Brendan Churchill | University of Melbourne (original) (raw)

Papers by Brendan Churchill

International Journal of Communication, May 14, 2019

This article explores LGBTIQ+ young people's use of Tumblr-a social media platform often associat... more This article explores LGBTIQ+ young people's use of Tumblr-a social media platform often associated with queer youth cultures. Drawing on data from surveys (N = 1,304) and interviews (N = 23) with LGBTIQ+ young people in Australia, we argue that existing notions of "queer community" through digital media participation do not neatly align with young people's Tumblr practices. Our participants use Tumblr for connecting with others, yet these connections can be indirect, short term, and anonymous. Connections are often felt and practiced without directly communicating with other users, and many participants described their connections to the Tumblr platform itself as intense, pivotal to learning about genders and sexualities, and sometimes "toxic." We suggest that Tumblr use intensities reflect many young people's (dis)connections to queer life. Participant accounts of Tumblr use for identity, well-being, and (dis)connection practices can usefully inform health, education, and community workers engaging with LGBTIQ+ young people.

Journal of Gender Studies, Dec 19, 2021

This report reviews and assesses the growing scholarly literature exarnmmg the relationship betwe... more This report reviews and assesses the growing scholarly literature exarnmmg the relationship between health inequalities and 'place'. 'Place based' research analyses and seeks to explain variations in health and other social outcomes between geographically defined communities. This literature suggests specific socio-economic, cultural and environmental factors at the community level may undermine the effectiveness of policy programs which would otherwise be successful indifferent contexts. The report finds that there is an evidence base for the proposition that place impacts on health outcomes and inequities, as well as a literature which describes strategies for interventions and policies designed to address place based health inequality. A common theme in the literature is that placed based strategies must be tailored to needs of the specific communities they are designed to serve. The literature highlights the need to conduct detailed community level research to establish the causes of this disadvantage and strategies to remedy it. The most successful place based health programs, such as the Health Action Zones and the Healthy living Centre programs in the UK, were informed by lay knowledge and utilised community organisations to deliver programs. While the British experience provides valuable insights into how to design and deliver place based health programs, the report also notes that such programs need to be adapted to the Tasmanian context. The report concludes that a place-based approach to addressing health inequality has the potential to complement and enhance the Healthy Tasmania strategy. The report argues that a place based strategy must be informed by robust data on the spatial distribution of poor health outcomes. If this preliminary analysis reveals geographic 'clusters' of poor health outcomes then more detailed field research will be required to establish the underlying socio-economic, cultural and environmental causes. Having generated data on the relationship between place and health inequality in Tasmania it will be possible to develop targeted approachesto address locational disadvantage.

Selected papers of internet research, Oct 31, 2019

Over the past twenty to thirty years, the Internet has come to serve as a key channel for communi... more Over the past twenty to thirty years, the Internet has come to serve as a key channel for communicating, connecting, and engaging in civic participation. For lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer or questioning (LGBTIQ+) people, who continue to experience disproportionate health risks and high rates of discrimination (Leonard et al. 2012), the significance of the internet as a social resource is further magnified (Hanckel and Morris 2014). While digital social spaces have evolved, many of the motivations for using these platforms remain the same. Different platforms offer different opportunities to connect with queer peers and others, for discussing, documenting and exploring sexuality away from heteronormative spaces (Hillier et al. 2010, O'Neill 2014). From text-based 'virtual' worlds and discussion boards of years gone by, through to contemporary sites and apps such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Tumblr, YouTube, Reddit, Tinder, Grindr and Her, the digital social media landscape is now more complex than ever. What new challenges and opportunities does this evolution present?

