Motor coordination in infancy and its relationship to motor and psychosocial development in childhood. Few studies have examined the impact of early motor development on later development, even though there is evidence to show that these early movements influence later motor ability. Motor development can also impact on cognitive, emotional and social development. The current study has data on early motor ability in over 90 infants which includes children at risk of developmental disorders. We ....Motor coordination in infancy and its relationship to motor and psychosocial development in childhood. Few studies have examined the impact of early motor development on later development, even though there is evidence to show that these early movements influence later motor ability. Motor development can also impact on cognitive, emotional and social development. The current study has data on early motor ability in over 90 infants which includes children at risk of developmental disorders. We will carry out a longitudinal investigation of the relationship between early motor development in infancy on motor and psychosocial development in childhood. The results will provide information on early markers for developmental disorders and appropriate intervention techniques than can be initiated in infancy. Read moreRead less
Protect, prepare and engage: Does extracurricular activity participation offer sustained benefits for youth? Organized extracurricular activities such as sport and music have the potential to promote healthy development and to reduce the levels of risk behaviours in teenagers. However, current research evidence, often based on middle-class youth in the US, is inadequate for making policy recommendations for improvement to the after-school lives of Australian youth. This study will offer insight ....Protect, prepare and engage: Does extracurricular activity participation offer sustained benefits for youth? Organized extracurricular activities such as sport and music have the potential to promote healthy development and to reduce the levels of risk behaviours in teenagers. However, current research evidence, often based on middle-class youth in the US, is inadequate for making policy recommendations for improvement to the after-school lives of Australian youth. This study will offer insight into the long-term benefits of making a diverse selection of organised activities available to Australian teenagers, and will improve our understanding of which aspects of participation are most likely to enhance their social and educational opportunities.Read moreRead less
The Role of Adaptive Coding Mechanisms in the Development of Face Perception. Faces are immensely rich in social information, and early difficulties in extracting such information can have profound consequences for later social functioning. This project will provide insights into the ways in which our face-reading abilities develop throughout childhood. In addition to helping us better understand normal social development, this research will provide a foundation for understanding how face-readi ....The Role of Adaptive Coding Mechanisms in the Development of Face Perception. Faces are immensely rich in social information, and early difficulties in extracting such information can have profound consequences for later social functioning. This project will provide insights into the ways in which our face-reading abilities develop throughout childhood. In addition to helping us better understand normal social development, this research will provide a foundation for understanding how face-reading difficulties can affect people with developmental disorders (such as autism), how face-reading can be disrupted in individuals whose early visual experience is affected by cataracts at birth, and how such difficulties might be alleviated through clinical intervention.Read moreRead less
The role of extracurricular activity participation in promoting healthy development of Australian youth. Organized extracurricular activities such as sport and art have the potential for promoting healthy development and reducing the risks faced by teenagers. However, current research evidence, often based on middle-class youth in the US, is inadequate for making policy recommendations for improvement to the after-school lives of Australian youth. This study will offer insight into the importanc ....The role of extracurricular activity participation in promoting healthy development of Australian youth. Organized extracurricular activities such as sport and art have the potential for promoting healthy development and reducing the risks faced by teenagers. However, current research evidence, often based on middle-class youth in the US, is inadequate for making policy recommendations for improvement to the after-school lives of Australian youth. This study will offer insight into the importance of making a diverse selection of organized activities available to Australian teenagers, and will improve our understanding of which aspects of participation are most likely to enhance their social and educational opportunities.Read moreRead less
The genetic and diagnostic relationship between motor control and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often have comorbid Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). This project will utilise the expertise of leading researchers in Australia and the Netherlands to investigate the genetic and diagnostic relationship between these two disorders utilising a large sample of twins and their siblings. We will examine the neuropsych ....The genetic and diagnostic relationship between motor control and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often have comorbid Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). This project will utilise the expertise of leading researchers in Australia and the Netherlands to investigate the genetic and diagnostic relationship between these two disorders utilising a large sample of twins and their siblings. We will examine the neuropsychological functioning in these groups of children in order to gain a better understanding of their genetic relationship. These findings will provide insight into the current DSM-IV classification of these disorders compared with other models used to investigate the relationship between poor motor coordination and ADHD.Read moreRead less
