Sudeepa Abeysinghe
Biographic Data
| ID | 1267014 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sudeepa Abeysinghe |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sudeepa |
| FAMILY NAME | Abeysinghe |
| SIGNATURE | ABEYSINGHE S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Edinburgh |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6341-3417 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 38 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 20 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
An endless present: Experiences of time through multiple disasters in Australia
Disasters rupture everyday social orders and relationships, including the experience of time. This article examines social narratives of time in the context of multiple disasters in rural and regional Australia. It presents findings from semi-structured interviews with community-based disaster recovery workers who were deployed in places that experienced multiple disasters between 2017 and 2022. We explore the interviewees’ own experiences of wor…
Recovery work in cascading and compounding disasters: A qualitative study of community recovery workers in Australia
Disaster recovery has traditionally been conceptualised and operationalised on the basis of disasters occurring as single ‘events’ that are managed separately. However, there are cases where communities experience disasters that overlap, repeat, and compound in effects. This study addresses the following research questions: What do recovery workers see as the impacts of multiple disasters on community recovery? How is the process of supporting di…
Disciplinary Research Ethics Cultures in Disaster Settings: Understandings from Researchers After 3.11 in Japan
Research ethics can be bound by implicit disciplinary understandings of what constitutes risk and how these should be mitigated in the field. The area of health research in post-disaster contexts draws in researchers from a variety of disciplines who are interested in a range of questions. In analysing researchers' experiences of research ethics in the context of the 3.11 disaster in Japan, this paper investigates the ways in which disciplinary c…
Small benefits and a certain risk: Media representations of novel treatments for Alzheimer's disease
The media is a key site for developing and communicating public understanding of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease is a leading cause of dementia, and a condition that is prominent in public perceptions of ageing and cognitive decline. Novel disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) are the first innovation in Alzheimer's disease treatment for two decades, and have the potential to change how society thinks about Alzheimer's disease. This study …
What does it mean to conduct ethical research after disasters? A case study of the 3.11 disaster in Japan
The 3.11 disaster in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, is a useful case study through which to interrogate research ethics. This region has been the site of a high degree of research interest, which sometimes presented a source of stress to local communities. This study examines researcher perspectives on the ethics of post-disaster health research. Qualitative interviews were conducted with these informants, who noted that recovering communities expe…
The challenges faced by women-owned companies in Afghanistan under Covid-19 and Taliban
The COVID-19 pandemic and the shift of power to the Taliban have negatively affected women-owned companies. This study aimed to explore the external and internal challenges of women-owned businesses from March 2020 to January 2022 in Afghanistan. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted from December 2021 to January 2022 with 29 women-owned company owners and chief executive officers (CEOs) based in five provinces of Afghanistan. Data w…
Ethical research practice in health and disasters
Research on health and disasters within the social sciences and public health is produced from a wide range of methodological and disciplinary perspectives. Major disaster events continue to highlight the need for health and disaster researchers to further reflect on the procedural and practical aspects of research ethics. We conduct a scoping review and qualitative frame analysis of 76 empirical articles from 2000 onwards, with the aim of uncove…
Health, Wellbeing and Community Recovery in Fukushima
Risk and responsibility: Lay perceptions of Covid-19 risk and the ‘ignorant imagined other’ in Indonesia
Lay constructions of risk impact upon public health activities and underpin social reactions to experiences and understandings of infectious diseases. In this article, we explore the social construction of COVID-19 risk and responsibility by citizens of Jakarta and the Greater Jakarta Area, Indonesia. We draw upon digital diaries produced each week by 37 participants across a 5-week period from April to June 2020, a time of substantial policy flu…
Covid-19: Challenges faced by Nepalese migrants living in Japan
Comprehensive and timely support should be provided to the vulnerable migrant population. Effective coordination among relevant parties in both countries, including the governments concerned, should be facilitated
Risk, uncertainty and medical practice: Changes in the medical professions following disaster
Risk and uncertainty can destabilise and reconstruct the relationships between medicine, policy and publics. Through semi-structured interviews with medical staff following the Fukushima 3.11 Disaster, this paper demonstrates the way in which disruption (caused by disaster), coupled with uncertainty (in this case, around radiation risk) can serve to transform medical practices. After Fukushima, a deficit in publicly-trusted approaches to disaster…
Disappearing everyday materials: The displacement of medical resources following disaster in Fukushima, Japan
What Constitutes “Good” Evidence for Public Health and Social Policy-making? From Hierarchies to Appropriateness
