Modelling Decision Making Within the Household and Analysing its Welfare Implications:Methodological Advances with Policy Applications. The project examines the behavioural and welfare implications of alternative models of intra household decisions. A framework that integrates the household's earnings and expenditure decisions will be proposed and applied. The project introduces new measures of spousal power in making decisions and examines its impact on household outcomes. A satisfactory eco ....Modelling Decision Making Within the Household and Analysing its Welfare Implications:Methodological Advances with Policy Applications. The project examines the behavioural and welfare implications of alternative models of intra household decisions. A framework that integrates the household's earnings and expenditure decisions will be proposed and applied. The project introduces new measures of spousal power in making decisions and examines its impact on household outcomes. A satisfactory econometric methodology to test the conventional unitary model will be developed and applied. The usefulness of this research is underlined by examining the policy implications in areas that range from taxation in the developed country context to child health, child labour and gender bias in case of developing countries.Read moreRead less
The Construction of Race and Racial Identity at the Antipodes of Empire, 1788-1840. The view that Australia was always a racially based society, pursuing racial policies to the detriment of indigenous Australians and our Asian neighbours, is subject to rancorous national debate. Polemical assertion by high profile journalists that race was never a driving force in Australian history is not conducive to understanding complex history, nor are derogatory attacks on historians helpful in explaining ....The Construction of Race and Racial Identity at the Antipodes of Empire, 1788-1840. The view that Australia was always a racially based society, pursuing racial policies to the detriment of indigenous Australians and our Asian neighbours, is subject to rancorous national debate. Polemical assertion by high profile journalists that race was never a driving force in Australian history is not conducive to understanding complex history, nor are derogatory attacks on historians helpful in explaining the past to our neighbours. Whether colonial Australia was a race-based society remains to be established. With indigenous uncertainty over the demise of ATSIC and rising antagonism among our Islamic neighbours, there is need, as never before, for dispassionate scholarship to provide a complex interpretation of Australia's past.Read moreRead less
Advanced matrix-analytic methods with applications. Over the last twenty-five years, matrix-analytic methods have proved to be very successful in formulating and analysing certain classes of stochastic models. Motivated by applications, this project will investigate more advanced matrix-analytic methods than have hitherto been studied.
Sustainable fiscal federalism and reform of the GST distribution system. The primary source of funds for Australian States and Territories is GST revenue distributed by the Commonwealth using an equalisation formula that has proved to be politically unsustainable and in recent times manifestly inadequate to provide the revenue needed in response to crises and natural disasters. A tipping point has been reached and reform is urgently needed. Drawing on international experience with GST distributi ....Sustainable fiscal federalism and reform of the GST distribution system. The primary source of funds for Australian States and Territories is GST revenue distributed by the Commonwealth using an equalisation formula that has proved to be politically unsustainable and in recent times manifestly inadequate to provide the revenue needed in response to crises and natural disasters. A tipping point has been reached and reform is urgently needed. Drawing on international experience with GST distributions specifically and fiscal federalism more generally, the project aims to develop a reform blueprint for a sustainable and equitable fiscal federalism regime in Australia that best aligns with Australia’s current and long-term fiscal needs.Read moreRead less
Feminist theory meets indigenous art. Aboriginal reconciliation is high on the social and cultural agenda in Australian life. The place of art in this political moment has been critical - the culture of Australian indigenous people has come to international attention, and won recognition, largely through art works. This reflects in many cases a political strategy on the part of indigenous communities to use art to depict their traditional Dreamings, of which the world was ignorant. But underlyin ....Feminist theory meets indigenous art. Aboriginal reconciliation is high on the social and cultural agenda in Australian life. The place of art in this political moment has been critical - the culture of Australian indigenous people has come to international attention, and won recognition, largely through art works. This reflects in many cases a political strategy on the part of indigenous communities to use art to depict their traditional Dreamings, of which the world was ignorant. But underlying this, is the assumption made in Aboriginal philosophies that the art is the knowledge it portrays, which in turn evokes title to land through the law of Dreaming, of belonging to "country". To better understand this negotiation advances debate on issues surrounding reconciliation.Read moreRead less
