Professor Fernando Ramos participated as keynote speaker in the round table “Tools for the Human Smart City co-creation” organized by the Tomsk Polytechnic University (Russia), under the scope of the Jean Monnet project “Co-creation of EU Human Smart Cities” (https://smartcity.tpu.ru/en/about/). This round table was the closing event of the International conference «Future of Human Smart Cities in Europe and Central Asia: challenges and opportunities” (6-8 June 2021). Prof. Fernando Ramos talk addressed the topic “Connecting Communities with Digital Media” and reported some of the work and main findings of the CeNTER and PAprICa research projects.

DigiMedia introduces another project in its editorial line, the DigiMedia Collection. On May 21, at 2:00 pm, the first book of the collection, entitled “Multimédia, Novos Média e Média Digitais” was presented online. Vicente Gosciola, Professor of New Media at Anhembi Morumbi University (Brazil) was invited for the presentation of the book, as well as several authors of the chapters.

About the DigiMedia Collection

All the information is available in: https://digimedia.web.ua.pt/digimedia-collection 

About the book Multimédia, Novos Média e Média Digitais 

Abstract: The book “Multimédia, Novos Média e Média Digitais” arises from the need to inscribe a set of concepts and principles close to the teaching of Digital Media in Portugal. Over the past decade, the national higher education accreditation agency, A3ES, has been called upon to intervene and evaluate all higher education, polytechnic and university, courses in the field of Multimedia. Knowing that we are facing a recent area, the result of several transformations that are far from having stabilized, we publicly present thought and reflection on the domain, namely pedagogical, in order to guarantee a harmonious knowledge base of the area in Portugal.
The book included inputs from several specialists in the field of Digital Media: Lídia Oliveira (communication), António Coelho (technology), Claudia Giannetti (media art), Vasco Branco (interaction design), Pedro Mota Teixeira (animation and VFX) , António Sousa Dias (digital sound), Nuno Otero (social media), Jorge dos Reis (communication design and Ruth Contreras (digital games).

The book is already available online in: https://ria.ua.pt/handle/10773/31419 

The DigiMedia Dialogs#1 took place on May 14 with the talks of Ceci Diehl (DigiMedia PhD Student), Lersi Duran (DigiMedia PhD Student) and Pâmela Pinto (DigiMedia Invited Researcher), followed by a participated discussion on the topic Image as a strategy for eHealth, moderated by Rita Oliveira, a DigiMedia Researcher.

Pâmela Pinto: Realiza estágio de Pós-doutoramento no Departamento de Comunicação e Arte da Universidade de Aveiro. É doutora em Comunicação pela Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF). Pesquisa temas relacionados à Comunicação e Política, à Mídia Regional e à Comunicação e Saúde e tem experiência docente nestas áreas. Em 2017 publicou o livro “Brasil e as suas mídias regionais” e recebeu o prêmio de melhor tese, pela Associação Brasileira de Pesquisadores em Comunicação e Política (Compolítica).

Lersi Durán: Estudante do programa Doutoral em Multimédia em Educação da Universidade de Aveiro. A área de  investigação relaciona-se com o papel das intervenções psicoeducativas digitais para estudantes universitários.

Ceci da Costa Diehl: Estudante do Doutoramento em Informação e Comunicação em Plataformas Digitais na Universidade de Aveiro e Universidade do Porto. A área de investigação relaciona-se com os princípios e guidelines de design da interface do utilizador para soluções digitais voltadas principalmente ao utilizador senior.

Abstract: Image assumes a central role as a visual communication strategy in the area of eHealth, being also considered a primary vehicle of communication in public health, support for personal health monitoring and promotion of well-being and quality of life. Its potential impact and applicability in different digital solutions in these different areas open space for this first edition of DigiMedia Dialogs in which the centrality of image as an eHealth strategy will be discussed. The discussion will also allow the contextualization of three studies with different perspectives of the use of image as a tool for health promotion and education of youth, adults and seniors.

