Automated internet warnings to prevent viewing of minor-adult sex images. Since the advent of the internet and digital cameras, the market for child exploitation material (CEM) has boomed. This project aims to explore how the visual appearance of warning messages influences internet users. It plans to conduct a randomised controlled experiment with naïve participants on a real-life website to test the effectiveness of messages designed to discourage viewers of legal ‘barely legal’ pornography. I ....Automated internet warnings to prevent viewing of minor-adult sex images. Since the advent of the internet and digital cameras, the market for child exploitation material (CEM) has boomed. This project aims to explore how the visual appearance of warning messages influences internet users. It plans to conduct a randomised controlled experiment with naïve participants on a real-life website to test the effectiveness of messages designed to discourage viewers of legal ‘barely legal’ pornography. It is anticipated that results will assist policing efforts by indicating whether warnings can be used to dissuade first-time CEM viewers and whether differences exist between harm or deterrent-focused messages.Read moreRead less
Cornstalks and new chums: crime and nutritional status in settler Australia. The project will use records for 200,000 Australian-born and migrant prisoners released from Tasmanian and Victorian gaols between 1853 and 1924 to probe links between childhood well-being and the propensity to re-offend. It will explore the extent to which childhood nutrition (inferred from adult height), the timing and place of birth, and adult occupation can explain migration advantages, the impact of large cities li ....Cornstalks and new chums: crime and nutritional status in settler Australia. The project will use records for 200,000 Australian-born and migrant prisoners released from Tasmanian and Victorian gaols between 1853 and 1924 to probe links between childhood well-being and the propensity to re-offend. It will explore the extent to which childhood nutrition (inferred from adult height), the timing and place of birth, and adult occupation can explain migration advantages, the impact of large cities like Melbourne on child health, and the circumstances that gave rise to recidivism? This project will also explore changes in the composition of offenders over time and the extent to which different penal systems helped offenders to ‘go straight’.Read moreRead less
Parole in crisis? Public opinion on the use of parole. Serious crimes committed by parolees in Australia have brought parole into the public eye. Without concrete evidence, governments often act on the assumption that the public holds punitive attitudes. This project is expected to develop an evidence base to inform policy on parole at a crucial time when governments are under pressure to restrict its use. Three mixed-method studies aim to assess: what public views on parole are; why the public ....Parole in crisis? Public opinion on the use of parole. Serious crimes committed by parolees in Australia have brought parole into the public eye. Without concrete evidence, governments often act on the assumption that the public holds punitive attitudes. This project is expected to develop an evidence base to inform policy on parole at a crucial time when governments are under pressure to restrict its use. Three mixed-method studies aim to assess: what public views on parole are; why the public holds these views; and what influence these views have on policy and practice. The project is expected to make contributions to: creating information strategies that properly inform the public; supporting prisoner reintegration strategies; and shaping criminal justice policies based on informed community feedback.Read moreRead less
The World Arm-to-Arm: The Spread of Smallpox Vaccination and Global Networks of Knowledge and Power, 1799-1805. This project will document the rapid spread of Jenner's vaccine around the world between 1799 and 1805. It will address matters neglected in the existing literature, including the logistics of the global transmission of the vaccine, often literally arm-to-arm; the promotion and reception of vaccination in different social and cultural contexts; and the networks of power and knowledge ....The World Arm-to-Arm: The Spread of Smallpox Vaccination and Global Networks of Knowledge and Power, 1799-1805. This project will document the rapid spread of Jenner's vaccine around the world between 1799 and 1805. It will address matters neglected in the existing literature, including the logistics of the global transmission of the vaccine, often literally arm-to-arm; the promotion and reception of vaccination in different social and cultural contexts; and the networks of power and knowledge that made the Jennerian revolution possible. The project will result in a book and articles, interventions in the literature on globalisation and the adoption of innovation, and a deeper and broader perspective on issues of burning relevance to the world today.Read moreRead less
The global vaccination revolution: a transnational and comparative perspective. A study of first global immunization campaign will provide a historical dimension to contemporary concerns about pandemic disease, vaccination and bio-terrorism, and generate new insights into the factors determining the success and failure of public health initiatives. The project relates directly to national research priorities in health and safeguarding Australia. It has more specific relevance to Australia. Small ....The global vaccination revolution: a transnational and comparative perspective. A study of first global immunization campaign will provide a historical dimension to contemporary concerns about pandemic disease, vaccination and bio-terrorism, and generate new insights into the factors determining the success and failure of public health initiatives. The project relates directly to national research priorities in health and safeguarding Australia. It has more specific relevance to Australia. Smallpox decimated the Aboriginal population, and quarantine and vaccination have loomed large in Australian history. It builds on Australia's strong scholarship in the fields of virology and immunology and the history of disease and public health.Read moreRead less
