#IAMCR2025 Day 3 & 4 – International Association of Media and Communication Research

tropical garden in singapore

CPT – Users in focus: Weighing behaviour and attitudes in media governance and platform policies

I know how it works: Exploring the impact of algorithmic media content awareness on the privacy calculus of self-disclosure
» Dr. Zhang Hao Goh (Singapore)1, Prof. Gerard Goggin (Australia)2, Dr. Kym Campbell (Singapore)1 (1. Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, 2. Western Sydney University)

  • More data = more insights within mobile AI applications
  • Layman vs. Expert – what does a model of knowing look like?
  • Hierarchical structure of Awareness: Experiential (knowledge and experieince); systematic (how algorithms work); Normative (values and norms/ethics)

Are All AI Applications Created Equal? Unpacking Public Attitudes Toward AI Policies in Taiwan
» Dr. Tsung-Jen Shih (Taiwan)1, Ms. WEI-SHAN ZHENG (Taiwan)2 (1. College of Communication, National Chengchi University, Taiwan, R.O.C., 2. Telecom Technology Center (TTC), Taiwan, R.O.C.)

  • General public in Taiwan and how they understand AI policies
  • Deference and scientific authority (Lee & Scheufele, 2006) – we trust scientist more and we believe, if we do not believe we question legitimacy of science
  • Findings indicate that both deference and moral considerations benefit perceptions

Behaviorism Takes Command: A Study on A/B Testing and Experimental Culture in Big Internet Tech Companies
» Ms. Xia Yunxuan (China)1 (1. Peking University School of New Media)

  • Engineers vs. designers through A/B testing (testing as a decision making process)
  • How has A/B testing evolved from a testign tool to a mechanism of digital governacne?
  • A/B testing as a form of experimental culture – this emerges from within the tech industry as a constant process that is underway
  • The backbone of design inhibits how the experimentation of the testing process – expanding the gaps between techn workers and users

Characteristics and Regulations of Digital Identity Theft in the AI Era: A Grounded Theory Study of Rednote Micro-Influencers
» Ms. Yichuan Wang (China)1, Mr. Hanze Zhao (China)2 (1. School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University, 2. Beijing Foreign Studies University)

  • It makes me think of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOuGH9Gpeos
  • Method (coding): Open coding, axial coding then

Day 4

CPT – Generative AI Governance: Institutions, Imaginaries, Innovations

Innovation vs Imagination in GenAI: A Comparative Patent Analysis of China, Europe, and the United States
» Dr. Yuner ZHU (Hong Kong)1, Dr. Xinzhi Zhang (Hong Kong)2, Prof. Bu Zhong (Hong Kong)1 (1. Hong Kong Baptist University, 2. City University of Hong Kong)

  • Systematic review of AI policy in Europe (Value Oriented), US (Market-driven) and China (State-led)
  • Examining the relationship between Innovation and Imagination
  • Patent filings: THomson Reuters Derwent World Patents Index
  • Patent claims – 6.7% China, 86% Europe, 34.8% US – really clever way to identify where the innovation is and where the rest follow (I suspect it is highest in China with much interest emerging from Europe)
  • Q: Expand on the clash between the three policy spaces?

Strikes and unrest in Hollywood media industry: bringing workers into the debate over GAI regulation and governance
» Mr. ANDRE ROCHA (Brazil)1 (1. DigiLabour research lab)

  • digitallabour.com.br (double check this link) Brazillian colleagues doing work on the WGA
  • Hollywood strikes
  • Power resources mobilization: Institutional “Hollywood is ‘union town'”; Economic (structural): disruption of media markets; Societal (discursive): public opinion that AI is not art/threat to workers/reflects dominant views
  • This moment spilled over into the gaming industry and other labour movements

Preemptive Dispositif: Data Annotation, Security, and the Territorialisation of Generative AI in China
» Dr. PENGFEI FU (China)1, Dr. Jian Lin (Hong Kong)2 (1. Shanghai Jiao Tong Univeristy, 2. Chinese University of Hong Kong)

  • China internet governance has existed in a ‘post-moderation’ mode since its inception
  • Concerns have moved from not what is made but how AI systems are designed, trained, developed, etc.
  • ‘upstream interventions’ – data annotation such as screening, cleaning, classifying, rating, marking and quality verification that can be used to train LLMs. Not just technical but also normative and social.
  • This is done as a ‘national workforce’. Ummmmm….
  • This sits within a global workforce labour model towards data annotation
  • Shift towards a pre-production regulation (this thinking aligns with our sandboxing approach), with focus on how training is done
  • Q: yes! But how to do this practically?

Assembling Generative Artificial Intelligence: Mapping Policy Evolution and Governance
» Dr. Chao Su (United States)1 (1. Boston University)

  • Wayback machine to snapshot TikTok’s Community Guidelines from 2018
  • Published article here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369118X.2025.2513672

CPT – What drives digital adoption and regulation? Between moral panics and digital identity

Do Sleeping Sovereigns Dream of Digital Identities?: Identity, Sovereignty, Citizenship
» Mr. James Rosenberg (United States)1 (1. University of Wisconsin–Madison)

  • The introduction of the EU digital wallet
  • Self Sovereign Identity: the internet identity layer as a solution to public trust across the internet – a menas of proving identity on the internt
  • TCP/IP provides an address not an identity
  • 3 solutions: centralised model (id cards etc.); federated model (insert identity provider i.e. Google credentials); decentralized model (SSI – relationship between you and IP provider)
  • Self-Sovereign Identity: Decentralized digital identity and verifiable credentials
  • The sovereign individual – anyone can be rich, citizenship is dead, nation-state is dead, live elsewhere from your money in a tax haven

The Anxiety of Age: Moral Media Panics over Children’s Social Media Use as a Tool to Regulate
» Dr. Catherine Page Jeffery (Australia)1, Dr. Justine Humphry (Australia)2, Prof. Jonathon Hutchinson (Australia)1 (1. University of Sydney, 2. The University of Sydney)

  • This is our work, questiosn as follows: Is this private and public media? What is the reach of those orgs that are presented in the data? I don’t know if reach is the thing to measure here, I think it’s impact. Haidt > Wippa > 36 months etc. then the link with policy agenda.
  • What about individual ‘media’, as opposed to ‘the media’
  • Presented excellently by Cat and Justine

One World, Different Priorities: AI Technology Policies and the Global South
» Prof. chika Anyanwu (Australia)1 (1. University of New South Wales)

  • AI policies and tis translation around the world, especially the Global South
  • GenAI in Africe, a colonial lens,
  • “Technology transfer”: colonial term that the West will allow knowledge to come into Africa
  • Socially constructed technology spaces (GenAI) and how this transfers across the glove(the question of power and influence)
  • Superiority lens (McDonalds food is cheaper than good food as an example), Interesting read on this topic here
  • Homi K. Bhabha’s Third Space Theory and Cultural Identity Today: A Critical Review
  • Noble and algorithms of oppression
  • Fascinating analysis of Africa from early ‘cheap labour’, then to material wealth
  • What about now (space for GenAI)?
  • Africa AI Policy Framework
  • Congo as a stronghold of minerals for tech, becoming ‘the bride of the US’ as a result of the tensions between US and China

Understanding Digital Cryptocurrency Communities: Digital Participation, Infrastructure, and Social Networks in the Global South
» Dr. Jonalou Labor (Denmark)1 (1. Aarhus University)

  • This is important work to bridge the scholarship between crypto worlds (bitcoin etc.) and platform studies
  • Multi-layers as a way to understand crypto (create their own platform layers), embedding this work in platform studies – think: Discord as a way to communicate about Bitcoin
  • Digital Bayanihan is the connection between collective action and cryptocurrencies – adaption of new frameworks in digital activism
  • Great work that provides clear evidence for the inclusion of alternative regioanl models (i.e Philippines) in platform studies.

