Networks in Flux: Examining how sector relationships adapt to rapid change. This study aims to investigate why, when and how inter-organisational networks adapt or remain resistant to change. Responding to complex social problems and technological change requires inter-organisational networks to be adaptable. Through a combination of longitudinal network analysis, survey research and qualitative interviews, this project plans to study the Victorian HIV and hepatitis C sector as it responds to ma ....Networks in Flux: Examining how sector relationships adapt to rapid change. This study aims to investigate why, when and how inter-organisational networks adapt or remain resistant to change. Responding to complex social problems and technological change requires inter-organisational networks to be adaptable. Through a combination of longitudinal network analysis, survey research and qualitative interviews, this project plans to study the Victorian HIV and hepatitis C sector as it responds to major advances in prevention and treatment, requiring community, health, policy and research organisations to adapt their roles and relationships. This timely and novel study aims to improve our knowledge of how to enable inter-organisational networks to adapt and improve organisational responsiveness to complex issues.Read moreRead less
Developing the capacity to model the impact of interventions that target high-risk drinking among young Australians. Alcohol use is a major contributing factor to social and health problems among young Australians. The project will inform the development of effective policy by providing multidisciplinary research evidence and the capacity to model how various interventions impact on the prevalence of alcohol-related problems.
Involving children in social research: balancing the risks and benefits. There is a growing consensus that children's involvement in social research is important, but considerable uncertainty remains around children's inclusion in research on 'sensitive' issues, reflecting concerns about how to balance children's protection with their participation. Key to this are deeply embedded assumptions and beliefs about children and childhood, especially concerning notions of capacity, agency, vulnerabili ....Involving children in social research: balancing the risks and benefits. There is a growing consensus that children's involvement in social research is important, but considerable uncertainty remains around children's inclusion in research on 'sensitive' issues, reflecting concerns about how to balance children's protection with their participation. Key to this are deeply embedded assumptions and beliefs about children and childhood, especially concerning notions of capacity, agency, vulnerability, dependency and the like. This project aims to better understand and address the tensions between the protection of children and their participation in research, and to explore how ethics committees, parents, other gatekeepers and children themselves manage and navigate these tensions.Read moreRead less
Sequencing and assembling microbial community metagenomes in real-time. This project aims to assemble metagenomes directly from environmental samples using nanopore sequencing. Short-read approaches to metagenomics cannot assemble mixed genomes from an environmental sample, so focus on describing which species and genes are present. Long-read nanopore sequencing enables the assembly of full genomes of multiple species in a sample. Assembling complete genomes in important resources such as water ....Sequencing and assembling microbial community metagenomes in real-time. This project aims to assemble metagenomes directly from environmental samples using nanopore sequencing. Short-read approaches to metagenomics cannot assemble mixed genomes from an environmental sample, so focus on describing which species and genes are present. Long-read nanopore sequencing enables the assembly of full genomes of multiple species in a sample. Assembling complete genomes in important resources such as water and soil should lead to deeper understanding of the dynamics, variation and transfer of genetic material within these resources’ microbial communities, strategies to manage microbial diversity, and improved productivity and long-term sustainability for these resources.Read moreRead less
Evaluation in health promotion: gathering evidence to improve effectiveness. Effective disease prevention and health promotion to address the public health challenges facing Australia requires a strong evidence base for policy and practice. Evaluation of programs in natural contexts is a vital source of this evidence, valuable for improving strategy design and delivery, building sustainability and guiding funding. The aim of this project is to determine the strengths and limitations of evaluatio ....Evaluation in health promotion: gathering evidence to improve effectiveness. Effective disease prevention and health promotion to address the public health challenges facing Australia requires a strong evidence base for policy and practice. Evaluation of programs in natural contexts is a vital source of this evidence, valuable for improving strategy design and delivery, building sustainability and guiding funding. The aim of this project is to determine the strengths and limitations of evaluation by health promotion agencies, and to identify the roles of individual, organisational and system-level factors in relation to evaluation practice and use. This knowledge is expected to guide efforts to build capacity for evaluation, improve systems for organisational learning, and enable evidence gathering to improve effectiveness.Read moreRead less
Strengthening Health Workforce Migration to Australia and Canada. The project aims to define skilled migration trends in relation to the key fields (medicine, nursing and dentistry). Australia is one of very few countries with an explicit policy to import migrant health professionals. The project plans to assess if the goal of domestic self-sufficiency is likely to be met by 2025 and examine the risk of a ‘two tier’ health workforce developing (with conditionally registered migrants servicing pa ....Strengthening Health Workforce Migration to Australia and Canada. The project aims to define skilled migration trends in relation to the key fields (medicine, nursing and dentistry). Australia is one of very few countries with an explicit policy to import migrant health professionals. The project plans to assess if the goal of domestic self-sufficiency is likely to be met by 2025 and examine the risk of a ‘two tier’ health workforce developing (with conditionally registered migrants servicing patients in undersupplied sectors and sites). It then aims to propose changes to make the migration and health policy systems more effective and ethical in future compared to Canada (Australia’s key global competitor for skilled migrants), through evidence-based policy reform.Read moreRead less
Intergenerational Transmission of Inequality. There is a growing interest in the ways in which biological and socioeconomic heritage can shape vulnerabilities to disease. Once viewed as primarily a product of recent conditions such as lifestyle choices, it is now evident that health outcomes can also be shaped by intergenerational mechanisms. Analysis of these in current populations is impractical given the considerable time it would take for a prospective study to unfold. The analysis of histor ....Intergenerational Transmission of Inequality. There is a growing interest in the ways in which biological and socioeconomic heritage can shape vulnerabilities to disease. Once viewed as primarily a product of recent conditions such as lifestyle choices, it is now evident that health outcomes can also be shaped by intergenerational mechanisms. Analysis of these in current populations is impractical given the considerable time it would take for a prospective study to unfold. The analysis of historical populations, however, presents an opportunity to circumvent this obstacle. Using data for male and female convicts and their descendants, this project seeks to determine the extent to which disadvantage experienced by one generation impacted on the life expectancy of those that followed.Read moreRead less
Early years languages learning in Australia. This project aims to investigate early year’s language programs in Australian schools. The project will explore and analyse successful programs in the three states of NSW, Queensland and Victoria, policy, curricula and resources for languages teaching and learning, key stakeholder perspectives, and student progress in new primary language teaching degrees. The project expects to generate new knowledge of linked best practice program types, pedagogies, ....Early years languages learning in Australia. This project aims to investigate early year’s language programs in Australian schools. The project will explore and analyse successful programs in the three states of NSW, Queensland and Victoria, policy, curricula and resources for languages teaching and learning, key stakeholder perspectives, and student progress in new primary language teaching degrees. The project expects to generate new knowledge of linked best practice program types, pedagogies, and teacher requirements, to provide new data and ongoing research opportunities. Intended benefits include the education of more linguistically and culturally competent young Australians who are able to effectively engage in a plurilingual, globalised world.Read moreRead less
Technologies of performance, technologies of governance: the bane, benefits, ethics and future of performance measurement in government. This study examines governments' increasing use of performance management and the complex ways this is transforming schools, universities, health and welfare services. It aims to improve service performance by identifying problems areas and engaging wider public perspectives.