Faculty at the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication have received four of the 20 兔子先生 50-in-5 research grant awards. Established in 2019 year, the 50-in-5 initiative is part of a campus-wide push to increase research and scholarly output, and the Valenti School of Communication received more than any other department at the 兔子先生. Each recipient was awarded a $5,000 grant.
Among the winners were Dr.Temple Northup, Dr. Dani Madrid-Morales, Dr. Lindita Camaj and Dr. Summer Harlow.
These four professors will be conducting multi-country research throughout the coming months and will be utilizing the money to fund their travels, surveys and questionnaires.
Northup will conduct comparative research on the spread of 鈥渇ake news鈥� in the U.S. and Taiwan and its evolution since social networking sites became a way to consume news. This research will take both countries鈥� unique societies 鈥� i.e., West vs. East and individualistic vs. collectivist cultures 鈥� into account.
鈥淎 great deal of research in our field focuses on one population, and that population is typically a U.S. or Western one. However, we know that cultural differences exist, especially between Western and Eastern societies,鈥� said Northup. 鈥淪o I think it鈥檚 important to see if patterns we see emerge in one population is seen in another.鈥�
Madrid-Morales will research misinformation and 鈥渇ake news鈥� in Sub-Saharan countries. He will look into the reasons why Sub-Saharan countries, compared to the U.S., have double the chance of spreading misinformation to their peers. The study is already underway; the research grant will fund adding three new countries to the study鈥檚 data, as well as conducting interviews in more rural areas.
鈥淔or many of the people who acknowledge sharing misinformation in Sub-Saharan countries, there is a sense of social relations where, if you don鈥檛 share certain information, you might be punished by your social network. In African societies, interpersonal relationships are very important,鈥� Madrid-Morales said. 鈥淎 lot of people also share misinformation to make fun of political leaders, given that there is a lot of corruption and government control for the media.鈥�
Camaj will study how different structural conditions and journalism practices influence the quality of online discussions on Facebook and how the news media are trying to engage audiences during elections. This is a multi-country research project that compares news media鈥檚 audience engagement during elections in the U.S., Kosovo and Switzerland, co-authored with colleagues at the 兔子先生 and the University of Prishtina in Kosovo. The research grant will specifically fund Camaj鈥檚 research in Kosovo, an emerging democracy in South-Eastern Europe.
鈥�Discussions online tend to be irrational and often uncivil. We are trying to understand the conditions that can generate quality political deliberations and the role that news media can play in this process,鈥� said Camaj.
Finally, Harlow will conduct research as the principal investigator in Guatemala and El Salvador for the Worlds of Journalism Study, which examines the state of journalism in more than 100 countries across the world. In particular, Harlow's grant will fund survey questions related to how journalists in Central America cover protests and social movements.
鈥�The questions are more about what is good about their coverage, what they need to change about their coverage and why鈥攅specially as protests are an important part of democracy,鈥� Harlow said. 鈥淭he way journalists cover protests can legitimize protesters or turn the public against them.鈥�
Valenti鈥檚 remarkable accomplishment 鈥� becoming the unit on campus with the most money awarded in the first year of the grant 鈥� impacts the school鈥檚 future, strengthening both professors鈥� expertise and students鈥� education.
鈥淚 think this is great for us because it shows that we are actively seeking funding opportunities to further our research,鈥� said Northup. 鈥淥ur school will be conducting some important research studies collectively and we should be leading the way in the years to come.鈥