2025 MED PRO

1. Amiee Shelton, Professor, Roger Williams University, USA.
   Cooper Hughes, Student, Roger Williams University, USA.
   Title: Redefining Fame: Gen Z’s Perspectives on Celebrities in the Digital Age.
2. Torben Hansen, Professor, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark.
   Title: Mitigating Risky Borrowing among Young Adults.
3. Laura Trujillo-Linan, Professor, Researcher, Panamerican University, Mexico.
   Title: Human Rights in the Digital Era.
4. Zeinab Farokhi, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto, Canada.
   Title: Harnessing Media and Technology for Equity: Grassroots Approaches to Inclusion and Social Justice.
5. Elsa Sanchez Huerta V, Assistant Professor, Panamerican University, Mexico.
   Title: The Role of Symbolism in Facilitating Communication Between Generations.
6. Rachel Grainger, Senior Lecturer, University of South Wales, UK.
   Title: The Media and the Marginalization of Young People during the Covid 19 Pandemic, in the UK.

1. Cathy Denomme, Chair, Department of Applied Business and Executive Education, Algoma University, Canada.
   Jo-Anne Ryan, Professor, Algoma University, Canada.
   Title: Esports as an Olympic Sport: Who Needs Who?
2. Mario Nicoliello, Researcher, University of Brescia, Italy.
   Title: Olympic Games and Media Coverage.

1. Andrew Sharma, Professor, Salisbury University, USA.
   Title: Cross-Cultural Effects on Advertising Persuasion: Ad Likeability and Ad Element Likeability of Advertisements Across Cultures.
2. Lars Konzack, Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
   Title: Generative AI, Simulacra, and the Transformation of Media Production.
3. Dina Younis, Lecturer, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA University), Egypt.
   Title: How User-Generated Content Shapes Brand Authenticity and Shopping Behavior in Social Media Advertising: A Consumer Perspective.
4. Christian Ulasi, Professor & Interim Dean, School of Communication, Texas Southern University, USA.
   Title: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technologies: Mass Communication and Disinformation in the Media Landscape.

1. Trisha Sarker, Assistant Professor, MacEwan University, Canada.
   Title: Student Post-Secondary Success Via Physical Exercise Activities.
2. Gregory T. Papanikos, President, Athens Institute.
   Title: Youth Perceptions of Democracy in Relation to UEFA Rankings in EU Countries.
3. Jingfan Zhou, PhD Candidate, University of Bologna, Italy.
   Title: Insight of the “300 Million” Strategy with the Integrated Critical Realism Conceptual Framework.

Moderator: Gregory T. Papanikos, President, Athens Institute.

Summary

This talk explores how the Canadian “Freedom Convoy” mobilized emotional rhetoric online to legitimize extremist ideologies. Through analysis of tweets using convoy-related hashtags, I examine how conspiracy theories act as “sticky objects” that generate powerful affective attachments. Drawing on affect theory and critical discourse analysis, I show how these digital narratives rely on nostalgia, white victimhood, and masculine grievance to create a sense of belonging while demonizing Others. The convoy’s digital footprint reveals how emotion is weaponized to mainstream far-right ideas.

1. Chris C. Ulasi, Professor & Interim Dean, School of Communication, Chair, Radio, Television and Film, Thomas F. Freeman Honors College Faculty, Texas Southern University, USA.
   Title: The Double-Edged Sword: How Media Narratives in Sports Can Both Unite and Divide During Times of Conflict.
2. Barun Roy, Head, Department of Mass Communication, University of North Bengal, India.
   Title: Media Discourses and Intertextuality in Cricket, Identity Politics and War in South Asia.
3. Laura Trujillo-Linan, Professor, Panamerican University, Mexico.
   Title: Games of Power: Media Ecologies of War and Sport.
4. Lars Konzack, Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
   Title: Sporting Propaganda.
5. Ted Geltner, Professor, Valdosta State University, USA.
   Title: Literature of Sports.
6. Gregory T. Papanikos, President, Athens Institute.
   Title: Olympic Games: Battlefields of “War” Without Graves.

1. Festus Eribo, Professor, East Carolina University, USA.
   Title: Communicating War and Peace: Application of Scholarship to Global Crises I.
2. John Howard, Professor, East Carolina University, USA.
   Title: Communicating War and Peace: Application of Scholarship to Global Crises II.
3. Aysel Morin, Professor, East Carolina University, School of Communication, USA.
   Title: Constructing The Enemy.
4. Ted Geltner, Professor, Valdosta State University, USA.
   Title: Poetry in War: The Journalism of Denis Johnson.
5. Jakub Jajcay, PhD Student, Charles University, Czech Republic.
   Title: I’ll Ask the Questions Here, Thank You Very Much: What Conflict Studies Can Tell Us about the Ukraine War.
6. Laura Prividera, Director, School of Communication, East Carolina University, USA.
   Title: The Language of War: Examining Media Discourse and the Route to Peace.

