Consumer preferences for voluntary carbon mitigation in the aviation sector. The demand for aviation is rapidly adding to carbon emissions. Little is known about consumer preferences for aviation carbon offsets and how they evolve over time. This hinders the expansion of voluntary schemes at a crucial period in history. This research will investigate consumers offset preferences and their willingness to pay for aviation carbon mitigation using a novel time series methodology. The project aims to ....Consumer preferences for voluntary carbon mitigation in the aviation sector. The demand for aviation is rapidly adding to carbon emissions. Little is known about consumer preferences for aviation carbon offsets and how they evolve over time. This hinders the expansion of voluntary schemes at a crucial period in history. This research will investigate consumers offset preferences and their willingness to pay for aviation carbon mitigation using a novel time series methodology. The project aims to inform government policies and to help industry to develop carbon offset programs which are more likely to be supported by consumers, thus helping to reduce carbon emissions in the long term. It also aims to profile carbon offsetting groups to support communication activities to increase the size and value of offsets.Read moreRead less
Developing Accessible Playgrounds for Children with Vision Impairment. Children who are blind or have low vision (BLV) often have difficulties accessing and interacting with playgrounds, most of which are not equipped to support them. Through consultation, collaboration and co-creation with the BLV community, foundational knowledge on the user experience of playgrounds, an evaluation framework for auditing existing playgrounds and design guidelines for creating or retrofitting playgrounds will b ....Developing Accessible Playgrounds for Children with Vision Impairment. Children who are blind or have low vision (BLV) often have difficulties accessing and interacting with playgrounds, most of which are not equipped to support them. Through consultation, collaboration and co-creation with the BLV community, foundational knowledge on the user experience of playgrounds, an evaluation framework for auditing existing playgrounds and design guidelines for creating or retrofitting playgrounds will be developed that support the unique challenges of BLV children and carers. Importantly it will promote access, orientation, physical and social play for BLV children, with improved cognitive, physical and social development, thus enabling a more inclusive and healthy society.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101072
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Photos of the past: the negotiation of identity and belonging at Australian tourism sites. This project will explore the way visitors construct and express identity at a range of tourism sites in Australia. Focussing upon the practices of photography, the research will provide a detailed analysis of negotiations of belonging, which in turn may be used to facilitate debate over the pressing contemporary issue of national cohesion.
Exploration Of Exposures Associated With Bedding That Are Risks For Childhood Allergy And Asthma Symptoms
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$263,500.00
Summary
Asthma prevalence in Australia has doubled in the last 20 years, with 1 in 4 children now affected. House dust mites are probably the single most important allergen associated with asthma. The prevalence of mite allergy is linked to exposure, and such allergy when combined with high exposure, is a potent risk factor for asthma exacerbations. The current international advice for managing mite-allergic asthma, strongly advocates the use of bedding encasings as the best way to reduce exposure. Howe ....Asthma prevalence in Australia has doubled in the last 20 years, with 1 in 4 children now affected. House dust mites are probably the single most important allergen associated with asthma. The prevalence of mite allergy is linked to exposure, and such allergy when combined with high exposure, is a potent risk factor for asthma exacerbations. The current international advice for managing mite-allergic asthma, strongly advocates the use of bedding encasings as the best way to reduce exposure. However, three recent major trials using encasings and a meta-analysis of earlier trials all fail to show a clinical benefit. One of the applicants (ET) recently showed, using expertise in measuring personal exposure, that these encasings, as used, fail to significantly reduce aeroallergen exposure. By contrast, 3 recent Australian studies, involving the applicants, AK, ALP and NG showed that feather bedding compared to synthetic bedding, was strongly protective for asthma - the opposite of public advice. The suggested mechanisms involve reduced exposure to mite allergens, or altered exposure to bacterial endotoxin, but persuasive experimental support is lacking. We also propose a novel hypothesis that feather exposure may induce allergic 'tolerance'. Currently there is a lack of certainty about valid approaches to prevent asthma, and the Global Initiative for Asthma has described the need to understand mechanisms and improve interventions as urgent. This project is an ideal opportunity to combine the expertise of the CIA (ET) in measuring airborne exposures (mite, endotoxin, proteins) with that of the others who have expertise in children's asthma, and who are already involved in two large clinical trails involving different bedding and allergen avoidance. Our measurements of these bedding exposures and their clinical outcomes will provide, for the first time, a quantitative basis to refine public health allergen-based interventions to prevent and manage asthma.Read moreRead less