Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR) PhD position

Ranging from €2,042 in the first year to €2,612 in the final year.

Overview

ASCoR currently has one vacancy for a PhD candidate for the project 'Health campaign effects: The role of interpersonal communication and exposure to news media messages as competing sources of information'.

Most health campaigns only have small or even no effects. A partial explanation is that people are exposed to competing sources of information that interfere with health campaign information. This project examines two alternative sources of interference that have largely been ignored so far: 1) Interpersonal communication, and 2) exposure to news media messages about the campaign and the targeted health behaviour.

Four experiments will shed light on moderation of health campaign effects by these two factors. The results will provide a fuller understanding of the effects of health campaigns on health behaviour.

Requirements

* Have a research interest in the topic of the project
* Experience with research on news media and/or health communication is desirable Have a background in communication science, psychology, health sciences, or a related field
* Have proven experience with experimental research, for example in the Master`s thesis
* Have a firm background in quantitative research and the willingness to learn new statistical techniques
* Have excellent organizational skills
* Have the ability and interest to work in a team
* Have an excellent written and spoken command of English and Dutch
* Hold a relevant Master`s degree, preferably a Research Master degree or equivalent qualifications; candidates who are due to graduate before November 1st are welcome to apply
* Wish to pursue an academic career

Further information The project description may be obtained from the ASCoR Secretariat (ascor-secr-fmg@uva.nl).

Questions about the project content should be addressed to Dr Bas van den Putte (s.j.h.m.vandenputte@uva.nl). Questions about the application procedure and other general questions should be addressed to the ASCoR Research Manager, Dr Maaike Prangsma (m.e.prangsma@uva.nl).

Appointment

The position starts on 1 November 2010 at the latest, and is initially for one year. Extension of the contract after the first year to a maximum total of three years is subject to satisfactory performance. The gross monthly salary will be in accordance with the salary scales for PhD candidates at Dutch universities, i.e. ranging from €2,042 in the first year to €2,612 in the final year.

Job application
The deadline for applications is 14 August 2010. Please state the vacancy number 2010-08 in the subject line of your application. The selection interviews will be scheduled in the week of 23 August. To apply for this position, please send at least the following documents in English by email to ascor-secr-fmg@uva.nl:

* Motivation letter
* Curriculum vitae
* Proof of your Master's degree, including grade transcripts; if you have not completed your degree at the time of application, please provide a statement from your supervisor confirming the expected date of completion of your degree
* An academic writing sample in English (e.g. journal article, Master's thesis, essay).
* Please send all your documents in PDF or doc(x) format. Only complete applications will be considered.

»»  read more

University of Amsterdam PhD position in Music Cognition

Overview

The PhD student will take part in the CSCA research programme: The role of neural plasticity in conscious perception and will be supervised by the principal investigator Prof. Henkjan Honing and a postdoctoral researcher. This programme consists of three intertwined projects addressing the following three questions:

Does consciousness require synaptic plasticity?

Does perceptual learning depend on consciousness and not on attention?

Does conscious perception depend on previous learning of image statistics?

The PhD project will mainly contribute to the second question by studying hierarchical time perception in adults. In addition, the project will be concerned with the computational modeling of the temporal aspects of music (such as rhythm, timing, and tempo) and the role of perception, attention, expectation and memory in music cognition. Next to computational modeling, we will use brain imaging techniques to identify global neural correlates of rhythm perception.

Tasks

• Complete and defend a PhD thesis within four years

• Regularly present intermediate research results at international workshops and conferences, and publish them in proceedings and journals

• Collaborate with the researchers in other parts of the programme supervised by Prof. V. Lamme, Prof. C. Pennartz and Prof. A. Smeulders

• Participate in the organization of the programme`s research activities and events, such as conferences, workshops, and joined publications

• Assist in teaching activities in the domain of music cognition

Requirements

• A Master`s degree with excellent grades in a relevant field, such as cognitive science, music cognition, computer science or psychology

• Candidates should have a keen interest in music cognition

• Candidates should have demonstrable skills in either computational modeling and/or in experimental psychology

• Good academic writing and presentation skills

• Good social and organisational skills

Further information
A detailed description of the research programme can be found at: www.hum.uva.nl/mmm/jobs.html

Appointment

The PhD candidate will be appointed for a period of four years at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Amsterdam. A contract will be given in the first instance for one year, with an extension for the following three years on the basis of a positive evaluation. The gross monthly salary (on a full time basis) will be €2,042 during the first year and will reach €2,612 during the fourth year.

Job application

Applications including a cover letter, curriculum vitae, two letters of reference, and an application statement should be submitted before 1 September 2010. Please sent your documents to: ILLC Office, University of Amsterdam, attn. Ms Ingrid van Loon, P.O. Box 94242, 1090 GE Amsterdam, The Netherlands, or to: i.m.vanloon@uva.nl

Please state the vacancy number and 'strictly confidential' in the upper left corner of the envelope or in the subject field of your email.

In the application statement (approximately 500 words) the candidate should express his or her interest in the programme, and is invited to specify his or her own ideas on the research questions addressed in relation to the study of the temporal aspects of music cognition.

»»  read more