Which Mental Activities And When For Dementia Prevention? The Four Nations Longitudinal Collaboration
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$183,218.00
Summary
We will examine the link between lifetime participation in complex mental activities and long term dementia risk in a level of detail not previously possible. Four major studies of brain health from around the world will join forces for the first time to determine which mental activities are most closely linked to protection from dementia, and when during the lifespan these are most important. Mental activity will be assessed using our recently published Lifetime of Experiences Questionnaire.
A Multi-setting Intervention To Reduce Sedentary Behaviour, Promote Physical Activity And Improve Childrens Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$860,343.00
Summary
Sedentary behaviours and physical inactivity play a major role in the rising prevalence of obesity among children in Australia. This intervention study will take place in the school and family settings which play a critical role in shaping children's health behaviours. The objective is to determine whether a 2-year behavioural intervention reduces sedentary behaviour and promotes physical activity and results in improved health among 8-9 year old children.
Promoting Child and Carer Wellbeing and Placement Stability in Kinship Care. Kinship care is the fastest growing out-of-home care placement in Australia, yet least supported. This project aims to implement and evaluate an attachment and trauma-based program for kinship carers, explore its suitability for cultural adaptation for Indigenous families and co-design practical resources to promote program sustainability and trauma-informed practice. This project is Australia’s first randomised trial o ....Promoting Child and Carer Wellbeing and Placement Stability in Kinship Care. Kinship care is the fastest growing out-of-home care placement in Australia, yet least supported. This project aims to implement and evaluate an attachment and trauma-based program for kinship carers, explore its suitability for cultural adaptation for Indigenous families and co-design practical resources to promote program sustainability and trauma-informed practice. This project is Australia’s first randomised trial of a tailored program for kinship carers and expects to generate vital knowledge on evidence-based support. Via implementing an innovative program for kinship carers in statutory child protection, this project should build capacity for research-based practice and benefit family wellbeing and placement outcomes in kinship care.Read moreRead less
Understanding and overcoming confusion in consumer financial decisions. This project aims to develop consumer-centred approaches to reducing the harmful effects of confusion in financial decisions by studying superannuation investment and home loan decisions where confused choices are individually and collectively costly. The project intends to develop comprehensive models to capture the full complexity of financial products and the diverse preferences and capability of consumers, then to use ad ....Understanding and overcoming confusion in consumer financial decisions. This project aims to develop consumer-centred approaches to reducing the harmful effects of confusion in financial decisions by studying superannuation investment and home loan decisions where confused choices are individually and collectively costly. The project intends to develop comprehensive models to capture the full complexity of financial products and the diverse preferences and capability of consumers, then to use advanced statistical methods to estimate the benefits of clearer decision-making. The outcomes of this project includes new models of complex financial decisions, and a better understanding of where confusion arises and the effects it may have. Decreased confusion will raise financial well-being and help communities become more resilient to financial shocks.Read moreRead less
Understanding And Overcoming Cardiovascular And Diabetes Inequalities In Indigenous Australians
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$707,370.00
Summary
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders experience the highest rates of heart disease and diabetes of all Australians. The reasons for this large disparity is not yet fully understood. I propose to investigate the patterns, causes, complications and links between heart disease and diabetes in Indigenous populations to identify better ways of managing and preventing chronic disease in high risk communities.
