Impact of communications research on society

I believe that it is always good to have communications researchers impress upon undergraduate students the difference that communications research can make on society. 

 It was good to have Dr. Amanda Watson from the Australian National University come do a session with the CA4 students during my tutorial class on the impact of research on society. She was in Madang doing her research and is a visiting academic from ANU. We had invited her to come talk to our CA4 student on the importance communications research on society. 

She spoke of two examples of her research work on the Sim card registration in PNG that happened a couple of years ago and also on the Coral Sea submarine cables. 

-Here is her work on the submarine cables published on Marine Policy, Volume 178, August 2025: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X25001502?via%3Dihub 

Here is one of the research on the Sim Card Registration published in the Pacific Journalism Review, Volume 26, Issue 1, 2020: here https://scispace.com/pdf/mobile-phone-registration-in-papua-new-guinea-will-the-75yxa2gtg3.pdf

She also pointed out that as final year research students, there is an opportunity to showcase their work through writing journal articles, symposium presentations, etc so that the public becomes aware of their research. 

 

She pointed out that the recommendations part of their research should highlight changes thus could impact society such as policy changes, further research, practical work and methodological changes. 

Dr. Amanda once taught in the CA Department here at DWU sometime around 2004-2007. She is currently a visiting academic maintaining the partnership between DWU and ANU. 

Presenting Passion, Purpose, and Research

 Tonight marked the end of a long process to getting communication arts students to focus their research into communication/media studies. 

After Dr. Aime passed on, I was given the research unit to teach. One of my first steps was to make sure that students focused on their area of study - communication/media. Over the years, many students had placed their focus of their research into social areas. They did their research on water and sanitation, domestic violence, elections, primary school education, language loss, gun violence, etc. These were good areas to look at but they often missed having a communication or media component to it. Why study communication/media over 3-4 years and not focus on its key aspects?

So in semester 1 of 2025, when I took this students for a unit called CA418 Media and Communication Theories my main focus was to help students understand that they could use media/communications theories as a lens to look at communication/media problems in their respective social study. For example, if a student decided to study how students in primary schools used their lunch money, then the student would choose a communication theory to examine the problem. This process of learning was hard because it meant looking at definition of theory, their components and then understanding how they could use them. This led to the development of theoretical and conceptual frameworks in their research. 

Then in Semester 2 in PG317 Research Methods, the students were then introduced to the concepts of rationale for research, research perspective, research design and methods. The unit was coordinated by Sr. Miriam Dlugoz and department in our Faculty had a tutor. I took on the role of the tutor. I also began to look at social research a bit more and books by Creswell and also Crotty became important reading material for me. At the end of semester, they were to write a research proposal and get ethical clearance from the Faculty Research Committee to endorse and approve their study. 

Over the holiday the students collected data and when they returned for first semester in 2026, they took the unit PG427 Data Analysis and Report Writing. In this unit they began to prepare their data, analyse their data and then develop their findings using themes (thematic analysis). Again it is an intensive process which required a greater understanding of how data analysis works and how it can have an effect on their findings. At the end of the semester, they have to produce a 6,000-8,000 word report. I often use the term dissertation but maybe a better word would be just a report. 

So tonight was the night where they presented their research findings to the fellow students including their friends, family and supporters. It was great to see them present and many presented really well. 

The CA4 Class of 2026

One of the presenters sharing their research 

For undergraduate students, this is their first taste of academic research. Some may find their passion in this kind of work and others might not and gravitate towards other journalism skills. Its been a long couple of semesters for these students but its been worth it. For myself this research methods and writing process over three semester has actually made me appreciate the importance of proper academic research. I knew a small bit about research but this couple of semesters have actually helped me understand the research process better. 

MFD at Lutheran Day 26

 Yes it is another Media Freedom Day!

This year I was assigned to Lutheran Day Primary School. I went with the students and they did their thing and I took pictures. I'll let the photos do the talking here:

I love these young people' energy. They are excited and ready to go. Its always a pleasure to teach them. 

