The effect of competition and doctor heterogeneity on prices charged by doctors. Prices charged by doctors can have important effects on health care costs, access to health care and health status. This research will examine the determinants of prices charged by doctors. The results will be important in understanding the pricing practices of doctors and their impact on health care costs.
A New Approach to Information-Based Securities Trading. This project develops and tests a new approach to information-based securities trading, which can effectively describe trading dynamics and accurately measure the effects of information impounded in price and trading activities. It aims to provide a novel and practical framework for studying information asymmetry, belief heterogeneity and asset pricing, and apply the new approach to address a series of financial issues. The project will mak ....A New Approach to Information-Based Securities Trading. This project develops and tests a new approach to information-based securities trading, which can effectively describe trading dynamics and accurately measure the effects of information impounded in price and trading activities. It aims to provide a novel and practical framework for studying information asymmetry, belief heterogeneity and asset pricing, and apply the new approach to address a series of financial issues. The project will make significant contributions to finance research by shedding new insights on market dynamics and creating a new stream of models and modelling techniques. Academics, practitioners and regulators can use the new approach to better analyse the Australian financial market and improve its efficiency.Read moreRead less
Does a novel class of small RNA molecules control self-incompatibility in solanaceous plants? Self-incompatibility is a simple and genetically defined cell recognition system that prevents inbreeding in many plant species. Flowers of self-incompatible plants can distinguish self pollen from foreign pollen, and allow only foreign pollen to fertilise their egg cells. This proposal will investigate the possibility that the part of the genetic self-incompatibility locus controlling recognition of ....Does a novel class of small RNA molecules control self-incompatibility in solanaceous plants? Self-incompatibility is a simple and genetically defined cell recognition system that prevents inbreeding in many plant species. Flowers of self-incompatible plants can distinguish self pollen from foreign pollen, and allow only foreign pollen to fertilise their egg cells. This proposal will investigate the possibility that the part of the genetic self-incompatibility locus controlling recognition of pollen is a novel type of gene that encodes a small RNA molecule but no protein. Knowledge gained by studying the self-incompatibility genes will help us to understand how plant cells recognise each other, and may allow us to manipulate seed (and hence crop) production.Read moreRead less
Extracting energy from air: mechanism of a bacterial hydrogenase. The atmosphere has recently been shown to be a key source of energy for diverse soil bacteria. Bacteria use complex enzymes, namely Huc-type hydrogenases, to harvest atmospheric hydrogen directly from air to support growth and survival. However, little is known about how Huc functions within and outside cells. By synergising expertise in microbiology, biochemistry, and chemistry, we will resolve the mechanism, assembly, and integr ....Extracting energy from air: mechanism of a bacterial hydrogenase. The atmosphere has recently been shown to be a key source of energy for diverse soil bacteria. Bacteria use complex enzymes, namely Huc-type hydrogenases, to harvest atmospheric hydrogen directly from air to support growth and survival. However, little is known about how Huc functions within and outside cells. By synergising expertise in microbiology, biochemistry, and chemistry, we will resolve the mechanism, assembly, and integration of Huc, including the basis of its remarkably high affinity and oxygen insensitivity compared to previously studied hydrogenases. This project will enable biotechnological applications, as the first study of an enzyme that extracts energy from air, and has broad ecological and biogeochemical implications.Read moreRead less
Decentralised assets trading, centralised clearing and systemic risk. This project aims to study the effect of regulating over-the-counter (OTC) financial markets on economic performance. The lack of transparency of OTC financial markets may have exacerbated the severity of the 2007-09 financial crisis. In response, regulators around the world decided to mandate centralised clearing of derivatives traded OTC, believing this would reduce system-wide risk. This project will study the regulatory ch ....Decentralised assets trading, centralised clearing and systemic risk. This project aims to study the effect of regulating over-the-counter (OTC) financial markets on economic performance. The lack of transparency of OTC financial markets may have exacerbated the severity of the 2007-09 financial crisis. In response, regulators around the world decided to mandate centralised clearing of derivatives traded OTC, believing this would reduce system-wide risk. This project will study the regulatory change’s effects on market participation, volumes of trade and prices, and the behavioural effect of shifting risk from market participants to clearinghouses. It expects to suggest remedial policies clearinghouses could implement to control market participants’ risk appetite. These can help enhance future productivity and reduce unemployment in Australia.Read moreRead less
Injectable scaffolds for treatments of neurological disorders. Cell replacement therapies offer potentially effective treatments for a host of neurological disorders but a major obstacle confronting their development is to ensure appropriate connections are formed within the brain. This proposal aims to utilize injectable biodegradable polymers, to demonstrate the feasibility of assisting neural cells and stem cells to bridge glial scars or significant distances in the brain and repair damaged n ....Injectable scaffolds for treatments of neurological disorders. Cell replacement therapies offer potentially effective treatments for a host of neurological disorders but a major obstacle confronting their development is to ensure appropriate connections are formed within the brain. This proposal aims to utilize injectable biodegradable polymers, to demonstrate the feasibility of assisting neural cells and stem cells to bridge glial scars or significant distances in the brain and repair damaged neural pathways. This proposal will focus on naturally occurring polysaccharides, which will act as "scaffolds" for the growing neurones. The role the scaffolds play in regulating neurite extension will be investigated in vitro and in vivo.Read moreRead less
Manipulating nano-fibres to control nerve regeneration. Diseases of the brain and mind are the most common diseases in the western world; being even more prevalent than cardiac or malignant disease. With Australia's aging demographic, diseases of the brain and mind will continue to impact on our productivity in the workplace, our quality of life, and the ability of the medicare and private health care systems to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for older Australians.