Media, Culture & Society, May 13, 2019

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and other non-heterosexual and gender diver... more Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and other non-heterosexual and gender diverse (LGBTIQ+) young people utilise a range of digital media platforms to explore identity, find support and manage boundaries. Less well understood, however, is how they navigate risk and rewards across the different social media platforms that are part of their everyday lives. In this study, we draw on the concept of affordances, as well as recent work on curation, to examine 23 in-depth interviews with LGBTIQ+ young people about their uses of social media. Our findings show how the affordances

Culture, Health & Sexuality, Jul 28, 2022

Selected papers of internet research, Oct 5, 2020

Media, Culture & Society, Jan 21, 2021

The rise of crowdsourced and participatory digital platforms which aim to make visible the experi... more The rise of crowdsourced and participatory digital platforms which aim to make visible the experiences of otherwise marginalised people are significant within the broader landscape of digitally mediated community spaces. One example of such media is Queering the Map, a digital storymapping platform where users anonymously pin ‘queer moments’ and memories to places. While the mediation of affect and intimacy in digital spaces among queer people is increasingly attended to in scholarly work, the cartographic and archival remains hitherto underexplored. Drawing on an analysis of almost 2000 micro-stories geolocated to Australia, in this article we explore various aspects of story contribution that situate Queering the Map as a lively cartographic archive. Rather than necessarily anonymous (as the platform dictates), the posts, we argue, entail various deliberated directions or gestures, encoded for audiences: what we term stories for someone. We highlight these publicly private stories’ connective and affective underpinnings, and the political potentialities (and problems) therein for queer belonging and community-building. In doing so we seek to contribute to scholarship on digital archives, crowdsourcing, and advance conceptualisations of digital intimacies.

Culture, Health & Sexuality

Journal of Gender Studies

AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2019

For LGBTIQ+ people, the internet and social media are key channels for communicating and connecti... more For LGBTIQ+ people, the internet and social media are key channels for communicating and connecting with queer peers, and learning about queer life and queer experiences. While digital social spaces have evolved over the past 20 to 30 years, many of the motivations for using these platforms remain the same. This paper draws on data from the Scrolling Beyond Binaries study, centred on a national Australian survey of 1,304 young LGBTIQ+ people. We present key findings from the study examining generational differences across our four age cohorts of our young respondents: 16–20, 21–25, 26–30 and 30–35. Even among this group of young people, we find stark differences by age in self-identification related to gender and sexuality, and also patterns of difference in the social media platforms they use. Our younger respondents identify with much more fluid forms of gender and sexuality, and also tend to favour dating and hook-up apps that are more inclusive. We seek to foreground the ways in...

International Journal of Communication, 2019

This article explores LGBTIQ+ young people’s use of Tumblr—a social media platform often associat... more This article explores LGBTIQ+ young people’s use of Tumblr—a social media platform often associated with queer youth cultures. Drawing on data from surveys ( N = 1,304) and interviews ( N = 23) with LGBTIQ+ young people in Australia, we argue that existing notions of “queer community” through digital media participation do not neatly align with young people’s Tumblr practices. Our participants use Tumblr for connecting with others, yet these connections can be indirect, short term, and anonymous. Connections are often felt and practiced without directly communicating with other users, and many participants described their connections to the Tumblr platform itself as intense, pivotal to learning about genders and sexualities, and sometimes “toxic.” We suggest that Tumblr use intensities reflect many young people’s (dis)connections to queer life. Participant accounts of Tumblr use for identity, well-being, and (dis)connection practices can usefully inform health, education, and commun...

We welcome this timely Inquiry into the development, implementation and evaluation of integrated ... more We welcome this timely Inquiry into the development, implementation and evaluation of integrated preventive health care programs in Tasmania. We have prepared this brief submission in our capacity as researchers from the fields of health policy and sociology with an active interest in studying the social, economic and environmental causes of health inequality (with an emphasis on so-called place based explanations) in the Tasmanian context. We have a particular interest in the development and evaluation of policy interventions designed to address such inequality in a cost effective and sustainable way.

