Families and generational asset transfers: making and challenging wills in contemporary Australia. This project, in collaboration with Public Trust offices across Australia, will provide a national database on which sectors of the population fail to make wills and why. The results will inform innovative service models, law reform initiatives and public education campaigns.
A Behavioural Intervention For The Adoption & Maintenance Of Physical Activity In Type 2 Diabetes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$334,955.00
Summary
For people with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) it is essential that blood glucose levels are managed well to reduce the risk of developing complications. Physical activity is essential for maintaining glucose levels because it helps make the muscles use glucose more effectively. In particular, being active through strength training not only improves blood glucose levels, but can be very effective for maintaining good physical functioning, which is known to be reduced by having T2DM. This study builds on ....For people with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) it is essential that blood glucose levels are managed well to reduce the risk of developing complications. Physical activity is essential for maintaining glucose levels because it helps make the muscles use glucose more effectively. In particular, being active through strength training not only improves blood glucose levels, but can be very effective for maintaining good physical functioning, which is known to be reduced by having T2DM. This study builds on our earlier research which demonstrated significantly improved blood glucose levels from a strength training program for older adults with T2DM. The strength training program is to be administered nationally in a research to practice trial (Lift for Life); however, the original research found that those who did not complete the program as it was intended (ie, poor adherence) did not show significant improvements in blood glucose levels. Furthermore, maintenance of strength training exercises after completion of the program was poor and resulted in return of blood glucose levels back to pre-starting levels. In people without diabetes, we have collected pilot data that shows that the use of behavioural strategies based on behavioural theories whereby each person's motivations and barriers are taken into consideration is more effective than the traditional one-treatment-fits-all approach. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of using behavioural strategies for improving adherence and maintenance to the Lift for Life strength training program (Enhanced L4L) for older adults with T2DM compared with the Standard L4L program. It will also follow-up participants 6 months later to determine the extent to which the changes in behaviour can be maintained. The study will provide information that will assist in the design, delivery and uptake of programs to improve treatment strategies in older adults with T2DM through the maintenance of healthier behaviours and lifestyles.Read moreRead less
Integrating fire and predator management to conserve threatened species. This project aims to empower land managers to better conserve Australia’s threatened native animals by developing decision-support approaches that facilitate integrated management of threatening processes. The project will use a combination of novel predictive models, field experiments and data syntheses to assist land managers to better conserve Australia’s threatened native fauna. This project will benefit biodiversity co ....Integrating fire and predator management to conserve threatened species. This project aims to empower land managers to better conserve Australia’s threatened native animals by developing decision-support approaches that facilitate integrated management of threatening processes. The project will use a combination of novel predictive models, field experiments and data syntheses to assist land managers to better conserve Australia’s threatened native fauna. This project will benefit biodiversity conservation by enabling more effective allocation of limited conservation resources.Read moreRead less
Arresting declines of arboreal mammals in the tropical savannas. This project aims to evaluate the hypothesis that arboreal species are limited by the abundance of tree hollows, and that historical increases in the frequency of intense fires may be reducing hollow abundance. Northern Australia’s mammals are in severe decline, and arboreal species are among those that have fared worst. There is abundant anecdotal evidence that a decline in hollow abundance is the cause. Working with the Western A ....Arresting declines of arboreal mammals in the tropical savannas. This project aims to evaluate the hypothesis that arboreal species are limited by the abundance of tree hollows, and that historical increases in the frequency of intense fires may be reducing hollow abundance. Northern Australia’s mammals are in severe decline, and arboreal species are among those that have fared worst. There is abundant anecdotal evidence that a decline in hollow abundance is the cause. Working with the Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife in the Kimberley, the last region on the Australian mainland with an intact mammal fauna, the project aims to explore management options for increasing the availability of hollow denning sites for arboreal mammals (e.g. fire management, artificial nest boxes), and evaluate the likely impact of such actions on mammal populations across northern Australia.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures. ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures. The ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures aims to transform and improve the life chances of Indigenous Australians by utilising Indigenous knowledges in unique trans-disciplinary cross-sector designed research to enhance our understanding about the complex nature of Indigenous intergenerational inequity. The Centre expects to generate new knowledge to enable evidence-based policy formulati ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures. ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures. The ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures aims to transform and improve the life chances of Indigenous Australians by utilising Indigenous knowledges in unique trans-disciplinary cross-sector designed research to enhance our understanding about the complex nature of Indigenous intergenerational inequity. The Centre expects to generate new knowledge to enable evidence-based policy formulation and implementation including best practice models. The Centre will be entirely led by Indigenous researchers working with communities, government agencies and practitioners to strengthen the delivery of outcomes and linkages intentionally focused on all four of the National Agreement Close The Gap -2020’s Priority Reform areas.Read moreRead less