Memory Consolidation and Educational Achievement in Children. The National Report on Schooling in Australia 2006 reports that between 7-12% of children in Years 3 and 5 failed to meet literacy and numeracy benchmarks. Evidence suggests that poor working memory skills may be a key feature in children's failure to achieve in school. By investigating the cognitive factors that underlie variation in working memory ability, the proposed research has the potential to improve educational outcomes in Au ....Memory Consolidation and Educational Achievement in Children. The National Report on Schooling in Australia 2006 reports that between 7-12% of children in Years 3 and 5 failed to meet literacy and numeracy benchmarks. Evidence suggests that poor working memory skills may be a key feature in children's failure to achieve in school. By investigating the cognitive factors that underlie variation in working memory ability, the proposed research has the potential to improve educational outcomes in Australian children. If memory consolidation is found to be important, this would guide the development of effective teaching strategies and early intervention programs for 'at-risk' children in line with the National Literacy and Numeracy Plan.Read moreRead less
Predicting health, well-being, and educational success in emerging adults: An 8 year longitudinal study. This project will inform the community about factors that affect the psychological, physical, academic, and employment outcomes of emerging adults. It will improve our knowledge of why some young people do not reach their full potential. The project will provide a comprehensive assessment of factors associated with well-being across several domains. It will better equip and assist professiona ....Predicting health, well-being, and educational success in emerging adults: An 8 year longitudinal study. This project will inform the community about factors that affect the psychological, physical, academic, and employment outcomes of emerging adults. It will improve our knowledge of why some young people do not reach their full potential. The project will provide a comprehensive assessment of factors associated with well-being across several domains. It will better equip and assist professionals to identify early those youth at risk of having poor psychological, health, and employment prospects post-school. The project will inform the development of intervention programs for young people and maximise their overall adjustment and well-being several years later.Read moreRead less
Measuring and modelling the childhood determinants of human capital formation and human capability expansion. This project aims to address significant gaps in the data infrastructure needed to advance Australian's current human capital reform agenda. It will draw on existing population and longitudinal datasets and collect specific community and family data to analyse how the social, economic and ecological contexts of child development enable life-course outcomes in health and human capability ....Measuring and modelling the childhood determinants of human capital formation and human capability expansion. This project aims to address significant gaps in the data infrastructure needed to advance Australian's current human capital reform agenda. It will draw on existing population and longitudinal datasets and collect specific community and family data to analyse how the social, economic and ecological contexts of child development enable life-course outcomes in health and human capability. Existing human capital measures will be refined to develop data standards to support the monitoring of the reform agenda. New modelling techniques to predict patterns of economic, civic and social participation in individuals and populations will also be developed and tested.Read moreRead less
Vulnerable families: A study of the impact of parental offending and incarceration on children's developmental outcomes. The limited evidence available suggests that parental incarceration severely compromises the development and well-being of children and increases the risk of delinquency. The financial and personal costs to the community of individuals embarking on an offending career are substantial. Significant cost-savings and prevention of victimisation could result from effectively target ....Vulnerable families: A study of the impact of parental offending and incarceration on children's developmental outcomes. The limited evidence available suggests that parental incarceration severely compromises the development and well-being of children and increases the risk of delinquency. The financial and personal costs to the community of individuals embarking on an offending career are substantial. Significant cost-savings and prevention of victimisation could result from effectively targeting this high-risk population. This research will identify where and when scarce government resources should be targeted. Appropriately timed programs can deliver a range of long-term benefits for children, families and communities. The research will also investigate the reintegration of prisoners into their families, with the aim of reducing prisoner recidivism.Read moreRead less
Maturation of the brain and the development of cognitive abilities. This project aims to develop techniques for measuring the growing brain. We will use these techniques to determine how the growing brain influences a child's intellectual ability and to answer an important question - do areas of the brain mature at the same or different rates and what influence does that have on the development of specific abilities such as language and reasoning? An answer to this question will make an import ....Maturation of the brain and the development of cognitive abilities. This project aims to develop techniques for measuring the growing brain. We will use these techniques to determine how the growing brain influences a child's intellectual ability and to answer an important question - do areas of the brain mature at the same or different rates and what influence does that have on the development of specific abilities such as language and reasoning? An answer to this question will make an important contribution to our theoretical understanding of developmental disorders. Moreover, given the influence of intellectual development on life prospects, it is important to understand how early brain development impacts on a child's ability to learn.Read moreRead less