Withdrawal and relapse to sugar drinks. This project aims to understand whether damage caused by excessive consumption of sugar can be recovered. This project will study whether removal is enough to reverse the damage induced by excess sugar consumption. This project will conduct experiments to measure the behavioural and metabolic outcomes that accompany withdrawal from and relapse to sugar-sweetened beverages. The results will increase understanding of the extent to which damage caused by exce ....Withdrawal and relapse to sugar drinks. This project aims to understand whether damage caused by excessive consumption of sugar can be recovered. This project will study whether removal is enough to reverse the damage induced by excess sugar consumption. This project will conduct experiments to measure the behavioural and metabolic outcomes that accompany withdrawal from and relapse to sugar-sweetened beverages. The results will increase understanding of the extent to which damage caused by excessive consumption of sugar can be reversed.Read moreRead less
Attracting and sustaining engaged science and mathematics teachers. Attracting and sustaining engaged science and mathematics teachers. This project will examine what attracts or deters potential, future and practising teachers of the sciences and mathematics, by focusing on current teachers, school and university students in Queensland. Promises of a technological revolution and rapid economic development will be hollow if students do not study sciences and mathematics, and there are too few qu ....Attracting and sustaining engaged science and mathematics teachers. Attracting and sustaining engaged science and mathematics teachers. This project will examine what attracts or deters potential, future and practising teachers of the sciences and mathematics, by focusing on current teachers, school and university students in Queensland. Promises of a technological revolution and rapid economic development will be hollow if students do not study sciences and mathematics, and there are too few qualified teachers. This project will identify where to intervene in the science and mathematics teacher supply pipeline, and policy levers to attract and sustain quality teachers. The project is expected to uncover what attracts or deters teachers of science and mathematics—disciplines essential to industry innovation, a skilled workforce and productivity growth.Read moreRead less
Developing vehicle-based advanced warning countermeasures for driver fatigue. Driver fatigue is a major problem in Australia in terms of health, road safety and economic impact. Countermeasures to combat the influence of driver fatigue have been limited to public campaign strategies like resting every 2 hours. There has been little robust research on developing on-road countermeasures that could warn the driver of their fatigue status. This proposed project involves a collaboration with Compumed ....Developing vehicle-based advanced warning countermeasures for driver fatigue. Driver fatigue is a major problem in Australia in terms of health, road safety and economic impact. Countermeasures to combat the influence of driver fatigue have been limited to public campaign strategies like resting every 2 hours. There has been little robust research on developing on-road countermeasures that could warn the driver of their fatigue status. This proposed project involves a collaboration with Compumedics Ltd, a leading medical device company, to conduct sophisticated research into developing an EEG and wheel behaviour fatigue countermeausure. We will further explore EEG and wheel behaviour patterns associated with fatigue, investigate noise control strategies, and conduct laboratory and on road field trials of the fatigue monitor. If this device is able to assess fatigue reliably and warn drivers in sufficient time to avert accidents, then substantial economic and social benefits will occur.Read moreRead less
Bridging the gap on locational disadvantage: Impact of community-identified interventions on social capital, psychosocial and socioeconomic outcomes. Interventions to combat locational disadvantage are vital given the pervasiveness and long-term consequences for youth and communities. This research will offer important educational and socio-economic benefits by enriching the psychosocial adjustment and life potential of young Australians and the capacity of schools in locationally disadvantaged ....Bridging the gap on locational disadvantage: Impact of community-identified interventions on social capital, psychosocial and socioeconomic outcomes. Interventions to combat locational disadvantage are vital given the pervasiveness and long-term consequences for youth and communities. This research will offer important educational and socio-economic benefits by enriching the psychosocial adjustment and life potential of young Australians and the capacity of schools in locationally disadvantaged communities. Effective research and community-identified social capital and psychosocial interventions will enhance pro-social behaviours, health, psychosocial adjustment, and school and community engagement. This will build capacity at community, school, and individual levelsand contribute to national socioeconomic wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Flavour learning and food consumption in rats and humans: Implications for obesity. Between-meal snacks and sweet drinks are major contributors to human obesity. Consumption of a food is greatly influenced by its flavour and the properties of flavours are largely learned. This project examines how what is learned about a flavour influences both short-term and long-term food consumption by rats and humans. Short-term effects are studied by adding a flavour to a pre-meal (snack) and measuring how ....Flavour learning and food consumption in rats and humans: Implications for obesity. Between-meal snacks and sweet drinks are major contributors to human obesity. Consumption of a food is greatly influenced by its flavour and the properties of flavours are largely learned. This project examines how what is learned about a flavour influences both short-term and long-term food consumption by rats and humans. Short-term effects are studied by adding a flavour to a pre-meal (snack) and measuring how much is eaten in a subsequent meal. Long-term effects are studied when the value of sweetness is altered by exposure to non-nutritive sweeteners. The results will extend basic understanding of flavour learning in relation to obesity.Read moreRead less
A biological model of early-onset aggression and antisocial behaviour. Aggression and antisocial behaviour have their origins in childhood. The causes involve a combination of environmental and biological factors. This project develops and tests an innovative model of how neural/hormonal processes predispose children to develop different forms of aggressive and antisocial behaviour.
