Cornstalks and new chums: crime and nutritional status in settler Australia. The project will use records for 200,000 Australian-born and migrant prisoners released from Tasmanian and Victorian gaols between 1853 and 1924 to probe links between childhood well-being and the propensity to re-offend. It will explore the extent to which childhood nutrition (inferred from adult height), the timing and place of birth, and adult occupation can explain migration advantages, the impact of large cities li ....Cornstalks and new chums: crime and nutritional status in settler Australia. The project will use records for 200,000 Australian-born and migrant prisoners released from Tasmanian and Victorian gaols between 1853 and 1924 to probe links between childhood well-being and the propensity to re-offend. It will explore the extent to which childhood nutrition (inferred from adult height), the timing and place of birth, and adult occupation can explain migration advantages, the impact of large cities like Melbourne on child health, and the circumstances that gave rise to recidivism? This project will also explore changes in the composition of offenders over time and the extent to which different penal systems helped offenders to ‘go straight’.Read moreRead less
Capital Offending: Income, Work and Crime in Australia’s Convict Era. At least 60 per cent of Australia’s current prison population has been in prison before. By contrast a mere 18 per cent of transported convicts were re-incarcerated following release. This project aims to use information on the bank accounts maintained for convicts while under sentence to measure the relationship between capital formation and post-sentence marriage, migration and reconviction rates. It will look in particular ....Capital Offending: Income, Work and Crime in Australia’s Convict Era. At least 60 per cent of Australia’s current prison population has been in prison before. By contrast a mere 18 per cent of transported convicts were re-incarcerated following release. This project aims to use information on the bank accounts maintained for convicts while under sentence to measure the relationship between capital formation and post-sentence marriage, migration and reconviction rates. It will look in particular at the extent to which skills, employment opportunities and asset accumulation enabled former transported convicts to go straight. It will also result in improved archival search engines enabling access for members of the public to internationally recognised record groups hitherto held by different institutions.Read moreRead less
A Cultural History of Information: Lessons from the Enlightenment. The significance of this project is that it places the idea of 'information explosion' in historical perspective. In early modern Europe (circa 1600-1800) there were already anxieties about 'the multitude of books', the expansion of the sciences, and threats to the ideal of a rounded education. The attempted solutions, such as the use of commonplace books, journals, encyclopaedias and library catalogues, emerged as responses duri ....A Cultural History of Information: Lessons from the Enlightenment. The significance of this project is that it places the idea of 'information explosion' in historical perspective. In early modern Europe (circa 1600-1800) there were already anxieties about 'the multitude of books', the expansion of the sciences, and threats to the ideal of a rounded education. The attempted solutions, such as the use of commonplace books, journals, encyclopaedias and library catalogues, emerged as responses during the Enlightenment, and subsequently became part of our current system of information management. Outcomes will include a scholarly book and another which links earlier problems and responses to current debates.Read moreRead less
Medieval Virtue Ethics and the Formation of the Feminine Moral Subject: Jeanne of Navarre to Marguerite of Navarre (1285-1550). This research will generate fresh community awareness of the importance of teaching ethics in everyday rather than academic language, with a particular relevance to women, thus contributing to the national debate about what constitutes values education. By showing how famous women writers were not isolated individuals, but adapted an established tradition of communicati ....Medieval Virtue Ethics and the Formation of the Feminine Moral Subject: Jeanne of Navarre to Marguerite of Navarre (1285-1550). This research will generate fresh community awareness of the importance of teaching ethics in everyday rather than academic language, with a particular relevance to women, thus contributing to the national debate about what constitutes values education. By showing how famous women writers were not isolated individuals, but adapted an established tradition of communicating ethics to women, the research will contribute to contemporary debates about the relevance of the teaching of ethics. The project will develop further existing close connections between Australian scholars and researchers in both Europe and the USA.Read moreRead less
Tibet's rivers in the Anthropocene: history and present trajectories. This project aims to produce a multifaceted history of the eastern Tibetan Plateau's rivers, focusing on the increasing human impacts during the Anthropocene. It will combine data from archival, cultural and oral sources in multiple languages with the results of scientific studies of river flow, water quality, and sediment, ice, and tree-rings analysis. The project will produce both historical narratives and graphic representa ....Tibet's rivers in the Anthropocene: history and present trajectories. This project aims to produce a multifaceted history of the eastern Tibetan Plateau's rivers, focusing on the increasing human impacts during the Anthropocene. It will combine data from archival, cultural and oral sources in multiple languages with the results of scientific studies of river flow, water quality, and sediment, ice, and tree-rings analysis. The project will produce both historical narratives and graphic representations that model past land and water usage. The results of the project will underpin environmental policy for this hydrologically and ecologically crucial region, including the development of a paradigm of care based on the region's indigenous cultural resources.Read moreRead less
