QUT offers a diverse range of student topics for Honours, Masters and PhD study. Search to find a topic that interests you or propose your own research topic to a prospective QUT supervisor. You may also ask a prospective supervisor to help you identify or refine a research topic.
Found 6 matching student topics
Displaying 1–6 of 6 results
Ecosystem responses to climate change and human impacts on sub-Antarctic islands: a context for conservation
Sub-Antarctic islands have unique ecosystems and landscapes under increasingly pressure from climate change. In many cases this is compounded by the introduction of invasive species since their discovery by humans in the 1800s.Understanding ecosystem and environmental responses to climate change and separating them from human-induced causes of change is essential for their future protection. To do this requires quantifying long-term, natural rates and variability of change, establishing the ‘baseline’ status of ecosystems and the environment prior to human arrival, and …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Biology and Environmental Science
- Research centre(s)
-
Centre for the Environment
Understanding the impacts of biodiversity-focused interventions to agri-food systems on people and nature
Despite efforts to monitor and manage declining species and ecosystems around the world, biodiversity is still not routinely included in mainstream decision-making and continues to decline at the highest rate in human history. Added to this is the problem that both natural and agri-food systems are continually changing due to human and natural disturbances, with climate change likely to increase the impacts of extreme events like drought, fire and economic shocks. Because of large uncertainties and trade-offs between many human …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Biology and Environmental Science
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy
Centre for the Environment
Legal Approaches to Conservation Conflicts and Land-Use Conflicts
Conservation and land-use conflicts arise when people have different needs and interests concerning a protected area or land space. The management of these types of conflicts often has to broach disciplinary divides to ensure that appropriate consideration is given to the many complex and diverse issues that surround them, such as social justice, food production, biodiversity, the history of a place, and the attitudes and values of local stakeholders. The Law School invites students to express an interest in research …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Law
Understanding international governance in Antarctica through cooperative game theory
Antarctica is governed by a coalition of 29 countries ('consultative parties') who must agree unanimously before a law can be passed. This project will apply theories from social network analysis and cooperative game theory to map relationships between the different parties, and to predict their behaviour on a series of important environmental issues.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
-
Centre for the Environment
Optimal conservation management in uncertain Antarctic environments
Species and ecosystems in Antarctica are threatened. Optimal biodiversity conservation is an interdisciplinary field combining mathematical modelling and optimisation with ecology and conservation. We can use mathematics to understand the system, model how management actions might impact it, and then optimise which actions should be used. For example, we can explore where protected areas should be placed, how species should be managed, or how tourist impacts should be reduced. However, the complexities of conservation in Antarctica necessitate the application of …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Data Science
Centre for the Environment
Conversational agents that can see
The development of conversational agents, whether as smart home devices, or embedded in mobile devices or social robots, has started in the world of chatbots, with only text available, and then started to build audio features, and finally considering context through sensors and cloud knowledge, as well as offering images in response to a query.However, little attention has been paid to other conversational modalities, such as showing, pointing, or gesturing. The reliance on these is exacerbated in conversation with people …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Computer Science
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