Winter Research Projects

Supervisors

Kate Power

Project duration

5 weeks.

This project can be completed entirely under remote working arrangements, if necessary.

Description

The Winter Research Scholar will be contributing to a collaborative research project with scholars from UQ’s School of Languages & Culture and the University of Coventry (UK), which investigates how UK, Australian and New Zealand governments communicated publicly about COVID-19 throughout 2020.

New Zealand and Australia are currently ranked as the first and eighth most effective nations in the world at managing the pandemic, while the UK comes in at 66^th position (Leng et al., 2021). One factor that has contributed to these differences is the effectiveness of government directives to the public about what behaviour was needed to limit the spread of the virus.

This project uses discourse analysis to evaluate how government representatives in each country advised the public via announcements, media releases, statements and briefings. In doing so, it will also explore whether (and if so, how) government spokespersons’ gender contributed to the clarity and effectiveness of their messaging.

The Winter Research Scholar will contribute to this study by expanding the collection of government documents to be analysed, and analysing some of those documents (with supervision). Although much of this work will be routine in nature, it is critical to the success of the overall project because compiling the right documents and analysing them correctly are two of the most important steps in generating valuable research results.

Expected outcomes and deliverables

The Winter Research Scholar will gain (or develop) skills in:

• data collection
• the UQ Research Data Management system
• discourse analysis
• using NVIVO qualitative analytic software
• writing a clear and effective Methods section, for publication in a scholarly journal.

Suitable for

This project is open to applications from students with strong English language proficiency and an interest in discourse analysis.

The Winter Research Scholar must be able and willing to:

• follow instructions carefully, correctly and completely
• complete routine tasks without losing focus
• maintain clear and accurate records
• manage time effectively
• work with minimal supervision.

Further Information

If you would like more information before applying, please contact Kate Power: k.power@business.uq.edu.au

Supervisor

Associate Professor Remi Ayoko

Project duration

5 weeks.

Remote working is unable to be accommodated.

Description

Project overview and significance of the study

In this project, I extend my work in the area of Physical Work Environment (see Ayoko & Ashkanasy, 2020; Monaghan & Ayoko, 2019; Irving, Ayoko & Ashkanasy, 2019; Ayoko & Ashkanasy (Eds), 2019; Ayoko, Ashkanasy, & Jehn, 2014; Ashkanasy, Ayoko, & Jehn, 2014) to investigate the impact of COVID-19 health crisis on employees’ virtual and physical workspaces (e.g. open-plan offices) productivity and wellbeing.  

More specifically, the current study moves the research in this area forward by qualitatively investigating employees’ experience of working in virtual and physical spaces (i.e. at home and at the office at work) in the context of a health crisis. Findings should be able to inform policy guidelines on the future of work and especially how employees’ experience during the pandemic is likely to shape the future of work- working from home, work-life balance and offices of the future. 

This project is critical for two reasons. First, the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis has changed the way we work especially considering the need for involuntarily working from home (i.e. working virtually), with its attendant challenges of managing work-life balance, productivity, stress and physical/mental wellbeing. The current study aims at investigating how employees navigated the challenges of involuntary working from home during the lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Secondly, there are suggestions that the transition back to the office for many employees may be equally traumatic. This is because the open-plan offices by design do not generally lend themselves to the social distancing rule. In fact, we anticipate that given social-distancing and increased virtual work that is driven by COVID-19, office workspaces (e.g. open plan office) might be changed forever. The question then is, what should the open-plan office of the future look like based on employees’ recent health crisis and how can we transition back safely to the office if there was another health crisis?

The current project aims at identifying qualitatively the employees’ perceptions of health crisis (e.g. COVID-19) and its impact on working involuntarily from home. Especially, the project will compare employees’ experience of their home office with their experience of working in the open-plan office at work before COVID-19 lockdown. It will also explore how the combined issues of COVID-19, virtual work (including the use of technology), work-life balance and how these issues might impact employees’ productivity and wellbeing, while shaping their behaviours upon their return to offices at work.

