Social Change Symposium 1, 2023
15 - 19 May 2023
15 - 19 May 2023
Conducting research that (we hope!) will lead to positive social change is a noble endeavour, and one that requires engagement with communities beyond the university. Yet, the pathway to building robust, ongoing engagement with potential research partners and beneficiaries is not always clear. Early career researchers (including HDR students) may need to identify community groups, government agencies, or businesses who may benefit from their research and/or wish to contribute important perspectives. Mid-career and senior researchers may have strong external partnerships in one sector but face the challenge of extending their reach into new sectors or contexts.This symposium explores the diverse ways that researchers connect with communities to foster social change, including some of the challenges they face along the way.
Monday 15 May, 4:30pm, Council Chamber, RMIT City Campus
Keynote presentation by Dr Rebekah Willson, Assistant Professor, School of Information Studies at McGill University (Canada).
Wednesday 17 May, 4:30pm, Storey Hall, RMIT City Campus
Keynote presentation by Professor Blair Kuys, Associate Dean Research in the School of Design and Architecture at Swinburne University of Technology (Australia).
Tuesday 16 May, 11:30am, Storey Hall, RMIT City Campus
Facilitated by Dr Rebekah Willson (McGill University), this workshop will guide participants through the beginnings of creating a research impact plan, including discussing ways research impact is determined.
Thursday 18 May 11:30am, Storey Hall, RMIT City Campus
Facilitated by Associate Professor Karien Dekker (RMIT University), this workshop aims to enhance employability and to support capacity building of early career researchers.
Friday 19 May, 11:30am, Storey Hall, RMIT City Campus
Facilitated by Dr Sarah Polkinghorne (RMIT University), this workshop will examine recruitment and sampling techniques for community-engaged research, while providing opportunities for participants to develop their own work in progress.
Throughout the symposium, HDR candidates from across all disciplines in DSC will present their milestones. Session details for HDR presentations are available via the program below. Please note that information for milestone presenters, chairs and referees is available through the RMIT SharePoint site for HDR Milestone Presentations (RMIT login required).
Keynote presentation by Dr Rebekah Willson, Assistant Professor, School of Information Studies at McGill University (Montréal, Canada), followed by Looking for Information: A Social Change Symposium Book Launch.
As there are increasing calls by governments and funding agencies for research to have an impact on broader society, academics are being urged to think beyond their disciplines and universities to determine how their research makes a difference to society. And because of their passion for their work, most academics want to have social impact. However, for many academics – particularly those early in their careers – planning for research impact is an additional responsibility that can present new challenges. While academics are skilled in research, we may not be equally skilled in impact work. Making a change in society takes additional labour and there may be little training or obvious supports for undertaking the work. Based on Dr Willson’s research, this keynote will explore some of the challenges that academics experience in undertaking this work, ways academics (including HDR students) can identify and use resources for making an impact with their research, as well as how universities and research leaders can foster impact.
Following this presentation, please join us to celebrate the publication of Looking for Information: Examining Research on How People Engage with Information by Prof. Lisa M. Given, Prof. Donald O. Case and Dr. Rebekah Willson. The book launch will be hosted by Dr. Sarah Polkinghorne.
4:30pm keynote address; 5:15pm book launch; 5:45pm networking reception and refreshments.
Please note that presentations will either be given in person or online only. Refer to the location column for details.
| Time | Candidate | Thesis title | Location |
| 10.00 - 11.30 | Joann Cattlin (CoC) | Institutionalising the impact agenda: How universities are enabling societal impact of research | 16.07.01 (in person) |
| 10.00 - 11.30 | Erin Seymour (PhD CoC) | Watchable and watched: a case for class diversity on Australian screens | Teams (online) |
| 10.00 - 11.30 | Jiawei Cao (2MR) | The impact of investor sentiment on the REITs market: An empirical study on the Australian REITs market | 16.07.02 (in person) |
| 12.00 - 1.30 | Lizhi Shen (CoC) | The organisational behavior aspect of fostering Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) adoption in the construction sector | 16.07.03 (in person) |
| 12.30 - 2.00 | Alejandra Cortes Fuentes (3MR) | Energy Culture: implications for energy policies in Coyhaique city, Chile | Teams (online) |
| 1.00 - 2.30 | Zichen Zhao (CoC) | Female Images in the English Translations of Shui Hu Zhuan | Teams (online) |
| 1.30 - 3.00 | Christian Berzi (2MR) | Wrestle it Back! | 16.07.01 (in person) |
There is a lot of discussion about the need to demonstrate the societal impact of academic work, particularly by governments and funding agencies. However, for many academics (including HDR students) social impact has not been a part of their training. Recognising that it can be challenging to know where to start, this workshop will guide participants through the beginnings of creating a research impact plan, including discussing ways research impact is determined. A hands-on workshop, participants are encouraged to bring their laptops (or pencils) to begin identifying their own values regarding impact, as well as specific institutional, collegial, and disciplinary resources that support impact work.
A light lunch will be provided after the workshop.
