Dear colleagues, Please forward to students who might be interested. Thanks, Donald MA scholarship to study social media and fire safety communication in Aotearoa New Zealand University of Canterbury and New Zealand Fire Service Commission I¹m looking for an MA student to work on a project starting as soon as possible (April 2011 or as soon after that date as practicable), for the New Zealand Fire Service Commission on how social media intersect with communication around public information, with an emphasis on marginalised groups in society and on fire risk and safety. The student will contribute to a report for the Commission and complete an MA thesis at the same time at the University of Canterbury. The research will involve conducting focus groups in Auckland and Christchurch, New Zealand. Scholarship: NZ$25,000 plus fees for one year Dates: preferably April 2011 to April 2012 Project description: The aim is to explore how social media can be used to help people in marginalised groups in society develop their knowledge of fire risk and safety, opening up new areas of research and practice for the Commission. The research eschews social marketing models for models that foreground intergroup communication in social networks. The project arises directly from the Fire Service Commission¹s call for research that will investigate the effectiveness of digital media and in particular social networking to reach identified at-risk groups. In terms of that call, the research aims in particular to: - study the uses of social media for public good information by marginalised groups in society - provide a framework for planning the communication of fire safety that aligns better with emerging social media than prevailing frameworks derived from social marketing theory - propose, as a result, some theoretically robust and empirically grounded strategies for using social media for fire safety communication with these groups. I can send a more detailed description of the project to prospective applicants. Selection process: If you are interested, please contact me at donald.matheson@canterbury.ac.nz as soon as possible. I will make a decision, after consulting the postgraduate student coordinator in my programme, based on the criteria below and contact you within the week after. I may request a phone interview or references. The successful recipient will have: * an Honours degree in Media and Communication or equivalent, or alternatively an Honours degree in another field and professional experience in media or communication work * an excellent academic record * appropriate research skills * a rich understanding of emergent media and their implications * excellent work habits and professional manner. This email may be confidential and subject to legal privilege, it may not reflect the views of the University of Canterbury, and it is not guaranteed to be virus free. If you are not an intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately and erase all copies of the message and any attachments. Please refer to http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/emaildisclaimer for more information.