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Dena Fam

Dena Fam

Senior Research Consultant, Institute for Sustainable Futures

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Email: Dena.Fam@uts.edu.au
Phone: +61 2 9514 4966
Fax: +61 2 9514 4941
Room: CB10.11 (map)
Mailing address: PO Box 123, Broadway NSW 2007, Australia

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Biography

Dena joined ISF in 2008 as a PhD student and casual research assistant in the area of sustainable sanitation futures and distributed wastewater management. Her doctoral research has contributed to industry research at ISF where she has been involved in developing and collating concepts of decentralised systems for Melbourne water authorities in the development of their latest sewerage strategy. Dena’s PhD is focused on the potential of systems innovation in wastewater management, in particular resource recovery systems such as ‘Urine Diversion’. She has focused on analysing Swedish experiences in implementing urine diversion systems and the barriers and opportunities that have emerged over the last two decades in contributing to system change. As socio-technical analysis of wastewater systems is a complex interrelationship of material infrastructures, resources, social actors and rules and regulations that determine their operation, she is working at the crossroads of several sub disciplines, eg. environmental studies, transition and system innovation theory, sociology of practice and science and technology studies. Dena has been a periodic guest lecturer in undergraduate industrial design (engineering) subjects at the University of Western Sydney, presenting potential research tools and visions for sustainable design. She has also been an external supervisor for an honours project designing water purification technology for third world countries and been on the review panel for industrial design honours students at the department of Design, Architecture and Building (DAB) at UTS. Dena has well-developed communication and analytical research skills and a strong passion for achieving environmental outcomes through applied research.

Publications

Project reports

Mitchell, C.A., Fam, D.M. & Abeysuriya, K.R. 2013, 'Transitioning to sustainable sanitation: a transdisciplinary pilot project of urine diversion', Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS, Sydney, pp. 1-137.
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Mitchell, C.A., Fam, D.M. & Abeysuriya, K.R. 2011, 'Mutual Learning for Social Change: Using social research to support the introduction of urine diverting toilets in the Kinglake West Sewerage Project', Institute of Sustainable Futures, Sydney, pp. 1-23.
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Fam, D.M., Mitchell, C.A. & Abeysuriya, K.R. 2010, 'Kinglake mutual learning for social change project - international and local review of user manuals for urine diverting toilets', Prepared for Yarra Valley water by the Institute of Sustainable Futures, University of Technology, Sydney.

Mitchell, C.A., Fam, D.M. & Cordell, D.J. 2010, 'Effectively managing the transition towards restorative futures in the sewage industry: a phosphorus case study p.84-97 in 'Water Sustainability and International Innovation: The Baltimore Charter - A Transformation in Managing Water'', Water Environment Research Foundation, Vermont, USA, pp. 83-96.
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Fam, D.M., Mellick-Lopes, A., Mosely, E., Mathieson, L., Morison, J. & Connelian, G. 2008, 'Irrigation of Urban Green Spaces; A Review of the Environmental, Social and Economic benefits', CRC Technical Publication, Cooperative Research Centre for Irrigation Futures, CRC Technical Publications, pp. 1-46.
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Mitchell, C.A., Abeysuriya, K.R. & Fam, D.M. 2008, 'Development of qualitative decentralized system concepts for the 2009 Metropolitan Sewerage Strategy. vol 1: synthesis report', Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS, Sydney, Australia.
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Mitchell, C.A., Abeysuriya, K.R. & Fam, D.M. 2008, 'Development of qualitative decentralized system concepts for the 2009 Metropolitan Sewerage Strategy. vol 2: concepts and case studies', Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS, Sydney, Australia.
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Conference papers

Fam, D.M., Abeysuriya, K.R., Meeks, T., Sharples, J. & Mitchell, C.A. 2012, 'Social learning is essential in transitioning to sustainable water services', Ozwater '12 'Sharing Knowledge, Planning the Future', Sydney, Australia, May 2012 in Proceedings of OzWater'12 'Sharing Knowledge, Planning the Future', ed Australian Water Association (AWA), Australian Water Association (AWA), Sydney, Australia, pp. 1-2.