Youth, Sexuality and Sexual Citizenship, 2018

Over the past 20 to 30 years, the Internet has come to serve as a key channel for communicating a... more Over the past 20 to 30 years, the Internet has come to serve as a key channel for communicating and connecting, but also engaging in civic participation. For lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer or questioning (LGBTIQ+) people, who continue to experience disproportionate health risks and high rates of discrimination (Leonard et al. 2012), the significance of the Internet as a social resource is further magnified (Gray 2009, Hanckel and Morris 2014). While digital social spaces have evolved, many of the motivations for using these platforms remain the same. Different platforms offer different opportunities to connect with queer peers and others, for discussing, documenting and exploring sexuality away from heteronormative spaces (Hillier et al. 2001, 2010, O’Neill 2014). From text-based ‘virtual’ worlds and discussion boards through to sites and apps such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Tumblr, YouTube, Reddit, Tinder, Grindr and Her, the digital social media landscape is now more complex than ever. What new challenges and opportunities does this evolution present? A better understanding of digital engagement (and disengagement) is useful not only for researchers and platform designers but also for a broad range of social service providers, educators and policymakers who are routinely tasked with both the regulation and the support of young LGBTIQ+ people.

Media, Culture & Society, 2021

The rise of crowdsourced and participatory digital platforms which aim to make visible the experi... more The rise of crowdsourced and participatory digital platforms which aim to make visible the experiences of otherwise marginalised people are significant within the broader landscape of digitally mediated community spaces. One example of such media is Queering the Map, a digital storymapping platform where users anonymously pin ‘queer moments’ and memories to places. While the mediation of affect and intimacy in digital spaces among queer people is increasingly attended to in scholarly work, the cartographic and archival remains hitherto underexplored. Drawing on an analysis of almost 2000 micro-stories geolocated to Australia, in this article we explore various aspects of story contribution that situate Queering the Map as a lively cartographic archive. Rather than necessarily anonymous (as the platform dictates), the posts, we argue, entail various deliberated directions or gestures, encoded for audiences: what we term stories for someone. We highlight these publicly private stories...

AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2020

QueeringTheMap.com, launched in late 2017 by designer Lucas LaRochelle, is a ‘community-generated... more QueeringTheMap.com, launched in late 2017 by designer Lucas LaRochelle, is a ‘community-generated mapping project that geo-locates queer moments, memories and histories in relation to physical space’. In a Google Maps-style interface, users can locate pins anchored to physical locations. Attached to each pin is a story. Collectively, there are tens of thousands of stories about being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming: coming out stories, stories of first kisses, sexual encounters, break-ups, pride marches, assaults, traumas, and realisations. These stories digitally layer physical spaces with anonymous individual and collective stories; they locate queer life and they queer the map. In this project we seek to document these experiences, improve understandings of community archiving and digital storytelling practices, and expose the potential for reconfiguring forms of resistance and solidarity through new platforms for collectivity and commun...

Media, Culture & Society, 2019

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and other non-heterosexual and gender diver... more Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and other non-heterosexual and gender diverse (LGBTIQ+) young people utilise a range of digital media platforms to explore identity, find support and manage boundaries. Less well understood, however, is how they navigate risk and rewards across the different social media platforms that are part of their everyday lives. In this study, we draw on the concept of affordances, as well as recent work on curation, to examine 23 in-depth interviews with LGBTIQ+ young people about their uses of social media. Our findings show how the affordances of platforms used by LGBTIQ+ young people, and the contexts of their engagement, situate and inform a typology of uses. These practices – focused on finding, building and fostering support – draw on young people’s social media literacies, where their affective experiences range from feelings of safety, security and control, to fear, disappointment and anger. These practices also work to manage bou...

Evaluation Journal of Australasia, 2015

Building evaluation capacity in community organisations is promoted as a key means of creating an... more Building evaluation capacity in community organisations is promoted as a key means of creating an evaluation culture that will reorient organisations towards identifying and measuring outcomes, demonstrating achievements and enhancing accountability. Building evaluation capacity presents a number of challenges for micro-organisations, including limited resources for evaluation, a low existing evaluation skills base, and, an organisational culture and practice that does not align well with evaluation tools and techniques typically used to demonstrate program outcomes. The implementation of the Thriving Communities Healthy Families pilot project in Tasmania, a place-based health promotion intervention delivered through Neighbourhood Houses (NH), included an evaluation capacity building (ECB) component. The pilot project is used in this article as a case study to illustrate the tensions that arose for community development workers in the NH as they implemented a new program, and conten...

