Eyewitness identification: Metacognitive influences on choosing behaviour. There is major national and community interest in the successful conduct of criminal investigations. This research addresses the two most significant problems associated with the conduct of eyewitness identification tests: mistaken identifications of innocent suspects and failure to identify guilty suspects when they are present in the lineup. Progress on the latter problem - which results in offenders avoiding detection ....Eyewitness identification: Metacognitive influences on choosing behaviour. There is major national and community interest in the successful conduct of criminal investigations. This research addresses the two most significant problems associated with the conduct of eyewitness identification tests: mistaken identifications of innocent suspects and failure to identify guilty suspects when they are present in the lineup. Progress on the latter problem - which results in offenders avoiding detection - would be a major contribution with national impact. As well as the obvious implications for the conduct of lineups, the international collaboration on the project will increase the visibility of Australian social science research and provide crucial development opportunities for young Australian scientists.Read moreRead less
Ethics, responsibility and the carbon budget. This project aims to provide a rigorous ethical framework for dividing the world’s remaining ‘carbon budget’ (CB). In order to avoid climate change the world must drastically limit its emissions of greenhouse gases. The project will develop a new analysis of how our assumptions concerning risk and harm shape conception of the CB. It will also provide a new understanding of how future emission rights should be allocated given that countries have emitt ....Ethics, responsibility and the carbon budget. This project aims to provide a rigorous ethical framework for dividing the world’s remaining ‘carbon budget’ (CB). In order to avoid climate change the world must drastically limit its emissions of greenhouse gases. The project will develop a new analysis of how our assumptions concerning risk and harm shape conception of the CB. It will also provide a new understanding of how future emission rights should be allocated given that countries have emitted vastly different quantities of greenhouse gases in the past. The project will analyse how the CB will impact the climate transition plans of countries such as Australia. The project will thus bring significant new research in philosophy to bear on a practical issue.Read moreRead less
Extending Cognitive Models to Account for Individual Differences. Despite their impressive achievements, cognitive models of memory retention, category learning, and stimulus representation usually model people as ?invariants?, concentrating on what makes them the same. This project aims to extend all three types of model to also treat people as ?individuals?, and account for how people are different. Advanced model selection methods will be used to do this in a way that is complete, general, an ....Extending Cognitive Models to Account for Individual Differences. Despite their impressive achievements, cognitive models of memory retention, category learning, and stimulus representation usually model people as ?invariants?, concentrating on what makes them the same. This project aims to extend all three types of model to also treat people as ?individuals?, and account for how people are different. Advanced model selection methods will be used to do this in a way that is complete, general, and principled. The outcome will be a set of new theoretical models, and new algorithms to learn the models from empirical data, that explain the differences between people in remembering, learning and representing information.Read moreRead less
The distortion of eyewitness identification testimony. A fair and efficient criminal justice system is important. This project will contribute to the continually expanding knowledge base required for improving the collection and use of eyewitness identification testimony. Ultimately, the adoption of principles suggested by this knowledge base will improve the validity and probative value of eyewitness evidence. This will advance the already significant contribution that Australian psychological ....The distortion of eyewitness identification testimony. A fair and efficient criminal justice system is important. This project will contribute to the continually expanding knowledge base required for improving the collection and use of eyewitness identification testimony. Ultimately, the adoption of principles suggested by this knowledge base will improve the validity and probative value of eyewitness evidence. This will advance the already significant contribution that Australian psychological science is providing for the administration of criminal justice. Read moreRead less
Theoretical and policy implications of changing work/life patterns and preferences of Australian women, men and children, households and communities. This project establishes a Research Fellowship for Ass. Prof. Barbara Pocock, that will principally analyse and investigate, over five years, the relationship of changing patterns of work (broadly defined) in Australia, and the changing nature of Australian households, communities and workplaces. The study explores the effects of work upon househol ....Theoretical and policy implications of changing work/life patterns and preferences of Australian women, men and children, households and communities. This project establishes a Research Fellowship for Ass. Prof. Barbara Pocock, that will principally analyse and investigate, over five years, the relationship of changing patterns of work (broadly defined) in Australia, and the changing nature of Australian households, communities and workplaces. The study explores the effects of work upon households, along with individual preferences and household, community and workplace structures (and their interaction), drawing out implications for social theory and policy. It will analyse policy, quantitative data, and collect and analyse new qualitative data at Australian sites, within an international context.Read moreRead less
