**Three PhD Studentships at Loughborough University**
Applications are invited for the following three-year full time inter-disciplinary PhD studentships at Loughborough University. These are part of an exciting development to support research on culture, communication and citizenship and themes relating to youth, communities and sport. All of the studentships will commence from 1st October 2013 and provide a tax free stipend of £13,726 per annum for a period of three years plus tuition fees (full-time only) at the UK/EU rate. Due to funding restrictions, the studentships are open to UK and EU applicants only. Information about the application process can be found at: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/services/graduateschool/funding-prospective/graduate-school-studentships/
1. The Impact of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on young people in east London
Supervisors: Dr Heike Jöns (Department of Geography, School of Social, Political and Geographical Sciences) and Dr Mary Nevill (School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences)
This PhD project aims to analyze how urban regeneration through the creation of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park impacts on young people’s attitudes, aspirations and practices in regard to their sporting and physical activity habits, education and careers, social engagement and environmental awareness. The project will address research questions such as: (1) What do young people in east London know about the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and their possibilities for participation and involvement? (2) To what extent, and how, are young people in east London using the facilities of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park? (3) How does the legacy of the 2012 Olympic Games influence the attitudes and aspirations of young people in east London in regard to sports, education and careers, social and environmental engagement? (4) In which ways do young people’s knowledge and usage of the Olympic legacies and their attitudes and aspirations vary by gender, class, ethnicity, age, school type and place of residence (including an examination of a sub-group who had their homes displaced by the Games)?
Candidates must have a First Class or Upper Second Class Honours degree (or equivalent qualification) in Geography or a social science discipline relevant to the project. A Masters degree and experience of working with young people would be advantageous.
http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AGO764/fully-funded-phd-studentship/
Closing Date: Wednesday 12th June 2013.
Informal enquiries: Dr Heike Jöns ([log in to unmask], 01509 228199) or Dr Mary Nevill ([log in to unmask], 01509 226315).
2. The Big Society: Does Voluntary Work Build Stronger Communities?
Supervisors: Dr Daniel Sage (Research Centre for Professional Work and Society, School of Business and Economics) and Prof. Karen O’Reilly (Department of Social Sciences, School of Social, Political and Geographical Sciences).
Since 2010 the UK government have promoted voluntary work as a necessary ingredient of the success of the ‘The Big Society’ policy. Under this initiative voluntary work is promoted to support community integration, well-being, and prosperity. This project seeks to examine the challenges and potential of these efforts. Contributing to debates in the sociologies of work, communities and organisations, as well as social policy and human geography, the research will explore whether this recent state-directed push for voluntary work is building stronger communities, or is it a symptom, even cause, of ever-greater social exclusion and injustice? Through a range of qualitative research methodologies, including ethnography, the project will consider how individuals, social groups, and a range of organisations, are responding to, and being shaped by, the recent prioritization, even quasi-professionalization, of voluntarism within social policy.
Applicants will have a good first degree in a relevant social science discipline. An MSc/MA postgraduate degree in a related field is also highly desirable. Applicants should have excellent oral and written presentation skills, and experience with qualitative research methods.
http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AGQ045/fully-funded-phd-studentship/
Closing Date: Wednesday 19th June 2013.
Informal enquiries: Dr Daniel Sage ([log in to unmask])
3. 'Youth Citizenship, Sport and Community Development'
Supervisors: Dr Sarah Mills (Department of Geography, School of Social, Political and Geographical Sciences) & Prof. Alan Bairner (School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences)
Whilst research on citizenship in geography and the social sciences is burgeoning, the role of sport in fostering connections to the local, national and global scale has been under-researched. Furthermore, there is a salient belief within government policies and popular discourses that sport can encourage strong relationships between young people and their local communities, the nation and beyond. This project seeks to critically explore these connections between youth citizenship, sport and community development through examining responses to recent and future multi-scalar sporting events, related cultural activities and athletes. In doing so, the research contributes to academic debates within geography, social theory and sport science on the ways in which ‘the nation’ is performed or ‘imagined’ in and through sports-related activities and represented through key individuals and events. Significantly, the project aims to examine how young people develop or negotiate their understandings of local, national and global citizenship through their relationship with sport.
Applicants should have a good first degree. An MSc is also highly desirable. In addition, applicants should have excellent oral and written communication skills, as well as confidence in qualitative research methods.
http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AGO667/phd-research-studentship/
Closing Date: Wednesday 12th June 2013.
Informal enquiries: Dr Sarah Mills ([log in to unmask], 01509 223725)
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