Positive Technology Journal

LabforCulture is "a tool for everyone in arts and culture who creates, collaborates, shares and produces across borders in Europe"

This website can help artists to find out how to get funding for their project, initiative or organisation.  Artists can learn about mobility schemes, support from foundations, corporate sponsorship, alternative sources of funding and philanthropy

The candidate should hold a MSc. in psychology and have affinity with industrial research on User – System Interaction. Practical experience with methodologies and data analysis techniques for conducting empirical research as well as strong experience in the area of research into persuasive technologies is required. The candidate should have strong conceptual and analytical skills and is able to form and communicate own views. At the same time the candidate is part of a multi-disciplinary team working for customers, which requires a cooperative and customer-oriented attitude. The offered function includes task such as:

• deliver contributions to projects as required by the project leader and the customer;
• contribute to the development of transferable results within the defined projects;
• contribute to the patent portfolio;
• support related research projects and colleagues in setting up empirical research projects;
• deploy model, assessment methods and tools in research projects into persuasive technologies;
• carry out free research: prescreen own creative ideas on their usefulness for Philips, and find ways to propose new ideas and get them accepted;

The successful candidate will offered a position as senior scientist in the Cognitive & Behavioral Insights capability cluster at Philips Research Eindhoven, The Netherlands. The Cognitive and Behavioral Insights capability cluster delivers user Insights for the conceptualization of technological solutions that bring compelling user experiences. In the context of user – system interaction and system mediated communication, the cluster deploys and extends knowledge on human cognition, emotion and social interaction. With capabilities in the area of human cognition, behavioural models and empirical research methodologies, the cluster's research focuses on the themes of (i) persuasion and motivation, (ii) social presence and awareness and (iii) emotion and experience.

Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) 

Applications are invited for a three-week summer workshop that will be held in Frankfurt, Germany from Saturday, August 4 to Sunday, August 26, 2007.

The application deadline is Monday, April 30.

Via NeuroBot 

EU - India - China, Triangular Summer School on Computational Neuroscience

Via Neurobot

Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience

Berlin, Germany

The Bernstein Center Berlin solicits applications for an international PhD program in Computational Neuroscience

The PhD program is full-time for three years, and will start in October 2007. Course language is English. There are no tuition fees and the program offers a limited number of scholarships of up to € 1800,- per month initially for two years. The doctoral degree is awarded by the department of the student’s principal thesis advisor. Successful candidates additionally receive a certificate from the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience including a transcript of records.

Re-blogged from KurzweilAI.net 

Grand challenges proposed by the U.K. Computing Research Committee include a project to unify cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and robotics.

One sign of success would be a robot capable of functioning at the level of a 2- to 5-year-old child. Another milestone could be a robot capable of autonomously helping a disabled person around a house without explicit preprogramming about its environment.

Other challenge is intended to create more dependable computers and associated software systems, which oversee the bulk of the world's financial transactions, regulate life-saving instruments, and manage the delivery of products.

 

Via Usability News

Deadine: 17 February 2007

SINTEF ICT, department of Cooperative and trusted systems, is in the process of hiring a new researcher. The position is within the HCI-group, which works with user-centred development of ICT solutions and user interfaces. The group is strong, and keeps developing through national and international research projects. Our projects encompass service and application areas such as new interactive media, mobile solutions, e-Commerce and e-Government.

Qualifications:
We will be hiring a person with interest for, and ambitions regarding research within the discipline of Human-Computer Interaction. The applicant should have a drive to create new research missions, a desire to communicate research results in academic and popular arenas, and ability to complete deliverables and projects according to specification. Both younger and more experienced applicants will be considered. In particular we will evaluate applicants against the following competency areas:

- User-centred development method
- Statistical analysis
- Data mining
- User interface design

Applicants should have formal education at university level (MSc, PhD, or similar)

We offer
- Continuous opportunity to develop your areas of interest
- Opportunity for innovative work in national and international projects
- Participation in academic publication arenas
- Competitive terms, pension- and insurance schemes, flexible work hours

For the proposal to be processed, we require that your e-mail has attached comprehensive CV, copy of academic certificates/grade cards, and other relevant documentation.

Please submit your proposal no later than February 17, 2007, as an e-mail to our personnel officer Nora Gibb ( nora.gibb@sintef.no )with copy to HCI group leader Asbjørn Følstad(asbjorn.folstad@sintef.no )

Via Usability News 

Deadine: 20 January 2007
Centre for interaction Design, Napier University, Edinburgh
Salary Level Research Associate (Grade IA)
£20,645 - £30,902 p.a. (dependent on experience)

Opportunities exist for talented individuals to join Napier University’s team, led by Professor David Benyon, to work on a €12 million EU funded project, COMPANIONS. This project concerns the development of persistent, intelligent agents that work with people to help carry out activities within digital space. Napier’s work focus is the interaction design of these companions.

An Interaction Designer is required to undertake field work, analysis, prototyping and evaluation of systems using a variety of media such as video and Flash animation. The Interaction Designer will be a creative individual who can contribute to the interface, functionality, affective characteristics and embodiment of the companions.

