ISim - a realistic intubation simulator using Virtual Reality technology. Simulation training has been adopted widely in aerospace, nuclear power and the military, but simulation in medicine has a relatively short history. This research will drive Australia to the forefront of the medical simulation industry. Effective management and treatment of patients is a priority in health care. Medical resources are required to ensure that staff are trained efficiently and effectively on critical medical ....ISim - a realistic intubation simulator using Virtual Reality technology. Simulation training has been adopted widely in aerospace, nuclear power and the military, but simulation in medicine has a relatively short history. This research will drive Australia to the forefront of the medical simulation industry. Effective management and treatment of patients is a priority in health care. Medical resources are required to ensure that staff are trained efficiently and effectively on critical medical procedures. The high growth of claims for medical accidents and the accompanying rise in medical insurance adds to the impetus for major hospitals to demonstrate they are using advanced methods for training. The community will benefit from better-trained medical staff, and a better standard of healthcare. Read moreRead less
Mesozoic Austral Biodiversity: Research and Regional Museum Applications. The impact of environmental alteration on Australia’s biodiversity has poorly understood long-term effects. This project examines the controversial biogeography and evolution of Australia’s biodiversity during the Age of Dinosaurs (mid-Cretaceous ~100 MYA) and their adaptational responses to climatic change. Fossils readily capture the public imagination and thus help promote complex scientific concepts in the global media ....Mesozoic Austral Biodiversity: Research and Regional Museum Applications. The impact of environmental alteration on Australia’s biodiversity has poorly understood long-term effects. This project examines the controversial biogeography and evolution of Australia’s biodiversity during the Age of Dinosaurs (mid-Cretaceous ~100 MYA) and their adaptational responses to climatic change. Fossils readily capture the public imagination and thus help promote complex scientific concepts in the global media. This project raises awareness about sustainable use of non-renewable fossil resources through public education and ecotourism fieldwork programs; these will help generate local interest and thus protection of sensitive fossil localities by highlighting them as lucrative tourism assets for regional communities.Read moreRead less
Evaluation of a Fatigue Risk Management System in the Australian aviation industry. The proposed project will develop and validate tools and guidance materials for design and implementation fatigue risk management systems [FRMSs]. Upon completion of the project, these tools will be made freely available to CASA and the Australian aviation industry. This will assist CASA in providing an efficient FRMS implementation strategy that has been scientifically validated. Furthermore, it will improve ....Evaluation of a Fatigue Risk Management System in the Australian aviation industry. The proposed project will develop and validate tools and guidance materials for design and implementation fatigue risk management systems [FRMSs]. Upon completion of the project, these tools will be made freely available to CASA and the Australian aviation industry. This will assist CASA in providing an efficient FRMS implementation strategy that has been scientifically validated. Furthermore, it will improve safety and minimise the cost of FRMS design and implementation to the aviation industry, which has recently undergone significant financial burden. Ultimately, this will improve safety for the flying public. Read moreRead less
How tired is too tired? Determining the effects of fatigue on pilots' performance in a simulated flight environment. Increasingly, pilots are required to work more flexible flight schedules that expose them to greater levels of work-related fatigue. Consequently, a recent federal parliamentary inquiry recommended that a fatigue risk management approach be applied to the regulation of pilots? flight and duty times. A key aspect of such an approach, and the aim of the proposed project, is to det ....How tired is too tired? Determining the effects of fatigue on pilots' performance in a simulated flight environment. Increasingly, pilots are required to work more flexible flight schedules that expose them to greater levels of work-related fatigue. Consequently, a recent federal parliamentary inquiry recommended that a fatigue risk management approach be applied to the regulation of pilots? flight and duty times. A key aspect of such an approach, and the aim of the proposed project, is to determine the level of fatigue at which pilots? ability to operate an aircraft reaches a safety-critical level. This research will provide a scientifically validated benchmark for regulating pilots? flight and duty times. Ultimately, this will improve safety for the flying public.Read moreRead less
Digital communication and work stress. This project aims to examine email load and its effects on work pressure, health, sleep and recovery using a national longitudinal design and innovative diary research. The project intends to advance theoretical and practical understanding of the well-being of staff and the impact of technological and competitiveness in the context of Australian universities. Expected outcomes include will address a gap in research by including casual employees, so that the ....Digital communication and work stress. This project aims to examine email load and its effects on work pressure, health, sleep and recovery using a national longitudinal design and innovative diary research. The project intends to advance theoretical and practical understanding of the well-being of staff and the impact of technological and competitiveness in the context of Australian universities. Expected outcomes include will address a gap in research by including casual employees, so that the findings can potentially benefit all occupational groups. In addition to assisting university management to attain healthier work environments, the project may benefit other Australian workers.Read moreRead less
Caring for the carers: occupational health and safety in homecare. Homecare workers care for vulnerable clients but their own vulnerability to health and safety risks is seldom examined. Pilot research revealed unrecognised hazards arising from the isolated and fragmented nature of the work. This project will systematically identify hazards and develop interventions to promote healthier and safer homecare work.
