The Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) held its scholarship award ceremony on Wednesday, November 8. The Austrian Academy of Sciences presented grants to a total of 83 scholars, including SPACE-researchers Susanna Azevedo, Theresa Hager and Laura Porak. They received a DOC team grant to support their interdisciplinary research study titled "Explicit and Implicit Rules of Competition - Interdisciplinary Research Project on a Polarizing Principle of Social Order". 

Following opening remarks by Heinz Faßmann and Martin Polaschek, Porak and Hager had an opportunity to introduce their project on behalf of all DOC team grant recipients. Their study focuses on understanding the ever-present phenomenon of competition as an institution with explicit (i.e. tangible, legitimized) and implicit (not tangible, hidden) rules. Triangulating socioeconomics, political science, and sociology allows the authors to be able to critically analyze competition as a sociologically ordering principle and understand it as being constituted by social power structures. In the process, they are addressing three key challenges we face today: Global inequality, the EU’s path to sustainability, and the lack of affordable housing. Congratulations, Laura and Theresa!

Ckick here, opens an external URL in a new window to read the Austrian Academiy of Science's press release.

Photos: © ÖAW/Natascha Unkart