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Research in Action
This page comprises short summaries of some research projects the ARC has funded. Articles about other ARC-funded research can be found in Discovery newsletters, Announcement kits and Feature articles.
- Making a ‘game’ out of crisis management
- Improving support for teenage mothers
- Sport, art and volunteering benefit teens
- Developing eco-turf from Australian grasses
- Black holes inform new technology on Earth
- ‘Harmless’ chemicals not so innocent afterall
- Improving Indigenous housing & wellbeing
- Understanding homelessness
- Improving pedestrian and cyclist visibility
- Music essential to children’s early development
- Population turnover in the Top End
- Ancient DNA key to biodiversity conservation
- Native bees take over greenhouse pollination
- Keeping the dust down on conveyor belts
- Tackling stuttering early
- Eradicating Ross River virus
- Explaining increasing cyclone intensity
- Robots do the dirty work on bridges
- Sustainable farming for tree regeneration
- Smaller high res digital files
- Aussies to breed marine lobsters
- Keeping healthy at 85+
- Legal advice for Indigenous entrepreneurs
- Parents key in literacy levels
- Desalinating wastewater for use in horticulture
- Anti-ageing and healthy ageing
- Nurse-led model for chronic disease management
- Beijing history and Chinese identity
- Smart transport solutions
- Uncovering the causes of tropical bird decline
- New wind power technology developed
- New techniques for gold and copper detection
- Coaching kids to conquer counting
- An innovative model to prevent crime
- Keeping Indigenous song and dance alive
- Protecting one of the last great reefs
- Southern sky holds key to 'Universal' mysteries
- Defending websites from hacker attacks
- Getting more out of our scarce water resources
- Helping autistic children cope with change
- Keeping the NT free of mosquito-borne diseases
Making a ‘game’ out of crisis management
The ability of any large organisation to handle a crisis can have major economic and/or other consequences. ARC-funded researchers from Charles Sturt University are working closely with the Australian Defence Force to better understand organisational communication under extreme pressure and develop a game to simulate issues management and crisis scenarios. The researchers are combining digital games technology with applied drama techniques to produce the game, which will be used to enhance teamwork and break down barriers to effective crisis management communication.
Contact: Associate Professor John Carroll, Charles Sturt University
Improving support for teenage mothers
Inadequate education, employment and social opportunities for teenage mothers are thought to contribute to increased social exclusion and an economically and socially weakened society. An ARC funded researcher at The Australian National University is undertaking a longitudinal study of the impact of teenage pregnancy on the life course of individuals of different generations and young women’s experiences of social inclusion/exclusion. The results will be used to develop better support systems and programs.
Contact: Dr Ann Evans, The Australian National University
Sport, art and volunteering benefit teens
ARC-funded researchers from Murdoch University are investigating the importance to the physical and social development of teenagers of organised extracurricular activities such as sport, art and volunteering. The team is examining patterns of change over time in academic performance, school attachment, and risk behaviour and adjustment to determine which aspects of participation enhance social and educational opportunities for teens.
Contact: Professor Bonnie Barber, Murdoch University
Developing eco-turf from Australian grasses
ARC-funded researchers at The University of Queensland are studying native and naturalised Australian couch grasses with the intention of developing new domestic, sports ground and amenity lawns. In collaboration with the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Jimboomba Turf and the South East Queensland Council of Mayors, the researchers plan to create new ecologically sustainable turf grasses that maintain quality with reduced water and nutrients.
Contact: Associate Professor Ian Godwin, The University of Queensland
Black holes inform new technology on Earth
The giant black holes in distant galaxies are a reference for geodesy on Earth (the exact position of geographical points) and are used, for example, to improve the positions available from GPS receivers and to measure continental drift. ARC-funded University of Tasmania radio astronomers are developing signal processing equipment to study black holes, using Field Programmable Gate Array computer chips that promise to revolutionise the data processing industry.
Contact: Professor John Dickey, University of Tasmania
‘Harmless’ chemicals not so innocent afterall
Millions of tons of supposedly harmless chemicals are produced each year. ARC-funded researchers at The University of Adelaide are looking at how hormone systems are established in healthy embryos and how they become distorted after exposure to a common compound found in many cosmetics, food wrappings and medicinal plastics. The study will investigate the health of our environment and provide methods to screen for compounds that may have subtle effects on wildlife, domestic species and humans.