The above culminates into two research questions:
(1) What is the impact of COVID-19 crisis on employees’ virtual work, home and office physical workspaces, involuntary working from home, work processes and outcomes (e.g. productivity and wellbeing?)
(2) How does the employees’ experience of COVID-19 shape their behaviours and interactions in their physical work environment (e.g. open plan office) upon return to work and after the COVID lockdown.

Answers to the above questions should provide directions for managers and organisational leaders on how to manage the virtual and physical workspaces induced by a health crisis.  

Approach & Methodology

Researchers have often employed a quantitative approach to the study of open-plan offices (Ayoko et al., 2014). The current study departs from this practice by employing a qualitative approach to answer the research questions. In particular, the project will be conducted in two studies and will be anchored in grounded theory. This approach has been used by researchers (e.g. Robertson, Hershenfield, Grace & Stewart, 2004; Rambaldini, Wilson, Rath, Lin, Gold, Kapral & Straus, 2005) studying a similar health crisis- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

In the last proposal, we planned two studies.
Study 1 (Stage 1): Data for Study 1 will be from social media posts and this will be done in two phases. In phase 1, we will collect all posts in LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook/Instagram related to COVID during the lockdown in Australia in the period between March and July 2020, when the restrictions are largely improved.  Then in phase 2, we planned to refine the data by focusing on online posts that are related to our constructs such as involuntary working from home, virtual working (e.g. telework with technology), workspaces at home employee productivity and wellbeing as well as the transition to work after COVID-19 lockdown. We have now collected data from the above sources. We collected 20,000 word-corpus. We discuss our preliminary results later in this document.

In Study 2, and to complement the secondary data collected in Study 1, we will collect primary data using in-depth interview questions. Sample interview questions include:

1. Please describe your experience of working from home during the C-19 lockdown.
2. Describe the process of getting started and nominating a physical workspace at home to continue to work.
3. What were the main challenges you encountered in the early days of working at home? How did you overcome these challenges?
4. How did you navigate the boundaries of working from home, work processes and particularly connecting with other team members?
5. Please tell us how you think the crisis has impacted your work, productivity and wellbeing.
6. How would you like your office workspaces (e.g. open plan) to look like upon your return to work?

Sample

Data for Study 1 (Phases 1 and 2) will be about 250 conversation/comment points. We expect these points to yield about 20,000 corpus. Data for Study 1 will be collected within a period of 2 weeks. Social media post is secondary data. No consent will be needed given that these posts (i.e. comments and conversations) are already in the public domain. As previously mentioned, we have now collected the data.

Data for Study 2 will be collected from 50 participants. This category of participants will be sourced from various organisation levels (Executives, middle-level managers, and employees) and from a range of employees in a variety of industries including Higher Education, Healthcare and Financial /Consultancies in Australia. Additionally, while the interview questions are about the workplace, we are not going through organisations to collect the data for this study. The participants for interviews are going to be sourced through advertisement on social platforms and anyone who is willing to participate will be recruited. We will use the snowballing strategy to collect data. Participants will be between age 18-65 years and the sample size will be comprised of 50% male and 50% female, and they must have worked from home for more than 50% of the time during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Once identified, the participants for Study 2 will be provided an information sheet about the study, and a consent form to sign. Also, once consent is obtained, the participants will be slated for interview based on their availability. Interviews will take place virtually using zoom. Each interview will take an average of about 30-40 minutes to complete. Interview data will be collected within a period of 6-8 weeks.  All the interviews are expected to be collected within 2 weeks after the completion of Study 1. We expect that data will have reached saturation by the time we collect 30-50 interviews. An ethics application for our preliminary research in this area has already been approved.  So far, we have not been able to conduct the interviews yet. The pandemic and snap lockdowns across the nation are largely responsible. If successful with the current winter application, we plan to devote a significant amount of time to conduct these interviews.

Data Analysis

Leximancer® analyses textual corpora of any size using an automatic concept selection process, most often used by researchers as a starting point for focusing their research question. Researchers usually customize the automatic analysis using three linguistic strategies (McKenna & Waddell, 2007).  We will adopt a similar approach to analyse our data for Study 1.  Additionally, we will employ Nvivo further to reveal the nuances in the online conversation posts and interview data around C-19, working from home, virtual work, work-life balance, employee productivity and wellbeing that Leximancer may have missed.  

