research & innovation in the social sciences

FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCES

INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH

RESEARCH & INNOVATIONIN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

“What all our researchers in

SBS and ISSR have in common is a

commitment to methodological and

theoretical rigour and to sharing and

applying knowledge. Our researchers

are engaged with the same ‘big

picture’ issues that policy-makers

and voters must confront ”This document was published in September 2012.

2 Welcome 3 Research performance highlights 4 Organisational profiles

6 STRONGER COMMUNITIES 12 UQ’s hidden gem unveiled – the Anthropology Museum

14 SOCIAL INCLUSION 22 Encouraging research and innovation excellence

26 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

33 UQ Foundation Research Excellence Awards

34 Innovation and commercial development

36 INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT 42 Early career researchers

50 COMMUNICATION TO CHANGE THE WORLD 57 ARC Laureates 58 Future Fellowships

2

This Research and Innovation profile describes and celebrates the work of staff in the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (SBS) and the Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR) at The University of Queensland.

SBS and ISSR together provide one of the largest concentrations of social science research expertise in Australia. We employ more than 1,000 staff, supervise almost 600 research higher degree candidates, and in 2011 generated more than $18 million in research income.

What all our researchers have in common is a commitment to methodological and theoretical rigour and to sharing and applying knowledge. Our researchers are engaged with the same ‘big picture’ issues that policy-makers and voters must confront. With this in mind, we have organised this profile around a number of themes – Stronger Communities, Social Inclusion, Sustainable Development, International Engagement and Communication to Change the World.

Our collective success in addressing these and other issues can be measured by the depth and breadth of the research partnerships formed with government departments, international organisations, charities and advocacy groups. A key example is the work of Professor Karen Healy, Dr Yvonne Darlington and Dr Gai Harrison who have collaborated with the Queensland Department of Communities, Micah Projects and Uniting Care Communities on increasing the involvement of families in the child protection decision-making process, an international first. Our success is also reflected in the number of prestigious fellowships given to our researchers. We acknowledge the work and the impact of our Australian Research Council Laureates and Future Fellows.

Our achievements can be seen in the way in which a number of our researchers have commercialised their work. In this profile we highlight the work of Associate Professor Karen Moni and Dr Anne Jobling in exporting the evidence-based literacy program for young adults with an intellectual disability, Latch-On, to the Republic of Ireland, Dr Andrew Smith’s work in developing the Leximancer text-analysis

software, and the work of the School of Political Science and International Studies in AusAID’s African Regional Diplomacy Program. We would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of Professor Matt Sanders and his colleagues in the Parenting and Family Support Centre for their ongoing work in developing the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program. This unique program is currently available in 18 languages across 25 countries, with more than 62,000 professionals trained to deliver the program for the benefit of over seven million children globally. In this profile we describe the work of James Kirby in extending the Triple P program to include grandparenting.

This profile showcases the work of our most senior researchers and also describes the research interests and achievements of those in the early stages of their careers. In particular, we highlight the efforts of Dr Brock Bastian, Associate Professor Lynda Cheshire and Dr Paul E. Dux as recent winners of University of Queensland Foundation Research Excellence Awards.

We hope you enjoy reading about our successes and research milestones in the social sciences.▲

From left:

Professor David de Vaus, Executive Dean, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences

Professor Mark Western, Director, Institute for Social Science Research

Associate Professor Andrew Hindmoor, Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences

WELCOME

2 RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

RESEARCH PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTSIn 201253 ARC Discovery Projects 21 ARC Linkage Projects 10 ARC Future Fellowships 6 Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards

4 ARC Laureate Fellows Professor Alex Haslam (Psychology) Professor Jason Mattingley (Psychology/Queensland Brain Institute) Professor Lorraine Mazerolle (ISSR) Professor John Quiggin (Political Science and International Studies/Economics)

ARC College of Experts Professor Janeen Baxter (Social Science/ISSR) Professor Brian Head (ISSR)

16 Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia

$2 million refunding for the next three years for the AusAID-funded centre, the Asia-Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

Key role in $5.2 million NHMRC program grant in the first multistate evaluation of Stepping Stones Triple P

2011 Research Income Sources – SBS and ISSR

90%

Category 1 – AustralianCompetitive Grants

Category 2 – Other Public Sector Research Funding

Category 3 – Industry and Other Funding for Research

Total Research Income – SBS and ISSR

$20,000,000

$15,000,000

$10,000,000

$5,000,000

0

2008 2009 2010 2011

Total RHD Student Load – SBS and ISSR

600.00

550.00

500.00

450.00

400.00

2008 2009 2010 2011

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES 3

ORGANISATIONAL

PROFILES The Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR) was founded in 2007 with a vision to use evidence-based social science research to find solutions to the challenges facing society today.

Now one of the nation’s leading social science institutes, ISSR is primarily funded through competitive grants, contract research and commercial services for data collection, data analysis and training and professional development. The institute has significant research infrastructure with Australia’s largest academic Survey Research Facility and more than 100 research staff.

Institute Director Professor Mark Western is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Chair of the Education and Human Society Research Evaluation Committee for the national assessment of university research quality, Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA).

Major institute projects include the evaluation of the Australian Paid Parental Leave Program for the Federal Government, the program

of work to address homelessness and Professor Lorraine Mazerolle’s prestigious Australian Research Council (ARC) Laureate Fellowship in Experimental Criminology.

ISSR has grown a matrix of cooperative connections with RHD students, researchers, disciplines, institutions, partners, governments and the community.

Research expertise in

– Housing and homelessness

– Labour markets and employment

– Wellbeing and resilience

– Lifecourse, family and ageing

– Policing and crime control

– Sustainability and environment

– Social research methods

Core capabilities in

– Applied social science research

– Policy and program analysis and evaluation

– Social statistics and research methodology

– Commercial research and survey contracts

– Computer-intensive text analysis

www.issr.uq.edu.au

THE INSTITUTE FOR

SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH


Environment and

sustainablity

Employment and labour

markets Educational outcomes

Social wellbeing

Housing and homelessness

Indigenous wellbeing

Families, households and

relationships

Policing and crime control

Community resilience

Lifecourse pathways

▲ Applied social science research

▲ Government policy and program evaluation

▲ Use of social statistics and large data sets

▲ Survey research and research training

▲ Advanced text analytics and randomised field

experiments

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

The School of Education conducts research in the areas of educational theory, policy and practice within a global context. Researchers in the school are active collaborators with local and national policy-makers and practitioners.

The research focus of the school depends on the emerging scholarship of both staff and students, but generally includes three main areas: special populations, inclusion and cognition; pedagogy and curriculum; and professional practice, policy and leadership.

www.uq.edu.au/education

SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATION

Australia’s first journalism school is also one of Australia’s leaders in journalism and communication research. The School of Journalism and Communication has a global network of experts and researchers, an intensive grounded research culture and a strong commitment to fostering high quality research higher degree graduates.

Research within the school

focuses around two main areas – Communication for Social Change and reconceptualising journalism and public relations for the 21st century. The Centre for Communication and Social Change, housed within the school, is internationally recognised for its research and consultancy.

www.uq.edu.au/sjc

SCHOOL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

The School of Political Science and International Studies is at the forefront of teaching and research in political science, international relations and peace and conflict studies in Australia.

Research within the school covers a number of areas including: Australian politics; public policy and governance; international relations; peace, security and development; international political economy; political theory; and comparative and regional politics.

The school houses the Rotary Centre for International Studies in peace and conflict resolution and the Asia-Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.

www.polsis.uq.edu.au

SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY

The university has one of the strongest schools of psychology in Australia. Its esteemed reputation in teaching is strengthened by its outstanding record in research and research training.

The school has an extensive range of research expertise, with the main established foci being social psychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and clinical psychology, with emerging strengths in organisational psychology and health psychology.

The school’s profile is enhanced by several research centres – the Early Cognitive Development Centre, the Centre for Research in Social Psychology, the Centre for Organisational Psychology, the Centre for Perception and Cognitive Neuroscience, the Clinical Psychology Research Centre and the Queensland Centre for Mothers and Babies.

www.psy.uq.edu.au

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

The School of Social Science contains some of the strongest groups of researchers in anthropology, archaeology, criminology and sociology in Australia. Their research is highly diverse and draws on a range of theoretical and methodological approaches from across the social sciences.

SCHOOLS OF THE


Research themes include: Indigenous cultures and cultural heritage; archaeological science; life pathways and longitudinal studies; crime and social justice; urban neighbourhoods and housing; food, environment and development; health, wellbeing and lifecourse research; environment and community; globalisation, migration and culture; development and gender; and the Anthropology Museum and material culture studies.

www.socialscience.uq.edu.au

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK AND HUMAN SERVICES

The School of Social Work and Human Services is at the cutting-edge in applying the knowledge, skills and values of the human sciences to the complex issues faced by individuals, families, social groups, organisations, communities and societies.

The school has developed research strengths relating to particular population groups and policies, to broad understandings of the social roles of social work and related human services, to issues of community development and social governance, and finally to broad theoretical, historical and comparative aspects of social work and social policy regimes.

www.uq.edu.au/swahs


6

STRONGER COMMUNITIES Grandparents who babysit their

grandchildren are the focus of a new

Triple P program being trialled in Australia.

Grandparent Triple P, which is based on The University of Queensland’s world-renowned Triple P – Positive Parenting Program, was created in response to figures showing that grandparents are the largest single providers of childcare in Australia, a trend echoed around the world.

Program Coordinator James Kirby, who developed the new program with Triple P founder Professor Matt Sanders, said the number of support programs currently available for grandparents involved in childcare doesn’t match the demand.

“For some families it can be tough; what a grandparent and a parent think as being the best ways to support the grandchildren can differ. In those situations sometimes tension can arise and people can be disappointed. The challenge is to try and develop an effective and open communication channel so that both parent and grandparent feel heard and are happy with their roles and what is expected of them,” Mr Kirby said.

POSITIVE GRANDPARENTING focus of new program


“On top of this, grandparents bring a great deal of experience and expertise to the role when providing care to their grandkids, as they have been parents before. But what we are finding from our research is that some grandparents want a refreshment of what strategies work with children, as it has been a while since they have had to care for children on a regular basis,” Professor Sanders said.

More than 50 grandparents have participated in the program that aims to help grandparents providing care to their grandchildren.

Grandparent Triple P is a 9-session group-based program. The first three sessions are aimed at helping improve behaviour and provides helpful tips and ideas on how to best manage grandchildren. The next three sessions involve building a positive parenting team with the parent and their partner, as well as going through some grandparent coping skills to manage stress. The final three sessions are telephone consultations, with the program tailored to the specific individual needs of the grandparent.

Sally, a grandmother from Carindale who recently completed Grandparent Triple P, said she had found the program rewarding.

“My little grandson is a handful at times and the course offered some new approaches and some I had simply forgotten,” she said.

With the current trial of the program nearing completion, preliminary short-term results indicate that Grandparent Triple P helps improve the parenting confidence of

grandparents and also helps reduce grandchild behavioural problems.

“Once the trial is complete, we hope to be able to offer Grandparent Triple P to all grandparents in Australia through Triple P International,” Mr Kirby said.

In addition, the usefulness of Grandparent Triple P is being explored in other cultures. It has been translated into Chinese and is currently being evaluated in a trial in Hong Kong.

“Ultimately, the hope is that Grandparent Triple P will be able to help grandparents and families with the important role of raising children.” ▲


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ACCS is an initiative of researchers from the Institute for Social Science Research and the School of Social Science. It is led by criminologists Dr Rebecca Wickes and Professor Lorraine Mazerolle, with collaborating researchers at Griffith

University, Monash University, Harvard University and Duke University.

Funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC), the project comprises in-depth case studies and multiple survey waves involving approximately 10,000 residents living in 298 communities in Brisbane and Melbourne.

The project aims to better understand the community processes that help explain the spatial and temporal distribution of crime across a range of neighbourhood types.

“The primary goal of ACCS is to better understand how changes in a community’s social disadvantage, ethnic diversity and residential mobility impact upon the development of social networks and informal social control over time,” Professor Mazerolle said.

ACCS began in 2005 and now includes four waves of ‘nested’ surveys with over 10,000 residents living in 148 Brisbane suburbs and one wave of over 2,000 residents living across 150 Melbourne suburbs.

“The ARC has funded multiple waves of survey data collection across multiple sites, to build knowledge and understanding of the stability and change of different neighbourhood characteristics and their impact on a range of social problems,” Professor Mazerolle said.

Wave 4 is currently underway in Brisbane. It will examine the key community processes and structures associated with community resilience before and after the 2011 Brisbane floods.

“In combination with earlier waves of survey data, the Wave 4 ACCS will provide critical

insights into preparing for future disasters in Australia and elsewhere,” Dr Wickes said.

“Understanding and enhancing community resilience is a high priority as we face significant environmental and national security challenges. However, given the sudden and unexpected nature of disasters and threats, current research only provides post-event evaluations of community resilience,” she said.

The ACCS provides data for researchers to explore a number of different issues. For example, Dr Wickes and Professor Mazerolle are currently working with colleagues from Monash University to examine the community dynamics of prejudice-motivated crime.

The ACCS was also used to explore prejudice perceptions towards minority groups.

“Our research found that residents are more likely to perceive disorder – such as public drinking, loitering and drug use – when they over-estimate the number of ethnic minorities, in particular Muslims and Indigenous Australians, living in their suburb,” Dr Wickes said.

“In the suburbs that we studied, people use cues like language, religion and race to gauge the severity of community problems,” she said.

“This is not to say that these people are prejudiced – rather it suggests that they may subconsciously associate a given group with disorder.”

The findings from this research suggest that as long as there are negative associations between particular groups of people and particular types of problems, covert prejudice will remain a significant issue in Australia. ▲

Major longitudinal study OF COMMUNITIESThe Australian Community Capacity Study (ACCS) is a

longitudinal research project that seeks to better understand the

interrelationships between community resilience, ethnic diversity,

crime, prejudice, disorder and inter-group violence.

Dr Wickes (left) and Professor Mazerolle


Wellbeing study develops INNOVATIVE INDICATORS

Researchers at the Institute for Social Science Research have produced a clear picture of wellbeing and disadvantage in Queensland through a major three-year longitudinal study of 4,000 Queenslanders on their social wellbeing by region, gender, age and other demographic factors.

Unlike using traditional economic measures such as GDP to determine wellbeing, the team developed a unique conceptual and statistical framework to measure social wellbeing which measured indicators of stress level, savings and financial assets, employment, income, health, leisure, ability to afford essentials, respect accorded by others, natural environment, personal security, housing or accommodation and family relationships.

Professor Mark Western, Emeritus Professor Paul Boreham, Associate Professor Geoff Dow and Associate Professor Warren Laffan were the principal investigators in the project, jointly funded by the Australian Research Council and the Public Sector Union.

Institute Director Professor Western said the project makes a significant contribution to a range of increasingly important research and policy questions, through the development of alternative measures of the progress of Queensland regions, communities and households.

“The Social Wellbeing Index is a statistical framework that provides a simple but robust measure of social wellbeing based on various factors that survey respondents considered important to their wellbeing,” he said.

Using the Index project, researchers established a number of links between social and demographic factors and wellbeing and disadvantage. The survey found that couples without children or those couples with children older than 18 years of age had the highest wellbeing index, while those participants who were single parents with children living at home had much lower wellbeing and higher disadvantage indices.

The rich survey data provides an evidence base to aid statewide and regional planning and policy development by providing

more accurate and relevant information on wellbeing and disadvantage. For example in the Wide Bay-Burnett region, key areas of disadvantage were not being able to find a substantial meal, a decent secure home, school books and clothes, and not being able to afford doctor visits. In the Ipswich and West Moreton region, lack of affordability for medicines, dentist visits and childcare were the key disadvantage issues. In remote regions it was found that lack of warm clothes and bedding were primary disadvantage issues.

