Digital Commons Network^™

A Ramble On Prayer: A Collaboration Between An Artist And A Writer, Alberta Natasia Adji, Harrison Waed See

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

A Ramble on Prayer is a collaborative project that involves multiple stages of interpretation, as creative works are exchanged in response to one another during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This article explores the authors’ experiences of collaboration from the positions of painter, creative writer, and researchers. This collaboration is a reflexive and dialogic space for creative self-narration/expression, allowing Adji’s and See’s imagination and subjectivities to discern, develop, and reciprocate each other’s work. In parallel to these creative reciprocations, also sits a dialogue concerning their collaborative processes to reflexively analyse how the collaborators’ use of visual …

How Young Migrants Perceive School Health Education In Sweden, D. Barker, A. Caldeborg, M. Quennerstedt, Valeria Varea

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The aim of this paper is to provide insights into how young people who have been forced to migrate perceive school health education. Eighteen individuals aged 15–19 years (10 females, 8 males, average age 16.9 years) took part in either focus group interviews (n = 7) or individual interviews (n = 1). Participants were first presented with short scenarios concerning health education and were invited to use these scenarios as starting points to discuss their own experiences of health education. Participants were then presented with a collection of photographs that portrayed people displaying broad dimensions of health. Participants were asked …

Observing Nursing Assistant Companions Supporting Older Adults In Hospital: A Cross-Sectional Study, Rosemary Saunders, Kate Crookes, Tania Leach, Seng Giap Marcus Ang, Caroline Bulsara, Beverly Ewens, Michelle Gay, Karla Seaman, Paige Watkins, Christopher Etherton-Beer, Olivia Gallagher

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Hospital environments may cause or exacerbate behavioural and psychological symptoms of older adults with cognitive impairment. Many hospitals in Australia employ staff as companions to provide constant observation and additional support for those with cognitive impairment and/or at risk of falls; however, little is known about the activities of this role. Aim: To examine the activities of assistant in nursing companions allocated to older patients in hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional study design using an observation tool was conducted at an acute metropolitan hospital in Western Australia. A nonparticipant nurse conducted the observations. Descriptive statistical analysis explored the data and …

The Perspectives Of Provisionally Registered Psychologists On Voluntary Assisted Dying In Australia: An In-Depth Qualitative Investigation, Ker-Ni Vivienne Heng, Eyal Gringart

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In Australia, voluntary assisted dying (VAD) is now widely legalised, and VAD uptake is on the rise. Thus, the demand for psychological support in the context of VAD is expected to grow. Despite their relevant expertise, psychologists remain underrepresented in end-of-life (EOL) literature and practice. The current in-depth qualitative study examined the perspectives of 20 provisionally registered psychologists in Australia on VAD, using reflexive thematic analysis grounded in social constructionism. Four main themes (‘Values’, ‘Fit-for-Role’, ‘Exposure’, and ‘Contributions’) and 14 sub-themes were generated from the data. Participants supported availing VAD for terminally ill patients and expressed the potential for its …

Legal Research Skills: An Australian Law Guide, University Of Queensland, James Cook University, University Of Southern Queensland, Charles Darwin University, Southern Cross University, Queensland University Of Technology, Deakin University, University Of South Australia, Kate Strong, University Of Tasmania, The Australian National University

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Updated in 2025, this edition of the guide is designed to support students undertaking Australian legal studies and contribute to the development of research skills in Australian law schools. An exciting feature of this edition includes a brand new chapter on Legal Research using Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI).

Cinderella On The Path At Midnight: Students On Regional University Campuses And Equity, Colleen Carlon, Lucinda Aberdeen, Robyn Eversole, Merete Schmidt, Janet Congues, Kylie Wrigley

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Just as Cinderella’s prospects for attending the ball seemed elusive, so does higher education for people living in rural, remote and regional locations in Australia. The concentration of university campuses in Australian capital cities systematically diminishes opportunities for people living in regional locations. Indeed, most regional communities in Australia do not have access to a local university campus. This article presents research that captures the voices and experiences of students studying on three small regional university campuses through semi-structured interviews. Acknowledging their intersectional diversity linked to gender, ethnicity, caring and cultural responsibilities, disability, and socio-economic status, a thematic analysis of …

Conservative Opposition To Climate Policy May Be Partially Threat-Based: A Test And Critique Of The Integrated Threat Model Of Climate Attitudes, Samantha K. Stanley, Zoe Leviston, Kirsti M. Jylhä, Iain Walker

