The construction and experience of fertility in the context of cancer: patient, partner and health professional perspectives. This project will examine the nature and consequences of fertility concerns for men and women with cancer, and their partners, across a range of cancer types, as well as the knowledge and experience of health professionals. This will increase knowledge of this important health concern, and lead to the development of programs to reduce distress.
The effectiveness of pro-active telemarketing of a smoking cessation telephone counselling service. Despite the availability of services, such as telephone support lines to help people quit, only a small number of smokers seek help. One solution is to pro-actively contact and offer support with quitting to smokers in the community. This study will involve pro-actively contacting households by telephone and offering intensive, personalised telephone counselling to smokers to support them in the q ....The effectiveness of pro-active telemarketing of a smoking cessation telephone counselling service. Despite the availability of services, such as telephone support lines to help people quit, only a small number of smokers seek help. One solution is to pro-actively contact and offer support with quitting to smokers in the community. This study will involve pro-actively contacting households by telephone and offering intensive, personalised telephone counselling to smokers to support them in the quitting process. Such a service will provide treatment to smokers who might not otherwise seek assistance to quit, thereby greatly increasing the potential impact of quit smoking services at a community level.Read moreRead less
Multiple perspectives on sexuality and intimacy post-cancer, leading to the development and evaluation of supportive interventions. In 2006, over 106,000 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in Australia, impacting on the quality of life of patients and their partners. A significant proportion of couples report cessation of sexual and intimate contact post-cancer, resulting in considerable distress. To date, there has been no examination of this important health concern across a broad range of can ....Multiple perspectives on sexuality and intimacy post-cancer, leading to the development and evaluation of supportive interventions. In 2006, over 106,000 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in Australia, impacting on the quality of life of patients and their partners. A significant proportion of couples report cessation of sexual and intimate contact post-cancer, resulting in considerable distress. To date, there has been no examination of this important health concern across a broad range of cancer types, from the perspective of patients and their partners. Equally, support services rarely address sexuality issues post-cancer. This project will benefit people with cancer and their partners through examining pathways to distress, and developing programs to facilitate re-negotiation of sexuality and intimacy, post-cancer.Read moreRead less
Prediction and optimisation of the acoustic performance of mufflers for sleep apnea devices. ResMed is a world leader in the technology of developing products for treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). ResMed provided the first successful non-invasive treatment of OSA with their sleep apnea device. Noise reduction is an important issue in the development of this product, since these devices operate on a bedside table. This project will enable the acoustic performance of these small irregularly ....Prediction and optimisation of the acoustic performance of mufflers for sleep apnea devices. ResMed is a world leader in the technology of developing products for treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). ResMed provided the first successful non-invasive treatment of OSA with their sleep apnea device. Noise reduction is an important issue in the development of this product, since these devices operate on a bedside table. This project will enable the acoustic performance of these small irregularly shaped mufflers to be reliably predicted and optimised. The successful outcomes will improve the quality of the well-being of the user. This research also has relevance to the design of mufflers for use in broader applications such as locomotives and ferries.Read moreRead less
Evaluation of profile edge markings as a road safety countermeasure: Analysis of crash statistics and on-road study of driver behaviour and attitudes. Fatigue contributes to 20% of fatal car crashes. Profile line-marking (PLM) aims to reduce fatigue-related crashes by alerting drivers when they begin veering off the road. Substantial stretches are laid annually Australia-wide, although evaluations of PLM have been unsophisticated or flawed. We aim to improve understanding of PLM impacts by inve ....Evaluation of profile edge markings as a road safety countermeasure: Analysis of crash statistics and on-road study of driver behaviour and attitudes. Fatigue contributes to 20% of fatal car crashes. Profile line-marking (PLM) aims to reduce fatigue-related crashes by alerting drivers when they begin veering off the road. Substantial stretches are laid annually Australia-wide, although evaluations of PLM have been unsophisticated or flawed. We aim to improve understanding of PLM impacts by investigating: 1)beliefs/attitudes regarding PLM (e.g. "PLM damages cars"); 2)whether road-edge PLM increases head-on crashes; 3)the efficacy of PLM with more widely spaced "ribs", with and without separate raised pavement markers; 4)underlying mechanisms (e.g. reducing fatigue, increasing visibility during night/wet) in order to improve the efficacy and efficiency of PLM use.Read moreRead less
Achieving flexibility through coordination: reframing the practice of ambidexterity to benefit business and employees during organisational change. Work teams are frequently used yet their capability to perform is constrained by organisational restructures that emphasise centralisation. This project will examine ways to mitigate these potential negative consequences through flexible work arrangements that enable and sustain effectiveness for business units and teams as well as for employees outs ....Achieving flexibility through coordination: reframing the practice of ambidexterity to benefit business and employees during organisational change. Work teams are frequently used yet their capability to perform is constrained by organisational restructures that emphasise centralisation. This project will examine ways to mitigate these potential negative consequences through flexible work arrangements that enable and sustain effectiveness for business units and teams as well as for employees outside work.Read moreRead less
Increasing the quality of goods donated to charities: Two field trials. This project aims to trial three social marketing programs using controlled field experiments in partnership with Queensland Government and the National Association of Charitable Recycling Organisations. Controlled community pilot programs are planned as a means to identify the effective program for implementation nation wide by charitable recycling organisations in Year 3 of the project. The planned research aims to incre ....Increasing the quality of goods donated to charities: Two field trials. This project aims to trial three social marketing programs using controlled field experiments in partnership with Queensland Government and the National Association of Charitable Recycling Organisations. Controlled community pilot programs are planned as a means to identify the effective program for implementation nation wide by charitable recycling organisations in Year 3 of the project. The planned research aims to increase the quality of goods donated to Australian charities. Increases in the quality of goods donated to Australian charities delivers cost savings that can in turn be used to provide essential services to support more Australians who are in need. Read moreRead less
Early stress experiences and stress resilience in pigs. Animal stress has substantial implications on animal productivity, health and welfare of farm animals and thus farm profitability. This project aims to examine the stress resilience in pigs. Modern pig farming is a major source of food, providing substantial nutritional, social and economic benefits in Australia and worldwide. Animal welfare is of increasing concern to the public, consumers and pork producers, and stress vulnerability is an ....Early stress experiences and stress resilience in pigs. Animal stress has substantial implications on animal productivity, health and welfare of farm animals and thus farm profitability. This project aims to examine the stress resilience in pigs. Modern pig farming is a major source of food, providing substantial nutritional, social and economic benefits in Australia and worldwide. Animal welfare is of increasing concern to the public, consumers and pork producers, and stress vulnerability is an animal health and production problem in the life of the commercial pig. This project will generate new knowledge on early life management to endow stress resilience in pigs, with expected benefits for animal welfare, farm productivity and profitability.Read moreRead less
The value of characteristics of Australian wheat. This project will identify the functional wheat characteristics considered by the Japanese millers when deciding what and how much to buy. It will also determine how these functional and non-functional Australian wheat characteristics are perceived by the millers compared to other countries, and determine the importance of each one of these characteristics on the final choice.
The effect of a practice change intervention in increasing, on a network-wide basis, the provision of preventive care by community health clinicians. Community health services do not routinely deliver care that aims to decrease client health risk behaviours. The effectiveness of an intervention designed to enhance the delivery of such care will be examined.