The impact of self-management training on staff satisfaction, absenteeism and an organisation's service culture. Self-management training has been widely suggested as a way to improve organisational performance. Using a classic training intervention approach, the present project will experimentally examine whether such training improves attendance and well-being at work and whether it creates a more positive approach to customers. Further, the study will examine whether changes are maintained ....The impact of self-management training on staff satisfaction, absenteeism and an organisation's service culture. Self-management training has been widely suggested as a way to improve organisational performance. Using a classic training intervention approach, the present project will experimentally examine whether such training improves attendance and well-being at work and whether it creates a more positive approach to customers. Further, the study will examine whether changes are maintained over time. The study will also test whether self-management training improves employees' perceptions of their organisation's service culture and increases their willingness to provide appropriate customer service. The practical implications of such training interventions for Human Resource Management practices in service organisations will also be evaluated.Read moreRead less
Police Leadership in the 21st Century: Redesigning Roles and Practices. Leaders are seen as exemplifying and guiding the climate of police organisations. This project will deliver comprehensive, comparative, and internationally relevant empirical data on the relationship between leaders' approach and behaviours and the achievement of outcomes in these significant, high profile public sector organisations. On this foundation the project will make recommendations on innovative institutional desi ....Police Leadership in the 21st Century: Redesigning Roles and Practices. Leaders are seen as exemplifying and guiding the climate of police organisations. This project will deliver comprehensive, comparative, and internationally relevant empirical data on the relationship between leaders' approach and behaviours and the achievement of outcomes in these significant, high profile public sector organisations. On this foundation the project will make recommendations on innovative institutional design to achieve ethical, effective and efficient policing capable of withstanding the challenges of the future. This will increase public confidence in policing, resulting in safer communities and improved crime control. This proposal contributes to the ARC research priority of Safeguarding Australia.Read moreRead less
An assessment of late night alcohol restrictions in Queensland. An assessment of late night alcohol restrictions in Queensland. This project aims to assess the effect of 2.00am cease of alcohol service for licensed venues across Queensland, identify modifiable elements and develop policy advice. Alcohol-related harm is a major social order issue which requires evidence-based policy. Using the most sophisticated models to date—including outlet density, enforcement, demographic variables and other ....An assessment of late night alcohol restrictions in Queensland. An assessment of late night alcohol restrictions in Queensland. This project aims to assess the effect of 2.00am cease of alcohol service for licensed venues across Queensland, identify modifiable elements and develop policy advice. Alcohol-related harm is a major social order issue which requires evidence-based policy. Using the most sophisticated models to date—including outlet density, enforcement, demographic variables and other variables—this project will build unique datasets, including archival data, foot-traffic counting, key stakeholder and patron interviews, to evaluate the effect of alcohol restrictions and identify policy lessons for other jurisdictions in Australia and internationally.Read moreRead less
Indicators of ecosystem health in Western Australian recovery catchments. Dryland salinity and rural community decline in Australia are important and inter-related issues. Any ecosystem recovery actions proposed to address salinity should be examined for their potential to assist rural communities, rather than exacerbate their problems. The framework theories of ecosystem health and participatory research embrace these issues. A PhD student placed in each of two recovery catchments will use meth ....Indicators of ecosystem health in Western Australian recovery catchments. Dryland salinity and rural community decline in Australia are important and inter-related issues. Any ecosystem recovery actions proposed to address salinity should be examined for their potential to assist rural communities, rather than exacerbate their problems. The framework theories of ecosystem health and participatory research embrace these issues. A PhD student placed in each of two recovery catchments will use methodologies adapted for these approaches to develop indicators for the detection of trends in recovery or deterioration of ecosystem and community well-being. This will allow for adaptive changes to recovery actions, and for an analysis of causal relationships.Read moreRead less
Assessing and addressing tax system complexity in Australia. Tax reform and simplification are highly topical in government, business and the wider community, with many initiatives proposed or under way. This project will identify the key factors in tax system complexity, measure the costs it imposes upon taxpayers and develop complexity indices that can test new policy measures and monitor improvements.
