English Version:

Ph.D. student position in Theory of Science

REF NR Dnr U 2011/699 for employment at Graduate school in marine environmental research.

Centre for Environment and Sustainability.

Closing date: 2012-03-05

University of Gothenburg announces ten research student positions linked to the multidisciplinary

Graduate school in marine environmental research

This research school is run by Gothenburg Centre for Marine Research (under the Centre for Environment and Sustainability). The research student positions are part of five multidisciplinary projects each including two research students from different faculties (disciplines). The research within all projects aims to support a sustainable use and management of marine resources.

The graduate school will recruit in total 14 research students (7 pairs) during the period June 2011-January 2012, and a coordinator of the school will be appointed. Each research student will be affiliated to a "home department" (the department of the supervisor) and be examined in accordance with the rules of the department. Research students and their supervisors of the graduate school are expected to take part of seminars, workshops and similar activities arranged by the school. The two students and the two (or more) supervisors within a project should collaborate to the extent that at least one multidisciplinary (co-authored) manuscript or conference paper is provided.

Below follows a detailed description of the five projects, including the individual research student positions hereby announced.

PROJECT 4: Evaluating Catch Shares and ITQs for Economic, Environmental and Socio-Cultural Sustainability in Sweden

Like many other countries’ fisheries, overfishing, overcapitalization, depleted fish stocks, diminishing value of landings and poor profitability, have characterized Swedish commercial fisheries. A broad approach to address the problems related to open access and regulated open access regimes are catch share programs. Such programs allocate a secure privilege to harvest a specified amount of a fishery's total catch to an individual or group, where groups can be community-based. One type of catch shares used to address poorly defined property rights and the problems with open access is individual transferable quotas (ITQs). ITQs are an example of rights-based fisheries management, i.e. fishing quotas are sold, but it should not be taken as a panacea because it may lead to various problems like high grading, discards and increased by-catch mortality.

In this multidisciplinary research project the objective is to examine and evaluate catch shares in general and the introduction and possible further implementation of ITQs in Swedish fisheries in particular. Swedish ITQs have started in the pelagic fisheries during 2009. Swedish experiences and results will be compared with findings from Catch Share and ITQ programs in other countries like Denmark, Iceland, USA and New Zealand. The project will be carried out in close collaboration between the two PhD candidates, one in Social Studies of Science and one in Economics. The research team includes the two supervisors from the respective institutes, Sebastian Linke and Håkan Eggert. There are also two co-supervisors Andrea Belgrano and Henrik Svedäng, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Resources, Institute of Marine Research in Lysekil.

The work includes both disciplinary and multidisciplinary investigations and will analyze research questions both from a theoretical and an empirical perspective where the objective is to address the following issues:

PhD 1
- How do small-scale and large-scale fisheries adapt to this management regime and what are the socio-cultural consequences for the different kinds of fishing communities?
- How was the implementation of ITQs made in Sweden (and Denmark) as compared to other countries in the world?
- How does the introduction of ITQs in Sweden relate to the developments and reform processes at higher scales such as the EU’s CFP?

4A. Ph.D. student position in Theory of Science

Ref. Nr. U 2011/699
This position will be placed at the Department of Philosophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science, which is a stimulating meeting point for students, researchers and teachers at the Humanistic Faculty of the University of Gothenburg.

Third cycle education
This education leads to a PhD in Theory of Science. It comprises four years of full time study at postgraduate level and the student will be employed at the Department including full benefits. The time period can be extended to up to five years in total through teaching and/or other departmental duties. Only a person accepted for doctoral education at the Department can receive this doctoral position. For further information on the doctoral studies within theory of science you can check the departmental websites (http://www.flov.gu.se; http://www.flov.gu.se/english/education/doctoral-studies-third-cycle).
Salary is varying (over time) between ca. 21 000-26 000 Swedish Crowns (between 2300/2900 €).

Qualifications
The applicant must have a degree of at least 270 high school points or equivalents from other areas.

Criteria
Priority will be given to the student with best capacity to assimilate to the doctoral education within stipulated time frame. Earlier merits, particularly the master thesis (or equivalent) will be of relevance. The applicant should have strong theoretical background, and an expressed interest to work multidisciplinary with research questions related to the management of the marine environment and fisheries management in particular. Candidates with documented background in science-policy interfaces or similar subjects will be prioritized. Ability and interest to acquire new knowledge with regards to theory and methodology is also seen as important. The successful candidate will also have a documented ability to work independently and collaborate in larger research groups. Good communication skills (written and spoken) in both Swedish and English are therefore strong merits.

Application documents
- An attested list of qualifications (CV)
- Copy of examination certificates
- Transcript of courses with grades
- Copy of master thesis (or equivalent), and if relevant other scientific publications
- A reference letter and/or contact information for references that are familiar with the applicant’s work and qualifications
- Documentation of English proficiency
- A short cover letter (1-2 A4 page, written in English) concerning the applicant’s motivation for the research, his ambitions and approach towards PhD studies. Here the applicant should motivate why he/she should be selected for the announced position.

For more information regarding the project please contact the main supervisor, Sebastian Linke:
Phone: +46 (0)31-786 47 54 or +46 (0)735 736 703
E-mail: sebastian.linke@gu.se or look at website: www.flov.gu.se

For general questions regarding the department or Ph.D. positions, please contact the vice dean for research Åsa Abelin:
Phone: 031-786 52 33, E-mail: asa.abelin@gu.se

You can also contact the representatives of the trade unions:
SACO Andreas Nordin, ph. 031-786 6485/ Svetlana Polsky, ph. 031-768 4393,
OFR/S Stefan Schedin, ph. 031-786 1167,
SEKO Lennart Olsson, ph. 031-786 1173

Decision about this position will be taken by the head of department after consultation of the science board at the department and the involved researchers.

Applications
Each position should be applied for with a separate set of application documents. All applications should be sent electronically to Registrator at University of Gothenburg, anstallning@gu.se. The application should be a single pdf with appendices as separate additional pdfs. (If an applicant wants to be considered for more than one position in marine ecology, separate applications should be sent for each position.)
It is important to indicate the reference number of the announcement and which of the ten positions is applied for in the title of the mail.

Deadline for the application is Monday, March 5th 2012.