Research team

The study has brought together a multidisciplinary team of leading international researchers with expertise in mental health, trauma, recovery, social networks, community and family health, child research, policy, and emergency services.

The research team includes:

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Team Member Organisation
Professor Elizabeth Waters Jack Brockhoff Child Health & Wellbeing Program, McCaughey Centre, Melbourne School of Population Health The University of Melbourne
Professor Richard Bryant School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales
Professor Philippa Pattison Provost Division, The University of Melbourne
Dr Lisa Gibbs Jack Brockhoff Child Health & Wellbeing Program, McCaughey Centre, Melbourne School of Population Health The University of Melbourne
Professor David Forbes
 Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, The University of Melbourne
Associate Professor Louise Harms Department of Social Work, The University of Melbourne
Associate Professor Colin MacDougall Southgate Institute for Health, Equity and Society, Flinders University
Dr Dean Lusher Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology
Dr Karen Block Jack Brockhoff Child Health & Wellbeing Program, McCaughey Centre, Melbourne School of Population Health The University of Melbourne
Elyse Snowdon
 Jack Brockhoff Child Health & Wellbeing Program, McCaughey Centre, Melbourne School of Population Health The University of Melbourne

Nested Studies

"Anger is an energy": Anger responses in communities affected by the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires.

Connie Kellet

This research will examine anger discourses following the Black Saturday bushfires. Experiences of anger and how agencies supported these experiences will be examined taking into account how gender and a sense of control impacts experiences and support. This nested research study will utilise the quantitative and qualitative interviews of the main Beyond Bushfires study, as well as interviews with those affected by the bushfires and agencies that provided intervention and supported recovery. For further information please contact Connie.

Title: Crisis Informatics from the Internet user's perspective - An exploratory study of individual online experiences following a disaster.

Marian Lok

Summary: The advances in technology has enabled individuals affected by a disaster event to proactively go beyond the geographical space of the disaster and seek what they require online. ‘Crisis informatics’ refers to disaster research that investigates the implications of technology in the context of the full disaster life cycle. The study aims to contribute in the articulation of the needs of individuals and communities affected by disasters. It proposes that the active creation and modification of thoughts, meanings and understandings related to the disaster are the result of personal and social experiences that occur within the socio-cultural context of the Internet.   The research design incorporated a web-based survey (n= 216) and open-ended blog entries (n=13) of Internet users affected by an Australian or New Zealand natural disaster recruited through Google Adwords and Facebook. The findings illuminate why self-motivated individuals enter the Internet’s online space in a post-disaster context. For further information please contact Marian via email.