Missing girls: From childhood runaways to criminalised women. This study examines the link between girls declared ‘missing’ and their trajectory into the criminal justice system, expanding the Australian knowledge base along with providing a clear, tangible practice framework to prevent the drift into youth and adult criminal justice systems. By addressing concerns of practitioners and policy makers this significant research increases the visibility of a marginalised groups, exploring individual ....Missing girls: From childhood runaways to criminalised women. This study examines the link between girls declared ‘missing’ and their trajectory into the criminal justice system, expanding the Australian knowledge base along with providing a clear, tangible practice framework to prevent the drift into youth and adult criminal justice systems. By addressing concerns of practitioners and policy makers this significant research increases the visibility of a marginalised groups, exploring individual and systemic impacts of missing girls entering the criminal justice and welfare systems. Findings of this research will detail opportunities for early intervention for service providers in addition to rich empirical data to better inform policy makers and service developers targeting at risk young people. Read moreRead less
Building an integrated system for Australian bushfire prevention. Building an integrated system for Australian bushfire prevention. This project aims to develop a comprehensive approach to prevent arson. Bushfires are a serious issue in Australia, made worse by climate change; since most of these fires are started by people, it is important to prevent arson. Building on previous work, this project intends to improve community responses, and build a model to predict risk and improve data sharing. ....Building an integrated system for Australian bushfire prevention. Building an integrated system for Australian bushfire prevention. This project aims to develop a comprehensive approach to prevent arson. Bushfires are a serious issue in Australia, made worse by climate change; since most of these fires are started by people, it is important to prevent arson. Building on previous work, this project intends to improve community responses, and build a model to predict risk and improve data sharing. The intended outcome is an all-risks approach to arson prevention and community engagement. This research should reduce the incidence of arson in Australia, and also be useful overseas.Read moreRead less
Indigenous Justice Reports: new narratives and practices in sentencing. This project engages a participatory action research model to assess the impact of Indigenous Justice Reports in criminal sentencing on sentence practices and outcomes for Indigenous women. It introduces Indigenous Reports for Indigenous women in Victorian Koori Courts and expands their availability in Queensland Murri Courts. Its comparative research approach identifies how place-based factors influence the process and impa ....Indigenous Justice Reports: new narratives and practices in sentencing. This project engages a participatory action research model to assess the impact of Indigenous Justice Reports in criminal sentencing on sentence practices and outcomes for Indigenous women. It introduces Indigenous Reports for Indigenous women in Victorian Koori Courts and expands their availability in Queensland Murri Courts. Its comparative research approach identifies how place-based factors influence the process and impact of Indigenous Reports on sentencing. This project seeks to improve sentencing processes and outcomes for Indigenous defendants by providing courts with reports that address personal and community circumstances of Indigenous women, provide relevant sentencing options and are accompanied with appropriate supports.Read moreRead less
DIsrupting Child Exploitation - the DICE project. Child sexual exploitation is an insidious social problem which impacts the most vulnerable children and young people in Australia. The DICE project (Disrupting Child Sexual Exploitation) aims to develop a multi-agency response which pivots the focus of intervention to the sexual exploitation predators who target vulnerable young people in statutory care. Previous interventions have prioritised protecting (and controlling) the young people, with l ....DIsrupting Child Exploitation - the DICE project. Child sexual exploitation is an insidious social problem which impacts the most vulnerable children and young people in Australia. The DICE project (Disrupting Child Sexual Exploitation) aims to develop a multi-agency response which pivots the focus of intervention to the sexual exploitation predators who target vulnerable young people in statutory care. Previous interventions have prioritised protecting (and controlling) the young people, with limited success. Through a trauma informed approach which supports young people, combined with disruptive police strategies targeting perpetrators, and co-ordinated multiagency working, it is anticipated that there will be measurable changes to the protection of vulnerable young people. Read moreRead less
Enabling precise droplet control in hydrofluorocarbon free sprays. This project aims to investigate the use of blended propellants to replace hydrofluorocarbons in technical aerosols. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of multiphase fluid mechanics and aerosol science through a combination of modeling, optical and synchrotron X-ray measurement techniques. Expected outcomes of this project include a capacity to develop environmentally friendly technical aerosol formulation ....Enabling precise droplet control in hydrofluorocarbon free sprays. This project aims to investigate the use of blended propellants to replace hydrofluorocarbons in technical aerosols. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of multiphase fluid mechanics and aerosol science through a combination of modeling, optical and synchrotron X-ray measurement techniques. Expected outcomes of this project include a capacity to develop environmentally friendly technical aerosol formulations which can match and potentially outperform currently available hydrofluorocarbon based products. This should provide significant benefits to the pharmaceutical industry through the generation of new knowledge regarding the fundamental physics of multicomponent sprays.Read moreRead less
