Research

Research expertise

• Australian cinema, including history, organisation and narratives
• Science Fiction film, especially the representation of science and scientists
• The communication of science: theory and practice
• Technonologies, Culture and Communication

Current research projects

Australian film. With Dr Albert Moran from Griffith University, I am compiling a dictionary of Australian and New Zealand film. This manuscript is now with the publisher.

Forthcoming projects

Australian film. This book, to be published by Cambridge University Press, and written with Dr Albert Moran, will reexamine the genres of Australian film.

Other interests and past projects

representations of men in film and print media
representations of fatherhood in film and print media
representations of relationships in film and print media

Current supervision

Evolution of the planetarium presentation. Master of Science Communication thesis. (co-supervision with Dr Karl Neuenfeldt.) The student lives and works in North America. The aim of this project is "to see how the presentation of a specific set of information has changed in fifty years of planetarium shows at a typical large planetarium in the United States. Focus will be primarily on how the presentation of the content has changed. This will include such aspects of the shows as the language used, length, topics, inclusion of non-traditional science, formality, live narration versus taped, etc. Related topics include public attitudes towards science and towards the museum experience."

Completed supervisions

Effective Communication of Biodiversity: The Landcare Experience, Master of Science Communication thesis.1999—2000.

The Bar Between Us: A Study in Heterosexual Dynamics in Australian Film of the 70s, 80s and 90s. Master of Letters (Cultural Studies) thesis. 1997.