Managing at the Margins: Women Making it Work in Precarious Times. This project aims to investigate the economic, social and emotional impacts of precarious work on women. Focusing on the challenges that arise from juggling precarious work with care responsibilities and/or demands from the social support system, the project identifies the strategies women have to manage these demands, and the impacts these demands have on everyday lives across different life stages. By combining otherwise separa ....Managing at the Margins: Women Making it Work in Precarious Times. This project aims to investigate the economic, social and emotional impacts of precarious work on women. Focusing on the challenges that arise from juggling precarious work with care responsibilities and/or demands from the social support system, the project identifies the strategies women have to manage these demands, and the impacts these demands have on everyday lives across different life stages. By combining otherwise separate bodies of literature with innovative quantitative and qualitative data, the project seeks to generate new knowledge about the impacts of precarious work on women and families. This knowledge is expected to inform policies and services to improve women’s lives and promote economic inclusion and social cohesion.Read moreRead less
Understanding biological pathways underlying social behaviour in humans. This project aims to show for the first time how oxytocin interacts with neural social and reward pathways to guide social behaviour. Oxytocin is a natural neuropeptide and hormone that has a critical role in the regulation of social behaviour across mammalian species. In animals, direct evidence demonstrates how endogenous and exogenous oxytocin interacts with social and reward neural pathways to alter social behaviour, in ....Understanding biological pathways underlying social behaviour in humans. This project aims to show for the first time how oxytocin interacts with neural social and reward pathways to guide social behaviour. Oxytocin is a natural neuropeptide and hormone that has a critical role in the regulation of social behaviour across mammalian species. In animals, direct evidence demonstrates how endogenous and exogenous oxytocin interacts with social and reward neural pathways to alter social behaviour, including social recognition, relationship formation, and long-term bonds. The project intends to use radio-labelling techniques in combination with positron emission tomography to track oxytocin and show what regions of the brain oxytocin impacts to then influence social cognition and behaviour in humans.Read moreRead less
Towards an effective practice model for youth detention. This project aims to examine the effectiveness of an innovative government program, which seeks to enhance the safety and rehabilitative culture of juvenile detention centres by increasing staff interpersonal skills through specialist training, coaching and supervision. The project is expected to identify best practice principles, allowing government departments to focus efforts on training and staff support to provide a higher quality wor ....Towards an effective practice model for youth detention. This project aims to examine the effectiveness of an innovative government program, which seeks to enhance the safety and rehabilitative culture of juvenile detention centres by increasing staff interpersonal skills through specialist training, coaching and supervision. The project is expected to identify best practice principles, allowing government departments to focus efforts on training and staff support to provide a higher quality work force. An evidence based framework will be developed in consultation with juvenile justice agencies across Australia. This will potentially improve outcomes for young people in custody and the wider community.Read moreRead less
Securing the next generation in farming and food careers. This project aims to investigate why and how young people (aged 15-35 years) enter, stay or leave jobs and careers in the agri-food sector, including farming, farm services and food processing. This project expects to generate new knowledge to improve youth career trajectories through using an innovative, interdisciplinary and engaged research design with young people. Expected outcomes include the co-design of youth-appropriate industry ....Securing the next generation in farming and food careers. This project aims to investigate why and how young people (aged 15-35 years) enter, stay or leave jobs and careers in the agri-food sector, including farming, farm services and food processing. This project expects to generate new knowledge to improve youth career trajectories through using an innovative, interdisciplinary and engaged research design with young people. Expected outcomes include the co-design of youth-appropriate industry and education policy proposals, new models of youth engagement in agri-food and better career outcomes for young people. This should provide significant benefits to the sustainability and growth of the agri-food sector and to rural and regional communities and their economic prosperity. Read moreRead less
Effective biodiversity behaviour change across supply chains. Consumption of resources is the major driver of biodiversity loss yet understanding of how to change behavioural drivers is lacking. This project aims to understand barriers to biodiversity behaviours across a supply chain, how to overcome them and increase positive biodiversity impact via spillover effects. We will use coffee as a case study to test specific interventions, design effective message frames for reducing the psychologica ....Effective biodiversity behaviour change across supply chains. Consumption of resources is the major driver of biodiversity loss yet understanding of how to change behavioural drivers is lacking. This project aims to understand barriers to biodiversity behaviours across a supply chain, how to overcome them and increase positive biodiversity impact via spillover effects. We will use coffee as a case study to test specific interventions, design effective message frames for reducing the psychological distance of consumption behaviours and develop a framework for generalising to other behaviours impacting biodiversity. The project is expected to generate new knowledge and approaches critical for policy makers and other actors seeking to reduce consumptive impacts on biodiversity.Read moreRead less
Measuring the benefits of reuse in the circular economy. The project will advance understanding of reuse commodity chains, their societal benefits and contributions to a more sustainable circular economy. Drawing on case study research with charitable and community reuse organisations, factors facilitating or inhibiting reuse will be identified, and rigorous methods developed for assessing the benefits of reuse organisations in terms of quantities of materials processed, employment, skills devel ....Measuring the benefits of reuse in the circular economy. The project will advance understanding of reuse commodity chains, their societal benefits and contributions to a more sustainable circular economy. Drawing on case study research with charitable and community reuse organisations, factors facilitating or inhibiting reuse will be identified, and rigorous methods developed for assessing the benefits of reuse organisations in terms of quantities of materials processed, employment, skills development and contributions to regional economic development. Research outputs will provide a sound evidence base for government policy and decision-making and strengthen conceptual understanding of drivers and enablers of reuse and links with broader economic activities. Read moreRead less
The Future Cemetery. This project aims to identify and critically assess the potential of innovative technologies to enhance the experience of the cemetery for an increasingly diverse, secular, and well-informed public, and to strengthen cemeteries’ community connections.
It will generate knowledge about the industry’s and the public’s future-oriented desires through an interdisciplinary, collaborative, and evidence-based assessment of emerging cemetery-based technologies including mobile apps, ....The Future Cemetery. This project aims to identify and critically assess the potential of innovative technologies to enhance the experience of the cemetery for an increasingly diverse, secular, and well-informed public, and to strengthen cemeteries’ community connections.
It will generate knowledge about the industry’s and the public’s future-oriented desires through an interdisciplinary, collaborative, and evidence-based assessment of emerging cemetery-based technologies including mobile apps, GPS systems, drones, holography, virtual reality, green burials, and resomation.
A key expected outcome is a future cemetery that makes sensitive use of technology to enhance its services to public and community, underpinned by scholarly research.
Read moreRead less
Towards in-vehicle situation awareness using visual and audio sensors. This project aims to characterise driver awareness, activity and interactions with other vehicle occupants using visual and audio cues from internally mounted sensors. Road accidents cost Australia an estimated $30 billion per year and tragic loss of thousands of lives, yet the vast majority of severe vehicle crashes are linked to driver fatigue or distraction. The expected project outcomes include advanced artificial intelli ....Towards in-vehicle situation awareness using visual and audio sensors. This project aims to characterise driver awareness, activity and interactions with other vehicle occupants using visual and audio cues from internally mounted sensors. Road accidents cost Australia an estimated $30 billion per year and tragic loss of thousands of lives, yet the vast majority of severe vehicle crashes are linked to driver fatigue or distraction. The expected project outcomes include advanced artificial intelligence to infer and predict dangerous driver and passenger behaviour. This has the potential to significantly benefit society by advancing autonomous driving capabilities and reducing driver-induced accidents and fatalities, ensuring that every driver, passenger and pedestrian arrives home safely at the end of each day.Read moreRead less