Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) has evolved as a new form of organising with the potential to revolutionise established business practices across various industries. This project attempts to address the trust and privacy tensions in DLT.

Proposed Research Question

1.What trust and privacy paradoxes exist within DLT?

2.How those paradoxes affect DLT adoption by users, and how can they be overcome?

Theoretical Background 

The specific consensus mechanism and algorithm that can be linked in systems to create smart contracts, provides an infrastructure that enables participants to engage in exchanges without a central authority regulating and verifying transactions. Decentralised governance aims to mitigate some of the drawbacks inherent in centralised platforms. However, alongside the benefits, various inefficiencies and tensions exist at the very core of the technology, which have not received sufficient critical attention. 

Trust- DLT provides an architecture that can provide the so-called trustless system. However, it is not clear whether the trust is able to be replaced by an algorithm and codes or if there is a user need for institutions to supplement them. 

Privacy- DLT is privacy-preserving as long as individual identity is not linked to a wallet address; should such a link be made, all their transactions become visible. Individuals are pseudonymous at best, and always vulnerable to the hacking threat. 

Proposed Method

Whilst research approach and context will be guided by the individual student, we envisage a mixed-method research. At the qualitative stage, the student will conduct interviews with DLT developers as a multiple case study analysis. Based on the insights derived from the interviews, a questionnaire will be designed, analysing the privacy and trust paradoxes from the users’ perspective, followed with secondary data analysis; the quantitative stage. The project concludes by suggesting possible remedies to overcome trust and privacy paradoxes, from organisational perspective. 

Primary supervisor: Dr Mahdi Tavalaei, Fellow at the Centre of Digital Economy (CoDE).

Secondary supervisor: Professor Glenn Parry, Fellow at the Centre of Digital Economy (CoDE).

Co-supervisor: Professor John Collomosse, Director of EPSRC Centre for the Decentralised Digital Economy (DECaDE)

Co-supervisor: Professor Steve Schneider, Director of Surrey Centre for Cyber Security. 

This is a 3-year project starting in October 2021.

Entry requirements

Applicants must have a Merit in Masters and a minimum of 2:1 in Bachelors, or equivalent, in Business, Management, or Economics (applicants with Science or Engineering background with sufficient knowledge of management studies are also considered).

Competence and experience in quantitative and econometric analysis and related software (preferably Stata) is essential. Knowledge about qualitative research methods is a plus.

Applicant must be resident in the UK during the period and study, they may need to travel to collect data during their studies. 

The applicants ideally should be familiar and/or interested in the topics of digitalization and digital platforms. English language requirements: IELTS Academic 6.5 or above (or equivalent) with 6.0 in each individual category.

How to apply

Applications should be submitted via the Management and Business PhD programme page.

Please state clearly the studentship project at you would like to apply for.

Interview dates will be in August 2021 (subject to slight changes).

You must provide colour copies of your Bachelors and Masters official transcripts and degree certificates (official English translations if the originals are not in English), an up to date CV, and two references.  

We also request a written statement of purpose (explaining why you want to undertake this project, why you have the requisite skill, and how you would approach this project). The statement of purpose should be uploaded in the “research proposal” area of the application portal. 

A further piece of research/assignment work, dissertation section, or publication is also recommended to be submitted. Applicants can contact the supervisory team (Dr Mahdi Tavalaei or Professor Glenn Parry) first to discuss their applications.

Funding Notes

Funding covers:

• Full tuition fee covered (UK, EU and International)
• Stipend at £15,609 p.a. (2021/22)
• Research Training Support Grant of £1,000 p.a.
• Personal Computer (provided by the department)

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2.Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) PhD Studentship

University of Sussex  ：University of Sussex Business School

Supervisor：Prof Jacqueline O'Reilly

Application Deadline：Monday, July 26, 2021

Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

About the Project

Summary of award

Digit is offering a studentship (with stipend) to start October 2021 (or soon thereafter) on the impacts of digital technology take up on the labour market.

Scholarship overview

The Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit), funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), aims to advance our understanding of how digital technologies are reshaping work. The studentships are part of the Economics PhD programme at the University of Sussex Business School, which forms part of the ESRC’s South-East Network for Social Sciences (SeNSS). Successful candidates will have access to the training and support available through SeNSS.

There is one studentship on offer focusing on adoption of digital technologies in the labour market

Amount

This PhD studentship cover fees for Homes students and a offers a maintenance allowance (currently £15,285) each year.

PhD Project

The studentship will involve a doctoral student undertaking research on take up of digital technology in the workplace. We invite research proposals that seek to understand the impacts of digital technology adoption on the labour market and firms. The spread of digital technology is likely to lead to diverse outcomes across different groups within the labour market. Some of the consequences of these transformations may be that those with complementary skills benefit from new opportunities, whereas those with mismatched skills may experience declining labour market opportunities. 

A core aim of the Digit centre is to develop a clear understanding of these diverse outcomes and to understand the ways in which Government policy can both promote and support individuals in this changing labour market. We are particularly interested in proposals that contribute to these broad aims of the Centre.  

The student’s main supervisor will be Prof Jacqueline O’Reilly (Digit Director) with co-supervision from Prof Richard Dickens (Economics, University of Sussex Business School). We invite prospective applicants to contact either Prof Reilly or Prof Dickens for an informal discussion about their research proposal.

The studentship includes all the shared support available to the Early Career Researchers (ECRs) at the University of Sussex, in addition to that provided by the Digit centre through the Mid- and Early-Career Researchers (MECR) Forum, and through SeNSS. They will be mentored by senior academics outside their host university and will be able to attend dedicated training events and workshops. They will belong to a larger cohort of PhD students and ECRs across the various locations of the Digit centre and will be expected to take an active part in joint activities, events and career development opportunities.

