The ARC Earth System Science Research Network. The ARC Earth System Science Network incorporates data collectors, modellers and impacts researchers to address the impacts of climate change and variability on Human, biological and physical systems. Our capacity to adapt to changes in water availability, agricultural productivity, the likelihood of species extinctions, and risks to human health will be enhanced through the Network's use of frontier technologies. The enhanced capacity to use data a ....The ARC Earth System Science Research Network. The ARC Earth System Science Network incorporates data collectors, modellers and impacts researchers to address the impacts of climate change and variability on Human, biological and physical systems. Our capacity to adapt to changes in water availability, agricultural productivity, the likelihood of species extinctions, and risks to human health will be enhanced through the Network's use of frontier technologies. The enhanced capacity to use data and model the Earth System will allow policymakers to make more informed decisions with regard to water, biodiversity, human health, industry and agriculture sustainability; thereby enhancing the national capacity to respond to climate change and variability and securing our common interest.Read moreRead less
Bushfire smoke and the relationship between human and landscape health. A team of landscape ecologists, environmental chemists and public health specialists will determine the ecological causes and adverse health effects of different levels of bushfire smoke in Darwin. Darwin is an ideal setting for this research because the only source of air pollution is the high incidence of controlled and uncontrolled bushfires during the dry season causing variable air quality: a preliminary study found a ....Bushfire smoke and the relationship between human and landscape health. A team of landscape ecologists, environmental chemists and public health specialists will determine the ecological causes and adverse health effects of different levels of bushfire smoke in Darwin. Darwin is an ideal setting for this research because the only source of air pollution is the high incidence of controlled and uncontrolled bushfires during the dry season causing variable air quality: a preliminary study found a link between smoke pollution levels and asthma. The findings of the proposed research will contribute to improved fire management practices to reduce injurious smoke pollution events and contribute to setting appropriate national air quality standards.Read moreRead less
Challenges, Possibilities and Future Directions: A National Assessment of Australia's Children's Courts. Children's Courts occupy a unique position in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems in responding to often marginalized delinquent youth and vulnerable children and families. Philosophical and structural shifts in Australia and overseas suggest community and legal system responses are often ineffective and contribute to longer-term problems, creating social challenges for governments ....Challenges, Possibilities and Future Directions: A National Assessment of Australia's Children's Courts. Children's Courts occupy a unique position in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems in responding to often marginalized delinquent youth and vulnerable children and families. Philosophical and structural shifts in Australia and overseas suggest community and legal system responses are often ineffective and contribute to longer-term problems, creating social challenges for governments and communities alike. This national study will examine how key stakeholders, including, significantly, judicial officers, view the Children's Court's contemporary responses and challenges, their preferred alternatives responses and the viability of suggested reforms, thus offering a unique contribution to informing legal and social policy change.Read moreRead less
Predicting the diagnostic performance of individuals and organisations. Predicting the diagnostic performance of individuals and organisations. This project aims to address diagnostic error in advanced technology systems, by providing a mechanism to assess and improve individual diagnosticians’ performance. Organisations that rely on their employees’ diagnostic skills rarely assess them once the operators become qualified, so there is no basis for interventions that might prevent diagnostic erro ....Predicting the diagnostic performance of individuals and organisations. Predicting the diagnostic performance of individuals and organisations. This project aims to address diagnostic error in advanced technology systems, by providing a mechanism to assess and improve individual diagnosticians’ performance. Organisations that rely on their employees’ diagnostic skills rarely assess them once the operators become qualified, so there is no basis for interventions that might prevent diagnostic errors affecting thousands. This research tests a new method of assessing diagnostic skills based on how skilled operators respond to cues. This project will test how employees’ diagnostic skills change and whether this change corresponds to measures of organisational performance. This research is expected to provide organisations with a tool to pre-empt diagnostic errors that could minimise costs to the economy.Read moreRead less
Effects of maternal foraging success and oceanographic variation on offspring behaviour and survival in the southern elephant seal. Juvenile survival is the key determinant of mammalian population performance, but the proximate determinants of this have rarely been established in large, long-lived predators. Southern elephant seals, with their concentrated lactation effort and marked separation of energy acquisition (at-sea foraging) and expenditure (on-land lactation) provide an ideal model for ....Effects of maternal foraging success and oceanographic variation on offspring behaviour and survival in the southern elephant seal. Juvenile survival is the key determinant of mammalian population performance, but the proximate determinants of this have rarely been established in large, long-lived predators. Southern elephant seals, with their concentrated lactation effort and marked separation of energy acquisition (at-sea foraging) and expenditure (on-land lactation) provide an ideal model for investigating these factors. In this study, we investigate the partitioning of pre-partum performance (fat acquired in mothers) relative to spatial-temporal variation in ocean productivity and the effect of this expenditure on offspring condition and survival. Here, the final missing link of energy transfer and its effects on offspring will be a major outcome of this project.Read moreRead less