Institute of Communications Research 13

Advertising faculty and ICR students win honors at AAA conference

Eric, Michelle, Chang-Dae — University of Illinois Advertising Professors Michelle Nelson (center) and Chang-Dae Ham (right), along with Professor Eric Haley from the University of Tennessee (left) won two "Best Paper" awards at the AAA conference for their collaborative research.

At the American Academy of Advertising annual conference held March 24–27 in St. Petersburg, Florida, faculty from the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising and students from the Institute of Communications Research presented papers, served on panels, and won awards. Sela Sar, professor of advertising and director of the Institute of Communications Research, was elected president of AAA.

Associate Professor Chang-Dae Ham and Professor Michelle Nelson, along with Professor Eric Haley (University of Tennessee), received two “Best Paper” awards for their research in political advertising literacy:

Journal of Current lssues & Research in Advertising Best Article
Nelson, M. R., Ham, C. D., & Haley, E., “What do we know about political advertising? Not much! Political persuasion knowledge and advertising skepticism in the United States.”

Journal of lnteractive Advertising Best Article
Nelson, Michelle R., Chang Dae Ham, Eric Haley, and Un Chae Chung (ICR student) (2021), “How Political Interest and Gender Influence Persuasion Knowledge, Political Information Seeking, and Support for Regulation of Political Advertising in Social Media,” 21(3), 225-242.

Faculty and students also received honors for their reviewing:

Journal of Advertising Outstanding Reviewers
Michelle Nelson

Journal of Advertising Outstanding Student Reviewers
Xiaohan (Catherine) Hu (ICR student)

Presentations by faculty and students included:

“How Parental Mediation and Media Use Relate to Persuasion Knowledge. Knowledge of Influencer Tactics, and Ad Skepticism Among Adolescents in U.S. Black Immigrant Families,” co-presented by Michelle Nelson, among others
“Car Sharing Services: How Political Ideology Makes It Successful across Cultures,” co-presented by WooJin Kim (ICR student), among others
“Which Facts Matter: How Can We Build Advertising Literacy about Contemporary Political Advertising?”, co-presented by Michelle Nelson, Chang-Dae Ham, and Eric Haley (Tennessee)
“What is and How to Teach Computational Advertising: Gaining Insight from Computer Science and Marketing Communication Educators and Ad Practitioners,” co-presented by Ewa Maslowska, assistant professor, among others
“The Effects of Advertising on Consumer Well-Being,” co-presented by Michelle Nelson, among others
“Incidental Experience of Regulatory Fit, Nonfit, and Processing Style: Consumers’ Processing Mechanism of Online Behavioral Advertising (OBA), co-presented by Chang-Dae Ham and WooJin Kim
“The Spillover Effect of Robot Service Failure on Service Firms,” co-presented by WooJin Kim, among others
“Computational Research and Measurement Innovations: Affective Computing and Emotion AI in the Future Advertising Research,” co-presented by Ewa Maslowska, among others

Sar to serve as president of American Academy of Advertising

Sela Sar, professor of advertising and director of the Institute of Communications Research, has been elected president of the American Academy of Advertising for 2022-2023. He was sworn in at the AAA annual conference in March.

Sar served as president-elect for the past year, and served as vice president of AAA in 2019. He has been an active member since joining in 2004, having served on the research, award, and publication committees.

For advertising scholars, AAA is the home base for academic growth, knowledge generation, global insight, networking, and the shared mission of educating the next generation of advertising scholars.

With over 600 members, AAA is the oldest and the largest academic association dedicated to advertising research in the U.S. The University of Illinois has a history of leaders in AAA. Michelle Nelson, professor of advertising, is a past president of AAA, as are several alumni from the College of Media’s Institute of Communications Research.

Kishi wins Shirakawa Shinobu Award from Tokyo Advertising Association

College of Media master’s and doctoral degree alumna Shizue Kishi (MS ’79, advertising; PhD ’83, ICR) received the 41st Shirakawa Shinobu Award from the Tokyo Advertising Association for distinguished contributions to the advertising industry.

Kishi is the first female honoree to win this award, named after the advertising director at Shiseido, the largest cosmetic company in Japan. Kishi will retire on March 31, 2022, after her many years of service as dean of the School of Business at Tokyo Keizai University.

Her publications on media models and communication effects of advertising appeared in Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Advertising Research, Proceedings of the American Academy of Advertising, as well as in Japanese academic journals. Her book, Contemporary Advertising (coauthored with Hiroshi Tanaka and Kazue Shimamura), was awarded a prize for an excellent textbook from the Japan Academy of Advertising in 2001.

Leona Su’s research examines effects of humor, social media, and new technologies on science communication

Leona Yi-Fan Su, assistant professor in the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising, is interested in how humor can help people engage with science.