Media’ s Embrace of Technology: How Media Portrays the Use of Autonomous Taxis and Its Impact on Individuals’ Adoption Intentions
» Prof. Christine Yi-Hui HUANG (Hong Kong)1, Ms. Ruoheng LIU (China)
1, Ms. Shuang GAO (China)1, Ms. Bo CHANG (China)1 (1. City University
of Hong Kong)

CPT – The Digital Transactions Turn: Making Policy and Governance Fit-For-Purpose

Digital Transaction Platforms in Asia
» Prof. Adrian Athique (Australia)1 (1. The University of Queensland)

  • Digital transactions are acts of: code, exchange, communication, solidarity and power
  • Xanadu Project was already doing this
  • Cascading transactions – automated and layered nature of platforms to think beyond economies
  • Strategic design
  • Transaction platforms: payment, banking, exchange, escrow, social media, social credit
  • Currencies: Airtime, social, crypto, legible reserves

TikTok Refugees and the Cross-Cultural Public Sphere: Social Transactions and International Communication Policy
» Prof. Haiqing Yu (Australia)1 (1. RMIT University)

  • TikTok refugees went to Insta reels, YouTube shorts but India won: Chingari, Roposo, Moj, Josh. Plus Rednote in China
  • Red note users: “What?!? Why do I now see all these blue eyes?”
  • Total cultural explosion between US and Chinese users – Cross cultural social translations
  • Exchange of English, Chinese, Chinglish is more informative than then a Chinese State or New York Times explanation
  • Impacts on policy – book idea: “policy intermediaries”

Platform Labor and Transaction Chains
» Prof. Cheryll Ruth Soriano (Philippines)1 (1. De La Salle University Manila)

  • Next Wave Cities – support for Philippines labour industries – digital jobs and labour
  • Upwork is the platform that results – think: Airtasker but better
  • This platform and service prompts a new kind of transaction platform – GCash
  • [This includes Vietnam]
  • The oversupply of labour has created new industries on how to be successful on UpWork
  • It’s very similar to the YouTube world – creators, MCNs, training, ‘universities/feeder schools’

E-commerce logistics in Southeast Asia: the cases of Shopee and Lazada
» Dr. Emma Baulch (Malaysia)1 (1. Monash University Malaysia)

  • Lots of talk of ‘intermediaries’ here – I think there is a thread that unexplored in all the work in this panel
  • Fascinating work that explores the tensions of delivery drivers especially in Malaysia
/by

#IAMCR2025 Day 2 – International Association of Media and Communication Research, Nanyang University

First half of today was consumed with meeting with colleagues, but I managed to sneak in the afternoon sessions:

POP – The child’s play in/of popular media culture

“We All Love Cinderella But…”: How Young Nigerian Parents Engage with Portrayals of the Female Gender in Disney-Animated Films
» Dr. Chinedu Ononiwu (Nigeria)1, Dr. Chikezie Uzuegbunam (South Africa)2 (1. Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, 2. School of Journalism and Media Studies Rhodes University)

  • Finding of Media Consumption patterns: Viewing varies through lifestyle, Disney films as tools for bonding, Access across multiple platforms, Globalised and cultural integration, Co-viewing and mediation opportunities
  • Critical engagement with media content, active mediation through discussion, Restrictive mediation driven by cultural values, gendered mediation responsibilities, media literacy shapes mediation style
  • Intentional selection of empowering narratives, Active dialogue and emotional engagement, challenging gender stereotypes, mother-daughter value translation
  • Q: Can you unpack the difference between gatekeeping fathers and dialogue encouraging mothers

Mexican Representation in U.S. Children’s Animation
» Ms. Jimena Abreu (Canada)1 (1. Simon Fraser University)

  • How US construst race and gender in Mexican children’s animation
  • Machismo encompasses strength, while female is the nurturing mother
  • Latino Critical Communication Theory –
  • Coco – low paying jobs, Latinos are represented in blue collar work (shoemaker), border crossing into the afterlife (US/Mexico border), Frida character, Mamá Imelda, is framed through historic pain; Abuela Elena is the mother/maker, and religious

CPT – ‘Breaking’ news? The challenges of AI and media governance

AI and news: another nail in the coffin?
» Dr. Michael Davis (Australia)1, Prof. Monica Attard (Australia)1 (1. UTS Centre for Media Transition)

  • Born from a post ChatGPT time in 2022
  • 64% of journalists have not used ChatGPT in their practice in the previous year.
  • How are newsrooms implementing GenAi? What are the perceived opportunities and risks?
  • Phase 1 – journalists are very cautious. One year later journalists are becoming experimental, especially for background tasks
  • Benefits don’t outweigh the costs is the overall feeling here (Nine, ABC)
  • Biggest perceived threat is not editorial, rather loss of editorial control to black-box AI tools, platform distribution, walled gardens (if one’s journalistic output is then wrapped up in GenAI journalism, three is no control of how the news brand is represented)

A Small Nation’s Perspective: Singapore’s Policy Approaches to AI in the Creative Media Industries
» Dr. Pei-Sze Chow (Singapore)1, Dr. Sherwin Chua (Singapore)1 (1. Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University)

  • [contact for DP work – follow up for P&I]
  • Small industry in Singapore, positioning itself as hub for AI innovation,
  • “leader in AI innovation” (Yeap & Lee 2024)
  • Theoretical Framework – Sustainability Development Goals
  • Press releases, policy documents, govt. reports in terms of national AI strategy, skills framework for media workers in AI (“upskill, retrain, embrace AI”)
  • Finding: Labour impact: Upskilling, adapt individual responsibility, focus on enterprise oriented support
  • Finding: Professional and cultural: diminished creative labour protection and recognition; AI safety prioritised, cultural inclusion, representation and under explored.
  • Finding: Ethical AI use: technical issue, risks overshadowing cultural sustainability, policy driven by general AI ethics, specific creative-sector concerns not addressed

Anticipated Affordances and AI Adoption: Exploring Chinese Journalists’ Pre-Usage Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence in Media Industries
» Dr. Runping Zhu (China)1, Mr. MA zhipeng (China)2, Mr. Zhexi Gu (United States)3, Mr. Liheng Chen (China)1, Ms. Jiayue Fan (China)1 (1. Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College (UIC), 2. mazhipenggo@foxmail.com, 3. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

  • Political capital – the higher the AI knowledge, the more powerful the entity becomes
  • AI news programs
  • Cultural/symbolic capital – a tug of war between experience and technology
/by

#IAMCR2025 Day 1 – International Association of Media and Communication Research Conference Continues…

view of illuminated buildings at night

CPT – Governing content and user behaviour on platforms: regulation, policy and practices

“Weapons of the Weak”: Daily Resistance and Collusion of Platform Content Moderators
» Prof. Enqiang Guo (China)1, Dr. Jiebing Liang (China)2 (1. East China University of Political Science and Law, 2. School of Media and Communication, Shanghai Jiao Tong University)

  • Content moderators utilising the form of adaption in the application of moderation
  • Data from Bilibili, Dounyin, Weibo, also used digital ethnography of moderators, users and creators
  • Timing is important, compliance risks due to overwhelming or working overtime
  • China is positioned between complex workgin conditions and platform content moderation. The moderators develop strategic and flexible practices to address stringent assmenet metrics imposed by platforms
  • Q: how does this compare with Western moderation practices?

