Defence and Security Risk Assessment using Agent Based Distillations. Today's society continues to be occupied with the idea of risk. The recent events of September 11th, the Bali bombing, SARS, the bush fires in Canberra, and the Tsunami are examples of human-made and natural disasters. These events had dramatic consequences on the social, economic, and political environment and numerous industries. This project offers an innovative methodological paradigm for assessing risk through the transfe ....Defence and Security Risk Assessment using Agent Based Distillations. Today's society continues to be occupied with the idea of risk. The recent events of September 11th, the Bali bombing, SARS, the bush fires in Canberra, and the Tsunami are examples of human-made and natural disasters. These events had dramatic consequences on the social, economic, and political environment and numerous industries. This project offers an innovative methodological paradigm for assessing risk through the transfer of technologies drawn from defence simulations to the safety and security areas. The success of this project will mark a paradigm shift in the area of risk assessment and management.Read moreRead less
Making Better Decisions: An Investigation of Time-Biases. The aim of this project is to empirically and normatively evaluate two kinds of time-biases.
Using an interdisciplinary approach, this project will empirically investigate near-bias and future-bias in a unified manner, and use this data to inform theorising about the rationality of time-biased preferences. The project will yield a rich account of the conditions under which we display time-biases and the likely mechanisms that underlie th ....Making Better Decisions: An Investigation of Time-Biases. The aim of this project is to empirically and normatively evaluate two kinds of time-biases.
Using an interdisciplinary approach, this project will empirically investigate near-bias and future-bias in a unified manner, and use this data to inform theorising about the rationality of time-biased preferences. The project will yield a rich account of the conditions under which we display time-biases and the likely mechanisms that underlie them.
This project will determine whether, and when, time-biased preferences lead to sub-optimal outcomes, and lay the groundwork for determining which strategies mitigate these biases, leading to better decisions and outcomes.Read moreRead less
Formal approaches to legal reasoning. This project aims to use formal epistemology to improve understanding of existing legal practices and to propose recommendations for improving the consistency and accuracy of legal proceedings. Since judges and juries rarely know all the relevant facts, they must make the best decision possible in the face of uncertainty. Formal epistemology employs probabilistic reasoning to advance understanding of how to form beliefs and make decisions in response to unce ....Formal approaches to legal reasoning. This project aims to use formal epistemology to improve understanding of existing legal practices and to propose recommendations for improving the consistency and accuracy of legal proceedings. Since judges and juries rarely know all the relevant facts, they must make the best decision possible in the face of uncertainty. Formal epistemology employs probabilistic reasoning to advance understanding of how to form beliefs and make decisions in response to uncertain evidence. The project has potential to influence the relevant policy and will result in improved legal reasoning and risk reduction in legal decision making.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE110100023
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$500,000.00
Summary
Integrated command and control facility for large-scale critical infrastructure management. This is a test bed facility for achieving sustainable operation of Australia's critical infrastructure, particularly at airports. The facility will enable an integrated and coordinated strategy to increase operational resilience while not losing sight of the complex nature and dynamic requirements of critical infrastructure management.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100126
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$314,809.00
Summary
Groups as individuals: Group rationality and agency. This project aims to understand group rationality and to explore its implications for the design of public institutions. Some institutions act in a unified way despite members having diverse views. In such cases, the institution may seem to be an agent with its own beliefs, intentions and goals – but how does group rationality and agency affect the design and treatment of institutions? This project aims to develop a philosophical theory of gro ....Groups as individuals: Group rationality and agency. This project aims to understand group rationality and to explore its implications for the design of public institutions. Some institutions act in a unified way despite members having diverse views. In such cases, the institution may seem to be an agent with its own beliefs, intentions and goals – but how does group rationality and agency affect the design and treatment of institutions? This project aims to develop a philosophical theory of group rationality that allows institutions to qualify as rational agents without the group’s interests overriding those of individuals. Expected outputs include proposals for the design and legal treatment of groups to advance individual interests.Read moreRead less
Accounting for Sustainability: Developing an Integrated Approach for Sustainability Assessments. In today's challenging world, we need to find new ways to sustain our cities, communities and organisations. In the past decade, various bodies have developed highly sophisticated indicators for monitoring and measuring sustainability. However these indicators often become detached from practical tasks at hand - managing businesses, preserving the environment, or promoting social and cultural well-be ....Accounting for Sustainability: Developing an Integrated Approach for Sustainability Assessments. In today's challenging world, we need to find new ways to sustain our cities, communities and organisations. In the past decade, various bodies have developed highly sophisticated indicators for monitoring and measuring sustainability. However these indicators often become detached from practical tasks at hand - managing businesses, preserving the environment, or promoting social and cultural well-being. This project will develop a framework and software system for evaluating and applying indicators in common planning and reporting situations. The project will benefit Australian organisations by a) developing clear, practical sustainability goals; b) lowering cost of reporting compliance and c) improving sustainability practices.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180101119
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$357,008.00
Summary
Making more effective groups and group decisions. This project aims to devise strategies that a wide range of groups, such as those in healthcare, science, business etc can use to improve their judgements and decisions. It begins with a philosophical approach to develop a practical framework for understanding and working with groups. This interdisciplinary examination will include devising concrete guidelines that various groups can use to improve the quality of their enquiries and decisions.
Patient-centred EHealth Approach To Improving Outcomes For Gout Sufferers
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$688,354.00
Summary
Gout, caused by excessive urate, can be controlled by prescribing medication and patients adhering to them. We will conduct a 2-year controlled trial in primary care to test an eHealth tool to significantly improve gout patient outcomes. This tool tracks patients plasma urate, medication adherence, gout attacks and provides education, interaction with gout experts and reminders of medical visits. Nationwide rollout of this gout management tool will occur after improved outcomes are proven.
Neuronal Substrate Of Choice In The Rat Whisker System
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$405,851.00
Summary
Humans and other animals can optimise their goal-directed behaviour by linking stimuli or actions to consequent positive and negative rewards. How does an animal generate such associations, and make decisions in the natural environment where the associations are often uncertain, at times contradictory, and continuously changing? This project uses rat whisker system as an animal model to identify the neuronal basis of perceptual decision making and the role of context.
Improving Global Tuberculosis Control With The AuTuMN Platform
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$655,059.00
Summary
Tuberculosis (TB) is the world’s leading infectious killer, with the failure of global control responsible for the vast majority of Australia’s cases. Using our robustly developed software platform, we have performed several country-level studies to predict the future burden of disease and compare the impact of alternative responses to controlling the epidemic. In this project, we will extend our platform to perform simulations at the global level and answer key questions in TB control.