[ecrea] Research Associate/Fellow in Television Studies - University of Nottingham

Please see the below advertisement for a Research Associate/Fellow in 
Television Studies in the Horizon Digital Economy Hub at the University 
of Nottingham:

Reference : SCI1051
Closing Date : 28 September 2011
Salary : £24,370 to £35,788 per annum depending on skills and 
experience. Salary progression beyond this range is subject to 
performance. (£27,428 minimum with relevant PhD)
This post will be offered on a fixed-term contract for a period of 
fifteen months

Candidates must have a PhD or be close to submission and have a 
background in television studies and/or audience research

Horizon Digital Economy Research, a £40M initiative funded by RCUK, the 
University of Nottingham and over 40 academic and industrial partners, 
brings together an interdisciplinary team with expertise from a wide 
variety of backgrounds including computer science, geospatial science, 
engineering, psychology, sociology, business, and the arts.  Further 
information about Horizon is available at: http://www.horizon.ac.uk.

The post is shared between two activities with Horizon: the Vicarious 
(70%) and SocialTV (30%) projects.

*Vicarious: Biosensing in New Broadcast and Online TV Formats*
>From drama to journalism to sport and game shows, TV needs to engage 
the viewer with the emotions of those that they are watching, be they 
actors, presenters, sportspeople or increasingly members of the public. 
Although undoubtedly powerful, the close-up shot can only take us so 
far. What the viewer increasingly wants is to get inside the protagonist 
and understand what they are really feeling – are they thrilled, scared, 
anguished or even lying to us? Capturing and displaying biomedical data 
provides one potential route to doing this, revealing information about 
someone that they may not even be aware of.

The project aims to undertake an initial exploration of the potential of 
using biosensing technologies to enable new television formats. 
Specifically, we intend to explore the innovative new TV programme 
formats that might become possible through the creative use of 
biosensing; demonstrate how such formats might be technically produced; 
and consider models for generating entertainment value for an audience 
and revenue for the producers, broadcasters or service providers.

*SocialTV*
The “display ecology” within the home is becoming more complex – the 
traditional TV in the corner or now on the wall simply being one 
interface; the addition of laptops, tablets and smartphones into the 
living space can augment and change the viewing experience and are 
increasing used as alternative channels for social interaction and 
information access around the normal TV experience. We are interested in 
performing some sensitizing studies to understand the emerging 
opportunities around domestic TV centered display ecologies.


The post will involve conducting desk research on the television 
commissioning process, the potential for television genres and formats 
to integrate biosensing data and the ethics of using personal data 
onscreen, meeting with potential industry partners including the BBC and 
Channel 4, and conducting audience research to explore both a 
biosensing-based programme taster and the use of screen technologies 
within the home.

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Dr Elizabeth Evans, tel: 0115 951 
4241 or email: (elizabeth.evans /at/ nottingham.ac.uk) or Professor D McAuley, 
tel: 0115 846 8381 or email: (derek.mcauley /at/ nottingham.ac.uk). Please note 
that applications sent directly to these email addresses will not be 
accepted.

For more details, please see: 
http://jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/vacancies.aspx?cat=160#j10220

Kind Regards,
Dr Elizabeth Evans
Department of Culture, Film and Media
School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies
University of Nottingham
Nottingham
NG7 2RD

Tel (0)115 951 4241

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