Evaluation of the relative efficacy and mechanisms of a couple-based intervention for Premenstrual Syndrome through a randomised control trial using mixed methods. Of 9,689 Australian women recently surveyed nationally, 33% reported moderate or severe premenstrual symptoms (PMS). Whilst relationships have been identified as a significant factor in the experience of premenstrual distress, to date there has been no systematic description or evaluation of couple-based PMS interventions. This resear ....Evaluation of the relative efficacy and mechanisms of a couple-based intervention for Premenstrual Syndrome through a randomised control trial using mixed methods. Of 9,689 Australian women recently surveyed nationally, 33% reported moderate or severe premenstrual symptoms (PMS). Whilst relationships have been identified as a significant factor in the experience of premenstrual distress, to date there has been no systematic description or evaluation of couple-based PMS interventions. This research study will do this, helping health-care providers understand the experience and treatment of PMS in the context of family relationships, thereby reducing PMS, and the physical and psychological distress associated with it. This will lead to improved psychological wellbeing and quality of life for women and their families.Read moreRead less
Harm inflation: Making sense of concept creep . This project aims to investigate our culture’s rising preoccupation with harm and clarify its causes and consequences. It will apply innovative computational tools for understanding cultural change which will create new knowledge of how concepts of harm have broadened their meanings in recent decades. It will explore societal and cultural drivers of these changes and their effects on diverse phenomena including help-seeking, over-diagnosis and pola ....Harm inflation: Making sense of concept creep . This project aims to investigate our culture’s rising preoccupation with harm and clarify its causes and consequences. It will apply innovative computational tools for understanding cultural change which will create new knowledge of how concepts of harm have broadened their meanings in recent decades. It will explore societal and cultural drivers of these changes and their effects on diverse phenomena including help-seeking, over-diagnosis and polarized moral judgment. The project will generate insight into important ongoing social changes and awareness of their positive and negative ramifications. It will provide significant benefits for our understanding of key challenges to mental health and social well-being.Read moreRead less
Every Day Matters: Reducing School Non-Attendance in Autistic Students. Autistic children miss one day a week of school, three times more than their peers. This significantly impacts their learning, wellbeing and later, their vocational outcomes. This project aims to identify the factors that put autistic children at increased risk of missing school and map the supports and interventions used to reduce school non-attendance. Expected outcomes include an autism-specific model of the how and why s ....Every Day Matters: Reducing School Non-Attendance in Autistic Students. Autistic children miss one day a week of school, three times more than their peers. This significantly impacts their learning, wellbeing and later, their vocational outcomes. This project aims to identify the factors that put autistic children at increased risk of missing school and map the supports and interventions used to reduce school non-attendance. Expected outcomes include an autism-specific model of the how and why school non-attendance is elevated for autistic students. It is anticipated that this model make the important step of enabling teachers and professionals to identify which autistic children are most at risk of absenteeism and select the best strategies to support a positive and beneficial return to school.Read moreRead less
Authenticity: Globalisation and Indigenous Culture. Who speaks for the Fourth World? Why is there an obsession with 'authenticity' whenever Indigenous people are being discussed? This study explores those questions by examining a combination of sources, ranging from international museum collections to the advertising campaigns of multinational companies; from literature to the cultural festivals of the Olympic Games. The research is original, comparative, empirical. It explores the intersectio ....Authenticity: Globalisation and Indigenous Culture. Who speaks for the Fourth World? Why is there an obsession with 'authenticity' whenever Indigenous people are being discussed? This study explores those questions by examining a combination of sources, ranging from international museum collections to the advertising campaigns of multinational companies; from literature to the cultural festivals of the Olympic Games. The research is original, comparative, empirical. It explores the intersections between postcolonial and cultural studies to speak -- not for Indigenous peoples -- but to the non-Indigenous representation of First Nations. Why? Because this provides key insights into the future of race relations in western democracies.Read moreRead less
Toddlers and tablets: exploring the risks and benefits 0-5s face online. Children aged between zero and five are experiencing an extraordinary shift in media consumption. They intuitively swipe screens and press buttons on tablet computers and smartphones, using apps and accessing the internet. With an estimated five-fold increase in their tablet usage (2012 to 2013), there is an urgent need for research and policy development to maximise benefit and minimise risk. This project is intended to in ....Toddlers and tablets: exploring the risks and benefits 0-5s face online. Children aged between zero and five are experiencing an extraordinary shift in media consumption. They intuitively swipe screens and press buttons on tablet computers and smartphones, using apps and accessing the internet. With an estimated five-fold increase in their tablet usage (2012 to 2013), there is an urgent need for research and policy development to maximise benefit and minimise risk. This project is intended to investigate family practices and attitudes around very young children's internet use in Australia and the United Kingdom, and is expected to contribute to public debate and evidence-based policy in Australia, the United Kingdom and Ireland. It aims to develop recommendations for policy makers and offers guidelines for parents of three age groups: zero to one, two to three and four to five.Read moreRead less
