PhD Studentships in Ageing and Mental Health, Staffordshire University

UK.Applications are invited for two PhD studentships based in the Centre for Ageing and Mental Health. Studentships are available for a period of three years. These cover tuition fees and provide a maintenance award of £12,000.

Students should hold, or expect to obtain, a good first degree in a health related discipline. These studensthips will be held under the supervision of Professor Paul Kingston and Professor Stella Mills.

It is a condition of these studentships that satisfactory enhanced disclosure is obtained from the Criminal Records Bureau.

Studentship 1
The student will develop studies to:

• Test the usability of weblogs for patients, families, carers, staff and others in a hospice setting;
• Test the different forms of usage of weblogs of patients, families,carers , staff and others (method - interview and content analysis);
• Analyse the various types of usage and develop a theoretical model of weblog usage;
• Design a variety of weblogs for therapeutic and communicative use by patients, carers, staff and others.

Studentship 2
The student will develop studies to explore the rationale for recruitment decision-making following Criminal Record Bureau checks.This study will examine and compare employment procedures across a wide range of agencies and professional areas as well as highlighting how individual decisions are made and qualified within the broader agency framework. This research will highlight:

• Analyse exactly who is responsible for making decisions concerning offers of employment
• Analyse exactly how trade off decisions for employment are made
• Discover whether or not these decisions are informed by any guidance
• Analyse what impact the knowledge of convictions has upon perceived suitability for employment
• Examine what are the implications for the protection of vulnerable adults
  Evaluate the implications for human rights, civil liberties, discrimination and social exclusion.

Applicants should submit a copy of their CV together with a letter of application indicating which studentship is of interest, why they are interested in this area of research and outlining how their experience equips them to undertake research in this area.

Informal enquiries and applications should be made to:

Dr Paul Kingston - Professor of Health and Social Care
Director Centre for Ageing and Mental Health
Faculty of Health and Sciences
Staffordshire University
Blackheath Lane
Stafford
ST18 0AD