A Conceptual Modeller or software engineer is needed for the development of a meta-data schemata for the mark-up of behaviours, language processing and modality selection. This will result in a COMPANIONS mark-up language.

For either position, the successful applicant will require a higher degree (or significant industry experience) in human-centred computing or interaction design. She or he should have good writing, team working, creative and communication skills, and have experience with techniques appropriate to the position.

Part time or short term contract positions may also be available. In addition, two fully funded PhD studentships (worth approx. £12000 p.a.) may be associated with the project.

Informal inquiries should be directed to the COMPANIONS research fellow Dr Oli Mival, o.mival@napier.ac.uk. Full applications in the form of a CV and covering letter should be received by 20th January 2007, electronically to c.thomson@napier.ac.uk or by post to Cheryl Thomson, Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Creative Industries, Napier University, 10, Colinton road, Edinburgh EH14 1DJ.

From Brain-waves 

The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies has announced the launch of The Center for Neurotechnology Studies (CNS) which intends on providing neutral, in-depth analysis of matters at the intersection of neuroscience and technology, neurotechnology. and public policy...

Read the full post

Mind Gym Psychology Prize is a new prize for psychological research worth £10,000 that is being given for published or unpublished reports of well-founded, practical and imaginative research that explores or suggests ways to enhance psychological capability in the general population.

The scope of the competition covers what is loosely called 'practical psychology' and includes, for example, work on social influence, stress, creativity, optimism, time management and relationships.  There is, of course, a very
large overlap with positive psychology.

The prize is sponsored by The Mind Gym Ltd, a human resource development company.  The prize will be judged by The Mind Gym's academic board, which is comprised of Fellows of the British Psychological Society.

In addition to the prize money, the winner and runners-up will be invited to present their findings at a special event at the Royal Society of Arts in London, and will have their research publicised in a national newspaper, almost certainly 'The Times'.

The deadline for submissions is 1 MARCH 2007

 
The details and rules are available here

Via Medgadget

Researchers from Brunel University in the UK have developed a PDA-based pain recording and monitoring system:

Brunel University today unveils the World's first computer based, three-dimensional (3D) solution for pain visualisation. The tool will help patients record their own pain, as well as providing practitioners with a way to collect information on patient experience of pain and allows greater insight into the way pain travels around the body...

The innovative pain visualisation tool is displayed via a web browser as a 3D body. Users can log pain data on an easy-to-use PDA monitor at regular intervals. Pain can be classified as: burning, aching, stabbing, pins and needles and numbness with each pain type allocated a colour, which is represented on the 3D rotating tool.

The data is collected and the pain entries can be stored and replayed over an extended period as a rotating multimedia image, providing physicians with more detailed understanding of surface pain journeys.

Brunel University today unveils the World's first computer based, three-dimensional (3D) solution for pain visualisation. The tool will help patients record their own pain, as well as providing practitioners with a way to collect information on patient experience of pain and allows greater insight into the way pain travels around the body...

The innovative pain visualisation tool is displayed via a web browser as a 3D body. Users can log pain data on an easy-to-use PDA monitor at regular intervals. Pain can be classified as: burning, aching, stabbing, pins and needles and numbness with each pain type allocated a colour, which is represented on the 3D rotating tool.

The data is collected and the pain entries can be stored and replayed over an extended period as a rotating multimedia image, providing physicians with more detailed understanding of surface pain journeys.

 

Link

Sant'Anna School of Advanced and Universitary Studies in Pisa offers the opportunity to undertake in-depth research on Presence and Advanced Robotics technologies for the interaction in Virtual Environments and Teleoperation.

The proposed research applications deals with the cognitive aspects of human multimodal interaction based on the act of doing and thus are strictly related to the ongoing activities carried out in the ENACTIVE Network of Excellence.

For more information go here

Multimedia Interaction and Smart Environments group (MISE), CREATE-NET research institute, Trento, ITALY.

Position Description

A full-time two year post-doctoral research position in Human Computer Interaction is available starting on January 2007. The research and development activity will be conducted within the IST European project SAMBA on Interactive Digital Television (iDTV) in collaboration with both European and Brazilian partners.

SAMBA is a two year International Cooperation project led by CREATE-NET and has the objective of creating a framework for allowing local communities and citizens (including low income population) to access community-oriented content and services by means of iDTV channels. SAMBA will also explore the potentials of utilization of iDTV within mobile virtual communities and its possible impact for the creation of future services and business models related to fixed and mobile iDTV market. In its activity, SAMBA will be particularly careful in analyzing Human Factors and usability issues during its whole duration and will set up real on the field experiments which will allow evaluating users' experiences and their social inclusion.

The post-doctoral researcher is expected to be involved in or responsible of the following:

- Research activities related to user centered design and user interface prototyping.
- Usability evaluation and testing
- Presentation of research results in the form of journal publications, conference presentations and project reports etc.
- International collaboration with the other European and Brazilian research groups involved in the project.

Qualifications

Successful candidates should have a Ph.D. in Human Computer Interaction or related fields with interest in iDTV. In particular, research experience in user centered design, user requirements definition, user acceptance analysis and/or on usability testing are required. Applicants must also have the ability to work independently and interact with other member of the team. Strong interpersonal skills, good writing and oral communication skills are also required.

