My research draws on the interdisciplinary interface between physical and human geography and environmental geoscience by examining the complex and multifaceted ways in which natural hazards interact with human society across spatial and temporal scales. My work is situated within the Active Earth research group of the University of Exeter.

 

I’m particularly interested in these interactions on independent and advanced small island states, in urban landscapes, and in the context of tourism. In my work I adopt interdisciplinary approaches by drawing on a variety of research tools, typically through a bricolage-like design.  

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Previously, I’ve used environmental history data, fieldwork, and analysis to compile the first multi-hazard historical catalogue of extreme events and their impacts on Malta (c. 23-25 Myr to 2019) working with colleagues at the universities of Liverpool and Malta.

 

In my Ph.D., I considered the hazard exposure, vulnerability, and resilience of the island community of Malta through a novel bricolage crystallisation approach involving interviews, surveys, social media analysis, fieldwork transects and observations, policy analysis, and archival work.

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My current and future research plans focus on furthering this research area, considering the religious interpretation of disaster events over time, the neoliberal financialisation of the view and gaze, and on flood vulnerability and disadvantage, the latter with colleagues at the University of Chester and Open University.  

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Alongside my work on the hazards-society interaction, I have a growing interest in higher education geography curriculum and pedagogy. I’m particularly interested in the role of the “blend”, technology, and the building of reflective practice in current and future programme and content delivery for both the classroom and field settings.