Work related road safety countermeasures in a large fleet (QFleet). Despite accounting for more than 20% of the road crashes, relatively little research has been conducted on fleet safety in Australia. This research will develop guidelines for current best practice and design, implement and evaluate several new countermeasures. More importantly, it will develop a comprehensive model for future design, implementation and evaluation of fleet safety that will extend the frontier of knowledge in cra ....Work related road safety countermeasures in a large fleet (QFleet). Despite accounting for more than 20% of the road crashes, relatively little research has been conducted on fleet safety in Australia. This research will develop guidelines for current best practice and design, implement and evaluate several new countermeasures. More importantly, it will develop a comprehensive model for future design, implementation and evaluation of fleet safety that will extend the frontier of knowledge in crash analysis and prevention. By working closely with QFleet, current fleet safety thinking will be advanced to reduce the frequency and severity of road crashes thereby reducing road trauma and increasing business effectiveness.Read moreRead less
Geomorphic and vegetative controls of streambank stability and channel migration in streams of tropical Queensland. Streambank erosion and channel migration are natural processes, but major environmental and management problems can arise when they are accelerated by human activities. This project aims to establish how channel morphology and riparian vegetation characteristics influence streambank stability and channel dynamics for streams in tropical northeast Queensland. A predictive model of ....Geomorphic and vegetative controls of streambank stability and channel migration in streams of tropical Queensland. Streambank erosion and channel migration are natural processes, but major environmental and management problems can arise when they are accelerated by human activities. This project aims to establish how channel morphology and riparian vegetation characteristics influence streambank stability and channel dynamics for streams in tropical northeast Queensland. A predictive model of streambank and channel stability will be developed that will allow mobile and stable stream reaches to be identified. This model may be applied to optimise stream stabilisation and rehabilitation strategies, and to improve local riparian and downstream ecosystem quality.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775548
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$180,000.00
Summary
Advanced characterisation facilities for functional nanostructured materials. A critical factor that enhances frontier research is a set of advanced core research experimental facilities for material characterisation purposes. The proposed equipment aims to: (1) provide research facilities for advanced nanomaterial research; (2) improve national competitiveness and growth in a knowledge-based economy; and (3) foster local talented researchers in order to meet the strategic needs of the nation fo ....Advanced characterisation facilities for functional nanostructured materials. A critical factor that enhances frontier research is a set of advanced core research experimental facilities for material characterisation purposes. The proposed equipment aims to: (1) provide research facilities for advanced nanomaterial research; (2) improve national competitiveness and growth in a knowledge-based economy; and (3) foster local talented researchers in order to meet the strategic needs of the nation for a sustainable environment. These activities will revitalise Australia's leading role in creating new technologies with particular relevance to using advanced nanostructures for the production of clean air and water, and sustainable energy alternatives.Read moreRead less
Dynamic spatio-temporal approach to environmental health modelling. Maintenance and enhancement of environmental health (EH) is an important aspect of sustainable development (SD). There has been an increasing realisation that an appropriate modelling approach needs to be developed to measure and promote EH. However, a framework for the development of EH models to facilitate environmental management decision-making has not been attempted to date. This research aims to increase fundamental knowle ....Dynamic spatio-temporal approach to environmental health modelling. Maintenance and enhancement of environmental health (EH) is an important aspect of sustainable development (SD). There has been an increasing realisation that an appropriate modelling approach needs to be developed to measure and promote EH. However, a framework for the development of EH models to facilitate environmental management decision-making has not been attempted to date. This research aims to increase fundamental knowledge on the relationship between environmental exposures and community well-being, to develop a dynamic and systematic approach to EH modelling, and to assess implications of EH models in the planning of SD and environmental management.Read moreRead less
Optimisation of indoor air quality, thermal comfort and energy usage within buildings located in busy transit oriented urban developments. The socio-economic benefits to Australia from the project include (i) a novel holistic modelling tool to building design that maximises indoor comfort and provides acceptable air quality for the inhabitants whilst minimising energy usage in transit oriented urban developments; and (ii) estimation of energy consumption for different building designs and operat ....Optimisation of indoor air quality, thermal comfort and energy usage within buildings located in busy transit oriented urban developments. The socio-economic benefits to Australia from the project include (i) a novel holistic modelling tool to building design that maximises indoor comfort and provides acceptable air quality for the inhabitants whilst minimising energy usage in transit oriented urban developments; and (ii) estimation of energy consumption for different building designs and operation with respect to air quality and thermal comfort. The ultimate economic benefit of this research will be a reduction in health care costs and lost productivity as well as reduction of energy used and associated emissions. The research will also place Australia in the forefront of international progress and the race towards better methods for achieving environmental sustainability.Read moreRead less
