Validation and monitoring of advanced oxidation for potable water reuse. This project aims to address an important limitation in the ability to monitor performance of advanced oxidation processes used to treat recycled water for drinking. The project will be conducted using a novel pilot system, designed to facilitate flexible operation and detailed monitoring. Through carefully designed experiments, observed operational parameters will be related to treatment performance for a range of contamin ....Validation and monitoring of advanced oxidation for potable water reuse. This project aims to address an important limitation in the ability to monitor performance of advanced oxidation processes used to treat recycled water for drinking. The project will be conducted using a novel pilot system, designed to facilitate flexible operation and detailed monitoring. Through carefully designed experiments, observed operational parameters will be related to treatment performance for a range of contaminants. An expected outcome is the development of a framework to provide validation of process performance relationships and ongoing performance monitoring for use by water utilities and regulatory agencies that oversee their operations. This highly practical framework for validation and performance monitoring of an advanced water treatment process should result in improved viability of water recycling projects, increased urban water supply security and enhanced protection of public health.Read moreRead less
Mitigating the risk of cyanobacterial blooms in wastewater ponds. Cyanobacterial blooms in wastewater treatment plants impact on effluent quality and the utility of recycled water, posing a significant risk to the economy, the environment and public health. To understand the causes of cyanobacterial blooms in pond-based wastewater treatment plants and the risk they pose, this project will use the latest molecular techniques to examine how the microbial communities within these systems interact w ....Mitigating the risk of cyanobacterial blooms in wastewater ponds. Cyanobacterial blooms in wastewater treatment plants impact on effluent quality and the utility of recycled water, posing a significant risk to the economy, the environment and public health. To understand the causes of cyanobacterial blooms in pond-based wastewater treatment plants and the risk they pose, this project will use the latest molecular techniques to examine how the microbial communities within these systems interact with each other and their surrounding environment to form blooms and produce toxins and other harmful metabolites. Such knowledge will inform risk assessment and provide strategies for the mitigation of future bloom events, improving the security of our increasingly valuable recycled water resources.Read moreRead less
Impact of redox condition on emerging contaminants fate. This project aims to improve our ability to predict the environmental drivers that control the fate of contaminants of emerging concern in the subsurface. Emerging contaminants are a concern due to their potential negative ecosystem and health outcomes. Prediction of their environmental fate will be of benefit as it will help ensure the safety of our drinking water sources and ensure that water sources are fit for purpose. With increasing ....Impact of redox condition on emerging contaminants fate. This project aims to improve our ability to predict the environmental drivers that control the fate of contaminants of emerging concern in the subsurface. Emerging contaminants are a concern due to their potential negative ecosystem and health outcomes. Prediction of their environmental fate will be of benefit as it will help ensure the safety of our drinking water sources and ensure that water sources are fit for purpose. With increasing pressure on our precious water resources prediction of the risks to this resource is essential. Expected outcomes are of significance as they will include a much improved ability to predict and control the ultimate fate of emerging contaminants in our water sources.Read moreRead less
Shadow care infrastructures: sustaining life in the post-welfare city. Mounting evidence points to difficulties faced by Australians reliant on government income support in meeting market costs of essential needs. This project investigates whether and how ‘shadow care infrastructures’ – a wide range of formal and informal material and social supports – enable the survival, well-being and flourishing of income support recipients. Focusing on people with disabilities, unemployed and asylum seekers ....Shadow care infrastructures: sustaining life in the post-welfare city. Mounting evidence points to difficulties faced by Australians reliant on government income support in meeting market costs of essential needs. This project investigates whether and how ‘shadow care infrastructures’ – a wide range of formal and informal material and social supports – enable the survival, well-being and flourishing of income support recipients. Focusing on people with disabilities, unemployed and asylum seekers, the study evaluates the benefits and harms such infrastructures produce for those receiving and providing care, and the wider community. It examines risks and opportunities to scale up emerging care infrastructures identified as critical to making ends meet for income support recipients in contemporary cities.Read moreRead less
