Recruiting and retaining Australian blood donors: A social-psychological analysis of the role of attitudes, identity, and norms. There has been little theory-based research examining the psychosocial predictors of blood donation, especially repeat blood donation, within an Australian context. This research seeks to assess the role of attitudes, identity and norms in predicting blood donation within rural and urban settings (Study 1) and for repeat blood donation amongst early career donors (Stud ....Recruiting and retaining Australian blood donors: A social-psychological analysis of the role of attitudes, identity, and norms. There has been little theory-based research examining the psychosocial predictors of blood donation, especially repeat blood donation, within an Australian context. This research seeks to assess the role of attitudes, identity and norms in predicting blood donation within rural and urban settings (Study 1) and for repeat blood donation amongst early career donors (Study 2). Study 3 will comprise two interventions designed to promote attitudinal and behavioural change for both blood donation initiation amongst current non-donors and repeat blood donation for early career donors. Identifying the predictors of blood donation for new and repeat donors will assist in the provision of this vital service within Australian health care settings.Read moreRead less
Enhancing lifeguard performance: A multidisciplinary approach. This project aims to improve the timely identification of swimmers at risk of drowning by drawing on a range of theoretical, empirical, and methodological approaches from the disciplines of organisational psychology, human factors, cognitive science and computer science. Lifeguards are vital for maintaining public safety at aquatic venues, however despite their presence, fatal and non-fatal drownings occur every year with little know ....Enhancing lifeguard performance: A multidisciplinary approach. This project aims to improve the timely identification of swimmers at risk of drowning by drawing on a range of theoretical, empirical, and methodological approaches from the disciplines of organisational psychology, human factors, cognitive science and computer science. Lifeguards are vital for maintaining public safety at aquatic venues, however despite their presence, fatal and non-fatal drownings occur every year with little known about the factors that affect vigilance, scanning and sustained attention in such a complex, dynamic environment. Expected outcomes of the project include evidence-based solutions for selecting, training and maintaining the performance of lifeguards that account for both organisational and individual factors. These will improve Australia’s ability to build social capital in both urban and rural centres by providing the safest possible community swimming pools.Read moreRead less
Examination of the cognitive and biological circuitry underlying social-cognitive training in first episode psychosis. There is a national need to develop more effective interventions that improve the social lives of those with psychotic disorders. This project identifies key markers underlying the benefits of social-cognition training. These outcomes will establish a theoretical and practical framework of critical markers that can be used to improve social outcomes.
Promoting employee mental health through the development of managers' psychological capital: A controlled field experiment. Depression significantly impacts Australian communities and costs the economy approximately 12 million days in lost productivity each year. By delivering a mental health promotion program to managers of small-medium enterprises, this study will enhance the psychological wellbeing and mental health literacy of managers in a sector of the business community often neglected in ....Promoting employee mental health through the development of managers' psychological capital: A controlled field experiment. Depression significantly impacts Australian communities and costs the economy approximately 12 million days in lost productivity each year. By delivering a mental health promotion program to managers of small-medium enterprises, this study will enhance the psychological wellbeing and mental health literacy of managers in a sector of the business community often neglected in occupational health research. The program targets managers within Tasmania, a setting representing regional communities in which people have a higher risk of mental ill-health problems. Read moreRead less
Healthy eating and obesity prevention for preschoolers: A randomised controlled trial. The cost to society of obesity is high from both a financial and psychosocial perspective. Australian researchers can take a lead in the prevention of obesity during the formative preschool years when prevention intervention strategies have been evaluated systematically and rigorously. This will be the first study in Australia to evaluate the impact of a healthy eating and childhood obesity prevention program ....Healthy eating and obesity prevention for preschoolers: A randomised controlled trial. The cost to society of obesity is high from both a financial and psychosocial perspective. Australian researchers can take a lead in the prevention of obesity during the formative preschool years when prevention intervention strategies have been evaluated systematically and rigorously. This will be the first study in Australia to evaluate the impact of a healthy eating and childhood obesity prevention program for parents of preschool children, regardless of weight status. The findings will assist in further developing evidence-based prevention strategies that can be rolled out extensively in the Australian community for maintenance of healthy weight gain in preschool children.Read moreRead less
