The role of public culture in the construction of contemporary Australian literature. Literature is not simply a body of texts; it is a cultural technology, affected by changing patterns of production and consumption. Witness the 'cult of celebrity', the phenomenal recent growth of literary festivals, literary internet sites, reading groups, changing patterns of literary marketing, education, employment and leisure. Academic scholarship, largely text-based, fails to engage with these public and ....The role of public culture in the construction of contemporary Australian literature. Literature is not simply a body of texts; it is a cultural technology, affected by changing patterns of production and consumption. Witness the 'cult of celebrity', the phenomenal recent growth of literary festivals, literary internet sites, reading groups, changing patterns of literary marketing, education, employment and leisure. Academic scholarship, largely text-based, fails to engage with these public and popular phenomena. Our project develops methods for describing and evaluating how these practices construct literary value and cultural identity, in ways that will bring academic literary analysis into a more informed, more creative engagement with public and popular culture in Australia.Read moreRead less
Australian literary publishing and its economies, 1965-1995. Australian literature is an essential aspect of Australian culture but its viability is currently under threat, both in the marketplace, and in tertiary and secondary education, where its coherence and relevance as a discipline has diminished over the past decade. Because it explores the different inputs that make for a vital literary culture, some of them intangible or discrete in their operation, the project will contribute to a bett ....Australian literary publishing and its economies, 1965-1995. Australian literature is an essential aspect of Australian culture but its viability is currently under threat, both in the marketplace, and in tertiary and secondary education, where its coherence and relevance as a discipline has diminished over the past decade. Because it explores the different inputs that make for a vital literary culture, some of them intangible or discrete in their operation, the project will contribute to a better understanding of how this culture works, and to a renewed confidence in its ability to sustain itself by commercial and non-commercial means.Read moreRead less
Synthesis of enriched silicon for long-lived donor quantum states. We have discovered a method to make silicon highly enriched in the desirable spin-zero isotope using readily available ion implantation tools. This “semiconductor vacuum” is essential for building future quantum computer devices using the quantum spin of millions of implanted atoms with revolutionary capabilities. We have demonstrated long-lived implanted donor atom quantum states in prototype material, made possible by the deple ....Synthesis of enriched silicon for long-lived donor quantum states. We have discovered a method to make silicon highly enriched in the desirable spin-zero isotope using readily available ion implantation tools. This “semiconductor vacuum” is essential for building future quantum computer devices using the quantum spin of millions of implanted atoms with revolutionary capabilities. We have demonstrated long-lived implanted donor atom quantum states in prototype material, made possible by the depletion of background spins in natural silicon and now aim to push the enrichment to greater extremes. We will integrate the extreme material into functional devices that use electrically detected electron spin resonance to probe exceptionally durable quantum states and open a near-term pathway to large-scale devices.Read moreRead less
Artificial Intelligence, Robots, and Agriculture: Social and ethical issues. This project aims to investigate the social and ethical issues raised by the use of artificial intelligence and robotics in agriculture. By combining social science research methods and philosophical analysis, the project aims to generate new knowledge in bioethics and applied ethics. Expected outcomes of this project include an account of the social and ethical issues farmers, rural communities, and consumers anticipat ....Artificial Intelligence, Robots, and Agriculture: Social and ethical issues. This project aims to investigate the social and ethical issues raised by the use of artificial intelligence and robotics in agriculture. By combining social science research methods and philosophical analysis, the project aims to generate new knowledge in bioethics and applied ethics. Expected outcomes of this project include an account of the social and ethical issues farmers, rural communities, and consumers anticipate arising from these technologies, improved understanding of these issues, and an account of how these groups would like to see these issues addressed. This should help Australia benefit from the responsible use of artificial intelligence and robotics in agriculture.Read moreRead less
