Developing and evaluating a theoretically grounded novice driver education program incorporating simulators. Australian young drivers are 13 per cent of the population but account for nearly a quarter of road deaths. This project aims to develop a research informed, theory-driven education intervention that includes a simulator component to improve their driving skills and attitudes. A process and outcome evaluation aims to assess the effectiveness of the training including the impact on how ind ....Developing and evaluating a theoretically grounded novice driver education program incorporating simulators. Australian young drivers are 13 per cent of the population but account for nearly a quarter of road deaths. This project aims to develop a research informed, theory-driven education intervention that includes a simulator component to improve their driving skills and attitudes. A process and outcome evaluation aims to assess the effectiveness of the training including the impact on how individuals learn to drive, changes in skill and attitudes as well as the influence on crashes and offences. It is intended that a second parallel study will adapt the intervention for Indigenous Australians and examine the effectiveness of this adaptation.Read moreRead less
Designing work roles for crew operating multiple unmanned aircraft. The aim of this project is to identify how work roles should be designed for crew operating multiple Unmanned Aircraft (UA). Industry expects that the introduction of higher levels of automation in next-generation UA systems will reduce the operational costs associated with UA by enabling human crews to simultaneously manage multiple aircraft. The current project examines the safety and effectiveness of different types of work d ....Designing work roles for crew operating multiple unmanned aircraft. The aim of this project is to identify how work roles should be designed for crew operating multiple Unmanned Aircraft (UA). Industry expects that the introduction of higher levels of automation in next-generation UA systems will reduce the operational costs associated with UA by enabling human crews to simultaneously manage multiple aircraft. The current project examines the safety and effectiveness of different types of work designs for these systems. The primary outcome will be a set of recommendations regarding the design of work roles for the crew of next-generation UA systems. Expected benefits include improvements in safety and cost-effectiveness of next-generation UA systems.Read moreRead less
A community based social identity approach to loneliness. Loneliness across Australia is a deep concern. Social prescribing is a novel community-based approach to managing loneliness, however it is unclear when and in what circumstances it is effective. This project aims to test a social identity approach to loneliness, incorporating longitudinal, cross-sectional, and experimental methods to understand how best to engage isolated people in group programs. The expected benefits of this project ar ....A community based social identity approach to loneliness. Loneliness across Australia is a deep concern. Social prescribing is a novel community-based approach to managing loneliness, however it is unclear when and in what circumstances it is effective. This project aims to test a social identity approach to loneliness, incorporating longitudinal, cross-sectional, and experimental methods to understand how best to engage isolated people in group programs. The expected benefits of this project are to produce a validated social prescribing model that can be implemented in multiple settings across Australia in order to reduce loneliness, strengthen communities, and guide more appropriate uses of health services.Read moreRead less
How, What and Who in Human Communication: Movement of Face and Voice. The aim of this project is to identify the essential characteristics of tone, affect, and identity from face and voice using a combination of signal processing, biological, and behavioural techniques in order to develop a comprehensive model of auditory-visual speech processing and communication. This research will significantly improve understanding of the basis of auditory-visual perception and production in tonal languages ....How, What and Who in Human Communication: Movement of Face and Voice. The aim of this project is to identify the essential characteristics of tone, affect, and identity from face and voice using a combination of signal processing, biological, and behavioural techniques in order to develop a comprehensive model of auditory-visual speech processing and communication. This research will significantly improve understanding of the basis of auditory-visual perception and production in tonal languages and in affective communication, facilitate links between neurophysiological processes and auditory-visual speech processing; and contribute to applications in automatic person recognition, automatic speech recognition, text-to-speech systems, and talking head aids for the hearing impaired.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354596
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,000.00
Summary
Perception and Action in Auditory Scenes (PAAS): Neural, Behavioural, Computational and Mechanical Systems. Auditory scenes are temporal and ephemeral yet pervasively influence human life. How humans negotiate such scenes has not been solved, a fact highlighted by attempts to build machines to respond to speech, warnings etc., in real-world situations with room reverberation, different talkers, and background noise. No one discipline can solve such problems. In this network outstanding researche ....Perception and Action in Auditory Scenes (PAAS): Neural, Behavioural, Computational and Mechanical Systems. Auditory scenes are temporal and ephemeral yet pervasively influence human life. How humans negotiate such scenes has not been solved, a fact highlighted by attempts to build machines to respond to speech, warnings etc., in real-world situations with room reverberation, different talkers, and background noise. No one discipline can solve such problems. In this network outstanding researchers from physical, medical, human, and social sciences with interests in speech, music and audition will provide insights into how humans and machines localize, recognize, interpret and produce auditory events, and advance frontier technologies, e.g., automatic speech recognition, hearing prostheses, auditory monitoring/warning systems.Read moreRead less
