Identification of causal variants for complex traits. The aim of this project is to identify causal variants for complex traits in cattle and humans. Although most important traits in agriculture, medicine and evolution are complex traits, very few of the genetic variants affecting these traits are known and this undermines our understanding of how genetic variants affect a trait and practical uses of this knowledge. Huge datasets of individuals with genome sequence and phenotypes and new statis ....Identification of causal variants for complex traits. The aim of this project is to identify causal variants for complex traits in cattle and humans. Although most important traits in agriculture, medicine and evolution are complex traits, very few of the genetic variants affecting these traits are known and this undermines our understanding of how genetic variants affect a trait and practical uses of this knowledge. Huge datasets of individuals with genome sequence and phenotypes and new statistical methods provide the opportunity to close this gap. The outcome will be identification of many genomic variants causing variation in complex traits. This will benefit scientific understanding of complex traits and the ability to predict traits for individuals from their genome sequence.Read moreRead less
Reconceptualising industry sector development within the contemporary Australian city: The case of the information technology sector. This project will aim to uncover the reasons why Australia's Information Technology industry is ranked low among OECD countries by evaluating the impact of global and urban geography of the sector on the sector's performance. It will show how policies to achieve more advanced IT sector development need to consider Australia's distinctive position in the global eco ....Reconceptualising industry sector development within the contemporary Australian city: The case of the information technology sector. This project will aim to uncover the reasons why Australia's Information Technology industry is ranked low among OECD countries by evaluating the impact of global and urban geography of the sector on the sector's performance. It will show how policies to achieve more advanced IT sector development need to consider Australia's distinctive position in the global economy and particular factors in the Sydney and Melbourne IT clusters that both help, and hinder, development in ways not considered in present policy models.Read moreRead less
Emotional Behaviour in England, 1930-1980. My aim is produce a study of emotional behaviour in England. This will be a contribution to the expanding history of gender and of the self. The project will demonstrate the importance, in terms of insights into cultural change, of recovery of previous emotional standards. Additionally it will test the claims that have been made about governmentality in the twentieth century.
Characterising inheritance patterns of whole genome DNA methylation. This project aims to characterise epigenetic diversity and inheritance patterns in whole genome sequencing data from a unique human population. The project will employ the well-characterised Norfolk Island genetic isolate, cost-effective whole genome bisulphite sequencing technologies and advanced bioinformatics pipelines and statistical models. It will involve cross-discipline collaboration between human geneticists, epigeneti ....Characterising inheritance patterns of whole genome DNA methylation. This project aims to characterise epigenetic diversity and inheritance patterns in whole genome sequencing data from a unique human population. The project will employ the well-characterised Norfolk Island genetic isolate, cost-effective whole genome bisulphite sequencing technologies and advanced bioinformatics pipelines and statistical models. It will involve cross-discipline collaboration between human geneticists, epigeneticists, statistical geneticists and bioinformaticians. This project will advance our understanding of the interaction of genetics and epigenetics and their relationship to diversity and inheritance in humans.Read moreRead less
Australia’s role in Global Financial and Production Networks. The project intends to address a major deficit of knowledge about the ways financial centres develop and compete among a network of international centres. Australia’s long-term economic future is closely tied to providing financial services throughout Asia. Yet very little attention has been given to analysing the structures and networks that enable internationalisation, in particular the performance of Sydney and Melbourne as competi ....Australia’s role in Global Financial and Production Networks. The project intends to address a major deficit of knowledge about the ways financial centres develop and compete among a network of international centres. Australia’s long-term economic future is closely tied to providing financial services throughout Asia. Yet very little attention has been given to analysing the structures and networks that enable internationalisation, in particular the performance of Sydney and Melbourne as competitive financial centres within a network of financial centres in East and South-East Asia. Using specialist industry databases and intensive case study methods, this project plans to examine the processes underpinning the growth of this network, map scenarios for the next two decades, and advise on policy implications arising from the 2013–14 Financial System Inquiry.Read moreRead less
Tracing modes of infrastructure financing and their effects on cities. Urban infrastructure is seen to be in crisis. In response, cash-strapped governments defer increasingly to private financiers and operators. This project assesses the changes required of infrastructure to meet the expectations of private finance. It will also assess how infrastructure items are being transformed as modes of finance move from one city to another.
Home and away?: Defining and conceptualising rural youth migration in Australia. The project addresses the Priority Goal of 'Strengthening Australia's social and economic health' in seeking a more precise understanding of the causes and actual migration pathways of Australian rural youth, and the extent to which these migrants return to their home regions. This understanding is critical for future key service delivery planning (e.g. health, including aged care), for labour force development plan ....Home and away?: Defining and conceptualising rural youth migration in Australia. The project addresses the Priority Goal of 'Strengthening Australia's social and economic health' in seeking a more precise understanding of the causes and actual migration pathways of Australian rural youth, and the extent to which these migrants return to their home regions. This understanding is critical for future key service delivery planning (e.g. health, including aged care), for labour force development planning (e.g. likely local demand for TAFE places). Relatedly, the project's findings should enable more reliable regional population projections and estimates and facilitate the development of locally-specific strategies to both retain rural youth and attract ex-migrants back.Read moreRead less
The Amenity Principle: The causes, incidence and landuse planning implications of amenity-led rural settlement in Australia. This project will produce an 'amenity index' - a composite measure of a community's relative attractiveness to in-migrants for a substantial portion of the nation's ecumene. This index will aid in the development of more targetted approaches to rural planning and place marketing. Through the multi-state and multi-region nature of the fieldwork, the project will also draw t ....The Amenity Principle: The causes, incidence and landuse planning implications of amenity-led rural settlement in Australia. This project will produce an 'amenity index' - a composite measure of a community's relative attractiveness to in-migrants for a substantial portion of the nation's ecumene. This index will aid in the development of more targetted approaches to rural planning and place marketing. Through the multi-state and multi-region nature of the fieldwork, the project will also draw together a range of approaches used in managing the complex and often competing demands of amenity-inspired in-migration, thus making it a resource for innovative approaches to land use planning and management. Read moreRead less
Sexual antagonism and the consequences of sex-specific selection. Males and females arise from essentially the same genome yet are selected in vastly different ways. This exposes gene pools to alternate episodes of feminising- and masculinising-selection, thereby promoting Sexually Antagonistic (SA) evolution. Sex chromosomes are predicted to play an important role in SA evolution because sex-linkage allows for gender-specific gene expression, but data on the role of sex-linked genes are limited ....Sexual antagonism and the consequences of sex-specific selection. Males and females arise from essentially the same genome yet are selected in vastly different ways. This exposes gene pools to alternate episodes of feminising- and masculinising-selection, thereby promoting Sexually Antagonistic (SA) evolution. Sex chromosomes are predicted to play an important role in SA evolution because sex-linkage allows for gender-specific gene expression, but data on the role of sex-linked genes are limited to Drosophila, a male heterogametic (XY) model. This project will determine the consequences of SA selection in the butterfly Eurema hecabe (a female ZW heterogamete) using experimental evolution and the feminising endosymbiont Wolbachia to force male genomes through bouts of feminising selection.Read moreRead less
Why do Australians still die during natural disasters? This project will test the idea that Australians do not adequately perceive the risks associated with natural disasters that threaten them. The outcomes of this project will include an Australian-specific risk perception model, more disaster resilient communities through improved social science understanding and improved disaster management policy.