Gene-brain pathways in emotional brain stability and instability. Emotional instability is a defining trait of major mental illnesses. The ability to identify individuals susceptible to emotional instability will be important in limiting the burden of disease from these illnesses. Mental conditions cost the Australian economy approximately $14.9 bill p/a, and depression will be the second leading contributor to burden of disease by 2020. The project will provide the first evidence for the combin ....Gene-brain pathways in emotional brain stability and instability. Emotional instability is a defining trait of major mental illnesses. The ability to identify individuals susceptible to emotional instability will be important in limiting the burden of disease from these illnesses. Mental conditions cost the Australian economy approximately $14.9 bill p/a, and depression will be the second leading contributor to burden of disease by 2020. The project will provide the first evidence for the combination of gene-brain-behaviour markers which best capture emotional instability versus resilience. This evidence base will be crucial to developing new tools and strategies for early intervention, and ultimately prevention, for these conditions of mental health.Read moreRead less
CogChip: development of a targeted genotyping chip for executive function. This project aims to use DNA sequencing technology to identify the genetics of executive function. Our capacities to focus on a task at hand, to filter distractions and to inhibit unwanted impulses, are collectively referred to as executive functions. Executive function varies on a continuum in the general population across the lifespan, with individual differences largely due to differences in underlying genetics. The pr ....CogChip: development of a targeted genotyping chip for executive function. This project aims to use DNA sequencing technology to identify the genetics of executive function. Our capacities to focus on a task at hand, to filter distractions and to inhibit unwanted impulses, are collectively referred to as executive functions. Executive function varies on a continuum in the general population across the lifespan, with individual differences largely due to differences in underlying genetics. The project proposes to leverage this knowledge to develop a customised genotyping chip, which may find application for prediction of individual differences in executive ability across multiple settings including education and industry. Expected outcomes for the project will include breakthrough insights into the biology of cognition, and a genetic read-out of individual differences in executive ability, which could have broad application including the potential to facilitate the targeting of cognitive, educational or workplace training for those most at risk of adverse outcomes.Read moreRead less
Creating perceptual experts in Australia's policing and security agencies. This project aims to create the next generation of experts in Australia’s policing and national security agencies, by improving crime scene evidence interpretation. Agencies are under pressure to develop more rigorous training practices that go beyond mere intuition and tradition. This project will use a novel approach that directs learning toward the most diagnostic perceptual cues. Expected outcomes include a solid empi ....Creating perceptual experts in Australia's policing and security agencies. This project aims to create the next generation of experts in Australia’s policing and national security agencies, by improving crime scene evidence interpretation. Agencies are under pressure to develop more rigorous training practices that go beyond mere intuition and tradition. This project will use a novel approach that directs learning toward the most diagnostic perceptual cues. Expected outcomes include a solid empirical basis for national training programs designed to create experts that are accurate, reliable, and continuously improving. Improving the training of experts will ensure the integrity of forensics as evidentiary tools available to police, lead to more reliable courtroom convictions and help safeguard Australia from terrorism and crime.Read moreRead less
The emotional psychology of blood donors: understanding and using the affective key to donor return. Every week in Australia 27,000 blood donations are required to meet medical needs. Though donors are continually recruited, each year around 40per cent of Australian donors fail to re-donate. Why this occurs and how to prevent this is not well understood. Using an approach grounded in psychology and affective science, this project comprises a program of studies that aims to advance understanding ....The emotional psychology of blood donors: understanding and using the affective key to donor return. Every week in Australia 27,000 blood donations are required to meet medical needs. Though donors are continually recruited, each year around 40per cent of Australian donors fail to re-donate. Why this occurs and how to prevent this is not well understood. Using an approach grounded in psychology and affective science, this project comprises a program of studies that aims to advance understanding of the affective factors that contribute to blood donor return and translate that understanding into interventions to increase donor return. The project aims to advance the psychological conceptualisation of blood donation by integrating insight from affective science, while also enabling the Blood Service to meet the nation's demand for blood products.Read moreRead less
Heart rate variability biofeedback coaching in reducing workplace stress: laboratory and field investigations. Targeted and informed intervention in workplace stress is a vital concept in stress management, yet it is often misinformed. Using mobile heart rate monitors we are able to measure the causes and consequences of stress in a controlled and natural environment and design specific biofeedback interventions to attack primary sources of employee strain.