Optimising Volunteer Management Strategy at the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (Victoria). This project reconceptualises volunteering as a ?cultural practice? (de Certeau 1984) to enable the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) to optimise its volunteer management through an enhanced understanding of who its volunteers are and why they volunteer for the ?blood bank?. Its operating premise is that knowing one's volunteer workforce is essential to their effective management. It builds on ....Optimising Volunteer Management Strategy at the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (Victoria). This project reconceptualises volunteering as a ?cultural practice? (de Certeau 1984) to enable the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) to optimise its volunteer management through an enhanced understanding of who its volunteers are and why they volunteer for the ?blood bank?. Its operating premise is that knowing one's volunteer workforce is essential to their effective management. It builds on the platform of volunteer studies established by social research and extends it via a critical reconsideration of the work of Michel de Certeau.Read moreRead less
Creative industries pathways to youth employment in the COVID-19 recession. This project aims to accredit 21st century skills developed through youth arts. The significance of this project lies in our response to the increase in Australia’s youth unemployment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and industry demand for 21st century skills. Outcomes include pathways from arts to employment and job-ready skill development, through micro-creds that showcase skills to employers. Benefits align with UN Su ....Creative industries pathways to youth employment in the COVID-19 recession. This project aims to accredit 21st century skills developed through youth arts. The significance of this project lies in our response to the increase in Australia’s youth unemployment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and industry demand for 21st century skills. Outcomes include pathways from arts to employment and job-ready skill development, through micro-creds that showcase skills to employers. Benefits align with UN Sustainable Development Goals 4, 5 and 8: to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, and promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. Read moreRead less
Safety, risk and wellbeing on digital dating apps. This project aims to build an evidence-base scoping and strategic planning of health promotion campaigns targeting Australian dating app users. The rise of digital dating apps generates a number of issues regarding cultures of health and wellbeing, including concerns regarding risks of sexual assault, and sexually transmitted infection transmission. Popular media reports raise concerns regarding sexual privacy breaches, in the form of ‘revenge p ....Safety, risk and wellbeing on digital dating apps. This project aims to build an evidence-base scoping and strategic planning of health promotion campaigns targeting Australian dating app users. The rise of digital dating apps generates a number of issues regarding cultures of health and wellbeing, including concerns regarding risks of sexual assault, and sexually transmitted infection transmission. Popular media reports raise concerns regarding sexual privacy breaches, in the form of ‘revenge porn’, sexual harassment and sexual assault. Despite this, little evidence exists regarding the role apps currently play in users’ everyday negotiations of consent, condom use, contraception, and other aspects of sexual health and wellbeing. The outcomes of this project will establish foundations for future health interventions promoting sexual health and safety for digital dating app users, and take an innovative participatory approach. This will result in practical, strategic recommendations regarding the future planning, and implementation of digital health promotion campaigns targeting diverse populations, including heterosexual and same-sex-attracted young people aged 15-30.
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Development of advanced ceramic membranes: a robust solution to sustainable water treatment. Australia is one of the driest nations on Earth. While available fresh water supplies dwindle, options to treat 'used' water for reuse are gaining rapid popularity. Membranes are now state-of-the-art for water treatment, including all new desalination plants, but as they are polymeric based, they must be routinely cleaned with chemicals and replaced. The outcomes of this research will demonstrate innovat ....Development of advanced ceramic membranes: a robust solution to sustainable water treatment. Australia is one of the driest nations on Earth. While available fresh water supplies dwindle, options to treat 'used' water for reuse are gaining rapid popularity. Membranes are now state-of-the-art for water treatment, including all new desalination plants, but as they are polymeric based, they must be routinely cleaned with chemicals and replaced. The outcomes of this research will demonstrate innovative functional ceramic membranes which last longer and have lower requirement for cleaning chemicals and expert maintenance. This, in turn, will deliver water at lower cost and reduced environmental burden (chemical and membrane disposal), giving industry more sustainable solutions to treat water, which has now become an essential practice in society.Read moreRead less
Locating the mobile: intergenerational locative media practices in Tokyo, Melbourne and Shanghai. From providing convenience at a fingertip to helping criminal investigations, using locative media has become an essential part of everyday life for individuals, families, businesses and government. Responding to this nascent phenomenon, this project will provide the first cross-cultural, intergenerational study of locative media use.
