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Digitalisation and Policy Research Group - DIGIPOL

The purpose of the group is to study the influence of digitalisation on citizens, actors, institutions and political processes. In this sense, it is proposed to analyse various phenomena such as:

 

  • The impact of digitalisation on citizen participation and democratic quality.
  • The transformations of digitalisation in the forms of organisation and functioning of political actors, particularly parties.
  • The regulation of the digital performance of political actors.
  • The different ideological conceptions linked to digitisation policies in different countries.
  • Public Administrations as well as their policy impact.
  • The impact of digitisation on public policy making and evaluation.
  • The study of the changes in power relations in different institutions, groups and social movements brought about by digitalisation.
  • Digitalisation and transformations in the functioning of political systems (representation, transparency, integrity, accountability).
Educational Transitions, Resistance, Gender Relationships, Exclusions and Health Research Group - TERRES

The research group TIERRAS (Educational Transitions, Resistance, Gender Relationships, Exclusions and Health) seeks to create and transfer knowledge, interdisciplinary, from a critical and inclusive epistemological position, which directs the gaze towards different cracks that in knowledge societies are revealed as relevant to understand and transform the social world. The lines of research in which we are seeking to jointly explore in greater depth are:

  • Study of pedagogical practice. Analysis of the processes of distribution and construction of legitimate knowledge in the pedagogical device. Pedagogical modes of delivery. Sociology of pedagogy.
  • Pedagogical identity in specific contexts: description and analysis of the social production of identity in the processes of educational and professional transition.
  • Bodies, genders and sexualities: representation and sexual practices. Social construction of health and illness.
  • Audiovisual co-education, gender, semiotics and cultural studies. Critical analysis of audiovisual culture and its co-educational dimension. Meaning and codification of gender in audiovisual discourses. Media interpellation: processes of identification and subjectivation.
  • Study of the processes of precariousness in social contexts discursively dominated by the knowledge economy.
  • Social politics analysis.

Regarding the training and research capacity of the group, the members participate in the third cycle training courses of:

  • Master’s Degree in Gender and Equality Policies.
  • Master’s Degree in Social and Educational Action.
  • Master’s Degree in Psychopedagogy.
  • Master’s Degree in Secondary Education Teacher Training.

We also participate in the Doctoral Programme in Education of the UV and in the Doctoral Programme of the Institute for the Study of Women.

Research Group on Community Social Services - SESOCO

The research group on the social cohesion and local dynamics is part of the social cohesion field of the Inter-university Institute for Local Development in the Universitat de València. The research on the community-based social work is still a recent new field at the Spanish university.

The SOCIAL-COM group aims to contribute to the knowledge and a research visibility of local dynamics that occur in Communities due to inequality, discrimination and social conflict, all of which hinder social cohesion. Generally, in all areas of local communities, but more deeply in social welfare services, human development is seen as a tool that reduces social inequalities and promotes social justice. The SOCIAL-COM Group of the Universitat de València is designed to increase knowledge of the social problems of the immediate environment, directing its action towards the local level to contribute to the development of social structures and the well-being of citizens, whose participation is a strategic element.

Ultimately, objectives of the SOCIAL-COM research group are aimed to participate in creation and development of new concepts, tools and evaluations in the area of municipal services, so that excellent and sustainable territories can be promoted effectively from perspectives of social spending and social welfare.

Research Group on Cultural Pedagogies - CREARI

CREARI Research group on cultural pedagogies is dedicated to the study of cultural synergies and educational actions, incorporating advances in digital technologies and visual culture. We are interested in analysing and improving the conditions of the different audiences both in artistic manifestations and in the rest of heritage realities. We are involved in arts education in both formal and non-formal education settings, with a special focus on museums and heritage environments. We consider it essential to get involved in the training of educators, taking into account the new digital settings, prioritising the criteria of cooperation and making room for new educational models. We incorporate members of different backgrounds into the group, considering that interdisciplinarity is a fundamental aspect of our research idea. We have specialised in teacher training at all educational levels, favouring the integration of the teaching staff as a cultural element of prime importance. Our group is composed of a number of people linked to educational and research institutions, people interested in the promotion, development and innovation of educational projects in the field of museums, visual arts, music and contemporary culture. We want to generate international projects, particularly cooperation projects, both in Latin America and in Europe.

Research Group on Development and Advising in Traffic Safety - DATS

DATS is a Research Group attached to the University Research Institute on Traffic and Road Safety (INTRAS). The research group was created in 1995 and is formed by professors and researchers of renowned prestige.

