Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101396
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$422,689.00
Summary
Reducing modern slavery with new digital and enforcement technologies. Forced and bonded labour, as well as poverty wages, have been uncovered in Australia's meat and fashion industries and eight government inquiries since 2016 have identified inadequate enforcement tools as an impediment to effective regulation. This DECRA aims to assess whether and in what ways enforcement can be enhanced by adapting advances in digital technologies to the needs of labour regulators for their strategies to red ....Reducing modern slavery with new digital and enforcement technologies. Forced and bonded labour, as well as poverty wages, have been uncovered in Australia's meat and fashion industries and eight government inquiries since 2016 have identified inadequate enforcement tools as an impediment to effective regulation. This DECRA aims to assess whether and in what ways enforcement can be enhanced by adapting advances in digital technologies to the needs of labour regulators for their strategies to reduce modern slavery. This will be achieved by case studies of enforcement efforts in domestic meat processing and fashion supply chains, as well as studies of practical applications of digital technologies. The findings will identify new tools to aid detection of this largely hidden workforce and bolster enforcement. Read moreRead less
Compromised fertility in contemporary Indonesia. This project will benefit the community by informing service provision for infertility treatment, and by identifying the potential for prevention strategies. It will consolidate Australia's position at the forefront of research into assisted reproductive technologies, through the extension of this expertise to our near neighbours. It will contribute to the current gap in knowledge of infertility in Southeast Asia and in developing countries more b ....Compromised fertility in contemporary Indonesia. This project will benefit the community by informing service provision for infertility treatment, and by identifying the potential for prevention strategies. It will consolidate Australia's position at the forefront of research into assisted reproductive technologies, through the extension of this expertise to our near neighbours. It will contribute to the current gap in knowledge of infertility in Southeast Asia and in developing countries more broadly, and advance research on infertility conducted from human rights and anthropological perspectives. The project will reinforce the relevance of the United Nations definition of reproductive health, for all people regardless of whether they live in highly or lesser developed nations.Read moreRead less
Fostering Aboriginal sexual well-being by building on strengths. This project aims to use a strengths-based approach to examine how Aboriginal young people draw on social, cultural and personal resources to build their sexual well-being. Many Aboriginal Australians see strengths approaches as essential to addressing disadvantage. However, to date they have not been widely used to address the significant sexual health inequalities experienced by Aboriginal young people. The project will create ne ....Fostering Aboriginal sexual well-being by building on strengths. This project aims to use a strengths-based approach to examine how Aboriginal young people draw on social, cultural and personal resources to build their sexual well-being. Many Aboriginal Australians see strengths approaches as essential to addressing disadvantage. However, to date they have not been widely used to address the significant sexual health inequalities experienced by Aboriginal young people. The project will create new knowledge about ‘what works’ in supporting the sexual well-being of Aboriginal young people, that has relevance to a broad range of disciplines beyond the area of health and well-being.Read moreRead less
Central pathways regulating visceral pain. This project aims to investigate the neural pathways within the spinal cord and brain processing colorectal pain perception. The project aims to identify the spinal cord neurons relaying colorectal signalling into the brain and the influence of descending modulation from the brainstem upon these pathways. The outcomes will greatly benefit fundamental understanding of the central pathways processing visceral pain.
