Epidemics, mortality and longevity in Tasmania, 1838-1930. This project will investigate areas of contemporary importance that can only be explored using historic-demographic data. National benefits include (1) gaining a better understanding of how epidemics spread through families and communities, and possible mortality and case-fatality rates, to assist in preparation for future epidemics; (2) improved accuracy in projecting older-age mortality and population ageing in Australia and other coun ....Epidemics, mortality and longevity in Tasmania, 1838-1930. This project will investigate areas of contemporary importance that can only be explored using historic-demographic data. National benefits include (1) gaining a better understanding of how epidemics spread through families and communities, and possible mortality and case-fatality rates, to assist in preparation for future epidemics; (2) improved accuracy in projecting older-age mortality and population ageing in Australia and other countries; and (3) more precise estimates of women's capacity to naturally conceive and carry to term by characteristics such as her age, her partner's age, and her number of previous births. The project will also result in augmentation of a unique publicly available dataset.Read moreRead less
The Helping Court: Examining the Early History of the Family Court of Australia. This project will benefit the many Australian families involved in divorce by analysing the process by which the Family Court of Australia, designed to reduce the acrimony and costs associated with fault-based adversarial processes, so quickly became a focus for criticism and violence. By identifying continuity and change in both the issues underlying disputes in the family law system and the strategies adopted to o ....The Helping Court: Examining the Early History of the Family Court of Australia. This project will benefit the many Australian families involved in divorce by analysing the process by which the Family Court of Australia, designed to reduce the acrimony and costs associated with fault-based adversarial processes, so quickly became a focus for criticism and violence. By identifying continuity and change in both the issues underlying disputes in the family law system and the strategies adopted to overcome them it will help to stabilise dispute resolution policies and reduce the need for review and adjustment in the future.Read moreRead less
From Print to the Internet: The Media in Australia since 1803. At a time when media institutions grapple with the challenges and opportunities posed by new technologies and a fundamental shift in media ownership legislation, From Print to the Internet will constitute an unprecedented study of the Australian media since 1803. The project's centrepiece, A Companion to the Australian Media, will bring together the expertise of individuals interested in building professional and community knowledge ....From Print to the Internet: The Media in Australia since 1803. At a time when media institutions grapple with the challenges and opportunities posed by new technologies and a fundamental shift in media ownership legislation, From Print to the Internet will constitute an unprecedented study of the Australian media since 1803. The project's centrepiece, A Companion to the Australian Media, will bring together the expertise of individuals interested in building professional and community knowledge of the media's role in Australian society. It will serve as the foundational authoritative work for Australian media scholars, practitioners, policy-makers and businesses; enable more informed public debates about the Australian media; and be a landmark contribution to the media studies field internationally.Read moreRead less
Shaping the National Outlook: International News in the Australian Press 1901-1950. This project will benefit the nation by demonstrating the critical importance of the Australian media and its reporting of international news in our foreign relations and, more broadly, in shaping our understanding of, and engagement with, the rest of the world. It will contribute to the research priority of strengthening our understanding of Australia's place in the region and the world. The book, articles and p ....Shaping the National Outlook: International News in the Australian Press 1901-1950. This project will benefit the nation by demonstrating the critical importance of the Australian media and its reporting of international news in our foreign relations and, more broadly, in shaping our understanding of, and engagement with, the rest of the world. It will contribute to the research priority of strengthening our understanding of Australia's place in the region and the world. The book, articles and presentations arising from the research will greatly benefit the development of the field of media history in Australia and internationally, and improve the knowledge base of educational programs in the area.Read moreRead less
Beyond the Bakelite Box: A History of Commercial Radio in Australia. Beyond the Bakelite Box is the first full-scale history of commercial radio in Australia. It is an economic history of commercial radio from its origins in the 1920s to the present day, examining the factors that transformed amateur telegraphy into a means of mass communication, the dynamics of radio advertising, and the emergence and expansion of interlocking media dynasties. It is a political history, addressing the awarding ....Beyond the Bakelite Box: A History of Commercial Radio in Australia. Beyond the Bakelite Box is the first full-scale history of commercial radio in Australia. It is an economic history of commercial radio from its origins in the 1920s to the present day, examining the factors that transformed amateur telegraphy into a means of mass communication, the dynamics of radio advertising, and the emergence and expansion of interlocking media dynasties. It is a political history, addressing the awarding and regulation of licences, the use of radio by politicians, and censorship. It is a cultural history, exploring programming genres, the construction of radio 'communities', and the relationship between commercial and public sector broadcasting.Read moreRead less
