Applied Social Sciences Research Studentships, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK

Publish Date: Apr 21, 2015

Deadline: Jun 01, 2015

We are investing significant funding in a wide portfolio of new PhD opportunities:

  • Fully-funded Vice-Chancellor’s Awards - £13,863 bursaries, bench fees and tuition fees for 3 years for exceptional candidates.
  • 5 year PhD programmes with postgraduate teaching, opportunities to have guaranteed paid teaching for 5 years, tuition fees and a part-time bursary.
  • Industry match-funded opportunities available throughout 2015, build your PhD programme with MMU and an industry partner to deliver research with impact.

To check if you meet meet standard university entrance requirements for research degrees visit our Research Degrees Page.

The below list are all fully funded studentships.

The below list are all fully funded studentships.

An investigation of effectiveness of facial morphing in promoting use of sun protection in men and women aged 35+ - OPEN

PROJECT SUMMARY

This project will build on previous facial morphing work with younger people. It will investigate the effects of a facial morphing intervention on tanning-related experiences, attitudes and behaviours in males and females aged 35+ using interviews, focus groups, and a randomised controlled trial (RCT). In the RCT, attitudes, behavioural intentions, self-reported use of sunscreen, and objective measures of skin damage will be compared between men and women allocated at random to intervention and control conditions.

PROJECT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a key avoidable risk factor for skin cancer (Cancer Research UK, 2014), and cases of malignant melanoma are growing more rapidly than any other form of cancer in the UK (British Skin Foundation, 2014). Ageing software enables researchers to show individuals their faces aged up to 72 years with and without UV protection. This has proved to be a valuable intervention when encouraging younger women and men to avoid UV exposure. Williams et al. (2012; 2013a) found that young women and men who had viewed their faces aged with UV exposure became motivated to change their future UV exposure and sun-protection behaviours, and Williams et al. (2013b) found that young women who had seen their faces aged with or without UV exposure had significantly more positive attitudes towards sun protection and higher intentions to protect their skin than those exposed to a health-related intervention.

Existing work on effects of facial morphing interventions on UV exposure and protection has focused on those under 35 years. These initial studies suggest that facial morphing interventions may be useful with young people but do not tell us anything about impact on those aged over 35 years. Skin cancer is a significant risk to those over 35 years (British Skin Foundation, 2014; Cancer Research Campaign, 2014) so it is important to find ways of encouraging men and women to avoid exposure and to use sun protection. Recent work suggests that men and women in the 35+ age group are likely to be concerned about appearance (Grogan, 2012), so facial morphing techniques may provide useful means of enabling skin protection in those over 35 years.

Aim

This project will aim to investigate how experiences, attitudes and behaviours related to tanning are influenced by exposure to facial morphing in men and women aged 35+.

Research Question

Does exposure to UV-exposure-related age-progression techniques impact significantly on UV-exposure-related attitudes, intentions and behaviour in men and women over 35 years?

Objectives

1. To explore experiences of an appearance-related sun protection intervention in men and women over 35 years. This will involve focus groups and interviews after exposure to the intervention.

2. Based on 1, to design and implement an appearance-related intervention for men and women aged over 35 years.

3. To assess the efficacy of the intervention. This will involve using a randomised controlled trial where men and women will be divided at random into intervention and control conditions, and scores on attitudes, behavioural intentions, self-reported use of sun block and UV exposure rates, and objective measures of sun damage will be compared between the two conditions over a one year period.

SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS OF THE PROJECT

Essential 1. Degree in psychology or related area at 2.1 or above. 2. Experience of using both qualitative and quantitative methods in research 3. Excellent communication skills Desirable BPS-accredited BSc Psychology MSc Health Psychology or related discipline

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

This is a fully-funded project available for start in September.

It is open to Home/EU and international candidates.

SUPERVISORY TEAM

Informal enquiries can be made to 

Professor Sarah Grogan, Tel: 0161 247 2504, email: s.grogan@mmu.ac.uk

HOW TO APPLY

Please quote the studentship reference number RIHSC-SG-2014-02.

Applications should be completed using the Postgraduate Research Degree Application Form

Application Form should be emailed to: pgradmissions@mmu.ac.uk.

PLEASE NOTE that Section 9 of the application should be used to write a personal statement outlining your suitability for the study, what you hope to achieve from the PhD and your research experience to date.

CLOSING DATE

1st June 2015

Interviews: August 2015

 

Sociology and Criminology - OPEN

Sociology and Criminology
(Contact: Professor Steve Miles s.miles@mmu.ac.uk)

Applicants are strongly advised to discuss their applications with their prospective supervisors and the relevant studentship contacts for each subject area.

HOW TO APPLY

Applications should be completed using the Postgraduate Research Degree Application Form

Application Form should be emailed to: pgradmissions@mmu.ac.uk.

PLEASE NOTE that Section 9 of the application should be used to write a personal statement outlining your suitability for the study, what you hope to achieve from the PhD and your research experience to date.

CLOSING DATE

4th June 2015


This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:

http://www2.mmu.ac.uk/research/studentships/applied-social-sciences/

Similar Opportunities


Disciplines

Social Sciences

Study Levels

PhD

Opportunity Types

Scholarships

Eligible Countries

International

Host Countries

United Kingdom