Connecting Policies and Algorithms: A New Governance Framework for Cyberbullying
» Prof. Wei Li (China)1, Ms. Qingxuan Cheng (China)1, Prof. Hao Xu (China)1 (1. School of New Media, Peking University)

  • Cyberbullying: abusive, insulting, slanderous, invasive information (what does the literature say/could this be extended further?)
  • AI engaging in cyberbullying: “ChatGPT/4Chan is the worst model on the internet”
  • What are the new trends? What are the governing frameworks? develop new governance models;
  • New trends: rise of intelligent user networks. intellignet nodes become the centre of the network becoming the most significant ‘users’ in the network (how do we know this?)
  • Existing governance frameworks: Policy docs from Meta, WeChat, TikTok, YouTube, WhatsApp. Categories include Supportive Tools, Coercive Measures with minimal guidance, Weak connection to law enforcement in accountability
  • Dilemmas: High cost, Imbalance between control and guidance, Difficulty in pursuing and obtaining evidence
  • New dilemmas: AI can ‘crack the keyword audit system’ quickly
  • Integrating LoveGPT (?) (chat with victims), GPT-4Chan (speed of fake content)
  • By allowing bad content, this can help to train models (wow, contentious)
  • Looking for collaborators
  • Q: What about civic dissent/deviant practices (legitimate)?

Negotiating state-led governance policies: how self-regulation operates on Weibo
» Mr. Wenhao Zhou (China)1 (1. School of Journalism and Communication, Wuhan University)

  • Instructuralization on platfomrs – Weibo has 587m users, state-led regulatory model
  • RQ: How has China state-led platfrom governance policies evolved? RQ2: How can Weibo interact with state-led policies of regulation
  • “Negotiative Governance”
  • Platform governance, policy debates in platform governance, platform self regulation – the integration of these approaches is the background for negotiative governance
  • Doc analysis (regulatory papers), case study of Weibo, Platform biography
  • Evolution of regulation in China – content governance (health), market governance (fair), data governance (user rights)
  • The role of intermediary – can you unpack this further? Is this the role of Weibo?
  • The user participation and global collaboration (ordinary users and global platforms) Digital sovereignty (Shi & Yu, 2023)

Communicating the Climate Crisis: Translating Science into Policy and Practice

Audrey Tan (Assistant News Editor (Environment), The Straits Times, Singapore Press Holdings Kong)

  • Straits Times – National newspaper covering national events, has a Singapore focus,
  • Keen interest in environmental reporting, weather reports have lots of engagement, people can see the relevance
  • Raising awareness, serving as a bridge, galvanising action, spotlight on SEA

Man Jing (Co-founder, Science and Environment, Channel “Just Keep Thinking”)

Adam Douglas Switzer (Director, CIFAL @ NTU, Asian School of the Environment, Professor, Asian School of the Environment, Assistant Dean (Development), College of Science, Director of CIFAL@NTU, Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University)

  • $57Million funded project that brings science and humanities together – science project that brings communicaiton in at the foundation level
  • “Climate Change and Misinformation in the Media”
  • How do we do communication when the science is real and effects are visible
  • Leaders and their misinformation (i.e. Trump and Abbott)

Janil Puthucheary (Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Information, Singapore)

  • How does the lessons from Singapore inform the world and vice-versa?

CPT – Digital geopolitics, sovereignty and technological interdependence

The European Third Way: the EU’s strategic narrative of a valuebased digital order and its global impact
» Dr. Julia Pohle (Germany)1, Mr. Leo Thüer (Germany)1, Mr. Milan Schröder (Germany)1, Prof. Christian Rauh (Germany)1 (1. WZB Berlin Social Science Center)

  • European values are framed as a way of European governance – promote as an alternative to the Chinese restrictive and the US liberal model

Towards a “federated sovereignty”? Mobilizations of decentralized platforms for (European) digital autonomy
» Dr. Ksenia Ermoshina (France)1, Prof. Francesca Musiani (France)2 (1. Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), Centre Internet et Société, 2. Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), France)

  • The Fediverse is the central focus of this research, requires a high level of technical knowledge
  • Federation sits between digital sovereignty and federation networks – less technical knowledge is required
  • This is relevant in a post Twitter world where users are lookign for new forms of communication (i.e. Mastodon, Matrix, Delta Chat)
  • RQ: How are ‘alternative projects’ adopted by European public institutions
  • Federation and sovereignty – encourages interoperability between services beyond proprietary silos
  • 4 Cs of Federation: Compatibility, Community, Customization, Care
  • Moving from platform sovereignty towards protocol sovereignty
  • Q: how has PSM as a particular kind of European public institution adopted (or not) federation sovereignty?

Politics, Privacy or Soft Power: TikTok Ban in the U.S. at the State Level
» Dr. wenhong chen (United States)1 (1. University of Texas at Austin)

  • US Federal policy tools that can be used to implement a TikTok ban: Legislative, Executive, Judiciary
  • CFIUS – the Committee for Foreign Trade in the US – these talks have been going on for several years and it has shifted from Federal to State level politics

Informational Ethos and Digital Sovereignty: Technologies, Neoliberalism, and Coloniality
» Dr. José Cláudio Castanheira (Brazil)1 (1. Fluminense Federal University (UFF))

  • Brazilian Liberal (Right Wing) Conference – hoihgly attended by Googel, Meta and CapCut who presented practical tutorials on how to produce automated videos and content.
  • Zuckerberg et al. was supporting the activities of this party
  • There is an environment of ‘congress is the enemy of the people’
  • AI politics in Brazil – They do not meet the needs of Brazilians (Barros; Vaz 2023)

CPT – Emerging Digital Technologies Policies and Laws in South Asia Beyond Geopolitical Approach

Policy Rhetoric to Practice: The Case of Streaming Services in India
» Ms. Shubhangi Heda (Australia)1 (1. Queensland University of Technology)

  • Viewing experience as a regulatory variable is ignored
  • State intervention is inevetiable

Dynamics of Elite Capture on Media Regulation: Policies and Practices in Pakistan
» Dr. Mahnoor Farooq (Pakistan)1, Dr. Shabana Naveed (Pakistan)2 (1. University of Haripur, 2. Lahore Garrison University)

Secretive Digital State: Hidden Policy Documents and the Issues of Transparency and Accountability of the National Identification System in Nepal
» Dr. Harsha Man Maharjan (Qatar)1 (1. Northwestern University in
Qatar)

Communication Policies of a Digital Authoritarian Regime in Bangladesh
» Dr. Anis Rahman (United States)1 (1. University of Washington)

/by

International Association of Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) preconference – The 50th Anniversary of Communication Policy & Technology #IAMCR2025

IAMCR 2025 CPT precon

I was honoured to be invited to participate as a panel discussant at the 50th Anniversary of Communication Policy & Technology preconference. I was invited to talk at the first panel, The Asia-Pacific Perspective to
Communication Policy Research, alongside Prof Yu Hong, Zhejiang University, China; Prof Ang Peng Hwa, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; and Prof Yu-li Liu, Shanghai University, China.

My panel followed an excellent opening remarks from the Dean of the Faculty, Professor Lionel Wee, and Prof Jeremy Shtern, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada (Secretary General, IAMCR), and Prof Gerard Goggin, Western Sydney University, Australia (Co-Chair, Global Media Policy Working Group, IAMCR). Within this session, I took two key items away:

  • Policy implications are pertinent and remain the same – allocation of resources, global north and south, voice those who have none, etc. (Jeremy Shtern);
  • Inter-generational research has really helped the Section grow (inclusion of ECRs and HDRs), how might this shift over new technologies and their introduction (Gerard Goggin)

This was followed by the Keynote Roundtable, which had five generations of Presidents of the CPT Section. THe following key points were made by the following colleagues:

  • Emeritus Prof Robin Mansell, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
  • Emeritus Prof Cees Hamelink, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • Dr Rohan Samarajiva, LIRNEAsia, Sri Lanka
  • Prof Hopeton Dunn, University of Botswana, Botswana
  • Prof Francesca Musiani, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), France

Emeritus Prof Cees Hamelink

  • The process of UN and IAMCR focusing on techniology and human rights, but nothing actually happening beyond broad and general agreement.
  • Bypass governemtns, engage with individuals