A memory from a distant past

 This is one of a very few photos of my late grandma from the Mbuke island (south coast of Manus) side of the family. This was around late 1980s at the Port Moresby showgrounds at Moitaka. Mipla ol lain blo wearim sportswear na raun 😀 na Paula Pweincham Mula kaikai sugarcane or kulau stap. Her name was Cecilia Ipak Kisakiu

Reminiscing the AJ Hall Experience

 This semester, I took tutoring with the PG427 Data Analysis and Report Writing. This unit is basically the phase of research where students begin to analyse the data they have collected. Every Tuesday, the unit coordinator runs the lecture sessions in the Arnold Jansen Auditorium. The Arnold Jansen Auditorium was once known as Arnold Jansen Hall. 

During my days as a student, this AJ Hall was an open space that would be used a recreation hall. We would have school dances there and most times, we would all gather round to watch TV. I remember I used to sit right in front during Friday night football on Channel 9. There would be ten or so advertisements during the TV break...

Anyway, I was sitting in the now AJA and was reminiscing about my younger days at DWU. As the University has grown, it has become more formal and quality of education is paramount. Well Im not saying our days were not, it was just that we had a different experience to students to now. 

Maku Gifts shirt

 It was in between student consultation in the FASS Building that Maku Gifts staff at the Madang shop came to drop in the small package. In the plastic, was a shirt. 

So the following day, I decided to try it on and take a pix with my boys. It fits nicely and the material and just amazing. 

Here is a video of the shop in Madang: Maku Gifts Madang

The shop is located inside the DWU Mart. 

Writing workshop on research proposals

 Its been a while since I attended a writing workshop. 

I was fortunate to attend the research proposal writing workshop in Port Moresby run by Australia Awards PNG. It was facilitated by Professor Udoy Saikia from Flinders University in South Australia. 

Sometimes when you struggle in writing something that looks like research or something that would turn out to be really good research, you look for opportunities to better yourself. Now that I am attending this workshop, I can see a great benefit in preparing a research proposal. 

The session facilitated by Professor Udoy

Professor Udoy really is a great teachers and his wealth of experience as an academic and researcher really comes to the fore when he looks at your work and can clearly correct you and outline better ways to present your written ideas. Even small things like writing research proposal titles or paragraph structure are so important.

Professor Udoy talking to the participants

Im really grateful to Australia Awards for this short program. I have learnt a lot of valuable information about research proposal writing. 

Joining the PNGAAA Madang Chapter again

 Its been a while since I was involved with the PNG Australia Alumni Association. I remember the last time was in 2017 when I applied for a grant to do a research seminar for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.  

But this week, I was privilege to be part of the PNGAAA again when they held their onboarding session for Momase executives. I am now an ordinary committee member of the Madang Chapter of the Association. 

The Madang Chapter team

The workshop was held at Lae International Hotel. The place looks amazing, right?

AAPNG Director Rebecca Gitsham welcomed the participants

Vice President of PNG Australia Alumni Association Tina Mark giving her speech as well welcoming the participants.

Farewelling David

 On Saturday, the Communication Arts (Journalism) Department had an informal get together to farewell one of our staff at Jais Aben Resort. 

The Jais Aben Resort is one of Madang Province's most popular locations for family and leisure visits as it sits just at the edge of the bay so the sea water is calm most of the time. Its bar area is built next to the sea shore the water is always inviting. It is situated outside of the Madang township next to coastal villages along the north coast road. 

The bar at the edge of the beach

The Communication Arts (Journalism) Department currently has six staff. Mr. David Wapar, one of the six, has been with the Communication Arts (Journalism) Department for over four years now. He has been teaching all of the television units in the department and we are sad to see him leave.

Patrick, David and Maggie as they say a few words and present a small gift to David.

