Analysis of the financial circumstances of local governments, to assess viability, and improve planning, resource allocation and accountability. The project aims to (a) develop a framework for improved reporting by local government, through a critical analysis of AAS 27 and extant legislative guidelines; (b) assess the financial viability of existing local government units; (c) identify units which may be candidates for amalgamation. Outcomes will include (i) proposals to enhance NSW's pioneer ....Analysis of the financial circumstances of local governments, to assess viability, and improve planning, resource allocation and accountability. The project aims to (a) develop a framework for improved reporting by local government, through a critical analysis of AAS 27 and extant legislative guidelines; (b) assess the financial viability of existing local government units; (c) identify units which may be candidates for amalgamation. Outcomes will include (i) proposals to enhance NSW's pioneering provisions for infrastructure reporting, contained in the NSW Local Government Act 1993 and accompanying guidelines; (ii) a pioneering assessment of the financial circumstances of local government units, having regard to the projected costs of upgrading legacy infrastructure; (iii) development of a framework for assessing future funding needs. Read moreRead less
Building communities: managing public assets to provide social value. Local government facilities have a social value for the community beyond the immediate provision of service or amenity. However, this aspect is not generally considered in the formal planning and management of public facilities, which concentrate on economic considerations and community service needs. This project explores the links between public assets, their social value and community well-being. The research will provide a ....Building communities: managing public assets to provide social value. Local government facilities have a social value for the community beyond the immediate provision of service or amenity. However, this aspect is not generally considered in the formal planning and management of public facilities, which concentrate on economic considerations and community service needs. This project explores the links between public assets, their social value and community well-being. The research will provide a rationale, model, and set of indicators to assess social value for facilities, assisting local government decision-making, including regional and rural communities, and contribute to the development of meaningful long-term infrastructure and community plans.Read moreRead less
Modelling disease evolution and emergence. Approximately 75% of all emergent diseases have established in humans having switched from other species: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Malaria, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), Ebola, West Nile Virus and many more. Further, cross species infections put our biodiversity and economy at risk: plant and animal diseases entering Australia can destroy crops and at-risk native species. This project will provide for the first time the statistica ....Modelling disease evolution and emergence. Approximately 75% of all emergent diseases have established in humans having switched from other species: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Malaria, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), Ebola, West Nile Virus and many more. Further, cross species infections put our biodiversity and economy at risk: plant and animal diseases entering Australia can destroy crops and at-risk native species. This project will provide for the first time the statistical framework for scientists to assess risk of such diseases entering Australia as a key to combating them.Read moreRead less
Promoting Healthy Eating Habits: an investigation of the link between healthy eating and school canteens. The incidence of childhood obesity is of growing national concern. This is evidenced by the considerable media attention given to the problem and its place as a national research priority. While there has been a focus on the link between childhood obesity and physical activity, less research has been undertaken into the link between obesity and nutrition. This research project aims to inv ....Promoting Healthy Eating Habits: an investigation of the link between healthy eating and school canteens. The incidence of childhood obesity is of growing national concern. This is evidenced by the considerable media attention given to the problem and its place as a national research priority. While there has been a focus on the link between childhood obesity and physical activity, less research has been undertaken into the link between obesity and nutrition. This research project aims to investigate the link between healthy eating and the design and management of school canteens with the view to developing design and management guidelines that will influence the life-long eating habits of Australian children.Read moreRead less
Formally-Based Security Evaluation Procedures. Guaranteeing information security is of critical national importance, especially in the current political climate. Devices intended to safeguard Australia's electronic communications must be proven secure using leading-edge techniques. Currently, evaluation of such devices relies on informal procedures and the experience of individuals. This project will introduce more rigour into security evaluations by adapting techniques from the fields of saf ....Formally-Based Security Evaluation Procedures. Guaranteeing information security is of critical national importance, especially in the current political climate. Devices intended to safeguard Australia's electronic communications must be proven secure using leading-edge techniques. Currently, evaluation of such devices relies on informal procedures and the experience of individuals. This project will introduce more rigour into security evaluations by adapting techniques from the fields of safety analysis and formal methods. In particular, mathematical concepts will be introduced using notations suitable for use by security personnel with no prior formal methods experience. The outcomes of this project will enable more efficient and effective information security evaluations.Read moreRead less
