Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101053
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$450,556.00
Summary
Influence of parent and educator feeding practices on child self-regulation. This project aims to be the first study to investigate whether children who experience consistent and responsive feeding practices both at home and in early childhood education and care have higher levels of self-regulation, optimal eating behaviour and diet quality. The project expects to develop simple and low-cost strategies that parents and educators can use at mealtimes to enhance child self-regulation. With one mi ....Influence of parent and educator feeding practices on child self-regulation. This project aims to be the first study to investigate whether children who experience consistent and responsive feeding practices both at home and in early childhood education and care have higher levels of self-regulation, optimal eating behaviour and diet quality. The project expects to develop simple and low-cost strategies that parents and educators can use at mealtimes to enhance child self-regulation. With one million Australian children in care during their parent’s working week, outcomes of this project have widespread benefits. Higher self-regulation improves a child's health and well-being and provides short- and long-term social and economic benefits including school readiness, academic achievement and workforce participation.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101791
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$401,567.00
Summary
Influence of the food environment near schools on children's food intake. Bridging the disciplines of nutrition, public health, geography and urban planning, this unique and innovative project strives to be the first in Australia to: (i) longitudinally map, measure and monitor the food environment near schools; and (ii) comprehensively investigate how the proximity of healthy and unhealthy food outlets near schools impacts on children’s eating behaviours. The findings will be used to develop a s ....Influence of the food environment near schools on children's food intake. Bridging the disciplines of nutrition, public health, geography and urban planning, this unique and innovative project strives to be the first in Australia to: (i) longitudinally map, measure and monitor the food environment near schools; and (ii) comprehensively investigate how the proximity of healthy and unhealthy food outlets near schools impacts on children’s eating behaviours. The findings will be used to develop a set of policy and practice recommendations for key stakeholders (e.g., school staff, students, parents, community members, retailers, planners and government) to help create equitable and health-promoting food environments near schools.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100635
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$448,801.00
Summary
Understanding the development of lifestyle behaviours in early childhood. This project adopts novel statistical modelling and machine learning approaches to understand the development of lifestyle behaviours in early childhood. Despite the pivotal role of lifestyle behaviours in influencing health and quality of life, little research exists on lifestyle behaviours in early childhood. This project will establish a comprehensive understanding of lifestyle behaviours in early childhood by identifyi ....Understanding the development of lifestyle behaviours in early childhood. This project adopts novel statistical modelling and machine learning approaches to understand the development of lifestyle behaviours in early childhood. Despite the pivotal role of lifestyle behaviours in influencing health and quality of life, little research exists on lifestyle behaviours in early childhood. This project will establish a comprehensive understanding of lifestyle behaviours in early childhood by identifying key developmental time points, mechanisms of behavioural change, and children at risk of developing poor lifestyle behaviours. The project will inform strategies and policies to optimise lifestyle behaviours from the start of life and showcase the capabilities of novel methods in advancing behavioural epidemiology.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100051
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$337,000.00
Summary
Unhealthy food marketing to children. This project aims to quantify children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing online and identify how online and TV food marketing influences food consumption and may affect death and disease. Reducing children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing is a global health priority. Online marketing is relatively unregulated and unstudied, but provides unprecedented opportunities for marketers to target children. Food marketing exposure leads to a hypothesised ca ....Unhealthy food marketing to children. This project aims to quantify children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing online and identify how online and TV food marketing influences food consumption and may affect death and disease. Reducing children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing is a global health priority. Online marketing is relatively unregulated and unstudied, but provides unprecedented opportunities for marketers to target children. Food marketing exposure leads to a hypothesised cascade of effects, including brand awareness, affect, and behaviour. This project will provide quantifiable data on online food marketing and will lead to a standard protocol for global monitoring.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100751
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$379,506.00
Summary
How health shapes young children’s academic outcomes, and opportunities to intervene. Every year, about 280,000 Australian children make the crucial transition from preschool to formal education. Within this population, there is a wide range of learning capabilities and levels of preparedness. Children who have difficulties during the early years have greater risk of poorer academic and social outcomes. This project aims to determine how children's academic outcomes are shaped by common physical ....How health shapes young children’s academic outcomes, and opportunities to intervene. Every year, about 280,000 Australian children make the crucial transition from preschool to formal education. Within this population, there is a wide range of learning capabilities and levels of preparedness. Children who have difficulties during the early years have greater risk of poorer academic and social outcomes. This project aims to determine how children's academic outcomes are shaped by common physical health problems during the early years of school and how best to address these problems within the traditional school setting. This will inform future research as to the opportunities to help all children have the best opportunity to learn so they can reach their academic potential.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190101364
