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
Rethinking housing: network analysis for digital collaboration. This project aims to understand persistent housing sector supply problems through analysis of digital collaborative practices. This project expects to generate new knowledge for an emerging housing digital economy using interdisciplinary network theory and data visualisation techniques. The housing sector has long been criticised for shortcomings in affordability, efficiency, quality, social and environmental responsiveness and appr ....Rethinking housing: network analysis for digital collaboration. This project aims to understand persistent housing sector supply problems through analysis of digital collaborative practices. This project expects to generate new knowledge for an emerging housing digital economy using interdisciplinary network theory and data visualisation techniques. The housing sector has long been criticised for shortcomings in affordability, efficiency, quality, social and environmental responsiveness and appropriateness of offerings. Expected outcomes include enhanced housing supply professionals' capability, improved knowledge among public/private sector decision makers responsible for housing supply and development of new digital collaborative behavioural theoretical and practical frameworks for the sector.Read moreRead less
Change ecology - gaining broad-scale, timely biodiversity knowledge in a time of uncertainty. Australians are confronted daily with the consequences of changes wrought by human over-exploitation of natural resources. Our capacity to track and respond to change is very limited and slow. Thus, rapid deterioration of ecologically important aspects is detected late and is not reflective of the general state because knowledge is derived from small-scale measurements that are difficult to generalize. ....Change ecology - gaining broad-scale, timely biodiversity knowledge in a time of uncertainty. Australians are confronted daily with the consequences of changes wrought by human over-exploitation of natural resources. Our capacity to track and respond to change is very limited and slow. Thus, rapid deterioration of ecologically important aspects is detected late and is not reflective of the general state because knowledge is derived from small-scale measurements that are difficult to generalize. We will build a capacity for providing large-scale knowledge of vegetation condition and flow-on effects on biodiversity, which also will allow us to make informed assessments of the ecological consequences of some existing (climate change, drying) and imminent (biofuel plantings) drivers of change.Read moreRead less
To step-in or to stand-by: Third party responses to abusive supervision. Abusive supervision is costly in Australian organisations. Little is known about the experiences of third parties who are not direct targets of abuse. Indeed, a large percentage of supervisor abuse that is witnessed goes unreported. Using a multi-method approach, this project develops and tests a model that explains third party responses to supervisor abuse. In addition to advancing theory, an evidence-based intervention (i ....To step-in or to stand-by: Third party responses to abusive supervision. Abusive supervision is costly in Australian organisations. Little is known about the experiences of third parties who are not direct targets of abuse. Indeed, a large percentage of supervisor abuse that is witnessed goes unreported. Using a multi-method approach, this project develops and tests a model that explains third party responses to supervisor abuse. In addition to advancing theory, an evidence-based intervention (including an action tool kit) is developed to empower third parties to combat supervisor abuse by engaging in constructive action. Overall, research outcomes will aim to provide actionable insights into what organisations can do to encourage their employees to take a proactive stance against abusive supervision.Read moreRead less
Strengthening Australia’s science workforce. This project aims to study why science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) employees stay or leave jobs. There is a strong economic imperative to retain STEM employees. The Australian Government invests heavily in building the supply of STEM graduates, but STEM workers often leave STEM occupations. This project will use a job embeddedness perspective to clarify why these employees stay or leave. Expected project outputs include an evidence-based ....Strengthening Australia’s science workforce. This project aims to study why science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) employees stay or leave jobs. There is a strong economic imperative to retain STEM employees. The Australian Government invests heavily in building the supply of STEM graduates, but STEM workers often leave STEM occupations. This project will use a job embeddedness perspective to clarify why these employees stay or leave. Expected project outputs include an evidence-based toolkit, online masterclass and an online community of practice to contribute to strengthening Australia’s science and innovation capacity.Read moreRead less
Multi-proxy fingerprinting, absolute dating, and large-scale modelling of Quaternary climate-volcano-environment impacts in southern Australasia. The discovery of Homo floresiensis (the Hobbit) revealed the surprising diversity of early humans and opened new ways for Australians and Indonesians to make tremendous scientific advances. Deployment of world-best analytical capabilities to untapped speleothem resources in Indonesia will put us at the forefront in understanding global climate change, ....Multi-proxy fingerprinting, absolute dating, and large-scale modelling of Quaternary climate-volcano-environment impacts in southern Australasia. The discovery of Homo floresiensis (the Hobbit) revealed the surprising diversity of early humans and opened new ways for Australians and Indonesians to make tremendous scientific advances. Deployment of world-best analytical capabilities to untapped speleothem resources in Indonesia will put us at the forefront in understanding global climate change, volcanic catastrophes, and environmental impacts on deep-time cultures shared by our nations. Our findings will extend to the modern world, where humans modify climates and landscapes at unprecedented rates. Integration of Australian and Indonesian research strengths will showcase bilateral science, education, and training, and engage the public in the excitement of scientific discovery.Read moreRead less
