communication media studies research

Media and Communication

• Encyclopedias and Background Information
• Finding Books and E-books
• Finding Articles
• Primary Sources

Communications Research Methods: Articles & Books

• Methods in Media Studies (MiMS)

Getting help from NYU Library Data Services

For assistance, please submit a request .  You can also reach us via the chat below, email [email protected] , or join Discord server .

If you've met with us before,                        tell us how we're doing .

Service Desk and Chat

Bobst Library , 5th floor

Staffed Hours: Summer 2024

Mondays:  12pm - 5pm         Tuesdays:  12pm - 5pm         Wednesdays:  12pm - 5pm         Thursdays:  12pm - 5pm         Fridays:  12pm - 5pm        

Data Services closes for winter break at the end of the day on Friday, Dec. 22, 2023. We will reopen on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.

Quantitative Data

Interested in using quantitative data? Need some assistance using SPSS?  Make a one-on-one appointment with the Data Service Studio by emailing [email protected].

For full details see the Data Service Studio page.

• Communication Research Methods II: A Sourcebook An updated version of the "bible" of how to do research in communication and media studies.
• Handbook of Media and Communication Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Methodologies A great overview of both qualitative and quantitative approaches to content analysis and media studies research.
• Qualitative Media Analysis The authors of this work show readers how to obtain, categorize, and analyze different media documents. They look at traditional primary documents such as newspapers and magazines but also at more recent forms–television newscasts and cyberspace.
• Mass Communications Research Methods Originally published in 1988. Step-by-step, this book leads students from problem identification, through the mazes of surveys, experimentation, historical/qualitative studies, statistical analysis, and computer data processing to the final submission and publication in scientific or popular publications.
• Communication Research Methods in Postmodern Culture: A Revisionist Approach The second edition of Communication Research Methods in Postmodern Culture continues to explore research from a postmodern perspective. Typical qualitative and quantitative research methods are adjusted to fit the needs of contemporary culture.
• << Previous: Primary Sources
• Next: Course-Specific Guides >>
• Last Updated: Jul 31, 2024 1:12 PM
• URL: https://guides.nyu.edu/mediaandcommunication

Breadcrumbs Section. Click here to navigate to respective pages.

A Handbook of Media and Communication Research

DOI link for A Handbook of Media and Communication Research

Get Citation

Thoroughly revised and updated, this third edition integrates perspectives from the social sciences and the humanities, focusing on methodology as a strategic level of analysis that joins practical applications with theoretical issues.

The Handbook comprises three main elements: historical accounts of the development of key concepts and research traditions; systematic reviews of media organizations, discourses, and users, as well as of the wider social and cultural contexts of communication; and practical guidelines with sample studies, taking readers through the different stages of a research process and reflecting on the social uses and consequences of research.

Updates to this edition include:

• An overview of the interrelations between networked, mass, and interpersonal communication.
• A new chapter on digital methods.
• Three chapters illustrating different varieties of media and communication research, including industry–academic collaboration and participatory action research.
• Presentation and discussion of public issues such as surveillance and the reconfiguration of local and global media institutions.

This book is an invaluable reference work for students and researchers in the fields of media, communication, and cultural studies.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 | 21  pages, introduction, part i | 47  pages, chapter 2 | 29  pages, the humanistic sources of media and communication research, chapter 3 | 16  pages, the social-scientific sources of media and communication research, part ii | 181  pages, systematics, section | 37  pages, media organizations, chapter 4 | 18  pages, the production of entertainment media, chapter 5 | 19  pages, news production, section | 44  pages, media texts, chapter 6 | 24  pages, analysing news discourse, chapter 7 | 20  pages, mediated fiction, media users, chapter 8 | 21  pages, media effects, chapter 9 | 16  pages, media reception, section | 59  pages, media contexts, chapter 10 | 20  pages, communication in contexts, chapter 11 | 19  pages, the cultural contexts of media and communication, chapter 12 | 20  pages, history, communication, and media, part 3 | 181  pages, section | 94  pages, empirical research designs, chapter 13 | 31  pages, quantitative approaches to media and communication research, chapter 14 | 21  pages, the qualitative research process, chapter 15 | 21  pages, digital methods for media and communication research, chapter 16 | 21  pages, the complementarity of qualitative and quantitative methodologies in media and communication research, section | 62  pages, multiple media, multiple methods, chapter 17 | 19  pages, personal media in everyday life, chapter 18 | 20  pages, media industries and audience research, chapter 19 | 23  pages, employing media-rich participatory action research to foster youth voice, section | 23  pages, communicating research, chapter 20 | 23  pages, the social origins and uses of media and communication research.

• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions
• Cookie Policy
• Taylor & Francis Online
• Taylor & Francis Group
• Students/Researchers
• Librarians/Institutions

Connect with us

Registered in England & Wales No. 3099067 5 Howick Place | London | SW1P 1WG © 2024 Informa UK Limited

Search NYU Steinhardt

Media, Culture, and Communication

Welcome to the nyu department of media, culture, and communication.

We specialize in the study of media and technology in their cultural, social, and global contexts. Our faculty research and teach on media topics spanning the globe — from East and South Asia to Western Europe, the Americas, and Africa.

