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UA researchers promote debate about women in science on March 6
The American Corner Room at the University of Aveiro will host a conversation about “Women in Science”, on March 6, at 5pm. The event will bring together researchers from the university and will be open to the entire academic community. The objective is to discuss female participation in science, the challenges faced by women and their contributions to different areas of knowledge, also promoting dialogue between academia and the public.
The mediator of the conversation circle will be Tatiana Pereira, teacher and researcher, with a degree in Portuguese/Spanish, a master’s degree in Teaching Portuguese from the University of Porto, with extensive experience in primary, secondary, professional education and teacher training. Tatiana is currently a PhD student in Language Sciences at the University of Aveiro, with a scholarship funded by FCT, and is part of the ProTextos Research Group (Department of Education and Psychology), as well as the Languages and Learning project of the Center for Languages, Literatures and Cultures (Department of Languages and Cultures) at UA.
The conversation will feature the participation of Renata Frade, a researcher and a DigiMedia PhD student, and other several UA researchers and doctoral students, including:
Ana Ramão, doctoral student linked to the Department of Civil Engineering at UA;
Márcia Rodrigues, doctoral student linked to the Department of Environment and Planning;
Lotina Burine, PhD student in Economic and Business Sciences at the Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism;
Gabriela Nicolau, post-doctorate in Cultural Studies at the UA Center for Languages, Literatures and Cultures;
Lara Almeida, PhD student in Energy Systems and Climate Change, as well as a member of the Women in Engineering collective.
This event promises to be a significant moment for exchanging ideas and experiences, reflecting on the advances and barriers that still persist for women in the field of science.
This Wednesday (26th February) the PhD Student Group of DigiMedia (NEDD) organized an information session for the upcoming call for FCT PhD Studentships. This session was led by professors Maria João Antunes and Nelson Zagalo, who were previously part of the evaluation panels in the field of Communication Sciences in the regular and non-academic environment lines of application, respectively. It was attended by 4 current PhD students and a prospect PhD student, all from the Communication Sciences field.
A first-year Master’s student in Audiovisual Communication for New Media, Antero Rito, presented online the scientific paper entitled “Development of a Transmedia Awareness Campaign for Digital Inclusion: A Study on User Engagement Strategies” at the World Conference on Qualitative Research (WCQR), held in Kraków, Poland.
This study emerged as part of his participation in the 3rd edition of Students@DigiMedia, where, in collaboration with two colleagues, he developed an awareness campaign for digital inclusion, in partnership with three Special Education teachers from CRTIC de Eixo—an entity dedicated to supporting Information and Communication Technologies for inclusive education.
The research focused on strategies for developing a transmedia campaign, exploring how different formats and platforms can contribute to raising awareness about digital inclusion. Participation in WCQR 2025 reinforces the relevance of this topic within the context of social sciences and communication, highlighting the impact of innovative approaches in promoting digital accessibility.
Students@DigiMedia has established itself as a valuable initiative in promoting applied research, encouraging students to develop projects with real societal impact through strategic collaborations and innovative methodologies.
On February 22, the researcher Francisca Lourenço, a PhD student and scholarship holder at DigiMedia, presented the paper “Overview of Best Communication Practices in Inclusive Spaces for People with Disabilities: a Qualitative Study in Portuguese-Speaking Countries” at the Healthinf conference, held in Porto.
Healthinf – International Conference on Health Informatics is a leading event that brings together researchers and professionals interested in the specification, design, development, and application of information and communication technologies (ICT) in healthcare and medicine. The event covers topics such as big data, networking, graphical interfaces, data mining, machine learning, pattern recognition, and intelligent decision support systems, among others.
The study conducted within the UAInclusive Laboratory of DigiMedia, aims to identify and analyze the best communication practices in inclusive spaces for people with disabilities in Portuguese-speaking countries. The qualitative research was based on data collection and analysis from various institutions and initiatives promoting accessibility and digital inclusion, contributing to the development of more effective communication strategies for this audience. This participation highlights the importance of research in the field of digital inclusion and accessibility, as well as the role of ICT in improving quality of life and social integration for people with disabilities.
