Josh is a geographer specialising in research on the vulnerability of human communities to bushfire (wildfire) and other natural hazards. He was a Research Fellow at the University of Wollongong's Centre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires from 2016 until February 2021, and is now the Coordinator Community Engagement at the NSW Rural Fire Service. Josh has considerable experience collaborating with social and physical scientists and industry end-users to produce research that influences policy and practice. Specific research interests include:
- Innovative methods of vulnerability assessment
- Factors influencing hazard exposure and capacities to respond (short and long term)
- Cost-benefit analysis of risk reduction
- Location decisions after disaster (why people stay, why people leave, why newcomers move to disaster affected places)
- Discourse analysis as a method for understanding environmental issues and problems