Bachelor of Science Media, Culture, and Communication

The media studies BS engages the history, present, and future of global media, offering significant opportunities to study media abroad in international contexts.

Master of Arts Media, Culture, and Communication

The media studies MA trains agile researchers of a shifting global media landscape.

Doctor of Philosophy Media, Culture, and Communication

The interdisciplinary media studies doctorate foregrounds a diverse array of research methods and theoretical frameworks.

African Journalists Reporting on Africa

A new book by Media, Culture, and Communication Assistant Professor j. Siguru Wahutu speaks with, and looks at the reportage of, African journalists depicting their own continent.

2024 Media, Culture, and Communication Graduate Ray Sun's Journey, from COVID Care to Law School

Ray Sun (BS ’24, Media, Culture, and Communication) shares how he supported fellow students during COVID, gave back as a peer mentor, and discovered his post-undergraduate path to law school.

PhD Student Receives Artist of Exceptional Merit Designation

The Asian American Arts Alliance selected Media, Culture, and Communication doctoral student Luna Beller-Tadiar as a 2024 Jadin Wong Artist of Exceptional Merit.

NEH Grant to Study Implications of AI Listening Technologies

With a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Media, Culture, and Communication Assistant Professor Edward Kang will convene experts to examine the relationship between machine listening systems and society.

Media, Culture, and Communication's Laine Nooney Hosts Event on Historical Context of Technology

This virtual event was sparked by Assistant Professor Laine Nooney’s book, "The Apple II Age: How the Computer Became Personal."

A Multi Disciplinary Approach to Researching Deafness

Approaching the question from the social sciences, humanities, and life sciences, a team of researchers aim to move beyond siloed explanations of deafness.

50 Years of Media Studies at NYU Steinhardt

The Department of Media, Culture, and Communication celebrates 50 years since Neil Postman founded the Media Ecology program.

Personal Photography from Kodak to Polaroid to the iPhone

Named a 2023 Guggenheim Fellow, Media, Culture, and Communication Professor Marita Sturken will work on a book tracing the history of personal photography.

Global Media Research with Impact

Media, Culture, and Communication's Paula Chakravartty has been appointed a James Weldon Johnson Professor by the Provost's Office in recognition of her research on racial capitalism and global media infrastructures, as well as migrant labor mobility and justice.

Media Studies Alumni Advance Field with New Scholarship

Over the past five years, graduates of the Media, Culture, and Communication doctoral program have published well received books on topics spanning the field of media studies.

NYU in Top 10 for Media Studies

New York University claims the 7th spot in the QS Top Universities ranking of media studies programs worldwide.

Founded by an NYU Grad, the Bushwick Film Festival is Empowering Diverse Storytellers

Media, Culture, and Communication alum Kweighbaye Kotee (BS ‘09) founded the festival while a Steinhardt student. The festival will celebrate 15 years next fall.

MCC's Land Acknowledgement

We begin by acknowledging that we are gathered, speaking, and learning on Lenapehoking, the ancestral lands of the Lenape peoples, which settlers call New York City.

• Harvard Library
• Research Guides
• HKS Library & Research Services

News Sources & Media Studies

• Media & Communications Studies
• Popular News Sources & Magazines
• Region-Specific Newspapers
• Multimedia Collections

Research Tips for Journalists

Journal articles, data & statistics, directories.

• Journalist's Resource Curated scholarship relevant to media practitioners, bloggers, educators, students and general readers.
• Research Skills for Journalists (Harvard Login) Guide to developing skillsets needed for producing well researched, quality journalism across a range of platforms.
• The SAGE Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods (Harvard Login) Entries cover every step of the research process, from the creative development of research topics and questions to literature reviews, selection of best methods (whether quantitative, qualitative, or mixed) for analyzing research results and publishing research findings, whether in traditional media or via new media outlets.
• Communication Abstracts (Harvard Login) Source of communication-related publications including 230 journals, books, and reports and papers produced at research institutions. Topics covered in Communication Abstracts include: journalism; mass media; social media; advertising, political rhetoric; the sociology and history of communication; communication theory, and more.
• American Journalism (Harvard Login) Peer-reviewed, quarterly journal of the American Journalism Historians Association, publishes original articles on the history of journalism, media, and mass communication in the United States and internationally. The journal also features historiographical and methodological essays, book reviews, and digital media reviews. 1997-present.
• Global Media Journal Open access journal that publishes works that assess existing media structures and practices, such as global media concentration, globalization of TV genres, global media and consumer culture, the role of media in democratic governance and global justice, propaganda, media reception and cultural practice, commercialization of news, new media technologies, media regulations, regional media, alternative media, and other timely issues. 2002-present.
• Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly (Harvard Login) Peer-reviewed journal of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, JMCQ publishes original articles and book reviews on topics including theoretical and methodological developments in journalism and mass communication, international communication, media technologies and society, advertising, public relations, journalism history, media law and policy, media management and economics, political communication and health communication. 1955-present.
• Media Intelligence Center (Harvard Login) Provides circulation and subscription data for thousands of primarily US journals, newspapers, and magazines.
• Media Cloud Media Cloud is an open source platform for studying media ecosystems.This suite of tools allows researchers to track how stories and ideas spread through media, and how different corners of the media ecosystem report on stories.
• eMarketer (Harvard Login) Market research and trend analysis on Internet, e-business, online marketing, media and emerging technologies. eMarketer aggregates and analyzes information from leading information industry sources and brings it together in analyst reports, daily research articles, and a database of e-business and online marketing statistics.
• Gale Directory of Print Publications & Broadcast Media 2019 (Harvard Login) Listings for radio and television stations, cable companies and print media publishers that also includes ad rates, circulation statistics, local programming information and other essential data for U.S., Canadian, and international media outlets.
• State of the News Media Project Detailed data on trends in the news industry from the Pew Research Center.
• News Media and Habits Polls related to media consumption and opinions from the Pew Research Center.
• S&P Global Market Intelligence, Media & Communications (Harvard Login) News, data, and analysis of technology, media & communications markets. This resource requires users to create a login by going to New User and then entering their Harvard e-mail address. If you do not see media data when logged in set your profile to the Media & Communications Sector-Focused User under settings.
• Gale Directory of Print Publications & Broadcast Media 2019 (Harvard Login) Listings for radio and television stations, cable companies and print media publishers. Entries provide full contact information, including address, phone and fax numbers, e-mail addresses and Web site URLs.
• Leadership Connect (Harvard Login) Contains contact and biographical data for news media outlets.
• << Previous: Multimedia Collections
• Last Updated: Jul 2, 2024 10:05 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.harvard.edu/hks/news