Architectural glass related injury: implications for improving public safety. The immediate benefit of the project is information for government, the building and furniture industries, regulators, and the community to underpin interventions to prevent architectural and furniture glass injury. A major longer term benefit is to provide the crucial injury and glass data for future conduct of the other two phases of the planned research program, namely, glass performance testing and simulated human- ....Architectural glass related injury: implications for improving public safety. The immediate benefit of the project is information for government, the building and furniture industries, regulators, and the community to underpin interventions to prevent architectural and furniture glass injury. A major longer term benefit is to provide the crucial injury and glass data for future conduct of the other two phases of the planned research program, namely, glass performance testing and simulated human-glass impact studies. These future studies will provide the scientific evidence for review of the Standards for architectural glass for application to the building, design and construction industry to increase safety for the Australian community. Read moreRead less
Better Planning for and Managing Asymmetric Threats to Australia's Security: Applying the Field Anomaly Relaxation (FAR) Systems Thinking Approach. Despite an enviable national security condition, Australia is at risk in an information-abundant world that increasingly spawns asymmetric threats such as information terrorism. What is needed are enhanced strategic and operational structures to improve the nation's security and ensure sound futures planning. This research focuses on applying the Fie ....Better Planning for and Managing Asymmetric Threats to Australia's Security: Applying the Field Anomaly Relaxation (FAR) Systems Thinking Approach. Despite an enviable national security condition, Australia is at risk in an information-abundant world that increasingly spawns asymmetric threats such as information terrorism. What is needed are enhanced strategic and operational structures to improve the nation's security and ensure sound futures planning. This research focuses on applying the Field Anomaly Relaxation (FAR) systems thinking approach to asymmetric information warfare threats to Australia. This is a new approach previously developed by ECU researchers investigating risk and innovation in the armed forces. It will now be extended to improve professional practice and the knowledge and skill base of Australia's information defence practitioners.Read moreRead less
Developing a Scalable Infrastructure for Embedded E-Security Incorporating Cryptography and Biometric Authentication. A fundamental flaw in existing embedded e-security technologies is their cryptography-plus-PIN-number infrastructure. This has generated security concerns that have proved a major obstacle to the growth of e-commerce, presently a relatively poor 2% of market share. We aim to design a new infrastructure that can solve this security problem by incorporating cryptography and biomet ....Developing a Scalable Infrastructure for Embedded E-Security Incorporating Cryptography and Biometric Authentication. A fundamental flaw in existing embedded e-security technologies is their cryptography-plus-PIN-number infrastructure. This has generated security concerns that have proved a major obstacle to the growth of e-commerce, presently a relatively poor 2% of market share. We aim to design a new infrastructure that can solve this security problem by incorporating cryptography and biometric authentication into a computing resource limited embedded e-security system. The outcomes of this project will be a set of new cryptosystems, new biometrics processing schemes and new onboard resource allocation schemes that will form the basis for the next generation of embedded systems.Read moreRead less
The role of bush fires in the formation and fate of dioxin like chemicals in Australia. A global (POPs) treaty signed by more than 100 nations targets the reduction and elimination of dioxins, which are persistent, bioaccumlative and highly toxic to humans. Bushfires have been suggested as the major source of dioxins in Australia. Experimental data indicate bushfires may not represent the actual sources of dioxin. Our aim is to experimentally establish the levels of dioxins formed and re-emi ....The role of bush fires in the formation and fate of dioxin like chemicals in Australia. A global (POPs) treaty signed by more than 100 nations targets the reduction and elimination of dioxins, which are persistent, bioaccumlative and highly toxic to humans. Bushfires have been suggested as the major source of dioxins in Australia. Experimental data indicate bushfires may not represent the actual sources of dioxin. Our aim is to experimentally establish the levels of dioxins formed and re-emitted from bushfires in Australia. The results will assist to make informed decisions that lead to effective action for reducing dioxin contamination in Australia, fulfilling the treaty requirements and protecting the population and environment.
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Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775518
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$170,000.00
Summary
Advanced Computational Modelling Infrastructure Network in Built Environment. The infrastructure will support and complement existing areas of specialisation at the three collaborating Victorian schools of architecture including research in urban modelling and simulation, building management and life-cycle simulations, spatial decision-making, automated data capture and modelling of complex building geometries for heritage applications. The broader aim of this network infrastructure is to provid ....Advanced Computational Modelling Infrastructure Network in Built Environment. The infrastructure will support and complement existing areas of specialisation at the three collaborating Victorian schools of architecture including research in urban modelling and simulation, building management and life-cycle simulations, spatial decision-making, automated data capture and modelling of complex building geometries for heritage applications. The broader aim of this network infrastructure is to provide a network of information sharing that will be useful to the built environment professional decision-makers including architects, planners, environmental scientists, geographers, and emergency planners, all of whom we trust will ultimately subscribe to the network once it is established.Read moreRead less