On-line monitoring of cyanobacteria to predict coagulant doses and powdered activated carbon application in water treatment. Cyanobacteria, more commonly known as blue-green algae, can impact water quality by releasing toxins that can be harmful to human health and imparting unpleasant taste and odours to the water. This project will support the water industry in managing these risks by providing a rapid, on-line tool to assist in their removal during water treatment.
Cosmopolitan development: the impacts of international volunteering. This project will provide new ways of thinking about the impact of international development volunteering. It examines how volunteering contributes to more equal partnerships between Australia and its neighbouring countries and how it transforms the ways volunteers and host organisations perceive and respond to global challenges.
Phytocapping for sustainable waste containment systems and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and odour from waste disposal sites. Landfills remain the main method of waste disposal in Australia and are a major source of groundwater contamination and greenhouse and odour emissions. This national research program will establish, under a wide range of Australian conditions, whether landfill phytocaps can meet regulatory performance criteria for water infiltration into and gas emissions from clo ....Phytocapping for sustainable waste containment systems and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and odour from waste disposal sites. Landfills remain the main method of waste disposal in Australia and are a major source of groundwater contamination and greenhouse and odour emissions. This national research program will establish, under a wide range of Australian conditions, whether landfill phytocaps can meet regulatory performance criteria for water infiltration into and gas emissions from closed landfills more effectively, efficiently and sustainably than conventional capping systems. The project will produce (a) a scientific basis for site owners and regulators to agree on the performance and cost of conventional and phyto cover technologies, (b) a manual for the design and permitting of alternative covers and (c)improved scientific prediction of cover performance.Read moreRead less
Creating and sustaining a strong future for volunteering in Australia. This project seeks to answer the question of how to increase social participation by converting non-volunteers to the benefits of volunteering. In Australia today, communities and governments are increasingly dependent on volunteers to build social capital and deliver an increasing range of services. A world first, this project aims to create new theory by examining three levels of analysis: the micro level of the individual ....Creating and sustaining a strong future for volunteering in Australia. This project seeks to answer the question of how to increase social participation by converting non-volunteers to the benefits of volunteering. In Australia today, communities and governments are increasingly dependent on volunteers to build social capital and deliver an increasing range of services. A world first, this project aims to create new theory by examining three levels of analysis: the micro level of the individual volunteer or non-volunteer; the mezzo level of the volunteer-involving organisation; and the macro level of society. This innovative approach aims to identify, analyse and develop a tool to help organisations build Australia’s civil society and develop policy to create a sustainable volunteer sector into the future.Read moreRead less
Developing a national rural volunteering roadmap. This project aims to investigate the challenges affecting rural volunteering in Australia. Conducting a national analysis of volunteering demand and supply, this project expects to generate new interdisciplinary knowledge of the structural, demographic, organisational and personal factors affecting the sustainability of rural volunteering. Expected outcomes of this project include a world-first index of volunteering vulnerabilities and a spatial ....Developing a national rural volunteering roadmap. This project aims to investigate the challenges affecting rural volunteering in Australia. Conducting a national analysis of volunteering demand and supply, this project expects to generate new interdisciplinary knowledge of the structural, demographic, organisational and personal factors affecting the sustainability of rural volunteering. Expected outcomes of this project include a world-first index of volunteering vulnerabilities and a spatial map of volunteering unevenness, leading to the development of an evidence-based National Rural Volunteering Roadmap (2025-2035), which will guide our volunteering peak body partners, governments and rural communities to plan for and support rural volunteering over the longer-term.Read moreRead less
Investigation of Strategies to Improve the Efficiency of Industrial Radiators and Cooling Coils. Innovative strategies for improving in-service effectiveness of tube & plate-fin heat exchange 'coils' will be explored. Such coils are used throughout chemical process industries, diesel powered plant, vehicles and air-conditioning systems. Coil manufacture is a 'mature' industry, but design concepts have changed little since 1950. Fouling of diesel engine 'radiators' in dusty conditions and in mari ....Investigation of Strategies to Improve the Efficiency of Industrial Radiators and Cooling Coils. Innovative strategies for improving in-service effectiveness of tube & plate-fin heat exchange 'coils' will be explored. Such coils are used throughout chemical process industries, diesel powered plant, vehicles and air-conditioning systems. Coil manufacture is a 'mature' industry, but design concepts have changed little since 1950. Fouling of diesel engine 'radiators' in dusty conditions and in marine environments is endemic. New design concepts evolved via Computational Fluid Dynamic analysis will be manufactured and tested in the unique heat and mass transfer wind tunnel on the University's Industry Liaison Campus. The major outcome will be a rugged design methodology with broad applicability.Read moreRead less
Bad tastes, odours and toxins in our drinking water reservoirs: are benthic cyanobacteria the culprits? Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) produce toxins and bad tastes that contaminate drinking water sources, cause public concern about water quality. This project will address a critical knowledge gap by investigating species that grow on the sediments of reservoirs, thus providing more comprehensive management solutions to the water industry.
Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of th ....Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of this complex inverse estuary system and its surrounding catchment. The new understanding of the sources, fluxes and fate of nutrients within the bay and the surrounding catchment, arising from this project, is expected to benefit management decision-making and establish a new standard in estuarine water quality investigation.Read moreRead less
Examinations of the relationship between accreditation and clinical and organisational performance. Accreditation of organisations is now commonplace. It involves assessing organisations against pre-defined standards. This is a highly significant issue because of the millions of dollars of investment in accreditation. We do not know if we achieve value for money or whether positive change is associated with accreditation. Few studies have examined this in detail. We aim to do so in this stud ....Examinations of the relationship between accreditation and clinical and organisational performance. Accreditation of organisations is now commonplace. It involves assessing organisations against pre-defined standards. This is a highly significant issue because of the millions of dollars of investment in accreditation. We do not know if we achieve value for money or whether positive change is associated with accreditation. Few studies have examined this in detail. We aim to do so in this study. We will examine organisational and individual performance associated with accreditation status in order to illuminate the process and uncover any associations between accreditation and organisational culture, consumer participation and clinical (individual) performance indicators.
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The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecologic ....The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecological impacts of industry development. Important benefits of the project include information and tools for streamlining development approvals and accurately assessing risks to threatened species to improve outcomes for both our economy and our natural environment.Read moreRead less