School principals’ diminishing wellbeing. School principals’ diminishing wellbeing. This project aims to investigate the effect of State Education Departments’ policy interventions designed to improve school principals’ flagging wellbeing. Increasing competition, accountability and public scrutiny make principals stressed; since their influence on students is second only to teachers’, this threatens Australia’s socioeconomic outcomes. The project will map policy interventions to changes in princ ....School principals’ diminishing wellbeing. School principals’ diminishing wellbeing. This project aims to investigate the effect of State Education Departments’ policy interventions designed to improve school principals’ flagging wellbeing. Increasing competition, accountability and public scrutiny make principals stressed; since their influence on students is second only to teachers’, this threatens Australia’s socioeconomic outcomes. The project will map policy interventions to changes in principals’ motivation and wellbeing, and share information about the most productive and cost effective interventions with key stakeholders across Australia. This research could reverse the declining wellbeing of Australia’s school leaders.Read moreRead less
A RCT of an education reengagement program for at-risk youth. A RCT of an education reengagement program for at-risk youth. This project aims to determine the best and most cost-effective way to help 12–15 year olds re-engage with school when they become at-risk for dropping out, by conducting a gold-standard randomized-control trial. 20% of Australians fail to attain a Year 12 or equivalent certificate, often for preventable reasons. Dropouts are more likely to be unemployed, have psychological ....A RCT of an education reengagement program for at-risk youth. A RCT of an education reengagement program for at-risk youth. This project aims to determine the best and most cost-effective way to help 12–15 year olds re-engage with school when they become at-risk for dropping out, by conducting a gold-standard randomized-control trial. 20% of Australians fail to attain a Year 12 or equivalent certificate, often for preventable reasons. Dropouts are more likely to be unemployed, have psychological, social, and health problems, and end up in prison. This project could influence implementation of programmes and policy related to youth dropout, promote youth economic, social and physical wellbeing, and decrease their chance of committing crimes and becoming a social burden.Read moreRead less
From Anxious Temperament to Disorder: The role of the parent- child interaction. Three studies are proposed. The first examines parent behaviour (overinvolvement, encouragement of avoidance) in a large group of inhibited and uninhibited preschoolers over two-years. The aim is to determine whether parent behaviour places an inhibited child at greater risk of developing an anxiety disorder. The second examines parents of anxious children interacting with non-clinical children and parents of non-cl ....From Anxious Temperament to Disorder: The role of the parent- child interaction. Three studies are proposed. The first examines parent behaviour (overinvolvement, encouragement of avoidance) in a large group of inhibited and uninhibited preschoolers over two-years. The aim is to determine whether parent behaviour places an inhibited child at greater risk of developing an anxiety disorder. The second examines parents of anxious children interacting with non-clinical children and parents of non-clinical children interacting with anxious children. It is expected that anxious children will elicit more help from non-clinical mothers. The third examines anxiety-disordered parents interacting with their children. It is expected that anxiety-disordered mothers would be overinvolved regardless of the child's anxiety.Read moreRead less
Imaging the human cerebellum during motor learning and timing. The cerebellum has long fascinated scientists for its remarkable anatomy and physiology and the critical role that it plays in motor function, and more recently for its more general functions of cognition and emotion. Developments in non-invasive imaging of cerebellar activity have opened up exiting new opportunities to probe its wider functioning. We aim to further develop these new methods in order to facilitate their availability ....Imaging the human cerebellum during motor learning and timing. The cerebellum has long fascinated scientists for its remarkable anatomy and physiology and the critical role that it plays in motor function, and more recently for its more general functions of cognition and emotion. Developments in non-invasive imaging of cerebellar activity have opened up exiting new opportunities to probe its wider functioning. We aim to further develop these new methods in order to facilitate their availability to the wider research community, and to demonstrate their utility by application to the role of the cerebellum in learning and timing. The outcomes of this work will be of considerable benefit to a wide range of scientists and clinicians who will be able to make use of the new methods for their own research.Read moreRead less