Within public health, and increasingly other areas of social policy, there are widespread calls to increase or improve the use of evidence for policy-making. Often these calls rest on an assumption that increased evidence utilisation will be a more efficient or effective means of achieving social goals. Yet a clear elucidation of what can be considered “good evidence” for policy is rarely articulated. Many of the current discussions of best pract…
Contesting a Pandemic: The WHO and the Council of Europe
Contemporary risks are often understood as fundamentally uncertain. This uncertain status can be mobilized within political debates surrounding risks. Such a challenge serves to destabilize scientific claims. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) management of the 2009/10 spread of the H1N1 virus became a site of one such contestation. Debate within the Council of Europe particularly served to criticize the action of the WHO. This resulted in a d…
Ebola at the borders: Newspaper representations and the politics of border control
As well as a site of politics and public health action, the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has been a focus of media representations. This paper examines print media narratives around border control in relation to Ebola in the UK, the USA and Australia from the start of the epidemic to May 2015. It shows that Ebola became mobilised as a frame through which domestic politics could be discussed. The disease was transformed from a problem for West…
An Uncertain Risk: The World Health Organization's Account of H1N1
ArgumentScientific uncertainty is fundamental to the management of contemporary global risks. In 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the start of the H1N1 Influenza Pandemic. This declaration signified the risk posed by the spread of the H1N1 virus, and in turn precipitated a range of actions by global public health actors. This article analyzes the WHO's public representation of risk and examines the centrality of scientific uncer…
When the spread of disease becomes a global event: The classification of pandemics
The classification of novel disease events is central to public health action surrounding them. Drawing upon the sociology of scientific classification, this article examines the role and contestation of the World Health Organization’s Pandemic Alert Phases, as applied to the spread of 2009/10 H1N1 Influenza. The analysis of World Health Organization texts, including policy documents, public statements and epidemiological documents, has been util…
Because we all know that vaccines are an extremely effective public health tool’: Path dependency, H1N1 and the World Health Organisation
Infectious disease threats are surrounded by scientific uncertainty. As a result, institutional structures can heavily determine the way in which such risks are managed. This is illustrated by the World Health Organisation's (WHO) management of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Given this, theories of path dependency, derived from the ‘new institutionalism’, are useful in analysing such events. This article examines theories of institutional and discursive…
The avian influenza pandemic: Discourses of risk, contagion and preparation in Australia
This paper examines the construction of avian influenza in Australian media and federal government policy, with a focus placed on discourses of contagion, preparedness and risk. The threat of an infectious disease outbreak, such as avian influenza, on social life is surrounded by a range of collective narratives which attempt to make it explicable. These narratives socially define the disease and provide explanations for its existence. The paper …
Framing disease: The avian influenza pandemic in Australia
Since 2003, avian influenza has recently spread around the world sparking fears of a potential pandemic. As a result of this, a range of explanations and expectations surrounding the phenomenon were generated. Such social representations of disease depict the issue under discussion and frame reactions to the event. This paper explores the social representations surrounding avian influenza in Australia. Methodologically, a textual analysis of medi…
An Uncertain Risk: The World Health Organization's Account of H1N1
ArgumentScientific uncertainty is fundamental to the management of contemporary global risks. In 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the start of the H1N1 Influenza Pandemic. This declaration signified the risk posed by the spread of the H1N1 virus, and in turn precipitated a range of actions by global public health actors. This article analyzes the WHO's public representation of risk and examines the centrality of scientific uncer…
When the spread of disease becomes a global event: The classification of pandemics
The classification of novel disease events is central to public health action surrounding them. Drawing upon the sociology of scientific classification, this article examines the role and contestation of the World Health Organization’s Pandemic Alert Phases, as applied to the spread of 2009/10 H1N1 Influenza. The analysis of World Health Organization texts, including policy documents, public statements and epidemiological documents, has been util…
The avian influenza pandemic: Discourses of risk, contagion and preparation in Australia
This paper examines the construction of avian influenza in Australian media and federal government policy, with a focus placed on discourses of contagion, preparedness and risk. The threat of an infectious disease outbreak, such as avian influenza, on social life is surrounded by a range of collective narratives which attempt to make it explicable. These narratives socially define the disease and provide explanations for its existence. The paper …
Ebola at the borders: Newspaper representations and the politics of border control
As well as a site of politics and public health action, the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has been a focus of media representations. This paper examines print media narratives around border control in relation to Ebola in the UK, the USA and Australia from the start of the epidemic to May 2015. It shows that Ebola became mobilised as a frame through which domestic politics could be discussed. The disease was transformed from a problem for West…
