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**************** Apologies for cross-posting **************** <br>
<br>
<b><br>
PhD Studentship "An information-theoretic approach to embodied and
situated language processing" in Psycholinguistics</b> (75% TV-L
E13)<br>
<br>
Saarland University, Saarbruecken, Germany <br>
<br>
The Embodied Spoken Interaction (ESI) group at the Saarland
University, headed by Dr. Maria Staudte, invites applications for a
PhD studentship, to be filled as soon as possible. <br>
<br>
The main goal of this project is to investigate to what extent
information, in particular referential information, can be and is
conveyed through multiple modalities. While previous work has
largely focused on purely linguistic context when determining the
surprisal on a word, situated face-to-face communication offers
additional (non-verbal) channels for transmitting information. This
project will examine whether non-verbal cues such as gaze can adopt
the function of constraining or disambiguating upcoming contents,
similar to the selectional restrictions of a verb, for instance. In
order to empirically assign and assess surprisal in this multi-modal
context, a new combination of traditional measures of predictability
and surprisal are developed. <br>
<br>
The Embodied Spoken Interaction (ESI) group is part of the <a
href="http://www.mmci.uni-saarland.de/">"Multi-modal Computing and
Interaction" Cluster of Excellence</a> at Saarland University
which provides a very fruitful and constructive research environment
with excellent opportunities for exchange and cooperation. The group
has access to numerous state-of-the-art eye-tracking laboratories, a
64 channel EEG/ERP lab, and modern computing infrastructure, and
conducts research at the level of international excellence. <br>
<br>
The candidate will be expected to contribute to the high standards
of the group and to be actively involved in the preparation and
publication of new results. Further information about the group can
be found at: <a
href="http://www.mmci.uni-saarland.de/en/independent_research_groups/esi">
http://www.mmci.uni-saarland.de/en/irg/esi </a> <br>
<br>
Applicants should submit their research statement, a CV, a copy of
their school and university degrees, a representative reprint
(thesis chapter or paper), and names and contact information of two
references. The position remains open until filled, but preference
will be given to applications received by *<b>30 May 2014</b>*. All
documents should be e-mailed as a single PDF to: <a
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:masta@coli.uni-saarland.de">masta@coli.uni-saarland.de</a>
<br>
<br>
If you have any further questions, please also send an email to: <a
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:masta@coli.uni-saarland.de">masta@coli.uni-saarland.de</a>
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