Harvard University Digital Accessibility Policy

• Cornell University Home
• College of Agriculture & Life Sciences Home

Communication

Media Studies

Researchers in this area study the practices, industries, meanings, mental processing, and influences of media. Our research examines the complex ways in which traditional and emerging media shape and are shaped by wider society, and the social and psychological processes people use to give meaning to media and media messages. The forms of media we encounter become ever more digital, networked, and mobile, this research area increasingly includes a critical understanding of media. Media are situated within particular social contexts, and can be examined through their varying contents, forms, structures, influences, and processes.

Recent research projects in this area include:

• Analyses of the effects of exposure to political advertising on mental health and well-being
• Documenting how local TV news cover social issues like housing, child care and parental leave
• Visual analysis of skin tone of models on retail websites
• Examination of the platformization of the media industries
• Social construction of the monarch butterfly as an environmental icon
• The shift from identity-based niches to algorithmic sorting of LGBTQ consumer markets
• Understanding how people interpret the motivations and actions of complex and morally ambiguous characters in entertainment media

Associated Faculty

Senior Associate Dean

Office of the Senior Associate Deans

Department of Communication

• (607) 255-8058
• seb272 [at] cornell.edu

Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies

• bduffy [at] cornell.edu

Senior Research Associate

• (607) 255-7498
• alg52 [at] cornell.edu

Professor and Chair

• (607) 255-2599
• lmh13 [at] cornell.edu

• (607) 255-8310
• b.lewenstein [at] cornell.edu

• (607) 255-9706
• jdn56 [at] cornell.edu

Research Associate

• (607) 255-4765
• nap28 [at] cornell.edu

Associate Professor

• (607) 255-9258
• dawn.schrader [at] cornell.edu

• (607) 255-1581
• ks785 [at] cornell.edu

Associated Research Groups & Labs

• (Mobile) Media Effects Lab
• New Media and Society Working Group

Emerging Media Studies

Division of emerging media studies.

• MA Emerging Media Studies
• PhD Emerging Media Studies
• Center for Mobile Communication Studies
• #ScreentimeBU

Pushing boundaries.

Moving toward an understanding of emerging media, its role in communication and the human processes by which emerging media are developed, marketed, used and inevitably shaped and reshaped by users.

Emerging Media Research

Agenda setting in the wizarding world: computationally examining attribute agenda and….

Abstract: This study investigates the complex dynamics of public discourse on Twitter/X concerning the transgender-related controversy surrounding the video game…

Physiological response to political advertisement: Examining the influence of partisan and…

This study investigates voters’ physiological response to real political advertisements that are issue focused and sponsored by three different political…

Does world system theory rein in social media? Identifying factors contributing…

This article examined how social media content has shaped the representation of countries for publics around the world. Based on…

The Robot Rights and Responsibilities Scale: Development and Validation of a…

The discussion and debates surrounding the robot rights topic demonstrate vast differences in the possible philosophical, ethical, and legal approaches…

Meet the Emerging Media Faculty

James Cummings

Associate professor, emerging media studies.

Maria Elizabeth (Betsi) Grabe

Dalton family professor.

Feld Professor of Emerging Media Studies

Daniel Park

Visiting assistant professor, emerging media studies.

Chris Chao Su

Assistant professor, emerging media studies.

Chris Wells

Associate dean of faculty development; associate professor, emerging media studies, emerging media news, com’s new dalton professor knows disinformation from personal experience.

When Robots Deliver the News

Joan Donovan, Nationally Recognized Expert in Misinformation and Disinformation, Joins COM Faculty

Communication & Media Studies Research

PhD / MPhil

School of Communication

Programme Information:

The Research Postgraduate (RPg) programme focuses on PhD education. It is designed to enable each student to become familiar with existing knowledge in their chosen area of study, to become a critical consumer of others’ research in the chosen area of study, and to become an independent knowledge creator through the use of appropriate research methodologies.

