Working longer, staying healthy and keeping productive. Working longer, staying healthy and keeping productive. This project aims to develop a policy suite to respond to an older workforce. By 2060, nearly half of Australians aged 64 or older will be employed. Failure to address their health problems could threaten Australia’s economy, tax base and provision of health and care services. This collaboration between national policy portfolios (employment, social services, workplace health and socia ....Working longer, staying healthy and keeping productive. Working longer, staying healthy and keeping productive. This project aims to develop a policy suite to respond to an older workforce. By 2060, nearly half of Australians aged 64 or older will be employed. Failure to address their health problems could threaten Australia’s economy, tax base and provision of health and care services. This collaboration between national policy portfolios (employment, social services, workplace health and social equity) and expert scientists in work, health, social equality and policy process intends to reveal the diversity of older workers’ work-health dilemmas and effective ways for national policies to solve them. The policy suite will promote financial independence and meet social goals of equity and healthy ageing.Read moreRead less
Developing A Smart Farming Oriented Secure Data Infrastructure. Smart farming is the future of agriculture. However, recently the Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a
warning that the lack of data privacy and cyber security mechanisms in the field runs a high risk of disaster. This
project aims to establish an innovative secure data infrastructure for smart farming including secure and automated smart farming supply-chain management. The deliverables of this project will include the cutt ....Developing A Smart Farming Oriented Secure Data Infrastructure. Smart farming is the future of agriculture. However, recently the Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a
warning that the lack of data privacy and cyber security mechanisms in the field runs a high risk of disaster. This
project aims to establish an innovative secure data infrastructure for smart farming including secure and automated smart farming supply-chain management. The deliverables of this project will include the cutting-edge Blockchain based secure IoT data management and privacy-preserving smart contracts for smart farming supply-chain management. This data infrastructure will be the first of its kind which will lay a solid foundation for smart farming technology.Read moreRead less
Identifying genes that influence clinical course and susceptibility in multiple sclerosis. This project aims to identify the genetic basis of multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common neurologic disease in young Australian adults. MS urgently needs research to identify predisposition, aid early diagnosis and provide bona fide molecular targets for new therapies. This will benefit people with MS and those susceptible to it. Crucial new knowledge identified will benefit other major areas of MS rese ....Identifying genes that influence clinical course and susceptibility in multiple sclerosis. This project aims to identify the genetic basis of multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common neurologic disease in young Australian adults. MS urgently needs research to identify predisposition, aid early diagnosis and provide bona fide molecular targets for new therapies. This will benefit people with MS and those susceptible to it. Crucial new knowledge identified will benefit other major areas of MS research including epidemiology, immunology and neurobiology. Collaboration of 8 major Australian institutions is also important for this project and future studies. The team will have access to a new national MS GeneBank (platform) with samples from 2240 patients that should generate findings important to world-wide MS genetic knowledge.Read moreRead less
Designing Gender Equality into the Future of Work. This project aims to investigate how women and men understand and experience the changing nature of work and their hopes and fears for the future. This project expects to generate new knowledge about the gendered dimensions of workplace change using an innovative and engaged research design that focuses on retail and the law, two areas where women are increasingly dominant, but which are located at distinct ends of the labour market. Expected ....Designing Gender Equality into the Future of Work. This project aims to investigate how women and men understand and experience the changing nature of work and their hopes and fears for the future. This project expects to generate new knowledge about the gendered dimensions of workplace change using an innovative and engaged research design that focuses on retail and the law, two areas where women are increasingly dominant, but which are located at distinct ends of the labour market. Expected outcomes of this project include an enhanced and coordinated capacity to build gender equality into the future of work. This should provide significant benefits such as better living standards for individuals and families and improved profitability and productivity for businesses. Read moreRead less
Families at the centre: negotiating Australia's mixed market in early education and care. Despite a surge of policy reforms and Australian government investment in early childhood education and care (ECEC), little is known in Australia about how local ECEC markets function and how low-income families make decisions about the use or non-use of child care services. This project will provide evidence for policy-making and service provision that aims to encourage child care use by low-income familie ....Families at the centre: negotiating Australia's mixed market in early education and care. Despite a surge of policy reforms and Australian government investment in early childhood education and care (ECEC), little is known in Australia about how local ECEC markets function and how low-income families make decisions about the use or non-use of child care services. This project will provide evidence for policy-making and service provision that aims to encourage child care use by low-income families. The direct involvement of child care providers in the research will strengthen its relevance and impact. This research will place Australia at the forefront of international research on local child care markets, and resulting improvements in ECEC policy and services will generate substantial economic and social benefits.Read moreRead less
Koala Guardians: Empowering community to protect an Australian icon. There is an urgent need for innovative approaches to combat widespread decline of koalas. This project aims to develop technology, integrating behavioural change theory and community co-design, to enable the public to participate in koala conservation. This interdisciplinary initiative will harness the power of citizen science to facilitate mutually-beneficial educational interactions. Expected outcomes include the production o ....Koala Guardians: Empowering community to protect an Australian icon. There is an urgent need for innovative approaches to combat widespread decline of koalas. This project aims to develop technology, integrating behavioural change theory and community co-design, to enable the public to participate in koala conservation. This interdisciplinary initiative will harness the power of citizen science to facilitate mutually-beneficial educational interactions. Expected outcomes include the production of innovative solar-powered Bluetooth ear tags and co-designing a smartphone application that educates and incentivises users in recognising signs of koala disease and submitting sightings, by leveraging gamification, outdoor recreation and tourism. This blueprint can be adapted to assist other threatened species.Read moreRead less
Improving employment outcomes for Australians with disability. This project aims to provide evidence about how to improve employment outcomes for people with disability. Nearly one in five adult Australians have a disability and just over half of these are in the labour force; a modest increase in employment rates will have significant social and economic benefits for people with disability and society. By collecting longitudinal quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interview) data at three ti ....Improving employment outcomes for Australians with disability. This project aims to provide evidence about how to improve employment outcomes for people with disability. Nearly one in five adult Australians have a disability and just over half of these are in the labour force; a modest increase in employment rates will have significant social and economic benefits for people with disability and society. By collecting longitudinal quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interview) data at three time points from over 1500 jobseekers with disability, critical information should be gained about how the characteristics of employment services, workplaces and jobseekers contribute to sustainable, meaningful employment for people with disability.Read moreRead less
Stewarding thin markets: improving public sector market effectiveness. This project aims to develop methodologies to identify thin markets in the public service sector. Thin markets, where there are a low number of buyers or low number of sellers, are a major risk for governments utilising a personalised approach to service delivery. This project will develop new methodologies for identifying thin markets and determine ways emerging markets can be stewarded to better achieve their aims.
Are the kids alright? Understanding the wellbeing of Australian children in their middle years. This project will produce the first comprehensive national stock-take of wellbeing among Australian children in their middle years, with a special focus on children who experience disadvantage. Findings will reflect children's views and experiences, have direct policy relevance and lay the groundwork for comparing and monitoring of child wellbeing.
Building successful diverse communities: what works and why? This project is focused on strengthening locally-based interventions to maximise community harmony in the context of demographic diversity (ethnic, cultural, religious). It also will strengthen the relationship between world-leading researchers and senior policy experts and provides valuable research training for three junior scholars.