I’ve decided to set up a new academic blog for me to ruminate on the big questions I grapple with in my studies and, in the future, my work.
I chose the title ‘Blergh’ from one of my favourite TV shows, 30 Rock. For a blog that will mesh my interests in academia, pop culture, digital media, government, democracy, politics, participatory culture and more, I think this is the perfect title.
You can access the new site at www.blergh.org or follow it on Twitter @BlerghOrg.
Following completion of my honours year in 2012, I applied for and received admission to a PhD program at the University of Wollongong, and an Australian Postgraduate Award.
I’m looking forward to beginning work on the project, but at this stage it is still in the very early developmental phase so I’m finding it hard to get genuinely excited about the work. Nonetheless, I think I’ve developed an interesting, challenging and valuable research proposal. Partly in a bid to launch myself into this project, this post outlines my research project – largely without the academic language that the actual proposal is littered with – and the key topics in my project. Then, whenever someone asks me what I’m studying, I’m handing them a URL!
The topic makes good use of my experience and studies in communications and media, and also builds on my interests in politics.
Title
I set out to keep the title of my thesis simple, but my supervisor suggested it needed to include more detail. So, while I liked simply “Hyperlocal eGovernment”, it now is appendaged with: “participatory media practices by local government authorities in NSW”. Posed as a question, it would basically be ‘How do NSW Councils use participatory media?’ Ah, but what is participatory media? And what the hell is ‘hyperlocal?’ Read on!
Key Topics
Key theorists
Methods
This project will involve development of a framework to collect and analyse data from Councils including published documents and plans that are both broad and related specifically to eGovernance. In addition to analysis of these documents, I anticipate that there will be surveys and focus group research with Councillors and Council-staff. The existing literature on e-Gov, and other research on local governments, will also be useful.
Significance
This study is intended to have a definite impact on the participatory media practices of local government authorities, both in New South Wales and elsewhere. It will develop a framework for effective use of participatory media which is intended to guide local governments in their thinking about e-governance and participatory media. Further, the challenge to the efficacy of the term ‘e-governance’ could have wide ramifications in communications, media and political academic circles.
Warning: Rant Ahead.
One of Bob Brown’s major tag lines is that the majority of the population agrees with the Greens on issues like climate change and social policy. I suspect he’s right. But the problem for the Greens is the majority of the population – those who see the world and politics in oppositional binaries (good/bad, Liberal/Labor, male/female, black/white, or whatever) – can’t agree with the party’s more radical ideology.
Most people generally support the idea of environmental protection, even at the expense of jobs, as the recent anti-mine movement attests. Most people agree there should be universal access to healthcare services including dental and disability. Most people like the idea that there will be a strong safety net there when they most need it. But they cannot accept that we should legalise marijuana and they cannot accept private schools ought not receive any public funding. These are part of The Greens’ platform in the public mind. The descriptions I’ve given might not be accurate, but they are prevalent, and that’s where The Greens fall down with most of the voting public. They have an image problem because they allow the ideas to linger. They allow radicals within the party to promote these as legitimate policy platforms. Instead of consigning their radicals to the dustbin so a broader range of community support can be gained, they carry on as is.
And that is why the Greens will not achieve the power they crave. Their platform denies entry to those they need most – voters on the margins of the major parties who do support their broad environmental and social policies. They don’t make it easy to vote for them, much less participate in the party as a member or even candidate, because they alienate too many.
On Monday, Kevin Rudd strode into Parliament a white knight leading a small band of fierce yet determined foot soldiers. He was there to do battle with the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. From his pronouncements, we can imagine Rudd sees Gillard as an unfathomably evil creature who robbed him. She was the red dragon that stole his crown jewel.
The contrast is stark in Rudd’s mind. He escaped from the nasty coup in 2010 wounded but free of mud. He had jousted with the dragon and lost, because she had gathered an army of minions. This time, Rudd lost again. The minions were now senior Ministers, and they duped the caucus into believing Rudd would tear the Government apart. Again, he claims the moral superiority. His challenge was open and honest. He calmly approached the gates of her lair (having left fortress Brisbane far behind) and fought openly, while Wayne Swan and others ambushed him even as Gillard loomed in sight. His tears in 2010 were pure, borne of shock and a sense of betrayal. Today, Rudd knew he would lose. He will retreat to the backbench for now.
The whole fantasy of Kevin Rudd the White is a story that has been well-told by Rudd and his supporters. If only Labor had managed to enthrall the electorate with the tale.
They could have used their time since 2007 to draw up a neat map of successes. They warded off the plague of the GFC, saw a carbon tax through the roughest of media seas, delivered increases in pensions for the villagers, and began laying down the information infrastructure that will keep the kingdom strong. They have delivered much more. In contrast, Tony Abbott careens wildly throughout the countryside, trying to find the cracks that will let him climb into the castle.
Instead of trumpeting their successes, Labor has given Abbott the chance to show that you can slay a dragon – and a whole bunch of her colleagues – without offering a credible alternative. Where other Liberal leaders have articulated clear vision, Abbott has just been casting spells and hoping that one of them won’t turn him into a toad.
Gillard’s victories include the aforementioned carbon tax, plus the health agreement and the pay boost for community services workers. These are her reforms. But they have barely been mentioned outside of the media and the Government. Gillard has not been able to write the Government’s story. This is partly because she lost the ability to narrate it once Rudd was deposed. Instead, the clear voice of the brave knight has been reading it his way. He was the victim and the classic fairy tale storyline kicked in. He had to be returned, because that would be natural justice. That is the ending the public have been seeking.
When Rudd broke from the pattern last week and resigned as Foreign Minister, he once again seized the role of narrator. He told us the Gillard reforms began while he was in charge and he now sought to take credit for them. He stepped into the role of the Knight as we had hoped. He evolved into the worn down hero who has had enough of tyranny and would lead the revolt. But Rudd had not counted on the venom from those he had worked with. Nicola Roxon, Wayne Swan and Simon Crean let their arrows fly as soon as Rudd’s drawbridge was down. Only bit-part Ministers (with the exception of Anthony Albanese) joined his party. The villagers cheered for Rudd as he rode out, but it was not their battle to fight. The members of the Labor caucus would decide this winner and many showed their disdain for the interference of the public.
It remains to be seen whether Gillard will take vengeance on those who supported Rudd. Her refusal to accept Albanese’s resignation suggests that they will be treated well. But as the White Knight retreats to mend his armour, the prospect of ongoing disunity in the Government is strong. Their best hope is to tell a compelling story. It needs to be a page turner. The successes need to be seen and celebrated. If not, another army may rise to challenge Gillard, even if the flaxen-haired ex-PM is not part of the charge.
I’ve been putting it off, but time moves inexorably, and it won’t stop (nor even slow) for me. I have to really make some careful decisions about where I want my life to go – not just for the next six months or year, but for decades.
If you follow this blog, you may know I’ve already lodged an application to complete an honours year following my recent graduation. I’m also working hard on my new social media business. I have a pro bono client who I’m very happy to be working with, and I’m confident of the future. In my main job, I work three days a week in a political office, which is where I really have been heading for a few years now. The work is challenging, enjoyable and rewarding. Amongst all of that, I spend plenty of time doing volunteer community work.
Here’s the problem: Which of the three (academia, business or politics) do I focus on?
My problem is I’ve always been interested in too many things. In addition to the stuff listed above, I also enjoy participating in the arts – theatre and photography mostly. And, I’d love to do some serious traveling. And, whatever my choice, it also needs to work for Meghan.
All suggestions and comments welcome!