The Index provides an alternative measure of quality of life that could provide governments with a tool to collect data and therefore better understand the issues of wellbeing and disadvantage in Queensland communities. ▲


From left: Emeritus Professor Paul Boreham, Associate Professor Geoff Dow, Associate Professor Warren Laffan and Professor Mark Western

10

Building a BETTER ROAD TO RECOVERY

Dr Marianne Wyder from the

School of Social Work and

Human Services is using her

UQ Women’s Postdoctoral

Research Fellowship to

explore involuntary mental

health admissions, and how

they are experienced from

the perspectives of mental

health consumers, families

and health care professionals

within a recovery framework.

Working in collaboration with UQ Professor Robert Bland and Executive Director Mental Health, Metro South Hospital and Health Service, Associate Professor David Crompton, the study is currently in the preliminary stages and involves the participation of 65 people – 20 family members, 20 health care professionals and 25 consumers.

Dr Wyder explained that recovery has emerged as the guiding principle for provision of mental services, both in Australia and overseas, and involves more than just simply recovering from the mental health symptoms.

“Recovery involves the ability to live well in the presence or absence of one’s mental health symptoms. For this to occur, it is important for mental health consumers to feel empowered, to assume control, to exercise citizenship and to have input into decisions which impact on their own lives.

“At face value, these principles are at odds with involuntary mental health admissions,” she said.

One of the main issues Dr Wyder and her fellow researchers are grappling with is how to apply recovery principles, as taking personal responsibility and assuming personal control may be difficult when the illness symptoms are severe and persistent.

“While involuntary treatment and/or admission may be necessary to protect the

patient and/or the community, many consumers experience these admissions as invasive and distressing, a threat to their sense of self and personal dignity and humiliating.

“On the other hand, for those whose psychotic illness substantially impairs their decision-making, mandatory treatment may offer the best hope of becoming well enough for recovery to be possible,” Dr Wyder said.

While there is a consensus that involuntary mental health admissions are necessary under certain circumstances and that minimising the use of involuntary treatment is desirable, Dr Wyder said there is little agreement about how this should be done in practice.

The preliminary findings of the study indicate that the recovery framework is very relevant in the context of involuntary settings, and what has

emerged in Dr Wyder’s research so far is the importance of control, relationships and hope in these settings.

“There is a strong suggestion that those consumers who have a more positive experience during their involuntary treatment associate this with the following factors

~being seen and treated as a fellow human being

~being respected and heard

~having a balanced relationship with the health care professionals

~being able to experience a return to freedom and control by having input into their own treatment”

Dr Wyder hopes to continue research into the area of involuntary mental health admissions

and will start to look at ways to incorporate consumers’ wishes and create a sense of control in involuntary settings.

“This is a contentious issue and one that we don’t yet know much about. This research could really make a difference, because if we can learn how to manage involuntary mental health admissions better, the long-term results could be very beneficial to all parties involved in the process.

“I am extremely fortunate as the part-time aspect of my UQ Fellowship allows me to continue my research whilst looking after two young children, and I am grateful for the opportunity to hopefully make a difference to the recovery process of those suffering from a mental illness,” she said. ▲


Dr Peter Walters from the School of Social Science is leading the project, which draws on case studies of localities affected by the Queensland floods of 2011 and a follow-up survey of Queensland households.

“This project aims to identify and evaluate the local and institutional resources that contribute to community resilience after a crisis or disaster,” Dr Walters said.

The research will consider formal and informal sources of crisis support central to people’s ability to cope and recover. This information will be gathered from local associations and community leaders, as well as formal institutional resources provided by local, state and federal agencies, with a focus on community organisations and state-funded community development workers.

“Insights developed from this research will provide policy-makers with clear guidance for the appropriate allocation of resources in the future, and improved resources for predicting community resilience,” Dr Walters said.

This research was inspired by a desire on the part of the investigators to explore what sort of resources are subjectively important to them in a crisis such as the Queensland floods of 2011.

These resources could be informal neighbourhood help, assistance from family and friends, local community groups and volunteers or help from emergency services and local and state authorities.

Attributes of selflessness, togetherness and humility were experienced by many during the Queensland floods, and a Brisbane resident recalls the sense of true community spirit they witnessed after this disaster occurred.

“The water had only just receded, yet just as fast as it disappeared, the thousand strong ‘mud-army’ arrived. These people had no single name, for individuality was irrelevant, these were Brisbane folk.

“I looked around a living room where I was shovelling mud – it was four inches thick on the floor. I didn’t know the owner of this house – in fact I didn’t know any of the 20 people cleaning this shell of a home, yet they were all there to support one another.”

The fieldwork is ongoing, but Dr Walters said they have some very interesting early indications that there were a wide variety of experiences of the flood in Queensland.

“Location and community embeddedness

are very important factors in recovery and 18 months on, the flood is still a very real and emotive event for those affected.

“On the applied level, we hope to be able to provide local and state governments with a better awareness about how to deploy scarce resources before, during and after a crisis, and importantly, which of those resources will be most valued by residents.

“Theoretically, we aim to provide a better understanding of how we relate to each other living in a late-modern affluent country with relatively strong institutional support during times of need. In other words… how relevant is local community?” Dr Walters said this study has been a very rewarding project, involving both experienced UQ researchers and Dr Wendy Madsen from CQUniversity who brings a regional focus to the project.

“I would hope that with further funding we can continue to build on this research, and over time create a model that works to assist people – not just in Queensland but the rest of the country also – to cope better and have access to improved resources during a crisis,” Dr Walters said. ▲

How important is COMMUNITY?

Community can be a formidable force, capable of achieving the seemingly

impossible, and researchers from the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences

and the Institute for Social Science Research are working collaboratively to

capture the essence of community resilience following a crisis or disaster.


12

UQ’S HIDDEN GEM

UNVEILEDA BRAND-NEW PURPOSE-

BUILT GALLERY IS NOW HOME

TO UQ’S ‘HIDDEN GEM’,THE

ANTHROPOLOGY MUSEUM.


Museum conservator Kate Stanway

Thousands of items including

spears, shields and masks were

delivered by hand to the new-

look museum which takes pride

of place on the ground floor of

the recently-renovated Michie

Building.

The new space features specially designed exhibition cases, moveable walls, custom lighting and equipment to project and house multimedia exhibits, as well as a small shop in the gallery where inexpensive new works can be purchased.

The Anthropology Museum houses a wealth of artefacts ranging from household implements to diverse performance paraphernalia and musical instruments. There are watercraft, paintings, clothing, hunting gear, a large quantity of stone tools including grindstones and axes and some 1,100 spears and arrows.

Museum Director Dr Diana Young said she was excited about promoting the museum’s treasures to students, scholars and the wider community – in particular a 6,700-strong photographic

collection, all digitally scanned and waiting to be unlocked for research purposes.

The museum has also developed a new online catalogue with UQ’s School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, launched in September 2012.

“During the last three years, larger objects in the collection have been photographed by Carl Warner, an expert in museum collection photography. Old catalogue cards with black and white photographs made for the museum in the 1980s have also been scanned and will be made available online,” Dr Young said.

The UQ Anthropology Museum has begun to purchase new acquisitions for the first time in more than 20 years.

“We currently have a policy of acquiring work by women, especially textiles, which relate to peoples’ everyday lives,” she said.

“Recent purchases include intricately painted bark cloth made by Omie women artists living on Mount Lamington in Papua New Guinea (PNG), paintings on canvas by artists living in Alice Springs about their lives there and prints

made by young artists in Yirrkala, north east Arnhem Land,” Dr Young said.

Many of these recent purchases have been enabled by way of a donation, and the museum is currently seeking donations to acquire an important woven grass sculptural group of figures made by women on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands in north west South Australia, for the travelling exhibition Kuru Alala (‘eyes open’).

“The museum is a kind of fieldwork site that can provide people with a route to their past which in turn offers the potential for knowledge and cultural renewal, and the material for new creative projects alongside formal and informal research,” Dr Young said.

The museum provides plenty of examples of potential research projects, including honours projects, with current PhD research exploring slit gong drums based around those in the collection, which has now expanded to fieldwork in the Sepik region of PNG (see page 49). The sound instrument collection is also being researched for an exhibition in 2013. ▲


THE ANTHROPOLOGY MUSEUM COLLECTION started with a generous donation in 1948 of more than 1,000 objects from Dr Lindsey Winterbotham from his own collection. Today, due to bequests, donations, purchases and student and staff contributions, the museum holds more than 26,000 items which reflect the rich cultures of the Pacific region, Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia and also Africa and South East Asia. There are also items from the UK and Europe.

The museum also loans items to other museums and galleries, both locally and internationally, so that more people can appreciate this impressive collection.

14

SOCIAL INCLUSION LATCH-ON exported to Ireland

The University of Queensland has taken

a significant step in introducing its highly

successful literacy program, Latch-On,

to the world beyond Australia.

With the help of UQ’s main research commercialisation company, UniQuest, the program for young adults with an intellectual disability has established a licencing agreement with Down Syndrome Ireland (DSI) to run Latch-On in the Republic of Ireland, marking its launch in Europe.

Latch-On (Literacy and Technology Hands-On) is an evidence-based multimedia literacy program, which provides opportunities for adults with an intellectual disability to continue their literacy development in a post-secondary environment, using computer technology to enhance literacy, self-confidence, independence and employment opportunities.

UQ representatives met with DSI in Dublin to launch Latch-On with the Australian Ambassador, UQ alumnus Bruce Davis.

Manager of Innovation and Commercial Development in the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Joe McLean, is thrilled to see the outstanding program in Europe.


Laura-Jane Dunne and Pat Clark, Down Syndrome Ireland CEO, at the launch of Latch-On in the Republic of Ireland


“Latch-On is an amazing program that has played a role in transforming the lives of Australian adults with intellectual disabilities since 1996. To see it now available in Ireland is terrific,” Mr McLean said.

“Providing the benefits of Latch-On to more students also means additional licencing income will pave the way for further research and program refinement, bolstering this unique program,” he said.

Latch-On is a comprehensive program that runs over two years. Research has shown that it significantly improves students’ literacy and self-confidence. It also helps these often-withdrawn members of the community to engage more meaningfully with the world.

DSI CEO Patrick Clarke said he hoped to have more than 70 students participate in the program at 12 centres in 2012.

“The United Nations has made 2003–2012 the decade for literacy, and as literacy is a basic human right, we believe Irish people with Down Syndrome have been ignored for far too long when it comes to our educational system.

“Educational opportunities depend on literacy, and as we know literacy is the bedrock for basic education for all,” Mr Clarke said.

“Our quest is to campaign for the rights of Irish citizens with Down Syndrome. We expect great achievements from this world-class program of education and sincerely hope it will enhance many people’s learning skills.”

Education and literacy experts, Dr Anne Jobling and Associate Professor Karen Moni from the School of Education, developed Latch-On to help intellectually-disabled adults reach their full potential.

“We’ve been working with UniQuest to take Latch-On to the world because we wanted young people everywhere to have access

to this invaluable program. It’s extremely rewarding to now see the program available across Ireland,” Associate Professor Moni said.

“Commercialisation has enabled us to finance ongoing research and development for Latch-On, as well as produce resource materials and run annual training and professional development programs for the licensees.” ▲

16

With fellow researchers Dr Yvonne Darlington and Dr Gai Harrison, Professor Healy has undertaken two Australian Research Council Linkage projects on family participation in child protection decision-making.

The first project (2007–2011) concerned family group conferencing in child protection, and the second project focuses on formation of parent agreement in child protection decision-making. The researchers are also collaborating with the Queensland Department of Communities (Child Safety Services), Micah Projects and Uniting Care Communities.

“Across Australia, governments have introduced legislation requiring family

involvement in decision-making, but little is known about how this involvement occurs and its effectiveness for giving voice to families and children or for keeping children safe,” Professor Healy said.

The research is among the first internationally to observe what actually happens in family group meetings in child protection service contexts, and is made possible because of the collaborative relationships established with child safety, non-government support services and the university.

“Our research has shown considerable variation in how families are involved, and has provided evidence of what works in involving vulnerable families in child protection decision-making. We have found that, despite legislation mandating the participation of families in child protection decision-making, there is a concerning level of variation in how this happens in practice. This variation contributes to distrust by families and their advocates in child protection decision-making.”

Child protection services can improve families’ trust and participation in child protection services by paying attention to several factors. These factors include: ensuring that the mediator/facilitator builds a relationship with the parties, including children, prior to the decision-making conference; ensuring the fair and equal representation of all parties’ viewpoints; maintaining a focus on the child as the central concern of all parties; addressing the practical needs for families to attend and actively participate in decision-making processes; and providing genuine opportunities for families to find solutions themselves.

“Above all, the mediator must show themselves to be impartial and to have concern for the wellbeing of the child and their family, not stand in judgement of them.”

Professor Healy said more research is needed

on the strengths and limitations of family group conferences and other modes of participatory decision-making.

“A variety of models needs to be developed and tested as it is clear that one size cannot fit all the varied circumstances in which child protection decision-making occurs.

“I am concerned with the need for more evidence-based knowledge in child protection decision-making processes and I worry about the increasing shift to a forensic approach in which care-givers, particularly parents, are seen as adversaries rather than partners in a change process,” she said.

Professor Healy, who has a professional practice background in child protection and family support services, was inspired to undertake research in this area by her commitment to social justice.

“It is a basic human right for people to be involved in decisions that shape their lives. People respond best to decisions that are made with their involvement,” she said.

“Caregivers and children involved in the child protection system expect and deserve for their rights as decision-makers to be recognised and supported. Participatory decision-making is important to achieving good outcomes for children and for their caregivers.” ▲


Keeping our children SAFE

Better and more consistent involvement of families in child protection decision-making is a key goal of

the research undertaken by Professor Karen Healy from the School of Social Work and Human Services.

As a former manager of a hospital drug and alcohol program that included group therapy five days a week, Dr Dingle (School of Psychology) found it often difficult to engage the younger substance-users into the group.

“They would sit outside the group, playing with their phones and listening to music on their MP3s. So I thought we should try music as a way to engage them into the group discussion.”

After making contact with Associate Professor Felicity Baker and Libby Gleadhill from UQ’s School of Music, Dr Dingle trialled an afternoon of music therapy once a week and found that things improved and the younger people really responded to sharing their music, performing rap, drumming, and other musical activities.

Since returning to academia, Dr Dingle has explored the links between music and emotion in more depth in laboratory studies, survey studies and a choir study.

“Music psychology, and the field of music and emotions in particular, is a rapidly expanding area of research internationally and it’s a very exciting time,” Dr Dingle said.

Research shows that young people (aged 15–25 years) experience intense emotional highs and lows, yet their capacity for emotion regulation is not fully developed until adulthood. This is a peak age group for onset of mental health problems and suicide.

“The best practice psychological intervention for emotional problems in young people is cognitive behaviour therapy – however it has been criticised for not addressing emotional regulation skills enough. I have developed an intervention called Tuned In, which uses a two dimensional model of emotion and three types of emotional enhancing activities during music listening as a way of exploring and managing emotions.”

Tuned In is based on simple concepts that are easy to teach, given music listening is something that most young people have access to.

Dr Dingle said she would like to see Tuned In available to young Australians through secondary schools as a preventive measure.

“Hopefully this would give young people some strategies for understanding and regulating their emotional states before associated problems like substance abuse, self harm, or suicidal thoughts occur.”

