Police corruption: an underestimated legitimacy and security risk. This project analyses police corruption in four states and makes recommendations for reducing it. While most states now recognise corruption as a problem, many are reluctant to address the issue of police corruption; yet when police officers collude with organised crime (for example, in drugs or arms trafficking), corruption can be a serious security risk.
The corruption-organised crime nexus in four European states, with particular reference to people smuggling. Considering its importance to Australia, too little research is being done here on Europe. The EU alone accounts for c.40% of Australia's trade. Yet most research on Europe undertaken here is either historical (pre-1945) and/or of individual countries. Relatively little is in the social sciences. One benefit of this project is that it ensures that comparative social science research o ....The corruption-organised crime nexus in four European states, with particular reference to people smuggling. Considering its importance to Australia, too little research is being done here on Europe. The EU alone accounts for c.40% of Australia's trade. Yet most research on Europe undertaken here is either historical (pre-1945) and/or of individual countries. Relatively little is in the social sciences. One benefit of this project is that it ensures that comparative social science research on Europe is conducted in Australia. Second, Australia experiences many problems facing European states, albeit usually on a smaller scale. The potential benefits of learning vicariously from others' experiences are obvious. Third, this will enhance this country's expertise in this strategically important area. Read moreRead less
Gender after conflict: a gendered analysis of the international community's engagement in post-conflict zones. Efforts by the international community to transition post-conflict societies into peaceful democracies can be fraught with complex politics. This project seeks to examine the role that the international community's ideas and policies about gender have on the failures and successes of this transition.
A study of Australia's ability to train soldiers to be effective and ethical. This project addresses the ARC's priority goals Protecting Australia from Terrorism and Crime and Transformational Defence Technologies. In the fight against terrorism and as defence technologies evolve it is crucial to uphold the Australian military's ethical commitments and international reputation. Australian soldiers must be responsive to rapidly changing threats in ways that maintain the military's core ethical co ....A study of Australia's ability to train soldiers to be effective and ethical. This project addresses the ARC's priority goals Protecting Australia from Terrorism and Crime and Transformational Defence Technologies. In the fight against terrorism and as defence technologies evolve it is crucial to uphold the Australian military's ethical commitments and international reputation. Australian soldiers must be responsive to rapidly changing threats in ways that maintain the military's core ethical commitments. By assessing current military practices in light of these commitments this project enhances the military's ability to train soldiers to be effective and ethical fighters. The internationally important outcomes of this project will also enhance Australia's high standing in the area of applied ethics.Read moreRead less
Moral Injury and the Ethics of Military Conditioning . Military personnel undergo extensive conditioning in the name of combat effectiveness and resilience. The aim of this project is to determine whether any of the intended effects of this conditioning constitute "moral injuries", and to describe the ethical and policy implications if so. This will deepen our understanding of the ethics of military recruitment, training, and socialisation. The expected outcomes include a statement of the obliga ....Moral Injury and the Ethics of Military Conditioning . Military personnel undergo extensive conditioning in the name of combat effectiveness and resilience. The aim of this project is to determine whether any of the intended effects of this conditioning constitute "moral injuries", and to describe the ethical and policy implications if so. This will deepen our understanding of the ethics of military recruitment, training, and socialisation. The expected outcomes include a statement of the obligations owed to professional soldiers on account of the potential for moral injury in preparing them for deployment. This will enhance Australia’s reputation for being ethically proactive and for taking a holistic approach to the welfare of its military servicemen and women.Read moreRead less
Civilian Protection and the Use of Force in UN Peacekeeping Operations. This project seeks to evaluate the use of force to protect civilians in United Nations peacekeeping. United Nations peacekeepers are on the frontline of efforts to protect civilians from violence. More than 100 were killed in 2014. Hundreds of thousands of civilians depend on peacekeepers for their safety. To date, however, there has been little systematic evaluation of the impact of the use of force for civilian protection ....Civilian Protection and the Use of Force in UN Peacekeeping Operations. This project seeks to evaluate the use of force to protect civilians in United Nations peacekeeping. United Nations peacekeepers are on the frontline of efforts to protect civilians from violence. More than 100 were killed in 2014. Hundreds of thousands of civilians depend on peacekeepers for their safety. To date, however, there has been little systematic evaluation of the impact of the use of force for civilian protection mandates on both immediate protection goals and the wider goals of peacekeeping. This project aims to assess the impact of the implementation of mandates to use force to protect civilians. Through a focused comparison of six missions, it plans to identify what works, what doesn't, and the factors which determine these outcomes in order to identify ways of improving performance in the future.Read moreRead less
