The European Social Survey (ESS): data providing great cross-national research opportunities on values and more - A Masterclass with Hester van Herk

Tuesday, 12 November 2024, 10am - Noon, UWA Institute of Advanced Studies
Attendance is Free, but pre-registration is essential

In this Masterclass, Professor Van Herk will provide an introduction to using the European Social Survey (ESS) data. The ESS is a large-scale bi-annual survey in more than 30 European nations, including Russia, Ukraine, Israel, and Turkey. The samples are representative of the population in the respective nations with sample sizes over 1000. The first wave of the survey was in 2002 and data of the 11th wave (2023-2024) are now available. These waves include a set of core questions on respondents’ values, opinions, attitudes and beliefs, as well as more in-depth ad hoc rotating modules.

The ESS data are open source and available for researchers all over the world. The success of the research is evidenced by ESS’ global outreach to South Africa, Australia, Japan and Korea; in Australia the fieldwork (in the - Life in Australia – online panel) was done 2020. The scientifically sound design of the questionnaires ensures that valid comparisons can be made between countries.

More than 6500 publications report on data from the ESS across diverse fields such as sociology, political science, economics, and public health. Publications may focus on one nation, but many include cross-national comparisons. Regarding data quality, the ESS is one of the best cross-national surveys in the world.

The masterclass will give an overview of he development of the European Social Survey, ESS’ questionnaire design, sampling, and data collection, and provide insight into the challenges of doing cross-national comparative research. Topics will be illustrated using ESS data with an emphasis on the human values module.

Hester van Herk is Professor of Cross-Cultural Marketing Research at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the European Social Survey (London, UK). She holds a MSc in Psychometrics (Leiden University, the Netherlands, 1986) and a PhD from Tilburg University, the Netherlands (2000); before joining academia, she worked in business for over 8 years as a research methodologist at Statistics Netherlands, Solvay Duphar, and ABN AMRO.

She is an expert in consequences of personal and cultural val­ues on consumer behavior in developed and emerging markets and in cross-cultural research methodology. She is co-author of the book International and Cross-Cultural Business Research (Sage 2017) and co-editor of the book Cross Cultural Issues in Consumer Psychology and Consumer Science. Current Perspectives and Future Directions (Springer, 2017).

Professor van Herk is a UWA Institute of Advanced Studies Visiting Fellow, working with Associate Professor Julie Lee in the UWA Centre for Human and Cultural Values

Immersive Media, Virtual Reality, and the Promise of Novel Forms of Storytelling
Masterclass with Ana Brzezinska
Tuesday 26 November, 9.30am-11.30am, UWA Institute of Advanced Studies
Free, but registration required via the online form

This compact, cross-sectoral masterclass on immersive and spatial media will provide you with a comprehensive overview of how 3D interactive storytelling technologies can be effectively applied across various creative industries—from filmmaking, performing arts, visual arts, fashion, spatial sound, and music, to large scale venues such as commercial digital spaces, museums, and theme parks.

Drawing on her rich and multidisciplinary professional experience, Ana Brzezinska—who recently curated the first group exhibition of immersive art in New York City, attracting a record-breaking audience of over 50,000 viewers in under seven weeks—will guide you through key areas of the spatial media landscape. This session will help you explore potential avenues for your own practice and career within this rapidly evolving field.

After the session, we invite you to participate in a discussion and consult your ideas or projects with Ana, who will be available to answer any questions you may have about emerging media and its role in arts and culture.

Ana Brzezinska is a Polish-French-American curator and producer specializing in AR/MR/VR technologies. From 2022 to 2024, she served as Immersive Curator at the Tribeca Festival, where she curated Tribeca’s first guest immersive art show at Mercer Labs, attracting some 50,000 viewers. Ana also serves as an expert to the European Commission, and has collaborated with Warner Bros., Canal+, Paramount, Yahoo, Digital Catapult, and National Film Board of Canada.  Ana will be one of the main speakers at REMIX Summit Perth 2024 hosted at the WA Museum Boola Bardip and the Art Gallery of Western Australia: www.remixsummits.com/perth-2024/ .