Research Projects
Whitsunday Regional Council - Mitigation and Loss Reduction. (Old ID 27085)
David Henderson
01 Oct 2020 - 30 Jun 2021
Develop and implement a resilience rating framework for small businesses. This initial phase will identify and scope aspects of the program and sufficient detail of the Rating Framework to enable the feasibility of the concept to be determined. Some elements will be estimates which will require deeper research and quantification in subsequent stages. • Review of background research and peril-specific risk attributes – leveraging existing work plus a limited desktop study of latest research to inform the methodology and framework (minimise task input to meet timeframe). • Design rating framework and quantify elements sufficient to inform the business case.
The Mua Island Garden Project: Reconstructing plant management practices in Western Torres Strait (Old ID 27527)
Cassandra Rowe
23 Mar 2022 - 31 Dec 2022
Food security in the face of climate change is a challenge for remote Indigenous communities in Australia, especially for Torres Strait Islander communities. Key to meeting this challenge is developing environmentally/culturally sustainable horticultural initiatives that build on traditional gardening practices adapted to hilly granite terrains of western Torres Strait. The Project thus brings together archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence with existing horticultural understandings of the Mualgal community to: 1. Understand how a western Torres Strait community developed and crafted their horticultural world over hundreds and perhaps thousands of years to accommodate the demands of wet and dry season climate extremes and hilly terrain; and, 2. Develop data and research into plant management in ways that are responsive to the contemporary aspirations and resources of a local Torres Strait Islander community.
Beyond Food and Money: Uncovering the hidden values of gleaning in the Asia-Pacific (Old ID 27631)
Jacqueline Lau
01 Nov 2022 - 31 Jul 2023
Gleaning, the activity of collecting of marine organisms from inter-tidal habitats, is a common fishing strategy and provider of food and income. Yet, it remains poorly understood, and is persistently underrepresented in statistics and narratives about small-scale fisheries. Despite some emerging research on the importance of gleaning for household food security in vulnerable coastal areas in developing countries, the voices and values of gleaners often remain unheard in coastal management and development decision-making. To address this, we propose a collaborative project to investigate and begin to address the invisibility of gleaning in the Asia- Pacific through a capacity building workshop.
The Wandering Falklands: Insights from New Geologic and Fossil Discoveries (Old ID 27745)
Eric Roberts
01 Jun 2022 - 30 Mar 2023
This project seeks to shed new light on the enduring geological mystery of where and how the Falkland Islands fit back into the plate-tectonic jig-saw puzzle of ancient Gondwana, while at same time unravelling new information about the evolutionary origins of early jawed fish from the southern hemisphere, whose humble beginnings may be linked to islands. To achieve this, we propose to spend two weeks collecting new Devonian fish fossils and searching for the presence of elusive (unmapped) volcanic rocks along the wave-cut beaches and platforms of Pebble Island and northern end of West Falkland.
Eliminate factors inhibiting redclaw farming from reaching its full potential (Old ID 21754)
Clive Jones
01 Jul 2014 - 31 Dec 2018
The NQCFA have successfully established hatchery technology that enables routine production of third stage juveniles (craylings) for stocking to grow out ponds. Survival of craylings to harvest (9-12 months) is approximately 50%. NQCFA have sought assistance of JCU to address this issue and guide a series of experiments to answer key questions. The research aims to identify causes of mortality, determine when it occurs, and to develop strategies to minimise it.
How midwifery students at a university in PNG understand, experience and manage the provision of care to women following stillbirth. (Old ID 22522)
Karen Cheer
01 Jan 2016 - 31 Dec 2016
This study will describe and theorise the understanding of stillbirth and experiences of providing care to women following stillbirth with a cohort of midwifery students at a univeristy in Papua New Guinea. The study will document social, cultural, spiritual and professional factors that inform the provision of care from the perspective of midwifery students who have been maternal healthcare providers prior to enrolment. The study will contribute to the body of knowledge on stillbirth experiences in resource limited and complex social and cultural settings, and enhance collaboration between JCU and Pacific Adventist University.
Sources of Bioavailable Nutrients: Phase 2 (Old ID 22526)
Stephen Lewis
01 Jan 2016 - 01 Dec 2016
The primary objective of this project is to determine which indicators (ideally 2 - 4 in total for N and P) best predict algal growth (whole community and diatom only) in freshwater and marine conditions. Research indicates that diatoms are the key food source for Crown of Thorns Starfish larvae therefore having a "diatom only" treatment will enable us to look at indicators specifically related to this issue. Indicators will be tested on a range of key soil types (key soils with a range of erodibilities from the Bowen and Johnstone catchment will be selected), erosion processes (surface and sub-surface) and land uses (grazing and cane) to ensure their applicability and reliability.
Performance tests of acid mist suppressants (Old ID 22793)
Yinghe He
01 Jul 2016 - 30 Sep 2016
This project will test the effect of two (2) chemicals (acid mist suppressants) supplied by Huntsman Corporation on the morphology of the cathode during an electro-winning process.
DES - JCU GBRCLMP Collaborative Agreement (Old ID 31131)
Zoe Bainbridge
15 Sep 2023 - 31 Dec 2026
Collaborate and support the Water Quality and Investigations’ GBR Catchments Loads Monitoring Program under a regionally based science partnership.
Electron transport and scattering within the plasma-liquid interface (Old ID 27888)
Ron White
01 Jul 2023 - 30 Jun 2026
The synergistic interaction of low-temperature plasmas with liquids and biological matter has unearthed various technological applications in water treatment, agriculture, biofuels and medicine. Predicitive control of these multiphase plasmas is essential to unlocking the potential of these applications, and this requires predictive models. The absence of the relevant non-equilibrium transport theory describing electrons in these multiphase environments together with fundamental data describing electron interactions with biological and liquid matter severely limits this. The project will develop a state of the art transport model informed by world first measurements of electron cross-sections for biomolecules, radicals and liquids.