ICR welcomes 2022 cohort
The Institute of Communications Research is excited to announce our newest cohort! Please learn more about the students' research interests in their profiles below and join us in welcoming them to the University of Illinois College of Media community this fall.
Jiyeon Chang received her master's degree in communication and media and bachelor's degrees in journalism and advertising & PR at Ewha Womans University, Seoul. Jiyeon studies the psychological and societal impacts of using new media. Her newest research focuses primarily on personal traits that determine psychological well-being and improvement in work skills in the virtual work environment. As a new student in ICR, she is interested in understanding collective actions and homophily in online and social media. She also wants to examine senior citizens' new media usage to minimize information gaps and social disparities. Before joining ICR, Jiyeon worked in a government-funded research institute in South Korea. She has contributed to policy developments in the broadcasting and media fields in line with technological developments and changes in the media environment.
Jennifer Cintron received her bachelor’s degree in English literature with a minor in film studies from North Central College. She then completed a master’s degree at Northern Illinois University, in English with a concentration in film and literature. Her research across these degrees has focused on adaption from the written to visual, emphasizing youth culture and social media. At a past conference, she has spoken on the choice of adaptation literature in youth media, as it affects ongoing conversations of cultural and historical awareness. With her new work at the ICR, she hopes to continue this path and research these ongoing changes that can be seen in the film medium.
Namita Gupta graduated from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi, receiving her bachelor’s in English, and she attained her master’s degree in English from Shiv Nadar University (India). Her research lies at the intersection of print and digital public sphere, where she aims to study the impact of new technologies on social and political discourse in visual and popular culture. Particularly, she is interested in examining how contesting notions of nationalism, collective memory, and belonging are interpreted in mass media texts. Before joining ICR as a PhD student, she worked as a researcher with Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad, participating in various projects on gender, politics of space, and trolling. She has also held several teaching assistantships and editorial positions.
Ruochong (Alice) Ji received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and economics at the University of Chicago. Her bachelor’s thesis in psychology “Ramifications of social inclusion: Does social inclusion affect people’s adoption and internalization of harm-doing group normative behavior?” examined whether profile likes by group members on social media affected subsequent learning and internalization of aggressive behaviors displayed by other group members. Prior to joining ICR, she also worked as a research assistant at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Her primary research interest is in media psychology. Specifically, she is interested in the reception of health messages and scientific/political communication on social media, the effects of social media in promoting policy and social change, and influencer (real or virtual) marketing.
Jiwon Oh’s research interests intersect digital culture, technology, and identity. Drawing upon both qualitative and computational methods, she would like to study how gendered and racialized boundaries are created, enforced, and protected within digital spaces, particularly regarding how Asian-American communities navigate pandemic-era identity politics online. Jiwon holds an MA in communication from Seoul National University, where she studied cringe culture, fandoms, and Korean popular culture. She has also conducted research with industry giants like Netflix and HYBE. She graduated magna cum laude from New York University, receiving a BS with honors in media, culture, and communication.