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UNESCO - Agency of Cultural Globalisation? Analysis of the Conflict between Universal Values and Local Cultural Identity in the Asia-Pacific Region. Economic globalisation is accompanied by cultural globalisation. Whether to accept or attempt to resist this impact on local cultures is a critical issue for communities and governments throughout the Asia-Pacific region. This project will identify and evaluate those activities of UNESCO and its associated bodies, ICOMOS, ICOM and ICCROM, that tend ....UNESCO - Agency of Cultural Globalisation? Analysis of the Conflict between Universal Values and Local Cultural Identity in the Asia-Pacific Region. Economic globalisation is accompanied by cultural globalisation. Whether to accept or attempt to resist this impact on local cultures is a critical issue for communities and governments throughout the Asia-Pacific region. This project will identify and evaluate those activities of UNESCO and its associated bodies, ICOMOS, ICOM and ICCROM, that tend to impose a common stamp on cultures across the world, as well as the local resistance to those activities. Four fields covering tangible and intangible culture will be investigated: heritage places, museums, folklife and heritage education. Outcomes include improved heritage management; outputs include a book and refereed journal articles.Read moreRead less
Extinction and survival: biotic responses to environmental change in Late Devonian oceans during a greenhouse-icehouse transition. This project represents an important opportunity to answer fundamental questions about the role of environmental changes in major mass extinction events in the geological past and to provide insight into the survival of modern marine species in response to climate change (National Research Priority 1). It will enhance Australia's global research profile in biostratig ....Extinction and survival: biotic responses to environmental change in Late Devonian oceans during a greenhouse-icehouse transition. This project represents an important opportunity to answer fundamental questions about the role of environmental changes in major mass extinction events in the geological past and to provide insight into the survival of modern marine species in response to climate change (National Research Priority 1). It will enhance Australia's global research profile in biostratigraphical and palaeontological research through contribution to the development of biozonations, correlation and global debate on extinction mechanisms. It will also strengthen international collaboration, and, importantly, provide crucial research training to young researchers in these fields.Read moreRead less
Old brains, new data - early evolution of structural complexity in the vertebrate head. Of the all the complex structures biology has provided, the evolution of the vertebrate brain and its sensory organs is perhaps the most enigmatic. The fossil record occasionally provides a chance to trace this evolution, but only with the use of novel X-ray scanning techniques can these secrets be detailed in three dimensions. Exploiting the exceptional fossil record from Australia and China, this team will ....Old brains, new data - early evolution of structural complexity in the vertebrate head. Of the all the complex structures biology has provided, the evolution of the vertebrate brain and its sensory organs is perhaps the most enigmatic. The fossil record occasionally provides a chance to trace this evolution, but only with the use of novel X-ray scanning techniques can these secrets be detailed in three dimensions. Exploiting the exceptional fossil record from Australia and China, this team will for the first time collect a vast comparative data base which will yield clues on the early evolution of the ear, eye and brain. Read moreRead less
Working the Land: Women's Rural Labour and the Making of a Nation, Australia, 1901-1945. Dr Ford's research delivers social, cultural and economic benefits to Australia, particularly for rural Australia, for women and for aging Australians. Her work will increase community understanding about working life in rural Australia; the relationship between land, agriculture, gender and national identity; and the ways women combined family responsibilities with farm work - issues central to debates abou ....Working the Land: Women's Rural Labour and the Making of a Nation, Australia, 1901-1945. Dr Ford's research delivers social, cultural and economic benefits to Australia, particularly for rural Australia, for women and for aging Australians. Her work will increase community understanding about working life in rural Australia; the relationship between land, agriculture, gender and national identity; and the ways women combined family responsibilities with farm work - issues central to debates about the role of rural Australia and work/life balance. Her project will contribute to rural communities' sense of identity, as well as promote heritage tourism, important to regional economic development. It will also develop partnerships between universities and rural communities and improve the global visibility of Australian research.Read moreRead less
Overturning the Ediacara biota: community structure of the oldest animal ecosystems. The first systematic excavation of serial fossil beds of South Australia's famous Ediacara biota will lead to an integrated study of the oldest diverse macroscopic assemblages of life on Earth. Once the preservational and biological components of the record have been separated, Ediacaran fossil beds can be treated as 'snap-shots? of benthic marine communities. This will enable the use of palaeoecological tools t ....Overturning the Ediacara biota: community structure of the oldest animal ecosystems. The first systematic excavation of serial fossil beds of South Australia's famous Ediacara biota will lead to an integrated study of the oldest diverse macroscopic assemblages of life on Earth. Once the preservational and biological components of the record have been separated, Ediacaran fossil beds can be treated as 'snap-shots? of benthic marine communities. This will enable the use of palaeoecological tools to determine which if any of these Precambrian fossils were members of animal groups that heralded the Cambrian explosion of animal life.Read moreRead less
