Improved electrophoretic analyser for water quality monitoring. This proposal will advance the Australian made Eco Detection portable electrophoretic analyser for autonomous monitoring of water chemistry - the Eco Sensor. We will re-design and miniaturise the fluidic manifold to reduce capital- and per-sample cost, increase the sensitivity of nutrients - nitrate and phospate - by 100-times in both fresh- and sea-waters, and develop new ultra-sensitive reagents for heavy metal detection at enviro ....Improved electrophoretic analyser for water quality monitoring. This proposal will advance the Australian made Eco Detection portable electrophoretic analyser for autonomous monitoring of water chemistry - the Eco Sensor. We will re-design and miniaturise the fluidic manifold to reduce capital- and per-sample cost, increase the sensitivity of nutrients - nitrate and phospate - by 100-times in both fresh- and sea-waters, and develop new ultra-sensitive reagents for heavy metal detection at environmentally regulated levels. This will provide a single platform for at-site near-real-time monitoring of water chemistry for agricultural, mining, water corporations and other industries that use and/or discharge water to the environment. Read moreRead less
Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of th ....Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of this complex inverse estuary system and its surrounding catchment. The new understanding of the sources, fluxes and fate of nutrients within the bay and the surrounding catchment, arising from this project, is expected to benefit management decision-making and establish a new standard in estuarine water quality investigation.Read moreRead less
Dynamic relations between values and consumer behaviour: age and life-stage. This project aims to understand the complex relations between people’s life goals and their consumption behaviour, exploring age, life-stage and cohort effects. The intended outcomes of the project include a state-of-the-art interactive values-based website, basic knowledge about Australian values, values change and value-related behaviour, and business insight into value-based marketing. This project aims to apply the ....Dynamic relations between values and consumer behaviour: age and life-stage. This project aims to understand the complex relations between people’s life goals and their consumption behaviour, exploring age, life-stage and cohort effects. The intended outcomes of the project include a state-of-the-art interactive values-based website, basic knowledge about Australian values, values change and value-related behaviour, and business insight into value-based marketing. This project aims to apply the knowledge gained from a large scale study into Australian values and value change across the adult life-span in order to understand how people’s values influence their consumer and other decisions; providing information that will enable Australian organisations to improve their marketing activities and the nature of their promotional appeals.Read moreRead less
Between a hot place & hypoxia: Quantifying fish-kill risk in inland rivers. Native fish populations in Australian ephemeral rivers are highly valued but are subject to widespread decline. During drought waterholes serve as critical refuges for native fish, however thermal extremes and hypoxia (lack of oxygen) have led to regular fish-kill events. Whilst we know the general conditions that lead to fish-kills, we do not have a clear understanding of why some species are more tolerant than others, ....Between a hot place & hypoxia: Quantifying fish-kill risk in inland rivers. Native fish populations in Australian ephemeral rivers are highly valued but are subject to widespread decline. During drought waterholes serve as critical refuges for native fish, however thermal extremes and hypoxia (lack of oxygen) have led to regular fish-kill events. Whilst we know the general conditions that lead to fish-kills, we do not have a clear understanding of why some species are more tolerant than others, or how we can help decision-makers anticipate fish-kill risks. This project will combine laboratory ecophysiology investigations and novel field monitoring techniques to develop a next-generation fish habitat model for stakeholders to use to assess fish-kill risks and plan for restoration. Read moreRead less
Seasonal adjustment using disaggregated short time span data. Seasonally adjusted economic and social times series are vital information used by governments and businesses in decision making. This project will develop statistical methods to estimate and remove seasonal factors from economic and social time series using finely disaggregated data for a relatively small number of time periods. This will enable better and quicker estimation of seasonal factors when new series are introduced or there ....Seasonal adjustment using disaggregated short time span data. Seasonally adjusted economic and social times series are vital information used by governments and businesses in decision making. This project will develop statistical methods to estimate and remove seasonal factors from economic and social time series using finely disaggregated data for a relatively small number of time periods. This will enable better and quicker estimation of seasonal factors when new series are introduced or there a major changes to existing series, improving the analysis of such series and the decisions based on them.Read moreRead less
