Recruiting and retaining Australian blood donors: A social-psychological analysis of the role of attitudes, identity, and norms. There has been little theory-based research examining the psychosocial predictors of blood donation, especially repeat blood donation, within an Australian context. This research seeks to assess the role of attitudes, identity and norms in predicting blood donation within rural and urban settings (Study 1) and for repeat blood donation amongst early career donors (Stud ....Recruiting and retaining Australian blood donors: A social-psychological analysis of the role of attitudes, identity, and norms. There has been little theory-based research examining the psychosocial predictors of blood donation, especially repeat blood donation, within an Australian context. This research seeks to assess the role of attitudes, identity and norms in predicting blood donation within rural and urban settings (Study 1) and for repeat blood donation amongst early career donors (Study 2). Study 3 will comprise two interventions designed to promote attitudinal and behavioural change for both blood donation initiation amongst current non-donors and repeat blood donation for early career donors. Identifying the predictors of blood donation for new and repeat donors will assist in the provision of this vital service within Australian health care settings.Read moreRead less
Promoting employee mental health through the development of managers' psychological capital: A controlled field experiment. Depression significantly impacts Australian communities and costs the economy approximately 12 million days in lost productivity each year. By delivering a mental health promotion program to managers of small-medium enterprises, this study will enhance the psychological wellbeing and mental health literacy of managers in a sector of the business community often neglected in ....Promoting employee mental health through the development of managers' psychological capital: A controlled field experiment. Depression significantly impacts Australian communities and costs the economy approximately 12 million days in lost productivity each year. By delivering a mental health promotion program to managers of small-medium enterprises, this study will enhance the psychological wellbeing and mental health literacy of managers in a sector of the business community often neglected in occupational health research. The program targets managers within Tasmania, a setting representing regional communities in which people have a higher risk of mental ill-health problems. Read moreRead less
Healthy eating and obesity prevention for preschoolers: A randomised controlled trial. The cost to society of obesity is high from both a financial and psychosocial perspective. Australian researchers can take a lead in the prevention of obesity during the formative preschool years when prevention intervention strategies have been evaluated systematically and rigorously. This will be the first study in Australia to evaluate the impact of a healthy eating and childhood obesity prevention program ....Healthy eating and obesity prevention for preschoolers: A randomised controlled trial. The cost to society of obesity is high from both a financial and psychosocial perspective. Australian researchers can take a lead in the prevention of obesity during the formative preschool years when prevention intervention strategies have been evaluated systematically and rigorously. This will be the first study in Australia to evaluate the impact of a healthy eating and childhood obesity prevention program for parents of preschool children, regardless of weight status. The findings will assist in further developing evidence-based prevention strategies that can be rolled out extensively in the Australian community for maintenance of healthy weight gain in preschool children.Read moreRead less
Gene-brain pathways in emotional brain stability and instability. Emotional instability is a defining trait of major mental illnesses. The ability to identify individuals susceptible to emotional instability will be important in limiting the burden of disease from these illnesses. Mental conditions cost the Australian economy approximately $14.9 bill p/a, and depression will be the second leading contributor to burden of disease by 2020. The project will provide the first evidence for the combin ....Gene-brain pathways in emotional brain stability and instability. Emotional instability is a defining trait of major mental illnesses. The ability to identify individuals susceptible to emotional instability will be important in limiting the burden of disease from these illnesses. Mental conditions cost the Australian economy approximately $14.9 bill p/a, and depression will be the second leading contributor to burden of disease by 2020. The project will provide the first evidence for the combination of gene-brain-behaviour markers which best capture emotional instability versus resilience. This evidence base will be crucial to developing new tools and strategies for early intervention, and ultimately prevention, for these conditions of mental health.Read moreRead less
An investigation of memory functioning of the prefrontal cortex. This project aims to investigate the role of the prefrontal cortex in human memory. While the medial temporal lobe has long been recognised as imperative for basic memory processes, the prefrontal cortex has only recently been recognised to mediate higher-level strategic memory processes. This project will clarify the memory functions of the dorsolateral, orbitofrontal, and medial prefrontal lobes by studying performance of individ ....An investigation of memory functioning of the prefrontal cortex. This project aims to investigate the role of the prefrontal cortex in human memory. While the medial temporal lobe has long been recognised as imperative for basic memory processes, the prefrontal cortex has only recently been recognised to mediate higher-level strategic memory processes. This project will clarify the memory functions of the dorsolateral, orbitofrontal, and medial prefrontal lobes by studying performance of individuals with damage in these areas using memory tests and tasks. Our findings will enhance understanding and theorising of the neural basis of memory and have implications for management and rehabilitation of memory impairments in brain injured individuals.Read moreRead less
