UON Disaster Research Updates

So much has happened over the last few months - it is time for a post to mention some of the highlights! If I miss anything that you would like to add, please let me know.


New grants: 

1. Council on Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR): Disaster Resilience Education Capacity Building in Latin America - The project establishes partnerships between UON and Universidad Diego Portales, Universidad Javeriana and Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. This project will build regional capacity, share knowledge and create synergy in disaster resilience and risk reduction education/research. CI - Dr Sittimont Kanjanabootra. Project Personnel, A/P Gajendran, A/P Mackee, A/P Brewer, Dr von Meding, Dr Giggins and Dr Ahmed.

2. Asia Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN): Understanding the opportunities and challenges of compliance to safe building codes for disaster resilience in South Asia - the cases of Bangladesh and Nepal - This project will explore the opportunities and challenges to compliance of safe building codes for disaster resilience in South Asia, focusing on two countries of the region, Bangladesh and Nepal. UON will partner with the University of Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Tribhuvan University (Nepal). CI - Dr Ifte Ahmed. Project Personnel, A/P Gajendran,  A/P Brewer, Dr Maund and Dr von Meding. 

3. SABE Research Impact Acceleration Grant: Resilience and Resistance in the Upper Hunter Valley - This project will engage directly with communities in the Upper Hunter Valley (primarily Muswellbrook and Singleton) around themes of resilience and resistance in the post-carbon future of the region. Focussing on issues of resilience, post-industrialisation, land rehabilitation and social equity, we will host a series of events in partnership with Upper Hunter communities that are under threat; a community workshop, a public seminar and a research exhibition including creative practice and traditional research. CI - Dr Jason von Meding. Project Personnel, Prof Chapman,  A/P Brewer, Dr Tucker.

Science journalism:

In Vietnam poverty and poor development, not just floods, kill the most marginalised, The Conversation, Jason von Meding & Hang Thai

Religion is not the only reason Rohingyas are being forced out of Myanmar, The Conversation, Giuseppe Forino, Jason von Meding & Thomas Johnson

Vietnam’s typhoon disaster highlights the plight of its poorest people, The Conversation, Chinh Luu & Jason von Meding

Show Up, Stand Up and Step Up: Bold Action in the Wake of Storms, Common Dreams, Jason von Meding & Heidi Harmon

Why natural disasters aren't all that natural, openDemocracy, Ksenia Chmutina, Jason von Meding, JC Gaillard & Lee Bosher


In the media:

Jason on BBC World Service and Morning Marketplace Report speaking about vested interests in Myanmar.

Jason speaks about Typhoon Doksuri on 2ser radio, Sydney, 21st Sept.

Jason interviewed by Aya Bayrawy at the Associated Press for this article about the Rohingya, 21st Sept. 

Jason on 2ser radio, Sydney, discussing the Rohingya, 18th Sept. 

Jason on WMNF, Florida, to discuss the political aspect of the recent hurricanes to strike the US, 14th Sept. 

Jason on 3 CR radio Melbourne talking about the Rohingya crisis, 13th Sept. 

Group Updates

ANDROID Doctoral School

Dr Mackee and Dr von Meding were recently invited to deliver a course on 'Overall Systems Resilience' as part of the 2014 ANDROID Online Doctoral School. This programme was run as part of the EU funded ANDROID network and saw several dozen PhD students engage with Jamie and Jason over a Blackboard Collaborate system. It was exciting to see young researchers so eager to explore detailed aspects of resilience in systems, and participants had many interesting questions leading to discussion with the presenters. Special thanks to Prof Srinath Perera and Dr Irina Shklovski for the invitation.


Project News

Two projects related to the Disaster and Development group were recently successful in receiving funding from the discipline of Construction Management at UoN. Dr Von Meding and his CIB W120 joint-coordinator Dr Lee Bosher will be undertaking a study entitled 'Forming Strategy for Resilience in Non-Government Organisations,' while Dr Michael Mak and Dr von Meding will investigate 'A Holistic Framework for Urban Resilience using Feng Shui Approach.' 

New PhD Scholars

The group recently welcomed Steven Crick, a Senior Environmental Scientist from Parsons Brinckerhoff, on board as a part-time PhD researcher. He will be investigating slow-onset disasters in the Hunter Region, particularly looking at DRR and climate adaptation policy. In addition, in the next month we are expecting full-time PhD students from both Vietnam and Italy to join the research group. The arrival of these researchers will bring the number of PhD students in the group to 5, further establishing Disaster and Development research within the University. 

Papers/ Conferences

The group will be represented at the upcoming CIB2014 conference, to be held at the Kandalama Hotel in Sri Lanka next month, by Dr Gajendran and PhD scholar Rafiu Salami. Rafiu will present his paper 'Deficient Housing: Development of a New Theoretical Perspective on Poverty Traps,' which outlines development of the theoretical framework underpinning his PhD research. 

Upcoming Papers

Two papers have been generated by the team in the area of disaster management for the upcoming AUBEA conference to be held in Auckland from 20-22 November. The first is an agenda setting paper, exploring the context of New South Wales and its exposure to disaster risk, a particularly timely output as we are currently experiencing extreme wildfire conditions in the region and the debate around climate change and resilience is on the table once more. The second paper explores the conditions that must be created in order to fully engage the commercial construction industry in post-disaster reconstruction. The study identifies the key barriers to engagement and argues for extensive benefits to both the humanitarian sector and the construction industry through closer collaboration, formulating a framework to define a potential path forward. The full papers will be presented at AUBEA and will be available thereafter. 

PAPER 1

DEFINING A RESEARCH AGENDA FOR SLOW-ONSET DISASTER RESEARCH IN THE HUNTER REGION, NSW

J. Von Meding¹, R. Le Goff¹, G. Brewer¹, J. MacKee¹, T. Gajendran¹, S. Crick²

¹University of Newcastle, Australia

²Parsons Brinckerhoff

PAPER 2

ENGAGING THE COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN A POST-DISASTER CONTEXT

J. von Meding¹, A. McVeigh¹, Z. Amiri², C. Burke³

¹ University of Newcastle, Australia

2 Alaodoleh Semnani Institute of Higher Education, Iran

³ Queen’s University Belfast, UK