Improving Efficiency and Safe Workplace Operations in Heavy Industry: Training Problem Solving and Decision Making through Immersive Simulation. Civil construction is critical to Australia's economic growth. Currently the industry suffers from significant accident rates and severe labor shortages. Simulators offer a means to tackle both issues by accelerating training and familiarizing staff with unsafe, hazardous situations. This project will test and refine training programs to ensure they ar ....Improving Efficiency and Safe Workplace Operations in Heavy Industry: Training Problem Solving and Decision Making through Immersive Simulation. Civil construction is critical to Australia's economic growth. Currently the industry suffers from significant accident rates and severe labor shortages. Simulators offer a means to tackle both issues by accelerating training and familiarizing staff with unsafe, hazardous situations. This project will test and refine training programs to ensure they are both valid and effective. Results will maximize quality of simulator-based training for heavy industry and contribute to safer workplace practices on high risk work sites. Training innovations in heavy industry are essential to keep Australia's competitive edge in the domestic labor market and Asia-Pacific region.Read moreRead less
Thinking about the future: The nature and development of mental time travel. This project is one of the first systematic investigations into the development of the human capacity to consider future events. A variety of novel tasks will probe what children know about the future and how it relates to their ability to reason about past events. Comparisons between children and apes will further inform us about the nature of this crucial mental skill. The findings will provide valuable information fo ....Thinking about the future: The nature and development of mental time travel. This project is one of the first systematic investigations into the development of the human capacity to consider future events. A variety of novel tasks will probe what children know about the future and how it relates to their ability to reason about past events. Comparisons between children and apes will further inform us about the nature of this crucial mental skill. The findings will provide valuable information for developing appropriate educational approaches and for our understanding of abnormalities. As international leaders in this field, we are in an ideal position to conduct this research, offer unique opportunities for postgraduate training, and to continue in Australia's outstanding tradition of excellence in basic research.Read moreRead less
Using empirical materials to inform normative thinking about the organization of groups for the production of knowledge. It is increasingly apparent that knowledge is produced by organized groups-e.g. research or management teams. The idea of heroic individual creators is still presented in popular media, but has little credence in hard-headed organizational contexts, where, e.g., Wenger's idea of the community of practice plays an important role in steering policy and institutional development. ....Using empirical materials to inform normative thinking about the organization of groups for the production of knowledge. It is increasingly apparent that knowledge is produced by organized groups-e.g. research or management teams. The idea of heroic individual creators is still presented in popular media, but has little credence in hard-headed organizational contexts, where, e.g., Wenger's idea of the community of practice plays an important role in steering policy and institutional development. Finding out how we can organize collectives so that they can function WELL as producers of knowledge is the aim of this project in social epistemology. Its success will contribute directly to theoretical discourse about innovation in organizations and promises to contribute indirectly to the improvement of the institutional bases of our cultural and economic capital.Read moreRead less
Real-time high-level cognitive robotics controllers. Technological advances have seen the recent release of commercially affordable mobile robots. In the wake of Sony's immensely successful AIBO entertainment robot, it is anticipated that the market will be flooded with similar devices in short time. However, while traditional robotics focuses on problems like navigation and sensory perception, scant attention has been paid to the development of high-level cognitive robotics languages for coordi ....Real-time high-level cognitive robotics controllers. Technological advances have seen the recent release of commercially affordable mobile robots. In the wake of Sony's immensely successful AIBO entertainment robot, it is anticipated that the market will be flooded with similar devices in short time. However, while traditional robotics focuses on problems like navigation and sensory perception, scant attention has been paid to the development of high-level cognitive robotics languages for coordinating these lower-level "skills". Such languages allow development of sophisticated robot controllers. We aim to develop a cognitive robotics language capable of controlling robots in real-time and in a multi-agent setting requiring coordination among agents.Read moreRead less
How Language Develops, What Goes Wrong, And Why It Matters: Following The Early Language In Victoria Study To Age 13
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$857,242.00
Summary
One in five children start school with low language. Little is known about the long term effects on developmental, educational attainment and other outcomes later in life. In this landmark study we will track the children's language, literacy and wellbeing from ages 8 to 12 years. We will capture the children's ability as they finish their primary school education and prior to the crucial transfer to high school.
