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Article
Publication date: 9 July 2024

Shinya Uekusa

The purpose of this paper is to deconstruct the current discourse on researcher positionality in disaster research and it aims to enhance disaster researchers’ reflexivity, using…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to deconstruct the current discourse on researcher positionality in disaster research and it aims to enhance disaster researchers’ reflexivity, using Bourdieu’s capital, field and habitus theories.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper relies on secondary literature from empirical and theoretical works and incorporates critical self-reflection from author’s own research experience.

Findings

As Bourdieu would argue, one’s habitus is interactive and responsive to contexts (field and other agents’ habitus and capital), thus reflexivity requires more than the acknowledgement of one’s ascribed and achieved social characteristics. Bourdieu’s theories help disaster researchers enhance their reflexivity and better understand the nature of researcher positionality: contextual, dynamic and negotiated.

Originality/value

This research provides a critical and theoretical discussion of researcher positionality in disaster research. Drawing from Bourdieu’s theories, researcher positionality can be framed in relation to not only researcher’s structurally differentiated insider–outsider status but also how interactions with the research participants and contexts in which the research is conducted influence that positionality.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 33 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

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Article
Publication date: 2 July 2020

Rituparna Roy and Shinya Uekusa

The authors’ aim in this commentary is to critically assess the potential benefits and limitations of collaborative autoethnography (CAE) as a research tool to be used by…

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Abstract

Purpose

The authors’ aim in this commentary is to critically assess the potential benefits and limitations of collaborative autoethnography (CAE) as a research tool to be used by qualitative researchers during this unprecedented, methodologically challenging time when physical isolation and distancing are the best strategies to prevent spread of the virus.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors probe into the potential of collaborative reflection on self-narrative as an alternative and perhaps timely research approach.

Findings

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered our experiences of conventional teaching, learning and research. It is a scholarly challenging time, particularly for qualitative researchers in the social sciences whose research involves data collection methods that require face-to-face human interactions. Due to the worldwide lockdowns, self-isolation and social distancing, qualitative researchers are encountering methodological difficulties in continuing with their empirical fieldwork. In such circumstances, researchers are exploring alternative methodological approaches, taking advantage of telecommunication and digital tools for remote data collection. However, the authors argue that qualitative researchers should consider utilizing self-narratives of their experiences during the pandemic as a rich source of qualitative data for further delving into the socioeconomic, political and cultural impacts of the pandemic.

Originality/value

The authors’ focus might be secondary in the minds of many social scientists who are directly contributing to our understanding of how the pandemic has upended communities. However, despite some limitations and ethical concerns, we urge qualitative researchers to embrace the potentials of CAE to study society, especially, but not only, in this unprecedented time.

Details

Qualitative Research Journal, vol. 20 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1443-9883

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Book part
Publication date: 13 September 2017

Shinya Uekusa

This comparative study qualitatively explores how linguistic minority immigrants and refugees experienced the 2010–2011 Canterbury and Tohoku disasters, including their coping…

Abstract

This comparative study qualitatively explores how linguistic minority immigrants and refugees experienced the 2010–2011 Canterbury and Tohoku disasters, including their coping mechanisms and their perceived vulnerabilities and resilience. The data used for this qualitative analysis was primarily drawn from 28 in-depth interviews with linguistic minority immigrants and refugees and their supporting organization staff conducted in 2015–2016. Additional material was drawn from two publicly available data sets. Immigrants and refugees are typically thought of as being more vulnerable in disasters. However, findings drawn from this research demonstrate the nonlinearity, complexity, and contextuality of social vulnerabilities in disasters, suggesting that they are not necessarily powerless help-seekers in some cases. Using Bourdieu’s capital theory, this study demonstrates how immigrants and refugees were active social agents in these disasters. Consequently, we need to reconceptualize the social vulnerability approach. Some study participants had experiences of going through wars and everyday disasters, which made them more resilient. This is conceptualized here as earned strength, which can be a significant resource in disasters for the socially vulnerable. This chapter hopes to answer some critical questions regarding the social vulnerability approach: how do we incorporate the structure–agency concept, how do we theoretically deal with the contextuality/nonlinearity of social vulnerability in disasters, and how do we conceptualize a research study that can seek more practical and generalizable findings, instead of event-driven and disaster-specific findings?

Details

Recovering from Catastrophic Disaster in Asia
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-296-5

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Available. Content available
Book part
Publication date: 13 September 2017

Abstract

Details

Recovering from Catastrophic Disaster in Asia
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-296-5

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Book part
Publication date: 13 September 2017

Ziqiang Han and William L. Waugh

This chapter provides the foundation for the book. The objective of this chapter is to outline the theme of the book and to provide the context for the chapters that follow…

Abstract

This chapter provides the foundation for the book. The objective of this chapter is to outline the theme of the book and to provide the context for the chapters that follow. Disaster recovery is a challenge for governments and for affected communities, families, and individuals. It is a challenge, because recovery from catastrophic disasters can be much more complicated and elusive than what can be addressed by national and international aid organizations given the time and other resources. The short literature review provides the research context, and the overview of the book describes each of the chapters briefly.

Details

Recovering from Catastrophic Disaster in Asia
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-296-5

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