communication

Jul 20, 2015

Study: the Angelina Jolie Effect on Breast Cancer Screening

Angelina Jolie received widespread media attention in 2013 when she told the public that she’d tested positive for a gene associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, and subsequently had a double mastectomy. Now research shows that this publicity did influence some women’s intentions to seek out similar genetic testing. 

Mar 16, 2015

Depictions of Race on TV News Can Influence Perception of Police

Research shows that depictions of race on television news programs can strongly influence support for police among non-white viewers. 

Mar 3, 2015

NPR’s Joe Palca Talks Science Communication

Award-winning science journalist Joe Palca discusses the role of storytelling in communicating about science. 

Dec 1, 2014

Unhappy Hour: Non-Drinkers Devise Strategies to Navigate Booze-Centered Work Events

From holiday parties to happy hours, social events with co-workers and clients often revolve around alcohol, which can put non-drinkers in an awkward position: they don’t want to drink, but they do want to take part in events they feel are important to networking and career advancement without making drinkers feel bad. That perceived tension leads non-drinkers to develop techniques to fit in socially without taking a drink. 

Oct 24, 2014

Trick or Treat or Barf: Researchers Use Social Media to Raise Awareness of Norovirus Season

NC State researchers are trying to raise awareness of norovirus safety through a novel (and cute) social media campaign. 

Oct 1, 2014

Study Offers Insight Into Challenges College Athletes Face

A new study from NC State sheds light on how some collegiate student-athletes deal with uncertainties ranging from excelling in both school and sports to their career prospects outside of athletics, and urges university athletic programs to adopt new efforts to support student-athletes. 

Jun 18, 2014

Media Research Takes Top Award

Ph.D. student Kate Maddalena and Jeremy Packer, associate professor of communication, have won the 2014 James W. Carey Media Research Award from the Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research. 

Jun 9, 2014

Public Engagement and Science Communication at NC State

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Nicolas Canete, an international student from Paraguay who recently earned his master’s degree in communication at NC State. Most NC State researchers are involved in some form of public engagement when it comes to science communication, but that public engagement takes a variety of forms. I know this because… 

Jan 27, 2014

Media Coverage Drives Some Misperceptions About Cancer

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Ryan Hurley, a health communication researcher and assistant professor of communication at NC State, on two papers related to news media, cancer, and public perception. People need and want recent information about cancer in order to make decisions about how they might manage their personal prevention, detection, treatment,… 

Dec 2, 2013

How Changing the Way We Study Gold Could Boost Communication Tech

Under the right circumstances, pushing on nothing is harder than pushing on something – at least when that “something” is gold. That’s the finding from a new materials science paper, and it’s a finding that could expedite the development of new wireless communication technologies. The Problem At issue are ohmic radio frequency microelectricalmechanical systems switches… 

Sep 30, 2013

Researchers Work to Squeeze More Data From Bandwidth in Mobile Devices

A team of researchers is working on technology that would allow mobile devices to send and receive more data using the same limited amount of bandwidth. The work is supported by a $1.08 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Competition for the airwaves is fierce. Commercial and military communication services must broadcast and… 

Aug 12, 2013

Trust and Towns in Transition

Near the Blue Ridge Parkway, three North Carolina towns have grown rapidly as jobs shifted from mining and timber to hospitality and tourism. In Macon County, natural resource-based jobs plummeted from 10 percent to almost zero in the last 35 years. Meanwhile, service-industry employment in the Franklin area topped 30 percent. It’s the kind of… 

Nov 27, 2012

Unintended Benefits of Interdisciplinary Efforts: Ideas From Kavli Frontiers of Science

Editor’s Note: this is a guest post by Andrew Binder, an assistant professor of communication at NC State who specializes in science communication and how citizens perceive science issues. Binder attended the Kavli Frontiers of Science symposium earlier this month, and writes about some of the conclusions he drew from the event. Institutions of higher education,… 

Aug 28, 2012

Helping Water Reclamation Projects Account for ‘Yuck Factor’

With more than half of the continental United States in the grip of drought, the need to make the most of our water resources is more apparent than ever. One of the tools that can be used to make efficient use of our water supplies is water reclamation – but water managers and utilities have… 

Aug 9, 2012

The Future of the Internet Is…a la Carte

A team of researchers from four U.S. universities is poised to lay out the key components for a networking architecture to serve as the backbone of a new Internet that gives users more choices about which services they use. The National Science Foundation (NSF) asked the researchers to design a blueprint for a future version…