The Digital Literacy & Cultural Change (DILIT) group will focus on understanding change in the everyday life of people and organizations, and the transformation that results from digital technologies. The aim is to develop not only innovative and solid academic research, but also applied work with the industry and creative hubs.

Following up on the work previously conducted, the group will pursue research on digital literacy and digital readership, namely on digital archives and educational contexts. To such a work, researchers will add a look at narrative and its modes of production, such as transmedia and cross-media; models centered on user-generated content, like ‘produsage’ and remix; and the growing relevance of digital storytelling for brands and corporate reputation.

Close attention will also be given to how people perceive value and use the media in their everyday lives, especially regarding children, youth and families, addressing this topic from an international comparative perspective.

Furthermore, the group intends to explore digital technologies as drivers of social development, increased literacy levels and well-being from a critical perspective: what are the challenges posed by smart living and smart cities?

Finally, researchers will seek to understand the social and technological changes throughout the life course and their impact on the experience of aging.

The research team:

Researchers

Carla Ganito 
Cátia Ferreira
Fernando Ilharco
Jorge Santos Alves
José Morais da Silva
Patrícia Dias

Collaborating researchers

Álvaro Barbosa
José Gabriel Andrade
Maria Manuel Sousa

PhD students 

Amílcar Barreto
Ana Margarida Coelho
Ana Paula Mauro
André Casado
Catharina Vale
Catarina Grosso
Cláudia Vera-Cruz
Conor Riordan
Faiza Muneeb
Grauben Navas
José Bernardo Fonseca
Laura Bicheiro
Marcela França
Mónica Fonseca
Mónica Junguito
Patrícia da Bela Cardoso
Priscila Krolow
Rita Aires
Stacey Leasca
Tom Mutsch