What is safe about “safe migration”? Migration management in the Mekong. The project seeks to examine the claims that new policy models make about assuring the safety of labour migrants. What is safe about safe migration? Regulation of labour migrants is a central policy concern in Asia, Australia and elsewhere. In an attempt to address anti-trafficking, several donors, United Nations agencies, nongovernment organisations and Governments have launched ‘safe migration’ programs which, rather than ....What is safe about “safe migration”? Migration management in the Mekong. The project seeks to examine the claims that new policy models make about assuring the safety of labour migrants. What is safe about safe migration? Regulation of labour migrants is a central policy concern in Asia, Australia and elsewhere. In an attempt to address anti-trafficking, several donors, United Nations agencies, nongovernment organisations and Governments have launched ‘safe migration’ programs which, rather than focusing solely on the legal status of migrants, seek to develop mechanisms (eg hotline numbers) to assure their safety. This research examines the claims of safety that this shift from anti-trafficking to safe migration has engendered, and whether and in what terms labour migrants might be consequently safer’. Project results may inform aid programs and government policies.Read moreRead less
Attracting The Next Generation - Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia Membership 2022-2023
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$52,550.00
Summary
Engaging with and educating the next generation is challenging and competitive, given the range of opportunities available to teachers and students in terms of topics, development opportunities and careers locally, nationally and globally.
Providing awareness, access and support to educators and students is critical to attracting and retaining people across fishing and aquaculture. Through curriculum aligned resources and aligned interventions, activities and experiences, FRDC can spar ....Engaging with and educating the next generation is challenging and competitive, given the range of opportunities available to teachers and students in terms of topics, development opportunities and careers locally, nationally and globally.
Providing awareness, access and support to educators and students is critical to attracting and retaining people across fishing and aquaculture. Through curriculum aligned resources and aligned interventions, activities and experiences, FRDC can spark the curiosity and also provide access to a range of people in fishing and aquaculture through partnering with PIEFA.
This project builds on the strong relationship with PIEFA to conduct research to understand the current level of engagement, barriers and opportunities to position fishing and aquaculture with students and educators. This research will position FRDC for success through utilisation of established, trusted channels and networks. Providing opportunities to showcase the wide variety careers through interactive activities and self directed learning provides the fishing and aquaculture community a direct connection with the next generation.
PIEFA provides a mechanism to showcase fishing and aquaculture, and food and fibre more broadly in Australian schools.
This includes accessing multiple platforms, newsletters, exclusive invitations to members meetings and PIEFA AGM. Invitation to 2023 PIEFA Conference and events. Objectives: 1. Understand and improve teacher awareness, confidence and knowledge to effectively implement food and fibre education in Australian schools 2. Utilise and leverage trusted, valued PIEFA networks and channels 3. Food and fibre education resources are accessible and are accessed by a growing number of Australian schools 4. Inform and engage with a national strategic framework that supports schools awareness and delivery of food and fibre education and careers 5. Food and fibre education initiatives and messages in the wider media and industry spheres are identified and shared between PIEFA and FRDC Read moreRead less
Intercultural understanding in primary and secondary schools. What facilitates or impedes intercultural understanding in children, adolescents and schools? How can this be addressed? How can we know what makes a difference? This project answers these questions at the individual, school and national level using a novel cultural systems approach and methodological and technological innovations.
Capability And Capacity Building - Scientific Networking & Early Career Development (Australian Society For Fish Biology)
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$115,050.00
Summary
We submit this EOI as a non-competitive sponsorship application.
The ASFB is the premiere professional Society promoting research, education and management of fish and fisheries in Australasia. Our capacity to facilitate these goals is dependent on the amount of financial support generated from ASFB members (via membership fees), conference sponsorship (from Government and industry stakeholders), and the FRDC.
We request a new round of funding support from the FRDC to allow us ....We submit this EOI as a non-competitive sponsorship application.
The ASFB is the premiere professional Society promoting research, education and management of fish and fisheries in Australasia. Our capacity to facilitate these goals is dependent on the amount of financial support generated from ASFB members (via membership fees), conference sponsorship (from Government and industry stakeholders), and the FRDC.
