Early stress experiences and stress resilience in pigs. Animal stress has substantial implications on animal productivity, health and welfare of farm animals and thus farm profitability. This project aims to examine the stress resilience in pigs. Modern pig farming is a major source of food, providing substantial nutritional, social and economic benefits in Australia and worldwide. Animal welfare is of increasing concern to the public, consumers and pork producers, and stress vulnerability is an ....Early stress experiences and stress resilience in pigs. Animal stress has substantial implications on animal productivity, health and welfare of farm animals and thus farm profitability. This project aims to examine the stress resilience in pigs. Modern pig farming is a major source of food, providing substantial nutritional, social and economic benefits in Australia and worldwide. Animal welfare is of increasing concern to the public, consumers and pork producers, and stress vulnerability is an animal health and production problem in the life of the commercial pig. This project will generate new knowledge on early life management to endow stress resilience in pigs, with expected benefits for animal welfare, farm productivity and profitability.Read moreRead less
Breaking free: How organisations become front runners in gender diversity. This project aims to understand why a few exceptional organisations make substantive progress toward gender equality when so many of their competitors fail. Gender equality has social and economic value but despite decades of equal opportunity legislation and investment in gender initiatives, gender inequality persists in organisations all around the world. The project’s case study methodology examines how gender diversi ....Breaking free: How organisations become front runners in gender diversity. This project aims to understand why a few exceptional organisations make substantive progress toward gender equality when so many of their competitors fail. Gender equality has social and economic value but despite decades of equal opportunity legislation and investment in gender initiatives, gender inequality persists in organisations all around the world. The project’s case study methodology examines how gender diversity front runners align their diversity policies and practices with their internal identity and external reputation to produce substantive change. Understanding these dynamic processes will identify strategies that laggard organisations can adopt to make greater progress toward gender equality.Read moreRead less
Australian Seasonal Workers Programme and well-being impacts in Timor-Leste. This research aims to investigate the impacts of Australia’s Seasonal Workers Programme and South Korea’s Employment Permit System on the well-being of migrant workers and their families in Timor-Leste (East Timor). The contribution of this research to scholarship would be the creation of a sound method to measure the impact of temporary labour migration on well-being across various aspects of life that can be used by r ....Australian Seasonal Workers Programme and well-being impacts in Timor-Leste. This research aims to investigate the impacts of Australia’s Seasonal Workers Programme and South Korea’s Employment Permit System on the well-being of migrant workers and their families in Timor-Leste (East Timor). The contribution of this research to scholarship would be the creation of a sound method to measure the impact of temporary labour migration on well-being across various aspects of life that can be used by researchers in Timor-Leste and elsewhere to evaluate the development impacts of such migration schemes. The data will inform evidence-based policies to improve temporary labour migration schemes, meet urgent development priorities in Timor-Leste, and maximise the benefits of Australian aid funded labour migration schemes.Read moreRead less
The cost of keeping gruesome images from the world. This project aims to investigate one of society’s most invisible ‘frontline’ trauma workforces—the online content moderators responsible for limiting the public’s exposure to distressing and sensitive content on social media. Using a series of rigorous experiments, and cutting-edge psychological and physiological assessment techniques, the research will advance our understanding of the impact of indirect trauma on mental health. Expected outcom ....The cost of keeping gruesome images from the world. This project aims to investigate one of society’s most invisible ‘frontline’ trauma workforces—the online content moderators responsible for limiting the public’s exposure to distressing and sensitive content on social media. Using a series of rigorous experiments, and cutting-edge psychological and physiological assessment techniques, the research will advance our understanding of the impact of indirect trauma on mental health. Expected outcomes include novel empirical evidence for preventative strategies that will predict, monitor and reduce negative mental health outcomes. This will provide significant global benefits to people with indirect trauma experiences, such as defence and forensic personnel.Read moreRead less
Action selection in insects: how a microbrain knows what to do. Identifying what to do demands integrating sensory information with our current physiological state and memory of past experience to select the best possible action. This is the action selection problem. Our project aims to discover how tiny insect brains solve this fundamental problem. The project combines neural recordings from animals exploring virtual reality, behavioural analyses and computational modelling. The expected outco ....Action selection in insects: how a microbrain knows what to do. Identifying what to do demands integrating sensory information with our current physiological state and memory of past experience to select the best possible action. This is the action selection problem. Our project aims to discover how tiny insect brains solve this fundamental problem. The project combines neural recordings from animals exploring virtual reality, behavioural analyses and computational modelling. The expected outcome is a new understanding of the brain as an effective behavioural control system. This will benefit systems and comparative neuroscience. Our findings may also inspire solutions for robotic systems that must operate autonomously in remote and challenging environments such as disaster relief or exploration.Read moreRead less
