Simon Dickinson

Simon Dickinson

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Telephone: 07913356189 

I graduated from the University of Canterbury (New Zealand) in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Geography. During this time I was the recipient of the Bright Start Scholarship and the Tertiary Education Award, as well as receiving further funding from the  C.V. Gallagher Trust.

As a result of the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010-11, I took a particular interest in understanding the discourses and everyday practices that pervaded the Christchurch recovery environment. Being a participant-observer of the Christchurch diaspora myself, I was particularly interested in the types of support that earthquake affected people drew upon. My honours dissertation focused on geographic and socio-economic variations in social-connectedness, and sought to investigate the role of social networks in aiding post-disaster recovery and resilience. At the completion of this research I was awarded a First Class Honours degree.

In 2013 I graduated from the University of Canterbury with a Master of Science (First Class) degree in Geography. During this time I was awarded the Sir Neil Isaac Scholarship for Geography and Environmental Sciences Masters research. Building upon my own experience as a 'quake-mover', my thesis sought to investigate patterns of residential mobility, as well as the resulting effects on well-being, amongst those forced to relocate following the Canterbury earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. I was particularly interested in understanding how external influences (e.g. central and local government policy and insurance company decisions) affected how residents move through space and their earthquake experiences more generally.

During this time, and independent of my Masters research, I was involved with a project entitled Stories of Movement, headed by Dr. David Conradson (University of Canterbury). I also spent time working in the public health sector in Australia, in a role specifically focused on indigenous health promotion.

In 2014, I moved to the University of Exeter (UK) to begin a PhD scholarship under the supervision of Professor Paul Cloke and Professor Clive Barnett. I am a part of a wider University of Exeter-University of South Florida partnership seeking to understand the roles of third-sector organisations (TSOs) in mid-term disaster recovery. My work is situated at the intersection of the third-sector and the non-material, seeking to tease out the ways in which TSOs contribute to disaster recovery environments. Entwined in this is a desire to understand both the ethical decision making processes affected populations undertake to engage with such organisations, as well as how engagement with the third-sector may entrench notions of 'hope', 'resilience' and 'transition' in the post-disaster environment.

Such a move was enabled courtesy of recognition from the Inspire Foundation (Christchurch).

For further information about my work, or for access to future publications, please feel free to contact me.