Digital Commons Network^™

Web-Based Application For Reducing Methamphetamine Use Among Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander People: Randomized Waitlist Controlled Trial, Rachel Reilly, Rebecca Mcketin, Federica Barzi, Tayla Degan, Nadine Ezard, Katherine Conigrave, Julia Butt, Yvette Roe, Handan Wand, Brendan Quinn, Wade Longbottom, Carla Treloar, Adrian Dunlop, James Ward

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Digital interventions can help to overcome barriers to care, including stigma, geographical distance, and a lack of culturally appropriate treatment options. “We Can Do This” is a web-based app that was designed with input from cultural advisors and end users to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people seeking to stop or reduce their use of methamphetamine and increase psychosocial well-being.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the “We Can Do This” web-based app as a psychosocial treatment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who use methamphetamine.

Methods: The web app was evaluated using a …

Better Sleep Hygiene Is Associated With Better Sleep Health In Mining Shift Workers In Australia, Philipp Beranek, Ian C. Dunican, Travis Cruickshank, Mitchell Turner

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Australia's mine sites are largely situated in remote locations and operate around the clock. Many shift workers fly to site, where they work 12-hr shifts and sleep in camp accommodation before they return home for the period rostered off work. Mining shift workers experience poor sleep, yet limited research is available on contributing factors. This study investigated, for the first time, the relationship between the sleep health and sleep hygiene in this population. A survey was disseminated to shift workers in the mining industry, utilising a cross-sectional study design. The Sleep Health Index and Sleep Hygiene Index questionnaires were used …

Health Professional Perceptions Of Delivering Hospital Falls Prevention Education—A Qualitative Study, Anne Marie Hill, Cheng Yen Loo, Steffanie Coulter, Carol Watson, Sharmila Vaz, Meg E. Morris, Leon Flicker, Tammy Weselman

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Providing patient falls prevention education can help reduce falls in hospitals, yet research exploring staff perceptions about providing falls education in hospitals is limited. Objective: We sought to determine enablers and barriers to implementing a hospital falls prevention education program (the Safe Recovery Program) from the clinical staff perspective. Methods: Purposive sampling was used to recruit health professionals (N = 40) from 12 acute medical and surgical wards at a 450-bed hospital in Perth, Western Australia. Participants were given the option to take part in a focus group or semi-structured interview. Data were analyzed via directed content analysis. Results: …

Investigating The Internal And External Load Associated With Umpiring Semi-Professional Australian Rules Football, Corey Wilson, Mark Scanlan, Colin S. Doherty, Oliver R. Barley

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: This investigation examined internal and external load associated with umpiring semi-professional Australian Rules football, an area of limited research. Objective: This exploratory quantitative study recruited 39 field umpires (Age: 25.2 ± 6.8 y, Body Mass: 74.6 ± 7.9 kg, Height: 178.9 ± 7.4 cm) from the Western Australian Football League (WAFL). Each participant was assessed in one match only. Methodology: External measures (total distance [TD], floating distance [FSD], high-intensity running distance [HSD]) and internal measures (blood lactate [BLa], heart rate [HR], rating of perceived exertion [RPE]) were collected during 22 matches, of the 2023 WAFL season. Data collection was …

School Library Professionals’ Perceptions Of Students’ Digital Information Literacy, Margaret Kristin Merga, Saiyidi Mat Roni

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Young people need strong digital information literacy (DIL) skills to effectively source, interpret and evaluate the credibility of online information. As DIL educators and advocates within contemporary schools, school library professionals can provide cross-contextual insights into their students’ DIL knowledge, skills and learning opportunities. Data from the 2024 International School Library Workforce Survey suggest that developing DIL may not be a typical priority in all schools and countries. Students’ DIL was felt to be low. School library professionals may be underutilized for supporting DIL learning in 35% of contexts, highlighting the need for greater understanding of this professional role.

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 …

Philosophers On Prison Abolitionism: Theory Versus Practice, Piero Moraro

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Philosophers have long been debating the moral justifiability of punishment. However, they have seemingly ignored the adjacent question concerning the moral justifiability of incarceration, as demonstrated by the dearth of philosophical work on prison abolitionism. This silence is puzzling, given that, on closer examination, many philosophers implicitly (or even explicitly) endorse the core assumptions of prison abolitionism. By discussing some examples in the recent literature in philosophy of punishment, I argue that philosophers support prison abolitionism in practice, but not in theory. They endorse the practical strategies in the abolitionist agenda, yet refuse to engage with the normative assumptions that …

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).

