Workplace participatory practices: Learning through and for work. The project aims to examine the relationship between individuals? participation in and their learning through paid work. This is warranted because current conceptions of learning throughout working lives fail to fully account for the reciprocal processes of workplace affordances and individual engagement that together shape participation in and learning from work. The study seeks to illuminate participatory practices across differ ....Workplace participatory practices: Learning through and for work. The project aims to examine the relationship between individuals? participation in and their learning through paid work. This is warranted because current conceptions of learning throughout working lives fail to fully account for the reciprocal processes of workplace affordances and individual engagement that together shape participation in and learning from work. The study seeks to illuminate participatory practices across different kinds of workplaces and also those within workplaces for different categories of workers. The procedures comprise an investigation of the participation in and learning of 6 groups of workers employed in distinct kinds of work over an eighteen month period.Read moreRead less
Lexical expertise and reading skill: An experimental analysis of individual differences in written language proficiency. The Federal Government's current National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy highlights the importance of an evidence-based approach to teaching and assessing literacy. Considerable research and policy effort has been directed towards early reading programs. Much less attention has been paid to evaluating children's later development of reading comprehension and spelling pr ....Lexical expertise and reading skill: An experimental analysis of individual differences in written language proficiency. The Federal Government's current National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy highlights the importance of an evidence-based approach to teaching and assessing literacy. Considerable research and policy effort has been directed towards early reading programs. Much less attention has been paid to evaluating children's later development of reading comprehension and spelling proficiency, but there is wide diversity in these skills within the adult population that influence educational and vocational opportunity. This investigation of the factors underlying expertise in reading and spelling will provide evidence that can contribute to developing educational policy and curricula for the later stages of schooling.Read moreRead less
The Development of Creative Thinking Ability in TAFE Design Students. The aim is to develop an instructional framework as a conceptual basis for instruction aimed at TAFE design student use of imagery in creative thinking. The research addresses the challenges of recent post-compulsory education initiatives, which include a more specific focus on the development of creative problem-solving skills, but provide little guidance on instructional strategies. The research will synthesise the framewo ....The Development of Creative Thinking Ability in TAFE Design Students. The aim is to develop an instructional framework as a conceptual basis for instruction aimed at TAFE design student use of imagery in creative thinking. The research addresses the challenges of recent post-compulsory education initiatives, which include a more specific focus on the development of creative problem-solving skills, but provide little guidance on instructional strategies. The research will synthesise the framework from theories about cognitive processes, creative problem-solving and the use of mental imagery; and the results of an imagery training program and creative problem-solving interventions. The outcome will be an instructional framework for guiding the development of student creative thinking in design-based courses in TAFE.Read moreRead less
Models of Knowledge Restructuring. In a world of rapid change, people must frequently adapt cognitive skills to new technologies. This often requires restructuring of knowledge, from simple initial strategies to increasingly complex ways of mastering the task. This is not always easy and people sometimes resist knowledge restructuring. We present a network model of knowledge restructuring that combines attentional processes with error-driven learning. The model accounts for several existing resu ....Models of Knowledge Restructuring. In a world of rapid change, people must frequently adapt cognitive skills to new technologies. This often requires restructuring of knowledge, from simple initial strategies to increasingly complex ways of mastering the task. This is not always easy and people sometimes resist knowledge restructuring. We present a network model of knowledge restructuring that combines attentional processes with error-driven learning. The model accounts for several existing results and makes predictions that guide the proposed research. Three factors will be examined empirically: (1) the role of directing attention to alternative strategies; (2) the imperfection of existing knowledge; and (3) the complexity of alternative strategies.Read moreRead less
Building Financial Literacy and Retirement Savings Engagement by Developing a Financial Education Programme for the Workplace. To limit the drain on the federal budget as the population ages government have introduced compulsory superannuation; making individuals responsible for a significant proportion of their own retirement income. Employees are able to choose both their superannuation fund and investment mix. These are complex decisions which require a significant level of financial literacy ....Building Financial Literacy and Retirement Savings Engagement by Developing a Financial Education Programme for the Workplace. To limit the drain on the federal budget as the population ages government have introduced compulsory superannuation; making individuals responsible for a significant proportion of their own retirement income. Employees are able to choose both their superannuation fund and investment mix. These are complex decisions which require a significant level of financial literacy. Failure to make appropriate decisions can significantly reduce wealth at retirement leading to a greater reliance on the age pension. Results from this project will inform government, employers and superannuation funds about the role of financial education in improving financial literacy and hence retirement savings decision making.Read moreRead less