Origin of jaws - the greatest unsolved mystery of early vertebrate evolution. The 2008 discovery of an unborn embryo in the 380 million-year-old "Mother Fish" from the famous Gogo fossil deposit in NW Australia has attracted a collaboration of Australian, American and Chinese scientists to a new international collaboration. The team will study spectacular new fossils from central Australia and southern China, the oldest known back-boned animals with jaws and a hard skeleton. Innovative 3D X-ray ....Origin of jaws - the greatest unsolved mystery of early vertebrate evolution. The 2008 discovery of an unborn embryo in the 380 million-year-old "Mother Fish" from the famous Gogo fossil deposit in NW Australia has attracted a collaboration of Australian, American and Chinese scientists to a new international collaboration. The team will study spectacular new fossils from central Australia and southern China, the oldest known back-boned animals with jaws and a hard skeleton. Innovative 3D X-ray computer tomography, and the Australian synchrotron, will be used to investigate ancient cells and preserved soft tissue structures, to search for evidence that copulation and internal fertilization, as in modern mammals, might have originated when jaws first evolved. Read moreRead less
Suburban archaeology: approaching an archaeology of the middle class in 19th century Melbourne. This project has three main benefits. First, it will help Australians understand more about the richness and diversity of urban experience in the country, thereby enhancing the heritage value of Museum collections drawn from urban archaeological sites. Second, by focusing on the historical archaeology of the emergent middle class in Australia we will improve our understanding of the history of Austral ....Suburban archaeology: approaching an archaeology of the middle class in 19th century Melbourne. This project has three main benefits. First, it will help Australians understand more about the richness and diversity of urban experience in the country, thereby enhancing the heritage value of Museum collections drawn from urban archaeological sites. Second, by focusing on the historical archaeology of the emergent middle class in Australia we will improve our understanding of the history of Australian society during a crucial period. Last, it will enrich the social and cultural histories of Australia through a deeper and closer integration of archaeological and written historical information.Read moreRead less
Archaeological conservation: the development of analysis and assessment protocols for adhesives used on archaeological pottery. The development of routine adhesive testing and assessment methodologies will provide conservation laboratories with the relevant knowledge to test adhesives before use. This will result in the timely identification of formulation changes, thus preventing the use of inferior adhesive products that no longer perform to conservation standards. This preventive approach is ....Archaeological conservation: the development of analysis and assessment protocols for adhesives used on archaeological pottery. The development of routine adhesive testing and assessment methodologies will provide conservation laboratories with the relevant knowledge to test adhesives before use. This will result in the timely identification of formulation changes, thus preventing the use of inferior adhesive products that no longer perform to conservation standards. This preventive approach is highly cost effective and will have a positive impact on the preservation of archaeological pottery and other cultural collections. Furthermore, the expertise developed with this project can be extended to adhesives used to repair other cultural materials and contemporary collections made from synthetic polymer based materials. Read moreRead less
Life on the Edge: Pre-Gold Rush Settlement in South Gippsland, Victoria. The project will contribute materialist perpectives to the understanding of the development of the Port Phillip Colony. The project provides a thematic, contextual study as called for in the National Cultural Heritage Forum's 'Vision for Australia's Cultural Heritage' and required to support the new national heritage legislation. The project exemplifies the 'whole environment' approach identified in the present review of ....Life on the Edge: Pre-Gold Rush Settlement in South Gippsland, Victoria. The project will contribute materialist perpectives to the understanding of the development of the Port Phillip Colony. The project provides a thematic, contextual study as called for in the National Cultural Heritage Forum's 'Vision for Australia's Cultural Heritage' and required to support the new national heritage legislation. The project exemplifies the 'whole environment' approach identified in the present review of the Victorian Heritage Strategy by providing interpretations of setting, context, and broader cultural landscapes. The project will contribute to the enhancement of regional tourism product content by increasing the knowledge of one of the key heritage assets of the region. Read moreRead less
Chemical and isotopic fingerprinting of ancient porcelains and pottery. This project aims to establish provenance of ancient porcelains and pottery of archaeological or antique collection significance using trace element and lead-strontium-neodymium (Pb-Sr-Nd) isotopic compositions, which serve as fingerprints of porcelains and pottery of different places or ages. High quality multi-element and isotopic data will be obtained using facilities at ACQUIRE¡¯s state-of-the-arts geochemistry laborator ....Chemical and isotopic fingerprinting of ancient porcelains and pottery. This project aims to establish provenance of ancient porcelains and pottery of archaeological or antique collection significance using trace element and lead-strontium-neodymium (Pb-Sr-Nd) isotopic compositions, which serve as fingerprints of porcelains and pottery of different places or ages. High quality multi-element and isotopic data will be obtained using facilities at ACQUIRE¡¯s state-of-the-arts geochemistry laboratory. The results will have significant implications for investigation of ancient cultures, technology and trades, artefact authentication and even forensic studies. Established database is potentially patentable for commercialization in the antiquity market.Read moreRead less