Engaging Students during the Early Years of Secondary School. This project aims to design, test and share sustainable strategies to support teachers and enable students from low socioeconomic communities to achieve success. The greatest decreases in students’ interest and effort occur when they transition into secondary school, with students from low socioeconomic communities at greatest risk of disengagement. What can teachers do to engage their students during this key life transition? This pr ....Engaging Students during the Early Years of Secondary School. This project aims to design, test and share sustainable strategies to support teachers and enable students from low socioeconomic communities to achieve success. The greatest decreases in students’ interest and effort occur when they transition into secondary school, with students from low socioeconomic communities at greatest risk of disengagement. What can teachers do to engage their students during this key life transition? This project plans to identify teacher behaviours that motivate students in their first year at secondary school. Using an experimental design with a representative sample of 150 teachers and 1500 students in low socioeconomic areas across three states, the project plans to test whether an online professional learning program for teachers can improve student engagement and achievement. This cost-effective and scalable intervention is designed for widespread dissemination to Australian teachers.Read moreRead less
Diversity in large crop genomes via enhanced recombination. The project aims to understand genetic and environmental factors that limit how fast genomic combinations can be generated by modifying the recombination rates between chromosomes. Plant breeding is based around genetic diversity, but modern breeding programs have captured only a small proportion of the variation available in wild relatives and land races. Knowledge of diversity in this wild germplasm pool is increasing and the challeng ....Diversity in large crop genomes via enhanced recombination. The project aims to understand genetic and environmental factors that limit how fast genomic combinations can be generated by modifying the recombination rates between chromosomes. Plant breeding is based around genetic diversity, but modern breeding programs have captured only a small proportion of the variation available in wild relatives and land races. Knowledge of diversity in this wild germplasm pool is increasing and the challenge is to quickly and efficiently introduce this variation into elite lines. This project’s findings are expected to transform wheat and barley breeding methods by unlocking the genetic diversity to produce new varieties. This will enhance and protect a critical and valuable rural industry.Read moreRead less
Demography & Diaspora: Enhancing Contributions to Migration & Development. The replacement of permanent displacement by transnationalism as the dominant paradigm in migration has had little impact on demographic measurement and study of migration. This project seeks to rethink demographic concepts of migration to incorporate important elements such as diaspora, circular migration and transnational linkages. It aims to show how innovative use of traditional demographic data with a range of quanti ....Demography & Diaspora: Enhancing Contributions to Migration & Development. The replacement of permanent displacement by transnationalism as the dominant paradigm in migration has had little impact on demographic measurement and study of migration. This project seeks to rethink demographic concepts of migration to incorporate important elements such as diaspora, circular migration and transnational linkages. It aims to show how innovative use of traditional demographic data with a range of quantitative and qualitative research can yield important insights into diaspora. Case studies of six countries will be undertaken to increase understanding of the initiation, maintenance and significance of diaspora and its potential for enhancing development and reducing poverty in origins.Read moreRead less
Evolutionary origins of sexual parasitism in an Australian freshwater fish. Carp gudgeons are the most abundant, widespread and biodiverse freshwater fishes in southeastern Australia. The unacknowledged presence of many cryptic species and sexually-parasitic lineages severely taints all research on this cornerstone group. This project aims to provide unrivalled evolutionary, genomic, and taxonomic insights into this new instance of vertebrate sexual parasitism, which offers a unique mix of resea ....Evolutionary origins of sexual parasitism in an Australian freshwater fish. Carp gudgeons are the most abundant, widespread and biodiverse freshwater fishes in southeastern Australia. The unacknowledged presence of many cryptic species and sexually-parasitic lineages severely taints all research on this cornerstone group. This project aims to provide unrivalled evolutionary, genomic, and taxonomic insights into this new instance of vertebrate sexual parasitism, which offers a unique mix of research advantages not displayed by any other sexual/unisexual complex. The knowledge gained could impact many research fields, including evolutionary theory addressing the unexplainable prevalence of sex, native fish ecology, and environmental monitoring of the Murray-Darling Basin, an ecosystem of world significance.Read moreRead less
New Concepts in Legal Pluralism: A Theoretical and Practical Analysis. The central objective of this project is to make a substantial and original contribution to legal knowledge by developing a new concept of legal pluralism, and demonstrating its practical significance in the modern legal context. The traditional centralist model of law fails to recognise the co-existance of law with "quasi-legal" and informal normative systems, it deals inadequately with social and cultural difference, and it ....New Concepts in Legal Pluralism: A Theoretical and Practical Analysis. The central objective of this project is to make a substantial and original contribution to legal knowledge by developing a new concept of legal pluralism, and demonstrating its practical significance in the modern legal context. The traditional centralist model of law fails to recognise the co-existance of law with "quasi-legal" and informal normative systems, it deals inadequately with social and cultural difference, and it fails to recognise that state-based law is neither closed nor autonomous. This project will develop an innovative approach to legal pluralism, and strengthen pluralist thought within Australian law.Read moreRead less
Implicit cognitive processing of environmental food and eating cues in obese adults. Obesity is a major public health concern in Western countries, including Australia. In focusing on implicit cognitive processing of environmental food and eating cues, this project addresses a factor that has hitherto been neglected in obesity research. The inclusion of a component that specifically addresses food-related cognitions has the potential to dramatically improve the success of weight-loss programs. A ....Implicit cognitive processing of environmental food and eating cues in obese adults. Obesity is a major public health concern in Western countries, including Australia. In focusing on implicit cognitive processing of environmental food and eating cues, this project addresses a factor that has hitherto been neglected in obesity research. The inclusion of a component that specifically addresses food-related cognitions has the potential to dramatically improve the success of weight-loss programs. Accordingly, our research has clear potential benefit for Australian national health and well-being, consistent with Research Priority 2: Promoting and maintaining good health. It will also contribute to the international profile of Australian social science and provide valuable research training opportunities for students.
