A longitudinal study of language learning to assess early intervention outcomes in pre-school children with impaired hearing. Overseas research suggests that young children with impaired hearing and normal non-verbal cognition can develop normal language if hearing aid fitting and intervention occur before 6 months of age. Australian studies show considerable language delays in most hearing-impaired children of primary-school age. We will study the spoken language learning of hearing-impaired ....A longitudinal study of language learning to assess early intervention outcomes in pre-school children with impaired hearing. Overseas research suggests that young children with impaired hearing and normal non-verbal cognition can develop normal language if hearing aid fitting and intervention occur before 6 months of age. Australian studies show considerable language delays in most hearing-impaired children of primary-school age. We will study the spoken language learning of hearing-impaired children up to age 6 years in Victoria. The project will investigate crucial factors in achieving normal language learning in hard-of-hearing children and the role of early intervention. Normal language outcomes would enhance the educational and career prospects of hearing-impaired children and result in community cost savings.
Read moreRead less
Captions for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired: Availability versus Accessibility. The availability of educational, informational and recreational services for deaf and hearing-impaired people has been dramatically facilitated by (i) increased television captioning due to the 2001 introduction of the Television Broadcasting Services Act; and (ii) trial introduction of real-time captioning in educational settings. These innovations must be matched by equally innovative ways of increasing the accessib ....Captions for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired: Availability versus Accessibility. The availability of educational, informational and recreational services for deaf and hearing-impaired people has been dramatically facilitated by (i) increased television captioning due to the 2001 introduction of the Television Broadcasting Services Act; and (ii) trial introduction of real-time captioning in educational settings. These innovations must be matched by equally innovative ways of increasing the accessibility of captions, which is currently limited by English literacy, caption speed, and caption reduction techniques. Here, systematic manipulation of these factors in experiments on television captioning with adults and educational captioning with children will determine how resources might best be directed to improving caption accessibility.Read moreRead less
Assessment and treatment software for developmental disabilities based on neuroscientific theories for information processing. Performance on tasks relating to fluency of reading, language and sensory motor integration is impaired to some degree in children with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and intellectual disability (ID). Thus our aim is to develop and test, to the point of commercial release, software for assessment of visual and auditory performance relating to social, language and literacy diff ....Assessment and treatment software for developmental disabilities based on neuroscientific theories for information processing. Performance on tasks relating to fluency of reading, language and sensory motor integration is impaired to some degree in children with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and intellectual disability (ID). Thus our aim is to develop and test, to the point of commercial release, software for assessment of visual and auditory performance relating to social, language and literacy difficulties for young children. Furthermore software which aims to train attention and improve speed of visual object recognition will be developed and if effective as a treatment to improve reading and social interactions in ID, will be released by Fildes Foundation as an easily accessible multi-media based home/school therapy.Read moreRead less
Optimal Training Methods for Lexical Tone Perception by Children with Cochlear Implants: Application of Experimental Psychology Techniques. Cochlear implants (CIs) stimulate the auditory nerve via electrodes in the cochlear to provide auditory information to people who would otherwise be functionally deaf. Cochlear site stimulation is at a constant rate so, despite the genius of the CI, it cannot convey pitch information effectively. Such information is essential for perceiving and speaking ton ....Optimal Training Methods for Lexical Tone Perception by Children with Cochlear Implants: Application of Experimental Psychology Techniques. Cochlear implants (CIs) stimulate the auditory nerve via electrodes in the cochlear to provide auditory information to people who would otherwise be functionally deaf. Cochlear site stimulation is at a constant rate so, despite the genius of the CI, it cannot convey pitch information effectively. Such information is essential for perceiving and speaking tone languages, in which word meaning depends on consonants, vowels, and tones (conveyed mainly by pitch). A training method to improve tone perception will be developed with non-tone language non-CI through to tone language CI children drawing on experimental psychology methods, auditory and visual (lip & face) speech information, exaggerated tone cues, and metalinguistic instruction.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
