Digital Media and Digital Culture Seminar Series
Centre for Media Research, University of Ulster
Coleraine Campus, Northern Ireland

http://www.arts.ulster.ac.uk/media/cmr.html

All are welcome

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Wednesday 4 May, 2005
3.15-5.15pm, 4-6 pm, Venue: B244, South Building, Coleraine Campus

Dr Aphra Kerr <[log in to unmask]>
Media Policy strand, Centre for Media Research, University of Ulster

Abstract

'Post-Culture? Digital Media Policy Debates'

In film, television, radio and print media the battle is won - we no
longer have to defend the cultural role of traditional media in
academia, policy circles or even our everyday lives. Despite the
erosion of 'public service' ideals it is generally accepted that it is
'good' and 'right' that individuals should be enabled to produce
content which is reflective of their own stories, identities and
culture. By contrast, digital media policy - from the internet to
computer games - struggles to talk in these terms and go beyond
discussions of the market and regulation. In most cases the market is
seen as the arbitrator of public interest and what should be produced.
Similarly, the state's role is merely to educate and
regulate/de-regulate where appropriate. While there is growing support
for media literacy, and this includes support for making media content,
the debate about locally produced digital content or, at the very
least, culturally diverse content is largely absent from national and
some transnational industrial and cultural policy circles. This seminar
will explore recent debates and policy documents produced by the OECD,
the Republic of Ireland and the UK and reflect on the implications for
Northern Ireland's digital media industries.

Bio

Dr. Aphra Kerr is a research associate at the Centre for Media Research
at the University of Ulster, Coleraine and her work focuses on
political economic and social aspects of digital media. She is author
of a forthcoming book Gamework: Gameplay (Sage, 2005) and a number of
book chapters and articles on the political economy and culture of
digital games and digital media more generally.

Much of her work has involved either conducting research to inform
policy making or scrutinizing existing policy documents. She has worked
as a consultant for government agencies in the Rep. of Ireland such as
FÁS and Forfás as well as the DTI in the UK and most recently has
contributed to the OECD's policy work on broadband content. She has
also worked on a number of European funded network research projects
including 'Strategies of Inclusion: Gender and the Information Society'
(SIGIS), 'Social Learning in Multimedia' (SLIM) and 'Science and
Technology Policy in Less Favoured Regions'.

Aphra is the academic liaison officer on the Irish chapter of the
International Game Developers Association and runs the online resource
www.gamedevelopers.ie. She was a founding member of the Digital Games
Research Association (DiGRA) and is on the editorial board of Game
Studies.
More info: http://www.arts.ulster.ac.uk/media/kerr/