Helping retail employees deal with threatening situations at work: Coping with acute and chronic stressors. This research will develop best practice protocols in the retail sector for employee training in handling and responding to difficult customers and stressful and traumatic incidents. In addition, this research proposes to develop best practice protocols for employer responding and for assessment and treatment of employees in the retail sector. The national benefit will be a healthier, happ ....Helping retail employees deal with threatening situations at work: Coping with acute and chronic stressors. This research will develop best practice protocols in the retail sector for employee training in handling and responding to difficult customers and stressful and traumatic incidents. In addition, this research proposes to develop best practice protocols for employer responding and for assessment and treatment of employees in the retail sector. The national benefit will be a healthier, happier and more productive retail sector workforce. The results are likely to be applicable to other sectors of the Australian workforce and thus have broad national/community benefits.Read moreRead less
Occupational injury prevention in high temperature environments. This project aims to explore the contribution of heat as a risk factor in work-related illness and injury. Approximately 600 000 Australians experience a work-related illness or injury each year. Hot weather may directly or indirectly lead to accidents, but heat as a risk factor has not been systematically explored, and is particularly relevant in a warming climate. This project aims to improve safety and productivity in Australian ....Occupational injury prevention in high temperature environments. This project aims to explore the contribution of heat as a risk factor in work-related illness and injury. Approximately 600 000 Australians experience a work-related illness or injury each year. Hot weather may directly or indirectly lead to accidents, but heat as a risk factor has not been systematically explored, and is particularly relevant in a warming climate. This project aims to improve safety and productivity in Australian industry by generating new evidence and predictive models to inform injury prevention policy and guidance, and facilitating the development of practical, targeted resources. This project expects to add to the body of knowledge regarding workers’ health and safety and to be of benefit to industry and subpopulations at risk.Read moreRead less
'Just right' job design: A new model using the Goldilocks paradigm. This proposal will generate new knowledge about designing jobs with the right amount of human movement. Prolonged sitting is now a serious work hazard that contributes to cardiovascular risk and obesity. The high incidence of these conditions in many work systems, such as rail, also presents a critical safety hazard due to threat of sudden incapacity while driving. Expected project outcomes are a ‘Just Right’ Job Design model sh ....'Just right' job design: A new model using the Goldilocks paradigm. This proposal will generate new knowledge about designing jobs with the right amount of human movement. Prolonged sitting is now a serious work hazard that contributes to cardiovascular risk and obesity. The high incidence of these conditions in many work systems, such as rail, also presents a critical safety hazard due to threat of sudden incapacity while driving. Expected project outcomes are a ‘Just Right’ Job Design model showing how tasks can be designed to enhance safety and health while maintaining productivity, and in the unlikeliest of workplaces. This will provide significant benefits for the many working Australians whose safety and health are compromised by exposure to prolonged sitting in seemingly intractable environments.Read moreRead less
From data to action: a new process for developing injury countermeasures. This project aims to understand how reporting systems can improve workplace safety. Workplace injury affects over 600 000 Australian workers per year at a cost of approximately $60 billion. Although the introduction of incident reporting systems has enabled organisations to better understand the causes of injuries, how to translate this knowledge into effective countermeasures remains ambiguous. Moreover, it is not clear w ....From data to action: a new process for developing injury countermeasures. This project aims to understand how reporting systems can improve workplace safety. Workplace injury affects over 600 000 Australian workers per year at a cost of approximately $60 billion. Although the introduction of incident reporting systems has enabled organisations to better understand the causes of injuries, how to translate this knowledge into effective countermeasures remains ambiguous. Moreover, it is not clear whether adopting incident reporting systems actually leads to a safety benefit. This research intends to tackle these critical knowledge gaps by developing, implementing, and testing a process for translating incident reporting system outputs into appropriate and effective injury countermeasures, and then evaluating the safety effects of adopting the new incident reporting and learning cycle.Read moreRead less