The PhD programme admits outstanding applicants interested in academic research in communication and media, including advertising, interactive media, gaming and animation, digitally mediated communication, journalism, media studies, global communication, political communication, organizational communication, and public relations. For a better idea of our interests, please explore our Research Areas .

Applicants are not advised to contact faculty members prior to admission.

MPhil admission is considered only in exceptional circumstances.

Students can also visit Department websites to learn more about the key research areas that the academic staff are engaged in as well as their detailed profile.

Department of Communication Studies

Department of Interactive Media

Department of Journalism

The School’s Criteria and Procedures for Application for Research Postgraduate Studies Admission

Contact Information:

Website: http://www.comm.hkbu.edu.hk

E-mail: [email protected]

Hotline: +852 3411-8154

Current PhD/MPhil students

Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme

Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) invites candidates from all cultural and ethnic backgrounds, with evidence of academic excellence, research ability and potential, and good communication, interpersonal and leadership abilities to apply for full-time PhD study under the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS). HKPFS is established by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) with an aim to attract the best and brightest students from all over the world to pursue their PhD studies in Hong Kong.

Talent 100 PhD Scholarship Scheme

The Talent 100 PhD Scholarship Scheme aims to enhance the University’s research capacity and provide comprehensive and practical doctoral training, in particular interdisciplinary research training. Students admitted under the Scheme will be hosted under the Institute of Transdisciplinary Studies (ITS). During the first year of study under the 4-year PhD programme, students will be involved in individual interdisciplinary research projects affiliated with the University’s Interdisciplinary Research Labs which allow them to be exposed to different research areas.

Communication & Media Studies Research Network

Ninth international conference on communication & media studies.

• Images and Imaginaries of Artificial Intelligence
• 24-25 October 2024
• Interamerican Open University, Buenos Aires, Argentina + Online

Themes and Special Focus

Founded in 2015, the Communication & Media Studies Research Network offers an interdisciplinary forum for the discussion of the role of the media and communications in society. We seek to build an epistemic community where we can make linkages across disciplinary, geographic, and cultural boundaries.

The Ninth International Conference on Communication & Media Studies calls for research addressing the following annual themes and special focus:

• 2024 Special Focus—Images and Imaginaries of Artificial Intelligence
• THEME 1: MEDIA CULTURES
• THEME 2: MEDIA THEORY
• THEME 3: MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES AND PROCESSES
• THEME 4: MEDIA BUSINESS
• THEME 5: MEDIA LITERACIES

Research Network Chairs

Dr. Eric Freedman

Truman State University, United States of America

Dr. Jesús Miguel Flores Vivar

Profesor Titular, Departamento de Periodismo y Nuevos Medios, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, España

Local Conference Chair

Fernando Ezequiel Bóveda

Dean, Faculty of Communication Sciences, Interamerican Open University, Buenos Aires, Argentina

2024 Plenary Speakers

Javier González Pagliere Llauro

Associate Professor, Interamerican Open University, UADE, University of El Salvador, Catholic University of La Plata, University of Business and Social Sciences, Argentina

Eduardo Sánchez Bayona

Professor, Academic and Researcher, Argentina

Cecilia Mosto

Professor, Open Interamerican University, Argentina

Carolina A. Carbone

Director of the Public and Institutional Relations Degree and Director of the Communication Sciences Degree, University of Belgrano, Argentina

Ana María Sedeño Valdellós

Professor, University of Málaga, Spain

Local Organizing Committee

• Lic. Jéssica Ferradas, Interamerican Open University, Argentina
• Mg. Gabriela Friedman, Interamerican Open University, Argentina
• Lic. Ezequiel Giglio, Interamerican Open University, Argentina
• Lic. Marcela Mosquera, Interamerican Open University, Argentina
• Lic. Carla Tonella, Interamerican Open University, Argentina
• Mg. Marcelo Wischñevsky, Interamerican Open University, Argentina

Conference Partner

Interamerican Open University

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Learn more about our Partners here.

Media Package

We are pleased to offer a number of different downloadable file types for you to share on your social media pages in the lead up, and during, the conference. Click the blue buttons below to download.

Conference Hashtag: #ICCMS24

Make sure to tag and follow us using the links below.

Stay Up To Date

To get regular updates sign up for our newsletter, like us on Facebook and Instagram, follow us on X (formerly Twitter), or join the Scholar Community.

Monthly Newsletter

Subscribe to receive monthly updates by email about conferences, publications, and news from the field.

Stay Connected

Get support.

Have a question? We’re here to help. Visit the help center to get started.

