Welcome new faculty

The School of Communication welcomes four new faculty. Pictured above (left to right): Paul Amelchenko, Juliana Fernandes, Lien Tran and Clay Ewing.

Click here to read brief bios for them.

A scholar of political communication, Dr. Fernandes has published extensive research in academic journals. She published a study in Mass Communication and Society about Facebook activism during the 2008 presidential campaign, a study in American Behavioral Scientist on advertising effects in the 2008 election, and a study in American Journal of Media Psychology on the agenda-setting effects of interest-group advertising.

Click here to read more about the “cutting-edge faculty” that have joined our department.

New Study: Texting & Driving More Dangerous Than Driving Under Influence

Texting while driving is more dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to a new study from researchers in the School of Communication.

Published in the latest issue of Communication Research Reports, authors Paola Pascual-Ferra, Yu Liu and Michael J. Beatty found a “growing national epidemic” of texting (p. 228), in which “misuse can produce disastrous consequences” (p. 235).

In the article, the authors analyzed an exhaustive 80 articles on effect sizes of texting, alcohol ingestion and marijuana use and calculated their average effect sizes of impairment.

They write: “In recent years, text messages or ‘texting’ has become a pervasive form of communication. Unfortunately, however, many people text while driving, prompting a growing concern that texting while driving poses a potential risk to public safety” (p. 228).

“When the effects of experimental studies testing the effects of texting, alcohol consumption, and marijuana use are converted to a common metric (i.e., correlation coefficients) and the average effect weighted for sample size is calculated, it is abundantly clear that the effect of text messaging while driving rivals that attributable to alcohol and surpasses that of marijuana use. Noteworthy also are the magnitudes of the effects. … Simply put, the more drivers engage in text messaging while driving, the more unsafe their driving behavior and performance” (pp. 234-235).

Pascual-Ferra is a doctoral student, Liu graduated from the doctoral program this year, and Dr. Beatty is a professor of Communication.

The article is entitled “A Meta-Analytic Comparison of the Effects of Text Messaging to Substance-Induced Impairment on Driving Performance.” 

Pascual-Ferrá, P., Liu, Y., & Beatty, M. J. (2012). A Meta-Analytic Comparison of the Effects of Text Messaging to Substance-Induced Impairment on Driving Performance. Communication Research Reports, 29(3), 227-238. doi:10.1080/08824096.2012.696079

Welcome back students!

Today is the first day of classes for the new school year.

The School of Communication’s Graduates Studies team hosted a successful orientation yesterday. All the department chairs held sessions for their new students, Graduate Studies director Jyotika Ramaprasad spoke with the students, the Graduate Studies office answered questions and provided information and free goodies, faculty — from professors who have been here for decades, to brand-new instructors — introduced themselves and discussed their ongoing research pursuits, and many current grad students paid a visit to make the new students feel at home — all before the big group enjoyed a delicious lunch together.

We look forward to a great school year ahead for everyone, and success for our new students. This is an exciting new year, with some changes in the department structure.  The School of Communication’s Office of Graduate Studies is honored to have you studying with us, and we look forward to great times to come.