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
Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal sex-offenders in Australia: Assessing risk for practice and policy. A key priority of Australian governments is to improve community safety through reducing the risk of sex offenders re-offending after release from prison. This project will assess the validity of tools used to predict the risk of sexual offender recidivism and identify alternate risk assessment tools for Indigenous and non-Indigenous sex offenders.
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
Pre-blast screening of improvised explosive devices - a National counter-terrorism initiative. The proposed research is focused on the specific needs of Australian counter-terrorism interests, including those of border protection, the customs service, transport authorities, forensic laboratories, etc. The support of this proposal will ensure that Australia, and its States and Territories are protected against terrorist threats. The support provided by the collaborating organisations from the var ....Pre-blast screening of improvised explosive devices - a National counter-terrorism initiative. The proposed research is focused on the specific needs of Australian counter-terrorism interests, including those of border protection, the customs service, transport authorities, forensic laboratories, etc. The support of this proposal will ensure that Australia, and its States and Territories are protected against terrorist threats. The support provided by the collaborating organisations from the various Federal and State police and forensic agencies, and the customs service, etc, highlights the importance of this project to the nation. Finally, a PhD student and a research assistant will be involved with the project and will gain specialised skills positioning them to make strong contributions to Australia's counter-terrorism measures.Read moreRead less
Capital Offending: Income, Work and Crime in Australia’s Convict Era. At least 60 per cent of Australia’s current prison population has been in prison before. By contrast a mere 18 per cent of transported convicts were re-incarcerated following release. This project aims to use information on the bank accounts maintained for convicts while under sentence to measure the relationship between capital formation and post-sentence marriage, migration and reconviction rates. It will look in particular ....Capital Offending: Income, Work and Crime in Australia’s Convict Era. At least 60 per cent of Australia’s current prison population has been in prison before. By contrast a mere 18 per cent of transported convicts were re-incarcerated following release. This project aims to use information on the bank accounts maintained for convicts while under sentence to measure the relationship between capital formation and post-sentence marriage, migration and reconviction rates. It will look in particular at the extent to which skills, employment opportunities and asset accumulation enabled former transported convicts to go straight. It will also result in improved archival search engines enabling access for members of the public to internationally recognised record groups hitherto held by different institutions.Read moreRead less
Estimating per capita use and release of chemicals by wastewater analysis. This project aims to systematically collect and analyse wastewater to assess human exposure to chemicals including drugs, pharmaceuticals, lifestyle chemicals and environmental pollutants. By combining temporal sampling from key sewage treatment plants with comprehensive nationwide sampling over the week of the 2016 census day, the project expects to estimate the per-capita human exposure to chemicals in the Australian po ....Estimating per capita use and release of chemicals by wastewater analysis. This project aims to systematically collect and analyse wastewater to assess human exposure to chemicals including drugs, pharmaceuticals, lifestyle chemicals and environmental pollutants. By combining temporal sampling from key sewage treatment plants with comprehensive nationwide sampling over the week of the 2016 census day, the project expects to estimate the per-capita human exposure to chemicals in the Australian population. Accurate and objective per-capita based consumption and release estimates for a wide range of chemicals is intended to provide a baseline against which to measure changes in our chemosphere.Read moreRead less
Fluorinated surfactants and hydrocarbons at coastal airports. Fluorinated surfactants and hydrocarbons at coastal airports. This project aims to develop a model and parameters that describe transport and co-transport of fluoro-surfactants and hydrocarbons, priority pollutants with a wide range of physico-chemical properties, at coastal airports. Sixty percent of Australian airports are in the coastal plain, and all are affected by contamination from internationally banned fluoro-surfactants and ....Fluorinated surfactants and hydrocarbons at coastal airports. Fluorinated surfactants and hydrocarbons at coastal airports. This project aims to develop a model and parameters that describe transport and co-transport of fluoro-surfactants and hydrocarbons, priority pollutants with a wide range of physico-chemical properties, at coastal airports. Sixty percent of Australian airports are in the coastal plain, and all are affected by contamination from internationally banned fluoro-surfactants and hydrocarbons. Their extensive past use at firefighting training grounds resulted in costly remediation worldwide. Understanding the fate of persistent fluoro-surfactants from point sources, and their role in transporting non-polar chemicals such as hydrocarbons, will improve risk-based decision making. This research is expected to form the basis for effective risk management and intervention strategies.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
Developing a new approach to aquatic pollutant assessment combining time integrated sampling with toxicity testing. Present approaches for monitoring risk of aquatic pollutants are limited to grab sample analysis for specific pollutants using target values and/or ecotoxicological assessment of population biomarkers. This collaborative research, involving 3 universities and 10 industry partners, aims to develop and evaluate a novel approach combining extraction of pollutants using time integrated ....Developing a new approach to aquatic pollutant assessment combining time integrated sampling with toxicity testing. Present approaches for monitoring risk of aquatic pollutants are limited to grab sample analysis for specific pollutants using target values and/or ecotoxicological assessment of population biomarkers. This collaborative research, involving 3 universities and 10 industry partners, aims to develop and evaluate a novel approach combining extraction of pollutants using time integrated passive samplers and toxicological evaluation of extracts using a range of rapid in-vitro and in-vivo assays. The project will produce cost-effective tools for highly sensitive assessment of pollutant effects and ultimately facilitate intervention guidelines based on mixture toxicity.Read moreRead less
Understanding And Ameliorating The Human Health Effects Of Exposure To Air Pollution: From Knowledge To Policy And Public Health Practice
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,584,848.00
Summary
Urban consolidation and sprawl, traffic congestion, mining, climate change, heating and cooling living environments, and power generation – these manifestations of modernity produce regular headlines. Air pollution and its effects on human health are the focus of much popular concern. This CRE will build an integrated research capacity in the field of air pollution and its effects on human health that will allow Australia to address these major challenges - now and in the future.