PhD in Socio-legal Aspects of Digital Mental Health

Tilburg University, Netherlands

Updated: 3 months ago
Deadline: 31 Mar 2024

10 Feb 2024
Job Information
Organisation/Company

Tilburg University
Research Field

Juridical sciences
Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)
Country

Netherlands
Application Deadline

31 Mar 2024 - 21:59 (UTC)
Type of Contract

Temporary
Job Status

Not Applicable
Hours Per Week

40.0
Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme
Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

We offer a PhD position of 4 years, in the area of Socio-legal Aspects of Digital Mental Health, as part of the vibrant and interdisciplinary Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology and Society (TILT). The objective of the PhD position is to provide a socio-legal research of responsibilities and liabilities in digital mental health, in either an EU and/or a Dutch context. There is flexibility for the PhD candidate to decide on their own focus within the overall project, which includes flexibility in the exact methodologies chosen. 

Tilburg Law School is seeking an enthusiastic colleague for the PhD position in Socio-legal Aspects of Digital Mental Health at the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society.

The Covid-19 pandemic has intensified the use of digital technologies for mental health. Seen as an accessible and effective way of offering certain therapies or assisting in-person therapy, applications and online platforms are often used in mental health practice. In addition, private-sector interest in mental health technologies has surged as well, with big tech companies increasingly playing a particularly large role in providing mental health support and predicting who is at risk of, for instance, attempting suicide.

The use of digital mental health by public and private providers alike leads to a number of ethical, legal, and social issues. One of the interesting elements is that of responsibilities, and boundaries in responsibility when technologies change therapeutic relationships. For instance, how do therapists negotiate responsibility when clients are in crisis and contact them out-of-hours? What do their guidelines say (as soft law)? Or consider private companies engaging in suicide prevention using algorithms. Are they responsible also in cases of false positives and negatives, and if so, how and how much? To what extent can private companies be bound by the same rules and regulations as medical professionals abiding professional guidelines and health laws? And when and how are private (or public, for that matter) companies allowed or obliged to share data they gather with, for instance, law enforcement or research institutes?

The research question that is central to this PhD-project is:

How do public and private providers, offering (partly) digital mental health treatment or prevention/prediction, negotiate responsibilities and boundaries, especially in crisis situations, and how can this be improved?

The candidate will work under supervision of co-promotor and daily supervisor Dr Tineke Broer, with Professor Dr. Linnet Taylor as promotor, and will be spending 80% of their time on research, with the remaining 20% on teaching. 

The PhD candidate will be working within TILT, an interdisciplinary institute working on the intersection of law & technology, and host of the Master Law & Technology. At TILT, we organize various department meetings, research seminars, and other means of exchanging ideas. The PhD candidate will be part of the Regulation and Governance cluster within TILT, which is the most interdisciplinary cluster within TILT, with people working on e.g. data justice, epistemic injustice, health care, standardization, and use of data. 


Requirements
Specific Requirements

What do we ask? 
Tilburg University is curious about how you can contribute to our research, education, impact, and to the team you will be part of. Therefore, we would like to get the best possible picture of your knowledge, insight, skills, and personality. Below you can find the qualifications we consider important for the position.

The candidate:

  • holds a bachelor and master in Science & Technology Studies, sociology, Liberal Arts & Sciences, or a related social discipline or equivalent on 1 September 2024 at the latest;
  • has a demonstrated interest in socio-legal aspects of technology, as well as in qualitative research;
  • has a demonstrated interest in the field of (digital) mental health;
  • has an excellent written and spoken command of English;
  • has interest in working in an interdisciplinary environment, and wants to contribute to the broader TILT and TLS communities; 
  • has interest in teaching and supervising students at Bachelor and Master level (e.g., tutorial groups, thesis supervision).
  • demonstrates scientific integrity
  • contributes to an open and inclusive organizational culture.

To maintain a vibrant and active university community, it is important that we meet each other regularly and that the connection between us remains good. Therefore, the premise is that all staff members carry out their work in the Netherlands and that teaching is done in person.


Additional Information
Benefits

What do we offer?
Tilburg University offers excellent terms of employment with attention to flexibility and room for (personal) development. We recognize and reward  our employees and encourage the use of talents and strengths.

Tilburg University is committed to an open and inclusive culture, embracing diversity, and encouraging the mutual integration of groups of staff and students. We create equal opportunities for all our staff and students so that everyone feels at home in our university community. We especially encourage applications from underrepresented groups, such as in relation to gender and sexuality, experience with mental illness, or ethnicity. 

We work in a vibrant and lively (work) environment on our beautiful campus, close to the forest and easily accessible by public transport. We are committed to a sustainable society and challenge you to make an active contribution to this. 

For this position, we offer:

  • A position based on 1.0 FTE (40 hours per week);
  • It is a vacancy for 4 years. You will initially be appointed for a fixed period of 16 months with a statutory probationary period of two months. After 12 months, an evaluation will take place. If the performance evaluation is positive, your employment agreement will be extended for the remaining period of 32 months.
  • A start salary of €2.770 gross per month for full time employment, based on UFO profile PhD Candidate and salary scale P of the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities . Tilburg University uses a neutral remuneration system for salary scaling;
  • Vacation allowance (8%) and a year-end bonus (8.3%);
  • Vacation days (41 days for a 40-hour work week);
  • Full reimbursement of commuting expenses for sustainable travel: walking, biking and public transportation;
  • Moving allowance;
  • Options Model for benefits and reimbursement of expenses;
  • Employees from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a tax-free allowance of 30/20/10% of their taxable wages. We will apply for this reimbursement for you;
  • You will be enrolled in the General Pension Fund for Public Employers (ABP) through us;
  • Various training courses, for example in leadership skills, personal effectiveness, and career development;
  • A wide range of amenities and facilities and various arrangements to create an optimal work-life balance.

Visit working at Tilburg University  for more information on our terms of employment. 


Selection process

Please attach the following documents to your application:

  • CV 
  • Motivation letter
  • Research statement of up to 2500 words, following the template available on this page: https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/about/schools/law/tgls/phd-vacancies
  • Copy of your bachelor and master diploma and grade lists. In case you will graduate from your master over the summer, please submit a list of the grades you obtained so far.
  • An academic piece of research (thesis, assignment) written by you
  • Contact information of two referees (including name, phone number, and e-mail address) ) (see application form). We only approach referees for candidates who go to the second selection round. 

    • The first selection interviews will take place in the week of May 20th or the week of May 27th, and most likely in the morning of May 23rd. The selection committee consists of the following members: 

  • Prof. Dr. Elies van Sliedregt (Vice Dean of Research)
  • Dr. Tineke Broer (prospective supervisor)
  • Prof. Linnet Taylor (prospective supervisor)
  • Dr. Inge Graef 

    • Ideally, you will start working for Tilburg University on 1 September 2024. 


    Additional comments

    We invite you to apply online for this position by March 31st (23:59 CEST). 
    More information about the vacancy can be obtained from Dr. Tineke Broer, [email protected] . 


    Website for additional job details

    https://www.academictransfer.com/337632/

    Work Location(s)
    Number of offers available
    1
    Company/Institute
    Tilburg University
    Country
    Netherlands
    City
    Tilburg
    Postal Code
    5037 AB
    Street
    Warandelaan 2
    Geofield


    Where to apply
    Website

    https://www.academictransfer.com/en/337632/phd-in-socio-legal-aspects-of-digita…

    Contact
    City

    Tilburg
    Website

    http://www.uvt.nl/
    Street

    Warandelaan 2
    Postal Code

    5037 AB

    STATUS: EXPIRED

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