School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Research Publications
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ItemDegradation profiles of silk textiles in diverse environments: Synchrotron based infrared micro-spectroscopy analysis(Springer, 2017)In this paper, synchrotron based infrared micro-spectroscopy was utilized to describe the degradation profile of fibroin contained in silk textiles (Bombyx mori). The spatial distributions of deterioration effects in silk samples artificially aged at an assortment of conditions (thermal, hydrolytic and ultraviolet) were distinctly visualised and in accordance with the findings from conventional infrared spectroscopy in references. Further this method was applied on a historic sample from a private collection in Melbourne, and presented consistent results. This established synchrotron IR chemical mapping method could enable museum professionals to better understand the preservation state of historic silk and make informed decisions for conservation.
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ItemIdentification of cellulose nitrate based adhesive repairs in archaeological pottery of the University of Melbourne's Middle Eastern archaeological pottery collection using portable FTIR-ATR spectroscopy and PCA(BMC, 2017-01-19)A previous study of the Cypriot pottery collection housed in the Ian Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne found approximately two-thirds of adhesive repairs are primarily composed of cellulose nitrate (CN). This is of concern as CN has a limited lifespan (6–20 years), which has implications for the strategic management of the collection. To gain a greater understanding of the prevalence of CN based adhesive repairs in the archaeological context, the original FTIR-ATR spectroscopic survey was extended to incorporate the University’s Middle Eastern archaeological pottery collection. Micro-samples were removed from artefacts using acetone swabs. Analysis of adhesive FTIR spectra identified CN to be present not only as the primary polymer in approximately one-tenth of repairs, but also as a secondary polymer in poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and acrylic adhesive formulations, observed as a weak peak at ~1656 cm−1. CN’s secondary presence in PVAc adhesive formulations is demonstrated using principal component analysis (PCA) and the diphenylamine spot test for CN. Re-analysis of adhesive IR spectra from the Cypriot pottery collection found CN to be present as a secondary polymer in this collection as well. It is concluded a combined methodology of collecting and identifying FTIR-ATR spectra of adhesive repairs from archaeological pottery collections followed by PCA analysis bring to light adhesive formulations which can inform the management of pottery collections.
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ItemTea: An Alternative Adsorbent for the Preservation of Cellulose Triacetate Film(Australian Institute for the Conversation of Cultural Material Inc, 2017)Cellulose triacetate (CTA) film, the main film base of the Twentieth Century, is inherently unstable, affected by autocatalytic deterioration through hydrolysis. The release of, and subsequent exposure to, acetic acid known as ‘vinegar syndrome’ accelerates deterioration, placing all cellulose acetate materials at risk or actively deteriorating. Preservation techniques rely on cold storage to slow deterioration or microenvironments with adsorbent materials to remove corrosives and/or pollutants. However, commercially available adsorbents can be expensive and difficult to access. This research investigated the potential for tea and tea waste to act as an alternative, low cost, accessible adsorbent for the preservation of CTA film. Adsorption capabilities of various tea varieties and treatments were compared with activated charcoal, silica gel and molecular sieves. Testing established tea as an effective adsorbent of water and acetic acid vapour, with an aversion to adsorption of the plasticiser dibutyl-phthalate. Use of tea waste also involves additional cost, sustainability and accessibility benefits along with lessened corrosive potential. These findings support tea as a potentially viable alternative adsorbent for the preservation of CTA film, requiring further research into optimum application systems.
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ItemIntroduction: War and Memory in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus(Palgrave Macmillan, 2017-01-01)This introductory essay begins with a discussion of World War II memory in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, in light of the recent and ongoing war in Ukraine. It outlines the main contours of the interplay between “memory wars” and real war, and the important “post-Crimean” qualitative shift in local memory cultures in this connection. Next, the essay sketches out the specifics of the war memory landscapes of the region, and then of each of the three individual countries, before moving on to introduce the key organizing themes and findings of the book.
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ItemMemory, Kinship, and the Mobilization of the Dead: The Russian State and the “Immortal Regiment” Movement(Palgrave Macmillan, 2017-01-01)This chapter examines a new addition to the repertoire of Victory Day commemorative traditions in post-Soviet space: the newly invented annual “Immortal Regiment” parade, in which people march bearing photographs of their ancestors who fought in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. The chapter focuses on attempts by the state authorities and their supporters to instrumentalize the new ritual and to appropriate the Red Army’s war dead, and the emotions they evoke. It explores the ways in which the figure of the dead Red Army soldier is being brought back to life in new ways as part of the current regime’s authoritarian project.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableEditorial(Informa UK Limited, 2017-01-02)
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ItemBundengan: Social media as a space for collaboration in the conservation and revival of an endangered musical instrument(ISI Press, 2017)The widespread use of social media in cultural heritage and conservation projects principally makes use of its capacity for public-facing engagement and the promotion of cultural institutions and events. Its potential as an inclusive, accessible and dynamic research output is less well-established. This paper focuses upon the potential of social media as a complementary form of conservation documentation, in response to the use of interdisciplinary and cross-cultural collaboration between source communities and collecting institutions as a means to preserve both material and intangible cultural heritage. Using the conservation of a rare and endangered musical instrument called bundengan as a case study, this paper will assess the uses of social media platforms in both documenting and enabling collaboration between the source community in Wonosobo, Java, Indonesia, and academic researchers based in Indonesia and Australia.
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ItemInvestigating Vynol: Australia’s first artists’ acrylic and vinyl-acrylic emulsion paints(Pulido & Nunes; ICOM Committee for Conservation, 2017)Vynol Paints, established in 1964, was the first manufacturer of artists’ acrylic paints in Australia. However, it has received minimal recognition in the art historical, conservation and technical art research fields. It is the aim of this paper to address this research gap by considering its relevance to material knowledge and conservation practice, as part of a broader investigation into the relationship between acrylic paints and the Australian colourfield painting movement. Vynol was found to be used by artists featured in the seminal exhibition, The Field (1968), at the National Gallery of Victoria. This interdisciplinary study presents archive material, interview findings and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis of Vynol paints, showing connections between the movement’s artists and the manufacturer. It reveals that, during the 1960s, Vynol produced vinyl-acrylic paints – copolymers of polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) and an acrylate monomer, a formulation that was likely used by some of the artists associated with The Field exhibition. Hence, identification of the PVAc/acrylic copolymers using FTIR spectroscopy is explored.
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ItemWhy do we find Bohr obscure? Reading Bohr as a philosopher of experiment(Bloomsbury Academic, 2017)Niels Bohr's philosophical view of quantum mechanics has been the subject of extensive scholarship for the better part of five decades. Yet Bohr’s writings have remained obscure, as evidenced by the variety of different scholarly interpretations of his work. In this chapter, I review the historiography of Bohr scholarship, arguing that his meaning has remained elusive because his central preoccupations lay not so much with an interpretation of the quantum-mechanical formalism, which many commentators see as the problem of quantum theory, but rather with the epistemological question of how we can acquire empirical knowledge of quantum objects by means of experiment. Bohr’s doctrine of classical concepts, I argue, is therefore best understood as a philosophy of experiment.
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ItemBohr and the problem of the quantum-to-classical transition(Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017-10-19)