[Commpsych] PhD Scholarship Western Sydney

[Catherine DArcy]

University of Western Sydney

PhD Scholarships

Australian Postgraduate Awards



Young People, Technology and Wellbeing

The Institute for Culture and Society is seeking five high calibre doctoral candidates to undertake research projects in conjunction with the Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre (youngandwellcrc.org.au). The candidates will conduct studies aligned with one of the four major projects being conducted under the Young and Well CRC’s Research Program Two – ‘Connected and Creative’ (see below).

About the Young and Well CRC
The University of Western Sydney is proud to be an essential partner of the newly established Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre. The Young and Well CRC unites young people with researchers, practitioners and innovators from 70 partner organisations across the not-for-profit, academic, government and corporate sector. Through an international research agenda, the Young and Well CRC will create tools and strategies for young people aged 12-25 to participate safely and confidently online, so that all young Australians grow up safe, happy, healthy and resilient.

The Young and Well CRC’s Research Program Two: ‘Connected and Creative’ brings together a multidisciplinary team (from cultural studies, technology studies, education, political science, mental health) to investigate how technologies can facilitate the good mental health of young people who are vulnerable or marginalised. These groups include young people who are living with chronic illness or disability; same sex attracted; indigenous; experiencing homelessness; culturally and linguistically diverse; and so on. The research program looks to better understand
the role of online and networked media in addressing social barriers such as stigma and discrimination. Connected and Creative will generate data detailing how vulnerable young people integrate existing technologies into their everyday lives, and track how this use changes over time. This will allow us to implement and evaluate innovative technology-assisted qualitative research methods to inform stand-alone and cross-platform media interfaces to better reach, connect and engage vulnerable young people and their carers. For more information see http://www.youngandwellcrc.org.au/research
The scholarships
Successful candidates will develop and work with other members of the research teams to undertake a project focused on a theme pertinent to one of the following major projects:
Project 1: Mapping Digital Inclusion and Exclusion (1 scholarship available)
http://www.youngandwellcrc.org.au/connected-and-creative/mapping-digital-inclusion
This project will generate a comprehensive data set about technology use by young people who are vulnerable to mental illness, and how this can be leveraged to support their mental health and wellbeing. The project will collate existing research; integrate end-user datasets and experience; identify and address end-user needs; identify knowledge gaps; and generate new data to fill those knowledge gaps. Through collaborations with other projects in Research Program 2: Connected and Creative, the project will develop, test and disseminate innovative methodologies for improving vulnerable young people’s digital inclusion. The PhD student affiliated with this project will develop a project that applies a theoretical lens to study how organisations working to enhance the wellbeing of vulnerable populations conceptualise and use ‘evidence’ to support the development and delivery of services. This knowledge brokering study will be used to strengthen organisations’ capacity to collect, analyse and use data to promote vulnerable young people’s wellbeing.

Project 2: Engaging Creativity Through Technology (1 scholarship available)
http://www.youngandwellcrc.org.au/connected-and-creative/engaging-creativity
Marginalised and vulnerable young people are at significantly heightened risk of developing serious and sustained mental health difficulties because they are among the most socially isolated members of Australian society. The series of activities under this major project seeks to investigate the unprecedented potential for online and networked media technologies to engage vulnerable young people and enhance their participation and social connection through practices of creative content production. The research will explore whether creative content sharing can generate self-sustaining forms of community and informal networks of support that can inform and transform how we promote wellbeing, help-seeking and existing mental health service provision for vulnerable young people.
The PhD student in this project will work with the research team to design and conduct an iterative user-centred study that investigates how a variety of digital creative content production initiatives (collaborative authoring, visual media production, blogging etc) can best be used to reach, engage and connect vulnerable young people and positively impact their mental health and wellbeing.
Project 3: Technologies for Supportive Communities (1 scholarship available)
http://www.youngandwellcrc.org.au/connected-and-creative/supportive-communities
This project seeks to comprehensively understand vulnerable young people’s conceptions of community in order to leverage technology to foster socially inclusive communities. The project will evaluate a range of existing technology-based communities that target vulnerable young people, map the complex relations between online and offline communication, trial and implement innovative applications and pathways of connection that strengthen this relationship, and explore best practices for scaling these communities within and between organisations.

The PhD student affiliated with this project will ideally work on a project that investigates how the connection and sense of community that emerges in relation to vulnerable young people’s technological engagements transcend the boundary between the ‘online’ and the ‘offline’. There is scope to evaluate strategies used by organisations affiliated with the Young and Well CRC to reach, engage and connect vulnerable young people.

Project 4: Transforming Communities and Institutions (2 scholarships available)
http://www.youngandwellcrc.org.au/connected-and-creative/transforming-institutions
This project is concerned with the development of creative and technology based strategies for transforming institutional and community perceptions and practices around marginalised and vulnerable young people, their technology use and their mental health and wellbeing. It aims to challenge and engage with adult’s concerns about the risks of social networking and to work with adults and young people around the positive, constructive contribution digital technology can make to communities and intuitions in which young people are embedded. It will develop strategies that aim to foster the inclusion, acknowledgment and the valuing of vulnerable young people’s contribution to the life of institutions and community(s).

The PhD student will ideally work on a project that investigates using digital technology to enhance young people’s political engagement, citizenship practices and participation in decision-making; OR developing youth-centred digital literacy education for professionals who work with vulnerable young people; OR developing intergenerational community awareness strategies for enhancing understanding of vulnerable young people.

Essential criteria
·         Australian citizenship or permanent residency or New Zealand citizenship
·         Good Bachelor Honours degree (Class 1 or 2.1) or equivalent qualifications and/or experience
·         Background in a relevant field of cultural research, humanities or social science
·         A project responding to one or more of the project themes listed above
·         Interest in participatory research methodologies
·         Capacity to work both independently & as a team member in a multidisciplinary setting
·         Excellent research, writing and analytical and communication skills
·         Experience and/or capacity to work collaboratively with young people and industry partners

What does the scholarship provide?
Tax-free stipend of $33,728 per annum and a funded place in the course.

Need more information?
·         Please contact Dr Amanda Third to discuss the project before submitting an application: a.third at uws.edu.au<mailto:a.third at uws.edu.au>
·         Contact the Office of Research Services to discuss enrolment & scholarships: HDRscholarships at uws.edu.au<mailto:HDRscholarships at uws.edu.au>
·         Browse the web to find out more about the Institute for Culture & Society (www.uws.edu.au/ics<http://www.uws.edu.au/ics>) and the Young and Well CRC (www.youngandwellcrc.org.au<http://www.youngandwellcrc.org.au/>)

How to apply
Submit an application form; a 1000 word project proposal which will form the basis of a discussion with the team; and a CV (max. 3 pages) by the closing date. The application form can be downloaded from the web: www.uws.edu.au/research/scholarships<http://www.uws.edu.au/research/scholarships>

Successful candidates will require a Working with Children Check before commencing work.

Applications Close Friday 1st May 2013 for commencement of scholarship no later than 30th June, 2013.



Catherine D'Arcy
Senior Health Promotion Officer

Knox Community Health Service
1063 Burwood Highway
Ferntree Gully Vic 3156
Phone: (03) 9757 6261
Mobile: 0409 123 456
Fax: (03) 9757 0144
Email: catherine.darcy at kchs.org.au<mailto:bill.jones at kchs.org.au>
Web: www.kchs.org.au<http://www.kchs.org.au/>

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