“Science is thought of as serious,” Su said. “So you can think of humor as a way to catalyze that and make people get interested in science and be more willing to interact with science and scientists.”

While humor has been extensively studied in fields like advertising and marketing, she said, its role in science communication is less known.

Su is a co-principal investigator on an NSF-funded project that was awarded $750,000 in 2019 to examine the effectiveness of using humor for communication about science, particularly on social media. Sara Yeo, associate professor at the University of Utah, is the principal investigator, and the other co-principal investigator is Michael Cacciatore, professor at the University of Georgia.

“It’s important to keep in mind that humor plays a role, but different types of humor can play differently on different social media platforms and when communicating about various issues,” Su said.

Humor is often thought of as a simple construct, Su said. But really, it has a range of different types and techniques, such as benign versus aggressive humor. She also noted the differences in online culture between Twitter and Instagram.

In a recently published article, Su and her coauthors reported that wordplay and satire were positively linked to the number of likes and retweets a Twitter post received. On the other hand, anthropomorphic humor—attributing human characteristics to animals or objects—was negatively linked to the presence of comments, and humor was not linked to user engagement on Instagram.

Scientists and communicators have ample opportunities to interact with the public online, Su said.

“I think it’s important to encourage scientists to share their work with the public and to help with public engagement,” she added, and noted that her work can help them select message strategies.

Su’s broader interest is in how social media and other digital media change people’s perceptions and understandings of science. This also includes looking at the marketing techniques and brand communication strategies used on digital media by agricultural and technology businesses. For example, as a principal investigator, she is leading a project at the Center for Digital Agriculture that analyzes tweets about an emerging food technology, with the aim of understanding branding strategies and public opinion.

Above all, Su said, a key aim of her research is to bridge the gap between the general public and science.

The public should not be viewed merely as passive information receivers, Su said. That is, people don’t often make decisions solely on the facts presented to them.

It’s a common misconception that people will be more supportive of science if they “are more knowledgeable about science,” she said, but in fact, their attitudes toward science can also be affected by heuristic cues such as their politics and other predisposition factors.

Having earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry, Su changed her academic focus after realizing she was more interested in understanding how science is communicated.

“I feel like there’s a gap [within] science communication,” she said. “When I was a scientist, I realized there are times you feel like what you are doing is just a language of your own.”

Su hopes her research will not only help scientists, but anyone who has to communicate complex topics.

“I do hope that some of our findings here in [science] communication can actually be applied or extended to other fields,” she said. “We have to know how messages can be more effectively communicated.”

—Vivian La, Communications Intern

Media faculty and TAs make list of teachers ranked as excellent

Congratulations to all of the College of Media faculty and teaching assistants who were ranked as excellent by their students!

This list is based on Instructor and Course Evaluation System (ICES) questionnaire forms completed by students during the Spring 2021 semester. Only those instructors who distributed ICES forms at least once during this time period and who released their data for publication are included in the list. View the complete list.

Note: * denotes that the instructor ratings were outstanding.

ADVERTISING

JACOB FISHER – ADV 305

STEVE HALL – ADV 150

CHANG-DAE HAM – ADV 460

JACQUELINE HITCHON – ADV 283

* TERRY KASDAN – ADV 409

* AMANDA MABRY-FLYNN – ADV 283

* SHACHAR MERON – ADV 498

MICHELLE NELSON – ADV 582

SANG-HWA OH – ADV 410

* MARISA PEACOCK – ADV 350, 491

PETER SHELDON – ADV 390

JOURNALISM

CHRISTOPHER BALL – JOUR 199

STEPHANIE CRAFT – JOUR 250

KEN ERDEY – JOUR 445

CAROL LOMBARDI – JOUR 220

* JEAN MCDONALD – JOUR 460

ERIC MEYER – JOUR 425

MARGARET YEE-MAN NG – JOUR 460

NIKKI USHER – JOUR 199, 452

MEDIA & CINEMA STUDIES

* VICTOR FONT – MACS 480, 481

JOSH HEUMAN – MACS 320

SUSAN MUIRHEAD – MACS 372

HARSH TANEJA – MACS 572

TEACHING ASSISTANTS

S. DAS – MACS 100

Y. GAO – MACS 100

Y. LEE – ADV 281

* G. MALO – MACS 101

A. MUKHOPADHYAY – MACS 100

J. PYO – MACS 100

ICR student accomplishments in 2020-2021

Congratulations to our students in the Institute of Communications Research for all of their hard work in the 2020-2021 academic year. They have written articles for publication, edited a journal, presented research at conferences, and received numerous awards, grants, and honors. Below is a roundup of their accomplishments.