Locating genes for cognitive traits using linkage and association analyses. Our study is the 1st in the world to find significant linkage for IQ.The dataset is one of only 2 such in the world (based on sample size, range & type of measures).Identifying genes for cognitive ability using healthy subjects is important in understanding individual differences in normal cognitive functioning, but it may also provide clues into the underlying mechanisms of impaired cognitive ability. Diverging conditio ....Locating genes for cognitive traits using linkage and association analyses. Our study is the 1st in the world to find significant linkage for IQ.The dataset is one of only 2 such in the world (based on sample size, range & type of measures).Identifying genes for cognitive ability using healthy subjects is important in understanding individual differences in normal cognitive functioning, but it may also provide clues into the underlying mechanisms of impaired cognitive ability. Diverging conditions like reading disorder, schizophrenia, depression, alcoholism, and dementia all share deficits in cognitive ability.Downstream practical applications of identifying 'genes for cognition' include better educational, behavioural and biomedical management of learning and memory disorders, and other intellectual disabilities.Read moreRead less
A Method for Analysis of Complexity in Cognitive Processes: Applications to Prediction of Industrial Workloads. The project will develop a method for analysis of cognitive complexity in human and animal cognition. It will contribute to basic research because it will enable equivalences and relative complexities of cognitive functions to be determined, independent of content or methodology. It will have applications to education, because it enables complexities of concepts to be recognised and a ....A Method for Analysis of Complexity in Cognitive Processes: Applications to Prediction of Industrial Workloads. The project will develop a method for analysis of cognitive complexity in human and animal cognition. It will contribute to basic research because it will enable equivalences and relative complexities of cognitive functions to be determined, independent of content or methodology. It will have applications to education, because it enables complexities of concepts to be recognised and appropriate pedagogies determined. It also has application to human factors, especially industrial performance and decision making. It will advance on currrent methods because it enables workload to be analysed and predicted, so that it can be factored into job and system design. Read moreRead less
A method for analysis of cognitive complexity: Applications to reasoning, learning and to industrial workloads. The project will develop a method for analysis of cognitive complexity in humans and animals. It will contribute to basic research because it will enable equivalences and relative complexities of cognitive functions to be determined, independent of content or methodology. It has application to human factors, especially in aviation and command and control tasks generally. It will adv ....A method for analysis of cognitive complexity: Applications to reasoning, learning and to industrial workloads. The project will develop a method for analysis of cognitive complexity in humans and animals. It will contribute to basic research because it will enable equivalences and relative complexities of cognitive functions to be determined, independent of content or methodology. It has application to human factors, especially in aviation and command and control tasks generally. It will advance on currrent methods because it enables workload to be analysed and predicted, so that it can be factored into job and system design. It will also have applications to education, because it enables complexities of concepts to be recognised and appropriate pedagogies determined.Read moreRead less
Conceiving Connections: Increasing industry viability through analysis of audience responses to dance performance. The development of audiences is identified by the Australian dance industry as vital to the future of the sector. The current project will investigate how audiences respond to highly evolved dance-works. It will explore the kinds of meaning communicated by such works, and the value assigned to them by tutored and untutored audiences. Methods for enhancing audience engagement will be ....Conceiving Connections: Increasing industry viability through analysis of audience responses to dance performance. The development of audiences is identified by the Australian dance industry as vital to the future of the sector. The current project will investigate how audiences respond to highly evolved dance-works. It will explore the kinds of meaning communicated by such works, and the value assigned to them by tutored and untutored audiences. Methods for enhancing audience engagement will be tested through studies in both metropolitan and regional centres. Dance-scholars, artists and cognitive psychologists collaborate with three industry partners to identify and address significant concerns for artists, presenters, advocates and funding bodies, and to train postgraduate reserachers in inter-disciplinary modes.Read moreRead less
Identifying genes for cognition. We have established a large twin sample and are the Australian arm of an international consortium to identify genes for cognition. This work will transform our understanding of brain functions that affect normal cognitive functioning. It has potentially enormous public health significance by providing clues into the underlying mechanisms of impaired cognitive ability. Many different conditions affect people's ability to think and remember (e.g. schizophrenia, dem ....Identifying genes for cognition. We have established a large twin sample and are the Australian arm of an international consortium to identify genes for cognition. This work will transform our understanding of brain functions that affect normal cognitive functioning. It has potentially enormous public health significance by providing clues into the underlying mechanisms of impaired cognitive ability. Many different conditions affect people's ability to think and remember (e.g. schizophrenia, dementia). By understanding how cognitive processes work in healthy individuals, we can better identify the fundamental mechanisms of impaired cognitive ability. This may have future applications for treating brain dysfunction, and managing memory of intellectual disabilities.Read moreRead less