What does it mean to conduct ethical research after disasters? A case study of the 3.11 disaster in Japan
The 3.11 disaster in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, is a useful case study through which to interrogate research ethics. This region has been the site of a high degree of research interest, which sometimes presented a source of stress to local communities. This study examines researcher perspectives on the ethics of post-disaster health research. Qualitative interviews were conducted with these informants, who noted that recovering communities expe…
Framing disease: The avian influenza pandemic in Australia
Since 2003, avian influenza has recently spread around the world sparking fears of a potential pandemic. As a result of this, a range of explanations and expectations surrounding the phenomenon were generated. Such social representations of disease depict the issue under discussion and frame reactions to the event. This paper explores the social representations surrounding avian influenza in Australia. Methodologically, a textual analysis of medi…
Risk, uncertainty and medical practice: Changes in the medical professions following disaster
Risk and uncertainty can destabilise and reconstruct the relationships between medicine, policy and publics. Through semi-structured interviews with medical staff following the Fukushima 3.11 Disaster, this paper demonstrates the way in which disruption (caused by disaster), coupled with uncertainty (in this case, around radiation risk) can serve to transform medical practices. After Fukushima, a deficit in publicly-trusted approaches to disaster…
Disappearing everyday materials: The displacement of medical resources following disaster in Fukushima, Japan
Contesting a Pandemic: The WHO and the Council of Europe
Contemporary risks are often understood as fundamentally uncertain. This uncertain status can be mobilized within political debates surrounding risks. Such a challenge serves to destabilize scientific claims. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) management of the 2009/10 spread of the H1N1 virus became a site of one such contestation. Debate within the Council of Europe particularly served to criticize the action of the WHO. This resulted in a d…
Framing disease: The avian influenza pandemic in Australia
Since 2003, avian influenza has recently spread around the world sparking fears of a potential pandemic. As a result of this, a range of explanations and expectations surrounding the phenomenon were generated. Such social representations of disease depict the issue under discussion and frame reactions to the event. This paper explores the social representations surrounding avian influenza in Australia. Methodologically, a textual analysis of medi…
The avian influenza pandemic: Discourses of risk, contagion and preparation in Australia
This paper examines the construction of avian influenza in Australian media and federal government policy, with a focus placed on discourses of contagion, preparedness and risk. The threat of an infectious disease outbreak, such as avian influenza, on social life is surrounded by a range of collective narratives which attempt to make it explicable. These narratives socially define the disease and provide explanations for its existence. The paper …
Because we all know that vaccines are an extremely effective public health tool’: Path dependency, H1N1 and the World Health Organisation
Infectious disease threats are surrounded by scientific uncertainty. As a result, institutional structures can heavily determine the way in which such risks are managed. This is illustrated by the World Health Organisation's (WHO) management of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Given this, theories of path dependency, derived from the ‘new institutionalism’, are useful in analysing such events. This article examines theories of institutional and discursive…
When the spread of disease becomes a global event: The classification of pandemics
The classification of novel disease events is central to public health action surrounding them. Drawing upon the sociology of scientific classification, this article examines the role and contestation of the World Health Organization’s Pandemic Alert Phases, as applied to the spread of 2009/10 H1N1 Influenza. The analysis of World Health Organization texts, including policy documents, public statements and epidemiological documents, has been util…
An Uncertain Risk: The World Health Organization's Account of H1N1
ArgumentScientific uncertainty is fundamental to the management of contemporary global risks. In 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the start of the H1N1 Influenza Pandemic. This declaration signified the risk posed by the spread of the H1N1 virus, and in turn precipitated a range of actions by global public health actors. This article analyzes the WHO's public representation of risk and examines the centrality of scientific uncer…
What Constitutes “Good” Evidence for Public Health and Social Policy-making? From Hierarchies to Appropriateness
Within public health, and increasingly other areas of social policy, there are widespread calls to increase or improve the use of evidence for policy-making. Often these calls rest on an assumption that increased evidence utilisation will be a more efficient or effective means of achieving social goals. Yet a clear elucidation of what can be considered “good evidence” for policy is rarely articulated. Many of the current discussions of best pract…
Contesting a Pandemic: The WHO and the Council of Europe
Contemporary risks are often understood as fundamentally uncertain. This uncertain status can be mobilized within political debates surrounding risks. Such a challenge serves to destabilize scientific claims. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) management of the 2009/10 spread of the H1N1 virus became a site of one such contestation. Debate within the Council of Europe particularly served to criticize the action of the WHO. This resulted in a d…
