PhD Scholarship: Digital inclusion and libraries in remote/regional Australian communities

Company Description

This PhD will be housed within Griffith Business School’s Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing (WOW). The Centre is home to a group of experts who use rigorous academic processes to bridge the gap between workplace research, practice and policy to help meet the demands of a constantly changing and adapting business world. Centre researchers explore and utilise macro (international, societal, organisational) and micro (individual) level research around key contemporary workforce issues such as emotion; employee voice; collectivism; health and safety; wellbeing; equity, diversity and gender; and the management of human capital at work.

As a member of the Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing (WOW) community, you would be invited to participate in Centre activities such as seminars and workshops. You would also be supported by a community of experts in a high-performing research centre known for quality academic and industry-focused outputs.

Job Description

We are currently looking for a PhD candidate to work as part of an ARC Discovery Project, ‘The Role of Public Library Services for a Changing Rural Australia’ recently awarded to Prof Philip Hider and Dr Simon Wakeling at Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Dr Amber Marshall at Griffith University (GU). The primary focus of this role is to undertake two ethnographic case studies of libraries in different regional/remote communities in Australia, and to produce a PhD on the topic of digital inclusion. Success in this role requires independent travel and fieldwork, as well as collaboration with the ARC Discovery project team.

The project will investigate the role public libraries located in remote and outer regional communities play in narrowing the socioeconomic gap between rural and urban Australia through seven ethnographic case studies. The PhD student based at Griffith University will focus on two of these case studies and conduct fieldwork in two communities in remote/regional Queensland, with a focus on digital inclusion. There will be scope to define your own project within these parameters. Topics may include understanding how libraries contribute to digital infrastructure and services within a town or region, or investigating the role library staff play as ‘digital mentors’ in their communities.

The student will be supervised by Dr Amber Marshall and A/Prof Luke Houghton (GU), and also work with Prof Philip Hider and Dr Simon Wakeling (CSU). The project team also includes a second PhD based at CSU. The Discovery Project team will deliver integrated research outcomes, including a research monograph and several journal papers, a national roundtable on rural and remote librarianship, and a set of recommendations for future policy and practice. The three-year project will begin in early 2025 and end in late 2027. It is planned that the fieldwork will be undertaken by the PhD students mostly in the second year of the project and that they visit both of their two field sites for 3 separate two-week periods.

The PhD student may be based at Brisbane South (Nathan) campus or be a remote student within Australia.

Qualifications

The selection of applicants for the award of higher degree research scholarships at Griffith University involves consideration of your academic merit and research background. To be successful within this role, you will need to be able to undertake independent fieldwork in regional and remote locations for periods of 2 weeks at a time. You will have evidence of a passion for enabling thriving communities in geographically remote Australian communities, with a strong desire to undertake research in digital inclusion.

• Expressions of interest are welcome from domestic applicants.
• Applicants must have completed, or expect to complete, a bachelors degree with honours equivalent to second class (division A) or a Masters degree (AQF Level 9) incorporating a significant research component of a standard comparable to a bachelor honours degree or be regarded by Griffith University as having an equivalent level of attainment in accordance with Schedule One of the HDR Scholarship Procedure.  For further information on the eligibility requirements for the program refer here.

Please note:

The desired candidate will have a strong track record in one or more of the following academic disciplines: media and communication studies, organisation studies, library studies, management studies, rural studies, and/or other relevant discipline. A current drivers licence is also desired.

Additional Information

About the scholarship

The 2025 Research Scholarship has an annual stipend of $34,752 (indexed) for a period of up to three years of full-time study. Please see the GUPRS Conditions of Award for more information.

Approved remote candidature may include additional funding support to travel to one face-to-face project team meeting at CSU in Wagga Wagga, NSW per year.

EoI process

Please do not select the “APPLY” button. All expressions of interest must be submitted to amber.marshall@griffith.edu.au containing:

• Statement addressing your suitability for the project/scholarship (one page)
• Research proposal
• Evidence that you have completed a program with the required grades as detailed in the about you section, including a  copy of your academic transcript
• A curriculum vitae (CV) using the Griffith CV template.
• Names of two referees

The closing date for expressions of interest is:  Friday 31 January 2025

The preferred applicant will then be invited to apply for the program and scholarship on-line

What Griffith offers

As a scholarship holder, you will study with a University that ranks among the top 2% worldwide and spans across campuses in South East Queensland. At Griffith University, we’ve worked hard to create a culture that will challenge you to be curious, creative and courageous. We also support the professional and personal development of all our HDR candidates and invest in the skills of our people. Griffith University values diversity, inclusion and flexibility and we encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, and people of all backgrounds to apply. Griffith's strategic goals are to also increase the proportion of women in senior academic and administrative roles and in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM).

Further information

For project related enquiries please contact:

Dr Amber Marshall
Email: amber.marshall@griffith.edu.au

For administration enquiries please contact:
Griffith Graduate Research School
Email: hdr-scholarship@griffith.edu.au