Australian transplants: the political ecology of Acacia exchanges across the Indian Ocean. The case studies and conclusions arising out of this project will help environmental practitioners and policymakers make informed decisions about exotic plant introductions, balancing needs to 'safeguard' Australia on the one hand with interests in 'improving' Australia on the other. The project's innovative focus on the comings and goings of a single plant genus also makes a significant contribution to ....Australian transplants: the political ecology of Acacia exchanges across the Indian Ocean. The case studies and conclusions arising out of this project will help environmental practitioners and policymakers make informed decisions about exotic plant introductions, balancing needs to 'safeguard' Australia on the one hand with interests in 'improving' Australia on the other. The project's innovative focus on the comings and goings of a single plant genus also makes a significant contribution to Australian environmental studies, by generating richer public discussion of the question of native versus introduced plants. Finally, it will produce new knowledge about our iconic wattles (made accessible through a book), increase international collaboration across the Indian Ocean, and train two postgraduate students.Read moreRead less
The Amenity Principle: The causes, incidence and landuse planning implications of amenity-led rural settlement in Australia. This project will produce an 'amenity index' - a composite measure of a community's relative attractiveness to in-migrants for a substantial portion of the nation's ecumene. This index will aid in the development of more targetted approaches to rural planning and place marketing. Through the multi-state and multi-region nature of the fieldwork, the project will also draw t ....The Amenity Principle: The causes, incidence and landuse planning implications of amenity-led rural settlement in Australia. This project will produce an 'amenity index' - a composite measure of a community's relative attractiveness to in-migrants for a substantial portion of the nation's ecumene. This index will aid in the development of more targetted approaches to rural planning and place marketing. Through the multi-state and multi-region nature of the fieldwork, the project will also draw together a range of approaches used in managing the complex and often competing demands of amenity-inspired in-migration, thus making it a resource for innovative approaches to land use planning and management. Read moreRead less
Ethos and Topos: A Philosophical Investigation of the Ethics and Politics of Place. This project will contribute to the public and academic understanding of the way our sense of place relates to our sense of who we are, and the ethical implications of that relation. The outcomes of the project will have an application to a wide range of applied and policy areas in which questions of identity and belonging are at issue. It will connect directly with ongoing public discussion about a number of cr ....Ethos and Topos: A Philosophical Investigation of the Ethics and Politics of Place. This project will contribute to the public and academic understanding of the way our sense of place relates to our sense of who we are, and the ethical implications of that relation. The outcomes of the project will have an application to a wide range of applied and policy areas in which questions of identity and belonging are at issue. It will connect directly with ongoing public discussion about a number of critical contemporary issues relating to ideas of nationhood and community, our connection to land and environment, and our sense of identity and belonging.Read moreRead less
Learning from the development and implementation of Australia's National Indigenous Forestry Strategy. The project will undertake a multi-disciplinary study of the National Indigenous Forest Strategy (NIFS) in the native title era. A team comprising three academics from the ANU and key industry partners will collaborate with a very experienced APAI on the project. There has been considerable public policy concern and debate about the development problems facing Indigenous communities, particular ....Learning from the development and implementation of Australia's National Indigenous Forestry Strategy. The project will undertake a multi-disciplinary study of the National Indigenous Forest Strategy (NIFS) in the native title era. A team comprising three academics from the ANU and key industry partners will collaborate with a very experienced APAI on the project. There has been considerable public policy concern and debate about the development problems facing Indigenous communities, particularly in regional and remote Australia. Forestry offers one option for economic initiative, especially on the significant Indigenous estate. This project will inform and monitor the evolving NIFS and canvass options for policy-realistic and culturally-acceptable ways that forestry can ameliorate Indigenous socio-economic disadvantage.Read moreRead less
Natural Hazard Vulnerability: A study of risk, vulnerability, behaviour, attitudes and perceptions of warnings. This project builds on original research into community vulnerability, awareness and preparedness for natural hazards. During the second half of the United Nations International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, the trend in emergency management and disaster mitigation research has been towards the social and community impacts of natural disasters. The aim of the project is to exa ....Natural Hazard Vulnerability: A study of risk, vulnerability, behaviour, attitudes and perceptions of warnings. This project builds on original research into community vulnerability, awareness and preparedness for natural hazards. During the second half of the United Nations International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, the trend in emergency management and disaster mitigation research has been towards the social and community impacts of natural disasters. The aim of the project is to examine risk perception amongst hazard vulnerable communities. The expected outcomes include an improved awareness campaign and a better understanding of the ways in which warnings and forecasts are filtered and distorted by the public.Read moreRead less
