A longitudinal study of the interaction of home and school language in three Aboriginal communities. The importance of language skills cannot be underestimated, and contribute to 'a healthy start to life'. In multilingual Indigenous communities, children must negotiate the complexities of different languages used for different purposes. This project will provide detailed insights into how children manage differences between home and school language, the kinds of problems they encounter when the ....A longitudinal study of the interaction of home and school language in three Aboriginal communities. The importance of language skills cannot be underestimated, and contribute to 'a healthy start to life'. In multilingual Indigenous communities, children must negotiate the complexities of different languages used for different purposes. This project will provide detailed insights into how children manage differences between home and school language, the kinds of problems they encounter when they enter the school system, and how their languages develop over the first four crucial years of school which provide the foundation for the children's future education. Their ability to manage the language of school underpins their ability to lead successful and engaged lives as adults. Read moreRead less
Children's Intergroup Prejudice: The Roles of Cognitive Representations and Self-presentation. Research indicates that intergroup prejudice remains a problem in most Australian schools. For example, children as young as 5-6 years assign negative attributes to indigenous Australians and Pacific Islander children, they prefer not to play with these children, and they do not even want them living nearby. The proposed research will examine the possible basis of age effects in these attitudes. It wi ....Children's Intergroup Prejudice: The Roles of Cognitive Representations and Self-presentation. Research indicates that intergroup prejudice remains a problem in most Australian schools. For example, children as young as 5-6 years assign negative attributes to indigenous Australians and Pacific Islander children, they prefer not to play with these children, and they do not even want them living nearby. The proposed research will examine the possible basis of age effects in these attitudes. It will have a substantial national benefit because it will increase our understanding of this insidious social phenomenon and provide a basis for developing an intervention that will minimise a problem that has the potential to devastate community relations.
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Optimising recall in children's testimony: The challenge of repeated questions. One of the threats to a healthy start in life for Australian children, and one which imposes substantial financial and emotional cost on the Australian community, is child abuse and neglect. This project addresses a key stumbling block in obtaining evidence from child victims/witnesses- their tendency to inconsistent testimony under repeated questioning. It seeks to understand the conditions under which inconsiste ....Optimising recall in children's testimony: The challenge of repeated questions. One of the threats to a healthy start in life for Australian children, and one which imposes substantial financial and emotional cost on the Australian community, is child abuse and neglect. This project addresses a key stumbling block in obtaining evidence from child victims/witnesses- their tendency to inconsistent testimony under repeated questioning. It seeks to understand the conditions under which inconsistency is minimized, as a basis for developing empirically and theoretically based ways to optimise the accuracy and legal utility of children's testimony. As a signatory to the United National Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990), Australia has a legal as well as a moral responsibility in this regard.Read moreRead less
Children's difficulties in learning to read: Causes and consequences of poor letter-sound knowledge. This research will identify the causes and treatments of reading impairment in children. This will help the Government counter the effects of poor reading instruction in Australian schools (see the National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy). The outcomes will reveal how struggling readers should be taught in classrooms, and which treatments should be covered by the Reading Assistance Voucher ....Children's difficulties in learning to read: Causes and consequences of poor letter-sound knowledge. This research will identify the causes and treatments of reading impairment in children. This will help the Government counter the effects of poor reading instruction in Australian schools (see the National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy). The outcomes will reveal how struggling readers should be taught in classrooms, and which treatments should be covered by the Reading Assistance Voucher programme. Treating reading impairment in children will reduce the number of teenagers who attempt suicide, drop out of school, or abuse drugs to try and escape the failure that accompanies poor reading ability.Read moreRead less
Using advertising to negatively reconstruct memories of risky and high-risk drinking amongst Australia's youth : a new intervention strategy. The NHMRC recognises alcohol-related problems as one of Australia's most serious health problems. Binge-drinking in particular is endemic amongst the population, especially youth, with such behaviour resulting in enormous economic, social and emotional costs to our nation. This study works towards reducing binge drinking amongst youth by assisting the de ....Using advertising to negatively reconstruct memories of risky and high-risk drinking amongst Australia's youth : a new intervention strategy. The NHMRC recognises alcohol-related problems as one of Australia's most serious health problems. Binge-drinking in particular is endemic amongst the population, especially youth, with such behaviour resulting in enormous economic, social and emotional costs to our nation. This study works towards reducing binge drinking amongst youth by assisting the development of more effective counter-advertising campaigns that make young people's memories of binge-drinking less enjoyable & more unpleasant. It also assists relevant advertising regulators & key decision-makers to take action to ensure that alcohol ads do not spawn primarily attractive memories of binge-drinking experiences.Read moreRead less
