Returning to co-residence: the experiences of young adults and parents

This thesis focused on family members’ experiences when a young adult returns home. Findings revealed that both young adults and parents come to accept the change in living arrangement, accommodate each other in the parental home and also appreciate how doing so enables them to advance in various life domains

Flying the coop : why is the move out of home proving unsustainable?

Changing social trends indicate that more young Australians are electing to live at home longer. Residing in the parental home is the most common mode of living for those aged in their 20s, with recent data indicating more than 30 per cent decisively remain in this arrangement with their parents.While there are obviously still those who decide to move out, this housing arrangement seems to be proving unsustainable; many young adults are returning home to reside with their parents after time spent on their own in a trend increasingly referred to as the &lsquo;boomerang&rsquo; effect.This paper reviews the available literature on young adults&rsquo; living arrangements, identifying those factors implicated both in the leaving home process and the likelihood a young adult will return home after previously moving out. In highlighting how much of this earlier research has relied on the use of statistical methods, the paper aims to justify the need for the proposed study- a contemporary exploration of generation Y Australians&rsquo; experiences of home returning.The study, guided by an ecological theoretical perspective, will utilise a qualitative methodology to investigate the reasons why young adults are experiencing difficulty sustaining their move to independent living. In-depth interviews will be conducted in Melbourne with young adults aged between 20 and 30 years who currently reside in the parental home after living independently for four months or more. It is anticipated the study sample will include both males and females who are currently engaged in, or have previously completed, tertiary study.These interviews will be analysed and through the emergent themes, will provide a clearer insight into the &lsquo;boomerang&rsquo; generation- a group of young adults who will become increasingly more common in light of the current uncertainty surrounding finances, employment and housing markets. The implications of this research will therefore be significant for those concerned with the future housing decisions of Australian society.<br /

Development and preclinical assessment of old and new vaccine candidates against Mycobacterium abscessus

Mycobacterium abscessus is a concerning respiratory pathogen, particularly for individuals with compromised respiratory systems like Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and Chronic Pulmonary Obstructive Disease (COPD). It causes accelerated lung function decline and treatment challenges due to antibiotic resistance. The lack of a licensed vaccine adds to the urgency of understanding immunological protection against M. abscessus. Existing animal models have limitations in studying immunological mechanisms. This thesis presents a pulmonary infection model using mice and identifies interstitial macrophages (IMs) as the key to protective immunity. IMs produce iNOS, correlating with Th1 responses and bacterial clearance. The study highlights the interplay between TNF, IMs, and iNOS, which mediate early innate responses and induce adaptive immunity. Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination induces Th1 responses in mouse lungs, providing intermediate protection against M. abscessus in the lungs and highly protecting against bacterial dissemination. Observational data from CF clinics in Australia and South Africa suggest that BCG vaccination reduces M. abscessus colonization in individuals with CF. Inactivated whole-cell M. abscessus vaccines show promise, with γ-irradiated and heat-killed formulations providing significant protection by stimulating iNOS-producing IMs and recruiting Th1 cells. However, paraformaldehyde-inactivated vaccines demonstrate minimal efficacy. The addition of Advax polysaccharide adjuvant enhances immunogenicity but increases inflammation. These findings identify immune correlates of protection and the need to balance vaccine efficacy and safety. Further research is required to optimize strategies for preventing NTM infections in individuals with CF

“They loved gambling more than me.” Women’s experiences of gambling related harm as an affected other

BACKGROUND Gambling poses a global threat to public health due to its far-reaching impacts. Research has demonstrated a ripple effect of harmful gambling on social network members and broader communities. While researchers have documented extreme harms associated with an affected other, limited research has qualitatively investigated how women describe their concerns about the gambling of a social network member, and any subsequent negative impacts on their own lives. METHODS An online panel survey was conducted with women aged 18 years and older, who gambled at least once in the last 12 months, and resided in the Australian states of Victoria and New South Wales. This paper focused on the open text responses of a subsection of the sample (n = 136) who reported being negatively impacted by someone else's gambling. The study utilised reflexive thematic analysis to interpret the data. RESULTS Results indicated that women were concerned about the gambling behaviours of a broad range of social network members. Open text responses regarding the nature of these concerns mostly related to individualised paradigms of gambling behaviour - including whether the participant perceived their network member could afford to gamble, was being responsible with their gambling, or were gambling too frequently. Participants experienced a range of negative impacts including significant financial issues, relationship difficulties, poorer emotional wellbeing as a result of worrying about the gambler, and loss of trust. Some described the negative experiences associated with growing up with a parent who gambled. CONCLUSION The research demonstrates the broad impacts of gambling on affected others. This study enhances our understanding of how women are harmed by gambling and considers the complexities of their experiences and relationships with the gambler. This extends knowledge beyond quantitative descriptors of harm among affected others and provides a critical reflection on the nuances of women's experiences with gambling and gambling harm

On emotionally intelligent time travel: Individual differences in affective forecasting ability

available options would make them feel. Yet, recent research suggests that such predictions, or affective forecasts, often are inaccurate. There are, after all, a number of obstacles to successful emotional time travel-people are likely to err in affective forecasting if they inaccurately envision the future event itself, misremember how they felt in response to similar past events, or fail to adequately take into account the host of potential differences between their physical and psychological state at the time of forecasting and the time of experiencin

Ships, planes and automobiles – the perils and pluses of place - making in an outer Melbourne suburb

Building a new suburb is increasingly seen as creating a &ldquo;place&rdquo; as well as a set of houses and neighbourhoods. Developers view &ldquo;place-making&rdquo; as a way to differentiate one estate from another and to capture a market segment; planners see the practice as the basis of good master planning. Local governments too support the concept to give residents a sense of pride and identity. While usually seen as a contemporary exercise, imprinted on the blank slate of greenfield sites, the experience of at least one outer suburb suggests that place-making is as much historical as contemporary and may be both a welcome element of a community and a focus of disaffection. The example of Point Cook in Melbourne&rsquo;s west offers a range of iconic &ldquo;places&rdquo; &ndash; historical and contemporary markers of identity and difference &ndash; which have formed both the basis of local pride but also tension. Thus the RAAF base, Point Cook Homestead and Werribee Mansion long pre-dated the expansion of the city but they have been embraced as centres of pride, historical achievement and as tourist attractions. In contrast, a massive pirate-ship playground built in the centre of a park by a developer as a marker of difference and centre of community attraction was widely appreciated before being burned to the ground! This paper will report on a sample of resident experiences of place-making in outer suburban Melbourne which highlights some of the local complexities of place-making