Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101137
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$373,536.00
Summary
The whole is greater than its parts: Improving rail safety through teamwork. This project seeks to develop a train driving risk model that includes human factors, to enable rail organisations to better identify and mitigate safety risks. Train driving is a cognitively demanding task in which errors can quickly lead to catastrophic consequences. Signals passed at danger (SPADs) occur when a train goes past a red light. Despite significant investment in better signalling and communications infrast ....The whole is greater than its parts: Improving rail safety through teamwork. This project seeks to develop a train driving risk model that includes human factors, to enable rail organisations to better identify and mitigate safety risks. Train driving is a cognitively demanding task in which errors can quickly lead to catastrophic consequences. Signals passed at danger (SPADs) occur when a train goes past a red light. Despite significant investment in better signalling and communications infrastructure, SPAD rates remain unacceptably high and are projected to rise. SPAD risk is currently managed with a retrospective approach that fails to consider non-technical human factors such as time pressure, workload and team communications. By including non-technical dimensions, this project seeks to develop a comprehensive model to explain and prevent SPADs.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100903
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$451,885.00
Summary
Charitable triad: How donors, beneficiaries, & fundraisers influence giving. This project aims to test a new model of charitable giving to examine how donors, beneficiaries, and fundraisers together influence donor decisions. Until now, no holistic model has existed to explain donor behaviour: past research has focused on donors but neglected beneficiaries and fundraisers. This project is expected to provide evidence for a new bedrock theory of philanthropy. Findings can also inform practitioner ....Charitable triad: How donors, beneficiaries, & fundraisers influence giving. This project aims to test a new model of charitable giving to examine how donors, beneficiaries, and fundraisers together influence donor decisions. Until now, no holistic model has existed to explain donor behaviour: past research has focused on donors but neglected beneficiaries and fundraisers. This project is expected to provide evidence for a new bedrock theory of philanthropy. Findings can also inform practitioner toolkits, offering advice to nonprofits on how to raise money effectively by understanding how the particular organisation and its beneficiaries can influence donor decisions. By helping ensure the survival of charities, this research will contribute to the delivery of essential social services that benefit many Australians.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101708
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$406,821.00
Summary
New directions for using brain stimulation to understand brain function. Neuroplasticity is of fundamental importance to brain function as it mediates learning, memory and development. Deficits in neuroplasticity are observed in a number of neurological conditions and thought to contribute to cognitive dysfunction. This study is designed to develop a better understanding of the neurochemical and genetic factors impacting on neuroplasticity. In addition, it aims to (i) upregulate brain connectivi ....New directions for using brain stimulation to understand brain function. Neuroplasticity is of fundamental importance to brain function as it mediates learning, memory and development. Deficits in neuroplasticity are observed in a number of neurological conditions and thought to contribute to cognitive dysfunction. This study is designed to develop a better understanding of the neurochemical and genetic factors impacting on neuroplasticity. In addition, it aims to (i) upregulate brain connectivity in a precise and targeted manner, (ii) elicit functional increases in cognitive performance and (iii) demonstrate the relationship between functional connectivity and cognition. Outcomes include a better understanding of plasticity in the brain & a enhanced capacity to examine and modulate brain plasticity.Read moreRead less
A community based social identity approach to loneliness. Loneliness across Australia is a deep concern. Social prescribing is a novel community-based approach to managing loneliness, however it is unclear when and in what circumstances it is effective. This project aims to test a social identity approach to loneliness, incorporating longitudinal, cross-sectional, and experimental methods to understand how best to engage isolated people in group programs. The expected benefits of this project ar ....A community based social identity approach to loneliness. Loneliness across Australia is a deep concern. Social prescribing is a novel community-based approach to managing loneliness, however it is unclear when and in what circumstances it is effective. This project aims to test a social identity approach to loneliness, incorporating longitudinal, cross-sectional, and experimental methods to understand how best to engage isolated people in group programs. The expected benefits of this project are to produce a validated social prescribing model that can be implemented in multiple settings across Australia in order to reduce loneliness, strengthen communities, and guide more appropriate uses of health services.Read moreRead less
Brain mechanisms for coordinating with others through sound. Distinguishing between sounds produced by self and others is critical for interpersonal coordination and communication through speech and music. This project employs a novel dual-brain electrophysiological technique with tagged audio signals to elucidate how the human brain achieves this distinction, and when and why it cannot. Expected outcomes include new knowledge on the neurophysiological mechanisms that support self-other processi ....Brain mechanisms for coordinating with others through sound. Distinguishing between sounds produced by self and others is critical for interpersonal coordination and communication through speech and music. This project employs a novel dual-brain electrophysiological technique with tagged audio signals to elucidate how the human brain achieves this distinction, and when and why it cannot. Expected outcomes include new knowledge on the neurophysiological mechanisms that support self-other processing, and the acoustic conditions and behavioural strategies that facilitate their operation. These outcomes should ultimately have applied benefits for improving interpersonal coordination and social interaction, especially in digital environments and clinical populations with atypical self-other processing.Read moreRead less