Reconstructing landscapes for biodiversity: From predictive modelling to future scenarios. Many landscapes around the world have been effectively denuded of natural vegetation, causing precipitous declines in native biodiversity. Mitigation of such effects in the near/medium-term future requires substantial ecological advice. We will employ our skills developed in modelling distributions of species across landscapes based on terrain, soils and climate to assess alternative landscape-reconstructi ....Reconstructing landscapes for biodiversity: From predictive modelling to future scenarios. Many landscapes around the world have been effectively denuded of natural vegetation, causing precipitous declines in native biodiversity. Mitigation of such effects in the near/medium-term future requires substantial ecological advice. We will employ our skills developed in modelling distributions of species across landscapes based on terrain, soils and climate to assess alternative landscape-reconstruction scenarios. This links use of existing data sets for initial modelling, a validation phase for testing model reliability and for refining models, and a subsequent GIS-based modelling phase in which alternative options for reconstructing landscapes are evaluated for their effectiveness in sustaining landscape-scale native biodiversity.Read moreRead less
Enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem services in production landscapes. This project aims to develop new approaches using causal inference, optimal allocation theory, and spatial statistics to characterise impacts on a diverse suite of ecosystem services. It will endeavour to develop case studies from three continents and generalisations explicitly tested using simulated landscapes. Environmental and agricultural policies promote land sharing (biodiversity-friendly production) or land sparing (p ....Enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem services in production landscapes. This project aims to develop new approaches using causal inference, optimal allocation theory, and spatial statistics to characterise impacts on a diverse suite of ecosystem services. It will endeavour to develop case studies from three continents and generalisations explicitly tested using simulated landscapes. Environmental and agricultural policies promote land sharing (biodiversity-friendly production) or land sparing (protected areas, with yield increases elsewhere). Yet the impacts of such policies in diverse contexts and for multiple outcomes are poorly understood. The project could advance our ability to deliver sustainable outcomes and more effective as well as equitable policies for production landscapes.Read moreRead less
Biodiversity indicators for better conservation decisions. This project aims to test, design and select biodiversity indicators to support conservation. Reliable and sensitive biodiversity indicators are critical to track progress towards conservation targets, but the ability of most biodiversity indicators to reveal trends needed by decision-makers is untested. This project will test indicators to monitor biodiversity change at local to global scales, by sampling ecosystem models to evaluate ho ....Biodiversity indicators for better conservation decisions. This project aims to test, design and select biodiversity indicators to support conservation. Reliable and sensitive biodiversity indicators are critical to track progress towards conservation targets, but the ability of most biodiversity indicators to reveal trends needed by decision-makers is untested. This project will test indicators to monitor biodiversity change at local to global scales, by sampling ecosystem models to evaluate how indicator design, data bias and environmental variability affect performance. Project outcomes are expected to ensure that that data collected to monitor and assess the state of Australia’s environment are informative, cost-effective and robust. This is expected to have implications for predicting and measuring effects of policy such as the Convention on Biological Diversity.Read moreRead less
Rivers of Gold: The Legacy of Historical Gold Mining for Victoria's Rivers. By considering rivers as cultural artefacts, this project aims to evaluate how historical gold mining has shaped river systems in Victoria. Victoria’s historic mining industry led to extensive and long-lasting change to waterways across the state. The project plans to integrate approaches from landscape archaeology, physical geography, geomorphology and environmental chemistry to identify and map the extent of changes, i ....Rivers of Gold: The Legacy of Historical Gold Mining for Victoria's Rivers. By considering rivers as cultural artefacts, this project aims to evaluate how historical gold mining has shaped river systems in Victoria. Victoria’s historic mining industry led to extensive and long-lasting change to waterways across the state. The project plans to integrate approaches from landscape archaeology, physical geography, geomorphology and environmental chemistry to identify and map the extent of changes, including increased sedimentation, erosion, and chemical contamination. The project plans to demonstrate how historical mining continues to influence chemical and physical processes in Victorian streams and to develop understanding of the landscapes experienced by Victorians at the height of the mining boom. Project outcomes may provide improved context for catchment and reservoir management and counter prevailing impressions about causes of observed damage to rivers.Read moreRead less