Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC230100015
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$5,000,000.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Whole Life Design of Carbon Neutral Infrastructure. This Centre aims to transform the capability of civil infrastructure stakeholders to design, construct, operate and dispose of infrastructure in a carbon neutral way. By training industry-embedded PhDs and postdocs in the methodology and technology required to design out excess carbon of infrastructure in its whole life, this Centre expects to lead the world in sustainable infrastructure design, enabling a new generation ....ARC Training Centre for Whole Life Design of Carbon Neutral Infrastructure. This Centre aims to transform the capability of civil infrastructure stakeholders to design, construct, operate and dispose of infrastructure in a carbon neutral way. By training industry-embedded PhDs and postdocs in the methodology and technology required to design out excess carbon of infrastructure in its whole life, this Centre expects to lead the world in sustainable infrastructure design, enabling a new generation of infrastructure design in Australia and internationally. Achieving carbon neutral infrastructure in its whole life will bring significant far-reaching benefits, including equipping industry with tools required to meet Australia’s emission reduction targets as well as economic, commercial, environmental, and social gains.Read moreRead less
Estimating the potential supply of environmental services by landholders. Wilderness, natural habitats, biodiversity and other aspects of natural capital and their associated ecosystem services are in decline. Increasing scarcity is driving a surge in interest in these services and their value. It potentially provides opportunities for landholders to be generating income from environmental services provision, and lessens dependency on livestock, crop and fibre production. But how realistic are t ....Estimating the potential supply of environmental services by landholders. Wilderness, natural habitats, biodiversity and other aspects of natural capital and their associated ecosystem services are in decline. Increasing scarcity is driving a surge in interest in these services and their value. It potentially provides opportunities for landholders to be generating income from environmental services provision, and lessens dependency on livestock, crop and fibre production. But how realistic are these prospects? A critical aspect of potential markets for environmental services is their supply. This project examines the supply side of environmental services by exploring determinants of ability and willingness of landholders to provide these services.Read moreRead less
Skin Microbes and Animal Health: Understanding the Ecological Context. This project aims to understand the fundamental ecological relationships between animal hosts (frogs, geckos) and bacteria on their skin by separating host effects from environmental factors that determine skin microbiome composition. The research is significant because it will generate new knowledge needed to understand how skin microbes function in providing protection against disease. Expected outcomes include the provisio ....Skin Microbes and Animal Health: Understanding the Ecological Context. This project aims to understand the fundamental ecological relationships between animal hosts (frogs, geckos) and bacteria on their skin by separating host effects from environmental factors that determine skin microbiome composition. The research is significant because it will generate new knowledge needed to understand how skin microbes function in providing protection against disease. Expected outcomes include the provision of essential information that will guide future research efforts on the factors that determine a healthy skin microbial community (which is needed before skin diseases can be combated). The research will provide significant benefits, including more targeted conservation efforts to combat wildlife skin diseases.Read moreRead less
Natural resource management and enterprise development: can they improve Indigenous livelihoods? High on the Australian agenda is the removal of disadvantage faced by Indigenous groups and the sustainable use of biodiversity on Indigenous land. In terms of Eastern Indonesia, the Australian agenda relates to poverty eradication, with fewer threats to Australian borders in terms of illegal fishing and migration. This project provides fundamental knowledge on household resource use patterns, and th ....Natural resource management and enterprise development: can they improve Indigenous livelihoods? High on the Australian agenda is the removal of disadvantage faced by Indigenous groups and the sustainable use of biodiversity on Indigenous land. In terms of Eastern Indonesia, the Australian agenda relates to poverty eradication, with fewer threats to Australian borders in terms of illegal fishing and migration. This project provides fundamental knowledge on household resource use patterns, and the constraints and opportunities for natural resource activities, as a step towards identifying ways in which natural resources can be mobilised to improve livelihoods. Read moreRead less
Modelling Payments for Environmental Services on Indigenous held lands. Payments for environmental services (PES) such as fire management have potential to provide employment to indigenous people managing land that has previously been thought to hold no commercial value. In so doing it could transform the economies of the very remote parts of Australia where indigenous people live. For these schemes to work, however, greater understanding is required not only of the willingness of society to pay ....Modelling Payments for Environmental Services on Indigenous held lands. Payments for environmental services (PES) such as fire management have potential to provide employment to indigenous people managing land that has previously been thought to hold no commercial value. In so doing it could transform the economies of the very remote parts of Australia where indigenous people live. For these schemes to work, however, greater understanding is required not only of the willingness of society to pay for environmental services in northern Australia but also of the perceptions of the indigenous people who are providing these services. Choice modelling can (1) quantify values of different environmental services in different sectors of society and (2) help allocate the payments for environmental services efficiently.Read moreRead less