PUBLICATIONS

Craft, S., & Kristensen, M. (2020). Noise and the Values of News. In M. Powers & A. Russell (Eds.), Rethinking Media Research for Changing Societies (pp. 78-88). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108886260.006

Goel, K., Cai, S., Ogwal, S., Wong, A., Engel, L.C., & McCarthy, C. (2020). The world before us: reappraising globalization in education in the tumult of contemporary change, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, DOI: 10.1080/01596306.2020.1836744

Gu, J. (2021). Regulating Obscenity in Chinese Livestreaming: An Ongoing Mediation between the Private and the Public, the Nation and the Market. Asiascape: Digital Asia, 8, 71-92.

Ham, C. D., Chung, U. C., Kim, W. J., Lee, S. Y., & Oh, S. H. (In press). Greener than Others? Exploring Generational Differences in Green Purchase Intent. International Journal of Market Research. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/14707853211034108

Ham, C. D., Ryu, S., Lee, J., Chung, U. C., Buteau, E., & Sar, S. (Accepted for publication) Intrusive or Relevant? Exploring How Consumers Avoid Native Facebook Ads through Decomposed Persuasion Knowledge. Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising.

Hu, X., & Wise, K. (2021). How playable ads influence consumer attitude: Exploring the mediation effects of perceived control and freedom threat. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 15(2), 295-315, DOI: 10.1108/JRIM-12-2020-0269.

Hu, X., & Yao, M. Z. (2021). Judging a book by its cover: Investigating consumer responses toward sponsored YouTube product review videos. Journal of Media Business Studies, DOI: 10.1080/16522354.2021.1960721.

Jarreau, P. B., Su, L. Y.-F., Chiang, E. C.-L., Bennett, S. M., Zhang, J. S., Ferguson, M., & Algarra, D. (2021). COVID ISSUE: Visual Narratives About COVID-19 Improve Message Accessibility, Self-Efficacy, and Health Precautions. Frontiers in Communication, 6(164). https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2021.712658

Jiang, H., & Zhang, M. (2021). Online information adoption about public infrastructure projects in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 310, 127527.

Kang, Y. (2021). Beyond the layout: reading South Korean animations as affective-performative assemblages, Feminist Media Studies, DOI: 10.1080/14680777.2021.1939401

Khan, A., Natarajan, S., & Bhalla, S. (2021). Climate Strikes in Millennial India: Social Capital and “On-Ground” Networks in Digital-First Movements. Communication, Culture and Critique. https://doi.org/10.1093/ccc/tcab035

Kim, W. J., Ryoo, Y. (Accepted for publication) Hypocrisy Induction: Using Chatbots to Promote COVID-19 Social Distancing. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.

Kim, W. J., Ryoo, Y.,Yoon, S., & Kim, K. (Accepted for publication) Ethical Dissonance in Environmental Advertising: Moderating Effects of Self-Benefit vs. Other-Benefit Appeals. International Journal of Advertising.

Lee, S.Y., Yao, M., & Su, L.Y.-F. (In press). Unpopular Opinions vs Trolling: What can Dark Personalities Predict? Telematics and Informatics. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2021.101645

Lim, D., Lin, J.S., Chung, U.C., & Ko, Y. (2021). The role of construal fit in threat appeal to persuade young drivers not to text while driving. Journal of Social Marketing, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSOCM-06-2020-0109

Liu, Q., Tang, Q., & Wang, Y. (2021). The effects of pretraining intervention in immersive embodied virtual reality cardiopulmonary resuscitation training. Behaviour & Information Technology, 1-13.

Liu, Q., Wang, Y., Tang, Q., & Liu, Z. (2020). Do You Feel the Same as I Do? Differences in Virtual Reality Technology Experience and Acceptance Between Elderly Adults and College Students. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 2555.

Nelson, M.R., Das, S., & Ahn, R.J. (2020). A Prescription for Health: (Pseudo)Scientific Advertising of Fruits and Vegetables in the Early 20th Century. Advertising & Society Quarterly 21(1), doi:10.1353/asr.2020.0007.

Ryoo, Y. & Kim, W. J. (Accepted for publication) Social Norms and Compliance in the COVID-19 Pandemic. Health Communication

Samayeen, N., Wong, A., & McCarthy, C. (2020): Space to breathe: George Floyd, BLM plaza and the monumentalization of divided American Urban landscapes, Educational Philosophy and Theory, DOI: 10.1080/00131857.2020.1795980

Samayeen, N., Wong, A., & McCarthy, C. (2021). Espacio para Respirar: George Floyd, la Plaza CLM y la Monumentalización de los Paisajes Estadounidenses Urbanos Divididos. Revista Enfoques Educacionales, 17(2), 73-88. doi:10.5354/0717-3229.2020.60637

Shabalina, O.I., & Nelson, M.R. (2020). Knowledge and Experience of Targeting and Retargeting in Online Advertising across Age Cohorts. In L.P. Shestyorkina & L.K. Lobodenko (Eds.), Media communications and Internet marketing in digital civilization (Vol. 2, pp. 270-298). Chelyabinsk: South-Ural State University publishing center.