Emeritus Prof Robin Mansell

  • CPT – infrastructures and political economy, but also the uses of technology
  • The issues haven’t changed but the technologies have, the ‘thigns’ we research are changing (platforms, datafication, AI, social meida, etc.) but the underlying issues remain and continue to need attention

Dr Rohan Samarajiva, LIRNEAsia, Sri Lanka

  • Wihtin the global context, the state is the issue – Sri Lankan state government is a huge hump in the road for communication and power
  • Regulator work is important

Prof Hopeton Dunn, University of Botswana, Botswana

  • Real growth came when the secion started working with the ECR network – this tells me that is is the crossover of policy research needs novel approaches
  • Shcolarship that ceoms form htose marginalised voices is important to encourage emerging scholars (and students) to understand their place within the world. It connot be just one voice and one way of scholarship
  • AI versus IA (internet access) – while some parts are forging ahead with AI work, some parts of the world are still coming to grips with getting online

After lunch, we moved to Panel 2: AI governance

  • Tarja Turtia, Senior Programme Specialist, UNESCO Communication and Information Sector
  • Dr Jingbo Wang, United Nations University Institute in Macau, Macau
  • Prof Jungpil Hahn, National University of Singapore, Singapore
  • Dr Chew Han Ei, Institute of Policy Studies, Singapore
  • Moderator: Dr Jun Yu, National University of Singapore, Singapore (Local Organising Committee Co-Convenor)

Prof Jungpil Hahn, National University of Singapore, Singapore

  • Working on AI projects that are human focused
  • Has funding for projects

Dr Jingbo Wang, United Nations University Institute in Macau, Macau

  • Research community is needed to bring the issues to policymakers, and then to be involved with more hands-on work in terms of how the results go post-policy implementation
  • What will be the jobs in 10 years that we need to be focussed on within AI
  • Check this out: https://www.un.org/en/summit-of-the-future

Tarja Turtia, Senior Programme Specialist, UNESCO Communication and Information Sector

  • UNESCO is there to protect humans
  • Guidelines for Governance of Digital Platforms
  • Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
  • It’s difficult to undertake ‘fairness, equality, etc.’ as these principles are somewhat objective, burt UNESCO is ther to push pressure on policymakers
  • Working in AI and public media
  • The traditional media and the broader ecosystem also contributes to this AI discussion space

Dr Chew Han Ei, Institute of Policy Studies, Singapore

  • Policy studies and has a research project out that examine show chat bots respond to taboo subject: I’d Blush If I Could

PANEL 3: Policy beyond Communication Tech
Prof Catherine Middleton – Professor, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada
Dr Bohyeong Kim – Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Vanderbilt University, USA From Chat App to Fintech Giant: Kakao’s Journey Through South Korea’s Policy Landscape

Dr Renyi Hong – Associate Professor, Department of Communications and Media, National University of Singapore,
Singapore
Dr Wijayanto – Associate Professor, Department of Politics and Government, Universitas Diponegoro, Indonesia Governing the Digital Space: Regulation, Institutional Fragmentation, and Governance Gaps in the 2024 Indonesian
Election

Moderator: Prof Shaojing Sun, Fudan University, China

Prof Catherine Middleton – An Investigation of how Current Policy Debates about 6 GHz Spectrum and Wi-Fi 7 Will Impact Digital Inclusion in the Next Decade

  • License spectrum – set in a way that commercial operators pay fees to governments to use them, users pay to providers for access. Citizens are paying for a public resource (Mobile network operators)
  • Wireless networks are different in that we are not paying for them – permissionless innovation
  • US govt. is looking at charging for wifi spectrum – they would sell it to a provider and then we pay to use it.
  • Wifi 7 example given, required for faster broadband speeds to our home to avoid a bottleneck
  • Work by Ofcom: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/spectrum/innovative-use-of-spectrum/ofcom-pioneers-sharing-of-upper-6-ghz-spectrum-between-mobile-and-wi-fi-services
  • Work by ACMA: https://www.acma.gov.au/consultations/2024-05/planning-options-upper-6-ghz-band

Dr Bohyeong Kim: From Chat App to Fintech Giant: Kakao’s Journey Through South Korea’s Policy Landscape

  • Kakao Talk – 43 million users, South Korea population is 51 million
  • Ride Hailing, information, food, etc. (super app)
  • Kako has 218 affiliates and 175 subsidiaries in 2023
  • 26 million users are on Kakoa Bank, it’s fintech subsidairy
  • Published article: South Korea’s Megacorp and super app: Kakao’s paths to market dominance – this is how the Chaembol are not able to own financial services industry
  • Sandbox finacial regulatoriy space(2019) – test services without regulation that might inhibit innovation – Q: how has this worked and could this approach be used in broader context of digital technologies? Could we reframe policy as a helpful tool and not a roadblock?
  • Kakao pay now also uses social media activity ‘points’ to understand financial information

Dr Wijayanto – Governing the Digital Space: Regulation, Institutional Fragmentation, and Governance Gaps in the 2024 Indonesian Election

  • Indonesia’s political battleground is on TikTok – positive disinformation and whitewashing were key tactics used
  • There are no laws against AI so it cannot be controlled – stance of govt.
  • Officials can have 10 accounts, and rely on platform governance to make sure all content is OK

Dr Renyi Hong – Platform Workers Bill: The Politics of Regulating Workers’ Injury in Singapore

  • Singaporeans are covered under a pension act, and a Platform Workers Bill (compensation)
  • Platform workers are now one fo the most dangerous workplaces (compared with construction, scarily)
  • Insurance is covered by platform providers for ‘free’ but it is actually included in the charge to consumers, but this de-associates the platform provider from the worker and their potential claims
  • Grab has Audio-protect – https://help.grab.com/passenger/en-sg/360035134272

PANEL 4: Regionalising Communication Policy
Dr Wafa Khalfan – Independent Scholar, United Arab Emirates
Dr Yongliang Gao – Associate Professor, State Key Laboratory of Media Convergence and Communication, Communication
University of China
Dr Tianchan Mao – Postdoctoral Fellow, Fudan University, China
Dr Lydia Ouma Radoli – Associate Dean, School of Communication, Daystar University, Kenya

Dr Lydia Ouma Radoli – Searching for a Middle Ground: Analyzing Artificial Intelligence Policies for Journalistic Practice in the Global South

  • Ethical issues versus opportunities for machine jouralism
  • Shifting the practice of journalism to include more technological dynamics, significant politics and audience sentiment
  • Bias mitigation, transparency and accountability – all areas that are pertinent for AI in journalism
  • Trust again appears as a significant issue (I interpret this as trust and institution)

Dr Wafa Khalfan – Regionalizing Communication Policy & Technology: Situating the Gulf Region in Global Media and AI Policy Discourse.

Dr Yongliang Gao – From the Regulation of Content Production, Technological Application, Market Operation, and International Communication to Social Governance

Dr Tianchan Mao – Governance in the Shadows: Why the Co-Governance Model Undermines the Effectiveness of Platform Governance in the Facebook Oversight Board?

  • Two sides of platform governance – what the platforms claim, and the impact of their actions
  • What is the efficiency of the Facebook Oversight Board? (I thought it was a kind of puppet mechanism, even thought I have some amazing colleagues sitting on the Board – I’d be keen to hear their thoughts)
  • Thematic analysis which was then run through topic modelling process – violence became a key issue to unpack
/by

ICA2025 – International Communication Association, Day 4

[Day 3 was spent in meetings, and PCM Business Meeting]

9:00 AM-10:15 AM, Agate B+C (Regency 3), Parasocial Relationships and/or Fan Engagement, Standard Paper Session, Popular Media & Culture, Chairs: Andrew Ledbetter, Texas Christian U

The Character’s Curse of When a Character Follows an Actor: Introducing and Understanding the Phenomenon of Character Baggage Caleb G. Hubbard; Lindsey Meeks

  • Character baggage as the association (ongoing relationship) with characters
  • Parasocial relationships: across multiple roles, across multiple mediums
  • Research participants n=249, results suggest the top three characters emerged
  • Positive character baggage is stronger than negative
  • Impacts on how we relate with characters and personal sense of self (?)

