Mission
The research group for Media and ICT (MICT), affiliated to the Department of Communication Sciences at Ghent University, is characterised by great methodological expertise, which serves as the basis for the 5 clusters upon which it focuses:
- Media Production & Distribution
- Media Use & Experience
- Profiling & Targeting
- ICT & Society
- Gaming
MICT focuses primarily on research into the ‘user’ and, more specifically, into the ‘demand side’: for which ICT applications will there be a demand from the market, from the user? MICT does not focus only on the residential user, but also on all those involved in ICT-related innovation processes and throughout the various phases of the process in question. It therefore also concerns research into hardware manufacturers, content providers and software manufacturers active in the media, healthcare and mobility sectors, as well as government bodies and policymakers. MICT takes this tri-partite perspective (residential user, policymaker and industry) in each research process, whereby the expertise in social-scientific research is of central importance.
Methodology: qualitative and quantitative expertise
Successful innovation-development must be based on a continuous process of complementary qualitative and quantitative user research. MICT has implemented the necessary synergy between the two into an arsenal of research instruments which in recent years has been abundantly tested and validated in various projects. In addition, this set of instruments can also be used in the various phases of the technology-development process, as well as being applied to the four content-based competence clusters and the five application domains defined by IBBT.
Media Production & Distribution
Our research into media production and distribution examines various types of media: print, television, radio, internet, mobile media, etc. It includes the study of organisational management and the media-economy and comprises the search for tailor-made production and distribution models which are attuned to various types of user.
The central keynote within this field of research is the digitisation of media and the consequences of this for media production and distribution. As far as media production is concerned, we focus primarily on the study of innovative, digital workflows from the perspective of different users. The current practices, expectations and needs of professional and residential users are mapped for various types of media. Central themes in this regard include digital archiving and unlocking, the possibilities of User-Generated Content, Web 2.0 and semantic web technology.
On the distribution front, we examine the various processes for cross-media integration and distribution in order to obtain media-economic insights into content types, users and channels.
Media Use & Experience
In a digital, convergent media environment, the user’s media consumption is becoming an increasingly central concern. From a passive consumer, he is evolving into an active player who places increasingly higher demands on the technology and content. The contemporary media user is no longer restricted to reading the newspaper, listening to the radio or watching the television. Media usage is becoming ever more mobile, interactive and cross-medial.
Through a combination of fundamental, strategic and applied research, we acquire insights into changing media use and the economic and social implications, such as the interactive and social potential of Web 2.0 sites, the possibilities and challenges regarding increasing audience participation in the creation of content (‘prosuming’) and the influence of technology on our experience of media and culture.
Profiling & Targeting
Markets are fragmenting, spending on advertising is stagnating or declining, media consumption is breaking free from specific platforms, and so on. These developments are presenting advertisers, content developers and technology manufacturers with new challenges in the field of Profiling & Targeting. The traditional segmentation into viewers, listeners, surfers or mobile users is no longer adequate. Accurate targeting today requires far more detailed and diversified profiling which can break away from the traditional media and evolve into ‘cross-medial segmentation and profiling’. Furthermore, this segmentation must be continually adapted by building in feedback mechanisms (rating, tagging, audiometry, etc.). MICT therefore specialises in the development of innovative panel structures, feedback mechanisms, segmentation and profiling algorithms and market-economy solutions concerning the profiling and targeting of media content and advertising.
ICT & Society
The information society organises life, work and leisure time differently. Consequently, in our research we also look at the impact of ICT on our society. For example, we work on research topics such as:
- the extension of the information society to include everyone (digital divide versus e-inclusion);
- the social effects of increasing ICT usage (radiation from all sorts of networks, green IT);
- the exploration of how ICT can offer new opportunities for public service provision (e-government) or public health (e-health);
- convergence and digitisation (in line with European regulations).
In the course of our projects, we have accrued a great deal of expertise around such subjects as media policy, telecommunication policy and regulation, e-governance, information-society policy and e-health policy. We advise various government partners (federal, Flemish and local) and other social stakeholders in the area of policy preparation and implementation. In order to do so, we have developed new working procedures and methods.
Gaming
Games have been an undervalued medium for too long. Gaming as a social phenomenon has therefore long been underrepresented in academic research. Our gaming research cell attempts to change this situation in various fields. For example, we undertake quantitative research with a view to the segmentation and profiling of gamers. We also carry out qualitative research into the perception of games and we develop methods to measure this perception. Finally, we also research game content from a cultural perspective.