Wang, Y., & Yao, M. Z. (2020). Did you notice the ads? Examining the influence of telepresence and user control on the effectiveness of embedded billboard ads in a VR racing game. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 20(3), 258-272.

Wong, A. (2020). Mapping signs and making them stick: discursive power and the semiotic construction of a ‘world’s leader’, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, DOI: 10.1080/01596306.2020.1836748

Xu, X. (2021). Can Artificial Newscasters Bring Us Closer? A Comparison of Human and Artificial Newscasters on Outgroup Empathy. An extended abstract of 71st Annual International Communication Association Conference.

Zhang, M., Wang, X. and Hu, Y. (Accepted for publication), Strategic Framing Matters but Varies: A Structural Topic Modeling Approach to Analyzing China’s Foreign Propaganda about the 2019 Hong Kong Protests on Twitter, Social Science Computer Review.

JOURNAL EDITORSHIP

Goel, K., Cai, S., Ogwal, S., Wong, A., Engel, L.C., & McCarthy, C., (Eds.) (2021). Reassessing globalization: new perspectives on education in the tumult of global change, Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education.

CONFERENCE PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS

Bhalla, S., & Ray, R. (2021). Foregrounding space and context: A discursive study of fact-checking in India. Presented at SACA-AEJMC.

Cano, A. A., & Perez S. (2020). The Chola Wannabe: A Chicana Reflection on Culture Appropriation of Chola and Aesthetics. Plática presented at the La Chola Conference, Oceanside, CA.

Cano, A. A. (2021). Panel presentation for the Social Dilemma Netflix Documentary Open Conversation at California State University of San Bernardino.

Chen, C., Hu, X., & Fisher, J. T. (2021). A systematic review of immersion: exploring the cognitive and social processes underlying immersive experiences. Paper accepted to be present at the National Communication Association 107th Annual Convention.

Chung, U. C., Ham, C. D., Lee, S. Y., Kim, W. J., & Oh, S. H. (2021). Understanding Ad-block Wall and Its Effects on Online Publisher and Advertising through Psychological Reactance. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Annual Conference, Virtual.

Chung, U. C., Ham, C. D., Lee, S. Y., Kim, W. J., & Oh, S. H. (2021). Understanding Ad-block Wall and Its Effects on Online Publisher and Advertising through Psychological Reactance. Korea Advertising Society (KAS) 2021 Global Colloquium, Gangneung, Korea.

Chung, U. C., Seok, A.Y., & Ham, C. D. (2021). Seeker or Sentry? Consumers’ Coping Mechanism with Third-Party Cookie Driven Advertising: Multidimensional Persuasion Knowledge Perspective. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Annual Conference, Virtual.

Gong, Z., Su, L. Y.-F., Zhang, J. S., Chen, T., & Wang, Y.-C. (2021). How Are Food Date Labels Associated with Consumer-level Food Waste? A Mixed-design Experiment. Presented at the 71st Annual Conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, virtual.

Gu, J. (2021). Mediating Intimacy and Performing Labor: Gender and Sexuality in Chinese Live/Life Streaming. Presented at the 71st Annual International Communication Association Conference, Virtual.

Gu, J. & Pyo, J. (2021). All-in-one Apps: Formation of Transnational Cultural Identity on WeChat and KakaoTalk, the 71st Annual International Communication Association Conference, Virtual.

Ham, C. D., Chung, U. C., Kim, W. J., Lee, S. Y., & Oh, S. H. (2021). Greener than Others? Exploring Generational Differences in Green Perceptions and Purchase Intentions of the US Consumer: Consumer Socialization and Social Intelligence Perspectives. American Academy of Advertising (AAA) Annual Conference, Virtual.

Ham, C. D., Chung, U. C., Kim, W. J., Lee, S. Y., & Oh, S. H. (2021). Greener than Others? Exploring Generational Differences in Green Perceptions and Purchase Intentions of the US Consumer: Consumer Socialization and Social Intelligence Perspectives. Korea Advertising Society (KAS) 2021 Global Colloquium, Gangneung, Korea.

Heo, S. J. (2021). Stick to the task when I am serious about my shopping: the effects of conversation styles of recommendation agents on consumer trust and privacy concerns. ICA annual conference.

Hu, X., & Chen, C. (2021). Visual or textual superiority effect? Investigating the effect of presentation format and individual processing propensity on mental imagery of online product information. American Academy of Advertising conference.

Kim, S.J., Lee, S.Y., Lee, H., Yao, S (2021). How News Usage and the Perceived Credibility of Government News Sources Contributed to Engaging in Preventive Behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Korean American Communication Association Division of AEJMC annual conference, Virtual.