Grandparent childcare: negotiating work and care across generations. This project aims to investigate how and why parents and grandparents share childcare responsibilities in contemporary Australia. Using mixed methods and an innovative conceptual approach with a central focus on parent-grandparent care dyads, it expects to generate critical new knowledge of intra-family negotiations about employment and childcare provision across generations, and their relationship with social and economic poli ....Grandparent childcare: negotiating work and care across generations. This project aims to investigate how and why parents and grandparents share childcare responsibilities in contemporary Australia. Using mixed methods and an innovative conceptual approach with a central focus on parent-grandparent care dyads, it expects to generate critical new knowledge of intra-family negotiations about employment and childcare provision across generations, and their relationship with social and economic policy. The project expects to identify sustainable employment-childcare practices that meet the needs of children, parents and grandparents. Significant benefits include informing new policies aimed to enhance both gender and generational equity, promote women’s workforce participation, and boost national productivity.Read moreRead less
Artificial Intelligence, Robots, and Agriculture: Social and ethical issues. This project aims to investigate the social and ethical issues raised by the use of artificial intelligence and robotics in agriculture. By combining social science research methods and philosophical analysis, the project aims to generate new knowledge in bioethics and applied ethics. Expected outcomes of this project include an account of the social and ethical issues farmers, rural communities, and consumers anticipat ....Artificial Intelligence, Robots, and Agriculture: Social and ethical issues. This project aims to investigate the social and ethical issues raised by the use of artificial intelligence and robotics in agriculture. By combining social science research methods and philosophical analysis, the project aims to generate new knowledge in bioethics and applied ethics. Expected outcomes of this project include an account of the social and ethical issues farmers, rural communities, and consumers anticipate arising from these technologies, improved understanding of these issues, and an account of how these groups would like to see these issues addressed. This should help Australia benefit from the responsible use of artificial intelligence and robotics in agriculture.Read moreRead less
Reassembling the city: understanding resident-led collective property sales. This project aims to investigate the emerging phenomenon of residential collective sales - where neighbours come together to sell their properties in one line - and the implications for urban residents and governments at local, metropolitan and national levels. It intends to provide the first ever detailed empirical analysis of this phenomenon, including mapping, case studies and stakeholder and expert interviews across ....Reassembling the city: understanding resident-led collective property sales. This project aims to investigate the emerging phenomenon of residential collective sales - where neighbours come together to sell their properties in one line - and the implications for urban residents and governments at local, metropolitan and national levels. It intends to provide the first ever detailed empirical analysis of this phenomenon, including mapping, case studies and stakeholder and expert interviews across Sydney and Vancouver, two cities at the forefront of collective sales activity. The project aims to make significant contributions to both policy and academic debates, by advancing knowledge on how shifting dynamics of neighbourhood change will affect the planning and development of global compact cities in the 21st century.Read moreRead less
Automated Sensors for a ‘wetland in a box’. Globally, and particularly in Australia, water supply and water pollution is one of the most critical constraints to our health and growth. This project seeks to validate a new portable remediation system suitable for deployment at regional locations through the integration and development of advanced sensors. We aim to develop the world’s first completely integrated platform for monitoring both water chemistry and microbiology to provide near-real-tim ....Automated Sensors for a ‘wetland in a box’. Globally, and particularly in Australia, water supply and water pollution is one of the most critical constraints to our health and growth. This project seeks to validate a new portable remediation system suitable for deployment at regional locations through the integration and development of advanced sensors. We aim to develop the world’s first completely integrated platform for monitoring both water chemistry and microbiology to provide near-real-time information regarding the quality of the remediated water. We expect this to improve the availability of regional water resources by providing a low-cost remediation solution with integrated monitoring to provide assurances of meeting the Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling (2006).Read moreRead less
Universities as entrepreneurial urban actors. This project aims to critically analyse the role of universities in shaping Australian cities. By mobilising a detailed case study approach, the project expects to generate new theoretical and applied knowledge about how universities influence the planning, built form and social and economic functioning of our cities. Anticipated outcomes include a clearer understanding of how universities configure their local environment, how they are mobilised wit ....Universities as entrepreneurial urban actors. This project aims to critically analyse the role of universities in shaping Australian cities. By mobilising a detailed case study approach, the project expects to generate new theoretical and applied knowledge about how universities influence the planning, built form and social and economic functioning of our cities. Anticipated outcomes include a clearer understanding of how universities configure their local environment, how they are mobilised within planning documents to achieve urban objectives and how land development is now a core activity for universities. This will bring significant benefits to urban planning and communities via policy recommendations outlining social and economic improvements related to university development.Read moreRead less