Mortality In Young Offenders Who Have Had Custodial Sentences
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$60,448.00
Summary
The proposal seeks funding to investigate the death rate in young people who have received custodial sentences. There is evidence in the literature and anecdotal evidence from workers in the field that young offenders are at particularly high risk of dying from drug overdose, violently or by suicide, yet deaths in this group have not yet been investigated in Australia. As far as we are aware, there are also no reports worldwide of standardised mortality rates for young offenders who have been in ....The proposal seeks funding to investigate the death rate in young people who have received custodial sentences. There is evidence in the literature and anecdotal evidence from workers in the field that young offenders are at particularly high risk of dying from drug overdose, violently or by suicide, yet deaths in this group have not yet been investigated in Australia. As far as we are aware, there are also no reports worldwide of standardised mortality rates for young offenders who have been incarcerated. A group of young people who have received their first custodial sentences between 1988 and 1999 in Victoria will be identified, starting with 10 year olds in 1988. Their details will then be matched with data held by The National Death index, housed at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and with the Victorian Coroner's data in order to identify deaths that have occurred, the cause of death and the circumstances of death. This will provide an index of the excess deaths experienced by this group of young offenders compared with Victorian population data for the same age group and gender. Further analysis will elucidate cause specific mortality, will enable the identification of subgroups at particular risk and the examination of trends over time. The study will provide a solid foundation for health priorities, the development of interventions and policy in relation to young offenders. It will provide a resource for Australasia and be of worldwide interest. Juvenile offenders are a well-defined group who has extended contact with support services. There is a unique opportunity for the delivery of interventions aimed at improving the welfare and adult outcomes of this enormously disadvantaged and marginalised section of our community. The Centre for Adolescent Health, as the auspicing body for the Adolescent Forensic Health Service is in an excellent position to respond to this challenge.Read moreRead less
The HITS Study: Modes Of Transmission, Natural History And Determinants Of Outcome From Primary Hepatitis C Infection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$948,250.00
Summary
Hepatitis C (HCV) affects approximately 200,000 Australians, of whom a significant minority develop long term complications, including cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer. The dominant mode of transmission of this virus is via blood-to-blood contact, particularly via injecting drug use. Prisons appear to be a key focus of transmission of hepatitis C in the community as the majority of inmates are incarcerated for drug-related crimes, and injecting drug use remains prevalent whilst in priso ....Hepatitis C (HCV) affects approximately 200,000 Australians, of whom a significant minority develop long term complications, including cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer. The dominant mode of transmission of this virus is via blood-to-blood contact, particularly via injecting drug use. Prisons appear to be a key focus of transmission of hepatitis C in the community as the majority of inmates are incarcerated for drug-related crimes, and injecting drug use remains prevalent whilst in prison. In addition, as almost one in two inmates are already infected at the time of incarceration, those who are uninfected appear to be at significant risk of becoming infected through other (non-injecting) routes such as tattooing, fights and other coincidental blood exposures. This application seeks support for the HITS study (Hepatitis C Incidence and Transmission in Prisons study) - a prospective cohort study of inmates of NSW prisons. Following a successful pilot in which the substantial bureaucratic and logistical hurdles were resolved, the main cohort has been enroling since late 2000. The initial data have confirmed a high rate of at risk behaviour amongst inmates and three primary HCV infections acquired in prison have been documented featuring an unusual antibody negative pattern which would typically pass undetected in screening assays for HCV infection. After exposure to HCV and the development of primary infection, approximately one in five individuals successfully resolves the infection and clears the virus, presumably via an efficient immune response or a non-virulent virus, or a combination of these factors. Therefore, in addition to the public health aspects of the HITS study, the research also aims to define the immunological and virological factors which allow clearance of HCV. These studies will provide key information to guide treatment and immunisation strategies against hepatitis C.Read moreRead less
Eurasian exchange and artistic transformation in art. This project aims to bring European and Chinese art history into dialogue. It explores the early Italian Renaissance in the larger geopolitical context of Mongol Eurasia and the Yuan Empire, to address the questions of influence, contact, and exchange. In reframing the development of early European art as a fundamentally cross-cultural phenomenon, this project aims to offer a better understanding of the roots of our own global visual culture. ....Eurasian exchange and artistic transformation in art. This project aims to bring European and Chinese art history into dialogue. It explores the early Italian Renaissance in the larger geopolitical context of Mongol Eurasia and the Yuan Empire, to address the questions of influence, contact, and exchange. In reframing the development of early European art as a fundamentally cross-cultural phenomenon, this project aims to offer a better understanding of the roots of our own global visual culture. The project will benefit and enrich the study of cross-cultural contact and exchange in art history as a larger field, leading to the re-examination of art in the Australasian region.Read moreRead less
