International franchising success factors: A guide for Australian franchise systems. Australia is considered the most 'franchised' nation in the world. With 850 franchisors, it has over three times the number of systems per capita than the United States. However, Australian franchises are small due to the country's limited population, with 60% of systems holding fewer than 30 units. One third of Australian franchisors now operates internationally, however little is known about how they plan an ....International franchising success factors: A guide for Australian franchise systems. Australia is considered the most 'franchised' nation in the world. With 850 franchisors, it has over three times the number of systems per capita than the United States. However, Australian franchises are small due to the country's limited population, with 60% of systems holding fewer than 30 units. One third of Australian franchisors now operates internationally, however little is known about how they plan and implement their expansion strategies. It appears that franchisors are reacting to approaches made by overseas investors rather than proactively developing international expansion strategies. This research will examine the practices of successful exporters to develop a model of best practice for future activity in the sector.Read moreRead less
Getting to the meat of the matter: social and economic issues in animal welfare in Australia's livestock industries. Animal welfare in Australia's livestock industries is an issue of increasing concern to both Australian consumers and meat and livestock producers. This project will provide an understanding of both the social and economic impacts of consumer views on animal welfare and help to foster more productive dialogue between consumers and producers.
Using Mathematics to Maximize the Efficiency of Shared Infrastructure in Australia's Coal Export Supply Chain. Port Waratah Coal Services operates the world's largest coal export terminal, servicing about 14 coal mining companies in the Hunter Valley, NSW. It is responsible for around $15 billion in annual export income for Australia. The coal supply chain is a complex operation, hampered by bottlenecks in critical shared infrastructure. Such limitations are estimated to cost Australia about $2 ....Using Mathematics to Maximize the Efficiency of Shared Infrastructure in Australia's Coal Export Supply Chain. Port Waratah Coal Services operates the world's largest coal export terminal, servicing about 14 coal mining companies in the Hunter Valley, NSW. It is responsible for around $15 billion in annual export income for Australia. The coal supply chain is a complex operation, hampered by bottlenecks in critical shared infrastructure. Such limitations are estimated to cost Australia about $2 billion pa in lost sales. This project will support the design of new infrastructure and processes to ensure an efficient supply chain. The new science resulting will benefit other coal operations in Australia, and potentially other bulk goods supply chains.Read moreRead less
Surveillance and sampling to maintain absence of pests and diseases. This project aims to develop empirically validated statistical and mathematical methods for industry and government to deliver more efficient biosecurity surveillance programs. The project endeavours to enhance biosecurity at the border and within Australia, while minimising the costs and burden of testing. Expected project outcomes include effective surveillance and sampling for high-priority threats, accessible software for d ....Surveillance and sampling to maintain absence of pests and diseases. This project aims to develop empirically validated statistical and mathematical methods for industry and government to deliver more efficient biosecurity surveillance programs. The project endeavours to enhance biosecurity at the border and within Australia, while minimising the costs and burden of testing. Expected project outcomes include effective surveillance and sampling for high-priority threats, accessible software for decision-makers, and generalisable approaches to address rapidly increasing biosecurity risks. Significant benefits include maintaining absence of key pathogens and pests in Australia.Read moreRead less
Biotechnology applications in the veterinary pharmaceutical industry: Pharmacological manipulation of ovarian function in domestic animals. The purpose of this research is to develop a humane, simple, safe, effective means of sterilizing female domestic animals without the need for surgical intervention. This novel experimental strategy is to target the supply of dormant eggs in the ovaries of female mammals. Every female mammal is born with a finite supply of eggs in the ovarian cortex. These c ....Biotechnology applications in the veterinary pharmaceutical industry: Pharmacological manipulation of ovarian function in domestic animals. The purpose of this research is to develop a humane, simple, safe, effective means of sterilizing female domestic animals without the need for surgical intervention. This novel experimental strategy is to target the supply of dormant eggs in the ovaries of female mammals. Every female mammal is born with a finite supply of eggs in the ovarian cortex. These cells cannot divide and so when this store is exhausted, reproduction ceases. Our strategy is to develop pharmaceutical reagents that will destroy this dormant egg population, thereby rendering the animals instantaneously and irreversibly infertile.Read moreRead less
