In the information society, applied knowledge, derived from empirical research, is an instrument of social development. Moreover, communication occupies a central position in terms of the structure and functioning of society, with the new information and communication technologies being understood not only as a tool of primary necessity, but also as a way of appreciating and perceiving the globalised world, as well as being one of the best tools for socio-cultural intervention. Many of the new industries and institutions (public or private) must have specialists in this field, both as researchers and as well-qualified professionals to face some of the current challenges in the fields of culture, communication, society and politics, from creation to management.
The aim of InterCom is to deepen knowledge in these areas, fundamentally in the territories of audiovisual discourse (cinema, television, popular culture, comics, internet, photography, etc.).
The Research Group on Scientific Culture (RGSC) was founded in 2002, when Journalism studies were introduced in the UV. Since the beginning, I take part in postgraduate and PhD programmes of various Spanish universities, in research areas revolving around scientific culture. In 2007, our university made an agreement with the RGSC, CIEMAT’s unit for scientific culture in Madrid, to enable research in Science and Technology Studies. This framework project includes researchers from the Universities of Oviedo, Balearic Islands, Valladolid, Salamanca and CSIC’s Institute of Philosophy. The main goal of the Research Group on Culture is the research on scientific culture, on acting as an interface mechanism between actors and on environments for the creation of scientific knowledge and the unproductive appropriation of knowledge (social demand or regulating agents, to name a few). It participates in elaborating technical forms for foundations such as FECYT through Surveys for Social Perception of Science and Technology and it’s present in numerous international congresses such as the PSCT, held every two years. The group’s project is currently financed by the National Plan and it’s titled: Analysis of institutional campaigns for vaccination against the Human Papillomavirus (CSO2011-25810). The research group focuses on the different aspects and approaches taken by the news coverage of science and technology through media.