Change Detection in Causal Relationships and Measurement of Systemic Risk. Empirical measures of interconnectedness between financial institutions based on tests of Granger causality are currently used in detecting systemic risk. However, researchers need to define periods of calm and stress exogenously in order to implement these tests appropriately. This project aims to develop a new procedure to identify changes in causal relationships and the timing of these changes. The new approach has the ....Change Detection in Causal Relationships and Measurement of Systemic Risk. Empirical measures of interconnectedness between financial institutions based on tests of Granger causality are currently used in detecting systemic risk. However, researchers need to define periods of calm and stress exogenously in order to implement these tests appropriately. This project aims to develop a new procedure to identify changes in causal relationships and the timing of these changes. The new approach has the potential to be a significant improvement in the real-time identification of emerging turmoil in financial markets and provide an improved method for the detection of systemic risk. The new test procedure will be implemented using data for financial and non-financial institutions across Europe, the US and Australia.Read moreRead less
How do Changes in Institutional Memory Affect Public Policy Processes? . This project will analyse how changes in institutional memory inside government impact on the effectiveness of public policy processes. Institutional memory changes as ministers, public servants and public agencies come and go, but we don’t know what effect these changes have over the quality of public policy. This project will therefore analyse how changes to institutional memory have influenced public services and polici ....How do Changes in Institutional Memory Affect Public Policy Processes? . This project will analyse how changes in institutional memory inside government impact on the effectiveness of public policy processes. Institutional memory changes as ministers, public servants and public agencies come and go, but we don’t know what effect these changes have over the quality of public policy. This project will therefore analyse how changes to institutional memory have influenced public services and policies in Australia and the UK. Expected outcomes include best practice recommendations for government - about how to address memory loss to improve public policy - and novel academic findings about how institutional memory influences the character of public service delivery, lesson-learning and long-term reform.Read moreRead less
Optimising Control of Hydroelectric Turbines Subject to Basslink Instability. With the introduction of Basslink, an underwater DC power cable across the Bass Strait, Tasmania will be connected to the national Electricity Market. Basslink will also provide an opportunity to utilise the significant water energy potential found throughout Tasmania. This project will examine the impact and disturbances due to the connection of Basslink with Tasmanian hydro power systems and develop control strategi ....Optimising Control of Hydroelectric Turbines Subject to Basslink Instability. With the introduction of Basslink, an underwater DC power cable across the Bass Strait, Tasmania will be connected to the national Electricity Market. Basslink will also provide an opportunity to utilise the significant water energy potential found throughout Tasmania. This project will examine the impact and disturbances due to the connection of Basslink with Tasmanian hydro power systems and develop control strategies for effective operation and control of hydro turbines with Basslink. Particular attention will be paid to the quality and reliability of electricity supply in Tasmania.Read moreRead less
Viscous Effects in Free-Surface Flows. Australia has a proud record of achievement in the field of free-surface fluid mechanics. This project will build and extend these research achievements. It will provide new information about how fluid layers overturn and mix, which is an important process in oceanography. It will examine the sloshing behaviour of fluid in moving storage tanks, which is important in fuel transport and building design. The project will develop new mathematical methods fo ....Viscous Effects in Free-Surface Flows. Australia has a proud record of achievement in the field of free-surface fluid mechanics. This project will build and extend these research achievements. It will provide new information about how fluid layers overturn and mix, which is an important process in oceanography. It will examine the sloshing behaviour of fluid in moving storage tanks, which is important in fuel transport and building design. The project will develop new mathematical methods for solving these problems accurately, and will contribute to the next generation of research mathematicians in Australia. Read moreRead less
Detecting financial contagion using high frequency data. Financial crises spread extraordinarily quickly. However, existing tools for measuring this spread use relatively low frequency data. This project develops tools for measuring and detecting periods of stress and the effects of financial contagion in financial markets, using high frequency data based on recorded transaction prices.