Students from Northwestern Qatar will present their academic and scholarly research at the International Communication Association's (ICA) 72nd conference in Paris.
The ICA conference is a major annual gathering of the global communication community celebrating scholarship on globalization and networks. Joining this year’s conference, students will present their research alongside leading scholars from around the world.
“Having been selected to present their research at the annual ICA conference is a rare honor for an undergraduate, one that comes as a testament to the immense talent, imagination, and commitment of our students at Northwestern Qatar,” said Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar. “The students attending this year’s conference will showcase their scholarly output—whether produced as part of coursework or through a research grant—to the world.”
Among the projects that will be showcased at this year’s conference is research by Krishna Sharma, Temesgen Mesfin Tewolde, and Sudesh Baniya examining different personality traits and their relationship to compulsive YouTube use during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Reports of increased YouTube use and addiction are widely reported in the media but are rarely examined by the scholarly community,” said Sharma, who was inspired to research the topic after stumbling upon a social media story of a teen seeking help to treat her YouTube addiction.
With personality traits such as level of self-esteem and whether an individual is a morning or night person being examined, the research contributes new findings to the literature on social media use. “We found that individuals with low self-esteem tend to seek motivations on social media; this, then, leads them to become compulsive users,” noted Sharma. “Another interesting finding we have is, when considering two equal individuals, an evening person is slightly more likely to be a compulsive YouTube user compared to a morning person.”
The ICA conference is a major annual gathering of the global communication community celebrating scholarship on globalization and networks. Joining this year’s conference, students will present their research alongside leading scholars from around the world.
“Having been selected to present their research at the annual ICA conference is a rare honor for an undergraduate, one that comes as a testament to the immense talent, imagination, and commitment of our students at Northwestern Qatar,” said Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar. “The students attending this year’s conference will showcase their scholarly output—whether produced as part of coursework or through a research grant—to the world.”
Among the projects that will be showcased at this year’s conference is research by Krishna Sharma, Temesgen Mesfin Tewolde, and Sudesh Baniya examining different personality traits and their relationship to compulsive YouTube use during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Reports of increased YouTube use and addiction are widely reported in the media but are rarely examined by the scholarly community,” said Sharma, who was inspired to research the topic after stumbling upon a social media story of a teen seeking help to treat her YouTube addiction.
With personality traits such as level of self-esteem and whether an individual is a morning or night person being examined, the research contributes new findings to the literature on social media use. “We found that individuals with low self-esteem tend to seek motivations on social media; this, then, leads them to become compulsive users,” noted Sharma. “Another interesting finding we have is, when considering two equal individuals, an evening person is slightly more likely to be a compulsive YouTube user compared to a morning person.”
“Having been selected to present their research at the annual ICA conference is a rare honor for an undergraduate, one that comes as a testament to the immense talent, imagination, and commitment of our students at Northwestern Qatar”
- Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar
Another study selected for this year’s conference focuses on Turkish TV series in Zambia. Led by Yasemin Y. Celikkol, global postdoctoral scholar at Northwestern Qatar, In'utu Imbuwa researched media industry developments that brought Turkish series to Zambia. “Growing up in Zambia; Latin American, Korean, and Filipino telenovelas were the most popular TV productions; there was no Turkish TV drama,” said Imbuwa. By researching the recent arrival of Turkish series, she hopes to understand the factors leading to the increasing appeal of Turkish TV drama and its political implications.
The paper fills the gap in the study of Turkish TV series in Africa and examines the factors leading to the increasing appeal of Turkish TV drama and its political implications. “There is no published study about the Turkish TV series in Africa, even though more than 20 countries in Africa import Turkish series and Turkey’s growing influence in Africa is due in part to the popularity of Turkish TV series,” said Imbuwa.
In highlighting the importance of the students' participation in the conference, Gregory Ferrell Lowe, director of the communication program at Northwestern Qatar, said it would contribute to amplifying voices and scholarships from the region. “Our students’ participation in such a prestigious global scholarly gathering is unique in many ways, it a rare opportunity for undergraduates that also represents a moment when young scholars from the Global South are leading the production of knowledge,” he added.
This year’s ICA conference will be held in Paris under the theme of One World, One Network. With more than 4500 members from more than 80 countries around the world and an official association with the United Nations, the conference serves as a platform for global knowledge sharing.
The paper fills the gap in the study of Turkish TV series in Africa and examines the factors leading to the increasing appeal of Turkish TV drama and its political implications. “There is no published study about the Turkish TV series in Africa, even though more than 20 countries in Africa import Turkish series and Turkey’s growing influence in Africa is due in part to the popularity of Turkish TV series,” said Imbuwa.
In highlighting the importance of the students' participation in the conference, Gregory Ferrell Lowe, director of the communication program at Northwestern Qatar, said it would contribute to amplifying voices and scholarships from the region. “Our students’ participation in such a prestigious global scholarly gathering is unique in many ways, it a rare opportunity for undergraduates that also represents a moment when young scholars from the Global South are leading the production of knowledge,” he added.
This year’s ICA conference will be held in Paris under the theme of One World, One Network. With more than 4500 members from more than 80 countries around the world and an official association with the United Nations, the conference serves as a platform for global knowledge sharing.