Mobile Me: Young People, Sociality and the Mobile Phone. The project tests and reinforces child-centred, participatory research practices and outcomes. It underlines the NSW Commission for Children and Young People's commitment to investigating contemporary problems and opportunities for young people, and to formulating appropriate policy responses. The project is designed to elicit and interpret young people's and pre-teen's views on their communicative environment, and to understand the mechan ....Mobile Me: Young People, Sociality and the Mobile Phone. The project tests and reinforces child-centred, participatory research practices and outcomes. It underlines the NSW Commission for Children and Young People's commitment to investigating contemporary problems and opportunities for young people, and to formulating appropriate policy responses. The project is designed to elicit and interpret young people's and pre-teen's views on their communicative environment, and to understand the mechanisms through which social relationships, information conduits, and knowledge networks are built and sustained. The dissemination of the findings will bring young people, educationalists and industry players into a productive dialogue on the benefits and dangers of this pervasive technology.Read moreRead less
Young Australians and the promotion of alcohol on social media. This project aims to determine how young people engage with alcohol and nightlife marketing on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Companies now leverage the power of social media to create advertisements that are made and shared by young people, targeted to them in particular times, places and contexts, and are thus difficult to monitor and regulate. The project will use computational, big social data app ....Young Australians and the promotion of alcohol on social media. This project aims to determine how young people engage with alcohol and nightlife marketing on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Companies now leverage the power of social media to create advertisements that are made and shared by young people, targeted to them in particular times, places and contexts, and are thus difficult to monitor and regulate. The project will use computational, big social data approaches and youth informants to assess the pervasiveness of branding on social media and how it shapes youth cultures. This work will extend media and cultural studies and support the development of effective monitoring and regulation of online marketing in general, with a particular focus on alcohol.Read moreRead less
Smart Polymer Hydrogels for Simultaneous Waste Heat Utilisation and Wastewater Treatment for Sustainable Manufacturing. This project aims to develop dual-functionality, temperature-responsive polymer hydrogels as draw agents for continuous, forward osmosis wastewater treatment processes. It intends to use low–and-medium temperature waste heat as a green input into the process and thus significantly reduce the costs of wastewater treatment, and fresh water consumption, whilst effectively utilisin ....Smart Polymer Hydrogels for Simultaneous Waste Heat Utilisation and Wastewater Treatment for Sustainable Manufacturing. This project aims to develop dual-functionality, temperature-responsive polymer hydrogels as draw agents for continuous, forward osmosis wastewater treatment processes. It intends to use low–and-medium temperature waste heat as a green input into the process and thus significantly reduce the costs of wastewater treatment, and fresh water consumption, whilst effectively utilising waste heat generated in the manufacturing industry. The outcomes of this research aim to provide a unique opportunity for Australian researchers to become world leaders in the rapidly-emerging, energy-efficient forward osmosis technology which is very relevant not only to wastewater treatment, but also to desalination.Read moreRead less
Water availability and demand: better forecasts, better management. This project aims to improve Australia’s capability in the provision and use of water forecasts for managing water resources. The current water forecasts are not fully utilised by water agencies as they are not sufficiently comprehensive and advanced. This project expects to achieve a step change in the uptake and utility of hydro-climate forecasts through an extensive partnership of leading researchers and operational agencies ....Water availability and demand: better forecasts, better management. This project aims to improve Australia’s capability in the provision and use of water forecasts for managing water resources. The current water forecasts are not fully utilised by water agencies as they are not sufficiently comprehensive and advanced. This project expects to achieve a step change in the uptake and utility of hydro-climate forecasts through an extensive partnership of leading researchers and operational agencies of hydro-climate forecasting, with federal, state and regional water agencies.Read moreRead less
A fundamental study of milk ultrafiltration. The Dairy Industry is one of Australia's largest domestic and export industries. The fundamental knowledge and models developed in this project will be used to optimise dairy membrane processing. This will reduce water and energy use to improve the global competitiveness and reduce the environmental impact of the Australian Dairy Industry.