The history of advocacy and guardianship for people with disabilities in Victoria, 1986 - 2006. The history and analysis of the Victorian Office of the Public Advocate will benefit the national community by providing a fuller understanding of guardianship and advocacy in daily action, and of the interaction between people with disabilities and the state. It will make an important contribution to understanding the changing ways that governments act and deliver services. The project will also deep ....The history of advocacy and guardianship for people with disabilities in Victoria, 1986 - 2006. The history and analysis of the Victorian Office of the Public Advocate will benefit the national community by providing a fuller understanding of guardianship and advocacy in daily action, and of the interaction between people with disabilities and the state. It will make an important contribution to understanding the changing ways that governments act and deliver services. The project will also deepen understanding of volunteering, in particular of the role ordinary citizens can play in guarding the rights of their fellow citizens. Read moreRead less
Applying Human Rights Legislation In Closed Environments: A Strategic Framework For Managing Compliance. The project will be a principal source of knowledge about the application of human rights in secure settings in Australia. It will improve the delivery and quality of services to people held in closed environments, such as prisons, detention centres, and settings accommodating the aged and persons with disabilities. It will assist both human rights monitoring bodies, and staff and management ....Applying Human Rights Legislation In Closed Environments: A Strategic Framework For Managing Compliance. The project will be a principal source of knowledge about the application of human rights in secure settings in Australia. It will improve the delivery and quality of services to people held in closed environments, such as prisons, detention centres, and settings accommodating the aged and persons with disabilities. It will assist both human rights monitoring bodies, and staff and management of closed settings to implement human rights obligations in everyday operations, and will heighten awareness in the community of the rights of people in these settings.Read moreRead less
Gauging informed public opinion on sentencing sex offenders: a national study. Sex offences appear to attract the greatest community condemnation and desire to punish, particularly when involving predatory stranger rapists or when the victims are children. This national study aims to ascertain informed public opinion on sex offender sentencing by exploring the views of jurors in sex offence trials in all higher courts in Australia.
Undocumented Migrants- Unearthing Knowledge on a Key Source of Farm Labour. The Australian horticulture industry has endemic labour challenges, both in terms of labour supply challenges and a systemic problem of non-compliance with labour standards. A core component of both problems is the entrenched reliance on undocumented migrants. Given complex supply chains transiting fresh fruit and vegetables from the farm to the consumer, undocumented workers are largely invisible. There is very little ....Undocumented Migrants- Unearthing Knowledge on a Key Source of Farm Labour. The Australian horticulture industry has endemic labour challenges, both in terms of labour supply challenges and a systemic problem of non-compliance with labour standards. A core component of both problems is the entrenched reliance on undocumented migrants. Given complex supply chains transiting fresh fruit and vegetables from the farm to the consumer, undocumented workers are largely invisible. There is very little research on undocumented workers on farms. Addressing this critical Australian and international knowledge gap, this project is the first study to comprehensively analyse the role of undocumented migrants in the horticulture industry from a multi-stakeholder approach, involving government, employers and workers.Read moreRead less
Efficient construction: analysis of integrated supply chains for innovative off site housing manufacturing. The Australian housing industry is failing to meet demand. Housing construction is too slow, as indicated by a 40 per cent increase in average construction time over the last fifteen years. Industry fragmentation is an oft-cited cause of construction inefficiency. A solution is offsite manufacturing. Australia lags other countries in adoption of off-site manufacturing. To achieve adoption ....Efficient construction: analysis of integrated supply chains for innovative off site housing manufacturing. The Australian housing industry is failing to meet demand. Housing construction is too slow, as indicated by a 40 per cent increase in average construction time over the last fifteen years. Industry fragmentation is an oft-cited cause of construction inefficiency. A solution is offsite manufacturing. Australia lags other countries in adoption of off-site manufacturing. To achieve adoption and diffusion, fragmentation needs to be addressed. This project aims to analyse the factors affecting supply chain integration to support innovative offsite manufacturing and develop a novel collaborative practice based implementation model.Read moreRead less