To make it a family oriented event, we brought our children as well to enjoy the sea at the resort and calm atmosphere. It was really nice to my kids wash and splash in the sea. 

The kids have swim and jump from a tree nearby

Myself at the edge of the bar having a dip

The small kai which was so yummy.

After a small kaikai, we jumped back into the sea for a last swim before we packed up and travelled back home to Madang town.

Utilising Mojo Kits for Journalism training in Papua New Guinea

The Media for Development Initative (MDI) is funded by the Australian Government through the PNG Australia Partnership and managed by the ABC International Development (ABCID). The initiative was launched in 2005 at the request of the PNG National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) as a media capacity building program and have its scope broaden to provide support to all mainstream and church media organistions as well as the NBC. MDI facilitates training aimed at improving craft skills and content standards and also provides support for organizational strengthening plus audience focused content creation.

Participants of the training.

MDI invited DWU to attend the training in Port Moresby and then receive the mobile journalism kits. DWU attended the training and received six (6) mojo kits from MDI. The group that attended (this was the fourth cohort for mojo training) was divided into three groups where one group would take a day off while two groups went to sessions run by the trainers. 

Report of Activities

Tuesday 18^th November – Free Day.

I went up to Vision City PIH clinic to have my eyes checked and get new glasses.

Wednesday 19^th November – Mojo Kit Set Up

The class was divided into two groups. The mainstream media and the institutions. The institutions - Melanesian Institute and DWU began by looking at the kit while the mainstream did a separate session with Laura Lauth on using Canva to create tiles. Both have worked with ABC for a number of years.  

In the morning, the trainer Dave McMeekin introduced the session and himself. He then showed a video of what ABC Australia had been doing using the Mojo Kits in reporting. It was good to see that journalists in rural Australia were using the kits to report news.

The mojo kit when assembled 

After that he began to show us the contents of the bag. I bag contained a lot of accessories. After that he showed us how to set up the phone on the tripod and used a mobile app to check sound and then another app to shoot the video footage on.

Dave showing us how to use the mojo device

He then instructed us to practice interviews using the kit. The kit set up included the phone in a titanium holder, wireless mics and lights. Each of us conducted an interview with each other (I interviewed Maggie; Alison interviewed me and Maggie interviewed Alison). He showed us how to use the mojo kit to move from person to person during the interviews rather than being stationary.

Dave put the clips onto the computer and we watched the results.

After shooting our practice interviews, we watched it on the laptop

After lunch, he told us to develop a short video story on any topic. We were to shoot a story, edit it and then present it to him. Since we were in a hotel, the three of us decided to do one on challenges of working with the hospitality industry. We went around the hotel and asked staff – male and female on their work and challenges they faced. We interviewed four female staff and one male staff. We also shot cutaways for the video as well with the staff and the hotel environment as well.

We came back and Dave asked us to edit the clips to form a video using the editing app on the phone (I-Movie). We completed the video by 4pm and submitted the video to him.

After shooting the video clips we came back to edit the video on the phone app (I-Movie)

We then completed the workshop.

Thursday 20^th November – Developing tiles for social media

In this session Laura went through the use of tiles in news production on social media particularly Facebook. A tile is a square space/image where one or two photos of the news are placed together with the title of the story. We went through two exercises to create tiles using Canva. I have already used Canva a lot for design stuff here at DWU but this was my first time to create a tile and use it with a caption. A caption is the actual news story or a short paragraph that directs you to another website. Both the tile and the caption work together as a post on Facebook to get interaction from audiences. The caption needs to complement title, not repeat it.  

Lara talking about creating the tiles and its benefit for audiences on social media particularly Facebook.

One of the most important thing I was reminded of was when people scrolling through social media – media professionals have only 3-seconds to get the attention of audiences. If your tile does not stop them, they audience member just moves on without click and reading your stuff. Due to the three second rule to hook audiences, your social media post can have three important things – a) message, b) text and c) listen. This means your post on social media must be something that people can see, hear and listen to if they are to stop and check out your content. In a social media world where there is competition from other organizations, your tile and captions have to be good. It is also mindful to note that when people are using social media, they might be travelling or in office so they will mute sound so when you have video on social media, you must have video captions.