Overseas news in the press in Australia and its conditions of production: 1860-1910. This project is the first major historical study of overseas news in the press in Australia. Its focus is on the changing political economy of overseas news production, including the role of international news agencies, between 1860 and 1910. It analyses technological, economic, political and cultural factors affecting overseas news availability and the extent and forms of its publication in Australian newspape ....Overseas news in the press in Australia and its conditions of production: 1860-1910. This project is the first major historical study of overseas news in the press in Australia. Its focus is on the changing political economy of overseas news production, including the role of international news agencies, between 1860 and 1910. It analyses technological, economic, political and cultural factors affecting overseas news availability and the extent and forms of its publication in Australian newspapers. The project is an extended case study of the interaction of global and local factors in a key area of cultural production. The outcomes will be published in a series of articles in refereed journals and a monograph.Read moreRead less
The search for family: A history of adoption in Australia. How has Australia cared for its children? This study will fill a significant gap in the nation's self-understanding by explaining the historical factors driving the changing place, meaning and significance of adoption. Whilst participants and practitioners debate its social worth, the policy pendulum is swinging back to an acceptance of adoption. Australian society is in urgent need of an open hearing of the contesting voices, and a bala ....The search for family: A history of adoption in Australia. How has Australia cared for its children? This study will fill a significant gap in the nation's self-understanding by explaining the historical factors driving the changing place, meaning and significance of adoption. Whilst participants and practitioners debate its social worth, the policy pendulum is swinging back to an acceptance of adoption. Australian society is in urgent need of an open hearing of the contesting voices, and a balanced account of the historical impact of adoption. Our project promises both, thus 'understanding and strengthening (a) key element of Australia's social fabric' - the family.Read moreRead less
Civilizing Divorce: Social Change, Law and the Transformation of Parenthood. The project will leave policy-makers, professionals, law reformers, and parents and their children themselves, better equipped to navigate their way through a major process of transformation in the way our intimate lives are structured. It will help take some of the 'heat' out of the child custody debate, to see current changes as an integral part of a broader process of change in our emotional relationships, and to br ....Civilizing Divorce: Social Change, Law and the Transformation of Parenthood. The project will leave policy-makers, professionals, law reformers, and parents and their children themselves, better equipped to navigate their way through a major process of transformation in the way our intimate lives are structured. It will help take some of the 'heat' out of the child custody debate, to see current changes as an integral part of a broader process of change in our emotional relationships, and to broaden the conceptual resources available to policy-making and law reform concerning post-separation child custody.Read moreRead less
Aboriginal Femininity and Modern Identity: Gender and Race in the Late Colonial Visual Scene. The project is the first sustained cultural history of Aboriginal femininity in Australian from 1870-1967. It will draw on diverse forms of modern visual culture: painting, black and white drawing, mass commodity spectacle, film and photography, to investigate six modes of production of Aboriginal feminine visibility: the 'primitive' woman in Western exhibiting practices such as colonial museums: the pe ....Aboriginal Femininity and Modern Identity: Gender and Race in the Late Colonial Visual Scene. The project is the first sustained cultural history of Aboriginal femininity in Australian from 1870-1967. It will draw on diverse forms of modern visual culture: painting, black and white drawing, mass commodity spectacle, film and photography, to investigate six modes of production of Aboriginal feminine visibility: the 'primitive' woman in Western exhibiting practices such as colonial museums: the perceived failure of 'Mission Mary' to appear modern; the relation of Aboriginal femininity to imported forms of exoticism; the fetishism of Indigenous women; girl piccaninny kitsch in domestic and tourist ornaments; and the entrance of public Aboriginal women and celebrities into modernity.
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"Welcome to Television": A Cultural History of Australian Television 1956-1992. A5 PROJECT SUMMARY
Television is arguably the most significant cultural technology of the 20th century. It gives us a sense of nationhood within a globalised world, contributes to democratic discourse and fosters creative expression. This is a history of that important institution in Australia and will cover the period from its inception to 1992, when multi-channel, pay and internet forms of television began to t ...."Welcome to Television": A Cultural History of Australian Television 1956-1992. A5 PROJECT SUMMARY
Television is arguably the most significant cultural technology of the 20th century. It gives us a sense of nationhood within a globalised world, contributes to democratic discourse and fosters creative expression. This is a history of that important institution in Australia and will cover the period from its inception to 1992, when multi-channel, pay and internet forms of television began to transform it. It will focus principally on commercial free to air television and will promote debate about the changing significance of television in Australia and lead to better public understanding and appreciation of its cultural and creative legacy.
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