Evolution and development of a lateralised brain: A behavioural ecology perspective. Little research on fish behavioural ecology is conducted in Australia despite our imperilled, unique aquatic ecosystems. Studies examining cerebral lateralisation using our native species as model organisms will help determine how animals classify and process information, providing a novel method of examining how native fishes respond to invasive predators and competitors. Increased understanding of lateralised ....Evolution and development of a lateralised brain: A behavioural ecology perspective. Little research on fish behavioural ecology is conducted in Australia despite our imperilled, unique aquatic ecosystems. Studies examining cerebral lateralisation using our native species as model organisms will help determine how animals classify and process information, providing a novel method of examining how native fishes respond to invasive predators and competitors. Increased understanding of lateralised cognitive function will shed light on its selective advantage as a fundamental aspect of brain function in all animals including humans. This multidisciplinary proposal will facilitate international collaborations, see the return of a home-grown scientist and ensure that Australia remains a world leader in scientific research.Read moreRead less
Using eye movements to study how past experiences shape expectations. We intend to examine how the brain decides where to look next with our eyes, a decision made approximately three times every second. Understanding how the normal brain makes decisions will in turn help us to understand what happens when things go wrong in diseases like dementia and Parkinson's disease, with the hope of better - and earlier - diagnosis, and improved monitoring of treatment. In addition, our research will establ ....Using eye movements to study how past experiences shape expectations. We intend to examine how the brain decides where to look next with our eyes, a decision made approximately three times every second. Understanding how the normal brain makes decisions will in turn help us to understand what happens when things go wrong in diseases like dementia and Parkinson's disease, with the hope of better - and earlier - diagnosis, and improved monitoring of treatment. In addition, our research will establish an important research link with The University of Cambridge, and allow Australia to be competitive with laboratories in North America and Europe that are currently studying how the brain makes decisions about where to look.Read moreRead less
A computational and experimental investigation of reading aloud: Dyslexia, disyllables, and beyond. Australia is a world leader in computational cognitive science, particularly with respect to language processing. This project will help maintain and extend this position. Insights from the project will help us understand the processes that underlie both normal reading and reading disorders, particularly in areas that are comparatively neglected yet extremely important, such as how people read wor ....A computational and experimental investigation of reading aloud: Dyslexia, disyllables, and beyond. Australia is a world leader in computational cognitive science, particularly with respect to language processing. This project will help maintain and extend this position. Insights from the project will help us understand the processes that underlie both normal reading and reading disorders, particularly in areas that are comparatively neglected yet extremely important, such as how people read words of more than one syllable. Given that everyone in Australian needs to learn to read and that acquired and developmental disorders of reading are common, providing the theoretical base on which the processes involved in reading can be understood (and hence learnt and remediated most effectively) is of utmost importance.Read moreRead less
Evolution of Mind: The representational capacities of gibbons (H. syndactylus) and the common ancestor of humans and apes. This research is the first systematic investigation into the mental capacity of gibbons. These apes are one of our closest genetic relatives. Results of the research will inform human-animal comparisons and investigations into the evolution of the human mind. More appropriate enrichment measures for captive apes could be developed as a result. It is hoped that this work will ....Evolution of Mind: The representational capacities of gibbons (H. syndactylus) and the common ancestor of humans and apes. This research is the first systematic investigation into the mental capacity of gibbons. These apes are one of our closest genetic relatives. Results of the research will inform human-animal comparisons and investigations into the evolution of the human mind. More appropriate enrichment measures for captive apes could be developed as a result. It is hoped that this work will also lead to new collaborations with Indonesia, home of many gibbon species. The proposed research continues Australia's outstanding tradition of excellence in basic research. Read moreRead less
The prediction of sleep/wake behaviour based on physiological and social factors. The prevalence of shiftwork has increased in Australia over the last few decades. Shiftworkers obtain less sleep, have greater difficulty maintaining good relationships, have poorer health, and are more likely to be injured at work than others. Using the largest dataset of its kind, we will substantially contribute to understanding the relationships between work hours, sleep, performance and safety. Ultimately, the ....The prediction of sleep/wake behaviour based on physiological and social factors. The prevalence of shiftwork has increased in Australia over the last few decades. Shiftworkers obtain less sleep, have greater difficulty maintaining good relationships, have poorer health, and are more likely to be injured at work than others. Using the largest dataset of its kind, we will substantially contribute to understanding the relationships between work hours, sleep, performance and safety. Ultimately, the project will answer a question critical to workplace safety - how much time off between shifts is needed to be alert and safe at work? The project will also produce tools to help industry design fatigue-friendly rosters, improving the safety, productivity and general well-being of shiftworkers in Australia and overseas.Read moreRead less
Human Decision-Making Processes and Outcomes in the Oil and Gas Industry. A new theoretical framework, including a new Decision Taxonomy and the development of a new measure of decision quality, will be used to underpin a study of decision processes and outcomes in the oil & gas industry, and to explore the relationship between them. Processes and outcomes will be evaluated in both a controlled laboratory setting that replicates the characteristics of real decision environments, and by analysing ....Human Decision-Making Processes and Outcomes in the Oil and Gas Industry. A new theoretical framework, including a new Decision Taxonomy and the development of a new measure of decision quality, will be used to underpin a study of decision processes and outcomes in the oil & gas industry, and to explore the relationship between them. Processes and outcomes will be evaluated in both a controlled laboratory setting that replicates the characteristics of real decision environments, and by analysing actual historical decisions made in oil & gas and other industrial settings. If successful the results will ultimately lead to the safe, responsible and optimal performance of the oil & gas industry in particular, and for other industries with similar characteristics.
