Investigating memory reliability in intoxicated witnesses of crime. Eyewitness testimony is a crucial piece of evidence for solving a crime. Inaccurate testimony leads to miscarriages of justice such as failed prosecutions or false convictions. Many witnesses and victims are affected by alcohol or other drugs during the crime. This project brings together a multidisciplinary team aiming to improve understanding of how intoxication with different substances affects the reliability of victim and w ....Investigating memory reliability in intoxicated witnesses of crime. Eyewitness testimony is a crucial piece of evidence for solving a crime. Inaccurate testimony leads to miscarriages of justice such as failed prosecutions or false convictions. Many witnesses and victims are affected by alcohol or other drugs during the crime. This project brings together a multidisciplinary team aiming to improve understanding of how intoxication with different substances affects the reliability of victim and witness memory accuracy. Crucially, crimes are frequently distressing; therefore the interaction between intoxication and stress urgently requires exploration. This project will significantly advance our understanding of key mechanisms behind drug effects on memory, and support fairer judicial outcomes for all. Read moreRead less
Big-Picture Bioethics: policy-making and liberal democracy. We live an era of rapid growth in biotechnology generating new and difficult ethical questions that need to be tackled by bioethicists and politicians. This project goes beyond typical approaches in bioethics to explore the "big picture": how policies are generated in ethically-contentious domains. It is important to examine how the values of different stakeholders are reflected in such processes to ensure that they are in accordance wi ....Big-Picture Bioethics: policy-making and liberal democracy. We live an era of rapid growth in biotechnology generating new and difficult ethical questions that need to be tackled by bioethicists and politicians. This project goes beyond typical approaches in bioethics to explore the "big picture": how policies are generated in ethically-contentious domains. It is important to examine how the values of different stakeholders are reflected in such processes to ensure that they are in accordance with Australia's commitment to fostering a multicultural, pluralistic, democratic society. This project will produce practical recommendations for refining public consultation in healthcare policy-making through an examination of three relevant contentious case studies in Australia with comparison to Canada.Read moreRead less
Rethinking housing: network analysis for digital collaboration. This project aims to understand persistent housing sector supply problems through analysis of digital collaborative practices. This project expects to generate new knowledge for an emerging housing digital economy using interdisciplinary network theory and data visualisation techniques. The housing sector has long been criticised for shortcomings in affordability, efficiency, quality, social and environmental responsiveness and appr ....Rethinking housing: network analysis for digital collaboration. This project aims to understand persistent housing sector supply problems through analysis of digital collaborative practices. This project expects to generate new knowledge for an emerging housing digital economy using interdisciplinary network theory and data visualisation techniques. The housing sector has long been criticised for shortcomings in affordability, efficiency, quality, social and environmental responsiveness and appropriateness of offerings. Expected outcomes include enhanced housing supply professionals' capability, improved knowledge among public/private sector decision makers responsible for housing supply and development of new digital collaborative behavioural theoretical and practical frameworks for the sector.Read moreRead less
Analysing interactions within the criminal deportation system. This project aims to investigate the convergence of migration control and criminal justice by analysing pathways to criminal deportation. The project expects to generate new criminological understandings of deportation as a means of promoting community safety using interdisciplinary approaches that capture regional and metropolitan practice. Expected outcomes include knowledge of how information flows between migration control and cr ....Analysing interactions within the criminal deportation system. This project aims to investigate the convergence of migration control and criminal justice by analysing pathways to criminal deportation. The project expects to generate new criminological understandings of deportation as a means of promoting community safety using interdisciplinary approaches that capture regional and metropolitan practice. Expected outcomes include knowledge of how information flows between migration control and criminal justice agencies, and the implications for policing, courts, and prison administration. This should provide significant benefits for policy-makers and practitioners, by articulating emerging and unexplored practices that have major consequences for community safety, social cohesion and the rule-of-law.Read moreRead less
The impact and cost of short-term health staffing in remote communities. This project aims to examine the impact of the increasing levels of short-term health staffing in remote communities upon service acceptability to patients, workload and attitudes of long-term resident primary health care staff, and the effectiveness and cost of health services. There is a dearth of information about this 'fly in/fly out' (FIFO) workforce in remote communities, which have the worst health outcomes in the co ....The impact and cost of short-term health staffing in remote communities. This project aims to examine the impact of the increasing levels of short-term health staffing in remote communities upon service acceptability to patients, workload and attitudes of long-term resident primary health care staff, and the effectiveness and cost of health services. There is a dearth of information about this 'fly in/fly out' (FIFO) workforce in remote communities, which have the worst health outcomes in the country. The project aims to inform consumers, health practitioners, health service planners and policy-makers about the impact of FIFO, as well as to contribute to the development of strategies designed to stabilise the remote health workforce.Read moreRead less
