Postdoctoral Researcher: Digital Dark Patterns (0.8 - 1.0 FTE)

• Employment: 0.8 - 1.0 FTE
• Gross monthly salary: € 2,846 - € 4,490
• Faculty of Science
• Required background: PhD
• Application deadline: 10 January 2022

We are offering a 3-year postdoctoral position for interdisciplinary research on dark patterns. Dark design patterns are deceptive, manipulative or restrictive UX design choices that steer users into making decisions they would not make otherwise. Dark patterns can cause financial loss, trick users into revealing personal data, and induce addictive behaviour.

The project will investigate real-world uses of dark patterns, their effects on people's behaviour, and the challenges they bring for the protection of individuals' rights online (e.g. from a consumer protection or data protection law perspective).

You will collaborate with researchers with a background in human-computer interaction (H. Schraffenberger), computer science (G. Acar), and law (R.M. Gellert). You will be expected to contribute to research on large-scale measurements to detect dark patterns on online platforms, and user studies to investigate their manipulative, deceptive and coercive effects. The research focus may be tailored to your specific interests.

Your duties will include developing, conducting and publishing interdisciplinary research on dark patterns; contributing to and participating in the iHub and the Digital Security group's general activities; and writing grant proposals. If so desired, educational activities can be arranged according to your preferences.

Profile

• You hold a relevant PhD degree in computer science, social science, human-computer interaction, or a similar discipline.
• You have a strong research interest in dark patterns.
• You have a background in programming.
• You are a team player interested in working in an interdisciplinary team.
• You have strong communication skills.
• You have an excellent command of written and spoken English, as demonstrated by publications.
• Experience with user studies or large-scale online measurement studies is a plus.

We are

You will be part of a vibrant international research environment at Radboud University, and join the Interdisciplinary Hub for Digitalisation and Society (iHub) and the Digital Security Group of the Institute for Computing and Information Sciences (iCIS).

iHub brings together a diverse range of scholars from across the humanities, social sciences, law, engineering and natural sciences to tackle urgent questions raised by the increased digitalisation and datafication of science and society. iHub's mission is to better understand the effects of digitalisation on our society and to help steer digital transformations in ways commensurate with public values. The Digital Security Group works on a broad range of topics in computer security, including applied cryptography, security protocols, privacy, and the security and correctness of software.

The Digital Security Group is one of the leading groups in computer security in the Netherlands and Europe, with, for example, 4 ERC grants in the last decade and a strong involvement in European projects.

Radboud University
We want to get the best out of science, others and ourselves. Why? Because this is what the world around us desperately needs. Leading research and education make an indispensable contribution to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all. This is what unites the more than 24,000 students and 5,600 employees at Radboud University. And this requires even more talent, collaboration and lifelong learning. You have a part to play!

We offer

• Employment for 0.8 - 1.0 FTE.
• The gross monthly salary amounts to a minimum of €2,846 and a maximum of €4,490 based on a 38-hour working week, depending on previous education and number of years of relevant work experience (salary scale 10 ).
• You will receive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• It concerns a temporary employment for three years.
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Care Services . Our Dual Career and Family Care Officer can assist you with family-related support, help your partner or spouse prepare for the local labour market, provide customized support in their search for employment  and help your family settle in Nijmegen.
• Working for us means getting extra days off. In case of full-time employment, you can choose between 29 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the legally allotted 20.

Additional employment conditions
Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions . You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself, for example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.
Would you like more information?

For questions about the position, please contact Hanna Schraffenberger, Assistant Professor at [email protected] . Alternatively, you can contact Gunes Acar, Assistant Professor at [email protected] .

Practical information and applications
You can apply until 10 January 2022, exclusively using the button below. Kindly address your application to Hanna Schraffenberger. Please fill in the application form and attach the following documents:

• A letter of motivation.
• Your CV.
• An example of a scholarly paper.

The first round of interviews will take place on 17 January. You would preferably begin employment on 1 April.

The Faculty of Science is an equal opportunity employer, committed to building a culturally diverse intellectual community, and as such encourages applications from women and minorities.

We can imagine you're curious about our application procedure . It offers a rough outline of what you can expect during the application process, how we handle your personal data and how we deal with internal and external candidates.

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