Deakin University

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Unlocking exceptional properties through pressure-induced phase transitions. The aim of this project is to produce novel hybrid boron nitride materials by utilizing advanced green techniques of mechanochemistry and high-pressure methods to achieve a phase transition from hexagonal to wurtzite structure. The development of these materials is critical in tackling contemporary environmental and technological issues, particularly those linked to cooling systems in electronic devices and batteries. The outcome of this study will be new nanomaterials with exceptional mechanical, thermal, and electronic properties, as well as new insights into mechanical-force induced green chemistry and an environmentally friendly synthesis process, and help with heat management, energy preservation, and advanced manufacturing. Field of research: 4018 - Nanotechnology The challenge of dissipating heat is a major hindrance in the development of miniaturised electronics. To overcome this issue, there is demand for advanced materials that possess exceptional electronic and thermal properties to reduce heat generation and improve thermal management through passive cooling. This technology is also crucial for reducing energy consumption, which is a pressing global concern. Currently, data centres consume a significant amount of energy, accounting for 3.5% of Australia's total electricity consumption and producing the same amount of CO2 emissions as the commercial airline industry. A large portion of this energy, around 40%, is used for active cooling, with the waste heat being released into the environment, exacerbating the effects of climate change. This project aims to develop new hybrid materials with enhanced electronic and thermal properties. The project will address the challenge of dissipating heat with an efficient new cooling system based on the new developed materials. We will collaborate with local industries to commercialise the new materials and production technology as we have done previously with other nanomaterials. The outcomes of this project will provide considerable social and environmental benefits for Australian society and industry, including intellectual property, commercialisation opportunities and employment, and reduction of energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Informing intervention responses to violent offenders through data linkage. The project aims to capitalise on new data access capacity to improve knowledge on violent offender pathways and criminogenic needs, such as acquired brain injury, to reduce offending and re-offending. Violence is a major social and health issue nationally and internationally. While there has been substantial investment in treatment/prevention campaigns, rates of violence remain high. Using diverse linked administrative data, we will identify key risk factors and times in trajectories, as well as effective treatment/justice responses. Expected benefits include evidence-based recommendations and engagement with policymakers targeting recidivism, offender screening, treatment, and coordinated violence prevention policy and practice. Field of research: 5205 - Social and Personality Psychology Two in five Australian adults have experienced physical or sexual violence since the age of 15. Violence negatively affects mental, emotional, physical and social wellbeing, and the economic impact of violence in Australia is estimated at AU$24 billion per year. This research will use linked data across multiple domains to identify key indicators and outcomes of violent offending. Findings will address critical knowledge gaps, provide new insights into complex offender needs and identify high-risk conditions. This project thus responds to three Australian Government 2018 National Crime Prevention Framework research priorities: (1) community safety, security and cohesiveness; (2) monitoring of localised crime and the development of targeted strategies; and (3) improving the evidence base for crime prevention. Using our extensive networks of policymakers and practitioners, the findings will inform targeted prevention, intervention and reintegration programs to break cycles of violence and improve community safety and wellbeing.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

The Great Exhibitions and their Lost Indigenous Objects . This project will rediscover the Australian Indigenous objects sent overseas to the Great Exhibitions of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Such objects acted as powerful forms of cultural, political and economic display, and a form of imperial and colonial projection. It will excavate the hidden histories of Indigenous people involved in these events and the many objects lost to Australia. Through collaborative work at community dialogues, the project will repatriate knowledge and remake connections between objects, museums, and Indigenous people. In doing so, it will bring contemporary Indigenous perspectives to global attention, generate new exhibition possibilities and influence international museum practice. Field of research: 4501 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Culture, Language and History Between 1851 and 1937, Australia lost hundreds of significant Indigenous objects sent overseas for display at international exhibitions, some now found in museums in Paris, London, Glasgow and Chicago. This project will find and examine these objects to reveal forgotten histories of Indigenous Australians on the global stage. We will then reconnect these objects and associated data back to Australia, Indigenous custodians and the wider public, enabled through discussion at regional stakeholder workshops, publication of the first complete inventory of these objects and distribution of community booklets featuring objects and images from each state. This engagement and sharing process will enable new histories to be generated for truth-telling about Australia’s past as well as recovering Indigenous Knowledge. Direct involvement of Indigenous scholars in the work will develop their expertise while benefitting and influencing practice in Australian and international museums by demonstrating how such collections could be used to the benefit of Indigenous people, Australia and global audiences.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Contemporary social and environmental risks for youth offending. While social and technology changes have led to reductions in low-level youth offending, chronic youth offending has not reduced notably, and is growing in areas of Australia. This project aims to generate new knowledge on underlying social and environmental risks for chronic youth offending in Australia to improve the effectiveness of crime prevention and desistance strategies to reduce reoffending. This project uses longitudinal survey and youth justice data, and interviews with young people, to identify key social and environmental risks for chronic youth offending. Expected outcomes of the project include evidence to inform effective crime prevention and desistance strategies for young people ‘at risk’ or engaged in chronic offending. Field of research: 4402 - Criminology Technological and social changes have led to reductions in low-level youth offending in Australia, but chronic youth offending has not notably reduced, and is growing in some populations. Contemporary social and environmental contexts for youth offending across different populations are poorly understood. This project aims to generate new evidence on the contemporary social and environmental contexts for youth offending in Australia, including consideration of complex disadvantage commonly experienced by First Nations young people. The project will identify key social and environmental risks for chronic youth offending, and co-design crime prevention and desistance strategies to address these risks with youth justice, police and community stakeholders. The results will be shared with the public and policy makers and will benefit young people at risk or engaged in offending, and the broader Australian community, by reducing reoffending and victimisation, and associated harms and costs.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2024 · 2024-01

Reverse Design of Tuneable 4D Printed Materials for Soft Robotics. This project aims to facilitate the design and manufacture of specialised objects that can change their shape over time. These types of objects are made from ‘tuneable metamaterials’, which can be made by 4D printing: 3D printing with an added dimension of time. These materials are becoming indispensable in many fields- including non-metallic soft robots used in medicine or the exploration of harsh environments like space- but are currently onerous to make. This project will develop a revolutionary new method for a user to work backward from defining the desired qualities to the manufacture of the object that satisfies their needs. It will also create a library that will allow users to quickly select a material that will be appropriate. Field of research: 4017 - Mechanical Engineering Additive manufacturing (3D printing) is revolutionizing industries by creating components quickly, cheaply and flexibly. 4D printing is 3D printing of products that change shape over time, providing additional advanced functionality. The project will create a theoretical model allowing design of bespoke, time varying responses of 4D printed products by predicting optimal printing conditions. Commercially, this will accelerate production of soft (non-metallic) robots, a growing part of the $100B national advanced manufacturing sector. Soft robotics are used in healthcare as prosthetics and for surgical procedures for example, to improve patient’s lives. Economically and environmentally, the project facilitates circular design, and production cost and waste reduction. It will boost Australia’s leadership in additive manufacturing and sovereign capabilities in soft robotics and 4D printing. Translation will involve early engagement of innovative medical device companies to understand unmet needs the technology can address, and to provide technology transfer partners for the outcomes of the project.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Converting textiles waste to novel nanostructured porous carbon fibre . This project aims to develop innovative catalytic activation approaches for converting textiles waste to porous activated carbon fibre with potential application in energy storage and carbon capture. The project expects to address the key issue of textile upcycling and generate new knowledge in material science by revealing the principle of alkali metal-induced pore formation and carbon dot synthesis. Expected outcomes include advanced techniques to create value-added materials from recycling textiles waste and in-depth understanding of performance improvement mechanisms. Success will provide significant benefits in securing a sustainable future for Australia, ensuring valuable resources recovery and strategies for advanced manufacturing. Field of research: 4014 - Manufacturing Engineering Australia generates huge amounts of textile waste annually, of which only 7% is recycled, the remainder sent to landfill. The major barrier to textile recycling is the complex mix of materials found in clothing. This project will create a new recycling technology able to transform discarded clothing into valuable carbon materials that can be used to make high value clean energy products, such as Li-ion batteries, hydrogen fuel cells and greenhouse gas absorbents. This project will develop novel chemical conversion models, to transform polyester/cotton blends into flexible, lightweight and multifunctional porous carbon fibres. This innovative textile recycling will eliminate the energy-demanding, complicated separation steps of conventional methods, improve the yield of value-added materials, and reduce landfill and carbon emissions. The outcomes will help address the globally critical challenge of upcycling problematic clothing waste, and contribute to Australia becoming a world leader in textile circularity.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Boron nitride nanosheets for low energy consumption self-cooling devices. This project aims to investigate the thermal transport mechanism of strained two-dimensional materials for self-cooling thermal management. It expects to generate new knowledge about their unique thermal properties, guiding the use of waste heat generated in electronics for self-cooling. Expected outcomes include a novel energy-effective thermal management strategy and enhanced capacity to engineer thermal transport in two-dimensional materials that will be deployed in miniaturised and high-density electronics to overcome overheating problems. This will provide significant benefits to the economy and the environment, such as reduced cost, energy consumption and CO2 emissions in thermal management technologies. Field of research: 4018 - Nanotechnology Australian data centres consume about 3.5% of Australia’s total electricity consumption, and emit as much CO2 as the commercial airline industry and are growing rapidly. Almost half of that energy is used to cool the advanced computing infrastructure. To reduce energy consumption for cooling, this project will develop novel nanomaterials and much more effective ways to dissipate “waste heat”, by controlling the operating temperature of electronic devices. These nanomaterials automatically respond to temperature changes in electronic devices and use the resulting “waste heat” for self-cooling, so additional energy to cool the devices is not needed. These novel nanomaterials and thermal management system will be patented and commercialised with local industries. This energy efficient thermal management strategy will overcome common overheating problems of widespread electronic devices, increase device safety, reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions, and contribute to Australia’s 2050 net zero emissions goals as well as globally.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Narrating the Roles of Animals in Cultural Burning. This research aims to produce knowledge of the ways in which humans and animals co-construct landscapes via the medium of cultural burning. It will be the first multispecies ethnography of people and animals on Native Title land engaged in landscape modification based on the use of cultural fire. Taking its lead from Indigenous partners this research will develop narratives of how humans, and animals co-construct landscapes via the medium of fire within wider socio-ecological frameworks. These narratives will inform policy and practice with regard to forest management, protection of species, conservation management, bushfire mitigation, promotion of biodiversity, and Indigenous health. Field of research: 4702 - Cultural Studies This research is in the national interest in that it seeks to mitigate bushfire risk by generating knowledge of how people and animals create more resilient landscapes that are less prone to intense fire. It will also generate better conservation outcomes for native flora and fauna via the production of knowledge of how cultural burning affects and is affected by people, animals and wider socio-ecological processes. This knowledge will inform policy and practice in terms of forest management, protection of species, conservation management, bushfire mitigation, promotion of biodiversity, and Indigenous health. Lastly, this research will amplify Indigenous voices in land management practice and policy by adopting Indigenous-led research questions and aims, and engaging with Indigenous researchers from Australia and overseas.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Toward data justice in Australian schools. This project will investigate the challenges raised by digital data for Australian schools. The use of digital technologies in schools has led to systematic data collection, which reconfigures schooling processes and interpersonal relationships and presents new risks to staff and students. Although there are laws in place to protect students' rights, there are hidden consequences to using digital technologies. This research project investigates how data collection, use and disclosure is experienced and understood in schools. It will identify the role played by intermediaries, such as tech brokers, educational authorities and professional networks. Benefits include policy recommendations, protocols and guidelines for data justice in schools. Field of research: 3902 - Education Policy, Sociology and Philosophy This project will raise datafication as a significant issue in Australian schools. It will provide detailed, fine-grained analysis of how data circulates within and beyond schools and investigate the implications this has on young people's learning and development. The project will have practical, educational and research benefits. For school staff, it will increase understanding of data generation, processing and feedback and provide them with a list of strategies to help procure digital technologies and ensure their data practices are just. Through a series of collaborative workshops between school staff and other key stakeholders in the tech industry and education, it will develop protocols, guidelines and policy recommendations on just data use in schools. As the main beneficiaries of this project, young people should have greater privacy and a more equitable schooling experience as a consequence of this study.