Booklets
This study investigates the implementation of accessibility features in contemporary digital games, with a particular emphasis on fostering inclusion for players with diverse disabilities. Through an in-depth analysis of commercial games, including Celeste, God of War Ragnarök, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and The Last of Us Part II, we thoroughly explore how various accessibility options and adaptive features enhance and transform gaming experiences.
The research findings demonstrate that the thoughtful implementation of accessibility features serves a dual purpose: not only does it significantly benefit players with specific needs by removing barriers to participation, but it also substantially improves the overall gaming experience for all users by providing enhanced customization options and flexible gameplay mechanics. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge supporting inclusive game design practices and universal accessibility standards in the gaming industry.
This study examines the evolving landscape of digital news consumption, focusing on the impact of social media platforms on journalism. The research analyzes content from eight leading Portuguese and international newspapers, investigating how they adapt to changing consumer behaviors, particularly among younger generations. By developing an analysis grid, the study identifies key trends in news content shared across various digital platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and others. The findings highlight the importance of tailoring content to platform-specific features and audience preferences. The research emphasizes the need for media outlets to adopt engaging communication strategies to increase news visibility and strengthen their role as relevant information sources in an increasingly digital and personalized era.
Implementing community mapping activities and associated platforms to share results enhances the relationship between citizens and their community, revitalising the essential concept of “community” in modern society. This scenario underscores the necessity of evaluating the value propositions of the entire community and perceiving individuals as engaged members of society. This research examines the circulation of information within a rural community and its role in understanding the purpose and application of visual data, especially on open-access platforms. The findings demonstrate that community maps improve the competitiveness and empowerment of communities relative to similar areas, allowing consumers to provide information anytime and from any place, thereby transforming them into content co-producers through collective intelligence and collaboration, thus acknowledging their significance as community members. The findings indicate considerable promise for the chosen methodology as a flexible framework that may be readily duplicated in other communities with analogous traits.
The widespread dissemination of contradictory information through various media platforms can increase anxiety and confusion among younger generations. This highlights the need to promote Media Literacy (ML) skills, enabling them to evaluate online information’s validity critically. In this context, video game-based learning can be valuable, fostering active learning and critical thinking. The YO-MEDIA project, involving three universities in Italy, Portugal, and Spain under the leadership of Associação Portuguesa de Imprensa…” (a journalist association in Portugal), aims to develop ML in Young people (12 to 18 years old) during times of crisis through game-based learning strategies and professional training. The project carried out 29 semi-structured interviews in the partner countries with various stakeholders to understand perspectives on media design practices and ML formulation for young people in crises. This study significantly contributes to developing games that promote critical thinking and enhance young people’s ML skills and resilience to disinformation. It also aids in establishing ongoing professional training in ML for educators and media professionals.
Integrating AI tools in scientific research has revolutionized data analysis, literature review, and hypothesis development. This study shows that AI tools like Consensus, SearchSmart, and Perplexity can enhance information retrieval and synthesis, while ResearchRabbit and Connected Papers offer advanced literature review capabilities. Platforms such as Scholarcy, SciSpace, and Humata improve reading efficiency by summarizing and analyzing articles. Note-taking and drafting tools like Lateral, Jenni.ai, and Lex.page enhance productivity and organization.
While AI tools significantly optimize research processes, they also raise ethical concerns about bias and the need for transparency. Ultimately, AI should complement, not replace, human intellectual efforts, ensuring rigorous and ethically sound research.
This study was conducted as part of the YO-MEDIA: Youngsters’ Media Literacy in Times of Crisis project, which aims to enhance young people’s media literacy skills through innovative game-based learning strategies. To gain insight into the current landscape in this field, games related to health and war crises were surveyed on the Steam and MetaCritic databases, to analyse their potential to promote critical thinking and media literacy, considering factors such as themes, reach, design, and user engagement. The study’s findings are intended to guide the development of games that improve media literacy and critical thinking among the youth.
This study aimed to provide an overview of the doctoral theses carried out in the field of Digital Media over the last six years. Two doctoral programs linked to the DigiMedia Research Centre were considered: the Doctorate in Multimedia in Education and the Doctorate in Information and Communication on Digital Platforms. A total of 46 theses were collected from the Institutional Repositories and analyzed considering their title, abstract, keywords, objectives, adopted methodology, type of funding, scientific publications and dissemination actions that each doctoral student carried out during their journey.
This study analyses the trends in the Foundation for Science and Technology’s (FCT) annual calls for R&D Projects in All Scientific Domains – Scientific Research & Technological Development Projects -, for the period of 2020 to 2022, focusing on Communication and Media.
Presentation of DigitalOBS mission, team and nuclear areas of studies in Digital Media developed by us.
