Two-year fully funded postdoctoral position in quantitative text analysis/
NLP
Location: University College Dublin, School of Politics and
International Relations
Start date: 1st September, 2024
Deadline: 12th May, noon, 2024
University College Dublin is currently recruiting a post-doctoral
researcher to implement natural language processing (NLP) tools to analyse
interview data.
The main objective of this position is to develop tools to identify and
analyse so-called cognitive maps (Axelrod 1976) from interview data.
Dornschneider and Henderson (2016, 2023) and Dornschneider (2019) have
developed tools for the computational analysis of cognitive maps. What is
needed is a set of tools to infer cognitive maps from natural language.
This Irish Research Council funded project investigates the role of women
in Muslim resistance movements, based on Arabic interviews conducted by the
Principal Investigator. The cognitive mapping analysis has several main
objectives: 1- to show typical behavioral decisions (e.g. to join a
resistance movement) described by the interviewees; 2- to identify common
reasoning processes related to these decisions; and 3- to trace the role of
religious beliefs in these reasoning processes.
You will work with the PI, Dr. Stephanie Dornschneider-Elkink, to deliver
the research objectives of the project. You will support the development
and subsequent publication of new tools to convert text into cognitive
maps. Tasks will include but are not limited to POS tagging, sequence
analysis, word embeddings, and visualization. You will have the chance to
give substantial input to the analysis and to co-author papers with the PI.
Full ad*:* https://my.corehr.com/pls/coreportal_ucdp/apply?id=017201
References
Axelrod, R. (ed.). 1976. Structure of decision: The cognitive maps of
political elites. Princeton: Princeton university press.
Dornschneider-Elkink, S. and Henderson, N., 2023. Repression and Dissent:
How Tit-for-Tat Leads to Violent and Nonviolent Resistance. Journal of
Conflict Resolution, p.00220027231179102.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0022002714540473
Dornschneider, S., 2019. High‐Stakes Decision‐Making Within Complex Social
Environments: A Computational Model of Belief Systems in the Arab
Spring. Cognitive
Science, 43(7), p.e12762. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.12762
Dornschneider, S. and Henderson, N., 2016. A computational model of
cognitive maps: Analyzing violent and nonviolent activity in Egypt and
Germany. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 60(2), pp.368-399.
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Dr Stephanie Dornschneider-Elkink
Assistant Professor, School of Politics & International Relations (SPIRe)
University College Dublin
Newman Building, F316, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland