Exploring histories of sexual technologies with Dr. Bo Ruberg (Digital and data literacies for sexual health policy and practice 2022 webinar series)

The global field of sextech is estimated to be worth up to $30 billion in the near future. From pitching competitions and hackathons to the tech press, medtech founders, marketers and journalists promise a future where technology will continuously enhance our pleasure, sexual health and wellbeing. But sextech - and sextech marketing - has a history, too. And it's complicated. In this webinar, Associate Professor Bo Ruberg discusses their book Sex Dolls At Sea: Imagined Histories of Sexual Technologies (MIT Press 2022), in conversation with Professor Kath Albury. Discover what the origin story of the sex doll can teach us about contemporary sextech innovations - from condoms to sex robots

Digital cultures and sexual health, research and practice roundtable (Digital and data literacies for sexual health policy and practice 2022 webinar series)

This series is supported by an ARC Future Fellowship grant (FT210100085), the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making + Society, and the Swinburne Social Innovation Research Institute. Digital platforms and technologies are becoming ubiquitous within our public and private lives - including our negotiations of gender, sexuality and sexual health. The Australian 2018-2022 Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Strategy notes that "understanding the social drivers that influence the rates of STI in Australia, such as social media and other technology platforms" is a critical gap in contemporary sexual health policy and practice. But what do we currently know about 'good practice' in digital sexual health promotion? How are government and non-government organisations engaging with Indigenous people's digital cultures? How are trans people included in (or excluded from) mainstream sexual health communication? What kinds of technologies are young adults (aged 18-29) using to explore sexuality, health and wellbeing? This roundtable conversation brings together social researchers, and sexual health promotion experts to share their insights into emerging research and practical responses at the intersection of digital cultures and sexual health in Australia

Social science + data science = impact: collaborative methods for industry partnerships

In this lunchtime webinar, researchers from the Swinburne node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making & Society and the Social Innovation Research Institute share practical insights from recent interdisciplinary research partnerships with industry that brought social scientists and data scientists together for social impact: - How did data from online teen relationship forums help the Alannah & Madeline Foundation develop a social media campaign that prevents online abuse? - What happened when a team of social scientists and data scientists collaborated with the Melbourne not-for-profits to visualise social impact through data analytics? - How are Swinburne researchers and the Red Cross working together to identify and map community resources for crisis response