Modelling the acoustical scattering properties of the human auditory system. The audio and entertainment industry is continually striving towards the development of immersive consumer technologies. Australian companies and researchers within this market sector utilise these audio technologies for many innovative applications, including virtual reality, communication, navigation, monitoring, and auditory products for the hearing impaired. These developments rely heavily on a fundamental understan ....Modelling the acoustical scattering properties of the human auditory system. The audio and entertainment industry is continually striving towards the development of immersive consumer technologies. Australian companies and researchers within this market sector utilise these audio technologies for many innovative applications, including virtual reality, communication, navigation, monitoring, and auditory products for the hearing impaired. These developments rely heavily on a fundamental understanding of our natural sense of spatial hearing. This project will extend the current understanding of the acoustic scattering mechanisms that govern the external auditory system, and provide critical enabling knowledge that will enhance the development of innovative audio technologies.Read moreRead less
Unravelling Leadership Development: Evaluating outcomes, contrasting interventions, and exploring processes. This project investigates how leadership development interventions translate into effective outcomes for organizations. We compare how distinct interventions (transformational leadership vs. 360 degree feedback) and different modes of delivery (face-to-face vs. videoconferencing) lead to change in leader behavior. We investigate the cognitive/motivational mechanisms (e.g., self-efficacy, ....Unravelling Leadership Development: Evaluating outcomes, contrasting interventions, and exploring processes. This project investigates how leadership development interventions translate into effective outcomes for organizations. We compare how distinct interventions (transformational leadership vs. 360 degree feedback) and different modes of delivery (face-to-face vs. videoconferencing) lead to change in leader behavior. We investigate the cognitive/motivational mechanisms (e.g., self-efficacy, perspective-taking) by which these interventions affect leader behavior, as well as the multilevel processes by which change in leader behavior affects team performance and team well-being. The project will provide a more accurate assessment on the return of investment in leadership development, as well as guidance for enhancing the effectiveness of leadership development programs.
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Filters reveal what flicker conceals: temporal processing in the human visual system. I have recently discovered a new form of camouflage using 10Hz luminance flicker. This project will quantify this effect and examine the extent to which it generalises across colour and spatial dimensions and to video sequences depicting natural scenes. This information is expected to provide foundational information to technologies relating to national security that rely on visual concealment. This research wi ....Filters reveal what flicker conceals: temporal processing in the human visual system. I have recently discovered a new form of camouflage using 10Hz luminance flicker. This project will quantify this effect and examine the extent to which it generalises across colour and spatial dimensions and to video sequences depicting natural scenes. This information is expected to provide foundational information to technologies relating to national security that rely on visual concealment. This research will examine the extent to which filtering out these camouflaging frequencies enhances our sensitivity to low temporal frequency information. This decamouflaging aspect of my research is expected to improve the clarity of digital video-based technologies including ultrasound, educational, info-tainment and defence applicationsRead moreRead less
Making sense of ambiguity: brain system interactions and visual uncertainty. This project aims to identify and characterise the interactions between brain regions underlying a fundamental process in visual perception: interpreting sensory input that is unclear or ambiguous. It will use two complementary neuroimaging techniques and cutting-edge analysis methods. The intended outcomes include new insights into a fundamental but poorly characterised aspect of brain function: how brain regions inter ....Making sense of ambiguity: brain system interactions and visual uncertainty. This project aims to identify and characterise the interactions between brain regions underlying a fundamental process in visual perception: interpreting sensory input that is unclear or ambiguous. It will use two complementary neuroimaging techniques and cutting-edge analysis methods. The intended outcomes include new insights into a fundamental but poorly characterised aspect of brain function: how brain regions interact, and advanced analysis methods with wide application. Expected benefits include important advances in knowledge that lay foundations for future study of neural disorders, international collaboration, and new methods placing Australia at the forefront of the international effort to understand the human brain. Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100055
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$400,000.00
Summary