Ebola at the borders: Newspaper representations and the politics of border control
As well as a site of politics and public health action, the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has been a focus of media representations. This paper examines print media narratives around border control in relation to Ebola in the UK, the USA and Australia from the start of the epidemic to May 2015. It shows that Ebola became mobilised as a frame through which domestic politics could be discussed. The disease was transformed from a problem for West…
Disappearing everyday materials: The displacement of medical resources following disaster in Fukushima, Japan
Risk, uncertainty and medical practice: Changes in the medical professions following disaster
Risk and uncertainty can destabilise and reconstruct the relationships between medicine, policy and publics. Through semi-structured interviews with medical staff following the Fukushima 3.11 Disaster, this paper demonstrates the way in which disruption (caused by disaster), coupled with uncertainty (in this case, around radiation risk) can serve to transform medical practices. After Fukushima, a deficit in publicly-trusted approaches to disaster…
Covid-19: Challenges faced by Nepalese migrants living in Japan
Comprehensive and timely support should be provided to the vulnerable migrant population. Effective coordination among relevant parties in both countries, including the governments concerned, should be facilitated
Health, Wellbeing and Community Recovery in Fukushima
Risk and responsibility: Lay perceptions of Covid-19 risk and the ‘ignorant imagined other’ in Indonesia
Lay constructions of risk impact upon public health activities and underpin social reactions to experiences and understandings of infectious diseases. In this article, we explore the social construction of COVID-19 risk and responsibility by citizens of Jakarta and the Greater Jakarta Area, Indonesia. We draw upon digital diaries produced each week by 37 participants across a 5-week period from April to June 2020, a time of substantial policy flu…
The challenges faced by women-owned companies in Afghanistan under Covid-19 and Taliban
The COVID-19 pandemic and the shift of power to the Taliban have negatively affected women-owned companies. This study aimed to explore the external and internal challenges of women-owned businesses from March 2020 to January 2022 in Afghanistan. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted from December 2021 to January 2022 with 29 women-owned company owners and chief executive officers (CEOs) based in five provinces of Afghanistan. Data w…
Ethical research practice in health and disasters
Research on health and disasters within the social sciences and public health is produced from a wide range of methodological and disciplinary perspectives. Major disaster events continue to highlight the need for health and disaster researchers to further reflect on the procedural and practical aspects of research ethics. We conduct a scoping review and qualitative frame analysis of 76 empirical articles from 2000 onwards, with the aim of uncove…
Recovery work in cascading and compounding disasters: A qualitative study of community recovery workers in Australia
Disaster recovery has traditionally been conceptualised and operationalised on the basis of disasters occurring as single ‘events’ that are managed separately. However, there are cases where communities experience disasters that overlap, repeat, and compound in effects. This study addresses the following research questions: What do recovery workers see as the impacts of multiple disasters on community recovery? How is the process of supporting di…
Disciplinary Research Ethics Cultures in Disaster Settings: Understandings from Researchers After 3.11 in Japan
Research ethics can be bound by implicit disciplinary understandings of what constitutes risk and how these should be mitigated in the field. The area of health research in post-disaster contexts draws in researchers from a variety of disciplines who are interested in a range of questions. In analysing researchers' experiences of research ethics in the context of the 3.11 disaster in Japan, this paper investigates the ways in which disciplinary c…
Small benefits and a certain risk: Media representations of novel treatments for Alzheimer's disease
The media is a key site for developing and communicating public understanding of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease is a leading cause of dementia, and a condition that is prominent in public perceptions of ageing and cognitive decline. Novel disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) are the first innovation in Alzheimer's disease treatment for two decades, and have the potential to change how society thinks about Alzheimer's disease. This study …
What does it mean to conduct ethical research after disasters? A case study of the 3.11 disaster in Japan
The 3.11 disaster in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, is a useful case study through which to interrogate research ethics. This region has been the site of a high degree of research interest, which sometimes presented a source of stress to local communities. This study examines researcher perspectives on the ethics of post-disaster health research. Qualitative interviews were conducted with these informants, who noted that recovering communities expe…
An endless present: Experiences of time through multiple disasters in Australia
Disasters rupture everyday social orders and relationships, including the experience of time. This article examines social narratives of time in the context of multiple disasters in rural and regional Australia. It presents findings from semi-structured interviews with community-based disaster recovery workers who were deployed in places that experienced multiple disasters between 2017 and 2022. We explore the interviewees’ own experiences of wor…
Medicine (17 works) · Political science (13 works) · Sociology (12 works) · Law (10 works) · Disease (8 works) · Law (8 works) · Pandemic (8 works) · Public relations (8 works) · Psychology (7 works) · Public health (7 works)