Workpackages

WP1: Project management.

WP1, led by the Coordinator, will ensure effective conduct and completion of work packages through the planning and management stages. More specifically, the execution of all WPs will be ensured through continuous email communication, periodic face-to-face meetings, and conference calls. The Coordinator will closely monitor the data collection with respect to its progress, timeliness and quality, and the data analysis, by promoting frequent discussions among all teams involved. The Coordinator will also tender, select, appoint and work with the subcontractor to administer the survey and complete the fieldwork. Four workshops are planned with all the partners.

WP2: Methodology and research design.

Led by the Coordinator, this WP entails a review of the existing national and international literature, with an emphasis on methodological issues, in order to define a shared theoretical framework on the topics under investigation (mobile internet access and use among children, online risks and safety, risks and opportunities of mobile devices, parental, teachers’ and peers’ mediation) in order to develop preliminary research questions and hypotheses. The framework will inform the design of the research project and of quantitative and qualitative methodological tools. More specifically, this WP is aimed at designing a robust survey instrument for children and parents, along with an appropriate sampling frame; and a multi-method qualitative approach (including schedules for group interviews with children and focus groups with adults -parents, teachers and carers). The design of the project will conform to ESOMAR ethical guidelines and will be approved by the Ethical Commission of the Department of Psychology at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and the LSE Ethical Commission.

WP3: Collecting and analysing data on children’s uses of convergent mobile media.

Based on the ethical and sampling procedures developed in WP2, this WP, led by the Coordinator, will ensure the administration of the survey in a reliable and ethically-sensitive manner to actual national samples of 800-1000 children aged 9-16 (including mobile-only internet users, PC-only internet users and multiplatform internet users – primarily PC- or primarily mobile-oriented) in each country involved in the project. The analysis of the data will be articulated into the following phases: data reporting of core findings and statistical analysis of the results to test the hypotheses identified in WP2 on a national and comparative basis. Data will also be interpreted in the light of the knowledge acquired in WP4.

WP4: Exploring children’s and adults’ understanding of mobile risks and safety.

Led by UK team, this WP is aimed at carrying out comparable qualitative investigations – involving group interviews and potentially other innovative methods – in the 4 countries in order to explore the strategies and contexts of use, and the qualitative meanings of risks and safety of mobile internet use among children. Since the role of peers’ mediation in shaping the context of convergent mobile media use is relevant, group interviews, which stimulate the groups’ reflexivity and the negotiation of collective meanings, can reveal more of this process than individual interviews. The second aim of this work package is represented by the investigation of parental, teachers’ and other carers’ mediation strategies through focus groups, in order to explore the perceived efficacy of mediation practices as tools for empowering children. The qualitative findings will complement the interpretation of the quantitative data.

WP5: Awareness and policy recommendations.

Led by the Romanian team, this WP entails an interpretation of the empirical findings to identify and disseminate key recommendations relevant to the development of safety awareness initiatives in Europe, which are able to address the specific challenges in terms of policy initiatives posed by convergent mobile technologies. The second aim is to identify any remaining knowledge gaps and methodological lessons learned, to inform future projects regarding the promotion of safer use of mobile media. The third aim is to update the existing EU framework (2006-2007) for safer mobile use for children, by advancing new measures based on the results of the survey and qualitative data collection.

WP6: Dissemination activities.

Led by Danish team this work package is vital to make the evidence base known to and useful for stakeholders in Europe and beyond. All researchers involved in the project will discuss the main findings of the research in national and international conferences, from which they will derive publications in the most relevant national and international journals, as well as in books. We also plan the creation of a website for the project (and potentially profiles on social media), in order to share part of our findings in a more inclusive and continuous manner not only with the academic community, but also with a broader public of stakeholders and others interested in the project. Each WP will produce a set of deliverables (reports of key findings), which will be disseminated through the website, press releases, conferences, Safer Internet Day and project final conference. Moreover a final report, including both the qualitative and quantitative findings, will be launched at the end of the project. In order to promote the dissemination of the research data and to maximise their social and academic utility, within two years after the end of the project we plan to make the survey data available to all parties interested in using them for scientific purposes, provided that they cite their source and funding institution. A further context of dissemination is presented by schools, through which it is possible to reach teachers, parents as well as children, in order to promote awareness and peer to peer mediation practices. Specific dissemination activities involving schools will therefore be planned and conducted.

WP7: Project assessment and evaluation.

The assessment and evaluation of the results is an ongoing task, which will be constantly monitored by the Coordinator and shared with all the members. More specifically it will be guarantee effective and flexible progress monitoring, assessment and quality control procedures. In particular the assessment of project will be will be conducted through the progression of deliverables, with a constructive engagement with national and international stakeholder, and with the constitution of an International Advisory Board (including scholars with mobile phone studies background, experts of online safety, policymakers and NGOs).