Augustus and the Roman Triumph: A Study in Creeping Authoritarianism. This proposal aims to produce novel comparative insights into the genesis of despotism in sophisticated republics and democracies. To this end, it focuses on the transformation of the public victory ritual of the triumph from a shared aristocratic privilege into a lasting imperial monopoly by Augustus, Rome’s first emperor. Enhancing our knowledge of the rise and inner workings of Augustus’ New Order will provide modern politi ....Augustus and the Roman Triumph: A Study in Creeping Authoritarianism. This proposal aims to produce novel comparative insights into the genesis of despotism in sophisticated republics and democracies. To this end, it focuses on the transformation of the public victory ritual of the triumph from a shared aristocratic privilege into a lasting imperial monopoly by Augustus, Rome’s first emperor. Enhancing our knowledge of the rise and inner workings of Augustus’ New Order will provide modern political science with a new archetype of creeping authoritarianism, readily applicable to some of the most notorious tyrannies of the modern era and contemporary variants. The proposal will, therefore, substantially inform the field, theorists and practitioners of government, and Australia’s secondary school curriculum.Read moreRead less
The Rise of Decline in the Later Roman Empire. This project aims to examine the evidence for the decline of the Western Roman Empire. For over two centuries, historians have debated whether the Western Roman Empire was in decline prior to its political disintegration in the 5th century AD. This project takes a new approach by rejecting the notion that Late Roman decline can be empirically quantified. Instead, through the examination of historical, administrative, religious and literary texts it ....The Rise of Decline in the Later Roman Empire. This project aims to examine the evidence for the decline of the Western Roman Empire. For over two centuries, historians have debated whether the Western Roman Empire was in decline prior to its political disintegration in the 5th century AD. This project takes a new approach by rejecting the notion that Late Roman decline can be empirically quantified. Instead, through the examination of historical, administrative, religious and literary texts it will explore why the Late Roman elite often chose to present their own period as an age of decline. This project aims to test the hypothesis that references to economic, political and moral decline were often the result of fissures within Late Roman society prompted by radical structural reorganisation by a centralising imperial government and a newly empowered Christian Church.Read moreRead less
Christina Stead and the socialist heritage. This project explores the complex intersection of political convictions and creativity in the writing of Christina Stead, and gives due prominence to her radical, left-wing engagements, which fell from favour during and after the Cold War. It will produce the first monograph-length study devoted to this crucial aspect of Stead's life and work.
Islam, Europe and modernity: the French Revolution and the Muslim world, 1789-1799. This project challenges ideas about radical differences between Islam and the West by returning to the historical roots of the modern world. It shows that Muslims too had a share in the global experience of the French Revolution, by drawing on new historical evidence from archives in France, Europe and the Arab world.
Ayahs and Amahs: Transcolonial Servants in Australia and Britain 1780-1945. This project looks at female domestic care workers from India and China who travelled to Australia and elsewhere during the period of British colonialism. Accompanying colonial families along circuits of empire between Australia, Asia, and the UK over two centuries, these were extraordinarily mobile women. By exploring the historical experiences and cultural memories of these earliest global domestic workers, the project ....Ayahs and Amahs: Transcolonial Servants in Australia and Britain 1780-1945. This project looks at female domestic care workers from India and China who travelled to Australia and elsewhere during the period of British colonialism. Accompanying colonial families along circuits of empire between Australia, Asia, and the UK over two centuries, these were extraordinarily mobile women. By exploring the historical experiences and cultural memories of these earliest global domestic workers, the project aims to illuminate a broader transcolonial history of domestic work. Expected outcomes include a number of publications and a website; and the project offers the social and cultural benefits to be gained by advancing our historical understanding of the forgotten cross-cultural relationships that have shaped our world today.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100750
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$378,213.00
Summary
Australia and Space: Government policy and public imagination, 1957 – 2021. This project aims to be the first study to address how Australia has approached space at the public and government level from the dawn of the space age in 1957 to today. Taking a historical approach, this project employs an innovative framework that integrates Australia’s disparate space activities, analyses Australian space over a long time period, and centres the Australian experience within the global context. The pro ....Australia and Space: Government policy and public imagination, 1957 – 2021. This project aims to be the first study to address how Australia has approached space at the public and government level from the dawn of the space age in 1957 to today. Taking a historical approach, this project employs an innovative framework that integrates Australia’s disparate space activities, analyses Australian space over a long time period, and centres the Australian experience within the global context. The project is particularly timely with creation of the Australian Space Agency in mid-2018. Through publications and collaboration with space scholars and stakeholders, this project aims to inform discussion of space policy and international cooperation in space, and develop new understandings of how Australians engage with space.Read moreRead less
Shipwrecks of the Roaring Forties: a maritime archaeological reassessment of some of Australia's earliest shipwrecks. This project will evaluate new ways of investigating the history of Europeans in the Indian Ocean by using the latest technology to evaluate seven Western Australian shipwrecks excavated over 40 years ago. The project will work with emerging technologies to study these significant sites and collections.