Consistency and continuity in childhood adversity: the nature and history of multiple disadvantage in families with young children. This project has both theoretical and practical value and it falls within the National Research Priority Goal of 'A healthy start to life'. It will improve our understanding of how adversity influences children's development and long-term outcomes by focussing on multiple family disadvantage rather than individual adversities. It will help policy development and s ....Consistency and continuity in childhood adversity: the nature and history of multiple disadvantage in families with young children. This project has both theoretical and practical value and it falls within the National Research Priority Goal of 'A healthy start to life'. It will improve our understanding of how adversity influences children's development and long-term outcomes by focussing on multiple family disadvantage rather than individual adversities. It will help policy development and service delivery by identifying the extent to which families that experience one form of adversity are also likely to experience other types of adversity, either at the same time or in the future. At present, many policies and services are aimed at specific adversities and may not meet the needs of families experiencing multiple disadvantage.Read moreRead less
Belonging and sexual citizenship among gender and sexual minority youth. In the context of well-documented threats to the mental health and well-being of minority young people, this project will examine the experiences of two different generations of gender and sexual minority youth growing up in Australia, and the sources of support they have found most useful. Innovative contextual analysis will involve documentary and archival research alongside individual and group interviews. Through a focu ....Belonging and sexual citizenship among gender and sexual minority youth. In the context of well-documented threats to the mental health and well-being of minority young people, this project will examine the experiences of two different generations of gender and sexual minority youth growing up in Australia, and the sources of support they have found most useful. Innovative contextual analysis will involve documentary and archival research alongside individual and group interviews. Through a focus on the promotion of well-being and participatory citizenship in a rapidly changing social world, the findings aim to contribute new theory concerning transitions from youth to adulthood, improved methodology for the study of marginal and sometimes hard-to-reach populations, and better quality policy and practice.Read moreRead less
A disease of the brain: how do neurobiological explanations of addiction influence the attitudes and behaviour of smokers? This project explores the impact of promoting addiction as a "brain disease" on smokers' confidence in their ability to quit smoking, and the methods they use to quit. This is essential to inform public health policies designed to reduce the burden of tobacco related harms.
Communicating Risk: Journalistic news values, and medical, health professional and lay discourses on suicide and mental illness. Traditional journalistic practices in reporting suicide and mental health/illness issues are under strong challenge from a variety of groups, including medical/health professionals, and people diagnosed with mental illness. The project investigates the changing dynamics and hotly contested interplay between media, journalistic, medical, health professional and lay disc ....Communicating Risk: Journalistic news values, and medical, health professional and lay discourses on suicide and mental illness. Traditional journalistic practices in reporting suicide and mental health/illness issues are under strong challenge from a variety of groups, including medical/health professionals, and people diagnosed with mental illness. The project investigates the changing dynamics and hotly contested interplay between media, journalistic, medical, health professional and lay discourses about these issues, using in-depth interviews, focus groups and media analyses. How do media label events and people, and how do various audiences interpret and manage this information? Key outcomes include theoretically informed understandings of the positions of key stakeholders and policy advice for government and health professionals in planning communication strategies.Read moreRead less
Averting the extinction of experience. Humans are an increasingly urban species, with most of us now living in towns and cities separated from direct experiences of the natural world. This project aims to understand and avert this 'extinction of experience' so that we can grow Australia's cities sustainably into the future.