School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Theses
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ItemExplaining PICTA, PACER and Cotonou : trade policy in the Pacific 1996-2006(University of Melbourne, 2009)
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ItemNo Preview AvailableUniversal visions : neuroscience and recurrent chrrcteristics of world palaeoart(University of Melbourne, 2009)Palaeoart includes a diverse range of art-like manifestations, predominantly comprising rock art and portable art objects, datingfrom the Pleistocene right through to the Holocene. A fascinating aspect of palaeoart is that striking commonalities or parallels may be observed world-wide. These parallels include a range of recurrent abstract-geometric motifs and patterns, figurative subjects and themes. Similarities in the ways in which this content is executed may also be found. Despite various attempts, these commonalities have not yet been adequately explained. Positioned within a structuralist framework, this thesis considers recent breakthroughs in neuroscience as a means of understanding them. Specifically, it examines the role of human perceptual-neurophysiological universals in governing palaeoart production, and argues for a basis of artistic parallels in aspects of the evolved neurobiology shared by all normal humans. The rock art of hunter-gatherer societies constitutes more than 90 per cent of known prehistoric art, and the scope of the study is limited to palaeoart attributed to pre-European contact, pre-literate hunter- gatherer societies. The temporal scope of the study varies with the evidence discussed. The approach taken is partly informed by recent studies that have used neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to reveal brain activation patterns associated with the perception of different types of visual stimuli. It is further informed by a wide range of additional neuroscientific and perceptual experimentation data relevant to palaeoart imagery. The value of considering human universals as a means of answering the questions how and why the same forms recur in palaeoart around the world is addressed. The approach provides a sound alternative to simplistic interpretations such as cultural diffusion based solely on visual resemblances between the arts of widely separated regions. The examination of palaeoart in light of neuroscientific data has major implications, ultimately revealing underlying reasons for the production of certain types of imagery. Abstract-geometric motifs and patterns, animals and parts of animals, and the human body and its parts are all shown to have special roles in visual information processing. It is found that shared aspects of the human nervous system influence conscious and unconscious preferences and decisions made in the process of creating graphic imagery, and that this has given rise to cross-cultural similarities in palaeoart. Recurrent forms in palaeoart are shown to be precisely those visual stimuli that are particularly powerful triggers of neural activity and correspond with prominent areas of the visual brain. These forms of visual imagery stimulate inherent neural mechanisms that have developed during human evolution specifically for the analysis of biologically significant aspects of the visual world. Palaeoart can thus be regarded as a kind ofneuro- perceptual mirror demonstrating attributes and principles characteristic of human beings.
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ItemThis is how we live now : the lifestylization of home(University of Melbourne, 2008)
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ItemColonising Yolngu defence : Arnhem Land in the Second World War and transnational uses of indigenous people in the Second World War(University of Melbourne, 2008)The thesis examines the involvement in World War II of the Yolngu people of Arnhem Land, in the context of colonialism in the Northern Territory, and with comparative attention to the war experiences of the indigenous people of Papua New Guinea. and the Native American Navajo. Yolngu participated in the war through various avenues, including the provision of labour for white Australian war initiatives. Most notably Yolngu served as auxiliaries to non-indigenous military units such as the North Australia Observer Unit, and they also participated in the Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit, which was exclusively Aboriginal apart from its leadership. Rather than representing widespread white Australian appreciation of Yolngu skills or recognition of Yolngu equality, the military employment of Yolngu continued structures of ideas and practices inherent in settler colonialism in the north. The military authorities, with government endorsement, organised Yolngu to utilise their skills in defence of the colonial project that was of itself simultaneously robbing Yolngu of their land and rights. Yolngu had their own motivations to work alongside white military, and for the most part participated willingly. Analysis of oral testimony points to their courageous efforts and, unlike the non-indigenous documents, positions Yolngu as central actors in Arnhem Land during the war. Comparative analysis of other colonised indigenous peoples' involvement in World War ll�Pacific Islanders in similar units in Papua and New Guinea, and Navajo Codetalkers in the United States�highlights the existence of common colonial practices that existed transnationally, alongside indigenous peoples' own sense of agency. This study re-centres indigenous people in war narratives while demonstrating at the same time how governments' reliance on indigenous skills and labour in times of crisis did not represent a fundamental change in relations, although for white authorities there were, eventually, unanticipated outcomes from the war for indigenous peoples.
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ItemThe digital surrogate for an 18th century manuscript: a method of preservation and access( 2009)The dissemination of information through technological formats is in a constant state of flux. The constant and rapid evolution of technological tools used to provide access to cultural collections is continuous. The following thesis research explores the concept of a digital surrogate as a means of preserving the physical fabric of a Middle Eastern Manuscript from the University of Melbourne's Special Collections. The utility of a digital platform to enable dialogue between the international community and local caretaker communities of collections, as well as providing an alternative to physical access of a fragile item is the crux of the following thesis research. This thesis research will be divided in to project outcomes and future possibilities. This author explores the logistics of the digitisation process and its use in producing a digital surrogate for a unique volume selected form the Middle Eastern Manuscript collection, MUL 134. This author will then proceed with a discussion surrounding the digital repository of the University of Melbourne. Research surrounding other institutional repositories and their use as a scholarly tool will be compared with the model currently used by the University of Melbourne. Questions of access, management of content and practicality surrounding the digital repository as a platform for digitised collections will also formulate the following research. As a result, an alternative online platform will be proposed as an appropriate channel of access for digitised surrogates of MUL 134, and other volumes from the collection, which may be digitised in the future.