'Designer defects' - A new approach to functional oxide interfaces. The conventional approach to metal oxide interfaces is 'perfection at all costs' with growth tuned to minimise defects and unwanted chemical intermixing. This project aims to turn this approach on its head by creating interfaces with 'designer defects' that become the critical portion of a functional device. This project proposes that one can promote functionality by making use of new physical properties that arise from the deli ....'Designer defects' - A new approach to functional oxide interfaces. The conventional approach to metal oxide interfaces is 'perfection at all costs' with growth tuned to minimise defects and unwanted chemical intermixing. This project aims to turn this approach on its head by creating interfaces with 'designer defects' that become the critical portion of a functional device. This project proposes that one can promote functionality by making use of new physical properties that arise from the deliberate introduction of structural and electronic mismatches at an interface. Such purposely induced 'designer defects' in epitaxial oxide thin films will allow new properties to be achieved in nanoscale layers. This is expected to lead to a new class of functional materials to be used in sensors and nanoelectronics.Read moreRead less
Hydrological changes in Australia and the South Pacific. This project plans to use stalagmites from the South–West Pacific to generate continuous rainfall records for the last 2000 years. Stalagmites contain uncorrupted data that are not available in other archives, and provide unparalleled accurate chronologies. The spatial and temporal variations of the data may highlight the interplay of climate drivers, such as El Niño Southern Oscillation, and how they change the distribution of rainfall in ....Hydrological changes in Australia and the South Pacific. This project plans to use stalagmites from the South–West Pacific to generate continuous rainfall records for the last 2000 years. Stalagmites contain uncorrupted data that are not available in other archives, and provide unparalleled accurate chronologies. The spatial and temporal variations of the data may highlight the interplay of climate drivers, such as El Niño Southern Oscillation, and how they change the distribution of rainfall in the Pacific. This knowledge would increase our scientific understanding and enable better predictions of the recurrence of droughts and wet events in Australia.Read moreRead less
Reconstructing changes in atmospheric circulation over the mid-latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere during the past 3000 years. The climate of the mid-latitudes of the southern hemisphere is of global significance and yet past changes have proved difficult to reconstruct due to the dearth of records. Working across the Southern Ocean region using tree rings, lake sediments and ice cores, the project will produce the first comprehensive reconstruction spanning the last 3000 years.
Slavery, Sugar, Race: Australia’s South Sea Islander Labourers. This project aims to recover and make usable the history of Caribbean sugar as a labour migration model, cultural repertoire and source of investment for the early Australian sugar industry. Working with international slave studies centres and Australian South Sea Islander organisations, we will use methodologies from four disciplines to explore the question of Pacific labour from every perspective. The latest digital humanities tec ....Slavery, Sugar, Race: Australia’s South Sea Islander Labourers. This project aims to recover and make usable the history of Caribbean sugar as a labour migration model, cultural repertoire and source of investment for the early Australian sugar industry. Working with international slave studies centres and Australian South Sea Islander organisations, we will use methodologies from four disciplines to explore the question of Pacific labour from every perspective. The latest digital humanities techniques will be utilised to create a database of Pacific Voyages. This will further understandings of Australia’s place in global labour and race history, create new resources for research and teaching in history, literature and sociology, and further Islander community initiatives.
Read moreRead less
Moral conservatism, human enhancement and the 'Affective Revolution' in moral psychology. Debates between moral conservatives and liberals, about whether enhancing human mental and physical abilities above normal limits is ethically acceptable, have been intractable. Recent developments in moral psychology can be used to transform understandings of these debates and enable us to develop just policies to regulate enhancement technologies.
A comparative sociocultural and bioethical study of uterus transplants . This socio-cultural study aims to undertake a comparative study of the new Australian Uterine Transplant (UTx) trial with established and emerging UTx programs in the US and India. Expected outcomes of this project include: enhanced understandings of the experiences and meanings of uterine transplant for women donors, recipients and staff involved in UTx trials; an exploration of the ethical issues raised by this technolog ....A comparative sociocultural and bioethical study of uterus transplants . This socio-cultural study aims to undertake a comparative study of the new Australian Uterine Transplant (UTx) trial with established and emerging UTx programs in the US and India. Expected outcomes of this project include: enhanced understandings of the experiences and meanings of uterine transplant for women donors, recipients and staff involved in UTx trials; an exploration of the ethical issues raised by this technology; and a comparison of social responses to uterine transplants across different societies.This study is anticipated to provide theoretical insights on the social and ethical impacts of this technology for improved public policy responses. Read moreRead less