Providing children with a healthy start to life: promoting physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviours during early childhood. Early childhood (0-5 yrs), when health behaviours develop and may track into later life, represents promise as a time to positively impact physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Yet study of these behaviours in 3-5 yr olds is only emerging, and is almost non-existent in younger children. This project aims to understand predictors of these behaviours using a s ....Providing children with a healthy start to life: promoting physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviours during early childhood. Early childhood (0-5 yrs), when health behaviours develop and may track into later life, represents promise as a time to positively impact physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Yet study of these behaviours in 3-5 yr olds is only emerging, and is almost non-existent in younger children. This project aims to understand predictors of these behaviours using a suite of longitudinal studies, including objective measures, and will commence as early as 3-mths of age. It will study strategies for promoting physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviours during early childhood, by investigating mechanisms of behaviour change in existing interventions to inform new strategies with potential to provide children with a healthy start to life.Read moreRead less
Reproducibility and open science in environmental research. The goal of this project is to improve the reproducibility and transparency of environmental science. Disturbingly low levels of reproducibility have recently been uncovered in other disciplines, and there are good reasons to suspect the same conditions in environmental science. However, it has thus far been excused from evaluation because of the large spatial scales, long time horizons and dependencies among processes that prohibit dir ....Reproducibility and open science in environmental research. The goal of this project is to improve the reproducibility and transparency of environmental science. Disturbingly low levels of reproducibility have recently been uncovered in other disciplines, and there are good reasons to suspect the same conditions in environmental science. However, it has thus far been excused from evaluation because of the large spatial scales, long time horizons and dependencies among processes that prohibit direct replication of empirical field research. The project plans to assess the reproducibility of environmental research and develop systematic review methods that account for bias in published research. In this way, it seeks to contribute to the standards for statistical inference and reporting in the discipline, and facilitate a cultural shift to ‘Open Science’ to ensure a more reliable evidence base for environmental decisions. Read moreRead less
The evolution and economics of sacred value. This project aims to use a multi-disciplinary approach to investigate sacred value, a type of extreme moral commitment held by an individual or group. Conflict and violence often revolve around perceived threats to sacred value, and there is a struggle to predict the interaction between material incentives and sacred commitments using orthodox methods of economic analysis. Using techniques from evolutionary anthropology and economics, this project exp ....The evolution and economics of sacred value. This project aims to use a multi-disciplinary approach to investigate sacred value, a type of extreme moral commitment held by an individual or group. Conflict and violence often revolve around perceived threats to sacred value, and there is a struggle to predict the interaction between material incentives and sacred commitments using orthodox methods of economic analysis. Using techniques from evolutionary anthropology and economics, this project expects to identify the mechanisms that underlie sacred value, and generate novel ways of representing sacred values. By providing a more nuanced set of tools for representing sacred values in areas of conflict, this research will strengthen democratic culture and advance understanding of international conflict.Read moreRead less
Improving social, economic and health outcomes through drug policy reforms. Globally, recognition is growing that common prohibitionist drug policies contribute to drug-related harms and have not succeeded. Identified harms include the current drug overdose crisis in North America and a surge in overdose deaths in Australia, adding new force to calls for urgent reform. This project aims to respond to these calls by exploring how human rights considerations can inform improvements to drug policy. ....Improving social, economic and health outcomes through drug policy reforms. Globally, recognition is growing that common prohibitionist drug policies contribute to drug-related harms and have not succeeded. Identified harms include the current drug overdose crisis in North America and a surge in overdose deaths in Australia, adding new force to calls for urgent reform. This project aims to respond to these calls by exploring how human rights considerations can inform improvements to drug policy. The project seeks to generate new knowledge on how human rights can guide reform so as to improve social, economic and health outcomes. The project should provide significant benefits to the nation, informing Australian legal, policy and practice reforms as well as international efforts to reduce drug-related harms.Read moreRead less
Sexism in scientific and pseudo-scientific explanations of sex inequality: an empirical, ethical and educative approach. Neuroscientific explanations of sex inequality are scientifically premature, and lead to popular exaggerations that sustain inequality through self-fulfilling effects. This project will increase understanding of these harmful consequences, and bring about essential improvements in both the quality of scientific research, and public understanding.
