Nature and Nation: Science, Environment and National Identity in Australia. Nature and Nation combines interviews and archival research to explore the intersection of three worlds in Australia:
· the natural world
· the scientific world that speaks for nature in settler society, and
· the cultural world that fosters and constrains science and other ways of knowing about nature.
The primary focus is the workings of science in northern Australia, where the frontier has never closed. The a ....Nature and Nation: Science, Environment and National Identity in Australia. Nature and Nation combines interviews and archival research to explore the intersection of three worlds in Australia:
· the natural world
· the scientific world that speaks for nature in settler society, and
· the cultural world that fosters and constrains science and other ways of knowing about nature.
The primary focus is the workings of science in northern Australia, where the frontier has never closed. The aim is to elucidate the past, present and future roles of environment and science in Australia's nation-building. Outcomes will include public lectures, journal articles and a major book for a general audience.
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Droughts and Flooding Rains: El Nino and La Nina Events in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific 1865 - 1903. Historically in Australia and Oceania, droughts and flooding rains have been considered an aberration, but understanding is now emerging that they result from El Nino and La Nina episodes and should be perceived as and planned for as irregular but natural phenomena. This study will expand our knowledge and comprehension of their influence on environments, economies, cultures and n ....Droughts and Flooding Rains: El Nino and La Nina Events in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific 1865 - 1903. Historically in Australia and Oceania, droughts and flooding rains have been considered an aberration, but understanding is now emerging that they result from El Nino and La Nina episodes and should be perceived as and planned for as irregular but natural phenomena. This study will expand our knowledge and comprehension of their influence on environments, economies, cultures and national thinking in our human and environmental history in Australia and the South Pacific, thereby facilitating more appropriate attitudes and a better capacity to plan for and live within environmental realities.Read moreRead less
Producing Biodiversity: A History of Science in Australia's Desert Lands. Biodiversity conservation is regarded by most people as desirable, but its historical and cultural aspects are poorly understood. It is not just about scientific understanding of animals and plants, but also a matter of practice and negotiation. People and places are changed through conservation and these changes in turn shape the ways nature is imagined and managed. Producing Biodiversity documents historical and contempo ....Producing Biodiversity: A History of Science in Australia's Desert Lands. Biodiversity conservation is regarded by most people as desirable, but its historical and cultural aspects are poorly understood. It is not just about scientific understanding of animals and plants, but also a matter of practice and negotiation. People and places are changed through conservation and these changes in turn shape the ways nature is imagined and managed. Producing Biodiversity documents historical and contemporary initiatives in biodiversity management on six very different pastoral properties on the margins of the Australian desert. We provide a long-term perspective on national and local conservation imperatives in different eras, and explore how they affect pastoral, Aboriginal and scientific communities.Read moreRead less