Performance Health For Saxophonists: Saxophonists Perspectives And Experiences With Playing-Related Health, Wellbeing, Injuries And Education (Cohort Study), Nicola Demandolx, Joanna Nicholas, Luke Hopper, Matt Styles

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Saxophonists experience a high rate of performance-related injuries and wellbeing concerns, with limited research on player perspectives and lived experience to inform preventive or interventional methods. To address this gap, a cohort study was conducted with 14 saxophonists from around Australia, to gather perspectives and experiences on playing-related pain, injury, health, and wellbeing. A baseline survey and semi-structured interviews were used to gather a range of qualitative and quantitative data to provide a holistic overview of the cohort and their lived experience. Results indicated that the lifetime prevalence of a performance-related musculoskeletal disorder (PRMD) for saxophonists in this cohort was …

Place In Young Adults’ Alcohol Journeys, Lauren J. Gellatly, Cynthia M. Webster, Leanne Carter, Steve D’ Alessandro

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Drinking alcohol is highly situational and depends in part on place. This research takes an interpretivist approach to explore different social and physical aspects of place that enable or inhibit young adults’ alcohol consumption journeys. In 14 asynchronous online forums, 47 Australian consumers aged 15–24 recalled a time when they drank too much and another when they chose to drink less. Starting with an inductive approach and moving to abductive reasoning, established qualitative techniques of categorisation, abstraction, dimensionalisation and comparison were used to interrogate the data. Results link moderate drinking to ‘smooth’ journeys typically occurring in single locations with more …

The Ethics Of Patient And Public Involvement Across The Research Process: Towards Partnership With People With Aphasia, Deborah Hersh, Mark Israel, Ciara Shiggins

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background: Conducting Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in health research is a way of building knowledge that incorporates the experience of service users, adds research impact, and helps avoid wasting resources on findings that have little relevance to people or cannot be implemented. We argue that there is a need to extend ethical considerations currently focused on research participants with aphasia to encompass and guide expectations of involvement in partnerships with people with aphasia across the research lifecycle.

Method: We use the 2018 revision of the Australian National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research as the framework for this …

Graduate Outcomes Of Australian Hospitality Educational Institutions And Skills Desired By Employers: A Matrix Model, Alireza Amrollahi, Hana Hadinejad, Brent D. Moyle, Nicholas Thomas

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Demand for a skilled hospitality workforce has accelerated post-pandemic. However, limited research has explored the core competencies desired by the hospitality sector and their alignment with graduate outcomes from bachelor’s programs. Consequently, this study uses the Australian accommodation sector as an exemplar case to examine the alignment of skill supply and demand in the sector. An analysis of 28,000 Australian job advertisements reveals that employers seek a combination of soft and hard skills. Soft skills prevalent in job advertisements include communication, customer-orientation, teamwork, and adaptability. Hard skills that emerged include quality assurance, property management, culinary expertise, hospitality proficiency, and safety. …

Dei And Discrimination In The Marketing Industry: Exploring The Lived Experiences In The Workplace. Evidence From Western Australia, Ashlee Morgan, Melissa Fong-Emmerson, Steven D’Alessandro, Marie Ryan

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This paper explores the lived experiences of individuals in the Western Australian marketing industry, focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within the workplace. Through a survey of 573 marketing professionals, the study gathered both qualitative and quantitative data on perceptions and attitudes towards DEI, and personal experiences of discrimination. The findings indicate strong support for DEI within the marketing workforce, with 76.6% agreeing that diversity and inclusion are important in the workplace, and 78.1% affirming that DEI should be a business priority. Yet, 25% reported personal experiences of workplace discrimination, underscoring the urgent need for organisations to listen to …

Abusing The International Solidarity Principle: Human Rights, International Solidarity, And The Eu's Bilateral Migration Deals, Jamal Barnes, Samuel M. Makinda

