Developing the capacity to model the impact of interventions that target high-risk drinking among young Australians. Alcohol use is a major contributing factor to social and health problems among young Australians. The project will inform the development of effective policy by providing multidisciplinary research evidence and the capacity to model how various interventions impact on the prevalence of alcohol-related problems.
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.
Min/Max Autocorrelation Factors in Time Series Studies of the Adverse Health Effects of Ozone. The annual health costs associated with exposure to air pollution in Australia have been estimated at between $3 and 5.3 billion. Given these costs, it is vital to conduct research that ensures public health officials and policy makers stay fully informed of Australia’s air pollution problem. The project proposes to address this need by developing methodology to detect trends in air pollution concentra ....Min/Max Autocorrelation Factors in Time Series Studies of the Adverse Health Effects of Ozone. The annual health costs associated with exposure to air pollution in Australia have been estimated at between $3 and 5.3 billion. Given these costs, it is vital to conduct research that ensures public health officials and policy makers stay fully informed of Australia’s air pollution problem. The project proposes to address this need by developing methodology to detect trends in air pollution concentrations and reduce measurement error in recorded air pollution concentrations. This will enable relevant authorities to produce more accurate estimates of air pollution health costs and implement more appropriate pollution regulations and health warnings.Read moreRead less
Using national surveys to uncover and assess potentially harmful sexual practices in Southeast Asia. Studies in Southeast Asia have revealed a wide variety of sexual practices carrying risks to the reproductive health of women and men. This proposal builds on that base to design methods for population level analysis of behaviour and attitudes. It will address key hypotheses related to gender and the assessment of risk, harm and disadvantage. The Australian Aid program and national health depart ....Using national surveys to uncover and assess potentially harmful sexual practices in Southeast Asia. Studies in Southeast Asia have revealed a wide variety of sexual practices carrying risks to the reproductive health of women and men. This proposal builds on that base to design methods for population level analysis of behaviour and attitudes. It will address key hypotheses related to gender and the assessment of risk, harm and disadvantage. The Australian Aid program and national health departments will use the data on unhealthy practices for reproductive health programs. Major beneficiaries include individuals who will be guided away from unhealthy practices, and medical providers who will have more evidence to guide their practice.Read moreRead less
Assessing the national productivity impacts of chronic ill health. The project aims to address one of the biggest gaps in health and productivity research by designing a novel composite national metric that will rank lost productivity due to chronic illness The project brings together tax/transfer modelling, health modelling and epidemiological modelling specialists to develop a highly innovative microsimulation model: Health&WorkMOD to then quantify the costs of health-related productivity loss ....Assessing the national productivity impacts of chronic ill health. The project aims to address one of the biggest gaps in health and productivity research by designing a novel composite national metric that will rank lost productivity due to chronic illness The project brings together tax/transfer modelling, health modelling and epidemiological modelling specialists to develop a highly innovative microsimulation model: Health&WorkMOD to then quantify the costs of health-related productivity loss. The proposed model, an international first, will be a powerful tool to comprehensively model the cost impacts of illness and simulate policy options related to health and productivity. This will provide answers to critical policy questions for government with potential significant economic benefits.Read moreRead less
Air pollution: do modern statistical model selection techniques make the silent killer speak too loud? Air pollution is estimated to cause 2400 deaths annually in Australia with an associated cost to the community of $17.2 billion. The outcomes of this project will enable an improved understanding of the association between air pollution and mortality in Australia, thereby allowing government, public health authorities, and regulatory agencies to implement better air pollution standards and pro ....Air pollution: do modern statistical model selection techniques make the silent killer speak too loud? Air pollution is estimated to cause 2400 deaths annually in Australia with an associated cost to the community of $17.2 billion. The outcomes of this project will enable an improved understanding of the association between air pollution and mortality in Australia, thereby allowing government, public health authorities, and regulatory agencies to implement better air pollution standards and provide more informed advice to the public on the necessity of avoiding exposure to air pollutants. These two outcomes are particularly important given Australia's ageing population and the fact that the elderly are among those most susceptible to harm from air pollution exposure.Read moreRead less
Processing mathematics tasks: the nature and role of visual and non-visual reasoning in digital and non-digital environments. Within the next four years, it is likely that the National Assessment Plan for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) will be administered in a digital mode. This project identifies differences between the delivery of mathematics assessment in pencil-and-paper and computer-based modes. Primary students' mathematics reasoning is compared across these modes and to cohorts from Sing ....Processing mathematics tasks: the nature and role of visual and non-visual reasoning in digital and non-digital environments. Within the next four years, it is likely that the National Assessment Plan for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) will be administered in a digital mode. This project identifies differences between the delivery of mathematics assessment in pencil-and-paper and computer-based modes. Primary students' mathematics reasoning is compared across these modes and to cohorts from Singapore.Read moreRead less
Processing dynamic graphics: Visuospatial reasoning in mathematics. Increasingly, mathematics competence will be measured in digital and dynamic contexts. Students who possess high visuospatial reasoning are expected to become even better equipped to succeed in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related disciplines as technological advances shape how we interpret and decode information. This project explores those aspects of visuospatial reasoning critical for success when s ....Processing dynamic graphics: Visuospatial reasoning in mathematics. Increasingly, mathematics competence will be measured in digital and dynamic contexts. Students who possess high visuospatial reasoning are expected to become even better equipped to succeed in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related disciplines as technological advances shape how we interpret and decode information. This project explores those aspects of visuospatial reasoning critical for success when students encounter dynamic mathematics tasks, and attempts to determine whether different forms of visuospatial reasoning are required to decode static and dynamic information. The project aims to better understand how students process mathematics tasks, so the inevitable move toward digital assessment can be managed effectively to promote assessment for learning.Read moreRead less
Applying search theory for eradicating invasive species. Invasive species have major economic and environmental impacts in Australia and are a major cause of extinctions worldwide. Monitoring is crucial for the timely control of invasive species in sensitive environments. Early detection increases the probability of eradication and increased accuracy in detection reduces the impact of control programs on non-target species. Efficient monitoring also is crucial in determining whether eradication ....Applying search theory for eradicating invasive species. Invasive species have major economic and environmental impacts in Australia and are a major cause of extinctions worldwide. Monitoring is crucial for the timely control of invasive species in sensitive environments. Early detection increases the probability of eradication and increased accuracy in detection reduces the impact of control programs on non-target species. Efficient monitoring also is crucial in determining whether eradication has succeeded. Search Theory has been applied for over 60 years in a wide range of non-biological monitoring problems, resulting in large increases in target detection rates. Gains of a similar magnitude in invasive species detection would greatly enhance Australia's capacity to manage these threats.Read moreRead less
Improving external validity of stated choice experiments. This project aims to deliver more accurate estimates of choice behaviour by reducing biases due to choice task complexity in surveys as well as design artefacts. Extracting 'true' preferences is challenging, not only due to possible hypothetical bias, but also due to increasingly complex choice tasks and the existence of design artefacts. This project will investigate the latter two in the context of marketing, transport, health, and envi ....Improving external validity of stated choice experiments. This project aims to deliver more accurate estimates of choice behaviour by reducing biases due to choice task complexity in surveys as well as design artefacts. Extracting 'true' preferences is challenging, not only due to possible hypothetical bias, but also due to increasingly complex choice tasks and the existence of design artefacts. This project will investigate the latter two in the context of marketing, transport, health, and environmental economics, and proposes new methodologies to extract preferences that more closely reflect true behaviour in real markets.Read moreRead less