Mapping humanitarian activities of Australian-based migrants, understanding attitudes to Freedom of Information requests and generating new knowledge in immunity, lymphatic transport and material science are all projects funded in the latest announcement of Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage grants.
The funding was announced by Minister for Education and Youth, Alan Tudge, with the goal to link Australian universities with key industry partners on projects that will strengthen Australia's future. By supporting the development of partnerships, the ARC encourages the transfer of skills, knowledge and ideas as a basis for securing commercial and other research benefits.
The funded projects are:
Mapping the culture of administering Freedom of Information (FOI) laws
Associate Professor Johan Lidberg (Faculty of Arts) leads a project in partnership with three Australian Information Commissioners/Ombudsmen to map the culture of administering Freedom of Information (FOI) laws across a number of Australian jurisdictions. The study aspires to capture and analyse the attitudes among FOI practitioners, government agency management and political leaders toward information access implementation. The project aims to provide the partner organisations with an increased understanding of the culture of administering FOI to inform training/awareness programs and campaigns in order to increase the functionality of FOI. Well-functioning access to information systems is crucial both for good governance and Australia's participation in the digital economy.
Understanding the humanitarian activities of Australia-based migrants in crises abroad
Associate Professor Alan Gamlen (Faculty of Arts) leads a project aimed at mapping the extensive humanitarian activities and contributions of Australia-based migrants to crises abroad. Australia is home to large diasporas who are connected to communities in many humanitarian crisis hotspots, including the project's focus areas: Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan, Myanmar, Indonesia, Nepal, and the Pacific Islands. By generating much-needed knowledge on how and why migrants engage in humanitarian responses, the project expects to support and improve the work of diasporas themselves, the Australian Civil-Military Centre and other humanitarian organisations, who are partners in the project. This will benefit Australia by highlighting our innovative leadership role in humanitarian and migration issues.
The role of hyaluronan in antigen presentation and immunity
This project led by Professor Chris Porter from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences will examine how hyaluronidase, an enzyme that breaks down hyaluronan (a structural component of the skin), affects antigen and cell trafficking to lymph nodes. The project expects to generate new knowledge on the role of hyaluronan in antigen presentation and immunity and to build an interdisciplinary collaboration across immunology, lymphatic transport and material science. The expected outcomes of the project are the development of new knowledge and new models to explore immunity, interdisciplinary training for researchers and post graduate students and a roadmap of the importance of hyaluronan in antigen trafficking.
