By Matters India Reporter
Bhubaneswar: The communication department of Xavier University Bhubaneswar will study how social media is changing communication environment in the world.
The Jesuit university based at the capital of Odisha state in eastern India will organize its third international conference from December 15-16 with the theme “Social Media: The Changing Communication Environment.”
The conference is expected to provide an overview of the ever-expanding area of research and development, says Jesuit Father Lourduraj Ignacimuthu, dean of the university’s Xavier School of Communications (XCOMM).
The two-day event will help researcher to reflect on social media’s impact on people. It will also help students from various universities and colleges in Odisha to attend an international conference, the dean told Matters India on December 10.
“The topic is a relevant because majority of youth are on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This is a new phenomenon,” the priest added.
In these harrowing times, when the social media has been narrowed down to be treated as an individual’s “self-broadcasting shrine” and functions only as a barometer to measure popularity, it is essential to examine how the phenomenon could bring revolution in communication both academically and socially.
The international keynote speakers are Ariel C Sebellino, executive director, Philippine Press Institute, and Dr. Sharon Wilson, assistant professor from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia. Other speakers are nationally recognized media veterans, scholars and academic advisors. The conference will be premier forum to consolidate the intellectual synergy of the participant, Father Lourduraj claimed.
Sebellino will speak on “the low down of social media” while Wilson will address WhatsApp Millennials or ‘WhatsApp with my Students? Mobile Learning and Interactivity in a Virtual Space.”
Krishna Prasad, former editor-in-chief of The Outlook weekly, will speak on the use of Social Media in India. Anupam Dasgupta, a crime specialist, will moderator these topics.
Around 48 research papers in nine sessions will be presented before several national and internationally acclaimed media scholars, who will gather for academic advancement and personal growth opportunities.
The speakers will share their expertise on social media with specific relevant topics ranging from education to technology, from business to society and social restructuring, from advancing theories to the existing philosophies and many more.
The exchange of ideas with industry veterans and research scholars will explore every facet of the present-day communication scene which will enrich the existing knowledge repositories. The conference will offer focused discussions to encourage intellectual stimulation. The aim is to trace the change in the course of communication in recent times. The platform will utilize the collective wisdom of the resource persons to further communication as a discipline.
In the past three years, the annual conference has generated scholarly interactions and academic engagements. This year, selected research papers from the second international conference will be released as a book titled “Media and Democracy” edited by Jesuit Father George Sebastian.
As the domain of communication has undergone a profound change within the last few years, the pursuit of knowledge in its every dimension is justified, the Jesuit dean said.
The organizers expect around 300 participants.