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ItemAn investigation into the effects of dry cleaning sponge treatments on textile fibres( 2008)This thesis investigates the possibility of using dry cleaning sponges to remove soiling from textile artefacts. A literature review outlines the ethics of cleaning, current textile cleaning techniques, dry cleaning techniques from other conservation disciplines and the uses and composition of dry cleaning sponge. The experimentation is documented and the results of the SEM and EDS analysis discussed. It is concluded that dry cleaning sponge is a viable technique for cleaning textile fibres.
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ItemThe Yackandandah Bullock Hide: an investigation of its meaning and manufacture and conservation treatment of its materials( 2009)In 1902, the community of Yackandandah in north eastern Victoria celebrated the Coronation of Edward the VII with local festivities including the roasting of a bullock and a public feast. To commemorate the memory of this significant local and international event resident craftsmen made the Bullock Hide, a unique wooden and leather framed object comprising glass, horn, bone, fur, iron, paper and photographic emulsions. This project first establishes the significance of the Bullock Hide through an in depth investigation into its provenance, history, meaning and manufacture. This information was then used to carry out identification of its materials and condition in order to determine the most suitable treatment strategy and methodology. Conservation treatment was then carried out on the Bullock Hide which now forms the basis of a display about the community celebrations at the Yackandandah Bank of Victoria Museum.
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ItemWatching paint dry: investigation of the rate of drying of acrylic emulsion paint via dimensional change (negative strain) with electronic speckle pattern interferometry (espi)( 2009)Acrylic emulsion paint is one of the most recent of the major classes of modern paints to come out of the Twentieth Century. It was first introduced in the early 1950s, manufactured by Henry Levison's Liquitex, and research into the behaviour and aging of acrylics is still in its early stages. Its popularity by artists today rivals that of traditional oil paints, but there is still much to learn about the nature of these paints. A solid acrylic paint film is essentially formed by the evaporation of water, and the eventual coalescence of the polymer particles. The volume of an acrylic emulsion paint film decreases as it loses its water content during the drying process, and it is therefore expected to contract, or show a negative strain. This minor thesis research investigates the movement and strain produced during the drying process of acrylic paint using electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI). ESPI is a non-invasive and highly sensitive technique able to detect in-plane and out-of-plane displacements in a material's surface which are undetectable to the naked eye. This project uses this technique to measure the in-plane displacement of acrylic emulsion paint film and characterise the changes that occur as it dries in different environments. These environments range from ambient room temperature and relative humidity (RH), raised temperature and ambient RH, and lowered temperature and ambient RH. The test samples include titanium white, burnt sienna and pyrrole red paints of Golden and Winsor & Newton brands, and were painted on solid, Mylar-covered supports to minimise the influence of the substrate in the different environments. The findings suggest that the drying process does produce strain, although minimal. While factors such as temperature, humidity and air flow affect the drying time of the paint film, no correlation between these factors and the amount or rate of strain produced during film formation is evident. 3 EPSI was found to be a suitable and effective technique to characterise the surface activity, displacement and strain in a painted surface. However, inconsistencies with some of the results highlighted the need for tight controls for testing, such as air flow, temperature and humidity.
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ItemA scientific case study of 19th century australian oil paintings in the western district, Victoria( 2009)The mid-nineteenth century marked a period of immense wealth and expansion within the newly established Australian colony of Victoria. During this time settlers in the predominantly agricultural region of the Western District began to reap the rewards of their labours. Ultimately this engendered an increased investment in easel painting commissions explicitly intended to demonstrate the visual affirmation of the success and status of their patrons. The urbanised centres of the district additionally experienced unprecedented prosperity during the goldrush of the 1850s. When coupled with an increased sense of civic pride this wealth inadvertently resulted in a heightened public awareness in, and advocation for, fine arts. Many important colonial Australian easel paintings originate from this period and in the present day substantial collections are held in both public and private possession in the Western District. In many private collections these works are often contained within architecturally contemporaneous contexts subject to common environmental conditions and considerations. The worth of paintings from Australia's colonial past is inherent in their value not only as aesthetic objects but importantly as significant and inimitable socio-historic documents. As such, the preservation of these artworks is a paramount consideration for the wellbeing of Australia's collective cultural identity. This thesis focuses upon a case study of the materials and techniques associated with two archetypical colonial easel paintings originating from a Western District context. An appraisal of environmental impacts and collection care thus informs the development of a theoretical characterisation of the behavioural tendencies of the two paintings, providing a scientific based prediction of the paintings behavioural responses to given stimuli in the temperate Western District climate. The study substantiates the theoretical assertions associated with material behaviours in the specific environmental context by undertaking experimental investigations of observable responses to recorded conditions. To this aim Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry (ESPI) is employed as a diagnostic technique enabling the examination and corroboration of the assertions of the previous scientific theoretical characterisation. ESPI enabled the measurement of in-plane displacements on the paintings' surfaces in response to environmental stimuli. The results of the experimental investigation not only offers evidence in support of previously ascertained theoretical assertions, but ultimately the technical analysis provides empirical evidence in favour of environmental stabilisation in private collection environments to facilitate the ongoing preservation of this valuable body of historically and aesthetically significant work.
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ItemThe conservation and partial restoration of a tethered remotely operating vehicle( 2009)The treatment of modern fabrication materials retrieved from marine environments is a challenging new frontier for maritime archaeological conservators. In this study a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) that had been lost at sea for 10 years was successfully disassembled, stabilised and reassembled. In addition to the stabilisation of this object and upon direction from the Curator of Maritime History, the port side of the vehicle was restored utilising materials similar to those used in the original design. It was considered that this approach would enhance the objects interpretive value as part of an exhibition highlighting the importance of the off shore oil and gas industry in Western Australia. In its reconstructed state the outcome of this project has been the development of an educational tool that can be used by Conservation, Maritime Archaeology and Maritime History to demonstrate the degradation of materials that have been subjected to prolonged exposure to a marine environment.