Research Fellow Viability of online communities Centre for Research in Social Simulation University of Surrey, UK Salary: up to GBP 30,012 (Level 4, point 5) per annum Summary Applications are invited for a researcher to work with Professor Nigel Gilbert and Dr Camille Roth on a project investigating the determinants of the viability of online communities and networks. The post will involve the collection and analysis of data about online communities such as tagging systems (e.g. Flickr), wiki-based systems (e.g. Wikipedia) and social networking sites (e.g. MySpace). The post will involve describing and analyzing the sustainability and demographics of these communities, both in terms of their population and their knowledge-based content, in order to understand the determinants of their viability or non-viability. An interest in complex systems and/or networks, and programming skills in one or more of scripting languages, java and web programming is essential for this post. A PhD in a quantitative social science, computer science or statistical physics would be helpful. It will involve some travel in Europe. The post is available from 1st October 2007, or as soon as possible thereafter, until 31st January 2010. The post is associated with the European Union Framework 6 project, PATRES (Pattern Resilience), which will develop new methods defining the actions favouring the recovery from perturbations, applicable from ecology to cognitive sciences and sociology. An overview of the project may be found at http://www.patres-project.eu/. The post will be located in Guildford, Surrey, England, on a modern campus that sits on the hillside leading up to Guildford Cathedral. The campus is surrounded by landscaped grounds, playing fields and a beautiful lake populated by ducks and swans. Academic, sports, catering and entertainment facilities are all on hand with the close-knit community creating a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. While the centre of London can be reached within 35 minutes by rail, Guildford is a market town in an area of outstanding natural beauty. For informal discussions about the post, contact Professor Nigel Gilbert at n.gilbert@surrey.ac.uk. For an application pack and to apply on line, please visit www.surrey.ac.uk/vacancies. Alternatively please contact Stephanie Lesanne via email on s.lesanne@surrey.ac.uk or by telephone on +44 1483 682605 quoting reference number 6192. To send an application, please email or post to Stephanie Lesanne, HR Officer, School of Human Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, UK. The closing date for applications is 2nd September 2007. Interview board will be held on 18th September 2007 The University is committed to an Equal Opportunities Policy