A Mathematical Model of the Roles of Contraction and Oxygen in Human Wound Healing. Slow or impaired wound healing and excessive scarring associated with burns are both painful and costly. Moreover, the debilitating effect of chronic wounds can be expected to increase with the continuing aging of the population and the current rise in incidence of Type 2 diabetes. This project brings together a multidisciplinary team to develop a mathematical model of human wound healing and to drive the modelli ....A Mathematical Model of the Roles of Contraction and Oxygen in Human Wound Healing. Slow or impaired wound healing and excessive scarring associated with burns are both painful and costly. Moreover, the debilitating effect of chronic wounds can be expected to increase with the continuing aging of the population and the current rise in incidence of Type 2 diabetes. This project brings together a multidisciplinary team to develop a mathematical model of human wound healing and to drive the modelling to generate important breakthroughs at the level of basic science with implications for both experimentalists and clinicians.Read moreRead less
Innovation in police gender equity management: Looking back, moving forward. This project aims to investigate gender equity recruitment and career support policies in all nine Australian and New Zealand policing agencies. A wide range of equity initiatives that have been implemented across police agencies will be examined, along with affirmative action measures including recent 50/50 male/female recruitment targets. The project expects to generate an advanced best practice model that can be used ....Innovation in police gender equity management: Looking back, moving forward. This project aims to investigate gender equity recruitment and career support policies in all nine Australian and New Zealand policing agencies. A wide range of equity initiatives that have been implemented across police agencies will be examined, along with affirmative action measures including recent 50/50 male/female recruitment targets. The project expects to generate an advanced best practice model that can be used by domestic and international police agencies. This will allow police organisations to better manage equity issues and support a more inclusive and representative workforce. The benefits of this project are significant, they range from stronger police-community relations through to better service delivery by police.Read moreRead less
A model of sex offender registration, monitoring, and risk management. This research will investigate the ways in which sexual offenders are managed in the community and identify the most effective means of preventing further offending, thereby promoting community safety.
Policing Migration in Australia: an analysis of onshore migration policing networks. Recent events concerning the wrongful detention and deportation of Australian citizens have drawn attention to the significant impact of the enforcement of immigration controls within Australian communities. However, this dimension of law enforcement has received little or no attention from academic researchers. An improved understanding of the nature and dynamics of migration policing will provide social benefi ....Policing Migration in Australia: an analysis of onshore migration policing networks. Recent events concerning the wrongful detention and deportation of Australian citizens have drawn attention to the significant impact of the enforcement of immigration controls within Australian communities. However, this dimension of law enforcement has received little or no attention from academic researchers. An improved understanding of the nature and dynamics of migration policing will provide social benefits through the promotion of good relations with ethnic minority communities and the accountable exercise of statutory powers. This understanding is crucial if institutions of social regulation are to adapt to the challenges of policing a society which is not only multicultural but also increasingly globally interconnected.Read moreRead less
Domestic violence disclosure schemes: A national review. In 2014 family violence was declared a national emergency in Australia. In the years since there has been extensive law reform activity. Domestic violence disclosure schemes have emerged within this context as a policy option that may improve safety outcomes for victims. However, there is currently no evidence as to the impact of these schemes and no consultation with victims as to their value. This project aims to generate the evidence re ....Domestic violence disclosure schemes: A national review. In 2014 family violence was declared a national emergency in Australia. In the years since there has been extensive law reform activity. Domestic violence disclosure schemes have emerged within this context as a policy option that may improve safety outcomes for victims. However, there is currently no evidence as to the impact of these schemes and no consultation with victims as to their value. This project aims to generate the evidence required to inform decisions about the introduction of these schemes, to better understand what victim/survivors want from them, and how such schemes can be effectively operationalised. The findings seek to be relevant to all Australian states and territories as well as international jurisdictions.Read moreRead less
