Requiered application documents for the applicants:

• Application Form

• Letter of Reference: written even by the supervisor in the PhD programme or a by a researcher/head of establishment, where the applicant completed the doctoral study.

• Scientific CV + List of Publications: all together max. 2 pages A4

• Copy of University Diploma or Provisional certificate of completion of PhD studies or another official confirmation, that the applicant has been awarded PhD Degree

Applicants can apply for positions in projects announced by the following departments in 2024:

1) PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL SIGNATURES OF DYSPAREUNIA IN WOMEN – Department of Psychology and Life Sciences

Painful sexual intercourse is a common female sexual health problem (Binik, 2005). It is defined clinically under the term “dyspareunia,” and is often intermixed with vulvarvaginal pain (vulvodynia), clitoral pain (clitordynia), and painful spasms of the pelvic floor muscles surrounding the vagina (vaginismus). The pain can be superficial or deep, primary or secondary, generalized or specific, and lifelong or situational. Primary dyspareunia is diagnosed when the pain begins with any sensory stimulation of the genitals, whereas secondary dyspareunia is diagnosed when pain develops after a period of non-painful genital stimulation. The prevalence of dyspareunia varies from 3 to 18% worldwide, and it can affect 10 to 28% of women during their lifetime (Bornstein et al., 2015). For a substantial number of women, the expectation of genital pain and associated hypervigilance, catastrophization, and anxiety, become a barrier to successful treatment, even after physiological root causes are removed (e.g., lichen planus, lichen sclerosis, psoriasis, proliferation of pain receptors (Aδ nerve fibers) in the clitoral sheath or vaginal introitus, inflammation of the vaginal mucosa, etc). A coherent understanding the basic psychological and cognitive nature of the anticipatory genital pain response is lacking in the literature. The proposed research for the postdoctoral position will utilize a comprehensive psychophysiological and cognitive battery of tests patterned after more classical neuropsychological assessments of head trauma, to establish a predictive psychophysiological “signature” of anticipatory dyspareunia that can be used for better assessment and treatment outcomes. 

The postdoctoral position would be filled by a recent PhD in psychology or related discipline with an interest in female sexual health and dyspareunia, and some training in cognitive psychophysiological assessment tools. The candidate will use real-time psychophysiological measures of general arousal (electrodermal response and heart rate), genital arousal (photoplethysmography), and electroencephalography (EEG), along with subjective screening tools to measure sexual function (Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI)), catastrophizing (Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS-CF; PCS)), pain-related fear (Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale-20 (PASS-20)), and hypervigilance to pain during intercourse (Pain and Vigilance Awareness Questionnaire (PVAQ)), interoceptive awareness (Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness), and alexithymia (TAS-20). These will be measured in populations of both dyspareunic (consisting of the three subtypes) and non-dyspareunic women (N=40 per condition), before and after exposure to visual sexual stimuli depicting vaginal penetration with either a partner or a toy. These depictions will be presented on a computer screen set up for cognitive assessments of eye-tracking with the primes presented for 5 sec, followed by a blank screen for 10 sec. Sexual pain will be either explicit or implicit (penetration + pain expression vs. penetration + neutral expression). Participants will fill out subjective scales before and after the visual stimulus presentations. Questions to be addressed are:

1) Does low interoception compromises sexual stimuli processing?

2) Does low interoception induce a low sexual concordance? We know the opposite is true, that good interoceptive abilities facilitate sexual concordance.

3) Does low sexual concordance impact on perceived pain?

4) Does the improvement in interoception ameliorate the sexual concordance? May improved sexual concordance reduce pain?

5) Do women exhibit a generalized attentional bias on pain-related information (e.g., shifting attention away or orienting attention toward pain)?

6) Is the attentional bias correlated to other factors (such as interoception awarness, fear of pain, catastrophising) in women with dyspareunia relative to non-dyspareunic women?

The specific instruments utilized are part of a collaborative psychophysiological test battery that is being set up at the Center for Sexual Health and Interventions of the Czech National Institute of Mental Health in Klecany.

