, perpetuating a worldview that is based on superiority and difference.

Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses my PhD research into the presentation of self in online worlds. I am interested in exploring the presentation of individuals who have ambiguous identities; those people whose identities can be taken in myriad ways because of particular features.

Paper long abstract:

This paper discusses the early stages of my PhD research into the presentation of self in online worlds. What I am particularly interested in is the presentation of self in online worlds in relation to those individuals with ambiguous identities; that is, those people whose identities can be taken in myriad ways because of particular features. At this initial stage of the research I am interested in exploring the areas of race, gender, disability, and possibly sexuality. I am interested in how biracial, multicultural, transgendered, and disabled people can choose to reveal or hide aspects of the self to find or assert agency in online worlds where they may not be able to offline.

Paper short abstract:

This paper considers how Dragon Age fans mobilise concepts from 'real' world minority rights campaigns to defend fictional characters and asks: what does 'fictional' activism tell us about moral action in a world increasingly mediated by digital images?

Paper long abstract:

As our experience of the world becomes increasingly mediated by the 'torrent' of digital images circulated daily, the distinction between 'true' and 'fictional' events that demand a moral response is becoming increasingly blurry. In this paper, I draw upon my research with fans of the Dragon Age series of computer games on Tumblr, a social media channel, to consider how these fans mobilise concepts from 'real' world minority rights campaigns to defend fictional characters. Considering this mobilisation in the context of similar 'real world' activism that occurred on Tumblr during my fieldwork period, I ask: what does this type of 'fictional' activism reveal of the wider field of contemporary social action taken in response to geographically distant events? What can such resonances tell us about contemporary moral action in a world where distant others are increasingly encountered as digital images?

Paper short abstract:

The thesis aims to describe and understand how academics comprehend factors that influence processes of educational change in higher education in Chile, using a biographical approach. Emerging topics are faculty history events, university vision and values, identity elements and leadership notions.

Paper long abstract:

The thesis is focused on describing and understanding how teachers comprehend factors that influence processes of curriculum and pedagogical change in higher education, using a biographical approach. The research is focused on recording the narratives of individuals involved in a specific process of change at the Nursing School of Pontifical Catholic University of Chile; the institutionalization of a Service Learning educational approach. The aim is to re-create the past 15 years of this higher education school through a 'collective memory'.

The study is being conducted using an inductive and interpretative approach, and is based on biographical methodology and narrative inquiry. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with academics and university staff; these interviews will be drawn upon to develop personal narratives. Each narrative will address school context, the views of members of the university community who were involved in the process, and the nature of pedagogical practices through time.

The analysis will focus on reasons and procedures for change, identifying common themes and cultural aspects of the school in the narratives, aiming to create a 'collective memory' of the studied period. Some emerging topics are key faculty history events, university vision and values, identity elements - e.g. discipline and the role of the nurse, and notions of leadership.