Kim, W. J., Ryoo, Y., & Yoon, S. K., Kim, K. (2020). Ethical Dissonance Influences on the Effectiveness of Other-Benefit versus Self-Benefit Appeals in Environmental Advertising. 2020 ICAMA-KAS International Conference. Online.

Kim, W. J., Ryoo, Y., Chung, U. C., & Kim, M. J. (2021). How Moral Failure Leverages Online Ethical Behaviors. American Academy of Advertising (AAA) Annual Conference, Virtual.

Kim, W. J., Ryoo, Y., Lee, S. Y., & Lee, J. A. (2021). Chatbot Advertising as a Double-edged Sword: The Roles of Regulatory Focus, Ad Personalization, and Privacy Concern. American Academy of Advertising (AAA), Online.

Kristensen, M., & Craft, S. (2020) Making News (Values) Relevant Again: A Ritual Approach. Journalism Division of ICA 2021.

Lee, H., Kim, S. J., Lee, S.Y., Yao, S., Wongmith, N., & Chock, T. M. (2021). Confusion about the Coronavirus: The effects of uncertainty on information seeking behaviors. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Virtual.

Lee, H., Kim, S. J., Yao, S., Lee, S.Y., and Chock, T. M. (2021). The Harder the Battle, the More We Talk: The Effects of Perceived Risk of Player-death on Game Enjoyment in Mobile FPS Game. Communication and Technology Division of the International Communication Association annual conterence, Virtual.

Lee, J. A., Lee, S. Y., Ryoo, Y., & Kim, W. J. (2021). Envying social media influencers makes me happy because I am inspired. International Communication Association (ICA), Online.

Lee, S.Y., & Yao, M.Z. (2021). Unpopular Opinions vs Trolling: What can Dark Personalities Predict? Communication and Technology Division of the International Communication Association annual conterence, Virtual.

McKasy, M., Cacciatore, M. A., Yeo, S. K., Zhang, J. S., Cook, J., & Olaleye, R. M. (2021). The Impact of Emotion and Humor on Support for Global Warming Action. Presented at the 71st Annual Conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, virtual.

Mukhopadhyay, A. (2021). Fragmented nation televised: “Buniyaad” and the narrative(s) of postcolonial India. Television Histories in Development conference hosted by the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision.

Mukhopadhyay, A. (2021). Racial Orders and Neoliberal borders: Digital media and Racialized citizenship during Covid in India. Royal Geographic Society Annual Conference. London, UK.

Nelson, M. R., Ham, C. D., Haley, E., & Chung, U. C. (2021). Political Advertising in the United States: Persuasion Knowledge and Support for Regulation in Social Media. American Academy of Advertising (AAA) Annual Conference, Virtual.

Oh, S. H., Lee, S.Y., Kim, W. J., Chung, U. C., & Ham C. D. (2021). The Differential Effects of News Media and Social Media on Health Prevention for E-cigarettes: Focusing on the Mediating Role of the Influence of Presumed Media Influence. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Annual Conference, Virtual.

Ray, R. (2021). Does SNS platform choice matter? Analyzing perceptions of the U.S-China trade conflict through item-response theory. Adjudged as one of the 4 promising student papers of the Information Systems Division of ICA.

Ray, R., Bhalla, S., Taneja, H. (2021). Do fact-checkers overcome partisan divides? An investigation of Indian Twitter users. The 71st Annual International Communication Association Conference.

Ryoo, Y., Jeon, Y.W., & Kim, W.J. (2021). Attributions of Blame Following Robot Serivce Failure, The 2021 Korean Society for Consumer Advertising Psychology (KSCAP) Annual Convention, Online.

Ryoo, Y., Soheil, K. Lee, J.A., Kim, W. J., & Sung, Y. (2020). When Does (Does not) Neutralization Lead to Prosocial Actions? 2020 ICAMA-KAS International Conference. Online.

Shabalina, O. (2020). Layout Complexity of Social Media Feeds and Goal-Oriented Visual Search Behavior. Attention & Perception Brown Bag series (Daniel Simons), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Shabalina, O., Hu, X., & K. Wise (2021). Trade-Off Between Layout Congruency and User Experience in Visual Search Behavior on Pinterest Boards. The virtual 104th Annual AEJMC Conference.

Valdivia A., Baez, J., Leon-Boys D., Perez S., & Cano, A. A. (2021). Quinceañera Studies: Intersectional Approaches to a 21st Century Mediated Latinidad. Panel presented at the Cultural Studies Association Conference

POLICY PAPERS

Chan, A., Wong, A., Oliver, M. (2021). Walking Through Time as One: Contextualizing the Impact of the Champaign County Community Coalition. Community Data Clinic in Partnership with the Champaign County Community Coalition.

AWARDS, GRANTS, HONORS

Bhalla, S. (2020-2023). Illinois Distinguished Fellowship

Cano, A. (2021) National Conference in American Higher Education Student Scholarship on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE).