Family Violence Triage in Family Courts: Safety, Efficacy and Benefit. Domestic and family violence (DFV) risks are highest during relationship separation, elevated further for parents and children involved in Family Court disputes. Utilising the federal Family Courts’ Triage pilot program, this partnership project aims to examine risk pathways, burdens and costs of post-separation DFV, and the efficacy and cost-benefits of early DFV triage. The project intends to produce new knowledge about fam ....Family Violence Triage in Family Courts: Safety, Efficacy and Benefit. Domestic and family violence (DFV) risks are highest during relationship separation, elevated further for parents and children involved in Family Court disputes. Utilising the federal Family Courts’ Triage pilot program, this partnership project aims to examine risk pathways, burdens and costs of post-separation DFV, and the efficacy and cost-benefits of early DFV triage. The project intends to produce new knowledge about family and systemic drivers of safety, to advance evidence on the efficacy of DFV triage and to translate findings into new resources for preventing DFV harms. This world-first study aims to inform global family law policy and practice, with inter-generational benefit for vulnerable Australian families and for society. Read moreRead less
Ultrasound for control of cyanobacteria. Blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, forms in drinking water supplies in Australia and can cause water-quality problems. Current methods to treat blue-green algae involve the use of Copper Sulphate, which is not an environmentally friendly compound. A potential alternative environmentally friendly water-treatment method involves the use of ultrasound to disrupt the cyanobacteria. The aim of this project is to determine the physical properties of ....Ultrasound for control of cyanobacteria. Blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, forms in drinking water supplies in Australia and can cause water-quality problems. Current methods to treat blue-green algae involve the use of Copper Sulphate, which is not an environmentally friendly compound. A potential alternative environmentally friendly water-treatment method involves the use of ultrasound to disrupt the cyanobacteria. The aim of this project is to determine the physical properties of the cyanobacteria when excited with ultrasound for the purpose of finding an efficient method to treat large volumes of water. Read moreRead less
Sustainable Hydrogen Production from Used Water. The project aims to address the pressing challenge of water scarcity in hydrogen production by developing an innovative approach of using used water as the feed for water electrolysis. The project will result in an in-depth understanding of the impacts of water impurities in used water on the performance and durability of water electrolysers, and develop guidelines for the design of highly durable water electrolysers and the operation and upgrade ....Sustainable Hydrogen Production from Used Water. The project aims to address the pressing challenge of water scarcity in hydrogen production by developing an innovative approach of using used water as the feed for water electrolysis. The project will result in an in-depth understanding of the impacts of water impurities in used water on the performance and durability of water electrolysers, and develop guidelines for the design of highly durable water electrolysers and the operation and upgrade of existing wastewater treatment plants. The project will advance the practical applications of water electrolysis for scalable and sustainable hydrogen production and help Australia secure a leading position in the global emerging hydrogen economy.Read moreRead less
Damage Tolerance Approach in Designing and Maintaining Truck Trailers. This project aims to develop a damage tolerance approach in designing and maintaining truck trailers. Combined with field test and computational simulation, machine learning will be used to generate loading spectrums. Following the damage tolerance philosophy, a mature approach in aerospace industry, the fatigue crack growth and the fatigue life will be predicted. In addition, structural optimisation will be applied in traile ....Damage Tolerance Approach in Designing and Maintaining Truck Trailers. This project aims to develop a damage tolerance approach in designing and maintaining truck trailers. Combined with field test and computational simulation, machine learning will be used to generate loading spectrums. Following the damage tolerance philosophy, a mature approach in aerospace industry, the fatigue crack growth and the fatigue life will be predicted. In addition, structural optimisation will be applied in trailer design. This project expects to revolutionize the design and maintenance practices in Australian truck trailer industry. It should provide significant benefits, such as prolonging the life cycle of truck trailers, reducing the tare weight and increasing operating profit, to both trailer producers and users.Read moreRead less
Creating perceptual experts in Australia's policing and security agencies. This project aims to create the next generation of experts in Australia’s policing and national security agencies, by improving crime scene evidence interpretation. Agencies are under pressure to develop more rigorous training practices that go beyond mere intuition and tradition. This project will use a novel approach that directs learning toward the most diagnostic perceptual cues. Expected outcomes include a solid empi ....Creating perceptual experts in Australia's policing and security agencies. This project aims to create the next generation of experts in Australia’s policing and national security agencies, by improving crime scene evidence interpretation. Agencies are under pressure to develop more rigorous training practices that go beyond mere intuition and tradition. This project will use a novel approach that directs learning toward the most diagnostic perceptual cues. Expected outcomes include a solid empirical basis for national training programs designed to create experts that are accurate, reliable, and continuously improving. Improving the training of experts will ensure the integrity of forensics as evidentiary tools available to police, lead to more reliable courtroom convictions and help safeguard Australia from terrorism and crime.Read moreRead less