A cross-national study of the relative impact of an oral component on PhD examination quality, language and practice. High quality doctoral degrees call for the most effective forms of assessment. This project investigates the role of oral examination in PhD assessment, common internationally but not in Australia, and is the first to compare the relative impact of oral and 'no oral' models on examination quality, language and practice.
Assessing absolute sustainability of global cities. The project aims to create a quantitative modelling framework for assessing the absolute sustainability of cities by combining global multi-region input-output analysis with the 'safe and just space' concept for human development. The model will allow assessment of the full supply chain environmental and social impacts of urban economic activities against biophysical planetary limits as well as social foundation thresholds defined in the litera ....Assessing absolute sustainability of global cities. The project aims to create a quantitative modelling framework for assessing the absolute sustainability of cities by combining global multi-region input-output analysis with the 'safe and just space' concept for human development. The model will allow assessment of the full supply chain environmental and social impacts of urban economic activities against biophysical planetary limits as well as social foundation thresholds defined in the literature. The project will advance sustainability science methodology and will greatly benefit worldwide initiatives for urban sustainability. Case studies on Australian cities will assess where interventions can be most practically, realistically and effectively implemented.Read moreRead less
Financial Risk Processes: Stochastic and Statistical Models and their Applications. On the one hand, the misuse of complex financial instruments has contributed to recent major disasters in the Australian financial and insurance industries; on the other hand, great benefits can be obtained by correct use of these kinds of instruments, to share risk between markets and segments of markets. The overall research effort in Australia in these areas is relatively small. This project will target the de ....Financial Risk Processes: Stochastic and Statistical Models and their Applications. On the one hand, the misuse of complex financial instruments has contributed to recent major disasters in the Australian financial and insurance industries; on the other hand, great benefits can be obtained by correct use of these kinds of instruments, to share risk between markets and segments of markets. The overall research effort in Australia in these areas is relatively small. This project will target the development of cutting edge technologies underlying the use of financial derivatives, not presently studied in this country or elsewhere, by bringing together a variety of top level international researchers in an integrated effort to lift the Australian understanding and application of this methodology.Read moreRead less
Understanding and overcoming confusion in consumer financial decisions. This project aims to develop consumer-centred approaches to reducing the harmful effects of confusion in financial decisions by studying superannuation investment and home loan decisions where confused choices are individually and collectively costly. The project intends to develop comprehensive models to capture the full complexity of financial products and the diverse preferences and capability of consumers, then to use ad ....Understanding and overcoming confusion in consumer financial decisions. This project aims to develop consumer-centred approaches to reducing the harmful effects of confusion in financial decisions by studying superannuation investment and home loan decisions where confused choices are individually and collectively costly. The project intends to develop comprehensive models to capture the full complexity of financial products and the diverse preferences and capability of consumers, then to use advanced statistical methods to estimate the benefits of clearer decision-making. The outcomes of this project includes new models of complex financial decisions, and a better understanding of where confusion arises and the effects it may have. Decreased confusion will raise financial well-being and help communities become more resilient to financial shocks.Read moreRead less
Stochastic Analysis with a View to Applications in Financial Risk Processes. Recent decades have seen explosive growth in applications of probability theory and statistics to the modelling of risk in finance and insurance. An intensive theoretical investigation into passage time and other problems for Levy and other continuous time processes will be applied to financial risk analyses. Related investigations will involve perpetuities and stochastic volatility models for price series. Outcomes ....Stochastic Analysis with a View to Applications in Financial Risk Processes. Recent decades have seen explosive growth in applications of probability theory and statistics to the modelling of risk in finance and insurance. An intensive theoretical investigation into passage time and other problems for Levy and other continuous time processes will be applied to financial risk analyses. Related investigations will involve perpetuities and stochastic volatility models for price series. Outcomes will include the development of new theory in probability and statistics, the initiation and reinforcement of collaborative ties with major international research figures, and the fostering of contacts with the finance industry.Read moreRead less
