Research and innovation leaders for industry. This research project will contribute significant national benefits because it will provide new data on the future likely requirements of 21st century researchers who will play a leading role in promoting Australia's innovation culture and economy. Government, industry, university and graduate stakeholders require an evidence-base upon which to reform Australian research training policy. By exploring the graduate employment outcomes and transitions o ....Research and innovation leaders for industry. This research project will contribute significant national benefits because it will provide new data on the future likely requirements of 21st century researchers who will play a leading role in promoting Australia's innovation culture and economy. Government, industry, university and graduate stakeholders require an evidence-base upon which to reform Australian research training policy. By exploring the graduate employment outcomes and transitions of recent graduates and employers' perceptions of their knowledge and skills, this study will inform the development of research training quality indicators and contribute to theoretical debates about the nature of knowledge production and innovation in post-modern times.Read moreRead less
Australia's Nuclear Choices. Australia's nuclear choices will be made in the context of a challenging and fluid international strategic environment characterised in Australia's immediate region by heightened global concerns regarding such transnational dilemmas as terrorism, energy security and nuclear proliferation. This project, through exploring the nature, evolution and consequences of contemporary strategic, military and civil nuclear developments impacting on the international non-prolifer ....Australia's Nuclear Choices. Australia's nuclear choices will be made in the context of a challenging and fluid international strategic environment characterised in Australia's immediate region by heightened global concerns regarding such transnational dilemmas as terrorism, energy security and nuclear proliferation. This project, through exploring the nature, evolution and consequences of contemporary strategic, military and civil nuclear developments impacting on the international non-proliferation regime will enable Australian policy-makers to better calibrate the costs and benefits of potential policy changes across these strategic, regime and market realms of Australia's nuclear interests.Read moreRead less
Learning essential knowledge by design: Promoting and connecting mathematics and science in the middle years of schooling. In the international setting, Australia's scientific and technical competitiveness is under threat. In the US this similar threat has elicited responses that focus on new mathematics and science teachers and teacher professional learning. This project aligns with major national and state initiatives to develop curricula that promote essential learnings and standards without ....Learning essential knowledge by design: Promoting and connecting mathematics and science in the middle years of schooling. In the international setting, Australia's scientific and technical competitiveness is under threat. In the US this similar threat has elicited responses that focus on new mathematics and science teachers and teacher professional learning. This project aligns with major national and state initiatives to develop curricula that promote essential learnings and standards without losing sight of current educational approaches such as middle years of schooling. The project will explore research-based, integrated pedagogies, content and assessment to provide Australian teachers with new ways of engaging students with the mathematics and science curricula.Read moreRead less
Implementing Engineering Experiences in the Middle School. Engineering and science are increasingly recognized as enablers for invention, innovation, and economic growth. Advances in these domains that improve society will increasingly depend on our ability to educate school students about the world of engineering prior to entering university. The study's national benefits include: exposing young students to the world of engineering and its rich career opportunities; showcasing engineering for ....Implementing Engineering Experiences in the Middle School. Engineering and science are increasingly recognized as enablers for invention, innovation, and economic growth. Advances in these domains that improve society will increasingly depend on our ability to educate school students about the world of engineering prior to entering university. The study's national benefits include: exposing young students to the world of engineering and its rich career opportunities; showcasing engineering for female students; promoting mathematics and science as key enabling subjects for engineering; addressing national research priorities including an environmentally sustainable Australia; and engaging engineers and educators, including undergraduates, in seminal collaborative research and resource development.Read moreRead less
Governance for Peace - A study of Indigenous and International Peacebuilding in East Timor. Through an in-depth study of peacebuilding in East Timor, this project aims to contribute both to understanding how people rebuild political relationships after widespread conflict and to the development of evaluatory mechanisms for international peacebuilding processes. While focussing on indigenous efforts to work against violence, the study will explore the interaction of indigenous and international p ....Governance for Peace - A study of Indigenous and International Peacebuilding in East Timor. Through an in-depth study of peacebuilding in East Timor, this project aims to contribute both to understanding how people rebuild political relationships after widespread conflict and to the development of evaluatory mechanisms for international peacebuilding processes. While focussing on indigenous efforts to work against violence, the study will explore the interaction of indigenous and international peacebuilding, and local and national level mechanisms. The outcomes will be a book on peacebuilding, a training manual and courses for fieldworkers, and contribution to the relationships between communities in Australia and East Timor.Read moreRead less
