Building capacity for online counselling for schools: developing and evaluating an online school counselling program. The wellbeing of children and young people is an important goal nationally and school-based online counselling has the potential to directly benefit them. The impact of mental health problems and poor life and career choices in adolescence is undisputed. This project will facilitate access to career and mental health support through technology.
An evaluation of the effects of individual and environmental factors on participation in training, and the quality of training outcomes. The aim of the project is to examine the factors that influence the effectiveness of personnel training programs. The outcomes that will be examined include trainee satisfaction, learning, and subsequent job performance (transfer). The project will involve an annual survey of all trainees, trainers, supervisors and workplace assessors associated with the traini ....An evaluation of the effects of individual and environmental factors on participation in training, and the quality of training outcomes. The aim of the project is to examine the factors that influence the effectiveness of personnel training programs. The outcomes that will be examined include trainee satisfaction, learning, and subsequent job performance (transfer). The project will involve an annual survey of all trainees, trainers, supervisors and workplace assessors associated with the training programs being delivered as part of the Queensland Public Service Enterprise Bargain. The research program will contribute to a growing body of research examining the contribution of individual differences and environmental factors to training quality. The major practical benefit of the research will be the development of training management and audit systems that allow organizations to maximise the effectiveness of training.Read moreRead less
Enhancing employee safety in response to workplace violence. International and national trends indicate that workplace violence is a significant growing problem. Poorly managed, victims can suffer physical and psychological trauma, and employers risk increases in workers compensation claims, insurance premiums, employee turnover, sick leave and low morale. There is a dearth of research into the effectiveness of training employees to predict, control and defuse aggressive incidents, yet this is a ....Enhancing employee safety in response to workplace violence. International and national trends indicate that workplace violence is a significant growing problem. Poorly managed, victims can suffer physical and psychological trauma, and employers risk increases in workers compensation claims, insurance premiums, employee turnover, sick leave and low morale. There is a dearth of research into the effectiveness of training employees to predict, control and defuse aggressive incidents, yet this is a significant priority for many industries. This project will develop and evaluate a new best practice aggression minimisation training program with 200 mental health employees by an RCT assessing gains in safety, knowledge, skills and confidence in managing violence.Read moreRead less
Goal orientations, self-regulation and performance: Implications for accelerating learning via goal-setting interventions. This project relates to the priority of strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric. The question of when and why various goals are adaptive versus maladaptive is of fundamental importance for understanding human behaviour. Society benefits from research into this question, because it provides a pathway for tapping into human potential. The results have implications ....Goal orientations, self-regulation and performance: Implications for accelerating learning via goal-setting interventions. This project relates to the priority of strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric. The question of when and why various goals are adaptive versus maladaptive is of fundamental importance for understanding human behaviour. Society benefits from research into this question, because it provides a pathway for tapping into human potential. The results have implications for the development of effective training programs and thus have the potential to influence personal growth and financial stability. The results will have wide application in a variety of industries. Examples include the development of interventions for more rapid training, and the development of performance-management plans for facilitating career advancement.Read moreRead less
The Development of Creative Thinking Ability in TAFE Design Students. The aim is to develop an instructional framework as a conceptual basis for instruction aimed at TAFE design student use of imagery in creative thinking. The research addresses the challenges of recent post-compulsory education initiatives, which include a more specific focus on the development of creative problem-solving skills, but provide little guidance on instructional strategies. The research will synthesise the framewo ....The Development of Creative Thinking Ability in TAFE Design Students. The aim is to develop an instructional framework as a conceptual basis for instruction aimed at TAFE design student use of imagery in creative thinking. The research addresses the challenges of recent post-compulsory education initiatives, which include a more specific focus on the development of creative problem-solving skills, but provide little guidance on instructional strategies. The research will synthesise the framework from theories about cognitive processes, creative problem-solving and the use of mental imagery; and the results of an imagery training program and creative problem-solving interventions. The outcome will be an instructional framework for guiding the development of student creative thinking in design-based courses in TAFE.Read moreRead less