Modern statistical methods for clustering community ecology data. This project will develop statistical methods and software for clustering community ecology data, and use them to analyse systematic survey and citizen science program data collected along the Great Barrier Reef. By doing so, the project will address the dearth of statistical classification techniques for high-dimensional, multi-response data with complex relationships. When the resultant clustering methods are used to construct b ....Modern statistical methods for clustering community ecology data. This project will develop statistical methods and software for clustering community ecology data, and use them to analyse systematic survey and citizen science program data collected along the Great Barrier Reef. By doing so, the project will address the dearth of statistical classification techniques for high-dimensional, multi-response data with complex relationships. When the resultant clustering methods are used to construct bioregions and characterise species’ environmental responses, they should significantly enhance evaluations of the impact of human activity and environmental change on coral diversity. Ultimately, these evaluations can underpin future decisions in the conservation and management of the Great Barrier Reef.Read moreRead less
Problems of identification and inference for 'non-standard' models in complex systems with special reference to finance and teletraffic. The project is concerned with 'non-standard' models needed to deal with complex systems, such as those exhibiting scaling and fractal properties. There is a focus on methods for dealing with heavy tailed distributions and long range dependent observations, for which most standard statistical methods break down, and on applications in finance and telecommunicati ....Problems of identification and inference for 'non-standard' models in complex systems with special reference to finance and teletraffic. The project is concerned with 'non-standard' models needed to deal with complex systems, such as those exhibiting scaling and fractal properties. There is a focus on methods for dealing with heavy tailed distributions and long range dependent observations, for which most standard statistical methods break down, and on applications in finance and telecommunications. An important part of the project concerns model validation for Heyde's fractal activity time geometric Brownian motion model, a candidate minimal description risky asset model to replace the geometric Brownian motion paradigm.Read moreRead less
Stochastic analysis and the development and application of financial risk processes. Ensuring the stability of Australia's financial system requires an understanding of the complex financial instruments, strategies and technologies that have evolved in recent years. A strong well-integrated research effort in stochastic analysis with particular application to financial markets is fundamental for measuring and managing risk, to protect and preserve a well functioning system, and to inform policy ....Stochastic analysis and the development and application of financial risk processes. Ensuring the stability of Australia's financial system requires an understanding of the complex financial instruments, strategies and technologies that have evolved in recent years. A strong well-integrated research effort in stochastic analysis with particular application to financial markets is fundamental for measuring and managing risk, to protect and preserve a well functioning system, and to inform policy debate on financial strategies and insurance liabilities.
These challenges are global and require extensive international research collaboration and interaction. The present project will enhance Australia's contributions in this area and facilitate its global impact more than is possible through individual efforts.Read moreRead less
Tipping points and early warning signals in complex ecosystems. This project aims to create a theory of early warning that uses spatial data available on system state, connectivity and environmental stress, and to create tools to infer the risk of ecosystem collapse. Many ecosystems have irreversible tipping points. Since their locations are often unknown, metrics may provide an early warning of collapse but are difficult to apply because they need long time series which are usually lacking. Thi ....Tipping points and early warning signals in complex ecosystems. This project aims to create a theory of early warning that uses spatial data available on system state, connectivity and environmental stress, and to create tools to infer the risk of ecosystem collapse. Many ecosystems have irreversible tipping points. Since their locations are often unknown, metrics may provide an early warning of collapse but are difficult to apply because they need long time series which are usually lacking. This project will use the Great Barrier Reef as a testbed because it has both long time series (standard approach) and rich spatial data (new approach), and exhibits early warning signs. We will use these tools to gauge whether symptoms on the Great Barrier Reef predict local collapse and to develop intervention plans.Read moreRead less
Impact of increased sediment and nutrient discharges on the long-term sustainability of the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef, one of Australia's greatest natural assets, is under increasing threat from extreme climatic events caused by global warming and from land-based pollution. This research will identify the main sources of sediment and nutrient pollution caused by river runoff and by how much this has increased above 'natural levels'. We will discover how the very sensitive offsho ....Impact of increased sediment and nutrient discharges on the long-term sustainability of the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef, one of Australia's greatest natural assets, is under increasing threat from extreme climatic events caused by global warming and from land-based pollution. This research will identify the main sources of sediment and nutrient pollution caused by river runoff and by how much this has increased above 'natural levels'. We will discover how the very sensitive offshore coral reefs have responded to increased pollution and whether this is the cause of the very devastating crown-of-thorn-starfish infestations. Understanding the long-term effects of land-based pollution on the ecology of coral reefs in the GBR will thus provide a scientific basis to help ensure that it has a sustainable future.Read moreRead less