Student Researchers

Andayani, NadiaPhoto on 2-18-15 at 11.44 PM

Nadia Andayani is a second year doctoral student in the School of Communication at Florida State University. Before joining the media and communication studies program, she received a MA degree in marketing communication from the Bournemouth University, UK and a BA degree in communication from the Universitas Indonesia, Indonesia. Her research interests focus on internet literacy, the use of information and communication technology in education, and information sharing activity in online-based community. She has presented research on this topic at the annual meeting of the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre and the Asian Studies Association of Australia. In her free time, Nadia likes to travel, read, and, browse the internet.

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Bailey, Erica

Erica BaileyErica Bailey is a third year doctoral student in the College of Communications at Penn State University. She earned her M.A. in Communication from Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on the impacts of mood and personality on media selection and media effects. She has presented research at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association (ICA) and the National Communication Association (NCA). She has published her research in the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media and  International Journal of Technoethics. In her free time, she enjoys reading, running, and coloring.

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Baldwin, JoshuaJoshua Baldwin

Joshua Baldwin is a first year master’s student in the School of Communication at Florida State University. Before pursuing his master’s in media and communication studies, he received his BS in media and communication studies from Florida State and his AA in general studies from Idaho State University.  His research interests include entertainment theory, developmental media effects, and entertainment culture. He has recently presented his first research at the Florida Communication Association’s annual meeting. In his free time, Josh likes to read video game news sites and go on date nights to the movies with his wife.

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Diddi, Pratitipratiti pic

Pratiti Diddi is a first year doctoral student in College of Communications at Pennsylvania State University. She received her master’s in mass Communication from Louisiana State University. Her research interests focus on understanding the psychological effects and cognitive processing implications of media messages in improving public health. Of specific interests are the role of interactive communications on social media platforms in promoting health literacy for breast cancer and smoking. She has presented her research at the annual meetings of International Communication Association (ICA) and regional mid-winter conference at Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). In her free time, Pratiti enjoys cooking, playing Sudoku, and listening to music.

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Ferchaud, ArienneArienne Ferchaude

Arienne Ferchaud is a first year doctoral candidate at Penn State’s College of Communications. Prior to joining the PhD program, Arienne received a MA in media studies from Penn State and a BA in Mass Communication–advertising from Louisiana State University. Her overarching research interests include entertainment media effects, including new media narratives and relationships. She has presented her research at meetings of the International Communication Association and National Communication Association. When not hard at work at research, Arienne enjoys crafting, video games, playing with her kitten, and cheering on the LSU Tigers.

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Seeber, KellyKelly Seeber

Kelly Seeber earned her bachelor’s degree (Magna Cum Laude) in Psychology from Trinity University, where she received the Outstanding Senior in Psychology award and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Kelly was granted the Murchison Research Fellowship for the summer of 2014, which she used to develop a scale to measure a person’s desire for meaningful social interaction. She presented her research at the Society for Social and Personality Psychology conference in 2015. As a master’s student at Penn State, Kelly plans to study media effects, particularly how video games might influence individual’s lives in a positive manner through content or interpersonal interactions.

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Taylor, AllieTaylor Allie

Allie Taylor is a second year master’s student in the Department of Communication at the University of Arkansas. Before joining the mass communication and media studies program, she received a BA in communication from the University of Arkansas. Her research interests focus on 21st century literacies, educational technology, and innovation. She presents research at this year’s annual meeting of the Southern Communication Association. In her free time, Allie likes to watch television, cook for her friends, and hike/explore Northwest Arkansas.

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Wang, CenCen Wang

Cen Wang is a first year Ph.D. student in the School of Communication at Florida State University. She earned her Bachelor Degree majored in TV Program Production at Shanghai Theater Academy in 2010. She went to FSU and received her M.A. in Arts Administration in 2012 and M.S. in Media and Communication Studies in 2015. Her research interests include consumer behavior, strategic marketing, persuasion theory, and media effect. She has published her research on Journal of Movie Review in China. She is striving to live a balanced life and inspire others to make a significant difference.

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Yan, HuangYan Huang

Yan Huang is a third-year doctoral candidate in the College of Communications, Penn State University. Before joining the mass communication program at Penn State, she received a BA in Chinese Literature and a MA in Mass Communication from Peking University, China. Her recent research focuses on the strategic use of message and technological factors to facilitate attitude and behavior change. She has examined the persuasive effects of media messages and technologies in a variety of contexts including health communication, risk and crisis communication, public relations, and online advertising. She has presented her research at the annual meetings of the International Communication Association (ICA), the Association for the Education of Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), the Social and Semantic Networks in Communication Research Preconference of ICA, and the International Public Relations Research Conference (IPRRC). In her free time, she enjoys singing, dancing, and travelling with her family.

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Yang, ChunChun Yang

Chun Yang is a third year doctoral candidate in the College of Communications at Pennsylvania State University. Before joining the mass communication program, he received a BA in journalism from Hunan Normal University, a MA in mass communication from Jinan University, and a second MA in media studies from Washington State University. His research interests focus on the emotional and cognitive effects of media. He has presented research on this topic at the annual meetings of the International Communication Association, the National Communication Association, and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. In his free time, Chun likes to watch television and movies.

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Richard, WirthRichard Wirth

Richard Wirth is a first year doctoral candidate at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology. Prior to joining the PhD program, Richard received a M.A. and B.A. in Arts, Technology and Emerging Communication from The University of Texas at Dallas. His research interests lie primarily in media effects, empathy and prosocial behavior, and relationships between users and developers of interactive media. He has presented his research at Meaningful Play, the Association of Internet Researchers, and annual conferences from Inter-Disciplinary.Net. In his free time, Richard is an avid video/card/board gamer, a recent audio-book addict, and leads a raiding guild in World of Warcraft.

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Wang, RuoxuRuoxu wang

Ruoxu Wang is a third year doctoral candidate in the College of Communications at Penn State University. She received her BA and MS in Mass Communication from North Dakota State University. Her research interests lie in the intersection of media effects and persuasion under the context of communication technologies and advertising/public relations. She has presented her research at the annual meetings of the International Communication Association (ICA), the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), and the International Public Relations Research Conference (IPRRC). In her free time, she enjoys drawing and web development.

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Wu, Yijie

Yijie Wu is a first year Ph.D. student in the School of Communication at Florida State University.

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Zhao, DanyangDanyan Zhao

Danyang Zhao is a second-year doctoral student in the School of Communication at Florida State University. Before joining the Communication Ph.D. Program, she received a M.A. degree in Media and Communication Studies from Florida State University. Her research interests include media psychology, media effects, inspirational media, narrative processing, and narrative influence of entertainment media on behaviors related to mental illness prevention and other health behaviors. She has presented her research at the annual convention of the National Communication Association, DC Health Communication Conference, and the Social Media & Society Conference. She will present her recent research at the annual conference of the International Communication Association. In her free time, She likes to travel, cook, play badminton, hang out with friends, and organize things. She also dedicates a good portion of her spare time to watching television and movies.