Impact of evaluation-based funding on the content of scientific research. Evidence suggests that evaluation-based funding mechanisms trigger adaptive behaviour in scientists, leading to unintended changes in knowledge production. However, there is no conclusive evidence about when (under what circumstances), how (by what processes) and with what effects researchers adapt to these mechanisms. This study aims to answer these crucial questions. To overcome the methodological weaknesses of earlier s ....Impact of evaluation-based funding on the content of scientific research. Evidence suggests that evaluation-based funding mechanisms trigger adaptive behaviour in scientists, leading to unintended changes in knowledge production. However, there is no conclusive evidence about when (under what circumstances), how (by what processes) and with what effects researchers adapt to these mechanisms. This study aims to answer these crucial questions. To overcome the methodological weaknesses of earlier studies, a comparative investigation of several research fields and universities will be conducted, combining for the first time: qualitative interviews, ethnographic observations and bibliometric studies. It will enhance Australian research policy with a critical assessment of existing research funding models.Read moreRead less
Mathematical models of diseases with complex transmission routes. This project aims to model diseases that spread via a mixture of routes including food, water, the environment, and direct spread between individuals. Key diseases include: avian influenza, which causes massive disruption to the poultry industry; gastroenteritis, which costs Australia $1,250 million each year; and leptospirosis, which causes one million severe illnesses each year globally. This project will develop mathematical a ....Mathematical models of diseases with complex transmission routes. This project aims to model diseases that spread via a mixture of routes including food, water, the environment, and direct spread between individuals. Key diseases include: avian influenza, which causes massive disruption to the poultry industry; gastroenteritis, which costs Australia $1,250 million each year; and leptospirosis, which causes one million severe illnesses each year globally. This project will develop mathematical and statistical tools to better estimate risk, analyse outbreak data, and provide guidance for disease control. This research will improve policy and enhance our ability to respond to disease outbreaks.Read moreRead less
Learning clique potentials for high-order graphical models. This project aims to develop algorithms for computers to automatically learn about visual scenes and objects from images. Using our algorithms, computers will be able to find objects and describe scenes in single images or large image collections such as online photo albums.
Controlling the rate of transcription and translation of Rubisco transgenes effectively in higher-plant plastids. Genetic transformation of the circular genome of the plastids provides a containable means for modifying plant growth by manipulating photosynthesis. Although the transformation mechanism is precise, predicting the level of foreign gene expression is difficult because the amounts of messenger RNA and protein produced by foreign genes in plastids varies widely, even when the protein a ....Controlling the rate of transcription and translation of Rubisco transgenes effectively in higher-plant plastids. Genetic transformation of the circular genome of the plastids provides a containable means for modifying plant growth by manipulating photosynthesis. Although the transformation mechanism is precise, predicting the level of foreign gene expression is difficult because the amounts of messenger RNA and protein produced by foreign genes in plastids varies widely, even when the protein assembles without difficulty. This project will devise strategies for controlling this variability that will facilitate attempts to exploit plastid transformation for transplanting better versions of the photosynthetic CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco, into plants to improve their growth efficiency in terms of water, fertiliser and light use.Read moreRead less
Practical strategies for engineering the CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco, whose subunits are encoded in different subcellular compartments. My recent replacement of the plant CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco, with a less efficient bacterial version, with a single type of subunit encoded by a single gene, demonstrated the feasibility of replacing Rubisco. This encourages ongoing attempts to replace plant Rubisco with more efficient versions that would allow the plants to grow with less water, fertiliser or ....Practical strategies for engineering the CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco, whose subunits are encoded in different subcellular compartments. My recent replacement of the plant CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco, with a less efficient bacterial version, with a single type of subunit encoded by a single gene, demonstrated the feasibility of replacing Rubisco. This encourages ongoing attempts to replace plant Rubisco with more efficient versions that would allow the plants to grow with less water, fertiliser or light. The most efficient Rubiscos are more complex, with two different types of subunits which, in plants, are encoded in different subcellular compartments (nucleus and plastid). This proposal addresses the challenges associated with complementary engineering both genomes to substitute foreign Rubiscos into higher-plant chloroplasts.Read moreRead less
