RUSSIA (THE SOVIET UNION) AND AUSTRALIA IN THE 20TH AND 21ST CENTURIES. Revitalize Australian Russian studies by bringing in internationally recognized leadership and cutting-edge projects; making the University of Melbourne's Russian centre not just the southern hemisphere leader in this field but also a significant player worldwide.
Deliberative Global Governance. The worldwide movement building deliberative democracy should now address deliberative capacity in whole systems, not just micro innovations such as citizens' juries. This includes global systems such as that addressing climate change; substantial environmental benefits will result. A world populated by more effective democracies - especially in East Asia - is in Australia's national security interest. A century ago, Australia was a world leader in innovations suc ....Deliberative Global Governance. The worldwide movement building deliberative democracy should now address deliberative capacity in whole systems, not just micro innovations such as citizens' juries. This includes global systems such as that addressing climate change; substantial environmental benefits will result. A world populated by more effective democracies - especially in East Asia - is in Australia's national security interest. A century ago, Australia was a world leader in innovations such as the secret ballot and votes for women. Work on deliberative democracy can put Australia back in the forefront of democratic progress, with many associated social, political, and economic benefits.Read moreRead less
Restorative Justice and Responsive Governance: Fresh Challenges, New Theory, Global Networks. War causes not only human suffering; it threatens the health and education of children and children's children. It sets back economies, encourages transnational crime through trafficking drugs, people, money laundering, guns and terror across our region in ways that directly affect Australians. This research will provide fresh insights from the successes and failures of peacebuilding in the Pacific and ....Restorative Justice and Responsive Governance: Fresh Challenges, New Theory, Global Networks. War causes not only human suffering; it threatens the health and education of children and children's children. It sets back economies, encourages transnational crime through trafficking drugs, people, money laundering, guns and terror across our region in ways that directly affect Australians. This research will provide fresh insights from the successes and failures of peacebuilding in the Pacific and Asia. The effectiveness of new restorative and responsive strategies for improving the performance of our health system, strengthening the knowledge economy, improving competition and preventing crime will be tested and developed. Australia will grow as the dominant locus of research on restorative and responsive strategies that work.Read moreRead less
Building Democracy and Justice after Conflict. Weak governance is a cause of terrorism. Australia is increasingly involved in nation-building projects, both in its region and internationally. This project will build Australia's expertise in the ways that international law can promote democracy and justice after conflict. It will develop guidelines for states and organisations involved in peace and nation-building. The project will thus contribute to safeguarding Australia by increasing Austra ....Building Democracy and Justice after Conflict. Weak governance is a cause of terrorism. Australia is increasingly involved in nation-building projects, both in its region and internationally. This project will build Australia's expertise in the ways that international law can promote democracy and justice after conflict. It will develop guidelines for states and organisations involved in peace and nation-building. The project will thus contribute to safeguarding Australia by increasing Australia's capacity to engage with, and interpret itself to, its neighbours and the broader international community, as well as by tackling the threat of terrorism.Read moreRead less
Reducing health inequities and social exclusion: improved theory, understanding and policies. This research will provide knowledge to help understanding of why some groups are less healthy and less included in the mainstream of society than others. Research evidence indicates that reducing differences in health status & making more citizens included in the activities of society has overall health benefits & is good for economic development. The program will provide Australian and other governmen ....Reducing health inequities and social exclusion: improved theory, understanding and policies. This research will provide knowledge to help understanding of why some groups are less healthy and less included in the mainstream of society than others. Research evidence indicates that reducing differences in health status & making more citizens included in the activities of society has overall health benefits & is good for economic development. The program will provide Australian and other governments with much improved evidence about what works, what does not work in terms of improving population health and so enable better decisions about which public programs to invest in. Thus the research conducted under this program will inform ways in which Australian and overseas populations can achieve long and more productive livesRead moreRead less
Climate change: adaptation and resilience in the face of uncertainty. Climate change poses a wide range of challenges to Australia's agricultural sector and for the management of natural ecosystems. These challenges are recognised in the National Research Priorities 1, An Environmentally Sustainable Australia, and 4, Safeguarding Australia. The potential economic costs of climate change to vital national assets such as the Murray-Darling Basin and the Great Barrier Reef, amount to billions of do ....Climate change: adaptation and resilience in the face of uncertainty. Climate change poses a wide range of challenges to Australia's agricultural sector and for the management of natural ecosystems. These challenges are recognised in the National Research Priorities 1, An Environmentally Sustainable Australia, and 4, Safeguarding Australia. The potential economic costs of climate change to vital national assets such as the Murray-Darling Basin and the Great Barrier Reef, amount to billions of dollars per year, and ecological costs are even more significant. Uncertainty about the rate at which climate change will take place and about effects in different regions is central to the problem. This project will explore adaptive management strategies that promote resilience in the face of uncertainty.
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Multiscale modelling: Applications to the Biomedical Sciences. 1) Significant reductions in the costs of developing pharmaceutical treatments, 2) Substantial reduction in hospitalisation costs, 3) Improved treatment of wounds, a significant cause of chronic ill-health which presently costs the Australian HealthCare System A$500,000,000/year.
Using Law To Improve Population Health and the Quality of Health Care Services. There are huge gaps in our understanding of how legal rules and processes impact population health and the quality of health care services in Australia. This research program will begin to fill those gaps by addressing topical issues such as medical negligence litigation, the coroner's role in injury prevention, and the use of medical science in the courtroom. The findings will be useful to government policymakers, ....Using Law To Improve Population Health and the Quality of Health Care Services. There are huge gaps in our understanding of how legal rules and processes impact population health and the quality of health care services in Australia. This research program will begin to fill those gaps by addressing topical issues such as medical negligence litigation, the coroner's role in injury prevention, and the use of medical science in the courtroom. The findings will be useful to government policymakers, regulators, and judges, as well as professionals working in both the legal and health care fields. But most importantly, the findings will serve patients by helping to shape strategies and reforms that enable Australia's health care system to deliver services that are safer, of higher quality, fairer, and more efficient.Read moreRead less
Molecular control of apoptosis and protein homeostasis. A million cells are produced every second by cell division. At the same time a million cells commit suicide by a process called apoptosis. When cells fail to die when they should they can develop into cancers. In heart attacks, stroke and neurodegenerative diseases, many cells appear to activate their self destruct mechanism to die unnecessarily. Drugs that can cause cancer cells to kill themselves, or drugs that prevent cells dying when th ....Molecular control of apoptosis and protein homeostasis. A million cells are produced every second by cell division. At the same time a million cells commit suicide by a process called apoptosis. When cells fail to die when they should they can develop into cancers. In heart attacks, stroke and neurodegenerative diseases, many cells appear to activate their self destruct mechanism to die unnecessarily. Drugs that can cause cancer cells to kill themselves, or drugs that prevent cells dying when they shouldn't, would make a major impact on many important diseases. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of cell death is the first step towards developing these drugs.Read moreRead less
Ecology and evolution in dynamic systems: a new approach to conserving Australian biodiversity. Australia has different ecosystems and different species than the rest of the world, and we need a different approach to conserve and manage our unique animals. This project will develop a new, specifically Australian-oriented approach to conservation biology.