Josh Whittaker | Bushfire & Natural Hazards CRC

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About

Dr Josh Whittaker

Josh is a geographer specialising in research on the vulnerability of human communities to bushfire (wildfire) and other natural hazards. He 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

Posts
Projects & roles
Publications
Posters
Resources
Channels

Blog posts on Views & Visions

Post	Date	Key Topics
Learning the media game	19 Mar 2019	emergency management, fire, fire impacts
Engaging the masses, how we try and do it	14 May 2015	communication, non-traditional recruitment, volunteering

Project leadership

2017 NSW post-incident task force

This project was commissioned and funded entirely by the NSW Rural Fire Service.

2018 Reedy Swamp fire post-incident task force

This project was commissioned and funded entirely by the NSW Rural Fire Service.

Community attitudes and experiences of the 2019/20 NSW bushfire season

This project was commissioned by the NSW Rural Fire Service.

Supervisory roles

Project	Student
Volunteered geographic information, community engagement and bushfire preparation	bhaworth
Household decision making in bushfire self evacuation	kstrahan

Research team

Type	Project	Research team
CRC Core Project	Out of uniform: building community resilience through non-traditional emergency volunteering	jwhittaker, bmclennan, tkruger

Tathra during the bushfire. Photo: Caleb Keeney, Timberline Helicopters.

Understanding bushfire risk, warnings and responses: lessons from the...

Whittaker,J.,Haynes,K.,Tofa,M.,Wilkinson,C.,Taylor,M.

CFU in the Blue Mountains

Journal Article

Working outside ‘the rules’: Opportunities and challenges of community...

Haynes,K.,Bird,D.,Whittaker,J.

NSW SES volunteers clearing storm debris. Photo credit: NSW SES.

Journal Article

Navigating authority and legitimacy when ‘outsider’ volunteers co-prod...

McLennan,B.,Whittaker,J.,Kruger,T.,Handmer,J.

Fire risk warning sign. Photo: BNHCRC

Journal Article

Why don't bushfire warnings work as intended? Responses to offici...

Whittaker,J.,Taylor,M.,Bearman,C.

The Victorian Bushfires Research Taskforce at Wandong

Journal Article

Ten years after the Black Saturday fires, what have we learnt from pos...

Curlewis firefighters during the Linton fires. Photo: NSW RFS.

Journal Article

Self-evacuation archetypes in Australian bushfire

Strahan,K.,Whittaker,J.,Handmer,J.

Community preparedness and responses to the 2017 New South Wales bushf...

Whittaker,J.,Taylor,M.

Journal Article

The Good, the bad, and the uncertain: contributions of volunteered geo...

Haworth,B.,Whittaker,J.,Read,R.,Bruce,E.

Journal Article

Surviving bushfire: the role of shelters and sheltering practices duri...

Blanchi,R.,Whittaker,J.,Haynes,K.,Leonard,J.,Opie,K.

Conference Paper

Community preparedness and responses to the 2017 NSW bushfires

Out of uniform - building resilience through non-traditional volunteer...

Handmer,J.,Whittaker,J.,Kruger,T.

Recovery volunteering after the Pinery fire, South Australia 2015: an...

Kruger,T.,Whittaker,J.,Handmer,J.

Journal Article

Experiences of sheltering during the Black Saturday bushfires: Implica...

Whittaker,J.,Blanchi,R.,Haynes,K.,Leonard,J.,Opie,K.

Strategies for non-traditional emergency volunteers: a risk-benefit fr...

Kruger,T.,Handmer,J.,Whittaker,J.

Conference Paper

Out of uniform (building community resilience through non-traditional...

Whittaker,J.,Kruger,T.,Handmer,J.

Briefing paper: A proposed framework to assess strategies for engaging...

Whittaker,J.,Handmer,J.

Journal Article

The changing landscape of disaster volunteering: opportunities, respon...

Whittaker,J.,Handmer,J.

Conference Paper

Opportunities and challenges of citizen-led recovery in post-disaster...

Out of uniform: building community resilience through non-traditional...

Handmer,J.,Whittaker,J.

Journal Article

Centralised coordination of spontaneous emergency volunteers: the EV C...

Molloy,J.,Whittaker,J.,Handmer,J.

Journal Article

Assessing the application and value of participatory mapping for commu...

Haworth,B.,Whittaker,J.,Bruce,E.

Conference Paper

Using participatory mapping to harness local knowledge and increase co...

Haworth,B.,Whittaker,J.,Bruce,E.

Conference Paper

Harnessing the capacities of spontaneous volunteers: application and a...

Molloy,J.,Whittaker,J.,Handmer,J.

Sheltering practices during bushfire

Blanchi,R.,Whittaker,J.,Haynes,K.,Leonard,J.,Opie,K.,Holland,M.,Dreyfuss,S.

Conference Paper

The future of 'non-traditional' emergency volunteering: what...

Whittaker,J.,Handmer,J.

Conference Paper

Building Community Resilience Through Informal Emergency Volunteering...

Whittaker,J.,Handmer,J.

Out of uniform: building community resilience through non-traditional...

Handmer,J.,Whittaker,J.

Emergency volunteering in Australia: transforming, not declining

Whittaker,J.,Handmer,J.

Conference Paper

How will the new satellite navigation systems help with the provision...

Choy,S.,Handmer,J.,Whittaker,J.,Shinohara,Y.,Hatori,T.,Kohtake,N.

Community-led bushfire preparedness in action: The case of Be Ready Wa...

Whittaker,J.,Handmer,J.

Informal Volunteerism in Emergencies and Disasters: A Literature Revie...

Whittaker,J.,Handmer,J.

