ICA Report 2012
2012 ICA-KACA Report
International Communication Association (ICA) conference was held in Phoenix, AZ, from May 24 to 28.
KACA hosted three main events on Saturday, May 26: KACA paper panel session, mentoring session, and reception. The mentoring session was an alternative to the KACA business meeting.
In the paper panel session that was chaired by Dr. Jung-Hyun Kim at Kent State University, the following four papers were presented:
Soojin Kim (Purdue University), Jeong-Nam Kim (Purdue University), and Soo Yun Kim (University of South Carolina) presented their paper titled “Testing Joint Effects of Health Information Orientation and Situational Perceptual Influence on Active Communication Behaviors About the GMO Food Issue.” This paper earned a top paper and was acknowledged with a small cash prize at the KACA reception.
Kyoung-Ah Shin (Hanyang University), Hyun Jung Oh (Michigan State University), and Byoungkwan Lee (Hanyang University) presented their paper titled “The Diffusion of “Hug AIDS” among Young People: Exploring the Effectiveness of an Online HIV/AIDS Campaign in Korea.”
Jooyoung Jang (University of Alabama) and Yong-Chan Kim (Yonsei University) presented their paper titled “The Effects of Parent-Child Communication Patterns on Children’s Interactive Communication in Online Communities: Focusing on Social Self-Efficacy and Unwillingness to Communicate as Mediated Factors.”
Lastly, Sherri Lynn Ter Molen (Wayne State U) presented her paper titled “Hallyu for Hire: The Commodification of Korea in Tourism Advertising and Marketing.”
In the mentoring session, Dr. Hyun Jin Seo (University of Kansas), Dr. Kang Namkung (University of Kentucky), Dr. Sehill Kim (University of South Carolina), and Dr. JungHyun Kim (Kent State University) served as panelists to share their personal experiences about job search, job interview, preparation for job market, and getting tenure. They also answered more questions from the audience. About 35 people attended this session.
At the end of session, one-to-one mentoring session was offered where graduate students were matched with professors who have similar research or teaching interests. Nine students contacted KACA in advance to request the one-to-one mentoring session and a few more students who did not contact me in advance had a chance to get personalized mentoring and advising. In addition to the four panelists in the mentoring session, Drs. Dal Young Jin, Eunju Lee, Yong-Chan Kim, Sung-Un Yang, and Yongick Jeong served as mentors in person or through other communication means. While the one-to-one mentoring session was the first attempt this year, its feedback was very positive.
This year’s KACA reception was co-sponsored by the Nam Center for Korean Studies at University of Michigan where Dr. Nojin Kwak serves as the director. Followed by the KACA president’s opening statement and Dr. Kwak’s introduction about the Nam Center, a few announcements were made regarding book publications (Drs. Dal Young Jin at Simon Fraser University and Cecilia Suhr at Miami University Hamilton), ICA-KACA best paper award, the Herbert S. Dordick Dissertation Award (Younei Soe at Indiana University), and ICA top paper awards. About 70 people participated in the reception.
Overall, 2012 ICA-KACA events were a big success, which would have not been possible without all the Korean and Korean American scholars’ interests and active involvement as presenters, mentors, panelists, and attendees. KACA appreciates their efforts and congratulates their continued success and presence in ICA events. In 2013, ICA conference will be held in London, England from June 17 to 21. KACA looks forward to seeing and interacting with many Korean and Korean American scholars in London!