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The international solidarity principle is a crucial legal norm of international society. It helps guide state conduct and facilitate cooperation among international actors to respond to global challenges and uphold human rights. The European Union (EU) and its Member States have argued that their bilateral agreements with non-EU countries to prevent irregular migration to Europe is a demonstration of international solidarity that fulfils their obligations to asylum seekers and refugees. However, the EU's interpretation of international solidarity in these arrangements has been contested. This article argues that the EU has strategically interpreted the international solidarity principle to fit in with, …

Of Scents And Cytokines: How Olfactory And Food Aversions Relate To Nausea And Immunomodulation In Early Pregnancy, Dayoon Kwon, Daniel M.T. Fessler, Delaney A. Knorr, Kyle S. Wiley, Julie Sartori, David A. Coall, Molly M. Fox

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: During pregnancy, the maternal body undergoes extensive physiological adaptations to support embryonic growth, including whole-body remodeling, that may induce odor and food aversions, as well as nausea and vomiting. The biological mechanisms behind odor and food aversions, as well as nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy, remain largely unexplored. Our study investigated associations between these changes and cytokine profiles during pregnancy. Methodology: A cohort of pregnant Latina women in Southern California (n = 58) completed a structured questionnaire on pregnancy "morning sickness"-related symptoms and aversions. Maternal plasma cytokine levels were measured between 5 and 17 weeks' gestation. Results: About …

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 …

Social Relational Notions Of Successful Aging: Contesting Dominant Individualized Conceptions Of Successful Aging By Examining Migrant Intergenerational Lived Experiences, Hien Thi Nguyen, Loretta Baldassar, Raelene Wilding, Bronte Jones

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background and Objectives: Critiques of the concept of successful aging (SA) include attention to its foundation on an individualized western medical approach that emphasizes personal choice, agency, and lifestyle. This paper aims to examine how individual notions of SA can be linked to, and co-constituted by, relational and intergenerational notions of personhood within the broader socioeconomic, familial, and cultural contexts of migration. Research Design and Methods: Qualitative research was conducted in Australia (2020–2021) with 42 Vietnamese migrants using ethnographic interviews and participant observation. Data analysis applied inductive reasoning and intersectional analysis to investigate the notion of SA from the perspectives …

A Researcher’S Journey To The Use Of Ai For Qualitative Data Analysis: Findings From A Test Case With Chatgpt, Catherine Ferguson

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education has mostly focused on issues associated with teaching and assessment. In this paper I used AI to support the analysis of data which consisted of public comments on a newspaper article. This small, low risk research was chosen to demonstrate the potential use of AI and how it may support qualitative data analysis. I present my journey from a naïve user of AI to a position whereby I would consider using it as a support for future data analysis. My article touches on some of the ethical and accountability issues for …

Exercise-Based Pain Interventions For People With Dementia Using A Biopsychosocial-Environmental (Bpse) Model, G. Peter Gliebus

All Publications

Purpose of review: To introduce the Biopsychosocial-Environmental (BPSE) model to guide an exercise intervention to address pain related to osteoarthritis (OA) among people living with dementia (PLWD). This review [1] synthesizes literature on the biological, psychological, social, and environmental aspects of pain from OA in the knee, neurodegeneration in PLWD, and exercise implications for these comorbidities, and [2] demonstrates the clinical utility of the BPSE model in designing tailored exercise interventions to manage knee OA pain in PLWD.

Recent findings: Research indicates that pain from knee OA and neurodegeneration from dementia interact across multiple factors, including psychological, social, and environmental. …

Chasing Dreams In Modern America: Can We All Still Reach The Stars?, Selina Osebre Yawson

Tredway Library Prize for First-Year Research

Judges' Statement

"Chasing Dreams in Modern America: Can We All Still Reach the Stars?" is an excellent and timely examination of the American Dream during a time of political polarization and economic uncertainty. Yawson synthesizes systemic social critique with close literary analysis, applying a reading of Langston Hughes' poetry to address the current moment. Her unique selection of sources and well-reasoned call to action earned the paper an honorable mention.

