Climate and environmental history of SE Queensland dunefields. This project aims to generate fundamental information about the timing and mode of formation of sand dunes in the world's largest downdrift sand system, Cooloola and Fraser Island, Queensland. The project aims to provide a world class record of climate variability, sea-level change and long term climate change from the sub-tropics of Australia, an area critical to understanding global climate links and sea-level change but where high ....Climate and environmental history of SE Queensland dunefields. This project aims to generate fundamental information about the timing and mode of formation of sand dunes in the world's largest downdrift sand system, Cooloola and Fraser Island, Queensland. The project aims to provide a world class record of climate variability, sea-level change and long term climate change from the sub-tropics of Australia, an area critical to understanding global climate links and sea-level change but where high quality long-term records are sparse and little investigated. This project will also underpin the outstanding universal value of the Fraser Island World Heritage Area which is based on the area being the world's largest sand island, but for which scientific understanding of the sand dunes is remarkably poor.Read moreRead less
Extreme soil acidification and metal release risks from increasing drought. The project aims to study the effects of drought on pH and metal speciation in soils, and develop tools to assess current and future risks. Social and economic well-being depends on good soil and water quality. Climate change makes droughts more frequent and severe, which could cause soil acidification (pH<4) and metal release in many regions. The project will integrate experimental data on the effects of drought on soil ....Extreme soil acidification and metal release risks from increasing drought. The project aims to study the effects of drought on pH and metal speciation in soils, and develop tools to assess current and future risks. Social and economic well-being depends on good soil and water quality. Climate change makes droughts more frequent and severe, which could cause soil acidification (pH<4) and metal release in many regions. The project will integrate experimental data on the effects of drought on soil geochemistry with hydro-geochemical models, and apply these to national-scale predictions. The intended outcomes are improved management and preparedness for droughts and new research directions for geochemistry.Read moreRead less
Judges' work, place and psychological health - a national view. This project aims to address the human, juridical and financial costs of judicial officers’ work-related psychological harm. This harm is implicated in early retirement, sick leave and suicide. It threatens appropriate courtroom conduct, procedural fairness and impartial adjudication. The project seeks to generate new knowledge of the stress judicial officers experience and the individual and institutional mechanisms for managing st ....Judges' work, place and psychological health - a national view. This project aims to address the human, juridical and financial costs of judicial officers’ work-related psychological harm. This harm is implicated in early retirement, sick leave and suicide. It threatens appropriate courtroom conduct, procedural fairness and impartial adjudication. The project seeks to generate new knowledge of the stress judicial officers experience and the individual and institutional mechanisms for managing stressors, combining socio-legal and psychological approaches. Expected outcomes include evidence-based understandings to inform recruitment and retention strategies specific to this highly specialized workforce. This should provide significant benefits for judges’ work capacities and courts' delivery of justice.Read moreRead less
Patchy colloidosomes at interfaces: correlation of particle surface heterogeneity, wettability, and chemical activity at the nanoscale. The surfaces of natural mineral particles are made up of spots with such different chemical and physical properties. The complexity makes it hard to predict their behaviour. This project will provide insights into how the 'patchy' nature of particle surfaces affects their behaviour in processes such as flotation separation and bio-fuel production.