The aim of the DATS Group is focused on Consulting, Research, Development, Innovation, Training and Dissemination Projects in the fields of Transport, Traffic, Mobility and Road Safety.

It develops its projects both for administrations and institutions as well as for companies, whether public or private, national or international, in order to respond to the needs of its clients, as well as in general to solve the social problems represented by traffic accidents, poverty and environmental degradation across the world, with special attention to developing countries.

Therefore, one of the main activities is the accompaniment in the diagnosis of problems and detection of opportunities, as well as the definition of solutions and strategies to guide decision-making.

The work of the DATS Group has contributed to increase knowledge in the field. In this sense, the group has made an effort to disseminate findings through books, articles in scientific journals and/or scientific and outreaching conferences. Likewise, the group has actively participated in and with mass media with the aim of communicating and raising public awareness.

Consequently, the following services are included in its Service Charter:

  • Preparation/Drafting of Strategic Plans for Transport, Logistics, Sustainable Mobility, Local and Urban Planning, Road and Workplace Safety (in-itinere and in-mission accidents).
  • Definition, development and implementation of interventions, measures and counter-measures in the fields of Transport, Mobility and Road Safety.
  • Legislative, Regulatory and Normative development.
  • Deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS).
  • Assessment and recruitment, especially of drivers, both positive and negative, including the development of instruments to achieve these goals.
  • Design and teaching of training and education programmes, as well as the necessary teaching tools and resources (including those based on technologies such as Virtual Reality, especially simulators, and Augmented Reality). It is aimed at scholars, professionals, technicians and users/citizens in general.
  • Creation of communication and advertising campaigns, including Corporate Social Marketing campaigns.
  • Evaluation of Plans, Programmes and interventions, including those related to legislative, regulatory and normative development (Legislative Assessment).
Research Group on Education in Reading, Literature, Linguistics, Culture and Society - ELCIS

The Elcis research group has carried out research into reading, literary, media and linguistic training in multicultural and multilingual contexts at different educational levels in both L1 and L2 and foreign languages. It began when we were awarded the research project "Globalisation, exclusion and multiculturalism in Children's and Young Adult Literature" (UV-AE-20060713) in 2006.

Since then and until now we have been working on different research, cooperation and innovation projects. A determining factor for the consolidation and expansion not only of research lines, but also of members and collaborators was the award of the R+D+I project "Literary Education and Interculturality" of the Ministry of Science and Innovation (EDU 2008-01782/EDUC), National Programme for Fundamental Research in the framework of the 6th National Plan for Scientific Research.

We have taken part in other projects such as "Diversity and (in)equality in contemporary Spanish literature for children and young people" (UV-IMV-PRECOMP-13-115502), "Literary images of diversity: citizenship and identity through reading and literary education" (GV 2015-050). Or the centre innovation projects "Innovation, Research and Quality in Higher Education: Projects and Proposals in teaching research in the Complementary Activities Weeks" in different editions or "Work on the impact of the use of interactive whiteboards in the higher education of teachers of Infant, Primary and Secondary Education". As well as "Comparative study of DLL subjects in the new degrees of Early Childhood Education" project awarded by the University of Seville. Projects for Teaching Research (038-A6-2010) with researchers from the universities of Seville, Jaén, Granada, Valencia, Barcelona, A Coruña; the project DETERMINING FACTORS IN THE READING HABITS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION STUDENTS (PR2017-040) granted by the University of Cadiz. Or the cooperation project "Preparation of teacher training agents and institutional teams to enable innovation and improvement in research and teacher training in intercultural bilingual education in the Andean and Caribbean areas" of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (D/030992/10); "Linguistic competences and cultural identity of students of immigrant origin - integration variables in immigration contexts" (APE/2015/004).

We have also been part of the project "MEDIATIC COMPETENCIES OF THE CITIZENSHIP IN EMERGING DIGITAL MEDIA (SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS): INNOVATIVE PRACTICES AND EDUCOMUNICATIVE STRATEGIES IN MULTIPLE CONTEXTS of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. National Programme for R&D Projects (EDU2015-64015-C3-1-R) with 40 researchers from 11 Spanish universities and 8 Latin American and European countries or the project "YOUTUBERS AND INSTAGRAMMERS: MEDIATIC COMPETITION IN EMERGING PROSUMERS" of the STATE RESEARCH AGENCY - 2018 Calls for Knowledge Generation R&D Projects and R&D Projects and RESEARCH CHALLENGES.

