Projects / Programmes
EPISTEMOLOšKI IN KULTURNI VIDIKI KONSTRUKCIJE SPOLNOSTI IN NASILJA V NOVIH INFORMACIJSKO-KOMUNIKACIJSKIH TEHNOLOGIJAH (IKT) TER NJIHOVO SPREJEMANJE PRI OTROCIH IN MLADIH (Slovene)
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.03.02 |
Humanities |
Anthropology |
Social and cultural anthropology |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 6.05 |
Humanities |
Other humanities |
Researchers (3)
| no. |
Code |
Name and surname |
Research area |
Role |
Period |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
25800 |
PhD Renata Šribar |
Anthropology |
Researcher |
2009 - 2012 |
0 |
| 2. |
09436 |
PhD Darko Štrajn |
Philosophy |
Researcher |
2009 - 2012 |
0 |
| 3. |
14015 |
PhD Valerija Vendramin |
Anthropology |
Head |
2009 - 2012 |
0 |
Organisations (1)
| no. |
Code |
Research organisation |
City |
Registration number |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
0553 |
Educational Research Institute |
Ljubljana |
5051614000 |
0 |
Significance for science
The researchers have made a noticeable step ahead in the thematizations of the problematic side of the way new media extended reality (in the framework of anthropology, sociology, ethnography and feminist epistemology & ethics), and it was related to children's engendering and sexualization. As the scientific research and theoretical findings have not been restricted to this thematic field, the research studies, which have been carried throughout the project integrate the analyses of some elementary platforms of research, i.e. epistemic relation between quantitative and qualitative research, rigidity in the application of dominant ethnographic and sociological methods, categorical apparatus in researching genders, self-evident intertwining between methods, topics, interpretations, and capital, and narrowly defined ethics of research.
Conclusions that were made, autonomously or by the creative transference from the other research studies, are:
- in spite of introduced mixed research methods (intertwinings of quantitative and qualitative approach) we have found out that the epistemic origin of the quantitative and mixed-methods research have not been transparent, and that theory has been far ahead. Accordingly such inquiry might be improved by the proliferation and disaggregation of gender categories; our focus is on the concept of self-positioning of a researcher; as an adequate method the intersectional approach is suggested;
- the rigidity of the ethnographic and sociological methods has been subverted precisely on the empirical, and afterwards on the explanatory level; in researching social group of children we have introduced a new research method (which combines focus group and participatory observation);
- the linkage between research policies on the EU level, the interests of capital, and
research methods and interpretations on the other side was analysed via case study EU Kids online;
- we initiated the concept of “transformative” research to the level of ethics, so that the supposed distance between a subject and an object of research was deconstructed –
and the instance of a responsible researcher constituted in the relation to the effects, which are brought into existence by the research itself, and experienced by the research “object”, in our case children. In practice this lead to instructing the children on the complex research procedure, including the explanation of our roles, and the final dislearning in the context of the commercial constructions of sex and violence;
- we introduced the basic research hypothesis of transformative methods – i.e. realities are co-constructed by political, cultural, economic etc. values; power relations are determining factors of the realities, which are privileged in the research context.
Among content contributions the most important research achievements of the research project in question are focused on the role of children and the very research in the new media relations of engendering and sexualisation:
- the concept of the »new sexual contract« has been introduced in the Slovenian scientific society;
- beside being understood from the perspective of weakness, ignorance or intrusively informed subject, children were conceptualized in the light of their own power and knowledge;
- the syntagm »new girl-power« has been deconstructed in relation to its conceptual reference being the re-evaluation of the pornographised look;
- we indicated the restraints of the dominant research on the new media (i.e. ICT product and services) impact in children from the perspective of the governing new media policies in EU;
- the various modalities of the linkage between the construction of knowledge, and societal and political interests were exposed;
- we formulated the starting-points for the engagement in the curricular field: human diversities are to be considered in various intersections, while this is prevailingly missing in the Slovenian curricula.
Significance for the country
In Slovenia we find a very telling lack of the Slovenian studies that would thoroughly study education in the field of sexuality in Slovenia (there are, however, some anthropological and sociological studies that touch upon the issue). The said lack is seen also in non-information about historical aspect of the so called sexuality education / education in the field of sexuality in media, public and in the expert level. The project improved the research picture and presented the guidelines for the curricular platform. A scanty selection of the Slovenian studies that touch upon the issue of sexuality in school curricula testifies to the fact that Slovenia was lagging behind in comparison to the majority of EU countries. The reasons for that are various; among them is the complexity of the issue which evidently poses a hard nut to crack.
Our professional and popular presentations in round tables and through publications in informative press brought the results of the research project to the professional, media and wider audiences. Such directions in promoting contemporary gendered power relations, findings of the analysis of social research conditions and of the position of children in new-media augmented reality made a perceptible impression in understanding the basic theme of the research project. At the same time professional audiences (media, Inhope, APEK, teaching staff, the then Ministry of Culture) were provided with basic conceptual and other, methodological, tools for the more advanced dealings with the problems of children in new media relations and ICT products. Since a student of the University in Nova Gorica and a student of the Ljubljana Graduate School of the Humanities were included in the research work, care was taken in this way to extend the research interest in this field. Slovenia was connected to the contemporary dealings of the (new) media from the perspective of the protection of children from potentially harmful commercial and other, predominantly violent contents by inclusion in Slovenian (co)regulatory procedures and through cooperation with the monitoring instances of audiovisual media EU (European audiovisual observatory). Nevertheless, it needs to be stressed that with the year 2011 (co)regulatory activity on the level of normativity was cancelled and that was detected also on the level of the publication of European observatory. This and other lacks on the state level (no interests for including the topics into the formal and informal school curricula) was thematized in our publications in Slovenia.
Besides our project work was part of explorations of potential for further developing new areas and methodologies for qualitative research, it was stressed that the need to complicate rather than simplify is essential – it needs to be recognised that apparently simple practical solutions within research methodology are inevitably complicated by always existent epistemological complexities, whether these are recognised or not . In this, theoretical-conceptual sense we opened a completely new research field.
Our conference-related presentations and international publications of the research findings and other results enabled Slovenia to present itself in an appropriate scientific light in the mentioned thematic area within EU and wider (Great Britain, Bolgaria, Lithuania, France, Turkey, Portugal, FInland.)
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2009,
2010,
2011,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2009,
2010,
2011,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
