[ecrea] Research assistant in Digital Society and Culture

Part-time, 9 months post: Research Assistant in Digital Society and 
Culture. Most suitable for a final year PhD student or a recent 
graduate. Please spread the word 
http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BDF961/research-assistant-digital-society-and-culture

Research Assistant (Digital Society and Culture)
Manchester Metropolitan University - Department of Languages, 
Information & Communications
Location: 	Manchester
Salary: 	£21,843 to £24,565 (pro-rata) (Grade 5)
Hours: 	Part Time
Contract Type: 	Fixed-Term/Contract
Placed on: 	1st August 2017
Closes: 	15th August 2017
Job Ref: 	T2-80329095-02

Average weekly working hours: 14:00

End date or duration: 9 Months

Advert Link: www2.mmu.ac.uk/jobs/vacancies

Department

This part-time, fixed-term post is based in the Department of Languages, 
Information & Communications. The successful candidate will be working 
as part of a team, working on two related studies that are part of a 
larger project on digital disengagement - an exploration of the rising 
phenomenon of voluntary refusal of digital platforms or devices by those 
already digitally savvy.

Digital communication technologies are now increasingly embraced by 
governments, public services, industries and individuals. And yet, as 
the digitisation grows, so do the concerns about its overwhelming 
nature: parents, educators, health experts, and political and 
environmental activists are calling to reduce the use of such 
technologies, or refuse them altogether. Such calls however have barely 
been researched. The few exceptions focused mostly on individual social 
media refusal, mainly of specific social media platforms (such as 
Facebook) or devices (such as tablets or phones), and were conducted 
exclusively in the English-speaking, UK/US context.

The two studies for which research assistance is sought, aim to fill in 
two crucial gaps, by

(1) addressing digital disengagement in the context of collective 
concerns, taking environmental sustainability as its key focus.

(2) examining the emergence of digital disengagement in non-speaking 
countries, taking Russia-UK comparison as its first step.

Role

The successful candidate will participate in the two studies and the 
delivery of cutting-edge research on digital refusal. The successful 
candidate will form part of a team of researchers who seek to make a 
significant contribution to our intellectual understanding of the role 
digital technologies play in social, economic and environmental 
formations and struggles. The candidate will contribute to filling a 
major gap in the field of sustainability studies where the 
sustainability of the digital economy itself is concerned, and will help 
propose recommendations, both for shifting the focus of sustainability 
scholarship, and for policy makers, to reassess the sustainability of 
the digital itself. The candidate will also contribute to the growing 
body of cross-cultural investigations of digital sociality, helping to 
develop a bridge between digital research currently taking place in 
Russia and in the English-language academia. The successful candidate 
will work two days a week (days are flexible) analysing academic 
publications, collecting on-line materials and conducting interviews, 
and will apply a range of cultural and social theories to the analysis 
of collected data. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to 
further their research portfolio through the co-authoring of research 
publications; establishing contacts with researchers in the UK and 
Russia; and developing impact activities with non-academic collaborators.

Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate will have excellent communication skills, and 
must be comfortable undertaking library, on-line and ethnographic 
research in an independent manner. They should be able to deploy 
initiative in the research field and approach the data with a critical 
and creative mind. The successful candidate should have some knowledge 
of digital media, especially the Internet and social media, and have 
experience using qualitative data analysis packages, such as NVIVO. 
Importantly, the candidate should also have knowledge and experience 
either in the field of critical environmental studies, OR Russian 
digital cultures, or both. Finally, the successful candidate will be 
someone who seeks to participate in the research-culture of the 
department and who can support the research team to deliver on the 
project’s key objectives.

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