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The University of Strathclyde Department of Computer and Information Sciences seeks to appoint a Research Associate to a 2.5 year ESRC funded project, which seeks to better understand the information needs of young first time mothers (YFTM) aged 21 or under from areas of multiple deprivation.  The project will comprehensively identify YFTM information needs, seeking preferences and challenges, and typologically map these and associated information requirements to existing public information services, incorporating gap analysis.  Bringing together theories of social capital and social networks with theories and models of information behaviour and information poverty, we will also identify and investigate behavioural barriers, how they manifest in both the physical and digital space, and identify appropriate intervention points and strategies to inform future public policy and service provision.
Conducted in collaboration with Glasgow City Libraries and Barnardo's, we see this as a major information poverty study, exploring how public information providers spanning (but not limited to) health, social care, education and the third sector can support YFTM and their children to prosper in the digital age.  Candidates will have a PhD in the area of Information Seeking Behaviour or other relevant social science discipline, and previous ethnographic field experience involving young people.
The Department of Computer and Information Sciences at the University of Strathclyde is home to a vibrant community of over 70 academic and research staff with a strong and diverse portfolio of research. CIS at Strathclyde holds international iSchool status and is part of the Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance SICSA.  This project will be hosted in the iLab research group (http://www.ilab.cis.strath.ac.uk), an interdisciplinary information science research group investigating arising socio-techno phenomena and evolving information behavior.
Informal enquiries may be made to the PI Dr Steven Buchanan ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>), and to the CI Professor Ian Ruthven ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>).  The closing date for applications is Sunday 25th January 2015.  Further details can be found at: http://www.strath.ac.uk/workwithus/vacancies/