The social determinants of childhood injury. Child hood injury is a preventable problem of major importance. This project will provide a comprehensive, research-based policy solution that will minimise death and disability among children zero to three years of age.
The production, use and effect of social work research. This project aims to reform social work research to improve the quality and effectiveness of human services. The human services industry is vital to many people’s quality of life, but lacks innovation and struggles to demonstrate its effectiveness. Crucially for social work, research expands thinking about how to respond to social disadvantage. This project intends to examine the scope and quality of Australian social work research in child ....The production, use and effect of social work research. This project aims to reform social work research to improve the quality and effectiveness of human services. The human services industry is vital to many people’s quality of life, but lacks innovation and struggles to demonstrate its effectiveness. Crucially for social work, research expands thinking about how to respond to social disadvantage. This project intends to examine the scope and quality of Australian social work research in child protection, disability services, and aged care; assess the use of this research to the human services sector and its effect on generating innovation; and develop strategies to advance the production, uptake, and effect of social work research.Read moreRead less
Economic efficiency and the provision of incentives for information acquisition and disclosure: a mechanism design approach. By uncovering what determines information acquisition, highlighting what allows experts and insiders to manipulate market outcomes, and studying the efficiency gains obtainable with the use of a variety of incentives schemes, this research will provide valuable insights for public policy concerning information diffusion and market transparency.
Collective Self-Regulation in Complex Social-Ecological Systems. This project plans to investigate the necessary supports and drivers for self-regulation for environmental purposes. Sustainable human uses of natural resources are central to meeting contemporary challenges to humanity such as deforestation and climate change. However, the complexity of the social and ecological interdependences tests the human capacity for collective self-regulation – ordinary citizens’ regulation of their own be ....Collective Self-Regulation in Complex Social-Ecological Systems. This project plans to investigate the necessary supports and drivers for self-regulation for environmental purposes. Sustainable human uses of natural resources are central to meeting contemporary challenges to humanity such as deforestation and climate change. However, the complexity of the social and ecological interdependences tests the human capacity for collective self-regulation – ordinary citizens’ regulation of their own behaviours for a greater good. The project aims to investigate the importance of establishing a common ground for collective self-regulation, the process of common ground formation in complex social-ecological systems, and how best to achieve this critical condition for sustainable ecological practices with a view to informing public discourse and policy-making for sustainable living.Read moreRead less
Patients' preference for participation in patient safety activities. This study will identify patient and nurse perceptions of involving patients in patient safety activities. Priorities for implementing strategies to support patient participation in patient safety activities will be identified, which will influence both health policy and practice.
A social psychology of affective disturbance. We are in the midst of a depression and anxiety epidemic that cannot be explained by focusing on individual experiences alone. We desperately need to understand the cultural contributors to depression and anxiety, thereby providing insight into the epidemiology of these conditions. Drawing on experimental studies, longitudinal sampling of daily emotional experiences, and multi-national data, the research will show how cultural contexts may exacerbate ....A social psychology of affective disturbance. We are in the midst of a depression and anxiety epidemic that cannot be explained by focusing on individual experiences alone. We desperately need to understand the cultural contributors to depression and anxiety, thereby providing insight into the epidemiology of these conditions. Drawing on experimental studies, longitudinal sampling of daily emotional experiences, and multi-national data, the research will show how cultural contexts may exacerbate individual-level affective disturbance and demonstrate the processes through which occurs. The findings will make a timely and much needed contribution to public policy decisions and preventive health care.Read moreRead less
How pain shapes our social world. Pain is an important source of human experience. Traditionally it has been defined by its social and psychological costs and treated as a problem that needs to be ‘fixed’. This project represents the first systematic study of the ways in which pain may motivate social and behavioural responses that serve to enhance affiliation, communication, solidarity, and group formation. In this way, pain may serve to connect people with their social worlds - it may act as s ....How pain shapes our social world. Pain is an important source of human experience. Traditionally it has been defined by its social and psychological costs and treated as a problem that needs to be ‘fixed’. This project represents the first systematic study of the ways in which pain may motivate social and behavioural responses that serve to enhance affiliation, communication, solidarity, and group formation. In this way, pain may serve to connect people with their social worlds - it may act as social glue - bringing people together and strengthening social connection. The findings will help to to provide a broader perspective on physical pain and will lead to insights that are important when treating pain.Read moreRead less
Diversity maintenance in patchy environments. This project aims to advance understanding of species coexistence and diversity maintenance in complex natural environments. Though diversity varies across patchy natural and human-created environments, the mechanistic drivers of these patterns remain poorly understood. This knowledge gap limits our ability to predict and manage responses of natural communities to environmental changes. Using data from threatened Western Australian wildflower communi ....Diversity maintenance in patchy environments. This project aims to advance understanding of species coexistence and diversity maintenance in complex natural environments. Though diversity varies across patchy natural and human-created environments, the mechanistic drivers of these patterns remain poorly understood. This knowledge gap limits our ability to predict and manage responses of natural communities to environmental changes. Using data from threatened Western Australian wildflower communities and novel ecological models of species coexistence, the project aims to deliver a mechanistic understanding of biological diversity, and provide fundamental knowledge needed to improve ecosystem management and restoration outcomes across Australia and globally.Read moreRead less
Emotion regulation in daily life: Capturing context and flexibility. This project aims to understand the role of contextual and individual factors in effective emotion regulation in daily life. The ability to manage emotions is central to virtually every aspect of psychosocial functioning and wellbeing. However, because research in this domain has relied heavily on laboratory methods, very little is known about emotion regulation as it naturally occurs in daily life. Using cutting-edge mobile te ....Emotion regulation in daily life: Capturing context and flexibility. This project aims to understand the role of contextual and individual factors in effective emotion regulation in daily life. The ability to manage emotions is central to virtually every aspect of psychosocial functioning and wellbeing. However, because research in this domain has relied heavily on laboratory methods, very little is known about emotion regulation as it naturally occurs in daily life. Using cutting-edge mobile technologies, this project aims to uncover when, and for whom, various forms of emotion regulation are most effective in daily life. Besides a significantly improved scientific understanding of emotion regulation, this project is expected to inform the development of novel person - and situation-specific interventions in the many applied domains involving emotion regulation.Read moreRead less
The neuroscience of group membership and its effects on action perception and empathy. People belong to different groups and sometimes group membership can lead to discrimination of people outside the group. This project will use brain imaging techniques to understand better how our brains make group distinctions and how this can sometimes lead to discrimination of other people.