Fam, D.M. & Lopes, A. 2012, 'Supporting system change and niche practices through qualitative social research', Beyond Behavioural Change: A symposium on social practice theories and their implications for environmental policy and programs, Storey Hall, RMIT, Melbourne, November 2012 in Proceedings of the Beyond Behavioural Change Symposium, ed Strengers, Y., Maller, C., Horne, R. and Hawkins, G., RMIT, RMIT, Melbourne.

Mitchell, C.A., Abeysuriya, K.R. & Fam, D.M. 2012, 'Urine Diversion (UD) for P recovery: Learning from experience', Developing a Blueprint for Global Phosphorus Security, University of Technology Sydney, February 2012 in 3rd Sustainable Phosphorus Summit, ed Cordell D., White S. and Niset T., Global Phosphorus Research Initiative (GPRI), Sydney, Australia.
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Moy, C. & Fam, D.M. 2012, 'The meaning of rainwater: using practice theory to analyse household rainwater consumption', Tapping the Turn: social dimensions of water management, Hedley Bull Centre, Australian National University, Canberrra, November 2012 in Proceedings of Tapping the Turn conference: social dimensions of water management, ed Harriden, K., Graymore M., Sofoulis Z., Lahiri-Dutt K. and Fam D., Australian National University (ANU), Canberra, Australia.

Fam, D.M., Mitchell, C.A., Abeysuriya, K.R. & Lopes, A. 2011, 'Facilitating social learning in transdisciplinary collaboration: a socio-technical experiment in implementing sustainable sanitation', All together now - working across disciplines: People, principles and practice, Hull, UK, July 2011 in 55th Meeting of the International Society for the Systems Sciences, ed Wilby, J. and Klein, L., International Society of Systems Scientists, Conference preceedings.
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Fam, D.M., Mitchell, C.A. & Abeysuriya, K.R. 2011, 'Learning to facilitate learning', 2nd International Conference on Sustainability Transitions - Diversity, plurality and change: breaking new grounds in sustainability transition research, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, June 2011 in 2nd International Conference on Sustainability Transitions, ed Smith, A. and Grin, J., Lund University, Lund University.
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Abeysuriya, K.R., Fam, D.M., Hagare, P. & Williams, J. 2010, 'Transitioning to sustainable sanitation through cross disciplinary, practice-based research: an on-campus pilot of urine diversion at UTS', International conference of Australasian campuses towards sustainability, Melbourne, Australia, September 2010 in The 10th international conference of Australasian campuses towards sustainability (ACTS Inc): connecting curriculum and campus, ed RMIT, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia, pp. 1-8.
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Fam, D.M., Mitchell, C.A. & Abeysuriya, K.R. 2010, 'Institutional challenges to system innovation in wastewater management - the case of urine diversion in Sweden', Cities of The Future 2010, Marriott hotel, Boston, USA, March 2010 in Cities of The Future 2010, ed IWA, IWA, Boston, USA.

Mellick-Lopes, A., Fam, D.M. & Williams, J. 2010, 'Designing sustainable sanitation through transdisciplinary research: a pilot project of nutrient recovery and reuse', Cumulus - International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design and Media, Shanghai, China, August 2010 in Cumulus - International Association of Universities and Colleges of Art, Design and Media - Shanghai Conference 2010: Young Creators for Better City and Better Life, ed Manzini E., DESIS, Shanghai, China, pp. 339-346.
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Mitchell, C.A., Abeysuriya, K.R., Willetts, J.R. & Fam, D.M. 2010, 'Enabling decentralized urban sewage infrastructure by facilitating successful organisations to provide long-term management', Cities of the Future 2010, Marriott Hotel, Boston, USA, March 2010 in Cities of The Future 2010, ed IWA, IWA, Boston, USA.

Fam, D.M., Mitchell, C.A. & Abeysuriya, K.R. 2009, 'Critical stakeholder engagement in shifting paradigms from removal to recovery in wastewater management - a case study of implementing urine diversion in Sweden', Brisbane, November 2009 in Asia-Pacific Science, Technology and Society Network Conference 2009, Griffith University, Queensland.

