Testing a new explanation of cloud feedback on global climate. A new analysis suggests that the sensitivity of global climate to greenhouse gases is largely controlled by the upward transport of water vapour in the lower troposphere, but the analysis did not examine clouds, which must be involved for the mechanism to be valid. The aim of the proposed project is to determine whether variations in cloud implied by this new explanation are supported by observations and process models. If the explan ....Testing a new explanation of cloud feedback on global climate. A new analysis suggests that the sensitivity of global climate to greenhouse gases is largely controlled by the upward transport of water vapour in the lower troposphere, but the analysis did not examine clouds, which must be involved for the mechanism to be valid. The aim of the proposed project is to determine whether variations in cloud implied by this new explanation are supported by observations and process models. If the explanation is confirmed, then for the first time in over 30 years of intense research it will be possible to determine the long-term severity of global warming by examining the present-day atmosphere. The expected outcome of this research is to clarify how and why low clouds change in altered climates.Read moreRead less
GBR as a significant source of climatically relevant aerosol particles. Every cloud drop is formed from a microscopic aerosol particle, known as a cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). In unpolluted environments the CCN particles originate from biogenic sources. Determining the magnitude and driving factors of biogenic aerosol production in different ecosystems is crucial to the development and improvement of climate models. This project aims to determine the mechanisms of new particle production fro ....GBR as a significant source of climatically relevant aerosol particles. Every cloud drop is formed from a microscopic aerosol particle, known as a cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). In unpolluted environments the CCN particles originate from biogenic sources. Determining the magnitude and driving factors of biogenic aerosol production in different ecosystems is crucial to the development and improvement of climate models. This project aims to determine the mechanisms of new particle production from one of the biggest ecosystems in Australia, the Great Barrier Reef. It is expected that the project will establish whether marine aerosol along the Queensland coast is coral-derived and show that this aerosol can affect the CCN concentration and therefore cloud formation and the hydrological cycle.Read moreRead less
Towards Engineering Behavioural Research Design Systems. Behavioural research is a significant component of the annual spend in Australia on research and development. It is contended that 'best practice' behavioural research methods can be more systematised, transparent and visible; facilitating more complex, integrated and holistic research designs; and thereby, more cumulative and comparable results; thus enabling increased rigor, higher productivity and lower risk than have generally been the ....Towards Engineering Behavioural Research Design Systems. Behavioural research is a significant component of the annual spend in Australia on research and development. It is contended that 'best practice' behavioural research methods can be more systematised, transparent and visible; facilitating more complex, integrated and holistic research designs; and thereby, more cumulative and comparable results; thus enabling increased rigor, higher productivity and lower risk than have generally been the experience historically. This project proposes the formal conceptualisation and modelling of behavioural science research methods, by adapting them to the research design, the well understood concepts, tools and techniques of Information Systems design. Results are expected to form the conceptual basis of 'Research Design Systems.'Read moreRead less
Flying networks: airborne sensing for environmental monitoring and disaster response. Airborne sensing technology is ideally suited to Australian geography and can be highly effective for monitoring disasters, surveillance, and precision agriculture. There are ample opportunities for local information technology companies and start-ups to create innovative airborne sensing applications for both the Australian and overseas markets.
Optimising service level agreements for performance and energy efficiency in cloud computing systems. In cloud platforms a large number of applications compete for shared resources. Concerns of power consumption have become increasingly significant in the context of the design and use of cloud systems. In this project new algorithms and software tools will be developed to enable a better utilisation of clouds whilst minimising energy usage.
Exploiting dynamic information in mobile networks. Mobile and wireless networks are ideal for Australia as they provide both low set-up costs and environmentally robust infrastructures. Exploiting mobility to enhance efficiency and cost will place Australia at the forefront of research in mobile networking and will contribute to the worldwide effort towards sustainability and survivability.
Local computations in dynamic networks. This project aims to identify and exploit dynamic networks, and investigate how locally available knowledge affects the computability or the communication complexity of solving a problem. Mobile, wireless, social and other ubiquitous communication networks involve autonomous and highly dynamic entities, but these are often treated as a liability instead of an asset, even when they enhance the network. Local knowledge in the entities’ neighbourhood can make ....Local computations in dynamic networks. This project aims to identify and exploit dynamic networks, and investigate how locally available knowledge affects the computability or the communication complexity of solving a problem. Mobile, wireless, social and other ubiquitous communication networks involve autonomous and highly dynamic entities, but these are often treated as a liability instead of an asset, even when they enhance the network. Local knowledge in the entities’ neighbourhood can make the network more efficient. This project is expected to contribute to the worldwide effort towards advanced technologies and place Australia at the forefront of research in mobile and social networking.Read moreRead less
Decimetre-level indoor positioning on Wi-Fi. This project aims to exploit both spatial and frequency diversities based on the multiple-input, multiple-out and frequency hopping techniques to achieve the goal of decimetre-level position accuracy by significantly increasing Wi-Fi bandwidth. Wi-Fi positioning is utilised in locations where GPS is blocked, typically this is within a structure. The project will design a set of mechanisms to facilitate Wi-Fi positioning, discover key principles to gui ....Decimetre-level indoor positioning on Wi-Fi. This project aims to exploit both spatial and frequency diversities based on the multiple-input, multiple-out and frequency hopping techniques to achieve the goal of decimetre-level position accuracy by significantly increasing Wi-Fi bandwidth. Wi-Fi positioning is utilised in locations where GPS is blocked, typically this is within a structure. The project will design a set of mechanisms to facilitate Wi-Fi positioning, discover key principles to guide practical design, and develop advanced algorithms to push the performance limit to decimetre-level accuracy. The project will develop key fundamental technologies which are expected to promote innovative, practical, and cost-effective applications to local industry and service sectors and contribute to Australia's long-term economic growth.Read moreRead less
University learning in the digital age: Investigating how students learn online. Learning in higher education has become more complex since much of the founding research 40 years ago, with online technologies increasingly used to engage a diverse university student population in student-centred learning. The proposed study aims to update our understanding of student learning to this contemporary university context. The project will focus specifically on how students interpret online tasks set by ....University learning in the digital age: Investigating how students learn online. Learning in higher education has become more complex since much of the founding research 40 years ago, with online technologies increasingly used to engage a diverse university student population in student-centred learning. The proposed study aims to update our understanding of student learning to this contemporary university context. The project will focus specifically on how students interpret online tasks set by their teachers, how they complete those tasks by tracking their activities in real-time, and what outcomes they achieve. This study will advance fundamental understanding of these inter-related processes, and provide the stimulus to change thinking about educational design, teaching practices, and support for students.Read moreRead less
Interacting with visualisations of extremely large graph structures on large displays. The latest technological progressions have delivered very large data sets that can be modelled as graphs or networks. Examples include: social networks, biological data, and software structures. This project will develop techniques to allow users to visualise the graphs in the entirety and directly interact with data.