Financial Risk Processes: Stochastic and Statistical Models and their Applications. On the one hand, the misuse of complex financial instruments has contributed to recent major disasters in the Australian financial and insurance industries; on the other hand, great benefits can be obtained by correct use of these kinds of instruments, to share risk between markets and segments of markets. The overall research effort in Australia in these areas is relatively small. This project will target the de ....Financial Risk Processes: Stochastic and Statistical Models and their Applications. On the one hand, the misuse of complex financial instruments has contributed to recent major disasters in the Australian financial and insurance industries; on the other hand, great benefits can be obtained by correct use of these kinds of instruments, to share risk between markets and segments of markets. The overall research effort in Australia in these areas is relatively small. This project will target the development of cutting edge technologies underlying the use of financial derivatives, not presently studied in this country or elsewhere, by bringing together a variety of top level international researchers in an integrated effort to lift the Australian understanding and application of this methodology.Read moreRead less
Stochastic Analysis with a View to Applications in Financial Risk Processes. Recent decades have seen explosive growth in applications of probability theory and statistics to the modelling of risk in finance and insurance. An intensive theoretical investigation into passage time and other problems for Levy and other continuous time processes will be applied to financial risk analyses. Related investigations will involve perpetuities and stochastic volatility models for price series. Outcomes ....Stochastic Analysis with a View to Applications in Financial Risk Processes. Recent decades have seen explosive growth in applications of probability theory and statistics to the modelling of risk in finance and insurance. An intensive theoretical investigation into passage time and other problems for Levy and other continuous time processes will be applied to financial risk analyses. Related investigations will involve perpetuities and stochastic volatility models for price series. Outcomes will include the development of new theory in probability and statistics, the initiation and reinforcement of collaborative ties with major international research figures, and the fostering of contacts with the finance industry.Read moreRead less
Understanding The Impact Of Social, Economic And Geographic Disadvantage On The Health Of Australians In Mid - Later Lif
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,943,571.00
Summary
This research will examine the ways in which social, economic and environmental factors contribute to the health of Australians in mid to later life. It will help identify ways in which policy and preventive programs can contribute to improving health in mid to later life particularly among disadvantaged Australians. We will explore in detail social, economic and environmental factors in 100,000 people aged 45 and over; this will be the largest study of its kind ever undertaken in Australia. We ....This research will examine the ways in which social, economic and environmental factors contribute to the health of Australians in mid to later life. It will help identify ways in which policy and preventive programs can contribute to improving health in mid to later life particularly among disadvantaged Australians. We will explore in detail social, economic and environmental factors in 100,000 people aged 45 and over; this will be the largest study of its kind ever undertaken in Australia. We will examine the relationship between these social, economic factors, and lifestyle factors such as smoking, physical activity, environmental and obesity. This will enable us to identify where programs and policies should be directed to most rapidly improve the health of disadvantaged Australians.Read moreRead less
Problems of identification and inference for 'non-standard' models in complex systems with special reference to finance and teletraffic. The project is concerned with 'non-standard' models needed to deal with complex systems, such as those exhibiting scaling and fractal properties. There is a focus on methods for dealing with heavy tailed distributions and long range dependent observations, for which most standard statistical methods break down, and on applications in finance and telecommunicati ....Problems of identification and inference for 'non-standard' models in complex systems with special reference to finance and teletraffic. The project is concerned with 'non-standard' models needed to deal with complex systems, such as those exhibiting scaling and fractal properties. There is a focus on methods for dealing with heavy tailed distributions and long range dependent observations, for which most standard statistical methods break down, and on applications in finance and telecommunications. An important part of the project concerns model validation for Heyde's fractal activity time geometric Brownian motion model, a candidate minimal description risky asset model to replace the geometric Brownian motion paradigm.Read moreRead less
Stochastic analysis and the development and application of financial risk processes. Ensuring the stability of Australia's financial system requires an understanding of the complex financial instruments, strategies and technologies that have evolved in recent years. A strong well-integrated research effort in stochastic analysis with particular application to financial markets is fundamental for measuring and managing risk, to protect and preserve a well functioning system, and to inform policy ....Stochastic analysis and the development and application of financial risk processes. Ensuring the stability of Australia's financial system requires an understanding of the complex financial instruments, strategies and technologies that have evolved in recent years. A strong well-integrated research effort in stochastic analysis with particular application to financial markets is fundamental for measuring and managing risk, to protect and preserve a well functioning system, and to inform policy debate on financial strategies and insurance liabilities.
These challenges are global and require extensive international research collaboration and interaction. The present project will enhance Australia's contributions in this area and facilitate its global impact more than is possible through individual efforts.Read moreRead less