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Enabling solid state metal recycling with new numerical techniques. This project performs modelling to help develop an additive metal manufacturing process that makes use of scrap as input feed. It will develop new understanding of the key physical aspects of friction stir additive manufacturing and build a new efficient yet accurate continuum thermo-mechanical model for its simulation. This technology will enable metal deposition at rates an order of magnitude greater than conventional powder additive manufacturing methods. The new computational approach will be used to create processing and design maps. The work will facilitate greater use of high metal scrap and pave the way for more robust supply chains and new business models with application in automotive, mining, aerospace and military sectors. Field of research: 4014 - Manufacturing Engineering Recycled scrap metal has potential to be a sustainable and low-cost source of high value, scarce manufacturing materials for Australian manufacturing. Currently most metal recycling process’s require high energy inputs and are negatively impacted by even minor contamination. Using new modelling tools, my project will create a novel avenue for low energy, efficient recycling of high value scrap metals. This will enable cost-effective use of a new 3D printing technology, Additive Friction Stir Deposition (AFSD) in low environmental impact recycling, to produce high quality, large metallic parts without melting the input materials, with greater tolerance of impurities in scrap feedstock. Benefits include a low energy Australian made recycling process that enables a broader range of feedstock to be processed, to be used for advanced manufacturing products across many of the national manufacturing priority sectors. Greater use of high value metal scrap locally will pave the way for more robust supply chains and new business models with application in our mobility, mining, aerospace, and defence sectors.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Muslim Museums: Curating Islam in Multicultural Societies . This project aims to determine how contemporary Muslim communities use museums as a medium to think about and display their collective identities in non-Muslim-majority societies. Drawing on a comparative ethnographic study of Muslim-led museums across Australia, Europe, and North America, the project expects to generate new knowledge about how Muslim communities collect, curate, and exhibit their heritage in a comparative frame. Outcomes include the first transnational study of Muslim museums and a radio documentary on the Islamic Museum of Australia. Anticipated benefits include a greater understanding of the experiences of communities in caring for their heritage and improved competency in displaying multicultural heritage in museums. Field of research: 4302 - Heritage, Archive and Museum Studies In 2021, 80% of Australian Muslims reported experiencing unfavourable treatment, feeling marginalised and/or misrepresented. This is happening at a time when the Muslim population of Australia is growing in the face of displacements due to war and ongoing geopolitical shifts in Muslim-dominant regions of North Africa, the Middle East and neighbouring Southeast Asia. For migrant/diasporic communities in Australia, developing museums has played a major role in their sense of community-building, self-affirmation and integration. Through engaged fieldwork with Muslim-operated museums across Europe, North America and Australia, this project will develop novel ways of understanding the experiences of Muslim communities in curating and promoting their historical and cultural heritage in a challenging period. In elevating community voices, the project will have various benefits for Australian society, including improving collaborations between communities and public museums and providing research on multiculturalism that may inform future government policies.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Ultra-High Resolution 3D Printing of Micron-Sized Structures and Voids. The Ultra-high Resolution 3D printing facility for making micron-sized structures and voids aims to position Australia as a leader in prototyping and manufacturing of microfluidic devices. The facility will support research in material science and microfluidic design and manufacturing and will support applications of microfluidics in analytical chemistry, biomedical microdevices and energy. The proposed facility bridges a critical gap between manufacturing for laboratory research and manufacturing for commercialisation. Expected outcomes include advanced materials and enhanced capacity in microfluidic design and prototyping, providing research training and skills to underpin global leadership in the manufacturing of microfluidic devices. Field of research: 4014 - Manufacturing Engineering The evolution of 3D printing has revolutionised manufacturing as we know it today. Access to next-generation equipment that can both prototype and manufacture new devices will bolster Australia's world leading position in “lab-on-a-chip” design and fabrication. This project will specifically focus on so-called microfluidic devices. These are small (2-5cm) components containing micron-sized channels that can be used to investigate (bio)chemical processing and/or cell cultures in a controlled environment. We will establish Australia's first ultra-high resolution 3D printing facility in this field. This will help eliminate the bottleneck in the translation of research into commercial products and portable devices capable of chemical and environmental analysis. Applications also include medical diagnostics, artificial organ production, and renewable energy generation and storage. The manufacture and use of these technologies has the potential to generate major economic and environmental benefit for Australia, given the global microfluidics device market is expected to exceed $60 billion US dollars by 2028.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

COVID-19, health and labour market marginalisation . This project aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on labour market marginalisation in Australia. It seeks to generate new insights about whether the global economic shock had a disproportionately negative effect on the employment circumstances of working-age Australians with mental health and musculoskeletal/pain conditions, which are the leading causes of disability in Australia. The expected outcomes of this project include improved policy responses to direct effective support and assistance to those with the greatest need, and new resources for the research community. This should lead to significant benefits through reduced inequalities and improved social, economic and workforce outcomes for vulnerable Australians. Field of research: 4407 - Policy and Administration The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a sudden and dramatic increase in unemployment, underemployment and receipt of income support. By mid-2021 unemployment rates were back below pre-pandemic levels. However, the employment shock and later recovery were not experienced the same by all Australians. It is likely that working Australians with poor mental and physical health experienced worse employment outcomes during the pandemic, but there is little reliable information about this at present. This project will access and analyse new national data to build a deeper understanding of the employment and labour market circumstances of people with mental and physical health conditions throughout the pandemic. The project team will work together with policymakers and representatives of community and business groups to build new knowledge that will help to understand and then design and direct appropriate support and assistance to those who most need it. The project will help to promote Australia’s economic recovery while ensuring equitable social, economic and workforce outcomes.