A brief Introduction…
The Interaction and Culture laboratory was established in 2003. During the preparation of the second workshop of cultural psychology, the Interactive Environments Laboratory, directed by Prof. Giuseppe Mantovani and Prof. Antonella Carassa, feels the need to extend the application of methodologies developed in the field of ergonomic studies to a wider horizon of activities. In its place stands the Interaction and Culture Laboratory, with the aim of developing an intercultural approach to the study of interactions in everyday contexts.
The laboratory brings together researchers from different fields, brought together by the same interest for applied research and the use of qualitative methods of analysis of interactions in everyday contexts. Students may conduct their PhD’s researches using hardware and software equipment available for them.
First under the direction of Professor Giuseppe Mantovani, now of Dr. Paolo Cottone, the laboratory has been involved in several research projects, both european (IST, DAPHNE) and national (PRIN, FIRB), as well as being constantly involved in research activities funded by University of Padua and the City of Padua.
The interest for the study of the intercultural practices enable to conduct research activity according to the action-research paradigm. In this context the projects are mainly aimed to the study of process that occur spontaneously in the territory and involve issues related to the forms of citizen participation, migration and processes of social change.
The laboratory conducts, in collaboration with the laboratory of Virtual Reality, projects aimed at studying the processes of communication and mediation in virtual environments in which particular attention is paid to the study of technology in contexts of real use as distance learning, team work supported by technologies and online communities.
Research conducted by the laboratory use qualitative methods of analysis, as critical discourse analysis aided by the use of software both commercial (Transana, Atlas Ti) and self-developed.
The laboratory also offers the opportunity to PhD students, or graduate students, to conduct research aimed at obtaining their degrees.
The laboratory would like to be a reference point in the area of intercultural research and it is interested in partnership proposal or agreements for interdisciplinary research projects, concerned of the complexities of the everyday situations and aimed to the social change.