September 17, 2025
Awards
Professor danah boyd received an Honorable Mention, Star-Nelkin Best Paper Award from the American Sociology Science, Knowledge, and Technology Section. The award is in recognition of her co-authored article “The Resource Bind: System Failure and Legitimacy Threats in Sociotechnical Organizations,” in Sociologica.
Associate Professor Neil Lewis, Jr., received the 2025 ASA Mental Health Section Best Publication Award for his co-authored article “Deportation Threat Predicts Latino US Citizens and Noncitizens’ Psychological Distress, 2011–2018,” published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The ASA Section on Mental Health wrote, “[We] were very impressed by your rigorous analysis and the critical importance of your findings for both mental health research and public policy. Your work exemplifies the spirit of this award by advancing sociological understanding of mental health in a significant and timely way.”
Conferences
Research Associate Sarah Gilbert presented “Reluctant Saviors: Volunteer Moderation and Social Media Collapse” at the annual conference of the Society for the Social Studies of Science.
Volunteer content moderation plays a key role in AI safety by removing content from datasets that could result in the generation of false or biased outputs. In her talk, Sarah drew from her own ethnographic work and experience as a volunteer moderator to shine light on the reluctant work of volunteers as they simultaneously protect their communities from and train Gen AI.
Events
Please join us for COMMColloquium Monday, September 29, 3:00 pm, in 160 Mann Library Building. Postdoctoral Associate Bailey Flynn will present “Alternative Health Systems and Resilient Communication.” The colloquium is followed by a reception, located in The Hub of the Department of Communication.
Publications
D. Wenger & Senior Lecturer Iveta Imre, August 2025, “Integrating AI in Video Journalism Education: Current Trends and Challenges,” Journalism & Mass Communication Educator.
This study surveys video journalism educators in the United States to assess familiarity with generative AI (GenAI) video tools, perceptions of ethical boundaries, and levels of curricular integration. Findings indicate cautious adoption: while educators support the use of GenAI for animations and background graphics, they express significant concern regarding synthetic news scenes and content alteration, emphasizing the need for transparency.
Assistant Professor Wunpini Mohammed, July 2025, “Navigating Power Dynamics in Community-Centered Research Design in the Global South,” in Research Methods for the Marginalized: A Communication Approach for Vulnerable Populations (S. & B. Smith, Eds.).
This chapter draws attention to the issues that scholars may face in Global South contexts and proposes alternative, decolonial ways of engaging interlocutors in research. Wunpini argues that researchers need to approach the research process in ways that do not reproduce power hierarchies while centering the perspectives and needs of the communities with which they co-create knowledge.
Professor Jeff Niederdeppe, September 2025, “Breastfeeding in the United States: Strategies to Support Families and Achieve National Goals,” a report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.
Breastfeeding offers health benefits across the life course for both infants and mothers, yet many families in the U.S. face barriers that prevent them from meeting their infant feeding goals. A new report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, outlines an evidence-based roadmap to strengthen breastfeeding support through national coordination, public health programs and health care strategies, coverage of lactation services and supplies, and workplace supports. The report highlights the need for paid family and medical leave, enforcement of workplace accommodations, accessible and affordable lactation support, a coordinated communication strategy, and expanded community-based programs. With targeted investments and sustained coordination, more families can reach their goals—bringing the nation closer to meeting Healthy People 2030 objectives. Jeff served as a member of consensus committee and helped to draft conclusions, recommendations, and several sections of the report.
Visiting Intern Carolina Soterio & Professor Bruce Lewenstein, July 2025, “What Do Students Want to Learn? Student-Centered Insights on Science Communication Training,” International Journal of Science Education, Part B: Communication and Public Engagement.
Based on work conducted by Carolina when she was a visiting intern in the department, this article offers an empirical, student-centered account of what undergraduate science students want to learn in science communication training, based on the views of students, educators, and practitioners engaged in the process. The study was part of Carolina’s dissertation in chemistry at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. She has returned to the U.S. and is studying at New York University for a second PhD, in science education.