The Elcis group has also organised all kinds of scientific meetings related to our research: among others, the 3rd International Conference on Catalan Literature for Children and Young Adults (2006); and the International Conference on Literary Education and Society. The teaching of literature to young adults (2007); Interdisciplinary Conference on Women's Studies (2009); : 3rd Conference on Teaching Innovation in Higher Education (2014); 1st and 2nd International Conference Teaching Literature in English for Young Learners (2012) and (2015); 15th International Conference of the Spanish Society of Language and Literature Didactics (2014); Conference on Research, Innovation and Best Practices in Early Childhood Education (2014), (2015), (2016), (2017) and ((2018) or the Conference on Reading, Literary and Linguistic Education. They are currently part of the network of excellence of the project EXCELLENCE NETWORK IN MEDIATIC EDUCATION of the Ministry of Economy, Programme of Dynamisation Actions Networks of Excellence R+D (Action 2016) (EDU2016-81772-REDT) participating entities: 10 R+D IPs 10 Spanish universities.

Research Group on Epidemiology and Environmental Health - GIESA

The research group conducts its research activity in different lines of work: 

  • Childhood and environment line

Cohort study in collaboration with other research centres (INMA project) to share methodologies and knowledge on the effects of the environment on children's health, to describe the level of exposure and pollution during gestation and early childhood, to assess the role of the most common environmental pollutants and dietary protective factors on foetal growth and neuro-endocrine-immune development in order to develop environmental health indicators. 

  • Air pollution and health line 

Study of the relationship between air pollution and health effects, developing multi-centre studies. Studies are also carried out to evaluate the impact of pollution on the health of the population.

  • Weather and climate line

Evaluation of the relationship between climatic factors and meteorological variables, especially ambient temperature and health, as well as public health measures that can minimise the impact of foreseeable future climate changes.

  • Line of evaluation of the health impact of various environmental risks 

Through the measurement of the degree of exposure to risks, the development of biological markers and the relationship between these factors and the incidence of various pathologies. This impact is evaluated from different perspectives, ranging from environmental pollution (through biomarkers of exposure) to climate change (heat and cold waves), as well as the impact of certain technologies affecting the environment (mobile telephony, power lines, etc.).

Research Group on Global Change Unit - UCG

The study area of the Global Change Unit is related to the changes that our planet has experienced, which are analysed with the support of remote sensing satellites and the digital processing of the images provided by them. The aim of the research group is to develop operational algorithms in order to estimate different parameters such as land and sea surface temperature, land surface emissivity, albedo, thermal inertia, evapotranspiration, net radiation, total atmospheric water-vapour content, etc. The spatio-temporal dynamics of land cover from satellites is also studied. All of this is done based on the data provided by satellite-based sensors located on satellites platforms (AVHRR, TM, AATSR, MODIS, SEVIRI, METOP, ASTER, etc.) and airbone sensors (DAIS, AHS, etc.). In addition, the UCG also organises and carries out frequent field campaigns to determine some of these parameters using radiometers, thermal cameras, etc. 

The UCG has, among other scientific instrumentation, satellite image reception antennas corresponding to the MSG (Meteosat Second Generation) and NOAA satellites, as well as a reception station for obtaining images from the TERRA and AQUA satellites (www.uv.es/iplsat/). The UCG is a reference group that allows to apply the developed algorithms to the images received in real time; to maintain an archive of satellite data that can be available to any public body interested in monitoring natural disasters, desertification, forest fires, etc.; and to participate in projects for the development of future space missions for earth observation, both nationally and internationally.

The UCG also has extensive experience with active participation in different research projects, leading two European projects:

  • WATERMED "WATer use Efficiency in natural vegetation and agricultural areas by remalnom sensing in the MEDiterranean basin”, in which 5 groups from Spain, Denmark, France, Egypt and Morocco have participated. 
  • EAGLE "Exploitation of Angular effects in Land surfacE observations from satellites”, in which groups from Spain, the Netherlands and France have participated.

And participating in numerous European projects: WATCH "Water and Global Change" of the 6th framework programme and CEOP-AEGIS "Coordinated Asia-European long-term Observing system of Qinghai - Tibet Plateau hydro-meteorological processes and the Asian-monsoon systEm with Ground satellite Image data and numerical Simulations" of the 7th programme. In addition, we have participated and/or led other projects financed by the European Space Agency (CEFLES2, AGRISAR, SEN2FLEX, SPARC, SIFLEX y DAISEX), the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI).

