Applying search theory for eradicating invasive species. Invasive species have major economic and environmental impacts in Australia and are a major cause of extinctions worldwide. Monitoring is crucial for the timely control of invasive species in sensitive environments. Early detection increases the probability of eradication and increased accuracy in detection reduces the impact of control programs on non-target species. Efficient monitoring also is crucial in determining whether eradication ....Applying search theory for eradicating invasive species. Invasive species have major economic and environmental impacts in Australia and are a major cause of extinctions worldwide. Monitoring is crucial for the timely control of invasive species in sensitive environments. Early detection increases the probability of eradication and increased accuracy in detection reduces the impact of control programs on non-target species. Efficient monitoring also is crucial in determining whether eradication has succeeded. Search Theory has been applied for over 60 years in a wide range of non-biological monitoring problems, resulting in large increases in target detection rates. Gains of a similar magnitude in invasive species detection would greatly enhance Australia's capacity to manage these threats.Read moreRead less
Problems of identification and inference for 'non-standard' models in complex systems with special reference to finance and teletraffic. The project is concerned with 'non-standard' models needed to deal with complex systems, such as those exhibiting scaling and fractal properties. There is a focus on methods for dealing with heavy tailed distributions and long range dependent observations, for which most standard statistical methods break down, and on applications in finance and telecommunicati ....Problems of identification and inference for 'non-standard' models in complex systems with special reference to finance and teletraffic. The project is concerned with 'non-standard' models needed to deal with complex systems, such as those exhibiting scaling and fractal properties. There is a focus on methods for dealing with heavy tailed distributions and long range dependent observations, for which most standard statistical methods break down, and on applications in finance and telecommunications. An important part of the project concerns model validation for Heyde's fractal activity time geometric Brownian motion model, a candidate minimal description risky asset model to replace the geometric Brownian motion paradigm.Read moreRead less
Storage of non-classical light in a solid. A new scheme for storing and recalling coherent light pulses based on 'slow light' has been demonstrated. The aim of this project is to show how this can best be achieved in a solid to enable practical applications. A range of materials will be investigated. The novel feature of the storage is the maintenace of the coherence information and a noise analysis will be made to determine whether it is experimentally possible to store non-classical light.
Peace Building and Responsive Governance in Asia and the Pacific. War causes not only human suffering; it threatens the health and education of generations of children, sets back regional economies and encourages warlords to become transnational criminals who traffic in drugs, people, money laundering, guns and terror across Australia's region.
Fresh insights will be obtained from the successes and failures of attempts to build peace in failing states that Australia sees as a threat to our sec ....Peace Building and Responsive Governance in Asia and the Pacific. War causes not only human suffering; it threatens the health and education of generations of children, sets back regional economies and encourages warlords to become transnational criminals who traffic in drugs, people, money laundering, guns and terror across Australia's region.
Fresh insights will be obtained from the successes and failures of attempts to build peace in failing states that Australia sees as a threat to our security. These national and regional diagnoses will enhance the quality of Australia's contribution to security and stability in our part of the globe and enhance national capacity to contribute to global peace strategies. Read moreRead less
Lessons from Asian Peacebuilding. War causes not only human suffering; it threatens the health and education of generations of children, sets back regional economies and encourages warlords to become transnational criminals who traffic in drugs, people, money laundering, guns and terror. Fresh insights will be obtained from the successes and failures of attempts to build peace in societies such as Afghanistan. These national and regional diagnoses will enhance the quality of Australia's contribu ....Lessons from Asian Peacebuilding. War causes not only human suffering; it threatens the health and education of generations of children, sets back regional economies and encourages warlords to become transnational criminals who traffic in drugs, people, money laundering, guns and terror. Fresh insights will be obtained from the successes and failures of attempts to build peace in societies such as Afghanistan. These national and regional diagnoses will enhance the quality of Australia's contribution to security and stability in our part of the globe and increase national capacity to contribute to global peace strategies.Read moreRead less