Vania Baldi, a DigiMedia Researcher, was invited by the European Research Council (ERC), to participate in the peer review of scientific proposals submitted to the ERC Consolidator Grant 2020 Call in step 2 of the two-step peer review evaluation for projects in the area of Science and Communication Technology.

The article “An Augmented Infocommunication Model for Unified Communications in Situational Contexts of Collaboration” by Carolina F. Abrantes (DigiMedia-University of Aveiro), Óscar Mealha (DigiMedia-University of Aveiro), Diogo Gomes (Instituto de Telecomunicação-Aveiro), João Paulo Barraca (Instituto de Telecomunicações-Aveiro) and Carlos Viana-Ferreira (GoContact-Aveiro) was published in the Interdisciplinary Journal of Information, Knowledge, and Management, 16(C).

Abstract:

Aim/Purpose: In this work, the authors propose an augmented model for human-centered Unified Communications & Collaboration (UC&C) product design and evaluation, which is supported by previous theoretical work.

Background: Although the goal of implementing UC&C in an organization is to promote and mediate group dynamics, increasing overall productivity and collaboration; it does not seem to provide a solution for effective communication. It is clear that there is still a lack of consideration for human communication processes in the development of such products.

Methodology: This paper is sustained by existing research to propose and test the application of an augmented model capable of supporting the design, development and evaluation of UC&C services that can be driven by the human communication process. To test the application of the augmented model in UC&C service development, a proof-of-concept mobile prototype was elaborated upon and evaluated, making use of User Experience (UX) and user-centred methods and techniques. A total of nine testing sessions were carried out in an organizational communication setup and recorded with eye tracking technology.

Contribution:  The authors argue that UC&C services should look at the user’s (human) natural processes to improve effective infocommunication and thus enhance collaboration. Authors believe this augmented version of the model will pave the way improving the research and development of useful and practical infocommunication products, capable of truly serving users’ needs.

Findings: On evaluation of the prototype, qualitative data analysis uncovered structural problems in the proposed prototype which hindered the augmented model’s elements and subsequently, the user experience. Five out of eighteen identified interaction issues are highlighted in this paper to demonstrate the proposed augmented model’s validity, applied in UC&C services evaluation.

Article available HERE.

The article “THE USE OF BADGES AND ITS IMPACT ON THE INTERACTION DYNAMICS OF A MOOC” by Inês Araújo (University of Coimbra), Carlos Santos and Luís Pedro (DigiMedia – University of Aveiro) was published in the European Distance and E-Learning Network (EDEN) Proceedings
2020 under the topic Enhancing the Human Experience of Learning with Technology: New challenges for research into digital, open, distance & networked education.

Abstract: Several research projects have been using gamified approaches as a way to develop media and information literacies in particular cohorts. Badges are one of the elements that is often used in these approaches and its importance and scope has been widely discussed in the realm of Educational Technology. In the scope of the GamiLearning project, a gamification strategy was designed using the badges’ engine of the SAPO Campus platform in order to provide continuous training in this field to a group of teachers. The particular training action reported in this article was implemented via the “Badges: how to use?” MOOC. Data obtained shows that the interaction dynamics patterns were very significant between the trainees, especially in terms of posts, comments and endorsements. These results suggest that the use of badges as a motivational asset can contribute to a more sustained engagement of students throughout the duration of the training action and, hence, to a greater ratio of completion of MOOCs. This article will present the data obtained in this MOOC and will promote a discussion about the motivational affordances of the use of badges in educational contexts.

The article is available HERE.

The article “End-user Evaluation of a Mobile Application Prototype for Territorial Innovation” by  Eliza Oliveira, André Branco, Daniel Carvalho, Eveline Sacramento, Oksana Tymoshchuk, Luis Pedro,  Maria Antunes,  Ana Almeida and Fernando Ramos was published in the  Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems – Volume 2: ICEIS.

