[Commlist] Vacancy: PhD position in the area “Computational Social Science”

    1 x 1,0 PhD position (f/m/d) in the area “Computational Social Science”

*The Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI) at 
the University of Bremen is offering a 3-year PhD position (f/m/d)* – 
under the condition of job release – which will be based in the 
Computational Communication and Democracy (CCD) Lab and will be 
co-sponsored by the Information Management and Media Technology (IMMT) 
Lab (Department of Mathematics and Computer Science). The PhD student 
will work with the lab directors, Prof. Yannis Theocharis and Prof. 
Andreas Breiter on the broader thematic area *Computational Social Science*.

*Description of the position*

Duration: 3 years
Starting date: as soon as possible
Remuneration is based on grade E13 TV-L (100%, full-time position) of 
the German federal employee scale

*Tasks:*

  * Writing a PhD Thesis focusing on one of the research areas of the labs
  * Research in the field of political communication, based on
    computational methods such as text-as-data, network and image analysis
  * Research on new methodological approaches with focus on
    machine-learning and natural language processing
  * Teaching assistance in computational methods for social scientists
    (study programs at Faculty 9) and machine learning models in
    informatics and educational technologies (Faculty 3)

Description of teaching duties: The position involves 4 hours of 
teaching per week.

*Essential qualifications*

  * Master’s Degree in Media and Communication, Political Science and/or
    Sociology with a strong focus on computational methods, or in
    Computer Science and Digital Media with a strong focus on social
    phenomena
  * Skills in quantitative methods
  * Skills in computational methods (a focus on text-as-data methods –
    especially automated text analysis and machine-learning – is a
    plus)Proven experience with R, Python, Ruby, Java, or equivalent
    object-oriented programming language
  * Interest in political communication
  * Experience with social media data analysis is desirable
  * Strong command of English (C1), in German at least B2

Candidates who already hold a PhD degree *will not *be considered.

The University of Bremen has received a number of awards for its 
diversity policies and offers a family-friendly working environment as 
well as an international atmosphere. The University of Bremen intends to 
increase the proportion of women in science and therefore urges women to 
apply. Handicapped applicants with the same professional and personal 
suitability are given priority. Applications from people with a 
migration background are encouraged.
For any questions please contact Yannis Theocharis at: 
yannis.theocharisuni-bremen.de

*Application*

The application should include the following documents:

  * A 2-page letter of motivation. Page 1 should describe your research
    interests and explain why you believe your profile fits with the
    main objectives and mission of the ZeMKI Labs. Page 2 should briefly
    sketch the topic of the PhD project you’d like to pursue.
  * CV
  * A copy of your academic certificates and transcripts
  * A writing sample (research paper, publication, or Master’s thesis)
  * Names of two referees

Please send your application including the *reference number 
A4/20* until *31 March 2020* to:

Universität Bremen
Zentrum für Medien-, Kommunikations- und Informationsforschung (ZeMKI)
Frau Denise Tansel
Postfach 33 04 40
28334 Bremen

Or as PDF via Email (single file) at: dtanseluni-bremen.de

The employment is fixed-term and serves the scientific qualification, 
governed by the Act of Academic Fixed-Term Contract, §2 (1) 
(Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz). Therefore, candidates may only be 
considered for appointment if they still have the respective 
qualification periods available in accordance with § 2 (1) WissZeitVG.

*About the Computational Communication and Democracy Lab*
The Lab’s substantive research agenda is driven by the idea that the 
proliferation of digital media opens up new avenues for social and 
political interaction that have radical effects on democratic processes: 
participation, organisation, representation. As such, digital 
communication offers opportunities, but also poses enormous challenges 
that fundamentally affect the quality of our democracies. Relying on 
developments in the field of computational social science as a point of 
departure, the Lab’s is also interested in methods through which new 
types of digital information can be processed and repurposed for 
studying a variety of social and political phenomena enabled by digital 
technologies. The lab has two main goals. First, to lead research on 
different but interdependent substantive topics for understanding, the 
social and political impact of digital communication and address 
methodological and epistemological issues related to conceptualisation, 
operationalisation, measurement and inference. Second, to offer BA, 
Masters, and PhD students a path for specialisation in computational and 
data science methods, with applications to communication and media research.

*About the Information Management and Media Technologies Lab*
The Lab combines theoretical research on the change of organizations 
(particularly in the education sector and in connection with 
mediatisation) with application-oriented research and the development of 
media technologies. The lab integrates the perspectives of informatics 
and social sciences. The underlying assumption is that the change of 
organisations with and through media technologies can only be studied by 
an empirically substantiated understanding of the particular application 
context. Accordingly, a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods 
is used in the research projects with a focus on computational social 
science.

*About the Centre for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI)*
As an inter-faculty research institute, the Centre for Media, 
Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI) bundles research 
activities at the University of Bremen in the area of media and 
communicative change regarding a broad range of cultural, social, 
organisational and technological context fields. The research institute 
is committed to interdisciplinary cooperation, integrating researchers 
from the areas of media and communication studies, cultural studies, 
information management and media pedagogics. In addition to their 
research activities, ZeMKI members are active in the various media 
related study programmes at the University of Bremen. The ZeMKI oversees 
the profile-building research group "Communicative figurations of 
mediatized worlds" of the University of Bremen. The research group has 
been supported as a "Creative Unit" by the institutional strategy 
"Ambitious and Agile" of the University of Bremen funded within the 
frame of the Excellence Initiative by the German Federal and State 
Governments.


https://www.uni-bremen.de/en/university/the-university-as-an-employer/job-vacancies/details-job-vacancies/joblist/Job/show/1-x-10-doktorandin-doktorand-wmd-im-bereich-computational-social-science-6321/

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