Position Title
PhD Candidate
About
The culmination of my Ph.D. work, which I am expected to complete in May, 2023, focuses on issues of identity and media bias, emphasizing ways media messages shape health disparities. I am also a skilled and experienced university instructor, having taught numerous and diverse courses as the sole instructor of record.
Research Focus
My work lies at the intersection of mass and personal communication with a focus on online personal speech in public media contexts like online bulletin boards and public social media. Grounded in theories of communication and social psychology, my research focuses on developing a systematic understanding of the interactions between online platforms, their users, and their social contexts, known as sociotechnical affordances. Specifically, I investigate the strategic use of media to navigate questions of identity, and specific communicative behaviors. I employ observational, computational, content analytic, survey, and experimental methods to investigate these processes in a range of contexts.
Publications
Stevens, H. R., Oh, Y. J., & Taylor, L. D., Desensitization to fear-inducing COVID-19 health news on Twitter: Observational study, JMIR Infodemiology, 1/1: e26876.
Stevens, H. R., Acic, I., & Rhea, S., Natural Language Processing Insights into LGBTQ+ Youth Mental Health During The COVID-19 Pandemic: Longitudinal Analysis of r/Lgbteens Microcommunity Reveals Increased Anxiety in Topics and Trends. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 7/8: e29029.
Stevens, H. R., Acic, I., & Taylor, L. D. Uncivil Reactions to Sexual Assault Online: Linguistic Features of News Reports Predict Discourse Incivility. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 24/12: 815-821.
Teaching
Associate Instructor Experience
Fall 2021
CMN 161—Health Communication
Summer 2021
CMN 001 (Online)—Introduction to Public Speaking
CMN 102 (Online)—Empirical Research Methods
Summer 2020
CMN 001 (Online)—Introduction to Public Speaking
CMN 102 (Online)—Empirical Research Methods
Summer 2019
CMN 001—Introduction to Public Speaking (3 sections)
Teaching Assistantships
Spring 2021
CMN 122 (Online)—Nonverbal Communication
CMN 120 (Online)—Interpersonal Communication
Winter 2021
CMN 101 (Online)—Theories of Human Communication
Spring 2020 - Fall 2020
CMN 102 (Online)—Empirical Research Methods
Fall 2019 – Winter 2020
CMN 130—Group Communication
Fall 2018 - Spring 2019
CMN 001—Introduction to Public Speaking
Awards
CITRIS EDGE in STEM Mentoring Fellowship
Expanding Diversity and Gender Equity in Tech Initiative, Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and the Banatao Institute
Small Grant in Support of Research
Department of Communication, University of California, Davis
Top Student Paper Awards
National Communication Association
Stevens, H.R. & Acic, I.. (2020, November). Examining Rape Culture in Online Forums: The Effect of Editorial Slant on Discourse Incivility. Paper presented at the annual convention of the National Communication Association.
International Communication Association
Acic, I., Stevens, H.R., & Yu, X. (2020, May) How Gay Men Discuss Their Bodies Online: A Content Analysis. Paper presented at the annual convention of the International Communication Association.