School of Communication scholars and students shine at the annual conference of the International Communication Association.

Dr Eva Zhao, Assistant Professor of Department of Communication Studies received the Top Faculty Paper Award in Information Systems Division with her paper entitled "Two routes to the boomerang effect: Pro-attitudinal versus counter-attitudinal messages". The study aims to differentiate two types of effects on belief and attitude change when receiving pro-attitudinal message or counter-attitudinal message. The paper proposes a theoretical framework and tests it with a complex cross-sectional experiment design.

On the same occasion, two PhD candidates, Alessandro Poroli and Vincent Huang, received the Top Student Paper Award in Organizational Communication Division for their joint paper “Employee Perception of Dialectical Tensions in Company Supported Employee Volunteerism” which explores dialectics in employees’ perceptions of employer-supported volunteerism. The study concluded that engaging employees in volunteering activities is a complicated and delicate process that needs careful exploration and understanding.

At the same conference, Dr Regina Chen, Associate Professor of the Department of Communication Studies and Dr Janet Lo, Assistant Professor of the Department of Journalism, won the Top Faculty Paper award in the Public Relations Division and Journalism Studies Division respectively.