Vacancy Details

Description

Masters Research Studentships in Environmental Dynamics & Governance

Application Closing Date: 08 April 2019

Interview Date: 26 April 2019

The University of Gloucestershire are offering studentships for MSc by Research covering full tuition fees, fieldwork and incidental costs in each of the following themes within our Environmental Dynamics & Governance group:

Applied Ecology & Biology
Project: Sensitivity of soil carbon fractions to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide
Lead Supervisor: Dr Liz Hamilton (lhamilton3@glos.ac.uk)
Availability: full-time (12 months) from 01 October 2019
Is the soil carbon sink future-proof? Under elevated CO₂, mature trees allocate more carbon below ground than trees under ambient CO₂. However, this additional labile carbon input can act as a primer for decomposition of old carbon fractions thereby reducing the overall carbon sink. This project will assess the different fractions of carbon present in soils previously taken and dried from the BIFoR FACE forest research site in Staffordshire.

Applied Ecology & Biology
Project: Time-lapse photography as a monitoring tool in seabird ecology
Lead Supervisor: Dr Matt Wood (mjwood@glos.ac.uk)
Availability: full-time (12 months) from 01 October 2019
By integrating camera footage into an established citizen science project (Seabird Watch www.seabirdwatch.org), this project aims to (i) validate the use of time-lapse photography as a proxy for direct observations of nesting success of kittiwakes on Skomer Island, and (ii) explore associations between nesting success and extreme weather events along a latitudinal gradient (UK to Svalbard). This research is in collaboration with Seabird Watch scientists Dr Tom Hart (Oxford) and Dr Mark Jessop (UC Cork)

Changing Environments
Project: Monitoring the impact of natural flood management (NFM) interventions
Lead Supervisor: Dr Lucy Clarke (lclarke@glos.ac.uk)
Availability: full-time (12 months) from 01 October 2019
Using the recent implementation of NFM interventions in the nearby Stroud Frome or Twyver catchments, this project will evaluate the geomorphological and hydrological impact of these features on the river channels. It will involve repeat field data collection and use of high resolution surveying to quantify morphological and hydrological changes, as well as fixed point photography and associated image analysis

Social Vulnerabilities
Project: Maternal social capital and child wellbeing in South Africa
Lead Supervisor: Dr Rachel Bennett (rbennett3@glos.ac.uk)
Availability: full-time (12 months) from 01 October 2019
Linking to a broader body of research on family demography in sub-Saharan Africa, this study is primarily based on analysis of secondary household survey data. To gain an understanding of the context, this project will also involve fieldwork in the Western Cape Province. This study would suit a student with a good understanding of bivariate inferential statistics, and with a wish to develop more advanced data analysis skills.

Social Vulnerabilities
Project: An Evaluation of sexual violence trials conduct for cases originating in Gloucestershire
Lead Supervisor: Dr Louise Livesey (llivesey@glos.ac.uk)
Availability: full-time (12 months) from 01 October 2019
The project is based on the outcomes of previous studies examining the conduction of sexual violence trials. This project will examine the conduct of sexual violence trials for cases originating in Gloucestershire. Specifically, the project will involve the collection and analysis of observational data from these trials. The material collected as part of the study is sensitive and will require a student that is familiar with issues of sexual violence.

Social Vulnerabilities
Project: An Evaluation of Restorative Justice Services in Gloucestershire
Lead Supervisor: Dr Jon Hobson (jhobson@glos.ac.uk)
Availability: full-time (12 months) from 01 October 2019
This project is part of a broader body of work exploring the impact and value of Restorative approaches and restorative Justice in both the UK and in other parts of the world. This part of the project explores the range, type and impact of restorative Justice work currently undertaken in Gloucestershire. The project will primarily involve collecting and analysing qualitative material in the form of interviews and testimonies, but will also involve some collation and analysis of quantitative data.

Social Vulnerabilities
Project: A national examination of business crime reduction through partnership
Lead Supervisor: Dr Andrew Stafford (astafford1@glos.ac.uk)
Availability: full-time (12 months) from 01 October 2019
The project will involve examining the range and prevalence of crimes and associated behaviours that are committed against businesses, the design, function and operation of Business Crime Reduction Partnerships (BCRPs) operating in town and city centres, the crime reduction approaches and techniques that such partnerships employ and the challenges that they can encounter. To achieve this, the researcher will conduct a national survey of Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) managers, conduct in-depth interviews with a sub-sample of these managers, and draw upon secondary data concerning crimes against businesses. This project will give a researcher the opportunity to contribute to academic publications and to influence national policy and practice in this area.

Countryside and Community
Project: Evaluation of Payment for Ecosystem Services approaches in the Thames River Basin
Lead Supervisor: Chris Short (cshort@glos.ac.uk)
Availability: full-time (12 months) from 01 October 2019
This project will run in parallel with other projects in the headwaters of the River Thames funded by the Environment Agency and Thames Water (TW) and will aim to evaluate the impact of different approaches developed by TW to secure clean drinking water in the western part of the Thames River Basin. The student will collect primary data and analyse existing secondary data to evaluate the impact of the different approaches on farmer/land manager behaviour and assess the relative success of the different approaches.  This will include assessing the farmers’/land managers’ perceptions and willingness to adopt such techniques as well as to identify drivers and constraints. Successful completion of this project will result in the award of an MRes.