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The nature of self-recognition: novel approaches to vexing questions. Mirror self-recognition has often been interpreted as evidence for the presence of some form of self-concept/awareness. Children from age 2 onwards investigate their own bodies after seeing a novel mark on their heads in the mirror (surreptitiously placed in their hair by the experimenter). Younger children and most animals do not respond to their images in such a way (instead, for example, treating it as another individual). ....The nature of self-recognition: novel approaches to vexing questions. Mirror self-recognition has often been interpreted as evidence for the presence of some form of self-concept/awareness. Children from age 2 onwards investigate their own bodies after seeing a novel mark on their heads in the mirror (surreptitiously placed in their hair by the experimenter). Younger children and most animals do not respond to their images in such a way (instead, for example, treating it as another individual). The present experiments probe the nature of self-recognition using novel digital video technology rather than mirrors. This technology allows us to manipulate the contingency and appearance of the image. Five studies investigate the performance of 2 to 4-year-old children, autistic children, chimpanzees and dolphins to determine whether they recognize themselves and what underwrites their performance on the tasks. The innovative use of modern technology is expected to answer some of the most persistent questions in psychology.
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Probing cross modal interactions in the perception of object motion and self-motion. How the brain integrates information from the different senses is not yet understood. This project aims first, to uncover how the brain integrates sound and visual information when perceiving moving objects and second, to probe more complex sensory interactions between sound, vision, and our vestibular senses when perceiving self-motion. This project will expand Australia's knowledge base, strengthen collabora ....Probing cross modal interactions in the perception of object motion and self-motion. How the brain integrates information from the different senses is not yet understood. This project aims first, to uncover how the brain integrates sound and visual information when perceiving moving objects and second, to probe more complex sensory interactions between sound, vision, and our vestibular senses when perceiving self-motion. This project will expand Australia's knowledge base, strengthen collaborative ties between Australia and Japan, and provide unique training opportunities for Australian and Japanese students. Publication of research in top-ranking journals will further promote Australian science abroad. Results will lead to improvements in the design of human-machine interfaces in both industry and entertainment.Read moreRead less
The whisker sensory system: processing information about object features. This is a new direction for research on the whisker sensory system and will put Australia at the forefront in this competitive area. Of particular significance, it will promote cross-fertilisation among three distinct disciplines - neuroscience, animal behaviour and computational neuroscience, with implications for robotics research as well. Should the robotics potential come to fruition, Australia will be in a prime posi ....The whisker sensory system: processing information about object features. This is a new direction for research on the whisker sensory system and will put Australia at the forefront in this competitive area. Of particular significance, it will promote cross-fertilisation among three distinct disciplines - neuroscience, animal behaviour and computational neuroscience, with implications for robotics research as well. Should the robotics potential come to fruition, Australia will be in a prime position to make early inroads into an important technology-based commercial enterprise. The interdisciplinary approach has important ramifications for training Australian PhD students and postdoctoral fellows and for attracting overseas research fellows. Read moreRead less
Spatial Cognition—Expressive Representation Formalisms and Effective Reasoning Mechanisms. The project will contribute significantly to the advancement of knowledge in breakthrough science in qualitative spatial reasoning and smart information use in geographic information systems. Expressive spatial languages are important in organising spatial knowledge, defining spatial query languages and guiding spatial data mining. Effective spatial reasoning mechanisms bring theory closer to applications ....Spatial Cognition—Expressive Representation Formalisms and Effective Reasoning Mechanisms. The project will contribute significantly to the advancement of knowledge in breakthrough science in qualitative spatial reasoning and smart information use in geographic information systems. Expressive spatial languages are important in organising spatial knowledge, defining spatial query languages and guiding spatial data mining. Effective spatial reasoning mechanisms bring theory closer to applications including consistency checking and spatial query pre-processing. The project will help in extracting knowledge from massive spatial databases, meeting the growing needs of naive users for spatial information and establishing Australia as a major player in spatial cognition research and in the development of geo-location services.Read moreRead less