Dr. Hyunjin Kang – Tuesday, April 12th, 2022 

Talk Description

The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing how we interact and communicate with everyday technologies. Current smart technologies capable of producing information and directly communicating with users are deployed for various communication contexts. Indeed, the rise of machine agency is a notable fundamental change that AI has brought to our experience with communication technology. However, fulfilling autonomy is one of the basic needs for humans, suggesting that the rise of machine agency leads to an essential agency tension among the users; the key sources of such psychological tensions are the loss of agency and privacy. Dr. Kang discusses how users negotiate agency when interacting with AI-based technology, and the impacts of AI vs. human agency on the persuasiveness of the technology and users’ privacy management decisions. The presentation will include research findings and implications from recently completed studies in IoT and algorithm-based social media (i.e., TikTok) contexts using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. 

Bio 

Hyunjin Kang (PhD, Penn State University) is an Assistant Professor in the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. Her research focuses on the psychological effects of interactive communication technologies on communication processes and user behaviors. Her work has been published in many communication and HCI journals, including New Media and Society, Media Psychology, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, and Computers in Human Behaviors. She is a recipient (PI) of Meta (Facebook) Research award. Her research project on social media users’ expectations and experiences with digital privacy will be funded by Meta Research. 

Dr. John Crowley – Tuesday, April 5th, 2022 

Bio 

My research, teaching, and service focus on understanding how to help individuals, especially those within marginalized or historically underrepresented communities build resilience to cope with the stress associated with difficult and discriminatory life experiences. My research has focused on disclosure, forgiveness, and social support. Examination of the reciprocal relationships between interpersonal communication and biology, however, is the foundation of all of my work. I am a member of a small cohort of communication scholars working to pioneer the study of the physiology of interpersonal communication, particularly in the use of biosocial models to understand the effects of coping for recipients of hurtful and discriminatory communication (both covert and overt), and am actively training graduate students in the use of these methods. 

My work has appeared in flagship communication journals (e.g., Human Communication Research, Communication Monographs) and in top journals specializing in health (e.g., Health Communication) and relationships (e.g., Personal Relationships). I am also the 2020 recipient of the Early Career Award from the interpersonal communication division of the National Communication Association. 

Our current research projects are funded by both the Villanova University’s Waterhouse Family Institute for the Study of Communication and Society (WFI) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) from the National Institute of Health (NIH). Lastly, I am the proud recipient of the Center for the Study of Diversity at the University of Delaware’s 2020 Faculty Diversity Fellowship grant. 

Dr. Charisse L’Pree – Thursday, March 3rd, 2022  

Talk Description 

The relationship between communication technologies – or the tools that we use to communicate – and our psychology is inseparable. We come to understand ourselves through the way we communicate. Although these conversations are commonplace with respect to older communication technologies (e.g., written language, printing press), it is often dismissed when discussing more modern technologies, like consumer-market cameras, cable television, and video gaming. This talk will focus on how these technologies have fostered novel ways of communicating, interpersonally and intrapersonal, to better understand – and possible predict – the future of communication and human psychology. 

Bio 

Charisse L’Pree Corsbie-Massay is an Associate Professor of Communications at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. She holds BS degrees in Brain and Cognitive Science and Comparative Media Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MA degree from the School of Cinematic Arts and a PhD in Social Psychology from University of Southern California. Charisse investigates how users think about themselves and others via media. Her work includes articles in Psychological Inquiry and AIDS and Behavior, as well as book chapters addressing serious games, race and gender methodology, and media use among marginalized populations. Her most recent book, Twentieth Century Media and the American Psyche (Routledge, 2021), describes how our relationships with media emulate interpersonal relationships through their ability to replicate intimacy, regularity, and reciprocity. At Syracuse University, she teaches classes on communication and diversity to professional media students, specifically how do media affect our understanding of different social categories and how do the social categories of media producers affect the media with which we all engage. Charisse was also awarded Teacher of the Year from the graduating class of 2017. Her upcoming book, Diversity and Satire: Laughing at Processes of Marginalization, is currently in press with Wiley. 

Dr. Stephen Stifano – Tuesday, December 7th, 2021  

Talk Description

Researchers often create multimedia stimuli to examine the behavior of individuals – but the quality, realism, and context of these stimuli can sometimes be lacking.  As a consequence, results hinging on a poor stimulus can lead researchers to make flawed conclusions with little real-world relevance.  In this talk, Dr. Stephen Stifano (Associate Professor in-Residence, Communication) will discuss important considerations when designing multimedia stimuli from both methodological and design perspectives.  Using examples from numerous stimuli he has created for a range of researchers, Dr. Stifano will discuss his process and priorities when designing a multimedia stimulus, and provide some tips for researchers to strengthen the stimuli they use in their own experiments. 

Bio 

Steve Stifano is an Associate Professor in-Residence at the University of Connecticut. He is an academic with a quantitative research background who also works as a designer, event producer, and independent filmmaker. His research considers the role of emotion in the creation and consumption of narrative media. Recently, he has been examining how emotional education can be used to improve the narratives of texting-and-driving and safer sex public service announcements. In addition, Dr. Stifano provides training for the department’s teaching assistants, lectures for and coordinates the introductory communication course, and has led the effort to revive digital media production courses in the department. 