Improved methods for predicting species' distributions under environmental change. Understanding the impacts of climate change and invasive species on the distribution and persistence of species is an issue of global and national significance and concern. This project will provide tools essential for the effective management of Australia's ecosystems by delivering clear guidelines and practical methods that will substantially improve the modelling of future species distributions.
Molecular Archaeology: Carbon isotope analysis of amino acids as a means to investigate diets, physiology, metabolism and palaeoenvironment. The investigation of the bones of past societies and animals at the molecular level opens up a whole array of alternative data about palaeodiet and environment. Investigating the past in this way provides a unique perspective about how diet and health have changed in humans and about how animals and the environment have changed. When we understand the past ....Molecular Archaeology: Carbon isotope analysis of amino acids as a means to investigate diets, physiology, metabolism and palaeoenvironment. The investigation of the bones of past societies and animals at the molecular level opens up a whole array of alternative data about palaeodiet and environment. Investigating the past in this way provides a unique perspective about how diet and health have changed in humans and about how animals and the environment have changed. When we understand the past in this manner we can better understand current health issues linked to diet and how the environment and climate is changing.Read moreRead less
Epigenetic models of plasticity in the global south. This project aims to investigate how epigenetics, the science of how environmental factors switch genes on or off, is reshaping notions of the body, heredity and biological plasticity in the global South., Using case studies in Australia, India and South Africa this project comparatively analyses how epigenetics is mobilised in public debates on responsibility, risk and the amelioration of disadvantage. This project expects to ensure the polic ....Epigenetic models of plasticity in the global south. This project aims to investigate how epigenetics, the science of how environmental factors switch genes on or off, is reshaping notions of the body, heredity and biological plasticity in the global South., Using case studies in Australia, India and South Africa this project comparatively analyses how epigenetics is mobilised in public debates on responsibility, risk and the amelioration of disadvantage. This project expects to ensure the policy translation of epigenetics maximises social benefits and reduces risks of social harm, particularly to vulnerable minority groups.Read moreRead less
Complex Ties: Investigating the Role of Networks in the Commercialisation of Public Research. This project seeks to understand the social processes that lead to commercialisation successes or failures in a competitive global economy and thereby identify activities that increase Australia’s ability to commercialise inventions from public research. Innovation is essential to Australia’s prosperity, bringing economic and social benefits. This project examines platform technologies which have a pote ....Complex Ties: Investigating the Role of Networks in the Commercialisation of Public Research. This project seeks to understand the social processes that lead to commercialisation successes or failures in a competitive global economy and thereby identify activities that increase Australia’s ability to commercialise inventions from public research. Innovation is essential to Australia’s prosperity, bringing economic and social benefits. This project examines platform technologies which have a potentially larger impact than single use technologies, because they can be applied in multiple ways. Using the latest advances in social network models, the project will detail the important substructures of collaboration networks which lead to commercialisation successes and failures, providing insights to improve the innovation process.Read moreRead less
State, Class and Islamic Populism: Indonesia in Comparative Perspective. This study will provide a different basis for the assessment of Australian policy responses to Islamic radicalism in Indonesia. It will expose the social foundations of Islamic populism as a particular expression of political Islam and in so doing allow the Australian public and policymakers to understand the complex networks and relationships that generate and sustain Islamic populism, including its radical streams. It wil ....State, Class and Islamic Populism: Indonesia in Comparative Perspective. This study will provide a different basis for the assessment of Australian policy responses to Islamic radicalism in Indonesia. It will expose the social foundations of Islamic populism as a particular expression of political Islam and in so doing allow the Australian public and policymakers to understand the complex networks and relationships that generate and sustain Islamic populism, including its radical streams. It will enable an identification and differentiation of the social forces resisting or advancing democratic governance reforms in Indonesia. With this knowledge, programmes intended to help develop domestic pro-democratic coalitions to stem the rise of radical Islamic groups have a sounder social scientific base.Read moreRead less