Sensing and Communications for Tactical Radio: Mapping the RF Weather. This project investigates sensing, localisation and communication strategies to improve the performance of modern tactical radio networks. Such networks face all of the well-known design challenges of mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) but with added complication of a contested and adversarial operating environment. By exploiting the power of radio nodes to sense the radio spectrum, as well as to communicate over it, a distribut ....Sensing and Communications for Tactical Radio: Mapping the RF Weather. This project investigates sensing, localisation and communication strategies to improve the performance of modern tactical radio networks. Such networks face all of the well-known design challenges of mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) but with added complication of a contested and adversarial operating environment. By exploiting the power of radio nodes to sense the radio spectrum, as well as to communicate over it, a distributed network of nodes can create a detailed picture of the surrounding radio-frequency (RF) environment: the nodes can work together to map the “RF weather”. In this project we will design advanced sensing and localisation methods to accurately map the RF spectrum, and then exploit this map in communication system design.Read moreRead less
Origami structures and materials: energy absorption and impact mechanics. This project will devise novel structures and advanced metamaterials to mitigate injury and death from impact or blast loading, using traditional origami folding concepts of design. This technology will have applications to many industries and occupations including vehicle manufacture and the military, as well as personal and public safety. Experiments and advanced numerical simulations will be performed and then analytica ....Origami structures and materials: energy absorption and impact mechanics. This project will devise novel structures and advanced metamaterials to mitigate injury and death from impact or blast loading, using traditional origami folding concepts of design. This technology will have applications to many industries and occupations including vehicle manufacture and the military, as well as personal and public safety. Experiments and advanced numerical simulations will be performed and then analytical models of structural plasticity and impact dynamics will be established to capture the physics involved. The findings will provide an insight into the fundamental mechanics of structures and metamaterials, as well as guidelines for their optimum design.Read moreRead less
Sandwich Structures with Folded Core under Impact and Blast Loading. This project aims to support the development of new materials resistant to impacts. Novel sandwich panels making use of Miura-ori folded cores have superior performance relative to monolithic solid plates, in terms of stiffness and strength. They have great potential to be used in commercial and military vehicles as well as protective structures, which can be subjected to impact and blast loading. This project aims to systemat ....Sandwich Structures with Folded Core under Impact and Blast Loading. This project aims to support the development of new materials resistant to impacts. Novel sandwich panels making use of Miura-ori folded cores have superior performance relative to monolithic solid plates, in terms of stiffness and strength. They have great potential to be used in commercial and military vehicles as well as protective structures, which can be subjected to impact and blast loading. This project aims to systematically investigate the impact and blast response of such sandwich panels by establishing theoretical models and conducting experiments and advanced simulations. The findings may provide an insight into the fundamental mechanics of sandwich panels with folded cores under impact and blast loading, as well as guidelines for optimum design of these novel structures.Read moreRead less
4D Printed Origami Structures: Deformation Mechanisms and Mechanics. This project aims to understand the physics and self-folding mechanisms of 4D printed origami structures and materials by utilising interdisciplinary approaches. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the areas of origami engineering and structural mechanics. The success of this project will form a foundation for studying shape-shifting and sequential control of smart origamis. The fundamental mechanics will be appli ....4D Printed Origami Structures: Deformation Mechanisms and Mechanics. This project aims to understand the physics and self-folding mechanisms of 4D printed origami structures and materials by utilising interdisciplinary approaches. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the areas of origami engineering and structural mechanics. The success of this project will form a foundation for studying shape-shifting and sequential control of smart origamis. The fundamental mechanics will be applied to characterise and design novel smart materials/structures with tuneable shape-morphing and mechanical performance. This should provide significant benefits to improvement of their safety, stability and reliability performance in applications such as space engineering, wearable technology and smart robotics.Read moreRead less