Research Assistant - Community & Social Movement Responses to Crises: The Case of Doncaster’.
This project is a collaboration between two staff members, from the Sociology and Politics departments at the University of York, Dr Sara De Jong (Politics) and Dr Tom O’Brien (Sociology). The project falls into the broader university’s vision of acting as a university of the public good.
The project and this internship are funded by the Morrell Trust.
Project details:
We are looking to recruit a short term research assistant to support them on an exploratory project ‘Identifying Community Social Movement Responses to Compounding Crises: The Case of Doncaster, South Yorkshire’.
This research investigates community and social movement responses to multiple compounding crises. It focuses on contemporary Doncaster in the University of York’s backyard, a community where economic, environmental, social and political – and most recently health – crises have played out.
A stigmatised town (voted in the ‘worst town to live in Britain’ competition top 5 in 2019 and 2020), Doncaster is emblematic of post-industrial decline in Northern England, with South Yorkshire being identified as “one of the most deprived areas in Europe” in 1999 (Thorleifson, 2016: 558). A former mining town, Doncaster suffered from the decline of the coal industry alongside the reduction in heavy industry through privatisation and offshoring. The local council budget has seen cuts totalling £272m since 2010-11 (on the gross budget for 2009-10 of £495m. Traditionally a Labour stronghold faithful to its mining heritage, the 2019 General Election returned a Conservative MP for the Don Valley for the first time in nearly a century. This follows the 2016 Leave vote of 69%, one of the highest in the country and the hosting of two UKIP conferences in 2014 and 2015, suggesting a longer-term fragmentation in the electoral base.
The project will get behind these figures to examine how “the community” (which already is divided and heterogenous) diagnoses the situation and the potential actions and possibilities for the future. This will involve identifying how community social movements and local government respond to immediate challenges, as well as how they conceptualise and manage or resist longer-term patterns of decline.
The intern will work as a research assistant on this project and provide support by organising and analysing the documentary analysis of media and policy documents about Doncaster and its community.
Organising tasks include checking the archive for completeness, removing duplicates, organising it by date and theme etc. Analysing tasks include building a timeline based on the media sources and identifying the main issues.
Project outputs:
- A structured ‘archive’ of policy and media reports
- A summary background report of key developments affecting Doncaster between 2011-2021
We are looking for someone with:
Essential:
- A strict attention to detail
- Strong research skills
- Developed writing skills and ability to think critically
- An understanding of research methods used in the Social Sciences
- Knowledge of and/or an interest in grassroots politics and local communities in the UK
- Strong IT skills
Desirable:
- Knowledge of and/or affinity with the Doncaster area would be beneficial; alternatively knowledge about/or affinity with other former mining areas facing industrial decline
What the intern can gain from this internship:
- Gain experience with the research process, data analysis and writing, in particular with content analysis of media and policy sources
- Gain knowledge and understanding of the local impact of intersecting political, social and economic crises and associated community responses
- Gain insight into the tasks involved in crafting a larger research project
- The student will work closely with the researchers, but also have the opportunity to work independently and take ownership of the tasks identified.
Application details
This post is brought to you by the Student Internship Bureau and is for a part time internship, starting on the 5th July for 4 weeks, working virtually 8 hours per week .
The closing date is Sunday 6th June, with interviews expected to take place on Monday 14th June.
Please note that if you are offered an internship through the Internship Bureau, it is a condition of the agreement that you participate fully in the training elements of your project, which includes maintenance of a learning journal and completion of a short project report or video about your experience.
Employers choose to advertise their roles via the Student Internship Bureau, therefore we ask that you do not contact employers directly with your application. If you have any questions about your application, please email careers-placements@york.ac.uk.
How to apply:
To apply, please click the red ‘apply’ link.
- Please download the Student Internship Bureau application form. You can find this on the Student Internship Bureau company profile as an attachment. Alternatively, the application form is attached to the internship vacancy. Once you have completed this, please re-upload along with your CV.
- Please note that if you do not receive a confirmation email following your application, we have not received it. Therefore please be sure to save a copy of your application in case you need to reapply, and email careers-placements@york.ac.uk if you wish to check your application status.
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- If you have not heard from the internship bureau within two weeks of the application deadline, please assume that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful.
- You are encouraged to seek support when putting together your application. You can access CV and interview advice at york.ac.uk/careers/applications
INTERNSHIP ELIGIBILITY: YOU MUST READ THIS INFORMATION BEFORE APPLYING. Please send any queries to careers-placements@york.ac.uk.
This internship is open to all students of the University of York who will be registered with the University, and who will be based in and have the legal right to work in the UK, for the duration of the internship.
Please note that students studying on a student visa may not exceed 20 hours of paid work (including voluntary work) per week during term time. For postgraduate students, we consider term-time to include the summer vacation.
Right to work documentation: Any applicant who is offered this internship will be asked to provide evidence of their right to work in the UK before beginning the internship. This will involve providing a copy of your passport to the University’s HR Team. If you are a non-EU national your passport should contain details of your student visa confirming that you have obtained permission to work. You will be contacted with further instructions on how to complete a Right to Work check either virtually or in-person if you are offered the role.
You must be eligible to work in the UK and have a valid National Insurance (NI) number to complete this internship. If you are in the application process for an NI number at the time your internship is due to start, you can start work, however please note the University of York Casual Worker Team will require you to provide your NI number as soon as possible. Further information on NI numbers can be found on the UK Government website.