A new Griffith University study aims to investigate teenage girls’ experiences of sexting and bullying and how it impacts on their everyday lives.
“Social media is an integral part of teenage girls’ everyday life,’’ says Dr Roberta Thompson from the Griffith Institute of Educational Research.
“They text friends daily, chat with friends on their mobile phone, check postings on social media sites, update profile pages, and upload ‘glamorous’ selfies.
“Not surprisingly, many say they couldn’t survive without their mobile phone as it’s a fun way to keep in touch with friends, organise social events and find out what’s going on.”
But despite their positive claims about social media, a darker, less appealing side has surfaced according to Dr Thompson, whose doctoral study examined teen girls’ online usage.
“Super glamorous celebrities appear all over social media from Instagram to Snapchat and teen girls strive to emulate these ‘role models in their own ‘selfies’.
“While most girls
Category: Griffith University Feed
‘Thought control’ approach to spinal injury rehab raises new hope
Griffith medical graduate and Gold Coast University Hospital junior doctor Dinesh Palipana thinks about walking a lot, since a car accident left him a quadriplegic part-way through his medicine degree.
Now he’s thinking about pushing the pedals of a specially-adapted recline bike, and thanks to electronic muscle stimulation, he’s actually moving, in what is the first step towards a world-first integrated neuro-musculoskeletal rehabilitation program, being developed at the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct (GCHKP).
Griffith biomechanical scientists and engineers Professor David Lloyd, Dr Claudio Pizzolato and his team, together with Dinesh as both researcher and patient, are aiming to use their ground-breaking 3D computer-simulated biomechanical model, connected to an electroencephalogram (EEG) to capture Dinesh’s brainwaves, to stimulate movement, and eventually recovery.
Thinking about riding a bike
“The idea is that a spinal injury or neurological patient can think about riding the bike. This generates neural patterns, and the biomechanical model sits in the middle
Sports clubs urged to make most of Games-time opportunity
A golden opportunity beckons for sports clubs in southeast Queensland, but only those with suitable strategies and the right initiatives will reap the rewards offered by the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
That’s the view of academics at Griffith Business School researching the potential for a sports participation legacy in the aftermath of the April Games.
“It’s important that sports clubs don’t just wait for new members to come knocking on their doors on the back of the excitement and increased media coverage,” Dr Alana Thomson, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Tourism, Sport and Hotel Management, said.
Proactive
“I would say be active and be proactive. Get out into the community and take ownership of what is an unprecedented opportunity for sports clubs in Queensland.”
Dr Thomson and Dr Millicent Kennelly, a senior lecturer at Griffith Business School, are using data from the 2014 Glasgow Games to build an understanding of how sports
Griffith Asia Institute’s Australia-India-Japan trilateral dialogue focuses on Indo-Pacific security
The Australia-India-Japan Trilateral 2018 organised in Brisbane by the Griffith Asia Institute in collaboration with the Consulate-General of Japan, Brisbane and the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA), took place on the 5th and 6th of February this year. In what was only the second edition of this workshop (the first took place last year), the workshop achieved much in terms of its agenda and outreach. While last year’s theme focused on regional security with a broad brushstroke, this year’s agenda narrowed down on specific sub-themes relevant to Indo-Pacific security linkages.
At the outset, there was a recognition by the participants that this is a time of unprecedented turbulence in the Indo-Pacific, caused both by the rise of a more assertive China as well as an uncertain first year of the Trump administration. The overall perception of the participants was that the liberal regional order is under considerable stress.
Strategic and tactical
Probiotic benefits for night shift workers
Improving the health of night shift workers with the use of probiotics is the focus of a new Griffith study.
Probiotics have long been understood to improve the balance of gut bacteria in those that take them but now Dr Nic West from Griffith’s Menzies Health Institute Queensland is aiming to see if they could potentially combat the impacts on health of working irregular hours.
“It’s already well documented that people who work night shifts can suffer from higher rates of cancer and metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, as well as experience increased mental health issues such as anxiety and depression,” says Rebecca Ramsey, the Clinical Trial Coordinator.
“Furthermore, eating and sleeping patterns are known to often suffer when someone works night shifts.
“Many of the problems associated with night shift work are driven by immune irregularities which can cause inflammation within the body.
