School non-attendance in students with intellectual disability. This project aims to develop a better understanding of school non-attendance among children and adolescents with intellectual disability. School non-attendance is a major societal problem – school outcomes are affected by high rates of school non-attendance – and a current national and international priority. In particular, school non-attendance in students with intellectual disability is a common but poorly understood problem. This ....School non-attendance in students with intellectual disability. This project aims to develop a better understanding of school non-attendance among children and adolescents with intellectual disability. School non-attendance is a major societal problem – school outcomes are affected by high rates of school non-attendance – and a current national and international priority. In particular, school non-attendance in students with intellectual disability is a common but poorly understood problem. This project aims to understand the types and rates of school non-attendance problems in students with intellectual disability and the factors that influence non-attendance. Improved understanding of the pathways to non-attendance would facilitate the development of specific interventions to provide much-needed improvements in attendance in this disadvantaged group.Read moreRead less
Neurodevelopmental disorders and loneliness: School predictors & outcomes. This project aims to establish trajectories of loneliness across the 10-18 year developmental period in adolescents with neuro-developmental disorders (NDDs). This is significant because adolescence is the peak period for loneliness and the social communication difficulties experienced by adolescents with NDDs place them at greater risk of loneliness. Lower levels of school attendance, connectedness and mental well-being, ....Neurodevelopmental disorders and loneliness: School predictors & outcomes. This project aims to establish trajectories of loneliness across the 10-18 year developmental period in adolescents with neuro-developmental disorders (NDDs). This is significant because adolescence is the peak period for loneliness and the social communication difficulties experienced by adolescents with NDDs place them at greater risk of loneliness. Lower levels of school attendance, connectedness and mental well-being, and higher rates of disruptive behaviour, expulsion, drop-out, depression, social withdrawal, and suicide ideation are strongly linked to loneliness. Therefore predicting critical times in trajectories will enhance emotional, behavioural and school related outcomes and optimise economic, societal and quality of life benefits.Read moreRead less
When do gestures become linguistic? Understanding the gesture-language interface through a corpusbased study of pointing signs in signed languages. This project will use corpus-based and experimental studies to compare pointing signs in three sign languages with pointing gestures used by hearing non-signers in order to answer the question: What relationship do gestures have to language? It will help us understand how pointing works as part of a sign language system, and how it is used as co-spee ....When do gestures become linguistic? Understanding the gesture-language interface through a corpusbased study of pointing signs in signed languages. This project will use corpus-based and experimental studies to compare pointing signs in three sign languages with pointing gestures used by hearing non-signers in order to answer the question: What relationship do gestures have to language? It will help us understand how pointing works as part of a sign language system, and how it is used as co-speech gesture. Both spoken languages and sign languages make use of pointing, and thus it represents a unique case study for the investigation of the relationship between gesture and language. This project will provide a distinctive contribution to our knowledge about the relationship between language and other aspects of human communication. Read moreRead less
Which children develop severely disruptive school behaviour? By systematically tracking 250 children through the first six years of school, this project aims to identify factors contributing to the development, perpetuation and exacerbation of disruptive school behaviour. Disruptive student behaviour has been identified as one of the most significant issues confronting Australian schools. Yet common educational responses often inflame rather than reduce problem behaviours. The project aims to pr ....Which children develop severely disruptive school behaviour? By systematically tracking 250 children through the first six years of school, this project aims to identify factors contributing to the development, perpetuation and exacerbation of disruptive school behaviour. Disruptive student behaviour has been identified as one of the most significant issues confronting Australian schools. Yet common educational responses often inflame rather than reduce problem behaviours. The project aims to produce new knowledge about how best to address those factors in the early years while student attitudes and behaviour are still relatively malleable.Read moreRead less
Climate, Vegetation and Fire in the Australian Paleomonsoon: An investigation using paleodata synthesis, contemporary observations and model experiments. This investigation of the history and development of the Australian monsoon will provide much needed information for the prediction of future climatic changes in the Australasian region and beyond. Furthermore, our work will elucidate the impact of current north Australian fire regimes on the strength of the Australian monsoon that is so critic ....Climate, Vegetation and Fire in the Australian Paleomonsoon: An investigation using paleodata synthesis, contemporary observations and model experiments. This investigation of the history and development of the Australian monsoon will provide much needed information for the prediction of future climatic changes in the Australasian region and beyond. Furthermore, our work will elucidate the impact of current north Australian fire regimes on the strength of the Australian monsoon that is so critical to the environment and economy of the north Australian region, a region that produces wealth for Australia out of proportion to its population. The work has important policy implications for water and fire management in Northern Australia and is significant to aboriginals, pastoralists and other community groups.Read moreRead less
Understanding how bacteria form multicellular biofilm communities on surfaces: the role of cyclic diguanylate as a potent biofilm activator. Bacteria usually exist as multicellular communities called biofilms when attached to surfaces, frequently to the detriment of the environment, industry and health. This project will explore the strategies bacteria use to switch from living as free-floating, individual cells to forming biofilms by studying how bacteria 'switch on' their biofilm genes.
