Lexical access in Australian languages. This project aims to investigate how listeners use cues from the way speech sounds are produced to break the speech stream into individual, recognisable words. The project investigates Australian languages which show unusual patterns in the production of speech sounds to generate new knowledge about speech perception and production. Outcomes will include advances in theories of speech processing, informing the development of speech processing systems, and ....Lexical access in Australian languages. This project aims to investigate how listeners use cues from the way speech sounds are produced to break the speech stream into individual, recognisable words. The project investigates Australian languages which show unusual patterns in the production of speech sounds to generate new knowledge about speech perception and production. Outcomes will include advances in theories of speech processing, informing the development of speech processing systems, and contributions to Indigenous cultural maintenance.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language. Language is central to human existence and to the flow of information. The Centre will address the most critical questions about language: How do languages evolve? How different can languages be? How do our brains acquire and process them? How can technologies deal with the complexity and enormous variability of language in its central role in human information processing? What can Australia do to increase its linguistic abilities at a time ....ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language. Language is central to human existence and to the flow of information. The Centre will address the most critical questions about language: How do languages evolve? How different can languages be? How do our brains acquire and process them? How can technologies deal with the complexity and enormous variability of language in its central role in human information processing? What can Australia do to increase its linguistic abilities at a time of increasingly multilingual demands in trade and information? The Centre will also secure language heritage, develop new language technologies, connect policy with indigenous and migrant communities, and build strategies to help 1st and 2nd language learning and those isolated by language difficulties.Read moreRead less
Are super-complex words represented like sentences in speakers' minds? This project aims to examine speakers' knowledge of super-complex words in the remote Australian language Wubuy. The project will provide a crucial test of current theories of language processing and linguistic typology via experimental work on the Indigenous language Wubuy, a language that defies the perceived fundamental distinction between words and phrases. This will have significant benefit to Indigenous language mainten ....Are super-complex words represented like sentences in speakers' minds? This project aims to examine speakers' knowledge of super-complex words in the remote Australian language Wubuy. The project will provide a crucial test of current theories of language processing and linguistic typology via experimental work on the Indigenous language Wubuy, a language that defies the perceived fundamental distinction between words and phrases. This will have significant benefit to Indigenous language maintenance and revitalisation efforts and thus help improve Indigenous education outcomes and reinforce cultural pride.Read moreRead less
When do gestures become linguistic? Understanding the gesture-language interface through a corpusbased study of pointing signs in signed languages. This project will use corpus-based and experimental studies to compare pointing signs in three sign languages with pointing gestures used by hearing non-signers in order to answer the question: What relationship do gestures have to language? It will help us understand how pointing works as part of a sign language system, and how it is used as co-spee ....When do gestures become linguistic? Understanding the gesture-language interface through a corpusbased study of pointing signs in signed languages. This project will use corpus-based and experimental studies to compare pointing signs in three sign languages with pointing gestures used by hearing non-signers in order to answer the question: What relationship do gestures have to language? It will help us understand how pointing works as part of a sign language system, and how it is used as co-speech gesture. Both spoken languages and sign languages make use of pointing, and thus it represents a unique case study for the investigation of the relationship between gesture and language. This project will provide a distinctive contribution to our knowledge about the relationship between language and other aspects of human communication. Read moreRead less
Sustainable fiscal federalism and reform of the GST distribution system. The primary source of funds for Australian States and Territories is GST revenue distributed by the Commonwealth using an equalisation formula that has proved to be politically unsustainable and in recent times manifestly inadequate to provide the revenue needed in response to crises and natural disasters. A tipping point has been reached and reform is urgently needed. Drawing on international experience with GST distributi ....Sustainable fiscal federalism and reform of the GST distribution system. The primary source of funds for Australian States and Territories is GST revenue distributed by the Commonwealth using an equalisation formula that has proved to be politically unsustainable and in recent times manifestly inadequate to provide the revenue needed in response to crises and natural disasters. A tipping point has been reached and reform is urgently needed. Drawing on international experience with GST distributions specifically and fiscal federalism more generally, the project aims to develop a reform blueprint for a sustainable and equitable fiscal federalism regime in Australia that best aligns with Australia’s current and long-term fiscal needs.Read moreRead less