“If the gut microbiome is assisted to be operating
Ancient ‘giant’ handaxes raise questions about mobility of prehistoric European populations
An exceptionally high density of ‘giant’ handaxes has been uncovered at an archaeological site in Spain, the first such discovery outside Africa.
An international team of researchers, including Griffith University’s Dr Mathieu Duval and the University of Adelaide’s Dr Martina Demuro and Dr Lee Arnold, has performed a comprehensive study on the site, named Porto Maior, in the Miño River basin in north-west Spain.
Their findings have now been published in open-access journal Scientific Reports.
The study, led by E. Méndez-Quintas of Spain’s National Research Centre for Human Evolution (CENIEH), may suggest the coexistence of at least two different human groups in the Iberian Peninsula about 200,000 to 300,000 years ago.
The excavation of fluvial sediments at the site comprised a total of about 3700 lithic artefacts, 290 of which were used in the assemblage – primarily composed of – of Large Cutting Tools (LCTs) studied by the researchers.
Photo: Eduardo Méndez Quintas
Dating the axes
Griffith experts present insight into athletes’ countdown
In 1982, as Robert de Castella was powering his way to gold through the streets of Brisbane and the Queen was visiting the Nathan campus, David Thiel was embarking on an academic career at Griffith University.
Today, Professor David Thiel is a world-respected authority on elite athlete monitoring at the School of Engineering and the Built Environment and will have more than a passing interest in the fast-approaching Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018).
“The world of athlete monitoring has changed immensely since 1982,” Professor Thiel (left) says.
“Athletes are now monitored 24/7 for movement, sleep, food, weight, etc. This technology has moved into commercially available products such as fitbits and smart phones. The use of wearable technology in preparing athletes for competition is almost universal.”
On Wednesday evening, before a public audience at Robina Library, Professor Thiel will explore the role of technology in the lives of elite athletes and the part it
Griffith Asia Institute ranked top university-affiliated regional studies centre in Australia
The Griffith Asia Institute (GAI) has been ranked as the best university-affiliated regional studies centre in Australia in the 2017 Global Go To Think Tank Index.
The result is bolstered by the recognition of the centre as a top-20 contender (at #18) worldwide in the latest rankings, conducted each year by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) of the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania.
“The Griffith Asia Institute reflects the university’s fundamental ties to Asia-Pacific. Our research expertise sits at the nexus of politics, economics, business and society, and brings breadth and depth to the way Australia understands and engages with the Asia-Pacific,” GAI Director Professor Caitlin Byrne said.
“This ranking reflects the centre’s success in conducting significant, world-class research and instigating positive regional change through policy-relevant work that brings together governments, businesses and other researchers.”
The Index has been compiled annually since by TTCSP since 2007, with the goal of identifying and recognising
Griffith musical theatre star rockets up the Billboard charts
Queensland Conservatorium musical theatre alumnus Ash Waterman has cracked the US Billboard charts with her debut single – scoring a top 20 position with her dance anthem Too Late.
Ash recorded the track in Nashville, teaming up with Bryan Todd, a Grammy-nominated producer and songwriter who has worked with artists like Miley Cyrus and Snoop Dog.
Too Late peaked at #2 on Billboard’s Breakout chart and has also been remixed by Grammy Award-winning producer and DJ, Dave Aude (Bruno Mars, U2, Katy Perry).
“It was a total shock- no one expects a response like this to their debut single,” she said.
“I kind of did things backwards – a lot of Aussie artists wait five or ten years to crack the US market!”
Ash, 23, headed over to the US during her final year of the Bachelor of Musical Theatre, and returned several times a year to shop around her songs and make industry connections.
“I’m
Three of a kind
When Nick Woodhead starts at the Queensland Conservatorium next week, he will be following a family tradition.
Nick’s older brother Dominic graduated from the Bachelor of Musical Theatre in 2014, and his older sister Miriam is in her final year of the same degree.
“I always had aspirations to follow them here – my heart was set on the Con,” Nick said.
Nick is studying a Bachelor of Music in jazz drumkit, but dreams of one day following his older siblings into the world of musical theatre.
“Dom has drafted me in to play on a couple of his shows, and it was a great experience,” he said.
“I would eventually like to be a pit drummer for musicals.”
So what is it about musical theatre that has captured the hearts and minds of the Woodhead siblings?
“It’s the storytelling, the music, dance – it’s a massive spectacle,” said Dominic.
“It’s a genre that encompasses so many ecclectic styles