Speakers

John Curtin Distinguished Professor, Future of Work Institute, Curtin University (Faculty of Business and Law)

Gagné’s  research explores how organisational structures, cultures, and management practices shape people’s motivation at work—both paid and volunteer—and how this, in turn, impacts performance and well-being. A Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, Marylène also serves as an associate editor for Motivation Science and Motivation and Emotion, and is a member of the Australian Research Council’s College of Experts. She has previously held academic positions at the University at Albany (SUNY), Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business, and the University of Western Australia. Beyond her academic pursuits, she is an active volunteer in animal welfare.

Professor of Social Psychology, Scientific Coordinator of the Community Psychology Lab, University of Naples Federico II

Procentese’s research focuses on social participation and collective change processes, the construction of social capital, and the promotion of collaborative practices within community and digital contexts. She investigates the interconnection between online and offline experiences, exploring how digital networks reshape civic engagement, volunteering, and forms of social coexistence. Her work also addresses collective pro-environmental behaviors and the psychosocial dimensions of the energy transition. She is Principal Investigator of national and international research projects, including the PRIN Profiling traditional, episodic, and online volunteering and INCREASE, and a member of the European project YouCount (Horizon 2020). She collaborates with European universities and research networks on community psychology and social innovation.

Senior lecturer in Social Science (Social Psychology) in Communication and Media, Loughborough University

Albert’s research explores the technology of social interaction at two ends of the spectrum of formalization. At one end, his work on conversational AI asks which features and mechanisms of human social action can be represented and modeled computationally. At the other, he studies how people make aesthetic judgements and interact while dealing with underdetermined cultural objects and situations. This program spans multiple, often incompatible disciplines, so his work builds methodological interfaces between them.