The Current Clinical Practice And Experiences In Buccal Midazolam Prescribing In Community For Status Epilepticus Termination In The United Kingdom: The Rescue Epilepsy Medication And Training (Remit) Study, Rohit Shankar

Peninsula Medical School

Background: Epilepsy is one of the commonest neurological conditions worldwide and confers a significant mortality risk, partly driven by status epilepticus (SE). Terminating SE is the goal of pharmaceutical rescue therapies. This survey evaluates UK-based healthcare professionals’ clinical practice and experience in community-based rescue therapy prescribing. Methods: A cross-sectional, 21 item questionnaire composed of Likert-style and free-text based questions was administered online. It was distributed through a non-discriminative snow-balling methodology to members of the Epilepsy Specialist Nurses’ Association (ESNA) and the British International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE). Quantitative analysis used Chi-squared, Fishers’ exact and Mann-Whitney tests. Qualitative data were analysed …

Which Discourses Underpin Long-Term, Autistic/Non-Autistic Romantic Couples’ Understandings Of Their Relationship As They Live With And Accommodate Each Other? A Critical Discourse/Narrative Inquiry, Vivien Southall

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences Theses

This piece of work draws on both critical discourse and critical narrative inquiry to examine the long-term romantic relationship experiences of those in autistic/non-autistic long-term romantic relationships. Four couples participated, three heterosexual and one female same-sex couple. The participants were given the opportunity to tell their narratives in a variety of forms, through interviews, emails, stories and with photographs and mementoes as prompts. These forms inspired the way that the data was retold in the research using a variety of styles reflecting the narrative choices of the participants. Through interviews with participants individually and as a couple, over sixteen months, …

‘At Least I Wasn't In An Inner-City Flat With A Partner I Hated’: An Auto/Biographical Study Of Reflections On Well-Being By 35-65 Year Olds In Cornwall Following The Covid-19 Pandemic, Cheralyn May

School of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences Theses

The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health have been considerably researched since its start in 2019, by researchers from a range of disciplines around the world. This sociological study (using insights from social and positive psychology) contributes to our knowledge of the pandemic by using qualitative methods – fourteen semi-structured interviews and researcher auto/biography to investigate the mental health experiences of middle-aged, single adults living in Cornwall in the UK during the pandemic. In the pandemic literature, this is an under-researched, and therefore potentially less understood, group and location. The data was analysed using a combination of the …

Kelley’S Paradox And Strength Skewness In Research On Unconscious Mental Processes, Daryl Lee, Christopher Berry, David R. Shanks

School of Psychology

A widely adopted approach in research on unconscious perception and cognition involves contrasting behavioral or neural responses to stimuli that have been presented to participants (e.g., old items in a memory test) against those that have not (e.g., new items), and which participants do not discriminate in their conscious reports. We demonstrate that such contrasts do not license inferences about unconscious processing, for two reasons. One is Kelley’s Paradox, a statistical phenomenon caused by regression to the mean. In the inevitable presence of measurement error, true awareness of the contrasted stimuli is not equal. The second is a consequence, within …

Patient Experiences And Prerequisites Of Collaboration As Partners In Person-Centred Care: An Interview Study, Lena Rosenlund, Sofie Jakobsson, Helen Lloyd, Anna Diffner, Åsa Lundgren-Nilsson, Anna Dencker

School of Psychology

Aim: To explore what characterises communication and collaboration within a patient and professional partnership in outpatient care settings garnered from the experiences of persons living with long-term conditions. Design: A qualitative descriptive study design. Methods: Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 15 persons with long-term condition/s who experienced outpatient treatment or follow-up care. Data were explored through inductive thematic analysis. The COREQ checklist was followed. Results: The analysis revealed five themes: adapting and self-managing in daily life, handling and carrying information, building trust and continuity, acting in a flexible and transparent dialogue and sharing the way forward. The participants described …

A Preliminary Study On The Role Of Personal History Of Infectious And Parasitic Diseases On Self-Reported Health Across Countries, Gerit Pfuhl, Filipe Prazeres, Marta Kowal, Toivo Aavik, Beatriz Abad-Villaverde, Reza Afhami, Leonardo Aguilar, Grace Akello, Laith Al-Shawaf, Jan Antfolk, Chiemezie S. Atama, Derya Atamturk Duyar, Roberto Baiocco, Sercan Balım, Carlota Batres, Yakhlef Belkacem, Théo Besson, Adam Bode, Merve Boğa, Jordane Boudesseul, Mahmoud Boussena, Hamdaoui Brahim, Nana Burduli, Ali R. Can, Hakan Cetinkaya, Antonio Chirumbolo, Dimitri Chubinidze, Clément Cornec, Bojana M. Dinić, Seda Dural

