Determinants of children's physical activity and sedentary behaviour: a follow-up study from early childhood. This project investigates changes in preschool children's physical activity and sedentary behaviour, and influences on these changes, during the important period of transition to school. It will provide important information on how we might assist children to be more active, thereby avoiding the detrimental health and social outcomes of inactivity.
Popping the Bubblewrap, Unleashing the Power of Play. The long-term costs of childhood obesity, bullying and poor mental health are staggering. Despite the investment of billions of dollars for prevention and intervention, the statistics continue to worsen. We offer a simple, sustainable, cost-effective programme of prevention aimed at important national priorities within health and research. We expect to demonstrate a significant effect on children's activity levels, coping and social skills th ....Popping the Bubblewrap, Unleashing the Power of Play. The long-term costs of childhood obesity, bullying and poor mental health are staggering. Despite the investment of billions of dollars for prevention and intervention, the statistics continue to worsen. We offer a simple, sustainable, cost-effective programme of prevention aimed at important national priorities within health and research. We expect to demonstrate a significant effect on children's activity levels, coping and social skills through strategies that are replicable in every school playground in the nation and to contribute to policy regarding play, health, and education.Read moreRead less
Women's concepts, beliefs and practices related to the health of their infants and young children: a sociological study. It has been frequently argued that parents should take responsibility for promoting optimal health and development in their children. Little is known, however, about how parents of infants and young children conceptualise 'good health' in relation to their children, what steps they take to promote optimal health and development, how they make decisions about these steps, what ....Women's concepts, beliefs and practices related to the health of their infants and young children: a sociological study. It has been frequently argued that parents should take responsibility for promoting optimal health and development in their children. Little is known, however, about how parents of infants and young children conceptualise 'good health' in relation to their children, what steps they take to promote optimal health and development, how they make decisions about these steps, what sources of information they use, what difficulties they may encounter and what help they need. Insights into these phenomena derived from the proposed project have the potential to inform policy and programs directed at promoting and maintaining good health in the early years of life.Read moreRead less
The nature of alcohol advertising in 'old' and 'new' media and the impact on young people's alcohol-related attitudes, intentions and behaviour. Young people in Australia are exposed to a vast array of alcohol advertising. While television advertising has been widely researched, the effects of internet advertising, social networking, and event-based marketing are largely unknown. This project will examine the impact of different media on teenagers' current and future drinking behaviours.
Selling The Punt: An interdisciplinary analysis of the extent and impact of sports wagering marketing strategies in Australia. Sports wagering is the fastest growing segment of the gambling market in Australia. Despite widespread concern about the impact of marketing strategies on the risky consumption of wagering products by young men and adolescents, research and policy has failed to keep up with this rapidly growing industry. This study will provide: detailed information about the range of ma ....Selling The Punt: An interdisciplinary analysis of the extent and impact of sports wagering marketing strategies in Australia. Sports wagering is the fastest growing segment of the gambling market in Australia. Despite widespread concern about the impact of marketing strategies on the risky consumption of wagering products by young men and adolescents, research and policy has failed to keep up with this rapidly growing industry. This study will provide: detailed information about the range of marketing strategies used to sell sports wagering in Australia; important qualitative insights into the impact of these marketing strategies on gambling behaviours; and, recommendations for a comprehensive public health approach to help counter the potential long and short term risks associated with sports wagering marketing.Read moreRead less
The big gamble: an interdisciplinary study of the normalisation of gambling. This project aims to explore industry and socio-cultural factors that contribute to the normalisation of gambling. Gambling is recognised as an urgent public health issue in Australia, posing a health threat to individuals and communities. However, there is limited empirical evidence about the processes that may contribute to the normalisation of different forms of gambling. This project aims to explore the interplay be ....The big gamble: an interdisciplinary study of the normalisation of gambling. This project aims to explore industry and socio-cultural factors that contribute to the normalisation of gambling. Gambling is recognised as an urgent public health issue in Australia, posing a health threat to individuals and communities. However, there is limited empirical evidence about the processes that may contribute to the normalisation of different forms of gambling. This project aims to explore the interplay between the sophisticated promotional tactics used by the gambling industry, and the socio-cultural mechanisms which may interact with these promotional tactics to normalise gambling beliefs in youth, women, and older adults. This project expects to help local governments and related stakeholders develop a comprehensive range of public health strategies aimed at preventing the risks and harms posed by the normalisation of gambling.Read moreRead less
