Welfare reform and welfare stigma : scroungers, slackers and bludgers? This project aims to build an evidence base of the prevalence, causes and consequences of welfare stigma in Australia. Welfare policies and proposed reforms aim to reduce welfare expenditure, increase workforce participation, and promote personal and family wellbeing. However, stigmatising attitudes and discrimination towards those receiving welfare benefits may undermine these policy goals: reducing employment opportunities ....Welfare reform and welfare stigma : scroungers, slackers and bludgers? This project aims to build an evidence base of the prevalence, causes and consequences of welfare stigma in Australia. Welfare policies and proposed reforms aim to reduce welfare expenditure, increase workforce participation, and promote personal and family wellbeing. However, stigmatising attitudes and discrimination towards those receiving welfare benefits may undermine these policy goals: reducing employment opportunities and causing poorer health and wellbeing. Through innovative experimental studies, the project plans to identify ways in which welfare policy can minimise stigma and promote employment. Project outcomes may provide an evidence base for the design of more effective welfare policy.Read moreRead less
Improving employment outcomes for Australians with disability. This project aims to provide evidence about how to improve employment outcomes for people with disability. Nearly one in five adult Australians have a disability and just over half of these are in the labour force; a modest increase in employment rates will have significant social and economic benefits for people with disability and society. By collecting longitudinal quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interview) data at three ti ....Improving employment outcomes for Australians with disability. This project aims to provide evidence about how to improve employment outcomes for people with disability. Nearly one in five adult Australians have a disability and just over half of these are in the labour force; a modest increase in employment rates will have significant social and economic benefits for people with disability and society. By collecting longitudinal quantitative (survey) and qualitative (interview) data at three time points from over 1500 jobseekers with disability, critical information should be gained about how the characteristics of employment services, workplaces and jobseekers contribute to sustainable, meaningful employment for people with disability.Read moreRead less
Intercultural understanding in primary and secondary schools. What facilitates or impedes intercultural understanding in children, adolescents and schools? How can this be addressed? How can we know what makes a difference? This project answers these questions at the individual, school and national level using a novel cultural systems approach and methodological and technological innovations.
Motor Functioning In Young People With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – Combined Type: A Three-dimensional Motion Analysis Study.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$477,065.00
Summary
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder –combined type (ADHD-CT) is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder with a progressively devastating impact on psychosocial development. The first objective of this study is to use 3D-motion analysis to ‘probe’ the underlying brain dysfunction which characterises ADHD-CT. The second objective of this study is to improve our understanding of the link between movement problems, and (a) injury proneness, and (b) social-communicative problems, in children with AD ....Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder –combined type (ADHD-CT) is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder with a progressively devastating impact on psychosocial development. The first objective of this study is to use 3D-motion analysis to ‘probe’ the underlying brain dysfunction which characterises ADHD-CT. The second objective of this study is to improve our understanding of the link between movement problems, and (a) injury proneness, and (b) social-communicative problems, in children with ADHD-CT.Read moreRead less
Taming the intruders: the domestication of Tigger transposable elements in mammals. It has become apparent that most of the DNA that makes us what we are is actually comprised of the remnants of invading parasitic DNA acquired over time. A continual battle exists between host which tries to silence or remove this DNA, and the parasite that tries to multiply and spread. We are currently investigating an intriguing aspect of this process that involves host genomes 'domesticating' parasitic DNA to ....Taming the intruders: the domestication of Tigger transposable elements in mammals. It has become apparent that most of the DNA that makes us what we are is actually comprised of the remnants of invading parasitic DNA acquired over time. A continual battle exists between host which tries to silence or remove this DNA, and the parasite that tries to multiply and spread. We are currently investigating an intriguing aspect of this process that involves host genomes 'domesticating' parasitic DNA to provide novel functions, thereby facilitating the evolution of specific characteristics within species.Read moreRead less
The Relationship Between Maternal And Infant Dietary Intake Of Fermentable Fibre, Gut Microbiota, Short Chain Fatty Acids And Allergic Disease And Asthma: A Population-derived Birth Cohort Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$871,700.00
Summary
The proposed study will involve the Barwon Infant Study (BIS) cohort of 1074 infants to provide the first systematic investigation of the hypotheses that the epidemic of allergic disease and asthma in many parts of the world relates to the paucity of fermentable fibre in the modern diet, and that the protective effect of fermentable fibre is mediated by changes in the organisms that colonise the gut and the metabolites that they produce.
Defining Genetic And Epigenetic Variation During Early Development
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$996,075.00
Summary
We all began life with a set of genes inherited from our parents. However, it's now known that from the time we were in the womb onwards that genes can be turned off and on by the environment or even completely lost or gained. Even what your mother ate or how she behaved while she was pregnant could have influenced your future health. Because people are so different, we are studying the subtle differences between twins to tease out the factors that may influence our genes and our health.
More than a Roof Overhead: Meeting the Need for a Sustainable Housing System in Remote Indigenous Communities. Many Indigenous Australians live in substandard and over-crowded accommodation, and experience poor health, education, family stability and child-safety outcomes as a result. The lack of improvement in this situation is largely due to levels of funding and approaches to construction and management inadequate to the scale of the problem. This situation is changing and new funding and po ....More than a Roof Overhead: Meeting the Need for a Sustainable Housing System in Remote Indigenous Communities. Many Indigenous Australians live in substandard and over-crowded accommodation, and experience poor health, education, family stability and child-safety outcomes as a result. The lack of improvement in this situation is largely due to levels of funding and approaches to construction and management inadequate to the scale of the problem. This situation is changing and new funding and policies are being established. The researchers will work alongside housing providers and selected Indigenous communities in Western Australia and Northern Territory to develop procurement, construction and housing management practices that will meet the critical need for more affordable, appropriate and sustainable housing.Read moreRead less
Indigenous community organisations and miners: Partnering sustainable regional development? The project applies an innovative social sciences framework to an analysis of how Indigenous community organisations in remote Australia can better develop capacity to maximise the sustainable benefits of adjacent long-life mines. The roles of mining companies, governments and other stakeholders, as well as Indigenous organisations, in maintaining social capital within communities experiencing development ....Indigenous community organisations and miners: Partnering sustainable regional development? The project applies an innovative social sciences framework to an analysis of how Indigenous community organisations in remote Australia can better develop capacity to maximise the sustainable benefits of adjacent long-life mines. The roles of mining companies, governments and other stakeholders, as well as Indigenous organisations, in maintaining social capital within communities experiencing development strain associated with economic, social and environmental impacts of mining will be investigated. The project will make an important theoretical contribution to refining an emerging framework that includes the key element 'social capital'. Practical recommendations for policy change that facilitate better socio-economic outcomes will be provided.Read moreRead less
Discovering mechanisms of primary embryonic tissue migration through live cell imaging and novel genetic approaches. The studies proposed here will provide concepts and knowledge about the molecular basis of cell migration that will impact on diverse aspects of human health, such as the causes and nature of tumour metastasis and our understanding of the developmental basis of birth defects. In addition, understanding cell migration mechanisms will allow us to better predict or control the behav ....Discovering mechanisms of primary embryonic tissue migration through live cell imaging and novel genetic approaches. The studies proposed here will provide concepts and knowledge about the molecular basis of cell migration that will impact on diverse aspects of human health, such as the causes and nature of tumour metastasis and our understanding of the developmental basis of birth defects. In addition, understanding cell migration mechanisms will allow us to better predict or control the behaviour of therapeutic stem cells introduced into the body.Read moreRead less