Mitigating the Severity of Level Crossing Accidents and Derailments. Ongoing increases in the number of level crossings and heavy road vehicles cause more frequent and severe level crossing accidents and derailments. Despite the use of active warning systems, each year, on average, 100 level crossing accidents occur in Australia. With a view to mitigating these crashes, this research aims to formulate theories for reduction in crash energy and effective wheel constraints to prevent derailment by ....Mitigating the Severity of Level Crossing Accidents and Derailments. Ongoing increases in the number of level crossings and heavy road vehicles cause more frequent and severe level crossing accidents and derailments. Despite the use of active warning systems, each year, on average, 100 level crossing accidents occur in Australia. With a view to mitigating these crashes, this research aims to formulate theories for reduction in crash energy and effective wheel constraints to prevent derailment by modifying the levels of road and rail crossings and providing guard rails in the recesses of these modified level crossings. The theories are intended be developed using nonlinear dynamic computational methods and laboratory experiments. The outcomes are expected to enable reduction in the severity of level crossing accidents and hence save lives and costs of derailment.Read moreRead less
Transport and productivity, a study on Australia's largest trading partner. This project aims to study how transport infrastructure supports innovations, productivity gains, and industrial development. This project will study the effects of this development on productivity and resource allocation in the manufacturing sector, output and efficiency growth, and the spatial allocation of capital and labour inputs. The project expects to build a geospatial database covering China's full transportatio ....Transport and productivity, a study on Australia's largest trading partner. This project aims to study how transport infrastructure supports innovations, productivity gains, and industrial development. This project will study the effects of this development on productivity and resource allocation in the manufacturing sector, output and efficiency growth, and the spatial allocation of capital and labour inputs. The project expects to build a geospatial database covering China's full transportation network from 1993-2014, merge this database with manufacturing plants’ longitudinal data, and apply (quasi)-natural experiments for analyses. Knowledge derived from this project will be significant for Australia because China’s productivity, resource allocation, and competitive advantage directly impact Australia’s industrial development, employment and sustainable economic growth.Read moreRead less
Incentivised strategic traffic assignment: bi-level transport optimisation. This project aims to advance the fundamental knowledge base and methodological modelling capacity related to traffic network assignment representing complex incentive structures such as network pricing, behavioural shift inducement, dynamic speed control and information-provision. Expected outcomes include new equilibrium formulations characterising traveller responses to, and interactions with, incentive structures whil ....Incentivised strategic traffic assignment: bi-level transport optimisation. This project aims to advance the fundamental knowledge base and methodological modelling capacity related to traffic network assignment representing complex incentive structures such as network pricing, behavioural shift inducement, dynamic speed control and information-provision. Expected outcomes include new equilibrium formulations characterising traveller responses to, and interactions with, incentive structures while maintaining complex stochastic adaptive behaviours from previous research, new network routing algorithms, and a novel bi-level optimisation approach for seeking optimal incentive policies. The project will provide a scientific basis for the quantified network evaluation of incentivisation strategies that will support enhanced transport planning thereby improving mobility across society.Read moreRead less
Governance of information technology programmes: achieving accountability, control and success. This project aims to improve the effectiveness with which IT-enabled programmes are managed by public and private organisations. The theoretical knowledge and guides for good practice emerging from this study will contribute to increased success in managing and delivering complex and vital programmes across Australia.