Journal of Sociology, 2017

Tinder is a location-based smartphone application used by young adults. Advertised as a popular a... more Tinder is a location-based smartphone application used by young adults. Advertised as a popular and unique way to forge connections, Tinder’s introduction into intimate life is indicative of increased information and communication technology (ICT) usage within this sphere. While the impact of ICT use within intimate life has been debated, little sociological research has investigated Tinder within this context. This article draws on data from a small scale exploratory study, including surveys (n = 203) and interviews (n = 10), examining the use of Tinder by young Australians (aged 18 to 30) and how use contributes to intimate outcomes. While survey results provide insight regarding engagement with Tinder and its use in intimate life, two key themes – (1) Tinder’s use as an additional tool in intimate life and (2) its perceived impact on ‘connection quality’ – demonstrate Tinder’s role in intimate outcomes. Findings support Jurgenson’s depiction of today’s societies as ones character...

International Journal of Communication, May 14, 2019

This article explores LGBTIQ+ young people's use of Tumblr-a social media platform often associat... more This article explores LGBTIQ+ young people's use of Tumblr-a social media platform often associated with queer youth cultures. Drawing on data from surveys (N = 1,304) and interviews (N = 23) with LGBTIQ+ young people in Australia, we argue that existing notions of "queer community" through digital media participation do not neatly align with young people's Tumblr practices. Our participants use Tumblr for connecting with others, yet these connections can be indirect, short term, and anonymous. Connections are often felt and practiced without directly communicating with other users, and many participants described their connections to the Tumblr platform itself as intense, pivotal to learning about genders and sexualities, and sometimes "toxic." We suggest that Tumblr use intensities reflect many young people's (dis)connections to queer life. Participant accounts of Tumblr use for identity, well-being, and (dis)connection practices can usefully inform health, education, and community workers engaging with LGBTIQ+ young people.

Journal of Gender Studies, Dec 19, 2021

This report reviews and assesses the growing scholarly literature exarnmmg the relationship betwe... more This report reviews and assesses the growing scholarly literature exarnmmg the relationship between health inequalities and 'place'. 'Place based' research analyses and seeks to explain variations in health and other social outcomes between geographically defined communities. This literature suggests specific socio-economic, cultural and environmental factors at the community level may undermine the effectiveness of policy programs which would otherwise be successful indifferent contexts. The report finds that there is an evidence base for the proposition that place impacts on health outcomes and inequities, as well as a literature which describes strategies for interventions and policies designed to address place based health inequality. A common theme in the literature is that placed based strategies must be tailored to needs of the specific communities they are designed to serve. The literature highlights the need to conduct detailed community level research to establish the causes of this disadvantage and strategies to remedy it. The most successful place based health programs, such as the Health Action Zones and the Healthy living Centre programs in the UK, were informed by lay knowledge and utilised community organisations to deliver programs. While the British experience provides valuable insights into how to design and deliver place based health programs, the report also notes that such programs need to be adapted to the Tasmanian context. The report concludes that a place-based approach to addressing health inequality has the potential to complement and enhance the Healthy Tasmania strategy. The report argues that a place based strategy must be informed by robust data on the spatial distribution of poor health outcomes. If this preliminary analysis reveals geographic 'clusters' of poor health outcomes then more detailed field research will be required to establish the underlying socio-economic, cultural and environmental causes. Having generated data on the relationship between place and health inequality in Tasmania it will be possible to develop targeted approachesto address locational disadvantage.