• Common Ground Research Networks

University of Illinois Research Park 60 Hazelwood Drive Champaign, IL 61820 USA

Phone: +1-217-328-0405 Fax: +1-217-328-0435 Email: [email protected]

Terms and Conditions

2024 Conference

• Special Focus
• Call for Papers
• Special Events
• Registration
• Emerging Scholar Awards
• Hotel & Accommodations
• Past Editions

2025 Conference

• Call for Articles
• Editorial Board
• Publishing Ethics Guidelines
• Rights & Permissions
• Open Access Options
• Editing Services
• Become an Author
• Call for Reviewers
• Call for Series Curators
• Open Access
• Managing Editor
• From the Field
• Imagining Futures
• Become a Member
• Scope & Concerns
• Advisory Board
• Our Partners

Common Ground’s Knowledge Communities

Aging & social change research network, the arts in society research network, information, medium & society – the publishing studies research network, climate change: impacts & responses research network, constructed environment research network, design principles & practices research network, diversity in organizations, communities & nations research network, e-learning & innovative pedagogies research network, food studies research network, global studies research network, health, wellness & society research network, law enforcement training and education, the image research network, the inclusive museum research network, interdisciplinary social sciences research network, the learner research network, new directions in the humanities research network, on sustainability research network, organization studies research network, religion in society research network, sport & society research network, technology, knowledge & society research network, tourism and leisure studies research network.

All content © 2024 Common Ground Research Networks . Built with care by &Phil; .

Master’s Programs

We offer full-time, specialized programs of study in Chapel Hill and an online curriculum designed for working professionals studying part-time.

Our program delivers an elevated discussion of how the media and communication professions work and where they’re going.

One- and two-year specialized programs of study offer paths for students interested in entering the media and communication professions, professional communicators who want more education in a specific field and individuals interested in communication theory and research.

ONLINE INFO SESSION: M.A. IN MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION

November 9, 2022.

Register for an online info session about our master’s program on campus in Chapel Hill. Hear from the program director, Professor Tom Linden, and ask questions about the admissions process.

What Our Alumni Say

“I truly believe that the school’s most valuable asset is its faculty. All of my professors were brilliant, inspiring and extremely engaging. My adviser taught me how to see the field of strategic communications in a totally different manner, one that involves understanding audiences and evaluating which media we, as practitioners, should use to reach them better.”

– Pablo Miño '17 | Global Communications and Engagement Strategist at Duke University

Why Carolina

Research and creative excellence.

Studying full-time on our Chapel Hill campus or online in one of our programs designed specifically for working communications professionals, you will join a vibrant community built on a foundation of collaboration and dedicated to creating impact.

World-class Resources

Our students have access to innovative equipment –such as 360 video gear, eyetracking equpment, neuro headsets, and a cutting-edge research lab, the extensive Park Library for research, and generous funding packages, including the prestigious Park Fellowships.

Connections

As mentors, advisers and prospective employers, more than 16,000 UNC Hussman alumni create a powerful network throughout North Carolina, the nation and more than 60 countries around the world.

A Thriving Community

Balancing Southern charm with high-tech enterprise, Chapel Hill occupies one corner of North Carolina’s Research Triangle. The region is home to hundreds of cutting-edge companies and offers access to limitless cultural experiences.

M.A. Research and Events

Learn more about our program.

Complete this form, and we’ll send you more information and program updates.

Or contact the Graduate Studies team at [email protected] or (919) 843-9471 .

Doctoral Students — Journalism, Media and Culture

Main navigation, daniel akselrad.

[email protected] CV

Daniel works at the intersection of technology, rhetoric, and organizations, using historical and ethnographic methods to study language, ideology, and organizational culture. He has used this lens to examine distributed decision-making in fighter jet cockpits, the role of euphemism in Nazi bureaucracy, and the internal communications of the global cigarette industry.

Rachel Bergmann

[email protected] CV

Bergmann uses interpretive and archival methods to deeply and critically contextualize contemporary information technologies. Her research interests include histories of computing, feminist science and technology studies, and the cultural politics of AI and algorithmic systems.

Caitlin Burke

[email protected]

Burke is interested in user experience design, design ethics, and human-computer interaction.

Elizabeth Fetterolf

[email protected] CV Fetterolf is interested in how care work technologies shape and are shaped by the ongoing crisis of care in the US, particularly as this relates to workplace and intimate surveillance. 

Tomás Guarna

[email protected] CV

Guarna is interested in the new meanings of citizenship, trust, and legitimacy in the digital public sphere. 

Rebecca Lewis 

Becca Lewis researches ideological and social histories of Silicon Valley and the internet.

Marijn Mado

[email protected] CV

Mado studies media literacy education. She uses ethnographic methods to explore the practices and epistemological assumptions that underlie the design and teaching of media literacy programs.

Reagan Ross

Reagan is interested in the intersections of race, gender, and new media and technology. She is also interested in understanding how new technology might be used to disrupt anti-Black racism.

Morgan Weiland

[email protected]  ( CV ) morganweiland.com

Morgan N. Weiland is the  Executive Director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School , where she received her JD in 2015. She is in the process of completing the first joint degree program between SLS and Stanford’s Communication Department, where she is a PhD candidate. Her dissertation investigates the structural role of speech platforms like Facebook and Twitter in the public sphere to understand what responsibilities these companies have to the public, and what policies ought to be enacted to ensure both free expression and accountability.

Weiland was a Lecturer in Law at SLS during the 2017-18 academic year, when she developed and taught a new course about platforms, law, and ethics with Professor Barbara van Schewick. She is also a Graduate Fellow at SLS’s Center for Internet & Society. She clerked for the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals during the 2018-19 term. She is admitted to the California Bar.