Implementation And Evaluation Of A Diabetes Intervention Program In Indigenous Australian Communities.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$173,625.00
Summary
Approximately 700,000 Australians have type 2 diabetes (also termed maturity-onset diabetes or non-insulin dependent diabetes), which is a condition associated with reduced lifespan, eye disease, heart disease, renal disease, stroke, and foot complications leading to amputation. Indigenous Australians are at particularly high risk, with over 30% of adults affected by this condition in a number of communities, associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Early diagnosis, healthy lifestyle ....Approximately 700,000 Australians have type 2 diabetes (also termed maturity-onset diabetes or non-insulin dependent diabetes), which is a condition associated with reduced lifespan, eye disease, heart disease, renal disease, stroke, and foot complications leading to amputation. Indigenous Australians are at particularly high risk, with over 30% of adults affected by this condition in a number of communities, associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Early diagnosis, healthy lifestyle modification and tight control of the blood sugar levels, blood pressure and cholesterol are the keys to preventing the complications of diabetes. Self-management is central to success, and education, support and encouragement play an important role. This research project incorporates an education program that has been developed in partnership with the indigenous health team at Cherbourg. Particular strengths include the emphasis on family involvement and community support. The central role of the indigenous health team will ensure continuity of benefit to the community. If proven to be effective, the program could be used as a model for interventions in other community settings to reduce the burden from type 2 diabetes in the indigenous Australian population.Read moreRead less
To Biochemically Trick P-Glycoprotein (Pgp) To Target Resistance Via Lysosomal Pgp
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$603,848.00
Summary
We have discovered an innovative biochemical strategy whereby our novel compounds exploit and trick a part of the detoxification machinery, that is the transporter, P-glycoprotein, to specifically kill drug resistant cancer cells. Herein, we take advantage of this biochemical mechanism to design novel and safe drugs to selectively target resistant tumours.
A Prospective Study Of Traumatic Stress In Children Involved In Motor Vehicle Accidents
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$185,889.00
Summary
Motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) are relatively frequent major life trauma that represent significant life threatening experiences. Not surprisingly evidence suggests that MVAs represent a frequent trigger for the development of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), although studies have typically focussed upon adult survivors. Local statistics indicate a significant proportion of children will experience a MVA of sufficient severity to warrant attendance at hospital. This project is of significa ....Motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) are relatively frequent major life trauma that represent significant life threatening experiences. Not surprisingly evidence suggests that MVAs represent a frequent trigger for the development of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), although studies have typically focussed upon adult survivors. Local statistics indicate a significant proportion of children will experience a MVA of sufficient severity to warrant attendance at hospital. This project is of significance because it will provide badly needed information about the prevalence and course of emotional and behavioural problems in children following exposure to a serious MVA. More broadly the study should provide valuable information on post-traumatic stress responses in children. Furthermore, it will enable us to identify the factors that place children at particular risk of developing psychological problems following a MVA. This will provide information to help design of interventions to prevent the development of PTSD and other forms of psychopathology following MVAs. Such data will also permit identification of those children who are at particular risk of psychological morbidity after MVA trauma and for whom preventive interventions are most likely to be beneficial.Read moreRead less
How do qualifications delivered by enterprises contribute to improved skill levels and other benefits for companies, workers and the nation? This project investigates the role of employer-based qualifications training in developing the skills and prospects of the Australian workforce and the competitive capabilities of companies. It focuses on enterprises that are accredited to deliver qualifications to their own workers, providing data to improve and expand this form of training.
Reconnecting Disaffected Youth through Successful Transition to Work. According to the ABS (2006) more than 15% of Australia's youth receives employment benefits at a cost that the Department of Family and Community Services (2000) estimated between $44 000 and $46 000/person/year. High rates of offending and repeat arrests are prevalent within the group at a cost to the youth concerned and to the nation. The Productivity Commission estimated in 2004 that outlay to keep someone in prison was bet ....Reconnecting Disaffected Youth through Successful Transition to Work. According to the ABS (2006) more than 15% of Australia's youth receives employment benefits at a cost that the Department of Family and Community Services (2000) estimated between $44 000 and $46 000/person/year. High rates of offending and repeat arrests are prevalent within the group at a cost to the youth concerned and to the nation. The Productivity Commission estimated in 2004 that outlay to keep someone in prison was between $67,000 and $85,0004 per year. We seek to short-circuit the human and economic costs of the failure cycle by improving individuals' capacities to gain and retain work, and to have healthy lifestyles and positive self-concept, and thereby to contribute to their positive participation in society. Read moreRead less