Biography

My doctoral research that began in September 2011 builds on the research of my department colleagues on migration decisions in the face of changing climate, environment and hazard patterns. It also draws from my work in the media and with humanitarian agencies.

Role

DPhil candidate (Geography) 

Qualifications

BSc (Botany, Zoology, Chemistry)  - University of Kerala

MSt (Forced Migration) - University of Oxford

Activities

Associate Tutor, India Field Class  —  Trained a group of 30 Sussex Geography undergraduates in vulnerability and capacity assessment using participatory methods in a string of Kerala coastal villages  (March 2012)

Research Assistant, Climate Change and Migration in Bangladesh — a CDKN-funded joint project of the University of Sussex and Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit, Dhaka  (April - May 2012) 

My research probes how changing enviornment and hazard patterns influence migration decisions of villagers in Bangladesh.  Set mainly in the coastal and delta context, it tests to what extent climatic stresses and shocks, risk perceptions and place-identity influence migration patterns. It mixes quantitative and qualitative methods: surveys, Multilevel Modelling, Ethnography and  Q. 

My colleagues work on related themes in Burkina Faso, Galvanston (Texas, USA) and the Himalayas.

Supervisors: Prof Richard Black, Prof Dominic Kniveton