It is also worth mentioning the numerous collaborations of the UCG with research staff from national and international research centres, particularly with the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) of the Netherlands, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), the Alterra Research Institute at Wageningen University and Research Center in the Netherlands, the University of Washington (USA), the National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) of the Netherlands, the Institut National de Recherche Agronomique of Avignon and Bordeaux (France), the Groupe de Recherche en Télédetection Radiométrique at the Louis Pasteur University of Strasbourg (France), the Laboratory of Sustainable Agriculture of the CSIC in Córdoba, the Department of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources at the University of Chile, the University of Marrakech (Morocco).

Research Group on Innovation and Local Development - INNODES

The research activity of the Innovation and Local Development R&D Group (INNODES) belonging to the Inter-University Institute of Local Development (IIDL) of the Universitat de València and Universitat Jaume I, focuses on aspects related to economic geography, spatial planning and regional development, in particular on the analysis of urban and metropolitan systems, innovation processes, planning of public services, geography of well-being, social innovation, tourism and its territorial impact, sustainability and processes of resilience and local development; as well as in the analysis of social dynamics, population movements and development cooperation in diverse territories.

Research Group on Integrated Laboratory of Intelligent Systems and Traffic Information Technology - LISITT

The LISITT group was set up in 1989 with the aim of filling the existing gap in Spain in the area of telematics applications in the field of traffic and transport. Its initial activities were focused on the execution of international research and development projects within the European ESPRIT and DRIVE programmes of the 2nd Framework Programme of the European Union. 

Since its origins, LISITT has specialised in the study and development of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), covering technological, organisational and strategic aspects. LISITT has been carrying out projects for more than 20 years for national traffic and transport administrations, including the Directorate General of Traffic, the Ministry of Public Works and its regional counterparts in the Basque and Catalan Governments. LISITT is currently a multidisciplinary group (Physics, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Telecommunications Engineering, Mathematics, Geography) that brings together more than 60 professionals, all of them university graduates, including civil servants, contracted teachers and its own research staff, and has established itself as a reference group in consultancy on telematics applied to transport, in the development of ITS systems, and strategic consultancy on management issues and the development of traffic systems. 

The work carried out since its origins has consolidated LISITT as a Spanish reference group in consultancy on telematics applied to transport, in the development of ITS systems, and strategic consultancy on management, development and maintenance of traffic systems for administrations, as reflected by the fact that LISITT has been participating for more than 10 years as expert advisors representing the Directorate-General for Traffic in different national and international standardisation committees and in European working groups on ITS systems, including the World Committee for Standardisation in ITS systems ISO/TC204, the European Committee for Standardisation of ITS systems CEN/TC278 and the Spanish Committee for Telematics applied to transport and road traffic AEN/CTN 159. The role played by LISITT in the creation, assistance and monitoring of the Euro-regional SERTI project (1995 - 2006), the Euro-regional ARTS project (1997 - 2006) and the European EasyWay project (2007-2013) should also be highlighted. 

Apart from these consultancy activities in the standardisation groups in the field of ITS systems, LISITT's most important projects are grouped around the following topics:

  • Consultancy to traffic administrations on coordination and organisation of international traffic control and management projects.
  • Technical assistance to public administrations in traffic management and information systems.
  • Study, development and maintenance of traffic information systems for public traffic administrations.
  • Coordination and execution of R&D&I projects, both from the European Union and national calls for proposals.
  • Analysis, design, construction and development of information systems for private companies.
  • Computer security, data protection and privacy.
Research Group on Support for Research in Language Variation Analysis - SILVAGroup

The concept of “language variation” is key for the study of the evolution of languages and of social, professional and educational communicative systems. Social, cultural, health, economic, technological and educational transformations are developed, conveyed and reflected through their linguistic and communicative manifestations. The aim of the group is to study the progress that current society is undergoing through the analysis of the essential linguistic variables that are involved and interact in human communication. These variables depend on the profiles of speakers (e.g. idiolectal, dialectal variation, according to gender, age, social status, level of education, etc.) and on the uses they make of language according to the interpersonal identities they adopt (i.e. register variation), the codes they use to communicate (i.e. variation of mode), the different textual platforms they use (i.e. variation of discursive genre) and the different persuasive strategies with which they convey their intention and image (i.e. stylistic variation). The analysis of these variables requires approaching the study of communication at different scales, from its macro and hyper discursive aspect (e.g. interrelation between the variables that interact in business or academic communication, or the complexity of multimodal communication of social media and digital platforms) and also of its micro discursive components (e.g. variation of phonetic, morphological, lexical and syntactic units). As highlighted by experts in language variation (Bayley, 2013; Chambers and Schilling, 2018), in order to address comprehensive and innovative studies in this field, it is necessary to keep up to date the methodology needed to define and classify the categories, criteria and parameters essential to understand and analyse these variables and their interrelation.

