How we enjoy music has changed drastically over the last century, from live concerts all the way to digital downloads. Now, there is a new trend in the music industry: streaming.
Third-year Economics students Xaiowen (Vicky) Qu and Haolin (Emma) Shao teamed up to explore the topic for this year's ESL Student Conference: International Perspectives on Economics, Arts, and Science.
鈥淓veryone has access to a streaming service like Spotify,鈥� said Qu. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e had enormous success in the American music market.鈥�
The pair hypothesize that streaming will be the largest source of revenue for the music industry for the next decade.
鈥淢usic is a powerful thing,鈥� said Qu, 鈥淚t has the ability to change people鈥檚 attitudes.鈥�
International perspectives
Music was just one of the topics featured at the event put on last Wednesday by the College of Continuing Education and the Department of Economics's China Program.
The conference, now in its sixth year, is an opportunity for students taking Academic Writing and Research Skills (ENSL0005) to showcase their research and have meaningful discussions on the international perspective of art, science and economics.
Forty students from Science, Economics, and Arts & Social Sciences presented at the event on subjects ranging from the Chinese high-speed railway system to the future of Marvel movies.
鈥淐onferences like these are important, especially for International students,鈥� said Carolyn Watters, Dal's provost and vice president academic. 鈥�91短视频 has students from 110 countries and five of those are represented at this conference.鈥�
Dr. Watters expressed the importance of an international perspective. 鈥淪tarting any university is a big step, but attending university in another language is a really big step. It鈥檚 great for students to come together and share what they鈥檝e learned.鈥�
The event began with speeches from Dr. Watters, Andy Cochrane (dean of the College of Continuing Education), Professor Talan Iscan (chair of the Department of Economics), and David Packer, director of ESL Programs, who read a message on behalf of Barry Lesser (director of the 2+2 China Program.) It also featured an introduction from a current ESL Economics student Yi Xuan Wu and聽Science student Abdulrahman Alhadlaq.
Wu spoke about his experience in the ENSL course. 鈥淚鈥檓 a math student, so I didn鈥檛 expect the class to be helpful,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I was wrong. We practiced how to use English in an academic setting and how to cite our sources.鈥�
A beneficial experience
After hearing the speeches, students separated into concurrent sessions where they could listen to presentations on topics they were interested in. The amount of hard work the students put in was made clear during their presentations.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been working on this for a few weeks鈥� says Qu, 鈥淲e had a lot to prepare.鈥� Qu and Shao agreed that one of the most difficult parts was answering audience questions. 鈥淲e had to really know our topic."
Qu and Shao鈥檚 presentation led to a thoughtful discussion of piracy, quality of music, and the streaming industry in China. 鈥淪treaming is a win-win model,鈥� says Shao. 鈥淪potify has over 16 million users that no longer have to download their music.鈥�
Qu mentioned that the research process allowed her to practice her English in a new way.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e just talking, you aren鈥檛 always correcting your grammar. But, when you have to do academic research, language is very specific. It was a very beneficial experience.鈥