Understanding the relationship between child maltreatment and language competence: An evidential interviewing perspective. This research aims to develop the first comprehensive and controlled examination of the oral language profiles of maltreated children and how these impact performance in an investigative interview paradigm. This examination is essential for developing strategies for improving the elicitation of evidence from child abuse witnesses. By improving child witness evidence, this re ....Understanding the relationship between child maltreatment and language competence: An evidential interviewing perspective. This research aims to develop the first comprehensive and controlled examination of the oral language profiles of maltreated children and how these impact performance in an investigative interview paradigm. This examination is essential for developing strategies for improving the elicitation of evidence from child abuse witnesses. By improving child witness evidence, this research will improve the prosecution and conviction rates of child abuse offences, which will have a deterrent effect on potential offenders. Finally, this research will reduce the stress of witnesses involved in the legal process and provide better screening of children in need of specialised language intervention.Read moreRead less
Development of a Light-Activated Bioadhesive for Low Temperature Tissue Repair. While sutures currently represent the gold standard for wound closure, their fundamental technology has changed little in thousands of years. Surgical sealants and energy based closure devices are expected to increasingly replace or complement sutures, improving tissue closure and wound healing. The innovative research in this proposal will develop the next generation of surgical bioadhesive technology and claim a s ....Development of a Light-Activated Bioadhesive for Low Temperature Tissue Repair. While sutures currently represent the gold standard for wound closure, their fundamental technology has changed little in thousands of years. Surgical sealants and energy based closure devices are expected to increasingly replace or complement sutures, improving tissue closure and wound healing. The innovative research in this proposal will develop the next generation of surgical bioadhesive technology and claim a stake in the estimated US$ 4 billion market. The project outcomes will enhance Australia's reputation in the biomedical field and will have world-wide social and health care benefits by ultimately allowing better functional healing through bioadhesives that can be effectively applied rapidly and consistently.Read moreRead less
The mechanics of being human. This project will lead to far more detailed understanding of skull mechanics in our own lineage. Results will be of great interest to international scholars in both evolutionary and biomedical fields and help to establish a primary position for Australia in the rapidly expanding area of computer simulation of biological structure. Further development on our own established protocols for automated transfer of CT scan data into finite element models, which have alread ....The mechanics of being human. This project will lead to far more detailed understanding of skull mechanics in our own lineage. Results will be of great interest to international scholars in both evolutionary and biomedical fields and help to establish a primary position for Australia in the rapidly expanding area of computer simulation of biological structure. Further development on our own established protocols for automated transfer of CT scan data into finite element models, which have already improved speed, accuracy and realism, will take finite element analysis to a point at which it can be more readily applied to evolutionary, biomedical and safety design questions.Read moreRead less
Tissue Engineering of Human Heart Valve Grown In Vitro. Tissue engineering (TE) of heart valves is a new approach to cultivate a functional heart valve from human autologous cells. This innovative study aims to develop the technology to transplant cells onto a 3D biocompatible valve scaffold that is capable of mimicking native valve. The work proposed is a ground breaking study that will encompass development of a new biomaterial, manufacture of scaffolds using the Fused Deposition Modelling ra ....Tissue Engineering of Human Heart Valve Grown In Vitro. Tissue engineering (TE) of heart valves is a new approach to cultivate a functional heart valve from human autologous cells. This innovative study aims to develop the technology to transplant cells onto a 3D biocompatible valve scaffold that is capable of mimicking native valve. The work proposed is a ground breaking study that will encompass development of a new biomaterial, manufacture of scaffolds using the Fused Deposition Modelling rapid prototyping process, hemodynamic optimisation and in vitro cell culture. This will advance our knowledge in cellular and scaffold technologies and may ultimately lead to the development of a TE heart valve.Read moreRead less
ANATOMICAL ORGAN MODELLING AND SURGICAL PROCEDURE SIMULATION FOR THORACOSCOPIC SURGERY. We aim to establish novel virtual reality-based surgical procedure simulation methodologies, geometric and physical models of human organs, and surgical tools and interaction modules for thoracoscopic surgery or for minimally invasive surgical procedures. This is needed to optimize surgical strategy and to anticipate possible problems that may arise during the procedure, and to train medical staff as the tren ....ANATOMICAL ORGAN MODELLING AND SURGICAL PROCEDURE SIMULATION FOR THORACOSCOPIC SURGERY. We aim to establish novel virtual reality-based surgical procedure simulation methodologies, geometric and physical models of human organs, and surgical tools and interaction modules for thoracoscopic surgery or for minimally invasive surgical procedures. This is needed to optimize surgical strategy and to anticipate possible problems that may arise during the procedure, and to train medical staff as the trend towards robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery continues. What makes this project novel is the anatomical organ modeling approach based on virtual springs and dampers traversing between the top and bottom surfaces of the organs and tissues, contrary to previous approaches.Read moreRead less