Work has now begun with the qualitative analysis. Preliminary results from Leximancer show that the major themes include issues around working from home, risk management, managing employers’ expectation, productivity, mental health, back to the office, and professionalism and the role of time (See Figure 1 below).  We still need to refine the data analysis with Leximancer.  Plans are underway to continue further analysis and conduct more literature review and write up the Leximancer results. We have now checked that the Journal of Business Research (JBR) welcomes papers that adopt Leximancer as an analytical tool and we plan to submit the write-up of our results to JBR in the nearest future.

 In the upcoming winter research program, we plan to finalise the collection of our quantitative data also on COVID and its impact on the future of work and especially workspaces, employee safety, productivity and wellbeing. We also aim to begin the quantitative data analysis.  

Results, outcomes and future plans

We expect to publish immediate outcomes of the study in community media outlets such as newspapers, The Conversation, radio and TV talks and accessible from public domains. In the long run, our outcomes will be published as articles in academic journals (e.g. Organization Studies- ABDC A*). This will provide insight into the latest influence of COVID-19 on employee productivity and wellbeing, and inform policies and guidelines on the management of future health crises especially on how to design and manage the open-plan offices of the future to buffer health crises. We plan to follow up on the current project by investigating leadership and leading through a health crisis such as COVID-19.

Expected outcomes and deliverables

By participating in the project, scholars can expect to gain/learn skills related to:

• literature review skills– scholar will be involved in reviewing the recent literature in the area of open-plan office, physical and virtual environment of work, work-life balance and wellbeing  
• the development and refinement of interview questions for the study 
• the development of interview skills and qualitative data collection approaches
• qualitative analytical skills (i.e. the use of Leximancer and Nvivo)
• possible opportunity to be involved in drafting and collaborating on a paper for presentation and publication.

Deliverables

• Succinct review of recent literature in the area of Literature Review – e.g. of recent literature in the area of open-plan office, physical and virtual environment of work, work-life balance and wellbeing  
• Refinement of in-depth interview questions for data collection
• Secondary data collection from social media platforms (e.g. LinkedIn)
• Primary data collection involving interviews with about 50 participants on their Covid-19 experience and how this may have impacted their virtual working, work-life balance and mental/physical wellbeing.
• Contributions to data analysis and write up of results targeting a quality conference and or journal publication. A short paper will be written for presentation at the Virtual ANZAM 2021 conference organised by Edith Cowan University (Australia) and or EGOS 2022.
• Reflection report by the scholar on what has been gained while working on the project
• Contributions to a paper developed from this study for JBR (ABDC A) and Organization Studies (ABDC A*) 

Suitable for

This project is open to application from UQ Students ONLY, such as third-year undergraduate, Honours, Masters, and PhD students enrolled in the faculty of Business, Law and Economics (BEL). Applicants must also have some basic interviewing skills and some familiarity with a qualitative approach to data analysis (i.e. Leximancer and Nvivo) as well as quantitative data analysis such as Hayes Macros.

Further Information

For more information contact Associate Professor Remi Ayoko: r.ayoko@business.uq.edu.au.

Supervisors

Richard Robinson with Pierre Benckendorff & Prasad Chunduri (School of Biomedical Sciences)

Project duration

4-5 weeks.

The working days are negotiable with the successful applicant, but must be undertaken between 21 June - 23 July 2021. A minimum 100-hour commitment, in accordance with the program guidelines, is expected during this period.

Face-to-face is desirable, and a desk will be provided. As the data is already collected COVID-19 provisions can allow remote working arrangements.

Description

TOURISMx was the first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) developed and released by the UQ Business School, and across 5 course runs since 2018 has enrolled over 40,000 students from 200 countries. Across these course runs extensive teaching and learning-related (T&L) data has been collected. In particular, an emerging learner ‘self-assessment tool’ – SOLO (Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes) - was embedded in the assessment together with follow-up evaluative surveys. Self-assessment is important in education as it can lead to enhanced learning outcomes, however most learners have an unrealistically optimistic view of their performance. The SOLO process helps to recalibrate learner’s perceptions of their performance, thus identifying areas for potential improvement.

