CENTRIC is a multidisciplinary, security-focused research Centre of Excellence that addresses some of Europe's most pressing security challenges. CENTRIC conducts applied research in collaboration with local, national and international LEAs, specialist security groups, and leading technology providers to develop end-user driven technologies and solutions. The Centre's activities are firmly underpinned by due regard for ethical considerations, relevance for end-user and societal impact. You can find out more about CENTRIC at http://research.shu.ac.uk/centric/
We are offering 3 PhD Studentships to support the excellent applied research within CENTRIC as leading Centre of Excellence in Terrorism, Resilience, Intelligence and Organised Crime Research. The PhDs are located within the recently funded UKRI project “3PO - Protecting public-facing professionals and their dependents online". 3PO is an ambitious, multi-disciplinary project lead by CENTRIC and conducted with researchers from UCL, Oxford, Cambridge and Napier University.
Public-facing professionals - i.e., individuals whose job is performed in the public eyes - such as medical personnel, journalists, police officers or politicians are increasingly confronted with threats, aggressions and harassment to themselves and their families. This aggression is often unorganised, comes from private citizens through public social media channels and has massive negative impacts for the professionals at the receiving end (e.g., their mental wellbeing, their professional standing or their ability/willingness to further participate in the public discourse within their area of expertise).
The 3 PhD projects will help investigate why such online harms happen, what consequences they have for public-facing professionals and their families and develop solutions for their protection. 3PO as a project focuses on police as an example of a highly visible public-facing profession. PhD students have the option to consider other professions in addition.
This project - Development of technological solutions for the protection against online harms - will lead to technological solutions to proactively and reactively protect public-facing professionals and their dependants from online harms. The research will explore mobile and other applications compatible to diverse user needs (police officers, family members including children or elderly), such as diverse levels of e-literacy and privacy needs.
Eligibility
Information on entry requirements can be found at https://www.shu.ac.uk/courses/computing/phd-computing-and-informatics/full-time/2022
How to apply
We strongly recommend you contact the lead academic, Prof Petra S Bayerl ([Email Address Removed]), to discuss your application
Start date for studentship: October 2022
Interviews are scheduled for: TBC
For information on how to apply please visit https://www.shu.ac.uk/research/degrees