PhD studentship opportunity at University College London in migration statistics and modelling.

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PHD Studentship – (ENFOLD-ing – Explaining, Modelling and Forecasting Global Dynamics), –

UCL Department / Division

Department of Geography

Specific unit / Sub department

Migration Research Unit/CASA

Duration of Studentship

3 Years

Stipend

£15,290 plus £3,390 tuition fees per annum

Vacancy Information

ENFOLD is a multidisciplinary, five year modelling project funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC: £2.9 million FEC) spanning seven UCL departments. It will develop new forms of complexity science to address the most difficult of human problems: those involving global change where there is no organised constituency and whose agencies are largely regarded as being ineffective. ENFOLD addresses problems arising from the fact that that global systems tend to be treated in isolation from one another. Their characteristically unexpected dynamics are thus due to the aspects of coupling and integration between them that are all too often ignored. To demonstrate these dynamics and develop appropriate policy responses, ENFOLD will study four related global systems: trade, migration, security and development aid. Integrated and coupled models will be developed, whose dynamics can be described in the language of complexity theory, including chaos, turbulence, bifurcations, catastrophes, and phase transition. The programme will apply spatial interaction models to trade and migration; reaction diffusion to conflicts and terrorism; and network models to international trade, migration and crime. These models will be extended to incorporate new events, such as the emergence of new entities, including countries, coupling them together in diverse ways. A generic framework will ultimately be developed for a coupled global dynamics spanning many spatial and temporal scales, pertaining to different systems whose behaviours can be both quantitatively and qualitatively simulated. Models will be developed which incorporate all these ideas into a global intelligence system to inform global policy makers about future events. Several UK government departments as well as global businesses are partners in this project.

Studentship Description

The role of the Migration PhD studentship within ENFOLD will be:

1. To review and engage with the literature on general theories of migration and more specifically that on migration forecasting models

2. To identify, collect, systematise and analyse relevant international migration statistics as required by the project

3. To assist in the programming and database effort for the migration model in ENFOLD

4. To develop and test several models of global migration dynamics

Person Specification

The applicants should possess a good honours degree (1st Class or 2:1 minimum) in any of the following disciplines: Economics, Statistics, Physics, Mathematics, Finance, or in any social science program with a strong quantitative component within Geography, Sociology, Epidemiology/ Public Health, GIS, Spatial Analysis or any other closely relevant subject area. An MSc in one of these areas or/and knowledge in econometric and statistical analysis is highly desirable. They should also have excellent quantitative research skills in social sciences including a good command of statistical analysis and programming knowledge of relevant packages (R, SAS,SPSS). As well as strong motivation to conduct independent research on the field of migration and basic knowledge of contemporary issues on migration.

Eligibility

The studentship is subject to funding restrictions please refer to the following link:http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/students/Pages/eligibility.aspx.

Candidates should submit an application for graduate study to UCL Registry (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/admission/graduate-study/application-admission/) and should send a duplicate, along with a CV and cover letter, to Dr Pablo Mateos via email top.mateos@ucl.ac.uk.

Contact name

Dr Pablo Mateos

Contact details

p.mateos@ucl.ac.uk

UCL Taking Action for Equality

Closing Date

30 Jun 2010

Latest time for the submission of applications

30th June 2010

Interview date

Mid July 2010

Studentship Start Date

1st October 2010

The Department of Geography at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) has the following award available for those wishing to commence their studies in September 2010.

1 x Full PhD Studentship to award to a student to work on the Department’s Healthy Environments Research Programme (HERP). Applications are encouraged utilising quantitative and/or qualitative methodologies in the following broad areas:

• Relationship between availability of alcohol and alcohol-related harm
• Discrimination and health
• Environmental determinants of diet and/or physical activity
• Spatial/urban planning policy, the built environment and health

Successful candidates will be expected to undertake a project in these broad areas with the precise focus developed in collaboration with the lead supervisor, Dr Steven Cummins. To discuss an application contact Stephen at s.c.j.cummins@qmul.ac.uk

The above Studentships cover full fees (overseas or domestic) and a maintenance grant (at relevant Research Council rates), for three years. Some teaching contribution may be required as part of the Studentship.

Deadline for applications: applicants who wish to be considered for a one of the above Studentships must be received by College no later than 4pm on Friday 12th February 2010.

It is anticipated that interviews for short listed candidates will be held in early March.

The Faculty of Medicine Graduate School, University of Glasgow are offering the following fully-funded PhD studentship with Prof. R Mitchell and Dr. Jamie Pearce.

Physical activity in green space: a mechanism for reducing health inequalities?

Having a lot of ‘green space’ (such as parks or woodlands) in your neighbourhood is thought to be health promoting. Inequality in health between richer and poorer people was recently shown to be smaller in areas with a lot of green space than in areas with less. Researchers assume that some of the health benefits of green spaces stem from their capacity to encourage people to be physically active. However, since information about how people use their green spaces and how much exercise they undertake is rare, this assertion remains unproven. This studentship will exploit newly available survey data which describe attitudes to, and activity in, local green spaces in Scotland.

The aim will be to examine the role of physical activity as a mechanism by which green space enhances health and potentially narrows health inequalities. The precise aims and methods will be developed and agreed between the supervisors and student, but the general approach will be quantitative. The studentship presents an excellent opportunity for multi-disciplinary training in researching physical activity, public health and health inequalities, and quantitative methods.

Applicants should hold a first class or upper second class degree in a relevant, numerate social science or clinical discipline (e.g. health sciences, sociology, psychology, geography, economics) . A master’s qualification in a relevant discipline would be an advantage.

More details on the project, the supervisors and the departments involved is available from Prof Mitchell (r.mitchell@clinmed.gla.ac.uk) or Dr Pearce (jamie.pearce@ed.ac.uk).

Details on how to apply here

Closing date for applicants 4th July 2009.

The newly established ESRC Centre for Population Change at the University of Southampton is pleased to announce a new PhD studentship in demography.

The studentship would suit a person with good computing skills and an interest in demographic measurement, who has, or expects to have, a postgraduate degree in demography, or a related social science or quantitative discipline, or equivalent experience.

The project is part of a wider programme of research into the determinants of recent fertility and partnership trends in the UK. The specific purpose of the PhD project is to generate updated time series of period parity progression indicators for Great Britain. It is an ESRC +3 studentship linked to the ESRC Research Centre for Population Change, where the student will work under the direction of Professor Máire Ní Bhrolcháin. The PhD project will use the combined file of General Household Survey maternity histories, supplemented by own child reconstructions in the most recent period, to extend previous sets of estimates and will evaluate these measures against alternative estimates and sources.

This ESRC award pays all University tuition fees, plus an annual maintenance stipend, set at £13,290 for the 2009-2010 academic year.

Further details of the project, of eligibility and of how to apply, are available at http://www.southampton.ac.uk/socsci/socstats/funding/cpcstudentship.html

Informal inquiries may be made to Professor Máire Ní Bhrolcháin (M.Ni-Bhrolchain@soton.ac.uk)

The deadline for applications is the 15th May 2009.

Interviews will be held on 28th May 2009.