Increasing the effectiveness of Australian threatened bird conservation. Conservation of threatened species is expensive and success rare or fleeting. Analysis of nearly three decades of threatened species conservation management, and an understanding of the complex of factors that affect success, will help increase the efficiency of conservation planning. Improved understanding of the biological, economic, social and institutional environment within which conservation management occurs will hel ....Increasing the effectiveness of Australian threatened bird conservation. Conservation of threatened species is expensive and success rare or fleeting. Analysis of nearly three decades of threatened species conservation management, and an understanding of the complex of factors that affect success, will help increase the efficiency of conservation planning. Improved understanding of the biological, economic, social and institutional environment within which conservation management occurs will help managers allocate resources appropriately. This type of analysis has never been done for an entire fauna at a continental scale and will have global significance. Furthermore the networks to which the investigators are connected will ensure that the results can be rapidly translated into practice.Read moreRead less
Integrating measures of Indigenous land management effectiveness. Land management is the fastest growing Indigenous employment sector in Australia yet methods for assessing its effectiveness are poorly developed. This project will work with Indigenous land managers and their major environmental service delivery partners to develop and agree on measures of land management effectiveness to meet multiple objectives.
Analysis of legislation and policies affecting the development of Indigenous wildlife-based enterprises. Entrepreneurial enterprise development by Indigenous people in remote regions is being encouraged as part of government policy to move people off welfare and into work. Indigenous knowledge of wildlife makes it a logical source of wealth generation but a range of legal and policy constraints add to substantial existing social and logistical problems. An understanding of the legal processes in ....Analysis of legislation and policies affecting the development of Indigenous wildlife-based enterprises. Entrepreneurial enterprise development by Indigenous people in remote regions is being encouraged as part of government policy to move people off welfare and into work. Indigenous knowledge of wildlife makes it a logical source of wealth generation but a range of legal and policy constraints add to substantial existing social and logistical problems. An understanding of the legal processes involved in establishing and maintaining sustainable and ongoing wildlife-based enterprises will improve their chances of success, and will also offer the opportunity to change regulatory frameworks to ensure consistency, remove contradictions and encourage workforce participation. The research will have national and international implications.Read moreRead less
Investigating the archaeological values of Marra cultural heritage sites. This project aims to investigate the archaeological landscape of Limmen National Park, the traditional Country of the Marra people, and to inform the creation of a cultural heritage management plan. It builds on a long-standing relationship with the Marra and the urgency to preserve their cultural knowledge associated with the Park. The project will use a two-way thinking methodology, combining contemporary Aboriginal know ....Investigating the archaeological values of Marra cultural heritage sites. This project aims to investigate the archaeological landscape of Limmen National Park, the traditional Country of the Marra people, and to inform the creation of a cultural heritage management plan. It builds on a long-standing relationship with the Marra and the urgency to preserve their cultural knowledge associated with the Park. The project will use a two-way thinking methodology, combining contemporary Aboriginal knowledge with archaeological and anthropological data to understand the meaning of the archaeological record for Aboriginal people today. Key outcomes include data for continent-wide archaeological narratives, a holistic blueprint to help manage the Park’s cultural heritage, and an archive for Traditional Owner research.Read moreRead less
Adverse effects of sopite syndrome on occupants in wind-excited buildings. Current building motion design guidelines focus primarily on motion perception and complaint rates. However, wind-induced building motion can cause sopite syndrome or early onset motion sickness which adversely affects occupant wellbeing and work performance. This research aims to advance the understanding of the physiology of sopite syndrome, quantify the motion dosage that causes sopite syndrome and determine its advers ....Adverse effects of sopite syndrome on occupants in wind-excited buildings. Current building motion design guidelines focus primarily on motion perception and complaint rates. However, wind-induced building motion can cause sopite syndrome or early onset motion sickness which adversely affects occupant wellbeing and work performance. This research aims to advance the understanding of the physiology of sopite syndrome, quantify the motion dosage that causes sopite syndrome and determine its adverse effects on building occupants in real-world motion environments. This knowledge is expected to guide the formulation of building motion acceptability criteria based on safe motion exposure duration to facilitate the design of tall building that promotes population health and wellbeing and lifts work performance and productivity.Read moreRead less