Please send electronically your resume and publication list to:
Oscar Mayora: oscar.mayora@create-net.org

I write this post from the cold (well, not so cold as I expected) Helsinki, where I am attending the “Information Society Technology 2006” conference.

The exhibition contains quite a lot of interesting stuff this year, from portable brain-computer interface (project PRESENCCIA) to 3D television.

Beyond applications, I am learning a lot about the opportunities for funding offered by the 7th framework program, the EU's chief instrument for funding scientific research and technological development over the period 2007 to 2013.

The good news is that the EU plans to invest over €9 billion in research on information and communications technologies. This is, by far, the largest single budget item in FP7 programme. 

If you want to discover more about the ICT research to be funded under the Seventh Framework Programme you may visit the dedicated website just launched on the CORDIS platform.

A further interesting initiative is Living Lab, which aims to set up a new European innovation infrastructure where users play an active role in the innovation. The initiative was launched yesterday in Espoo, Finland.

From the infosociety website:

(20/11/2006) Living labs move research out of laboratories into real-life contexts to stimulate innovation. This allows citizens to influence research, design and product development. Users are encouraged to co-operate closely with researchers, developers and designers to test ideas and prototypes.

Functioning as Public-Private Partnerships, especially at regional and local level, living labs provide some advantages over "closed labs": They stimulate new ideas, provide concrete research challenges and allow for continuous validation of research results. At a pan-European level, a large-scale network of living labs could become a strong tool for making the innovation process of industry more efficient and dynamic by stimulating the involvement of citizens of differing cultures and societal backgrounds who can provide rich feedback in context on the use and impact of the technologies being researched.

The European Network of Living Labs is launched just as a large group of experts gathers in Finland for the IST Event 2006. Several conference sessions will explore in detail the living labs approach, and offer researchers across Europe the opportunity to become involved.

The concept has already been embraced by industry and other stakeholder organisations. Concrete examples of living labs already operating include the Helsinki Living Lab (in Arabianranta), Mobile City Bremen in Germany, the Botnia Lining Lab in Sweden and Freeband in the Netherlands.

 

Launching Event

Speech of Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen

IST 2006 Networking session

Latest news

Via Usability News 

Deadine: 7 November 2006
CENTRE FOR HCI DESIGN, CITY UNIVERSITY LONDON

Researcher in Human-Computer Interaction
Fixed term for three years

23.5K - 27K pounds pa inc

Closing date for applications: 7th November 2006.

We are seeking a researcher with a background in computing and human-computer interaction to join a 3 year EPSRC-funded research project that will investigate handover in healthcare settings. This is an
exciting opportunity to get involved in a major study of clinical handover and to contribute to the design of innovative technological solutions to enhance the efficacy of handover. The researcher will be primarily
responsible for implementing novel interactive systems to support handover using technologies such as PDAs, telemedicine and interactive whiteboards.


Clinical handover is the handing over of responsibility and care for patients from one individual or team to another. It has been shown to make a vital contribution to the safety and effectiveness of clinical work, yet current practice is highly variable. Handovers are often
impromptu, informal and supported by ad hoc artefacts such as paper-based notes. While there have been small-scale studies of clinical handover in specific settings, there is a lack of basic research. We will address this by conducting extensive field studies of handover in a range of healthcare settings, by developing a generic model of handover and by designing and prototyping novel software and hardware solutions to support handover.

Candidates should have a good BSc in a computing discipline with a significant HCI component. An MSc in a relevant discipline and research experience in HCI are desirable. Experience in designing and implementing interactive systems on a range of software and hardware platforms is essential. Candidates should also have a keen interest in healthcare issues and an awareness of current IT developments for healthcare.


This post is based in the Centre for HCI Design (HCID) at City University London, an independent research centre in the School of Informatics. HCID has an international reputation in human-computer interaction and software engineering research, including studies of work and human-system interaction, usability evaluation, accessibility, requirements engineering, and system modelling.

In return, we offer a comprehensive package of in-house staff training and development, and benefits that include a final salary pension scheme.

Actively working to promote equal opportunity and diversity.

For more information and an application pack, visit www.city.ac.uk/jobs or write to Recruitment Team, HR Department, City University, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, quoting job reference number BD/10514.

Via Interactive Multimedia Technology

Building the Field of Digital Media and Learning: MacArthur Foundation, private grantmaking institution focused on human and community development, global security and sustainability, launches a $50 million Digital Media and Learning initiative:

"The MacArthur Foundation launched its five-year, $50 million digital media and learning initiative in 2006 to help determine how digital technologies are changing the way young people learn, play, socialize, and participate in civic life. Answers are critical to developing educational and other social institutions that can meet the needs of this and future generations. The initiative is both marshaling what is already known about the field and seeding innovation for continued growth"

The Netflix Prize seeks to substantially improve the accuracy of predictions about how much someone is going to love a movie based on their movie preferences. Improve it enough and you win one (or more) Prizes. Winning the Netflix Prize improves our ability to connect people to the movies they love

Via Pink Tentacle