Together with doctoral student Carly Fay, the program has been trialled with 60 university students and has shown that participants improved their emotional clarity and strategies for managing emotions compared to students in the wait-list control condition. Tuned In was rated as highly effective and engaging, and there was a 98 percent attendance rate across the trial.

Looking to the future, Dr Dingle plans a clinical

trial of Tuned In and is discussing possibilities with various clinical services at present. It has also been modified for sportspeople and there are plans to test it with a clinical group of young people as well.

Dr Dingle is also working on aspects of emotional regulation with Associate Professor Julie Henry in the School of Psychology, and they plan to use experimental and brain-imaging methodologies to discover more about emotion regulation, and the use of music to evoke and regulate emotional states. ▲

Teens get TUNED IN

Using music to engage with and educate

young people about their emotions,

and how to tolerate and regulate their

strong emotional states, is the focus of

a new intervention developed by clinical

psychologist Dr Genevieve Dingle.


18

Schools and teachers play a critical role in ensuring students learn to read, and that those with difficulties in reading improve their skills. However some schools may require additional support in order to provide more effective instruction and intervention.

A team of researchers from The University of Queensland aims to improve the reading achievement of students in rural and mining communities by building school capacity and enhancing teachers’ knowledge of teaching reading.

Working in collaboration with Education Queensland and BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, Associate Professor Christa van Kraayenoord from the School of Education is leading the four-year research project, which is being conducted in 15 schools in rural and mining communities in Queensland’s Bowen Basin.

Associate Professor van Kraayenoord said research indicates that schools in rural communities have difficulties with respect to personnel and workforce capability, such as attracting and retaining teachers with effective knowledge and practices in literacy.

“Studies also show that schools in mining communities in particular often face additional difficulties due to their highly mobile school populations, meaning that students may not have had regular and consistent schooling.

“We will conduct a series of studies that will provide professional learning involving developing teachers’ knowledge about reading comprehension and associated teaching practices, co-teaching, coaching, and mentoring that can be used to create a

more knowledgeable and effective teaching workforce,” she said.

Associate Professor van Kraayenoord believes school-community engagement around reading will contribute to stronger relationships between schools, communities and mining companies, and lead to greater social cohesion and economic productivity.

“Enhancing teachers’ knowledge and skills, providing opportunities for teachers to put their knowledge into action in their classrooms, and building stronger community links around reading, will lead to improvement in students’ reading outcomes,” she said.

Consistent with the aim of enhancing teachers’ professional knowledge and practices of reading, especially reading comprehension, one of the key elements of the project is for the research team to deliver professional learning.

The professional learning workshops take place regularly during the school year, and in between these workshops the teachers apply what they have learned in their classrooms.

“They engage in reflective practice and establish and document the workability of their classroom teaching interventions. The teachers then share with us the outcomes,” Associate Professor van Kraayenoord said.

Throughout the project a range of data are being collected from the

students, teachers, support staff, principals and the communities. In 2013 and 2014 the research team will continue to deliver professional learning and provide ongoing support to the schools and teachers. ▲

UQ researchers improve STUDENTS’ READING IN RURAL COMMUNITIES


Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, Queensland Government, local and international philanthropic trusts and a range of industry partners.

The ultimate aim of the program is to support the development of informed and protective financial management practices for older people and those who assist them.

The research team worked with a number of community and government organisations to explore asset management practices and the use of EPAs from the perspectives of older people, family members, practitioners and aged-care providers.

Associate Professor Tilse said the results uncovered some interesting findings.

“Our research has shown that current frameworks for understanding and responding to financial elder abuse are limited, and that current forms and processes surrounding EPAs do not sufficiently alert attorneys to their obligations.

“We also found that substitute decision-making legislation is misused and often misunderstood by family members and others acting under EPAs as attorneys, and by some professionals and staff in residential care,” she said.

The research suggests that ageist attitudes and a sense of entitlement to older people’s assets provide a basis for financial elder abuse. Not surprisingly, adult children are the most common perpetrators of this type of abuse.

From these findings, the team hopes to contribute to the prevention of financial elder abuse through enhancing knowledge and understanding of substitute and assisted decision-making in the general community

and among service providers and practitioners.

The research team plans to extend their program to look at intergenerational asset transfers through projects on wills and inheritance.

The multidisciplinary team consists of researchers from social work, social policy, law, economics, neuropsychology, medicine and community development. Team members across the various projects have comprised

~Associate Professor Cheryl Tilse, Professor Jill Wilson, Dr Deborah Setterlund and Professor Linda Rosenman from the School of Social Work and Human Services

~Associate Professor Ben White and Professor Lindy Willmott from QUT’s Faculty of Law

~Dr David Morrison from UQ’s TC Beirne School of Law

~Dr Steven Harrison from UQ’s School of Economics

~Professor Nancy Pachana from UQ’s School of Psychology

~Professor Gerard Byrne from UQ’s School of Medicine ▲

Protecting the ASSETS OF OLDER PEOPLE

With an ageing population and the competing interests of the individual, the family, service providers, the market and the state in the use of older people’s financial assets, protection and quality management of such assets has never been more important.

To help guard against financial abuse and promote good practice, a team of UQ researchers have developed a program of research focusing on the management of the financial resources of older people.

Lead researchers, Associate Professor Cheryl Tilse and Professor Jill Wilson from the School of Social Work and Human Services, said the research program began with an interest in the misuse of Enduring Powers of Attorneys (EPAs).

“Many older people suffer financial abuse from family members who act as attorneys under an EPA. Our research sought to address this abuse by finding the best ways to support older people with the management of their financial affairs, and to ensure carers and attorneys are supported to act appropriately if they manage assets on behalf of an older person.”

The research program comprises 12 interlinked research projects funded by the Australian



An agenda for CHANGE

Supporting adults with an intellectual or

cognitive disability who exhibit challenging

behaviours in our community is not always

straightforward. How do you help people

with significant support needs who are at

risk of harming themselves or others?

Historically, responses have included restraint and isolation, resulting in adverse physical and psychological effects and social exclusion.

The needs of people with an intellectual or cognitive disability and challenging behavior were the subject of the Challenging Behaviour and Disability: A Targeted Response report to the Queensland Government in 2006, authored by the Honourable Bill Carter QC.

The report’s recommendations included establishing the Centre of Excellence for Behaviour Support (CEBS) to undertake world-leading research, policy development and practice leadership to improve services for people with intellectual disabilities who exhibit these behaviours.

Established in 2008, the centre is a partnership between The University of Queensland and the Queensland Government through the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services.

The centre undertakes research to inform direction and best practice in behaviour support, policy and clinical leadership across the disability services sector.

The centre’s research activity is driven by a scientist-practitioner model, where real issues are researched and results translated into practice.

Director Professor Karen Nankervis said research undertaken at the centre forms the basis for innovative approaches to training for those who are in the critical front line of providing support to people with intellectual disabilities.

The centre has responsibility for driving best practice and increased service delivery in the disability sector. Research and practice initiatives promote ethical, effective and responsive outcomes to meet the individual’s need.

“Our overall objective is to assist all stakeholder groups in the sector to translate research into practice. In doing this we develop and deliver statewide advice, resources and training to ensure quality practices are implemented on the ground where they are needed most,” she said.

The centre pursues a research agenda that is underpinned by the findings of the Carter Report and overarched by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006). It has completed research projects in a range

of areas including the use of restraints, the participation of people with intellectual disability and challenging behaviours in research, the experiences of disability workers including ‘burnout’ and the experiences and service needs of Indigenous Australians.

The centre is undertaking research in the development of routine outcome measurement systems that will inform stakeholders about service effectiveness and efficiency.

Research also addresses the issues faced by families supporting people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour, including relinquishment.

Research undertaken by the centre found factors contributing to carer relinquishment include challenging behaviours, poor coping skills, inadequate supports and financial concerns.

“Relinquishment of care is of great concern when it comes to helping adults with challenging behaviours remain part of society.

“CEBS is committed to finding ways to improve all aspects of supporting adults with behavioural challenges,” Professor Nankervis said. ▲

Through an in-depth cross-cultural analysis of six secondary schools in Australia and the UK, the study will identify the conditions, structures and practices that are necessary to support schools to more equitably address issues of gender, culture and social change.

Dr Keddie believes such work in schools is highly significant given the new gender equity questions and challenges arising from the rapid social change of the contemporary era.

“I have had a long-term interest in issues of gender justice and cultural diversity and in particular, how education can enhance the schooling experiences and outcomes of marginalised students,” she said.

This current study was inspired by, and builds on, Dr Keddie’s previous research in London schools in 2007 as part of a Leverhulme Fellowship at Roehampton University.

“The insights of this research have provided a strong foundation for the cross-cultural analysis of educating for social justice that is the centerpiece of the current study,” she said.

The focus of this project is significant and timely given the recent increases in social polarisation and disharmony in the west, particularly since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US, the new gender equity challenges arising from this environment, the urgency of nurturing a greater respect for gender/cultural diversity and the important role schools can

play in supporting the broader ideals of equity and justice.

Dr Keddie said there is evidence to suggest that schools are not well-equipped for pursuing these ideals, which is why she seeks to enhance schools’ capacities to support greater justice outcomes.

Preliminary study findings highlight the different and complex ways in which equity issues are articulated and addressed in schools to respond to specific matters of context.

In one of the schools in her research for example – located in a deprived area in London and catering to a largely working class Muslim and Sikh student population – Dr Keddie said issues of religious identity were important in relation to understanding student diversity. However in understanding student disadvantage, issues of race and class were of particular concern.

“In this context, staff members expressed concern about the underperformance and disadvantage experienced by white working-class students who comprised about 15 percent of the student population.”

In another school in the study, an Indigenous school located in Brisbane, issues of race and class were also of concern. In this school Dr Keddie stated that “matters of cultural identity and self-determination were seen to be important in how the school considered

and addressed issues of equity and diversity.”

Dr Keddie believes there are some key frames of reference that can be seen as productive in terms of working to support marginalised students in relation to matters of political, cultural and economic justice. These frames involve schools and educators connecting with and privileging these students’ voices, expressing respect and esteem for their cultural backgrounds and providing the necessary material and human resources for schooling achievement.

“I continue to be inspired by the commitment and advocacy of particular educators who are making a difference for these students in this regard. It is my privilege to represent and theorise the work of these educators and their students.”

Dr Keddie has published extensively in the areas of gender, cultural diversity, social justice and schooling. She is the author of Teaching Boys: Developing classroom practices that work (2007) and Educating for diversity and social justice (2012). ▲


SOCIAL JUSTICE and education

Dr Amanda Keddie, an Australian Research Council Future Fellow from the School of Education, is conducting a study which takes a positive view of what schools can do to support the building of socially just societies through teaching about the values of diversity and justice.

ENCOURAGING RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

EXCELLENCE


Dr Adrian Cherney’s research focuses on police and ethnic group interactions, crime prevention policy, procedural justice and evidence-based policy and practice.

He has secured national competitive grants and research contracts, including a groundbreaking project in 2010 where he held the role of Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery project to examine police and ethnic group cooperation.

This project aimed to examine for the first time whether the procedural justice model of policing applies to ethnic

groups in Australia and factors that inhibit procedural justice outcomes.

Dr Cherney is also a Chief Investigator on an ARC Linkage project examining evidence-based policy and practice in social policy development and program review.

Further innovation is reflected in a program of research funded by the US Air Force that Dr Cherney has led since 2008, which examines institutional legitimacy and cooperation with legal authorities in post-conflict societies, and its relationship to social identity, perceptions of justice and support for violent political change.

This project will involve both an experimental study and a correlation study in Nepal and Afghanistan and involves collaborators in both countries to assist with data collection.

Dr Cherney has published one book, six book chapters and 27 refereed journal articles. Over half of these have been published in ERA 2010 (ranked A or A* journals or books). He was also recognised for his teaching expertise in 2011 when he was awarded a Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences Teaching Award for Teaching Excellence.

The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences and the

Institute for Social Science Research are committed to

encouraging innovation and creativity in our early-career

researchers to help them achieve success.

Our Research and Innovation Awards recognise those

members of staff who have made an outstanding

contribution to our research and innovation activities.

2012 RESEARCH AWARD WINNERDr Adrian Cherney – School of Social Science


Through the Australian Development Research Award, Dr Eileen Honan and her research partners conducted a study (2009–2012) which identified strategies to sustain professional learning communities for teachers in remote primary schools in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

This project investigated and developed strategies derived from action research methods to support teachers in West and East Sepik Provinces in improving the quality of their teaching.

The assumption was that the quality of PNG teachers can be improved through professional learning models that meet the needs of local schools and their contexts without external funding or resources.

An action research booklet for teachers, along with a DVD, was produced and distributed containing video clips of teachers working through the process of action research, and an electronic copy of the booklet.

A series of seminars and workshops were also held with a diverse range of educational stakeholders attending – from secondary teachers working in Port Moresby schools through to teacher educators, as well as members of the wider PNG research community.

Dr Linda Colley has made innovative contributions to public employment, which is a perennial problem for governments, never more so than since the onset of the global economic downturn.

Her original findings provide an evidence base to inform effective institutional arrangements and effective strategies to attract and retain a skilled public service.

Dr Colley’s research compares and contrasts historical and contemporary employment contexts to raise awareness of the tangible and intangible costs of employment reforms.

Combining policies with data, Dr Colley identified associations between public sector reforms, ageing public workforces and gender, and the transition from a young male to an older female workforce. This supports re-thinking of ageing workforce policies.

Dr Colley’s other research canvasses the challenges of the reformed public employment environment in constrained economic circumstances, the institutional tensions that arise when a government seeks central control in a decentralised personnel environment, the lack of innovation in employment policy-making leading to costly and ineffective approaches to downsizing and the continued erosion of the ‘model

employer’ image which detracts from government’s ability to attract highly-skilled staff.

Dr Colley’s reputation as an expert on public employment has resulted in invitations to provide advice to the Queensland Public Service on matters including workforce planning, Indigenous employment and the employee survey. She also participates in an expert reference group for the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet and her advice is reflected in recent policies in Queensland.

Since starting her first academic job in 2010, Dr Colley has 11 journal articles published or in press, and a further four manuscripts in the submission process.

The study was conducted in collaboration with Dr Sandy Muspratt (UQ), Professor Terry Evans (Deakin University) and Dr Patricia Paraide and Ms Medi Reta (National Research Institute Papua New Guinea).

Along with being Chair of the School of Education Research Ethics Committee which provides guidance and advice to RHD students and their advisors on the ethical issues related to their proposed research, Dr Honan has been featured in a wide array of research publications and presentations, and is also a member of the School of Education’s Research and Postgraduate Committee and Primary Education Program Committee.

2012 RESEARCH AWARD WINNERDr Linda Colley – Institute for Social Science Research

2012 INNOVATION AWARD WINNERDr Eileen Honan – School of Education 2

012

24 RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES24 RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

Dr Stefanie Becker’s main interests concern visual selective attention – i.e. how the visual system selects information from cluttered visual scenes, and how top-down and bottom-up components of attentional guidance can be integrated in a model of visual selection. She uses a variety of methods to unravel the factors that guide attention, including eye tracking, EEG and brain imaging.

Dr Becker’s most important contribution to the field of vision research to date is that she has proposed a new relational theory of attention. Current therapies of attention propose that visual selection of information is achieved by the interplay of two different systems – first, a bottom-up processing system that guides attention towards regions with a high feature contrast, and secondly, a top-down controlled system that allows us to select relevant information intentionally.

By contrast, Dr Becker has demonstrated that attention is predominately guided by relational properties that distinguish the target from irrelevant items. This is an important finding because it indicates that absolute feature values are less important for attentional guidance than the target’s relationship to the context of nominally irrelevant items.

