Molecular pathways controlling light-regulated development in legumes. Legumes are widely grown as forage and grain crops and make a substantial contribution to the Australian economy. Light is an important determinant of plant architecture and productivity and we need to know more about how development is regulated by light in this important plant group. The natural light environment faced by plants is complex and varies with crop density, season and time of day. Understanding the interaction o ....Molecular pathways controlling light-regulated development in legumes. Legumes are widely grown as forage and grain crops and make a substantial contribution to the Australian economy. Light is an important determinant of plant architecture and productivity and we need to know more about how development is regulated by light in this important plant group. The natural light environment faced by plants is complex and varies with crop density, season and time of day. Understanding the interaction of photoreceptors and plant hormones in the control of growth is vital for manipulating crops to meet changing agronomic requirements. Training of students in state-of-the art techniques and the generation of new germplasm for use by other researchers and plant breeders will be other significant outcomes of the project.Read moreRead less
Ion transporters regulating plant adaptive responses to salinity and the modes of their control by compatible solutes in plant cells. Plants respond to saline conditions by a significant elevation in the level of compatible solutes in the cytosol. It appears that these solutes are not directly involved in conventional osmoprotection, but instead have a regulatory role in cell metabolism. This project will apply a range of state-of-the-art biophysical and molecular techniques to investigate the m ....Ion transporters regulating plant adaptive responses to salinity and the modes of their control by compatible solutes in plant cells. Plants respond to saline conditions by a significant elevation in the level of compatible solutes in the cytosol. It appears that these solutes are not directly involved in conventional osmoprotection, but instead have a regulatory role in cell metabolism. This project will apply a range of state-of-the-art biophysical and molecular techniques to investigate the modes of control exercised by compatible solutes over the activity of major plasma membrane transporters involved in plant adaptive responses to salinity. The work will substantially advance our understanding of salt tolerance and will provide a sound basis for genetic engineering of salt tolerant crops.Read moreRead less
Modelling Food Expenditure, Analysing Nutrient Security, Measuring Hunger and Calculating Purchasing Power Parity: Methodological Advances with Policy Applications. The analysis of consumption changes in selected Asian countries will throw light on Australia's trade potential, especially with one of the fastest growing countries.
More informed debate on the role of trade and aid in reducing hunger and poverty.Following the 2000 Millenium summit and the step up of Australian developmental aid, ....Modelling Food Expenditure, Analysing Nutrient Security, Measuring Hunger and Calculating Purchasing Power Parity: Methodological Advances with Policy Applications. The analysis of consumption changes in selected Asian countries will throw light on Australia's trade potential, especially with one of the fastest growing countries.
More informed debate on the role of trade and aid in reducing hunger and poverty.Following the 2000 Millenium summit and the step up of Australian developmental aid, the subject has returned to the centre stage in policy discussions.
The systematic use of unit value information available elsewhere, but currently lacking in ABS data, will help the latter in improving its HES.
Contribute to "understanding our region and the world"(Key Priority Goal in Research Priority 4 of ARC).
Provide data sets for use in Australian RHD dissertations .
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Modelling Decision Making Within the Household and Analysing its Welfare Implications:Methodological Advances with Policy Applications. The project examines the behavioural and welfare implications of alternative models of intra household decisions. A framework that integrates the household's earnings and expenditure decisions will be proposed and applied. The project introduces new measures of spousal power in making decisions and examines its impact on household outcomes. A satisfactory eco ....Modelling Decision Making Within the Household and Analysing its Welfare Implications:Methodological Advances with Policy Applications. The project examines the behavioural and welfare implications of alternative models of intra household decisions. A framework that integrates the household's earnings and expenditure decisions will be proposed and applied. The project introduces new measures of spousal power in making decisions and examines its impact on household outcomes. A satisfactory econometric methodology to test the conventional unitary model will be developed and applied. The usefulness of this research is underlined by examining the policy implications in areas that range from taxation in the developed country context to child health, child labour and gender bias in case of developing countries.Read moreRead less
Genetic control of flowering in legumes. Flowering in plants is strongly regulated by environmental factors, with important consequences for their natural distribution and use in agriculture. This project will isolate genes, characterize genetic diversity and dissect molecular mechanisms that regulate flowering, contributing to fundamental biology, crop improvement and research training.
