Uncovering the processes underlying human category learning. There is a pervasive belief that complex tasks can somehow be learned via a 'smart' implicit or procedural learning mechanism, which operates independently of memory and attention. This idea has important implications for our understanding of cognition. If true, there seems little point in providing explicit instruction in such tasks, and efforts to do so are, at best, wasted time and, at worst, detrimental to the learning process. Th ....Uncovering the processes underlying human category learning. There is a pervasive belief that complex tasks can somehow be learned via a 'smart' implicit or procedural learning mechanism, which operates independently of memory and attention. This idea has important implications for our understanding of cognition. If true, there seems little point in providing explicit instruction in such tasks, and efforts to do so are, at best, wasted time and, at worst, detrimental to the learning process. This project will provide much-needed scrutiny of this idea and will help not only to re-orient our understanding of how we deal with complex information, but will also highlight issues about data interpretation that are fundamental for the research and wider communities.Read moreRead less
ARC Complex Open Systems Research Network. Complexity is the common frontier in the physical, biological and social sciences. This Network will link specialists in all three sciences through five generic conceptual and mathematical theme activities. It will promote research into how subsystems self-organise into new emergent structures when assembled into an open, non-equilibrium system. Outcomes will include new technologies and software tools and deeper understanding of fundamental questions i ....ARC Complex Open Systems Research Network. Complexity is the common frontier in the physical, biological and social sciences. This Network will link specialists in all three sciences through five generic conceptual and mathematical theme activities. It will promote research into how subsystems self-organise into new emergent structures when assembled into an open, non-equilibrium system. Outcomes will include new technologies and software tools and deeper understanding of fundamental questions in science. An essential function of the network will be introducing researchers end users to new tools and broadening the horizons of graduate students.Read moreRead less
Female roles during postcopulatory sexual selection. The project will evaluate the importance of postcopulatory sexual selection in the guppy, a polyandrous species of livebearing fish. The use of artificial insemination, which experimentally controls the relative contribution of sperm from competing males (as well as other confounding effects), will facilitate a powerful test of recent theoretical predictions in evolutionary biology. The project will enable me to distinguish between competing h ....Female roles during postcopulatory sexual selection. The project will evaluate the importance of postcopulatory sexual selection in the guppy, a polyandrous species of livebearing fish. The use of artificial insemination, which experimentally controls the relative contribution of sperm from competing males (as well as other confounding effects), will facilitate a powerful test of recent theoretical predictions in evolutionary biology. The project will enable me to distinguish between competing hypotheses for postcopulatory paternity bias following female multiple mating (sperm competition, cryptic female choice, genetic compatibility) and provide additional insights into the selective forces promoting the evolution of female promiscuity.Read moreRead less
ARC/NHMRC Research Network for Parasitology. The ARC Network for Parasitology will focus and coordinate Australia's world class fundamental, strategic and applied parasitology research. This targeted approach will raise Australia's standing in the field, assist in the community's understanding of parasitology and biosecurity and maintain and improve Australia's capacity for keeping its stock, crops, wildlife and people disease-free. On an international scale, the Network will work with other cou ....ARC/NHMRC Research Network for Parasitology. The ARC Network for Parasitology will focus and coordinate Australia's world class fundamental, strategic and applied parasitology research. This targeted approach will raise Australia's standing in the field, assist in the community's understanding of parasitology and biosecurity and maintain and improve Australia's capacity for keeping its stock, crops, wildlife and people disease-free. On an international scale, the Network will work with other countries to develop new technologies for the detection and eradication of parasites. This emphasis will not only protect Australia's borders but will assist our near neighbours and lead to the development of technologies with an economic benefit to Australia.
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Using cane toads to eradicate cane toads. This project aims to develop effective ways to reduce the devastating ecological impact of cane toads, by exploiting the cannibalistic behaviour of tadpoles. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of invasion biology and amphibian development utilising recent discoveries about cannibalism. Expected outcomes of this project include a powerful new method to reduce or eliminate recruitment of juvenile toads from natural waterbodies. Bene ....Using cane toads to eradicate cane toads. This project aims to develop effective ways to reduce the devastating ecological impact of cane toads, by exploiting the cannibalistic behaviour of tadpoles. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of invasion biology and amphibian development utilising recent discoveries about cannibalism. Expected outcomes of this project include a powerful new method to reduce or eliminate recruitment of juvenile toads from natural waterbodies. Benefits of this project include conservation of native wildlife that are threatened by the cane toad invasion across much of tropical and subtropical Australia.Read moreRead less
Predicting health, well-being, and educational success in emerging adults: An 8 year longitudinal study. This project will inform the community about factors that affect the psychological, physical, academic, and employment outcomes of emerging adults. It will improve our knowledge of why some young people do not reach their full potential. The project will provide a comprehensive assessment of factors associated with well-being across several domains. It will better equip and assist professiona ....Predicting health, well-being, and educational success in emerging adults: An 8 year longitudinal study. This project will inform the community about factors that affect the psychological, physical, academic, and employment outcomes of emerging adults. It will improve our knowledge of why some young people do not reach their full potential. The project will provide a comprehensive assessment of factors associated with well-being across several domains. It will better equip and assist professionals to identify early those youth at risk of having poor psychological, health, and employment prospects post-school. The project will inform the development of intervention programs for young people and maximise their overall adjustment and well-being several years later.Read moreRead less
Impacts of Banned Drinkers Register Re-introduction in Northern Territory. This project aims to investigate the impact of the re-introduction of the Banned Drinker Register in the Northern Territory, where rates of alcohol-related harm are more than twenty times that seen in other Australian states.