Labor Studies Undergraduate Students Become Leaders in the Classroom

Through immersive simulations and interactive workshops, middle school and high school students in Los Angeles gain a deeper understanding of labor history, worker rights, and the power of unions.

Jazmin Rivera | August 12, 2024

On May 1st, a classroom of world history students at Portola Middle School in Tarzana, California, viewed pictures of workers using large machinery to produce steel in a mill in 1892 Homestead, Pennsylvania. Young Worker Education Project director Nicolle Fefferman asked the students to consider what it must have felt like to work in that room—what smells, sounds and feelings were the workers experiencing?

As students discussed their answers with each other, UCLA undergraduates enrolled in the cross-listed Labor Studies course, 136M: “Working Families and Educational Inequalities in Urban Schools” walked around the classroom to support their small group discussions. This was the first day of a week-long simulation lesson on the Homestead Strike led by the Young Worker Education Project (YWEP). By the end of the week, students learned about monopolies, unions and the labor tensions of the Gilded Age.

The YWEP is a visiting educational curriculum that teaches LAUSD students about worker-led decision making by facilitating week-long role play scenarios inspired by historical events. Open-ended discussions, student-led conversations and collaborations with UCLA undergraduate volunteers and community members are hallmarks of the YWEP. 

Students come alive through these lessons. Quiet high school classrooms turn into a frenzy of passionate students itching for their moment to talk. Shy middle schoolers feel empowered to raise their hand and offer their insight, which is then met with encouragement from their peers. UCLA undergraduates, at first nervous to lead in the classroom, grow into their role as educators.

“I enjoyed being able to work with students one-on-one and get a feel for different teaching pedagogies and classroom environments,” said Marisol Mercado, a UCLA undergraduate. “I hope to use some of [the teacher’s] techniques in the future as I continue to explore my educational opportunities”

UCLA undergraduates also noted the value of having middle school students gain a deeper understanding of worker protections.

“I believe it is super important for these students to know labor history and laws regarding labor, as many of them will be going to high school and soon start working,” said Vikki Fierro, an Education and Social Transformation major.

Beyond classroom simulations with YWEP, a group of UCLA students in LS136M conducted four online workshops with UCLA YouthSource , a center that offers programs for youth who reside in Los Angeles county between the ages of 14-24. Using a train-the-trainer method, UCLA students led a two-part know-your-worker-rights workshop that covered wage theft and how to read a paycheck. Every Wednesday afternoon in the month of May, YouthSource students gathered on Zoom to learn about their rights as workers, with the UCLA students facilitating the workshops drawing on their own experiences as young workers to teach the lessons. After the month was over, the workshops directly impacted nearly 50 students.

Students of LS136M ended the Spring quarter by brainstorming topics they would like to see covered in future workshops, such as “What is a union?” “How to balance school and work” and “How to take time off.” As workplace readiness curriculum is implemented statewide through AB 800 —legislation that requires all California public schools to teach their students about workplace readiness and labor rights—the next generation of workers will directly engage with these questions and many more, both in the classroom and beyond it.

UCLA Labor Studies is the first major of its kind at the University of California. Renowned for its commitment to engaged student learning in community worker settings, rigorous hands-on research and courses that explore some of the most pressing labor and social justice issues, the program became a major in 2019 after being established as a minor in 2014. 

Media Contact

Marcos Ruiz Rojas [email protected]

Stay Connected

Get Updates from IRLE!

Related sites.

• College of Letters & Science
• Social Sciences Division
• LA Social Science

Campus Resources

• Maps, Directions, Parking
• Academic Calendar
• University of California
• Terms of Use

• Education Home
• Medical Education Technology Support
• Graduate Medical Education
• Medical Scientist Training Program
• Public Health Sciences Program
• Continuing Medical Education
• Clinical Performance Education Center
• Center for Excellence in Education
• Research Home
• Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics
• Biomedical Engineering
• Cell Biology
• Genome Sciences
• Microbiology, Immunology, & Cancer Biology (MIC)
• Molecular Physiology & Biological Physics
• Neuroscience
• Pharmacology
• Public Health Sciences
• Office for Research
• Clinical Research
• Clinical Trials Office
• Funding Opportunities
• Grants & Contracts
• Research Faculty Directory
• Cancer Center
• Cardiovascular Research Center
• Carter Immunology Center
• Center for Behavioral Health & Technology
• Center for Brain Immunology & Glia
• Center for Diabetes Technology
• Center for Immunity, Inflammation & Regenerative Medicine
• Center for Membrane & Cell Physiology
• Center for Research in Reproduction
• Myles H. Thaler Center for AIDS & Human Retrovirus Research
• Child Health Research Center (Pediatrics)
• Division of Perceptual Studies
• Research News: The Making of Medicine
• Core Facilities
• Virginia Research Resources Consortium
• Center for Advanced Vision Science
• Charles O. Strickler Transplant Center
• Keck Center for Cellular Imaging
• Institute of Law, Psychiatry & Public Policy
• Translational Health Research Institute of Virginia
• Clinical Home
• Anesthesiology
• Dermatology
• Emergency Medicine
• Family Medicine
• Neurosurgery
• Obstetrics & Gynecology
• Ophthalmology
• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Otolaryngology
• Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
• Plastic Surgery, Maxillofacial, & Oral Health
• Psychiatry & Neurobehavioral Sciences
• Radiation Oncology
• Radiology & Medical Imaging
• UVA Health: Patient Care
• Diversity Home
• Diversity Overview
• Student Resources
• GME Trainee Resources
• Faculty Resources
• Community Resources