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

One explanation for the link between political conservatism and rejection of the science and solutions of climate change is based on perceived threats. Yet, until recently, this claim has not been studied by simultaneously considering the different levels at which individuals may experience a sense of threat (i.e., threat of climate change or climate policy, at personal or collective level, on economic or cultural domains). A recent theoretical advance integrated the existing threat-based explanations for conservatives' lower acceptance of climate change and support for pro-climate policy. We aimed to subject aspects of this integrated threat model of climate change attitudes …

Focus On Frailty: Co-Designing Digital Frailty Education With Healthcare Students, Kristiana Ludlow, Sarah Martin, Benignus Logan, Ruth E. Hubbard, Nicola Warren, Olivia Gallagher, Bonnie K. Kwok, Rosemary Saunders

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction: Frailty is prevalent in hospitals and is associated with adverse events and poor health outcomes. In Australia, there is a need for co-designed, multidisciplinary, and contextually relevant frailty education to improve healthcare students’ understanding and knowledge of frailty within the hospital setting. Objective: This study aimed to i) explore healthcare students’ understanding of frailty and their experiences with patients who are frail, and ii) seek healthcare students’ design ideas for the content of a new digital frailty education course.

Methods: Participants were university students enrolled in a health-related degree. Online focus groups and interviews were conducted between August and …

Individual Differences Provide A Nuanced Understanding Of The Contributions Of Age, Experience, And Level Played To Superior Perceptual-Cognitive-Motor Skill, Khaya Morris-Binelli, Minerva A. Westbrook, Benjamin Piggott, Sean Müller, Paola Chivers

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Theories of expertise either predict superior performance is due to monotonic and progressive exposure to a domain task or due to non-linear exposure to a domain. The aim of this study was to explore the predictions of these theories by use of an individual differences approach to investigate how age, experience, and level played within a sample of athletes with high expertise contributes to superior perceptual-cognitive-motor skill. Twenty-seven players sampled from junior rugby union high-performance pathways and professional rugby union teams in Australia completed an in-situ perceptual-cognitive-motor test involving four attackers and three defenders. Participants were presented with scenarios representative …

The Somatechnics Of Journalism: Applying An Embodied Perspective To Enduring Issues In Journalism Studies, Laura Glitsos, Mark Deuze

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This research applies Somatechnics to the study of journalism and contributes to an emergent epistemological “bodily turn” in the discipline of Journalism Studies. This is a turn toward the body, embodied experience, and the inevitable emotionality of journalism and the journalist as brought forth by Chantal Francoeur and Belinda Middleweek, among others. We invite journalism scholars (and practitioners) to understand journalists’ bodies as sophisticated organic technologies—and to subsequently understand how those bodies are further transmogrified by, and collapsed into, the ever-changing world of news media. We deploy a process of retheorising as a qualitative method in which researchers apply new …

Unveiling The Charisma Of Artificial Intelligence: How Voice Assistants Captivate Users And Emotionally Influence User Experience, Bibaswan Basu, Sanjit K. Roy, Chrysostomos Apostolidis

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Although studies have explored user experience (UX) with artificial intelligence (AI)-powered voice assistants (VAs), the cognitive, psychological, and emotional factors affecting user engagement and experience with VAs have yet to be investigated in depth. Drawing on cognitive absorption and broaden-and-build theories, this study investigates how VAs captivate users, enhance positive emotions, and influence the overall UX. To address these questions, we conduct three types of analyses—exploratory, confirmatory, and configurational—utilizing data from 125,600 user reviews on a popular VA platform (Google Assistant) from 2017 to 2024. First, we employ bidirectional encoder representations from the transformers (BERT)topic modeling to unearth relevant cognitive …

If, And How, To Group By ‘Ability’– Considerations About Class Group Formation, Olivia Johnston, Suzanne Macqueen, Wei Zhang, Nerida Spina, Rebecca Spooner-Lane

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Many schools choose to organise students into classes according to their perceived “ability”, despite evidence that the practice is not beneficial for students, overall. Class grouping by “ability” can exacerbate existing social inequalities by segregating students according to pre-existing educational advantage, which has unjustifiable consequences from a social justice perspective. There is little understanding of how decisions about class groupings are made, but such understanding is a crucial basis for exploring the persistent prevalence of this inequitable and exclusionary practice in Australian schools. This study characterises within-school processes used to decide how to group students into classes. Surveys were completed …

Moderate-To-Late Preterm Infants Benefit From The Early Collaborative Intervention: Primary Outcomes Of An Rct, Ulrika Birberg Thornberg, Felix Sebastian Koch, Charlotte Sahlén Helmer, Jonna Tell, Ellinore Nyberg, Thomas Abrahamsson, Evalotte Mörelius