Creating fauna-friendly cities and towns - The ecology and conservation of insectivorous bats in Melbourne. Urbanisation is a principal threat to the conservation of biodiversity worldwide. Information on the response of plants and animals to an increasingly urbanized world is essential to prevent the loss of natural assets, ensure environmental sustainability and promote human health and well-being. This research will combine extensive field surveys with state-of-the art modeling to identify th ....Creating fauna-friendly cities and towns - The ecology and conservation of insectivorous bats in Melbourne. Urbanisation is a principal threat to the conservation of biodiversity worldwide. Information on the response of plants and animals to an increasingly urbanized world is essential to prevent the loss of natural assets, ensure environmental sustainability and promote human health and well-being. This research will combine extensive field surveys with state-of-the art modeling to identify their ecological requirements. Importantly, the research will engage with local councils, park managers and community organizations to educate the wider community and ensure research outcomes are adopted. The study design will ensure that the findings are applicable to other urban areas across Australia and around the world. Read moreRead less
Movement ecology of granivores: informing fire management of savannas. This project aims to examine the decline in granivorous finches across north Australia and test the hypothesis that an increasingly nomadic lifestyle, associated with tracking grass seed availability over larger spatial scales, is the cause. The project also aims to evaluate how fire affects rangeland functioning, particularly grass diversity, to improve fire management of tropical savannas in northern Australia. This project ....Movement ecology of granivores: informing fire management of savannas. This project aims to examine the decline in granivorous finches across north Australia and test the hypothesis that an increasingly nomadic lifestyle, associated with tracking grass seed availability over larger spatial scales, is the cause. The project also aims to evaluate how fire affects rangeland functioning, particularly grass diversity, to improve fire management of tropical savannas in northern Australia. This project will provide new tools and technologies that will monitor mobile small vertebrates. Expected outcomes will improve the understanding of tropical savanna functioning and fire management. The research aligns with ‘savanna burning’ methodologies and carbon sequestration goals in north Australia.
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Aboriginal patch burning and the quest for sustainable fire management. This project aims to document historical changes in the spatial grain of the patch burning mosaic in an Arnhem Land savannah with an unbroken history of management by Aboriginal people, and in adjacent areas where traditional management has ceased. The mosaic's spatial grain will be inferred by mapping the individual ages of the long-lived conifer Callitris intratropica. Prior research has shown that Callitris individuals c ....Aboriginal patch burning and the quest for sustainable fire management. This project aims to document historical changes in the spatial grain of the patch burning mosaic in an Arnhem Land savannah with an unbroken history of management by Aboriginal people, and in adjacent areas where traditional management has ceased. The mosaic's spatial grain will be inferred by mapping the individual ages of the long-lived conifer Callitris intratropica. Prior research has shown that Callitris individuals can be reliably aged, and population structures are very sensitive to fire regimes: saplings only establish if unburnt for 10 years. This research is expected to provide the first direct test of the hypothesis that Aboriginal people maintained fine-grained fire mosaics in savannas, and inform bushfire policy debates.Read moreRead less
Achieving true representation of Indigenous people in nursing and midwifery. This project aims to address an absence of true representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and knowledges in nursing and midwifery. Significantly it intends to co-create an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurse and midwife theory and principles for practice. An anticipated goal of the research is to better understand how the theory and practice can be implemented in nurse and midwifery educati ....Achieving true representation of Indigenous people in nursing and midwifery. This project aims to address an absence of true representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and knowledges in nursing and midwifery. Significantly it intends to co-create an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurse and midwife theory and principles for practice. An anticipated goal of the research is to better understand how the theory and practice can be implemented in nurse and midwifery education (inclusive of clinical settings) in regional and urban areas. The intended outcome is to provide improved cultural safety in nursing and midwifery, greater cultural safety for health consumers and; stronger recruitment and retention of Indigenous nurses and midwives.
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Investigating social, built and physical environment factors for remote Indigenous communities, and their relationships with cardiometabolic outcomes. This study with 74 remote Indigenous communities will be the first to evaluate features of their social, built and physical environments in relation to cardiometabolic risks and diseases. Policy-relevant results will identify features of environments to be targeted to assist reducing chronic diseases for Indigenous peoples in remote communities.