Deeper and broader life cycle risk assessment - extending the frontier for hybrid methodologies. This project is about combining detailed and global perspectives of environmental health risk from different fields of planning practice. It aims to improve the depth and breadth of the types of information used by government regulators and the community in decisions about the development of capital works.
Optimised field delineation of contaminated soils. This project seeks to cost-efficiently identify the contaminated areas of a soil site which will require remediation. There are many thousands of sites contaminated with metals and/or organics across urban and rural Australia and some tens of millions across the world. These sites pose a serious potential threat to human health. Detection (and remediation) of such sites is expensive. The project aims to deliver a cheaper method of detection thro ....Optimised field delineation of contaminated soils. This project seeks to cost-efficiently identify the contaminated areas of a soil site which will require remediation. There are many thousands of sites contaminated with metals and/or organics across urban and rural Australia and some tens of millions across the world. These sites pose a serious potential threat to human health. Detection (and remediation) of such sites is expensive. The project aims to deliver a cheaper method of detection through a novel combination of infra-red and X-ray spectroscopies combined with data-fused soil inference and optimised directed sampling and mapping. This is intended to reduce the economic barrier to detection and remediation, considerably hastening the removal of this health risk. Resulting novel technology could be transferred and commercialised internationally.Read moreRead less
Mining, irrigation, and groundwater: Towards a reliable protocol for assessing the impacts of extraction on groundwater fauna and ecology. Groundwater fluctuations associated with mining and increased irrigation demands, potentially threaten many of Australia's unique groundwater invertebrates (stygofauna) with extinction. Stygofauna represent a hidden store of biodiversity and are thought to have a critical, but poorly understood, role in enhancing groundwater quality. Environmentally sustainab ....Mining, irrigation, and groundwater: Towards a reliable protocol for assessing the impacts of extraction on groundwater fauna and ecology. Groundwater fluctuations associated with mining and increased irrigation demands, potentially threaten many of Australia's unique groundwater invertebrates (stygofauna) with extinction. Stygofauna represent a hidden store of biodiversity and are thought to have a critical, but poorly understood, role in enhancing groundwater quality. Environmentally sustainable development of groundwater resources is hampered by a dearth of information on the ecological needs of stygofauna and how they respond to human-induced change. Using field and laboratory experiments, we aim to determine how water table fluctuations threaten stygofauna. From our results we will develop sampling and management protocols to monitor and protect stygofauna communities.Read moreRead less
Intercultural understanding in primary and secondary schools. What facilitates or impedes intercultural understanding in children, adolescents and schools? How can this be addressed? How can we know what makes a difference? This project answers these questions at the individual, school and national level using a novel cultural systems approach and methodological and technological innovations.
Predicting the impacts of groundwater drawdown on groundwater ecosystems. This project aims to tackle a critical challenge of groundwater management – to understand and predict the impacts of declining groundwater levels. Over pumping and declining groundwater tables are a global problem, yet the effects on the ecosystems that exist within aquifers are poorly known. This project will create a world first evidence-based model of how lowering water tables affects the microbes, invertebrates (stygo ....Predicting the impacts of groundwater drawdown on groundwater ecosystems. This project aims to tackle a critical challenge of groundwater management – to understand and predict the impacts of declining groundwater levels. Over pumping and declining groundwater tables are a global problem, yet the effects on the ecosystems that exist within aquifers are poorly known. This project will create a world first evidence-based model of how lowering water tables affects the microbes, invertebrates (stygofauna) and ecological processes in groundwater ecosystems, and will demonstrate the consequences of such changes to groundwater quality and availability. This model will allow impacts to be reliably forecast and avoided or mitigated, vastly improving how major developments affecting groundwater are planned and implemented.Read moreRead less
Building the numeracy and information and communication technology capability of students with intellectual disabilities. This project investigates strategies to build numeracy and information and communication technology capability among students with intellectual disabilities. It aims to support teachers in mainstream and special education schools as they plan and monitor personalised instruction for their students. The research combines disciplines of special schools, the state Education Depa ....Building the numeracy and information and communication technology capability of students with intellectual disabilities. This project investigates strategies to build numeracy and information and communication technology capability among students with intellectual disabilities. It aims to support teachers in mainstream and special education schools as they plan and monitor personalised instruction for their students. The research combines disciplines of special schools, the state Education Department’s Student Inclusion and Wellbeing Division, and the Assessment Research Centre. The expected outcome is an integrated program of assessment, reporting, curriculum, and instructional advice that promotes inclusive educational practices and seeks to ensure all children have improved opportunities to participate in a technology driven, emerging knowledge economy.Read moreRead less
Ecosystem risk assessment. This project aims to develop a type-based framework for the world's ecosystems, and undertake the first broad-scale global risk assessment for ecosystems. It will include detailed Australian risk assessments and scenario analyses to develop sustainable management of ecosystem services and climate adaptation strategies. The outcomes include a global-scale framework for classifying terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, the first global Red List of Ecosystems and ....Ecosystem risk assessment. This project aims to develop a type-based framework for the world's ecosystems, and undertake the first broad-scale global risk assessment for ecosystems. It will include detailed Australian risk assessments and scenario analyses to develop sustainable management of ecosystem services and climate adaptation strategies. The outcomes include a global-scale framework for classifying terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, the first global Red List of Ecosystems and identified priorities for protecting remaining wild ecosystems and restoring those that have suffered degradation. This will help meet UN Sustainable Development Goals to improve human well-being globally.Read moreRead less
New metrics to measure and track fauna community condition in Australia. This project aims to improve how biodiversity is measured by developing a system to describe the condition of animal communities, analogous to those used for plant communities. It develops and tests the system for Australia’s birds, then extends the approach to other animal groups. The project expects to develop a data-driven typology of bird communities, accompanying community condition metrics that are scalable from site ....New metrics to measure and track fauna community condition in Australia. This project aims to improve how biodiversity is measured by developing a system to describe the condition of animal communities, analogous to those used for plant communities. It develops and tests the system for Australia’s birds, then extends the approach to other animal groups. The project expects to develop a data-driven typology of bird communities, accompanying community condition metrics that are scalable from site to national levels, and guidance for using these metrics in practice. These metrics will enable holistic and relevant measures of the biodiversity value of sites, improve evaluation of restoration actions, reveal trends in community condition, and inform monitoring and evaluation tools for emerging biodiversity markets.Read moreRead less
Improving teacher assessment using exemplars and online moderation. This project aims to assess the dependability of teacher judgement using psychometric scaling and online moderation. The project will use an innovative approach to connect achievement standards and judgement-practice for middle-year students in Australian education system. Expected outcomes of the project include the development of scaled work samples exemplifying A-E standards of achievement, refined methods for the consistency ....Improving teacher assessment using exemplars and online moderation. This project aims to assess the dependability of teacher judgement using psychometric scaling and online moderation. The project will use an innovative approach to connect achievement standards and judgement-practice for middle-year students in Australian education system. Expected outcomes of the project include the development of scaled work samples exemplifying A-E standards of achievement, refined methods for the consistency and comparability of assessment decisions, and a new approach to moderating teacher judgements. This project should provide significant benefits in building teachers’ assessment capabilities, shaping policy and teacher preparation.Read moreRead less
The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecologic ....The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecological impacts of industry development. Important benefits of the project include information and tools for streamlining development approvals and accurately assessing risks to threatened species to improve outcomes for both our economy and our natural environment.Read moreRead less