Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC210100019
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,583,816.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Optimal Ageing. The ARC Training Centre for Optimal Ageing aims to address issues identified by older adults as essential for quality of life. With our industry partners, we aim to train the next generation of researchers to understand, detect and improve psychosocial factors that support mental activity, physical health and social connectedness, and embrace advances in artificial intelligence, digital-enriched environments and adaptive workplaces to deliver effective dig ....ARC Training Centre for Optimal Ageing. The ARC Training Centre for Optimal Ageing aims to address issues identified by older adults as essential for quality of life. With our industry partners, we aim to train the next generation of researchers to understand, detect and improve psychosocial factors that support mental activity, physical health and social connectedness, and embrace advances in artificial intelligence, digital-enriched environments and adaptive workplaces to deliver effective digital solutions. By developing new capacity and capability to drive the digital transformation of industries supporting our ageing population, our Centre seeks to deliver economic and social benefits that enable Australians to live enriched, healthy and independent lives as they age.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100694
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,014.00
Summary
Does disconnection in the aging brain cause age-related movement decline? This project aims to use new neurophysiological approaches to understand the causal role of age-related changes in brain network connectivity to the movement control. Brain regions interact through complex and dynamic neural networks to control voluntary movement, but whether age-related changes in network connectivity drive age-related decline in movement control is unknown. This project will provide significant benefits ....Does disconnection in the aging brain cause age-related movement decline? This project aims to use new neurophysiological approaches to understand the causal role of age-related changes in brain network connectivity to the movement control. Brain regions interact through complex and dynamic neural networks to control voluntary movement, but whether age-related changes in network connectivity drive age-related decline in movement control is unknown. This project will provide significant benefits such as the neurophysiological knowledge required to develop targeted interventions to improve movement control in the aging population.Read moreRead less
Creating perceptual experts in Australia's policing and security agencies. This project aims to create the next generation of experts in Australia’s policing and national security agencies, by improving crime scene evidence interpretation. Agencies are under pressure to develop more rigorous training practices that go beyond mere intuition and tradition. This project will use a novel approach that directs learning toward the most diagnostic perceptual cues. Expected outcomes include a solid empi ....Creating perceptual experts in Australia's policing and security agencies. This project aims to create the next generation of experts in Australia’s policing and national security agencies, by improving crime scene evidence interpretation. Agencies are under pressure to develop more rigorous training practices that go beyond mere intuition and tradition. This project will use a novel approach that directs learning toward the most diagnostic perceptual cues. Expected outcomes include a solid empirical basis for national training programs designed to create experts that are accurate, reliable, and continuously improving. Improving the training of experts will ensure the integrity of forensics as evidentiary tools available to police, lead to more reliable courtroom convictions and help safeguard Australia from terrorism and crime.Read moreRead less
How human vision separately determines object and scene motion. This project aims to enhance understanding of how people process visual scenes containing multiple moving objects of interest. The project intends to measure human visual performance to determine how the brain processes multiple motion signals simultaneously. Expected outcomes include an increased understanding of how we are able to use an evolving visual scene to distinguish between changes due to self-motion and those due to the m ....How human vision separately determines object and scene motion. This project aims to enhance understanding of how people process visual scenes containing multiple moving objects of interest. The project intends to measure human visual performance to determine how the brain processes multiple motion signals simultaneously. Expected outcomes include an increased understanding of how we are able to use an evolving visual scene to distinguish between changes due to self-motion and those due to the motion of multiple moving objects such as crowded city footpaths and busy roads. The results will improve our understanding of failures to see moving objects in challenging viewing conditions (for example, high density traffic), and inform work in the design of autonomous driving and augmented reality display systems.Read moreRead less
Understanding the link between reading impairments and emotional problems. This Project aims to understand why children with reading impairments are at increased risk for emotional problems. By integrating the statistical power of large-scale longitudinal studies with the causal testing power of intervention case studies, it seeks to fast-track the development of a comprehensive evidence-based theory of the mechanisms linking reading impairments and emotional problems. The outcomes will pave the ....Understanding the link between reading impairments and emotional problems. This Project aims to understand why children with reading impairments are at increased risk for emotional problems. By integrating the statistical power of large-scale longitudinal studies with the causal testing power of intervention case studies, it seeks to fast-track the development of a comprehensive evidence-based theory of the mechanisms linking reading impairments and emotional problems. The outcomes will pave the way for future diagnosis and treatment of concomitant reading and emotional difficulties in children. These outcomes improve our capacity to reduce the incidence of two common problems that limit the life success of Australian children - poor literacy and poor emotional health.Read moreRead less
