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TWO ESRC CASE Studentships
Applications are invited for two ESRC CASE (+3) Studentships in Geography
at the School of Environment and Development, University of Manchester.
Both are to be jointly supervised by Dr Neil Coe and Dr Kevin Ward along
with the respective CASE partners.
These two related projects offer exciting opportunities to explore the
changing nature of labour markets and patterns of migrations in the
European Union at a time of unparalleled dynamism and expansion. As such,
they should appeal to researchers in a broad range of social science
disciplines. They also offer the opportunity to be part of the vibrant
Geographical Political Economy Research Group (GPERG) at Manchester.
1. The institutional context for temporary staffing: a European cross-
national comparative study.
Collaborating partner: Peter Siderman, The Adecco Institute
http://www.adeccoinstitute.com/
This three year doctoral project will explore the role of temporary
staffing agencies within the wider landscape of public and private sector
labour intermediaries, and how and why this differs from country to
country. Three national political-economic systems will provide
illustrative case studies:
. The UK - a neoliberal policy environment in which labour markets
are characterised by short-term employment relationships, low levels of
unionisation and individualised and competitive employment relations;
. Germany - a corporatist policy regulatory context characterised by
significant human capital investment, medium-term employment relationships
and strong union representation in a tripartite system;
. The Czech Republic - a post-socialist labour regime that has
undergone profound and rapid change since 1990, and in which a central
command economy has moved somewhat unevenly towards a flexible, market-
based labour regime.
In particular, research will investigate how the role of placing people
into employment is undertaken by different combinations of private and
public sector agencies and intermediaries in the different regimes.
This cross-national comparative study will combine both quantitative and
qualitative methodologies, and use both primary and secondary data. The
project will offer considerable potential for international fieldwork and
research, and applicants with experience of that kind are advised to make
this clear in their application.
2. The role of temporary staffing agencies in facilitating 'accession
eight' migration into the UK. Collaborating partner: Roger Tweedy,
Recruitment and Employment Confederation Industry Research Unit
http://www.rec.uk.com
This three year doctoral project will explore the role of temporary
staffing agencies in facilitating the migration of workers into the UK and
the placement of them into employment. The project has the following set
of more specific objectives:
. To analyse which temporary staffing agencies are leading on the
movement of workers into the UK, and the characteristics of these agencies
(size, turnover, ownership, corporate histories, international branch
networks etc.);
. To explore the range of roles and services performed by temporary
staffing agencies in facilitating the migration of workers into the UK;
. To understand the types of workers (age, origin country amongst
the 'accession eight' nations, occupation etc.) temporary staffing
agencies are facilitating moving into the UK;
. To examine how the activities undertaken by agencies -
accommodation, training, education about worker rights, job placement,
etc - vary from one sector to another and by the country of origin of
workers;
. To position temporary staffing agencies along other forms of
formal and informal migration intermediaries, such as state agencies.
This study will combine both quantitative and qualitative methodologies,
and use both primary and secondary data. The project will offer the
potential for international fieldwork and research, and applicants with
experience of that kind are advised to make this clear in their
application.
Contact information:-
Dr. Neil Coe (0161 275 3646)
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Dr. Kevin Ward (0161 275 7877)
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Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to talk further
about any aspects of the studentships. ESRC meets the tuition fees and
pays a basic (tax free) maintenance grant of £14,300 p.a. The
collaborating organisation pays an additional £2,000 p.a.
For further information on the Geographical Political Economy Research
Group: http://www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/geography/research/gpe/
For further information on the School of Environment and Development:
www.sed.manchester.ac.uk
How to apply
We invite applications from potential UK/EU research students who have a
2.1 or above Bachelors degree and a good Masters qualification and meet
the eligibility criteria for ESRC doctoral funding. Suitably qualified
candidates from a wide range of social science disciplines - including
geography, sociology, politics, anthropology, management and economics -
are encouraged to apply.
All applications should be submitted through the PHD HUMAN GEOG option
within the University's online Postgraduate Research application system:
http://www.manchester.ac.uk/postgraduate/howtoapply/
The deadline for the online application, with CV and covering letter, is
Friday June 15th and short-listed candidates will be interviewed during
the week beginning July 9th. The successful candidates will be expected to
take up the studentships in late September 2007.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Applicants should make it very clear in the covering
letter whether they would like to be considered for one or both of the
awards. Only one application is required for those who would like to be
considered for both studentships.
All nominees must satisfy ESRC's academic and residential eligibility
requirements which can be downloaded from
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/esrccontent/postgradfunding/foindex.asp
Admissions enquiries may be directed to:
Miss Samantha Blachford
Postgraduate Research Admissions
School of Environment and Development
Harold Hankins Building
University of Manchester
Manchester
M13 9QH
Tel: +44 161 275 0336
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Neil M. Coe
Geography
School of Environment & Development
The University of Manchester
Mansfield Cooper Building
Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9PL
Tel: 0161-275-3646
Fax: 0161-275-7878
Email: [log in to unmask]
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