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 14 matching student topics
Displaying 1–12 of 14 results
Green polymer-inorganic composite materials
Composite materials are widely researched and widely used in applications such as aircraft, automobiles, ships, structural components and even the space industry.There is a need to create new composite materials which are environmentally friendly and do not use fossil fuel based products. Moreover, the properties of the composites need to be improved while at the same time minimising the costs involved.Consequently our research group is working on composite materials which not only include inexpensive inorganic fillers from the mining sector …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
Value-adding waste materials
Many industries generate copious amounts of waste products.Of particular interest are those wastes generated by the mining sector as typically a large fraction of the ore bodies are dumped or the agricultural sector.Potential solutions we are investigating include:converting aluminosilicate waste to zeolitestransforming inorganic waste to catalyst materialscreation of materials for water and wastewater treatmentmaking activated carbonrenewable fuels,
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
Examining approaches to mitigating customer aggression and abuse
The pace of change associated with modern businesses (Grewal et al., 2017; Grewal et al., 2020), and the introduction of new technologies has created heightened level of stress (technostress) and aggression (Chen et al., 2019). Adding to these stressors, COVID-19, which has forced businesses to adapt their processes and customer service interface (Ahmed et al., 2021; Jiang and Stylos, 2021; Roggeveen and Sethuraman, 2020). Research now finding that continued lockdowns, social distancing, and political rancour, all adding increased levels of …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations
Examining customer responses to body worn cameras
As a direct response to increasing customer aggression, retailers are implementing measures to keep frontline team members safe – assets such as body worn cameras (BWC) and duress watches. Concerningly, there is a dearth of research into these technologies in a retail setting, with much of the earlier research being undertaken in corrective services, policing and train guards.Current research identifies, in some cases, the presence of such technologies can lead to a ‘back-firing’ effect (the aggressive individual becomes more aggressive), …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- School
- School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations
Examining the impact of biophilic design elements within shopping centres (malls)
The shopping centre (mall) is the central hub of modern retailing and holds a significant role in developing a first overall impression. As a result, shopping centres (malls) have focussed on creating positive customer experiences in shared public spaces. Bringing natural elements such as green plants, flowerbeds, water features, aquariums, animals, birds, and butterfly gardens into the hotel service setting, is an innovative approach known as biophilic design.The purpose of this research is to understand the impact of biophilic elements …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- School
- School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations
Determining the theapeutic efficiency of epigenetic drugs in ovarian cancer
Because cancer and many diseases arise from a combination of genetic propensity and the response of cells to external factors mediated through changes to the expression of key genes, it is important to understand epigenetic regulation. The epigenome is crucial to the changes of gene expression and there is now strong evidence that epigenetic alterations are key drivers of cancer progression. However, very few drugs targeting epigenetic modifiers have been successful, in part due to the lack of effective means …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
Determining the response to PARP inhibitor treatment of ovarian cancer in mouse xenograft model
Our cellular DNA is constantly under threat from both exogenous and endogenous factors. DNA repair pathways function to maintain genomic stability, preventing deleterious mutations that may ultimately lead to cancer initiation. When a tumour forms, it becomes genetically unstable, allowing environmental adaptation. This genetic instability can also result in gene mutations and protein expression alterations that can be targeted to induce cancer-specific cell death (phenomenon also known as synthetic lethality). For example, it has been shown that cells deficient in …
- Study level
- Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
Defining human immune responses to a healthy gut microbiome
Many human diseases are thought to involve interactions between the gut microbiome and the immune system which shape the nature and function of immunity. These interactions between host and environment are thought to be critical regulators of health and disease.In autoimmune diseases many studies have associated presence or absence of particular microbial species with diseases and some studies have shown influence of disease-related genetics on the composition of the gut microbiome. However, no studies to date have formally addressed the …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
-
Centre for Microbiome Research
Combining solar and vibration energy harvesting for rainfall prediction
Rainfall prediction plays a crucial role in various sectors such as agriculture, water resource management, and disaster preparedness. Traditional prediction methods often rely on complex meteorological models and expensive equipment. However, advancements in energy harvesting technology offer the opportunity to develop low-cost and sustainable solutions for rainfall prediction.This project proposes to leverage solar and vibration energy harvesting for rainfall prediction. Combined measurements from both solar and vibration energy harvesting can provide comprehensive data for real-time monitoring of cloud coverage and …
- Study level
- Honours
- School
- School of Information Systems
Small business resilience in times of economic uncertainty: Examining retailers and regional businesses
Regional Australia is undergoing significant structural, economic, social, and environmental change which is impacting the viability of small businesses (Regional Australia Institute, 2018). Regional small retail businesses, estimated to contribute $21.9bn to local economies (Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, 2019) are particularly susceptible to economic shocks, have lower survival rates, more volatile revenues and are generally less resilient than larger business (Barraket, Eversole, Luke & Barth, 2019).Disruptive external events such as the acceleration of e-retailing, COVID-19 travel restrictions, …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations
- Research centre(s)
-
Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research
Enhancing sonographer work-integrated learning: balancing quality training with workforce demands and student well-being
Sonographers, highly skilled healthcare professionals responsible for essential diagnostic ultrasound services, are currently facing a severe nationwide shortage. The Australasian Sonographers Association reported a deficit of at least 3,000 sonographers in 2019. Training new sonographers involves comprehensive work-integrated learning (WIL), which blends academic knowledge with structured real-world experiences to develop vital clinical skills. However, due to escalating workforce demands, concerns have arisen about potential exploitation of students within workplaces. This exploitation could involve assigning tasks exceeding their capabilities or subjecting …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- School
- School of Clinical Sciences
The efficacy of Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training in community sport
Organised sport is primarily community based in Australia; and the benefits of sport participation to individuals and communities are well documented. However, there is also evidence that participating in organised high-performance sporting programs is associated with psychological distress, elevated relative to community norms, which would usually warrant a need for care by a health professional. As such a case for improvement in mental health education and practice in sporting communities exists.Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a standardised, psychoeducational programme …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences
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