Please note that presentations will either be given in person or online only. Refer to the location column for details.
| Time | Candidate | Thesis Title | Location |
| 9.30 - 11.00 | Francisca Diaz de Valdes (2MR) | Feminist Digital Media Politics in Latin America: a counterhegemonic space of gender activism | Teams (online) |
| 2.00 - 3.30 | Abigail Lewis (3MR) | A Conflict between Care and Commerce: Managing Tenancies in Social Housing | 16.07.01 (in person) |
| 3.30 - 5.00 | Sylvia Thompson (CoC) | Resilience, Community and Displacement: A Study of Roma Refugees from Ukraine in Poland | 16.07.02 (in person) |
| 4.00 - 5.30 | Edoardo Brunetti (CoC) | An investigation into the relationship between regional language speakers and the language policy and planning process in contemporary France | 37.05.02 (in person) |
Professor Blair Kuys, Associate Dean Research in the School of Design and Architecture at Swinburne University of Technology.
‘Innovate or die’ has been a recurrent reality for many Small-to-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as manufacturing processes move offshore, consumer markets shift, and technological advancements grow at exceedingly fast rates. This causes major issues for the manufacturing sector through the loss of skills and equipment that are discarded when manufacturers lose their principal markets. This creates an opportunity to use design as a strategy for business agility; by taking a socio-economic crisis and turning it into an opportunity to diversify production output. This presentation showcases 10 industry funded research projects in 10 years; highlighting how research was used to audit organisational capability to translate good ideas into tangible assets for organisational growth. A roadmap to facilitate collaboration between SMEs and researchers is provided, and subsequently shows the barriers and promoters of successful industry-engaged research. This provides the foundation for a mutual understanding of the design process and facilitates shared decision making to such that SMEs can be more resilient, adaptable, and agile to turbulent times by using research-led practice as a driver of innovation.
4:30pm - 5:30pm keynote address, followed by networking reception.
Please note that presentations will either be given in person or online only. Refer to the location column for details.
| Time | Candidate | Thesis title | Location |
| 10.30 - 12.00 | Mohammed Farah (3MR) | Alternative view on governance in developing countries: an integrative analysis of governance for sustainable development in Somaliland | 16.07.02 (in person) |
| 11.00 - 12.30 | Muhammad Tauseef (CoC) | Succession planning for academic leadership in the Australian tertiary education sector | 16.07.01 (in person) |
| 11.30 - 1.00 | Leesa Corbo (CoC) | Power in Digital Queer Space: An Exploration of the Lived Experiences of Emergent Identities in Australia | Teams (online) |
| 1.00 - 2.30 | Andrew Hutcheon (3MR) | 21C DIY: The Maker movement and the 'Things of the Internet' | Teams (online) |
| 3.30 - 5.00 | Lilan He (CoC) | National branding online: Security analysis of the cyber image of contemporary China in a global digital space | 16.07.01 (in person) |
| 3.30 - 5.00 | Amina Hadziomerovic (3MR) | Long-Distance Mourning for the Missing: Gaps, Absences and Silences in Two Diaspoa Contexts | 16.07.02 (in person) |
This workshop aims to enhance employability and to support capacity building of early career researchers (ECRs) by supporting the development of strategies for advancing personal, professional and research goals from lecturer to senior lecturer (and beyond) by setting personal goals, empowering ECRs with the pathways to information and providing opportunities. The session will start by identifying your goals and the activities that will help you reach them. This will be followed by conversations about self-management, work-life balance, learning and creativity, with an overarching aim of supporting the development of your research career. This workshop will benefit early career researchers and academics that feel that they are in the early stages of their research career. You will also have the option to schedule a follow-up session to further develop your research career plan. This session will support you to develop your goals and pathways towards them. You will explore working effectively with mentors and sponsors of your research, establishing powerful research collaborations, and building partnerships from a basis of ethical engagement and integrity.
A light lunch will be provided after the workshop.
Please note that presentations will either be given in person or online only. Refer to the location column for details.
| Time | Candidate | Thesis title | Location |
| 9.00 - 10.30 | Kiralee Greenhalgh (CoC) | Generating (Dis)Comfort: A focussed exploration into the in-between and the generation of powerful audience experiences in screen media | 16.07.01 (in person) |
| 12.30 - 2.00 | Adnan Alamri (CoC) | Infodemic and misinformation on COVID-19's vaccination through social media in Saudi Arabia and Egypt | Teams (online) |
| 3.00 - 4.30 | Lei Sun (CoC) | Using machine learning in regulatory compliance checks for the construction industry | Teams (online) |
It’s relatively rare for methods conversations and texts to focus extensively on recruitment and sampling. These key activities are often under-addressed in training contexts, and then under-documented in research outputs. Recruitment and sampling strategies are not always straightforwardly determined by researchers’ choice of method. In preparing for community-engaged research, it’s beneficial to spend time closely examining recruitment and sampling techniques, and considering examples that illustrate the implications of different approaches. This workshop provides participants with opportunities to do these things, while developing their own work in progress. Researchers of all experience levels and disciplines are welcome.
A light lunch will be provided after the workshop.
Please note that presentations will either be given in person or online only. Refer to the location column for details.
| Time | Candidate | Thesis title | Location |
| 11.30 - 1.00 | Anna Galluzzo (2MR) | Women in onsite and offsite project leadership roles in construction | Teams (online) |
| 1.30 - 3.00 | Ashley Hall (CoC) | How effective is film as a tool to generate conversation around suicide prevention and promote help-seeking behaviour in teens and young adults? | Teams (online) |
| 1.30 - 3.00 | Kelsie Nabben (3MR) | Resilience in Decentralised Technologies as 'Self Infrastructuring' | Teams (online) |
This symposium is a collaboration between the College of Design and Social Context and the Social Change Enabling Impact Platform.
Acknowledgement of Country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.
Acknowledgement of Country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.