Integrating between-person and within-person approaches to personality in the workplace. Personality tests are used to predict well being and productivity at work and are often used for personnel decisions within organisations in developed countries, including Australia. The treatment of personality as a fixed set of traits that produce similar responses across situations ignores human variability across situations which is needed for design of interventions to make humans happier and more effec ....Integrating between-person and within-person approaches to personality in the workplace. Personality tests are used to predict well being and productivity at work and are often used for personnel decisions within organisations in developed countries, including Australia. The treatment of personality as a fixed set of traits that produce similar responses across situations ignores human variability across situations which is needed for design of interventions to make humans happier and more effective at work. The results of tests of the integrated model of personality will be used to design interventions for the development of responses that lead to greater well being and effectiveness of managers in work settings.Read moreRead less
Cognitive Cue Analysis: Seeing the Unseen in Human Performance. The aim of this project is to examine a radically new approach to the assessment of pilots. We have created a new theoretical model that links the way in which cues are accessed to the application of various skills including decision-making. In validating this model, our objective is to develop a tool that will assist the evaluation of particular skills in a wide range of environments, including aviation. This significance of this p ....Cognitive Cue Analysis: Seeing the Unseen in Human Performance. The aim of this project is to examine a radically new approach to the assessment of pilots. We have created a new theoretical model that links the way in which cues are accessed to the application of various skills including decision-making. In validating this model, our objective is to develop a tool that will assist the evaluation of particular skills in a wide range of environments, including aviation. This significance of this project lies in the development of an innovative model of the relationship between between cues and the application of skills. We expect that the outcomes of this project will lead to much more efficient and accurate assessments of performance, and the opportunity to target particular skills. This will lead to savings for training organisations and increased safety in transportation industries.Read moreRead less
Multiple Perspectives of Eating Disorders in Girls. This study explores the subjective experiences of anorexic adolescent girls and the perspectives of their parents and other professionals to identify the beliefs and constructs underpinning the identification, management and experience of anorexia. Using a multi-method heuristic approach, we will analyse congruence and dissonance in perspectives, the mechanisms individuals and groups use to assert and justify their views and actions, and the r ....Multiple Perspectives of Eating Disorders in Girls. This study explores the subjective experiences of anorexic adolescent girls and the perspectives of their parents and other professionals to identify the beliefs and constructs underpinning the identification, management and experience of anorexia. Using a multi-method heuristic approach, we will analyse congruence and dissonance in perspectives, the mechanisms individuals and groups use to assert and justify their views and actions, and the reflexive impact of these on others. The study will generate basic knowledge to improve support for girls and families, development better preventative education and inform the education of professional in the field.Read moreRead less
Training for Adaptability: The role of errors, exceptions and rules of thumb. This project involving collaboration among three fire services across two states and two universities aims to develop theoretical and evidenced-based error and exceptions training in the prediction of fire behaviour among novices and experts. The project will advance significantly our understanding of ways of adapting knowledge and updating and improving rules of thumb for complex decision-making. An innovative new cri ....Training for Adaptability: The role of errors, exceptions and rules of thumb. This project involving collaboration among three fire services across two states and two universities aims to develop theoretical and evidenced-based error and exceptions training in the prediction of fire behaviour among novices and experts. The project will advance significantly our understanding of ways of adapting knowledge and updating and improving rules of thumb for complex decision-making. An innovative new critical incident recording system will be developed that identifies the cognitive determinants of errors. Tightly controlled laboratory studies will be combined with field studies leading to improved theoretical understanding as well as practical outcomes for the fire services.Read moreRead less
Flexible Expertise in Senior Executives. The prosperity of Australian society requires effective management in the face of accelerating economic, technological, social, and environmental changes. Leaders of Australian organizations must display flexibility in responding to the increasingly fluid and complex problems that confront them if they are to succeed in the global economy. An innovative model of flexible expertise that links synergisms of knowledge, self-regulatory processes, transfer and ....Flexible Expertise in Senior Executives. The prosperity of Australian society requires effective management in the face of accelerating economic, technological, social, and environmental changes. Leaders of Australian organizations must display flexibility in responding to the increasingly fluid and complex problems that confront them if they are to succeed in the global economy. An innovative model of flexible expertise that links synergisms of knowledge, self-regulatory processes, transfer and learning will be developed in studies of managers from leading Australian organizations. The results will be used to inform programs to accelerate the development of flexible expertise and leadership skills and address the current lack of human capital to fill executive leadership roles.Read moreRead less