Abstract: This study is part of a larger research effort taking place under the umbrella of CeNTER Program, an interdisciplinary project that aims to promote the development of the Centro Region of Portugal. The general contribution of this paper is the evaluation of a mobile application prototype that promotes collaboration between the various agents involved in Tourism, Health and Wellbeing. For the evaluation of the prototype, different methods were employed, which included the collection of quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data were obtained through the combination of two User Experience evaluation tools (SUS and AttrakDiff) and from usability metrics of effectiveness and efficiency, which are key factors related to the usability of a product. Qualitative data were obtained using the Think-aloud protocol, which allowed immediate feedback from end-users on their experience of interacting with the prototype. Although there are still several improvements to be addressed, the overall end-users’ opinions show that the CeNTER application is a sustainable and timely contribution, with an interesting potential to help foster community-led initiatives. The article offers a better understanding for the evaluation of mobile applications, which foster the same subject approached in this study.

This article won the Best Student Paper Award in the 23rd International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems (ICEIS 2021).

Article available HERE.

The Special Issue of Observatorio (OBS*), “Circum-navegando as repercussões socio-mediáticas do contexto pandémico” | “Circum-navigating the socio-media repercussions of the pandemic context” (May 2021), was edited by Vania Baldi.

In this special issue we present a set of studies that reflect different degrees of complexity and criticality revealed by the pandemic scenario in the info-communicational context. The themes of infodemia, journalistic coverage, the presence of scientists on the media stage, the production and consumption of new news formats, the strategies of readaptation and integration in the daily life of services and digital instruments used to counteract the isolation and physical distance, making possible new forms of proximity (in the sphere of intimacy, family and work), as well as the reproduction of cliché and gender disparities in the media or the emergence of new markets in the area of audiovisual and podcasting, all together constitute the different observation points about a socio-media reality reconfigured by the challenges brought by the socio-sanitary emergency. (our translation)

The articles are available HERE.

DigiMedia-University of Aveiro and CIES-ISCTE fom Lisbon are the two Portuguese Higher Education Institutions that are part of IBERIFIER, the Iberian Observatory made up of 23 Portuguese and Spanish institutions, which will investigate digital media and identify threats of disinformation. With a funding of 1.47 million euros, IBERIFIER is one of the eight regional centers that will be part of the European Observatory of Digital Media of the European Commission.

This project is coordinated by the University of Navarra, with the Portuguese research being jointly coordinated by the researchers Gustavo Cardoso (CIES-ISCTE), Vania Baldi (DigiMedia-University of Aveiro) and Miguel Paisana (OberCom). In addition to Vania Baldi, the DigiMedia team includes the researchers Lídia Oliveira and Luis Pedro.

This new observatory will focus its research on five lines of work. First, it will investigate the characteristics and trends of the Iberian digital media ecosystem. It will also develop computational technologies for the early detection of misinformation. In addition, it will verify and refute disinformation in the Iberian territory, reporting to the European Commission. It will prepare strategic reports on threats of disinformation, both for public knowledge and for authorities in Spain and Portugal. Finally, it will work on media literacy initiatives aimed at journalists, young people and society as a whole.

The observatory is made up of twelve universities, five verification organizations and news agencies, and six other multidisciplinary research centers. In Portugal, IBERIFIER has the participation of Iscte – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, University of Aveiro, Polígrafo, Lusa – Agência de Notícias de Portugal, OberCom – Observatório da Comunicação, Cenjor – Centro Protocolar de Formação Profissional para Jornalistas, and Associação Literacia Para os Media e Jornalismo.

For more information please check HERE.

Eliza Oliveira, André Castello Branco, Daniel Carvalho, Eveline Sacramento, Oksana Tymoshchuk, Luis Pedro, Maria João Antunes, Ana Margarida Almeida and Fernando Ramos, all DigiMedia members, won the Best Student Paper Award in the 23rd International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems (ICEIS 2021), with a paper entitled “END-USER EVALUATION OF A MOBILE APPLICATION PROTOTYPE FOR TERRITORIAL INNOVATION”.