Specific requirements set by the Department of Psychology and Life Sciences FHS UK:

The postdoctoral candidate will be able to work independently and will bring new experience and ideas to our team. The candidate should have reasonable experience with, and workable knowledge of, the psychophysiological, cognitive, and subjective measurement techniques, along with behavioral observation skills and advanced training in statistical analyses.  

Faculty: Faculty of Humanities

Department: Department of Psychology and Life Sciences

Supervisor: James G. Pfaus, PhD., IF (assist: Kateřina Klapilová, PhD., ECPS)

E-mail: jim.pfaus@fhs.cuni.cz;katerina.klapilova@fhs.cuni.cz 

Deadline date: July 22, 2024

Position available from: January 1, 2025

Submit applications with all other documents to Research Administration Office: veda@fhs.cuni.cz (CC: jim.pfaus@fhs.cuni.cz katerina.klapilova@fhs.cuni.cz )

2) DIGITAL ANTHROPOLOGY (WITH FOCUS ON GenAI) – Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology

We invite applications for a 2-year postdoctoral researcher position specializing in digital anthropology with a focus on generative AI (GenAI) at the Faculty of Humanities, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. This position offers the opportunity to join a young, dynamic, and interdisciplinary team within the AI Institutional Transformation Research Group.

Project Scope: The successful candidate will conduct a project that investigates the social, cultural, and institutional dimensions of GenAI technologies. The project should provide in-depth analysis and empirical evidence of how GenAI systems impact human experiences, social dynamics, and cultural practices across various domains. Potential research areas may include, but are not limited to, the influence of GenAI on creativity, labor, education, communication, and social inequalities. Ethical aspects of GenAI, such as fairness, transparency, and the equitable distribution of benefits and risks, may be integral to this research.

Candidate Profile: We seek a candidate with a Ph.D. in social/cultural anthropology, ethnology, cultural studies, science and technology studies (STS), sociology or related fields. The candidate should have a strong background in digital anthropology with experience in anthropological fieldwork, including online and offline ethnography. Expertise in the study of AI, particularly GenAI, and its sociocultural implications is highly desirable. A working knowledge of GenAI technology and its applications in various domains are expected. Previous teaching experience and excellent English skills are desired.

Benefits of the Position: As a member of our team, the postdoc will gain professional development opportunities, including publishing and presenting in high-profile venues and being involved in teaching activities (one course per semester). You will work in a collegial and supportive environment. We are an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourage applications from underrepresented groups in academia. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive academic community.

Faculty: Faculty of Humanities

Department: Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology

Supervisor: Mgr. Martin Heřmanský, Ph.D.

E-mail: martin.hermansky@fhs.cuni.cz

Deadline date: July 22, 2024

Position available from: January 1, 2025

Submit applications with all other documents to Research Administration Office: veda@fhs.cuni.cz (CC: martin.hermansky@fhs.cuni.cz )

3) SECULAR FUNERAL RITES, GRIEF, MARTYRDOM AND COMMEMORATIVE PRACTICES

 – Department of Historical Studies

The Department of Historical Studies at the Faculty of Humanities invites applications for a postdoctoral fellow in the research area of death studies, funeral rites and commemorative practices in the 20th century. The position is for two years starting from January 1, 2025.

Secularization process went differently in European countries, and one of the last domains it touched were funeral rites. We invite research focused on spreading of secular funeral practices in European context in the 20^th century, preferably with relation to communist ideologies. Proposed research might focus either on development of secular funerals in the Central and Eastern Europe, or on similar processes in the Western Europe. Comparative perspective is more than welcomed. Research area can include theme of political violence, war, military martyrs, creation of secular grieving and commemoration practices. It can also focus on ideologies and proponents of civil funerals during the 20^th century in different parts of Europe.     

An ideal candidate has a PhD in history, excellent research skills, and a proven ability to conduct independent research at a post-doctoral level, as well as the ability to publish in international journals. We also await she/he would have an excellent knowledge of English. Expected outcomes of the post-doctoral fellowship include one high-quality journal article per year.

Faculty: Faculty of Humanities

Department: Department of Historical Studies

Supervisor: Mgr. Olga Nešporová, Ph.D.

E-mail:

Deadline date: July 22, 2024

Position available from: January 1, 2025

Submit applications with all other documents to Research Administration Office: (CC: )