On-site and comprehensive technology for chemical weapons, toxins and drugs. This project aims to evaluate and validate broad capabilities of advanced chemical profiling using benchtop and portable gas chromatography–mass spectrometry for forensic applications. Establishing guidelines for sampling various matrices, key performance measures, and improving chemical and residue identification for drug profiling in clandestine laboratories and public venues, chemical warfare agents, and chemical tox ....On-site and comprehensive technology for chemical weapons, toxins and drugs. This project aims to evaluate and validate broad capabilities of advanced chemical profiling using benchtop and portable gas chromatography–mass spectrometry for forensic applications. Establishing guidelines for sampling various matrices, key performance measures, and improving chemical and residue identification for drug profiling in clandestine laboratories and public venues, chemical warfare agents, and chemical toxins is expected. Anticipated outcomes for project partners in defence and policing include detailed knowledge of sample and residue composition and on-site assessment of chemical risks with immediate feedback. Benefits should include improved community and security services safety by enhanced detection of harmful substances.Read moreRead less
The Fluid-Particle Mechanics of a Synthetic Jet-based Dry Powder Inhaler. This project aims to untangle the fundamental principles that govern the fluid mechanics and particulate interactions in a novel concept chip-based micro-zero-net-mass-flux (micro-ZNMF) jet-assisted dry powder inhaler (DPI). Respiratory diseases affect 6.2 million Australians. The treatment of these diseases is hampered by the poor efficiency of current delivery systems, with conventional DPI devices exhibiting sub-optimum ....The Fluid-Particle Mechanics of a Synthetic Jet-based Dry Powder Inhaler. This project aims to untangle the fundamental principles that govern the fluid mechanics and particulate interactions in a novel concept chip-based micro-zero-net-mass-flux (micro-ZNMF) jet-assisted dry powder inhaler (DPI). Respiratory diseases affect 6.2 million Australians. The treatment of these diseases is hampered by the poor efficiency of current delivery systems, with conventional DPI devices exhibiting sub-optimum performance, delivering typically less than 20% of the loaded dose to the target site, the lungs. The new fundamental knowledge resulting from this research will enable the engineering of a high-efficiency groundbreaking DPI, with the potential to be fully adaptive user-specific benefiting millions of Australians. Read moreRead less
Improved electrophoretic analyser for water quality monitoring. This proposal will advance the Australian made Eco Detection portable electrophoretic analyser for autonomous monitoring of water chemistry - the Eco Sensor. We will re-design and miniaturise the fluidic manifold to reduce capital- and per-sample cost, increase the sensitivity of nutrients - nitrate and phospate - by 100-times in both fresh- and sea-waters, and develop new ultra-sensitive reagents for heavy metal detection at enviro ....Improved electrophoretic analyser for water quality monitoring. This proposal will advance the Australian made Eco Detection portable electrophoretic analyser for autonomous monitoring of water chemistry - the Eco Sensor. We will re-design and miniaturise the fluidic manifold to reduce capital- and per-sample cost, increase the sensitivity of nutrients - nitrate and phospate - by 100-times in both fresh- and sea-waters, and develop new ultra-sensitive reagents for heavy metal detection at environmentally regulated levels. This will provide a single platform for at-site near-real-time monitoring of water chemistry for agricultural, mining, water corporations and other industries that use and/or discharge water to the environment. Read moreRead less
Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of th ....Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of this complex inverse estuary system and its surrounding catchment. The new understanding of the sources, fluxes and fate of nutrients within the bay and the surrounding catchment, arising from this project, is expected to benefit management decision-making and establish a new standard in estuarine water quality investigation.Read moreRead less
When caring ends: Understanding and supporting informal care trajectories. This project aims to advance understandings of how, why, when, and for whom caring ends, including the socio-cultural and relational factors that shape experiences before, during, and after caring. Using an innovative, multi-method sociological approach, and foregrounding carers’ voices, this project expects to generate new knowledge on the meaning and experience of care and caring. This project is significant in bringing ....When caring ends: Understanding and supporting informal care trajectories. This project aims to advance understandings of how, why, when, and for whom caring ends, including the socio-cultural and relational factors that shape experiences before, during, and after caring. Using an innovative, multi-method sociological approach, and foregrounding carers’ voices, this project expects to generate new knowledge on the meaning and experience of care and caring. This project is significant in bringing together leading researchers and key carer-focused organisations, spanning service sectors and moving across care relationships, life stages and contexts. Expected outcomes include enhanced service capacity with tangible policy and practice benefits that will enable sustainable and fulfilling informal caring experiences.Read moreRead less