Annenberg Hosts 7th Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Each year, doctoral students present original research for feedback from faculty and peers.

By Ashton Yount

Group of five graduate students sitting at the Graduate Student Symposium — (L to R) Alex Tolkin, Tian Yang, Leeann Siegel, Sean Fischer, Megan Genovese

On April 26, Annenberg hosted its seventh annual Graduate Student Symposium. The event was organized by a student committee including Sean Fischer, Megan Genovese, Leeann Siegel, Alex Tolkin, and Tian Yang (pictured above). The day featured presentations by 16 doctoral students and candidates.

Panel 1 — Nothing But Norms

Leeann Siegel, Rui Pei, Douglas Guilbeault, Yilang Peng — (L to R) Leeann Siegel, Rei Pei, Douglas Guilbeault, Yilang Peng

Leeann Siegel — "The Effects of E-cigarette and Tobacco-Related Descriptive Norm Information in Media on Young People's Normative Perceptions"
Rui Pei — "Developmental Trajectory of Peer Influence Effects on Adolescent Decision Making: A Cultural Perspective"
Douglas Guilbeault — "The Network Dynamics of Category Formation"
Yilang Peng — "Predicting Public Acceptance of Self-Driving Cars"

Panel 2 — Moments in Media

(L to R) Alex Tolkin, Yasemin Celikkol, Sean Fischer

Alex Tolkin — "Kavanaugh and the Court: Institutional Legitimacy in the #MeToo Era"
Yasemin Y. Celikkol — "Visualizing Nationalism and Islam"
Sean Fischer — "Wall-E & Political Persuasion"

Virtual Reality Demonstration

Natalie Herbert and Kyle Cassidy giving a presentation — Allyson Volinsky (front left) experiences a VR simulation while (L to R) Yilang Peng, Natalie Herbert, and Kyle Cassidy look on.

During lunch, Natalie Herbert and staff member Kyle Cassidy presented their work on providing Narcan training through virtual reality.

Panel 3 — Information Production and Producers

(L to R) Jennifer Henrichsen, Isabelle Langrock, Megan Genovese, Brendan Mahoney

Jennifer R. Henrichsen — "Reconceptualizing Indigenous Journalism Through Information Poverty Theory"
Isabelle Langrock — "Digital Collaboration & the Production of Knowledge"
Megan Genovese — "'This Ship and Her History': Recursion in Franchise Narratives"
Brendan Mahoney — "The Presentation of Yelp in Everyday Life"

Panel 4 — Methods Madness

(L to R) Soojong Kim, Jacob Parelman, Tian Yang, Do Eon Lee

Soojong Kim — "Directionality of Information Flow and Echoes Without Chambers"
Jacob Parelman — "Brain Communities and Communications"
Tian Yang — "Niche News and Peripheral Fragmentation: A Network Percolation Approach to the Analysis of News Consumption"
Do Eon (Donna) Lee — "Partisanship or Culture?: The Effects of Information Variety and Volume on Trust"