November 5, 2018

Commencement of my CSU Senior Research Fellowship

Today I commenced my Charles Sturt University (CSU) Senior Research Fellowship. Dr Michelle Brown is working with me on this Fellowship as a postdoctoral scholar. Initially I will be undertaking this 2-year fellowship on a part-time basis.
Dr Michelle Brown, Dr Audrey Wang and Sharynne
 The title of the Fellowship is "Resilient communicators" and here is the project description:
Communication is a fundamental feature of humanity. The ability to communicate is central to human interaction and participation. To understand and to be understood not only enables expression of basic needs and wants; but also supports interaction and participation at a family, community, national, and global level. The primary modes of communication privileged in many societies are speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Effective communication may be compromised for those who have reduced capacity to use these four privileged modes of communication, including multilingual speakers and children with communication disability. Our research has shown that people who have difficulty communicating across these four modes can experience social, educational, and occupational disadvantages within their communities. Communication support to promote resilience is required to overcome communication barriers. The aim of this research fellowship is to support researchers, higher degree research (HDR) students/postdocs, professionals, families and the general public to be effective communicators (by speaking, listening, reading, writing) to promote resilience and participation.

The Fellowship is based around four overarching themes:    
Resilient communicators
  • Aim: To promote communication as a human right celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 
Communicating researchers
  • Aim: To support researchers’ ability to plan, implement, write, communicate, and promote research that makes a difference in people’s lives 
Communicating professionals
  • Aim: To support professionals to implement evidence-based practices for assessment and intervention. 
Communicating families 
  • Aim: To develop resources for families to support children’s communication 
  • Aim: To promote equality in service delivery for disadvantaged populations (e.g., multilingual, rural)