Mathematics for future magnetic devices. The aim of this project is to develop a mathematical theory and numerical models of stochastic partial differential
equations for magnetic nano-structures. Such materials will yield next-generation magnetic memories with up to
three orders of magnitude faster switching speeds and dramatically increased data storage density. New
mathematical theories will help understand their sensitivity to small random fluctuations that can destroy stored
information. Th ....Mathematics for future magnetic devices. The aim of this project is to develop a mathematical theory and numerical models of stochastic partial differential
equations for magnetic nano-structures. Such materials will yield next-generation magnetic memories with up to
three orders of magnitude faster switching speeds and dramatically increased data storage density. New
mathematical theories will help understand their sensitivity to small random fluctuations that can destroy stored
information. This project aims to revolutionise mathematical modelling of magnetic memories and put Australia at
the forefront of international research. Technological advances to create much smaller and faster memory devices
are expected to enable groundbreaking ways of managing and mining big dataRead moreRead less
Insecure Work and the Mental Health of Workers and their Families. This project aims to explore the relationship between insecure work and mental health by applying advanced econometric methods to large survey and administrative datasets, and newly collected survey data. This project expects to provide causal policy-relevant estimates of how insecure work is affecting the wellbeing of workers and their families, and for whom the effects are most harmful. It also expects to inform on how poor men ....Insecure Work and the Mental Health of Workers and their Families. This project aims to explore the relationship between insecure work and mental health by applying advanced econometric methods to large survey and administrative datasets, and newly collected survey data. This project expects to provide causal policy-relevant estimates of how insecure work is affecting the wellbeing of workers and their families, and for whom the effects are most harmful. It also expects to inform on how poor mental health influences the types of jobs that people enter into. This should provide significant benefits, including evidence needed to improve existing workplace and employment programs, and evidence ensuring that assistance is efficiently targeted to those workers and industries with the greatest need.Read moreRead less
Nurturing Australia's Little Multilingual Minds. Despite its substantial multilingual capacity of more than 300 languages, Australia has been described as a 'graveyard for languages'. In partnering with community organisations we will facilitate polyglot early learning, commencing with Spanish and Vietnamese. Expected outcomes are a deep understanding of multilingual families’ experiences, a model to support lifespan multilingual education, and openly-accessible database of child language in her ....Nurturing Australia's Little Multilingual Minds. Despite its substantial multilingual capacity of more than 300 languages, Australia has been described as a 'graveyard for languages'. In partnering with community organisations we will facilitate polyglot early learning, commencing with Spanish and Vietnamese. Expected outcomes are a deep understanding of multilingual families’ experiences, a model to support lifespan multilingual education, and openly-accessible database of child language in heritage languages. Benefits include a pivotal contribution to early childhood education with the creation of a tailor-made, principle-based program, which will enhance children’s academic achievement, familial social and mental wellbeing, and cultural and economic opportunities for all Australians. Read moreRead less
A Scenario Planning Tool - Improving the Bikeability of Our Cities. This project aims to produce a data framework and interactive planning support tool, in collaboration with Australian government agencies, to explore various bicycle infrastructure scenarios and assess their potential impacts. This will be a game changer for the transport sector, as the lack of data-driven approaches focused on active mobility has restricted the development of evidence-based business cases for cycling infrastruc ....A Scenario Planning Tool - Improving the Bikeability of Our Cities. This project aims to produce a data framework and interactive planning support tool, in collaboration with Australian government agencies, to explore various bicycle infrastructure scenarios and assess their potential impacts. This will be a game changer for the transport sector, as the lack of data-driven approaches focused on active mobility has restricted the development of evidence-based business cases for cycling infrastructure investment, when compared to motorised transport. Benefits from this project to the nation include more informed and optimised investment in cycling, increase in cycling modal share, reduction of emissions and congestion, and improvement of safety and health outcomes from cycling.Read moreRead less