Contact: Associate Professor Jeff Schwartz, The University of Adelaide
Improving Indigenous housing & wellbeing
An ARC-supported Charles Darwin University researcher is studying cultural and institutional factors associated with attempts to improve Indigenous living conditions. She is investigating the experiences of change agents in the Housing for Health and Fixing Houses for Better Health programs to identify barriers to implementing evidence-based policy decisions in Indigenous environmental health, housing and infrastructure. The findings will inform policies and practices to raise the standard of housing available to Indigenous people in Australia and improve their overall wellbeing.
Contact: Associate Professor Teresa Lea, Charles Darwin University
Understanding homelessness
ARC-supported researchers at RMIT University have worked with HomeGround Services and The Salvation Army to build a database of 4,300 households experiencing homelessness. The study seeks to understand why some households experience short periods of homelessness whereas others are homeless for sustained periods. The findings will guide policymakers and service providers to develop effective interventions.
Contact: Associate Professor Chris Chamberlain or Dr Guy Johnson, RMIT University
Improving pedestrian and cyclist visibility
Pedestrians and cyclists account for many road user fatalities and serious injuries on Australian roads. Late visual recognition by motorists is one of the main reasons these collisions occur. An ARC-funded research team from Queensland University of Technology is working with Queensland Transport and the Queensland Department of Main Roads on a project to study pedestrian and cyclist visibility and the effectiveness of different visibility aids, and to develop new education programs to improve the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.
Contact: Associate Professor Joanne Wood, Queensland University of Technology
Music essential to children’s early development
An ARC-funded University of Tasmania longitudinal study of children aged 18–60 months suggests that music lays the foundation for future creative thought and activity, and provides a means for young children to build self-identity. The results of the study will provide new information for early childhood policy and practices in childcare and other early learning settings.
Contact: Professor Margaret Barrett, University of Tasmania
Population turnover in the Top End
The Northern Territory experiences an extraordinarily high rate of population turnover. About one-quarter of the Territory's resident population in 2001 had lived somewhere else five years earlier, compared to less than 10 per cent for most other Australian states. An ARC-supported Charles Darwin University team of researchers is examining the characteristics and causes of these phenomena and the long-term implications for the composition and associated planning capacity of the NT’s population.
Contact: Professor Tony Barnes, Charles Darwin University
Ancient DNA key to biodiversity conservation
Conserving and restoring biodiversity is reliant on understanding the past composition of ecosystems. An ARC-funded Murdoch University researcher has discovered that ancient DNA extracted from rat middens and cave sediments can unlock the secrets of past ecosystems and help us to learn how past climate changes affected the native biota. This data then can be used to establish sustainable ecosystem sanctuaries and preserve present day biodiversity.
Contact: Dr Michael Bunce, Murdoch University
Native bees take over greenhouse pollination
Hand pollinating greenhouse tomatoes is a laborious, time-consuming job. ARC-funded researchers at The University of Adelaide have found that native blue-banded bees could take over pollination, substantially reducing labour costs and increasing tomato yields. Blue-banded bee pollination would open up international markets through the improved quality of tomatoes and healthier production methods.
Contact: Associate Professor Michael Keller, The University of Adelaide
Keeping the dust down on conveyor belts
Conveyor belt systems are used extensively to transport bulk materials in industry. Conveyor belt installations are becoming longer and speeds faster, resulting in increased dust emissions. About 16 billion litres of water is used each year by the Australian black coal industry alone on dust suppression. ARC-supported researchers at The University of Newcastle are developing passive dust control technology that requires no external energy or suppressants. Benefits will include significant cost savings, improved employee health and safety and reduced adverse effects of conveyor belt systems on the environment.
Contact: Emeritus Professor Alan Roberts, The University of Newcastle
Tackling stuttering early
Stuttering affects one in 20 Australian children. It disrupts and prevents normal oral communication and slows the social and educational development of children. ARC-funded La Trobe University researchers are investigating the first stages of stuttering - an area that is not well described or understood. The research will generate new clinical information to help children overcome stuttering.