Psychological User Profiling in the Telecommunications Industry. Recording user behaviour allows businesses to learn about their customers. This is particularly important in telecommunications, since the core business involves a large number of users who vary considerably from one another. This project combines psychological insights with modern statistical methods to develop a psychologically plausible user profiling framework, accounting for the idiosyncratic usage patterns of customers, and t ....Psychological User Profiling in the Telecommunications Industry. Recording user behaviour allows businesses to learn about their customers. This is particularly important in telecommunications, since the core business involves a large number of users who vary considerably from one another. This project combines psychological insights with modern statistical methods to develop a psychologically plausible user profiling framework, accounting for the idiosyncratic usage patterns of customers, and the way in which they change over time. The profiles will be tied to marketing prospects through interviews and surveys. Applied benefits include the ability to predict, understand and act upon user behaviour. The project also adds substantially to theories of memory, individual differences and decision-making.Read moreRead less
An investigation of memory functioning of the prefrontal cortex. This project aims to investigate the role of the prefrontal cortex in human memory. While the medial temporal lobe has long been recognised as imperative for basic memory processes, the prefrontal cortex has only recently been recognised to mediate higher-level strategic memory processes. This project will clarify the memory functions of the dorsolateral, orbitofrontal, and medial prefrontal lobes by studying performance of individ ....An investigation of memory functioning of the prefrontal cortex. This project aims to investigate the role of the prefrontal cortex in human memory. While the medial temporal lobe has long been recognised as imperative for basic memory processes, the prefrontal cortex has only recently been recognised to mediate higher-level strategic memory processes. This project will clarify the memory functions of the dorsolateral, orbitofrontal, and medial prefrontal lobes by studying performance of individuals with damage in these areas using memory tests and tasks. Our findings will enhance understanding and theorising of the neural basis of memory and have implications for management and rehabilitation of memory impairments in brain injured individuals.Read moreRead less
Parents as Partners: Getting children off to a healthy start in literacy. Our nation is best served by children getting off to a healthy start in literacy. However, almost one in six children fails to do so. This group has reduced academic and vocational options, increased social, emotional and mental health problems, higher youth unemployment, and is significantly over-represented among offenders. The nation bears the costs of these problems through reduced productivity and expenditure on unemp ....Parents as Partners: Getting children off to a healthy start in literacy. Our nation is best served by children getting off to a healthy start in literacy. However, almost one in six children fails to do so. This group has reduced academic and vocational options, increased social, emotional and mental health problems, higher youth unemployment, and is significantly over-represented among offenders. The nation bears the costs of these problems through reduced productivity and expenditure on unemployment benefits, social programs, mental health services, and incarceration. This project targets both these sources of loss to the nation by utilising a hitherto untapped community resource: Training parents of preschoolers to develop critical pre-literacy skills in their children at home before they begin to fail. Read moreRead less
Training for Adaptability: The role of errors, exceptions and rules of thumb. This project involving collaboration among three fire services across two states and two universities aims to develop theoretical and evidenced-based error and exceptions training in the prediction of fire behaviour among novices and experts. The project will advance significantly our understanding of ways of adapting knowledge and updating and improving rules of thumb for complex decision-making. An innovative new cri ....Training for Adaptability: The role of errors, exceptions and rules of thumb. This project involving collaboration among three fire services across two states and two universities aims to develop theoretical and evidenced-based error and exceptions training in the prediction of fire behaviour among novices and experts. The project will advance significantly our understanding of ways of adapting knowledge and updating and improving rules of thumb for complex decision-making. An innovative new critical incident recording system will be developed that identifies the cognitive determinants of errors. Tightly controlled laboratory studies will be combined with field studies leading to improved theoretical understanding as well as practical outcomes for the fire services.Read moreRead less
Development of a computational model for the prediction of mental workload in air traffic control. The aim of the project is to develop a computational model that can measure the flow of traffic through an air sector, and predict the level of workload that an air traffic controller will experience, as well as the overall risk of breakdowns in separation between aircaft. The purpose is to develop a tool that can be used for the purposes of risk analysis and scenario planning. This is a multidisci ....Development of a computational model for the prediction of mental workload in air traffic control. The aim of the project is to develop a computational model that can measure the flow of traffic through an air sector, and predict the level of workload that an air traffic controller will experience, as well as the overall risk of breakdowns in separation between aircaft. The purpose is to develop a tool that can be used for the purposes of risk analysis and scenario planning. This is a multidisciplinary project, integrating recent models of human memory and reasoning, with formal methods for the analysis of human-computer systems. The project will advance our understanding of human memory and reasoning in complex real-world systems.Read moreRead less