EVENT: After Death Communications – History and Research with Dr. Kim Penberthy

Description : Dr. Kim Penberthy from the Division of Perceptual Studies (DOPS) presents research on after death communications (ADCs). Approximately 1 in 3 people report an ADC at some point in their lives, typically within a year of the death of a loved one, and these experiences occur in cultures all around the world. During this webinar, Dr. Penberthy will discuss and answer questions about her research on the history, prevalence, and impact of after-death communications (ADCs) on human belief systems, fears, spirituality, and grieving. The event is free and open to the public, and all registrants will receive a recording of the event for on-demand viewing. Register now!

Date & Time : September 17, 2024 08:00 PM (Eastern)

Location : Zoom, register here

• Faculty and Staff
• DOPS Research
• Publications
• News & Archive
• Participate
• Support Our Research
• Altered States
• Children Who Report Past Lives
• Nature of Consciousness
• Near-Death Experiences
• Reincarnation
• Study of Psi

• News & Insights
• All News & Insights

New USC study sheds light on adolescent mental health crisis in the United States

Results emphasize the interconnectedness of mental health, attendance and school grades—a necessary reality for schools to grapple with.

Key Findings

This study suggests:

• Teen girls and pre-teen boys exhibit distress differently, with pre-teen boys struggling with externalizing behaviors and hyperactivity, while teen girls are experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression.
• Students who are on track to be chronically absent or who are earning Cs are three or more times as likely to face mental health challenges as those with fewer absences or As and Bs.
• Black and lower-income families report fewer school mental health services, but are more likely to utilize them when available.
• Nearly 20 percent of families without access to mental health services would enroll their children if offered.

The mental health of children in the United States has reached a critical juncture, with rising rates of teen suicides, emergency room visits and anxiety and depression among youth. Contributing factors include the social isolation of the pandemic, academic disruptions, family challenges, economic impacts and social media’s inescapable influence.

Today, researchers with USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and USC Rossier School of Education released a new report titled “A Nation’s Children at Risk: Insights on Children’s Mental Health from the Understanding America Study” that examined the current state of adolescent mental health in the United States.

In a nationally representative sample of U.S. families, this new report examines adolescent mental health through the lens of their school experiences and parental perspectives. The study delved into mental health scores across multiple demographic groups and explored the correlation between scores, school attendance and course grades. Importantly, the study also investigated the availability of mental health resources in schools to support students in need.

Study co-authors Amie Rapaport , Morgan Polikoff , Anna Saavedra and Daniel Silver presented the finding’s implications and offered recommendations in their report.

“Our data supports the interconnected nature of student needs; to improve academic outcomes, schools must need to also prioritize mental health and attendance,” said Rapaport, co-director with the Center for Applied Research in Education (CARE) and research scientist with the Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR) both with USC Dornsife.

The study suggests that when students receive mental health support in school, 75 percent of parents report that these services are beneficial, with 72 percent expressing satisfaction. However, disparities in service availability exist, with service availability more than 20 percentage points greater in schools serving more White and higher-income households. This despite the fact that lower-income families are more than 5 times as likely as higher-income families to take up the services in schools when offered.

“While there is a growing awareness of the mental health struggles faced by adolescents, our study underscores that different student groups are experiencing different struggles–clearly, a one-size-fits-all solution to this problem will not work,” said Polikoff, USC Rossier professor of education and co-faculty director of the USC EdPolicy Hub .

Among the study’s implications:

• While the mental health struggles of our nation’s adolescents often are in the headlines, the report sheds light on the unique challenges faced by different subgroups of children.
• The study recommends a need for targeted allocation of resources to address mental health needs in schools.
• The correlation between mental health struggles and academic outcomes-including the approximately threefold increase in mental health warning flags among students chronically absent or with lower grades - underscores the importance of comprehensive support systems for students.

“The study shows that there is substantial unmet need for mental health services in schools, especially for the most disadvantaged students–states and the federal government need to step in and provide resources and guidance to address this crisis,” said Saavedra, a research scientist with CESR and co-director at CARE.

The study was supported by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation Pandemic Policy Research Fund at the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics .

Morgan Polikoff

• Professor of Education

USC EdPolicy Hub

Article Type

Article topics.

• K–12 education policy

Related News & Insights

August 1, 2024

Copur-Gencturk receives $6.7 million in federal funding to continue work to improve elementary math instruction by improving teacher knowledge

Creating content-focused professional development programs that focus on the key knowledge and skills that matter in quality teaching and student learning.

Featured Faculty

• Yasemin Copur-Gencturk

July 31, 2024

New research shows that transcendent thinking can increase teens’ sense of purpose

In a study of an intergenerational community program, CANDLE researchers found that adolescents who engaged in transcendent thinking increased their sense of purpose.

• Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
• Xiao-Fei Yang

July 9, 2024

New study reveals that witnessing violence harms the brains of older teens—but ‘transcendent thinking’ may be an antidote 

These latest findings from CANDLE researchers show that teens who think about social issues and violence in more reflective ways show greater resilience to the effects of violence exposure on their brain development.

