Burning Questions

Have you ever wanted the opportunity to quiz an expert about a really tricky issue?

Welcome to Burning Questions for the 1st Conference of Asia Pacific Academy for Psychosocial Factors at Work. On the first day of the conference we're hosting a Q&A panel of international experts who will comment on current issues, hot topics, and will answer any curly research or practice questions from the audience. All conference delegates are invited to submit a 'burning' question/s for the expert panel to answer. Please submit your questions via the link below (or email directly to Dr. Ali Afsharian; ali.afsharian@gmail.com).

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Xb0tbGCPxEan_hWlmT-8pWjspYiL-6FIpZ973Gff5i1UN1U3NU84NktONExKVzNLUUswMVEzVVo1Ny4u

Questions will be selected for inclusion and delegates will be invited to address the panel directly on the day. We look forward to seeing you at this lively and informative discussion!

Professor Paula Brough
Burning Questions Chair

Dr Paula Brough is a Professor of Organisational Psychology in the School of Applied Psychology at Griffith University, and Leader of the Occupational Health Psychology Research Lab. Paula’s primary research is occupational stress and coping, employee mental health and wellbeing, work engagement, work-life balance, workplace conflict (bullying, harassment, toxic leadership), and the psychosocial work environment. Paula assesses how work environments can be improved via job redesign, supportive leadership practices, and enhanced equity to improve employee health, work commitment, and productivity. Paula has authored over 60 industry reports, over 100 journal articles and book chapters, and has authored six scholarly books based on her research.

Dr Angela Martin, Adjunct Professor of Management, UTAS and Principal Consultant, PRACADEMIA
Angela’s PhD is in organisational psychology and her research has focused on workplace mental health, work-family conflict, workplace bullying, organisational change and other aspects of human resource management and organisational behaviour. After almost 20 years as an academic in both business and psychology schools, in 2017 Angela took on a new direction, and established PRACADEMIA, a boutique consultancy. In this new venture Angela is focused on creating insights and applications for organisations from academic research and education, providing practical support to academics/ universities and adding value to industry-academic partnerships.
Angela is passionate about mental health and gender equality, is keen to keep pushing the boundaries around increasing the application of health and social research and extending research enquiry into new or challenging settings. In particular, Angela is keen to discuss with delegates the following issues:
How well do our theoretical models and best practice advice fit small business and the changing nature of work (e.g. increasingly insecure work, the ‘gig’ economy, freelance/independent/contract work, entrepreneurship, virtual or temporary organisational forms etc).
What works for encouraging research translation or knowledge mobilization in policy and practice?
How and to what extent can we balance research rigour with pragmatic issues in developing organisational partnerships for creating a greater evidence base around interventions?

Professor Michael Leiter, expert on the psychology of work, is Professor of Organisational Psychology at Deakin University. His research on job burnout and work engagement has been widely published. In a commitment to improving work-life quality, he consults with organizations and researchers around the world. He is also a keynote speaker for diverse audiences, including public sector executives, health care providers, and human resource professionals. His current research and consulting focusses on improving collegiality within workgroups.

Dr. Stavroula Leka (PhD) is Professor of Management at Cork University Business School in Ireland. She is also Professor of Work, Health & Policy at the University of Nottingham, UK. Stavroula’s expertise lies in the translation of occupational health and safety knowledge and policy into effective practice. Her research focuses on the evaluation of occupational health and safety regulation and policy and its associated infrastructures and supporting systems at different levels (international, European, national and organisational). Key themes in her research are work organisation and the management of the psychosocial work environment for business and societal sustainability and the promotion of mental health and well-being in the workplace. She is passionate about global collaboration to promote healthy workplaces and healthy societies.

Dr. Mohd Awang Idris is an associate professor in Work and Organisational Psychology, Department Anthropology and Sociology, University of Malaya. He is the Elected President of the Asia Pacific Academy for Psychosocial Factors at Work. His research interests include job stress, psychosocial safety climate, leadership, job engagement, workplace injuries and team performance. He has published several papers in ISI-outlets publications, and is also a reviewer for some well-known journals such as Safety Science, Work & Stress, Journal Occupational and Organizational Psychology, and Journal of Advanced Nursing. For his full CV, please visit: umexpert.um.edu.my/idrma.html