This interdisciplinary team will use qualitative and quantitative methods across urban and remote locations to answer complex questions about policy impact.
This Project expects to provide evidence ....Impacts of Banned Drinkers Register Re-introduction in Northern Territory. This project aims to investigate the impact of the re-introduction of the Banned Drinker Register in the Northern Territory, where rates of alcohol-related harm are more than twenty times that seen in other Australian states.
This interdisciplinary team will use qualitative and quantitative methods across urban and remote locations to answer complex questions about policy impact.
This Project expects to provide evidence to inform future policy introduction and refinement. It aims to enhance Aboriginal research capacity for investigating alcohol policy.
Benefits should include world’s best evidence on the impact of supply restriction policies on treatment needs and the massive levels of harm seen in the Northern Territory.Read moreRead less
Dynamic assessment of threats to marine megafauna in face of global change. This project aims to develop a global approach to synthesise global tracking datasets and deliver near real-time diagnostics on risks for marine megafauna at a global scale pushing forward a new frontier in dynamic marine spatial management to improve conservation. This project expects to increase our understanding of how marine megafauna movements vary with environmental changes and how much they overlap with threatenin ....Dynamic assessment of threats to marine megafauna in face of global change. This project aims to develop a global approach to synthesise global tracking datasets and deliver near real-time diagnostics on risks for marine megafauna at a global scale pushing forward a new frontier in dynamic marine spatial management to improve conservation. This project expects to increase our understanding of how marine megafauna movements vary with environmental changes and how much they overlap with threatening global human activities. Expected outcomes will demonstrate how big data in marine telemetry can be synthesised and translated into ecologically significant behaviours. This should provide significant benefits to address global scientific and societal problems highlighted in the Australian science and research priorities.Read moreRead less
Unlocking the mechanisms of vibro-acoustic communication in termites . Our understanding of how termites use microvibrations to communicate is limited, as the generation, transmission and detection of these complex vibrations in substrates at the submillimetre scale are unknown. We aim to develop a fully validated vibro-acoustic termite communication model which will be used in Swårmalätørs to demonstrate their ability to synchronise and mimic collective behaviour. This will be achieved by combi ....Unlocking the mechanisms of vibro-acoustic communication in termites . Our understanding of how termites use microvibrations to communicate is limited, as the generation, transmission and detection of these complex vibrations in substrates at the submillimetre scale are unknown. We aim to develop a fully validated vibro-acoustic termite communication model which will be used in Swårmalätørs to demonstrate their ability to synchronise and mimic collective behaviour. This will be achieved by combining novel acoustic levitation, microsystem analyses and electrophysiology to determine physical properties of termite appendages, sensory and behavioural thresholds; and by considering wave transmission characteristics in wood, friction-adhesion at the termite feet, mandible cutting and soldier alarm drumming.Read moreRead less
Strengthening Indigenous adolescent mental health and wellbeing. Using Continous Quality Improvement processes, the research will collaboratively conceptualise, design, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of new approaches to mental health service delivery for adolescents aged 10-24 in three regionally diverse Indigenous Primary Healthcare Services. Expected research outcomes are a rigorous assessment of the impact and economic benefits of making quality improvements to mental health servic ....Strengthening Indigenous adolescent mental health and wellbeing. Using Continous Quality Improvement processes, the research will collaboratively conceptualise, design, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of new approaches to mental health service delivery for adolescents aged 10-24 in three regionally diverse Indigenous Primary Healthcare Services. Expected research outcomes are a rigorous assessment of the impact and economic benefits of making quality improvements to mental health services for Indigenous adolescents, Key benefits are 1) A locally-responsive adolescent mental health screening instrument; 2) Comprehensive evidence-informed service model in adolescent mental healthcare; 3) Best practice protocol for developing and managing adolescent mental health as a service delivery stream. Read moreRead less