Contact: Professor Sheena Reilly, La Trobe University
Eradicating Ross River virus
While not fatal, Ross River Virus (RRV) has had a marked effect on human health in Australia. Between 1992 and 2005, more than 50,000 notifications of RRV infection were reported. A University of Canberra researcher is receiving ARC funding to use state-of-the-art reverse genetics technology to understand the mechanisms regulating the virulence of the virus during transition from mosquitoes to humans. With this knowledge, viral markers will be identified to assist the design of strategies for the control, treatment and eradication of RRV.
Contact: Associate Professor Suresh Mahalingam, University of Canberra
Explaining increasing cyclone intensity
Over the past 30 years, scientists have observed an increase in the destructiveness and intensity of tropical cyclones. ARC-funded researchers from James Cook University are using high-resolution isotope records of tropical cyclones in calcite stalagmites for several of the world’s ocean basins to understand why this is occurring. The data from the project will be used to predict the likely impact of the cyclones on Australia and the Pacific region.
Contact: Professor Jonathan Nott, James Cook University
Robots do the dirty work on bridges
A new robotic bridge maintenance system being developed by ARC-supported researchers at University of Technology, Sydney in partnership with the Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW will significantly reduce workers’ exposure to hazardous materials such as lead and asbestos. The robotic system autonomously removes paint from bridges, minimising the toxic dust that maintenance workers encounter.
Contact: Associate Professor Dikai Liu, University of Technology, Sydney
Sustainable farming for tree regeneration
The lack of natural tree regeneration on farmland could lead to virtually treeless landscapes in Australia, according to Dr Joern Fischer, an early career researcher from The Australian National University. Dr Fischer is undertaking a sustainable farms project to identify practices that promote successful tree regeneration. The ARC-funded researcher’s work, through awareness raising programs, will help to improve biodiversity and agricultural productivity.
Contact: Dr Joern Fischer, The Australian National University
Smaller high res digital files
An ARC-funded team from RMIT University at the forefront of high technology research into digital picture compression predicts that digital file sizes could be reduced by up to 87 per cent with low-cost high picture quality. Applications for the new technology include digital photography for fine art, medical imaging, picture archive and communication systems for telemedicine and rural health care systems, enhanced video and cinematic experiences, crime prevention, border control, security and surveillance systems.
Contact: Professor Henry Wu, RMIT University
Aussies to breed marine lobsters
Australian wild lobster fisheries are finding it difficult to meet the strong and growing worldwide demand for a range of lobster products. ARC-funded researchers at University of Tasmania are investigating techniques to produce commercial quantities of juvenile lobsters for aquaculture to enable the development of a new high-value industry for coastal rural Australia.
Contact: Dr Arthur Ritar, University of Tasmania
Keeping healthy at 85+
People aged 85 and over represent the fastest growing sector of the Australian population. Researchers from Flinders University are undertaking a longitudinal study of more than 300 participants, all aged 85 and over, to determine quality of life, resilience and successful ageing in this rarely studied age group. The research participants have been studied since 1992. The new and previous data will provide Australian communities and policy-makers with information to optimise health and wellbeing of people in this age group.
Contact: Professor Mary Luszcz, Flinders University
Legal advice for Indigenous entrepreneurs
Remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory developing wildlife-based enterprises have a greater chance of success as a result of assistance from an ARC-funded researcher at Charles Darwin University and the Northern Territory Department of Natural Resources. Professor Bruce Campbell is reviewing the relevant legislation and its implications in two test cases to develop recommendations to governments on maximising legal consistency and streamlining Indigenous enterprise development.
Contact: Professor Bruce Campbell, Charles Darwin University
Parents key in literacy levels
ARC-funded researchers at The University of Western Australia are investigating the training of parents of preschoolers to use play to develop critical pre-literacy skills in their children as a means of improving later literacy development. The researchers are also comparing the effectiveness of training parents of Kindergarten (4-year-old) children with that of training parents of Pre-primary (5-year-old) children. The research results will be used to develop programs to prevent literacy failure and associated educational and social problems.
Contact: Associate Professor Janet Fletcher, University of Western Australia
Desalinating wastewater for use in horticulture
ARC-funded researchers at The University of Adelaide, in collaboration with United Water International, have demonstrated the technical and economic feasibility of desalination of wastewater for use in horticulture. The researchers, who piloted the technology at the Bolivar wastewater treatment plant, have established optimal methods for achieving the levels of water salinity required for different crops, and processes for storage and delivery to horticultural producers in the Virginia area of SA.
