Environmental Interpretation: Towards a globally relevant model for communicating with tourists from culturally diverse backgrounds. Environmental interpretation, a widely accepted approach to communicating with tourists in North America, Latin America and the U.K., is based on communication research undertaken mainly by researchers in western cultures or focused on Anglo-Saxon audiences. This project advances theory and practice by critically examining the relevance of this model for communic ....Environmental Interpretation: Towards a globally relevant model for communicating with tourists from culturally diverse backgrounds. Environmental interpretation, a widely accepted approach to communicating with tourists in North America, Latin America and the U.K., is based on communication research undertaken mainly by researchers in western cultures or focused on Anglo-Saxon audiences. This project advances theory and practice by critically examining the relevance of this model for communicating with visitors from a range of cultural backgrounds. Environmental messages, communication media and the application of environmental interpretation principles are experimentally manipulated to evaluate their relative effectiveness in communicating with international and domestic visitors from culturally and ethnically diverse backgrounds, as a basis for refining the model for wider application.Read moreRead less
Involving local communities in defining town character in Victorian coastal towns. Many Australian coastal towns are experiencing rapid growth from tourism. In such places it is common to hear residents complain that the ?character? of their town is being lost due to inappropriate development. Local planning authorities are now attempting to respond to these concerns by undertaking studies to define what it is people feel is being lost. This project will involve local communities in defining tow ....Involving local communities in defining town character in Victorian coastal towns. Many Australian coastal towns are experiencing rapid growth from tourism. In such places it is common to hear residents complain that the ?character? of their town is being lost due to inappropriate development. Local planning authorities are now attempting to respond to these concerns by undertaking studies to define what it is people feel is being lost. This project will involve local communities in defining town and neighbourhood character in affected rural coastal areas of Victoria. Questions concerning residents' conceptualisation of town character and relationships between psychological and biophysical attributes associated with the notion of town character will be explored.Read moreRead less
Mesozoic Austral Biodiversity: Research and Regional Museum Applications. The impact of environmental alteration on Australia’s biodiversity has poorly understood long-term effects. This project examines the controversial biogeography and evolution of Australia’s biodiversity during the Age of Dinosaurs (mid-Cretaceous ~100 MYA) and their adaptational responses to climatic change. Fossils readily capture the public imagination and thus help promote complex scientific concepts in the global media ....Mesozoic Austral Biodiversity: Research and Regional Museum Applications. The impact of environmental alteration on Australia’s biodiversity has poorly understood long-term effects. This project examines the controversial biogeography and evolution of Australia’s biodiversity during the Age of Dinosaurs (mid-Cretaceous ~100 MYA) and their adaptational responses to climatic change. Fossils readily capture the public imagination and thus help promote complex scientific concepts in the global media. This project raises awareness about sustainable use of non-renewable fossil resources through public education and ecotourism fieldwork programs; these will help generate local interest and thus protection of sensitive fossil localities by highlighting them as lucrative tourism assets for regional communities.Read moreRead less
CEWAY: Cognitively ergonomic wayfinding directions for location-based services. This project develops qualitative models of wayfinding directions based on landmarks (e.g., 'to the hospital') and common spatial predicates (e.g. 'near to'). These models provide a basis for selecting salient features in different contexts and combining these features with vague spatial predicates. Such wayfinding directions require less cognitive workload and lead to higher success rates in wayfinding than current ....CEWAY: Cognitively ergonomic wayfinding directions for location-based services. This project develops qualitative models of wayfinding directions based on landmarks (e.g., 'to the hospital') and common spatial predicates (e.g. 'near to'). These models provide a basis for selecting salient features in different contexts and combining these features with vague spatial predicates. Such wayfinding directions require less cognitive workload and lead to higher success rates in wayfinding than current approaches. The project develops an integrated formal model of context-dependent salience and navigation under uncertainty. A demonstrator will be implemented based on the industry partners' software platform and data. Human subject tests using the demonstrator software will be used to verify the efficacy of our approach.Read moreRead less