The work on the relational theory has important practical implications because models of attention are regularly applied in the design of control panels in airplane cockpits and power stations, and in signage and wayfinding systems. Thereby important signs or signals are usually given a high feature contrast to ensure that they will pop out.

Dr Becker’s work suggests that pop-out does not depend so much on feature contrast, but on the item having a superlative feature in all surroundings. Thus the relational account can potentially lead to changes in the design of important signs and signals in the future and help to create safer and less convoluted environments.

2011 RESEARCH AWARD WINNERDr Stefanie Becker - School of Psychology

Associate Professor Alex Broom’s research focuses on the sociology of cancer and the sociology of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM) in Australia, the United Kingdom, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. His research has focused on utilising innovative sociological research methodologies and theoretical models to explore the character of, and improve the quality of, cancer care within different cultural contexts.

There are few researchers internationally providing a critical, balanced examination of complex health systems, patient preferences and inter-professional dynamics. Funded by the ARC, NHMRC, ESRC (UK), and the British Academy of Social Sciences, Associate Professor Broom’s program of research has provided much-needed insight into the ways in which cancer patients and clinicians manage an increasingly pluralistic healthcare landscape. It has involved both large-scale survey and in-depth qualitative and ethnographic studies documenting patient experiences.

Since 2006 he has been a chief investigator on over $2.5 million in

external competitive research grants to support this program, producing over 90 publications and giving invited talks at key oncological events in Australia, the US, Canada, India and the UK.

He was awarded an ARC Future Fellowship (2011–2014) titled The changing landscapes of medical pluralism: A sociological analysis of patient experiences and decision-making in Australia, India and Brazil which will provide the opportunity to further expand this innovative program of sociological research.

2011 RESEARCH AWARD WINNERAssociate Professor Alex Broom – School of Social Science

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES 25RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES 25

In 2007 Professor Nancy Pachana published the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) with her collaborator in psychiatry, Associate Professor Gerard Byrne. This was a purpose-built, population-specific self-report measure of dimensional anxiety in later life, the first such instrument developed for clinical and research purposes.

The GAI is used for assessing older people for anxiety and has gained exposure on a global scale with the assistance of UniQuest, UQ’s main commercialisation company.

It was specifically designed to be easily administered by a range of mental health professionals to older patients in a wide range of settings, including outpatient and inpatient clinics as well as residential aged care facilities.

It has been translated into over two dozen languages (including Spanish, French and Cantonese), with several published international validation studies.

Due to demand for a short version of the GAI for survey research purposes, a five-item version was published in 2011. This briefer version of the GAI is currently being used in the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women’s Health.

In 2008 the GAI was used by a major pharmaceutical company to monitor anxiety in patients participating in an international clinical trial of a new form of hormone replacement therapy. That same year the instrument was listed as recommended for use by the Queensland Dementia Research Network as part of Queensland Health’s suite of recommended instruments for use with older adult populations within their area .

The GAI has gained exposure on a global scale, particularly to health service providers and commercial interests (including the pharmaceutical industry) with the assistance of UniQuest.

2011 INNOVATION AWARD WINNERProfessor Nancy Pachana – School of Psychology

Dr Cameron Parsell has made a significant contribution to scholarly and policy literature on homelessness, and his research shows that people experiencing homelessness are not meaningfully understood with reference to their state of homelessness.

Dr Parsell is passionate about writing and contributing to the debate on homelessness and the work being done in the Social Wellbeing, Health and Housing program at the Institute for Social Science Research.

His research has shown that homelessness is not just about being cold at night – it has a wide-reaching effect on a person’s lifestyle. It highlights that there is an important symbolic dimension that comes with having your own space, as people without a home don’t have a legitimate space or the capacity or self-determination to control their own day-to-day lives.

This also applies to relationships. Being able to have personal and social relationships – being able to entertain the people you want to and likewise, being able to keep out the people you don’t.

Dr Parsell hopes that his research will say something meaningful and nuanced about homelessness and people who are homeless, with the primary objective to enhance knowledge, policy and practice in this area.

His research activity has included ethnographic research with people living in public places, four policy and practice studies examining the nature and efficacy of current homelessness policy and practice, research examining social interactions and identifications in homeless accommodation and systematic analyses of the broader policy, social and economic context of homelessness.

2011 RESEARCH AWARD WINNERDr Cameron Parsell – Institute for Social Science Research 2

011

26

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Professor Peter Renshaw from the School of Education has joined forces with Principal of the Pullenvale Environmental Education Centre (PEEC), Honorary Associate Professor Dr Ron Tooth, to work on an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage project between The University of Queensland and Education Queensland that investigates learning beyond the classroom, narrative pedagogy, and place.

The primary goal of the project is to research how students learn to understand the environment and value themselves, others and the places around them so they can live more respectful, sustainable and connected lives.

PEEC was the perfect place to begin this research in 2010, as it had created a strong pedagogy of place through its Storythread program – a way of teaching beyond the classroom in the outdoors that connects people with place.

Through PEEC Storythreads, students and teachers are both audience and participants in differently-themed stories about characters –

LEARNING beyond the classroom

Teaching is no longer restricted just to the classroom, with students now venturing outdoors to learn how to connect with their environment and develop the values, knowledge and practices of environmental sustainability.


real and fictional – living in harmony and in conflict with their environment and the natural world.

Dr Tooth said students involved in the program observe, inquire, investigate, predict, influence and subsequently reflect upon their own lives and experiences in order to shape future knowledge, attitudes, values and actions.

“The choices and dilemmas they face and the impact of their choices and actions are played out for the students and teachers to appreciate in real places,” he said.

Dr Tooth said feedback from participants of the program has been positive, with many teachers reporting a significant change in the behaviour of their students after Storythread.

“One teacher reported that her students’ attitudes had changed significantly towards wildlife in their immediate vicinity after Storythread, because they now realised the impact that their actions may have on the wider environment,” he said.

Attentiveness is a key focus of the research project, and Storythread programs incorporate this element by asking students to spend time alone in natural places where they observe natural systems and develop the ability to notice fine detail in their surroundings.

This has been shown to develop key scientific and artistic skills, as well as improve their ability to write, think deeply and communicate their insights.

Dr Tooth refers to attentiveness as an inner deep listening with the ears, eyes, skin and heart.

“It is all about seeing the ‘extra’ in the ordinary – the ability to observe what’s actually there.”

He explained that these results did not just happen by chance, and the technique of deep listening is one that takes time to learn and appreciate.

“Just taking students into nature is not enough to create authentic learning – experiences must be mediated by passionate and caring teachers using powerful pedagogy,” he said.

In 2011 Dr Tooth and Professor Renshaw began working with seven other Outdoor and Environmental Education Centres (OEECs) as part of the ARC project.

These centres are part of a network of 25 OEECs across Queensland that have developed professional expertise in teaching and learning beyond the classroom through dialogue, commitment and the sharing of knowledge over many years. This has resulted in a wide range of quite distinct experiential pedagogies running through all their programs.

The insights emerging from this three-year research project is adding important new knowledge to the field of environmental education, and suggesting ways that conventional classroom teaching might be transformed to engage the head, the heart, and the senses in learning more deeply. ▲


2828 SBS RESEARCH AND INNOVATION 2012

The project aims to identify the reasons for public resistance to drinking recycled water and using alternative water supplies – and to provide information and strategies to assist water policy-makers to communicate with the community about alternative water sources.

After working with social scientists from the CSIRO, Dr Fielding, an environmental psychologist, was keen to do something about people’s attitudes towards water security.

“Any new technology or policy is contingent on people taking it on board and responding positively,” Dr Fielding said.

“Water security is a critical issue in Australia and globally and is almost certain to become more so in the future. We saw recently during the millennium drought in south east Queensland how variable our climate can

be and how vulnerable that can make us to running out of water,” she said.

The research is investigating the perceived risk dimensions most closely linked to acceptance of alternative water supplies, and how beliefs, such as those about climate change, impact risk perceptions. The project has pilot data and the analysis is in progress.

“My overarching goal is twofold – firstly to push the boundaries of the social science literature in this area so that we can understand more comprehensively how people think about and respond to alternative water sources, and secondly, and critically, to identify ways to communicate effectively with the community about these issues,” she said.

Dr Fielding, who is currently working with water authorities around Australia on such projects as stormwater recycling, aims not only to contribute to the research literature on this topic, but to assist government agencies, water utilities and water professionals in general around Australia to face the challenges.

“It’s clear that the science and technology for recycling water – i.e. waste water or storm water – exists, and can produce high-quality water for a range of purposes. Yet the major obstacle to these types of schemes remains public opinion and acceptance,” Dr Fielding said.

“There are numerous examples both here in Australia and overseas of projects that have failed because of public opposition and associated lack of political will,” she said. ▲

Public responses to ALTERNATIVE WATER SOURCES

The adage of bringing the horse to water but not necessarily being able to make it drink rings true in the project, Public

responses to alternative water sources, led by Institute for Social Science Research senior researcher and Future Fellow Dr Kelly Fielding.


Aboriginal responses to CLIMATE CHANGE IN ARID ZONE AUSTRALIA

Predictions for the interior of Australia include heatwaves and extreme weather events such as cyclones penetrating inland, as happened with Cyclone Yasi in 2011.

Architect and anthropologist Professor Paul Memmott, an expert in space and place studies of Aboriginal people since the 1970s, is ideally positioned to lead the multidisciplinary team of researchers on this project funded by the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility.

Other principal researchers on the project Aboriginal Responses to Climate Change in Arid Zone Australia: Regional understandings and capacity building for adaptation include Professor Brian Head from ISSR, Dr James Davidson, Dr Daphne Nash and Mr Timothy O’Rourke of the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre (AERC) and Associate Professor Susanne Schmidt from the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences.

The project, which began in January 2012, has extensive links with the local community and the collaborating organisations including Dugalunji Aboriginal Corporation in Camooweal, Jimberella Cooperative Society

in Dajarra, Alpurrurulam community of Barkly Shire Council and the Marmanya Aboriginal Community at Urandangi.

The project is jointly led by staff at the AERC and Myuma Pty Ltd, an Aboriginal enterprise and training organisation in north west Queensland and is the beginning of a larger longitudinal project.

It will document Aboriginal perceptions and knowledge of climate change and the capacity of regional communities to respond and adapt to climate change at a number of levels.

“We hope to achieve a concise long-term adaptation strategy for those arid zone Aboriginal communities experiencing the effects of climate change,” Professor Memmott said.

So far the research has found that weather predictability is a big issue for Aboriginal people in remote locations and they believe it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict.

“In the past, weather patterns were easier to predict. Anecdotal evidence from interviews suggests that the weather has changed

For many people climate change means rising temperatures and rising sea levels – but for thousands of years Indigenous Australians have lived and adapted to arid zone living. Just what we can learn from them is the subject of a research project which will use the Upper Georgina River Basin in north west Queensland as a case study.

over the last 50 years resulting in difficulties predicting weather patterns, thus affecting seasonal mobility, hunting patterns and traditional land management strategies,” Professor Memmott said.

“It appears that most Indigenous communities in the region have been adapting to climate change for some years now and are well placed to continue adapting.

“None of the interviewees we have worked with so far have indicated they will leave or move from their traditional homelands in the face of the effects of climate change, preferring to stay and adapt their way of life instead,” he said.

The project will deliver a set of regional climate adaptation planning goals, and principles and strategies will be generated, the relevance of which will be able to be extrapolated for other arid zone regions.

Professor Memmott is Director of the AERC in the School of Architecture at the university and has a joint appointment with ISSR. ▲


CSIRO scientists collecting greenhouse gases from

burning spinifex with Aboriginal trainees from

Myuma, Camooweal in the Wuruna paddock

30

The unit works with Indigenous communities, the resources sector, developers, researchers, and all levels of government to deliver professional heritage outcomes across Australia and internationally.

UQCHU provides a comprehensive range of cultural heritage services including

~ archaeological survey

~ native title advice, research and report preparation

~ archaeological excavation for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal sites

~ heritage advice and strategic planning

~ anthropological surveys and social significance assessments

~ built heritage significance assessment, impact assessment and due diligence studies

~ conservation management planning

~ archaeological laboratory and technical services

~ environmental impact assessments

~ historical research

~ interpretation

Director Dr Andrew Sneddon said UQCHU was involved in applied research projects for a range of private and public sector clients in Queensland, Western Australia and the ACT, augmenting other recently completed work in New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.

“We are presently providing native title inputs for two claim groups in Western Australia and four claim groups in Queensland. Additionally, we are providing expert native title inputs for the state of Queensland in relation to a number of other native title claims.”

“Also UQCHU is presently involved in the archaeological survey of multi-hectare minesites in Queensland, in consultation with traditional owners, as part of heritage impact mitigation measures,” Dr Sneddon said.

In the last few years UQCHU has provided cultural heritage inputs on sites of World Heritage significance (the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne and Old Government House in Parramatta) and state heritage significance (Brisbane City Hall, the Commissariat Building and the Wickham Terrace Windmill in Brisbane).

“Our work spans a number of disciplines, principally archaeology and anthropology, drawing on our highly-skilled teaching personnel and experienced postgraduate

students. We are experts in the identification of heritage places, both archaeological sites and those of broader social significance.

“Our skills in native title are highly regarded by Aboriginal claim groups, representative bodies and government, and we have an excellent professional relationship with a great many Aboriginal groups.

“We provide policy advice for government agencies, as well as on-the-ground practical advice for the identification and management of heritage places by private sector clients, especially those in the mining and development industries.”

UQCHU makes use of the exceptional archaeological laboratory facilities within the School of Social Science.

“We have skills in artefact analysis (lithic analysis, historical artefact analysis, textiles analysis, residue and use-wear analysis), environmental archaeology (analysis of wood charcoals, seeds, pollen and phytoliths), bone and shell analysis and geophysical and spatial analysis (gradiometry, resistivity, Ground Penetrating Radar and Electromagnetic Induction).”

Into the future UQCHU is expanding, augmenting its staff to include additional specialists in archaeology and anthropology. UQCHU is also looking at other ways to connect with the community that it works with.

“We are always on the look-out for potential collaborations with Aboriginal groups, and hope to work closely with the UQ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit to develop skills within Aboriginal communities with respect to cultural heritage management,” Dr Sneddon said. ▲

Delivering PROFESSIONAL

HERITAGE OUTCOMES

Part of the School of Social

Science, the UQ Culture

and Heritage Unit (UQCHU)

specialises in applied research

and commercial projects in

the fields of archaeology and

anthropology.



Culture and COAL SEAM GAS DISPUTES

Anthropologists from the School of Social Science are investigating coal seam gas disputes in the Darling Downs region of southern Queensland.

More specifically, Professor David Trigger and Dr Kim de Rijke will focus on issues such as sense of place, relationships to land and water, the politics of community alliances and the cultural significance of agricultural production in the Darling Downs. Additional research for comparative purposes will be conducted in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.

According to Dr de Rijke, the independent study aims to engage the full variety of social groups involved in coal seam gas disputes.

“Coal seam gas extraction is currently one of the most contested issues in Australia – we’re exploring the social and cultural aspects of a range of perspectives regarding these natural resource extraction projects.

“We intend to gain responses from farmers, environmentalists, government representatives, scientists and industry personnel, and residents in the rural towns of the Darling Downs and surrounds,” he said.

“Focused on resource contest and relationships to land in Australia, the study will address a significant issue in environmental anthropology. It is likely to have policy

implications for Australia and other countries in which unconventional gas extraction, including the use of controversial hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’ techniques, is subject to intense disputes,” Dr de Rijke said.