Contact: Associate Professor Brian O'Neill, The University of Adelaide
Anti-ageing and healthy ageing
ARC-funded researchers Associate Professor Brett Neilson and PhD student Beatriz Cardona from the University of Western Sydney are studying the attitudes of users and practitioners of anti-ageing medicine and comparing the messages of the industry’s promotional materials to government healthy ageing policies. The research findings will inform policy debate on health care for Australia's ageing population and feed into health promotion campaigns to help consumers evaluate product marketing claims.
Contact: Associate Professor Brett Neilson, University of Western Sydney
Nurse-led model for chronic disease management
An ARC-funded research team, led by Professor Desley Hegney from The University of Queensland, is developing and trialing a new model of general practice health care for patients with chronic disease. The research will determine if it’s feasible for a GP to delegate the day-to-day care of patients with Type II diabetes, ischemic heart disease and hypertension to a practice nurse, and if this approach is acceptable to patients and health professionals. The new model has the potential to free up GP time for other patients.
Contact: Professor Desley Hegney, The University of Queensland
Beijing history and Chinese identity
ARC Federation Fellow Professor Geremie Barmé from The Australian National University is investigating the influence of Beijing on contemporary Chinese national identity, the historical context for this, and its significance in the period surrounding the Beijing 2008 Olympics.His new book, The Forbidden City, traces the history of Beijing’s famous walled palace complex and will be published in Australia in March 2008.
Contact: Professor Geremie Barmé, The Australian National University
Smart transport solutions
ARC-funded researcher Dr Stephan Winter from The University of Melbourne is investigating solutions to the complex challenges that sprawling cities are creating for urban mobility. He is developing software to enable ad-hoc communication within mobile sensor networks. This could be used for communication within shared-ride systems that would help make our transport networks more efficient and reduce the need for individual traffic.
Contact: Associate Professor Stephan Winter, The University of Melbourne
Uncovering the causes of tropical bird decline
Preliminary results of an ARC-supported study indicate that finch species living in areas with frequent fires show elevated stress during the late dry and early wet seasons, and that this could be a cause of population decline. Research leaders Professor Stephen Garnett from Charles Darwin University and Dr Sarah Legge from the Australian Wildlife Conservancy are investigating the causes of declining populations of seed-eating birds in the tropical savannah areas of Northern Australia. Focusing on tropical finch species, they are studying the effects of cattle grazing and fire history, and why the population health of some species remains unaffected while others are declining.
Contact: Professor Stephen Garnett, Charles Darwin University
New wind power technology developed
A team of ARC-funded researchers at Curtin University of Technology have developed new technology capable of extracting more energy from small-scale wind turbines, especially in low wind-speed conditions, and supplying it efficiently to electricity grids. A spin-off company, Regen Power, has been established to market the technology.
Contact: Professor Chemangott Nayar, Curtin University of Technology
New techniques for gold and copper detection
Mining companies are uncovering previously hidden deep earth resources using new cost-effective mineral detection techniques developed in collaboration with ARC-funded researchers at the University of Tasmania and industry association, AMIRA International. The new techniques can be applied to rocks collected during routine chip sampling and grid drilling to improve the detection of gold and copper deposits in areas where ore zones are difficult to identify.
Contact: Associate Professor David Cooke, University of Tasmania or Mr Stephen Calladine, University of Tasmania
Coaching kids to conquer counting
Kids who struggle with number learning could benefit from new teaching and assessing methods developed by ARC-funded researcher Professor Bob Wright from Southern Cross University.
Working with students from Grades 3 and 4, Professor Wright has discovered that the children who experience the most difficulty with maths often use inefficient and error prone procedures, such as counting by ones or depending on support materials/fingers.
Professor Wright suggests that, to improve their maths skills, important learning for such kids includes adding and subtracting in the range 1 to 20, with fluency. This involves the development of more sophisticated strategies, such as adding through 10 (eg. 8+6 = 8+2+4), using fives (6+7 = 5+5+1+2), and near-doubles (6+7 = 6+6+1).
