Roads to the Future: Infrastructure and the New Development in Africa. This project aims to conduct a comparative analysis of new road schemes in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean (a region which sits at the intersection of several major global transport and development corridors), in order to understand their economic, socio-political, cultural and public health effects. As global road-building accelerates at an unprecedented rate, especially in the developing world, there is an urgent n ....Roads to the Future: Infrastructure and the New Development in Africa. This project aims to conduct a comparative analysis of new road schemes in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean (a region which sits at the intersection of several major global transport and development corridors), in order to understand their economic, socio-political, cultural and public health effects. As global road-building accelerates at an unprecedented rate, especially in the developing world, there is an urgent need for new models for understanding roads' potential economic benefits, as well as their risks, including their environmental risks. This project is benefitting citizens, NGOs, donors and governments, by generating new knowledge about how we have in the past, do at present, and should in the future, engage with roads.Read moreRead less
Characterisation Of Eurl, A Novel Gene Implicated In The Etiology Of Abnormal Brain Development And Intellectual Disability
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$597,541.00
Summary
Intellectual disability affects around one per cent of Australians, and can arise from genetic abnormalities during fetal life, such as through abnormal regulation of gene expression. We have identified a novel gene, known as eurl, which controls brain assembly as well as the ability of neurons to form functional connections within the brain. We will investigate how this novel gene controls brain development, and characterise eurl as a potential therapeutic target for learning and memory.
Einsteinian Physics: A new paradigm for school science. This project aims to determine whether the early teaching of the modern Einsteinian paradigm of physics improves students' understanding of physics and attitudes to science. The project aims to investigate whether it is feasible to teach all students the physics that underpins modern technology. It is expected that by introducing students to the paradigm of Einsteinian physics before they learn the useful Newtonian approximations, their eng ....Einsteinian Physics: A new paradigm for school science. This project aims to determine whether the early teaching of the modern Einsteinian paradigm of physics improves students' understanding of physics and attitudes to science. The project aims to investigate whether it is feasible to teach all students the physics that underpins modern technology. It is expected that by introducing students to the paradigm of Einsteinian physics before they learn the useful Newtonian approximations, their engagement and understanding of physics is intended to improve. This is critical to Australia as enrolments in the hard sciences plummet.Read moreRead less
Promoting scientific literacy of secondary science students through studying socioscientific issues and argumentation. This project will develop a model of professional development and effective classroom strategies to improve 12-16 year old school students' decision-making about socioscientific issues. Key outcomes will be improved scientific literacy and willingness by young people to use scientific evidence when making personal and community decisions.
Measuring the impact of urban regulation on housing affordability in Australian cities and regions. Urban planning must ensure that development meets new environmental goals, but stringent regulation may reduce housing supply and affordability. This project uses new local planning data and econometric studies to quantify and monitor planning regulation impacts on housing supply and affordability in Australian cities and regions.
Engaging Students during the Early Years of Secondary School. This project aims to design, test and share sustainable strategies to support teachers and enable students from low socioeconomic communities to achieve success. The greatest decreases in students’ interest and effort occur when they transition into secondary school, with students from low socioeconomic communities at greatest risk of disengagement. What can teachers do to engage their students during this key life transition? This pr ....Engaging Students during the Early Years of Secondary School. This project aims to design, test and share sustainable strategies to support teachers and enable students from low socioeconomic communities to achieve success. The greatest decreases in students’ interest and effort occur when they transition into secondary school, with students from low socioeconomic communities at greatest risk of disengagement. What can teachers do to engage their students during this key life transition? This project plans to identify teacher behaviours that motivate students in their first year at secondary school. Using an experimental design with a representative sample of 150 teachers and 1500 students in low socioeconomic areas across three states, the project plans to test whether an online professional learning program for teachers can improve student engagement and achievement. This cost-effective and scalable intervention is designed for widespread dissemination to Australian teachers.Read moreRead less
Investigating literary knowledge in the making of English teachers. This project aims to create new understanding of the role of literary knowledge within subject English. English education is mandated in Australian schooling; however, subject content as well as teachers’ knowledge and pedagogical approaches are highly contested, particularly regarding the teaching of literature. Using a national survey, focus group interviews and a longitudinal study, the project aims to provide new understandi ....Investigating literary knowledge in the making of English teachers. This project aims to create new understanding of the role of literary knowledge within subject English. English education is mandated in Australian schooling; however, subject content as well as teachers’ knowledge and pedagogical approaches are highly contested, particularly regarding the teaching of literature. Using a national survey, focus group interviews and a longitudinal study, the project aims to provide new understandings of the literary knowledge that early career teachers need, of the impact of curricula and professional practice on disciplinary knowledge, and about the operation of literary studies across school and university. Significantly, it plans to use ‘literary sociability’, an innovative methodology, to generate empirical and conceptual perspectives on literary studies in Australia that will be of value internationally.Read moreRead less
Innovative measurement approaches to optimise the comparability of large-scale and high-stakes performance assessments. Over 1.2 million Australian school children participate in national and high-stakes state assessments each year. This project aims to produce improved and novel methods for assessing students using open-ended tasks so that educators can more accurately compare students’ achievements and track their progress. In turn, this aims to support decision makers to enable better educati ....Innovative measurement approaches to optimise the comparability of large-scale and high-stakes performance assessments. Over 1.2 million Australian school children participate in national and high-stakes state assessments each year. This project aims to produce improved and novel methods for assessing students using open-ended tasks so that educators can more accurately compare students’ achievements and track their progress. In turn, this aims to support decision makers to enable better educational outcomes. The investigators aim to refine a rubric used in the National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) so that Writing assessments are as accurate and comparable as possible. Methods also aim to be designed to enable more accurate and comparable assessments of Australian children in areas not covered by NAPLAN such as History and The Arts.Read moreRead less
Marsupial germ cells and genes. Germ cells are the most fascinating cells in the body, since theirs is the unique responsibility for transmitting life from generation to generation. Studies in mice have suggested that position in the embryo determines their origin, but the early embryology of the mouse is so different from that of other mammals that the events need confirming and extending in another species. The simplified embryology of the tammar wallaby makes it ideal for studying one of the ....Marsupial germ cells and genes. Germ cells are the most fascinating cells in the body, since theirs is the unique responsibility for transmitting life from generation to generation. Studies in mice have suggested that position in the embryo determines their origin, but the early embryology of the mouse is so different from that of other mammals that the events need confirming and extending in another species. The simplified embryology of the tammar wallaby makes it ideal for studying one of the most fundamental questions in the whole of biology: what is the basis for the primal distinction between sex and soma?Read moreRead less
Social, Environmental and Economic Sustainability in the Context of Melanesian Mining Projects. This is an interdisciplinary study of Melanesian understandings of socio-economic and environmental sustainability in the context of mining projects. It entails research into traditional ecological knowledge and assessment of ways that local understandings and expectations compromise programs based on Western scientific principles. It will examine local ideas about land use and food security, and the ....Social, Environmental and Economic Sustainability in the Context of Melanesian Mining Projects. This is an interdisciplinary study of Melanesian understandings of socio-economic and environmental sustainability in the context of mining projects. It entails research into traditional ecological knowledge and assessment of ways that local understandings and expectations compromise programs based on Western scientific principles. It will examine local ideas about land use and food security, and the social and cultural factors that determine responses to impacts of mining projects. The project will involve collaborative, interdisciplinary research, integrating social and cultural analysis and environmental and agrarian studies. It will contribute to current debates on environmentalism, mining impact and sustainable development.Read moreRead less