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Aim: This study aimed to determine the longitudinal impact of the EArly Collaborative Intervention (EACI), a three-session early intervention designed to enhance parent-infant interaction, on the developmental outcomes of preterm infants born between 30 + 0 and 35 + 6 weeks of gestation. Methods: This randomised controlled blinded study recruited families in two neonatal intensive care units in Sweden. In this one-year follow-up, 87 infants (standard care = 37, standard care with EACI = 50) were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. The primary study outcomes were cognition, receptive and expressive communication, and fine and gross motor development measured with the …

Prevalence And Risk Factors Of Postpartum Depression Among Postnatal Mothers With Hypertensive Disorders Of Pregnancy In A Developing Country, Wina Ivy Ofori Boadu, Enoch Odame Anto, Edmund Mintah Wiafe, Michael Nyantakyi, Joseph Frimpong, Emmanuel Ekow Korsah, Ezekiel Ansah, Afia Agyapomaa Kwayie, Elizabeth Aboagye, Christian Obirikorang, Emmanuel Timmy Donkoh, Kwame Ofori Boadu

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Postpartum depression is a public health issue affecting both maternal well-being and child development. While it is the most common mental health disorder following childbirth, data on its prevalence and associated risk factors in developing countries, including Ghana, remains limited. Objectives: This study determined the prevalence of postpartum depression and identified its associated risk factors among pregnant women who developed hypertensive disorders of pregnancy at the Adabraka Polyclinic in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Design: This study was a hospital-based cross-sectional study. Methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 159 postnatal mothers who delivered between March 31, …

Towards Carbon Neutrality In Tourism: Pathways And Future Research Directions, Pezhman Hatamifar, Kourosh Esfandiar, Zahed Ghaderi

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Achieving carbon neutrality (CN) in tourism is essential for mitigating climate change, yet existing literature provides limited guidance on effective pathways. This review addresses this gap by examining key strategies for carbon-neutral tourism, integrating both mitigation and adaptation approaches across three pathways: individual actions, industry initiatives, and destination policies to advance CN goals in tourism. This review found that achieving CN in the tourism industry necessitates a multifaceted approach involving stakeholders at various levels, from individuals to destination managers and policymakers, on both the supply and demand sides. Additionally, addressing behavioral changes, ethical considerations, and transparent carbon offset programs are …

Relational Employability Matrix (Rem): A Guided Framework For Self-Reflection And Professional Growth, Ros Sambell

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The Relational Employability Matrix (REM) is a practical tool for self-assessment and planning, grounded in the Relational Employability Framework (REF). The REF was developed and tested by Cook through a body of research that includes a narrative review, doctoral thesis, and applied studies (Cook, 2022; Cook, 2023a; Cook, 2023b; Cook, Doherty, & Wallace, 2024; Cook & Sambell, 2025). It brings together three interconnected dimensions of relational employability: Foundational Career Development and Identities, Interactions with Others, and Contributions to Local and Global Challenges. The REF works as a reflective, practice-focused guide for building these capabilities over time. The REM takes these …

Belongingness, Trust And Connection: Arts Teachers In Western Australian Schools Create Safe Learning Spaces, Christina Gray, Lisa Paris, Geoffrey Lowe, Angela Perry, Lara Warwick

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Central to this phenomenological inquiry is the question of how students’ fundamental needs of belonging, trust and connection are enacted in arts classrooms. Through qualitative semi-structured interviews, this research explores the teaching practices of 23 expert arts teachers in Western Australian schools, revealing strategies to sustain supportive and safe learning environments. The findings highlight the disconnection students face in their schools and the significance of trust in embracing diversity, cultivating quality relationships, and empowering student voice. Understanding these evolving practices can enable less experienced teachers to adapt arts-based approaches to foster inclusive spaces that prioritise student well-being and connection.

Toward Embodied Navigation Through Vision And Language, Muraleekrishna Gopinathan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Embodied AI is a challenging but exciting field in which a robot learns to interact with human-living spaces to perform various tasks. This thesis studies the embodied navigation problem in which a robotic agent navigates in a previously unseen indoor environment based on a challenging task. In particular, the Vision-and-Language Navigation (VLN) task requires a robot to navigate based on a descriptive human-language instruction. This thesis aims to improve VLN agents on four key aspects - their understanding of the environment, training via additional data, correcting navigational errors, and predicting the layout of the environment for better planning.

