Lucas Paulo da Silva, PhD in Political Science, was delighted to be awarded the 2025–2026 PSA Dissertation Prize (McDougall Trust Prize) for outstanding doctoral research on elections, electoral systems, and voting representation, on the topic of 'Ideological Media Markets, Cross-Pressured Voters, and Spatial Voting: A Computational and Experimental Approach'.
The prize was presented to Lucas by the Political Studies Association. In a heartfelt speech he posted on LinkedIn, he expressed his gratitude at winning such a prestigious award.
Lucas dissertation examines:
- The two-dimensional ideological structure (economic/cultural) of online media outlets.
- How cross-pressured voters (people who have 'mixed' economics and cultural ideologies) select media outlets and content in this media landscape.
- The effects of this media selection on spatial voting behaviour among cross-pressured voters.
