Bas Lijnse: Created page with "NOTOC We have a PhD Vacancy in the Network-enabled Capabilities Through Task-Oriented Programming (NECTOP) project * Computer and Information Sciences Institute, Radboud Uni..."

2012-04-05T16:40:36Z

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__NOTOC__
We have a PhD Vacancy in the Network-enabled Capabilities Through Task-Oriented Programming (NECTOP) project

* Computer and Information Sciences Institute, Radboud University
* Level Master
* Maximum employment 38 hours per week (1 FTE)
* Duration of contract 4 years
* Salary scale €2042 to €2612 per month gross

== JOB DESCRIPTION ==
The Netherlands Defense organization is increasingly faced with missions
requiring Networked-Enabled Capabilities (NEC).

Characteristic of NEC are: cooperation between different organizations,
remote collaboration over computer networks, and the breaking of
classical hierarchical communication channels (stovepipes). Examples
of NEC occur when international organizations need to work together,
when a ship needs help for maintenance from shore or if there is a
need for collaboration with civil parties in modern peacekeeping
operations.

While the physical network structures and protocols needed to
exchange information in a NEC setting have already been developed to
an advanced stage, the proposed cooperation is not yet well
understood and lacks adequate user interfaces and software support.
Groupware systems provide insufficient process support, and standard
workflow management systems are not flexible enough to cope with
the dynamically changing situations that are typical for defense
operations. An effective system increases the Shared Situational
Awareness of the team of users through transparent interfaces where
relevant information can be shared. Moreover, the system facilitates
adaptive teams: it enables the dynamic distribution of tasks over
people and other resources to adapt to the current situation.
Important factors for a well-balanced task division are cognitive over-
and under load of the team members, and the capability and
authorization of a team member to perform a particular task.
Therefore, these issues must also be monitored by other team
members (or systems).

A support system for NEC is dependent on the envisioned ways of
collaboration: the collaboration model. Therefore, we are not looking
for one solution to all forms of NEC. Our approach consists of a generic
tool that allows complex models of cooperation to compile and convert
to (prototype) applications that can be used to support collaborative
processes. This kind of system development is expected to lead not
only to increase efficiency (faster development time), but will also lead
to better quality support systems. This is because the development
tool enforces a way of working that is based on the task model itself in
which all aspects relevant for cooperation are included.
The goal of this project is to develop a task-oriented development
environment that is suitable for defense-related NEC applications, and
test it by means of some concrete (prototype) applications. We will
start from the iTasks toolkit (which is based on a functional
programming language), which has been developed at Radboud
University Nijmegen.

Main research questions are:
# How to design a task-oriented development toolkit which is suitable for realizing complex NEC applications.
# How to apply this task-oriented development toolkit in a methodologically sound user requirements engineering framework.
# How to make the toolkit usable also for non-experts.

=== REQUIREMENTS ===
The work will apply the iTask toolkit to defense-related NEC
applications and validate the approach by several (prototype)
applications. An important theme is to monitor, allocate, and reallocate
tasks among team members working in a complex and dynamic
environment.
Your responsibilities include implementing several working iTask
prototypes in a real life domain (e.g. for remote maintenance and
support on navy vessels), interviewing domain experts to derive
correct task models, and placing the work in a sound methodological
framework for user requirements engineering. You have a university
Master degree in the area of Computer Science, Human-technology
Interaction or Artificial Intelligence. Your performance in the Master
program can be classified as excellent. Experience with pure functional
programming languages such as Haskell or Clean is required. You
possess good social skills, and are able to collaborate with colleagues
from different disciplines. You are comfortable with working in a multi-
disciplinary domain. You will publish in renowned journals and present
the research at international congresses. The work will lead to a PhD
under the supervision of prof.dr.ir. M.J. Plasmeijer, dr. J. van Diggelen,
and dr. J.M. Jansen.

The PhD student's base of operation will be Radboud University in
Nijmegen, and at TNO Soesterberg.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
Radboud University offers an attractive benefits package, including a
flexible work week, and the option of assembling a customised
compensation and benefits package (the 'IKA'). Salary and benefits
are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch
Universities.

=== Radboud University Nijmegen ===
Radboud University Nijmegen is one of the leading academic
communities in the Netherlands and is renowned for its leafy campus,
modern buildings and state-of-the-art equipment. It has seven
faculties and enrols over 17,500 students in approximately 90 study
programmes. The university is situated in Nijmegen, the oldest city in
the Netherlands, which has a rich history and one of the liveliest city
centres in the Netherlands.
Computer and Information Sciences Institute
The mission of the Institute for Computing and Information
Sciences (iCIS) is to improve analysis and development of computer-
based systems, through mathematically founded theories, methods
and tools. Research is concentrated within three recognizable research
programmes -Digital Security, Intelligent Systems and Model-Based
System Development. iCIS received excellent scores in a recent
national computer science research assessment, and scored best in the
Netherlands.

=== TNO ===
One of the PhD student's bases of operation will be at TNO
Soesterberg. TNO is an independent, not-for-profit, body with a public
mission. TNO is primarily concerned with the application of knowledge
to improve the competitiveness of companies and to assist
governments with policy matters. TNO Soesterberg, is one of the main
human factors laboratories worldwide. Its mission is to optimize
human performance in complex and demanding environments. Its
multidisciplinary staff includes psychologists, interaction designers,
engineers, and physicists. It has extensive, advanced tools and
facilities for human-in-the-loop testing with low and high fidelity
prototypes or simulations in the lab or (remote) location.

=== INFORMATION AND APPLICATION ===
For more information about this position, please contact
prof.dr.ir. M.J. Plasmeijer, Radboud University (rinus@cs.ru.nl),
dr. J. van Diggelen, TNO, (jurriaan.vandiggelen@tno.nl), and
dr. J.M. Jansen, Netherlands Defense Academy,
(JM.Jansen.04@NLDA.NL).

To apply, please submit the following application materials:
(1) Curriculum Vitae including contact details of references.
(2) Course lists with grades.
(3) A letter of application in which you explain both your interest and
the relevance of your skills and experience in the context of this
research project.

At this stage, please do NOT submit papers or theses that you
might have written. You may submit your materials by email to
rinus@cs.ru.nl. Please send your application by 15 april 2012.

Vacancy NECTOP - Revision history

Bas Lijnse: Created page with "__NOTOC__ We have a PhD Vacancy in the Network-enabled Capabilities Through Task-Oriented Programming (NECTOP) project * Computer and Information Sciences Institute, Radboud Uni..."

Bas Lijnse: Created page with "NOTOC We have a PhD Vacancy in the Network-enabled Capabilities Through Task-Oriented Programming (NECTOP) project * Computer and Information Sciences Institute, Radboud Uni..."