Investigating Holocene India - Australia Connections using Ancient Genomics. A number of studies of human migration suggest that after initial colonisation of Australia around 45,000 years ago, these people remained largely isolated until the arrival of Europeans. In contrast recent studies have suggested that a wave of migration from India into Australia occurred approximately 4,230 years ago. However, a major drawback of these recent studies is that sequence data used was from modern indigenou ....Investigating Holocene India - Australia Connections using Ancient Genomics. A number of studies of human migration suggest that after initial colonisation of Australia around 45,000 years ago, these people remained largely isolated until the arrival of Europeans. In contrast recent studies have suggested that a wave of migration from India into Australia occurred approximately 4,230 years ago. However, a major drawback of these recent studies is that sequence data used was from modern indigenous Australians who were potentially admixed with Europeans. To address this issue we will sequence complete genomes from sub-fossil bones of ancient Indian and Indigenous Australian people and directly investigate this possible India-Australia connection.Read moreRead less
Re-engaging Disadvantaged Youth Through Science. 17000 youth have become disconnected from the education system across Australia. The project will provide a model to reengage these youth by providing relevant scientific content where students actively interact with peers in widely dispersed locations. The groups of students will engage in investigative projects where their performances are able to extend beyond traditional literacy-based assessment techniques. Investigations of body image will b ....Re-engaging Disadvantaged Youth Through Science. 17000 youth have become disconnected from the education system across Australia. The project will provide a model to reengage these youth by providing relevant scientific content where students actively interact with peers in widely dispersed locations. The groups of students will engage in investigative projects where their performances are able to extend beyond traditional literacy-based assessment techniques. Investigations of body image will be used as a vehicle to integrate academic teaching, promoting good health and well-being within a social values framework to develop citizenship and social awareness with scientific skills. The research will help us understand the factors required to reengage at-risk youth with their community.
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Improving local government solid waste management practices through deliberative citizen decision-making and behaviour change communication strategies. This project aims to provide a democratic procedure (deliberative processes) to enhance local government's ability to deal with contentious economic, social, and environmental issues. Instead of top-down communication methods (education and edict), two processes are evaluated: commitment and feedback to people as local leaders, and the deliberati ....Improving local government solid waste management practices through deliberative citizen decision-making and behaviour change communication strategies. This project aims to provide a democratic procedure (deliberative processes) to enhance local government's ability to deal with contentious economic, social, and environmental issues. Instead of top-down communication methods (education and edict), two processes are evaluated: commitment and feedback to people as local leaders, and the deliberation of a citizen jury with access to expert knowledge. These processes will be simultaneously tested in
a mature (Ipswich) and emerging (Springfield) community with different demographic profiles. The expected outcome is greatly enhanced recycling output based on the enhanced citizenship of those involved, and the responsiveness of the service provider to 'bottom-up' deliberation and communication.Read moreRead less
ENHANCING SCIENCE LEARNING THROUGH A FOCUS ON MULTIPLE AND MULTI-MODAL REPRESENTATIONS OF CONCEPTS. This project draws on recent theoretical accounts of multiple and multi-modal representations of science understandings to devise, trial and evaluate new approaches to teaching and learning science concepts. These approaches, catering for diverse learning pathways, focus on student understanding that representations of scientific knowledge are multi-modal and interconnected. The project is signifi ....ENHANCING SCIENCE LEARNING THROUGH A FOCUS ON MULTIPLE AND MULTI-MODAL REPRESENTATIONS OF CONCEPTS. This project draws on recent theoretical accounts of multiple and multi-modal representations of science understandings to devise, trial and evaluate new approaches to teaching and learning science concepts. These approaches, catering for diverse learning pathways, focus on student understanding that representations of scientific knowledge are multi-modal and interconnected. The project is significant in providing an innovative way to engage upper primary and junior secondary students in regional and rural Australian contexts in learning science, and is expected to promote more effective learning and more positive student attitudes to the subject.Read moreRead less
Coordinating Innovation in Knowledge-Based Multinational Organisations. Integration into global supply chains is one of the fundamental challenges for manufacturing companies in Australia. This project seeks to identify the optimal design for coordinating innovation in globally-dispersed organisations. It will analyse three mechanisms for transferring knowledge within organisations: hierarchies, communities of practice, and social networks. Outcomes will include a new multilevel statistical netw ....Coordinating Innovation in Knowledge-Based Multinational Organisations. Integration into global supply chains is one of the fundamental challenges for manufacturing companies in Australia. This project seeks to identify the optimal design for coordinating innovation in globally-dispersed organisations. It will analyse three mechanisms for transferring knowledge within organisations: hierarchies, communities of practice, and social networks. Outcomes will include a new multilevel statistical network modelling framework and organisational designs to overcome barriers to knowledge-transfer, such as language, culture and distance. The project will collect and apply data from Boeing Global Technology, the international research arm of The Boeing Company, a world leading business with major subsidiaries in Australia.Read moreRead less