Understanding And Influencing Physical Activity To Improve Population Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,668,376.00
Summary
Three of Australia's leading researchers on physical activity and population health will use new NHMRC program grant funding to consolidate and extend their already internationally-recognised studies. Doing regular physical activity is very important for maintaining good health. It helps to prevent weight gain, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and breast and colon cancer. Unfortunately, most Australian adults are not active enough for health benefits. Rates of overweight and obesity are increasing ....Three of Australia's leading researchers on physical activity and population health will use new NHMRC program grant funding to consolidate and extend their already internationally-recognised studies. Doing regular physical activity is very important for maintaining good health. It helps to prevent weight gain, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and breast and colon cancer. Unfortunately, most Australian adults are not active enough for health benefits. Rates of overweight and obesity are increasing rapidly; more than 50% of Australian adults are above the healthy weight range. Rates of type 2 diabetes have doubled in the past 20 years. New ideas and practical tools are therefore needed to tackle these serious ‘diseases of inactivity’. To this end, Professors Neville Owen, Adrian Bauman and Wendy Brown will bring together innovative and practically useful scientific approaches drawn from psychology, epidemiology and exercise physiology. The approach is interdisciplinary – it combines theories and methods from their individual disciplines in an innovative manner, within a public health framework. Their research to date has developed better methods for measuring people’s exercise habits and has provided new insights into how personal, social and environmental circumstances can make people less active. They have also shown how to design and deliver wide-reaching programs for different social groups and evaluated their effectiveness. Their new research program will build on and significantly extend these ideas and approaches into new areas.For example, they will develop new measures of incidental physical activity and sedentary behaviour and will develop and test new, complex community interventions.Their new program will involve in-depth study of some of the most challenging researchproblems in an important and under-researched area of public health. They will further combine their disciplines and the skills of their research team in new, creative and practical ways, to answer important research questions about physical activity and population health. These ideas and approaches will be used to identify practical ways to help more people to be more physically active.Read moreRead less
Building Capacity For Physical Activity Research In Population Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,118,560.00
Summary
The program will focus on the 'diseases of inactivity' and will look at factors like obtaining accurate statistics on rates of inactivity and better statistics on which social groups are least active. It will look at: • the types of activity that are best for different people; • what the best types of exercise programs are; • the types of information campaigns that will be most effective; and • how community amenities and local environments might be used to help people to be active in ways that ....The program will focus on the 'diseases of inactivity' and will look at factors like obtaining accurate statistics on rates of inactivity and better statistics on which social groups are least active. It will look at: • the types of activity that are best for different people; • what the best types of exercise programs are; • the types of information campaigns that will be most effective; and • how community amenities and local environments might be used to help people to be active in ways that are more convenient and enjoyable.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101466
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$442,723.00
Summary
Violent offenders in the night-time economy: Building the evidence. Alcohol-related violence in entertainment precincts is a significant community safety problem. This project aims to improve knowledge on individuals that are violent in entertainment precincts. It is expected to be the first study globally to use linked data to develop multi-system informed offending trajectories of violent offenders in these settings, examine the impact of patrons bans on offending trajectories, and apply situa ....Violent offenders in the night-time economy: Building the evidence. Alcohol-related violence in entertainment precincts is a significant community safety problem. This project aims to improve knowledge on individuals that are violent in entertainment precincts. It is expected to be the first study globally to use linked data to develop multi-system informed offending trajectories of violent offenders in these settings, examine the impact of patrons bans on offending trajectories, and apply situational action theory to alcohol-related violence. Results are expected to inform a critical knowledge gap and assist in the development of targeted violence preventive responses which reduce harm and make communities safer.Read moreRead less
Targeting early contact with the criminal justice system in young people. This project aims to identify who and why young people first come in contact with the criminal justice system and what determines the early course of contact. The project will focus on first police contact, as a victim, witness or offender, as a means of identifying young people at-risk of adverse life outcomes. It intends to build on the NSW Child Development Study, a large population-based intergenerational cohort, to de ....Targeting early contact with the criminal justice system in young people. This project aims to identify who and why young people first come in contact with the criminal justice system and what determines the early course of contact. The project will focus on first police contact, as a victim, witness or offender, as a means of identifying young people at-risk of adverse life outcomes. It intends to build on the NSW Child Development Study, a large population-based intergenerational cohort, to develop services and interventions aimed at preventing young people from becoming enmeshed in the criminal justice system.Read moreRead less
Preventing terrorism through community-based approaches. This project aims to investigate the prevention of terrorism. It will examine approaches that involve police community engagement and local responses to violent extremism. This is a significant issue given communities are a key line of defence against terrorism. Expecting to generate new knowledge about counter-terrorism by examining policies adopted in Australia and abroad, the project will identify models of best practice for the prevent ....Preventing terrorism through community-based approaches. This project aims to investigate the prevention of terrorism. It will examine approaches that involve police community engagement and local responses to violent extremism. This is a significant issue given communities are a key line of defence against terrorism. Expecting to generate new knowledge about counter-terrorism by examining policies adopted in Australia and abroad, the project will identify models of best practice for the prevention of terrorism, ascertaining how community partnerships against terrorism can be improved. This will provide significant benefits by assisting police, government agencies, community groups and local service providers to implement and evaluate strategies that prevent terrorism.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100359