The aim of the project is to evaluate the effectiveness of the SOLO tool with online learners, as previous studies have focussed on campus-based students. The student will work alongside the supervisors to organise, cleanse and analyse the data, conduct literature review work and ‘write-up’ results.

Expected outcomes and deliverables

The scholar will develop skills in quantitative data management, modelling and analysis. The scholar will also develop enhanced literature review skills and gain knowledge of the rapidly evolving online teaching space, accelerated further by the restrictions COVID-19 has imposed on traditional T&L modes.

The scholar will be fully involved in the drafting of a manuscript with a view to at least one publication from their research.  The scholar will be asked to present the outcomes of their work, and a reflective component on their own development, to a ‘friendly’ audience of TOURISMx team members at the end of their project.

Suitable for

This project is open to applications from students with any disciplinary background, though an interest in (online) education is advantageous.  Students with demonstrated statistical and digital literacy and some experience of a package such as Stata, SPSS or GraphPad Prism will be most competitive.

Further Information

Potential applicants are welcome to email the supervisors (please Cc all) if they require further information:

p.benckendorff@uq.edu.au; p.chunduri@uq.edu.au; richard.robinson@uq.edu.au

Supervisors

Dr Cristyn Meath and Dr Jurij Karlovšek

Project duration

5 weeks.

Meetings and work undertaken at the St Lucia campus. Remote working arrangements are also acceptable if required.

Description

The project is part of a collaborative initiative between UQ and industry which supports Australia’s infrastructure industry to transition to circular economy principles. The winter research project investigates procurement security for circular economy in the infrastructure industry via a review of literature and analysis of data from industry partners.

Expected outcomes and deliverables

Applicants will gain skills in systematic literature reviews, data collection and analysis and contributing to an academic paper for publication.

Suitable for

This position is open to students of the BEL Faculty at either Bachelor or Masters level. Knowledge of civil engineering or the infrastructure industry will be well regarded.

Further Information

For further information please contact Dr Cristyn Meath at c.meath@business.uq.edu.au

Supervisors

Dr Anna Jenkins & Dr Paul Spee

Project duration

5 weeks.

Remote working can be accommodated if required.

Description

This project involves coding interviews with entrepreneurs and employees about their startup experiences and then developing case summaries of their experiences.

The entrepreneurs are all early stages of launching their ventures and the interviews track their progress over several years.

The successful candidate would code the interviews, which involves identifying themes within the interviews, and assign-defined codes to different sections of the interview transcripts.

Expected outcomes and deliverables

Students can expect to gain skills in qualitative methods as part of the project including how to code and summarize interview data. Training in Nvivo is also provided as well as thorough mentoring throughout the project on how to code and write findings from qualitative data.

Upon conclusion of the project, case summaries of the entrepreneurs’ experiences is expected.

Suitable for

This project is suitable for students who are interested in startups and developing skills in qualitative methods. It is particularly suitable for students who are interested in pursuing an honours degree or a research component in a Master Degree as the project provides training in research methods.

Further Information

For further information, please contact Dr Anna Jenkins: a.jenkins@business.uq.edu.au, or Dr Paul Spee: p.spee@business.uq.edu.au.

Supervisor

Associate Professor Gabby Walters

Project duration

5 weeks.

The successful candidate will be required to liaise with the research mentor on campus at least twice a week but the work can be completed at home if necessary assuming the student will have access to UQ library databases.

Description

The aim of this research project is to explore the attitudes towards travel among Australia’s senior travel segments in light of COVID 19. The project will build on existing research undertaken by Gabby Walters in 2020 to explore the concerns, constraints and attitudes that seniors experience when considering whether or not to undertake domestic travel.

The project will entail a focus group approach for which the successful candidate will complete the necessary preparation.