The research prop ....Manipulating nano-fibres to control nerve regeneration. Diseases of the brain and mind are the most common diseases in the western world; being even more prevalent than cardiac or malignant disease. With Australia's aging demographic, diseases of the brain and mind will continue to impact on our productivity in the workplace, our quality of life, and the ability of the medicare and private health care systems to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for older Australians.
The research proposed here will enable us to find solutions to this serious problem by building on Australia's strong track record in nanotechnology and biotechnology research, and help towards new and effective treatments.
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Incomplete Information Models for Industrial Organisation. Mergers, acquisitions, and collusive conduct take place in imperfectly competitive environments where firms have incomplete information about others. Despite this, standard workhorse models for analyzing the associated competitive effects assume that firms have complete information and typically only accommodate imperfect competition on one side of the market. This project aims to remedy this deficiency by developing the economic theory ....Incomplete Information Models for Industrial Organisation. Mergers, acquisitions, and collusive conduct take place in imperfectly competitive environments where firms have incomplete information about others. Despite this, standard workhorse models for analyzing the associated competitive effects assume that firms have complete information and typically only accommodate imperfect competition on one side of the market. This project aims to remedy this deficiency by developing the economic theory and associated practical tools for the analysis of competitive effects in settings with incomplete information and market power on both sides. The project work will be presented at seminars and workshops around the globe to both academic audiences and to practitioners at competition authorities. Read moreRead less
Curating Photography in the Age of Photo Sharing. This project aims to develop new curatorial models to enable Australian art galleries to respond effectively to changes in the medium of photography wrought by digital technologies. By conducting the first comprehensive analysis of nearly five decades of Australian photography curating and comparing it to curatorial approaches in related institutions locally and internationally, the project seeks to: identify the crucial role of photography exhib ....Curating Photography in the Age of Photo Sharing. This project aims to develop new curatorial models to enable Australian art galleries to respond effectively to changes in the medium of photography wrought by digital technologies. By conducting the first comprehensive analysis of nearly five decades of Australian photography curating and comparing it to curatorial approaches in related institutions locally and internationally, the project seeks to: identify the crucial role of photography exhibitions in the shaping of Australian visual culture; and develop opportunities for curators to better engage with the current proliferation of images, including new forms and practices of photography enabled by the Internet.Read moreRead less
The regulation of signalling molecules in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae by inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatases. Phosphoinositide signalling molecules regulate the actin cytoskeleton, secretion, vesicular trafficking and cell growth and death. We have identified, cloned and characterised a family of signal terminating enzymes called inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatases (5-phosphatases) that regulate phosphoinositide signalling molecules. We have cloned and characterised four distinct 5-phosphatases ....The regulation of signalling molecules in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae by inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatases. Phosphoinositide signalling molecules regulate the actin cytoskeleton, secretion, vesicular trafficking and cell growth and death. We have identified, cloned and characterised a family of signal terminating enzymes called inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatases (5-phosphatases) that regulate phosphoinositide signalling molecules. We have cloned and characterised four distinct 5-phosphatases in the yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae and demonstrated by both deletion and overexpression studies that these enzymes regulate the actin cytoskeleton, endocytosis and secretion. This research proposal aims to investigate the signalling complexes the 5-phosphatases form with specific actin binding and or regulatory proteins, investigate the complex interactions of phosphoinositide lipid phosphatases and the roles they play in regulating secretion from the endoplasmic reticulum and finally characterize a novel 5-phosphatase that we have recently identified. Collectively the outcome of these studies will provide novel information about the functionallly significant signalling pathways regulated by this important enzyme family.Read moreRead less