First, we …

Barriers And Motivators To Attending Group Exercise Classes In Women With Anxiety, Depression And Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Sarah Ford

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Research has demonstrated the positive effect of exercise on mental health disorders such as anxiety disorder, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Studies have also investigated the barriers and motivators that women in particular experience when contemplating the ways in which to engage in physical activity. However, a literature gap exists regarding women who experience anxiety disorder, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, and the barriers and motivators that they specifically navigate when looking to attend group exercise classes. In this body of research for the award of Master of Medical and Health Science by Research, a scoping review was first conducted …

Flexible Furniture To Support Inclusive Education: Developing Learner Agency And Engagement In Primary School, Julia E. Morris, Wesley Imms

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

To ensure quality and equitable education requires an understanding of how all learners function within a learning environment, and the ways in which teachers’ pedagogy can support inclusive practice. Drawing on research from a rural school in Western Australia, this paper identifies how furniture can be used as a tool to support student agency and opportunity to meet individual learning needs. Across two years, the study employed a single-subject research design to explore the impact of differing furniture arrangements on students’ agency and engagement, as well as teacher pedagogies. It used both quantitative and qualitative repeated measures with 9 teachers …

Senior Registered Nurses' Organisational Communication Satisfaction, Job Satisfaction, Burnout, And Intention To Stay: A Cross-Sectional Study Of Two Healthcare Groups, Gemma Doleman, Kaoru Nosaka, Annemarie De Leo

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Aim: To explore organisational communication satisfaction and its impact on senior registered nurses' job satisfaction, burnout, and intention to stay. Design: A cross-sectional design using surveys. The study was conducted with senior registered nurses across two healthcare groups in Western Australia. Results: One hundred seventy-four usable surveys were returned. The results of this study indicated that those with higher communication satisfaction levels were more likely to have higher levels of job satisfaction. Senior registered nurses who intended to leave their jobs had a higher risk of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, which may result in higher rates of burnout compared to …

Young Children Moving Through Ecological Anxiety And Grief: Dancing With Demolition, Jane Merewether, Jo Pollitt, Mindy Blaise

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

As the extent of planetary unraveling becomes increasingly apparent, scholars are beginning to document responses to the loss of ecological systems, mass extinctions, and climate change. However, there are few studies documenting children’s eco-anxiety responses. In this study, children’s eco-anxiety and grief became apparent when they expressed dismay at the imminent demolition of a derelict building. Children were concerned for the fate of the building, the land on which it stood, and the myriad others it sheltered. Using participatory and creative methodologies including dance, this project worked with children to tell a more-than-human story of becoming-with children-building-weeds-graffiti-dust-researchers-unhoused-bacteria-rats-and unloved others, which …

Framing Theory Insights: The Co-Existence Of Frame Coupling And Frame Mirroring In Social Media And Online News About A Disaster-Affected Destination, Violetta Wilk, Ashlee Morgan, Greg Willson, Ruth Sibson

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Through the lens of framing theory, this paper explores social media and news media online narratives about a destination affected by a natural disaster. It presents original insights into the co-existence of frame coupling and frame mirroring in online content. Online news media, and local and overseas social media user-generated content (UGC) was examined. The aim of such triangulation of data, was to understand how different online sources framed the destination in the context of the disaster. 24,985 Twitter (now X) posts were sourced using Salesforce Social Studio and 1,248 online news media articles from Factiva. Leximancer-driven thematic analysis via …

Value Co-Creation In Live Streaming Through Tourism Scenes: A Contextual Marketing Perspective, Jun Yu, Chaowu Xie, Songshan Huang

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose: This study aims to identify a value co-creation framework for live streaming through tourism scenes (LStTS). It also clarifies the value attributes of LStTS and makes an empirical test. Design/methodology/approach: The study used a mixed-method approach. In Study 1, a total of 12,216 pieces of viewers’ comments and ten web news reports were coded and analyzed employing a grounded theory approach. In Study 2, data were collected from 587 Douyin e-commerce users. Exploratory factor analysis and partial least squares structural equation modeling were used to test the value co-creation framework of LStTS. Findings: In Study 1, six value attributes …

Ecological Grief: How Can We Bear This Together?, Susan Bailey, Nicholas Gerrish

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The impacts of human activity on ecosystems are increasingly evident through ecological degradation and climate change. Despite this, in many jurisdictions across the world, action to address and curtail destructive human activities is slow and resisted at all levels. In this article, we suggest that this resistance is connected to deep ecological grief. We introduce a dual approach to understanding ecological grief, using concepts of unprecedented and unacknowledged grief. Unprecedented grief is felt in response to the loss of our ecosystems and unacknowledged grief connected to the anticipated loss of lifestyle necessary to curtail destructive human behaviour. Drawing upon an …