Eligibility

We normally expect applicants to have at least a Merit (an average of 60% of overall) in a relevant Masters degree and an upper second-class (2.1) undergraduate honours degree. Your qualification should be in economics. You may also be considered for the degree if you have other professional qualifications or experience of equivalent standing. You should also have a demonstration of proficiency of English, if required. So, that is:

-2:1 honours degree

-AND a Masters degree in economics with at least a Merit.

-Proof of proficiency in English i.e., an IELTS certificate taken within the last two years. (At least 6.5 overall with at least 6.0 in each of the four sections.)

These studentships can only cover Home Student fees and are therefore open to UK students (or those with indefinite leave to remain / settled status in the UK). Overseas (including EU) applicants would need to indicate how they would fund the difference between UK and Overseas fees, which are not covered by this studentship.

You count as a UK student if you are :

• a UK national who has been living in the UK or EU for the three years prior to starting your course;

• an EU national with Settled Status;

• an EU national with Pre-Settled status who has been living in the UK for 3 years prior to starting your course;

• a student will Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK;

• an Irish National (due to a reciprocal agreement with the UK)

All other students, including EU nationals moving to the UK to start their PhD, will count as Overseas students.

We welcome applications from suitably qualified people, regardless of ethnicity, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, and working patterns. 

How to apply

Please submit a formal application, using our online application system at http://www.sussex.ac.uk/study/phd/apply. In addition to the documents listed in the guidance on that webpage (which include a research proposal), applicants should submit:

• statement of interest that indicates why you would like to be considered and what you would like to research, highlighting clearly whether you would like to be considered for the PhD (max 1 page)

• a piece of written work (e.g. essay/project from your undergraduate or master’s course)

On the application system use Programme of Study – PhD Economics.

Please make sure you include Prof Jacqueline O’Reilly as your preferred supervisor and Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) PhD studentship in the Funding Section of the application form.

Timetable

Applications due to Sussex: 26 July 2021

Interviews anticipated: 23rd or 24th August

Outcomes anticipated: Week commencing 30 August

Start PhD: October 2021 (or soon thereafter)

3

3.Evaluating the network stability using probabilistic modelling of the future e-mobility ecosystem in urban areas (RENU21-R/EE/MPEE/MARZBAND)

Northumbria University ：Faculty of Engineering and Environment

Supervisor：Dr M Marzband

Application Deadline：Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Competition Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide)

About the Project

The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Renewable Energy Northeast Universities (ReNU)is a collaborative doctoral training programme run by the Universities of Northumbria, Newcastle and Durham. In addition to undertaking an individual scientific research project at one of the three partner Universities, doctoral candidates will engage with added value training opportunities, for example in business, innovation and internationalisation through a 4-year training programme that has been designed to maximise the benefits of a cohort approach to doctoral training. The start date is 1st October 2021.

Environmental concerns about greenhouse gas emission from transportation sector along with advancements in battery technologies has led to massive private and public investment into electrification of the sector (buses, vehicles, scooters, bikes). In this paradigm shift, managing e-mobility ecosystem and overcoming range anxiety are known as the key factors to unlock widespread adoption of the technologies. In this project, we intend to develop a stochastic optimal strategy for charging infrastructure design within distribution networks in urban areas to support future e-mobility ecosystem in both vehicle-to-grid and grid-to-vehicle operation. Several sources of uncertainties, including local traffic pattern, drivers’ behaviour and renewable energy resources, will be considered in the proposed planning tool through stochastic modelling. A physical model of the transportation system (including roads, popular stopping points, parking lots, on-street parking) will be mapped over local low- and medium-voltage power network to account for network capacity availability and constraints. The outcome of the tool will be the optimal location of the future e-parking lots and on-street charging points, the size and types of the chargers at each location as well as the future network expansion to fulfil the e-mobility ecosystem requirements.

This project is supervised by Dr Mousa Marzband. For informal queries, please contact mousa.marzband@northumbria.ac.uk. 

The application closing date is 21 July 2021. Please note that interviews, should they be arranged, will be online rather than in person due to COVID-19.

Eligibility and How to Apply

Please note eligibility requirement:

• Academic excellence of the proposed student i.e. 2:1 (or equivalent GPA from non-UK universities [preference for 1st class honours]); or a Masters (preference for Merit or above); or APEL evidence of substantial practitioner achievement.

• Appropriate IELTS score, if required.

• Applicants cannot apply for this funding if currently engaged in Doctoral study at Northumbria or elsewhere.

Please note that applications must include all of the following to be considered:

1. A research proposal of approximately 1,000 words (not a copy of the advert), and include the advert reference (e.g. ReNU21-R/…).

2. You must upload with your application at least 2 reference letters

3. You must read our privacy notice about how we use your data and acknowledge this by including in your personal statement the following phrase : ‘ I confirm I have read and agreed to the privacy policy in 

   https://renu.northumbria.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-ReNUPrivacyNotice_01_03_21.pdf‘.

Deadline for applications: 21 July 2021

Start Date: 1 October 2021

Northumbria University takes pride in, and values, the quality and diversity of our staff. We welcome applications from all members of the community.

* please note: to be classed as a Home student, candidates must meet the following criteria:

• Be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or

• have settled status, or

• have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or

• have indefinite leave to remain or enter.

If a candidate does not meet the criteria above, they would be classed as an International student.

Funding Notes

Home and International students (inc. EU) are welcome to apply. The studentship is available to Home and International (including EU) students, and includes a full stipend at UKRI rates (for 2020/21, this was £15,285 pa) and full tuition fees. Also significant additional funding to cover research costs and local, national and international travel (conferences and exchanges).