The psychology of gridlock: Compromise, coalitions, and radicalisation. This project aims to test an innovative psychological model of collective gridlock. Using interviews, surveys, experiments, small group research, and analysis of social media data, the project aims to examine critical pathways in gridlock psychology, where opponents are locked into mutually suboptimal outcomes, unable to move forward. These pathways include the exit or self-censorship of moderates; normative pressure towards ....The psychology of gridlock: Compromise, coalitions, and radicalisation. This project aims to test an innovative psychological model of collective gridlock. Using interviews, surveys, experiments, small group research, and analysis of social media data, the project aims to examine critical pathways in gridlock psychology, where opponents are locked into mutually suboptimal outcomes, unable to move forward. These pathways include the exit or self-censorship of moderates; normative pressure towards purity and refusal to compromise; tactical choices to avoid coalitions; and radicalisation. The research aims to develop novel interventions to reduce polarisation and radicalisation, and to promote compromises, which together will help society respond more nimbly and effectively to social and environmental challenges.Read moreRead less
When, why, and how well do we regulate other people's emotions? This project aims to understand when and why people attempt to regulate others' emotions, and to evaluate which regulation processes are most effective. We will study regulation attempts as they occur over minutes, days, and months in interactions between romantic couples and between nurse co-workers. This project extends the study of emotion regulation to others’ emotions as well as one’s own. The major project output will be an ev ....When, why, and how well do we regulate other people's emotions? This project aims to understand when and why people attempt to regulate others' emotions, and to evaluate which regulation processes are most effective. We will study regulation attempts as they occur over minutes, days, and months in interactions between romantic couples and between nurse co-workers. This project extends the study of emotion regulation to others’ emotions as well as one’s own. The major project output will be an evidence-based theory of extrinsic regulation. Project benefits include applications of this new knowledge to programs and policies that reduce negative emotions and stress in healthcare workers and couples, reducing workplace burnout, on-the-job errors, relationship breakdown and their associated economic costs.Read moreRead less
The psychology of understanding and reducing conspiracy beliefs. This project aims to provide new understandings of the psychology of believing conspiracy theories, a problem that promotes prejudice, undermines trust, and costs lives. This project will involve the first large-scale, multi-national survey of willingness to believe conspiracies, allowing us to identify how national and cultural factors influence conspiracist thinking around the world. It will also use innovative experimental techn ....The psychology of understanding and reducing conspiracy beliefs. This project aims to provide new understandings of the psychology of believing conspiracy theories, a problem that promotes prejudice, undermines trust, and costs lives. This project will involve the first large-scale, multi-national survey of willingness to believe conspiracies, allowing us to identify how national and cultural factors influence conspiracist thinking around the world. It will also use innovative experimental techniques to test how group-based loyalties shape people’s conspiracist thinking and their online behaviours. Doing so paves the way for us to test novel strategies for reducing the impact of conspiracy theories, with benefits in terms of reducing societal mistrust, prejudice, and political violence.Read moreRead less
Testing an Integrative Model of Interpersonal Partner Aggression. The project aims to conduct: 1) a developmental test (i.e., from childhood to adulthood), and 2) a dyadic longitudinal test of an integrative model of intimate partner violence (IPV). The project is significant as it addresses 4 key IPV research limitations. These are the lack of: 1) focus on relationship dynamics; 2) longitudinal research on couples; 3) developmental tests of IPV; 4) research on same-sex couples. Expected outcome ....Testing an Integrative Model of Interpersonal Partner Aggression. The project aims to conduct: 1) a developmental test (i.e., from childhood to adulthood), and 2) a dyadic longitudinal test of an integrative model of intimate partner violence (IPV). The project is significant as it addresses 4 key IPV research limitations. These are the lack of: 1) focus on relationship dynamics; 2) longitudinal research on couples; 3) developmental tests of IPV; 4) research on same-sex couples. Expected outcomes include a comprehensive suite of assessments to effectively detect and support couples at risk of IPV and self-help resources to combat IPV. Benefits include the development of an integrative framework to identify couples most at risk of IPV and guide the development of interventions and policy to reduce IPV.Read moreRead less
Brain systems implicated in alcohol-related aggression. Alcohol has many adverse effects on social behaviour and emotion regulation. Aggressive behaviour is one of the most common social behaviours that intoxicated people display. Using neuroimaging and brain stimulation technology, this project aims to identify how alcohol disrupts brain networks implicated in anger and emotion regulation. Expected outcomes of this project include discovery of how the brain responds to social provocation, suppo ....Brain systems implicated in alcohol-related aggression. Alcohol has many adverse effects on social behaviour and emotion regulation. Aggressive behaviour is one of the most common social behaviours that intoxicated people display. Using neuroimaging and brain stimulation technology, this project aims to identify how alcohol disrupts brain networks implicated in anger and emotion regulation. Expected outcomes of this project include discovery of how the brain responds to social provocation, supports emotion regulation, and produces aggressive behaviour when intoxicated. Benefits include identifying how the intoxicated brain contributes to the millennia-old phenomenon of alcohol-related aggression and how brain stimulation may protect against aggression.Read moreRead less