(When) should organisations employ over/underqualified individuals? The aim of the project is to better understand how employee qualifications (ie the extent to which an employee is qualified for the job they hold) influences their voluntary turnover decisions and job performance. Demand and supply in the labour market are frequently out of sync; around half of Australian employees have a level of qualification that does not match the position in which they are currently working. The project aim ....(When) should organisations employ over/underqualified individuals? The aim of the project is to better understand how employee qualifications (ie the extent to which an employee is qualified for the job they hold) influences their voluntary turnover decisions and job performance. Demand and supply in the labour market are frequently out of sync; around half of Australian employees have a level of qualification that does not match the position in which they are currently working. The project aims to establish under what conditions organisations and employees can get the performance benefits from employee qualifications while avoiding fast rates of voluntary turnover. The goal of the project is to develop insights about how to make full use of the benefits of qualifications while avoiding the pitfalls. Insights from this research may be of potential benefit to both workers and to employing organisations.Read moreRead less
Flexible methods for latent variable models applied to Health Economics. This project aims to develop flexible and powerful methods for estimating models containing variables that are unobserved, that is, latent. Such models are often used to capture individual heterogeneity and time dependence in data collected on individuals, with each individual observed for several time periods. Latent variables can also infer group membership, where such membership is unavailable from the data. The intended ....Flexible methods for latent variable models applied to Health Economics. This project aims to develop flexible and powerful methods for estimating models containing variables that are unobserved, that is, latent. Such models are often used to capture individual heterogeneity and time dependence in data collected on individuals, with each individual observed for several time periods. Latent variables can also infer group membership, where such membership is unavailable from the data. The intended methodology is Bayesian and based on new particle methods that allow users to select between models and predict future observations even in complex situations. The research aims to inform decision making through improved use of data in health economics and related fields.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101032
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$378,000.00
Summary
Economic analysis of peer effects in adolescence and adulthood. Although healthier, stronger and better at reasoning than young children, adolescents' morbidity and mortality rates are double those of young children. Unintentional injury, mostly avoidable and attributed to wrong decisions, is the biggest cause of death and hospitalisation among adolescents in Australia. Peer presence is likely to be a major cause of adolescents' inferior decision-making. This project aims to use experimental eco ....Economic analysis of peer effects in adolescence and adulthood. Although healthier, stronger and better at reasoning than young children, adolescents' morbidity and mortality rates are double those of young children. Unintentional injury, mostly avoidable and attributed to wrong decisions, is the biggest cause of death and hospitalisation among adolescents in Australia. Peer presence is likely to be a major cause of adolescents' inferior decision-making. This project aims to use experimental economics methods to study how peer presence affects the parameters of the economic decision model, specifically risk tolerance, discounting, and propensity to make errors. The project aims to advance the understanding of decision-making across the lifespan, inform theoretical modelling and advise policy-makers how to reduce the risks to adolescents.Read moreRead less
Strategic Behaviour in Games. John von Neumann’s minimax solution (1928) and its generalisation to mixed-strategy Nash (1950) equilibrium are the cornerstones of modern game theory, the mathematical framework for the study of decision making when the actions of different decision makers interact. This project studies human behaviour in situations where decision makers have an incentive to be unpredictable. The proposed research will shed light on the sources of the failure of the theory in the l ....Strategic Behaviour in Games. John von Neumann’s minimax solution (1928) and its generalisation to mixed-strategy Nash (1950) equilibrium are the cornerstones of modern game theory, the mathematical framework for the study of decision making when the actions of different decision makers interact. This project studies human behaviour in situations where decision makers have an incentive to be unpredictable. The proposed research will shed light on the sources of the failure of the theory in the lab, and assesses the practical significance of the statistical tests used to evaluate laboratory data on mixed-strategy play.Read moreRead less
Evaluation of a brief parenting intervention for parents of children suffering asthma or eczema. Childhood illnesses create a great burden for Australian families and many parents struggle with keeping their child healthy and well adjusted. This research will examine the effects of a brief parenting intervention to help parents become more skilled and confident in their role, leading to better child adjustment, health and wellbeing.
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
Introspection, Learning, and Equilibrium in Games: Theory and Experiment. Game theory is increasingly being used in the social sciences, but the extreme reliance on perfect decision making and perfect foresight has raised doubts about its empirical relevance. This scepticism is reinforced by laboratory evidence showing behaviour patterns that are systematically biased away from game-theoretic predictions. This project concerns the development and testing of models more descriptive of actual huma ....Introspection, Learning, and Equilibrium in Games: Theory and Experiment. Game theory is increasingly being used in the social sciences, but the extreme reliance on perfect decision making and perfect foresight has raised doubts about its empirical relevance. This scepticism is reinforced by laboratory evidence showing behaviour patterns that are systematically biased away from game-theoretic predictions. This project concerns the development and testing of models more descriptive of actual human behaviour. One aim is to deliver hybrid models able to reproduce interesting patterns of first-period play (introspection), time-series data in repeated games (learning), and systematic departures from static equilibrium. Another aim is to apply a successful hybrid to improve the design of economic and social institutions.Read moreRead less