Redesigning Landcare policy to better coordinate across landholders. This project aims to study how landscape-sensitive economic incentives and social norms can be leveraged to enhance the short- and long-term effectiveness of conservation programs. It will yield new knowledge for innovative designs in conservation contracting that is urgently needed to address worsening environmental threats in Australia and worldwide. In collaboration with Nobel laureate Vernon Smith’s team, new methods and pr ....Redesigning Landcare policy to better coordinate across landholders. This project aims to study how landscape-sensitive economic incentives and social norms can be leveraged to enhance the short- and long-term effectiveness of conservation programs. It will yield new knowledge for innovative designs in conservation contracting that is urgently needed to address worsening environmental threats in Australia and worldwide. In collaboration with Nobel laureate Vernon Smith’s team, new methods and protocols will improve our ability to generate better data and better understand how social and incentive mechanisms can constructively interact to facilitate collaborative environmental action. Results will help make the achievement of environmental targets and the use of public funds more cost-effective. Read moreRead less
Improving water market outcomes through a better understanding of market behaviour. The issue of water resources and their sustainable use is probably the most important issue facing the rural sector. The water reform process and its aim to secure water for the environment will cause economic and social pain and result in structural change within the irrigation sector. Properly functioning water markets will play an instrumental role in facilitating this process by providing water for the envir ....Improving water market outcomes through a better understanding of market behaviour. The issue of water resources and their sustainable use is probably the most important issue facing the rural sector. The water reform process and its aim to secure water for the environment will cause economic and social pain and result in structural change within the irrigation sector. Properly functioning water markets will play an instrumental role in facilitating this process by providing water for the environment and allowing water to move between competing resources. This study will enable policy makers and water managers to optimise the positive outcome of water markets and increase the likely success of programs to purchase environmental water.Read moreRead less
Understanding, measuring and managing the benefits of urban waterways. This project aims to improve understanding of the contribution of urban waterways to enhanced liveability in cities. Australia needs better water resource management and the rapid growth of Australia’s cities places increased importance on managing natural assets in metropolitan areas. The project focuses on clarifying the link between the benefits of waterways and the measurement techniques used by economists, which in turn ....Understanding, measuring and managing the benefits of urban waterways. This project aims to improve understanding of the contribution of urban waterways to enhanced liveability in cities. Australia needs better water resource management and the rapid growth of Australia’s cities places increased importance on managing natural assets in metropolitan areas. The project focuses on clarifying the link between the benefits of waterways and the measurement techniques used by economists, which in turn inform management choices. The project aims to fill an important gap between the psychology and economics disciplines and outputs should significantly improve the way waterways are valued and managed. This is intended to offer benefits for urban residents and to improve the methodologies used for environmental valuation.Read moreRead less
Water Scarcity and rural social hardship - can water markets alleviate the problem? Present review of water resources within catchments of the Murray-Darling Basin will result in reduced access to water for consumptive use with consequential significant socio-economic and community impacts. Water markets are seen as major instruments to assist farmers in managing this process and thereby minimize the impact within rural communities. However, research has identified several barriers to trade an ....Water Scarcity and rural social hardship - can water markets alleviate the problem? Present review of water resources within catchments of the Murray-Darling Basin will result in reduced access to water for consumptive use with consequential significant socio-economic and community impacts. Water markets are seen as major instruments to assist farmers in managing this process and thereby minimize the impact within rural communities. However, research has identified several barriers to trade and several future research needs. This project addresses five of these issues by providing insight into three community barriers to trade as well as a framework for ongoing monitoring, analyses and reporting of market outcomes and impacts to assist adaptive policy development.Read moreRead less
Identifying cost-effective reforestation approaches for biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration in the Australian wet tropics. There is great potential for rainforest reforestation to help in the protection of Australia's tropical flora and fauna. Little is known, however, about how to reforest pasture to rainforest for the purpose of maximising the recovery of native biodiversity. We propose a unique experimental study of rainforest reforestation practices with biodiversity conservat ....Identifying cost-effective reforestation approaches for biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration in the Australian wet tropics. There is great potential for rainforest reforestation to help in the protection of Australia's tropical flora and fauna. Little is known, however, about how to reforest pasture to rainforest for the purpose of maximising the recovery of native biodiversity. We propose a unique experimental study of rainforest reforestation practices with biodiversity conservation as a primary goal. Reforestation is currently an unlikely option for most landholders in Australia's tropics given the lack of data on the economic benefits obtainable from such efforts. Our study examines the profits obtainable through the carbon market for each reforestation approach with the goal of increasing the feasibility of rainforest reforestation in North Queensland.Read moreRead less
