Standing up to racism and racial bullying among Australian school students. This project aims to substantially increase understandings of bystander responses (including their extent, nature, potential, merits, benefits, and constraints) as a means of countering racism and racial bullying among Australian school students. This aims to be achieved through examining experiences of, attitudes towards, and responses to, racism and racial bullying among school students; identifying health, wellbeing, ....Standing up to racism and racial bullying among Australian school students. This project aims to substantially increase understandings of bystander responses (including their extent, nature, potential, merits, benefits, and constraints) as a means of countering racism and racial bullying among Australian school students. This aims to be achieved through examining experiences of, attitudes towards, and responses to, racism and racial bullying among school students; identifying health, wellbeing, education and social outcomes of racism and racial bullying for individuals, schools and communities; exploring the enablers and obstacles associated with bystander responses to racism and racial bullying; and by developing and piloting a school-based program to foster bystander responses to racism and racial bullying.Read moreRead less
Innovations in Clinical Education for Physiotherapy Students. Australia has workforce shortages and an ageing population. Physiotherapists are key players in promoting and maintaining good health through their leadership in physical activity and rehabilitation to retain Australians in the workforce and to ensure quality of life for our ageing population. There is a national shortage of physiotherapists. Increasing numbers of physiotherapists are being trained, requiring new models of clinical tr ....Innovations in Clinical Education for Physiotherapy Students. Australia has workforce shortages and an ageing population. Physiotherapists are key players in promoting and maintaining good health through their leadership in physical activity and rehabilitation to retain Australians in the workforce and to ensure quality of life for our ageing population. There is a national shortage of physiotherapists. Increasing numbers of physiotherapists are being trained, requiring new models of clinical training as there is no capacity in conventional training to cope with student numbers. This research will develop and evaluate new models of training incorporating standardised patients (actors) and simulators (mannequins) which increase education capacity. Models are transferable to other health professions.Read moreRead less
A cross-national study of the relative impact of an oral component on PhD examination quality, language and practice. High quality doctoral degrees call for the most effective forms of assessment. This project investigates the role of oral examination in PhD assessment, common internationally but not in Australia, and is the first to compare the relative impact of oral and 'no oral' models on examination quality, language and practice.
Engagement in early childhood education in the context of disadvantage. This research responds to enduring inequalities in children’s participation in high quality early childhood education and care (ECEC). Contemporary families face precarious labour markets and a childcare system with stringent workforce participation requirements. This project will illuminate the affordances of everyday life for families most challenged by these emergent conditions and develop understandings of how to calibr ....Engagement in early childhood education in the context of disadvantage. This research responds to enduring inequalities in children’s participation in high quality early childhood education and care (ECEC). Contemporary families face precarious labour markets and a childcare system with stringent workforce participation requirements. This project will illuminate the affordances of everyday life for families most challenged by these emergent conditions and develop understandings of how to calibrate services accordingly. Findings will support universal ECEC access through knowledge translation about contemporary disadvantage to policy and practice forums. A strong Indigenous component contributes to researcher training and knowledge about effective practice for Indigenous children and their families.Read moreRead less
Political Trust and Satisfaction with Democracy in Australia. Declining public support is one of the greatest challenges to democracy. In 2019, Australia recorded the lowest level of trust in politics on record. This project aims to understand the reasons for declining political trust and satisfaction with democracy in Australia. The project hopes to field the 2022-25 Australian Election Study to address these issues by surveying a representative sample of voters following the 2022 and 2025 Aust ....Political Trust and Satisfaction with Democracy in Australia. Declining public support is one of the greatest challenges to democracy. In 2019, Australia recorded the lowest level of trust in politics on record. This project aims to understand the reasons for declining political trust and satisfaction with democracy in Australia. The project hopes to field the 2022-25 Australian Election Study to address these issues by surveying a representative sample of voters following the 2022 and 2025 Australian federal elections, in addition to continuing a longitudinal survey started in 2016. The project wants to add to an unbroken series of publicly available data on Australian political behaviour since 1987, while also producing new insights into how individual opinions change over time.Read moreRead less