Indigenous Australians and alcohol control: The impact of hotel ownership on harm reduction and social and economic development. This project investigates Indigenous social enterprise that intersects with the alcohol industry. Findings will benefit the Indigenous governing bodies of licensed premises and their communities, health and liquor regulation authorities and the country as a whole. The research addresses policy uncertainty surrounding Indigenous ownership of licensed premises and whethe ....Indigenous Australians and alcohol control: The impact of hotel ownership on harm reduction and social and economic development. This project investigates Indigenous social enterprise that intersects with the alcohol industry. Findings will benefit the Indigenous governing bodies of licensed premises and their communities, health and liquor regulation authorities and the country as a whole. The research addresses policy uncertainty surrounding Indigenous ownership of licensed premises and whether this achieves anticipated economic and social goals and reduces alcohol-related problems. Harm minimisation is an object of liquor licensing acts in most jurisdictions in Australia. Indigenous-owned licensed premises are well-placed to implement responsible alcohol service and promote harm minimisation in keeping with Australian best practice.Read moreRead less
Active Sound Control and Noise Cancellation over Space. This project aims to address the critical issues for creating acoustic quiet zones in a noisy environment. It will provide novel signal processing theory for further development of active noise cancellation techniques over spatial regions. New technologies developed from this project are expected to underpin the future development of acoustic signal processing research and will have a broad range of applications such as reduction of noise i ....Active Sound Control and Noise Cancellation over Space. This project aims to address the critical issues for creating acoustic quiet zones in a noisy environment. It will provide novel signal processing theory for further development of active noise cancellation techniques over spatial regions. New technologies developed from this project are expected to underpin the future development of acoustic signal processing research and will have a broad range of applications such as reduction of noise inside cars, creation of individual quiet zones in passenger planes and mitigation of acoustic noise made by industrial plants to neighbouring suburbs. The outcomes from this proposal will also have economic importance as it can reduce the health risk posed to people working or living in noisy environments.Read moreRead less
Eco-NextNet: An Ecologically-Inspired Adaptive Network Resource Management Framework for a Sustainable Next Generation Mobile Network for Ubiquitous Services. Ubiquitous communications service is the most important element of today's societies. In urban and rural areas of the country as well as at the time of natural disasters such as bushfires, floods, cyclones, it is vital to devise alternative schemes to create and sustain on-demand telecommunications services. In most cases it is not the lac ....Eco-NextNet: An Ecologically-Inspired Adaptive Network Resource Management Framework for a Sustainable Next Generation Mobile Network for Ubiquitous Services. Ubiquitous communications service is the most important element of today's societies. In urban and rural areas of the country as well as at the time of natural disasters such as bushfires, floods, cyclones, it is vital to devise alternative schemes to create and sustain on-demand telecommunications services. In most cases it is not the lack of technology that hinders the implementation of a reliable communications service, but it is the resource allocation. In this project we propose a novel sustainable resource management framework inspired by natural ecological systems to solve the above problem. Upon completion, Australia will be in forefront of technologies related to the management of complex networks.Read moreRead less
Mitigating the Severity of Level Crossing Accidents and Derailments. Ongoing increases in the number of level crossings and heavy road vehicles cause more frequent and severe level crossing accidents and derailments. Despite the use of active warning systems, each year, on average, 100 level crossing accidents occur in Australia. With a view to mitigating these crashes, this research aims to formulate theories for reduction in crash energy and effective wheel constraints to prevent derailment by ....Mitigating the Severity of Level Crossing Accidents and Derailments. Ongoing increases in the number of level crossings and heavy road vehicles cause more frequent and severe level crossing accidents and derailments. Despite the use of active warning systems, each year, on average, 100 level crossing accidents occur in Australia. With a view to mitigating these crashes, this research aims to formulate theories for reduction in crash energy and effective wheel constraints to prevent derailment by modifying the levels of road and rail crossings and providing guard rails in the recesses of these modified level crossings. The theories are intended be developed using nonlinear dynamic computational methods and laboratory experiments. The outcomes are expected to enable reduction in the severity of level crossing accidents and hence save lives and costs of derailment.Read moreRead less
Chemical building block size principles for discovery chemists. This project aims to deliver an innovative platform of new fundamental molecules, and associated design principles that will assist discovery chemists (DCs) to sidestep outdated, caged hydrocarbon chemical building blocks (CHCBBs). The expanding global population places significant challenges on discovery chemistry, driven by an appetite for innovative chemical technologies for societal longevity such as pharmaceuticals, agrichemica ....Chemical building block size principles for discovery chemists. This project aims to deliver an innovative platform of new fundamental molecules, and associated design principles that will assist discovery chemists (DCs) to sidestep outdated, caged hydrocarbon chemical building blocks (CHCBBs). The expanding global population places significant challenges on discovery chemistry, driven by an appetite for innovative chemical technologies for societal longevity such as pharmaceuticals, agrichemicals, and microelectronics. In translating this new CHCBB technology into accessible commodity supply streams, the project hopes to provide DCs with tools to sustain chemical technology evolution in a multitude of key industries that underpin the longevity of society.Read moreRead less