Why do Australians still die during natural disasters? This project will test the idea that Australians do not adequately perceive the risks associated with natural disasters that threaten them. The outcomes of this project will include an Australian-specific risk perception model, more disaster resilient communities through improved social science understanding and improved disaster management policy.
Rip currents: an evidence based approach to managing the greatest beach hazard. For the first time, an understanding of the action of swimmers caught in rip currents will be linked through interviews with rip current survivors and measurements of swimmer response and rip flow. This project will provide information that will improve existing rip current education and assist in reducing the unacceptably high drowning toll on Australian beaches.
Geographies of house and contents under-insurance. This project aims to analyse house and contents insurance to advance strategic disaster management. When natural disasters strike, house and contents insurance provides a safety net, but many households are under-insured or not insured at all. Governments and communities tend to bear the costs, but the geographies of inadequate insurance, including any crucial post-disaster effects, are unknown. This research is expected to strategically improve ....Geographies of house and contents under-insurance. This project aims to analyse house and contents insurance to advance strategic disaster management. When natural disasters strike, house and contents insurance provides a safety net, but many households are under-insured or not insured at all. Governments and communities tend to bear the costs, but the geographies of inadequate insurance, including any crucial post-disaster effects, are unknown. This research is expected to strategically improve disaster policy and practice, and reduce the financial and social costs of disasters to governments, communities and householders.Read moreRead less
Queering disasters in the Antipodes: investigating the experiences of LGBTI people in natural disasters. The purpose of this project is to investigate experiences of LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex) people in Antipodean natural disasters, because they are especially vulnerable. No such work has been done in this field before. The outcomes of this project will include improved understanding of the needs of LGBTI people and improved disaster response.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100242
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$353,773.00
Summary
Bushfires, faith and community cohesion: building a resilient Australia. Bushfire emergencies in Australia have social, ethical and political, as well as biophysical causes. Hidden in embedded vulnerability, social norms and institutional structures, these causes are often critical obstacles to building resilient communities. This project aims to identify key ways to heighten resilience by examining how sacred and secular faith affects the ability of individuals and communities to prepare for, r ....Bushfires, faith and community cohesion: building a resilient Australia. Bushfire emergencies in Australia have social, ethical and political, as well as biophysical causes. Hidden in embedded vulnerability, social norms and institutional structures, these causes are often critical obstacles to building resilient communities. This project aims to identify key ways to heighten resilience by examining how sacred and secular faith affects the ability of individuals and communities to prepare for, respond to and recover from bushfires. Using ethnographic methods, this project will critically examine evidence of bushfire vulnerability, resilience and adaptation strategies driven by, retained in, or promoted through faith and ethics.Read moreRead less
Mapping the Political Ecology of the Edible Birds’ Nests Trade in Indonesia. This study examines the origins and impacts of the rapidly emerging edible birds’ nests (EBN) trade for rural livelihoods and ecologies in Southeast Asia. A high-value Chinese delicacy, the EBN trade has surged across rural Indonesia and beyond. In partnership with the WWF and Tropenbos, our pioneering study investigates how rural producers negotiate the uneven social, economic and environmental influences of the EBN co ....Mapping the Political Ecology of the Edible Birds’ Nests Trade in Indonesia. This study examines the origins and impacts of the rapidly emerging edible birds’ nests (EBN) trade for rural livelihoods and ecologies in Southeast Asia. A high-value Chinese delicacy, the EBN trade has surged across rural Indonesia and beyond. In partnership with the WWF and Tropenbos, our pioneering study investigates how rural producers negotiate the uneven social, economic and environmental influences of the EBN commodity chain in the threatened Heart of Borneo, Indonesia, and the major urban trading centres of Jakarta, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The project offers novel insights into the trade’s sustainability across rural and urban regions of Asia and informs policy for poverty reduction and environmental management in the region.Read moreRead less
Mobile ecologies, complex landscapes: cultural environmental research to understand and enhance invasive plant management in high amenity rural areas. Weeds are a major problem requiring integrated social and ecological management. Land ownership change in tree change areas alters the mix of owners and how they manage their land. It is often claimed that this leads to increased weed problems, especially for farmers. This project evaluates actions and results on the ground to improve management.
Rupture: nature-society transformations in mainland Southeast Asia. This project aims to understand the nexus between intense, cumulative processes of socio-ecological change and emerging forms of social agency. Three case studies of Cambodian and Vietnamese dams, and a review of Thai-Lao cases, will reveal local and civil society responses to nature-society rupture and how these responses affect the region, inform advances in environmental change management, and be relevant to Australia's secur ....Rupture: nature-society transformations in mainland Southeast Asia. This project aims to understand the nexus between intense, cumulative processes of socio-ecological change and emerging forms of social agency. Three case studies of Cambodian and Vietnamese dams, and a review of Thai-Lao cases, will reveal local and civil society responses to nature-society rupture and how these responses affect the region, inform advances in environmental change management, and be relevant to Australia's security policies.Read moreRead less