Australian art exhibitions 1968-2009: a generation of cultural transformation. The years 1968 to 2009 witnessed a transformation in the way Australians saw the art of their country. This project investigates the impact of increased funding (government and private) and new scholarship on the curating of art exhibitions, and traces the reconfiguration of Australia’s art history that took place in exhibitions during this period.
A national framework for managing malignant plastics in museum collections. A national framework for managing malignant plastics in museum collections. This collaborative project between three universities, four museums and an art gallery aims to discover how to predict and increase the lifespan of malignant plastics or polymers by studying their identification, deterioration and conservation. 5 to 80% of museum collections, composed of growing numbers of plastic or polymer-based materials, need ....A national framework for managing malignant plastics in museum collections. A national framework for managing malignant plastics in museum collections. This collaborative project between three universities, four museums and an art gallery aims to discover how to predict and increase the lifespan of malignant plastics or polymers by studying their identification, deterioration and conservation. 5 to 80% of museum collections, composed of growing numbers of plastic or polymer-based materials, need better preservation. Conservators do not have much expertise in preserving plastics, which are contemporary and have a relatively short life expectancy. This project intends to provide museums with a model for prioritising and effectively allocating resources to preserve a vulnerable group of collections for future generations.Read moreRead less
Diversifying Australian Regional Art Museums. Regional art museums need to diversify to maintain relevance to the communities they serve as these communities are increasingly Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) resulting from humanitarian resettlement programs. However, their strategies are limited to diversifying audiences rather than including CALD people in leadership positions in the museum. Working with the Murray Art Museum Albury, situated in Albury-Wodonga, this project creates ....Diversifying Australian Regional Art Museums. Regional art museums need to diversify to maintain relevance to the communities they serve as these communities are increasingly Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) resulting from humanitarian resettlement programs. However, their strategies are limited to diversifying audiences rather than including CALD people in leadership positions in the museum. Working with the Murray Art Museum Albury, situated in Albury-Wodonga, this project creates a new museological method to generate structural change, training future CALD cultural leaders and prototyping an inclusive museum. It proposes that regional art museums, embedded in sites with shifting populations, are able to lead structural diversification in Australian art.Read moreRead less
The invisible farmer: Securing Australian farm women's history. The invisible farmer: Securing Australian farm women's history. This project, believed to be the first national study of farm women in Australia, aims to address their historical and contemporary invisibility by creating an online, publicly accessible, multimedia documentary database that maps the role women play/played in Australian agriculture. Chief investigators in the fields of social work, women's history, cultural informatics ....The invisible farmer: Securing Australian farm women's history. The invisible farmer: Securing Australian farm women's history. This project, believed to be the first national study of farm women in Australia, aims to address their historical and contemporary invisibility by creating an online, publicly accessible, multimedia documentary database that maps the role women play/played in Australian agriculture. Chief investigators in the fields of social work, women's history, cultural informatics and archival practice will collaborate with community, government and cultural organisations to create digital tools for research, public access and community engagement. Reframing the narrative of rural Australia is expected to create greater understanding and awareness of the value of inclusion, reveal structures of gender inequality in rural communities, and enable significant outcomes in research, industry and public policy.Read moreRead less
Surface engineering of biomaterials for optimal bone bonding characteristics. The ideal bone-implant material is hydroxyapatite. Chemically similar to bone mineral, hydroxyapatite is capable of inducing bone ongrowth. An ideal surface coating for metal hip implants, plasma spraying has been the preferred commercial hydroxyapatite coating technique. Until recently, it was always presumed that the bioactivity of hydroxyapatite resulted from its surface chemistry. However, a recent study has shown ....Surface engineering of biomaterials for optimal bone bonding characteristics. The ideal bone-implant material is hydroxyapatite. Chemically similar to bone mineral, hydroxyapatite is capable of inducing bone ongrowth. An ideal surface coating for metal hip implants, plasma spraying has been the preferred commercial hydroxyapatite coating technique. Until recently, it was always presumed that the bioactivity of hydroxyapatite resulted from its surface chemistry. However, a recent study has shown that the bioactivity of HAp coatings strongly correlates with surface roughness on the scale of bone cells. This project will explore cell-attachment behaviour for hydroxyapatite coatings prepared by plasma spraying compared with engineered surface morphology/chemistry by microlithography and vapour coating.Read moreRead less
