Computational Modelling Group

Research Associate: The Social Complexity of Immigration and Diversity (SCID)

Apply by
1st September 2013
Submitter:
Luke Goater

THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE PARTICULARS OF APPOINTMENT

Research Associate The Social Complexity of Immigration and Diversity (SCID)

  1. The University invites applications for the above post tenable from 1 September 2013 (or as soon as possible after that) for a period of one year (fixed term).
  2. Further details of the post are attached, including a job description and person specification.
  3. Salary Grade 6, £29,24 per annum.
  4. Informal queries to the Professor Ed Fieldhouse via email ed.fieldhouse@manchester.ac.uk.
  5. After contacting as in (4) above then formal application should be made on line. If you are unable to apply on line please request an application form by emailing hrservices@manchester.ac.uk quoting the reference number or by calling 0161 275 4499 (HR team recruitment line number).
  6. The University of Manchester values a diverse workforce and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.

WITH THE COMPLIMENTS OF THE DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES

Further particulars

Job Description The Social Complexity of Immigration and Diversity (SCID) is a five year project funded by the EPSRC that started in September 2010. SCID is composed of three teams, two from the University of Manchester – the Institute for Social Change (ISC) and the Theoretical Physics Group (TPG) – and one from the Manchester Metropolitan University – the Centre for Policy Modelling (CPM). This project integrates two very different disciplines, social science and complexity science, in order to gain new understanding of the complex of interrelated factors influencing social change with special regard to social cohesion and social equality in the presence of immigration and ethnic diversity. It does this by building a series of computer simulation models of these social processes. By bringing together the social science evidence, the layers of simulation models and the combined expertise of the researchers, this project aims to make real progress in understanding the complex, important yet sensitive issues surrounding the processes that underlie the effects of immigration and diversity on social cohesion and integration. The three main areas to which the models will be applied are: (i) Diversity, homophily and social trust (ii) Socio-political integration (iii) Socio-economic inequality Given the stage of the project and the evolution of existing models in the areas above, the social science team of the SCID project is looking for someone to contribute to the project’s modelling capacity.

Duties The main task of the post holder will involve closely collaborating with the social science team to develop some new simulation models, assisting the CPM team with current models, and helping with the documentation of new and existing models. The post holder will also be involved in writing research results and dissemination activities. Given the specific nature of the post, prior knowledge of complexity science or agent-based simulation modelling or social network analysis (ideally a combination) is necessary.

Person Specification

Essential criteria ? Expertise in methods and principles of complexity science, agent-based simulation modelling and social network analysis. ? Experience of the application of complexity science, agent-based simulation modelling and social network analysis in the social sciences. ? A PhD (or nearing completion at time of application) in a relevant field (e.g. computer science, sociology). ? Excellent organisational skills. ? Excellent communication skills, including the ability to effectively communicate with colleagues with diverse academic backgrounds. ? The ability to work as part of a team, as required. ? The ability to manage own workload, prioritise work and work to tight deadlines. Desirable Criteria: ? Experience of the application of agent-based simulation in the field of immigration and diveristy. ? Evidence of an emerging (national or international) publication record commensurate with career stage. ? Knowledge of available social science data sources. ? Ability to take initiative in pursuing funding opportunities related to the project.

The Institute for Social Change

The Institute for Social Change (ISC) is an interdisciplinary social science research institute which examines the causes and consequences of social change. While independent within the School of Social Sciences, staff are affiliated to the disciplines of Social Statistics, Politics and Sociology. How and why social and political life in modern democracies has changed in response to economic and demographic trends is a key theme of our research. We focus on how such shifts are realigning the national, political, ethnic and religious cleavages that have structured modern Western democracies since the early twentieth century. We examine conflict and cooperation in society, particularly with regard to differences based on race, gender, social class and age, through evidence on: ??Political and civic engagement; ??Social capital, cohesion and inclusion; ??Education and occupational participation and attainment; ??Social, religious and political values; ??Elections, campaigns and voting behaviour.

For further information see www.manchester.ac.uk/socialchange

The University of Manchester

The University of Manchester was formed in 2004 by bringing together The Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST. Faculty of Humanities

The Faculty of Humanities is home to over 900 active researchers has a global and world leading reputation in research excellence that spans academic areas as diverse as the Arts, Music, Modern Languages, Education, Law, the Social Sciences, and Business and Management. This academic range and the scale and structure of the faculty facilitate interdisciplinary research collaboration across its seven schools from a strong disciplinary base. Major research initiatives include a core funded ESRC Research Centre on Socio Cultural Change, the Brooks World Poverty Institute (BWPI), supported by the Rory and Elizabeth Brooks Foundation, the Centre for Research on Economic and Social Change (CRESC), the Sustainable Consumption Institute (SCI), the Manchester-Harvard Institute of Social Change (ISC), the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute (HCRI) and the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research (MIoIR). School of Social Sciences The School of Social Sciences (SoSS) was set up in September 2004 within the Faculty of Humanities (FoH) of the new University of Manchester. It is one of 7 schools in the Faculty and one of 25 in the University as a whole. It is second in size (just behind the Business School also in the FoH) and has 198 academic and research staff. The School is housed in a brand new purpose built building – the Arthur Lewis Building – which it shares with the School of Environment and Development. Named after the Nobel Prize winning economist from St Lucia in the Caribbean who was a Professor of Economics in Manchester in the 1940s and 1950s, it cost £31M to build and was part of a major capital expenditure programme initiated after the merger of the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST in 2004.

The school is comprised of six Discipline areas: Economics, Politics, Sociology, Social Statistics, Social Anthropology and Philosophy. It has a highly developed research culture as demonstrated by its performance in the 2008 RAE. SoSS had an excellent RAE result across all of its subject areas. The School entered 168 staff across give different Units of Assessment and the RAE assessed 59% of their research activity to be at the top two levels of international excellence (3) or world leading (4) with 26% in the world leading class. Sociology and Social Statistics came 1st in the country. Economics moved into the top 10. Politics and Social Anthropology both came 4th in terms of research power while the newly formed Philosophy is on a healthy trajectory. Aggregating the results across these five 3 areas, the School of Social Sciences in Manchester is one of the top three (alongside Oxford and the LSE) in the UK. It is a leading international research school in the Social Sciences with aspirations to enhance its standing even more in the future.

The School is in a robust financial position. It has a budget of £30M and it is makes a healthy surplus each financial year. It is a successful School because its’ scholars attracts a large amount of research funding (as individuals and teams in research centres). Moreover, it is a hugely popular destination for PGR, PGT and UG students. It teaches more than 12% of U/G students at the University of Manchester and attracts over 20% of the University’s overseas U/G students. Its financial position facilitates the replacement appointment of academic staff to keep staff student ratios at a reasonable level.