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Feedback literacy for effective learning at university and beyond. This project aims to develop frameworks and strategies that help learners make the most of feedback across their studies and into their working lives. Using behaviour change techniques from the health and social sciences, the project expects to develop ways to support students and graduates to seek out and use feedback, and to manage their emotions throughout the feedback process. Expected outcomes of this project include evidence-informed strategies that individuals and institutions can use to develop life-long capabilities to make the most of feedback. This should provide significant benefits across all sectors of Australian society, where productivity, learning and wellbeing depend on healthy and effective engagement with feedback. Field of research: 3903 - Education Systems Most people have at some stage been hurt by feedback or, in many cases, not known how to use it as it was intended. This project will explore how to help people make the most of feedback in education and beyond. Difficulties with seeking and using feedback can harm productivity, well-being and mental health. This project aims to benefit Australia economically and socially by developing new approaches to help students and graduates seek, generate, and use feedback in work and learning settings.  As well as making important changes to university courses to improve graduates’ ability to use feedback, we will develop free frameworks, courseware and resources that will be made available to all Australians.  We will design and deliver an online course for individuals to develop their feedback capabilities for work and learning, resources that trainers and coaches can use with staff in the workplace, and workshops for educators to improve students’ feedback capabilities.  By helping Australians make the most of feedback, the project has the potential to boost any individual’s productivity, learning and wellbeing.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Smart foliage: imparting intelligence to synthetic leaves. This project aims to develop an innovative “lab-on-a-leaf” platform technology based on smart membranes with switchable pores to enable hitherto unachievable control of gas and vapour transfer. The innovated membrane based technology can be used as a versatile platform for many important applications, such as desalination and carbon capture. This project expects to advance the knowledge in biomimetic design of synthetic leaves, and bring new membrane technologies to applications, such as desalination, solar energy harvesting, and evaporative cooling. This project should provide significant benefits for Australian manufacturing industry by addressing energy and environmental concerns and boosting national economic growth. Field of research: 4016 - Materials Engineering In recent years, Australia has suffered significantly from water scarcity and extreme weather conditions resulting from induced climate change. This project will help to mitigate both water scarcity and aspects of climate change by developing a smart membrane-based technology with the two-fold purpose of desalination and CO2 removal/conversion from the atmosphere. Significantly, the project will address the difficult issue of controlling gas and vapour transfer through conventional artificial surfaces using a series of smart membranes. It will also advance our understanding of fundamental processes such as photosynthesis and respiration in plant physiology, and improve desalination efficiency by mimicking nature to control vapour transfer. We will design devices that behave in the same way that a leaf does in nature to convert atmospheric CO2 into renewable fuel. This project will enable both clean water and clean renewable energy production, as well as enabling significant CO2 reduction from the atmosphere to generate significant economic and environmental benefits. This project should provide significant benefits for Australian manufacturing industry by addressing energy and environmental concerns and boosting national economic growth.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Online relationship therapy supporting those affected by substance use. This project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an online relationship therapy program for those experiencing relationship dysfunction and where one or both partners engage in problematic substance use. In doing so, the project addresses a major service gap, specifically, the lack of online programs to support this population in developing and maintaining positive romantic relationships. The expected outcomes include reduced relationship conflict, intimate partner violence, and relationship breakdown. The project's potential for wide-scale roll out will yield far-reaching benefits for Australian couples and families dealing with substance problems by enhancing relationship skills and fostering relationship stability. Field of research: 5205 - Social and Personality Psychology Over 50% of calls to the national alcohol and other drug (AOD) hotline related to help-seeking for significant relationship dysfunction. This project will evaluate the effectiveness of an online relationship therapy program in reducing relationship conflict, intimate partner violence, and relationship breakdown in couples where one or both partners have substance use problems. The project addresses the lack of programs to support this vulnerable population in developing and maintaining positive romantic relationships. The project brings together a team of national and international researchers in couple relationships, substance misuse and intimate partner violence with four of Australia’s leading services providers in the Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) sector. The project's potential for wide scale roll out through the AOD sector will yield far-reaching social and economic benefits for Australia given that the estimated combined cost of relationship breakdown and AOD misuse is $94 billion per year.