Appointment of a Research Fellow in Visualisation and Reasoning The department The University's Visual Modelling Group (VMG) is based within the School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics. The VMG has an outstanding international reputation in diagrams research; it is led by Professor John Howse, with Dr Gem Stapleton as Director. The group’s work focuses on visual languages, and one of the group's main strands of research is designing new diagrammatic logics that are appropriate for practical application. These logics have included spider diagrams, constraint diagrams and, most recently, concept diagrams. In all cases, these logics have formally defined syntax and semantics and thus are capable of encoding precisely logical concepts. The expertise of VMG members also encompasses empirical testing of diagrammatic notations, and the group has investigated in detail the cognitive effects of drawing choices for Euler diagrams. These diagrams are commonly used for visualising information concerning grouped data, and form the basis for concept diagrams. Concept diagrams are capable of encoding many ontology axioms in a single diagram, and have the potential to significantly reduce the cognitive load on ontology engineers. Dr Peter Chapman will lead the research project. The project includes collaboration with Dr Ian Oliver of Nokia Networks in Finland, and the successful applicant will be required to take research trips to Finland. Dr Chapman joined the VMG in 2010 and his research interests include the formal theory of diagrammatic logics and the empirical evaluation of diagrammatic reasoning. His work has been published in the Journal of Visual Languages and Computing and presented at international conferences and workshops such as the Diagrams and Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing series. In addition to researching the theoretical properties of diagrammatic logics, Dr Chapman has made a significant contribution to the VMG's work on empirical evaluation. This strand of his work aims to make diagrammatic logics more accessible and useful to users, which is also a central aim of the current project. The Job The successful applicant will join the EPSRC-funded research project “Visual Justifications for Ontologies.” Their work will be to deliver the following research objectives: to produce a thorough categorisation of ontology antipatterns and determining the prevalence of antipatterns in incoherent ontologies. to produce and empirically test a range of visualisations for the most common antipatterns. This testing will be through a crowd-sourced approach, and will focus on user comprehension of inconsistencies in diagrams. to test the difficulty of ontology repair when using visual, symbolic and natural language justifications from real-world examples from ontologies in the field of privacy engineering. The participants for this study will require detailed knowledge of ontologies, and will thus be recruited accordingly. At Research Fellow level (AC2), staff are expected to be involved in the developing, planning and managing of research projects in consultation with a Principal Investigator, developing a publication record and learning to generate funding and supervise less experienced researchers. The role will normally require a level of research knowledge, skill and experience equivalent to PhD. Research Fellows may also be expected to contribute to the teaching and/or consultancy activities in order to ensure continuous development of knowledge in the subject area. The role will involve the following range of activities: develop research objectives and proposals for their own or joint research, initially with the assistance of a mentor if required; conduct individual and collaborative research projects; continually update knowledge and understanding in the field; and translate knowledge of advances in the subject area into research activity; contribute to writing up research work for publication or dissemination of research findings including presenting at conferences and/or other appropriate events; contribute to the supervision and mentoring of research students and make some contribution to the teaching, tutoring and learning programmes in the school; prepare proposals and applications to external bodies, e.g. for funding and accreditation purposes; liaise with colleagues and students; build internal contacts and participate in internal networks to exchange information and form relationships for future collaboration; join external networks to share information and identify potential sources of funds; agree and largely self-manage research and administrative activities, ensuring own research is undertaken according to governance, ethical and quality assurance guidelines; collaborate with academic colleagues on areas of shared research interest; work with colleagues on joint proposals as required; and attend and contribute to relevant meetings; use new research techniques and methods, develop new ones and extend the research portfolio; identify areas of research and generate ideas associated with research; analyse and interpret research data and draw conclusions on the outcomes; and contribute to collaborative decision-making in areas of research; plan and manage own research activity and use of resources in collaboration with others and help to plan and implement third stream commercial and consultancy activities. Knowledge and Qualifications It is expected that the criteria below regarding knowledge and qualifications will be met by the successful candidate. • A PhD or equivalent level of professional research experience in computer science. • Significant experience with empirical study design and execution, particularly in relation to computer science. • Knowledge of, or interest in, ontology engineering and description logics. • Knowledge of, or interest in, diagrammatic reasoning. • Sufficient, up to date breadth or depth of specialist knowledge in the discipline and of research methods and techniques to work within established research programmes and evidence of commitment to engage in continuous professional development. • Understanding of equality of opportunity, academic content and issues relating to student need. Hours of work This post is full-time. The nature of research posts is such that staff are expected to work such hours as are reasonably necessary in order to fulfil their duties and responsibilities. It would therefore be inappropriate to define the total hours to be worked in any week. A reasonable norm for full-time staff, however, having regard to the contractual position of other senior staff in the institution, would be thirty-seven, although this should not be regarded as a minimum or maximum. Contribution to teaching and learning programmes in the school should not exceed six hours in any week. The salary The salary will be in accordance with the Research Fellow (AC2) grade, which ranges from £33,242 to £39,685 per annum. Salaries are paid monthly in arrears through the BACS System directly into the bank or building society account of each member of staff. The university must pay salaries through the BACS system. They cannot be paid by cheque. It will therefore be important to supply account details in order to ensure prompt payment. Duration of the job The appointment is for a fixed term of 12 months because the funding is limited to that period. Professional development The Research Office (RO) organises a wide range of workshops covering all aspects of researcher development including research degree supervision, research methodology, writing successful bids for funding, intellectual property and negotiations and contracts. The RO also offers a co-ordinated central service to advise and assist university research staff applying for grants from UK Research Councils, the European Commission, the NHS and similar external bodies including advice and guidance on application procedures, regulations, staffing, costing and protection of intellectual property. Staff in the Registry, Business Services, Finance, Human Resources, Strategic Planning and Marketing & Communications have joined forces to provide this research support service. The RO's website on the University's intranet offers a wide range of helpful information on all aspects of research. See http://staffcentral.brighton.ac.uk/ro/ Courses are also run within the university for staff new to teaching. Staff new to teaching in higher education, who have not undertaken an equivalent course of study and training, are expected take one of these courses in their first or second year in post. The courses provide opportunities to explore a range of practical approaches to supporting students’ learning, and to reflect upon the process of developing as a teacher. The successful applicant will be provided with further information about these courses at the time of appointment. In addition to these courses for staff new to the teaching role, the Centre for Learning and Teaching offers a wide range of other teaching-related courses, events and consultancy. Further information is available from the CLT’s website: http://staffcentral.bton.ac.uk/clt. Holidays The annual leave entitlement is 35 working days pro rata for proportional full-time staff. This is in addition to the statutory holidays applicable in England, local discretionary holidays and days when the university is closed in the interests of efficiency. Terms & conditions In determining terms and conditions of employment, the university has regard to recommendations made through the appropriate national negotiating framework. These terms and conditions of service can be varied by local agreements reached through the university’s local negotiating framework which comprises a Joint Negotiating Committee supported by two Common Interest Groups. These groups bring together representatives of the university and its recognised trade unions, which are: • • Strategic plan UCU – University and College Union UNISON Details of our Strategic Plan can be found at: http://staffcentral.brighton.ac.uk/xpedio/groups/Public/documents/staf fcentral/doc013747.pdf