CASS researchers awarded 2.75$ million in ARC Discovery Projects
Image Caption: From L to R, Associate Professor Annika Werner, Professor Ian McAllister, Professor Colin Klein, Dr Estelle Strazdins, Professor Diana Slade and Professor Helen Keane
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Six researchers in the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) have been awarded funding in the 2024 round of Discovery Projects, sharing in a total of $220.2 million from the Australian Research Council.
Both the internally and externally led projects are a testament to our College’s research excellence and promise to deliver important insights for the Academy and beyond.
Investigating the ways AI resembles human intelligence and studying the role of mass media in the Roman Empire are among the issues that will be explored by the CASS recipients of ARC DP24.
As a flagship scheme for fundamental research and the largest under the ARC National Competitive Grants Program, Discovery Projects (DP) provide funding to individual researchers or teams for up to five consecutive years.
The CASS awardees have secured a combined total of $2.75 million to support their groundbreaking research across a broad range of fields, including Human Society, Philosophy and History.
In one of the most competitive selection processes in recent years, the College was able to obtain an internally led success rate of 18%, exceeding the average sector rate of 16%.
Of the six funded projects, two will be led in Canberra by The Australian National University, and the remaining four will be spearheaded by partner universities across the country.
Professor Darren Halpin, CASS Associate Dean Research, said he was “very pleased that the researchers were successful in what was a very competitive round”.
“Both the internally and externally led projects are a testament to our College’s research excellence and promise to deliver important insights for the academy and beyond.”
ARC Chief Executive Officer, Ms Judi Zielke PSM, said the recently awarded Discovery Projects will provide significant “economic, commercial, social and cultural benefits to the Australian community.”
Internally led projects
| Government popularity, political responsiveness and democracy in Australia |
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At a time of declining public trust in politics, what citizens are concerned about and how their concerns are satisfactorily addressed is central to an effective democracy and to responsible government. Professor Ian McAllister and Associate Professor Annika Werner, from the School of Politics & International Relations in the Research School of Social Sciences (RSSS), will aim to understand what affects government popularity and how it shapes the health of democracy.
Award: $476,138.00 |
| Finding equivalence between natural and artificial intelligences |
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Computers outperform humans in many domains, yet it is clear that machines often don’t perform tasks the way humans do. Professor Colin Klein, from the School of Philosophy in RSSS, will provide a framework for evaluating claims of equivalence between natural and artificial systems, facilitating public understanding of the capacity and limitations of AI technology.
Award: $435,598.00 |
Externally led projects
| Understanding the role of trauma in alcohol and other drug-related problems |
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With researchers from Deakin University (lead), Monash University and UNSW, Professor Helen Keane, from the School of Sociology in RSSS, will investigate the relationship between trauma and alcohol and other drug (AOD)-related problems, advancing international knowledge on how experiences of trauma influence AOD consumption, and the diverse factors that shape variation in experience and outcomes for individuals.
Award: $615,212.00 |
| Understanding communication about advance care planning across the lifespan |
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Working with experts from Queensland University of Technology (lead) and The University of Queensland, Professor Diana Slade, from the ANU institute for Communication in Health Care within the School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics in the Research School of Humanities and the Arts (RSHA) will aim to understand how people communicate about advance care planning for children, adolescents, and adults. The project expects to provide significant benefits to future initiatives for enhancing communication about advance care planning, especially in relation to young Australians, older Australians, and Australians with disabilities.
Award: $519,459.00 |
| Trust and distrust in social epistemic networks |
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In his second awarded project, Professor Collin Klein will join forces with Macquarie University (lead) to discover critically-needed understandings of the social causes and consequences of ‘fake news’. Results will lead to urgently required guidance regarding the features of social networks that exacerbate or buffer against the manifestation of epistemic vices.
Award: $478,013.00 |
| Roman Empire: mass media and the cult of emperors |
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Dr Estelle Strazdins, from the ANU School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics in the Research School of Humanities & the Arts (RSHA), is joining researchers from Macquarie University (lead), The University of Queensland and The University of Newcastle to study the role that mass media and images played in securing and sustaining imperial power during the Roman empire. In doing so, they will generate new insights on how today’s leaders are handling media to influence public opinion.
Award: $230,368.00. |
The previously mentioned projects are supported by the Australian Government through the ARC's Discovery Projects funding scheme (projects DP240101061, DP240100400, DP240100072, DP240101473, DP240100914 & DP240100112). The views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily those of the Australian Government or the ARC.
