[Commlist] Postdoctoral position - Transparency discourses, from institutions to citizens (DISTIC)

As part of the Open Language and Knowledge project for Citizens (OLKi), 
carried out within the IMPACT/Lorraine University of Excellence (LUE) 
framework, we are seeking a postdoctoral associate to work on 
Transparency discourses, from institutions to citizens (DISTIC).

TERMS AND VENUE

This one-year position will be based at Crem and IECL, Nancy, France 
(University of Lorraine). The target start date for the position is 
January 2020, with some flexibility on the exact start date.

FELLOW’S MISSIONS

  *

    - Collect texts and organize corpuses,

  *

    - Analyze these discourses and texts,

  *

    - Contribute to write scientific papers about the topic.

SELECTION CRITERIA

  *

    - PhD in Information and Communication Sciences, Language Science or
    Linguistics

  *

    - Research experience in language data analysis

  *

    - Very good mastery of the French language

  *

    - Very good written and oral expression skills, in French and in
    English

  *

    - Curiosity, open-mindedness

  *

    - Autonomy, teamwork skills

CONTEXT:

With increasing controversies and sanitary crises related to food 
safety, health and the environment, there is a growing consumers and 
citizens mistrust regarding institutions and experts in charge of risk 
assessment and management. This increased mistrust goes hand in hand 
with more and more expectations about the production and circulation of 
scientific knowledge on these issues. As a response for this mistrust of 
expertise and institutional communication about risks, tools are 
developed in order to anticipate, evaluate and control health and 
environmental risks. The collection of massive data by such tools poses 
problems in terms of protection (confidentiality, competition), use 
(more or less lawful re- use of data, exploitation for commercial 
purposes) and ethics (personal data). Also, with increased media 
coverage of scandals, citizens turn their back on the different 
"traditional" information and scientific communication actors and demand 
more transparency towards complex and sometimes contradictory interests 
and issues. Therefore, the complexity of risk assessment systems and the 
opacity of some information processes create a "need for pedagogy and 
simplification for the general public" among stakeholders in different 
sectors (Chanséaume & al., 2015, p.3).

SCIENTIFIC SCOPE

The project will create large corpus of text related to food safety, 
health and the environment. The corpus will be focused on existing 
transparency apparatuses in the management of health, food and 
environmental risks framework, and will be two-fold. First, 
institutional discourses about transparency, from a perspective of 
historical evolution within national and European Union institutions 
(like ANSES, EFSA, etc.). Second, critics or supports emerging in 
newspapers relaying debates on "transparency".

These corpuses will be analysed to quantify communication biases about 
transparency and their evolution, via Sentiment analysis (Dermouche et 
al., 2014).

HOW TO APPLY:

Applicants are requested to submit the following materials:

  *

    - A cover letter applying for the position

  *

    - Full CV and list of publications

  *

    - Statement of Research (summary of research achievements and
    perspectives for upcoming

    researches)

  *

    - Academic transcripts (diplomas, courses statements, grades, etc.)
    (unofficial versions are fine)

  *

    - Recommendation letters are not obligatory but are strongly
    recommended.

*Deadline for application is November 25, 2019 *

Applications are only accepted through email. All documents must be sent 
to: francois.allard- (huver /at/ univ-lorraine.fr) 
<mailto:(huver /at/ univ-lorraine.fr)> and (marianne.clausel /at/ univ-lorraine.fr) 
<mailto:(marianne.clausel /at/ univ-lorraine.fr)>. Please use “DISTIC 
Postdoctoral Application” as the subject line of your email.

Selected applicants will be interviewed by a Commission in December 2019.


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