Crowdsourcing political engagement. This project aims to examine the transformation of political activism and citizen-led campaigning in the digital age in Australia. Many arguments have been made concerning the way 21st century ‘digital disruption’ is transforming our everyday lives. The project plans to focus on how crowd-sourced forms of political engagement are facilitated by digital tools that let citizens share political information and calls to action. In particular, it aims to identify t ....Crowdsourcing political engagement. This project aims to examine the transformation of political activism and citizen-led campaigning in the digital age in Australia. Many arguments have been made concerning the way 21st century ‘digital disruption’ is transforming our everyday lives. The project plans to focus on how crowd-sourced forms of political engagement are facilitated by digital tools that let citizens share political information and calls to action. In particular, it aims to identify the extent and character of crowd-sourcing e-tactics: petitioning, boycotting, buycotting and micro-donations. The project intends to adjudicate on the proposition that crowd-sourced means of political engagement offer a qualitatively different type of political engagement.Read moreRead less
Future fables: literature, evolution and artificial intelligence. The future of AI is a site of considerable philosophical and cultural anxiety in the West. Given the future of AI is currently only available to publics through literary or fictional tropes, it is vital that we investigate the historical evolution of these literary or fictional tropes of AI to understand its future direction. This project aims to understand (1) how the post-Darwinian literary imagination has shaped our current anx ....Future fables: literature, evolution and artificial intelligence. The future of AI is a site of considerable philosophical and cultural anxiety in the West. Given the future of AI is currently only available to publics through literary or fictional tropes, it is vital that we investigate the historical evolution of these literary or fictional tropes of AI to understand its future direction. This project aims to understand (1) how the post-Darwinian literary imagination has shaped our current anxieties about AI and (2) how literary and scientific writers after Darwin rethink the future of the human species by imagining the co-evolution of humans, animals and machines. Expected outcomes of the project include conceptual resources to understand the human-nonhuman relation and the future of AI.Read moreRead less
Young people with cognitive disability: relationships and paid support. This project aims to improve the rights and wellbeing of young people with cognitive disability by exploring their relationship and interaction with paid support workers. The introduction of national individualised funding and support is a watershed in Australian disability policy. Understanding the role that paid support plays in the ongoing identity development of these young people is urgently needed to realise national p ....Young people with cognitive disability: relationships and paid support. This project aims to improve the rights and wellbeing of young people with cognitive disability by exploring their relationship and interaction with paid support workers. The introduction of national individualised funding and support is a watershed in Australian disability policy. Understanding the role that paid support plays in the ongoing identity development of these young people is urgently needed to realise national policy aspirations for people with disability of rights, choice, inclusion and independence. Using social geography and recognition theory, the project expects to deliver new understanding and improved practice around how paid support relationships can foster mutual care, respect and value at a critically important time in young people’s lives.Read moreRead less
Active citizenship of young people through electoral enrolment. Some 300,000 eighteen to twenty-four year old Australians are not enrolled to vote in federal elections, despite compulsory voting. Consequently they do not exercise their rights, and their responsibilities, as citizens in this way. The Australian Ele ctoral C ommission and the researchers will determine why these young Australians are not enrolled and do not vote. We will identify the characteristics of non-participants particularl ....Active citizenship of young people through electoral enrolment. Some 300,000 eighteen to twenty-four year old Australians are not enrolled to vote in federal elections, despite compulsory voting. Consequently they do not exercise their rights, and their responsibilities, as citizens in this way. The Australian Ele ctoral C ommission and the researchers will determine why these young Australians are not enrolled and do not vote. We will identify the characteristics of non-participants particularly those from rural and regional areas. Outcomes include identification of non-enrolled youth and appropriate interventions to engage young Australians to become active, democratic citizens....Read moreRead less
Observe, Reflect, Improve: a tool to enrich Children’s Learning (ORICL). This project aims to address long-standing concerns about the quality of education and care for children during their critical first two years. It will introduce a promising, future-focused digital tool, co-designed with practitioners and providers of early childhood services, to support infant-toddler educators’ planning and practice. Building on ground-breaking pilot work, we will undertake a national implementation and e ....Observe, Reflect, Improve: a tool to enrich Children’s Learning (ORICL). This project aims to address long-standing concerns about the quality of education and care for children during their critical first two years. It will introduce a promising, future-focused digital tool, co-designed with practitioners and providers of early childhood services, to support infant-toddler educators’ planning and practice. Building on ground-breaking pilot work, we will undertake a national implementation and evaluation of the Observe, Reflect and Improve Children’s Learning (ORICL) tool. Expected outcomes include: enhanced pedagogical practices; enriched learning experiences for children birth-two; effective communication with families; and improved resourcing for providers of early childhood education and care services. Read moreRead less