Chinese imprint on Tasmania and consequent connnections with China. The project identifies and analyses Chinese cultural heritage in Tasmania and consequent connections with China. It will establish the veracity of life and work of Chinese settlers in Tasmania and of their descendants in China as a result. It will analyse Chinese traditional cultural values that underlined migrant motivation and behaviour patterns. Finally it will analyse how their connections with Tasmania influenced life of th ....Chinese imprint on Tasmania and consequent connnections with China. The project identifies and analyses Chinese cultural heritage in Tasmania and consequent connections with China. It will establish the veracity of life and work of Chinese settlers in Tasmania and of their descendants in China as a result. It will analyse Chinese traditional cultural values that underlined migrant motivation and behaviour patterns. Finally it will analyse how their connections with Tasmania influenced life of their descendants. The project will provide intellectual content for local community to establish Chinese aspect of cultural heritage and find a niche tourist market for affluent Chinese from where their ancestors came to Tasmania.Read moreRead less
A project to examine and strengthen health care incident disclosure communication. Incidents occur frequently in health care, killing or maiming around 18,000 people per year. This study will map the experiences of patients and clinicians of conducting clinical incident discussions to enhance understanding of post-incident communication dynamics and develop models that facilitate incident communication.
Transforming Tourists' Antarctic Experience. With the Antarctic tourist industry currently growing and diversifying, the project aims to discover how cruise operators can foster positive and culturally informed relationships with the region among visitors of different national backgrounds. Through extensive in-situ fieldwork with partner Intrepid Travel, the project expects to generate new understandings of how operators' active mediating role combines with multisensory experience of Antarctica ....Transforming Tourists' Antarctic Experience. With the Antarctic tourist industry currently growing and diversifying, the project aims to discover how cruise operators can foster positive and culturally informed relationships with the region among visitors of different national backgrounds. Through extensive in-situ fieldwork with partner Intrepid Travel, the project expects to generate new understandings of how operators' active mediating role combines with multisensory experience of Antarctica to forge human connections with this extreme but fragile place. Anticipated outcomes include protocols for best practice in designing and implementing tourist experiences. By encouraging diverse visitors to value Antarctica, the project should benefit both operators and the polar environment.Read moreRead less
De-tabooing depression and anxiety: Mental health communication in old age. This project aims to uncover how older Australians talk about and understand depression and anxiety, and it seeks to raise awareness of these debilitating conditions via new media. There has been much medical research in this area, and while language has been identified as highly relevant for recovery, little is known of how people express their experiences around mental well-being. The research gap is even wider for the ....De-tabooing depression and anxiety: Mental health communication in old age. This project aims to uncover how older Australians talk about and understand depression and anxiety, and it seeks to raise awareness of these debilitating conditions via new media. There has been much medical research in this area, and while language has been identified as highly relevant for recovery, little is known of how people express their experiences around mental well-being. The research gap is even wider for the worst affected in the population — older adults. These illnesses are shrouded in taboo, and symptoms often go undetected. The expected outcomes of the project are improved communication about mental well-being and the celebration of the lives and stories of older Australians — an integral but vulnerable segment of society.Read moreRead less
Intracortical inhibition evaluated by paired-pulse TMS during choice and simple reaction time tasks. The research will investigate the neurophysiological processes responsible for the selection and initiation of movement in response to an external stimulus. Slowness in the initiation and execution of movement is a common feature of 'neurological aging', neurodegenerative disease, and brain injury. Understanding the brain mechanisms involved in response selection and movement initiation will pro ....Intracortical inhibition evaluated by paired-pulse TMS during choice and simple reaction time tasks. The research will investigate the neurophysiological processes responsible for the selection and initiation of movement in response to an external stimulus. Slowness in the initiation and execution of movement is a common feature of 'neurological aging', neurodegenerative disease, and brain injury. Understanding the brain mechanisms involved in response selection and movement initiation will provide information for the development of specific intervention techniques to improve motor function in these groups.Read moreRead less
