Cognitive science: simulating the interactive evolution of human communication systems. We do not know how language first arose (the event left no trace), but it can be studied by simulating the circumstances under which new languages arise today. By having people play a game where they create new communication systems from scratch, this project will illuminate the origin of human language.
Evolution of Mind: The representational capacities of gibbons (H. syndactylus) and the common ancestor of humans and apes. This research is the first systematic investigation into the mental capacity of gibbons. These apes are one of our closest genetic relatives. Results of the research will inform human-animal comparisons and investigations into the evolution of the human mind. More appropriate enrichment measures for captive apes could be developed as a result. It is hoped that this work will ....Evolution of Mind: The representational capacities of gibbons (H. syndactylus) and the common ancestor of humans and apes. This research is the first systematic investigation into the mental capacity of gibbons. These apes are one of our closest genetic relatives. Results of the research will inform human-animal comparisons and investigations into the evolution of the human mind. More appropriate enrichment measures for captive apes could be developed as a result. It is hoped that this work will also lead to new collaborations with Indonesia, home of many gibbon species. The proposed research continues Australia's outstanding tradition of excellence in basic research. Read moreRead less
Next-gen accident prevention: a new theory and toolkit for safer systems. This project aims to address limitations associated with existing accident causation theory and methodologies. Accident prevention across high risk industries is constrained by limitations in accident theory and methodologies. As a result, reductions in injuries and fatalities in most domains are plateauing. The expected outputs of the project include a new theory of accident causation, a new proactive risk assessment meth ....Next-gen accident prevention: a new theory and toolkit for safer systems. This project aims to address limitations associated with existing accident causation theory and methodologies. Accident prevention across high risk industries is constrained by limitations in accident theory and methodologies. As a result, reductions in injuries and fatalities in most domains are plateauing. The expected outputs of the project include a new theory of accident causation, a new proactive risk assessment methodology and a new methodology for analysing accidents. This will provide organisations and researchers with a powerful framework for enhanced accident analysis and prevention activities. This will provide significant benefits, associated with reductions in accidents, injuries and fatalities.Read moreRead less
Is it better to remember with others or to remember alone, especially as we age? This project aims to investigate if remembering with a long-term partner, recalling daily tasks, or reminiscing about their shared past, benefits memory in younger and older adults. This project will identify the strategies that spouses use to help each other remember and minimise memory loss, especially as they age and their memories start to fail.
Evolution and development of a lateralised brain: A behavioural ecology perspective. Little research on fish behavioural ecology is conducted in Australia despite our imperilled, unique aquatic ecosystems. Studies examining cerebral lateralisation using our native species as model organisms will help determine how animals classify and process information, providing a novel method of examining how native fishes respond to invasive predators and competitors. Increased understanding of lateralised ....Evolution and development of a lateralised brain: A behavioural ecology perspective. Little research on fish behavioural ecology is conducted in Australia despite our imperilled, unique aquatic ecosystems. Studies examining cerebral lateralisation using our native species as model organisms will help determine how animals classify and process information, providing a novel method of examining how native fishes respond to invasive predators and competitors. Increased understanding of lateralised cognitive function will shed light on its selective advantage as a fundamental aspect of brain function in all animals including humans. This multidisciplinary proposal will facilitate international collaborations, see the return of a home-grown scientist and ensure that Australia remains a world leader in scientific research.Read moreRead less
Making words stick: Lexical consolidation effects in learning to read. To become skilled readers, children need to move from sounding words out to recognising them rapidly via access to rich, long-term memory representations. Little is known about how this transition is achieved, and why some children have difficulty. This project aims to address these questions in a set of learning studies with typically-developing and reading-impaired children, focussing particularly on the long-term consolida ....Making words stick: Lexical consolidation effects in learning to read. To become skilled readers, children need to move from sounding words out to recognising them rapidly via access to rich, long-term memory representations. Little is known about how this transition is achieved, and why some children have difficulty. This project aims to address these questions in a set of learning studies with typically-developing and reading-impaired children, focussing particularly on the long-term consolidation of word representations. The project will explore the role of sleep in promoting the consolidation process, in both children and adults. The findings are expected to directly inform theory and practice in reading acquisition and enhance the treatment of reading difficulties.Read moreRead less
Interruptions, work coordination, and resilience. Evidence is emerging of an association between the number of workplace interruptions that hospital clinicians experience and outcomes such as clinical errors that could cause patient harm. However there is still no direct evidence that interruptions cause clinical errors. This project seeks such evidence, but also views interruptions as an integral part of normal work coordination. This project investigates the origin and need for interruptions, ....Interruptions, work coordination, and resilience. Evidence is emerging of an association between the number of workplace interruptions that hospital clinicians experience and outcomes such as clinical errors that could cause patient harm. However there is still no direct evidence that interruptions cause clinical errors. This project seeks such evidence, but also views interruptions as an integral part of normal work coordination. This project investigates the origin and need for interruptions, tests causal connections between interruptions and errors, and explores workplace improvements as a means to handle concerns about interruptions. This research will provide a solid basis from which clinical leaders can formulate policy about distractions and interruptions in the healthcare workplace. Read moreRead less
The prediction of sleep/wake behaviour based on physiological and social factors. The prevalence of shiftwork has increased in Australia over the last few decades. Shiftworkers obtain less sleep, have greater difficulty maintaining good relationships, have poorer health, and are more likely to be injured at work than others. Using the largest dataset of its kind, we will substantially contribute to understanding the relationships between work hours, sleep, performance and safety. Ultimately, the ....The prediction of sleep/wake behaviour based on physiological and social factors. The prevalence of shiftwork has increased in Australia over the last few decades. Shiftworkers obtain less sleep, have greater difficulty maintaining good relationships, have poorer health, and are more likely to be injured at work than others. Using the largest dataset of its kind, we will substantially contribute to understanding the relationships between work hours, sleep, performance and safety. Ultimately, the project will answer a question critical to workplace safety - how much time off between shifts is needed to be alert and safe at work? The project will also produce tools to help industry design fatigue-friendly rosters, improving the safety, productivity and general well-being of shiftworkers in Australia and overseas.Read moreRead less
An innovative theory driven approach to enhancing situation awareness among road users in Australia. This project will develop, via on-road studies exploring road user behaviour, a first of its kind systems theoretic model of situation awareness (SA) for road transport. The model will then be used to inform the development of roadway design solutions to enhance road user SA, which will be tested through advanced simulation.
Investigation of recognition memory in behavioural, electrophysiological, and functional neuro-imaging domains using state-trace analysis. This project utilises a novel methodology to investigate human recognition memory across three separate domains - behavioural, electrophysiological and functional neuro-imaging. The aim is to determine how these three aspects of memory are related and if they can be united by a single theory.