Prof. Pradeep Nair

Central University of Himachal Pradesh, India

Pradeep Nair is Professor of New Media in the Department of New Media and Director Research of the University. Previously he was Dean of the School of Journalism, Mass Communication and New Media from 2015-2022; and Head of New Media from 2012-2022. His research and teaching is in the fields of critical communication theories, new media in shaping public opinion and behaviour in the context of state-society nexus, exploring the relationship between local media and climate change, understanding the impact of climate change on local ecologies and health communication and governance.

Prof. Nair is affiliated to the International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE), a Swiss based International Panel and global science organization committed to providing actionable scientific knowledge about threats to the world’s information environment officially launched at the Noble Prize Summit 2023 – Truth, Trust and Hope, May 24-26 in Washington D.C. He is also an affiliate to the Water Resource Working Group of World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) Safe Landing Climates Lighthouse Activity. This working group addresses uncertainties in the long-term redistribution of water in land-based natural systems or reservoirs, their resilience and vulnerabilities, and impacts of changes to these systems.

He is a member of the https://nationaladaptationforum.org/about/committees/planning-committee/">', Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College, founded to improve education in the Earth sciences and beyond.

His engagement is in exploring the expanded role of communication outreach in increasing the ability of local communities to engage them in advocacy and policy issues related to climate resilience and maintaining the local biodiversity. His case study on Creating Resilience among Rural Communities: Communication Outreach and Climate Change is published by https://www.cakex.org/case-studies/creating-resilience-among-rural-communities-communication-outreach-and-climate-change">' He is presently an External Reviewer in selecting research proposals for funding for Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) Capacity Development Committee under the Scientific Capacity Development Programme (CAPaBLE).

He has published widely in the field of communication and media studies, health communication and governance including role of media in developing people’s perception about climate change by using their considerable public trust to build acceptance through small narratives (Journal of Development Communication, 2022), policy and response strategies adopted to deal with restricted physical access to socio-economic infrastructure, facilities and services amid the Covid pandemic with a focus on cutting-edge health technologies at its core (Frontiers in Digital Health, 2022); exploring the potential benefits of media exposure on wellbeing within the disciplinary boundaries of media psychology, while looking at the Indian and Tibetan understanding of the wellbeing construct (Asia Pacific Media Educator, 2021), Framing of community dynamics by small town journalists in Dharamshala, India (Newspaper Research Journal, 2020), Journalism Education in Post-Truth Era (Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, 2019), Identity Crisis versus Ethical Dilemmas of Small Town Journalism (Journalism Education, 2018), Contextualizing Fake News in Post-truth Era (Asia Pacific Media Educator, 2017).

He is in the Editorial Board of the European Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine published by the University of Rzeszow, Poland. He is the http://www.cabi.org/products-and-services/one-health-resources-cabi/one-health-editorial-board">' in the Editorial Board of Centre for Agriculture and Bio-science International (CABI) One Health Resources, Associate Editor of Connected Health a speciality section of Frontiers in Digital Health. He has edited a research section on Health Technologies and Innovations to effectively respond to the Covid-19 Pandemic and a Research Topic Collection – Highlights in Connected Health 2021/22 for Frontiers. He had served two consecutive terms in the Editorial Board of the journals - Asia Pacific Media Educator (SAGE & University of Wollongong, Australia) and Pedagogy in Health Promotion (SOPHE & SAGE). He has been awarded Top Peer Reviewer in Social Sciences by Web of Science and Clarivate Analytics in 2019 and is currently reviewing for British Medical Journal, WHO Health Bulletin, European Policy Review, Health and Technology, Pedagogy in Health Promotion, Communication Inquiry, Asian Ethnicity, Journalism Studies, Journalism Practice and Frontiers in Public Health. His recent work concerns macro and micro ecological interventions related to environmental stability, climate resilience and maintaining the local biodiversity through mediated narratives.