The launch into PhD research!

The first six months has passed really quickly, and I have been fortunate to attend a variety of events in Hobart, Melbourne and Wellington, New Zealand. All have been valuable opportunities to meet and interact with others in the disaster field, gain and share knowledge and discuss my research project. I have also spent a considerable amount of time reviewing existing literature, connecting with professionals and academics in the field, and working on my research design.

A little background to provide some context to the research title (Community volunteering and disaster recovery; a study of community resilience in the 2013 Forcett Bushfire, Tasmania). In the Forcett bushfire, the roads into the fire affected zone were closed for a number of days, effectively causing a ‘gap’ in time between the emergency and the official recovery response. As first responders, the local residents demonstrated their ability to self-organise and carry out roles, and utilise local knowledge and resources in order to protect and care for others and their livelihoods. The focus of the research is the ‘community-led’ aspect.   

A case study approach was chosen based on the nature of the phenomena, the real life context it occurred in, and the desire to explore what took place. The research is designed to obtain a sense of ‘what was going on’ from the resident’s perspective, to gain an understanding of the background, purpose and functions of ‘community-led’ in community-based disaster.  

Over the next few months my research plan includes Confirmation of Candidature early May, and submitting my application for research with the RMIT Human Research Ethics Committee. Upon the success of a milestone and ethics approval, I aim to commence generating and analysing data May/June 2015. I have also submitted an abstract for an oral presentation at the Victorian 12th Biennial Rural and Remote Social Work Conference, in July.

If you want to get in touch with any questions about my research, you can reach me on fiona.jennings@rmit.edu.au