We did two exercises to develop tiles using Canva.

Then we ended the day.

Friday 21 November  - Presentation Day

The program began at 9am. Many of the organisations had they managers invited to pick up the kits. For us at DWU, a staff Mr. Ruba Ogomei was invited and arrived and was presented with the kits. DWU received 6 mojo kits. By 10am, the program was done.

We later made a decision to take all the phones and one bag and tripod with us to Madang.  Here is a report of the training as published by the Post Courier. News Report

Post Courier: https://www.postcourier.com.pg/png-journalists-and-teaching-professionals-undergo-training-from-abc/?fbclid=IwY2xjawOUi_1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEehZ4aefMU37zNVJocJzyT31VY67Xu5sAinvNwCLXSQN3f7eR2mUKuqMdkF90_aem_lYuZsr7Qni-jEJO4ySK-3w

It was a really good training for me. I got to see how to set up the kit, shoot and edit with the kit itself in the first part of the training. It was also good to see the accessories of the kits. I was really impressed with Rode Wireless microphones. In the second part, since I had already used Canva, it was not a new process for me. I would have liked to have spent a bit more time on the social media strategy than the Canva exercise.  

All in all, it was an opportunity to get training on the use of Mojo kits particularly the iPhone 16 Pro Max and its use in creating content for social media. 

Campus beauty

When we are walking around campus, doing our own thing, we often fail to recognise the natural beauty that is in our surroundings. I just had to take a few shots of the flowers on campus and put them here. 

I used my favourate mobile phone video editor 'Kinemaster' to do this. It looks amazing doesn't it?
 

Amazing DWU Friendship Library Independence Set up

 I was really looking forward to PNG Independence celebrations.

While the whole Madang town, business houses, schools and community groups were already marching into the Independence celebrations, I was fortunate to see a small but absolutely beautiful setting that really reflected and documented the major sections after Independence and thereafter. The DWU Friendship Library team set up a historical documentation of the events of the Independence to post Independence. 

The setting

Prime Ministers of PNG

A chronology of key events in our country

Photos of pre-independence PNG

Old Photos of PNG Independence Day

The circular display has the pictures of the Prime Ministers of PNG

The copy of the constitution lies under the small shelter

The best copy of the PNG Constitution in Madang!

 

The pictures here are a way better show of the display at the Library than what I can describe. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the small set up and encourage anyone visiting DWU to come have a look at the place. 

Committed Lab Tech

 I know public hospitals in our country are often seen in a negative light. But there are committed people in our public health system as well who dont make the news yet saving lives is their duty. 

This morning, at Modilon hospital, I saw this lab technician. He arrived at work on time, prepared himself, then came out and attended to everyone on time - made sure all the referral slips had the government payment receipt attached and then pricked people's fingers or drew blood from their arms. There were around 15 people waiting in line. He was efficient and he was smartly dressed too. He was clean shaven, wore good shoes, had long black jeans, tucked his clean buttoned shirt in, had a mask over his face yet explained the process in a calm voice acknowledging sick patients in the waiting line. He did the tests on the blood, came out with the results for multiple patients in under an hour.

Front access of the Modilon General Hospital, Madang

I was sitting in the long lines, observing people waiting in line too- Papua New Guineans - who were very sick, frail, holding crutches, in wheelchairs, their arms and legs in bandages and cement casts. Their eyes looking into distant spaces, their minds wandering so far from the hospital spaces. This health worker who was doing his daily job, understood the enormity of the task and diligently carried out his work. He may not have realized this but displaying empathy and engaging people in a dignified manner means so much to people. 

Tonight I pray that whoever he is or where he is at, Papa God yet bai blessim em lo wei blong em yet na lo taim blong em yet!