The impact of technological modality on troubles telling and advice giving on a national children's helpline. Over half a million children and young people contact the Kids Help Line every year. They make contact through telephone calls, emails and online interactive chats. This study of these differing types of contact will advance knowledge of children and young people's social and emotional health, the national priority area Promoting and maintaining good health. It informs the counselling, h ....The impact of technological modality on troubles telling and advice giving on a national children's helpline. Over half a million children and young people contact the Kids Help Line every year. They make contact through telephone calls, emails and online interactive chats. This study of these differing types of contact will advance knowledge of children and young people's social and emotional health, the national priority area Promoting and maintaining good health. It informs the counselling, health and educational communities. It addresses key priorities identified in National policy documents on children and young people. Finally, the study will have direct relevance for professional training in telephone and computer mediated forms of communication for counsellors, young people, educators, health professionals and policy makers. Read moreRead less
Understanding the relationship between child maltreatment and language competence: An evidential interviewing perspective. This research aims to develop the first comprehensive and controlled examination of the oral language profiles of maltreated children and how these impact performance in an investigative interview paradigm. This examination is essential for developing strategies for improving the elicitation of evidence from child abuse witnesses. By improving child witness evidence, this re ....Understanding the relationship between child maltreatment and language competence: An evidential interviewing perspective. This research aims to develop the first comprehensive and controlled examination of the oral language profiles of maltreated children and how these impact performance in an investigative interview paradigm. This examination is essential for developing strategies for improving the elicitation of evidence from child abuse witnesses. By improving child witness evidence, this research will improve the prosecution and conviction rates of child abuse offences, which will have a deterrent effect on potential offenders. Finally, this research will reduce the stress of witnesses involved in the legal process and provide better screening of children in need of specialised language intervention.Read moreRead less
Towards improved communication for medication safety: addressing the complexities of managing medications in hospitalised children. This study considers how health professionals, children and family members communicate about the management of medications in hospital. Comprehensive insights into the complexities involving communication processes will inform policies and programs directed at promoting and maintaining optimal management of medications in hospitalised children.
Repeated questions in children's event recall: Testing competing explanations. One of the threats to a healthy start in life for Australian children, and one which imposes substantial financial and emotional cost on the Australian community, is child abuse and neglect. This project addresses a key stumbling block in obtaining evidence from child victims/witnesses - their tendency to give inconsistent testimony under repeated questioning. It seeks to understand the conditions under which inconsis ....Repeated questions in children's event recall: Testing competing explanations. One of the threats to a healthy start in life for Australian children, and one which imposes substantial financial and emotional cost on the Australian community, is child abuse and neglect. This project addresses a key stumbling block in obtaining evidence from child victims/witnesses - their tendency to give inconsistent testimony under repeated questioning. It seeks to understand the conditions under which inconsistency is minimized, as a basis for developing empirically and theoretically based ways to optimise the accuracy and legal utility of children's testimony. Read moreRead less
Early childhood sustained home visiting: outcomes at 4 years and the transition to school. The Commonwealth has been committed to developing a national agenda for early childhood, with a strong focus on development and use of Australian-relevant evidence, an outcomes focus, a focus on vulnerable communities, families and children, and strengths-based approaches. This agenda is also reflected in the key research priority areas of the Commonwealth Government. The proposed study is a critical next ....Early childhood sustained home visiting: outcomes at 4 years and the transition to school. The Commonwealth has been committed to developing a national agenda for early childhood, with a strong focus on development and use of Australian-relevant evidence, an outcomes focus, a focus on vulnerable communities, families and children, and strengths-based approaches. This agenda is also reflected in the key research priority areas of the Commonwealth Government. The proposed study is a critical next step in the development of an Australian evidence base for professional home visiting: a key strategy for the delivery of services to promote the health and development of young Australians. The findings of this study will have significant implications for the development of early childhood policy and strategy throughout Australia.Read moreRead less