Talking Maths: Bridging the gap through talk in Early Years mathematics . The study aims to address the gap in mathematical performance in Australia in relation to socioeconomic status (SES) by focusing on language and learning in mathematics. The study will design and evaluate a school-based intervention that positions language through talk as a key resource in teaching mathematics in Grades 1 and 2. Outcomes of the study will be empirical evidence of the effect of a language-based pedagogy on ....Talking Maths: Bridging the gap through talk in Early Years mathematics . The study aims to address the gap in mathematical performance in Australia in relation to socioeconomic status (SES) by focusing on language and learning in mathematics. The study will design and evaluate a school-based intervention that positions language through talk as a key resource in teaching mathematics in Grades 1 and 2. Outcomes of the study will be empirical evidence of the effect of a language-based pedagogy on young students' achievement in mathematics and further understanding of the relationship between talk and learning. These outcomes will inform policy and teacher education and have a long lasting impact on low SES students' educational and work opportunities with ultimate impact on economic and cultural prosperity.
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Shifting the Culture of Out-of-field Professional Education for Teachers. This project aims to model an education system that would diversify the expertise of teachers as part of attending to long-term teacher shortage. It responds to a pressing national need for a system of valued and accessible professional education (PE) for out-of-field teachers. The project draws on perspectives from schools, governments and PE providers to expose current practices, cultural norms, and policies; propose an ....Shifting the Culture of Out-of-field Professional Education for Teachers. This project aims to model an education system that would diversify the expertise of teachers as part of attending to long-term teacher shortage. It responds to a pressing national need for a system of valued and accessible professional education (PE) for out-of-field teachers. The project draws on perspectives from schools, governments and PE providers to expose current practices, cultural norms, and policies; propose an 'ideal' PE ecosystem that values re-specialisation in the core subjects; and develop principles to inform policy and practice needed to attain this ideal. The evidence-based framing of PE will inform efforts by schools, PE providers and policy makers to sustain a highly capable, adaptive and specialised teaching workforce.Read moreRead less
Youth Gangs: The Australian Experience. Little systematic research has been undertaken in Australia into the nature and activities of youth gangs. The aim of this project is to provide a national study of youth group formations, processes of group transformation (toward or away from gangs), and strategies the might be employed to curtail gang formation and gang-related behaviour. The study will involve interviews with young people in each capital city, and focus group discussions with youth serv ....Youth Gangs: The Australian Experience. Little systematic research has been undertaken in Australia into the nature and activities of youth gangs. The aim of this project is to provide a national study of youth group formations, processes of group transformation (toward or away from gangs), and strategies the might be employed to curtail gang formation and gang-related behaviour. The study will involve interviews with young people in each capital city, and focus group discussions with youth service providers in each city. The research methods draw upon the instruments presently being developed by the Eurogang Research Network in order to facilitate cross-national comparisons. It will be the first national study of its kind, and will provide new conceptual insights into the character of youth group formation in Australia, baseline youth gang data, and analysis of possible intervention strategies.
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Powerful knowledge: mapping out standards of teachers' knowledge for teaching mathematics and English to achieve the goals of the curriculum. Setting standards is an important step to raising teacher quality. This project will establish benchmarks for teachers' knowledge at all levels of schooling in two key areas of the curriculum: English and mathematics.
Statistical literacy in the primary school: beginning inference. Australia is committed to building a stronger foundation for school mathematics and science. This project will introduce primary school students to beginning inference, a core component of statistical literacy and an increasingly important life skill. Foundations for secondary mathematics study and productive societal participation will be laid.