Using 3D printing to improve access to graphics by vision-impaired people. This project aims to investigate the possible benefits of 3D printing for production of accessible materials for vision-impaired people. Currently tactile graphics are used to provide severely vision-impaired adults and children with access to graphical content used in education and in orientation and mobility training. This project is expected to clarify the kinds of graphics for which 3D prints are better suited than ta ....Using 3D printing to improve access to graphics by vision-impaired people. This project aims to investigate the possible benefits of 3D printing for production of accessible materials for vision-impaired people. Currently tactile graphics are used to provide severely vision-impaired adults and children with access to graphical content used in education and in orientation and mobility training. This project is expected to clarify the kinds of graphics for which 3D prints are better suited than tactile graphics, and to build capacity within the national accessible format provision sector for the production and use of 3D prints. Benefits will include increased educational opportunities and quality of life for Australians with severe vision impairment, through improved access to graphic materials used in education and orientation and mobility training.
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Defining the Status of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Young People. This project aims to improve the social cohesion of Australian society and the living standards of a significant group of our young people. Around 25 per cent of all Australians aged 12 to 24 are from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. In collaboration with nine Australian organisations, the project aims to critically define the status of CALD youth; develop the first national status reporting frame ....Defining the Status of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Young People. This project aims to improve the social cohesion of Australian society and the living standards of a significant group of our young people. Around 25 per cent of all Australians aged 12 to 24 are from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. In collaboration with nine Australian organisations, the project aims to critically define the status of CALD youth; develop the first national status reporting framework for the group that will generate new social, economic and cultural indicators; and build a knowledge hub to store and curate CALD youth data. Data and understanding from this project is intended to enable governments to meet the group’s specific needs and enhance their opportunities.Read moreRead less
Enabling engagement and inclusion: organisational factors that embed active support in accommodation services for people with intellectual disability. The study will investigate the processes and structures necessary to ensure frontline staff deliver high quality support to people with intellectual disability, which enables them to engage in meaningful activity. This knowledge will inform disability service organisation processes and provide indicators of structures necessary for effective servi ....Enabling engagement and inclusion: organisational factors that embed active support in accommodation services for people with intellectual disability. The study will investigate the processes and structures necessary to ensure frontline staff deliver high quality support to people with intellectual disability, which enables them to engage in meaningful activity. This knowledge will inform disability service organisation processes and provide indicators of structures necessary for effective services.Read moreRead less
The costs of youth homelessness in Australia. This three-year research project will provide a detailed picture of the cost of youth homelessness in Australia, the use of services by young homeless people and the costs and benefits of providing support services to young homeless people. The study will extend the evidence base on the cost-effectiveness of programs attempting to alleviate youth homelessness, and enable Australian governments, community groups and agencies involved in the provision ....The costs of youth homelessness in Australia. This three-year research project will provide a detailed picture of the cost of youth homelessness in Australia, the use of services by young homeless people and the costs and benefits of providing support services to young homeless people. The study will extend the evidence base on the cost-effectiveness of programs attempting to alleviate youth homelessness, and enable Australian governments, community groups and agencies involved in the provision of support services to homeless youth to understand better the pathways followed by young homeless people and the impact of service provision on the lives of young homeless people.Read moreRead less
The Kids in Communities Study: national investigation of community level effects on children's developmental outcomes. This project (a cross-disciplinary collaboration) will investigate community level factors influencing early childhood developmental outcomes using a mixed methods approach in up to 10 communities across Australia. This will result in a potential set of measures or indicators that reflect communities that are good for children.