Dr de Rijke will conduct in-depth qualitative research and will look at how coal seam gas disputes can be understood in the context of competing visions of land use, nature, agricultural production and rural life.

He also seeks to understand how various forms of knowledge (including scientific expertise and knowledge based on daily experience and long-term environmental engagement) interact in the context of disputes over land and water, and how we might understand the socio-cultural aspects of risk perception as it applies to coal seam gas extraction.

Findings from the study therefore have huge potential applied significance, comments Dr de Rijke.

“We hope to deliver insights pertinent to contemporary natural resource management generally, and to southern Queensland in particular.

“The significance of the research lies both in its contribution to academically important issues in environmental anthropology, the potential policy implications for a specific region, and national and international debates about the social and cultural aspects of gas extraction and energy production.

“The project will also attempt to establish networks with social scientists in other departments, both at The University of Queensland and at other institutions in Australia and overseas,” he said. ▲


The majority of climate scientists

agree that the need for action on

climate change is increasingly urgent,

but public debate on the issue has

stalled due to ideological differences

between people who believe in

anthropogenic climate change, or

climate change caused by humans, and

those who don’t.

A team of researchers, led by Dr Paul Bain from the School of Psychology, looked for ways to overcome this ideological divide.

The research team focused on whether people unconvinced by the evidence for anthropogenic climate change might support action to address climate change where it had ‘collateral’ (non-climate) benefits for society.

The research involved two studies.

“We wanted to understand people’s views about the consequences of taking action to address climate change on society in the future, such as whether it would affect societal problems and economic growth, but also more personal things like how widespread action could affect people’s character and values,” Dr Bain said.

The first showed that people unconvinced about climate change were more willing to do something in support of addressing climate change where they thought it would promote economic development, or help build a sense

of community where people cared more about each other.

The second experimental study showed that describing the effects of acting on climate change in these ways was more effective in promoting action than focusing on whether climate change was real and the risks it poses.

According to Dr Bain, people have strong interests in the welfare of their society, so while these people may think climate change is not an issue, they may support mitigation efforts that they believe will have other positive effects on the community.

“Thus these findings highlight areas of common ground that can help overcome the present ideological impasse,” Dr Bain said.

Looking to the future, the research team hopes to extend these ideas across cultures and to examine real behaviour.

“To date we have focused on broad pro-environmental behavioural intentions, so we want to extend these findings to support specific policies and to measure observable behaviour.

“More generally, we want to show that people’s projections about the future of their society are important in a range of policy contexts, such as same-sex marriage and attitudes towards immigration,” Dr Bain said.

The research team consisted of Dr Paul Bain, Professor Matthew Hornsey, Dr Renata Bongiorno and Dr Carla Jeffries, all from the School of Psychology. ▲

Overcoming ideological differences on CLIMATE CHANGE

33

2012 DR BROCK BASTIAN SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY

Despite its evolutionary functions and its commonality in human experience, pain has long been seen as something to manage or eradicate. What Dr Brock Bastian wishes to explore is the potential benefits of physical pain, and specifically whether the experience of pain may promote social connectedness with others.

“We will be focusing on instances of pain that have been under-studied – those where pain is controlled and moderate.

“We will aim to show that overcoming this type of pain may be energising and rejuvenating for individuals, even meaningful, and may also motivate interpersonal connection and strengthen group life.”

UQ FOUNDATION RESEARCH EXCELLENCE AWARDSThe UQ Foundation Research Excellence Awards recognise outstanding performance and leadership potential among early- to mid-career researchers.

2011 DR PAUL E. DUX SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY

Humans show marked performance costs when completing two tasks simultaneously, even when these are simple and do not overlap in sensory or output requirements – a significant limitation given the multitasking demands of everyday life.

Dr Dux’s research aims to isolate the neural mechanisms underlying multitasking training effects and to characterise differences in multitasking abilities and responses to training.

The results will contribute to theories of human performance and to the understanding of attentional disorders induced by neurological disease and mental illness.

2011 ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR LYNDA CHESHIRE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

Reported complaints about nuisance neighbours have reached unprecedented levels, suggesting that just as neighbours can be an important form of social network, they can also be a source of tension, anxiety and conflict.

Associate Professor Cheshire’s research investigates whether neighbour complaints represent a decline in tolerance levels in the community, and contributes to sociological theory about neighbours and neighbouring in urban contexts.

The research will provide insights into the causes and consequences of neighbourly tensions, and assist local governments and policy-makers in understanding how local neighbourhoods and communities function in a modern society.


Dr B

astianD

r Dux

Associate P

rofessor Cheshire

34

The answer for innovative researchers in the Faculty for Social and Behavioural Sciences and Institute for Social Science Research at UQ is likely to be none of these options.

Research commercialisation is a concept that has its origins in the physical and life sciences, and so often invokes strong associations with maniacal machines, medicines and money-making. Not surprisingly, sane social scientists often find it difficult to see the connection between commercialisation and their own research. There are many ways in which social science research can be translated sustainably into policy and practice within public and private industries, and they rarely follow traditional commercialisation pathways.

Innovative social science researchers have an abiding interest in translating their work to ultimately benefit the community members involved in their research. Yet in a recent ARC-funded research project, ISSR and SBS researchers found that perceptions of social science research impact are often misaligned between academics and policy makers. Perceptions of research influence on government policies and programs was around 50 percent higher amongst academics compared to policy-makers, and only one in four policy-makers interviewed said they usually receive research that is relevant to their work.

While much more needs to be done to support effective research translation in the social sciences, UQ researchers are leading the way. Since the last Research and Innovation profile,

INNOVATION & COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT


Question: When does a research project end?

A) When the funding stops

B) When the publication hits the shelf

C) When it changes someone’s mind about an issue

D) When it changes someone’s life

E) When it changes the world

SBS and ISSR researchers have achieved wide success in translating their research into practice using a number of models, including the following examples

~The UQ Culture and Heritage Unit (UQCHU) provides commercial archaeological and anthropological research services to a mix of corporate, government and NGO clients. UQCHU’s business has doubled in size over the past two years, and the unit now employs four full-time staff to meet growing demand for its services. UQCHU’s work has, at one time or another, engaged almost every anthropologist and archaeologist in the School of Social Science, resulting in untied income to fund other research activities in the school, including excavation work in Turkey, Malawi and elsewhere in the world

~Brave, an online program for children and adolescents with, or at risk of, anxiety, was licensed to CCBT Ltd in the UK for dissemination in Europe and North America

~Latch-On, a literacy program for adults with intellectual disabilities, expanded to Ireland in 2012 through a licensing agreement with Down Syndrome Ireland

~The Geriatric Anxiety Inventory is a simple screening tool specifically designed for assessing anxiety in older people. It has been translated into more than 20 languages and is currently being used in all continents around the world

~The School of Political Science and International Studies has partnered with UniQuest’s International Division and AusAID in delivering Regional Diplomacy Training across 51 African countries since 2011

~The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet awarded $500,000 to the Institute for Social Science Research to develop a national library of counter-terrorism interventions. This research has supported the development of Harvest software to help analysts search and filter large unstructured datasets at a concept (rather than keyword) level

~UQ’s Parenting and Family Support Centre is participating in a major research project with the Universities of Sydney and Monash in a multistate trial of Stepping Stones Triple P for parents of children with development disabilities. This $5.2 million NHMRC program grant will build on the long-term success of the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program, which is now being delivered by over 60,000 practitioners in over 50 countries worldwide

Many of these researchers would avoid the term ‘commercialisation’ to describe their efforts in these areas – nonetheless it is a central element in their work of translating research to end-users. Even though the label doesn’t always sit comfortably, these examples demonstrate that social science researchers at UQ have a strong culture of commercialisation, and are in fact leading the world in how to ‘do’ commercialisation in the social sciences. ▲


Managers of Innovation and Commercial Development Sue McKell (ISSR) and Joe McLean (SBS)

36

INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENTINTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT

UQ’s Asia-Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P): THE NEXT STAGE

Established in 2007, the centre is a joint

initiative of the Australian Agency for

International Development (AusAID) and

UQ. It is the only regional centre of its kind

specifically dedicated to advancing the

responsibility to protect principle through

research and policy dialogue.

The Asia-Pacific is regarded as being the region that is most committed to traditional interpretations of sovereignty and non-interference. Yet, since its inception the centre has helped build and support constituencies who critically reflect on the tension between state sovereignty and human protection, and are engaged in an effort to institutionalise mass atrocities prevention and response at the national, regional and global level.

According to Research Director Professor Tim Dunne the centre seeks to continue to spearhead and support efforts to mainstream mass atrocities prevention across government agencies and within organisations tasked with providing regional and international security.


“The long term goal is for the R2P framework for atrocity prevention, assistance, and response to have sustainable local constituencies and institutions.

“Our research seeks to build a stronger evidence base for policy and programs to prevent and respond to genocide and mass atrocities. The outreach program aims to leverage this enhanced understanding to foster recommendations for deepening commitment to sovereignty as responsibility for civilian protection and humanitarian crisis handling while also reflecting regional norms and priorities,” Professor Dunne said.

In this respect, the centre’s outreach is both research-led and policy-facing. It is research-led in so far as it is based on a critical examination of state and regional human protection and atrocities prevention policy, capacity and practice. It is policy-facing to the extent that regional consultations feed back into the centre’s ability to generate concrete policy recommendations, realisable implementation strategies, and in the long- term, policy uptake through behavioural and institutional change for R2P to be a reliable factor in crisis-handling.

The centre’s regional outreach has contributed to much more constructive and informed engagement of Asia-Pacific countries and constituencies on R2P. Prior to the centre’s existence there was no significant engagement with the R2P framework in the region.

According to Dr Noel Morada, who with Sarah Teitt continues to lead the centre’s regional engagement, “there remains much work to be done – although the centre’s program of activities has made considerable progress

in raising awareness, fostering regional consensus and injecting R2P into regional networks.”

This progress was recognised by the Australian Foreign Minister Mr Bob Carr. At an R2P conference in Bangkok in May 2011, jointly organised by the centre and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Carr noted, “for our part, Australia is proud to support the Asia-Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect at The University of Queensland in advancing the responsibility to protect nationally and in partnership with our region.”

The Australian Government has shown its further commitment to the AusAID/UQ partnership by providing funding for an additional three-year term, which will maintain Australia’s position as a champion of regional and global efforts to fully develop the standards, tools and practices that are needed for R2P to succeed.

As it enters a new phase the centre aims to enhance its research profile and sharpen its policy relevance. A key component of this strategy is enhancing UQ’s capacity on R2P by more effectively linking with outstanding researchers at Griffith University, principally Professor Alex Bellamy and Dr Sara Davies.

In addition to the generous funding support provided by UQ, the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences and AusAID, the centre will look to secure additional funding for its work. An example of this innovation is the role played by centre staff in winning Australian government-funded contracts for diplomatic training enabling the appointment of Dr Charles Hunt to the centre in 2012.

As the centre moves to the next stage it has a level of staffing expertise and capacity to build on its reputation while reaching new levels of achievement in research and policy terms.

“Over the next three years we look forward to sustaining the Australian government’s position as a champion of regional and global efforts to prevent atrocities, as well as to respond effectively when the situation demands timely action,” Professor Dunne said. ▲



The project, funded by the US Air Force Research Laboratory (ADRL): Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development (AOARD), will break new ground in understanding best practice for governments and agencies involved in post-conflict reconstruction.

“One of the key objectives for countries facing post-conflict reconstruction or ‘nation building’ is to rebuild functioning, legitimate governmental authorities and establish the rule of law.

“Our project aims to understand factors that impact on the success of this process, drawing on a range of social science methodologies and insights from social psychology, criminology and political science,” Dr Cherney said.

The research team includes Dr Cherney, from the School of Social Science, and Professor Matthew Hornsey and Kylie Fisk from the School of Psychology.

The project grew out of work Dr Cherney had been doing on police legitimacy and cooperation with the police among ethnic minority groups in Australia.

Dr Cherney comments that while the issue of institutional legitimacy and cooperation with authorities has been explored in places like Australia, the UK and the US, it has not been investigated in post-conflict contexts.

“Logistically there are real challenges in collecting data on people’s judgments about governments, none more so than in countries emerging out of conflict. We have been really lucky in that funding and the contacts we have through ADRL and AOARD will allow us to investigate these processes,” he said.

The project is in its third phase and will involve a series of studies in Nepal and Afghanistan. The first two phases were aimed at conducting case studies of potential fieldwork sites and applying for ethics clearance.

“It actually took three years to get ethics clearance from the US Air Force given we proposed to collect data from countries like Afghanistan who are defined as active combat zones. We had to liaise with US Central Command to receive clearance to undertake data collection in Afghanistan,” Dr Cherney said.

The research team collaborated with Dr Andrew Smith from the Institute for Social Science Research on phase one of the project which conducted a text-based analysis of the legitimacy literature using Leximancer.

Data collection in Nepal will occur in 2012 and the Afghanistan fieldwork will begin in 2013.

Into the future Dr Cherney hopes to further expand the project to examine Islamic radicalisation and support for violence in Indonesia, to be undertaken with Indonesian collaborators at the University of Indonesia and the US Office of Naval Research.

NATION building

UQ criminologist Dr Adrian

Cherney is heading up a

research project aimed

at examining the factors

influencing government

legitimacy following post-

conflict reconstruction.


A research team from the School of Political Science and International Studies have developed a framework of engagement to foster greater understanding and exchange among international policy-makers, state agencies and local leaders when developing peacebuilding policies and practices.

Among its key purposes is to highlight the important role members of local communities play in conflict prevention and resolution.

According to project leader Dr Anne Brown consultation with local actors is essential when establishing peacebuilding policies.

“Working with local community leaders can be a very effective way to assist in the maintenance of peace and order in the Solomon Islands and in other countries in the region.

“Local actors and institutions embedded within communities and community life are often at the forefront of providing everyday security, order and protection to local populations.

“Chiefs and church leaders in particular take key roles in upholding day-to-day order and communal peace. They have a significant and comprehensive presence on the ground,” Dr Brown said.

The framework of engagement encompasses three core principles, all of which are designed to advance the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

concept – a global commitment to prevent and better protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

The principles are recognise local knowledge, work with local capacities, and build relationships and partnerships.

Dr Brown believes the principles provide a base for engaging with local community-based strengths for conflict prevention and protection.

“State agencies and international interveners often have only limited understanding of local strengths and find it difficult to work with non-state local providers of peace and security.

“These principles provide a foundation for improving collaborative links between these groups – a crucial element for improving a state’s overall capacity to protect its population,” Dr Brown said.

The framework is largely based on field research and workshops conducted in 2010, with the research team undertaking targeted fieldwork in the Solomon Islands. They conducted interviews and focus group discussions with local chiefs and church leaders, women and youth representatives, as well as members of the Solomon Islands Police Force. Research was also conducted in Bougainville, East Timor and Vanuatu.

Researcher Dr Morgan Brigg said the group’s aim was to gather a range of perspectives of peace and order, justice, social norms, security and protection.

“Overall people rated local leaders as more effective and legitimate than members of state agencies.

“In the Solomon Islands, international agencies tend to fall in between – local people often indicated that they see these agencies as important for maintaining order, but also as often lacking understanding of, and responsiveness to, local context,” Dr Brigg said.

This guidance framework for engagement has generated considerable interest among practitioners, policy-makers and academics across the local, national, and international spectrum.

The Australian Defence Force has incorporated the framework into selected training manuals and the United States Institute of Peace Working Group on R2P has included the framework in their agenda for policy development.