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Regulating predictive technologies for preventive counterterrorism . This project aims to improve the legal regulation of predictive technologies for preventive counterterrorism measures. The project expects to generate new knowledge in counterterrorism law and policy using doctrinal, comparative, and empirical methods. In particular, the project collects data on the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions mandating collection, sharing, and use of predictive technologies to strengthen global counterterrorism, and examines how these resolutions influence security and human rights in Australia and its security partners. Expected outcomes include recommendations for improving the laws governing the use of predictive technologies and strengthening security, individuals’ human rights, and the rule of law. Field of research: 4804 - Law In Context This will be the first large-scale empirical study of the legal regulation of predictive technologies (including artificial intelligence) in preventive counterterrorism processes. The project will maximise its impact on policy through a structured consultation process with academics and professionals in Australia and internationally, including events and publications tailored to diverse audiences. The project will provide evidence on the predictive turn in global counterterrorism, identify existing weaknesses in its regulation, and propose ways to improve it, strengthening Australia's leadership in this area. The interdisciplinary and comparative framework will offer globally relevant findings to inform critical counterterrorism processes, enhancing international and national security and mitigating risk to civilians through improved regulation. The findings will further inform policies in other areas of domestic law, like policing and immigration control, which also rely on predictive technologies. The mounting reliance on predictive technologies makes this inquiry particularly important and urgent.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Evaluating innovative assurance practices for sustainability reporting. While entities are today accountable for and report on a broader range of social and environmental issues, such enhanced reporting must be credible to be relied upon. Evaluating settings where innovative credibility-enhancing mechanisms are proposed or disclosed, this project aims to explore the efficacy of these evolving mechanisms and their impact on information quality and users. This project is expected to make significant contributions in identifying and evaluating best practice credibility-enhancing techniques and informing policy and standard-setting options in Australia and overseas. The benefits include higher quality and more reliable disclosures resulting in better resource allocation decisions and informed policy determinations. Field of research: 3501 - Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Australian investors are increasingly demanding credible disclosures about the social and environmental impacts of businesses, however there is a risk that this demand will not be met due to businesses lacking knowledge of the various approaches they can adopt to effectively enhance the credibility of their disclosures. This project will identify and test various leading-edge approaches, ranging from simple tailored director statements to more expensive independent audits. It will examine how and whether these approaches improve the reliability of social and environmental disclosures to inform investment decisions. By identifying and communicating to businesses the relative effectiveness of the various approaches, this project will support more reliable disclosures and improved, more socially responsible investment decisions. We will also inform Australian standard-setters/regulators of new insights from this project, providing an evidence-base for their current deliberations on reforms to auditing and assurance standards for sustainability reporting.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Enacting Climate Change Education through representing scientists’ practice. This research will work with scientists and teachers across three continents to translate contemporary climate-related research practices into a novel curriculum approach that emphasises deep science knowledge, skills, and values. It responds to a pressing national need to prepare students for a 21st century marked by complex work futures and major socio-scientific challenges related to climate change. The project will develop students’ engagement with and competencies in the sciences for fast changing work futures, and decision making and action regarding environmental challenges. It contributes to an enhanced scientific workforce and a citizenry capable of responding to complex environment-related challenges. Field of research: 3901 - Curriculum and Pedagogy This research involves working with scientists and teachers to develop school science curriculum sequences based on contemporary climate-related research. It will develop a Climate Change Education curriculum progression for science that emphasises deep knowledge of science and scientific practices and student decision making related to major 21st century socio-scientific challenges. These include biodiversity loss, energy futures, climate change, and frontier materials science. The research will focus on students’ socio-scientific reasoning, critical and creative thinking, responsible citizenship and futures orientation. The research has economic, environmental and citizen well-being benefits concerning improving students’ engagement with science-related pathways needed to drive national wealth creation, and a population that can productively respond to challenges in 21st century life and work and to the climate-related challenges we increasingly face. The international research team and advisory panel including national and international curriculum bodies will ensure wide dissemination of findings.