Testing the Australian Megatsunami Hypothesis. More than 300000 lives and property worth more than $150bn on the NSW coast are vulnerable to large tsunamis but at present we do not have a clear idea about how often such tsunamis occur and how big they might be. This project will identify and date evidence for past tsunamis on the coasts of NSW and west New Zealand which will help us understand regional tsunami risk. This will provide knowledge that will guide tsunami risk management practice in ....Testing the Australian Megatsunami Hypothesis. More than 300000 lives and property worth more than $150bn on the NSW coast are vulnerable to large tsunamis but at present we do not have a clear idea about how often such tsunamis occur and how big they might be. This project will identify and date evidence for past tsunamis on the coasts of NSW and west New Zealand which will help us understand regional tsunami risk. This will provide knowledge that will guide tsunami risk management practice in vulnerable areas of NSW and help underpin the developing Australian Tsunami Warning System. Read moreRead less
Sea-level change in the Australasian region during the past 6000 years: Understanding the past to predict the future. Interactions of climate, ice, oceans, and solid earth result in complex variations sea level in time and space. This proposal develops a predictive understanding of this change through an interdisciplinary integration of geophysical theory and geologic observations. Focus is on the Australian area and on the present interglacial but the outcomes will be placed in a global frame. ....Sea-level change in the Australasian region during the past 6000 years: Understanding the past to predict the future. Interactions of climate, ice, oceans, and solid earth result in complex variations sea level in time and space. This proposal develops a predictive understanding of this change through an interdisciplinary integration of geophysical theory and geologic observations. Focus is on the Australian area and on the present interglacial but the outcomes will be placed in a global frame. Outcomes will include estimates of rates and amplitudes of sea-level change, of changes in ice volume, of land movements from isostatic and tectonic causes. It also provides the framework necessary for separating natural change from anthropogenic change during the recent past and for predicting future regional and global sea-level change on a century time scale.Read moreRead less
Multipurpose separation platforms for protein purification. Over the next decades, many new therapies and products will be needed to enhance the quality of human life. Biopharmaceuticals and other protein-based products will thus be increasingly in demand. This will require significant improvements in biotechnological procedures, particularly sophisticated purification technologies. Through the development of a novel technology, this project is anticipated to significantly contribute to these so ....Multipurpose separation platforms for protein purification. Over the next decades, many new therapies and products will be needed to enhance the quality of human life. Biopharmaceuticals and other protein-based products will thus be increasingly in demand. This will require significant improvements in biotechnological procedures, particularly sophisticated purification technologies. Through the development of a novel technology, this project is anticipated to significantly contribute to these societal needs and provide a new way to purify these important molecules. National and community benefits will accrue from this scientific innovation and from its application, which is expected to provide more efficient manufacturing opportunities for key biotechnology industries.Read moreRead less
Novel Technologies for the Purification of Recombinant Proteins. Availability of enabling technologies for the large-scale purification of recombinant proteins is an essential requirement of the biotechnology industry. This project aims to integrate two concepts in molecular biorecognition. New modalities of immobilised metal ion affinity chromatography will be linked with the selection of new types of peptide affinity handles that can be inserted by genetic engineering methods into proteins pro ....Novel Technologies for the Purification of Recombinant Proteins. Availability of enabling technologies for the large-scale purification of recombinant proteins is an essential requirement of the biotechnology industry. This project aims to integrate two concepts in molecular biorecognition. New modalities of immobilised metal ion affinity chromatography will be linked with the selection of new types of peptide affinity handles that can be inserted by genetic engineering methods into proteins produced by biotechnological procedures. The approach followed then allows these handles to be removed following isolation of the target protein. This project could thus lead to a considerable advance in the manufacture of recombinant proteins intended for human therapy.Read moreRead less
Coordination and communication in critical care: Assessing potential technology support. This project will examine temporal coordination demands of busy critical care environments, with the goal of developing better models and tools for evaluating the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) innovation. Millions of dollars can be wasted on healthcare ICT updates when the nature of critical care work, the means of communication, and temporal coordination demands are not fully unde ....Coordination and communication in critical care: Assessing potential technology support. This project will examine temporal coordination demands of busy critical care environments, with the goal of developing better models and tools for evaluating the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) innovation. Millions of dollars can be wasted on healthcare ICT updates when the nature of critical care work, the means of communication, and temporal coordination demands are not fully understood. The outcome of this project will be better conceptual and computational tools for assessing the impact of ICT innovation on safety-critical systems such as healthcare, so providing more cost-effective ICT solutions where there is rapidly-evolving ICT innovation.Read moreRead less