PhD Studentship (ESRC South Coast DTP)

Deprivation, Exclusion and Public Engagement on the South Coast of England

Politics & International Relations

Location:  Highfield Campus
Salary:   £14553
Annual stipend of £14553 plus payment of programme fees.
Closing Date:   Wednesday 28 June 2017
Reference:  879017CC

Deprivation, Exclusion and Public Engagement on the South Coast of England

A fully funded studentship awarded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership (SCDTP)

Supervisory Team:

Dr. Matt Ryan (M.G.Ryan@soton.ac.uk), Dr. John Boswell

Despite its relative affluence, pockets of severe deprivation exist across the South Coast region. Relatively deprived areas ‘nested’ in more affluent contexts display considerable variance in citizens’ attitudes towards inequality. The South Coast area provides a fruitful laboratory for investigating how political attitudes and behaviours, and experiences and expectations of poverty are affected by being nested within a wider context of affluence. The successful candidate would work with DTP staff in a mixed method approach using qualitative methods (focus groups) and quantitative methods (surveys and secondary data analysis) to understand effects on political attitudes and behaviours across the region.

Specific research questions:

1) Do experiences and understandings of deprivation differ on the South Coast of England in comparison to elsewhere in the UK?
2) How do citizens’ experiences of deprivation nested within different areas of affluence differ across the South Coast?
3) How are political engagement and engagement with public services associated with deprivation in this context?

Despite its relative affluence in relation to other parts of the UK, pockets of severe multiple deprivation exist across the South Coast region. Moreover, relatively deprived areas display considerable variance in the nature of their deprivation. Some exist in dense urban settings, some on the edges of market towns, and some in coastal areas experiencing economic stagnation. The South Coast area therefore provides a fruitful laboratory for investigating whether political attitudes and behaviours, and experiences and expectations of poverty and local service delivery are affected by being nested within a wider context of affluence. South Coast politicians have argued that deprivation and inequality in the area is politically neglected because of a prevailing narrative of South Eastern affluence and economic prosperity at national level from which all citizens in the South benefit. This study would seek to investigate the veracity of this gripe, understanding what its effects on citizens and services might be, and whether there is contagion in political attitudes and behaviours across areas of relative deprivation within the region.

Skills required of the PhD student: The project would require a mixed methods approach and would suit a 1+3 as well as a +3 candidate with the relevant skills. +3 candidates require skills in organising fieldwork (focus groups and interviews), coding and analysing qualitative data, handling and merging large-N statistical data, performing statistical analysis.

Funding

South Coast DTP Funding provides an annual maintenance grant (tax free) of £14553, plus payment of all programme fees.  Other funding available for SCDTP funded students can be found on the SCDTP website (southcoastdtp.ac.uk).

Funding is provided for 3 years full-time PhD study (pro-rata for part-time students).  Applications for 1+3 funding for students completing a Master’s year prior to the commencement of PhD study are also welcome (details available at southcoastdtp.ac.uk).

Application Procedure

The closing date and time for applications is noon on 28th June 2017.  The full application procedure, the funding application form, and more information on the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership can be found at:

http://southcoastdtp.ac.uk/how-to-apply/

For further information about this project, please contact the lead supervisor detailsed above. For questions relating to the application procedure, or for more information about the SCDTP, please visit the SCDTP website or contact us at scdtp@soton.ac.uk