Tipping points and early warning signals in complex ecosystems. This project aims to create a theory of early warning that uses spatial data available on system state, connectivity and environmental stress, and to create tools to infer the risk of ecosystem collapse. Many ecosystems have irreversible tipping points. Since their locations are often unknown, metrics may provide an early warning of collapse but are difficult to apply because they need long time series which are usually lacking. Thi ....Tipping points and early warning signals in complex ecosystems. This project aims to create a theory of early warning that uses spatial data available on system state, connectivity and environmental stress, and to create tools to infer the risk of ecosystem collapse. Many ecosystems have irreversible tipping points. Since their locations are often unknown, metrics may provide an early warning of collapse but are difficult to apply because they need long time series which are usually lacking. This project will use the Great Barrier Reef as a testbed because it has both long time series (standard approach) and rich spatial data (new approach), and exhibits early warning signs. We will use these tools to gauge whether symptoms on the Great Barrier Reef predict local collapse and to develop intervention plans.Read moreRead less
Understanding employee-employer relationships during bridge employment: A psychological contract perspective. Bridge employment (paid employment after retirement from a career job) has several advantages for the individual (financial benefits, feeling of social connectedness, sense of accomplishment), employing organisations (access to experienced and skilled workers), and the government (lower burden on pension and benefits schemes). The proposed research will study the employee-employer relati ....Understanding employee-employer relationships during bridge employment: A psychological contract perspective. Bridge employment (paid employment after retirement from a career job) has several advantages for the individual (financial benefits, feeling of social connectedness, sense of accomplishment), employing organisations (access to experienced and skilled workers), and the government (lower burden on pension and benefits schemes). The proposed research will study the employee-employer relationship in bridge employment, with a focus on their perceptions of mutual obligationsin form of the psychological contract. An understanding of the psychological contract will make it more likely that the employment relationship fulfils the needs of the employees and employers and leads to a more successful bridge employment relationship.Read moreRead less
Enhancing biodiversity conservation in Australia: new insights and general principles from powerful new ecological syntheses. The innovative ecological syntheses in the exciting project aim to build Australia's national research capacity to greatly increase the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation strategies. The new insights, knowledge and practical solutions gained from this important research initiative will be critical for future visions and management of Australian landscapes. Without ....Enhancing biodiversity conservation in Australia: new insights and general principles from powerful new ecological syntheses. The innovative ecological syntheses in the exciting project aim to build Australia's national research capacity to greatly increase the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation strategies. The new insights, knowledge and practical solutions gained from this important research initiative will be critical for future visions and management of Australian landscapes. Without them we risk depleting the nation's biodiversity - which is a key issue given Australia's megadiversity status. Hence, this project addresses National Research Priority #1 - An Ecologically Sustainable Australia given its fundamental importance for key goals such as managing the nation's biodiversity and understanding natural systems. Read moreRead less
Modelling and distributed control of large infrastructure networks. The main outcome of this project will be the capability to study systematically basic questions on the operation of large infrastructure systems. Methodologies for control of larger systems and security issues will be developed. Application of the techniques to several applications areas will include power grids and traffic networks.
Understanding the Factors which Underlie Successful Refugee Integration in the Australian Workplace. There is general agreement that more needs to be done to integrate refugees into the Australian workplace. This project aims to: identify psychological predictors that enable refugee workers to succeed in maintaining their employment and perform at a higher level; examine the importance of workplace and social support to refugee workplace integration, and the groups for which it may have the grea ....Understanding the Factors which Underlie Successful Refugee Integration in the Australian Workplace. There is general agreement that more needs to be done to integrate refugees into the Australian workplace. This project aims to: identify psychological predictors that enable refugee workers to succeed in maintaining their employment and perform at a higher level; examine the importance of workplace and social support to refugee workplace integration, and the groups for which it may have the greatest benefit; and, investigate the effectiveness of a training program as an intervention to enhance refugee job performance and retention. Results will have significant benefits for refugees, their employers and their communities, and will provide a road-map to improve integration of refugees into Australian society.Read moreRead less
Impact of increased sediment and nutrient discharges on the long-term sustainability of the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef, one of Australia's greatest natural assets, is under increasing threat from extreme climatic events caused by global warming and from land-based pollution. This research will identify the main sources of sediment and nutrient pollution caused by river runoff and by how much this has increased above 'natural levels'. We will discover how the very sensitive offsho ....Impact of increased sediment and nutrient discharges on the long-term sustainability of the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef, one of Australia's greatest natural assets, is under increasing threat from extreme climatic events caused by global warming and from land-based pollution. This research will identify the main sources of sediment and nutrient pollution caused by river runoff and by how much this has increased above 'natural levels'. We will discover how the very sensitive offshore coral reefs have responded to increased pollution and whether this is the cause of the very devastating crown-of-thorn-starfish infestations. Understanding the long-term effects of land-based pollution on the ecology of coral reefs in the GBR will thus provide a scientific basis to help ensure that it has a sustainable future.Read moreRead less