Closing the data gap: High throughput screening of nanoparticle toxicity. The nanotechnology sector is experiencing an exponential growth period with over 100 products containing manufactured nanoparticles entering the market every year. Ensuring growth of the sector needs to be balanced against the imperative of protecting both human and environmental safety. This project aims to develop new methodological and conceptual avenues to close the gap between innovation in nanotechnology and risk ass ....Closing the data gap: High throughput screening of nanoparticle toxicity. The nanotechnology sector is experiencing an exponential growth period with over 100 products containing manufactured nanoparticles entering the market every year. Ensuring growth of the sector needs to be balanced against the imperative of protecting both human and environmental safety. This project aims to develop new methodological and conceptual avenues to close the gap between innovation in nanotechnology and risk assessment. This is intended to be achieved by developing and validating high-throughput in vitro toxicity screening platforms for manufactured nanoparticles. The approach is based on advanced lab-on-a-chip microfluidic technologies. The predictive power of the platform will be refined and optimised via ex-vivo and in-vivo models.Read moreRead less
Attentional asymmetries for navigation in healthy and clinical groups. This project plans to investigate how differences in attentional capacity between the left and right sides of the brain affect the ability to walk or manoeuvre vehicles between obstacles. To navigate our environment and avoid obstacles, we need to attend to stimuli that are important and ignore those that are not. Unfortunately, the brain’s attentional capacity is limited, which can result in errors and collisions. Using the ....Attentional asymmetries for navigation in healthy and clinical groups. This project plans to investigate how differences in attentional capacity between the left and right sides of the brain affect the ability to walk or manoeuvre vehicles between obstacles. To navigate our environment and avoid obstacles, we need to attend to stimuli that are important and ignore those that are not. Unfortunately, the brain’s attentional capacity is limited, which can result in errors and collisions. Using the techniques of cognitive neuroscience, the project aims to provide a better understanding of the cognitive and neural mechanisms that govern attention in an applied setting. It expects to identify the factors that exacerbate lapses in attention and collisions. The effect of everyday impediments such as mobile phones, alcohol and fatigue will be investigated together with means of minimising these attentional lapses and improving safety.Read moreRead less
Challenges, Possibilities and Future Directions: A National Assessment of Australia's Children's Courts. Children's Courts occupy a unique position in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems in responding to often marginalized delinquent youth and vulnerable children and families. Philosophical and structural shifts in Australia and overseas suggest community and legal system responses are often ineffective and contribute to longer-term problems, creating social challenges for governments ....Challenges, Possibilities and Future Directions: A National Assessment of Australia's Children's Courts. Children's Courts occupy a unique position in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems in responding to often marginalized delinquent youth and vulnerable children and families. Philosophical and structural shifts in Australia and overseas suggest community and legal system responses are often ineffective and contribute to longer-term problems, creating social challenges for governments and communities alike. This national study will examine how key stakeholders, including, significantly, judicial officers, view the Children's Court's contemporary responses and challenges, their preferred alternatives responses and the viability of suggested reforms, thus offering a unique contribution to informing legal and social policy change.Read moreRead less
Data analytics-based tools and methods to enhance self-regulated learning. This project aims to develop student self-regulated learning skills by harnessing the potential of Big Data analytics. The project expects to generate new knowledge at the intersection of learning analytics, educational technology, learning sciences and teaching practice resulting from novel data collection and analysis tools and methods. The outputs are expected to include insights into metacognitive, motivational, and t ....Data analytics-based tools and methods to enhance self-regulated learning. This project aims to develop student self-regulated learning skills by harnessing the potential of Big Data analytics. The project expects to generate new knowledge at the intersection of learning analytics, educational technology, learning sciences and teaching practice resulting from novel data collection and analysis tools and methods. The outputs are expected to include insights into metacognitive, motivational, and technical issues facing analytics-based personalised feedback. The outcomes are intended to offer benefits for developing pedagogical and the design of educational technology. The outcomes can result in improved student learning outcomes in higher education to ensure graduates are prepared for the digital economy.Read moreRead less
The relative impacts of sleep, wake and the internal body clock on human performance. The 24h society presents a number of challenges to the shiftworker. First, shiftworkers have to maintain a balance between the competing needs of work, family, leisure and social life. Second, shiftwork has been identified as a risk factor for obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Third, shiftworkers have an increased risk of injury and death at work. This project will use an innovative research protocol to prov ....The relative impacts of sleep, wake and the internal body clock on human performance. The 24h society presents a number of challenges to the shiftworker. First, shiftworkers have to maintain a balance between the competing needs of work, family, leisure and social life. Second, shiftwork has been identified as a risk factor for obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Third, shiftworkers have an increased risk of injury and death at work. This project will use an innovative research protocol to provide critical information about the independent and combined effects of sleep loss and body clock disruption on human performance. Work schedules designed on the basis of a better understanding of sleep loss and circadian disruption will result in healthier employees, safer workplaces, and reduced costs to the community.Read moreRead less
Microscale insights into ocean-scale processes: microbial behaviour as a driver of ocean biogeochemistry. Microscopic plankton regulate the ocean's chemical cycles, which ultimately support life on earth. However, the ecological interactions driving these processes are poorly understood. This project will use novel approaches to decipher the behaviours of marine microbes, providing a more complete perception of how ocean ecosystems operate and influence climate.