The research team comprised Dr Anne Brown, Dr Morgan Brigg, Dr Volker Boege, Jodie Curth, with research assistance from Louise Wiuff Moe and Anna Nolan. ▲

Working with LOCAL STRENGTHS

In many of the Pacific Islands and East Timor peace and order very much depends on the commitment and activities of leaders and members of local communities. Yet when developing policies for conflict prevention and resolution these local strengths are often overlooked.

Dominic Buitaigha presents the findings of

workshop discussion


UniQuest was awarded a contract for the delivery of Regional Diplomacy Training Programs through 2012 and 2013, following the success of the program in 2011. POLSIS has now delivered to nearly 240 participants from across 43 African nations – including the world’s newest nation, South Sudan.

These courses are funded by the Australian Government through AusAID and sit under the programming of the Australia Africa Partnerships Facility.

The objective of the African Regional Diplomacy Training Program is to provide participants with the additional knowledge, skills and networks to contribute to the effectiveness of their respective Foreign Service Agencies.

General Manager of International Development at UniQuest, Mr Mel Dunn, believes this has been a significant and strategic program for UniQuest, POLSIS and UQ.

“As a whole, this program has led to expansion across Africa positioning UniQuest/UQ as the single largest course provider in support of AusAID programming,” he said.

Similar to other regional diplomacy programs delivered by UniQuest/UQ and their African delivery partners, these courses build upon the concept of the work plan on return – encouraging participants to reflect on how they will use the knowledge and skills gained during the course within their workplace.

The applied teaching program includes fundamental work skills required for leadership, communications, improved policy-making and delivery in the context of diplomatic work.

A key element in ensuring that course design, development and delivery of the Regional Diplomacy Training Program is relevant to the African context and contributes to the wider development agenda is UniQuest/UQ’s partnerships with key African institutions. These include the University of Pretoria, South Africa, the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, Ghana, and the Foreign Services Institute in Nairobi, Kenya.

To date courses have been delivered in Pretoria, Lagos, Accra, Nairobi and at UQ.

A course participant from the Ivory Coast said the improvement of his knowledge in negotiation will strengthen his professional ability as a diplomat anytime, anywhere, and in any specific issue.

“I really appreciated the welfare support, the lecture quality, the courses and the link which has been created between UniQuest/UQ and us, and overall, between Australia and our countries,” he said. ▲

REGIONAL DIPLOMACY

Training Program

Academics in the School

of Political Science and

International Studies

(POLSIS), and its Asia-

Pacific Centre for the

Responsibility to Protect,

have been helping to

improve the diplomacy and

conflict resolution skills of

our neighbours in Africa.


LEGO at play

Could traditional research methods be missing the big picture? Could visual techniques be used to elicit different, more nuanced information than standard survey and interview tools? What could LEGO contribute to our understanding of contemporary international development challenges?

These are some of the questions Dr Lauren Leigh Hinthorne is exploring as part of her postdoctoral research.

Dr Hinthorne, based in the Centre for Communication and Social Change in the School of Journalism and Communication, has a background in political science with an emphasis on international development and conflict transformation.

While conducting field research as part of her doctoral studies, she designed and piloted an innovative visual research tool for exploring how ordinary people understand their socio-political environment and relate these perceptions to specific policy goals. Other research projects have examined implementation of the Kimberley Process in post-conflict Sierra Leone and the effectiveness of international food aid.

The particular expertise Dr Hinthorne will be developing over the course of her postdoctoral fellowship is on the metamethodology of visual research practice and how a range of visual research and communication tools can improve local stakeholder engagement in development initiatives.

One of her current research projects includes the development of a participatory model-building exercise adapted from the Lego Serious Play methodology.

“What’s not to love about research that requires playing with LEGO,” Dr Hinthorne said.

Lego Serious Play is an innovative, experiential process most commonly used in organisational and strategic management. It evolved from research demonstrating strong links between cognitive and manual activity.

“In short, the Lego Serious Play process consists of a progressive sequence of model-building exercises that encourage participants to think abstractly about complex problems using the iconic, plastic LEGO bricks. Participants then share their models with others sitting around the table, creating opportunities for self-expression, effective dialogue and shared understanding,” she said.

Dr Hinthorne is currently conducting pilot research that explores the utility of Lego Serious Play as a participatory situation analysis technique. Moreover, in stark contrast to conventional, top-down approaches to needs assessment and project planning, the technique piloted in this research recognises that project stakeholders – East Timorese cattle farmers in this case – hold particular expertise about both their current situation and obstacles to achieving a more sustainable livelihood.

“It also acknowledges that many people, particularly those with low literacy skills or minimal formal education, may not be readily able to articulate this expertise. The structured process of building models allows participants ample opportunity to reflect on their position or perceptions individually. When the time comes

for discussion everyone has had a chance to think through what they might want to say.

“The physical model serves as a prop that can be used to help demonstrate complex relationships or nuanced information.”

In addition to this ongoing research, Dr Hinthorne has facilitated workshops using Lego Serious Play with students from the School of Journalism and Communication, West African diplomats visiting UQ for a regional diplomacy course and entrepreneurs based at UniQuest’s business incubator iLab.

Dr Hinthorne said her research contributes to change by emphasising the experiential knowledge of ordinary people and developing practical tools for integrating this knowledge into project development and policy-making .

“One of the biggest challenges is getting practitioners in the international development industry to recognise the enormous potential of visual communication techniques for facilitating meaningful stakeholder engagement and sustainable impact.

“Hopefully my research will make it easier for ordinary people to effectively speak into project development and policy-making processes that affect their lives.” ▲


EARLY CAREER RESEARCHERSIn the following pages we celebrate the work

of some of the emerging researchers

across SBS and ISSR who are already

making outstanding contributions to

advancement in social science research.

DR TSUI-O TAI

Institute for Social Science Research Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Dr Tsui-o Tai, is a researcher in the lifecourse studies area of research led by Professor

Janeen Baxter.

Dr Tai, who received her PhD in sociology from the

University of California, Irvine, has collaborated with researchers in China, the United States and Australia on research in social inequality, gender, family, lifecourse, demography and social policy.

Her current project, Youth and Poverty, investigates youth poverty

internationally.

“I am interested in youth poverty partially because I noticed a paradoxical trend. Previous studies show that Scandinavian countries with relatively comprehensive social provisions have very high youth poverty rates.

“The project includes 22 countries, which allows me to examine the differential developments in welfare systems, the economy and the family, and how these three mechanisms offset one another to determine the variations in poverty-risk for younger adults and those residing with them,” she said.

The preliminary findings show that living arrangements are the most influential factor leading to the variation in youth poverty across the 22 industrialised countries.

Dr Tai co-authored a cross-national study of relationship satisfaction with Professor Janeen Baxter and Dr Belinda Hewitt.

“This paper examined whether union satisfaction differs for those in marital, cohabitating and LAT (living apart together) relationships,” she said.

“We examined the extent to which men and women differ in their relationship satisfaction by union type and also compared and contrasted these differences for four countries with varying institutional contexts.

“Interestingly we have found that married and cohabiting intending to marry respondents reported higher levels of satisfaction and that Australians tended to be less satisfied than people living in other countries,” Dr Tai said. ▲


MATTHEW THOMPSON

Matthew Thompson is a PhD student in the School of Psychology, whose thesis aims to understand how fingerprint examiners decide whether a crime scene print matches a suspect or not.

“Contrary to what you see on CSI, it’s not computers that match prints, it’s humans,” he said.

In Australia alone, over 5,000 fingerprint comparisons are made per day to be used as evidence in convicting criminals.

“As it turns out, even though they’ve been testifying in court for the past 100 years, police examiners have never been scientifically tested for how well they can match prints,” Mr Thompson said.

Testing the matching accuracy of examiners at police departments in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Australian Federal Police in Canberra was part of his PhD research.

“This was the first ever test of fingerprint expertise. As you might hope, examiners were extremely accurate, but not perfect. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that examiners can actually do what they claim. The challenge now is to see how these findings translate to performance outside the lab,” he said.

As well as accuracy, Mr Thompson is interested in the basics of how humans process complex visual patterns such as fingerprints.

“I want to turn novices into experts more quickly and I’m discovering ways to improve their accuracy,” he said.

Mr Thompson’s research was presented to judges on the Supreme Court and the experiments from his PhD are changing the way we think about presenting fingerprint evidence to judges and juries.

As part of his Fulbright award Mr Thompson moved to Los Angeles in 2012 to continue his research at UCLA where he has met with lawyers, scientists and law enforcement to improve the value of forensic science and expert testimony.

“I’ll apply my fingerprint work to other areas of forensics like shoeprints, blood spatter and even DNA to help ensure that innocent people are not wrongfully accused,” Mr Thompson said. ▲


EARLY CAREER RESEARCHERS

BUI THU THUYVietnam’s version of Oprah Winfrey, Bui Thu Thuy, hopes her PhD research at UQ will improve educational television programs targeting vulnerable groups in her home country.

Ms Bui is undertaking her PhD in the School of Journalism and Communication.

Her TV career already boasts an impressive CV – a producer, then the host of the made-in-Vietnam game show Sunday at Home, one of the most successful programs in Vietnam with audience figures topping 42 percent in Hanoi.

Sunday at Home broadcast for nine years and won silver and gold medals at the National Television Festival. In 2005 Ms Bui received an award from the Prime Minister of Vietnam acknowledging her contribution to television.

Ms Bui then became the Vice-General Director of the Department of Sports, Entertainment and Economic Information at Viet Nam Television (VTV), and starred in live broadcast and talk-show programs such as New Year’s Eve transmission and the Miss Vietnam Competition.

Prior to coming to Australia to start her PhD in 2011, she worked as executive producer on game shows such as Wheel of Fortune and The Price Is Right.

Ms Bui is one of five Vietnamese students who received the Australia’s Prime Minister Award for Asia (Endeavour Awards 2011).

She hopes her PhD, entitled An analysis of the challenges and opportunities for public television in Vietnam to offer effective educational programs to culturally diverse rural communities will enhance the effectiveness of VTV’s educational programs targeting vulnerable groups in her home country.

Seventy percent of the Vietnamese population – some 60 million people – live in rural areas and Ms Bui said Vietnam is hugely diverse, ethnically and linguistically, particularly in rural areas. This has resulted in significant educational challenges.

“In Vietnam public television channels play a role in addressing this, but research needs to be done to enhance the educational functions of public television so that people can gain access to information, broaden their knowledge and build their capacity.

“This is undoubtedly a new trend in modern education contributing to the development of an intellectual economy in Vietnam,” she said.

Ms Bui completed a Masters of Journalism in 2003 and came to television after three years as a newspaper journalist with Vietnam Economic News, a magazine of the Ministry of Commerce. She has been working for the most popular TV channel in Vietnam for almost 15 years, VTV3. Ms Bui will complete her PhD in 2014. ▲


DR MAREE PETERSEN

Working with older people as a social work practitioner gave Dr Maree Petersen, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for Social Science Research, the impetus to specialise in social gerontology.

Dr Petersen’s research interests centre on the living environments of older people.

“This encompasses research projects concerned with older people and homelessness, rural service provision, marginal housing, as well as a long-standing interest in retirement villages and residential care facilities,” Dr Petersen said.

Improving older people’s lives and their wellbeing is the focus of Dr Petersen’s work.

“The resilience shown by older people is often under-recognised and it is important that research respects this,” she said.

Dr Petersen and a team from The University of Queensland, La Trobe University and University of Alberta were recently awarded an ARC Linkage grant, valued

at $262,364, to investigate community services for older people living in rural Australia.

Dr Petersen said the project, The relationship between rural living and wellness: What services and supports do older people need? will provide essential evidence to address our government partners’ challenge of delivering sustainable and appropriate services across rural Australia.

Dr Petersen and the Social Wellbeing, Health and Housing program of research within ISSR have close links with the Queensland Government and the Office of Seniors, and she also conducts research reports for the Office for Seniors.

“Last year this involved reports on social isolation of older people and older women and homelessness. This year we aim to work on the living conditions of Queenslanders and older people’s use of technology.

“I have been lucky enough to work with some of Australia’s leading gerontologists, all within a strong social justice framework. They have provided me with mentorship and guidance enabling me to gain research skills,” Dr Petersen said.

The multiple disadvantages for increasing numbers of older Australians is a concern for Dr Petersen.

“Many older people are part of a gap that is widening in Australian society between the better off and those with few resources; with many living in hardship, inappropriate and insecure housing, or without access to services most of us take for granted,” she said. ▲

research as she gets to “take a scientific lens and apply it to what makes the world interesting.”

Among other things, she has looked at how Asian-Australians engage in a society that is defined by a ‘white face’. Along with her PhD student, Michael Thai, she has shown that when Asian-Australians are denied their identity they actually have a perceptual change – they see their skin as becoming darker.

“I have also been involved with looking at how negative contact between members of different races can be so traumatic and so poisoning that it can sever inter-group relations far more than positive contact can improve them,” she said.

More recently Dr Barlow has explored topical issues such as same sex marriage. She has found that gay Australians who are exposed to people actively opposing gay marriage feel worse about themselves and feel that a long-term committed relationship is not possible for them.

“Some even feel more at risk of harming themselves,” she said. Dr Barlow recently presented this work to the Senate Inquiry in Canberra.

Having an applied focus is incredibly important to Dr Barlow, who said she loves the balance of scientific endeavour, publishing and practical applications that social psychology can bring.

“I currently supervise six PhD students and I’m an active part of SBS. The collaborative and collegial relationships within the faculty ensure that open discussion, new ideas and scientific exploration are always encouraged.” ▲

DR FIONA BARLOW

At four years old Dr Fiona Barlow told her mother she would make improving race-relations in Australia a priority. Twenty-six years later nothing has changed.

In 2001 Dr Barlow went into psychology looking to become a clinical psychologist, but quickly got excited by social psychology; a field that looks at all matters of interest in social interactions.

She was so excited by this subject area that she went on to complete her honours then PhD in social psychology – looking at reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Australia.

At the time she graduated the School of Psychology had a statistics lecturer position open up, which she took on whilst continuing with her own line of research that focused on prejudice and discrimination – her core aspects of interest.

Today Dr Barlow is a postdoctoral research fellow and lecturer and remains excited and passionate about her



it separates out risk and protection across these areas.

Its purpose is to highlight, in a single page report, the areas where most protective factors exist in order to help young people find and build on their strengths. Rather than looking at how to ‘fix’ young people, the focus is on what is working for them and how this can be strengthened.

In developing the CAT-RPM, Dr Bower was mindful of the length of the tool, literacy levels and motivational issues in the design. She consulted widely with Indigenous groups to ensure relevance to Indigenous as well as non-Indigenous young people. The result is an assessment tool that is positive and fun to complete, thereby collecting more accurate information.

“The applications are far-reaching, but predominantly the CAT-RPM is a starting point to identifying and building on strengths in young people. It is envisaged that the CAT-RPM would be used as a tool by professionals working with adolescents at risk,” Dr Bower said.

In 2012 Dr Bower commenced an ARC Postdoctoral Fellowship as part of an ARC Linkage grant, with Associate Professor Annemaree Carroll and colleagues from three Ipswich schools – Investing in our disadvantaged youth: New school-wide approaches to understanding school engagement and social connectedness.

Dr Bower’s postdoctoral research examines how young people develop social connectedness. The CAT-RPM will be used to compare profiles of young people with strong social connectedness skills to those without.

Further development of this valuable tool is now in its next phase as part of Dr Bower’s fellowship.

“The first aim is to build on the development and validation of the CAT-RPM to expand the reporting system. I believe I can add value to the CAT-RPM by linking a strategy bank to the report. This will help professionals to identify strategies that may assist a young person to build on their strengths.”

Dr Bower will also examine how the CAT-RPM compares to other relevant measures to confirm its validity.