Parasocial Relationship, Loneliness, and Well-Being Among Older Adults in Korea Y. Kim; R.J. Lee-Won

  • Parasocial relationships with favourite characters can improve one’s self wellness
  • Parasocial relationship: the illusion of meaningful emotional bond with a media figure (Hartmann, 2016)
  • n=934, South Koreans over the age of 60, analysed against the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults
  • Theory implications: loneliness is a complex construct through multidimensional construct
  • Practical implications: media based interventions can be used to mitigate loneliness and enhance well-being among older adults

A Semantic Network Analysis of Symbolic Convergence and Fan Engagement With Taylor Swift’s Songs Andrew Ledbetter

  • Why? economic impact, cultural impact. Communicative accomplishment (songs, social media)
  • Symbolic convergence theory (Bormann et al., 2001) – inside knowledge, shared group identity
  • Quant: Semantic network analysis on song lyrics, co-occurance matrix (common words), songs can be connected if they share 13 words, creates four song groups
  • Qual: Fantasy theme analysis: characters, plots, scenes, sanctioning agent – construct a rhetorical vision of the universe
  • Regression to examine song popularity, expert opinion, social media conversation (Twitter:17,000)
  • Group 1: heroes and villains; Group 2: Longing and Regret; Group 3: Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary; Group 4: Empowered Voice
  • Published article here

10:30 AM-11:45 AM, Aspen Ballroom (Grand 2), HIGH-DENSITY: From Data to Design: Methods for Understanding Adolescents’ Social Media Ecosystems, High-Density Paper Session, Children, Adolescents and Media, Chairs: Samantha Vigil, U of California, Davis

A Seat at the Design Table: A Mixed-Method Examination of Impacts of the Co-Design Process on Black and Latino Youth Perspectives on Social Media L.J. Arnold; L. Xie; K. Fischer; K. Jang; R. Stevens

  • Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR)- inquiry based, participatory, transformational, design justice
  • n=14 13-17 year old, use IG regularly
  • Recruiting, 4 X co-design workshops, final showcase. in -depth interviews, weekly journaling
  • Both positive and negative metal health, users worried about cyberbullying, but also noted positive connection aspects (creativity, connection)

Who Is Posting What on Social Media? Insights From Adolescents’ Data Donations in Three European Countries L. Schreurs; I. Boeckxstaens; A.Y. Lee; T. Tabruyn; S.X. Liu; K. Fitzgerald; J. Hancock; L. Vandenbosch

  • I sadly missed the start of this presentation, but the final call was that there is much research about young people and their mental health, but young people rarely talk about it.
  • The call suggested we would be better understanding the impact of platforms and the cultures – I think our research addresses this ‘gap’ perfectly.

Navigating the Challenges and Opportunities of Using Ecological Momentary Assessment Methods to Study Social Media Use in Adolescent Samples J. Shawcroft; D.P. Cingel; S. Vigil; A.L. Snyder

  • EMA – longtitudinal social media research that prompts data collection of participants, group down not person up

Prioritizing Places Over Features: Studying Personal Social Media Ecosystems in the Context of the Personal Social Media Ecosystem Framework Michael C. Carter; N. Powell; M. Rich; D. Bickham

  • [sidenote – Children and Adolescent research seems to assume all young people are experiencing strong mental health issues. I’m not sure that’s the case and often this work feels disconnected form young people – I suspect there is an opportunity to connect the more social science approaches with stronger qualitative research (with young people about young people)].
  • Dynamics of Change (digital macrosystems), expand the literature on this approach
  • top down and bottom up pressures: platform envelopment as a means of shifting user behaviour.

Identifying Profiles of Tween and Teen Media Users: A Differential Susceptibility Approach to the 2019 and 2021 Waves of the Common Sense Census C. Sada Garibay; M.A. Lapierre; L. Dajches

  • Differential Susceptibility to media effects model: susceptibilities > media use > response
  • Latent Profile Analysis – check out explanation here
  • They discovered two new profiles of youth media users compared between 2019 and 2021

12:00 PM-1:15 PM, Agate B+C (Regency 3), Explorations of K-Pop, Standard Paper Session, Popular Media & Culture, Chairs: Yongliang Gao, Communication University of China

Weaponized K-Pop in China: The Analysis of Chinese Nationalism Discourse in K-Pop Cultural Appropriation and Humiliating China Disputes From 2020 to 2024 Z. Wang; C. Zhou; Y. Huang; Z. Yang

  • Nationalism in Weibo – content analysis of K-pop celebrity disputes
  • Using K-Pop in Chinese videos and claiming elements to be their own
  • global popularity – check events in Weibo – collect data across 3-4 days after last appearance limit 50 pages max – 20,000 comments data corpus
  • Coding scheme: based on levels of offence across three levels: none, moderate, high offence

Defining Fandom Culture: How K-Pop Fans NegoPlace in Distinct Public Spaces S. James; S. Lee

  • BTS tour of Las Vegas – paint the town purple
  • Frames as prosumers (convergence), boundary work (authenticity, legitimacy, fandom utopia),
  • Dual ethnography (Korean in America/American in South Korea)

Mediated by Light: The Dazzling History of the K-Pop Light Stick as Cultural Medium A. Kim

/by

ICA25 – International Communication Association Day 2

Scholarship continues into day 2… Took a chance on a random room and it was amazing. I learnt quite a bit about Bangladesh media, its regime, and the role news and media plays in this space.

Full notes from sessions below:

PARTNER PANEL: South Asia Communication Association (SACA)
Chairs(s): Zahedur Arman (Framingham State University) and Shafiqur Rahman (South Carolina U)
Discussant(s): MD Tareq Hossain (National University of Singapore), Zahedur Arman (Framingham State University), Uma Shankar Pandey (Surendranath College), Dilshad Hossain Dudul (Independent U of Bangladesh), Mohammad Ala-Uddin (Saint May’s College), Waqas Mahmood (GIFT University, Gujranwala), ANIRUDDHA JENA (INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT KASHIPUR), Didarul Islam (Central New Mexico Community College), Aakash Shaw (U of Calcutta), Janifar Kamal Nova (Southern Illinois U ), Abu Ahmed, Sherin Farhana Moni, Khairul Islam (State University of New York at Oswego), Khadimul Islam (Chadron State College) and Nur E Makbul (U of Alabama)
9:00 AM – 10:15 AM; Quartz (Regency 3)

  • Life without Twitter in India – Snowball sampling, 18-34, n=1200
  • Users are mainly Facebook and Twitter
  • Key issues: cyber bullying and wellbeing

Creating the Bubble: Newsmedia role in checking the Global South

  • Bangladesh: examine selected text from selected press conferences. How do news media outlets exercise their journalistic freedom under the former regime?
  • Challenges the norms of journalism, asking questions that are journalistic oriented, they would first praise the leader without criticism of major policies, then shifting to challenging questions.