Chung, U. C. (2021). Best Paper (second place) of the Korea Advertising Society (KAS). Greener than Others? Exploring Generational Differences in Green Perceptions and Purchase Intentions of the US Consumer: Consumer Socialization and Social Intelligence Perspectives. Global Colloquium, Awarded by Korea Advertising Society (KAS).

Gu, J. (2021). Donald and Barbara Smalley Graduate Research Fellowship, Department of Gender and Women’s Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Hu, X. (2021). American Academy of Advertising (AAA) Graduate Student Scholarships.

Hu, X. (2021). Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Advertising Division Graduate Student Highlight https://mlashley4.wixsite.com/aejmcaddiv/xiaohan-catherine-hu

Kim, W. J. (2021). Best Conference Paper Award, Korean Society for Consumer Advertising Psychology Annual Convention

Kim, W. J. (2021). American Academy of Advertising (AAA) Graduate Student Scholarships

Kim, W. J. (2021). Best Paper of the Korea Advertising Society, 2021, Global Colloquium,

Kim, W. J. (2021). Graduate Student Conference Scholarship, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Lee, S.Y. (2021). Top Graduate Student Paper Award. Awarded by AEJMC-Korean American Communication Association (How News Usage and the Perceived Credibility of Government News Sources Contributed to Engaging in Preventive Behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic).

Mukhopadhyay, A. (2021). Graduate College Dissertation Travel Grant.

Wong, A. (2020). Research Cluster Grant. Humanities Research Institute, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. Community Research Cooperative: Methodologies for Research Justice, with Anita Say Chan, Rachel Magee, Gilberto Rosas, & Karen Rodriguez’G

Wong, A. (2021). Foreign Language & Area Studies Fellowship. Center for Global Studies, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign U.S. Department of Education Grant.

Wong, A. (2021). Minorities and Communication Paula Poindexter Student Grant: Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Project: Affective Communication within the Context of Localized Media: How journalism and local Asian and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAAPI) communities respond to the anti-Asian hate initiatives with Qinglin Luan and Jane Pyo

Wong, A. (2021). Student Sustainability Committee Grant. Student Sustainability Committee, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. Project: Resuscitating Soil for Sustainable Futures. In collaboration with Dr. Esther Ngumbi, Dr. Faye Harrison, Dr. Krystal Smalls, Dr. Ann Yeung, Ken Salo, Lila Dodge and Chibundo Egwuatu

Wong. A. (2020). Research Cluster Grant. Humanities Research Institute, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. Problems in Decolonizing Academia, with Faye Harrison, Cameron McCarthy, Esther Ngumbi, Ken Salo, Krystal Smalls, Chibundo Egwuatu & Lila Dodge

Zhang, M. (2021). Grant from SICSS-Chicago (Summer Institute of Computational Social Science)

ICR welcomes 2021 cohort

The Institute of Communications Research is excited to announce our newest cohort! Please learn more about their research interests in their profiles below and join us in welcoming them to the University of Illinois College of Media community this fall.

Tingyu Chen received her bachelor’s degree in journalism and her master’s degree in communication at Renmin University of China. With critical-cultural approaches to media study, she situates her research interests at the intersection of media industry practices, cultural studies, and media criticism. Her recent research focuses on realist media (mainly realist film and documentary) and the culture of production and consumption in contemporary China.

Kirby Cook received her master’s degree in advertising at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and her bachelor’s degree in classical languages and literature from the University of North Carolina – Greensboro. Kirby’s master’s thesis, “Evaluating Gender in Retail Servicescapes: Beyond the Heteronormative Binary Approach,” explored how retail companies communicate gender norms and how consumers of diverse backgrounds receive such messages and process shopping experiences. In her doctoral program, Kirby is interested in research pertaining to branding strategy, consumer behavior, and media effects as they relate to consumer identity. Prior to joining the ICR program, Kirby worked for UIUC as a career advisor and communications coordinator for Engineering Career Services at the Grainger College of Engineering, and as an international student advisor at the International Student and Scholar Services office. Before joining the University, Kirby worked abroad in Germany and South Korea as a consultant, adjunct lecturer, and high school English teacher.

Seo-Jeong (Rachel) Heo graduated from Yonsei University (South Korea), receiving her bachelor’s and master’s in communication. She also received a master’s degree in advertising at the University of Texas at Austin. She studies media psychology and marketing communications. Her research interest lies in understanding the social/moral implications of artificial intelligence (AI) and psychological processes in AI-powered technologies, Virtual Reality (VR), and social media. Her recent research focuses on exploring how people make moral judgments toward robots’ behaviors and how we can effectively implement AI in assisting people’s decision-making processes. She is also interested in online consumer privacy and gave a presentation about conversational agents and privacy at the 2021 International Communication Association conference.