Promoting high-performing multidisciplinary health care teams: An examination of the antecedents and consequences of psychological safety. Australian health care services are faced with an increasing burden of complex disease and changing demographics which require identification of new models of care. By promoting effective teams, this research aims to empower both organisations and their employees to contribute to a process of continuous improvement that identifies best-practice solutions for ....Promoting high-performing multidisciplinary health care teams: An examination of the antecedents and consequences of psychological safety. Australian health care services are faced with an increasing burden of complex disease and changing demographics which require identification of new models of care. By promoting effective teams, this research aims to empower both organisations and their employees to contribute to a process of continuous improvement that identifies best-practice solutions for all Australian hospitals. Overall, findings will help strengthen Australia's social and economic fabric by providing reliable and valid research evidence regarding ways to promote effective health care teams.Read moreRead less
The role of supervisors in managing psychosocial risk factors in the workplace: Implications for employee health and organisational effectiveness. This research aims to increase the capacity of Australian employers to identify and manage psychosocial risk factors in the workplace. By promoting a continuous improvement approach to occupational stress management, negative outcomes for employers will be reduced, in terms of absenteeism, turnover, and associated losses in productivity. By making b ....The role of supervisors in managing psychosocial risk factors in the workplace: Implications for employee health and organisational effectiveness. This research aims to increase the capacity of Australian employers to identify and manage psychosocial risk factors in the workplace. By promoting a continuous improvement approach to occupational stress management, negative outcomes for employers will be reduced, in terms of absenteeism, turnover, and associated losses in productivity. By making business operators more robust to work-related stressors, their need to react to critical stress-related incidents will be lessened and government resources will not be lost as a result of processing claims. In terms of social benefits, this research aims to enhance the quality of working life for employees.Read moreRead less
Flexible Expertise in Senior Executives. The prosperity of Australian society requires effective management in the face of accelerating economic, technological, social, and environmental changes. Leaders of Australian organizations must display flexibility in responding to the increasingly fluid and complex problems that confront them if they are to succeed in the global economy. An innovative model of flexible expertise that links synergisms of knowledge, self-regulatory processes, transfer and ....Flexible Expertise in Senior Executives. The prosperity of Australian society requires effective management in the face of accelerating economic, technological, social, and environmental changes. Leaders of Australian organizations must display flexibility in responding to the increasingly fluid and complex problems that confront them if they are to succeed in the global economy. An innovative model of flexible expertise that links synergisms of knowledge, self-regulatory processes, transfer and learning will be developed in studies of managers from leading Australian organizations. The results will be used to inform programs to accelerate the development of flexible expertise and leadership skills and address the current lack of human capital to fill executive leadership roles.Read moreRead less
On feeling good and succeeding: Identifying the antecedents of emotional well-being and school success amongst adolescents. We propose a multi-wave longitudinal study of all high school students in the Wollongong Catholic Diocese, identifying the psychological predictors of academic and emotional problems. We will track students and monitor the influence over time of a comprehensive set of predictors, examining their unique effects on the trajectories of educational and emotional outcomes. The s ....On feeling good and succeeding: Identifying the antecedents of emotional well-being and school success amongst adolescents. We propose a multi-wave longitudinal study of all high school students in the Wollongong Catholic Diocese, identifying the psychological predictors of academic and emotional problems. We will track students and monitor the influence over time of a comprehensive set of predictors, examining their unique effects on the trajectories of educational and emotional outcomes. The study will inform us about the developmental processes through which youth pass, leading to a new model of the psychological processes involved in academic and emotional outcomes. This model will enhance future intervention programmes with youth at risk of academic and emotional problems.Read moreRead less
A longitudinal study of neuropsychological and neuromotor effects of low level manganese exposure. This study will investigate the neuropsychological and neuromotor effects of low level exposure to mangenese particulate. Previous studies have indicated symptomology of high level exposure, but there is contention in the literature regarding the effects of low levels of exposure. Our aim is to refine measures of cumulative exposure and develop a more comprehensive and senstitive testing protocol t ....A longitudinal study of neuropsychological and neuromotor effects of low level manganese exposure. This study will investigate the neuropsychological and neuromotor effects of low level exposure to mangenese particulate. Previous studies have indicated symptomology of high level exposure, but there is contention in the literature regarding the effects of low levels of exposure. Our aim is to refine measures of cumulative exposure and develop a more comprehensive and senstitive testing protocol than has been reported thus far. These measures and protocols will be incorporated into a longitudinal design, which has not been conducted in research studies to date. In addition, a database of exposure variables will be developed to facilitate long-term, accurate research into the effects of the low levels of exposure.Read moreRead less