Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal sex-offenders in Australia: Assessing risk for practice and policy. A key priority of Australian governments is to improve community safety through reducing the risk of sex offenders re-offending after release from prison. This project will assess the validity of tools used to predict the risk of sexual offender recidivism and identify alternate risk assessment tools for Indigenous and non-Indigenous sex offenders.
Pre-blast screening of improvised explosive devices - a National counter-terrorism initiative. The proposed research is focused on the specific needs of Australian counter-terrorism interests, including those of border protection, the customs service, transport authorities, forensic laboratories, etc. The support of this proposal will ensure that Australia, and its States and Territories are protected against terrorist threats. The support provided by the collaborating organisations from the var ....Pre-blast screening of improvised explosive devices - a National counter-terrorism initiative. The proposed research is focused on the specific needs of Australian counter-terrorism interests, including those of border protection, the customs service, transport authorities, forensic laboratories, etc. The support of this proposal will ensure that Australia, and its States and Territories are protected against terrorist threats. The support provided by the collaborating organisations from the various Federal and State police and forensic agencies, and the customs service, etc, highlights the importance of this project to the nation. Finally, a PhD student and a research assistant will be involved with the project and will gain specialised skills positioning them to make strong contributions to Australia's counter-terrorism measures.Read moreRead less
Capital Offending: Income, Work and Crime in Australia’s Convict Era. At least 60 per cent of Australia’s current prison population has been in prison before. By contrast a mere 18 per cent of transported convicts were re-incarcerated following release. This project aims to use information on the bank accounts maintained for convicts while under sentence to measure the relationship between capital formation and post-sentence marriage, migration and reconviction rates. It will look in particular ....Capital Offending: Income, Work and Crime in Australia’s Convict Era. At least 60 per cent of Australia’s current prison population has been in prison before. By contrast a mere 18 per cent of transported convicts were re-incarcerated following release. This project aims to use information on the bank accounts maintained for convicts while under sentence to measure the relationship between capital formation and post-sentence marriage, migration and reconviction rates. It will look in particular at the extent to which skills, employment opportunities and asset accumulation enabled former transported convicts to go straight. It will also result in improved archival search engines enabling access for members of the public to internationally recognised record groups hitherto held by different institutions.Read moreRead less
Assessment of bentonites as remediating agents for metal contaminated soils using innovative bioavailability reduction technology. The project seeks to carry out research on innovative, economically sustainable risk-based solutions (soil amendments) for metal-contaminated soils and methods for assessing the potential risk/bioavailability of soil bound metals. The work will determine factors affecting the reactivity, mobility and bioavailability of metals in Australian soils and clays and method ....Assessment of bentonites as remediating agents for metal contaminated soils using innovative bioavailability reduction technology. The project seeks to carry out research on innovative, economically sustainable risk-based solutions (soil amendments) for metal-contaminated soils and methods for assessing the potential risk/bioavailability of soil bound metals. The work will determine factors affecting the reactivity, mobility and bioavailability of metals in Australian soils and clays and methods by which these can be controlled. Remediation options, such as natural clay amendments to reduce metal bioavailability, will be assessed against in vivo and in vitro bioavailability assays in order to develop cost effective, risk-based remediation strategies and assessment protocols for urban and rural contaminated soils.Read moreRead less