Tracing nitrogen through wet tropical aquifers using stable isotopic signatures, molecular markers and gas emissions. The project aims at enabling land managers to reduce the loss of nitrogen into creeks, rivers and estuaries of the Great Barrier Reef catchments. This will improve the economic and environmental viability of primary production while restoring the quality of aquatic and marine ecosystems. The results will identify parts of the landscape where land management needs to change and ov ....Tracing nitrogen through wet tropical aquifers using stable isotopic signatures, molecular markers and gas emissions. The project aims at enabling land managers to reduce the loss of nitrogen into creeks, rivers and estuaries of the Great Barrier Reef catchments. This will improve the economic and environmental viability of primary production while restoring the quality of aquatic and marine ecosystems. The results will identify parts of the landscape where land management needs to change and over what time scale improvements would be apparent. These outputs address the water quality priorites and targets of the 'Reef Water Quality Protection Plan' of the State and National governments and the 'Far North Queensland Natural Resource Management Plan'.Read moreRead less
Testing the potential of integrated vegetation bands to increase water retention, buffer climate extremes, sequester carbon and enhance production. The project will integrate a complex set of functions into one landscape restoration design which will benefit production and conservation objectives. These functions are improved use of surface runoff using native vegetation to reduce velocities and increase infiltration, improved soil and catchment condition through decreased erosion, lowering wind ....Testing the potential of integrated vegetation bands to increase water retention, buffer climate extremes, sequester carbon and enhance production. The project will integrate a complex set of functions into one landscape restoration design which will benefit production and conservation objectives. These functions are improved use of surface runoff using native vegetation to reduce velocities and increase infiltration, improved soil and catchment condition through decreased erosion, lowering wind speeds which desiccate landscape and erode valuable topsoil, providing a system of corridors for biodiversity, and sequestering carbon in woody biomass. IVB’s configuration captures the beneficial structural and functional attributes of vegetation while minimising competitive interactions. This will increase the resilience and productivity of Australian farming landscapes in a changing climate.Read moreRead less
Finding lost dust storms: re-evaluation of the last 20 years of meteorological records to advance wind erosion mapping in Australia. The Dust Event Database (DEDB) at Griffith University is the only long term (1960 - present) record of wind erosion in Australia. It is used in many studies of the impact of dust on the terrestrial, atmospheric and marine environments as well as in studies of urban and regional air pollution and environmental health. Through this project, the revision of the DEDB w ....Finding lost dust storms: re-evaluation of the last 20 years of meteorological records to advance wind erosion mapping in Australia. The Dust Event Database (DEDB) at Griffith University is the only long term (1960 - present) record of wind erosion in Australia. It is used in many studies of the impact of dust on the terrestrial, atmospheric and marine environments as well as in studies of urban and regional air pollution and environmental health. Through this project, the revision of the DEDB will provide new knowledge on these impacts of wind erosion processes and will inform environmental policy through its contributions to the Caring for Our Country Program, the national State of the Environment, and the Australian Centre for Rangeland Information Systems.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668400
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,000.00
Summary
A high-throughput stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer for water resource management and climate change studies. Cave speleothems are highly sensitive to climate and are widely used to investigate past climate variability. Many researchers in Australia are now employing speleothems to find out more about the long-term behaviour of the Australian climate system, especially regarding ENSO. However, progress is inhibited by a lack of appropriate instrumentation capable of meeting the unique deman ....A high-throughput stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer for water resource management and climate change studies. Cave speleothems are highly sensitive to climate and are widely used to investigate past climate variability. Many researchers in Australia are now employing speleothems to find out more about the long-term behaviour of the Australian climate system, especially regarding ENSO. However, progress is inhibited by a lack of appropriate instrumentation capable of meeting the unique demands of speleothem research. Our new mass spectrometer will provide precise, rapid and low-cost isotope analyses of speleothem samples, and in doing so generate exciting and important palaeoclimate data, particularly in the area of pre-instrumental rainfall histories.Read moreRead less
A Phase III Trial Comparing Adjuvant Versus Salvage Radiotherapy For High Risk Patients Post Radical Prostatectomy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$819,138.00
Summary
About half of all patients Treated with an operation to remove their prostate cancer have a high chance of the cancer coming back. Giving immediate radiotherapy to all patients will improve cure rates but does not benefit all men and can cause significant side effects. This study explores whether it is safe to wait and only give radiotherapy when there is a rising PSA after surgery indicating active cancer. A total of 470 men from Australasia will enter this study comparing the two approaches.