In search of Habamasian Ideals – Abu Ahmed, Sherin Farhana Moni, Khairul Islam (State University of New York at Oswego)

  • Broad (very) overview of public sphere, natioanl debate, inclusivity, all members of public

International Law in Kashmir and India and the spread of misinformation

  • No studies on how governments shut down internet to stop misinformation
  • RQ: how do governments limit the spread of misinformation in India
  • Frame: political economy
  • Misonfomraiotn happening for a long time makes the people more pessimistic
  • Laws adopt to reflect this. make power more visible
  • Public trust is declining (like most global areas) wht are the factors that are impoacting thisn in Bagledash
  • There is s media reform underway in this country

10:30 AM-11:45 AM, Colorado B (Grand 2), HIGH-DENSITY: Digital Escapes: Problematic Media Use and Family Dynamics, High-Density Paper Session, Children, Adolescents and Media, Chairs: Allyson Snyder, U of California – Davis

Family Under the Screen: Problematic Mobile Media Use as a Family Issue and Its Relation to Children’s Self-Esteem, Parental Self- Efficacy and the Parent-Child Relationship Nele Janssens; K. Beullens

  • Affordances vs. problematic mobile media use (PMMU)
  • Research adopts a ‘family systems approach’ research understood as part of the family system
  • Assumes PMMU leads to lower self esteem
  • Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale (SAPs) check this here; https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0097920
  • Many of these scholars are part of the Media Psychology Lab: https://soc.kuleuven.be/smc

Parent Problematic Media Use, Child Emotional Reactivity, and Household Income Relate to Parent Reliance on Media Emotion Regulation Strategies J. Shawcroft; A.L. Snyder; D.P. Cingel; J.B. Ruiz

  • Emotional regulation – using media to calm or soothe children, not necessarily bad, and can be used in conjunction with other approaches to stressful situations
  • This research focuses on resources: internal: screens etc. , external: family, housing etc.
  • Published paper here

Smartphones as Surrogate Attachment: Examining Digital Dependency and Emotional Bonds Among Left-Behind Children in China F. Yu; K. Wang

  • Nomophobia – no mobile phone phobia
  • Phones as surrogate attachment – reasons for using smartphones: connections, relaxation, environment knowledge, reduced anxiety and discomfort
  • Something about insert numbers and that equals children need phones when parents aren’t around

The Growth of Maternal Technoference Across Early Childhood and Associations With Child Problematic Media Use S. Ashby; S. Coyne; J. Shawcroft; M. Van Alfen; P. James; H. Holmgren; T. Austin

  • Technoference (phubbing) – the disruptions from technology between children and parents
  • Linked to higher stress and behaviour problems
  • 7 year longitudinal study, 0.5- 6.5 year olds

Understanding Problematic Video Game and Mobile Phone Use in Chilean Children: The Role of Family Support and Parental Mediation P. Cabello; Matias Dodel; N. Delgado; M. Claro; P. Véliz

The Impact of Emotional Neglect on Internet Addiction Among Left-Behind Adolescents in Rural China: A Moderated Mediation Model H. Jiang; L. ZHONG; V. Huaxng; R. Zhong

  • 15 million ‘left behind’ adolescents in China, parents move to urban area to make more money, but cannot bring their children, resulting in lack of education, and experiencing emotional neglect
  • Internet addiction is 18.3% higher in this group of young people
  • Published paper available here

12:00 PM-1:15 PM, Mineral A (Regency 3), Youth and Popular Culture, Standard Paper Session, Popular Media & Culture, Chairs: Miriam Rahali, The London School of Economics & Political Science

The Promises and Perils of Being a Popular Youth Online Content Creator Rebecca Ortiz; S. Condemi; K. Leahy; V. Hidalgo Garcia; S. Ramasubramanian

  • Trans parasocial relation framework
  • I hour interview with content creators, 10-17 years old, at least 3000 followers
  • Let participants identify themselves (ethnicity, pronouns, neurodiversity, etc.)
  • Tensions between online/offline – more like relationships that are not online
  • Enacted online personas – once popularity emerges, they started thinking more about fame by changing and shifting their persona. “authenticity and the real content creator”
  • Implications: constructing and affirming their personas, balancing authenticity against impression management, performative labour, navigating layers of risk
  • Engages Communication Theory of Identity

1:30 PM-2:45 PM, Grays Peak B (Grand Conv Center 2), The Yuck Factor: Digital Disgust, Rhetorics of Repulsion, and Cultural Critiques in Food Media, Panel Session, Popular Media & Culture, Participant: S. Marek Muller , Texas State U; Participant: Banu Akdenizli, Northwestern U – Qatar; Participant: Sun Young Park, Florida State U; Participant: Diana Willis, U at Albany – SUNY; Participant: Antara Dey, York U


From Culinary Bridges to Cultural Barriers: The ‘Yuk Factor’ in Food Media and its Impact on Gastrodiplomacy B. Akdenizli

  • Try not to gag reactions – disgust as communication/entertainment
  • Binary between west and other food types
  • “This can’t be real”, “WTF” – normalising cultural translations
  • Gastro-diplomacy and state-led narratives
  • How about this: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429465543-25/guide-gastrodiplomacy-paul-rockower


Disgust as a Communicative Tool in Food Media Sunny Park

  • Food is popular (TikTok) but gross-out content is rising, or gaining attention
  • Broad overview of ‘disgust’ and its psychological mechanisms (cognitive, emotional, behavioural, gagging etc.)
  • Boundary setting: contamination, cultural, purity
  • Framing theory (Goffman, 1974) and purity and danger (Douglas, 1966)
  • Inductive coding from 150 TikTok videos – results to come

Nostalgia, Disgust, and Demon Quiche: B. Dylan Hollis’ Playful Critique of Mid-Century Cuisine Diana Willis

  • Communication through Mid-Century America: clothes, language, references, recipes
  • Disgust through language and vision
/by

International Communication Association Conference – Day 1

Monkey Bar Denver

After a wonderful plenary last night that provoked us to think about who we are and how we respond, individually and as an association, to the current political environment, Day 1 for me has been a great experience. Much quality scholarship emerging from the Popular Media and Culture, and Children and Media streams.

Here’s the following notes from the sessions I attended:

9:00 AM-10:15 AM, Capitol 6 (Regency 4), Subcultures, Subgroups, and Sublayers, Standard Paper Session, Popular Media & Culture, Chairs: Chengbao Jin, Shanghai University

Rita Genser – Engineering Adaptive Conspiracies: Cults and the Case of QAnon

  • Framework, cultish language Subculture Evolution model (establishment, implosion
  • Users look for the movement, had a mysterious connection with the figure Q
  • Emergence of specialised jargon ‘Anons’
  • Working together on a common goal – the connection of Q with Trump
  • The ‘Covfefe’ method (Trump Tweet)

Jiahui Xing – Regulating the Past: The Role and Unexpected Empowerment of Hanfu Experts in Chinese Costume Drama Production

  • Hanfu and costume drama
  • Drama trends are declining, the NRTA introduced new policy (? I missed the name)
  • Genre trend: ancient drama – they believe it has a bad impact on society and these were banned
  • RQ: does theatre strategies work anymore?
  • Cultural intermediaries (Hanfu Experts) – transfer the knowledge of the Hanfu to the society (contemporary China)
  • Four layer legitimation Mechanism – regulation, industrialisation, institutionalisation, populisation
  • Vietnamese drama are produced in China, using the costume from China (Hanfu), causing cultural tension between the two
  • Intermediation has not restricted but empowered, Hanfu became cultural intermediation

10:30 AM-11:45 AM, Grays Peak A (Grand Conv Center 2), Artificial Intelligence, Algorithms, and Digital Interactive Entertainment, Standard Paper Session, Popular Media & Culture, Chairs: Hilde Van den Bulck, Drexel U; Chairs: Hui Lin, Kings College London

[Chaos finding the right room/building]

Museum Interestingness and Aesthetic Interaction: The Evolution From Intuitive to Embodied Cognition X. Chen; J. Jiang; J. Li

  • Cognitive processing mechanisms for exhibition understanding
  • Integration of design elements with visitor cognitive characteristics