Youngin Kang attained her master’s degree in gender, media and culture at Goldsmiths, University of London in 2018. As a new ICR student, she wants to examine the inextricable relations between individual subjectivities in producing, distributing, and appropriating “culture(s)” within various socio-political processes, which construct a discursive mega-text, with which we cognitively, materially, and affectively engage in our everyday lives. Her research interests focus primarily on the unique characteristics of contemporary South Korean popular culture, which are hybrid, albeit, distinctively Korean.

Ketan Krishna holds a master’s degree in media and cultural studies from TISS, Mumbai, and a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Hindu College, New Delhi. His research interests are centered around user-generated audio-visual content, art cultures on the internet, and technological change. His previous work includes writings on cinema and music. He has also worked as a documentary filmmaker and video editor on several projects.

Yan (Anna) Liu’s research interest lies in exploring consumer’s cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioral responses to brand messages on social media from the socio- psychological perspective. Specifically, she is interested in the influence of relational factors in the process, such as online network, consumer’s relationship with message source, etc. Before joining ICR, she has been working as a professional marketing researcher in Ipsos for about four years.

Stephanie Pérez

Email: smg8@illinois.edu

Research Interests

Stephanie is a PhD Candidate in Communications & Media at the Institute of Communications Research, where her work broadly encompasses mediated Latine/x teen girlhoods, quinceañera ontologies, and streaming media and platform consolidation. Her current projects merge media studies, girlhood studies, Latine/x studies, and cultural studies with reconceptualizations of visibility, presence, resonance, nationhood, and belonging. She holds a B.A. in English & American Literature and Latin American Studies from New York University, and earned an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from California State University, Los Angeles, where she wrote a master’s thesis titled “‘I Got You’: The Modern American Family and Latinx Reconfigurations in Netflix’s One Day at a Time.”

Recent Publications/Presentations

Pérez, S.M. (Forthcoming, 2026). Dazzling intimacies and the mirage of inclusion in And Just Like That…. In I. Molina-Guzmán & A.N. Valdivia (Eds.), (Re)booting Inequality: Critical Takes on Film and Television Remakes. New York University Press. ISBN: 9781479821914.
Pérez, S.M. (Forthcoming). Quinceañera ontologies: (Mediated) Latine/x girlhood and other stories. In J.M. Báez & D. León-Boys (Eds.), Quinceañeras: Mediated Approaches to a Cultural Celebration. University of Illinois Press.
Pérez, S.M. & Valdivia, A.N. (2023). Latina Teenhood: Intersectionalizing subjectivities in the post-network era. In B. Calafell & S. Eguchi (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Ethnicity and Race in Communication. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367748586-3.
Valdivia, A.N., Pérez, S.M., & Herrera, Z. (2023). A Dream Quinceañera? Latina Girlhood in Mainstream Media. Smithsonian Voices. National Museum of the American Latino. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/smithsonian-latino-center/2022/03/23/latina-girlhood-in-mainstream-media/.
Valdivia, A.N., Cano, A.A., Pérez, S.M., Valkanova, D. (2022). Quinceañeras: Celebration, Joy, and Ethnic Pride [Exhibit]. Spurlock Museum, Urbana, IL, USA. https://www.spurlock.illinois.edu/exhibits/profiles/quince.html.
Pérez, S.M. (2021). Queen of the Neighborhood: Monse Finnie mobilizes and defies the ingenue trope in Netflix’s On My Block. FLOW Journal: OVER*FLOW. 8 October 2021. https://www.flowjournal.org/2021/10/queen-of-the-neighborhood/.

Courses Taught

GWS 100: Introduction to Gender & Women’s Studies, Fall 2025 (TA).
MACS 101: Introduction to the Media, Spring 2025 (TA).
LLS/MACS 250: Latines/xs on the Bronze Screen, Fall 2024 (Instructor of Record).
LAS 399: Leadership & Professional Development, AY 2023-2024 (TA).

Awards and Honors

AY 2023-2025: Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Students
Spring 2024: Legacía Award, La Casa Cultural Latina
Summer 2023: Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies grant, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ($1,000).
Summer 2023: Tinker Foundation Field Research Grant, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ($2,500).
Summer 2023: Foreign Language & Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship, Italian Language & Area Studies, US Department of Education / University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ($7,500, with supplementary funding provided by Middlebury College, VT).
AY 2022-2023: Office of Vice Chancellor for Diversity Equity and Inclusion, “Broadening Inclusion Grant”, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ($5,000).
Fall 2022: Lynne Blanton Student Travel Award, College of Media, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ($850).
Spring 2022 Michael Haley Travel Grant, $1,000. International Communications Association, 72nd Annual Conference, Paris, France.
AY 2020-2023: Graduate College Fellowship, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ($75,000/3 years).
Summer 2020: Summer Predoctoral Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ($2500).