Paving the way for effective public health interventions for bulimic eating disorders: Understanding stigma and mental health literacy. This research contributes to promoting and maintaining good health. The burden of bulimic eating disorders in the community is high, frequently ignored and increasing. Our research will pave the way for improved understanding of eating disorders and a reduction of stigma in relation to these problems. In so doing, it will lead to reduced shame and suffering for ....Paving the way for effective public health interventions for bulimic eating disorders: Understanding stigma and mental health literacy. This research contributes to promoting and maintaining good health. The burden of bulimic eating disorders in the community is high, frequently ignored and increasing. Our research will pave the way for improved understanding of eating disorders and a reduction of stigma in relation to these problems. In so doing, it will lead to reduced shame and suffering for people with eating disorders and enhance appropriate treatment seeking and the quality of advice received from family, friends and health professionals. A public health intervention based on our findings will contribute to a more tolerant and understanding community.Read moreRead less
Improving contact between children in out-of-home care and their birth parents: developing and trialling a contact intervention. There is little evidence on how to best manage contact between the 37,648 children in care nationally and their birth parents. The aim of this project is to develop and trial a new model of contact which will reduce distress, improve children's relationships with their birth parents and increase successful reunifications in the long term.
Effective Decision Making Support for People with Cognitive Disability. This project aims to produce and test evidence-based education resources that boost the ability of supporters of people with cognitive disability to put the supported person’s own desires and values at the centre of decisions, as required by treaty obligations and best practice. The project aims to develop innovative education resources, and to then investigate the impact of the resources on the practices of decision-making ....Effective Decision Making Support for People with Cognitive Disability. This project aims to produce and test evidence-based education resources that boost the ability of supporters of people with cognitive disability to put the supported person’s own desires and values at the centre of decisions, as required by treaty obligations and best practice. The project aims to develop innovative education resources, and to then investigate the impact of the resources on the practices of decision-making supporters and the person being supported in a randomised control trial in three jurisdictions. The anticipated outcome is a demonstrably effective capacity-building tool, able to cater for all types of cognitive disabilities and the full spectrum of support contexts from guardianship to informal support.Read moreRead less
Co-evolution of Cooperation, Mindreading, and Morality. The project aims to investigate the evolutionary and cultural–historical underpinnings of human cooperation. Human cooperation is critical to meet contemporary challenges to humanity such as climate change and humanitarian emergencies. Yet, when cooperation incurs some cost to benefit others, how can cooperation emerge? The project’s main contention is that human cooperation co-evolved with the human capacities to read each other’s minds an ....Co-evolution of Cooperation, Mindreading, and Morality. The project aims to investigate the evolutionary and cultural–historical underpinnings of human cooperation. Human cooperation is critical to meet contemporary challenges to humanity such as climate change and humanitarian emergencies. Yet, when cooperation incurs some cost to benefit others, how can cooperation emerge? The project’s main contention is that human cooperation co-evolved with the human capacities to read each other’s minds and to monitor and sanction each other’s deeds in the social context of pursuing a collective goal for a greater good. The project plans to tests the theoretical integrity of this contention through computer simulations and its empirical validity through laboratory experiments and cross-cultural studies.Read moreRead less
Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back. Episodic Volunteering for Non-Profits. This project seeks to improve the policy and practice of volunteer involvement in the non-profit sector. Non-profit organisations rely on volunteers, and their capacity to deliver vital community services is threatened by the decrease in long-term, continuous volunteering and increase in episodic (short-term, flexible) volunteering. The interdisciplinary project aims to use mixed methods (qualitative interviews and quantitat ....Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back. Episodic Volunteering for Non-Profits. This project seeks to improve the policy and practice of volunteer involvement in the non-profit sector. Non-profit organisations rely on volunteers, and their capacity to deliver vital community services is threatened by the decrease in long-term, continuous volunteering and increase in episodic (short-term, flexible) volunteering. The interdisciplinary project aims to use mixed methods (qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys) and multiple perspectives (volunteers and staff who manage them) to develop an episodic volunteering definition; to explore the economic and social impact of episodic volunteering, and to develop a theoretical model of volunteer retention. The findings are intended to provide an evidence base and recommendations for non-profit sector policy and practice.Read moreRead less