Rhonda McEwen, Canada Research Chair in Tactile Interfaces, Communication and Cognition and associate professor of New Media and Communication at the University of Toronto, joins our weekly Seminar Series to discuss her ongoing research on the ways in which social and digital communications through new technologies have adapted during the pandemic.
Talk title
“Communicating during COVID-19: China and the diaspora”
Abstract
After the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was first detected in China in December 2019, it spread rapidly, threatening lives and as well as social, economic, and emotional well-being in one of the world’s most densely populated countries. The virus has severely affected daily life around the world but China felt the effects first.
As the rest of the world watched, the Chinese government implemented social distancing, leading to a complete shutdown of the country’s main industries for more than two months. During this time, the country was engaged in one of the most ambitious quarantine strategies in world history, with at least 760 million people confined largely to their homes. In contrast to normal daily life, people relied more heavily on technologies to stay connected to each other, to shop online, and to acquire information. We are fundamentally interested in how people use technologies during a global pandemic, with the China experience as a case study.
About Rhonda McEwen
Rhonda McEwen is Canada Research Chair in Tactile Interfaces, Communication and Cognition and is an Associate Professor of New Media & Communication. Dr. McEwen is the Director of the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology at the University of Toronto Mississauga. With an MBA in IT from City University in London, England; an MSc in Telecommunications from the University of Colorado; and a PhD in Information from University of Toronto, Dr. McEwen combines communication studies, applied, and behavioral sciences to examine the social and cognitive effects of technologies. Her pioneering approach to communication research employs experimental techniques, eye tracking, observations, sensor data, and interviews to investigate Human-Machine Communication involving children and adults across the user spectrum, and including those diagnosed with communication and learning disorders.
Dr. McEwen has worked with and researched digital communications media for over 20 years, both in companies providing services, and in management consulting to those companies. Journalists from CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes covered McEwen’s research in 2012 & 2013, and she has recent publications in Information, Communication & Society, Computers and Education, Learning & Instruction, New Media and Society, and in library and information science journals. Understanding Tablets from Early Childhood to Adulthood is her recently co-authored book.
About the SRI Seminar Series
The SRI Seminar Series brings together the Schwartz Reisman community and beyond for a robust exchange of ideas that advance scholarship at the intersection of technology and society. Seminars are led by a leading or emerging scholar and feature extensive discussion.
Each week, a featured speaker will present for 45 minutes, followed by 45 minutes of discussion. Registered attendees will be emailed a Zoom link approximately one hour before the event begins. The event will be recorded and posted online.
Rhonda McEwen