Smart materials from semi-soft particles. This project will combine precision polymer chemistry to material science to develop structured nanoparticles for applications in photonics and shape memory materials.
Finding equivalence between natural and artificial intelligences. This project aims to investigate the ways in which artificial intelligence is equivalent to human intelligence. Computers outperform humans in many domains, yet it is clear that computers often don’t perform tasks the way humans do. Developing innovative methods for evaluating claims of equivalence by drawing on simpler, well-understood model systems like the honeybee brain, the project expects to fill this existing knowledge gap. ....Finding equivalence between natural and artificial intelligences. This project aims to investigate the ways in which artificial intelligence is equivalent to human intelligence. Computers outperform humans in many domains, yet it is clear that computers often don’t perform tasks the way humans do. Developing innovative methods for evaluating claims of equivalence by drawing on simpler, well-understood model systems like the honeybee brain, the project expects to fill this existing knowledge gap. Expected outcomes include a framework that provides powerful, nuanced criteria for comparison of natural and artificial intelligences. Benefits are expected to include enhanced guidance for the development of AI systems both in everyday contexts and as exploratory tools in comparative and cognitive neuroscience.Read moreRead less
Culture, cognition and mental illness. This project aims to establish conceptual foundations for studying cultural variation in mental disorders and their implications for cognitive and behavioural science. Mental disorder contributes to the burden of death and disability around the world, but modern psychiatric theories must also deal with non-Western forms of mental illness. Do non-Western individuals suffer from the same conditions as Westerners, but in a different form, or do they suffer fro ....Culture, cognition and mental illness. This project aims to establish conceptual foundations for studying cultural variation in mental disorders and their implications for cognitive and behavioural science. Mental disorder contributes to the burden of death and disability around the world, but modern psychiatric theories must also deal with non-Western forms of mental illness. Do non-Western individuals suffer from the same conditions as Westerners, but in a different form, or do they suffer from distinctive local conditions? This project intends to discuss the foundational issues raised within psychiatry. This will contribute to a greater understanding of the mental health of non-Western populations.Read moreRead less
Organic-inorganic hybrids via a combination of ring opening metathesis polymerisation, Thiol-Ene Click chemistry and Sol-Gel reactions. The research aims to develop a fast and efficient process for the preparation of advanced organic-inorganic materials. The successful completion of this research will yield new materials that may be exploited in advanced specialty applications including in biomedical and fuel cell areas.
The philosophical influences on anthropology. This project aims to undertake a comprehensive account of Kant’s impact on the early history of anthropology, offering a new framework for understanding philosophy’s role as a cultural force in society. The project will investigate the importance of Kant’s twin narratives of progressive human development and racial difference for understanding the course taken by anthropology when determining government policies regarding race relations. The benefit ....The philosophical influences on anthropology. This project aims to undertake a comprehensive account of Kant’s impact on the early history of anthropology, offering a new framework for understanding philosophy’s role as a cultural force in society. The project will investigate the importance of Kant’s twin narratives of progressive human development and racial difference for understanding the course taken by anthropology when determining government policies regarding race relations. The benefit of this reconstruction will be the identification of contemporary examples of Kant’s continued legacy, especially in the context of legacies of racial bias, and to the nature of claimed racial and ethnic identities.Read moreRead less
The experimental self in early modern philosophy. This project aims to analyse an unrecognised connection between the emergence of experience-grounded theories of the self and the rise of early modern experimentalism. These are two developments in early modern philosophy which paved the way for today’s conception of science. By studying the influence of Cartesian physiology on early modern accounts of embodied cognition, the project seeks to correct some of the misconceptions of the period. The ....The experimental self in early modern philosophy. This project aims to analyse an unrecognised connection between the emergence of experience-grounded theories of the self and the rise of early modern experimentalism. These are two developments in early modern philosophy which paved the way for today’s conception of science. By studying the influence of Cartesian physiology on early modern accounts of embodied cognition, the project seeks to correct some of the misconceptions of the period. The project aims to clarify the role of human agency in advancement of knowledge, and develop a conceptual framework that allows a more nuanced and complex understanding of the relationship between the humanities and sciences.Read moreRead less
Transnational seafood commodity chains and the coastal poor in the maritime frontiers of the Asia-Pacific. This research aims to understand the social mechanisms by which access to the benefits of transnational seafood commodity chains in the Asia-Pacific are gained, maintained and controlled. This project will use a conceptual framework that focuses on key social relations of gender, class and ethnicity, and the key societal changes of land-use change, migration and conservation. This project o ....Transnational seafood commodity chains and the coastal poor in the maritime frontiers of the Asia-Pacific. This research aims to understand the social mechanisms by which access to the benefits of transnational seafood commodity chains in the Asia-Pacific are gained, maintained and controlled. This project will use a conceptual framework that focuses on key social relations of gender, class and ethnicity, and the key societal changes of land-use change, migration and conservation. This project offers a novel research framework for a pressing cluster of economic, environmental and social challenges in the Asia-Pacific, and will inform research and policy for poverty reduction, economic development, environmental management and food security. Read moreRead less
Governing the blue economy in maritime Asia-Pacific. This project aims to examine the drivers, character and effects of Blue Economy governance, a highly influential agenda intended to reconcile economic growth with ocean conservation. Analysis of Blue Economy governance in China and the Philippines seeks to reveal how this agenda is represented, contested and implemented at regional, national and local scales. Expected outcomes include new knowledge concerning the influence and impacts of marit ....Governing the blue economy in maritime Asia-Pacific. This project aims to examine the drivers, character and effects of Blue Economy governance, a highly influential agenda intended to reconcile economic growth with ocean conservation. Analysis of Blue Economy governance in China and the Philippines seeks to reveal how this agenda is represented, contested and implemented at regional, national and local scales. Expected outcomes include new knowledge concerning the influence and impacts of maritime governance in the region. This project has the potential to inform more socially equitable and environmentally sustainable governance outcomes.Read moreRead less
Minds in skilled performance: Explanatory framework and comparative study. This project aims to develop an explanatory framework to characterise states of mind necessary for skilled performance, and show how intelligence and emotion affect performance. The theoretical grounding of skilled performance is controversial. This project will use and refine core ideas from enactivist approaches to embodied cognition to address philosophical challenges that block understanding of its basis. The project ....Minds in skilled performance: Explanatory framework and comparative study. This project aims to develop an explanatory framework to characterise states of mind necessary for skilled performance, and show how intelligence and emotion affect performance. The theoretical grounding of skilled performance is controversial. This project will use and refine core ideas from enactivist approaches to embodied cognition to address philosophical challenges that block understanding of its basis. The project will draw on Phenomenology, Pragmatism and Japanese "do". clarifying and recontextualising what they have to offer to contemporary thinking about skilled performance.Read moreRead less
The scientific revolution: mechanisation of the world picture or the emergence of science as opposed to a world picture? This project will enhance Australia's already strong international reputation in History and Philosophy of Science by offering an account of the Scientific Revolution that meets the highest standards of both philosophical and historical scholarship. It will portray science as emerging as an autonomous discipline distinct from natural philosophy.