Recently discovered rare manuscripts of mediaeval Pali subcommentaries: a missing link in Buddhist textual transmission. The project will "enhance Australia's capacity to interpret and engage with its regional environment through a greater understanding of languages, societies and cultures" (Research priority 4: Understanding our region and the world); it will deepen our understanding of religious and cultural traditions of many Buddhist countries, which constitute a substantial part of Australi ....Recently discovered rare manuscripts of mediaeval Pali subcommentaries: a missing link in Buddhist textual transmission. The project will "enhance Australia's capacity to interpret and engage with its regional environment through a greater understanding of languages, societies and cultures" (Research priority 4: Understanding our region and the world); it will deepen our understanding of religious and cultural traditions of many Buddhist countries, which constitute a substantial part of Australia's regional environment, and advance our knowledge of Buddhism, the fastest growing religion in Australia. Since this is the first project of its kind in the field of Pali studies, it will increase the international prestige of Australian research capability and open new possibilities for international cooperation in the field.Read moreRead less
Are some languages better than others? It is important for the Australian community - speaking several hundred different indigenous and immigrant languages across the nation - to realise that each language has approximately (but not precisely) the same overall complexity as every other. One may have intricate word structure, while another has short words but elaborate rules for putting words together to make sentences. And, striding above 'political correctness', many people in Australia will be ....Are some languages better than others? It is important for the Australian community - speaking several hundred different indigenous and immigrant languages across the nation - to realise that each language has approximately (but not precisely) the same overall complexity as every other. One may have intricate word structure, while another has short words but elaborate rules for putting words together to make sentences. And, striding above 'political correctness', many people in Australia will be interested to know whether a certain language is a little more efficient than certain other languages for a particular purpose (for example, commercial business). Read moreRead less
Fluid-thermal-structural interactions on high-speed aerospace vehicles. Sixteen years after the retirement of Concorde, high-speed commercial flight is once again on the rise with the development of new supersonic business jets and small airliners as well as hypersonic transport and reusable space launch systems. Robust and efficient designs for these light-weight vehicles must address the problem of aerodynamic heating and its effect on structural performance and lifing. This project will desig ....Fluid-thermal-structural interactions on high-speed aerospace vehicles. Sixteen years after the retirement of Concorde, high-speed commercial flight is once again on the rise with the development of new supersonic business jets and small airliners as well as hypersonic transport and reusable space launch systems. Robust and efficient designs for these light-weight vehicles must address the problem of aerodynamic heating and its effect on structural performance and lifing. This project will design and perform first-of-kind experiments that reproduce the complex fluid-thermal-structural interactions representative of those experienced by these aircraft and rockets. We will then use these measurements to assess, validate and improve the current state-of-the-art of simulation and modelling approaches for design.Read moreRead less
The Control of Memory Access. The topic of control processes in memory access is central to most of the big questions about human memory such as; why we forget, what produces spectacular and tragic memory failures (e.g.,lighting a match to check the level of petrol in a tank) and the role of context in familiarity and recollection. Because of the centrality of the problems addressed there will be many applications for the results. The long term results will include better models for human ope ....The Control of Memory Access. The topic of control processes in memory access is central to most of the big questions about human memory such as; why we forget, what produces spectacular and tragic memory failures (e.g.,lighting a match to check the level of petrol in a tank) and the role of context in familiarity and recollection. Because of the centrality of the problems addressed there will be many applications for the results. The long term results will include better models for human operators which can be used in both civilian (e.g., air traffic control) and military applications. Other areas of application will include how we measure memory impairment, why we make errors in industrial settings, and the nature of memory deficits as we age. Read moreRead less
The Papacy in Late Antiquity. The papacy, one of the oldest and most powerful institutions in the world, has recently been revitalized and gives every sign of retaining its authority in the immediate future. The research aims to explain how, across some three hundred years, it came to enjoy its position. In a world in which religious authority and allegiance is becoming more important, locally and internationally, a sound understanding of the foundations of a key institution will be of great ben ....The Papacy in Late Antiquity. The papacy, one of the oldest and most powerful institutions in the world, has recently been revitalized and gives every sign of retaining its authority in the immediate future. The research aims to explain how, across some three hundred years, it came to enjoy its position. In a world in which religious authority and allegiance is becoming more important, locally and internationally, a sound understanding of the foundations of a key institution will be of great benefit. Read moreRead less
