Dr Katrina Proust
BA, LLB, MLitt (Syd), PhD (ANU)
Honorary Senior Lecturer, Fenner School of Environment and Society
ANU College of Science
T:
0459 450 164
Areas of expertise
- Dynamical Systems In Applications 010204
- Historical Studies 2103
Research interests
- Complex human-environment systems
- The dynamics of urban health systems in a changing environment
- Urban issues in the Asia-Pacific region affecting population health
- Development of Collaborative Conceptual Modelling (CCM) with Dr Barry Newell (FSES)
- Environmental and applied history
- Systems thinking
Biography
Originally an historical archaeologist, I study the historical factors and the feedback dynamics that shape relationships between humans and our environment. With Barry Newell I have developed Collaborative Conceptual Modelling, an approach which provides a conceptual framework to support studies of social-ecological systems. I am interested in the interconnected systems that characterise relationships between human health and the environment in urban settings.
Researcher's projects
- 2018 production of a CCM Workshop Leaders Handbook with Barry Newell
- 2016 Collaboration with UN University International Institute for Global Health on historical perspectives on the interplay between public health and urban planning in George Town, Penang. This was funded by a Wellcome Trust Seed Award in the Medical Humanities.
- On-going collaboration with Dr Barry Newell (FSES) on the development of Collaborative Conceptual Modelling (CCM).
- 2014-2018 Visiting Research Fellow at the United National University (UNU) International Institute for Global Health (IIGH) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I developed and ran systems thinking workshops on cross-sector issues in urban health.
- 2014-2017 Collaboration with Academia Sinica Taiwan in developing and facilitating systems thinking workshops on air quality and public health.
- 2012-present Collaboration with the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP), of the International Council for Science (ICSU) in its Urban Health Programme. I contributed to the systems approach described in the Science Plan on Health and Wellbeing in the Changing Urban Environment (2011) http://www.icsu.org/icsu-asia/publications/science-planning-reports/science-plan-on-health-and-wellbeing-in-the-changing-urban-environment-1 I am a member of the ICSU ROAP Steering Committee on Research on Urban Health, and I provide mentoring to project teams in the Asia-Pacific region in their development of system approaches.
- 2011-2013 a member of the CSIRO Flagship Collaboration Cluster on Urbanism, Climate Adaptation and Health. I brought the conceptual framework provided by CCM to Project 7, which was focused on accounting for the links between urban behaviour, climate change and human health.
Available student projects
I am interested in supervising student projects which apply systems thinking to complex human-environment issues and relationships, including projects on urban health, and in the coastal zone of the NSW far south coast
Past student projects
2016-2018 – A complex systems approach to urban renewal and social inclusion in Hong Kong (Kate Sewell, FSES)
2014 – Role of open spaces in revitalizing World Heritage Sites: A case study of George Town, Penang, Malaysia (Christine Duran, Masters thesis, Crawford School)
2012 – Taking a systems approach to dengue-fever management in the Caribbean (Karemah Francois, Masters thesis, FSES)
2011-2013 – Health Impacts of Climate Change in Urban Areas: A Pathway to Adaptation (Helen Brown, PhD, Curtin University WA)
Publications
- Newell, B., Tan, D. & Proust, K. 2021. 'Systems Thinking for Health System Improvement', chapter 2 in Systems Thinking Analyses for Health Policy and Systems Development – A Malaysian Case Study; Cambridge University Press, p.17-30.
- Lee Y., Tan D., Siri J., Newell B., Gong Y., Proust K., Marsden T. 2020, 'The role of public health dietary messages and guidelines in tackling overweight and obesity issues', Malaysian Journal of Nutrition, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 31-50.
- Williamson, F. and Proust, K. 2020, ''Living in a State of Filth and Indifference to … Their Health": Weather, Public Health and Urban Governance in Colonial George Town, Penang, Environment and History, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 233–259.
- Brown, H., Proust, K., Newell, B. et al. 2018, 'Cool Communities—Urban Density, Trees, and Health', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 15, no. 7, pp. 1531-1547.
- Newell, B. and Proust, K. 2018, 'Escaping the complexity dilemma', in Ariane Konig and Jerome Ravetz (ed.), Sustainability Science: Key issues, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, London, pp. 96-112pp.
- Siri J., Newell B., Proust K., Capon A., 2016, 'Urbanization, Extreme Events, and Health: The Case for Systems Approaches in Mitigation, Management, and Response', Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health, 28 (2S), 15S–27S. DOI: 10.1177/10105395/5595694
- Newell, B. and Proust, K. 2012. Introduction to Collaborative Conceptual Modelling. ANU Working Paper. https://digitalcollections.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/9386
- Proust, K., Newell, B., Brown, H., Capon, A., Browne, C., Burton, A., Dixon, J., Mu, L., Zarafu, M. 2012 'Human Health and Climate Change: Leverage Points for Adaptation in Urban Environments'. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 9, no. 6, pp. 2134-2158. http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/9/6/2134
- Brown, H., Proust, K., Spickett, J., Capon, A. 2011, 'The potential role of Health Impact Assessment in tackling the complexity of climate change adaptation for health', Health Promotion Journal of Australia, vol. 22, no. s1, pp. s48-s53.
- Newell, B. and Proust, K. 2009. I See How You Think: Using Influence Diagrams to Support Dialogue. ANU Centre for Dialogue. http://www.anu.edu.au/dialogue/2009/I%20See%20How%20You%20Think.pdf
- Newell, B., K. Proust, G. Wiltshire, D. Newell, 2008, Taking a Systems Approach to Estuary Management. Proceedings of 17th NSW Coastal Conference, Wollongong, 2008.
- Proust, K 2008, 'Salinity in Colonial Irrigation: British India and South-Eastern Australia', Australian Geographer, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 131-147.
- Newell, B., Proust, K., Dyball, R., McManus, P. 2007, 'Seeing obesity as a systems problem', NSW Public Health Bulletin, vol. 18, no. 11-12, pp. 214-218.
- Fazey, I, Proust, K, Johnson, B et al. 2006, 'Eliciting the Implicit Knowledge and Perceptions of On-Ground Conservation Managers of the Macquarie Marshes', Ecology and Society, vol. 11, no. 1, p. 25.
- Proust, K 2005, 'Hugh McKinney A colonial Engineer', Australian Journal of Irish Studies, vol. 5, pp. 1-18.
- Proust, K 2003, 'Ignoring the signals: irrigation salinity in New South Wales, Australia', Irrigation and Drainage, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 39-49.
