Organisation
The PhD researcher will be based in the Department of Demography at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences. The Departments research programme, entitled Population Change and Health, Culture and Space, has a strong focus on the topic of Healthy Ageing, and in turn plays an important role in the Faculty's overall research programme Towards Well-being, Innovation and Spatial Transformation (TWIST).
HAPS
Healthy Ageing, Population and Society (HAPS) is a collaborative program between RUG and UMCG. HAPS is an inter-faculty research program and a collaboration of (1) the Department of Demography, Faculty of Spatial Sciences; (2) Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences; (3) and the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences. The research program adopts an interdisciplinary and multi-level approach to Healthy Ageing, has a strong theoretical basis and applies both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Both academic oriented research and research-for-society is conducted. Key in HAPS is research related to the longitudinal data set LifeLines in Northern Netherlands. More information can be found at: http://www.rug.nl/HAPS
In 2011 six PhD students will start within HAPS. All PhD students will work closely together and are supervised by staff from the three participating departments.
Job description
Aim
To investigate decision-making in feeding practices in communities with low empowerment, and how this influences inequalities in wellbeing and health.
Theoretical Background
Wellbeing and health are concepts that are influenced not only by measurable indicators such as access to health care, income, but also by social norms and attitude of life. Poverty is generally defined as low income resulting in low socio-economic status. An alternative approach is Sen's capability approach (1999), where the focus is on the freedom to achieve valuable beings and doings rather than on income or socio-economic status as such. In population groups where empowerment is low, freedom of choice becomes a critical issue in relation to both wellbeing and health. Feeding behaviour is an important intermediate in the association between inequality and wellbeing, and can be studied from different angles. It can be considered as a means to generate energy for daily functioning, implying that quantities should meet energy requirements or else under- or overnutrition will occur, but at the same time feeding behaviour is important in home and identity making and reflects social norms and values.
The overweight epidemic has received much attention from researchers and policy makers world wide. In The Netherlands about 13% of the adult population is currently obese. The eastern part of Groningen is one of the areas with highest obesity prevalence. This area is also known for its high unemployment rates, high levels of out-migration, and drop-out from school, and the problem of overweight needs to be considered in the context of low empowerment, and comprised opportunities.
Decision-making on feeding behaviour is influenced by both nature and nurture, and food intake should meet physiological and psychological needs. In this project feeding behaviour will be studied from an emic perspective, listening and understanding this behaviour from within the population. At the same time, feeding practices will also be studied using data from the Lifeline cohort. The two approaches will provide insight into both what people eat, and why they do so. The longitudinal Lifeline approach allows studying how these practices eventually influence health outcomes.
Research Design
Eastern Groningen will be used as a case study. Comparisons with other regions can also be made. Case studies will be selected in collaboration with societal stakeholders such as health care or welfare organizations. Ideally, the project links to activities within the Masterplan Zorg voor de Toekomst in North-East Groningen, especially the Lifestyle theme.
Feeding behaviour will be studied within households, and will not be restricted to one particular age group. Qualitative research will provide insight into how people decide on feeding practices, on how they perceive the choice they actually have in the context of their capabilities and opportunities in life. In-depth interviews. focus group discussions, and participant observation are some of the methods that will be applied. In conjunction with the above, data from the LifeLines study, executed at the University Medical Center Groningen, will be used to study feeding practices in the northern part of The Netherlands in those age groups where such data are available. This study also allows analysis of the association between feeding practices and health outcomes over the life span, and how inequity is important in this association.
The project is part of the interdisciplinary program "Healthy Aging, Population and Society" (HAPS), a collaboration between the Departments of Sociology, Demography and Epidemiology. The PhD is expected to work closely together with 5 other HAPS PhD's, 3 postdocs, and (senior) researchers.
Qualifications
- Masters degree in social sciences, cultural anthropology, cultural geography, or related field
- extensive experience in the conduct of qualitative research
- familiar with quantitative research and design
- experience in the conduct of research adopting a participatory approach
- creative and independent thinking
- pro-active in research activities
- ability to communicate and interact with scientists from other disciplines.
Competences:
- analytical ability
- self-confidence
- communication
- drive.
Conditions of employment
The University of Groningen offers a salary of € 2,042 gross per month in the first year of the appointment, rising to € 2,612 gross per month in the fourth year of a full time position. The conditions of employment comply with the Collective Labour Agreement for the University of Groningen. The full time appointment as PhD researcher (AIO), is temporary for lasts four years. You will first be appointed for a period of 18 months. After a positive evaluation, the contract will be extended for the remaining part of the project. In case that the PhD researcher followed a Research Master programme, the duration of the PhD research will be 3 years.
Starting date:
We expect the PhD researcher to start in September 2011, together with the other 5 HAPS PhD researchers.
Project initiators:
Hinke Haisma, Inge Hutter, Ajay Bailey (Department of Demography, RUG); Ronald Stolk (Department of Epidemiology, RUG).
Information
For information you can contact:
Dr Hinke Haisma, Assistant Professor / Rosalind Franklin Fellow, +31 50 3638654, h.h.haisma@rug.nl
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