PhD Studentships in Human Geography at University of Dundee

Human Geography at the University of Dundee is a member the ESRC Scottish Doctoral Training Centre Human Geography Pathway. Applications for ESRC 1+3 and +3 doctoral studentships are invited from prospective students.

Academic staff in Human Geography at the University of Dundee have research specialisms in mobility, population, migration, tourism, media, children and youth, health, volunteering, disability and social care, policing and crime, urban issues, GIS and quantitative methods. There are area specialisms in the Scotland and UK, and the Global South, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean.

For those who wish to be considered for specific projects, please see information below.

• For those interested in developing their own project proposal with a member of staff, please see Staff Profiles for staff research interests and contact details.
• Current Human Geography postgraduate students and projects at University of Dundee can be viewed at: Current Postgraduate Students
• Applicants who meet the eligibility criteria (ESRC Postgraduate Funding Guide see Section 2 and Annex 1) for holding an ESRC studentship will be considered for an award by the Human Geography Pathway of the ESRC Scottish Doctoral Training Centre.
• The Human Geography Pathway have at least 5 studentships for award for an October 2011 start. The awards will be made by a committee comprising representatives from the Geography Departments/Schools at the Universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St. Andrews. Other funding opportunities will be investigated where appropriate.

How to Apply

Prospective students should contact any staff member at Dundee or Dr Ed Hall to discuss their proposed research. An application to the University should also be made (see How to Apply).

Once a project has been confirmed with a supervisor, potential students should submit the following: a 2 page proposal, a CV, a supporting statement from the proposed supervisor, and 2 references (one of which must not be from the supervisory team).

The deadline for submission to Geography is 15th April 2011. Applications should be addressed to Dr. Ed Hall, Geography, School of the Environment, University of Dundee, Dundee. DD1 4HN.

The Human Geography Pathway will then consider all applications, and allocate the studentship awards in mid-May 2011.

Specific Projects

Please contact the individual member of staff (see email contact) if you are interested in one of these projects:

Policing nature: the perception, policing and prevention of wildlife crime in Scotland

The specific objectives of the project will include:

• Mapping the distribution of wildlife crime in Scotland by collating data sets held by a range of agencies (including SHN, SEPA, SSPCA and the police) and tracking changes over time
• Examining public perceptions of, attitudes towards and cultural understandings of wildlife crime in Scotland
• Examining the role of different agencies in the prevention of wildlife crime and the effectiveness of partnership working in this field
• Evaluating the impact of different interventions to deter and prevent specific forms of wildlife crime in relation to wild birds, animals and habitats
• Placing the Scottish experience in a wider international comparative context by collating published evidence from other jurisdictions about their approaches to tackling wildlife crime

For further information and to discuss the project please contact Professor Nick Fyfe.

The new landscape of collective caring

The current widespread closure of state-funded community-based institutional social care facilities, such as day centres and sheltered employment, along with the drive for 'personalised' care, is producing a rescaling of caring to individuals, their families and their homes.

The project will examine the alternative collective spaces of caring that many people with physical and learning disabilities, older people and people with mental health conditions (and their families and supporters), have sought and developed - including networks of families and carers, supported employment in social enterprises, participation in arts and drama projects, and social clubs and advocacy groups. The research will examine the following questions:

• What is the provision, practices, relations and experiences of 'caring' in these collective spaces of care?
• How are such collective practices achieved and valued, organised and funded?
• What are the roles of the public, private and third sectors in delivering the collective landscape of care and caring?
• What innovative forms and spaces of care and caring are being imagined and practiced by people in need of support?

For further information and to discuss the project please contact Dr Ed Hall.

'Temporary' street children?: understanding street life in natural hazard prone environments.

The specific research questions for the project will include (following selection of a case study for in-depth research):

• To what extent does the impact of natural hazards (i.e. earthquakes, tsunami, flooding) have on the presence of street children?
• How do young people made homeless through natural hazard events experience street life?
• What are the consequences for children's (social, economic and emotional) wellbeing if made homeless through experience of natural hazards?
• What are the roles of external agencies in mitigating against any long-term association with street life, including accounting for disruption and possible severing of familial and community relations?
• In what ways could and should the implications of children's street homelessness be taken into account in developing effective policy and practice in both the short and longer term?

For further information and to discuss the project please contact Dr. Lorraine van Blerk.

Gender, age and disability: exploring life geographies in Ethiopia

The specific research questions for the project will include:

• What are the different meanings (political, cultural, social, economic) attached to young men and women living with disability among families in various contexts of poverty?
• What are the implications for young people growing up with disability in terms of their social, economic and educational life experiences?
• How do families, communities and national government respond to young people and disability?
• How does disability impact on the life chances of young people as they approach adulthood?

For further information and to discuss the project please contact Dr. Lorraine van Blerk.