‘What I’d really like to do is to bring them here and give them a piece of my mind’: Rethinking Expectations of ‘Solutions’ in Applied-Action Disaster Research

With its emphasis on working in partnership with multiple institutions and providing ‘solutions’ to problems, applied-action research is often framed in a language of ‘tangibility’ and ‘measurable outcomes’. However, within the context of disaster and humanitarian research, the emphasis on providing tangible solutions by working with multiple institutions is especially problematic. Drawing on experiences of over four years of anthropological ethnographic fieldwork examining responses to extreme weather in Scotland within a multiple agency applied-action research context, this paper presents a reflective exploration of how diverse expectations for possible solutions manifested in range of a practical and ethical dilemmas within the field. I reveal that although differing expectations and complex power-relations embedded within the research context initially restricted interactions with community members, the process of navigating perceived loyalties and managing diverse expectations revealed important insights about long-standing conflicts between community members and institutional powers and also resulted in creating new opportunities for interaction that contributed to a sense of justice amongst community members. From this, I argue the predominant focus on the ‘tangible ends and outcomes’ within applied-action research is especially problematic in the disaster and humanitarian context because, as this study shows, not only does this place an insurmountable burden on the researcher, but often the value of the research for those directly affected by disaster lies in allowing them to voice their concerns and to have their concerns listened t

Danger from the Outside:Resident Perceptions of Environmental Contamination at Home

Research examining human experiences of environmental contamination highlights the significance of place in influencing responses. However, a dearth of information exists on how indoor contamination affects experiences of living with legacies of land and groundwater pollution. This paper addresses this shortfall by drawing on evidence derived from an online survey, 10 semi-structured interviews, and a focus group to examine factors associated with lifescape change in home environments. The findings suggest that perceptions of the visibility and transferability of contaminants, and whether such contaminants are located in either indoor or outdoor domestic spaces, influence residents’ experiences, in turn. Through its focus on interactions between people and pollution, this article makes an original contribution to research on the spatial dynamics of individuals’ experiences with contamination. In concluding, this paper highlights the need for public health communication to provide clear guidance aimed at reducing feelings of uncertainty within domestic spheres

UNICEF Children's Climate Change Risk Index (CCRI): Systematic Review of the Literature: Findings, Outcomes and Policy Recommendations

First paragraph: This report has been compiled as part of the Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI) Project for UNICEF based on the work undertaken for the systematic literature review (SLR) in work package (WP2) by Irena Connon (Research Fellow and Co-I) and Lena Dominelli (Social Sciences Lead). The purpose is to provide a descriptive overview of the findings of the Systematic Literature Review from which a Diagram of Linkages between Climate Risk Factors and their Importance for Child Health Outcomes and a Child-Centred Iterative Loop Framework for Action were developed