We often imitate styles of speech we hear – what’s known as ‘linguistic convergence.’ But a researcher wanted to see if we alter our speech based on the mere expectation of how someone will sound.
It’s so easy to get side-tracked in any discussion and once that happens you’re doomed. So what do you need to know to win your argument?
Two sides of the same coin? Convergence theory explains why the Labor and Liberal parties are often closer together on issues than they like to portray.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
Convergence theory – which holds that the main Australian political parties will, over time, converge upon near-identical policy positions on most issues – was on full display during budget week.
Eyes and wings are among the most stunning innovations evolution has created. Remarkably these features have evolved multiple times in different lineages of animals. For instance, the avian ancestors of…
Beyond: Two Souls – not a film, not a game, but definitely entertaining.
AAP
Beyond: Two Souls isn’t a film. It isn’t a game. The interactive adventure game, released by French developers Quantic Dream for Sony’s Playstation 3, is a melding of the two. Using sophisticated motion-capture…
Newsrooms are undergoing major changes as the old print-digital divide crumbles.
Flickr/andyp uk
Fairfax reporters will be expected to file stories throughout the day into an internal “wire” that will hold copy for use on any platform - print, online, tablet, social media and mobile, under a blueprint…
News Limited CEO Kim William’s plans for cross-media consolidation will have significant ramifications for Australia’s media landscape.
AAP
A week is a long time in the media. Yesterday Kim Williams, the CEO of News Limited, announced a series of reforms to his company. This follows the slash-and-burn announcements by Fairfax Media earlier…
Trust in the media is at the heart of issues around Gina Rinehart, Fairfax and editorial independence.
AAP
Amid indications that Fairfax is going into the corporate death spiral – ongoing disinvestment resulting in smaller market share - we’re asking the wrong questions about the future of the Australian media…
Access to the internet is becoming less of a problem - but does society have the structures to support free exchange of information?
Howard Stateman
In part six of our multi-disciplinary Millennium Project series, Jake Wallis argues that the infrastructure of global communication networks is inherently political and calls for a switched-on populace…
Dull grey tone: media organisations are “Content service enterprises”, according to the Convergence Review.
AAP
The Convergence Review’s final report is remarkable for its blandness and predictability. Despite the cries of fear and loathing from the Murdoch stable that the cold hand of government intervention was…
The line between traditional and new media has now blurred into indistinguishability.
flickr/francescominciotti
It should be easy for the Gillard Government to accept the recommendations of the Convergence Review. On the surface it seems all very sensible: a converged Press Council and Australian Communications…
Communication Minister Stephen Conroy will oversee the government’s response to the Convergence Review.
AAP/Dean Lewins
I’m looking forward to the next few days. The Convergence Review’s key recommendation to introduce a new body to “regulate” the activities of our major 15 media operators – including newspapers – is significant…
Seven West Media’s decision to withdraw from the Australian Press Council raises questions about the Australian commercial media’s commitment to corporate social responsibility and best practice.
AAP
When the report of the Independent Inquiry into the media and media regulation, aka Finkelstein inquiry, was released some time ago, it was denounced as sinister and – like the Leveson Inquiry in the UK…
New platforms and services will face the same requirements for content as traditional media.
AAP
Light on detail and raising many more questions than it answers, yesterday’s Convergence Review interim report is still bold and far-reaching, driven by a fundamentally optimistic view of the future for…
Australia’s media landscape may face another shakeup with the release of the Federal Government’s convergence review.
AAP
The Federal Government’s Convergence Review has released its interim report, recommending the scrapping of existing cross-media ownership rules and that commercial operators be given “certainty” around…
Media ownership is much more concentrated in Australia than in the UK, where it is under scrutiny.
AAP/Dean Lewins
A profound shift is underway in the global news media industries. As the extensive police investigation and judicial inquiry into the News of the World phone hacking scandal continue in the UK, News Corporation…