Hui Lin – Challenging the Algorithms: Users’ Resistant Strategies on Douyin

  • PhD candidate – early finding and thesis overview
  • Framework – EchoChamber and filter bubbles, Algorithmic Surveillance, stereotyped categorisation and identity construction (Cheney et al.)
  • RQ: why use Doutin when algorithims have negative impact?
  • Folk theories (Eslama et al. 2016), Influencing user behaviour
  • Algorithmic resistance
  • Walk Through method (Ben et al.)
  • 31 young urban users (18-35), week-long video recordings and interview
  • 6 month recruitment (q: Is this population representative?)
  • Users resist when the algorithm is used in various ways – even resistance (commercial exploitation)
  • Check out the Social Media + Society article
  • https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20563051251313610

12:00 PM-1:15 PM, Capitol 4 (Regency 4), HIGH-DENSITY: Growing Up Online: Social Media and Adolescent Mental Health, High-Density Paper Session, Children, Adolescents and Media, Chairs: Sarah Ashby, Brigham Young University

Social Media Use and Loneliness: A Longitudinal Study of Adolescents in South Korea S. Vigil; J. Shawcroft; D.P. Cingel; H. Lee

  • High density of users/increased loneliness – is there a connection?
  • 958 users aged 14-18, Differential Susceptibility to media effects model, social media use
  • Results – no causal relationship, peer belonging acts as a protective factor, FOMO but social media doesn’t make this worse, use remained stable over time

The Swiss Cheese Model of Social Cues: A Theoretical Perspective on the Role of Social Context in Shaping Social Media’s Effect on Adolescent Well-Being J. Trekels; E.H. Telzer

  • Youth feel connected with their friends but feel pressure to be the best version of themselves
  • Media effects: selective, transactional, conditional, however these theories miss the physical, cognitive and social changes young people go through
  • Friends are key to development, more nuanced to social cues, access through social media
  • Swiss cheese model – social cues on platforms, social cues in the surroundings, in the individual (neuro) context
  • Published here: https://academic.oup.com/joc/advance-article/doi/10.1093/joc/jqaf001/8029825?searchresult=1

The Influence of Adolescent Depression on Social Media Experiences: Evidence From a Daily Diary Study L. Janssen; P.M. Valkenburg; L. Keijsers; I. Beyens

  • Do adolescents experience social media differnet to those who do not have depressive perspectives:
  • 479 Dutch, 14-17, 100 day diary study
  • Baseline survey Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (Reynolds, 2005) – 17% depressed
  • Some results:Those who were depressed are more preoccupied with feedback from their peers
  • Self reinforcing feedback loop, e.g. someone who feels rejected may have those feelings reinforced
  • AWeSome is the space of research – https://www.project-awesome.nl/for-researchers

Experiences: Evidence From a Daily Diary Study L. Janssen; P.M.

Daily Links Between Adolescents’ Perceived Digital Well-Being, State Self-Esteem, and Affective Well-Being J. Rosič; R. Vanherle; L. Vandenbosch

  • Perceive well-being is when users are more happy than not (?), cognitive domain,
  • 14 day diary study
  • Results when users perceived higher digital well being they also recorded higher perceived self esteem – all fairly typical outcomes for this kind of research within this field of research. It is supportive of existing research.

[Sideline thoughts – the gender of the researchers is significantly skewed towards female (like, 1 male/non-binary), no tlak of platforms, but instead ‘social media’, nothing seems to challenge the status quo. Perhaps this is psychology?)

Appnome Analysis Reveals Small or No Associations Between Social Media App-Specific Usage and Adolescent Well-Being Y. Liu; L. Marciano

  • Trying to understand the relationship between social media use and well being
  • Outlines the existing methods, but introducing user-donated screenshots – usage times from phone, provides app overviews
  • Relationships between apps and well-being? used HappyB Study Being, (?)
  • Results: no causality between social media use and negative well-being
  • Nod to what is the correct time to measure this kind of research (avoiding cherry picking insights) – good persepctive here

Diverse Platforms, Diverse Effects: A 100-Day Diary Study on Social Media and Adolescent Mental Health A. van der Wal; I. Beyens; L. Janssen; P.M. Valkenburg

  • Gap – how effects vary within individuals across multiple dimensions
  • Frame- within-person unity, within-person duality
  • Method, diary: 44,211 daily diary entries (questionnaire sent each night at 7:30pm)
  • Dynamic structural equation modelling (DSEM)
  • Found there is a negative effect on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram; positive or neutral effect on WhatsApp and Snapchat

Performance and Toxicity: The Relationship Between Toxic Communication During Adolescent Videogame Play and Performance -Contingent Self-Esteem E.J. Noon; L. Carbone; L. Vandenbosch

  • Reciprocal Mediation Model: in gaming they come across toxic activity, primarily against women

4:30 PM-5:45 PM, Mt. Oxford (Grand 3), Critical Perspectives on Gender, Race and Ethnicity, and Sexuality, Standard Paper Session, Popular Media & Culture, Chairs: Radhika Parameswaran, Indiana U Bloomington

“Sexy Side of Queerness”: Provocative LGBTQ+ Artists’ Music Videos and Commentary About Sexual Content Clay Williams

  • Sam Smith & Troy Sivan – 2023 provocative video
  • Content discourse across six music videos
  • Self esteem – larger people demonstrated higher levels of esteem with videos of a “larger body condition” as per Williams
  • Exposure to thinner music videos decreased self esteem, this has also been found in the heterosexual men category
  • First study on GBTQ+ provocative entertainment and effects

A Critical (Rhetorical) Fabulation of Indigenous Trans Women in the United States Andy A. Acosta

  • Hip Hop elements (authenticity measures); styles drill, bounce, etc. traumacore: sexual assault therapy
  • Case study: Bobby Sanchez
  • Theory: Critical Fabulation; Artifacts: four albums
  • Indigenous Hip Hop: deliberative rhetoric – digging into the lyrics that cross sexual orientation
  • Critical rhetorical fabulation – Indigenous hip hop that demonstrates the connection between music and politics

Fashioning Identities: How Chinese Youth Reconstruct Hanfu and Social Identities on Social Media Y. Dai

  • Definition – Fashion as per the Han people: fashion, non-Western fashion, nationalism in Hanfu Studies
  • RQs: What are the instutions shaping Hanfu culture? Gen Z representing? Digital practices shaping aesthetics?
  • Self-Orientalism: a pushed form of reappropriating Hanfu for China’s national image (that are 56 cultural groups)

“Them’s a Rat”: Queerness and Inclusive Communities in World of Warcraft Andrew Restieri

  • WoW celebrated its 20th year last year – I feel old
  • RQs: How LGBTG+ find community, what support is there, what do they tell us about online inclusivity?
  • 17 semi structured interviews, snowballing sampling from a guild on Discord. Interesting how participants were reluctant when Zoom was introduced as the preferred platform
  • Results: most time toxic and not inclusive, many use voice changers, users were terrified of being mis-gendered
  • Meaningful connections: some were extra connection activities, but many expressed there is nothing beyond the online experience
/by

Navigating Research Goals for 2025: A Personal Roadmap

Man thinking about research in 2025

New year. New me.

That seems to be the catch cry on every piece of social media coming my way just now. That couldn’t be further from the truth for my professional world! I think I want go with the catch cry from my new neighbour – ‘just stand up’ (which is a reference to trying to get out of bed in the early morning when doing a marathon training block). I think ‘just stand up’ can actually apply to much of my life this year.

There will be new things underway, which one would expect, but it is much the same in my research world. I did spend some time as I started back at work thinking about research in 2025 – grants, projects, outputs, conferences. I think is especially important given I will be on research leave for the second half of this year.

Let’s break my thoughts down (realistically, this is a bit of a roadmap for me to follow this year to keep track of things).

Research Ares of Interest – in development

Social Media Disengagement – could be helpful to revamp this area in 2025.

Vietnam – Phase 1 of Sydney Vietnam Media Innovation Hub.

WeChat Official Accounts – working on TikTok scraper with Sydney Informatics Hub.

