The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) invites you to participate in a short survey about your
interaction with the ARDC and use of our national research infrastructure and services. The survey will take
approximately 5 minutes and is anonymous. It’s open to anyone who uses our digital research infrastructure
services including Reasearch Link Australia.
We will use the information you provide to improve the national research infrastructure and services we
deliver and to report on user satisfaction to the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research
Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) program.
Please take a few minutes to provide your input. The survey closes COB Friday 29 May 2026.
Complete the 5 min survey now by clicking on the link below.
Interpreting intrusions: Illuminating the cognitive mechanisms that fuel obsessional thought. This project aims to evaluate a theoretical model regarding the causal and maintaining role that cognitive biases play in obsessional thought. Obsessions are common in the general population and negatively impact health and daily functioning. Individuals struggle with their obsessions but are unable to disengage from them. A pressing question is: what makes an obsession so “sticky”? To answer this quest ....Interpreting intrusions: Illuminating the cognitive mechanisms that fuel obsessional thought. This project aims to evaluate a theoretical model regarding the causal and maintaining role that cognitive biases play in obsessional thought. Obsessions are common in the general population and negatively impact health and daily functioning. Individuals struggle with their obsessions but are unable to disengage from them. A pressing question is: what makes an obsession so “sticky”? To answer this question, this project aims to employ a novel, computerised experimental methodology to directly manipulate cognitive processes proposed to underpin obsessions. This methodology will be used to alter key biases proposed to drive obsessional thinking, thus shedding light on core psychological mechanisms.Read moreRead less
Changing the lives of young Australians with emotional disorders using a simple three-step treatment based on cognitive-neuroscience insights. Anxiety and depression are emotional disorders that affect many Australian children and place them at risk of lifelong impairment. The latest evidence from cognitive science and neuroscience shows that these children have maladaptive thinking strategies that lead to avoidance and withdrawal. Capitalising on these basic science insights, this project exami ....Changing the lives of young Australians with emotional disorders using a simple three-step treatment based on cognitive-neuroscience insights. Anxiety and depression are emotional disorders that affect many Australian children and place them at risk of lifelong impairment. The latest evidence from cognitive science and neuroscience shows that these children have maladaptive thinking strategies that lead to avoidance and withdrawal. Capitalising on these basic science insights, this project examines a new treatment, referred to as the 'Emotional Flexibility Program', that targets childhood distress in three simple steps over just four weeks of treatment. This treatment could change the way childhood emotional disorders are treated and prevented, improve the quality of life for thousands of young Australians, and offset the associated economic burden of disease.Read moreRead less
The development of the social brain in early childhood. This project aims to understand how the human brain develops social and emotional understanding. The brain has remarkable abilities for understanding our social environment, such as inferring other people’s thoughts and feelings. This project will use neuroscience techniques to investigate how brain networks combine to produce social understanding, how this changes throughout child development, and how it relates to complex social behaviour ....The development of the social brain in early childhood. This project aims to understand how the human brain develops social and emotional understanding. The brain has remarkable abilities for understanding our social environment, such as inferring other people’s thoughts and feelings. This project will use neuroscience techniques to investigate how brain networks combine to produce social understanding, how this changes throughout child development, and how it relates to complex social behaviours. This project’s findings could be used to develop educational programmes that enhance empathy and co-operation, strengthen family relationships, promote social inclusion and reduce maladaptive behaviours. It could also guide intervention in brain disorders that affect social understanding.Read moreRead less
Improving workplace productivity via an AI-based physical activity chatbot . This project aims to develop, train and evaluate a physical activity chatbot using artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve workplace productivity in sedentary office workers. Productivity losses, due to high numbers of physically inactive workers, cost the Australian economy $14 billion per year. The cost of effective and scalable workplace physical activity programs acts as a barrier to their implementa ....Improving workplace productivity via an AI-based physical activity chatbot . This project aims to develop, train and evaluate a physical activity chatbot using artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve workplace productivity in sedentary office workers. Productivity losses, due to high numbers of physically inactive workers, cost the Australian economy $14 billion per year. The cost of effective and scalable workplace physical activity programs acts as a barrier to their implementation. As such, innovative programs that can reach large numbers of workers at minimal cost are needed. This project aims to generate new knowledge on the use of artificial intelligence to achieve behavioural improvements and will lead to the development of a new type of behaviour change program with broad applicability.
Read moreRead less
The role of social-emotional learning in attaining literacy and numeracy. This project aims to characterise variability in developmental pathways to literacy and numeracy, and the factors that contribute to this variation, utilising innovative analytical approaches and population data. This project expects to generate new knowledge regarding the role of school-based social-emotional learning programs in supporting children’s achievement of literacy and numeracy. Expected outcomes of the project ....The role of social-emotional learning in attaining literacy and numeracy. This project aims to characterise variability in developmental pathways to literacy and numeracy, and the factors that contribute to this variation, utilising innovative analytical approaches and population data. This project expects to generate new knowledge regarding the role of school-based social-emotional learning programs in supporting children’s achievement of literacy and numeracy. Expected outcomes of the project include enhanced collaboration with government to deliver policy-relevant information on the most effective targets and timing for delivering social-emotional programs that maximise academic learning. This should assist policy makers to develop better strategies to support every child’s academic achievement.Read moreRead less
Understanding genetic and environmental risks of emotional disorders in childhood and adolescence. To reduce the burden of mental health disorders in Australia, this project will advance knowledge on genetic and environmental causes of anxiety and related disorders in children and adolescents. The results will allow better identification of children at risk for emotional problems and will identify new ways of tailoring prevention and treatment.
How emotion shapes perception: delineating structural, temporal, and representational properties of emotion-induced blindness. Emotion helps shape conscious perception, with implications for public safety and mental health. This project will reveal mechanisms underlying emotion’s impact on perception. In doing so, it will advance theoretical understanding of basic processes and of how perceptual mechanisms might operate within and inform treatment of emotional disorders.
Testing theoretical models of age and disease related changes to inform prevention. Pathological brain changes associated with future cognitive decline become detectable in the 40s or earlier. Yet little is known about what constitutes normal brain ageing in mid-life. Using a number of neuroimaging and epidemiological techniques this project will scrutinise brain and cognitive ageing in middle-age and their significance.
A longitudinal study into the development of personal vulnerabilities and well-being in adolescence. This longitudinal study examines the temperament and environmental factors that promote character strengths in adolescents. Character strengths such as empathy and emotion-management skills are potentially teachable and help prevent an adolescent from experiencing difficulties in social, emotional and academic adjustment.
Social relations and social engagement in older adulthood: implications for health, well being and cognition. This project will examine the nature of changes in peoples social networks that occur with age and the effects of these changes on health and well being in later life. The project will use information collected as part of several ongoing Australian studies of ageing and will have implications for social policy.