School of Psychology

Objectives: Infectious diseases are often associated with decline in quality of life. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between personal history of communicable, i.e., infectious and parasitic diseases and self-rated health. Study design: Secondary analysis of a large dataset multi-country observational study. Methods: We used a four-pronged analysis approach to investigate whether personal history of infectious and parasitic diseases is related to self-reported health, measured with a single item. Results: Three of the four analyses found a small positive effect on self-reported health among those reporting a history of pathogen exposure. The meta-analysis found no support …

Mapping Cognition Across Lab And Daily Life Using Experience-Sampling, Louis Chitiz, Bronte Mckeown, Bridget Mulholland, Raven Star Wallace, Ian Goodall-Halliwell, Nerissa Siu Ping Ho, Delali Konu, Giulia Poerio, Jeffrey D. Wammes, Michael Milham, Arno Klein, Beth Jefferies, Robert Leech, Jonathan Smallwood

School of Psychology

The goal of psychological research is to understand behaviour in daily life. Although lab studies provide the control necessary to identify cognitive mechanisms behind behaviour, how these controlled situations generalise to activities in daily life remains unclear. Experience-sampling provides useful descriptions of cognition in the lab and real world and the current study examined how thought patterns generated by multidimensional experience-sampling (mDES) generalise across both contexts. We combined data from five published studies to generate a common ‘thought-space’ using data from the lab and daily life. This space represented data from both lab and daily life in an unbiased manner …

Measuring Variation In Gaze Following Across Communities, Ages, And Individuals: A Showcase Of Tango-Cc (Task For Assessing Individual Differences In Gaze Understanding-Open-Cross-Cultural), Julia Christin Prein, Florian M. Bednarski, Ardain Dzabatou, Michael C. Frank, Annette M.E. Henderson, Josefine Kalbitz, Patricia Kanngiesser, Dilara Keşşafoğlu, Bahar Köymen, Maira V. Manrique-Hernandez, Shirley Magazi, Lizbeth Mújica-Manrique, Julia Ohlendorf, Damilola Olaoba, Wesley R. Pieters, Sarah Pope-Caldwell, Umay Sen, Katie Slocombe, Robert Z. Sparks, Roman Stengelin, Jahnavi Sunderarajan, Kirsten Sutherland, Florence Tusiime, Wilson Vieira, Zhen Zhang, Yufei Zong, Daniel B.M. Haun, Manuel Bohn

School of Psychology

Cross-cultural studies are crucial for investigating the cultural variability and universality of cognitive developmental processes. However, cross-cultural assessment tools in cognition across languages and communities are limited. In this article, we describe a gaze-following task designed to measure basic social cognition across individuals, ages, and communities (the Task for Assessing iNdividual differences in Gaze understanding-Open-Cross-Cultural; TANGO-CC). The task was developed and psychometrically assessed in one cultural setting and, with input of local collaborators, adapted for cross-cultural data collection. Minimal language demands and the web-app implementation allow fast and easy contextual adaptations to each community. TANGO-CC captures individual- and community-level variation …

What Can Conjuring Tell Us About Cognition? The Future Of The Science Of Magic, Geoff G. Cole, Gustav Kuhn

School of Psychology

During the past 20 years a number of articles have appeared within a field that has become known as the “science of magic.” This subdiscipline of psychology posits that the ancient art of conjuring can be used to develop psychological theories and knowledge, and more than 150 peer-reviewed articles have now been published. In the current article, we critically evaluate what can be considered as the three central tenets of the discipline: that the methods used in magic can be incorporated within experimental research, that magicians have particular insight into human cognition and behavior, and that the deconstruction of magic …

Nature Contact And Health Risk Behaviours: Results From An 18 Country Study, Leanne Martin, Mathew P. White, Sabine Pahl, Jon May

School of Psychology

Emerging evidence suggests that residential greenspace is associated with a lower prevalence of health risk behaviours, but it remains unclear whether these effects are generalizable across countries or different types of nature contact. Using representative cross-sectional samples from 18 countries/regions, we examined the associations between two types of nature contact (greenspace, nature visits), current smoking and everyday drinking. After controlling for a range of covariates, greenspace was inversely associated with current smoking and everyday drinking. Visiting natural spaces at least once a week was linked to a lower prevalence of current smoking, but unrelated to everyday drinking. Increasing residential greenspace …