Functionally graded fibre-polymer composites: a novel material for spinal disk prostheses. Chronic back pain affects a significant proportion of the population and is primarily caused by failure of the spinal disk. A strong social/economic imperative exists to develop engineering solutions to this problem. This project concerns the development of a novel fibre-polymer functionally graded composite material that mimics the structure of the spinal disk. The spinal disk comprises a soft core (nucle ....Functionally graded fibre-polymer composites: a novel material for spinal disk prostheses. Chronic back pain affects a significant proportion of the population and is primarily caused by failure of the spinal disk. A strong social/economic imperative exists to develop engineering solutions to this problem. This project concerns the development of a novel fibre-polymer functionally graded composite material that mimics the structure of the spinal disk. The spinal disk comprises a soft core (nucleus) and a tough fibrous periphery (annulus). The graded composite approach of this proposal represents a significant advance over spinal fusion, and over the alternative spinal disk protheses in clinical use or in the patent literature.Read moreRead less
Curating Museum Collections for Climate Change Mitigation. The Project aims to investigate how museum collections, many of which have histories entangled in Australia’s high emission sectors that supported the nation’s economic growth, can be curated to support climate change mitigation. Drawing together the disciplines of biogeochemistry, museology, environmental humanities, Indigenous knowledge and education, the Project anticipates enhancing the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences' capacity f ....Curating Museum Collections for Climate Change Mitigation. The Project aims to investigate how museum collections, many of which have histories entangled in Australia’s high emission sectors that supported the nation’s economic growth, can be curated to support climate change mitigation. Drawing together the disciplines of biogeochemistry, museology, environmental humanities, Indigenous knowledge and education, the Project anticipates enhancing the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences' capacity for climate action through innovative programs. Its benefits include developing new collections-based climate research which incorporate the perspectives of multi-stakeholders, including Indigenous Australians, and builds museums' capacity to grow public climate literacy.Read moreRead less
Communication skills training for oncology health care professionals working with culturally and linguistically diverse patients. The project will develop and evaluate two novel training programs designed to equip health professionals to communicate with cancer patients from different cultures. It is expected that the programs will improve trainees’ ability to communicate in a culturally sensitive way.
Variation and Perceptual Ecologies in Computer Games and Simulations: Towards a Generic Model of Variable 3D Environments. The non repeatability is a key element in providing a challenging and interesting experience in computer games and simulations. However, too much variation could lead to a rejection of the environment and reluctance to accept the premise as a base for game play or training. Examples of applications that could utilise this research include; (a) Computer Games - always playing ....Variation and Perceptual Ecologies in Computer Games and Simulations: Towards a Generic Model of Variable 3D Environments. The non repeatability is a key element in providing a challenging and interesting experience in computer games and simulations. However, too much variation could lead to a rejection of the environment and reluctance to accept the premise as a base for game play or training. Examples of applications that could utilise this research include; (a) Computer Games - always playing in an unknown environment, (b) Vocational Training - a Forest Fire Fighting simulation that allows for different terrain configurations, undergrowth volatility, fire source, etc., and (c) Military Simulations - Anti-terrorist simulations where the level of variability will manifest itself both in the physical environment and in the nature of the combatants. Read moreRead less
Energy-Efficient Communication Protocols for Wearable Wireless Biomedical Sensor Devices. The communication protocols developed in this project will directly contribute to the realisation of wearable, mobile, and robust devices for continuous medical monitoring. Several Australian industries can benefit economically by using the technology to improve the performance, efficiency, and longevity of their existing systems for chronic disease management, aged care, personal wellness, occupational hea ....Energy-Efficient Communication Protocols for Wearable Wireless Biomedical Sensor Devices. The communication protocols developed in this project will directly contribute to the realisation of wearable, mobile, and robust devices for continuous medical monitoring. Several Australian industries can benefit economically by using the technology to improve the performance, efficiency, and longevity of their existing systems for chronic disease management, aged care, personal wellness, occupational health, and in hospitals/GPs. Non-intrusive monitoring offers quality-of-life to the millions of aged and chronically ill Australians, while low-cost allows it to be widely used in regional and rural communities. Partaking in the innovation of the technology will also give Australia a strong position in the ICT space.Read moreRead less