An Uphill Battle: School Library Professionals Fostering Student Reading Engagement, Margaret Kristin Merga, Saiyidi Mat Roni

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Reading engagement influences students’ literacy attainment. School library professionals provide resources, environments and guidance to promote reading for pleasure, but little is known about how this role is currently supported or challenged. Drawing on mixed methods survey responses from 971 school library professionals from 63 countries, integrated findings suggest that younger students had greater access to the library, and that limiting access may negatively influence student engagement. The educative value of reading aloud and reading for pleasure may be poorly understood in some schools. Most parents had no access to the school library; in some contexts, this was due to …

Developing, Implementing, And Evaluating The First National Memory And Cognition Clinic Guidelines In Australia, Inga Mehrani, Matthew Paradise, Lee Fay Low, Sue Kurrle, Valerie Arsenova, Gemma Jahn, Katrina Fyfe, Johannes C. Michaelian, Katharine Salmon, Jane Alty, Sharon L. Naismith, Perminder S. Sachdev

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction: A lack of national consensus on the roles and responsibilities of Australian memory and cognition clinics contributes to the large variability seen across services. The introduction of guidelines and a quality assessment framework could facilitate greater harmonization and quality improvements.

Methods: We used a modified Delphi process to develop the guidelines. Pilot clinics completed a self-assessment, case-note audit, and review meeting to evaluate their service against the guidelines.

Results: The final guidelines included 160 standards on 14 different topics. Standards around maximum waiting times for an assessment and minimum post-diagnostic care responsibilities were particularly controversial. Seven clinics participated in …

Do Anxiety, Depression, Fear Of Movement And Fear Of Achilles Rupture Correlate With Achilles Tendinopathy Pain, Symptoms Or Physical Function?, George White, Fletcher Bright, Ebonie K. Rio, Ruth L. Chimenti, Myles C. Murphy

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Objectives: To determine if psychological factors, such as anxiety, depression, fear of movement and fear of rupture are associated with increased tendon-related disability, quantified by the Tendinopathy Severity Assessment-Achilles (TENDINS-A). Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Online Qualtrics survey. Participants: Sixty-eight participants (54% female) with Achilles tendinopathy and a mean (standard deviation) age of 40.1 (12.6) years. Main Outcome Measures: The TENDINS-A (including subscales of pain; symptoms such as stiffness; physical function), Patient Health Questionnaire-9, General Anxiety Disorder-7, Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia and fear of tendon rupture. Associations were evaluated using generalised linear models (adjusting for age and sex), with significance accepted when …

Exploring The Relationship Between Melanopsin Gene Variants, Sleep, And Markers Of Brain Health, Ayeisha Milligan Armstrong, Eleanor O'Brien, Tenielle Porter, Vincent Dore, Pierrick Bourgeat, Paul Maruff, Christopher C. Rowe, Victor L. Villemagne, Stephanie R. Rainey-Smith, Simon M. Laws

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

INTRODUCTION: Melanopsin is a photopigment with roles in mediating sleep and circadian-related processes, which are often disrupted in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Melanopsin also impacts cognition and synaptogenesis. This study investigated the associations between melanopsin genetic variants, sleep, and markers of brain health. METHODS: Linear regression analyses examined the relationship of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the melanopsin gene (OPN4), with cortical amyloid beta (Aβ), cognition, brain volumes, and self-reported sleep traits in cognitively unimpaired older adults. Further analyses assessed whether sleep traits x OPN4 SNP interactions were associated with markers of brain health. RESULTS: OPN4 SNPs rs2355009 and rs3740334 were associated …

Planned Changes To Nurse Leadership, Staffing And Skill-Mix: Impact On The Working Environment, Job Satisfaction And Intention To Leave, Noeleen Brady, Selena O'Connell, David Gilligan, Caoimhe Madden, Lisa Gannon, Victoria Howson, Jane E. Ball, Aileen Murphy, Peter Griffiths, Christine Duffield, P. Anne Scott, Vera J.C. Mc Carthy, Jonathan Drennan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction: Job satisfaction and intention to leave have been consistently linked to the working environment. However, there are few studies of interventions for improving the environment or staff outcomes. Aim: To determine the impact of implementing a framework for safe nurse staffing on the environment and staff outcomes. This involved an assessment of required nursing hours per patient day, supernumerary nurse in charge and minimum 80:20 skill-mix, with intentional changes in staffing if required. Design: A pre-post observational design. Methods: This was a prospective observational study in six medical and/or surgical wards across three acute hospitals in Ireland. The outcomes …