PostDoc Vacancy in AI & OR

[Uwe Aickelin <uxa@Cs.Nott.AC.UK>]

Post Doctoral Research Assistant in Artificial Intelligence &
Operations Research

TITLE OF THE PROJECT
The role of management practices in closing the productivity gap

START DATE: October 1, 2005

Applications are invited for one Post Doctoral Research Assistant for
2½ years to work with the Automated Scheduling, Optimisation and
Planning Research Group (ASAP) in the School of Computer Science and
Information Technology at the University of Nottingham, on an EPSRC-
funded project entitled "The role of management practices in closing
the productivity gap".


PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The project focuses in particular on the role of management practices
in the productivity gap. For example, is it the case that US-owned
retail outlets operating in the UK are more productive than UK-owned
outlets here because the US companies implement and use appropriate
management practices more effectively? The project adopts an inter-
disciplinary approach and involves a mix of case study and survey
methods. As such this project will attempt to:

* focus on selected significant parts of the service sector in the
UK;
* focus on the micro level by examining the role of management
practices within companies and sites, but including more macro
variables as part of the models;
* explore techniques and theories from different academic
disciplines;
* compare UK and USA owned companies working in the UK.

The research will be carried out under the supervision of Dr Uwe
Aickelin,  http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~uxa

COLLABORATORS
This is a joint research proposal arising from a recent EPSRC IDEAS
factory event. The partners are Sheffield University (Psychology),
Cambridge University (Judge Institute) and Aston University (Business
School).

RESEARCH GROUP
The Automated Scheduling, Optimisation and Planning Research group
(ASAP) is one of four major groupings within the School. The School
obtained a grade 5 in the 2001 Research Assessment exercise. ASAP is
concerned with investigating and developing Artificial Intelligence
and Operational Research approaches to a vide variety of scheduling
and optimisation problems. It has been at the forefront of research
in this area over the last few years and is internationally
recognised for its research work. The group comprises 9 members of
academic staff, 11 Post Doctoral Research Associates, 35 PhD students
and 1 secretary. Further details are available on the WWW at:
http://www.asap.ac.uk/


POST DOCTORAL RESEARCH ASSISTANT
The Post Doctoral Research Assistant will investigate the potential
of a variety of novel artificial intelligence and operational
research methods, with an emphasis on mathematical modelling and
heuristic optimisation, to generate the most appropriate model and
simulation of the productivity problem. The ideal candidate for this
project will hold a PhD in a subject related to the project, i.e.
mathematical modelling, (meta-) heuristic optimisation or simulation.
The starting salary is in the range £19,460 - £21,640 per annum. This
post will be offered on a fixed-term contract for a period of 2½
years.  Please quote ref. UweAickelin/01 and the title of the
project.

APPLICATIONS
Applicants should send a detailed curriculum vitae together with the
names and addresses of two referees who can support their
application. Applications should be sent to:
Ms Emma-Jayne Dann
School of Computer Science & IT, University of Nottingham
Jubilee Campus Wollaton Road
Nottingham NG8 1BB, UK
e-mail: ejd@cs.nott.ac.uk

CLOSING DATE for applications is 26 August, 2005.


=============================================
Dr Uwe Aickelin
School of Computer Science (ASAP)
University of Nottingham
Nottingham     NG8 1BB     UK

Phone	+44(0) 11595 14215
Fax	+44(0) 11584 67591
Email	uwe.aickelin@nottingham.ac.uk
Web	http://www.aickelin.com


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