Journal Article

Gendered responses to the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires in Victoria, A...

Whittaker,J.,Eriksen,C.,Haynes,K.

Journal Article

A review of informal volunteerism in emergencies and disasters: Defini...

Whittaker,J.,Handmer,J.

Journal Article

Community safety during the 2009 Australian ‘Black Saturday’ bushfires...

Whittaker,J.,Haynes,K.,Handmer,J.,McLennan,J.

Journal Article

Householders’ safety-related decisions, plans, actions and outcomes du...

McLennan,J.,Elliott,G.,Omodei,M.,Whittaker,J.

Journal Article

Vulnerability to bushfires in rural Australia: A case study from East...

Whittaker,J.,Handmer,J.,Mercer,D.

Journal Article

Community Bushfire Safety: A Review of Post-black Saturday Research

Whittaker,J.,Handmer,J.

30 Jun 2017

Contributions of digital volunteering to community resilience

communication, local knowledge

Adoption of location-based information sharing technologies and the emergence of digital...

30 Jun 2017

Strategies for non-traditional emergency volunteers

non-traditional recruitment, resilience

A risk-benefit framework has been designed to assist decision-makers in emergency management...

12 Aug 2016

Using participatory mapping to increase community engagement in bushfire preparation

infrastructure, resilience

Involving communities is a prerequisite to sustainable disaster risk reduction.

12 Aug 2016

Out of uniform: building community resilience through non-traditional emergency volunteering

infrastructure, resilience

Citizen participation is a key principle of disaster risk reduction and resilience building.

18 Aug 2015

Community-Led Bushfire Preparedness in Action: The Case of Be Ready Warrandyte

communities, fire

Be Ready Warrandyte (BRW) was an award-winning, community-led bushfire preparedness project...

18 Aug 2015

Out of Uniform: Building Community Resilience Through Non-Traditional Emergency Volunteering

non-traditional recruitment, resilience

The public is usually first on the scene in an emergency or disaster and remain long after official...

25 Aug 2014

Non-traditional volunteering: Volunteered geographic information (VGI) and bushfire preparation

This research explores the potential role of VGI for fostering community engagement in bushfire...

25 Aug 2014

Out of uniform: Building community resilience through non-traditional emergency volunteering

Citizens may play vital roles in helping those affected to respond and recover, and can provide...

Resources credited

Type	Released	Title	Download	Key Topics
Presentation-Slideshow	30 Aug 2016	Harnessing the capacities of spontaneous volunteers: application and adaptation of the Queensland model - Blythe McLennan	Save (1.61 MB)	communities, non-traditional recruitment, volunteering
Presentation-Slideshow	30 Aug 2016	Opportunities and challenges of citizen-led recovery in post-disaster settings - Josh Whittaker	Save (2.29 MB)	communities, non-traditional recruitment, volunteering
HazardNoteEdition	18 Apr 2017	The changing landscape of emergency volunteering in Australia	Save (411.5 KB)	non-traditional recruitment, resilience, volunteering
HazardNoteEdition	12 Feb 2018	Community preparedness, warnings and responses: NSW fires 2017	Save (422.42 KB)	communication, fire severity, warnings
Presentation-Audio-Video	18 Sep 2018	Community preparedness and responses to the 2017 NSW bushfires	Save (2.82 MB)	communities, fire impacts
Presentation-Audio-Video	15 Jul 2019	Community preparedness, warnings and response to 2017 NSW fires	Save (0 bytes)	communication, communities, warnings
Presentation-Slideshow	27 Aug 2019	Householder preparedness and defence in the 2018 Reedy Swamp (Tathra) fire	Save (5.56 MB)	communities, local knowledge
HazardNoteEdition	06 Mar 2020	Understanding bushfire risk, warnings and responses - lessons from the 2018 Reedy Swamp fire	Save (561.7 KB)	communication, communities, warnings
Guide-Fact Sheet	23 Jul 2020	Interview participant information sheet - Community attitudes and experiences of the 2019/20 NSW bushfire season project	Save (620.92 KB)
Guide-Fact Sheet	23 Jul 2020	Interview invitation letter - Community attitudes and experiences of the 2019/20 NSW bushfire season project	Save (272.8 KB)
Presentation-Slideshow	27 Mar 2014	Out of uniform	Save (877.64 KB)	capability, non-traditional recruitment, volunteering
Presentation-Slideshow	08 Sep 2014	Building community resilience through informal emergency volunteering	Save (1.12 MB)	non-traditional recruitment, volunteering
Presentation-Slideshow	07 Aug 2014	Sharing Responsibility and Non-Traditional Volunteering	Save (1.63 MB)	non-traditional recruitment, volunteering
Presentation-Slideshow	10 Apr 2015	Out of Uniform 2015 NSW RAF Presentation	Save (2.48 MB)	non-traditional recruitment, resilience, volunteering
HazardNoteEdition	10 Jul 2015	Ensuring volunteering is sustainable	Save (150.91 KB)	non-traditional recruitment, resilience, volunteering
Presentation-Slideshow	11 Sep 2015	The future of 'non-traditional' emergency volunteering	Save (1.85 MB)	volunteering
Presentation-Audio-Video	02 Jul 2015	Out of uniform	Save (0 bytes)	non-traditional recruitment, resilience, volunteering
Presentation-Slideshow	17 May 2016	Out of uniform	Save (2.54 MB)	communities, non-traditional recruitment, volunteering
Presentation-Slideshow	30 Aug 2016	Using participatory mapping in bushfire preparation - Billy Haworth	Save (2.32 MB)	communication, fire, volunteering

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We acknowledge the traditional custodians across all the lands on which we live and work, and we pay our respects to Elders both past and present.

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