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$422,460.00
Summary
Securing future supplies of chicken-meat protein. This project aims to generate advanced knowledge in amino acid metabolism in poultry in order to reduce soybean inclusion in broiler diets. Chicken-meat is the dominant animal protein source in human diets in Australia. However, Australia chicken-meat industry will need to increase production by more than 40 per cent to meet population growth by 2050. Soybean meal is the major protein source in poultry diets but the sustainability of increased so ....Securing future supplies of chicken-meat protein. This project aims to generate advanced knowledge in amino acid metabolism in poultry in order to reduce soybean inclusion in broiler diets. Chicken-meat is the dominant animal protein source in human diets in Australia. However, Australia chicken-meat industry will need to increase production by more than 40 per cent to meet population growth by 2050. Soybean meal is the major protein source in poultry diets but the sustainability of increased soy production is problematic. The expected outcomes of this project will be an increase in our future capacity to produce affordable, healthy chicken-meat with humane animal welfare by novel dietary formulations. Chicken-meat production generates less greenhouse gases than its competitors but this project will contribute to the reduction of harmful environmental outputs and ensure food security for Australia.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100687
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$463,976.00
Summary
Child sleep development in the context of family work lives. Sleep in early childhood is the single most critical activity for healthy brain development. Yet, a third of young children are identified by their parents as having a sleep problem. This study aims to test the hypothesis that social mechanisms underpin developing sleep patterns and problems. The study examines the change in sleep patterns as children enter non-parental care and the daily and weekly regularity of sleep as they transiti ....Child sleep development in the context of family work lives. Sleep in early childhood is the single most critical activity for healthy brain development. Yet, a third of young children are identified by their parents as having a sleep problem. This study aims to test the hypothesis that social mechanisms underpin developing sleep patterns and problems. The study examines the change in sleep patterns as children enter non-parental care and the daily and weekly regularity of sleep as they transition between home and their diverse care arrangements. Discovery of the ways family work lives influence child sleep presents the potential to offer new solutions to support healthy sleep development and avert sleep problems. The benefits are for caregivers, family well-being, and children’s development.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100616
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$411,500.00
Summary
Sustained innovations to promote healthier food in the retail environment. This project aims to provide empirical evidence to drive sustained retailer change in favour of healthier food offerings. Australian food environments drive unhealthy diets and are a major cause of social, productivity and wellbeing loss. Using implementation science methods applied to rigorous real-world trials and policy collaborations, the project will test the effectiveness of innovative methods for sustaining organis ....Sustained innovations to promote healthier food in the retail environment. This project aims to provide empirical evidence to drive sustained retailer change in favour of healthier food offerings. Australian food environments drive unhealthy diets and are a major cause of social, productivity and wellbeing loss. Using implementation science methods applied to rigorous real-world trials and policy collaborations, the project will test the effectiveness of innovative methods for sustaining organisational change across a range of retail settings. Outcomes would deliver significant benefits by enabling retailers, governments, and public health advocates nationally and internationally to make the lasting changes to retail environments needed to improve productivity and population wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170101132
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,000.00
Summary
How social relationships improve sheep productivity. This project aims to determine how the social network structure of a flock and different individuals’ experience and leadership abilities improve a population’s well-being and productivity (wool clip and lambing rates). This project will use social network theory and collective behaviour in animals to manage sheep in Australia’s arid rangelands, which are important for the pastoral industry, but where ecological challenges reduce livestock pro ....How social relationships improve sheep productivity. This project aims to determine how the social network structure of a flock and different individuals’ experience and leadership abilities improve a population’s well-being and productivity (wool clip and lambing rates). This project will use social network theory and collective behaviour in animals to manage sheep in Australia’s arid rangelands, which are important for the pastoral industry, but where ecological challenges reduce livestock productivity. An expected outcome is management guidelines for the sheep industry to improve wool and meat production.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180101613
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$319,996.00
Summary
Creating The Australian environmental quality index for children. This project aims to provide new evidence on trajectories of child development and wellbeing. The project’s analysis will link national cohort data with area-level attributes describing physical, built and social environments and explore effects on children’s physical, cognitive, social and emotional development, and overall wellbeing. The project findings will be used to create a new spatial index, area typology and interactive m ....Creating The Australian environmental quality index for children. This project aims to provide new evidence on trajectories of child development and wellbeing. The project’s analysis will link national cohort data with area-level attributes describing physical, built and social environments and explore effects on children’s physical, cognitive, social and emotional development, and overall wellbeing. The project findings will be used to create a new spatial index, area typology and interactive map for understanding spatial aspects of child development and wellbeing. It is anticipated that these outputs will be useful for supporting targeted resource allocations and interventions.Read moreRead less