Two Research Associates: Limits of the Numerical

The CENTRE FOR RESEARCH IN THE ARTS, SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES
(CRASSH) is seeking to appoint two post doctoral Research Associates
to join the University of Cambridge strand of the three-year project
Limits of the Numerical. The positions will be held for 3 years from 1
September 2015.

Limits of the Numerical, a collaboration between Cambridge, Chicago
and University of California, Santa Barbara, explores one of the most
pressing sets of questions for modern social science and its relation
to policy.  What is the effect of the pervasive introduction of
numerically-based quantification into all aspects of social
evaluation?  When does the use of numbers work against the very values
they are introduced to support, promote or capture?   How do numbers
as a system of evaluation clash with social values which cannot be so
quantified?  Its intellectual scope covers three main strands of
social policy: education (California), climate change (Chicago),
healthcare (Cambridge).

The Cambridge project, funded by the ISRF and led by Dr Anna
Alexandrova and Dr Stephen John from the department of History and
Philosophy of Science, examines the meaning and consequences of
quantifications and rankings in health and healthcare,  for example
the use of QALYs for evaluation and allocation decisions.

Applications are invited from researchers in the following fields:
history and sociology of medicine, philosophy of medicine, history and
sociology of social science and psychology, philosophy of social and
psychological sciences , moral and political philosophy. Researchers
with related  distinct projects are also encouraged to apply.

The RAs will conduct research, working closely with the project
leaders. They will write research papers and manuscripts on the topic
of the project; participate in weekly meetings/seminar; organize
conferences and participate fully in the project’s output including
public engagement activities and international workshops.

See details here:
http://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/applications/position/view/127