Functional impact of high fat and high sugar diets on memory encoding. This project aims to determine the functional mechanisms of how fats and sugar affect neuronal processes vital for learning and memory. Expected outcomes will define the neural mechanisms underpinning cognitive changes in emotional and spatial memory encoding, and how these relate to brain and metabolic parameters. This will provide benefits by unveiling the possible consequences of dietary fat and sugar on the brain, and th ....Functional impact of high fat and high sugar diets on memory encoding. This project aims to determine the functional mechanisms of how fats and sugar affect neuronal processes vital for learning and memory. Expected outcomes will define the neural mechanisms underpinning cognitive changes in emotional and spatial memory encoding, and how these relate to brain and metabolic parameters. This will provide benefits by unveiling the possible consequences of dietary fat and sugar on the brain, and the mechanisms of neuroplasticity enhancing interventions.Read moreRead less
Identifying optimal daily levels of movement behaviours in early childhood. This project aims to discover how much physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep young children need each day to best support their development. Through the creation of an international database and the application of innovative analytics, the project seeks to determine the optimal daily balance of these behaviours that results in the best developmental outcomes for young children. The project is expected to infor ....Identifying optimal daily levels of movement behaviours in early childhood. This project aims to discover how much physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep young children need each day to best support their development. Through the creation of an international database and the application of innovative analytics, the project seeks to determine the optimal daily balance of these behaviours that results in the best developmental outcomes for young children. The project is expected to inform national movement behaviour guidelines. The expected benefit for parents and professionals is improved confidence in supporting children’s physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep. The expected benefit for children is positive development, given the broad impacts of these behaviours on health and well-being.Read moreRead less
Pair bonding: is it all in the brain? This project aims to understand the interaction between classic pair bonding neural circuits, parasites, and the immune system in sleepy lizards. Social bonds are a cornerstone of human societies, especially true of the pair bond and this project expects to generate knowledge to help understand why healthy adult pair bonds are the single best predictor of longevity in humans. The expected outcomes of this project are to reveal the mechanistic basis of pair b ....Pair bonding: is it all in the brain? This project aims to understand the interaction between classic pair bonding neural circuits, parasites, and the immune system in sleepy lizards. Social bonds are a cornerstone of human societies, especially true of the pair bond and this project expects to generate knowledge to help understand why healthy adult pair bonds are the single best predictor of longevity in humans. The expected outcomes of this project are to reveal the mechanistic basis of pair bonding by identifying the brain regions, cell types and neurochemicals that promote pair bonding behaviour — for the first time in a wild animal. This project should provide significant benefits by increasing our knowledge of how pair bonds promote wellness.Read moreRead less
Target detection: neural networks, behaviour and biomimetic applications. This project aims to understand the neural and behavioural mechanisms that allow insects to efficiently detect moving targets in visual clutter, despite being equipped with small brains and low-resolution eyes. The project is expected to generate fundamental knowledge using a unique combination of quantitative behaviour, neurophysiology, pharmacological intervention and biomimetic modelling. Expected outcomes include an in ....Target detection: neural networks, behaviour and biomimetic applications. This project aims to understand the neural and behavioural mechanisms that allow insects to efficiently detect moving targets in visual clutter, despite being equipped with small brains and low-resolution eyes. The project is expected to generate fundamental knowledge using a unique combination of quantitative behaviour, neurophysiology, pharmacological intervention and biomimetic modelling. Expected outcomes include an increased understanding of neural mechanisms underlying sensory selectivity, the development of novel techniques, and enhanced capacity for interdisciplinary collaborations. The project will provide significant knowledge as the developed biomimetic algorithms should be applicable for increased performance in drones or other unmanned vehicles.Read moreRead less
'Just right' job design: A new model using the Goldilocks paradigm. This proposal will generate new knowledge about designing jobs with the right amount of human movement. Prolonged sitting is now a serious work hazard that contributes to cardiovascular risk and obesity. The high incidence of these conditions in many work systems, such as rail, also presents a critical safety hazard due to threat of sudden incapacity while driving. Expected project outcomes are a ‘Just Right’ Job Design model sh ....'Just right' job design: A new model using the Goldilocks paradigm. This proposal will generate new knowledge about designing jobs with the right amount of human movement. Prolonged sitting is now a serious work hazard that contributes to cardiovascular risk and obesity. The high incidence of these conditions in many work systems, such as rail, also presents a critical safety hazard due to threat of sudden incapacity while driving. Expected project outcomes are a ‘Just Right’ Job Design model showing how tasks can be designed to enhance safety and health while maintaining productivity, and in the unlikeliest of workplaces. This will provide significant benefits for the many working Australians whose safety and health are compromised by exposure to prolonged sitting in seemingly intractable environments.Read moreRead less