[Air-L] 3-year PhD Scholarship (Understanding Mobile and Social Media in the Pacific)

[Heather Horst]

*** Please feel free to circulate widely (apologies for cross-postings) ***


3-year PhD Scholarship (Understanding Mobile and Social Media in the
Pacific)

School of Media and Communication, RMIT University Australia
Application deadline: 31 October 2012



This three-year scholarship is for a PhD candidate who will contribute to
the fieldwork for an ethnographic study of mobile and social media in 1-2
Pacific countries. S/he will spend at least 12 months over the three years
of candidature documenting, archiving and analysing mobile and social
communication practices and infrastructure. As a discrete case study, but
key component of the comparative study, the PhD candidate will participate
in and contribute to a recently funded Australian Research Council (ARC)
Linkage Grant "Mobilising Media for Sustainable Outcomes in the Pacific
Region" (see below for project summary). They will also become a PhD Member
of the Digital Ethnography Research Centre: *
http://www.digital-ethnography.net*



Eligible candidates will have a BA, BA with Honours or MA/MSC in
Communication, Anthropology, Sociology, Science and Technology Studies,
Informatics, Media Studies or other related discipline. They must be
willing to undertake ethnographic fieldwork in up to two countries in
Melanesia, Micronesia or Polynesia with a focus upon online and mobile
media. Ideal candidates will have linguistic expertise and/or be willing to
learn the language(s) of their fieldwork site(s). International and
Australian nationals are eligible to apply. The Scholarship, which covers
tuition, fees, a small stipend and other research expenses, will begin in
March 2013.



Initial expressions of interest should be sent to Dr. Heather Horst at *
heather.horst at rmit.edu.au*



Please note that all applicants will need to apply for and be accepted to
the PhD program in Media and Communication at RMIT University. The
Application deadline is 31 October 2012. Application details can be found
at:

*
http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse/Our%20Organisation%2FDesign%20and%20Social%20Context%2FSchools%20and%20groups%2FMedia%20and%20Communication%2FResearch%2FHigher%20Degrees%20by%20Research/
*



About the School of Media and Communication at RMIT University:

RMIT University has a long and distinguished history of applied and
theoretical media research, with our doctoral graduates positioned
throughout the sector. The School of Media and Communication, formed in
2009, supports research across a number of sub-fields in media and
communications, which allows for both discrete disciplinary excellence and
interdisciplinary interventions. Our researchers were ranked above world
standard in our fields in the recent ERA round (achieving a 4 ranking in
2001 FoR code). The new School has a total staff of over 200, an academic
staff of 128, and 107 HDR candidates (80 PhDs & 27 Masters). In addition,
the School has two APDs, a QEII, three Vice Chancellor’s Senior Research
Fellows, a VC Fellow, and an Early Career fellow. The School also supports
a top academic journal, Communication, Politics and Culture (previously
ranked A through ERA) and a series of Centres, Groups and Labs including
the Digital Ethnography Research Centre, the Communication, Politics and
Culture Centre),  the Games and Experimental Entertainment Lab (GeeLab),
 the Exertion Games Lab, the Creative Writing Group and others.



Mobilising Media for Sustainable Outcomes in the Pacific Region

Australian Research Council Linkage Grant (2012-2015)

CI Heather Horst, CI Jo Tacchi and PI Domenic Friguglietti

Funding Dates: October 2012- October 2015



Project Summary: One quarter of Australia’s $4.8 billion in aid will be
spent in the Pacific region in 2011-12. Adoption of communication for
development as a strategy can improve the effectiveness of development
assistance, which will result in improving development goals and desired
outcomes. We will develop a grounded understanding of the social and
economic conditions and changes associated with media and communication in
the region. Using this knowledge to inform the design of development
initiatives, we will evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions and
their communication components and develop transferable design principles.
The aim is to support Australia’s goal to improve the effectiveness of its
international development assistance.


-- 
Heather A. Horst
Vice Chancellor's Senior Research Fellow
School of Media and Communication
College of Design and Social Context
RMIT University
Melbourne Victoria 3001
Australia

Phone: +61 3 9925 3988
Email: heather.horst at rmit.edu.au
Web: http://heatherhorst.org