School autonomy reform and Australian public education. This project aims to provide an evidence base for policymakers and practitioners that articulates how Australian public schools at an individual and system level engage with school autonomy reform. The project expects to generate an evidence base and new knowledge in the form of dilemma cases, position papers and a practice framework to support social justice through school autonomy reform. This evidence base will produce national economic ....School autonomy reform and Australian public education. This project aims to provide an evidence base for policymakers and practitioners that articulates how Australian public schools at an individual and system level engage with school autonomy reform. The project expects to generate an evidence base and new knowledge in the form of dilemma cases, position papers and a practice framework to support social justice through school autonomy reform. This evidence base will produce national economic and social benefits for Australian communities by identifying the requisite knowledge and practices that will enable key stakeholders to mobilise school autonomy in ways that produce just outcomes for all students.Read moreRead less
Policing Australian Popular Music. This project will be the first comprehensive study of the relationship between policing and popular music in Australia. An interdisciplinary approach brings together criminology, music, history, social work, cultural, and music education research to investigate the processes by which certain forms of popular music and affiliated communities have been criminalised, and the ways musicians and musical communities have voiced resistance to police and state power. T ....Policing Australian Popular Music. This project will be the first comprehensive study of the relationship between policing and popular music in Australia. An interdisciplinary approach brings together criminology, music, history, social work, cultural, and music education research to investigate the processes by which certain forms of popular music and affiliated communities have been criminalised, and the ways musicians and musical communities have voiced resistance to police and state power. Through innovative interview and arts-practice based methodologies, the project will generate new knowledge on the historic and contemporary relations between state governance and creative cultural expression to inform policy and practice in policing as well as cultural investments. Read moreRead less
Computational MultiPhysics Analysis of 3D Structural Damage and Failure. This project aims to develop advanced modelling techniques to assess quantitatively, the impacts of environmental changes caused by climate on structures. New and existing structures need to be climate-resilient to sustain more frequent and hazardous climatic actions. Attention will focus on modelling structural damage caused by extreme loads and MultiPhysics mechanisms caused by climate change. The expected outcome is a ne ....Computational MultiPhysics Analysis of 3D Structural Damage and Failure. This project aims to develop advanced modelling techniques to assess quantitatively, the impacts of environmental changes caused by climate on structures. New and existing structures need to be climate-resilient to sustain more frequent and hazardous climatic actions. Attention will focus on modelling structural damage caused by extreme loads and MultiPhysics mechanisms caused by climate change. The expected outcome is a new computational tool that will benefit Australian society by facilitating more reliable assessments of risks associated with structural damage and failure. This is significant in the design of structures where effective measures to improve functionality can be implemented to add value to an asset's life-cycle management.Read moreRead less
How climate-resilient are our temperate fisheries species? This project assesses the resilience of our temperate fisheries species to climate change. Using natural warming hotspots and volcanic CO2 vents we study populations of fisheries species that are already pre-adapted to future climate, and therefore could act as key populations for replenishment of future fisheries stocks. An innovative and interdisciplinary approach combines the ecology, genetics, behaviour, and physiology of fisheries s ....How climate-resilient are our temperate fisheries species? This project assesses the resilience of our temperate fisheries species to climate change. Using natural warming hotspots and volcanic CO2 vents we study populations of fisheries species that are already pre-adapted to future climate, and therefore could act as key populations for replenishment of future fisheries stocks. An innovative and interdisciplinary approach combines the ecology, genetics, behaviour, and physiology of fisheries species to evaluate their climate resilience. An advanced food web model will be developed to forecast changes to fisheries production in a future world. This provides a much-improved forecast of climate adaptation and managing future biodiversity and fisheries species through resilient genes and populations.Read moreRead less
Drivers of ageing and adaptive ageing in middle-aged and older adults. This project aims to answer crucial questions about how our early years influence our health and wellbeing in middle and later life. Drawing on one of Australia’s longest running studies of social and emotional development, we link decades of developmental data collected since 1983 to social, emotional, cognitive and physical wellbeing in participants turning 40 (midlife) and 70 (later life). It will provide insight into impo ....Drivers of ageing and adaptive ageing in middle-aged and older adults. This project aims to answer crucial questions about how our early years influence our health and wellbeing in middle and later life. Drawing on one of Australia’s longest running studies of social and emotional development, we link decades of developmental data collected since 1983 to social, emotional, cognitive and physical wellbeing in participants turning 40 (midlife) and 70 (later life). It will provide insight into important and largely unanswered questions about the way social factors in the first half of life shape our later selves. This study will inform government and health policy targeting ageing populations.
