PhD vacancy “Agent-based modelling of the social-ecological system of Sagalassos/Ağlasun in past and present”
(ref. BAP-2023-700)Laatst aangepast : 17/10/2023
The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences consists of 30 full-time professors, about 200 researchers and 20 administrative and technical staff. Our main mission is to carry out state-of-the-art scientific research with respect to the functioning of geo- and ecosystems at different spatial and temporal scales, including the interaction between humans and the environment and the sustainable management of natural resources. Together, we provide high-quality education within the fields of bioengineering, geography, geology and tourism. We aim to play an important role in social issues such as environmental pollution, food production, climate change, forest, green and nature management, soil and water management, subsurface exploitation, urban and rural issues, development cooperation and tourism.
Project
In this interdisciplinary PhD research the effect of socio-economic differentiation on land use and landscape change during past and present periods of accelerated growth and urbanization in Southwestern Anatolia, Turkey, will be explored using Agent-Based Modelling (ABM). ABM are widely used computational models to simulate the collective outcomes of aggregate individual behavior in complex systems. Shifting the focus from variables to agents, they allow to take into account differences and interactions between individual agents while simulating outcomes at the system level. Grounded Simulation (GS), as a specific ABM-approach, combines ABM with a Grounded Theory approach to qualitative research. It is particularly helpful when simulating the outcomes of choices made by social agents, including in-depth but qualitative knowledge about their decision making procedures in the model specifications in an iterative process. Combining the strengths of qualitative and quantitative research, it strengthens the fore- and backcasting capacities of social ABM for a combined analysis of past, present and future land use changes under pressure of rapid urban development.
The objectives of this study are to develop an ABM of land use and landscape change under pressure of social change and urbanization in the Sagalassos/Ağlasun territory (SW Anatolia) in past and present. In a first stage, an ABM to analyze land use change in the current era is built, making use of existing databases of landcover changes (based on the processing of satellite images, see Van den Broeck et al, 2022), coupled to the evolving land use decisions by farming households in the town of Ağlasun as observed in qualitative research and through a household panel survey (Joos et al., 2024). Individual farming households, clustered in groups making similar livelihood decisions, are the agents in the ABM; validation of the ABM is conducted on the basis of land cover change maps.
In a second stage, the ABM is extrapolated to the past, adapting system and agent characteristics on the basis of available archeological data, generated by a generation of surveying, excavating and studying ancient Sagalassos and its associated territory.
In a third stage, the validated ABM on landuse will be linked to resource regrowth models as developed in the wider project under supervision of Bart Muys (see Muys, 2019). Here the focus will be on past and present wood consumption and forestation, with potential expansion to other resources such as food production and water.
The PhD candidate will be coached by a multidisciplinary team of experts (prof. Maarten Loopmans from the Division of Geography and Tourism, prof. Jeroen Poblome from the Division of Archaeology and prof. Andrew Vande Moere from Architecture & Design).
The position implies the following responsibilities and tasks:
- Conduct a PhD research along the objectives of the Sagalassos C1 project on “The urban-rural systems of Late Hellenistic to Roman Imperial Sagalassos and present-day Ağlasun. Sustainability of urbanization in times of accelerated growth”, more specifically within the project’s WP1 on Socio-spatial structures and WP4 on Data Modelling (proposal will be shared upon request);
- Participate actively in the Sagalassos Project by attending team meetings and providing input for progress reports and deliverables;
- Follow the programme of interdisciplinary doctoral training according to the rules of the KU Leuven Arenberg Doctoral School and the Leuven International Doctoral School for the Humanities and Social Sciences (through journal publications, conference participation, and coursework);
- Supervise MSc and BSc dissertations in the framework of the project;
- Provide support to the BSc or MSc training in Geography and Archeology.
Profile
The candidate holds an Ma/MSc in Bioscienceengineering, Geography, Digital Humanities, Archaeology, History or equivalent, with proven background in Agent-Based Modelling and GIS. We look for a candidate with excellent study results and a strong quantitative and programming background, familiar with database management and modellingtechniques. The candidate is communicative, proficient in written and spoken English, and eager to work in a team.
Offer
4 year interdisciplinary PhD scholarship
- The interdisciplinary PhD training will take place in an internationally reputed scientific environment with a competitive 48 month full-time grant.
- You will participate in the exciting interdisciplinary team of the Sagalassos Project, and have the opportunity to build your academic network through participation in international conferences and workshops. You will built expertise in transferable skills and receive personalized mentoring.
- The PhD candidate will work partly in the Division of Geography and Tourism on the campus Arenberg, and partly in the Sagalassoshouse in the city centre campus of KU Leuven.
Interested?
For more information please contact Prof. dr. Jeroen Poblome, tel.: +32 16 32 47 49, mail: jeroen.poblome@kuleuven.be or Prof. dr. Maarten Loopmans, tel.: +32 16 32 24 33, mail: maarten.loopmans@kuleuven.be.
You can apply for this job no later than November 15, 2023 via the online application tool
KU Leuven seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support, please contact us at diversiteit.HR@kuleuven.be.