Wild Man from Borneo: species, race, representation. This project addresses the representation of species boundaries in Western accounts of the orangutan in the 19th and 20th centuries. Darwinian theory raised the possibility that animals could ?evolve?. Orangutans seemed ?closest? to humans and therefore raised key questions about the border between humans and animals. These questions were addressed in a vast range of scientific, popular, imaginative and juvenile literature. Even when ecolo ....Wild Man from Borneo: species, race, representation. This project addresses the representation of species boundaries in Western accounts of the orangutan in the 19th and 20th centuries. Darwinian theory raised the possibility that animals could ?evolve?. Orangutans seemed ?closest? to humans and therefore raised key questions about the border between humans and animals. These questions were addressed in a vast range of scientific, popular, imaginative and juvenile literature. Even when ecological models of the environment shifted attention from evolutionary potential to ecological role, orangutans retained a special status as ?sentinel? species. This project will produce a monograph examining the construction, maintenance and erosion of ideas of species boundaries.Read moreRead less
The importance of the fictional character in literary theory and cultural practice. This project is a theoretical research project which aims to make significant and innovative contributions to research excellence in literature and the history of ideas. This research focuses on the fictional character, one of the central categories of literary theory. The benefits flowing from it will primarily be an enhanced understanding of the workings and the history of a category that informs every domain o ....The importance of the fictional character in literary theory and cultural practice. This project is a theoretical research project which aims to make significant and innovative contributions to research excellence in literature and the history of ideas. This research focuses on the fictional character, one of the central categories of literary theory. The benefits flowing from it will primarily be an enhanced understanding of the workings and the history of a category that informs every domain of cultural practice.Read moreRead less
Investigating Linguistic Factors Associated with Stuttering in Cantonese. The aim of this research is to gain new knowledge about the cause of stuttering. The project is a collaboration between experts in stuttering in Australia and Hong Kong. Despite decades of study, the cause of stuttering is still not well understood. Research in English has suggested that changes in emphasis from syllable to syllable can trigger individual moments of stuttering. However, Cantonese is very different from Eng ....Investigating Linguistic Factors Associated with Stuttering in Cantonese. The aim of this research is to gain new knowledge about the cause of stuttering. The project is a collaboration between experts in stuttering in Australia and Hong Kong. Despite decades of study, the cause of stuttering is still not well understood. Research in English has suggested that changes in emphasis from syllable to syllable can trigger individual moments of stuttering. However, Cantonese is very different from English, being a tonal and syllabic language, and uncovering the linguistic triggers of stuttering in Cantonese will yield new insight into the complex causality of this disabling condition.Read moreRead less
A longitudinal enquiry into Chinese women graduates' post-study experience. This longitudinal study of female Chinese graduates of Australian universities will be the first to track how international education changes these women’s lives long-term. Through in-depth interviews with graduates in China and Australia, it aims to reveal the lasting benefits of an Australian education for our international graduates, providing significant insights for the recovery of Australian international education ....A longitudinal enquiry into Chinese women graduates' post-study experience. This longitudinal study of female Chinese graduates of Australian universities will be the first to track how international education changes these women’s lives long-term. Through in-depth interviews with graduates in China and Australia, it aims to reveal the lasting benefits of an Australian education for our international graduates, providing significant insights for the recovery of Australian international education in a post-COVID world. Further, the project expects to contribute to scholarly, public and government understandings of new Chinese migrants in Australia, provide new knowledge about cultural change in the middle classes of Asia’s largest and most powerful nation, and enhance Australia’s engagement with its region.Read moreRead less
Mobile Indonesians: social differentiation and digital literacies in the twenty first century. This is the first dedicated study of the social implications of mobile telephony's recent and rapid popularisation throughout the country. This project will study metropolitan, urban and rural users to understand how mobile phones create the new and unexpected social networks which will shape tomorrow's Indonesians.