Subject: RA advertisement
Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2001 18:15:18 +0000
From: Rachel Gibson <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Hello,
Myself and a colleague, both politics lecturer at the University of
Salford
are beginning the recruitment process for an RA for an ESRC funded
project
on the Internet and Political Organisations in the UK. We have compiled
the
attached as a job spec. and I was wondering if possible that the
cybersociety could help us to disseminate it to the Internet research
community.
Cheers,
Rachel
Dr. Rachel K. Gibson
Politics & Contemporary History
School of English, Sociology, Politics and Contemporary History (ESPaCH)
University of Salford
Salford M5 4WT
United Kingdom
Phone (0161) 295-5654
Fax (0161) 295-5077
Email [log in to unmask]
------------------------------------------------------------
Research Assistant in Politics/Social Science: ESRC funded project
‘Participation, Political Organisations and the Impact of the Internet’
Project Directors: Dr. Rachel K. Gibson and Dr. Stephen J. Ward,
European Studies Research Institute, University of Salford. 15 Month
Appointment from June 2001
Salary £16,775 pa.
Overview: The project will examine the use of the Internet by political
organisations (parties, interest groups and new social movements) to
promote participation. In particular it focuses on two dimensions: (a)
participation widening - examining how far the Internet does/could
increase rates of political participation and, in doing so, whether it
attracts new citizens into the political process; (b) participation
deepening - analysing whether online channels influence the quality and
style of participation through introducing new methods of political
engagement and enhancing elite accountability and citizen networking.
Overall, the research will contribute to ongoing debates about the role
and health of political organisations in the information age. In
particular, it will assess what types of political organisation are best
suited to exploiting the new media.
Job Description: The project will be examining around 50 political
organisations and the research assistant will be principally involved in
data collection and analysis. This will involve: (1) Web site archiving
(monthly basis) and quarterly content analysis; (2) Two large telephone
public opinion surveys run by a commercial polling organisation; (3)
Membership mail surveys of selected organisations; (4) Elite interviews
and email surveys. The research assistant would primarily be responsible
for 1 but would also have input into other areas. There will also be
opportunities to co-author papers, present research findings and attend
conferences. The specific skills necessary for the post are outlined
below
Required Skills
? Postgraduate qualification in social sciences (preferably politics)
? Experience of qualitative interviewing
? Familiarity with data entry and analysis using SPSS
? Good interpersonal/communication skills
Desirable Skills
? Web authoring skills
? Knowledge of political impact of Internet
? Completed or close to completion PhD in relevant subject area
For an informal discussion about the post please contact Dr Stephen Ward
or Dr Rachel Gibson, on 0161 295 5126/5654 or email
[log in to unmask] or, [log in to unmask]
Participation, Political Organisations and the Impact of the Internet
Lead Researchers: Dr Stephen Ward and Dr Rachel Gibson
Project overview
The project is funded by the ESRC's Democracy and Participation
Programme and is a two and half year project (Ending March 2003),
evaluating the use of the Internet by political organisations (parties,
interest groups and new social movements) to promote participation. In
particular it focuses on two dimensions: (a) participation widening -
examining how far the Internet does/could increase rates of political
participation and, in doing so, whether it attracts new citizens into
the political process; (b) participation deepening - analysing whether
online channels influence the quality and style of participation through
introducing new methods of political engagement and enhancing elite
accountability and citizen networking. Overall, the research will
contribute to ongoing debates about the role and health of political
organisations in the information age. In particular, it will assess what
types of political organisation are best suited to exploiting the new
media.
To examine these questions, the project intends to use four methods: (1)
regular analyses of web-sites to assess the extent and nature of online
participation; (2) mail surveys of organisational elites and
members/supporters to gauge the attitude and importance of Internet
participation; (3) semi-structured interviews with organisational elites
to understand Internet participation strategies, problems and benefits;
(4) telephone surveys of public opinion, to evaluate citizen awareness
and usage of the Internet and to gather a profile of users.
Location
The person appointed will work with Drs Ward and Gibson based in the
European Studies Research Institute at the University of Salford. ESRI
was founded in 1992 in order to stimulate, focus and monitor research of
national and international excellence in European Studies within the
University of Salford. It is dedicated to providing an understanding of
modern and contemporary Europe in the broadest sense, including the
legacy of Europe in social, political and cultural terms. The
Institute's research interests and publications therefore span the
Humanities and Social Sciences, offering specialisms in the history,
economics, politics, cultures, literatures and languages of Europe. The
European Studies Research Institute (ESRI) at the University of Salford
was graded 5A in the 1996 Research Assessment Exercise and was the
largest unit returned to the European Studies Assessment panel.
For an informal discussion on the above post, please contact Stephen
Ward or Rachel Gibson. Tel 0161 295 5126/5654 email
[log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]
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