PUCRS researchers earn recognition in journalism congress for mobile devices

Event occurred at Universidade Beira Interior, in Portugal

School of Communications, Arts and Design professors won big at the 4^th Journalism Congress for Mobile Devices , from Nov 19 – 21, at Universidade da Beira Interior (UBI), in Portugal. The article Jornalismo em forma de app: a ruptura na hierarquia da informação (Journalism as an app: breaking the hierarchy of information) was one of the highlights among the 18 papers selected and is a continuation of other works developed by the Laboratory of Research in Mobility and Media Convergence (UBILAB).

The recognition was given to undergraduate and graduate school professors André Pase, Eduardo Pellanda and Magda Cunha. In their paper, they went over the theories of communication and suggested the development of applied research in the courses taught by their partners, such as internet portal Globo.com and the Information Systems Company (DBServer), among other research objects.

The congress served to discuss things such as immersion journalism as well as virtual and augmented reality, with the use of cell phones. The idea was to look at the possibilities the devices can offer, along with other apps that compete with time and attention for each user.

Professor André Pase, who took part in the project, claims that the award is very important in that it shows that although applied research in communication is not very common, it has a place to stay if we look at future perspectives. “This article is a very clear representation of how we work: it includes a theoretical reflection on the scenario and the topics we study and. It ultimately adds value to our discussion on communication today”, says he.

For Professor Eduardo Pellanda, this recognition is an important indicator, which was awarded by a relevant educational institution from the Iberian Peninsula. “It has been extremely rewarding. Our group has been studying the effect of mobile internet on society for almost 20 years. We began way before it was something conventional and being awarded this recognition is such an honor”, adds he.