August, 2010 | Scholarship for Nigerians and Africans - Part 54

PhD Researcher in Innovation Studies, Netherlands

Energy transition processes take a very long time. One of the reasons is the huge inertia of existing systems and the unwillingness of very powerful regime actors to quickly move into new directions. Entrepreneurs with novel ideas often do not posses the power to break through these inert techno-institutional complexes. Therefore, they need to develop specific strategies in order to become successful.
This project focuses on the fundamental mechanism that strongly influences all energy transition processes: the interplay between strategies of entrepreneurs who strive to introduce novelty and strategies of incumbents who have strong vested interests and therefore often resist these processes of change. The two types of actors differ strongly in their respective power positions and therefore very different strategies are likely to be pursued. The government is often confronted with the strategies of both types of actors and needs to find a balance in dealing with both interests. Surprisingly hardly any information on this issue can be found in the literature while this is crucial information to accelerate transition processes. In the project, two empirical domains will be studied that strongly differ in the structure of the incumbent regime: the automotive sector and the built environment in The Netherlands. The PhD-student will study one of these empirical domains.

Qualifications:

The ideal candidate holds a M.Sc. (or equivalent) degree in a relevant field (e.g. innovation studies, sustainable development, evolutionary economics, organisation science, policy science) with experience in empirical research.

Contact Person: Prof. dr Marko Hekkert (M.Hekkert@geo.uu.nl; phone: +31 30 253 6112).

You may also visit the faculty’s website at: www.geo.uu.nl.

How to apply:

Please send your written application, before 15-08-2010, consisting of a letter of motivation, curriculum vitae and addresses of two referees, to:

Utrecht University, Faculty of Geosciences
Personnel Department
Postbus 80115,
3508 TC Utrecht
The Netherlands or (preferably) by email to PenO@geo.uu.nl

Please mention vacancy number 72178 in all communications and mention where you first saw this advertisement.

The Phillipa Weeks Scholarship in Law 2010, Australia

The Phillipa Weeks Scholarship in Law was created in memory of Phillipa Christine Weeks who was a member of staff of the ANU College of Law from 1979 until her death in 2006 at the age of 53. The Scholarship Fund was established from money donated by the University, the College, staff of the College, alumni, family and friends.

Eligibility
The Phillipa Weeks Scholarship in Law is available to a person who:
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Is a successful applicant for entry to the first year of a program of study leading to the award of Bachelor of Laws (LLB) whether undertaken as a single degree or part of a combined program;
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has attended secondary school in a regional or remote area of Australia,
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has completed school in the last 12 months; and
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is a citizen of or holds permanent resident status in Australia.
The successful applicant must not have been previously enrolled in any tertiary degree or diploma program at a university or other institution of tertiary education whether in or outside Australia.

Application
Applications shall be called for annually with a closing date as set, from time to time, by the ANU College of Law Scholarship Committee.
The application shall be submitted in the form of a letter (with any relevant attachments), which sets out information in relation to the applicant’s achievements relative to opportunity, in the following areas:

academic performance over the final two years at secondary school;

leadership at school; and

community involvement.
The application should also give information about the regional or remote area in which the applicant lives and has received his or her schooling.
Three references supporting the application should be forwarded separately to the ANU College of Law Scholarship Committee. It would be expected that one of those references would cover leadership and academic performance, and one would cover community involvement. The third reference might be from another person who has known the applicant for a significant period but is not a member of the applicant’s family.
The applicant must apply separately for entry to the Australian National University.

Selection
The ANU College of Law Scholarship Committee will consider the applications taking into account the applicant’s academic performance, leadership qualities and achievements, and
contribution to the community, all made relative to opportunity over the final two years of secondary school.

Application Deadline 30 November 2010

PhD Researcher for “Heterogeneity in Studies with Discrete-Time Survival Endpoints: Implications for Optimal Designs and Statistical Power Analysis”, Netherlands

This project is funded by a VIDI grant from the Netherlands’ Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). The PhD student will spend time on doing research, following mathematics and statistics courses of IOPS and other institutes, and spend about 10% of the time on teaching courses at the BSc level. The PhD student will be supervised by Dr M. Moerbeek.

The aim of trials on event occurrence is to study if and when a particular event, such as onset of daily smoking or entry into parenthood, occurs. The timing of events may be in thin and precise units or in coarser intervals. In the second case one does not know the exact timing of the event; one only knows that it occurred within a particular time interval. Such discrete-time survival data are typically analyzed on basis of a generalized linear model, such as a logistic regression model.

The main research question in any trial is whether an experimental treatment differs from a control with respect some outcome variable. As many covariates or background variables, such as age and socio-economic status, may have an effect on the outcome they should be measured and included in the statistical model. Ignoring such variables may result in biased estimates of the treatment effect estimator and hence incorrect conclusions with respect to the effect of treatment.

The aim of this project is to investigate to what extent such biases occur and how they can be corrected for in the statistical model. We will also focus on the optimal design of trials with covariates and discrete-time survival data. The PhD student will write papers in international scientific journals, contribute to international conferences and write a PhD thesis.

Qualifications:

  • MSc in applied statistics, biometrics, biostatistics, econometrics, psychometrics or a related field with a solid background in applied statistics.
  • Applicants should be familiar with the generalised linear model, matrix algebra, research designs and have some experience with computer programming.
  • The applicant communicates easily in English, both verbally and in writing.
  • The starting date is January 2011.

    Contact Person: ms. Dr M. Moerbeek (supervisor), phone (+31) 30 253 1450,
    email: M.Moerbeek@uu.nl, website: http://www.fss.uu.nl/ms/moerbeek.

    How to apply:

    Please send your written application, with motivation, curriculum vitae, list of courses and grades and contact information of two referees before August 25th, 2010 and specifying vacancy number 691021.

    Applications can be emailed to: PenO.FSW@uu.nl or be sent to:
    Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Personnel Department, attn. Mr. M. Azdoufal, P.O Box 80140, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands.