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Job Wageningen UR (University & Research centre) - Post-doc researcher Centre for Society and Genomics (CSG)

Post-doc researcher Centre for Society and Genomics (CSG)

Job description

A post-doc researcher willing to investigate open source and common knowledge approaches in plant breeding research.

As post-doc researcher you are expected:
To identify and “follow” the use of open source tools (markers) and genes in different institutional settings in India and the Netherlands; To study whether and how these open source and common approaches change and/or reduce the dichotomies between technology-designers and technology-users and between private/public and common knowledge production systems; and To indicate how open source and common approaches create new opportunities for tailoring biotechnologies to location-specific needs of development.
The objective of the research program - “Genomics and the production of commons: Open source as a method “to go beyond” public and private knowledge production” - is to investigate what types of commons are emerging through open source approaches and how do they evolve in time.

The research will be focused on studying research networks using open source genomic information (molecular markers) for the development of agricultural food crops, questioning whether these varieties (can) remain commons; varieties possessed and developed in common.

The research focus is on agro-food research networks in which Indian and Dutch research institutions participate in the development of new plant varieties for low-income farmers in dry-land areas of Andhra Pradesh, India.

As post-doc researchers it is expected that you develop and apply a critically-based, technographic research methodology- technographic in the sense that it aims to map, analyze and deconstruct open source and commons plant breeding research activities; critical in the sense that it considers relations of power in plant breeding technologies and indicates opportunities for institutional rearrangements to strengthen the negotiating power position of stakeholders and resource-poor client groups.

Requirements

- PhD in social sciences with special attention for social-political aspects of plant breeding. Thesis in science and technology studies and/or in critical social theory; Fluent in English. Capable to work in a team, composed of 4 PhD researchers, one post-doc researcher and two senior researchers focusing on analyzing on open source and commons knowledge approaches.
- Proved writing capabilities.

Conditions of employment

A part-time position for 22,8 hours a week (0,6 fte) for 2 years. Gross salary: from € 2379,- to € 3755,- (scale 10), based on fulltime employment (38 hours) and dependent on expertise and experience. Additional information can be obtained from:Secretary of the CTC research unit: Bea Prijn (bea.prijn@wur.nl)Head of the research unit: prof.dr. Guido Ruivenkamp (tel.0031-317-484178) Please apply via the button on this page.Only applications sent to our website will be taken in consideration. Deadline for application: 05-03-2010

Contract type

Temporary

2 years

Organisation

Wageningen UR (University & Research centre)

Wageningen University and Research Centre
Delivering a substantial contribution to the quality of life. That's our focus – each and every day. Within our domain, healthy food and living environment, we search for answers to issues affecting society – such as sustainable food production, climate change and alternative energy. Of course, we don’t do this alone. Every day, 6,500 people work on ‘the quality of life’, turning ideas into reality, on a global scale. Could you be one of these people? We give you the space you need.For further information about working at Wageningen UR, take a look at www.jobsat.wur.nl. The Department
The research group Critical Technology Construction (CTC) is part of the Social Sciences Department of Wageningen university. CTC focuses its research on the social and political dimensions in technology developments, acknowledging that technology is not only about material processes, but also about social processes. CTC holds to an approach called “critical constructivism”. In this context constructivism refers to an idea that technologies are socially constructed, while critical, derived from critical theory, refers to a consideration of social forces and power relations in technology development. Primary research interests of the group are in:• Modern biotechnology and genomics and the role they play in international agricultural development and food production; • Possibilities for reconstructing biotechnological products and processes to endogenous developments, • Open source and commons approaches in knowledge production. Other areas of interests are the converging of nano-, bio-, informatic, and cognito-technologies, changes in intellectual property regimes (from patenting to sharing) and role of geographic information systems in land-use planning.As a social sciences research unit we are participating in various interdisciplinary research projects aiming to reconstruct the social dimensions in biotechnological and genomics developments (see www.ctc.wur.nl).

 

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