“My second aim is to continue my writing around risk and protective factors associated with the development of social connectedness and engagement. Specifically I will examine how schooling experience, involvement in risky activities, family belonging, peer connectedness and social responsibility are related,” Dr Bower said.

Her third aim is to build collaborative networks with colleagues in Singapore and Malaysia to explore the relevance of the CAT-RPM as an assessment tool in the Asia-Pacific region.

Dr Bower has over 26 years experience in the education sector, 16 of those in educational research working with Associate Professor Annemaree Carroll and Emeritus Professor Adrian Ashman. Other significant research outputs from this research collaboration include the ongoing development of and training for the Mindfields programs, publications and conference presentations. ▲

DR JULIE BOWER

A unique assessment tool which helps identify and build on strengths in young people at risk has been developed by Dr Julie Bower from the School of Education.

As part of her PhD research Dr Bower developed and completed the initial validation of the Contextualised

Assessment Tool for Risk and Protection Management (CAT-RPM).

The CAT-RPM (www.catrpm.com.au) is an interactive, self-paced assessment tool that calculates risk and protection present for young people (aged 12-18 years) across five areas: within themselves; and in relation to family, school, peers and community. Its point of difference is that


DR SHANNON BRINCAT

Dr Shannon Brincat is a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Political Science and International Studies, whose research aims to advance climate change justice debates both internationally and within Australia to move towards a more viable solution.

Dr Brincat believes one of the burning issues is how society now conceives this problem in a one-sided fashion, and with his research he hopes to overcome the current idea that climate change is only a hard-scientific issue – it is about how we relate to each other and the environment.

“It is a social problem as much as it is environmental, and centres such as the Global Change Institute at UQ need to engage with the human and political dimensions of this problem in equal regard,” he said.

Rather than focusing on the ‘doom and gloom’ scenarios typical of discussion about climate change, Dr Brincat’s project – The Cosmopolitan dimensions of recognition: The case of climate

change justice attempts to draw on the positives this urgent problem may bring.

“It aims to help reframe climate change as opening up the possibility for political transformation – an invitation for us to think of new ways of interacting with our fellow human beings to meet new challenges.

“Enhancing how we recognise others across our borders may help in moving toward a more just and therefore more agreeable international framework for addressing climate change,” he said.

According to Dr Brincat, what states and peoples say to each other about these issues reflects an even more fundamental dynamic; how states and peoples ‘recognise’ each other.

“This project hypothesises that there is a cosmopolitan dimension to recognition and that these processes exist in both state-relations and social-relations between individuals and groups in world politics.

“The question is how these processes operate and how they can be enhanced towards mutual respect and esteem throughout international society,” he said.

Dr Brincat aims to test this theory of ‘cosmopolitan recognition’ through the study of climate change justice debates that take place at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

“The project aims to enhance Australia’s and UQ’s commitment to sustainability by showing the importance of recognition in achieving just outcomes in climate change negotiations,” he said. ▲

JESSICA MASKELL

The long-term adjustment of children and adolescents who sustain burn injuries is being explored by PhD candidate Jessica Maskell.

Ms Maskell is a senior social worker in the Stuart Pegg Paediatric Burn Centre at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane and sees first-hand the trauma, pain and distress a burn brings to a child and their family.

“This trauma and distress can continue throughout treatment and long into rehabilitation and reintegration due to the long-term physical and psychological changes that occur when a burn injury is sustained – for example, changes in appearance, trauma symptoms and the impact of societal expectations.

“Further research and clinical interventions are needed to help these children adjust and accept this traumatic experience and the future difficulties and triumphs that come with it. It was this desire to offer more to these children that drew me towards enrolling in my PhD,” she said.

Ms Maskell’s research consists of a qualitative component exploring the identity development of children and adolescents who have sustained a burn injury and have subsequent burn scarring. It also includes a multicentred randomised control trial investigating the impact using a cosmetic camouflage to cover scarring has on quality of life, self-concept, body image and social integration.

“To date it has been found that children and adolescents with burn scars have lower quality of life and higher behavioural

problems than healthy children, and that the cosmetic camouflage has a positive impact on quality of life, behavioural problems and social integration.”

After completing her PhD, Ms Maskell would like to continue to further educate the medical world about the psychosocial and psychological impacts of burn injury, and provide specialised therapeutic support to these children and their families to assist them to cope and adjust positively in the long-term.

“I would like to continue researching this important area, hopefully as part of an international collaboration. I would also like to continue to work clinically to provide intensive and innovative clinical interventions to these children, adolescents and their families so they can live fulfilling and happy lives.”

Ms Maskell’s thesis entitled The Psychosocial and Psychological wellbeing of children and adolescents with burn scarring is supervised by Professor Roy Kimble, Associate Professor Peter Newcombe, Professor Graham Martin and Associate Professor Michele Foster. ▲



MELANIE SPALLEKMelanie Spallek is a data archivist for the Queensland node of the Australian Data Archive, ADA Longitudinal, located at the Institute for Social Science Research.

Ms Spallek, also a PhD student in the School of Social Science, is interested in why and how changes to housing affect individuals, families, communities and society. Her research topic is Housing pathways of families with young children in Australia: A lifecourse approach.

“Housing pathways have become more diverse due to changes in social processes that are known to influence housing decisions. For example individuals now often spend more time in further education and purchase houses at an older age,” she said.

Ms Spallek’s review of the literature has found that relationships, marriage and when people decide to have children have dramatically changed in the last century.

“I’m interested to see what impact these changes have on housing pathways – in particular entry into home-ownership”.

Ms Spallek’s thesis examines the relationships between housing pathways, specific life events and housing affordability and wellbeing – for families of childbearing age.

She defines housing pathways as “sequences of housing transitions that can include a change in the location of the residence or a change in tenure status.

“The key life events of interest to my research are relationship formation and birth of first and subsequent children – so my population of interest encompasses families of childbearing age and families with children under the age of 18,” Ms Spallek said.

“This group has also frequently been identified in the literature as being at risk of experiencing problems in relation to entering home ownership and housing affordability,” she said.

According to Ms Spallek there is an important gap that her research can fill as most housing research is policy-focused.

“By contrast, my research has a strong sociological focus on the housing experiences of families of childbearing age and the relationship of these experiences with significant life events that typically occur throughout the lifecourse,” she said.

Ms Spallek hopes that her research will contribute to the sociological understanding of Australian housing needs and pathways.

Ms Spallek has a UQ-Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute scholarship and is supervised by Associate Professor Michele Haynes, Professor Andrew Jones and Associate Professor Maria Zadoroznyj. ▲


ALPHONSE YAMBISANG

In social groups of people, social and cultural identity, affiliation, role, rank, wealth, status, age, gender, values and beliefs are constituted through and with material culture.

PhD candidate from the School of Social Science, Alphonse Yambisang, is focusing his research on Papua New Guinea (PNG), and the certain cultural objects that are considered indelibly linked to their prosperity as a people, giving them a collective and individual identity.

Mr Yambisang explained that some

material/sacred objects attract respect, reverence and fear more so than others – with one of these being a slit-drum (garamut) (pictured above), which is found in several social groups in PNG.

Carved from a felled tree, the garamut is a drum that’s engraved and painted in different stages and kept in the men’s ritual house for ceremonies such as male initiations.

“For these social groups, garamuts are considered abodes of the spirits who existed before their ancestors, and are said to be imbued with social agency of power and influence which organises and

constructs social ranking and gives them cultural identity,” he said.

Mr Yambisang’s research topic, Slit-drums (garamuts) among the Kaian: A case study of the historical and contemporary significance of garamuts/slit-drums among the Kaian people of Madang, Papua New Guinea, explains how the ‘social life’ of a garamut is intertwined with the lives of the people.

“Garamuts are considered life-giving as well as life-taking objects. The peoples’ leadership, social ranking, kinship relations, social structure of governance, political, social, economic and religious

affiliations evolve around garamuts,” he said.

Given this understanding the research will explore the basic questions of how, why, who, when, what, and where garamuts make an impact in the social fabric of these societies.

“From my observation among the Kaian people, garamuts play a very significant role in the social order of the village, and if key leaders of the village do not make attempts to pass down the knowledge and the art of making garamuts, it will be a loss not only to the Kaian people, but for the country of Papua New Guinea as well.” ▲

50

COMMUNICATION TO CHANGE THE WORLD


Changes in MEDIA REPORTING

Researchers from the School of

Journalism and Communication are

exploring the changes in media reporting

following the introduction of new Right to

Information Laws in Queensland.

Funded by the Office of the Information Commissioner Queensland this project investigates the changes in journalistic reporting of issues related to Freedom of Information (FOI) and Right to Information (RTI).

According to Acting Head of the School of Journalism and Communication and research team leader, Dr Rhonda Breit, research can provide insight into the culture of Freedom of Information/Right to Information in Queensland by investigating how journalism represents legal reform and how legal reform shapes journalistic practice.

The study focuses on newspaper and blog coverage of access to information across three time periods identified as Pre-Reform (January 2007 to November 2007), During-Reform (December 2007 to June 2009) and Post-Reform (July 2009 to January 2011).


The research revealed both quantitative and qualitative shifts in the media reporting of RTI and FOI across the three time periods under review.

Dr Breit said the study investigated media reports in Queensland newspapers to understand whether the introduction of new RTI laws had resulted in a lower proportion of media reports where agency secrecy was the story or part of the story.

“At a quantitative level, the text analytics software Leximancer was used to identify key concepts, issues and trends in 786 relevant articles from national, metropolitan and regional newspapers.

“At a qualitative level, discourse analysis was used to identify key themes and patterns from the newspaper articles and blog posts,” she said.

The final phase of the research involved semi-structured interviews with journalists who use and report on RTI/FOI in order to identify media attitudes towards RTI and to provide context for the analysis of media reports.

The study revealed key changes to the way access to public sector information is reported

~ the transition from FOI to RTI has been reflected in media reports with the language of RTI increasingly being used in those reports

~metropolitan newspapers are the key sources of stories related to RTI/FOI

~ there has been a shift in tone in media reports towards a more positive view of access to government information

~most of the reporting around RTI/FOI focuses on a small number of portfolios

~access to government information is a salient and newsworthy issue in its own right

Key qualitative findings include

~different news themes emerge across the three periods

~ there is a discernible shift in the way RTI and FOI have been used to source stories

~some portfolios are seen as more advanced in cultural change than others

~negative experience of FOI/RTI can increase the risk of ‘double negative reporting’ – where the process of obtaining information itself becomes a prominent feature of the report

~an increase in ‘double negative reporting’ has the potential to alter the positive perceptions that have emerged around RTI

Dr Breit is currently working on an ARC Linkage project with colleagues from the University of Tasmania, Monash University and UQ to undertake a cross-jurisdictional study of FOI practices. ▲


LEXIMANCER –supporting research at UQ and around the world

For many people Leximancer is a software company and product that is used to analyse customer feedback, and in other commercial applications. The technology was developed at UQ by Dr Andrew Smith and was licensed to start-up company Leximancer Pty Ltd in 2005.

Since then Leximancer has gone on to be used by major corporations in Australia and internationally, as well as government clients such as the US Army.

Leximancer was generated through research – Dr Smith’s MPhil thesis – and initial commercial interest came from academia and research organisations such as the Defence Science and Technology Organisation.

If you search ‘Leximancer’ in Google Scholar you’ll find over 700 papers that reference Leximancer. Researchers in more than 300 universities across the world have used Leximancer in their research. At UQ, a site licence enables staff and students to access Leximancer and use it to analyse qualitative data. The UQ Library is also piloting a new search technology based on Leximancer called Needlz with the Science Direct database published by Elsevier.

As well as being used as a research tool, Leximancer and Dr Smith are also playing key roles in a number of research projects aimed at generating greater value and insights from text.

In collaboration with Dr Daniel Angus (School of Journalism and Communication/School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (ITEE)) and Professor Janet Wiles (ITEE), Dr Smith is working on using technology to better analyse and understand discourse. An outcome of this research is the Discursis text analytic tool which is a useful way to visualise and obtain metrics from conversation transcripts. Discursis is a computer-assisted visual text analytic technique that analyses patterns of topic use in a text to produce informative visual and metric analyses of these topics over time. Discursis has been used to successfully analyse doctor/patient communication, television interview transcripts,

phone recording transcripts and Twitter feeds, amongst others.

In collaboration with fellow ISSR researchers Professor Lorraine Mazerolle and Dr Gentry White, Dr Smith has been involved in a ground-breaking national security project sponsored by the Australian Government. The research team has now successfully software engineered a new product called Harvest. Useful to policy-makers and practitioners working in the field of national security, Harvest is an automated, entity extraction and ontology discovery software. The team has also successfully used Harvest to create a user-friendly interactive i-Library that enables users to access information about national security interventions, strategies and responses on a global scale.

Dr Smith is currently engaged in a three-year project funded by the US Air Force Office of Strategic Research through its Asian Office for Aerospace Research and Development (AOARD) to explore how to achieve reliable situation tracking using large streams of data such as social media applications like Facebook and Twitter. While not directly related to the Leximancer research, Dr Smith’s reputation for solving fundamental information analysis problems and building workable solutions enabled him to secure this funding. The AOARD work is a natural successor to the Leximancer methods. The aim is to match Leximancer capabilities but on real-time changing data, and go further by supporting almost any type of weakly structured data records. Dr Smith and his team then plan to use this as a test bed for examining measures of complexity and criticality, with the hope of finding more sensitive and meaningful measures of change detection and meme evolution. ▲


Sustained VOLUNTEERING

Increasing demand for plasma-derived

products presents a major recruitment

and retention challenge for blood

collection agencies internationally.

Australia strives to be self-sufficient in its supply of plasma-derived products, particularly intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) which is used to treat a range of neurological, hematological and immunological disorders.

Hence it is critical to understand what motivates individuals to commence and to continue making plasma donations.

Recognising the scarcity of research investigating plasma donors in a voluntary, non-remunerated system, a multidisciplinary team of researchers from three Australian universities in conjunction with the Australian Red Cross Blood Service was formed.

Led by Associate Professor Barbara Masser from the School of Psychology, the research aims to gain a deeper insight into donors’ reasons for conversion and sustained plasma donation behaviour.

According to Associate Professor Masser the study is a world-first in understanding how to effectively recruit and retain plasma donors.

“Very little is known about why people choose to donate plasma. There is only scant local and international literature on donor behaviour and motivation.

“On this basis and working in collaboration with the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, we talked directly to donors to investigate what triggers an individual to donate plasma for the first time and factors associated with continuing donations.

“We also sought to identify key barriers that deter people from donating this vital product,” Associate Professor Masser said.

The research team carried out a number of focus group meetings and in-depth individual interviews exploring donors’ beliefs, expectations and experiences of plasma donation using a semi-structured interview schedule.

Three different donor groups were interviewed: those who donated whole blood but had declined to donate plasma; those who commenced donating plasma but had returned to donating whole blood; and those who donated plasma then lapsed from donating altogether.

Associate Professor Masser said the research findings presented common themes.

“It became apparent that donors had similar reasons for choosing to donate or not to donate plasma.

“As the process of donating plasma can take considerably longer than donating whole blood (approximately 10–15 minutes for whole blood compared with closer to an hour for plasma), a key reported deterrent was the greater donation time, increasing both the inconvenience and physical costs (e.g. needle insertion discomfort) of donating.

“However results indicated that sustained

donation can be encouraged by the establishment of a regular schedule, and that the positive interactions with collection staff enhance donors’ subjective wellbeing,” she said.

Research results will be used to provide information to better educate the donating and non-donating public on the importance of donating plasma.