Selected papers of internet research, Oct 31, 2019

Over the past twenty to thirty years, the Internet has come to serve as a key channel for communi... more Over the past twenty to thirty years, the Internet has come to serve as a key channel for communicating, connecting, and engaging in civic participation. For lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer or questioning (LGBTIQ+) people, who continue to experience disproportionate health risks and high rates of discrimination (Leonard et al. 2012), the significance of the internet as a social resource is further magnified (Hanckel and Morris 2014). While digital social spaces have evolved, many of the motivations for using these platforms remain the same. Different platforms offer different opportunities to connect with queer peers and others, for discussing, documenting and exploring sexuality away from heteronormative spaces (Hillier et al. 2010, O'Neill 2014). From text-based 'virtual' worlds and discussion boards of years gone by, through to contemporary sites and apps such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Tumblr, YouTube, Reddit, Tinder, Grindr and Her, the digital social media landscape is now more complex than ever. What new challenges and opportunities does this evolution present?

Media, Culture & Society, May 13, 2019

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and other non-heterosexual and gender diver... more Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and other non-heterosexual and gender diverse (LGBTIQ+) young people utilise a range of digital media platforms to explore identity, find support and manage boundaries. Less well understood, however, is how they navigate risk and rewards across the different social media platforms that are part of their everyday lives. In this study, we draw on the concept of affordances, as well as recent work on curation, to examine 23 in-depth interviews with LGBTIQ+ young people about their uses of social media. Our findings show how the affordances

Culture, Health & Sexuality, Jul 28, 2022

Selected papers of internet research, Oct 5, 2020

Media, Culture & Society, Jan 21, 2021

The rise of crowdsourced and participatory digital platforms which aim to make visible the experi... more The rise of crowdsourced and participatory digital platforms which aim to make visible the experiences of otherwise marginalised people are significant within the broader landscape of digitally mediated community spaces. One example of such media is Queering the Map, a digital storymapping platform where users anonymously pin ‘queer moments’ and memories to places. While the mediation of affect and intimacy in digital spaces among queer people is increasingly attended to in scholarly work, the cartographic and archival remains hitherto underexplored. Drawing on an analysis of almost 2000 micro-stories geolocated to Australia, in this article we explore various aspects of story contribution that situate Queering the Map as a lively cartographic archive. Rather than necessarily anonymous (as the platform dictates), the posts, we argue, entail various deliberated directions or gestures, encoded for audiences: what we term stories for someone. We highlight these publicly private stories’ connective and affective underpinnings, and the political potentialities (and problems) therein for queer belonging and community-building. In doing so we seek to contribute to scholarship on digital archives, crowdsourcing, and advance conceptualisations of digital intimacies.

Culture, Health & Sexuality

Journal of Gender Studies

AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2019

For LGBTIQ+ people, the internet and social media are key channels for communicating and connecti... more For LGBTIQ+ people, the internet and social media are key channels for communicating and connecting with queer peers, and learning about queer life and queer experiences. While digital social spaces have evolved over the past 20 to 30 years, many of the motivations for using these platforms remain the same. This paper draws on data from the Scrolling Beyond Binaries study, centred on a national Australian survey of 1,304 young LGBTIQ+ people. We present key findings from the study examining generational differences across our four age cohorts of our young respondents: 16–20, 21–25, 26–30 and 30–35. Even among this group of young people, we find stark differences by age in self-identification related to gender and sexuality, and also patterns of difference in the social media platforms they use. Our younger respondents identify with much more fluid forms of gender and sexuality, and also tend to favour dating and hook-up apps that are more inclusive. We seek to foreground the ways in...

International Journal of Communication, 2019

This article explores LGBTIQ+ young people’s use of Tumblr—a social media platform often associat... more This article explores LGBTIQ+ young people’s use of Tumblr—a social media platform often associated with queer youth cultures. Drawing on data from surveys ( N = 1,304) and interviews ( N = 23) with LGBTIQ+ young people in Australia, we argue that existing notions of “queer community” through digital media participation do not neatly align with young people’s Tumblr practices. Our participants use Tumblr for connecting with others, yet these connections can be indirect, short term, and anonymous. Connections are often felt and practiced without directly communicating with other users, and many participants described their connections to the Tumblr platform itself as intense, pivotal to learning about genders and sexualities, and sometimes “toxic.” We suggest that Tumblr use intensities reflect many young people’s (dis)connections to queer life. Participant accounts of Tumblr use for identity, well-being, and (dis)connection practices can usefully inform health, education, and commun...

