Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI0775813
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$70,000.00
Summary
Bringing indigenous knowledge into early childhood settings. This project will produce a negotiated model of Indigenous teaching and learning in early childhood settings by documenting the diversity of Indigenous knowledge from the Northern Territory. This model will be suitable for sharing with Indigenous and non-Indigenous children within the early childhood sector. Through this sharing there can be a greater recognition and acceptance of the knowledge Indigenous children bring to early chil ....Bringing indigenous knowledge into early childhood settings. This project will produce a negotiated model of Indigenous teaching and learning in early childhood settings by documenting the diversity of Indigenous knowledge from the Northern Territory. This model will be suitable for sharing with Indigenous and non-Indigenous children within the early childhood sector. Through this sharing there can be a greater recognition and acceptance of the knowledge Indigenous children bring to early childhood programs, a facilitation of understanding in non-Indigenous children and assist in the maintenance of this knowledge for future generations. Read moreRead less
ABRA: improving foundational literacy through technology in regional and remote schools through a randomized controlled trial. Education outcomes in regional and remote Australia, particularly for Indigenous students, are worsening, to the point of constituting a national crisis. Skilled educators are not consistently available in sufficient numbers to arrest this trend in the early years by giving the intensive, continuous expert instruction required. Under limited pilot conditions, a web-base ....ABRA: improving foundational literacy through technology in regional and remote schools through a randomized controlled trial. Education outcomes in regional and remote Australia, particularly for Indigenous students, are worsening, to the point of constituting a national crisis. Skilled educators are not consistently available in sufficient numbers to arrest this trend in the early years by giving the intensive, continuous expert instruction required. Under limited pilot conditions, a web-based instructional tool known as ABRACADABRA has shown considerable promise as a means of conferring the foundational skills in literacy for emerging learners, despite high workforce turnover. Testing the effectiveness of ABRACADABRA under more stringent experimental conditions is an essential precursor to offering tested solutions based on evidence, not advocacy.Read moreRead less
Optimising Volunteer Management Strategy at the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (Victoria). This project reconceptualises volunteering as a ?cultural practice? (de Certeau 1984) to enable the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) to optimise its volunteer management through an enhanced understanding of who its volunteers are and why they volunteer for the ?blood bank?. Its operating premise is that knowing one's volunteer workforce is essential to their effective management. It builds on ....Optimising Volunteer Management Strategy at the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (Victoria). This project reconceptualises volunteering as a ?cultural practice? (de Certeau 1984) to enable the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) to optimise its volunteer management through an enhanced understanding of who its volunteers are and why they volunteer for the ?blood bank?. Its operating premise is that knowing one's volunteer workforce is essential to their effective management. It builds on the platform of volunteer studies established by social research and extends it via a critical reconsideration of the work of Michel de Certeau.Read moreRead less
Immunising Aboriginal Mothers With Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine To Prevent Infant Ear Disease And Carriage
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,131,530.00
Summary
Aboriginal children experience the highest rates of acute and chronic ear infections in the world, with resultant permanent ear damage, hearing loss and educational disadvantage. These infections are mainly bacterial, and Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is the predominant pathogen. Pneumococcal colonisation and infection begins within days of birth, many months before any potential immunological protection from infant pneumococcal conjugate vaccine may be expected. New strategies are nee ....Aboriginal children experience the highest rates of acute and chronic ear infections in the world, with resultant permanent ear damage, hearing loss and educational disadvantage. These infections are mainly bacterial, and Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is the predominant pathogen. Pneumococcal colonisation and infection begins within days of birth, many months before any potential immunological protection from infant pneumococcal conjugate vaccine may be expected. New strategies are needed to eliminate, or at least delay, this early-onset pneumococcal colonisation. One such strategy is the administration to the mother of pneumococcal vaccine, which may protect the newborn infant by leading to higher titres of transplacental or breast milk pneumococcal antibodies and-or by reducing carriage (and transmission to the infant) of maternal pneumococci. Previous small studies using this strategy have been encouraging, but there have been no studies properly evaluating carriage or disease endpoints in infants. The polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine is currently recommended for all Aboriginal and Torres Islander persons aged 15 years or more in the Northern Territory but uptake of the vaccine has been poor. We propose to conduct a pilot study to determine if maternal immunisation with this vaccine, either in the third trimester of pregancy of immediately following delivery, can reduce pneumococcal carriage and the prevalence of middle ear disease among Aboriginal infants at seven months of age. We aim to recruit 210 Aboriginal women who have uncomplicated pregnancies from Darwin and remote communities in the Top End of the Northern Territory. Each subject and their infant offspring will be followed-up after vaccination and at birth, one , two and seven months after birth.Read moreRead less
Plant-herbivore interactions: a model two-species system from northern Australia. The proposed research addresses a critical aspect of magpie goose ecology. Understanding the interaction between the birds and the bulbs is critical to respond effectively to past and threatened losses of important sedge habitats to sea level rise. This knowledge will inform management of the Kakadu World Heritage Site and an iconic waterfowl of great cultural and economic significance. In addition to their importa ....Plant-herbivore interactions: a model two-species system from northern Australia. The proposed research addresses a critical aspect of magpie goose ecology. Understanding the interaction between the birds and the bulbs is critical to respond effectively to past and threatened losses of important sedge habitats to sea level rise. This knowledge will inform management of the Kakadu World Heritage Site and an iconic waterfowl of great cultural and economic significance. In addition to their importance as a Gondwanan relic and sole member of the Family Anseranatidae, the species is an important food-source for Aboriginal people, and tourists travel to the Kakadu wetlands to witness huge dry season congregations.Read moreRead less
Building a bridge into preschool in remote Northern Territory communities. The focus of this project is the engagement of remote Indigenous children and families in a culturally appropriate, evidence-based early childhood education and care program that provides an opportunity to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous school achievement.