Some of these have been extensively studied (e.g. dialectal variation) and others are currently being studied (e.g. variation of discursive genre), but there are still many ambiguous and controversial aspects of other relevant variables, such as those involved in communicative register variation. This type of interpersonal and contextual variation covers the whole spectrum of human interaction, from that which takes place in the most sophisticated and conventional contexts to that which takes place in the most intimate and familiar settings. There are different degrees of dependence and interrelation between various registers in the same communicative act, which has posed a difficult challenge for experts, particularly when it comes to accessing real data and compiling large and representative corpora. Moreover, throughout history, its study has been approached from many different perspectives, including heterogeneous, ambiguous and confusing variables that have generated controversy within this field of research. This theoretical heterogeneity and methodological complexity have hindered the development of in-depth and wide-ranging studies on this language variety, which could effectively transfer their results to society and the labour market, offering practical methods and tools for understanding, learning and mastering it. There are other variables in a similar situation (e.g. idiolectal variation, stylistic variation, genolects, chronolects, etc.). 

With the aim of contributing to the advancement of this field, the main objectives of the SILVAGroup are the following:

  1. To delve into the fundamental categories, criteria and parameters for the study and analysis of language variation, and the factors involved in its current behaviour in the English language and other majority languages, such as Spanish and German.
  2. To investigate language variation from a comprehensive pragmatic approach, highlighting its interpersonal and multimodal dimensions in its fluctuation throughout everyday communication from public to private settings.
  3. To work from emerging technologies, corpus linguistics and other multidisciplinary fields of human communication, contrasting advances and results between languages.
  4. To design methodologies for the study of language variation, useful in the search and detection of distinctive features that shed light on definition and typology of its parameters of analysis, and also practical for learning and mastering them, especially at a social and professional level.
  5. To participate in platforms and projects for the dissemination of research, especially in international conferences and impact publications, in order to encourage further study of RV and to publicise the results of the group’s activity.
  6. To constitute a national and international support platform for research in this field and for its dissemination.

The group’s research activity will be structured from the IULMA, based at the Universitat de València, to which most of the members of the group belong, and is made up of a multidisciplinary team of both young and experienced researchers from the UV, UPV and UA.

All the members of the group share the essential research lines for the study of RV: language variation, corpus linguistics and contrastive linguistics. The group also has experts in other relevant research lines. This multidisciplinary nature provides this team with the advantage of approaching language variation from different but complementary areas of knowledge and research lines, allowing an innovative depth and perspective and results that can really bring a significant advance in the field.

Research Group on analysis and demographic research on the Valencian population - DEMOVAL

The area of work of this group is demographic studies aimed at the Valencian population. This group investigates classic demographic phenomena such as birth rates, fertility, marriage and the formation and dissolution of unions, ageing, morbidity, reproduction and migrations with special interest in their evolution from the existence of the first modern demographic sources to the present day and including projections of future developments. These studies focus on the population located in the Valencian territory, looking to locate it in the territorial breakdowns that go from the census section, the smaller entities, the municipalities and the counties.

In addition, this group carries out research on life trajectories or life courses. The life course perspective is applied to study life processes such as, for example, emancipation, entry into adulthood, training and work episodes, maternity-paternity or retirement. The analysis of life course trajectories takes into account temporal dimensions such as age, generation and time, gender and social class, origin and language. The object of study is also specific populations whose socio-demographic characteristics and social importance in the structure and change of Valencian society require specific analyses. Specifically, populations in situations of social vulnerability from a multidimensional perspective.

The group combines the production of data on population through the design of demographic surveys, the cataloguing of existing secondary data on the Valencian population (registers and population stocks from survey data), the cultivation of statistical modelling techniques, the calculation of indicators, the collection of discourses on life events and trajectories.

Both for the information it collects and for the analysis it carries out, DEMOVAL provides the business fabric, the administration at all levels and the third sector with valuable knowledge of the demographic, cultural and social characteristics, forecasts, diagnoses, situation in the territory, etc., related to the Valencian population. With all this, DEMOVAL potentially represents a substantial improvement in market studies, public policies, and social actions and interventions.

Welfare, Insurance and Pensions Research Group - WIP

The group’s vocation is to develop research that is as multidisciplinary as possible, approaching the issues at least from a legal, economic-financial and even sociological perspective. The main topics to be developed are insurance, pensions, but also issues related to people’s welfare that go beyond the above, such as dependency, life annuities, etc.