Winners revealed for Waseda Weekly’s student photo contest!
Under the theme of “My Campus Life,” Waseda Weekly held a photo contest where students could send in their submissions from the end of August until the end of September. Word spread quickly, and the contest received over 200 submissions!
A panel of six judges, composed of one alumni and self-titled “scenic view producer”, one 4th year student, one professor, and three professional photographers, selected the winning photos. Photos that captured the essence of campus life on each of Waseda’s campuses were also chosen. Take a look at the winning shots and all submissions at the link below. You might discover a new side of Waseda through these photos by students!
Japanese article: https://www.waseda.jp/inst/weekly/features/specialissue-photo02/
PhD student’s passion for amateur radio and connecting with others wirelessly
Riku Suda, a 2nd year PhD student at the Graduate School of Fundamental Science and Engineering, was interviewed about his passion for amateur radio (also commonly known as ham radio), and talks about how joining a radio communications club during junior high school led him to establishing and serving as Representative Director of “Youngsters on the Air Japan,” or YOTA Japan.
Riku impressively received his Amateur First-Class Radio Operator licence, a qualification that at the time required a Morse Code listening test as well (as writen examinations), during the 9th grade. Riku mentions that for many, amateur radio is more a hobby to enjoy and use for developing one’s own skills, instead of something to study for monetary gain. One of Riku’s favorite moments born from this hobby was going to the U.K. when he was a third-year undergraduate student to participate in the Youngsters on the Air summer camp program. This experience challenged his views on the meaning of amateur radio, and brought about a desire to engage in this hobby on a more global level.
Scroll down to the end of the article for a video where Riku sends out the message “Waseda Weekly” in both English and Japanese Morse Code!
Japanese article: https://www.waseda.jp/inst/weekly/news/2022/11/08/101341/
Analyzing emotions spurred by online news articles and Twitter posts
Ryosuke Masaoka, a 2nd year masters student at the Graduate School of Political Science, started analyzing social media and our problematic dependence on it during his time as an undergraduate at the School of Social Sciences. He is currently enrolled in the graduate school’s journalism course, and the Covid-19 situation led him to further think about the type of information spread by mass media, and the highly-emotional environment of social media.
Using analysis software, Ryosuke pulls out expressions of emotion from different texts, and takes a look at the overall sentiment. Analysis software cannot understand every nuance hidden in text, but it can give insight into the emotions roused from the text’s readers. For example, looking back to 2020, the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ryosuke’s research showed negative emotions across the board. However, when digging a bit further, negative emotions from news articles centered on “worry” and “severity”, whereas Twitter posts brought about more direct expressions of “detest” and “annoyance” or “inconvenience”. Ryosuke mentions, “We must not forget that while communication through social media can connect anyone at any time, there lurks a danger of strong feelings, such as fear and anger, being spread like wildfire.”
Japanese article: https://www.waseda.jp/inst/weekly/news/2022/11/10/101993/