Landscape-scale population dynamics of open forests in the Australian monsoon tropics. Over the last century there has been a trend of increasing tree cover in many landscapes. Yet the causes of this globally important ecological phenomenon are poorly understood, but may include the effects of climate, fire, grazing and CO2. We will determine how an area of forest has changed over 50 years in Kakadu National Park, linking forest demography with remote sensing techniques, re-measurement and analy ....Landscape-scale population dynamics of open forests in the Australian monsoon tropics. Over the last century there has been a trend of increasing tree cover in many landscapes. Yet the causes of this globally important ecological phenomenon are poorly understood, but may include the effects of climate, fire, grazing and CO2. We will determine how an area of forest has changed over 50 years in Kakadu National Park, linking forest demography with remote sensing techniques, re-measurement and analysis of long-term tree demography datasets, and simulation models of tree population dynamics on a landscape scale. This will provide a scientific framework to develop sustainable land management and the conservation of Australia's forest biodiversity.Read moreRead less
Minimum sizes and habitat areas for viable populations. This project will address two critical issues in conservation biology: How large do wildlife populations need to be to ensure long-term persistence? How large an area needs to be preserved? At present, no such estimates exist for most species. I will develop realistic population viability analysis (PVA) models (encompassing all threats to persistence) on many bird, mammal, reptile, amphibian, invertebrate and plant species, and estimate the ....Minimum sizes and habitat areas for viable populations. This project will address two critical issues in conservation biology: How large do wildlife populations need to be to ensure long-term persistence? How large an area needs to be preserved? At present, no such estimates exist for most species. I will develop realistic population viability analysis (PVA) models (encompassing all threats to persistence) on many bird, mammal, reptile, amphibian, invertebrate and plant species, and estimate the minimum population sizes and habitat areas required for long-term survival. My prior research has validated the predictive accuracy of PVA. This research will deliver practical guidelines for managing threatened species.Read moreRead less
Ecological-epidemiological models of feral swamp buffalo control in northern Australia. This research is locally, nationally and internationally significant because it 1) improves the capacity of the Northern Territory and its traditional aboriginal owners to manage together this prevalent species in an effort to minimise disturbance to native flora and fauna and to understand the long-term implications of continued proliferation, 2) provides a nationally relevant system to monitor and project t ....Ecological-epidemiological models of feral swamp buffalo control in northern Australia. This research is locally, nationally and internationally significant because it 1) improves the capacity of the Northern Territory and its traditional aboriginal owners to manage together this prevalent species in an effort to minimise disturbance to native flora and fauna and to understand the long-term implications of continued proliferation, 2) provides a nationally relevant system to monitor and project the spread of disease through feral animal populations in Australia, and 3) combines quantitative data and robust analytical tools that can be used as a template for solving many broad-scale feral animal problems around the world.Read moreRead less
Density regulation as a major determinant of population persistence: advancing empirical and theoretical approaches to conserve biodiversity. Without efficient application of limited conservation resources, more species will go extinct and invasive species will continue to proliferate. With a better understanding of extinction processes, a higher benefit:cost ratio will ensure better outcomes for biodiversity. We will directly address (1) the sustainable use of Australia's biodiversity by provid ....Density regulation as a major determinant of population persistence: advancing empirical and theoretical approaches to conserve biodiversity. Without efficient application of limited conservation resources, more species will go extinct and invasive species will continue to proliferate. With a better understanding of extinction processes, a higher benefit:cost ratio will ensure better outcomes for biodiversity. We will directly address (1) the sustainable use of Australia's biodiversity by providing evidence-based support for minimum viable population size targets to avoid extinction; (2) responding to climate change by determining the species- and environmentally specific contexts leading to elevated risks of extinction; and (3) protecting Australia from invasive diseases and pests by determining density targets that maximise eradication success.Read moreRead less