The current demand for IVIg and the small number of local plasma donors requires Australia to spend $31 million a year importing this critical product from such places as Europe and the US.

Even a small increase in the number of plasma donors and plasma donations will make a significant contribution.

Understanding the deterrents to plasma donations allows blood collection agency staff to focus on addressing and minimising such issues.

In turn this will facilitate greater conversion of whole blood donors to plasma donors and support Australia in becoming self-sufficient in meeting the local demand for life-saving plasma-derived products.

The research team included Associate Professor Masser, Professor Katherine White (School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology), Associate Professor Liliana Bove (Department of Management and Marketing, University of Melbourne) and Professor Deborah Terry (The University of Queensland) with Associate Professor David Irving (Research and Development, Australian Red Cross Blood Service). ▲


By shaping public opinion TV news also contributes to how events in world affairs are addressed by political elites.

In a world-first, a team of UQ researchers have developed a laboratory aimed at unpacking and understanding these important political implications.

The MediaLab can record and store up to twelve 24-hour TV news channels parallel in real time for up to three months continuously. News channels from Russia, China, Japan, India, Qatar, Iran, Germany, France, UK, USA, New Zealand and Australia will be recorded.

According to researcher Dr Martin Weber the technology will allow the team to engage in comparative studies of news reporting during major international crisis events.

“Our understanding of world affairs continues to be shaped significantly by televised news. MediaLab will enable us to investigate the ways in which news on events of global significance is produced, consumed and processed.

“Anyone who has ever watched more than one 24-hour news channel as a particular event unfolds will have noticed that while the broadcasts have much in common, they often also display significant differences.

“The same images, still or moving, may receive very different interpretations: particular pools of experts are drawn in to provide commentary or analysis; the significance of particular occurrences during a crisis cycle is sometimes interpreted vastly differently; and some images and stories, having briefly been reported, disappear swiftly off the agenda,” Dr Weber said.

With the use of this unique facility the differences in the coverage and interpretation of global crises can be analysed in detail. From humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters, ‘the Global War on Terror’ and the Arab Spring, to large-scale environmental events, the MediaLab allows for unprecedented research into the politics of the global television news landscape.

Over the next three years the MediaLab will be used to comprehensively monitor reporting on major conflicts and emergencies. Pioneering research is planned on reporting cycles, the relationship between images, messaging,

audience receptions and response, and on the intersection between the representation of international affairs events and foreign policy-making.

The research team includes Associate Professor Eric Louw from the School of Journalism and Communication, and Dr Sebastian Kaempf and Dr Martin Weber from the School of Political Science and International Studies.

MediaLab was developed with the help of a UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure Grant, together with Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences IT experts Dan Moradian, Mark Greenway and Caleb Elcock. ▲

Politics of making and

watching news:

NEW MEDIA LABORATORY

AT UQ

How we relate to major

events depends significantly

on how they are reported

and given meaning in the

context of television news

programs.


Associate Professor Katharine Gelber from the School of Political Science and International Studies has made it her mission to explore these rights and protect freedom of expression by establishing herself as a leading researcher and commentator on speech regulation in Australia.

Dr Gelber has secured a total of over $1.4 million in Australian Research Council (ARC) funding (as well as other research funds) to publish extensively on this topic, and is using her ARC Future Fellowship to work on her current project, Free Speech after 9/11.

This comparative, four-country study of the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia focuses on the often overlooked phenomenon of speech-restricting measures that have been ushered in to support counter-terrorism policy.

“I will use this four-year research position to investigate how some anti-terrorism measures introduced after 9/11 infringed on one of the key civil liberties that is the reason for our being targeted by terrorists in the first place,” Dr Gelber said.

Dr Gelber’s broader research surrounding human rights and freedom of speech focuses on the interface between political culture and legal frameworks in the arena of speech regulation.

“My work looks at understanding how freedom

of speech is protected, philosophical debates about why it ought to be protected, and when it might justifiably be limited, such as in the regulation of hate speech and how it has changed over time in response to legal restrictions,” she said.

Dr Gelber believes that freedom of speech ought not to be considered in absolutist terms, and that there are some appropriate limits to freedom of expression – one of the most obvious of these being vilification – a ‘speech or expression which is capable of instilling or inciting hatred of, or prejudice towards, a person or group of people on a specified ground.’

“If it can be established that vilification is able to prevent individuals from developing their capacities to participate as full members of our community, and by doing so to prevent their equal participation as citizens and community members, then there is an argument for its regulation,” she said.

In Australia, finding the right balance between freedom of speech on the one hand and appropriate limits on the other is not easy, but what Dr Gelber is trying to do is outline a framework within which we might be able to make sensible decisions about where that balance might lie.

“That framework is based on striving for the achievement of substantive equality and the

subsequent enhancement of the diversity that makes our society so rich and enjoyable,” she said.

Dr Gelber is the Immediate Past President of the Australian Political Studies Association and regularly makes submissions to government inquiries into speech-related matters, including academic freedom and anti-terrorism laws.

She has been honoured for her work in the human rights arena and was awarded the Sydney PEN Keneally Award for her contribution to the Protection of the Freedom of Expression, as well as being a finalist in the prestigious Australian Human Rights Awards for her book, Speech Matters (UQ Press 2011).

Dr Gelber said to receive this level of recognition was “amazing and incredibly humbling.

“Compared to many writers around the world, I am free to express myself and I am very aware of the privilege and luxury of being able to do that work openly.” ▲

Protecting FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Freedom of speech is a vital democratic liberty that many of us take for granted, with most Australians firmly believing that they have, and that they should have the right to free speech.


The ARC-funded project led by Professor Brian Head (pictured), Emeritus Professor Paul Boreham and Dr Adrian Cherney is examining research utilisation within government agencies in Australia at both state and national levels – with a focus on agencies responsible for human service policies and programs.

Professor Head, leader of the ISSR program of research, Sustainability and Environment and Policy Analysis, and a former public servant in Queensland governments in the 1990s and 2000s is ideally positioned to link the impressive list of nine partners and 12 collaborating organisations.

The linkage partners are: The Productivity Commission; The Australian Bureau of Statistics; Queensland Department of the

Premier and Cabinet; Queensland Health; Queensland Department of Communities; Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation; Victorian Department of Planning and Community Development; Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development; and Victorian Department of Human Services.

“There is a pressing need to clarify how social science research informs the tasks of policy development and program review, and identify factors that influence the use of social research by policy and program managers,” Professor Head said.

The research findings of this project according to Professor Head, an international expert on evidence-based policy and program performance, will help the mutual understanding of public servants and social scientists.

“It will enable them to communicate more effectively about better processes for research utilisation,” he said.

Data collection for the project is nearing completion – including surveys of almost 700 social science academic researchers and up to 2,000 public servants, providing insights into their perceptions of and experience with research uptake and utilisation.

“We have also undertaken 85 interviews with targeted groups of senior academic researchers, exploring these topics in greater depth. While continuing with analysis of the survey data, we are commencing the final phase of individual interviews with selected key public sector managers from around Australia,” he said.

The project aims to enhance the usage of evidence in social policy and identify ways to improve research partnerships between academic social scientists and public and private sector agencies.

Although political decisions may need to be made with urgency or to meet political commitments, the project aims to improve communication channels between public servants and social scientists for better use of evidence – in order to improve the cost-effectiveness of social policy.

“Commitment to better use of rigorous research evidence in the formation of social policy has resulted in governments around the world looking to social science research to help shape and achieve their social policy objectives,” Professor Head said.

Despite this enhanced collaborative context, it is unclear how and under what conditions social science research actually informs public policy decision-making.

“Therefore the central issue to be investigated is to identify the processes, practices and circumstances that facilitate or hinder the uptake and adoption of academic social research within policy contexts,” he said.

This project will also serve to inform Australian governments, human service policy divisions and the academic community about ways to enhance the uptake of social research and ways to improve research partnerships between social scientists and external partners.

“Outcomes will be relevant to government policy-makers and academic researchers in both Australia and abroad,” Professor Head said. ▲

IMPROVING THE LINK

between decision-

makers and social science

research

Much of the research work

within the Institute for Social

Science Research provides

an evidence base to inform

policy decision-making.

But the hot topic of how

research is used is the focus

of a research project, The

utilisation of social science

research in

policy development and

program review.


Professor H

aslamP

rofessor Mattingley

PROFESSOR ALEX HASLAM

Professor Alex Haslam is one of the United Kingdom’s brightest stars in group theory and its application. A returning Australian, he has been attracted to UQ from the University of Exeter where he was based in the School of Psychology.

Professor Haslam is renowned for his influential work on social identity in social, organisational and health contexts – work which is setting the international agenda for understanding group dynamics and the way they shape human behaviour.

His fellowship aims to develop an integrated framework for understanding how changes to identity that are associated with the changing fabric of the modern world impact on Australians’ health and wellbeing.

Professor Haslam has received several awards including the Kurt Lewin Award from the European Association of Experimental Social Psychology for his outstanding contribution to research in social psychology, and the British Psychological Society Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Psychology.

He is currently a fellow of several scientific bodies including the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, and the Association for Psychological Science.

ARC LAUREATES

Two psychology professors

are among the most recent

recipients of a prestigious

Australian Research Council

Laureate Fellowship.

Professors Alex Haslam

and Jason Mattingley have

been recognised as world-

leading scholars and people

who have made a significant

impact in their field.

PROFESSOR JASON MATTINGLEY

Professor Jason Mattingley is one of the world’s leading researchers in the neuropsychological basis of attention and its importance to learning. His work features studies of acquired and developmental brain disorders – including stroke, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – and has led to breakthrough discoveries.

He is the Foundation Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience at UQ, where he holds a joint appointment between the Queensland Brain Institute and the School of Psychology, and is also a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and a member of the Australian Academy of Science’s National Committee for Brain and Mind.

Professor Mattingley’s fellowship will investigate how people use attention to filter sensory information and how the brain controls attention in health and disease. The findings will support new initiatives in a range of fields – from the development of more effective teaching practices to improved rehabilitation strategies for people with brain injuries.


FUTURE FELLOW FOR 2012

Dr Paul E. DuxThe multitasking brain: training and individual differences (Total $714,502)

Difficulties with doing two things at once are experienced by everyone, but are particularly common as we get older and in the context of many neurological and psychiatric conditions.

This project will examine how training changes the brain to improve multitasking performance and why some individuals are better at multitasking than others.

FUTURE FELLOWSHIPSIn 2008 the Australian Government announced the creation of a

new scheme, Future Fellowships, to promote research in areas

of critical national importance by giving outstanding researchers

incentives to conduct their research in Australia.

The aim of Future Fellowships is to attract and retain the best

and brightest mid-career researchers. The scheme is providing

$844 million over five years for up to 1,000 talented Australian and

international mid-career researchers.

The Future Fellowships scheme funds researchers conducting all

types of research, particularly in areas of national priority that will

deliver significant economic, environmental, social, health and/or

cultural benefits to Australia.


FUTURE FELLOWS FOR 2011

Dr Kelly FieldingPublic responses to alternative water supplies: The role of risk, beliefs and identity (Total $567,380)

Dr Fielding’s research aims to build an evidence base that explains the social and psychological determinants of pro-environmental decisions and behaviours – and out of that understanding, develop individual and community strategies to increase pro-environmental actions.

Her research explores the role of identity and climate change beliefs in shaping risk perceptions and acceptance of alternative water sources.

Associate Professor Katharine GelberFreedom of speech in the post-9/11 era (Total $750,064)

This project will assess the place of freedom of speech in political attitudes in a post-9/11 world. It will show that, and how, liberal democracies both undermine and simultaneously assert the importance of the fundamental human rights that are the very basis for their perceived vulnerability to terrorists.

Professor Jolanda JettenA social cure: How multiple social groups are key to health and wellbeing (Total $837,168)

Building on the increased recognition that social factors affect both mental and physical health, the research will examine how and when social identities and group membership determine wellbeing.

The work is at the forefront of current societal concerns relating to coping with social disadvantage and life-transitions.

Associate Professor Nerina Jimmieson Supervisor strategies for managing employee stress and strain: A national approach to psychosocial risk management (Total $734,286)

This research aims to identify supervisor strategies for managing occupational stress in their work teams. Expected outcomes include reduction in the number of employees reporting that they are exposed to stress and suffering from the effects of ill-health; thereby reducing workers’ compensation claims for stress and lowering associated costs.

Professor Martin Mills School retention and second chance schooling (Total $846,079)

This project is concerned with ensuring that students who experience systemic disadvantage are not excluded from the benefits of a formal education. It provides an account and critique of the growth of second chance schooling options catering to such students in both Australia and the UK.

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FUTURE FELLOWS FOR 2010

FUTURE FELLOWSHIPS


Dr Amanda Keddie Socially-just schooling: A cross-cultural analysis of gender, cultural diversity and social change within Australia and the UK (Total $679,386)

The study will examine issues of gender justice, cultural diversity and schooling. Through cross-cultural insight developed from analysis of schools in Australia and the UK, the study will enhance policy and practice associated with socially-just schooling.

Associate Professor Lynda CheshireTransforming the outer suburbs through master planned estates: A governmental challenge (Total $596,218)

Master planned estates are becoming more common on the outer suburbs of capital cities and the developers of these estates are required to plan and manage a whole range of services.

This project examines the role that private actors play in ‘governing’ suburban estates alongside traditional forms of government and the challenges that ensue.

Associate Professor Alex BroomThe changing landscapes of medical pluralism: A sociological analysis of patient experiences and decision-making in Australia, India and Brazil (Total $656,448)

This project examines the respective roles of biomedicine and traditional, complementary and alternative medicine in supporting health needs in Australia, Brazil and India. It will be the first sociological study to compare how different countries balance biomedical approaches to health with more alternative approaches.

SCHOOL OF EDUCATIONLevel 4 Social Sciences Building (24)The University of QueenslandBrisbane Qld 4072Phone +61 7 3365 6550Email [email protected] www.uq.edu.au/education

SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATIONLevel 2 Joyce Ackroyd Building (37)The University of QueenslandBrisbane Qld 4072Phone + 61 7 3346 8288Email [email protected] www.uq.edu.au/sjc

FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCESLevel 4 Social Sciences Building (24)The University of QueenslandBrisbane Qld 4072Phone +61 7 3365 7487Email [email protected] www.uq.edu.au/sbs

INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCHLevel 4 General Purpose North 3 (39A)The University of QueenslandBrisbane Qld 4072Phone +61 7 3346 7471 Email [email protected] www.issr.uq.edu.au

CONTACTS

SCHOOL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIESLevel 5 General Purpose North 3 (39A)The University of QueenslandBrisbane Qld 4072Phone +61 7 3365 2858 Email [email protected] Internet www.polsis.uq.edu.au

SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGYLevel 3 McElwain Building (24A)The University of QueenslandBrisbane Qld 4072Phone +61 7 3365 6230Email [email protected] www.psy.uq.edu.au

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCELevel 3 Michie Building (9)The University of Queensland Brisbane Qld 4072Phone +61 7 3365 3236Email [email protected] Internet www.socialscience.uq.edu.au

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK AND HUMAN SERVICESLevel 3 Chamberlain Building (35)The University of QueenslandBrisbane Qld 4072Phone +61 7 3365 2068Email [email protected] www.uq.edu.au/swahs

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The University of Queensland Brisbane Qld 4072 AUSTRALIA

Phone +61 7 3365 7487 Fax +61 7 3346 9136 Email [email protected] Internet www.uq.edu.au/sbs

INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH

The University of Queensland Brisbane Qld 4072 AUSTRALIA

Phone +61 7 3346 7471 Fax +61 7 3346 7646 Email [email protected] Internet www.issr.uq.edu.au

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