Putting death in its place. The project aims to link 890,000 population records to place of residence from 1838 to 1930, to examine the relationships between where people live, mortality, life expectancy and health. Where people live impacts their life-course outcomes. Using novel matching techniques, the project expects to identify intergenerational changes and the spatial dynamics of inequality and social mobility. Expected outcomes include the creation of a public resource of linked data and ....Putting death in its place. The project aims to link 890,000 population records to place of residence from 1838 to 1930, to examine the relationships between where people live, mortality, life expectancy and health. Where people live impacts their life-course outcomes. Using novel matching techniques, the project expects to identify intergenerational changes and the spatial dynamics of inequality and social mobility. Expected outcomes include the creation of a public resource of linked data and a better understanding of long-run health and inequality. These should provide economic and social benefits by informing policy aimed at contemporary social and health challenges, enhancing our understanding of Australian history, and developing public resources.Read moreRead less
Carbon neutral communities: making the transition. This project has well defined National benefits, both economic and social, for the collaborative partners, the business community, policy makers, community groups and the broader Australian community. It contributes toward NRP 1, through developing practical measures for reducing GHG emissions in Australian urban areas, and strategies for overcoming barriers to greater uptake of energy efficiency and alternative technologies; and helping Austra ....Carbon neutral communities: making the transition. This project has well defined National benefits, both economic and social, for the collaborative partners, the business community, policy makers, community groups and the broader Australian community. It contributes toward NRP 1, through developing practical measures for reducing GHG emissions in Australian urban areas, and strategies for overcoming barriers to greater uptake of energy efficiency and alternative technologies; and helping Australia to meet its greenhouse reduction targets. The project economic benefits to through energy savings; stimulating innovation in urban design, building design and transport use; promoting new business opportunities; and encouraging more sustainable lifestyle decisions. Read moreRead less
Campus: Building Modern Australian Universities. This project plans to examine the post-World War Two evolution of the Australian university campus. Modern campuses created opportunities for the realisation of innovative solutions in urban planning, architecture and landscape. The project plans to reveal the physical impacts of political, institutional, social and cultural demands through comparative thematic investigation, digital visualisation and detailed case studies. Foregrounding landscape ....Campus: Building Modern Australian Universities. This project plans to examine the post-World War Two evolution of the Australian university campus. Modern campuses created opportunities for the realisation of innovative solutions in urban planning, architecture and landscape. The project plans to reveal the physical impacts of political, institutional, social and cultural demands through comparative thematic investigation, digital visualisation and detailed case studies. Foregrounding landscape and site, the project aims to establish new historical knowledge, identify campuses as catalysts for urban thinking, and demonstrate strategies for their conservation and adaptation to meet future needs in the tertiary sector.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100107
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$414,325.00
Summary
Resilience, culture, and class: A sociological study of Australian students. This project aims to promote academic resilience and school success in contexts of adverse conditions. Using interviews, Social Network Analysis, and psychometric measures, the project will explore links between academic resilience, culture, and class. The project is designed to provide insights that can reduce educational failure and enhance life prospects of at-risk students. Expected outcomes include publicly availab ....Resilience, culture, and class: A sociological study of Australian students. This project aims to promote academic resilience and school success in contexts of adverse conditions. Using interviews, Social Network Analysis, and psychometric measures, the project will explore links between academic resilience, culture, and class. The project is designed to provide insights that can reduce educational failure and enhance life prospects of at-risk students. Expected outcomes include publicly available project findings and an instructional animation to assist end-users build academic resilience in Australia's multicultural contexts. Expected benefits include attenuated achievement gap, increased social cohesion and mobility, and reduced public cost on educational failure.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100213
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$335,000.00
Summary
Optimising the National Benefits From Restoring Environmental Water Flows. The project plans to evaluate strategies that may maximise the national benefits from restoring environmental flows in Australia’s Murray–Darling Basin (MDB). MDB water supply is characterised by prolonged droughts and flood events, and future climatic projections anticipate that these water supply events will intensify. As the uncertainty of future water supply increases, it is important that the volume of water provided ....Optimising the National Benefits From Restoring Environmental Water Flows. The project plans to evaluate strategies that may maximise the national benefits from restoring environmental flows in Australia’s Murray–Darling Basin (MDB). MDB water supply is characterised by prolonged droughts and flood events, and future climatic projections anticipate that these water supply events will intensify. As the uncertainty of future water supply increases, it is important that the volume of water provided by the portfolio of water rights is known. By examining how decision-makers adapt to water supply uncertainty, optimal management strategies could be determined for watering key ecological assets, trading water between irrigators and the government; and private and public investments.Read moreRead less