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'Images of desire': An experimental cognitive approach to understanding and reducing food cravings. Food cravings are an important precursor to binge eating, a risk factor for both obesity and bulimia nervosa. Like many other Western countries, Australia has recently seen an alarming rise in these disorders. This project aims to investigate the imagery basis of food craving and develop effective techniques for its reduction. It has clear potential benefit for Australian national health and well- ....'Images of desire': An experimental cognitive approach to understanding and reducing food cravings. Food cravings are an important precursor to binge eating, a risk factor for both obesity and bulimia nervosa. Like many other Western countries, Australia has recently seen an alarming rise in these disorders. This project aims to investigate the imagery basis of food craving and develop effective techniques for its reduction. It has clear potential benefit for Australian national health and well-being, consistent with National Research Priority No. 2, "Promoting and Maintaining Good Health." The research will clearly contribute to the international profile of Australian social science and provide valuable research training for undergraduate and postgraduate students.Read moreRead less
Predicting health, well-being, and educational success in emerging adults: An 8 year longitudinal study. This project will inform the community about factors that affect the psychological, physical, academic, and employment outcomes of emerging adults. It will improve our knowledge of why some young people do not reach their full potential. The project will provide a comprehensive assessment of factors associated with well-being across several domains. It will better equip and assist professiona ....Predicting health, well-being, and educational success in emerging adults: An 8 year longitudinal study. This project will inform the community about factors that affect the psychological, physical, academic, and employment outcomes of emerging adults. It will improve our knowledge of why some young people do not reach their full potential. The project will provide a comprehensive assessment of factors associated with well-being across several domains. It will better equip and assist professionals to identify early those youth at risk of having poor psychological, health, and employment prospects post-school. The project will inform the development of intervention programs for young people and maximise their overall adjustment and well-being several years later.Read moreRead less
Who is Law For? An Analysis of the Nature of the Legal Being. The project will provide the first contemporary comprehensive scholarly treatise on "the legal person" as this legal concept applies to natural beings and objects: from rational humans, to human foetuses to animals to trees. It will have a direct bearing on legal decision-making in some of the most sensitive and controversial areas of law and therefore will have a highly practical legal application. For example, the project critically ....Who is Law For? An Analysis of the Nature of the Legal Being. The project will provide the first contemporary comprehensive scholarly treatise on "the legal person" as this legal concept applies to natural beings and objects: from rational humans, to human foetuses to animals to trees. It will have a direct bearing on legal decision-making in some of the most sensitive and controversial areas of law and therefore will have a highly practical legal application. For example, the project critically evaluates the legal status of the embryo and so will be of immediate interest to national and international law reformers considering the legality of the new reproductive technologies, cloning and embryonic stem cell research.Read moreRead less
Speed of Information Processing Across the Ages: the Structure of Cognitive Abilities in Children, Adults, and the Elderly. Does speed information processing determine intelligence? The study addresses this question by examining the structure of cognitive abilities and speed of processing in children, adults, and the elderly. The project will advance theory by testing whether speed of processing mediates developmental cognitive change during childhood and old age. Outcomes include contributing t ....Speed of Information Processing Across the Ages: the Structure of Cognitive Abilities in Children, Adults, and the Elderly. Does speed information processing determine intelligence? The study addresses this question by examining the structure of cognitive abilities and speed of processing in children, adults, and the elderly. The project will advance theory by testing whether speed of processing mediates developmental cognitive change during childhood and old age. Outcomes include contributing to a complete model of cognition, laying the foundations for a future major longitudinal study which will provide evidence on the direction of causality between speed of processing measures and cognitive abilities, and provide norms for a computerised, commercial test battery.Read moreRead less