Dr. Bernadette Gailliard – Thursday, November 4th, 2021 

Talk Description 

There continue to be calls for communication researchers to translate their scholarship into practice, yet there are few spaces that discuss the pathways available to scholars seeking to do this with their work. This talk will discuss insights and lessons learned as Dr. Gailliard navigates her career path from researcher to university administrator and entrepreneur. It will highlight critical decision points as well as potential opportunities for faculty and graduate students alike to blend academic pursuits with public practice. 

Bio 

Bernadette M. Gailliard, PhD is a scholar and research consultant whose work examines the experiences of underrepresented groups within organizations, focusing on identity issues and career socialization. Her current work examines the experiences of faculty of color in higher education. Dr. Gailliard uses this scholarship to inform her role as Director of Racial Equity and Early Career Support at Rutgers University where she has five years of experience developing and delivering professional development and evidence-based diversity trainings for professionals both inside and outside of the academy. 

As a consultant, Dr. Gailliard designs and leads high-level research projects to assess program and organizational impact across diverse constituencies. She also supports organizational leaders with the development and implementation of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. This work both informs and is informed by her research and teaching in Intercultural Communication and Organizational Communication at Rutgers School of Communication and Information. 

Dr. Gailliard holds both Doctorate and Masters degrees in Organizational Communication from the University of California Santa Barbara and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from American University. Her published research can be found in Management Communication Quarterly, Annals of the International Communication Association (formerly Communication Yearbook), and Human Relations. 

COMM COVID-19 Panel – Thursday, April 8th, 2021  

Watch the COVID-19 Panel Recording

Talk Description 

Questions from quarantine and lessons in lockdown: Examining the COVID-19 pandemic from a communication perspective 

The panel will feature three projects that received funding from InCHIP last spring:  

My president, but not my governor: Understanding perceptions of blame during the COVID-19 outbreak in Connecticut 
Christine Gilbert, Kenneth Lachlan, and Stephen Stifano 
Presented by: Christine Gilbert 

Exploring the effects of social isolation, relational quality, and communication on couples’ relational and physical health during the COVID-19 pandemic 
Amanda Denes, Talea Cornelius, Katrina Webber, Chelsea Guest, Julia A. Ellis, and Amy A. Gorin 
Presented by: Chelsea Guest 

Unmasking racial disparities amidst dual pandemics: Examining social identity threat and emotion within the health belief model to understand mask-wearing intentions among Black, Latinx, and Asian individuals in the U.S. 
Katrina Webber, Sara Stifano, Stephen Stifano, and Shardé Davis 
Presented by: Katrina Webber 

Dr. Meryl Alper – Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021 

Talk Description 

The benefits of “accessible” media and technology for people with disabilities are rarely questioned, nor considered within broader critical/cultural frameworks. In this talk, based on an article recently published in the International Journal of Communication, I make a contribution to the field of communication by proposing critical media access studies to further define a growing area of inquiry into contested notions of mediated access, drawing on work from disability media studies and critical access studies in architectural design. My proposal for critical media access studies is furthered through a case study of physical spaces designed for media engagement for young people (e.g., gaming arcades, movie theaters) that provide “autism-friendly” programming. Qualitative analysis of interviews and observations with autistic children and their families, as well as participant observation in such sites, reveals ideological assumptions, frictions, and contradictions underpinning cultural accessibility. Critical media access studies can offer communication scholars valuable theoretical and conceptual tools for deconstructing power, visibility, and marginality in mediated space. 

Bio 

Meryl Alper is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Northeastern University, where she researches the social and cultural implications of communication technologies, with a focus on disability and digital media, children and families’ technology use, and mobile communication. Dr. Alper is the author of Digital Youth with Disabilities (MIT Press, 2014) and Giving Voice: Mobile Communication, Disability, and Inequality (MIT Press, 2017), which was awarded a 2018 PROSE Award Honorable Mention from the Association of American Publishers and the 2018 Outstanding Publication in the Sociology of Disability Award from the American Sociological Association. In her research and teaching, Dr. Alper draws on over 15 years of professional experience in educational children’s media as a researcher, strategist, and consultant with Sesame Workshop, PBS KIDS, Nickelodeon, and Disney. Prior to joining the faculty at Northeastern, Dr. Alper earned her doctoral and master’s degrees from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies and History from Northwestern University, as well as a certificate in Early Childhood Education from UCLA. 

 Dr. Stacie Powers – Tuesday, March 16th, 2021  

Talk Description 

A solid background in research methods can take you places you never imagined. In this talk I will describe the field of program evaluation, how I stumbled into it (and how you can be more strategic!), and some of the surprising and rewarding connections between what I do now and what I did in my time at UConn. 

Bio 

Stacie R. Powers, PhD, is the founder and CEO of REVA Group, an independent firm specializing in program evaluation. She has worked in this field since 2013, primarily with clients in education, healthcare, and the arts. She has led evaluations for Cleveland Play House, Women’s Sports Foundation, Girls Inc. of New York City, Atlantic Philanthropies, Up2Us Sports, and Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, among many others. 

Stacie received a PhD in Communication from the University of Connecticut in 2009. Prior to becoming an evaluator, she held a variety of other research-related roles for over 20 years—from reference librarian to university writing coach to assistant professor—each offering a valuable perspective on teaching others how to address complex, real-world data challenges. Through these varied experiences, Stacie developed an approach to communicating about research that is both evidence-based and human-centered. She regularly presents at the American Evaluation Association conference and is frequently invited to speak about evaluation to professionals supporting the nonprofit sector.