This paper points out that the provincial mechanics' institutes of England in their early years were as much the product of a general and pervasive scientific culture as they were of a particular educational movement. To this extent the institutes can be interpreted within the context of wider social and economic changes. The bulk of the paper relates to the Mechanics' Institute at Sheffield in the period 1832-50, but through this and other material it is argued that this case study deserves general consideration.
The subject of this paper is the nature and development of the scientific enterprise in Australia, with a particular focus on the period from the 1880s to 1916. At its beginning, this period was dominated by the formation of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, and at its end it witnessed the formation of the Commonwealth Institute of Science and Industry. The `colonial' characteristics of Australian science are considered by means of a critical examination of George Basalla's analysis of the spread of Western science from its `centre' to peripheral regions. This is followed by a more detailed historical treatment of aspects of Australian science in the period 1888-1912. I argue that the nature of the Australian scientific enterprise of these years was increasingly conditioned by changing local economic imperatives, a reflection of the loosening of more established imperial relations.
This series of books provides concise studies on some of the major themes currently arousing academic controversy in the fields of economic and social history. Each author explores a given theme in a comparative context, drawing on material from western societies as well as those in the wider world. The books are introductory and explanatory and are designed for all those following thematic courses in history, cultural European or social studies.
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