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$420,960.00
Summary
Preventing crime in public spaces: everyday guardianship & territoriality . Safe public spaces are the cornerstone of liveable cities. Everyday users of public spaces are vital crime prevention guardians because they are frequently present in the absence of formal regulators like police. This project will investigate factors that enhance active guardianship and facilitate crime prevention in public spaces. It aims to generate new knowledge on the extent to which everyday users of public spaces d ....Preventing crime in public spaces: everyday guardianship & territoriality . Safe public spaces are the cornerstone of liveable cities. Everyday users of public spaces are vital crime prevention guardians because they are frequently present in the absence of formal regulators like police. This project will investigate factors that enhance active guardianship and facilitate crime prevention in public spaces. It aims to generate new knowledge on the extent to which everyday users of public spaces develop a sense of territorial control leading to conscious monitoring of public spaces and intervention in social problems. The project aims to inform crime prevention strategies that facilitate active guardianship leading to less crime, reduced fear of crime and enhanced opportunities for pro-social use of public spaces. Read moreRead less
Understanding the emerging threat of conspiracy-fuelled extremism. This project aims to address the emerging threat of conspiracy-fuelled extremism in Australia. The project expects to produce new knowledge by identifying the unique factors driving this new form of extremism and the social harm it causes. Through three studies, the project will test a new theoretical model of conspiracy-fuelled extremism, will explore the threats and social harms this form of extremism creates, and will develop ....Understanding the emerging threat of conspiracy-fuelled extremism. This project aims to address the emerging threat of conspiracy-fuelled extremism in Australia. The project expects to produce new knowledge by identifying the unique factors driving this new form of extremism and the social harm it causes. Through three studies, the project will test a new theoretical model of conspiracy-fuelled extremism, will explore the threats and social harms this form of extremism creates, and will develop evidence-based insights into how it can be mitigated. The research should produce benefits for Australia by providing policymakers with a risk-assessment tool to identify individuals most 'at-risk' of violent extremism, and by providing knowledge about the services families may require to de-radicalise loved ones.Read moreRead less
Lifting the burden of imprisonment: Creating safer and stronger communities. This project aims to identify how a reduction in imprisonment rates could benefit Australian communities and enhance their safety and wellbeing. It will link a range of statistical data sources on imprisonment, crime and community wellbeing. We will, for the first time, comprehensively demonstrate the impact of imprisonment on individuals and communities in Australia and beyond. Expected outcomes of this project include ....Lifting the burden of imprisonment: Creating safer and stronger communities. This project aims to identify how a reduction in imprisonment rates could benefit Australian communities and enhance their safety and wellbeing. It will link a range of statistical data sources on imprisonment, crime and community wellbeing. We will, for the first time, comprehensively demonstrate the impact of imprisonment on individuals and communities in Australia and beyond. Expected outcomes of this project include expansion and innovation of coercive mobility theory, novel integration of data, and a forecasting tool to assess the impact of imprisonment reduction on communities. This evidence will assist advocacy groups and policy makers seeking to address Australia’s burgeoning imprisonment rate.Read moreRead less
Identifying novel, health-related predictors of recidivism: Informing evidence-based throughcare. Throughcare is a policy priority for correctional authorities in Australia, however the evidence base to inform policy is limited. Using innovative modelling techniques and unique data from a large, representative cohort of ex-prisoners in Queensland, this study will: identify novel, health-related predictors of recidivism in the first two years after release from adult custody; examine the extent t ....Identifying novel, health-related predictors of recidivism: Informing evidence-based throughcare. Throughcare is a policy priority for correctional authorities in Australia, however the evidence base to inform policy is limited. Using innovative modelling techniques and unique data from a large, representative cohort of ex-prisoners in Queensland, this study will: identify novel, health-related predictors of recidivism in the first two years after release from adult custody; examine the extent to which risk and protective factors for recidivism vary over time and according to individual characteristics; and, provide evidence-based recommendations to improve throughcare interventions and reduce recidivism.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100853
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$344,996.00
Summary
Ethnically-motivated youth hate crime in Australia. This project aims to provide the first assessment of youth hate crime in Australia, examine incidence rates over time, and explore how Australia’s experiences compare internationally. Hate crime can cause injury, psychological harm and social disengagement. For victims in early adolescence – a critical time of identity formation – the harms may be multiplied. The project will uncover the risk and protective factors for perpetration and victimi ....Ethnically-motivated youth hate crime in Australia. This project aims to provide the first assessment of youth hate crime in Australia, examine incidence rates over time, and explore how Australia’s experiences compare internationally. Hate crime can cause injury, psychological harm and social disengagement. For victims in early adolescence – a critical time of identity formation – the harms may be multiplied. The project will uncover the risk and protective factors for perpetration and victimisation, and for understanding the consequences for hate crime victims. This is expected to benefit the community by helping to inform social policy to improve the lives of Australia’s youth.Read moreRead less