The role of online social networks in successful ageing: benefitting from 'who you know' at older ages. The project will increase understanding of how online social networking contributes to successful ageing through partnering, economic and voluntary activity, family and social connectedness. The findings will inform policy recommendations, social interventions and education programs designed to enhance 'ageing well, ageing productively'. These are expected to benefit the health and well-being ....The role of online social networks in successful ageing: benefitting from 'who you know' at older ages. The project will increase understanding of how online social networking contributes to successful ageing through partnering, economic and voluntary activity, family and social connectedness. The findings will inform policy recommendations, social interventions and education programs designed to enhance 'ageing well, ageing productively'. These are expected to benefit the health and well-being of older Australians, with economic benefits of increased contributions to society and fewer demands on services. Social and economic benefits are also expected from insights into reducing the technological and psychological barriers that prevent older people from benefiting from the Internet and online social networking.Read moreRead less
Synthetic compounds to specifically activate or inhibit ryanodine receptor calcium ion channels. The aim of the project is develop synthetic compounds that specifically and reversibly activate or inhibit ryanodine receptor calcium release channels, and will thus increase or reduce the force developed by skeletal muscle and the heart. The compounds will be useful in biomedical and veterinary sciences and in the livestock industry. Some of the compounds that are not effective on mammalian ryan ....Synthetic compounds to specifically activate or inhibit ryanodine receptor calcium ion channels. The aim of the project is develop synthetic compounds that specifically and reversibly activate or inhibit ryanodine receptor calcium release channels, and will thus increase or reduce the force developed by skeletal muscle and the heart. The compounds will be useful in biomedical and veterinary sciences and in the livestock industry. Some of the compounds that are not effective on mammalian ryandine receptor isoforms might interact with insect channels and provide a template for a new class of insecticides. The compounds will be based on naturally occurring peptides which specifically and reversibly modulate mammalian calcium channels.Read moreRead less
Stable on-demand optimization for workforce and fleet logistics management. This project aims to conceive, develop and deploy innovative methodologies for stable on-demand workforce management and fleet logistics based on advanced decision-support systems. The outcome of this project will provide a new cloud-based real-time Optimisation Software-as-a-Service (OSaaS) platform that allows businesses to improve their productivity while reducing operating costs and their environmental footprint. Thi ....Stable on-demand optimization for workforce and fleet logistics management. This project aims to conceive, develop and deploy innovative methodologies for stable on-demand workforce management and fleet logistics based on advanced decision-support systems. The outcome of this project will provide a new cloud-based real-time Optimisation Software-as-a-Service (OSaaS) platform that allows businesses to improve their productivity while reducing operating costs and their environmental footprint. This is expected to support the manufacturing, retail, delivery and mobile fleets industries.Read moreRead less
Increasing Visitor Frequency: approach to understanding and forecasting how cultural attraction visitors respond to various incentives to increase visitation rates. Museums have been steadily losing visitors over the past decade. While current research indicates that this may be attributed to greater leisure competition, little is understood about how people make choices to visit or not to visit cultural attractions. The aim of this project is to develop, demonstrate and test a Random Utility Th ....Increasing Visitor Frequency: approach to understanding and forecasting how cultural attraction visitors respond to various incentives to increase visitation rates. Museums have been steadily losing visitors over the past decade. While current research indicates that this may be attributed to greater leisure competition, little is understood about how people make choices to visit or not to visit cultural attractions. The aim of this project is to develop, demonstrate and test a Random Utility Theory (RUT)-based modelling approach allowing managers of cultural attractions to understand and predict the likely visitation consequences of potential initiatives. We wish to model visitor choices of museums versus other competing attractions to allow museums to identify specific strategic actions (or combinations) to achieve organisational goals.Read moreRead less
Non-urban water regulation: next generation compliance & enforcement . This project aims to develop the next generation of regulatory technology in non-urban water compliance and enforcement. Effective technologies are needed to make government regulation more efficient, reduce regulatory burdens and improve compliance with complex laws. This project delivers new ways to optimise regulatory technologies that drive innovation, reduce costs and enhance sustainable water use. Expected outcomes incl ....Non-urban water regulation: next generation compliance & enforcement . This project aims to develop the next generation of regulatory technology in non-urban water compliance and enforcement. Effective technologies are needed to make government regulation more efficient, reduce regulatory burdens and improve compliance with complex laws. This project delivers new ways to optimise regulatory technologies that drive innovation, reduce costs and enhance sustainable water use. Expected outcomes include regulatory guidance strategies and training, advances in applied regulatory theory, and innovative technology tools capturing the complexity of water regulation and supporting decision-making. This will provide public resource savings and ensure fairness and effectiveness of water compliance and enforcement.Read moreRead less