Nibedita S Ray-Bennett obtained her BA in English Literature from University of Delhi (1999), MA in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (2001) and PhD in Sociology from Warwick University (2007). Nibedita joined the Civil Safety and Security Unit (CSSU) as Lecturer in Risk Management in 2012. Prior to that Nibedita was an ESRC Research Associate at Northumbria University (2007-2009), part-time Lecturer in Sociology at Warwick University (2005-2007, 2010) and Lecturer in Disaster and Emergencies at Cranfield University (2010- 2012). At Cranfield, Nibedita was involved in the ‘capacity building’ of the Indonesian Defence University in Jakarta through teaching.
Two-year Innovation Programme Funds from the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF): October 2015 – November 2017 (US$150,000.00) (PI)
This is a two year research project which explores whether the pre-positioning of Reproductive Health Kit-8 prior to disasters such as flooding or cyclones has the potential to provide post-abortion care (PAC) services to help reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with complications of unsafe abortions in Bangladesh and Pakistan. The research is a joint venture with Dr Fauzia Akhter Huda from the icddrb, Bangladesh; Ms Rehana Salam from the Agha Khan University in Pakistan, International Planned Parenthood Federation’s South Asia Region (IPPF-SAR), IPPF’s SPRINT Initiative (Sexual and Reproductive Health Programme in Crisis and Post Crisis Situations) and IPPF SAR Member Associations in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Visiting Research Fellow in Kansai University, Japan: September 2015 – August 2016 (JPY 300, 000.00) (PI)
This research explores how ‘unavoidable deaths’ in disasters can be reduced by taking a soft systems approach.
Research Development Fund, University of Leicester: October 2013 – August 2015 (£2000.00) (PI)
This fund was awarded to conduct field work in Odisha/India for her monograph ‘Women’s Lives Matter: A case for soft systems approach to reduce deaths in disasters’. The monograph written for Sage (New Delhi) is currently under review.
Professional Development Innovation Fund, University of Leicester: October 2012 – April 2014 (£10,000.00) (PI)
This fund was awarded to develop a short course called: ‘Practising Reflection: Reflective Practices in DRR’. The course was launched on 26 March 2014 and was rated ‘excellent’ by all the participants. The outcome of this project has been two peer reviewed papers, an Input Paper for the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction’s (UNISDR) ‘Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030’ and a Public Forum entitled ‘Emerging Trends in DRR’ parallel to the ‘UN’s Third World Disaster Conference in Disaster Risk Reduction, 14-18 March 2015 in Sendia in Japan’. The Public Forum was a joint venture with the Kansai University in Osaka, Japan. Most recently, Nibedita has been nominated to provide input into the UNISDR’s 'Words Into Action' implementation guides for the ‘Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030’.
Sociology of disasters, early warning systems, systems and reflective thinking in disaster risk reduction (DRR), health and human security and securitisation in disasters, reproductive health in disasters, gender in disasters, and the nexus between disaster and human development.
I am interested in hearing from potential PhD students intending to pursue research in the following areas:
Ray-Bennett, N.S. Collins, A.E. Edgeworth, R., Bhuiya, A. Nahar, P and Alamgir, F. Everyday Health Security Practices as Disaster Resilience in Rural Bangladesh, Development in Practice, (accepted)
Ray-Bennett, N.S. Exploring the meaning of securitisation for ‘gender and disaster’. In Racioppi, L and Rajagopalan, S (Eds) Gender Politics and Post-Disaster Reconstruction in South Asia. Routledge: India, (forthcoming)
Ray-Bennett, N.S. 2009. Caste, Class and Gender in Multiple Disasters: The Experiences of women-headed households in an Oriya Village. VDM Verlag: Saarbrucken.
Mohapatra, M and Ray, N.S. 2004. 'Jhada Batasha Re Luchi Jae Jara Naam': A story book on flood coping experiences of women. Orissa State Disaster Mitigation Authority. A Government of Orissa Publication (published in Oriya).