Set in the attractive surrounds of Cheltenham, students will be based at the Francis Close Hall Campus of the University, in either the School of Natural & Social Sciences (www.glos.ac.uk/sciences) or Countryside & Community Research Institute (www.ccri.ac.uk). We welcome informal enquiries to the lead supervisors named above. 

Please note that the funded studentships do not cover maintenance costs and are only available to UK students. 

Applicants should hold at least a 2.1 from an undergraduate degree in Geography, Bioscience or related discipline. 

Completed application forms should be emailed to Matt Scott (mscott1@glos.ac.uk).

We also have MSc by Research projects that are available to self-funded students, for full or part-time study starting 01 October 2019. Applicants should hold at least a 2.1 from an undergraduate degree in Geography, Bioscience or related discipline. Informal enquiries to lead supervisors are welcome, whilst applications should be emailed to Matt Scott (mscott1@glos.ac.uk). Projects for self-funded students are:

Applied Ecology & Biology

•    Testing the impact of predator-proofing nestboxes on nest site choice and breeding success in woodland birds. Lead supervisor: Prof. Anne Goodenough (aegoodenough@glos.ac.uk)
•    Landscape control on the export of DOC from soils to stream networks. Lead Supervisor: Dr Liz Hamilton (lhamilton3@glos.ac.uk)
•    The Big Wasp Survey: wasp abundance and distribution in the UK. Lead Supervisor: Prof. Adam Hart (ahart@glos.ac.uk)
•     The effect of physical parameters on leafcutting ant trail and foraging behaviour. Lead Supervisor: Prof. Adam Hart (ahart@glos.ac.uk)
•     The deterrent effect of ant-produced waste on foraging leafcutting ants. Lead Supervisor: Prof. Adam Hart (ahart@glos.ac.uk)
•    Environmental dynamics of burrow-nesting seabird populations. Lead Supervisor: Dr Matt Wood (mjwood@glos.ac.uk)

Changing Environments

•    Evaluating channel bank erosion using repeat Structure for Motion photogrammetry. Lead Supervisor: Dr Lucy Clarke (lclarke@glos.ac.uk)
•    Exploring morphometric change on alluvial fans in Iceland. Lead Supervisor: Dr Lucy Clarke (lclarke@glos.ac.uk)
•    Using remote sensing to explore glacial change on the Antarctic Peninsula. Lead Supervisor: Dr Lucy Clarke (lclarke@glos.ac.uk)
•    Records of coastal and fluvial flooding on the River Severn. Lead Supervisor: Dr Louise Best (lbest1@glos.ac.uk) 
•    GIS Investigation of UK Sea-Level Rise Projections. Lead Supervisor: Dr Louise Best (lbest1@glos.ac.uk) 
•    Saltmarsh response to sea-level changes in Poole Harbour. Lead Supervisor: Dr Louise Best (lbest1@glos.ac.uk)  
•    Evaluating the application of luminescence dating on late glacial coastal deposits in western Scotland. Lead Supervisor: Dr Louise Best (lbest1@glos.ac.uk)  

Social Vulnerabilities

•    Social networks among ethnic elders in the UK and implications for wellbeing. Lead Supervisor: Dr Rachel Bennett (rbennett3@glos.ac.uk)
•    Student experiences of insecure employment whilst studying: is there value in working at the bottom of the UK labour market? Lead Supervisor: Dr Sam Scott (sscott@glos.ac.uk)
•    Attitudes towards emerging post-Brexit migration policy among the UK’s low-wage employers. Lead Supervisor: Dr Sam Scott (sscott@glos.ac.uk)
•    Reflecting on the policy response to the European migration crisis 2015-16: views from UK migrant Voluntary and Community Organisations. Lead Supervisor: Dr Sam Scott (sscott@glos.ac.uk)
•    An ethnography of the modern ‘gig’ economy: experiences of work and life in low-wage Britain. Lead Supervisor: Dr Sam Scott (sscott@glos.ac.uk)
•    Mapping urban and periurban agriculture in and around the secondary city of Kenema, Sierra Leone. Lead Supervisor: Dr Kenny Lynch (klynch@glos.ac.uk)
•    Sustainable agriculture in arid Kenya under conditions of climate change
  Analysis of Restorative Justice practices in Gloucestershire. Lead Supervisor: Dr Kenny Lynch (
•    Analysis of Restorative Justice practices in Gloucestershire. Lead Supervisor: Dr Kenny Lynch (klynch@glos.ac.uk)
•    What counts as "good" for children in Gloucestershire? A survey of Gloucestershire young people to improve youth outcomes. Lead Supervisor: Dr Louise Livesey (llivesey@glos.ac.uk)

Countryside and Community

•    Exploring the role of local knowledge in land management for water attenuation. Lead Supervisor: Chris Short (cshort@glos.ac.uk)
•    Farmers’ adoption and perception towards gene edited crops in the UK. Lead Supervisor: Dr Mauro Vigani (mvigani@glos.ac.uk)

We are also happy to receive applications from self-funded research students for projects of their own design. Please contact Matt Scott (mscott1@glos.ac.uk) in the first instance, who will be able to direct your enquiry to the relevant member of academic staff.