Predicting biodiversity distribution on the Antarctic continental shelf. This project aims to develop an international database of underwater observations to predict the distribution of seafloor biodiversity over the entire Antarctic continental shelf for the present day and to 2100. Antarctic seafloor communities are unique and highly diverse, but their distribution is poorly known because biological data are sparse. These predictions depend on a unique and validated approach to estimate the pr ....Predicting biodiversity distribution on the Antarctic continental shelf. This project aims to develop an international database of underwater observations to predict the distribution of seafloor biodiversity over the entire Antarctic continental shelf for the present day and to 2100. Antarctic seafloor communities are unique and highly diverse, but their distribution is poorly known because biological data are sparse. These predictions depend on a unique and validated approach to estimate the present and future redistribution of surface primary production to the seafloor, and will enable calculating the amount of atmospheric carbon captured and stored at the seafloor. The maps will be at an unprecedented resolution of around 2 kilometres, and be invaluable tools underpinning policy, management and future science.Read moreRead less
Zooplankton and ocean productivity in a changing climate. The scarcity of iron in the Southern Ocean limits biological productivity and carbon uptake. There is currently very little Information on zooplankton iron content, yet available data points to high variability. This variability is leading to poor predictive outcomes for models of Southern Ocean iron and carbon cycling. Our project addresses this knowledge gap by quantifying zooplankton iron content and examining its biogeochemical and ec ....Zooplankton and ocean productivity in a changing climate. The scarcity of iron in the Southern Ocean limits biological productivity and carbon uptake. There is currently very little Information on zooplankton iron content, yet available data points to high variability. This variability is leading to poor predictive outcomes for models of Southern Ocean iron and carbon cycling. Our project addresses this knowledge gap by quantifying zooplankton iron content and examining its biogeochemical and ecological impact on Southern Ocean productivity. Developing an understanding of how iron is cycled through zooplankton will provide significant benefits including improved global models used to quantify current and future patterns of ocean productivity critical for environmental and economic predictions.Read moreRead less
The republic of the demiurge: textual community and the commentary tradition in late antique Platonism. This project will add to our understanding of the content and purpose of philosophy within 'higher education' in the eastern Roman Empire in the period 300-500 CE. Since there are many ways in which the late Empire resembles our own time, this understanding illuminates the place of philosophy in what we call higher education.
AirLIFT – an airborne active chlorophyll fluorescence sensing system for assessment of photosynthetic activity in plant canopies. Assessment of plant health and productivity is vital to ensure future food security of the global population under a changing climate. Chlorophyll fluorescence (CF), a signal emitted by green plants, can reveal this information. Although CF has revolutionised photosynthetic research, current measurements are limited to individual plants. Remote sensing of canopy CF is ....AirLIFT – an airborne active chlorophyll fluorescence sensing system for assessment of photosynthetic activity in plant canopies. Assessment of plant health and productivity is vital to ensure future food security of the global population under a changing climate. Chlorophyll fluorescence (CF), a signal emitted by green plants, can reveal this information. Although CF has revolutionised photosynthetic research, current measurements are limited to individual plants. Remote sensing of canopy CF is required for efficient management of agricultural crops, forests, and natural ecosystems and is crucial for accurate estimation of plant carbon assimilation and production. This project will deliver remote sensing technology to bridge the gap between leaf and canopy productivity and pave the way for understanding both artificial and solar induced canopy CF measured from space.Read moreRead less
The Role of Naturalism in Ontology and Scientific Methodology. Naturalism is the philosophical doctrine perhaps best described as a respect for the methods of the natural sciences. Although most contemporary philosophers would describe themselves as naturalists, exactly how this important doctrine is spelled out is a matter of much controversy. What is more, many substantial issues in both philosophy of science and in metaphysics depend crucially on how we understand naturalism. This project ....The Role of Naturalism in Ontology and Scientific Methodology. Naturalism is the philosophical doctrine perhaps best described as a respect for the methods of the natural sciences. Although most contemporary philosophers would describe themselves as naturalists, exactly how this important doctrine is spelled out is a matter of much controversy. What is more, many substantial issues in both philosophy of science and in metaphysics depend crucially on how we understand naturalism. This project will investigate the various conceptions of naturalism, looking at both their motivations and their implications for philosophy and scientific and mathematical methodology.Read moreRead less