A Regional Perspective on Work & Family Balance and Changes in Employment Regulation. Work/family balance is a focus of significant attention at the community, national and international level. This project will generate new knowledge about the ways in which employment regulation directly and indirectly impacts on employee work/family balance outcomes within different regional and industry contexts. A growing body of research recognises the linkages between employment regulation and effects on c ....A Regional Perspective on Work & Family Balance and Changes in Employment Regulation. Work/family balance is a focus of significant attention at the community, national and international level. This project will generate new knowledge about the ways in which employment regulation directly and indirectly impacts on employee work/family balance outcomes within different regional and industry contexts. A growing body of research recognises the linkages between employment regulation and effects on child and parent well-being and health, labour force supply and economic outcomes. However, little is known about how geographical location shapes work/family balance. The research will thus contribute to improved understandings and to better social policy at the local, state and federal levels.Read moreRead less
How the brain regulates blood pressure. This project will test whether a group of nerve cells in the rostral ventrolateral medulla generate sympathetic activity in blood vessels. The brain regulates blood pressure through several pathways, including nerves in the sympathetic nervous system that constrict blood vessels and increase the heart rate. Activity of these sympathetic nerves regulates blood pressure, but it is unknown which nerve cells in the brain cause this activity. This information i ....How the brain regulates blood pressure. This project will test whether a group of nerve cells in the rostral ventrolateral medulla generate sympathetic activity in blood vessels. The brain regulates blood pressure through several pathways, including nerves in the sympathetic nervous system that constrict blood vessels and increase the heart rate. Activity of these sympathetic nerves regulates blood pressure, but it is unknown which nerve cells in the brain cause this activity. This information is essential to understand how blood pressure is controlled under healthy conditions.Read moreRead less
Psychiatric disorders in epilepsy. Psychiatric disorders, such as depression, anxiety and cognitive disorders, are frequently observed in patients with epilepsy. Although standard dogma suggests that psychiatric disorders are a consequence of living with epilepsy, recent evidence suggests a bidirectional relationship between these disorders, such that depression and other psychiatric illnesses act as risk factors for epilepsy development. This project will utilise basic science approaches to und ....Psychiatric disorders in epilepsy. Psychiatric disorders, such as depression, anxiety and cognitive disorders, are frequently observed in patients with epilepsy. Although standard dogma suggests that psychiatric disorders are a consequence of living with epilepsy, recent evidence suggests a bidirectional relationship between these disorders, such that depression and other psychiatric illnesses act as risk factors for epilepsy development. This project will utilise basic science approaches to understand the causal relationships between epilepsy and psychiatric disorders, and determine how and why psychiatric disorders and epilepsy co-exist. It is hoped that research conducted in this project will develop novel avenues to treatment of both epilepsy and psychiatric disorders.Read moreRead less
UNDERSTANDING THE BASIS OF COMPLEX BEHAVIOUR. This project is anchored in the fundamental understanding of complex vertebrate behaviours, namely cognition. Little is known about the molecular and neural substrates underpinning complex higher order information processing. This project aims to dissect the functional role of synaptic genes that are essential for organising neuronal connections, in distinct cognitive processes and how these functions may be regulated by other genes, drugs or environ ....UNDERSTANDING THE BASIS OF COMPLEX BEHAVIOUR. This project is anchored in the fundamental understanding of complex vertebrate behaviours, namely cognition. Little is known about the molecular and neural substrates underpinning complex higher order information processing. This project aims to dissect the functional role of synaptic genes that are essential for organising neuronal connections, in distinct cognitive processes and how these functions may be regulated by other genes, drugs or environmental factors. This project aims to employ state-of-the-art technologies to address the evolutionary biology of complex cognitive behaviours, towards further understandings how brain function evolved and the mechanisms that have enabled humans to perform highly complex and intricate tasks.Read moreRead less
The consequences of osteoarthritis in Australia: Work productivity loss and health service utilisation. This project will determine the burden of osteoarthritis in Australia. Although osteoarthritis is one of the most common and costly conditions affecting the developed world, little is known about the number of Australians living with hip or knee osteoarthritis, the population need for health services or the impact of the condition on the workforce. Directly addressing Australia's National Ac ....The consequences of osteoarthritis in Australia: Work productivity loss and health service utilisation. This project will determine the burden of osteoarthritis in Australia. Although osteoarthritis is one of the most common and costly conditions affecting the developed world, little is known about the number of Australians living with hip or knee osteoarthritis, the population need for health services or the impact of the condition on the workforce. Directly addressing Australia's National Action Plan for Arthritis, this research will be used by health policy makers in planning future resources to appropriately meet the needs of people with osteoarthritis. This work is of national importance because osteoarthritis is the single largest cause of workplace disability and a major contributor to lost productivity. Read moreRead less
Neural migration: Which cells advance and which stay behind? This project aims to examine the neural crest cells that colonise the developing gut and to identify why some cells advance while others stay behind to populate a region. Directed cell migration is essential for normal development, including for the nervous system. In most of the migratory cell populations that have been analysed to date, all of the cells migrate as a collective from one location to another. However, there are also mi ....Neural migration: Which cells advance and which stay behind? This project aims to examine the neural crest cells that colonise the developing gut and to identify why some cells advance while others stay behind to populate a region. Directed cell migration is essential for normal development, including for the nervous system. In most of the migratory cell populations that have been analysed to date, all of the cells migrate as a collective from one location to another. However, there are also migratory cell populations that must populate the areas through which they migrate, and thus some cells get left behind while others advance. The planned data are likely to be relevant to other cell populations that also populate the areas through which they migrate, including neural crest-derived melanocytes and Schwann cell precursors.Read moreRead less