State-of-the-art upgrade to multi-transmit multi-receive technology for research dedicated 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Projects requiring the proposed infrastructure are aligned with two National Research Priorities. The research will lead to new methods for imaging and detecting soft tissue changes, identifying developmental, cognitive and degenerative disorders, and pharmacological research. The understanding of the basis of physiological, cognitive and biochemical proces ....State-of-the-art upgrade to multi-transmit multi-receive technology for research dedicated 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Projects requiring the proposed infrastructure are aligned with two National Research Priorities. The research will lead to new methods for imaging and detecting soft tissue changes, identifying developmental, cognitive and degenerative disorders, and pharmacological research. The understanding of the basis of physiological, cognitive and biochemical processes which will be facilitated by the new equipment will contribute to the priority area Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and will underpin an array of subsequent medical research. The new equipment will extend capabilities and training in signal analysis, biomedical engineering and biomedicine, contributing to the priority area Frontier technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries.Read moreRead less
Improved decoding of human brain activity using advanced functional magnetic resonance imaging at ultra-high field strength. Using advanced MRI methods at ultra-high field, this project aims to enable the decoding and reconstruction of visual stimuli, as well as imagined ones from small functional units (layers and columns) in the human brain in vivo. This will be made possible by the use of a new functional MRI method, concurrent high temporal and spatial resolution and whole brain coverage as ....Improved decoding of human brain activity using advanced functional magnetic resonance imaging at ultra-high field strength. Using advanced MRI methods at ultra-high field, this project aims to enable the decoding and reconstruction of visual stimuli, as well as imagined ones from small functional units (layers and columns) in the human brain in vivo. This will be made possible by the use of a new functional MRI method, concurrent high temporal and spatial resolution and whole brain coverage as well as high sensitivity and specificity. Additionally, it will advance the development of functional connectomics and the aid the parcellation of the human cortex.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC210100019
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,583,816.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Optimal Ageing. The ARC Training Centre for Optimal Ageing aims to address issues identified by older adults as essential for quality of life. With our industry partners, we aim to train the next generation of researchers to understand, detect and improve psychosocial factors that support mental activity, physical health and social connectedness, and embrace advances in artificial intelligence, digital-enriched environments and adaptive workplaces to deliver effective dig ....ARC Training Centre for Optimal Ageing. The ARC Training Centre for Optimal Ageing aims to address issues identified by older adults as essential for quality of life. With our industry partners, we aim to train the next generation of researchers to understand, detect and improve psychosocial factors that support mental activity, physical health and social connectedness, and embrace advances in artificial intelligence, digital-enriched environments and adaptive workplaces to deliver effective digital solutions. By developing new capacity and capability to drive the digital transformation of industries supporting our ageing population, our Centre seeks to deliver economic and social benefits that enable Australians to live enriched, healthy and independent lives as they age.Read moreRead less
When immigrants and converts are not truly one of us: Examining the social psychology and developmental antecedents of marginalizing racism. Marginalizing Racism, the simultaneous acceptance and rejection of others, is clearly present in Australia. It is not just a matter of thugs on the streets of Cronulla, but of elected politicians expressing Marginalizing Racist views. We believe that examining the social psychology and developmental causes of this insidious form of racism will pave the way ....When immigrants and converts are not truly one of us: Examining the social psychology and developmental antecedents of marginalizing racism. Marginalizing Racism, the simultaneous acceptance and rejection of others, is clearly present in Australia. It is not just a matter of thugs on the streets of Cronulla, but of elected politicians expressing Marginalizing Racist views. We believe that examining the social psychology and developmental causes of this insidious form of racism will pave the way for positive social change. This is not just an academic exercise, but a chance to expose and tackle a form of racism to which the broader public and our own profession appears to turn a blind eye. Moreover, as we expect this research to yield timely and influential discoveries, it will help maintain Australia's position as a world leader in the field of social psychology.Read moreRead less
Captions for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired: Availability versus Accessibility. The availability of educational, informational and recreational services for deaf and hearing-impaired people has been dramatically facilitated by (i) increased television captioning due to the 2001 introduction of the Television Broadcasting Services Act; and (ii) trial introduction of real-time captioning in educational settings. These innovations must be matched by equally innovative ways of increasing the accessib ....Captions for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired: Availability versus Accessibility. The availability of educational, informational and recreational services for deaf and hearing-impaired people has been dramatically facilitated by (i) increased television captioning due to the 2001 introduction of the Television Broadcasting Services Act; and (ii) trial introduction of real-time captioning in educational settings. These innovations must be matched by equally innovative ways of increasing the accessibility of captions, which is currently limited by English literacy, caption speed, and caption reduction techniques. Here, systematic manipulation of these factors in experiments on television captioning with adults and educational captioning with children will determine how resources might best be directed to improving caption accessibility.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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