Voices of Regional Australia: The linguistic patterning of local attachment. This project aims to investigate language and social dynamics among regional Australians, who, despite representing one third of the population, have been often neglected in the research to date. The project expects to generate new knowledge around regional attachment and the impact that has on speech patterns, adapting for the first time recently developed international metrics to the Australian context. Expected outco ....Voices of Regional Australia: The linguistic patterning of local attachment. This project aims to investigate language and social dynamics among regional Australians, who, despite representing one third of the population, have been often neglected in the research to date. The project expects to generate new knowledge around regional attachment and the impact that has on speech patterns, adapting for the first time recently developed international metrics to the Australian context. Expected outcomes include a better understanding of models of language change across urban and rural areas, and a novel dataset recording the stories of regional Australians, and in particular, their experiences facing bushfire. This should provide significant benefits as a record of life, language and community in regional Australia.Read moreRead less
Historical-critical commentary on the Odes of Solomon in two versions, a most extensive German edition and an abridged English edition. Since the sensational 1909 discovery of the first, Syriac, manuscript of the Odes of Solomon, an early Christian collection of 42 pseudepigraphical poems, there has never been published a commentary as detailed as other pioneering biblical and non-canonical commentaries. Writing such a commentary is based on applicant's extensive preliminary investigations: new ....Historical-critical commentary on the Odes of Solomon in two versions, a most extensive German edition and an abridged English edition. Since the sensational 1909 discovery of the first, Syriac, manuscript of the Odes of Solomon, an early Christian collection of 42 pseudepigraphical poems, there has never been published a commentary as detailed as other pioneering biblical and non-canonical commentaries. Writing such a commentary is based on applicant's extensive preliminary investigations: new edition, first complete concordance, annotated bibliography, monograph on ancient hymnology, German translation with introduction and notes, numerous articles. Further painstaking philological-critical research is indispensable for both German and abridged English commentary bringing the most ambitious research project on these enigmatic texts to completion within the next decade.Read moreRead less
Using Converging Methodologies to Understand Episodic and Semantic Memory. The use of four converging methodologies and a new objective measure of implicit/explicit memory will produce a more fundamental understanding of the relationship between pre-existing and episodic memories. The results will be relevant to the current debate over repressed and false memories. The research will also provide more stringent tests of techniques and methods that are having a large impact in applied research ....Using Converging Methodologies to Understand Episodic and Semantic Memory. The use of four converging methodologies and a new objective measure of implicit/explicit memory will produce a more fundamental understanding of the relationship between pre-existing and episodic memories. The results will be relevant to the current debate over repressed and false memories. The research will also provide more stringent tests of techniques and methods that are having a large impact in applied research on aging, drug states etc.Read moreRead less
Constructive representation theory of classical and quantum Lie superalgebras. Classical and quantum Lie superalgebras lie at the heart of many recent theoretical developments in the fields of integrable models and conformal field theory. Based on results published in 2013 by the Chief Investigators, it is evident that the time is right to further develop these ideas into a coherent and canonical framework. This ambitious and thorough proposal is focussed on solving sophisticated, contemporary p ....Constructive representation theory of classical and quantum Lie superalgebras. Classical and quantum Lie superalgebras lie at the heart of many recent theoretical developments in the fields of integrable models and conformal field theory. Based on results published in 2013 by the Chief Investigators, it is evident that the time is right to further develop these ideas into a coherent and canonical framework. This ambitious and thorough proposal is focussed on solving sophisticated, contemporary problems in representation theory related to classical and quantum Lie superalgebras that will have immediate consequences in these burgeoning fields.Read moreRead less
Towards logarithmic representation theory of W-algebras. Aims: To construct and analyse indecomposable representations of significance in conformal field theory.
Significance: Conformal field theory plays a key role in many developments in mathematics and physics. Logarithmic conformal field theories govern important systems such as two-dimensional critical percolation. This proposal aims to develop the representation theory necessary for understanding salient features of critical systems des ....Towards logarithmic representation theory of W-algebras. Aims: To construct and analyse indecomposable representations of significance in conformal field theory.
Significance: Conformal field theory plays a key role in many developments in mathematics and physics. Logarithmic conformal field theories govern important systems such as two-dimensional critical percolation. This proposal aims to develop the representation theory necessary for understanding salient features of critical systems described by logarithmic conformal field theory.
Expected Outcomes: Novel representations of fundamental importance in logarithmic conformal field theory.
Benefit: Resolution of open problems in logarithmic conformal field theory, thus continuing the strong tradition in the field in Australia.
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