Location(s)
Background
This research takes place within the French national project Intermed (http://intermed.rnsc.fr , National Research Agency, Software Technology program – 2007-2010 – 400 men.month – 7 partners including 4 private companies) which aims at developing new appropriated and efficient internet infrastructures to support territorial charters negotiation and implementation.
It is based on 9 experimental protocols to be held in 4 French coastal regions (Camargue, Thau, Narbonnaise, Bretagne), in relation with operational issues. Different modules will be developed and integrated to be tested by large scale groups of real stakeholders (policy makers, citizens). 4 PhD are held within the project. Some details in annex.
The scientific background of this research proposal meets two main issues:
• Integrated water management in its social and political dimensions, dealing with
governance, institutions and public participation, in the context of coastal area
• Electronic democracy.
The chosen epistemology is based on experimental protocols where real actors and issues are at stake, but where attention is kept over the controllability and evaluation of the processes and outcomes, in many dimensions.
Although scientific communities exist for both topics, very few specific and systematic design and evaluation has been made aiming at assessing the contribution of the emerging electronic mediating infrastructures on integrated water management.
Objectives
This post-doctoral research aims at contributing methodologically to the analysis and
evaluation of the impact of electronic debates and the related internet infrastructures on actual water management and water governance in coastal area.
The first sub-objective is, based on the reference literature and the state-of-the-art research, to propose an inductive theory of the process (cognitive and social impacts of the electronic mediation on the users as individuals and groups). This should then be used deductively to design the experiments. A journal paper must be produced as an outcome. Meanwhile the evaluation strategy must be clarified, using previous results from the European projects HarmoniCOP, HarmoniQUA, Aquastress and Newater.
The next requirement is to participate in the design of the field experimental protocols
(software service, target groups, issues, organisation, monitoring, feedback…), and to help implementing and monitoring some of them (one or two series, according to the duration of the contract). Specific attention will be paid to the combination of ex-ante, tracking and expost evaluation. Results should be published in a second journal paper.
Final requirement is to structure conclusions from the protocols, and propose a method to infer conclusions in terms of design. A third paper should be produced then.
Profile:
• PhD in computer sciences, cognitive sciences, sociology, political sciences, or other
relevant topic
• Knowledge and practice of electronic democracy, e-government, forums, community
web, groupware…
• Strong analytical capacities in terms of cognitive and social models
• Knowledge and practice of behavioural and / or social analysis
• Capacity to communicate and animate meetings
• Reading and speaking French is required, not fluently, but enough to be able to read
French materials, and interact with the stakeholders and the partners (project’s
meetings and protocols in French). Daily interaction with the project supervision can
be made in english.
• English spoken and written
NB: some PhD positions are also offered in the project. Contact us. The post-doc candidate could propose to associate some MSc students he would already know and have worked with.
Practical conditions
Located in Montpellier, France, at Cemagref. http://www.montpellier.cemagref.fr
French public short-term contract (CDD) at Cemagref – 18 months starting on 26/11/2007 –
gross salary : 26400 € / year, 20400 € net salary (after social security and pension) for 134 h /
month – 47 vacation days / year. Possibility to add lectures (up to 50%).
If project successful, contract could be continued.
http://www.cemagref.fr/English/seven/News/Post-docIntermed.pdf