Filters reveal what flicker conceals: temporal processing in the human visual system. I have recently discovered a new form of camouflage using 10Hz luminance flicker. This project will quantify this effect and examine the extent to which it generalises across colour and spatial dimensions and to video sequences depicting natural scenes. This information is expected to provide foundational information to technologies relating to national security that rely on visual concealment. This research wi ....Filters reveal what flicker conceals: temporal processing in the human visual system. I have recently discovered a new form of camouflage using 10Hz luminance flicker. This project will quantify this effect and examine the extent to which it generalises across colour and spatial dimensions and to video sequences depicting natural scenes. This information is expected to provide foundational information to technologies relating to national security that rely on visual concealment. This research will examine the extent to which filtering out these camouflaging frequencies enhances our sensitivity to low temporal frequency information. This decamouflaging aspect of my research is expected to improve the clarity of digital video-based technologies including ultrasound, educational, info-tainment and defence applicationsRead moreRead less
Ageing well in a foreign land. Ageing well in a foreign land. This project aims to enhance well-being among people ageing in a foreign land, by understanding the best approaches to connect them. Older people from diverse cultural backgrounds are socially isolated as they age in a foreign land. This project will use a mixed methods approach to identify the factors that contribute to social isolation and low well-being; understand when and how engagement in ethnocultural and multicultural activiti ....Ageing well in a foreign land. Ageing well in a foreign land. This project aims to enhance well-being among people ageing in a foreign land, by understanding the best approaches to connect them. Older people from diverse cultural backgrounds are socially isolated as they age in a foreign land. This project will use a mixed methods approach to identify the factors that contribute to social isolation and low well-being; understand when and how engagement in ethnocultural and multicultural activities enhances social connectedness and well-being; and evaluate and determine key principles underlying effective identity-based interventions. The intended outcome of the project is a new policy model that builds Australia’s care capacity in tandem with its diverse ageing population.Read moreRead less
Reading facial expressions from real and virtual humans. This project aims to advance understanding of human emotional communication and improve human rapport with the virtual humans and avatars that are rapidly infiltrating our social world. Using two unique stimulus sets - naturalistic human expressions and highly realistic virtual faces - together with powerful genetic, experimental, and individual differences designs, the project expects to answer previously intractable questions in emotion ....Reading facial expressions from real and virtual humans. This project aims to advance understanding of human emotional communication and improve human rapport with the virtual humans and avatars that are rapidly infiltrating our social world. Using two unique stimulus sets - naturalistic human expressions and highly realistic virtual faces - together with powerful genetic, experimental, and individual differences designs, the project expects to answer previously intractable questions in emotion science, as well as deliver tangible outcomes, such as new psychological tests to better understand human social connection. This should provide significant benefits, by improving emotion communication and offering a new perspective on how artificial intelligence can best serve human social needs.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101107
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$412,744.00
Summary
Ahead of the Game: Balancing the Gaming Industry and Public Interest. This project battles the risks and embraces the benefits of digital gaming. There is a risk that one loses control of their gaming and prioritises it over other duties. This is offset by the benefits of using digital games for health. It is the first to decode and use the health data embedded in the connection between the gamer and their game persona (avatar). It does this by concurrently assessing important gamer, family, cul ....Ahead of the Game: Balancing the Gaming Industry and Public Interest. This project battles the risks and embraces the benefits of digital gaming. There is a risk that one loses control of their gaming and prioritises it over other duties. This is offset by the benefits of using digital games for health. It is the first to decode and use the health data embedded in the connection between the gamer and their game persona (avatar). It does this by concurrently assessing important gamer, family, cultural and game structure features. Findings will prompt the ethical growth of the Australian Health games industry and inform strategies to combat gaming disorder by tailoring games to users' needs. This will uniquely benefit Australians by re-directing this growing industry to better serve the public interest.Read moreRead less
Breaking the cycle of homelessness: an identity change approach to enhance resilience and well-being. This project will explore the factors that contribute to the development of well-being and resilience among those who are homeless. We focus on the importance of social connections in enhancing resilience, well-being and breaking the cycle of homelessness. Findings will inform best practice guidelines and policy in emergency accommodation centres.