Author: sferg

Community resilience to extreme weather events through improved local decision-making

University of Greenwich March 2008 – November 2011 SMEs must be prepared for the disruption that an extreme weather event (EWE) can bring and have contingency plans in place to help their immediate recovery to secure their long term survival. This project aimed to understand how each group of decision-makers is affected by and responds … Continue reading Community resilience to extreme weather events through improved local decision-making

Creative resilience through community imaginings

Northumbria University February 2013 – May 2013 Evidence suggests that environmental crisis narratives, rather than spur people to take action, prompt feelings of anxiety, helplessness and disempowerment. Ultimately these narratives may serve to foster apathy and denial, discouraging people from considering alternatives or taking control. Behaviour change interventions, also aimed at encouraging environmentally-considerate behaviour, have … Continue reading Creative resilience through community imaginings

Damp, moisture and mould

UCL Centre for Moisture in Buildings 2015 Buildings are exposed to multiple water sources, such as rain, ground water and flooding on the outside, and breathing, cooking, showering, water leaks and many other activities inside. The UK Centre for Moisture in Buildings focuses on the causes, mechanisms and solutions to moisture problems. Research is now … Continue reading Damp, moisture and mould

DFUSE: Game theory and adaptive networks for smart evacuations

University of Essex October 2010 – March 2013 The role of community learning in disasters is seen to be increasingly important. Education is the lost discipline in terms of understanding behaviour in disasters and emergencies. This interdisciplinary project considers how new technologies and methods in the physical and social sciences can facilitate city evacuations with … Continue reading DFUSE: Game theory and adaptive networks for smart evacuations

Digital tool for SME flood adaptation

University of the West of England December 2012 – June 2016 A digital e-learning tool that encourages flood risk adaptation amongst SMEs. This interactive Web-2 app allows users to communicate with other businesses, share their views and experiences, access key resources and learn from a range of people who have flood experience or expertise. Business … Continue reading Digital tool for SME flood adaptation

Emergency flood planning and management using unmanned aerial systems

University of Exeter 2017 – 2018 UASs can be easily deployed – often hand launched – to assess damage across large areas, and provide emergency responders with the opportunity to assess situations quickly: this allows prioritisation of resources and effective deployment. One aspect of the research focuses on addressing challenges in flying UASs in non-ideal … Continue reading Emergency flood planning and management using unmanned aerial systems

Evaluating the resilience of critical infrastructure for emergency response to extreme flood events in Leicester City

Loughborough University 2015 Whilst in the possession of a wealth of data and abundant local knowledge, emergency responders often find it challenging to apply existing flood ‘hotspot’ data to assist strategic planning and operational response. An interdisciplinary team of researchers with project partners from the City of Leicester, UK, evaluated the resilience of emergency response … Continue reading Evaluating the resilience of critical infrastructure for emergency response to extreme flood events in Leicester City

Extreme weather events should apply a ‘whole systems’ approach

University of Surrey 2016 Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, flooding and hurricanes. An effective response requires joined-up activities across sectors managing food, water and energy security. ‘Bottom-up’ participation from local communities is needed to design sustainable and resilient responses to nexus shocks. Research Council: ESRC … Continue reading Extreme weather events should apply a ‘whole systems’ approach

Flood MEMORY: Multi-Event Modelling Of Risk & recoverY

Newcastle University January 2013 – May 2016 This project is of broader interest to business – uncovering how coasts (beaches, dunes and engineered defences) and rivers behave during storms. Of particular interest is the effect of previous storms and floods moving sediment (ie shingle, sand and river bed material) so that the beach or river is in … Continue reading Flood MEMORY: Multi-Event Modelling Of Risk & recoverY