Law, order and federalism in Australia. In a series of recent cases the High Court has emphasised the constitutional imperatives of judicial independence and impartiality in State court systems. These developments provide minimum human rights protections to individuals confronting criminal justice in the States. But what has not been considered is the cost of these developments. This project will investigate the uncertainty of the constitutional restrictions confronting State governments when re ....Law, order and federalism in Australia. In a series of recent cases the High Court has emphasised the constitutional imperatives of judicial independence and impartiality in State court systems. These developments provide minimum human rights protections to individuals confronting criminal justice in the States. But what has not been considered is the cost of these developments. This project will investigate the uncertainty of the constitutional restrictions confronting State governments when responding to law and order priorities, and the extent to which these have led to the frustration of policy development and experimentation across the Australian federation.Read moreRead less
Engineered graphene-based nanofertilizers to improve crop nutrition. This project seeks to evaluate the unique properties of graphene to more effectively engineer novel fertilizers with properties that can enhance nutrient efficiency and reduce losses to the environment. More efficient and effective fertilizer formulations are needed to improve nutrient use efficiency in agricultural systems globally, and for effective biofortification of staple food crops with essential micronutrients. Nitrogen ....Engineered graphene-based nanofertilizers to improve crop nutrition. This project seeks to evaluate the unique properties of graphene to more effectively engineer novel fertilizers with properties that can enhance nutrient efficiency and reduce losses to the environment. More efficient and effective fertilizer formulations are needed to improve nutrient use efficiency in agricultural systems globally, and for effective biofortification of staple food crops with essential micronutrients. Nitrogen may be lost from soil through leaching and gaseous losses to the atmosphere. Phosphorus, as well as copper, manganese and zinc, are prone to reactions in soils and during manufacturing which reduces their effectiveness.Read moreRead less
Ethics, responsibility and the carbon budget. This project aims to provide a rigorous ethical framework for dividing the world’s remaining ‘carbon budget’ (CB). In order to avoid climate change the world must drastically limit its emissions of greenhouse gases. The project will develop a new analysis of how our assumptions concerning risk and harm shape conception of the CB. It will also provide a new understanding of how future emission rights should be allocated given that countries have emitt ....Ethics, responsibility and the carbon budget. This project aims to provide a rigorous ethical framework for dividing the world’s remaining ‘carbon budget’ (CB). In order to avoid climate change the world must drastically limit its emissions of greenhouse gases. The project will develop a new analysis of how our assumptions concerning risk and harm shape conception of the CB. It will also provide a new understanding of how future emission rights should be allocated given that countries have emitted vastly different quantities of greenhouse gases in the past. The project will analyse how the CB will impact the climate transition plans of countries such as Australia. The project will thus bring significant new research in philosophy to bear on a practical issue.Read moreRead less
Staffing practices in Aboriginal primary health care services. This project aims to generate new knowledge about the impact of short-term staffing in remote Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services on service acceptability to patients, workload and attitudes of long-term staff and the effectiveness and cost of services. The project intends to compare these results to recent findings about the impact of short-term staffing in government-run clinics, in order to quantify and describe the po ....Staffing practices in Aboriginal primary health care services. This project aims to generate new knowledge about the impact of short-term staffing in remote Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services on service acceptability to patients, workload and attitudes of long-term staff and the effectiveness and cost of services. The project intends to compare these results to recent findings about the impact of short-term staffing in government-run clinics, in order to quantify and describe the potential positive effect of community control. Expected outcomes include rigorous evidence about the 'fly in/fly out' workforce and the impact of community control which can inform new policy that will stabilise the remote health workforce, save money and contribute to 'closing the gap' in health outcomes.Read moreRead less
Keystone microbes and planktonic guilds in Australia's oceans. This project aims to unveil the ocean’s hidden sentinels, “keystone microbes” that underpin precious ecosystem services, and which can be used to monitor and model changes in ocean function. Marine microbes account for 90 per cent of oceanic biomass and every litre of seawater contains ~20,000 different species, but it is not known which species control ocean health and productivity. This project intends to provide definitive evidenc ....Keystone microbes and planktonic guilds in Australia's oceans. This project aims to unveil the ocean’s hidden sentinels, “keystone microbes” that underpin precious ecosystem services, and which can be used to monitor and model changes in ocean function. Marine microbes account for 90 per cent of oceanic biomass and every litre of seawater contains ~20,000 different species, but it is not known which species control ocean health and productivity. This project intends to provide definitive evidence of these keystones’ cellular level biogeochemical and metabolic capacity. Ultimately, this knowledge is expected to predict the resilience of ocean ecosystems and their response to change. The capacity to predict their dynamics will help provide investment clarity and increase healthy outcomes from activities involving human-ocean interactions such as recreation, food production and tourism.Read moreRead less