Media policy – continuation of research into media and its regulatory/governance approaches.

TikTok – creator culture based on Discovery Project work.

Underspheres – continuing GenAI work with Stilinovic and Bailo.

Projects Underway

TikTok Discovery Project

IDPO

Vietnam Platforms

Conferences

International Communication Association (ICA) – Denver Colorado, 12-16 June. Papers to present: Moral Media Panics (rejected), Creative underspheres (rejected), Creator Studies (under review).

International Association of Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) – Singapore, 13-17 July. Papers in preparation: Media Moral Panics (Humphry & Page Jeffery); WeChat Official Accounts (Dwyer, Xu & Wang); Vietnam Platform Studies (Solo).

Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) – Brazil, 15-18 October. Papers in Preparation: Media Moral Panics (Humphry & Page Jeffery); Vietnam Platform Studies (Solo).

Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand Communication Association (AANZCA) – Sunshine Coast, November (?). Papers to present: Vietnam Platform Studies (Solo).

Grants

Preoccupied by platforms: Vietnam and its platform society. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2025.


Understanding and preventing social media-driven ‘performance crime’. Australian Research Council Discover Project Scheme, 2025.

S

S

Standard Measures of Effect (LOE2). Department of Defence, 2025.

Grants in Development

I

GenAI Influencers – Ikea Foundation.

Vietnam Platformization – International Initiative for Impact Evaluation.

Outputs

Revisit Hobbs and I article from 2021, political influencers

Recast failed Journal of Computer Mediated Comms article for Qual Research/International Journal of Qual Methods

Caring as Journalistic Practice with Diana Bossio (Digital Journalism)

Matchpoint for Creativity with Chunmeizi Su for SI Global Media & China

Media as Method with Justine Humphry and Olga Boichak for Qual Methods

Moral Media Panics with Justine Humphry, Cat Page Jeffery for Children and Media

PSM and Media Industries for RIPE book (solo)

Outputs Under Review

AI and Creative Industries with Terry Flew and Wenjia Tang, Book Chapter

Vietnamese Digital Media (solo), Media International Australia

Creative Underspheres with Stilinovic and Bailo, New Media & Society.

L

So, there’s quite a bit underway and in development in my research land for 2025. Guess I just need to stand up and get it done. I’m very much looking forward to continuing this work while also spending the second half of this year seeking my next area of scholarship and commencing work on book number four.

/by
,

Sydney Vietnam Innovation Symposium

Yesterday, I attended the Sydney Vietnam Innovation Symposium both as a delegate and as an invited speaker. The event is a major milestone in the development in the work so far from our Sydney Vietnam Academic Network, which now has incredible support from the University of Sydney, the NSW Government, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and Austrade among many others. A big congratulations to Professor Greg Fox and Associate Professor Jane Gavan for their tireless work in this space, and for such a successful symposium.

It seems the ‘physical’ Network will be realised sooner rather than later.

There were a a great number of addresses, roundtables and research presentations during the day which provided such a solid foundation for the next five to ten years of work in the country (apparently it takes 20 to 30 years to do research in Vietnam, as one of the presenters noted!).

Speakers

Dignitaries of the morning included:

  • Professor Mark Scott, Vice Chancellor and President of the University of Sydney
  • Honourable Minister Mr Bri Anoulack Chanthivong, NSW Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology & Minister for Trade
  • Honourable Bui Thanh Son, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Socialist Party, Vietnam

Some of the crucial take aways included the fact that Vietnam is number 13 in the top 20 countries Australia has included in the Australian Innovation Strategy, its GDP was $6billion in 2022, NSW is committed to working with the country, it is a model of how countries can bring their people out of poverty through economic transformation, there is a strong focus on its tech precinct and ‘night time’ economies.

The event was also a celebration of 50 years of collaborative science and technology research between Australia and Vietnam.

Opportunities

One of the huge research potentials is the Aus4Innovation hosted by CSIRO. The Aus4Innovation scheme is:

Aus4Innovation is an AUD$33.5 million development assistance program that aims to strengthen Vietnam’s innovation system, prepare for and embrace opportunities associated with Industry 4.0, and help shape Vietnam’s innovation agenda in science and technology. Through the Aus4Innovation program, Australia and Vietnam will work together to explore emerging areas of technology and digital transformation, trial new models for partnerships between public and private sector institutions, and strengthen Vietnamese capability in digital foresight, scenario planning, commercialisation, and innovation policy.

https://research.csiro.au/aus4innovation/

It’s great for agriculture just now, but they do rotate the focus – keen to keep an eye on this scheme for when its digital comms time.

Layton Pike (RMIT) spoke about the pioneering work that had been done by RMIT in Vietnam and that approaching the country as a consortium of universities is better than vying for leadership. There are 100million people with about 22 million students – one university can’t service all of those students. He also made me aware of the Australian Vietnam Policy Institute (AVPI) which is a useful clearing house of research and public poloicy. Excellent resource.

I also met Ngheim Long, the President of the Vietnamese Australian Scholars & Experts Association (VASEA). They are a reasonably new organisation, but seem to be an emerging peak body for Vietnamese scholars.

And while I missed this year’s round, the New Colombo Plan PhD Scholarship scheme will be front and centre for 2025 research. Engaging a cross-country PhD seems like the obvious way to build research momentum now.

Research

One thing that blew my mind came from the Medicine Faculty, specifically a cancer researcher. Professor Robyn Ward is my new favourite human in the world. Beyond just a stellar career of health research, she and her team have been tasked with addressing a Research Impact Assessment Framework. It feels like there is qualitative research trickling into the Sciences here? Anyway, it was a revelation to think about these things from a Medicine perspective, such as multiple stakeholder perspectives on impact (for me I read that as cultural value). So establishing a framework that is designed by the stakeholders on what they think is important – in this case knowing something works, culture, partnerships, sustainability, engagement, etc. etc. This can then result in a ‘score card’ to measure research engagement based on the importance to a variety of stakeholders. WHAT IF I DID THIS FOR CULTURE? Theme 1 of my Future Fellowship just became so much more interesting now… A Cultural Impact Assessment Framework.

Also, I spoke. It was a kind of tough crowd as the majority of delegates were Health Science, Medicine and Science scholars (we are only three from FASS – Museum Studies, Economics and Media Comms)

‘

/by
, ,

Civic Algorithms: A digital intermediation challenge

Recently, I was invite to deliver a keynote for a joint session with the News and Media Research Center and the Centre for Deliberative Democracy to explore the ideas and concepts of digital intermediation.

The blurb:

How might generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automation be undertaken to produce social good? In an increasingly automated digital media world, user agency is challenged through the loss of interaction functionality on the platforms, technologies and interfaces of everyday digital media use. Instead, algorithmically designed decision making processes function for users to assist them in making sense of these environments as a means of assisting them to seek out content that is relevant, of interest and entertaining. However, if the last five years are anything to go by, these sorts of recommendations, particularly across social media, have caused anything but social cohesion and unity amongst users, and have instead spread misinformation, vitriol and hurtful media. Would our society be different had we designed systems that focused on, while still entertaining, content that places the wellbeing of humans at the forefront over content that is, for the most part, popular?

This presentation uses the lens of digital intermediation to explore how civic algorithms might be designed and implemented in digital spaces to improve social cohesion. By unpacking the technologies, institutions and automation surrounding the cultural production practices of digital intermediation, it becomes clearer how these leavers can be adjusted to nudge and encourage platforms, users and content creators to engage in improved civic processes. As a digital intermediation challenge, creating and working with civic algorithms presents as a potentially useful approach towards improving the cornerstone of our democracies by ensuring citizens have access to accurate information, are engaging in the discussions that are important and relevant to them, and are operating within digital environments that value social good alongside commercial gains.

And here’s the recording of the session, slides included:

/by