A call is open for the award of 1 Research Grant for collaboration in the UA Press, in the scientific area of Communication Sciences and Technologies or related areas.
Deadline for application: March 21, 2025
More information here:
Award of 1 Research Grant (RG) for collaboration in the UA Press | EURAXESS
Francisco Regalado, a PhD student at DigiMedia, is doing an 3-month internship at the Department of Computer Science, University of York in the UK, under the scientific supervision of Professor Paul Cairns.
Last week, on 11 February 2025, and as a way of further contextualising his time in the department, he was invited to give a seminar to the HCI research group. Focusing on “Enhancing Older Adults’ Digital Competences through Social Games in an Online Community”, this was a great opportunity to receive further feedback about his thesis and the work he has been developing.
The visiting researcher from the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO) at DigiMedia, Vanessa Pinto, led the workshop “The new Digital World for Seniors – Aging and transformations in the search for information”, at the Socio Educational Building of Gafanha da Encarnação, as part of the Senior Program from the Municipality of Ílhavo.
The session took part on February 7, 2025, and challenged participants to explore the digital world and the way in which aging influences the search for information. The workshop provided a sharing and learning space for curious and eager seniors exploring the digital world.
This initiative is part of Vanessa Pinto’s PhD Sandwich Internship (PDSE-CAPES) at the UA, in the Doctoral Program in New Media, under the supervision of Prof. Maria João Antunes, from the University of Aveiro (UA), and Prof. Tania Valente, from the UNIRIO.
More photos: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/15pjQysFJE/?mibextid=wwXIfr
The DigiMedia Doctoral student, Raquel Magalhães Cabral, went on an international mobility programme at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. During this period, she conducted focus groups with experts in pedagogy and technology and collected data at the Co-Design Workshop for the development of her Infocommunicational Model, aimed at enhancing socioemotional competencies in secondary education.
Throughout this journey, Raquel was supported by her co-supervisor, Cristina Mercader, from the Department of Applied Pedagogy, and gained meaningful experiences both in the university environment and within the Catalan school system.
The DigiMedia researcher and PhD student of the Doctorate in Information and Communication in Digital Platforms, Renata Frade, participated in the book launch of Direitos humanos e saúde: gênero e sexualidade em vozes insurgentes (Human rights and health: gender and sexuality in insurgent voices, published by EdUFBA and Fiocruz) at the 1º Congresso Internacional de Saúde da Família (1st International Family Health Congress), held by the Escola Superior de Saúde da Universidade de Aveiro (Higher School of Health of the University of Aveiro).
Renata Frade talked about the chapter in which she is co-author – “Decolonial Information Technologies – challenges for design from intersectional and feminist perspectives in Human-Algorithm Interaction” with one of the editors, Dr. Angélica Baptista Silva.
Human rights and health: gender and sexuality in insurgent voices, edited by Angélica Baptista Silva, Maria Helena Barros de Oliveira, Patrícia Von Der Way, addresses emerging themes of gender, sexuality and human rights in health from a liberating and decolonial perspective. The work presents contributions from experts and final papers from the Postgraduate course in Gender, Sexuality and Human Rights at the Sergio Arouca National School of Public Health, at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (ENSP/Fiocruz), with 17 chapters divided into four thematic axes. The axes cover labor relations and occupational health; the health challenges of the LGBTQIAPN+ population; gender-based violence and vulnerabilities; and empowerment through education and technologies.
About the chapter DECOLONIAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES – challenges for design from intersectional and feminist perspectives in Human-Algorithm Interaction (HCI), by Elen Nas and Renata Frade:
Before the human risks in Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications were properly understood, the large data extractions that made up what was called big data represented structures organized through algorithms, in which the quality, representativeness and social significance of the data passed uncritically into the production environments (the “product design”) and programming. Since Feminist Human-Computer Interaction (Feminist HCI) is an interdisciplinary approach, in which the principles of feminism are applied to the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), we present in this introduction some notes regarding the recurring biases in AI applications that, directly or indirectly, concern HCI.
