Environmental disasters are increasing in frequency and severity and require improved mitigation planning. Communication approaches used by first responders and governments towards affected communities impact citizen response by increasing or decreasing citizen trust and well-being. Moreover, community members may be slow to leave behind their group, and may engage in risk-taking behaviour to help others. Agent-based models (ABMs) can simulate behavioural outcomes of group decision-making in emergencies, but current evacuation models are mostly based on theoretical assumptions of behaviour rather than empirical evidence.
This PhD project will identify how and why citizens respond to evacuation guidance in climate-related evacuations. The student will explore decision-making by focusing on how and why citizens make decisions, such as the source of information that is judged to be most trustworthy, and what barriers and avenues exist to citizens following guidance. In Work Package 1, the student will conduct a systematic review to identify ways that previous models have formalised group behaviour in emergency response and identify key variables for their research. In Work Package 2, the student will conduct an online map-based evacuation route choice study to explore the effects of these variables on decision-making and compliance. Finally, they will develop an ABM which defines and operationalises these variables. The resulting model will serve as a hypothesis testing environment to identify how citizens react to climate-related emergencies based on empirical evidence.
This project will ensure the student conducts novel interdisciplinary research combining disaster management, behavioural decision making, and modelling for planning emergencies. As such, the student will develop skills in both experimental design and implementation to address human factors in emergencies, and ABMs to inform crisis planning and mitigation. Furthermore, the project will offer the student strong impact opportunities since the outputs will be of interest to both academic and non-academic stakeholders in emergency response, evacuation planning, and crisis mitigation.
Eligibility:
Applicants must meet the following eligibility criteria:
Essential criteria:
- A good first degree (at least 2:1)
- Demonstrate an interest in and knowledge of group behaviour and decision-making
- Experience with statistical analysis, as well as programming (ideally in either MATLAB or NetLogo, or with Python programming languages)
- Have a good grounding in quantitative social science methods
- Proven ability to work independently and efficiently
- Excellent organisational skills
- Excellent skills in writing
- Excellent oral presentation and communication skills
- Proven ability to work as a member of a team
Desirable criteria:
- Prior experience of research into group behaviour using the social identity approach
- Prior experience in cross-disciplinary research
- An MSc degree in either psychology, social psychology, geosciences, or a highly related field Experience communicating research to a lay audience
Selection Process:
Applications will be ranked by an internal institutional selection panel, and you will be notified if you have been shortlisted for interview on or around 19th April. Interviews will take place on 4th May.
This studentship award is subject to the successful candidate securing admission to a PhD programme within the University of Edinburgh. The successful candidate will be invited to apply for admission to the relevant PhD programme.
If you are interested in applying to the listed PhD studentship, please visit the site below, select the PhD studentship your are interested in and follow the further instructions provided under the "How to Apply" section.
https://www.sgsss.ac.uk/studentships/current-opportunities/
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