Masys, A.J., Ray-Bennett, N.S., Shiroshita, H. and Jackson, P. 2014. High Impact/Low Frequency extreme events: Enabling Reflection and Resilience in a Hyper-Connected World. ScienceDirect, Procedia Economics and Finance (2014): 1-9.
Nahar, P., Collins, A., Bhuiya, A., Alamgir, F., Ray-Bennett, N.S. and Edgeworth, R. 2012. Indigenous indicators of health security in relation to climatic disasters in Bangladesh, Environmental Hazards: 1-15.
Ray-Bennett, N.S., Collins, A., Bhuiya, A., Edgeworth, R., Nahar, P. and Alamgir, F. 2010. Exploring the meaning of health security for disaster resilience: Through people’s perspectives in Bangladesh. Health and Place, 16(3): 581-589.
Ray-Bennett, N.S. 2010. Multiple disasters and micro-credit: Can it reduce women’s vulnerability?: The case of Tarasahi in Orissa, India. Disasters 34(1), 240-260.
Ray-Bennett, N.S. 2009. Multiple disasters and policy responses in pre and post-independence Orissa, India. Disasters 33(2): 275-290.
Ray-Bennett, N.S. 2009. The influence of caste, class and gender in surviving multiple disasters in Orissa, India. Environmental Hazards 8(2009): 5-22.
Ray-Bennett, N.S. 2009. Coping with multiple disasters and diminishing livelihood resources: Caste, class and gender perspectives: The case from Orissa. Regional Development Dialogue. Special issue on Gender and Disasters. United Nations Centre for Regional Development, 30 (1): 108-120.
Alamgir, F., Nahar, P., Collins, A. E., Ray-Bennett, N. S. and Bhuiya, A. 2009. Climate Change and Food Security: Health Risks and Vulnerabilities of the Poor in Bangladesh. The International Journal of Climate Change: Impacts and Responses, 1(4): 37-54
Ray-Bennett, N.S. 2007. Environmental disasters and disastrous policies: An overview from India. Social Policy and Administration: Regional Issue: South Asia. 41(4): 419-424.
Ray-Bennett, N.S., Mays, A.J., Shiroshita, H and Jackson, P. 2014. Hyper-risks in a hyper connected world: A call for critical reflective response to develop organisational resilience. Input Paper Prepared for the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction 2015. Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. UNISDR.
Ray-Bennett, N.S., Masys, A.J., Shiroshita, H. and Jackson, P. 2014. Reactive to Pro-active to Reflective Disaster Response: Introducing Critical Reflective Practices in Disaster Risk Reduction’, in Collins, A. E, et al., (Eds) (2014) Natural Hazards, Risks, and Disasters in Society: A Cross-Disciplinary Overview. Hazards and Disasters Series: Elsevier.
Ray-Bennett, N.S. 2013. ‘Pansi Ghor’: A classic object of human resilience to environmental disasters. Pilcher, J (ed) A Social Science of the World in 100 Objects. College of Social Science, University of Leicester.
Ray-Bennett, N.S. 2013. Managing Disasters from a Health Security Perspective, Arora, R and Arora, P (Eds) Disaster Management: A Medical Perspective. Oxon: CABI.
Papreen N., Fariba A., Collins, A. E., Ray-Bennett N. S. and Bhuiya, A. 2012. Interrelation between Water, Health and Livelihood in Disasters. In Prakash, A., Vs, S and Chourey, J (Eds) Water and Health in South Asia, South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies. Sage Publications: New Delhi.
Ray-Bennett, N.S. 2011. History of disaster relief in India. In Pnuel, K., Bradley, S., Mathew, G and Geoffrey, J (Eds) Encyclopedia of Disaster Relief. Sage Publications: New York.
Ray-Bennett, N.S 2011. Indian Famines (1896-1902). In Pnuel, K., Bradley, S., Mathew, G and Geoffrey, J (Eds) Encyclopedia of Disaster Relief. Sage Publications: New York.