Fam, D.M., Mitchell, C.A., Abeysuriya, K.R. & Mellick-Lopes, A. 2009, 'Distributed wastewater management in Melbourne, Australia: A case study of transition in practice', Dynamics and governance of transitions to sustainability, Amsterdam, June 2009 in 1st European Conference on Sustainability Transitions.

Mitchell, C.A., Abeysuriya, K.R. & Fam, D.M. 2009, 'Sanitary systems: lifecycle thinking leads to consideration of distributed infrastructure', The Global Challenge of Managing Life Cycles, Cape Town, South Africa, September 2009 in 4th International Conference on Life Cycle Management, ed von Blottnitz, H. and Winter, M., Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Cape Town, South Africa, Cape Town, South Africa, pp. 1-7.
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Fam, D.M., Mitchell, C.A. & Mellick-Lopes, A. 2008, 'Is design the answer to cultural acceptability of waterless toilets? a collaborative approach to design research', Torino, Italy, July 2008 in Changing the Change - Design Visions, Proposals and Tools, ed Cipolla C. & Peruccio P., Umberto Allemendi & Co., Torino.
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Fam, D.M., Mitchell, C.A. & Willetts, J.R. 2008, 'The co-evolution of technology and society: a retrospective analysis of the development of Sydney's sewer system', Postgraduate Research Students Conference, UTS, Sydney, October 2008 in 10th Annual Postgraduate Research Students Conference, University Graduate School, University of Technology Sydney.

Fam, D.M. & Mellick-Lopes, A. 2007, 'Design and cultural acceptability of waterless toilets', In the Pipeline, University of Western Sydney, Parramatta Campus, Australia, July 2007 in New Directions on the cultural use of water, Centre for Cultural Research (UWS), University of Western Sydney, Parramatta Campus, Australia.

Journal articles

Abeysuriya, K.R., Fam, D.M. & Mitchell, C.A. 2012, 'Reinventing the toilet - Urine diversion where its needed most', The Conversation, vol. 24 October.
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Lopes, A., Fam, D.M. & Williams, J. 2012, 'Designing sustainable sanitation: involving design in innovative, transdisciplinary research', Design Studies, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 298-317.
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Fam, D.M. & Abeysuriya, K.R. 2011, 'Toilet talk', WME Magazine, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 32-32.
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Fam, D.M., Mellick-Lopes, A., Willetts, J.R. & Mitchell, C.A. 2009, 'The challenge of system change: an historical analysis of Sydney's sewer systems', Design Philosophy Papers, vol. 3/2009, pp. 1-14.
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Books

Fam, D.M. 2007, Dry flush - cognitive design strategies to faciliate adoption of dry sanitation, Thesis, University of Western Sydney, Sydney.

Book chapters

Mitchell, C.A., Fam, D.M. & Cordell, D.J. 2012, 'Effectively managing the transition towards restorative futures in the sewage industry: a phosphorus case study' in Howe, C. and Mitchell, C. (eds), Water Sensitive Cities, IWA Publishing, UK, pp. 43-62.
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Willetts, J.R., Mitchell, C.A., Abeysuriya, K.R. & Fam, D.M. 2012, 'Creative tensions: negotiating the multiple dimensions of a transdisciplinary doctorate' in Lee, A. and Dnaby, S. (eds), Reshaping Doctoral Education: International Approaches and Pedagogies, Routledge (Taylor and Francis Group), London and New York, pp. 128-143.

In press

Fam, D.M., Mitchell, C.A., Abeysuriya, K.R. & Lopes, A. 2013, 'Emergence of decentralised water and sanitation systems in Melbourne, Australia', International Journal of Water, Inderscience Publishers, United Kingdom.
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Fam, D.M. & Mitchell, C.A. 2013, 'Sustainable innovation in wastewater management: lessons for nutrient recovery and reuse', Local Environment, Routledge: Taylor and Francis Group, UK, pp. 1-12.
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Other

Fam, D.M. 2012, 'Our ancestors recycled their urine: why shouldn't we?', ABC Science online - In Depth, Web article, pp. 1-1.
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Fam, D.M. 2011, 'Sustainable sanitation: the 'Funny Dunny' project', Design Philosophy Politics (e-zine), Team D/E/S (Developing Ecological Sustainment), Queensland, Australia.
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