We welcome this timely Inquiry into the development, implementation and evaluation of integrated ... more We welcome this timely Inquiry into the development, implementation and evaluation of integrated preventive health care programs in Tasmania. We have prepared this brief submission in our capacity as researchers from the fields of health policy and sociology with an active interest in studying the social, economic and environmental causes of health inequality (with an emphasis on so-called place based explanations) in the Tasmanian context. We have a particular interest in the development and evaluation of policy interventions designed to address such inequality in a cost effective and sustainable way.

Youth, Sexuality and Sexual Citizenship, 2018

Over the past 20 to 30 years, the Internet has come to serve as a key channel for communicating a... more Over the past 20 to 30 years, the Internet has come to serve as a key channel for communicating and connecting, but also engaging in civic participation. For lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer or questioning (LGBTIQ+) people, who continue to experience disproportionate health risks and high rates of discrimination (Leonard et al. 2012), the significance of the Internet as a social resource is further magnified (Gray 2009, Hanckel and Morris 2014). While digital social spaces have evolved, many of the motivations for using these platforms remain the same. Different platforms offer different opportunities to connect with queer peers and others, for discussing, documenting and exploring sexuality away from heteronormative spaces (Hillier et al. 2001, 2010, O’Neill 2014). From text-based ‘virtual’ worlds and discussion boards through to sites and apps such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Tumblr, YouTube, Reddit, Tinder, Grindr and Her, the digital social media landscape is now more complex than ever. What new challenges and opportunities does this evolution present? A better understanding of digital engagement (and disengagement) is useful not only for researchers and platform designers but also for a broad range of social service providers, educators and policymakers who are routinely tasked with both the regulation and the support of young LGBTIQ+ people.

Media, Culture & Society, 2021

The rise of crowdsourced and participatory digital platforms which aim to make visible the experi... more The rise of crowdsourced and participatory digital platforms which aim to make visible the experiences of otherwise marginalised people are significant within the broader landscape of digitally mediated community spaces. One example of such media is Queering the Map, a digital storymapping platform where users anonymously pin ‘queer moments’ and memories to places. While the mediation of affect and intimacy in digital spaces among queer people is increasingly attended to in scholarly work, the cartographic and archival remains hitherto underexplored. Drawing on an analysis of almost 2000 micro-stories geolocated to Australia, in this article we explore various aspects of story contribution that situate Queering the Map as a lively cartographic archive. Rather than necessarily anonymous (as the platform dictates), the posts, we argue, entail various deliberated directions or gestures, encoded for audiences: what we term stories for someone. We highlight these publicly private stories...

AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research, 2020

QueeringTheMap.com, launched in late 2017 by designer Lucas LaRochelle, is a ‘community-generated... more QueeringTheMap.com, launched in late 2017 by designer Lucas LaRochelle, is a ‘community-generated mapping project that geo-locates queer moments, memories and histories in relation to physical space’. In a Google Maps-style interface, users can locate pins anchored to physical locations. Attached to each pin is a story. Collectively, there are tens of thousands of stories about being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming: coming out stories, stories of first kisses, sexual encounters, break-ups, pride marches, assaults, traumas, and realisations. These stories digitally layer physical spaces with anonymous individual and collective stories; they locate queer life and they queer the map. In this project we seek to document these experiences, improve understandings of community archiving and digital storytelling practices, and expose the potential for reconfiguring forms of resistance and solidarity through new platforms for collectivity and commun...

Media, Culture & Society, 2019

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and other non-heterosexual and gender diver... more Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and other non-heterosexual and gender diverse (LGBTIQ+) young people utilise a range of digital media platforms to explore identity, find support and manage boundaries. Less well understood, however, is how they navigate risk and rewards across the different social media platforms that are part of their everyday lives. In this study, we draw on the concept of affordances, as well as recent work on curation, to examine 23 in-depth interviews with LGBTIQ+ young people about their uses of social media. Our findings show how the affordances of platforms used by LGBTIQ+ young people, and the contexts of their engagement, situate and inform a typology of uses. These practices – focused on finding, building and fostering support – draw on young people’s social media literacies, where their affective experiences range from feelings of safety, security and control, to fear, disappointment and anger. These practices also work to manage bou...