Early childhood sustained home visiting: outcomes at 4 years and the transition to school. The Commonwealth has been committed to developing a national agenda for early childhood, with a strong focus on development and use of Australian-relevant evidence, an outcomes focus, a focus on vulnerable communities, families and children, and strengths-based approaches. This agenda is also reflected in the key research priority areas of the Commonwealth Government. The proposed study is a critical next ....Early childhood sustained home visiting: outcomes at 4 years and the transition to school. The Commonwealth has been committed to developing a national agenda for early childhood, with a strong focus on development and use of Australian-relevant evidence, an outcomes focus, a focus on vulnerable communities, families and children, and strengths-based approaches. This agenda is also reflected in the key research priority areas of the Commonwealth Government. The proposed study is a critical next step in the development of an Australian evidence base for professional home visiting: a key strategy for the delivery of services to promote the health and development of young Australians. The findings of this study will have significant implications for the development of early childhood policy and strategy throughout Australia.Read moreRead less
(When) should organisations employ over/underqualified individuals? The aim of the project is to better understand how employee qualifications (ie the extent to which an employee is qualified for the job they hold) influences their voluntary turnover decisions and job performance. Demand and supply in the labour market are frequently out of sync; around half of Australian employees have a level of qualification that does not match the position in which they are currently working. The project aim ....(When) should organisations employ over/underqualified individuals? The aim of the project is to better understand how employee qualifications (ie the extent to which an employee is qualified for the job they hold) influences their voluntary turnover decisions and job performance. Demand and supply in the labour market are frequently out of sync; around half of Australian employees have a level of qualification that does not match the position in which they are currently working. The project aims to establish under what conditions organisations and employees can get the performance benefits from employee qualifications while avoiding fast rates of voluntary turnover. The goal of the project is to develop insights about how to make full use of the benefits of qualifications while avoiding the pitfalls. Insights from this research may be of potential benefit to both workers and to employing organisations.Read moreRead less
Flexible methods for latent variable models applied to Health Economics. This project aims to develop flexible and powerful methods for estimating models containing variables that are unobserved, that is, latent. Such models are often used to capture individual heterogeneity and time dependence in data collected on individuals, with each individual observed for several time periods. Latent variables can also infer group membership, where such membership is unavailable from the data. The intended ....Flexible methods for latent variable models applied to Health Economics. This project aims to develop flexible and powerful methods for estimating models containing variables that are unobserved, that is, latent. Such models are often used to capture individual heterogeneity and time dependence in data collected on individuals, with each individual observed for several time periods. Latent variables can also infer group membership, where such membership is unavailable from the data. The intended methodology is Bayesian and based on new particle methods that allow users to select between models and predict future observations even in complex situations. The research aims to inform decision making through improved use of data in health economics and related fields.Read moreRead less
Strategic Behaviour in Games. John von Neumann’s minimax solution (1928) and its generalisation to mixed-strategy Nash (1950) equilibrium are the cornerstones of modern game theory, the mathematical framework for the study of decision making when the actions of different decision makers interact. This project studies human behaviour in situations where decision makers have an incentive to be unpredictable. The proposed research will shed light on the sources of the failure of the theory in the l ....Strategic Behaviour in Games. John von Neumann’s minimax solution (1928) and its generalisation to mixed-strategy Nash (1950) equilibrium are the cornerstones of modern game theory, the mathematical framework for the study of decision making when the actions of different decision makers interact. This project studies human behaviour in situations where decision makers have an incentive to be unpredictable. The proposed research will shed light on the sources of the failure of the theory in the lab, and assesses the practical significance of the statistical tests used to evaluate laboratory data on mixed-strategy play.Read moreRead less