University of Utah Hospital

General questions.

• Billing & Insurance

• Health Care Home

Deadly Sea Snail Toxin Could be Key to Making Better Medicines

Media contact:.

Sophia Friesen Manager, Research Communications, University of Utah Health Email: [email protected]

Scientists are finding clues for how to treat diabetes and hormone disorders in an unexpected place: a toxin from one of the most venomous animals on the planet.   A multinational research team led by University of Utah scientists has identified a component within the venom of a deadly marine cone snail, the geography cone, that mimics a human hormone called somatostatin, which regulates the levels of blood sugar and various hormones in the body. The hormone-like toxin’s specific, long-lasting effects, which help the snail hunt its prey, could also help scientists design better drugs for people with diabetes or hormone disorders, conditions that can be serious and sometimes fatal.   The results published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications on August 20, 2024.

Ho Yan Yeung, PhD, first author on the study, uses tongs to capture a venomous cone snail in the waters of Palau. Video credit: Safavi Lab.

A blueprint for better drugs

The somatostatin-like toxin the researchers characterized could hold the key to improving medications for people with diabetes and hormone disorders.   Somatostatin acts like a brake pedal for many processes in the human body, preventing the levels of blood sugar, various hormones, and many other important molecules from rising dangerously high. The cone snail toxin, called consomatin, works similarly, the researchers found—but consomatin is more stable and specific than the human hormone, which makes it a promising blueprint for drug design.   By measuring how consomatin interacts with somatostatin’s targets in human cells in a dish, the researchers found that consomatin interacts with one of the same proteins that somatostatin does. But while somatostatin directly interacts with several proteins, consomatin only interacts with one. This fine-tuned targeting means that the cone snail toxin affects hormone levels and blood sugar levels but not the levels of many other molecules.   In fact, the cone snail toxin is more precisely targeted than the most specific synthetic drugs designed to regulate hormone levels, such as drugs that regulate growth hormone. Such drugs are an important therapy for people whose bodies overproduce growth hormone. Consomatin’s effects on blood sugar could make it dangerous to use as a therapeutic, but by studying its structure, researchers could start to design drugs for endocrine disorders that have fewer side effects.   Consomatin is more specific than top-of-the-line synthetic drugs—and it also lasts far longer in the body than the human hormone, thanks to the inclusion of an unusual amino acid that makes it difficult to break down. This is a useful feature for pharmaceutical researchers looking for ways to make drugs that will have long-lasting benefits.

Learning from cone snails

Finding better drugs by studying deadly venoms may seem unintuitive, but Helena Safavi, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry in the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine (SFESOM) at the University of Utah and the senior author on the study, explains that the toxins’ lethality is often aided by pinpoint targeting of specific molecules in the victim’s body. That same precision can be extraordinarily useful when treating disease.   “Venomous animals have, through evolution, fine-tuned venom components to hit a particular target in the prey and disrupt it,” Safavi says. “If you take one individual component out of the venom mixture and look at how it disrupts normal physiology, that pathway is often really relevant in disease.” For medicinal chemists, “it’s a bit of a shortcut.”   Consomatin shares an evolutionary lineage with somatostatin, but over millions of years of evolution, the cone snail turned its own hormone into a weapon.    For the cone snail’s fishy prey, consomatin’s deadly effects hinge on its ability to prevent blood sugar levels from rising. And importantly, consomatin doesn’t work alone. Safavi’s team had previously found that cone snail venom includes another toxin which resembles insulin, lowering the level of blood sugar so quickly that the cone snail’s prey becomes nonresponsive. Then, consomatin keeps blood sugar levels from recovering.   “We think the cone snail developed this highly selective toxin to work together with the insulin-like toxin to bring down blood glucose to a really low level,” says Ho Yan Yeung, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in biochemistry in SFESOM and the first author on the study.   The fact that multiple parts of the cone snail’s venom target blood sugar regulation hints that the venom could include many other molecules that do similar things. “It means that there might not only be insulin and somatostatin-like toxins in the venom,” Yeung says. “There could potentially be other toxins that have glucose-regulating properties too.” Such toxins could be used to design better diabetes medications.   It may seem surprising that a snail is able to outperform the best human chemists at drug design, but Safavi says that the cone snails have evolutionary time on their side. “We’ve been trying to do medicinal chemistry and drug development for a few hundred years, sometimes badly,” she says. “Cone snails have had a lot of time to do it really well.”     Or, as Yeung puts it, “Cone snails are just really good chemists.”

Watch how cone snail toxins hijack their prey's blood sugar regulation, and how those same toxins could be used to develop better drugs. Credit: Janet Iwasa, PhD, Helena Safavi, PhD, and Ho Yan Yeung, PhD.

This research published in Nature Communications on August 20, 2024, as "Fish-hunting cone snail disrupts prey’s glucose homeostasis with weaponized mimetics of somatostatin and insulin."

Research reported in this press release was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01GM144719-03. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. This research was also supported by a Villum Young Investigator Grant (19063), a Starting Grant from the European Commission (ERC-Stg 949830), and the Carlsberg Foundation (CF20-0248.)

• research news