An optimally integrated treatment process for food waste and wastewater to maximise sustainability in a decentralised treatment plant. Decentralised small scale treatment plants are required for remote communities, resort locations and 'rural residential' developments. This project has access to an operational plant in urban Brisbane serving 21 houses, the first development in urban Australia with full approval for an onsite treatment facility. The plant has been designed to treat an integrate ....An optimally integrated treatment process for food waste and wastewater to maximise sustainability in a decentralised treatment plant. Decentralised small scale treatment plants are required for remote communities, resort locations and 'rural residential' developments. This project has access to an operational plant in urban Brisbane serving 21 houses, the first development in urban Australia with full approval for an onsite treatment facility. The plant has been designed to treat an integrated kitchen waste and blackwater stream, with upstream anaerobic digestion that reduces the survival of wastewater pathogens and generates soluble organic carbon for the biological removal of nitrogen and phosphorous. The project will produce expertise in decentralised treatment systems, including the development of two PhD students in this area.Read moreRead less
Assessing and enhancing the resilience of Australian beaches to sea level rise. Accurate forecasting of coastal recession due to sea level rise is required for planning and the design of coastal defences, but the existing method is widely disputed. With collaboration with world leading research partners, this study will perform unique laboratory experiments to determine the vulnerability of Australian beaches to sea level rise and to test environmentally sustainable measures to increase their re ....Assessing and enhancing the resilience of Australian beaches to sea level rise. Accurate forecasting of coastal recession due to sea level rise is required for planning and the design of coastal defences, but the existing method is widely disputed. With collaboration with world leading research partners, this study will perform unique laboratory experiments to determine the vulnerability of Australian beaches to sea level rise and to test environmentally sustainable measures to increase their resilience. The research will address longstanding uncertainties and significantly enhance the ability of communities to plan for a changing climate. The project will deliver new data and models of immediate benefit to professional engineers to enable robust engineering decisions which enhance the safety of coastal communities.Read moreRead less
The impact of location-specific urban digital social information networks and public displays on the City of Melbourne. The purpose of this project is to enhance the city as a vibrant destination by taking digital content and anchoring it in the physical world. The outcomes will be physical nodes of interaction in urban cultural hubs - e.g., museums, libraries, cafes - allowing users to post media, stories and events that are locally relevant for others to consume.
Development and validation of an innovative wind stress model to obtain robust storm surge forecasts. Storm surges represent a major ocean flood hazard to coastal communities but present models have large errors, which are often dangerously low. Through international collaboration, this project will collect new field data and develop a new storm surge model which will enhance community safety by ensuring accurate forecasts of ocean flood levels.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130101703
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$350,505.00
Summary
Mission archaeology and colonial encounters in Southern Vanuatu. The remains of Christian missions in southern Vanuatu are important heritage sites for local communities, and for their place in world history as part of one of the final frontiers of European colonialism. This project explores these sites to produce a new picture of everyday life that includes the perspectives of missionaries and native people.
Backpacker cultures, residential communities, and the construction of tourist spaces and landscapes: A regional study of changing tourism dynamics in Sydney. This interdisciplinary project draws on Cultural Studies, Cultural Geography, and Tourism to respond to industry calls for more comprehensive, long-term research on tourism issues, particularly backpacker tourism in the Sydney metropolitan region. The project will explore tourism as a complex cultural practice through an innovative approach ....Backpacker cultures, residential communities, and the construction of tourist spaces and landscapes: A regional study of changing tourism dynamics in Sydney. This interdisciplinary project draws on Cultural Studies, Cultural Geography, and Tourism to respond to industry calls for more comprehensive, long-term research on tourism issues, particularly backpacker tourism in the Sydney metropolitan region. The project will explore tourism as a complex cultural practice through an innovative approach investigating the links between backpacker tourism and the transformation of places and communities. The focus is on backpackers, with a special emphasis on the problems Local Government faces in relation to backpackers within residential communities. The project will generate new approaches to these issues, informing a range of policies for local councils.Read moreRead less