Postdoc in Qualitative Design Research (Readvertisement)

The Department of Digital Design & Information Studies within the School of Communication and Culture at Aarhus University invites applications for a postdoctoral position in Qualitative Design Research. The postdoc position is affiliated with the research project ‘Garment-Based Wearables for Shared Management of Anxiety of the Student in the University Context’ funded by the Carlsberg Foundation.

The postdoc position is a full time and 2.5-year fixed-term position. The position begins on 01 November 2024 or as soon as possible thereafter and ends 31 May 2027.

The School of Communication and Culture is committed to diversity and encourages all qualified applicants to apply regardless of their background.

Project

The number of Danish university students experiencing anxiety in their studies is growing due to stressful factors of studies coupled with individual performance requirements, for example, the pursuit of good grades. The education reform suggested by the Danish government might worsen the situation by asking students to complete their studies faster and more efficiently. To help university students cope with their growing study-related anxiety and prevent it from developing into more severe mental health issues, this project investigates how smart garment-based wearables could be designed to allow shared management of student anxiety with their close ones (that is, a close friend, family member, or partner) in the university context. In this approach, the student with anxiety is not left alone to cope but gets meaningful tangible support in real-time in situ through a soft garment type of smart wearable that is wirelessly connected to the support person’s wearable.

The project will apply a qualitative research approach to understand university students’ experiences with study-related anxiety. The resulting knowledge is utilised in the iterative constructive design of artefacts (that is, speculative or conceptual artefacts and functional prototypes) to investigate stakeholders’ subjective lived experiences with the wearables in the actual use contexts. The project aims to offer insights into the shared management of anxiety in study-related contexts and how to realise wearables for the alleviation of student anxiety.

Postdoc position

The successful applicant will focus on understanding the design context and user needs for wearables for anxiety-shared management. This focus will entail qualitative interviews and creative co-design workshops with the relevant stakeholders. The iterative design of the wearables for shared management of anxiety will follow a constructive design research approach. The postdoc is expected to take part at least in the conceptual design process, in which knowledge of conceptual or speculative design is beneficial. The postdoc should also assist in the planning and conducting evaluation of anticipated experiences with speculative prototypes and lived experiences with the final prototypes “in the wild” setting. This work will entail using qualitative or mixed data collection and analysis methods. The successful applicant is expected to have a strong proficiency in research design, analysis, and reporting of the findings in scientific articles.

Qualifications

The applicants must document prior experience of studying phenomena such as those described above, for instance, people’s subjective experiences with their well-being, user experiences with the technology in situ, and/or understanding of user needs for the technology.

Deadline: 12 August 2024

Read the full text and apply online via the 'Apply' button above.

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