Research Projects
Town Common Wetland Restoraiton NQDT
Nathan Waltham
21 Nov 2024 - 30 Mar 2026
Working with NQ Dry Tropics, undertake wetland monitoring and research to investigate restoration efforts and success at Town Common Townsville.
An Artificial Intelligence Enabled Automatic Detection of Estuarine Crocodiles in Queensland Waterways Using Digital Video
Tao Huang
22 Jan 2025 - 22 Mar 2027
This is a collaborative project between James Cook University (JCU) and the Department of Environment, Science, and Innovation (DESI) to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) based software that leverages digital video for the detection of estuarine crocodiles (C. Porosus) in Queensland's waterways. Building on previous research and utilizing extensive footage from Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures, this project aims to create an AI-based pilot detection system operational in both day and night settings to enhance safety around high-risk waterways.
Acuderdo de Conciliacion en Salar de Punta Negra
This project focuses on building a two-way model of the Salar de Punta Negra aquifer, integrating scientific and Peine knowledge.
Are Australians in midlife ready to implement Lifestyle Medicine to improve their health and wellbeing?
Karen Carlisle
01 Jan 2025 - 31 Dec 2025
The global population is ageing and with an ageing population comes an increase in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases. An opportune life stage to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases in older age is midlife. Addressing these health issues at this midlife stage can help with the transition into a healthier older age. Lifestyle Medicine (LM) can be used as a method of managing overall health and wellbeing as well as preventing chronic disease. Despite what is known about the increase in chronic diseases and the high potential of LM, LM is still not utilised enough in healthcare. This student led project aims to understand what Australians in midlife know about Lifestyle Medicine (LM) and examine attitudes towards using LM to improve health and wellbeing. This research will add to the knowledge of acceptance of LM in midlife, to inform future health interventions.
Developing a psychology resource library.
We have gathered student and staff feedback (see Appendix for quotes), which will inform further library developments. Overall, the feedback received has been largely positive; participants have praised the library as an open-access "one-stop-shop" for statistics-related content. All interviewees have stated they would use this resource, though intended uses varied depending on degree stage (e.g., to understand basic concepts v. thesis writing) and role (staff noted they could use it to learn jamovi themselves and as a teaching aid). Highlighted features include the glossary, colour-coded write-up details, and table of contents page as a navigational tool. Participants wanted interactive definitions within individual resources and helpful visuals (e.g., images and tables). The fact that staff and students also suggested additional topics to be included in the library suggests that it will be a resource that can assist the Department in delivering better research methods education in online and flex delivery modes.
“Bonus chats”: A podcast series to build professional identity.
We successfully delivered 10 podcast episodes that involved Honours, HDR and ECR students and staff as interviewees. Anecdotal feedback from participants via email was very positive, with more students than required indicating interest in participating in subsequent seasons. The podcast series, Professionally Psyched, has been well received by students (as of Dec, 2024, there had been 179 plays of episodes and 50 Spotify followers). However, most engagement seems to have been from Honours students – likely due to their involvement as podcast interviewers. The impact on professional identity is too early to identify, however preliminary data from the baseline assessment survey has found that there is a significant positive moderate-strong correlation between professional identity and a sense of belonging at JCU (r(54)=.590, p<.001). This finding is promising in increasing professional identity may further build a sense of belonging and therefore have implications towards retention for JCU Psychology students.
Examining how focused and immersive music listening events can support well-being.
Stigma prevents many people from seeking well-being support; however, positive music listening experiences can buffer the impact of stigma on help-seeking. Recent research suggests that community-based, focused music listening experiences have real potential for improving individual well-being, but research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms. This project uses a case study to examine people’s experiences of participating in communal, high-fidelity, and immersive music listening sessions. Expected outcomes include solidifying a research partnership
with a community organisation and disseminating evidence relating to substantiating the mechanisms underpinning the well-being benefits of focused and immersive music listening.
JCU College of Healthcare Sciences 2024 Research Seed Grant
Theo Murphy Initiative Grant - Participation Support
Yang Liu
01 Jan 2025 - 31 Dec 2025
This grant is to support the career development activities of Australian EMCRs, such as attending conferences or training workshops.