Making Australia internationally competitive: driving educational attainment by academic motivation, self-concept, engagement and aspirations. This project will extend and test predictions from motivation theory about educational choice and attainment, using multiple large national/international databases and new statistical models. This will result in better strategies to meet government targets of increasing tertiary enrolments, particularly for disadvantaged students.
Cultivating Capability: Explicating Critical Psychosocial Drivers of Educational Outcomes and Wellbeing for High-Ability Aboriginal Students. Despite emphasis worldwide on enabling high-ability students to realise their potential, little is known about drivers that seed success in educational outcomes and wellbeing for high ability Aboriginal students who underachieve, are under identified and are underrepresented in selective settings. Capitalising on interdisciplinary theory and research, a po ....Cultivating Capability: Explicating Critical Psychosocial Drivers of Educational Outcomes and Wellbeing for High-Ability Aboriginal Students. Despite emphasis worldwide on enabling high-ability students to realise their potential, little is known about drivers that seed success in educational outcomes and wellbeing for high ability Aboriginal students who underachieve, are under identified and are underrepresented in selective settings. Capitalising on interdisciplinary theory and research, a powerful multi-method design and state-of-the-art statistics, the project aims to explicate psychosocial determinants of high-ability Aboriginal students' educational outcomes and wellbeing and test the efficacy of novel research-derived interventions. This aims to advance knowledge, policy and practice to enhance the provision of education to high-ability Aboriginal students ensuring they realise their full potential.Read moreRead less
Rape victims on trial: understanding police officers' and jurors' beliefs about sexual assault, victims, and perpetrators. This project will enhance justice in cases of sexual assault. This project will discover the extra-legal factors that influence how victims of sexual assault are viewed by police and jurors, and test two ways to reduce the influence of these misconceptions in the criminal justice system.
Ageing well in a foreign land. Ageing well in a foreign land. This project aims to enhance well-being among people ageing in a foreign land, by understanding the best approaches to connect them. Older people from diverse cultural backgrounds are socially isolated as they age in a foreign land. This project will use a mixed methods approach to identify the factors that contribute to social isolation and low well-being; understand when and how engagement in ethnocultural and multicultural activiti ....Ageing well in a foreign land. Ageing well in a foreign land. This project aims to enhance well-being among people ageing in a foreign land, by understanding the best approaches to connect them. Older people from diverse cultural backgrounds are socially isolated as they age in a foreign land. This project will use a mixed methods approach to identify the factors that contribute to social isolation and low well-being; understand when and how engagement in ethnocultural and multicultural activities enhances social connectedness and well-being; and evaluate and determine key principles underlying effective identity-based interventions. The intended outcome of the project is a new policy model that builds Australia’s care capacity in tandem with its diverse ageing population.Read moreRead less
Breaking the cycle of homelessness: an identity change approach to enhance resilience and well-being. This project will explore the factors that contribute to the development of well-being and resilience among those who are homeless. We focus on the importance of social connections in enhancing resilience, well-being and breaking the cycle of homelessness. Findings will inform best practice guidelines and policy in emergency accommodation centres.
Antecedents of innovation vs. conservatism in rural industries and communities. This project will investigate antecedents of conservatism and innovation within rural communities and industries. Whilst effort, from government, community and industry, has focussed on social, economic and environmental reform, intended shifts in thinking and practice are frequently not realised. .Personality literature suggests individual differences in conservatism/innovation. Further, people are drawn towards ....Antecedents of innovation vs. conservatism in rural industries and communities. This project will investigate antecedents of conservatism and innovation within rural communities and industries. Whilst effort, from government, community and industry, has focussed on social, economic and environmental reform, intended shifts in thinking and practice are frequently not realised. .Personality literature suggests individual differences in conservatism/innovation. Further, people are drawn towards situations that satisfy intrinsic needs and away from situations that do not. The result may be greater concentrations of particular personality types in conservative industries and communities and a quite different concentration in innovative groups. Validation of this hypothesis would permit more appropriate and effective policy and management strategy.Read moreRead less
Evaluation of treatment outcomes for court-referred and voluntary clients in residential and outclient substance abuse treatment programs. Very little research has been conducted evaluating the relative effectiveness of substance abuse treatment programs for court-referred clients, compared with voluntary clients. This project will obtain psychological, social and health measures in order to compare short- and long-term treatment outcomes. Its significance lies not only in its potential to evalu ....Evaluation of treatment outcomes for court-referred and voluntary clients in residential and outclient substance abuse treatment programs. Very little research has been conducted evaluating the relative effectiveness of substance abuse treatment programs for court-referred clients, compared with voluntary clients. This project will obtain psychological, social and health measures in order to compare short- and long-term treatment outcomes. Its significance lies not only in its potential to evaluate the success of treatment for clients diverted from the criminal justice system, but also in its unique focus on a wide range of outcomes for different client groups.Read moreRead less
Understanding effective and satisfying communication between health providers and patients and its relationship with health outcomes. This project investigates the components of satisfying and effective consultations for both health professionals and patients, and their relationship with good health outcomes. This project takes an intergroup theoretical perspective to examine interpersonal interactions between health providers and patients. It examines differences in perceptions of role and co ....Understanding effective and satisfying communication between health providers and patients and its relationship with health outcomes. This project investigates the components of satisfying and effective consultations for both health professionals and patients, and their relationship with good health outcomes. This project takes an intergroup theoretical perspective to examine interpersonal interactions between health providers and patients. It examines differences in perceptions of role and communication strategies between in health professionals from different disciplines and between a broad range of patients types.Read moreRead less
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
Sleep and speech: objectively monitoring the residual effects of sleep promoting compounds. This project will benefit the one in 11 Australians with sleep difficulties. The project will improve how the safety of drugs for insomnia are evaluated by examining the changes in our speech that occur when we are impaired. The findings are expected to reduce the cost of accidents and injuries due to impairment from sleep medications.