Research Studentship An Ethnographic Study Of Drug Use Within Emergency Hostels And Nightshelters

Director of studies: Professor Joanne Neale

Email Address: jneale@brookes.ac.uk

Second Supervisor: Dr Jan Fischer

Eligibility: Applicants require a good Honours degree (2.1 or equivalent). Due to available funding Home and EU students are eligible.

Start Date: 20^th September 2011

Value p.a.: Bursary of £13,500 for 2011/12 (increasing by 3% in each of the two subsequent full-time years), & fees

Closing Date: 3^rd May 2011

Project Summary

Emergency hostels accommodate and support some of the most vulnerable and socially excluded individuals, including chaotic drug users. Hostel living can, however, be associated with initiation to drug use, increased drug use, high-risk injecting behaviours and increased susceptibility to blood borne viruses. This qualitative PhD study will provide unique sociological insights into drug use within emergency hostels. In particular, it will consider: how it feels to live in a shelter; access to and use of licit and illicit drugs; the use of private and public spaces in relation to drug use; criminal and sub-criminal activities, including drug dealing and drug possession; the stresses, strains and anxieties of hostel living; and the nature and extent of support provided in relation to drug use and drug-related problems. The research will consider such issues in the context of current funding structures and policy documents.

The successful applicant will have an undergraduate degree (of at least 2:1, or academic equivalent) in a social science subject and preferably a Master's level degree or experience of qualitative research. Experience of working with homeless people or drug users would be a further advantage. Please contact jneale@brookes.ac.uk for further information.

Further information concerning the Brookes Drug and Alcohol Research Group (BDARG) can be found at http://shsc.brookes.ac.uk/research/drug-alcohol.

To apply for this studentship, please complete the university's postgraduate research application form and send copies of our postgraduate referee form, downloadable at: http://www.brookes.ac.uk/studying/applications/direct/research.

Applications should be posted to: 
Ms Lucy Boyles, 
Postgraduate Administrator 
School of Life Sciences 
Oxford Brookes University 
Headington 
Oxford OX3 0BP 
UK

Please note that applications will not be accepted by email.

Interviews will be held in the week commencing 6th June 2011.

Tags: Social Sciences and Social Care Jobs