What Most People Don’t Know about Me

I was born and raised in Los Angeles and am interested in keeping up with issues and histories of gentrification, restrictive covenants, race, ethnicity, culture, food, public policy, and social justice in my hometown.

New fund honors former College of Media dean and ICR director James W. Carey

January 11, 2021 | Holly Rushakoff

James W. Carey Fund for Faculty Excellence will support outstanding faculty in the Institute of Communications Research

An internationally recognized scholar in communications research, James W. Carey (1934-2006) earned two advanced degrees at the University of Illinois and then dedicated nearly half of his life as an academic leader in the College of Media (then known as the College of Communications). Carey was a student of the media’s role in society, and his commentaries on American civil life are some of the most influential in the field of communication.

To honor their father’s legacy at Illinois and in the field of media, Carey’s four sons endowed the James W. Carey Fund for Faculty Excellence. The fund will benefit College of Media faculty affiliated with the Institute of Communications Research, where Carey earned his doctoral degree, was a research professor, and served as director (1969-1976). The ICR, housed within the College of Media, is the world’s oldest program for interdisciplinary research and doctoral education in communication and media studies. The first James W. Carey Faculty Fellow will be selected for the 2021-2022 academic year and will receive a stipend to support research activities.

“Our father’s education took off at the U of I and so much of his life as a teacher and scholar orbited around Gregory Hall,” said Dan, one of Carey’s sons. “He had remarkable ties to students and faculty in the University. We wanted to honor that depth of relationship and to make it a lasting one for the future.”

Carey (MS ’59, advertising; PhD ’63, ICR) began his career as a professor of journalism, working his way to dean of the College (1979-1992), during which the major in media studies (now media and cinema studies) was established. He received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Illinois in 2000 for his contributions as an author, educator, and administrator. After his time at Illinois, Carey spent the remainder of his career at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism from 1992 to 2006, where he helped establish their doctoral program.

“For nearly 100 years, the College of Media has been guided by the principles of innovation, collaboration, and creativity, which Dr. Carey represented so well,” said Dean Tracy Sulkin. “To continue this tradition, it is crucial to attract, retain, and recognize our talented faculty who embrace these philosophies in their scholarship, teaching, and service.”

Carey is known for developing the “ritual view of communication,” a theory that links communication with participation, association, fellowship, and the possession of a common faith, as opposed to the common “transmission view,” in which communication is the dissemination of information. A ritual view of communication is “not the act of imparting information or influence but the creation, representation, and celebration of shared even if illusory beliefs,” Carey wrote in Communication as Culture: Essays on Media and Society.

“I think all education, all scholarship is ultimately an aspect of citizenship,” Carey said in an interview within his book James Carey: A Critical Reader. “We end up making a living with our education, but the end of education is to prepare one for life in society, for public life in the widest sense, for life among our fellow men and women.”

Carey was beloved by his students. In a 2003 issue of Mass Communication Education, the late John J. Pauly (BS ’72, MS ’74, journalism; PhD ’79, ICR) published “Remembering a Mentor: James Carey.”

“A Carey lecture resembles a grand magic show, bursting with fireworks, sleight of hand, dramatic flourishes, and the occasional personal aside. … His writing luxuriates in theoretical, historical, and literary allusion. … But the most important lessons Carey taught me were about being a professor,” wrote Pauly. The lessons were: Be serious about your work; honor the university tradition; look for the human; and leave the door open. “Carey’s students learn that there is always room for one more chair at the table, for one more spoon in the pot.”

In 2006, WILL interviewed his former doctoral students Clifford Christians (research professor emeritus of communications; professor emeritus of media studies and journalism; and former director of ICR) and Steve Jones (distinguished professor of communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago). They remembered Carey as an eloquent communicator who valued plain language, clarity, and honesty, who was an organic member of the community and loved the public university, and who was admired across campus for his wisdom.

Linda Steiner (PhD ’79, ICR), professor of journalism at the University of Maryland, remembered Carey for his important insights and storytelling.

“Carey’s teachings and writings had enormous impacts on me,” Steiner said. “So it’s really an honor for me to engage in this campaign to do something to celebrate his service to the field, to the University, to ICR, and the College of Media.”

To join Carey’s family, former students, colleagues, and friends in our fundraising campaign to grow the endowment, please visit the College of Media giving page, click on the orange “Give Online Now” button, and select the Carey Fund under “Nurture Excellence in Media Faculty.”

Thomas Guback

Professor Emeritus, Institute of Communications Research

Education

B.A., Rutgers University, 1958
M.S., University of Illinois, 1959
Ph. D., University of Illinois, 1964
M. Div. Nashotah House Theological Seminary, 2000

Course Specialties

Film Studies
Political Economy of Communications

Research and Creative Endeavor

Researcher, writer, on-air host of Silver Screen, WILL-TV, 1987-1997.

Contact

meadow49670@gmail.com

Category: Institute of Communications Research