Alcohol and caffeinated energy drinks: exploring patterns of consumption and associated harms. Very little research has been conducted on the functions, contexts, effects and harms associated with combining energy drinks and alcohol, despite the widespread consumption of these beverages by young people. This project will contribute to the knowledge base of this under-researched area and inform harm reduction policy and practice.
Options, Opportunities and Older people: An exploration of care transitions of older people. Older Australians experience transition points in type and level of support needed to age in their place of choice. Transition points refer to some form of destabilisation in the life of the older person resulting in a changed level of care required along the continuum of care options and opportunities available. This multi-stage, multi-State, qualitative study will determine what constitutes a 'good t ....Options, Opportunities and Older people: An exploration of care transitions of older people. Older Australians experience transition points in type and level of support needed to age in their place of choice. Transition points refer to some form of destabilisation in the life of the older person resulting in a changed level of care required along the continuum of care options and opportunities available. This multi-stage, multi-State, qualitative study will determine what constitutes a 'good transition' for older people, how 'transition points' are identified by consumers and service providers, and what happens after such identification. The study contributes to prevention and early intervention responses enabling older people to age in place wherever possible.Read moreRead less
Dignity Therapy: A Novel Psychotherapeutic Intervention for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Patients near the End of Life. Considering the scarcity of effective interventions for the kinds of distress and suffering that so commonly occur amongst MND dying patients, this novel therapeutic intervention could become a very easy, practical intervention adopted within palliative care facilities and MND organisations. Unlike most palliative care interventions, this approach, leading to the production of a ....Dignity Therapy: A Novel Psychotherapeutic Intervention for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Patients near the End of Life. Considering the scarcity of effective interventions for the kinds of distress and suffering that so commonly occur amongst MND dying patients, this novel therapeutic intervention could become a very easy, practical intervention adopted within palliative care facilities and MND organisations. Unlike most palliative care interventions, this approach, leading to the production of a generativity document, has the important added potential benefit of being a powerful bereavement intervention for carers. The potential benefits of this intervention could lead to a reduction in in-patient admissions and a reduced need for respite for both the person with MND and the family carer.Read moreRead less
A mental health "thermometer" to monitor and prevent adverse treatment outcomes and self-harm among psychiatric inpatients. Our project stands to prevent adverse outcomes in psychiatric patients. An estimated 660 000 people are admitted to psychiatric hospitals each year; 99 000 of these people are worse off following treatment (assuming a deterioration rate of 15 per cent). Since monitoring can halve that rate, if this project can halve the deterioration rate again, then 24 750 inpatients acr ....A mental health "thermometer" to monitor and prevent adverse treatment outcomes and self-harm among psychiatric inpatients. Our project stands to prevent adverse outcomes in psychiatric patients. An estimated 660 000 people are admitted to psychiatric hospitals each year; 99 000 of these people are worse off following treatment (assuming a deterioration rate of 15 per cent). Since monitoring can halve that rate, if this project can halve the deterioration rate again, then 24 750 inpatients across the nation would not be worse off after treatment representing an annual saving of nearly $19.2 million per annum and reduce the number of patients who fall into a cycle of admission and readmission. Further, although suicide occurs in less than one per cent of admissions, if this research is able to predict and then reduce the suicide rate by as little as 10 per cent, then 660 lives can be saved each year.Read moreRead less
Driving performance and self-regulation practices in drivers with dementia . Despite the high prevalence of dementia in older drivers, a substantial gap remains in the evidence regarding the natural progression of the disease and its impact on fitness to drive. This project will use a combination of real-time, in-vehicle driver monitoring devices and a state-of-the-art driving simulator. Together, these will objectively measure natural driving patterns and self-regulation practices, and provide ....Driving performance and self-regulation practices in drivers with dementia . Despite the high prevalence of dementia in older drivers, a substantial gap remains in the evidence regarding the natural progression of the disease and its impact on fitness to drive. This project will use a combination of real-time, in-vehicle driver monitoring devices and a state-of-the-art driving simulator. Together, these will objectively measure natural driving patterns and self-regulation practices, and provide a comprehensive assessment of driving performance for drivers with mild dementia and a comparison group without dementia. The project will create a partnership between leading researchers, clinicians and policy makers in order to provide an answer to a complex problem.Read moreRead less