Contact: Professor Bob Wright, Southern Cross University
An innovative model to prevent crime
ARC-funded researchers at Griffith University are studying a high-crime area to understand, model and prevent alcohol-related crime, violence and injuries. Combining police incident data with ambulance data and surveys of patrons, and using spatial analysis techniques to analyse incident patterns, they are developing user-friendly profiles of hot spots and 'burning times' to analyse the factors—environmental and social—that precipitate such behaviour.
Contact: Professor Ross Homel, Griffith University
Keeping Indigenous song and dance alive
ARC-funded researchers at The University of Sydney are working with the Murrinhpatha people at Wadeye, Northern Territory, to document three significant song genres (Dhanba, Wurlthirri and Malkarrin) on electronic media interfaces to ensure their long-term conservation and accessibility.
Contacts: Professor Allan Marett, The University of Sydney or Associate Professor Linda Barwick, The University of Sydney
Protecting one of the last great reefs
Western Australia's Ningaloo Reef is one of Australia's most significant fringing reefs because of its size and biodiversity. Still in a relatively pristine state, it is the subject of a study by an ARC-funded researcher from The University of Western Australia to assess how the ecology is affected by the movement of larvae, contaminants and nutrients around the complex reef system. The findings will be used to develop management plans for the reef’s ongoing protection.
Contact: Dr Ryan Lowe, The University of Western Australia
Southern sky holds key to ‘Universal’ mysteries
ARC-funded researchers from the Mount Stromlo Observatory at The Australian National University will digitally map the Southern Sky with the new SkyMapper telescope, creating Australia's largest database (500 Terabytes). They will measure the physical parameters of more than a billion objects to answer fundamental questions about our Universe, like how many Pluto-like dwarf planets there are and how they formed.
The survey will identify the youngest nearby stars, allowing researchers to follow the process by which stars like our sun emerge from the clusters in which they were born and evolve into solar systems. It will identify about 100 of the first stars born in the Milky Way, and use them to forensically reconstruct how the Milky Way was formed. And it will find some of the oldest, brightest and extraordinarily rare objects in the Universe—quasars born 13 billion years ago—to help pin down when and how the first stars and black holes started to light up the Universe.
Contact: Professor Brian Schmidt, The Australian National University
Defending websites from hacker attacks
Businesses around the world that have suffered financial losses due to denial-of-service computer hacker attacks will be able to counter such attacks with a new defence system under development by an ARC-funded researcher at Deakin University. Unlike current systems, it will deploy defence mechanisms from the website end and the attack source end, creating an integrated defence system that improves protection.
Contact: Professor Wanlei Zhou, Deakin University
Getting more out of our scarce water resources
An ARC-funded team of researchers led by Professor Nigel Bean at The University of Adelaide and Professor Phil Howlett at University of South Australia is working on a new mathematical framework called 'WaterLog' to help manage Australia's scarce water resources. Waterlog will develop techniques to better understand the balance of supply, demand and storage in water systems under different policy scenarios. It will be used to develop key measurement and management principles for ailing Australian river systems, such as in the Murray-Darling Basin.
Contact: Professor Nigel Bean, The University of Adelaide or Professor Phil Howlett, University of South Australia
Helping autistic children cope with change
The number of children diagnosed with autism is increasing, as are the social and economic costs to Australia. While programs exist for teaching social and language skills, there is a lack of effective strategies for teaching autistic children how to cope with change. Fear of change is a core feature of the condition. ARC-funded researchers from University of Tasmania are devising education strategies to help families and teachers help autistic children to develop a greater tolerance for, and ability to cope with, change.
Contact: Professor Jeff Sigafoos, University of Tasmania
Keeping the NT free of mosquito-borne diseases
Global environmental change and the influx of people, particularly military personnel, who have travelled to overseas regions where mosquito-borne diseases are endemic, are increasing the vulnerability of northern Australia to the re-establishment of mosquito-borne diseases.
ARC-funded researchers from Charles Darwin University, in collaboration with the NT Government and the Defence Force, are evaluating the effectiveness of past mosquito control programs and predicting the threat of mosquito populations and diseases in the future. The team is analysing a 20-year dataset of weekly variations in mosquito population numbers to understand responses to rainfall patterns, tides and landscape change.
Contact: Associate Professor Corey Bradshaw, Charles Darwin University
10/7/08
