Job: Postdoctoral Fellowship
Main research field: Psychological sciences
Sub research field: Environmental psychology, social psychology
Vacant posts: 1
Type of contract: full-time contract limited in time : sure 1 year, hopefully three years
Start date: October 2016
Job country: France
Job city: Aix-en-Provence (office) and PACA coastline (fieldwork)
Job company/institute: Aix-Marseille University, ESPACE laboratory
Application deadline: 06/07/2016 (details below)
Job summary:
The research lab UMR ESPACE 7300 CNRS at Aix-Marseille University invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellowship position integrated in the RISKMED project (financed by Labex OT-Med) and the DIGUE2020 Project (financed by PACA Region and the French State, other demands of financing to the Departmental Council and Europe are underway). The RISKMED project is coordinated by ESPACE and the DIGUE2020 project is coordinated by IRSTEA. The position consists of a full-time 12-month Fellowship, possibly extendable to 36 month, depending on additional funding.
Job description:
Context
The DIGUE2020 project is an interdisciplinary project on the mitigation of marine submersion through dikes and on perception of and behavioral adaptation to marine submersion. The project is built on the continuous exchange between natural and human sciences in order to achieve a comprehensive understanding of how the risk of marine submersion is perceived. Results will be shared with local stakeholders and the general public through a participative communication platform. The postdoctoral fellow involved in this project will in parallel contribute with the RISKMED project. RISKMED aims to understand environmental risks (marine submersion, seism, landslides...) in the Mediterranean through a variety of interdisciplinary approaches (geology, geography, psychology, sociology). It has an important dimension of exchange with stakeholders as well.
Aims of the postdoctoral task
The postdoctoral mission is to build a better understanding of the risk perception, representation and adaptation strategies in the coastal society of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region through its different local stakeholders: residents (principal or secondary), tourists and local actors. Indeed, the coast of PACA Region is characterized by contrasted territorial settings (uneven social and economic development, landscape variety) which are exposed unevenly to the marine submersion risk. A better understanding of risk perception in this Region thus implies the analysis of what local societies already know about the risk of marine submersion, and how they have dealt with it over time. Our aim is also to explore the influence of contextual and individual-level variables on the risk perception of the different types of stakeholders. One important contextual variable will be the residence/dwelling location. More specifically, we want to compare the risk perception of people living in localities where the coast is either protected with dikes or not. Next to this contextual variable, the influence of individual-level variables (e.g. trust in authorities, emotions, place attachment, sense of environmental (in)justice and ecological attitudes) on risk perception will also be analyzed.
The Postdoctoral Fellow's primary tasks will be to conduct the literature review, contribute to conceive the studies, coordinate and conduct the empirical studies (through interviews, questionnaires and online survey), analyze the data, prepare research reports, collaborate in writing of papers and presentations and generally, contribute to the group dynamics of the involved teams. In particular, he/she will be involved in the transversal work package of the RISKMED project, which aims at building a common framework on risk assessment and adaptation through three overarching issues: address social dynamics around risk knowledge construction and exchange between different social groups, study the role of trust in risk perception, assess possible specificities of risk perception in different space and time frames. The post-doc will also actively contribute to the communication platform included in the DIGUE2020 project during his/her contract. He/she will also be expected to take part in activities linked to Labex OT-Med, and the DIGUE2020 Consortium.
The post-doc will work under supervision of Alexandra Schleyer-Lindenmann and Raquel Bertoldo and a committee of national and international experts in climate change / marine submersion risk analysis and management (M. Poumadère, H. Rey-Valette and P. Rishi already agreed).
The Post Doc Fellow will be based in Aix-en-Provence (ESPACE Lab at the Arbois Technopôle), working in close interaction with all members of the project team RISKMED and DIGUE2020. The post-doc needs also to be mobile along the PACA coastline in order to conduct fieldwork.
The applicant should hold a Ph.D. in Psychology, but Ph.Ds in other social sciences will also be considered if relevant research experience is certified. Applicants should have research experience in topics related to environmental and climate change, a good knowledge of social psychology theory, good experience with both qualitative and quantitative methodologies (data collection – face to face, on line-, treatment, analysis). They should have experience in interdisciplinary research. Fluency in French and English is required for the position. As this position is meant to last 3 years, candidates should also clearly state their motivation to do research and attest it through relevant publications.
Candidates should send their application to: Alexandra Schleyer-Lindenmann (alexandra.lindenmann @ univ-amu.fr) and Raquel Bertoldo (raquel.bohn-bertoldo @ univ-amu.fr)
Please provide a Curriculum Vitae, an application letter in English (detailing motivation, research interests, future plans as researcher, your research proposal for the post-doc), a copy of an identity document, one recommendation letter and the pdf of a published paper.
Closing date for applications: 06/07/2016
Selection procedure: 1st phase – CV evaluation; 2nd phase (in July) – an interview (in French and English) with the candidates selected in phase 1, Jury: Alexandra Schleyer-Lindenmann, Raquel Bertoldo, Stéphane Bonelli and Samuel Robert.
Final results will be communicated by email to the candidates.
For further information please contact Alexandra Schleyer-Lindenmann (alexandra.lindenmann @ univ- amu.fr) and Raquel Bertoldo (raquel.bohn-bertoldo @ univ-amu.fr)