Modern statistical methods for clustering community ecology data. This project will develop statistical methods and software for clustering community ecology data, and use them to analyse systematic survey and citizen science program data collected along the Great Barrier Reef. By doing so, the project will address the dearth of statistical classification techniques for high-dimensional, multi-response data with complex relationships. When the resultant clustering methods are used to construct b ....Modern statistical methods for clustering community ecology data. This project will develop statistical methods and software for clustering community ecology data, and use them to analyse systematic survey and citizen science program data collected along the Great Barrier Reef. By doing so, the project will address the dearth of statistical classification techniques for high-dimensional, multi-response data with complex relationships. When the resultant clustering methods are used to construct bioregions and characterise species’ environmental responses, they should significantly enhance evaluations of the impact of human activity and environmental change on coral diversity. Ultimately, these evaluations can underpin future decisions in the conservation and management of the Great Barrier Reef.Read moreRead less
Measuring individual and group performance in collaborative problem solving. This project aims to develop performance measures of individuals and groups completing collaborative problem-solving tasks. The project plans to draw on new research in online assessment of collaborative problem solving across curricular domains. Outcomes may include new psychometric models taking into account differences in student ability within groups and the effect on student and group performance of the curriculum ....Measuring individual and group performance in collaborative problem solving. This project aims to develop performance measures of individuals and groups completing collaborative problem-solving tasks. The project plans to draw on new research in online assessment of collaborative problem solving across curricular domains. Outcomes may include new psychometric models taking into account differences in student ability within groups and the effect on student and group performance of the curriculum domain in which the task is embedded. The benefits include a better understanding of the measurement and improvement of group work. Policy extensions beyond the classroom may lead to a workforce better equipped to solve problems collaboratively.Read moreRead less
Improving the Environmental Performance of Australian Construction Projects. This project aims to investigate the environmental impacts of construction in Australia through the development of a sophisticated hybrid environmental assessment model. The project aims to assist in identifying the most significant environmental impacts, critical areas for mitigation efforts and informing environmental policy and programs within the Australian construction industry. The development of one of the most s ....Improving the Environmental Performance of Australian Construction Projects. This project aims to investigate the environmental impacts of construction in Australia through the development of a sophisticated hybrid environmental assessment model. The project aims to assist in identifying the most significant environmental impacts, critical areas for mitigation efforts and informing environmental policy and programs within the Australian construction industry. The development of one of the most sophisticated and comprehensive models for assessing environmental impacts ever produced is expected to enable cost- and time-efficient evaluation of multiple environmental impacts at a high level of detail and completeness. This should lead to considerable improvements to the environmental performance of Australian construction projects.Read moreRead less
Microplastic infiltration of food webs: cells to ecosystem consequences. Using trophic ecological theory as a framework, this project aims to provide the first comprehensive assessment of the fate and effects of microplastics. Plastic pollution is a persistent and increasing problem. Plastics are degraded into small particles, called microplastics, which are ingested by animals. The project aims to develop much-needed techniques to measure microplastics in biological tissue and apply these techn ....Microplastic infiltration of food webs: cells to ecosystem consequences. Using trophic ecological theory as a framework, this project aims to provide the first comprehensive assessment of the fate and effects of microplastics. Plastic pollution is a persistent and increasing problem. Plastics are degraded into small particles, called microplastics, which are ingested by animals. The project aims to develop much-needed techniques to measure microplastics in biological tissue and apply these techniques in food web studies to determine the capacity of microplastics to transfer from the environment into animals, and how microplastics move through a food web to affect biological diversity and animal health. This information will be used to complete the first risk assessment for microplastics in a major coastal habitat.Read moreRead less