ESRC DTP Collaborative Studentship. Conversation Behaviour in Daily Life: the Effects of Situation, Hearing Loss, and Hearing-aid Use (based in Glasgow)

Midlands Graduate School Doctoral Training Partnership - University of Nottingham and Sonova AG

The Midlands Graduate School is an accredited Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP). One of 14 such partnerships in the UK, the Midlands Graduate School is a collaboration between the University of Warwick, Aston University, University of Birmingham, University of Leicester, Loughborough University and the University of Nottingham.

The University of Nottingham as part of Midlands Graduate School is now inviting applications for an ESRC Doctoral Studentship in association with our collaborative partner Sonova AG, to commence in October 2021. 

People with hearing loss may change their communication behaviour in various ways; avoiding social situations, partaking in them but not engaging, or engaging but feeling that they fail to communicate satisfactorily. Such coping strategies are reflected in conversational behaviour patterns at microscopic (momentary, in conversation) and macroscopic (lifestyle, in social engagement) timescales. 

In this PhD project, you will first apply qualitative techniques to conceptualize verbal interaction behaviour in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired adults. Then you will harness novel technologies to acquire objective data about people’s daily-life conversation behaviour. The insights arising from this work may lead to improved hearing devices, and better counselling models in hearing rehabilitation.

This project bridges between the School of English and the School of Medicine. Note that for the majority of the studentship duration, your physical base will be in Glasgow, at the Scottish section of the School of Medicine’s Hearing Sciences group. The project will be supervised by Professor Svenja Adolphs (School of English), Professor Graham Naylor (School of Medicine), and Dr. Gurjit Singh (Sonova AG).

Sonova AG, the collaborating partner, is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of hearing aids and cochlear implants. You will make several study visits to their HQ in Zurich, Switzerland, and learn about innovations in hearing devices and the way knowledge is transformed into products.

Application Process

To be considered for this PhD, please complete the Collaborative Studentship application form available online here and email this to [Email Address Removed]. Shortlisted applicants will also be required to provide two references.

Application deadline: 3rd March 2021