We request a new round of funding support from the FRDC to allow us to continue delivering our annual conference and supporting students and early career researchers (ECRs) at a high level. We also request support from FRDC to help facilitate the following: i) real advancement in our Society’s engagement with, and inclusion of, First Nations peoples; ii) recognition and promotion of the value of the core principles of equity, diversity and inclusion in the fish and fisheries sector; iii) better engagement of fisheries managers with scientists; and iv) closer ties with our neighbouring Asian Fisheries Society.
Students and early career researchers represent the future of Australasia’s fish and fisheries sector. ASFB has a long and successful history of promoting and supporting student and ECR members as they undertake their research training, showcase their discoveries and ideas, and begin a career working with fish and fisheries. For the last 10 years, FRDC has been an invaluable partner in this endeavour through the provision of travel bursaries that enable students to attend our annual conference and awards that recognise outstanding achievements. We request FRDC funding to continue supporting our students and ECRs.
ASFB has been making steady progress in ensuring our Society actively supports and facilitates an equitable and inclusive environment that promotes the value of diversity. In 2014, our 40th annual conference (held in partnership with the Australian Society for Limnology; FRDC 2013-404) was built around the theme of ‘Indigenous participation in research and management of aquatic ecosystems’. We facilitated a workshop on Indigenous cross cultural awareness, and throughout the meeting, delegates had the opportunity to explore ways of meaningfully including indigenous peoples in the design, delivery and interpretation of scientific work. Ten years on, we believe there is still a clear need for ASFB to better engage with and include First Nations peoples in our Society. We seek financial support from FRDC to form an independent working group that includes strong indigenous representation, alongside ASFB representatives, to advise our Society on how we can enact meaningful actions that help achieve these goals. Whilst we do not seek to pre-empt the working groups recommendations, we see great opportunity for ASFB to promote the primacy of Indigenous Peoples around water and fisheries rights, facilitate the inclusion of cultural practices and knowledge into western science and management paradigms, and to build capacity of Indigenous Peoples in the sectors of fish, fisheries and aquatic natural resources.
Our Future of the Society Committee is currently drafting a policy document that promotes the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion in ASFB. At our 2016 conference, we held an important event titled ‘Women in Ichthyology’. This was borne from the acknowledgement that, while in recent decades we have made great strides in achieving higher representation of women in research, the job is far from done. Women are often equally represented at lower tiers of the research sector, such as postgraduate students and early career levels, but rapidly dwindle as the professional hierarchy increases to senior leadership roles. The 2016 event celebrated the key contributions of women to fish and fisheries science, and explored how we can all encourage gender equity in this area. We have seen a steady increase in the representation of women in senior roles in our Society (e.g., three of our last six presidents since 2012 are women; three of the last six winners of the prestigious K. Radway Allen Award were women). We believe that more can and will be done to address gender equity in our Society.
The ASFB endeavours to be free from all forms of discrimination, and welcomes all members regardless of age, cultural background, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, physical or mental differences, politics, nationality, religious affiliation or beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family or caring responsibilities, socio-economic background, career status, and work experience. The ASFB aims to continue to foster an inclusive environment where a diversity of people, ideas and perspectives can inspire members to advance fish and fisheries science and management. We seek FRDC support to host a plenary presentation and/or special session on the equity, diversity and inclusivity challenges and opportunities we face in the fish and fisheries sector at the 2024 annual science conference in Newcastle, NSW.
The annual conferences of ASFB provide a fantastic opportunity for fisheries managers from around Australia and New Zealand to meet up and experience networking opportunities with their peers and fisheries researchers. Our conferences provide a forum for managers to hear about the challenges faced in other jurisdictions and work together to develop solutions and innovations. Feedback from our members who are fisheries managers is that it is difficult for them to attend our conferences due to low levels of support from their employers for travel and registration costs, which is a poor outcome for fisheries managers. In turn, our broader membership suffers because they miss the opportunity to engage with managers in an environment conducive to knowledge sharing and collaboration. Furthermore, our students and early career researchers are not exposed to employment opportunities in a valuable sector of our industry. Here, we propose a new travel bursary program, co-funded by FRDC, ASFB and employers, to address the major financial barrier limiting manager engagement with our Society’s activities.
Lastly, we need a vibrant and viable Society to deliver on our project objectives. ASFB is now 53 years old. Throughout this time, the Society has successfully served its membership, and by extension, the broader fish and fisheries community in Australia. Our executive council and sub-committee members are all volunteers and collectively dedicate thousands of hours in-kind each year to ensure we provide effective leadership and deliver on our responsibilities (conservatively valued at $100,000 pa of salary). More recently, we have sought professional support to administer membership databases, facilitate conference logistics (they work for local volunteer organising committees), handle internal and external communications and maintain our website. These are all essential roles and beyond what can be expected from our volunteer office bearers. We are reviewing our current membership fee schedule to help cover some of these costs. We seek FRDC support to contribute to the management and facilitation activities of our Society so that we can continue to deliver excellent opportunities for all our members and successfully deliver on the important objectives outlined in this proposal.
Objectives: 1. Provide a nationally and international relevant forum for researchers, managers and stakeholders to meet to discuss issues relevant to fish and fisheries science and management 2. Support, encourage and recognise achievements of early career researchers and students via sponsorship of targeted excellence and research awards 3. Support and encourage student participation at ASFB's annual science conference and key international conferences via sponsorship of travel bursaries, a specific networking event, and any other appropriate activities 4. Assist in setting up an independent working group with First Nations representation to help ASFB improve how we include and engage with First Nations peoples in our Society 5. Develop a co-funded bursary (alongside ASFB and home institutions) to support the attendance of fisheries managers at ASFB’s annual conference 6. Host a special session and/or plenary at a future conference addressing the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion in fish and fisheries Read moreRead less
Motor Functioning In Young People With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – Combined Type: A Three-dimensional Motion Analysis Study.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$477,065.00
Summary
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder –combined type (ADHD-CT) is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder with a progressively devastating impact on psychosocial development. The first objective of this study is to use 3D-motion analysis to ‘probe’ the underlying brain dysfunction which characterises ADHD-CT. The second objective of this study is to improve our understanding of the link between movement problems, and (a) injury proneness, and (b) social-communicative problems, in children with AD ....Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder –combined type (ADHD-CT) is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder with a progressively devastating impact on psychosocial development. The first objective of this study is to use 3D-motion analysis to ‘probe’ the underlying brain dysfunction which characterises ADHD-CT. The second objective of this study is to improve our understanding of the link between movement problems, and (a) injury proneness, and (b) social-communicative problems, in children with ADHD-CT.Read moreRead less
Taming the intruders: the domestication of Tigger transposable elements in mammals. It has become apparent that most of the DNA that makes us what we are is actually comprised of the remnants of invading parasitic DNA acquired over time. A continual battle exists between host which tries to silence or remove this DNA, and the parasite that tries to multiply and spread. We are currently investigating an intriguing aspect of this process that involves host genomes 'domesticating' parasitic DNA to ....Taming the intruders: the domestication of Tigger transposable elements in mammals. It has become apparent that most of the DNA that makes us what we are is actually comprised of the remnants of invading parasitic DNA acquired over time. A continual battle exists between host which tries to silence or remove this DNA, and the parasite that tries to multiply and spread. We are currently investigating an intriguing aspect of this process that involves host genomes 'domesticating' parasitic DNA to provide novel functions, thereby facilitating the evolution of specific characteristics within species.Read moreRead less
Improving wellbeing through student participation at school. Current evidence suggests child and youth participation in matters affecting their lives has many benefits, but little is known about how this is perceived and practiced in education. This research aims to improve knowledge about processes and outcomes of student participation at school, particularly in relation to improving wellbeing. The project is timely and significant because recent reforms in education now require a greater empha ....Improving wellbeing through student participation at school. Current evidence suggests child and youth participation in matters affecting their lives has many benefits, but little is known about how this is perceived and practiced in education. This research aims to improve knowledge about processes and outcomes of student participation at school, particularly in relation to improving wellbeing. The project is timely and significant because recent reforms in education now require a greater emphasis on engaging students more directly in decisions about their education, including those with special needs. Schools urgently require knowledge about the key elements of participation that impact on wellbeing and a tool for measuring and monitoring their performance in facilitating these elements.Read moreRead less