Research Affiliates | The Centre

Dr Vicki-Ann Ware

Senior Lecturer, International and Community Development, Deakin University

Available for: Consultancies, HDR Supervisions, Industry partnerships

Dr Vicki-Ann Ware’s work is strongly influenced by Sen’s notion of development as removing unfreedoms that prevent people’s ability to live the valued lives. She teaches students about respectful, collaborative work with local communities, which enables their empowerment and, where possible, designs programmes around their expressed needs and desires. Her practice-focussed research seeks to build capacity among local people, ultimately working herself out of a role.

Dr Ware’s current research is focussed on arts-based approaches to conflict transformation – an area that bridges the ‘nexus’ between humanitarian and development practice. Over the past five years, she has worked collaboratively with local colleagues in Myanmar to design and implement a programme of arts-based workshops, aimed at shifting conflict narratives, attitudes and behaviours, and has conducted training for a consortium of organisations focused on building social cohesion via the arts.

A/Prof Anthony Ware

Associate Professor of International and Community Development, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University

Available for: Consultancies, Industry partnerships, HDR Supervisions

A/Prof Anthony Ware’s research focusses on humanitarian-development approaches in conflict-affected situations. He is particularly interested in conflict-sensitivity/do no harm, everyday peace, the incorporation of peacebuilding into bottom-up community-led approaches, and countering violent/hateful extremism via programme design and implementation, especially by NGOs. His fieldwork is in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Philippines.

A/Prof Ware is Convenor of Deakin’s Development-Humanitarian Research Group, Secretary of the Development Studies Association of Australia, and a former director of the Australia Myanmar Institute. A/Prof Ware has published four books including Myanmar’s ‘Rohingya’ Conflict (Oxford Uni Press, 2018, with Dr Costas Laoutides), and more than 40 peer reviewed academic papers/chapters.

Dr David Tittensor

Lecturer in Studies of Religion, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University

Available for: Consultancies, Industry partnerships, HDR Supervisions

Dr David Tittensor’s research explores the nexus between religion and development/humanitarian assistance, with a particular focus on Islam. He has written on the role that religion can play in the development arena in relation to the issue of cultural proximity and the allocation of aid based on religion.

Dr Tittensor is currently working on a book with Prof Matthew Clarke and Prof Mark McGillivray titled Understanding Islamic Aid to Better Facilitate Global Integration. Based on semi-structured interviews and empirical analysis of aid flows, the book will highlight overlap and gaps in aid allocation. Dr Tittensor’s works speaks to ideas of system transformation, including more equitable and just humanitarian response.

Mr Safiullah Taye

PhD Candidate, Alfred Deakin Institute, Deakin University

Available for: Consultancies, Industry partnerships

Mr Safiullah Taye’s research focuses on aid securitisation in Afghanistan, while underscoring how delivery of aid through a highly securitised approaches decreases donor-recipient engagements. As a result of limited negotiations (in the case of German and Australian aid in Afghanistan), subnational aid allocation weas used as an instrument for pursing security objectives through winning hearts and mind. More importantly, his research finds that whilst donors prioritised their security objectives, the Afghan government had also little incentives to focus on sound economic policies, or combat corruption. For millions of Afghans whole live in worst living conditions and caught up between their government’s fragility and donors’ politicisation, securitisation and commercialisation. Mr Taye is working on converting his PhD thesis into a book whilst working as a sessional lecturer at Deakin and Australian Catholic University.

Dr Alfred Presbitero

Senior Lecturer, Management, Deakin Business School

Available for: Consultancies, Industry partnerships, HDR Supervisions

Dr Alfred Presbitero works in the field of cross-cultural management and leadership focusing mainly on cultural intelligence (CQ). He believes in the critical role of CQ as an enabler for managers and leaders, particularly those engaging and leading international humanitarian work. He brings to the CHL his knowledge and skills of CQ – mainly assisting the centre on how to achieve greater humanitarian leadership effectiveness through CQ.

Dr Presbitero has been recognised by the European Journal of International Management as an influential academic in the field of cultural intelligence and cultural competence. He is also serving in the Academy of Management International Management Division Committee. He is originally from the Philippines where he has witnessed many humanitarian crises that require strong leadership, and believes that humanitarian leadership can be made more effective by leveraging CQ.

Ms Emma Pearce

PhD Candidate, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University

Available for: Consultancies, Industry partnerships

Ms Emma Pearce is undertaking a PhD by Folio on the role of women and girls with disabilities in humanitarian action, drawing on her previous research with populations affected by crisis and conflict, undertaken while working with the Women’s Refugee Commission. Her work reflects participatory feminist research approaches which places the lived experiences of women and girls with intersecting identities and from diverse backgrounds at the centre of knowledge production.

Ms Pearce has conducted research in collaboration with UN agencies, NGOs and local civil society organisations in a range of humanitarian contexts. In her PhD, Ms Pearce critically analyses existing knowledge across multiple disciplines, including disability, gender and humanitarian disciplines, as well as her own field research to expand understanding of diversity and inclusion, and draw implications for the changing humanitarian landscape.

Dr Vicki-Ann Ware

A/Prof Anthony Ware

Dr David Tittensor

Mr Safiullah Taye

Dr Alfred Presbitero

Ms Emma Pearce

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