Collective Obligations and Partial Compliance. The research I would conduct is likely to have considerable impact at both the national and international level. Despite the lack of systematic work on the issues my projects tackles, the importance of those issues is now widely recognized, and so work on them is likely to be widely noted and discussed. In addition, the research will have important implications for a number of the most prominent issues in contemporary life in Australia, such as issu ....Collective Obligations and Partial Compliance. The research I would conduct is likely to have considerable impact at both the national and international level. Despite the lack of systematic work on the issues my projects tackles, the importance of those issues is now widely recognized, and so work on them is likely to be widely noted and discussed. In addition, the research will have important implications for a number of the most prominent issues in contemporary life in Australia, such as issues concerning refugees, relations with the aboriginal community, and international aid.Read moreRead less
Institutional Configurations, Religioisty and Public Influence of Religious Institutions Muslim Societies: A Comparative Study. Religious fundamentalism is a growing and important part of social change in Muslim countries. Using current religious, political, and social conditions as contrasting environments the proposed research will investigate the competing theories of Islamic fundamentalism, sociological correlates of Muslim religiosity and public influence of religious institutions in contra ....Institutional Configurations, Religioisty and Public Influence of Religious Institutions Muslim Societies: A Comparative Study. Religious fundamentalism is a growing and important part of social change in Muslim countries. Using current religious, political, and social conditions as contrasting environments the proposed research will investigate the competing theories of Islamic fundamentalism, sociological correlates of Muslim religiosity and public influence of religious institutions in contrasting institutional configurations by focusing on the Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkey and Nigeria. This will be achieved through a study of random/purposive samples of respondents in the three countries using survey methodology. The objective is to develop a theoretically and empirically grounded model of social, political and religious trajectories of Muslim societies.Read moreRead less
The dynamics of witness confidence effects on juror judgments. While psychologists and criminal justice professionals concur that eyewitness confidence is one of the major influences on juror judgments, previous researchers' treatment of confidence as an invariant testimonial characteristic means that we actually know little about the impact of witness confidence. This research tests social persuasion theories and reveals the dynamic effects on juror judgments and verdicts of the sort of confide ....The dynamics of witness confidence effects on juror judgments. While psychologists and criminal justice professionals concur that eyewitness confidence is one of the major influences on juror judgments, previous researchers' treatment of confidence as an invariant testimonial characteristic means that we actually know little about the impact of witness confidence. This research tests social persuasion theories and reveals the dynamic effects on juror judgments and verdicts of the sort of confidence fluctuations that characterise real witnesses. Knowing how such fluctuations will shape jurors' judgments is vital for judges (when instructing jurors) and for police and lawyers when they assess the likely impact of the witnesses they intend to call.Read moreRead less
Food/body encounters: New approaches and alternative solutions to obesity prevention and policy. There is growing recognition of the need for new ways to tackle the obesity problem, and for forms of intervention that move beyond the limitations of individual behavioural changes. This project provides a paradigm for re-orientating how we have come to know obesity by investigating the cultural and institutional processes that shape everyday food and activity practices. Understanding and intervenin ....Food/body encounters: New approaches and alternative solutions to obesity prevention and policy. There is growing recognition of the need for new ways to tackle the obesity problem, and for forms of intervention that move beyond the limitations of individual behavioural changes. This project provides a paradigm for re-orientating how we have come to know obesity by investigating the cultural and institutional processes that shape everyday food and activity practices. Understanding and intervening in these dynamics of social practice are central to the challenges of reversing trends in the prevalence of obesity.Read moreRead less
An ethnographic study of obesity risk in a disadvantaged community. This project will investigate how families who are seen as ‘at risk’ of developing obesity respond to Australia's largest obesity intervention, and if messages about healthy eating and increased physical activity are acted upon. Information gathered will provide an important context for what works (and doesn’t work) in obesity intervention.