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Evolving landscapes of our early South African ancestors. This project aims to reconstruct the early evolution of our genus, from 2.6 to 1.8 million years ago. This was a time of faunal and environmental change, the extinction of apelike human ancestors (Australopithecus), the speciation of a specialised human genus, Paranthropus, and the origin of our own genus, Homo. This project will study South African cave sites, the surrounding karst, and the oldest known Homo ergaster fossil to model chan ....Evolving landscapes of our early South African ancestors. This project aims to reconstruct the early evolution of our genus, from 2.6 to 1.8 million years ago. This was a time of faunal and environmental change, the extinction of apelike human ancestors (Australopithecus), the speciation of a specialised human genus, Paranthropus, and the origin of our own genus, Homo. This project will study South African cave sites, the surrounding karst, and the oldest known Homo ergaster fossil to model changing dietary patterns and landscape use by hominins. This project expects to reconstruct the early evolution of our genus and to address how species reacted to changing environmental conditions and increasing aridity.Read moreRead less
Healthy and working life expectancies in an ageing Australia. This project aims to identify social circumstances that optimise healthy and working life years in Australia. The project draws on international multidisciplinary expertise to critically evaluate social variation and inequalities in the years older adults live in good health and are engaged in work. Expected outcomes include the generation of new policy-relevant knowledge on older workers, active retirement, and healthy ageing which w ....Healthy and working life expectancies in an ageing Australia. This project aims to identify social circumstances that optimise healthy and working life years in Australia. The project draws on international multidisciplinary expertise to critically evaluate social variation and inequalities in the years older adults live in good health and are engaged in work. Expected outcomes include the generation of new policy-relevant knowledge on older workers, active retirement, and healthy ageing which will advance the field of life course epidemiology and inform the debate about Australia’s future ageing. This project should provide benefits for individual wellbeing, and provide evidence that can inform long-term public policy on health, work, welfare, and retirement.Read moreRead less
Novel tractography-guided MRI methods for studying healthy brain ageing. Advances in imaging, and particularly Magnetic Resonance Imaging, have opened a new era in the study of the brain enabling a myriad of neuroscience discoveries. This project aims to develop new analysis methods to study and understand the variability in the human brain during ageing, exploiting the wealth of information contained in the so-called tractogram, a mapping of the brain’s wiring. This project expects to develop i ....Novel tractography-guided MRI methods for studying healthy brain ageing. Advances in imaging, and particularly Magnetic Resonance Imaging, have opened a new era in the study of the brain enabling a myriad of neuroscience discoveries. This project aims to develop new analysis methods to study and understand the variability in the human brain during ageing, exploiting the wealth of information contained in the so-called tractogram, a mapping of the brain’s wiring. This project expects to develop innovative imaging biomarkers to characterise the brain changes in the course of healthy brain ageing. Expected outcomes include novel imaging tools for neuroscience, which should allow us to map trajectories of normative healthy brain ageing and use them to identify lifestyle factors that impact these trajectories.Read moreRead less
Maintaining active minds and bodies through adult music education. This project aims to investigate how instructional design can enhance learning and wellbeing for older adults who are studying a musical instrument for the first time. Music is a highly valued cultural activity in this age group, yet teaching strategies are seldom modified from that for young learners. This project expects to generate fundamental knowledge of improvisation as a learning stimulus, and of the possible barriers of ....Maintaining active minds and bodies through adult music education. This project aims to investigate how instructional design can enhance learning and wellbeing for older adults who are studying a musical instrument for the first time. Music is a highly valued cultural activity in this age group, yet teaching strategies are seldom modified from that for young learners. This project expects to generate fundamental knowledge of improvisation as a learning stimulus, and of the possible barriers of musical notation and the physical demands of an instrument. Intended outcomes include uptake of results by music professionals, aged-care and older-adult education service providers, leading to significant benefits in the social, cultural, and physical health and wellbeing for this growing population.Read moreRead less
Understanding the survival of forests under drought . Droughts are predicted to become more extreme in the near future, with potentially devastating impacts on Australian forest ecosystems. This project aims to address key knowledge gaps in our understanding of how plants tolerate extreme drought stress and utilise this new knowledge to improve vegetation models suitable for assessing ecosystem vulnerability. We will use innovative experimental methodology to determine the processes by which wat ....Understanding the survival of forests under drought . Droughts are predicted to become more extreme in the near future, with potentially devastating impacts on Australian forest ecosystems. This project aims to address key knowledge gaps in our understanding of how plants tolerate extreme drought stress and utilise this new knowledge to improve vegetation models suitable for assessing ecosystem vulnerability. We will use innovative experimental methodology to determine the processes by which water transport breaks down in roots, stems and leaves and the mechanisms governing recovery from severe drought stress. The project will provide a deeper understanding of drought tolerance in trees, improved forecasting of risks to native vegetation, and enhanced management of native forest resources. Read moreRead less