The role of the Supplementary Motor Area in time processing. The neural bases of timing mechanisms (0.1-100s range) are the subject of much debate. We hypothesise that the Supplementary Motor Area (SMA), a major cortical structure involving important dopaminergic pathways, subtends duration encoding, in the way depicted by the 'accumulator model'. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the SMA, we will test healthy subjects in motor and perceptual timing tasks, compared to Parkinson' ....The role of the Supplementary Motor Area in time processing. The neural bases of timing mechanisms (0.1-100s range) are the subject of much debate. We hypothesise that the Supplementary Motor Area (SMA), a major cortical structure involving important dopaminergic pathways, subtends duration encoding, in the way depicted by the 'accumulator model'. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the SMA, we will test healthy subjects in motor and perceptual timing tasks, compared to Parkinson's disease patients whose timing performance is impaired due to dopaminergic dysfunction. We expect TMS inhibitory effects to induce predictable performance trends, providing support for the accumulator model and the key role of the SMA in timing.Read moreRead less
Neural correlates of performance trade-offs and interference in dual-task performance. Our daily lives are characterised by our ability to produce and sustain a wide range of different movement patterns and to deliberately change patterns as the situation demands. In this project we seek to understand the relationship between brain processes, attentional demands, and the control and learning of coordinated behaviour. A further aim will be to examine how this relationship may be altered as a re ....Neural correlates of performance trade-offs and interference in dual-task performance. Our daily lives are characterised by our ability to produce and sustain a wide range of different movement patterns and to deliberately change patterns as the situation demands. In this project we seek to understand the relationship between brain processes, attentional demands, and the control and learning of coordinated behaviour. A further aim will be to examine how this relationship may be altered as a result of aging, degenerative disease, or brain damage. This research will provide a foundation upon which rehabilitation strategies can be developed for the movement impaired.Read moreRead less
Facilitatory and inhibitory mechanisms during interlimb coordination in young and older adults. The project seeks to understand how people coordinate their limbs and the factors which limit and enhance this capacity. This is of critical importance because coordination is a dominant deficit in aging and in patients suffering brain insult and neurodegenerative diseases. Disruption of this capacity compromises individual work productivity, mobility and independence. Proficient motor functioning is ....Facilitatory and inhibitory mechanisms during interlimb coordination in young and older adults. The project seeks to understand how people coordinate their limbs and the factors which limit and enhance this capacity. This is of critical importance because coordination is a dominant deficit in aging and in patients suffering brain insult and neurodegenerative diseases. Disruption of this capacity compromises individual work productivity, mobility and independence. Proficient motor functioning is an important lifestyle factor as humans age and deficits in coordinated muscle activity will increase the risk of falls which are the leading cause of injury in elderly adults. Identification of changes in brain processes involved in interlimb coordination will allow for the development of strategies to improve motor functions in the aged.Read moreRead less
Interlimb coordination dynamics in stroke. Everyday we use our limbs in a coordinated manner. However, for a person who has suffered a stroke resulting in weakness on one side of the body even the simplest interlimb coordination tasks are difficult to perform. This project will examine interlimb coordination in persons who have suffered a stroke and explore whether the coupling between limbs can be exploited to promote fuctional recovery of an impaired limb. In particular, the research seeks to ....Interlimb coordination dynamics in stroke. Everyday we use our limbs in a coordinated manner. However, for a person who has suffered a stroke resulting in weakness on one side of the body even the simplest interlimb coordination tasks are difficult to perform. This project will examine interlimb coordination in persons who have suffered a stroke and explore whether the coupling between limbs can be exploited to promote fuctional recovery of an impaired limb. In particular, the research seeks to identify the critical components underlying the effectiveness of an intervention involving the pratice of actions bilaterally and simultaneously.Read moreRead less
Beyond Extinction: Reconstructing the Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) Archive. This project aims to tell a global story about extinction as a human problem, by reconstructing the individual biographies of a selection of thylacine (Tasmanian tiger) specimens. Through transforming these specimens into grieveable lives the project expects to facilitate scholarly and public engagement with the cultural history of extinction, advancing the foundation for a sustainable and informed response that may help ....Beyond Extinction: Reconstructing the Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) Archive. This project aims to tell a global story about extinction as a human problem, by reconstructing the individual biographies of a selection of thylacine (Tasmanian tiger) specimens. Through transforming these specimens into grieveable lives the project expects to facilitate scholarly and public engagement with the cultural history of extinction, advancing the foundation for a sustainable and informed response that may help prevent further extinctions. In bringing together the zoo and the museum as key sites for the development of public environmental sentiment, this project has the potential to generate new and globally-relevant resources for engaging with conservation and extinction, through these institutions and beyond.Read moreRead less