France : PhD Scholarship in Computer Science

PhD Scholarship in Computer Science / Economy at IRIT and GREMAQ, Toulouse, France

Description:
We invite, applications for an interdisciplinary 3 years PhD position in computer science and economics. The projects title is: “Epistemic states, Trust and responsibility of economical agents: from theoretical aspects to experimental studies”

Project description:
Recently computer scientists’ interest in more and more complex systems has lead to an increased use of multi-agent approaches. Multi-agent analysis allows the investigation of the interaction of autonomous agents able to make decisions and to execute the necessary actions. The characterization of these agents is done with help of a number of theoretical models, among which modal (in particular epistemic) logics. This implies that the systems and their agents are described in terms of their knowledge, beliefs, goals and intentions.

The concept of trust has been recently studied at the same time in the domain of multi-agent systems as concerning interactions of economic agents. The interaction of economic agents has been traditionally studied concerning monetary profits for the involved actors. However, today it is widely believed that decisions in economic interactions are influenced by beliefs, trust and emotions.

The objective of this research project is to study situations requiring responsibility and trust with experimental economic paradigms. We will evaluate how and when responsibility will lead to trust when interactions are repeated. The resulting states will be formally characterized by using epistemological concepts of trust and responsibility.

The ideal candidate for this position should have training in either computer science or economics, with knowledge in at least one of the areas of formal logic, game theory, simulations.

The position will be co-supervised by Andreas Herzig (IRIT, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse) and Astrid Hopfensitz (GREMAQ, Université des Sciences Sociales, Toulouse). Both institutions are world renowned research institutions in their discipline and the candidate will have the opportunity to participate and interact with researchers from both fields. Monthly salary will be according to French standards (gross salary 1650 Euros, i.e. 1360 Euros of taxable income (with approximately 10% income tax to be subtracted)). Research language in Toulouse is English however some basic knowledge of French is an advantage.

For further questions please contact:

Andreas Herzig, http://www.irit.fr/~Andreas.Herzig

or Astrid Hopfensitz, http://hopfensitz.googlepages.com

Application Deadline: August 18, 2009

Contact:
Hopfensitz, Astrid
Toulouse School of Economics (GREMAQ)
astrid.hopfensitz[ at ]univ-tlse1.fr

Austria : PhD-position in Logistics/Supply Chain Management

PhD Studentships in Quantitative Methods / Logistics, University of Vienna, Austria

PhD-position in Logistics/Supply Chain Management and Quantitative Methods

The chair of Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the University of Vienna offers a PhD-candidate position in its expanding international research team. The position includes participation in the faculty’s PhD program in Logistics and Operations Management and the opportunity to conduct a research project under the supervision of experienced senior researchers. A four year scholarship, the possibility to spend some time at a foreign research institution, and to present research results at leading international conferences are provided. The position further offers the opportunity to gain teaching experience (all Logistics and Supply Chain courses are taught in English) and to disseminate the research results within projects with industry. Our research areas include supply chain inventory management (especially service parts and retail applications), supply chain coordination (using game theoretic approaches), and strategic network design.

The Department of Business Administration is, according to the latest ranking by Handelsblatt, the #1 research institution in Business Administration in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. The city of Vienna, according to the latest Mercer survey, offers the highest quality of life worldwide.

If you are interested you should have completed (or be close to completion) of a master degree (Diploma / Magister) in Business Administration, Mathematics, Statistics, Operations Research, Management Information Systems, or Mathematical Economics with excellent records. Please send us your full application, including

• letter of motivation,
• resumé,
• transcript of records,
• relevant certificates.

to alexandra.ederer@univie.ac.at

Application Deadline: July 13, 2009

Contact:
Minner, Stefan
University of Vienna
stefan.minner@univie.ac.at