A New Synthesis of Steroid Conjugates for Illicit Drug Detection. The prevention of drug abuse in horse racing is vital to preserve the large contribution to employment, Government revenue and to economic activity provided by the Racing Industry. This collaboration aims to develop new highly sensitive analytical procedures for the detection of performance enhancing drugs in horses. The project will develop novel chemistry for the production of standard compounds that are essential for this testi ....A New Synthesis of Steroid Conjugates for Illicit Drug Detection. The prevention of drug abuse in horse racing is vital to preserve the large contribution to employment, Government revenue and to economic activity provided by the Racing Industry. This collaboration aims to develop new highly sensitive analytical procedures for the detection of performance enhancing drugs in horses. The project will develop novel chemistry for the production of standard compounds that are essential for this testing program and are currently unavailable by other means. The methods developed will have wider application to the testing of drugs in athletes and the detection of recreational drugs.Read moreRead less
Synthesis and Analysis of Canine Anabolic Steroid Metabolites. The Australian racing industry is a major driver of economic activity. In NSW, racing is estimated to contribute $1,000 million to GDP, $151 million to Government revenue and provide 50,000 jobs. The future security and prosperity of the racing industry depends on maintaining the highest standards of integrity in the public eye, and this in turn depends on the enforcement of regulations relating to illicit substances. The outcome of ....Synthesis and Analysis of Canine Anabolic Steroid Metabolites. The Australian racing industry is a major driver of economic activity. In NSW, racing is estimated to contribute $1,000 million to GDP, $151 million to Government revenue and provide 50,000 jobs. The future security and prosperity of the racing industry depends on maintaining the highest standards of integrity in the public eye, and this in turn depends on the enforcement of regulations relating to illicit substances. The outcome of this project will be the introduction of robust methods of analysis for potential drug abuse in greyhound racing that will position Australia as a world leader in the field.Read moreRead less
Funding our future: perceptions of the value of financial planning advice. This project will examine how perceptions of the value of financial planning advice are formed over time. If this is understood then both government and the industry can develop better strategies to encourage those who can benefit from financial advice to recognise and gain value from the service.
Regional Comparisons of Prices, Income and Growth in Australia. We will measure how much the cost of living and rates of inflation differ across the eight capital cities in Australia, and then test whether real per capita income levels across cities are converging or diverging over time. To make such comparisons, the ABS's databases on each capital city must first be harmonized. While doing this we will review the ABS's current procedures for data construction and quality assessment. A further a ....Regional Comparisons of Prices, Income and Growth in Australia. We will measure how much the cost of living and rates of inflation differ across the eight capital cities in Australia, and then test whether real per capita income levels across cities are converging or diverging over time. To make such comparisons, the ABS's databases on each capital city must first be harmonized. While doing this we will review the ABS's current procedures for data construction and quality assessment. A further aim is to show how statistical modelling using spanning-tree methods can resolve the conflict that arises for price indexes constructed on panel data sets between temporal and spatial consistency.Read moreRead less
Detection of peptide hormone performance enhancing agents in sport using mass spectrometry. Doping control in sport is to protect the health, legal and ethical rights of athletes. The use of banned drugs in competitive sports is becoming increasingly sophisticated and the need to counter this provides a stimulus for ground breaking analytical research. This project will exploit mass spectrometry for investigation of methods to distinguish administered peptide hormones from endogenous material a ....Detection of peptide hormone performance enhancing agents in sport using mass spectrometry. Doping control in sport is to protect the health, legal and ethical rights of athletes. The use of banned drugs in competitive sports is becoming increasingly sophisticated and the need to counter this provides a stimulus for ground breaking analytical research. This project will exploit mass spectrometry for investigation of methods to distinguish administered peptide hormones from endogenous material and to develop assays for measurement of the peptide hormones, erythropoietin, growth hormone and chorionic gonadotrophin in blood or urine. The outcomes will flow to other areas where trace substance detection is important, such as environmental chemistry, medicine and quality control.Read moreRead less