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Rachael Sharman

Lecturer in Psychology, University of the Sunshine Coast

Dr Rachael Sharman is a lecturer and researcher in psychology, specialising in child/adolescent development. Rachael's research is focused on the optimal and healthy development of the paediatric brain, and has covered the neuro/psychological impacts of: dietary practices of parents and their children; physical activity; obesity; sport participation; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; genetic disorders; concussion and childhood trauma.

Rachael has a long history in working in child-related fields including child protection, juvenile justice, disability, advocacy and genetic research. Rachael remains committed to research that ensures children have the best possible chance to meet their full potential. Her current interests include: children’s play opportunities and the built environment; resilience-building features of risky play; child protection issues including sexual abuse and trafficking; adolescent arson and self-harming; transitions from education to the workplace.

Paralysed with fear: why do we freeze when frightened?

Jun 14, 2016 08:27 am UTC| Health

Most people are probably familiar with the classic fight or flight response to a feared stimulus. If a snake were to fall from the ceiling on top of you as you read this, you have two options: fight off the snake or get...

Economy

JPMorgan Cuts Gold Price Forecast, Sees Bullion Reaching $4,500 by End of 2026

JPMorgan has sharply lowered its near-term gold price outlook, citing weaker-than-expected demand from major buying sectors and growing uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy. The bank now expects gold prices to average...

Oil Prices Steady as U.S.-Iran Peace Talks Ease Strait of Hormuz Supply Fears

Oil prices ended the week largely unchanged as investors weighed improving prospects for a lasting U.S.-Iran peace agreement against rising crude supply from the Middle East. Brent crude futures settled up 14 cents, or...

Asian Currencies Rise as Dollar Weakens; Yen Holds Steady Amid Japan Intervention Watch

Most Asian currencies edged higher on Friday after the U.S. dollar retreated from a 13-month high following weaker-than-expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, raising fresh questions about the Federal Reserves interest rate...

Asian Stocks Rebound as Tech Shares Rally on Fed Rate Cut Hopes and Easing Iran Tensions

Asian stock markets rebounded sharply on Friday as investors returned to technology shares following a week of heavy selling, while easing geopolitical tensions and growing expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate...

Oil Prices Slip as Oversupply Concerns and U.S.-Iran Talks Shape Market Outlook

Oil prices edged lower on Friday as improving global crude supplies and expectations of near-term oversupply continued to pressure the market, while traders reduced bearish positions ahead of the U.S. holiday weekend....

Politics

UN Warns of Looming Human Rights Catastrophe in Sudan’s Al-Obeid

The United Nations has warned that a new human rights catastrophe is unfolding in Sudan as fighting intensifies around the besieged city of al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state. U.N. High Commissioner for Human...

Amy Coney Barrett Faces Conservative Backlash After Key Supreme Court Rulings Against Trump

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett has drawn criticism from some conservatives after joining decisions that blocked several major priorities of President Donald Trump during the courts latest term. Although...

France Battles Mediterranean Wildfires as Heatwave Fuels Fire Risk

Around 2,000 firefighters battled multiple wildfires across Frances Mediterranean coast on Thursday as strong winds and dry conditions intensified blazes following Europes recent heatwave. One of the most serious fires...

Russia Claims Capture of Kostiantynivka as Putin Pushes Donetsk Offensive

Russia claimed on Friday that its forces had captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka, a move that, if confirmed, would mark a major step in Moscows campaign to seize full control of Ukraines Donetsk region....

Russian Attacks Kill Six Across Ukraine as Kyiv Mourns Deadly Strike

Russian attacks killed at least six people and injured dozens across multiple regions of Ukraine on Friday, according to regional officials, as Kyiv observed a day of mourning following one of the deadliest assaults on the...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Anthropic Tightens AI Access Controls After Reports of China-Based Workarounds

Anthropic is strengthening measures to prevent unauthorized access to its artificial intelligence services from China after discovering that several Chinese companies had allegedly bypassed its restrictions, according to a...

Kuaishou Stock Jumps as Kling AI Secures $2 Billion Funding Round

Hong Kong-listed shares of Kuaishou Technology (HK:1024) climbed more than 6% on Thursday after its spun-off artificial intelligence business, Kling AI, secured an initial $2 billion in venture capital funding to...

Meta CEO Zuckerberg Says AI Agent Development Has Slowed Despite Massive AI Investment

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg has acknowledged that the companys progress in developing artificial intelligence (AI) agents has been slower than expected, despite Metas aggressive investment in AI...

Kioxia Bets on AI Memory Boom With Next-Gen NAND Production in Japan

Kioxia is set to mark a major milestone on Friday with a ceremony at its manufacturing facility in northern Japan as the company prepares to begin mass production of its next-generation NAND flash memory chips. The move...

OpenAI Proposes 5% U.S. Government Stake Amid AI Policy Talks

OpenAI has reportedly proposed granting the U.S. government a 5% ownership stake in the artificial intelligence company as it seeks to strengthen ties with Washington and address growing political scrutiny over the rapidly...