Enhancing moral care and quality of life in people with dementia. This research explores largely unknown quality of life experiences of persons living with dementia in residential aged care, and therefore factors that may promote well being, longevity, meaning, family and social coherence. The research will result in new knowledge for a model of care that is truly person-centred and will inform health, ageing and education policy, as well as an enlarged and clearer role function for caregivers. ....Enhancing moral care and quality of life in people with dementia. This research explores largely unknown quality of life experiences of persons living with dementia in residential aged care, and therefore factors that may promote well being, longevity, meaning, family and social coherence. The research will result in new knowledge for a model of care that is truly person-centred and will inform health, ageing and education policy, as well as an enlarged and clearer role function for caregivers. The solution focused model of dementia care is likely to also have positive effects on staff satisfaction and result in improved recruitment and retention. Read moreRead less
The contribution of project leader behaviours to processes and outcomes in large scale projects. In Australia and worldwide, large-scale projects often fail to meet quality, time or budget goals resulting in outcome dissatisfaction, and large time and cost project overruns. This project focuses on achieving better project processes and leadership practice, especially in large-scale, complicated projects, in order to improve project success (as viewed by multiple stakeholders) and the performance ....The contribution of project leader behaviours to processes and outcomes in large scale projects. In Australia and worldwide, large-scale projects often fail to meet quality, time or budget goals resulting in outcome dissatisfaction, and large time and cost project overruns. This project focuses on achieving better project processes and leadership practice, especially in large-scale, complicated projects, in order to improve project success (as viewed by multiple stakeholders) and the performance, health and wellbeing of staff. We focus on Australian defence acquisition projects in order to test our theoretical model. This project will provide a major contribution to Australian defence capability by identifying how project leaders can improve project operations and deliver successful innovative acquisition products on time and budget.Read moreRead less
The high cost of financial insecurity: exploring the role of the 'fringe economy' in the lives of low-income Australians. The national benefit from this research has a number of dimensions. The first is to draw the community's attention to the high costs and charges associated with fringe lenders in Australia and the economic and social consequences of accessing these services. The second benefit relates to establishing what sorts of financial products and regulatory measures would offer low-inc ....The high cost of financial insecurity: exploring the role of the 'fringe economy' in the lives of low-income Australians. The national benefit from this research has a number of dimensions. The first is to draw the community's attention to the high costs and charges associated with fringe lenders in Australia and the economic and social consequences of accessing these services. The second benefit relates to establishing what sorts of financial products and regulatory measures would offer low-income Australians a better outcome. A number of states in Australia have recently introduced legislation to limit the interest rates charged by pay-day lenders. The study is very timely in that it offers an opportunity to monitor the impact of these new regulatory measures and consider opportunities for further reform.Read moreRead less
Enhancing volunteer capacity to maximise the volunteer resources for contextually diverse community organisations. The study aims to maximise the volunteer resources available to community organisations through the development of a flexible organisational volunteer model that enhances each volunteer's capacity, particularly at key points of their engagement.Individual volunteer capacities will be analysed using a multidimensional measure validated with different volunteer samples across diverse ....Enhancing volunteer capacity to maximise the volunteer resources for contextually diverse community organisations. The study aims to maximise the volunteer resources available to community organisations through the development of a flexible organisational volunteer model that enhances each volunteer's capacity, particularly at key points of their engagement.Individual volunteer capacities will be analysed using a multidimensional measure validated with different volunteer samples across diverse organisations and social contexts. The model will help community organisations determine the self-efficacy of volunteers; enhance individual and collective volunteer capacity;identify new volunteer pathways responsive to the lifestyles and social and economic circumstances of volunteers;and create a more capable and responsive pool of volunteers.Read moreRead less
Enhancing services to Australian children and families: linking workforce characteristics, job quality, and quality and outcomes in social services. This project aims to promote best practice in child and family welfare services, and to improve the industrial and social recognition of child and family welfare work in Australia. The CIs will construct an analytical framework for explaining the links between the nature and deployment of the child and family services workforce, service delivery sys ....Enhancing services to Australian children and families: linking workforce characteristics, job quality, and quality and outcomes in social services. This project aims to promote best practice in child and family welfare services, and to improve the industrial and social recognition of child and family welfare work in Australia. The CIs will construct an analytical framework for explaining the links between the nature and deployment of the child and family services workforce, service delivery systems and outcomes, and social policy regimes, with wider application to other personal social services. Judicious use of international comparison will assist identification of best practice. The project will inform policy and research in social service provision to vulnerable families, and the aged and disabled.Read moreRead less
Investigating the Impact of Work Design on Productive Wellbeing in Mercy Health: The Modernising Third Sector. Around the world the Third Sector (TS) of the economy is coming under pressure to modernise their management. The typical approaches to modern management being imposed overseas may not be appropriate for TS organisations and therefore they need to be critically examined, especially for their impact on employees. In Australia the TS is a large (approx. $15billion), yet low-profile set of ....Investigating the Impact of Work Design on Productive Wellbeing in Mercy Health: The Modernising Third Sector. Around the world the Third Sector (TS) of the economy is coming under pressure to modernise their management. The typical approaches to modern management being imposed overseas may not be appropriate for TS organisations and therefore they need to be critically examined, especially for their impact on employees. In Australia the TS is a large (approx. $15billion), yet low-profile set of organisations, of which the health industry is central. This project will investigate the issues that make workplaces in a TS health organisation a healthier and more productive place to work. The results could directly help improve workplaces covering more than 150,000 employees.Read moreRead less
Developing an Integrative Active Ageing Model for Policy Makers and Service Providers to Support Older People with Lifelong Intellectual Disability. 'Active ageing' is increasingly gaining international currency and it underpins Australia's national focus on healthy ageing. However, its meaning for older people with intellectual disability, who represent about 0.13% of Australia's older population, is unclear, as little is known about the impact of ageing upon this group. This exciting resear ....Developing an Integrative Active Ageing Model for Policy Makers and Service Providers to Support Older People with Lifelong Intellectual Disability. 'Active ageing' is increasingly gaining international currency and it underpins Australia's national focus on healthy ageing. However, its meaning for older people with intellectual disability, who represent about 0.13% of Australia's older population, is unclear, as little is known about the impact of ageing upon this group. This exciting research project aims to address these knowledge gaps through a series of case studies comprising key stakeholder groups in rural and urban Victoria and Queensland. An Integrative Model of Active Ageing for policy makers and service providers will be developed to facilitate the planning and appropriate distribution of resources for this population. Read moreRead less