New Media
Prof. Staab's research combines topics of labor, social structure analysis, sociology of technology and political economy in a contemporary analytical perspective. Currently, Prof. Staab is particularly involved with questions of the political shaping of digital capitalism, the connection between digitalization and sustainability, as well as the role of critical infrastructures for the future viability of modern societies. The professor pursues a theory-oriented, present-diagnostic sociology in the context of social change, conflict, and inequality, which always seeks dialogue with the public.
- consulting,
- drafting of studies and
- policy papers as well as presentations
on important current topics in the areas of society, politics and economics, in particular digitalization and sustainability as well as work. The focus is on future developments of society as well as political and economic options for action.
- Organizing and conducting several conferences with a large political foundation
- Writing a policy study for a large labor union
- Advising members of parliament, ministries as well as the European Commission
Prof. Miyazaki, is a critical humanities scholar working on the theory, critique, and history of digital media, digitization, and computation as productive practice. He uses numerous social-critical, philosophical and technology-related theories of the last century (historical materialism, critical theory, poststructuralism, science and technology studies, media theory, media archaeology, postcolonialism, design studies). Currently, Prof. Miyazaki is working on the theory and history of alternative, non-profit, sustainable production practices that could be realized through other types of digitization. The focus is not only on social change, but also on technical-media change, which has no future without critical knowledge of technology.
Consulting through studies, lectures and talks on current topics in the field of information technologies, algorithms, society, culture and politics with a focus on digitalization, sustainability and criticism. The focus is on the deployment of alternative lifestyles and forms of life in the future, as well as socio-political opportunities to take action.
- Establishment of the Critical Media Lab at the Institute Experimental Design and Media Cultures at the School of Art and Design FHNW (Claudia Mareis).
- Associated Investigator in the Cluster of Excellence "Matters of Activity".
- Publication: "Counter-Dancing Digitality. On Commoning and Computation".
Prof. Pinkwart’s research group investigates a range of topics including adaptive educational technologies, computer supported collaborative learning, computer science education methods (especially in the fields of programming and modeling), social media and cooperative systems, and socio-technical systems. In addition, they develop multimodal human-computer interaction methods using interactive surfaces, mobile devices and 3D technologies. Prof. Pinkwart is a well-known member of numerous national and international committees and projects in basic and applied research. His team can offer specialised expertise in computer-assisted education and training, especially in the field of mobile and ubiquitous learning and teaching scenarios, computer-based group learning methods, and adaptive mechanisms in e-learning. In this context, Prof. Pinkwart and his team realise numerous research projects and co-operate with several educational institutions and companies. Concerning socio-technical systems, Prof. Pinkwart’s team conducts research on issues of design, implementation and evaluation of group-oriented software applications (e.g. online communities).
- interactive table (multi-touch)
- electronic boards
- tablets (20x)
- co-operation with IT companies: consulting for didactical concepts applied to online courses in the fields of media production and e-learning
- co-operation with e-learning companies: formation of study groups in large online courses
- co-operation with automotive supplier: designing human-machine interfaces for production machines
- co-operation with automotive manufacturer: multimodal control concepts for car infotainment systems
Prof. Hoppe’s research is focused on Occupational Health Psychology (OHP) especially on the analysis of work activities to maintain employee health and performance as well as to provide learning and development opportunities. OHP integrates occupational and health psychology with occupational medicine and traditional labor safety, which is insufficient for today’s flexible employment situation. Prof. Hoppe also examines the psychosocial characteristics of a specific workplace, e.g. work requirements or the level of influence on and control over tasks as well as the social working environment. She also studies the effects of these characteristics on employee health and his/her well-being. She investigates how psychosocial work characteristics influence an employee’s motivating factors like job satisfaction and commitment. Particular attention is paid to the situation of migrant and low-skilled workers and the analysis of the impact their workplaces and work environments may have on their health and well-being. Moreover, Prof. Hoppe studies multi-ethnic and -lingual workforces and the effects of diversity on employee health.
- risk assessment methods for workplace conditions
- employee surveys regarding the promotion of health at workplace
- interventions to promote health at work
- postal operators, logistics companies, professional care providers, manufacturing companies: execution of employee surveys to gather data on psychosocial strain and resources in the workplace and to analyse effects of stress, job satisfaction and work performance
- public institutions (e.g. universities, federal ministries), consulting companies, self-employed persons: development of health-related interventions and training sessions via mobile devices (e.g. smartphones, tablets) to facilitate recovery strategies and self-management
- Michel, A. & Hoppe, A. (2022). Handbuch Gesundheitsförderung bei der Arbeit: Interventionen für Individuen, Teams und Organisationen (1. Aufl. 2022 Aufl.). Berlin: Springer.