Honeybee Navigation: Low-level and Cognitive Mechanisms. Anyone watching a honeybee find its way back home effortlessly after flying several kilometres in search of nectar would know that these insects are excellent navigators, despite their diminutive brains and relatively simple nervous systems. The aim of this proposal is to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms by which bees navigate repeatedly to an attractive food source, and recruit their nestmates to visit it. The findings should ....Honeybee Navigation: Low-level and Cognitive Mechanisms. Anyone watching a honeybee find its way back home effortlessly after flying several kilometres in search of nectar would know that these insects are excellent navigators, despite their diminutive brains and relatively simple nervous systems. The aim of this proposal is to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms by which bees navigate repeatedly to an attractive food source, and recruit their nestmates to visit it. The findings should illuminate important principles of animal navigation, as well as suggest novel strategies for robot navigation.Read moreRead less
Optical-spin coupling in the nitrogen-vacancy centre in diamond. Australia has made investment in the developing area of quantum information processing where information is stored and processed by manipulating the spin states in solids. One of the most promising materials for this purpose is diamond incorporating nitrogen-vacancy colour centres. The appeal with this material is that the processing can be faster and components smaller as the spins can be controlled by laser beams. This project in ....Optical-spin coupling in the nitrogen-vacancy centre in diamond. Australia has made investment in the developing area of quantum information processing where information is stored and processed by manipulating the spin states in solids. One of the most promising materials for this purpose is diamond incorporating nitrogen-vacancy colour centres. The appeal with this material is that the processing can be faster and components smaller as the spins can be controlled by laser beams. This project investigates the control of spin with light to obtain optimum performance.Read moreRead less
How do bees orchestrate smooth landings? The results should pave the way for the development of novel, biologically inspired strategies for the control of landing in unmanned aerial vehicles. Endowing aircraft with the capability of autonomous flight and landing has been a major challenge in engineering technology. There is now considerable interest, nationally and world wide, in the development of small, intelligent, autonomous airborne vehicles for application in a number of areas of defense, ....How do bees orchestrate smooth landings? The results should pave the way for the development of novel, biologically inspired strategies for the control of landing in unmanned aerial vehicles. Endowing aircraft with the capability of autonomous flight and landing has been a major challenge in engineering technology. There is now considerable interest, nationally and world wide, in the development of small, intelligent, autonomous airborne vehicles for application in a number of areas of defense, surveillance and space exploration. The proposed research will help Australia maintain a leading edge in uncovering important biological principles of flight control that can be translated into useful technological applications.Read moreRead less
Discipline, Morale and Winning Wars: Understanding the Relationships Between Discipline and Combat Performance in Low-Intensity Conflict. Discipline and morale are key elements in combat performance, particularly in Low-Intensity Conflict (LIC). This project examines the relationships between discipline, morale and combat performance using the Australian Army in Vietnam as a case study. It provides insights into better understanding and managing discipline and morale to produce and sustain comba ....Discipline, Morale and Winning Wars: Understanding the Relationships Between Discipline and Combat Performance in Low-Intensity Conflict. Discipline and morale are key elements in combat performance, particularly in Low-Intensity Conflict (LIC). This project examines the relationships between discipline, morale and combat performance using the Australian Army in Vietnam as a case study. It provides insights into better understanding and managing discipline and morale to produce and sustain combat performance. It assists the Army to avoid the negative effects of failures in discipline and morale that produced the My Lai massacre and the Abu Ghraib fiasco. It also helps position Australia internationally as a contributor to the better understanding of LIC, and fills a gap in Australian historiography of war.Read moreRead less
Understanding Low-Intensity Conflict. Since 1945, Low-Intensity Conflict (LIC) has become the dominant form of warfare. Conventional armies have a poor record of success in fighting LIC. This project uses the records of the Australian Army's operations in the Vietnam War to better understand it's operational performance there and to unearth insights into the conduct of LIC. The project has the potential to reduce casualties, both military and civilian, and assist the Army in selecting new war-fi ....Understanding Low-Intensity Conflict. Since 1945, Low-Intensity Conflict (LIC) has become the dominant form of warfare. Conventional armies have a poor record of success in fighting LIC. This project uses the records of the Australian Army's operations in the Vietnam War to better understand it's operational performance there and to unearth insights into the conduct of LIC. The project has the potential to reduce casualties, both military and civilian, and assist the Army in selecting new war-fighting technologies, designing training and developing doctrine for future LIC. The project will raise Australia's profile in theorising about this troubling but increasingly common form of warfare.Read moreRead less