News and Announcements
06.13.10 (3:53 p.m. EST): The newest edition of the Mass Communication Division Gatekeeper (Vol. 15, No. 2) is now available online. Enjoy! Also, check out the newest link on the Web page: the newly-formed MediaPsych research consultation group (also see 'consulting' tab above). We're still building this page, but the basic information is posted.
06.08.10 (2:31 p.m. EST): Finally arrived back from Germany. So, I'll take a few days rest before starting my 2010 Summer Journalism Seminar here at YHC, then a week at ICA Singapore to catch up with old and new colleagues alike. I'll be presenting a chapter from my dissertation as a Top Paper in Game Studies, so hopefully I'll see some of you at the presentation?
05.05.10 (7:31 p.m. EST): After a successful dissertation defense on the role of task demand in selective exposure and mood repair in video games (interested? download here [.doc] [.docx] [.pdf]) - I am off to Erfurt, Germany for a few weeks of lectures and data collection on Moral Foundations Theory and children's media consumption. I'll be blogging about the research at "On Media Theory...", and I'll be in touch when I return in June.
About me
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A graduate of Michigan State University (Ph.D. '10), I am entering my second year as an Assistant Professor of Media Studies at Young Harris College, a small liberal arts college in the beautiful Northern Georgia community of Young Harris. In my work, I study the psychology
of media entertainment. My current research looks
to replicate and extend the work on selective exposure and mood management
theory to video game play. Aside from this, recent
work of mine has examined the effects of audience presence on video game performance,
the appeal of violent content in video games and films, naturally-mapped
video games and the formation and implementation of mental models. Although my interests in entertainment
are not restricted to video games, I consider myself a game scholar primarily.
In addition to these research interests, I am particularly intrigued
with newer media technologies, such as social interaction Web sites, on-line
video gaming services, mobile technologies, and naturally-mapped video games (i.e., Nintendo's
Wii), and how these technologies have impacted media production
and consumption trends. Having grown up with technology constantly around me, I am in constant awe at how "going tech" has affected
society. As a side note, check out my Twitter [here], Myspace [here], or FaceBook [here].
Along with my research, I maintain a research blog, "On
Media Theory...", which I encourage anyone with an interest in
entertainment media research to visit often. The blog is particularly
useful for engaging in discussions with colleagues from around the globe;
it has been a very fun and fruitful pet project that I hope only continues
to grow in the coming months.
Outside of the College, I'm a former sportswriter and an avid sports fan. I am an all-too-passionate
supporter of the St. Louis Cardinals
(baseball); but I will play and watch just about any athletic event.
My favorite season of the year is College Football season, and I am a
four-year Michigan
State Spartans (football) season ticket holder (now that I'm gone, the team cannot seem to win anymore). Having lived in Michigan
for the better part of the last four years, I have slowly become a hockey
fan as well; especially my Michigan
State Spartans (hockey). If you haven't checked these teams out, you
don't know what you're missing! I'm also very much getting back into collecting comic books; if you are a fellow collector, you should check out my collection list [Excel, last updated 02.20.10]; I'm always in the market to buy, sell, or trade!