Evaluation Journal of Australasia, 2015

Building evaluation capacity in community organisations is promoted as a key means of creating an... more Building evaluation capacity in community organisations is promoted as a key means of creating an evaluation culture that will reorient organisations towards identifying and measuring outcomes, demonstrating achievements and enhancing accountability. Building evaluation capacity presents a number of challenges for micro-organisations, including limited resources for evaluation, a low existing evaluation skills base, and, an organisational culture and practice that does not align well with evaluation tools and techniques typically used to demonstrate program outcomes. The implementation of the Thriving Communities Healthy Families pilot project in Tasmania, a place-based health promotion intervention delivered through Neighbourhood Houses (NH), included an evaluation capacity building (ECB) component. The pilot project is used in this article as a case study to illustrate the tensions that arose for community development workers in the NH as they implemented a new program, and conten...

Journal of Sociology, 2017

Tinder is a location-based smartphone application used by young adults. Advertised as a popular a... more Tinder is a location-based smartphone application used by young adults. Advertised as a popular and unique way to forge connections, Tinder’s introduction into intimate life is indicative of increased information and communication technology (ICT) usage within this sphere. While the impact of ICT use within intimate life has been debated, little sociological research has investigated Tinder within this context. This article draws on data from a small scale exploratory study, including surveys (n = 203) and interviews (n = 10), examining the use of Tinder by young Australians (aged 18 to 30) and how use contributes to intimate outcomes. While survey results provide insight regarding engagement with Tinder and its use in intimate life, two key themes – (1) Tinder’s use as an additional tool in intimate life and (2) its perceived impact on ‘connection quality’ – demonstrate Tinder’s role in intimate outcomes. Findings support Jurgenson’s depiction of today’s societies as ones character...

Families are changing, and our political leaders should reflect on this diversity to ensure socia... more Families are changing, and our political leaders should reflect on this diversity to ensure social policies reflect these differences, so that all families are well supported.

Releasing Australia’s fourth Intergenerational Report, Joe Hockey described it as the “social com... more Releasing Australia’s fourth Intergenerational Report, Joe Hockey described it as the “social compact between generations”, which would help “identify where the future opportunities will be” and “unlock the immense potential of our future”. According to the Treasurer, these opportunities are to be found in Australia’s older population - a “grey army” to drive productivity and prosperity.

By 2055, however, the large majority of Baby Boomers who make up this “grey army” of workers will no longer be alive. The remaining Boomers who by then will be aged somewhere between 70 and 90 will be highly unlikely or unable to contribute to the labour market in a productive manner. Any suggested increases in the labour force participation amongst this group are of course on the condition that this generation is willing to (re)negotiate with the government to work beyond the long held idea of retirement at 65. A prospective that seems unlikely.

The 2015 Intergenerational Report misidentifies future opportunities for greater productivity and labour force participation by looking to the past and not to the future. As with the previous 2010 Report, the 2015 IGR stubbornly and somewhat blindly focuses on the current workforce and ways to improve older and female labour force participation.

As a project Scrolling Beyond Binaries seeks to understand how young (aged 16-35) lesbian, gay, b... more As a project Scrolling Beyond Binaries seeks to understand how young (aged 16-35) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, or questioning (LGBTIQ+) people in Australia use digital social media. The project will concentrate on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, through to emerging platforms like Snapchat, and including hook-up/dating applications such as Grindr, Tinder, and Her.
The project will seek to contribute to policy discussions, provide insight into the provision of health information, generate empirical data on how connections and communities are mediated in digital spaces, and further our understanding of the lives of young LGBTIQ+ people in Australia more broadly. The project is especially interested in the role of social media for LGBTIQ+ people in regional areas.

More information and a link to the survey can be found here: https://scrollingbeyondbinaries.com/