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Understanding the drivers and motivators of extremist violence. Despite intense interest in the issue, our understanding of and ability to respond to extremist violence is limited. This innovative program of research is designed to establish an empirical foundation for understanding and responding to extremist violence in Australia. It aims to examine risk and protective factors for such violence, the needs of those susceptible to committing such acts, and the effectiveness of intervention. Findings are expected to inform health, national security, social welfare, and justice agencies in their pursuit to identify those at risk of offending, address their clinical needs and manage the risk of harm they pose to society and to themselves. Field of research: 4402 - Criminology Extremist violence poses a significant threat to Australian national security and community safety. Our understanding of the factors underpinning violent extremist offending is limited. Analysing the factors that heighten an individual's propensity for extremist violence is critical for preventing or responding to it. This project will identify these factors and examine the vulnerabilities of those susceptible to committing such acts. It will determine effective interventions and inform the provision of appropriate clinical services while protecting civil liberties. Building on recent Australian public inquiries and with unprecedented access to community- and prison-based individuals at risk of extremist violence, the research will strengthen national security and improve clinical and criminal justice knowledge and risk management. We will share findings with the national intelligence community, law enforcement, clinical and social welfare agencies, frontline workers and policymakers to enhance their ability to predict, prevent and mitigate the risks of violent extremist harms.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Preventing Water Theft in the Murray-Darling Basin. This Project aims to understand the complex interaction of socio-economic, legal and political factors that have enabled the theft of fresh water in the Murray-Darling Basin. By analysing the policies and regulations governing freshwater management, this project expects to generate new knowledge of the extent and types of water theft, offenders processed, penalties delivered, and the performance and operations of regulatory and enforcement agencies. The expected outcomes include new research strategies for water theft prevention. This will benefit national security and community health by contributing to a sustainable and equitable supply of fresh water. Field of research: 4402 - Criminology Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin is experiencing serious water theft. The impact of this substantial loss is affecting commercial activity, agriculture, biodiversity and cultural identity, as well as jeopardising the security of a vital future freshwater resource. At present, there is no systematic data collection on water theft in Australia, making it difficult to address the actions of perpetrators. This project will remedy that situation by creating a data theft classification and identifying mitigation and prevention strategies that will benefit all Australian water providers and consumers. This will be achieved by cataloguing and critically examining water theft activities and the negative environmental and economic impact this creates. Findings will be communicated through a digital, interactive Water Theft Archive in partnership with the relevant state and federal authorities. The project team will monitor, administer and manage Archive content to enhance policy development and crime prevention initiatives essential to Australia’s national security, economic, social, and environmental objectives.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Australian Spirituality: Wellness, Wellbeing and Risks. While there has been significant research conducted in Australia on rising religious diversity and those who are non-religious, spirituality has not received the same scholarly attention despite its popularity. This is the first nationwide study of spirituality in Australia, investigating First Nations, religious, and holistic spirituality, their contributions to wellbeing, and their possible risks. It includes a national survey and interviews with spiritual persons, and case studies of sacred places around the country. This project also draws on the expertise of leading First Nations, Australian and international scholars, and will be of national benefit in its capacity to inform practices and policies for personal and planetary wellbeing. Field of research: 4410 - Sociology The practice of spirituality in Australia remains little understood, despite its significance to First Nations peoples, its growing popularity, and an increased focus on spiritual wellbeing in the health, education and environmental sectors. There has also been a troubling uptake of conspiracy theories in spiritual communities, including opposition to vaccination, which were exposed during the COVID19 pandemic. This project is the first nationwide study of spirituality in Australia to investigate how spiritual individuals and communities approach wellness, wellbeing and science. Conducted by a team of leading First Nations, Australian and international scholars, it will comprise a national survey, interviews, studies of spiritual sites and an impact forum for stakeholders. This project will be of national social, cultural and environmental benefit, as it will inform community and government practices and policies on the value and risks of spirituality to wellbeing in the national priority areas of public health and environmental change.