The emotional face: What determines preferential expression processing. The processing of facial expressions of emotion is essential for successful social functioning. However, we still lack a good understanding of key factors that facilitate or impede the processing of these important social signals. The current project aims to address this knowledge gap by providing a) a more rigorous test of the currently dominant account of expression processing, the evaluative congruence account, and deline ....The emotional face: What determines preferential expression processing. The processing of facial expressions of emotion is essential for successful social functioning. However, we still lack a good understanding of key factors that facilitate or impede the processing of these important social signals. The current project aims to address this knowledge gap by providing a) a more rigorous test of the currently dominant account of expression processing, the evaluative congruence account, and delineating how b) contextual factors and c) person knowledge affect expression processing. The research aims to advance our understanding of facial expression processing, to build international collaborations, and to train the next generation of emotion scientists.Read moreRead less
To focus on pain or not to focus: WHEN is the question. The experience of pain is a ubiquitous experience, and persistent pain is common and causes enormous personal and
societal burden. Anyone who has been in severe pain will understand that pain captures attention, but the role that attention plays in
increasing pain perception is poorly understood. This project will test a new conceptual model that calls for a change in the paradigm underlying research into attention and pain. We will use nov ....To focus on pain or not to focus: WHEN is the question. The experience of pain is a ubiquitous experience, and persistent pain is common and causes enormous personal and
societal burden. Anyone who has been in severe pain will understand that pain captures attention, but the role that attention plays in
increasing pain perception is poorly understood. This project will test a new conceptual model that calls for a change in the paradigm underlying research into attention and pain. We will use novel experimental tasks in virtual reality environments to address
these important gaps in our knowledge. The project will significantly advance our fundamental understanding of
the role of attention in pain perception and pave the way for translational research to reduce the substantial burden pain causes.Read moreRead less
Evaluative learning: do all roads lead to Rome? This project aims to enhance understanding of how likes and dislikes are acquired and changed across a range of different settings. Evaluative learning, the acquisition and change of likes and dislikes, is ubiquitous and occurs in situations that range from trivial to traumatic. However, it is unknown whether evaluative learning in these different situations is mediated by a single or distinct learning mechanisms. Answering this question is critica ....Evaluative learning: do all roads lead to Rome? This project aims to enhance understanding of how likes and dislikes are acquired and changed across a range of different settings. Evaluative learning, the acquisition and change of likes and dislikes, is ubiquitous and occurs in situations that range from trivial to traumatic. However, it is unknown whether evaluative learning in these different situations is mediated by a single or distinct learning mechanisms. Answering this question is critically important for emotion science and the design of effective interventions for anxiety disorders and public health campaigns. The expected outcomes from this project will provide significant benefits, such as creating new knowledge to assist in applied areas ranging from the design of public health messages to the treatment for anxiety.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101570
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$409,038.00
Summary
The cognitive basis of anxiety-linked heightened negative expectancies. Problems with anxiety tear at the social and economic fabric of our nation. Individuals with an elevated vulnerability to experience high levels of anxiety display a heightened tendency to expect that the future will be emotionally negative. The current project will test compelling new hypotheses concerning the cognitive mechanisms that causally underpin such negative expectancies, using cutting-edge cognitive methodologies ....The cognitive basis of anxiety-linked heightened negative expectancies. Problems with anxiety tear at the social and economic fabric of our nation. Individuals with an elevated vulnerability to experience high levels of anxiety display a heightened tendency to expect that the future will be emotionally negative. The current project will test compelling new hypotheses concerning the cognitive mechanisms that causally underpin such negative expectancies, using cutting-edge cognitive methodologies that permit not only the sensitive assessment, but also the direct manipulation, of these mechanisms. The findings generated will exert major scientific impact, and will directly contribute to our national strategic efforts to improve the mental well-being of our citizens, and to build healthy and resilient communities.Read moreRead less
Towards an integrated model of reasoning and reasoning development. This project aims to identify the core cognitive processes that underlie different forms of reasoning and how they develop. The project intends to use a signal detection framework to derive detailed computational models of reasoning which can then be tested through Bayesian computational modelling as well as the first systematic investigation of developmental change in reasoning processes. Expected outcomes include a more princi ....Towards an integrated model of reasoning and reasoning development. This project aims to identify the core cognitive processes that underlie different forms of reasoning and how they develop. The project intends to use a signal detection framework to derive detailed computational models of reasoning which can then be tested through Bayesian computational modelling as well as the first systematic investigation of developmental change in reasoning processes. Expected outcomes include a more principled and comprehensive computational model of reasoning in both adults and children. The project should provide significant benefits by helping to resolve long-standing debates about how humans reason complex arguments relevant to everyday lives and guide development of more effective methods for teaching reasoning.Read moreRead less