Legitimacy, Deservingness, and Entitlement: Studies in Social Justice. This research program aims to clarify the variables that affect whether authorities are seen to be legitimate or otherwise, and the conditions under which people are perceived to be entitled to benefits or to deserve either positive or negative treatment. We will also examine how personal and social values affect these kinds of judgments, and how judgments of legitimacy, deservingness and entitlement are related. The resear ....Legitimacy, Deservingness, and Entitlement: Studies in Social Justice. This research program aims to clarify the variables that affect whether authorities are seen to be legitimate or otherwise, and the conditions under which people are perceived to be entitled to benefits or to deserve either positive or negative treatment. We will also examine how personal and social values affect these kinds of judgments, and how judgments of legitimacy, deservingness and entitlement are related. The research program will advance theoretical understanding about social justice in a variety of contexts (eg., organizations, law, government, family). It will also have practical outcomes by suggesting ways of exercising authority that are seen as both effective and fair.Read moreRead less
The dynamics of witness confidence effects on juror judgments. While psychologists and criminal justice professionals concur that eyewitness confidence is one of the major influences on juror judgments, previous researchers' treatment of confidence as an invariant testimonial characteristic means that we actually know little about the impact of witness confidence. This research tests social persuasion theories and reveals the dynamic effects on juror judgments and verdicts of the sort of confide ....The dynamics of witness confidence effects on juror judgments. While psychologists and criminal justice professionals concur that eyewitness confidence is one of the major influences on juror judgments, previous researchers' treatment of confidence as an invariant testimonial characteristic means that we actually know little about the impact of witness confidence. This research tests social persuasion theories and reveals the dynamic effects on juror judgments and verdicts of the sort of confidence fluctuations that characterise real witnesses. Knowing how such fluctuations will shape jurors' judgments is vital for judges (when instructing jurors) and for police and lawyers when they assess the likely impact of the witnesses they intend to call.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100945
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$334,000.00
Summary
Improved interviewing framework in sexual assault cases. This project aims to provide a better interview framework to be used by police in the investigation and possible prosecution of sexual assault allegations. The current interview framework used around the world was not specifically designed for adult sexual assault complainants and has been intensely criticised. This project will design a revised interview framework that meets the complex investigative and evidential requirements for these ....Improved interviewing framework in sexual assault cases. This project aims to provide a better interview framework to be used by police in the investigation and possible prosecution of sexual assault allegations. The current interview framework used around the world was not specifically designed for adult sexual assault complainants and has been intensely criticised. This project will design a revised interview framework that meets the complex investigative and evidential requirements for these interviews. This is expected to increase just outcomes and victim satisfaction with the criminal justice response.Read moreRead less
The Governance of Defiance. Defiance is a threat to social order. For this reason sanctioning institutions are in place to punish the defiant through legal, financial and sometimes physical means. The institutional rationale is that, at worst defiance will be silenced and at best, compliance will take its place. Increasingly, adverse and unexpected consequences of dealing with defiance in this way have been exposed. To be accountable for their actions, therefore, authorities have begun to develo ....The Governance of Defiance. Defiance is a threat to social order. For this reason sanctioning institutions are in place to punish the defiant through legal, financial and sometimes physical means. The institutional rationale is that, at worst defiance will be silenced and at best, compliance will take its place. Increasingly, adverse and unexpected consequences of dealing with defiance in this way have been exposed. To be accountable for their actions, therefore, authorities have begun to develop more responsive and deliberative systems. But they also need to know how to read defiance. When is defiance an inappropriate response to a more than reasonable request? And when is defiance a reflection of institutional failure? This project can inform such decision making.Read moreRead less