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Animals and geopolitics in South Asian borderlands. The project evaluates the impact of animals on the politics of South Asian borderlands, which are exposed to climate change, species decline and intensifying nuclear state rivalry. Using a comparative multispecies ethnography of India’s borders with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, it will study the role of animals in reinforcing or subverting the power of sovereign states. Expected outcomes are new analytical and conceptual tools to understand these overlooked actors in geopolitics and the links between foreign, security and transboundary conservation policies. This knowledge has potential application in demilitarisation and cooperation around transborder animal flows, benefitting security, ecosystems and Australian interests in South Asia. Field of research: 4406 - Human Geography The project will examine the relations between animals and geopolitics in India’s borderlands with Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Borderlands are politically volatile and ecologically fragile. A site of potential conflict amid nuclear powers, this region is of serious concern to Australia. As part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, India is vital for our security and prosperity. Geopolitics has largely ignored the political and ecological relevance of animals. Animals move across borders, mark territory, and are herded, hunted, and evicted. A detailed multispecies approach will uncover the ways animals shape politics, state sovereignty and ecological change in the contested South Asian borderlands. By engaging Australian and South Asian security, diplomatic and conservation actors with this new knowledge, the project will improve Australia’s capacity to deploy soft power in animal and conservation diplomacy and enhance our regional interests by using ecological approaches toward security and stability.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

The politics of medievalism: persuasive narratives. This project aims to understand how narratives about the medieval past help form identities and spread ideologies in the present, across the political spectrum, time and national borders. It aims to generate new knowledge about medievalism and its persuasive power. It will shed new light on extremist exploitation of popular culture using an innovative interdisciplinary approach, digital analysis, and engaged partnerships. It will enhance capacity to identify extremist messaging and create new grassroots programs promoting political tolerance and resilience to extremist propaganda and far-Right ideology, generating social and cultural benefit by strengthening Australian security, social cohesion and national values. Field of research: 4702 - Cultural Studies The anti-egalitarian and anti-democratic ideologies of the far-Right are at odds with Australian values of social cohesion, multiculturalism, democracy and equality. Those ideologies are often expressed through references to the Middle Ages, such as in the manifestos of the Oslo and Christchurch terrorists, This project is uniquely placed to have significant benefit to Australia by innovatively addressing poorly-understood cultural aspects of extremist ideology and its spread through exploration of such references and their contexts. The new knowledge created would enable development of: 1) a robust framework for identifying extremist propaganda, increasing capacity to identify threats by adding a new set of data points to intelligence analysts' toolkits; 2) ground-breaking grassroots programs building resilience to extremist messaging and reinforcing tolerance and democratic values, and; 3) new methods for research translation to improve the public's historical literacy. This will contribute to strengthening Australian values and national security.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Developing a recyclable carbon fibre composite capability for Australia. This project will use innovative surface modification techniques on reclaimed and virgin carbon fibres to enhance their compatibility with thermoplastic polymers. Valorising reclaimed carbon fibres and optimising thermoplastic composite materials will overcome the global industry challenges of: Raw material shortfall and High-volume manufacture, respectively. The successful implementation of this work will enable the critical role that high performance carbon fibre composite materials will play in transitioning to alternative energy sectors such as wind and hydrogen. This fellowship will create a sovereign capability and source of high value materials for Australia that will benefit energy, construction, mining, and defence. Field of research: 4016 - Materials Engineering In the near future, the annual demand for carbon fibre will exceed global production capability, leaving the recycling of existing carbon fibre products as the only feasible way to access this critical raw material. Currently, only around 2% of all carbon fibre produced are recycled each year.  In addition, the resulting material is not suitable for the mass production of parts to support the renewable energy, mining and defence sectors.  We will work with established local and international industry partners to improve and optimise carbon fibre manufacturing and recycling processes.  This project will focus on developing the technology to enable the use of recycled carbon fibre in the mass production of high-performance parts for renewable energy applications – including wind, solar and hydrogen energy.  This will grow an Australian-based carbon fibre recycling and re-manufacturing industry, creating jobs in multiple sectors across the economy, supporting Australia’s transition to a renewable energy future, and benefiting the environment by reusing this valuable resource.