Health and Medicine in the Dutch East Indies: Medical Research, Health Programs, and Colonial Networks of Mediation. Investigating the culture of plural medicine in the former Dutch East Indies, where different medical cultures existed side by side, will bring a greater understanding of our closest neighbour, Indonesia, in an area of prime importance: medicine and health. It will provide a greater insight into the colonial heritage of the Dutch East Indies. It will also provide new insights in t ....Health and Medicine in the Dutch East Indies: Medical Research, Health Programs, and Colonial Networks of Mediation. Investigating the culture of plural medicine in the former Dutch East Indies, where different medical cultures existed side by side, will bring a greater understanding of our closest neighbour, Indonesia, in an area of prime importance: medicine and health. It will provide a greater insight into the colonial heritage of the Dutch East Indies. It will also provide new insights in the approach to health issues in today's Indonesia, because indigenous medicines are very popular. They are manufactured by a large industry which is currently hoping to expand its exports abroad. Read moreRead less
'Puppet States' Revisited: Empire and Sovereign Subordination in Modern Asia. The term 'puppet state' is a part of public discourse in Australia. It is used by scholars, journalists, commentators and members of the public to characterize specific international relationships in the contemporary world. While being used as an analytical term, it carries a strong pejorative connotation. This project will contribute significantly to giving the term clarity and stability of meaning that will enhance t ....'Puppet States' Revisited: Empire and Sovereign Subordination in Modern Asia. The term 'puppet state' is a part of public discourse in Australia. It is used by scholars, journalists, commentators and members of the public to characterize specific international relationships in the contemporary world. While being used as an analytical term, it carries a strong pejorative connotation. This project will contribute significantly to giving the term clarity and stability of meaning that will enhance the quality of public discussion of international affairs and lead to a more informed approach to safeguarding Australia. The insights we generate by this comparison will illuminate the controversial contemporary issue of international intervention in the territory of sovereign states.Read moreRead less
Enduring is the Perfection: State Formation and Socio-Cultural Change in the First Capital of Ancient Egypt (c.3200 to 1069 BCE). This is an unprecedented and systematic investigation of the Egyptian state and its extraordinarily rich society and culture over 2,000 years. It will impact profoundly on the disciplines of World History and Egyptology, confirm Australia as a world leader in ancient Mediterranean studies, and provide exciting new opportunities for academic and cultural exchanges betw ....Enduring is the Perfection: State Formation and Socio-Cultural Change in the First Capital of Ancient Egypt (c.3200 to 1069 BCE). This is an unprecedented and systematic investigation of the Egyptian state and its extraordinarily rich society and culture over 2,000 years. It will impact profoundly on the disciplines of World History and Egyptology, confirm Australia as a world leader in ancient Mediterranean studies, and provide exciting new opportunities for academic and cultural exchanges between our country and the Middle East. By making a major contribution to preserving, interpreting and explaining Egypt's magnificent but imperilled heritage, it will significantly enhance Australia's image there and underwrite our country's strategic and commercial relations with our most important partner in the Arab world. Read moreRead less
Antipodean Geology: A Modern History of Southern Hemisphere Earth. This project aims to produce a modern history of the ancient mega-continent Gondwanaland. An international team intends to reorient the history of geosciences towards the southern hemisphere by investigating geologists working in Australasia, South Asia, South America, Southern Africa and Antarctica since 1788. This includes analysis of how Gondwana fossils came to fuel the industrial age. The team also aims to explain how, why a ....Antipodean Geology: A Modern History of Southern Hemisphere Earth. This project aims to produce a modern history of the ancient mega-continent Gondwanaland. An international team intends to reorient the history of geosciences towards the southern hemisphere by investigating geologists working in Australasia, South Asia, South America, Southern Africa and Antarctica since 1788. This includes analysis of how Gondwana fossils came to fuel the industrial age. The team also aims to explain how, why and with what effect the term 'Gondwana' has retained such strong cultural purchase, well beyond the geological domain. This should productively recast ideas of a global south and improve understanding of what ‘Gondwana’, and deep geological time, mean for societies across the southern hemisphere. Read moreRead less
Planetary Health Histories: Developing Concepts. This historical research project aims to explain the conceptual development of the new planetary health, the principal means of assessing impacts of climate change and global environmental degradation on human health. Using a novel combination of history of science and medicine, environmental history, international history and Indigenous studies, this research is expected to show how environmental health and disease ecology have been re-framed and ....Planetary Health Histories: Developing Concepts. This historical research project aims to explain the conceptual development of the new planetary health, the principal means of assessing impacts of climate change and global environmental degradation on human health. Using a novel combination of history of science and medicine, environmental history, international history and Indigenous studies, this research is expected to show how environmental health and disease ecology have been re-framed and scaled up in the past century to address the effects of global warming. The project will examine critically this intellectual formation, exploring its potential in global health and revealing its blind spots and omissions, especially in relation to Indigenous knowledge and structural inequalities.Read moreRead less