Expected outcomes and deliverables

Through participation in this project, the student will be required to undertake the following tasks:

• the extension and updating of an existing literature review on seniors and travel
• the preparation of an ethics application
• the creation of a draft interview schedule based on what emerged from the literature.

The skills, abilities and opportunities the student can expect as a result of this work include:

• an understanding of how to critically evaluate academic literature and secondary industry/government resources
• an understanding of the ethics process and what is required to fulfil the ethical research requirements of the university
• the ability to produce a workable research instrument (interview schedule) that aligns with the objectives of the study and addresses a relevant and important research gap
• the opportunity to co-author an academic publication with two academics leaders in the field of tourism and psychology (Associate Professor Gabby Walters and Professor Nancy Pachana).

Suitable for

This project is open to Honours and Masters Students who are completing a research thesis component as part of their degree. The candidate will have excellent written and verbal communication skills and have some previous experience with compiling a literature review. In particular, we welcome applications from students with a Tourism, Marketing or Psychology background.

Further Information

For further details please contact Gabby Walters via email: g.walters@uq.edu.au

Supervisor

Richard Buning, PhD, Lecturer, Tourism Discipline, UQ Business School.

Project duration

5 weeks

The proposed project will take place during the winter break, beginning approximately June 21^st. The project can only be completed in-person in Brisbane.

Description

Bikeshare and more generally micromobility (i.e., personal vehicles that can carry one or two passengers) provide both residents and visitors an ideal means of transportation and outdoor recreation in a COVID (and post-COVID) world. Classically, bikeshare programs have been designed and operated with residents as the main focus in connection with existing public transportation systems in an attempt to solve the last mile problem (i.e., the distance between the final destination and the closest public transportation hub).

New research I conducted challenges this position, by demonstrating the incredible demand tourists provide for bikeshare programs, the value gained by the community from tourism, and overall enriched visitor experience. We found the tourists studied to be a major and lucrative user group accounting for almost a fifth of all trips taken and more than a third of all users. This all added up to substantial revenue for bikeshare program system and a positive economic impact to the city.

Tourists use bikeshare programs to explore urban destinations in a slow manner, often stopping at popular tourist attractions, local retail, restaurants, and bars along the way. This generates positive economic and social impacts which can be distributed more widely throughout a community into neighbourhoods and away from city centres and tourism hotspots. When visitors use bikeshare, they are provided with a more local and authentic experience that is sustainable and allows for better access to peripheral areas, tourist sites, and local businesses over and above traditional transport methods (i.e., tour bus, rideshare, public transit).

However, a massive knowledge gap exists in tourist understanding. Tourists lack the requisite knowledge and information to use micromobility to navigate and explore urban destinations safely. Not only do tourists lack understanding of where to go, but also how to get there using micromobility via physical infrastructure (e.g., bike paths, bridges) to maximise their experience and local impact. This project aims to assess the information gap between tourists and micromobility transportation. The project will entail surveying tourists to Brisbane in-person about their understanding of micromobility, tourists sites, local attractions, and local walking and cycling infrastructure.

Expected outcomes and deliverables

The project is expected to provide scholars, urban destinations, and micromobility stakeholders with how and what tourist know and understand in exploring urban destinations via micromobility. The results will ultimately provide visitors with a more authentic, active, and sustainable visitor experience while improving their impact on local businesses via companion programs and tourism guides.

Scholars will gain experience in hands-on, in-person quantitative data collection and data analysis. Specifically, the project will entail interviewing and surveying tourists in the Brisbane CBD. Afterwards, students will be able to be involved in the writing of related manuscripts for academic journals and mass media. Students will also be provided the opportunity to give professional presentations to various stakeholders following the conclusion of the project.

Suitable for

Suitable for all UQ second, third or fourth-year undergraduate or postgraduate students interested in conducting in-person research in the Brisbane CBD. Students with an interest in tourism, geography, transportation, or urban planning will be especially inclined to participate. Students interested in completing an honours degree or further HDR study will be highly sought after. Must be comfortable speaking with the public.   

Further Information

Interested students are welcome to contact Dr Buning for more information: r.buning@uq.edu.au.