Impaired jury decision-making: The impact of stereotypes in the Australian court room. There have been calls for reforms and overhauls of the jury system in Australia because of concerns about the ability of jurors to reach objective verdicts and concerns about the costs associated with the jury system; however the consequences of these proposed changes for jury functioning are not well understood. This research will provide a better understanding those factors that contribute to impaired jury d ....Impaired jury decision-making: The impact of stereotypes in the Australian court room. There have been calls for reforms and overhauls of the jury system in Australia because of concerns about the ability of jurors to reach objective verdicts and concerns about the costs associated with the jury system; however the consequences of these proposed changes for jury functioning are not well understood. This research will provide a better understanding those factors that contribute to impaired jury decision-making, helping to avoid the very real risk of any changes to the jury system resulting in profound and unpredictable changes to the functioning of the legal system. By doing so, the concerns of people calling for drastic reforms can be addressed without socially and economically expensive overhauls of the jury system.Read moreRead less
Keeping Memory Current: Updating and Discounting of Information. This project is about understanding the human cognitive capacity to manage change. The need to manage change is a common thread that permeates nearly all National Research Priorities and is a central issue in an information society. The applied component of the project will develop techniques to improve the capabilities of individuals and communities to rely on up-to-date knowledge during decision making. The project will also cont ....Keeping Memory Current: Updating and Discounting of Information. This project is about understanding the human cognitive capacity to manage change. The need to manage change is a common thread that permeates nearly all National Research Priorities and is a central issue in an information society. The applied component of the project will develop techniques to improve the capabilities of individuals and communities to rely on up-to-date knowledge during decision making. The project will also contribute to psychological science in numerous ways. Basic research in psychology is of particular national benefit because the available national research funding is commensurate with the requirements of world-class research in psychology.Read moreRead less
Rape victims on trial: understanding police officers' and jurors' beliefs about sexual assault, victims, and perpetrators. This project will enhance justice in cases of sexual assault. This project will discover the extra-legal factors that influence how victims of sexual assault are viewed by police and jurors, and test two ways to reduce the influence of these misconceptions in the criminal justice system.
The roles of spectral cues and auditory plasticity in auditory localisation, speech segregation and speech intelligibility. Our recent work shows that high frequency energy in speech is important for the localisation of speech and may also aid in improving speech intelligibility in noisy environments. The work proposed here will systematically explore this somewhat surprising new finding and the results will be incorporated into a predictive model of speech intelligibility under spatial listenin ....The roles of spectral cues and auditory plasticity in auditory localisation, speech segregation and speech intelligibility. Our recent work shows that high frequency energy in speech is important for the localisation of speech and may also aid in improving speech intelligibility in noisy environments. The work proposed here will systematically explore this somewhat surprising new finding and the results will be incorporated into a predictive model of speech intelligibility under spatial listening conditions. This work includes a systematic study of auditory functional plasticity to changes in the spatial cues. Taken together, the outcomes of this work will unlock a range of new approaches to enhancing spatial hearing in multi-channel communication devices and spatial hearing aids.Read moreRead less
Acoustic, spatial and informational cues used to solve the cocktail party problem. Speech is the principal mode of human communication and yet we understand little about how we are able to concentrate on one talker against a noisy background. Significant improvements in supporting listening by the hearing impaired, in teleconferencing systems and computer speech interfaces are dependent on a more advanced understanding of how we solve this cocktail party problem. This research explores the acous ....Acoustic, spatial and informational cues used to solve the cocktail party problem. Speech is the principal mode of human communication and yet we understand little about how we are able to concentrate on one talker against a noisy background. Significant improvements in supporting listening by the hearing impaired, in teleconferencing systems and computer speech interfaces are dependent on a more advanced understanding of how we solve this cocktail party problem. This research explores the acoustic, spatial and informational cues used by the healthy auditory system to achieve this remarkable feat of signal processing. There is significant potential for commercialization of the IP that will arise from this research.Read moreRead less
Neural metrics for space time and numerosity. What we propose is ground-breaking research. It will increase Australia's international competitiveness is science, expand the knowledge base of brain function and psychology and provide valuable training for research scientists.