The book can be downloaded here: https://repositorio.ufba.br/handle/ri/40750
The DigiMedia laboratory, UAInclusive, recently received a visit from Professor Beatriz Sanchéz Herráez, a researcher from the University of Salamanca specializing in the areas of disability, support and employment support for people with disabilities.
The main goal of the visit was to get to know the space and the projects developed within the scope of UAInclusive, with special emphasis on the research carried out by Francisca Rocha Lourenço, a PhD student in Multimedia in Education, and Filipe Silva, a PhD student in New Media. Francisca’s work focuses on understanding strategies and developing an innovative communication model to promote assistive technology centres, contributing to a more inclusive society. Filipe’s project aims to develop a virtual assistant using Artificial Intelligence to improve communication and support inclusion in higher education.
During the visit, opportunities for collaboration between the institutions were discussed, with a view to strengthening research in the area of inclusion and accessibility. The sharing of experiences and good practices between the University of Aveiro and the University of Salamanca reinforces the commitment of both institutions to promoting innovative solutions to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities.
Renata Frade, a DigiMedia researcher and ICPD PhD student, was invited by Dr. Carlos Scolari to present Technofeminism: multi and transdisciplinary contemporary views on women in technology (DigiMedia Collection/UA Editora) in the Medium Book Day at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona/Spain).
The MEDIUM BOOK DAY features brief presentations of the latest books published by this research group, aimed at fostering dialogue among the authors, other research teams and general attendees. Covering topics such as video games, dystopian narratives, the evolution of audiovisual media, technofeminism and contemporary television, it hopes to connect these volumes with the audience’s interests. The event is hosted by Medium Group (Communication Department) at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
About the book:
Technofeminism: multi and transdisciplinary contemporary views on women in technologyaims to fill an editorial gap by proposing – based on technological feminist theories and case studies – current reflections and actions aimed at the professional market and Science in segments such as artificial intelligence, education, gender, arts, games, transgender people, social justice and cultural diversity, Design/Human-Computational Interaction by renowned scientists working in Portugal, Brazil, United States and United Kingdom. Edited by Renata Frade and Mário Vairinhos, researcher and professor at DigiMedia (University of Aveiro), the work was released in a free online issue, written in English, following the Open Science politic by DigiMedia Collection/UA Editora.
The authors are: “Feminism and Technology: an interview with Dr. Judy Wajcman by Renata Frade”; “Allegro ma non tropo: how educational traps might be predicted” (Ana Silveira Moura); “Spaces in deconstruction: an experience report on transgender employability in the area of computing/technology” (Biamichelle Miranda, in Memoriam); DigitalSELFPresenceLab: embodying new technologies for the restoration of presence” (Carolina Berger); “Gender discrimination in AI models: origins and mitigation paths” (Dora Kaufman); “Convergent feminism, games, digital transition and equity” (Patrícia Gouveia, Luciana Lima); “Cultural Diversity as a design precedent: A (Feminist) Angle for HCI/d Expansion” (Sai Shruthi Chivukula); “How to be a Woman in Science: an interview with Ana Viseu by Renata Frade about Feminism, Gender and Technoscience perspectives”. The preface was written by Dr. Ana Veloso, University of Aveiro Department of Communication and Art Director.
You can download the book here: https://ria.ua.pt/handle/10773/37656
Renata Frade, a DigiMedia researcher and ICPD PhD student, was invited to an academic mission as a visiting researcher at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona/Spain) Communcation´s department.
Renata gave a lecture entitled “Women in technology Communities: a Scientific Communication case study”, which was open to all university community, but especially to Communication, ITC and Gender researchers.
About Renata Frade’s ResearchProject:
Activism, empowerment, education and technical improvement in entrepreneurship, inclusion and advancement of academic and professional careers. These are some of the main objectives of women in technology communities. In doctoral research to be completed by 2025, 247 Brazilian and Portuguese female groups in IT were monitored on digital platforms to understand its organizational and communicational functioning in order to promote good practices to its diversity and inclusion work. It was understood that it would be necessary to associate theoretical dimensions of technofeminism, transmedia storytelling and HCI to the empirical study. This research is supervised by Dr. Mário Vairinhos.
