PhD Law Scholarship with Kate Bedford

Level of study

Doctoral research

Subject area

Law

Nationality

EU, Overseas (Non-EU), UK

Type of Award

External

Deadline for applying

Closed 19/08/2022 (Note: competition closed for this year)

Award Description

Project Title: The lived legal experiences of those impacted by gambling harms: understanding encounters with law and regulation.

Project description:
The Project
To deploy law and regulation effectively to address gambling harm, we need to understand how those harmed by gambling experience law and regulation. This requires investment in socio-legal research on gambling, to explore the potentials, and limits, of law and regulation as a strategy of social and behavioural change. For example, previous research has revealed the potentially negative impact of new social responsibility rules on low-waged workers, and on cash-using players (Bedford 2019, 268-300). There are also reasons to suspect that severe gambling harm may result in legal encounters. For example, a recent study notes the severe consequences of harmful gambling on the gambler, including “being charged with criminal offences” (Dinos et al 2020, 37).

This project will ascertain how those with lived experience of gambling harm encounter law and regulation. It will ask how law and regulation feature in narratives of gambling harm, to learn more about what is working in the current approach to using law and regulation to prevent harm, and what needs to change.

The project will use in-depth interviews with people with lived experiences of gambling harms; close reading of their public accounts (written and spoken – e.g. at conferences; in parliamentary committees; on You Tube), and analysis of relevant case law. As Fiona Nicoll (2019, 208) argues, such accounts are crucial resources for researchers interested in how gambling harm is narrated, enabling us to learn more about how law and policy measures are experienced in practice. Particular attention will be given to comparing the experiences of law and regulation between men and women; between lower and higher income people; between Black, Asian, and White people; and between older and younger people.

Works Cited
Bedford, Kate. 2019. Bingo Capitalism: The Law and Political Economy of Everyday Gambling (Oxford University Press).

Nicoll, Fiona. 2019. Gambling in Everyday Life: Spaces, Moments and Products of Enjoyment. 2019. Routledge. London.
Sokratis, Dinos et al. 2020 (May). Treatment Needs and Gap Analysis in Great Britain: Synthesis of findings.

Lead Supervisor.
The lead supervisor, Professor Kate Bedford, is an expert on law and political economy, including in relation to gambling. She has a track record of successfully delivering funded research from UKRI, and other funders (details of grants available on request). As Principal Investigator on The Bingo Project (an ESRC-funded project on the socio-legal regulation of gambling), she managed a diverse, 16 member international Advisory Group drawn from industry, legal practice, the third sector, the UK’s Gambling Commission, and five academic disciplines (law, history, sociology, criminology, and business/management studies).

Who we are and what we can offer.
Birmingham Law School is a friendly, diverse, civic, and globally-oriented law school, located in a vibrant part of the UK’s second city. We are consistently named as one of the UK’s best law schools. We are committed to the pursuit of excellence in research and teaching, and to supporting academic work that is influential in and beyond the academy. Our scholarly community includes post-graduate students pursuing doctrinal, comparative, critical, socio-legal, post-colonial, interdisciplinary, and empirical work, and all methodological approaches are welcomed and supported.

We are proud of the diversity and excellence of our post-graduate student body, and we are committed to enabling students to develop into independent researchers and thinkers throughout their time with us. We welcome applications from candidates of all genders, backgrounds, and identities who wish to become part of our scholarly community.

Value of Award

Funding for this three year scholarship is provided by Gamble Aware, an independent, grant-making charity commissioning prevention and treatment services across England, Scotland, and Wales in partnership with expert organisations and agencies, including the NHS.

This scholarship covers the full cost of home-rate tuition fees (£4596) and an annual stipend of £16,062 (this will increase each year in line with the UKRI rate). The successful candidate will also have access to additional research funds via a research allowance of £750/year, and a fieldwork allowance of £450/year.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility criteria/entry requirements:
This project is open to UK and international PhD students starting in October 2022. However funding is only available to cover fees at the home rate.

Key requirements
• A 2.1 degree (or non-UK equivalent as defined by University of Birmingham), or higher, in Law, or a relevant discipline (e.g. social policy; public health), and an LLM, MA, or MSc with Distinction (or non-UK equivalent), in hand or expected by Oct 2022.
• A first class undergraduate degree is desirable but not required. Applicants with a 2.1 in their first degree, and/or a merit grade (or projected grade) in a taught post-graduate degree, along with experience relevant to the area of research, are welcome.
• Evidence of relevant research skills. We expect that the successful candidate will have either an LLM with evidence of socio-legal research skills, or a Masters’ degree in humanities, social sciences, or public health with evidence of legal research skills.
• A strong interest in pursuing research in this field.
• Excellent written communication.
• Ability to work to deadlines, prioritise tasks, and balance competing demands.
• English language requirements: IELTS Academic 7 or above, with 6.5 in each individual category, or equivalent.
• Self-motivated

How to Apply

How to apply/references:
Prospective applicants are required to apply by sending in:
• A cover letter (this should set out your reasons for applying for the scholarship and why you are suited to the research proposed)
• A CV (please include the names and contact details of two referees at the end of the CV)
• Transcript of grades
These documents should be sent to: calpg-research@contacts.bham.ac.uk by 19 August 2022. Shortlisted candidates will be notified on Tuesday 23 August; interviews will be held (remotely) on Friday 26 August 2022. At this stage we will ask for references from the referees nominated by shortlisted candidates. 

Contact

Kate Bedford
k.bedford@bham.ac.uk