1. Carol Liebler, Professor, Syracuse University, USA.
   David Peters, PhD Candidate, Syracuse University, USA.
   Title: Sharing Missing Children on Social Media: The Roles of Identity, Social Justice Beliefs and Perceptions of Danger.
2. Adriana Mutu, Professor & Researcher, Head of Academic Quality, ESIC Business & Marketing School, Media and Journalism Research Center, Spain.
   Title: Tackling Online Disinformation, Misinformation and Political Propaganda: Legal Intervention and Regulatory Oversight of Social Media Platforms in Europe.
3. Hassan Marrie, Lecturer, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA University), Egypt.
   Title: Algorithmic Personalization and User Autonomy in Digital Advertising Assessing the Role of Geo-Targeted Algorithms in Shaping Digital Advertising in the MENA Region: A Study of Personalized and Compromised User Experiences.
4. Junchao Wang, Professor, Tsinghua University, China.
   Title: The Confucian Model of Global Cyberspace Governance: A New Approach to Hate Speech Governance on Social Media.
5. Arul Aram, Professor, Anna University, India.
   Vivek Nagarajan, Researcher, Anna University, India.
   Title: Newspaper Framing of Climate Change in Tamil Nadu.
6. Mariam Amer, Lecturer, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA University), Egypt.
   Title: Navigating the Digital Space: Analyzing the Role of Egyptian Entrepreneurial Podcasts on Business Growth and Fostering Entrepreneurship.

1. Maurice Odine, Professor, Texas Southern University, USA.
   Title: African Nations Engage Social Media to Reconnect with Mother Continent.
2. Susana Vargas Cervantes, Assistant Professor, Carleton University, Canada.
   Title: Alarma! 50 Years of Nota Roja in Mexico: Numbness, Empathy and Compassion.
3. Ioannis Koufonikos, Lecturer, Bournemouth University, UK.
   Title: Directing Folk Music Documentaries Self-reflection and Identity in Greek Folk Music Documentaries.
4. Lukas Hess, PhD Candidate, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
   Title: Activists Under Surveillance: A Chilling Effect for Political Participation?

1. Christoph Bertling, Head, Institute of Communication and Media Research, German Sport University Cologne, Germany.
   Title: Efficient Combating the Downward Spiral – How the Olympic Movement is Responding to the Market Failure of Sports Journalism.
2. Christos Anagnostopoulos, UNESCO Chair on Governance and Social Responsibility, Assistant Professor, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar.
   Farah Ali, MSc Student, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar.
   Title: Empowered by Context: The Resourcefulness of Women-Only Running Groups in Qatar.
3. Zeineb Zerai, Assistant Professor, Sohar University, Oman & University of Manouba, Tunisia.
   Title: The Effect of Combined Methods of Teaching on the Learning of Tactical Skills in Small-Sided Games (SSG) in Physical Education.
4. Khumbuzile Khumalo, Lecturer, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
   Rowena Naidoo, Professor, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
   Verusia Chetty, Professor, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
   Title: Perceptions of Children with Disabilities of Sport and Recreation Activities in a Resource-Poor Community in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

1. Emiel Martens, Assistant Professor, University of Amsterdam & Founding Director of the Erasmus Knowledge Centre for Film, Heritage and Tourism, University of Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
   Title: So You’s Got the Production, We’ve Got the Location’: A Comparative Analysis of the Competitive Dynamics between four Caribbean Film Locations.
2. Barun Roy, Assistant Professor and Head, Department of Mass Communication, University of North Bengal, India.
   Title: Weaponising Identity – Explorations in Visual Anthropology of Colonial Postcards and Gorkha National Identity in India.
3. Trisha Sarker, Assistant Professor, MacEwan University, Canada.
   Title: Considerate Communication: A Case Study of Palliative Home Care in Alberta, Canada.

1. Jinah Seol, Professor, Korea National Open University, South Korea.
   Jinkyung Ha, PhD Student, Korea University, South Korea.
   Title: Agenda Setting by Korean Public Broadcasting (KBS, MBC) Regarding Healthcare Reforms: Focus on Topic Modeling. (Tuesday)
2. Safiya Al Farsi, Assistant Lecturer, University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Oman.
   Title: The Effectiveness of Interactive Digital Installation in Healthcare – Anxiety Reduction.
3. Stephen Anti, Graduate Teaching Fellow & PhD Student, University of Oregon, USA.
   Title: (Re) Constructing Mental Illness: Ghanaian News Media Framing and how it Influences Public Policies and Perceptions.
4. Fran Hassencahl, Associate Professor, Old Dominion University, USA.
   Title: Stages of Being Foreign Depicted in Two Films: Lost Birds (Turkey, 2015) and Daughter of Keltoum (Algeria, 2001).

1. Christoph Bertling, Head, Institute of Communication and Media Research, German Sport University Cologne, Germany.
   Title: Why Public Broadcasters Are So Important in Sports and War Reporting — and Why They Struggle to Fulfil Their Role.
2. Eribo Festus, Professor, East Carolina University, USA.
   Title: War without Wisdom Vs. Dividends of Media Ethics and Peace.
3. Emiel Martens, Assistant Professor, Department of Media Studies, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
   Title: Running for a Cause? Sports, Spectacle, and Humanitarian Communication.
4. John V. Pavlik, Professor, Journalism and Media Studies Department School of Communication & Information, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.
   Title: Considering the AI Juggernaut: Implications for Media.
5. Adriana Mutu, Professor, ESIC Business & Marketing School, Spain.
   Title: National Identity in Crisis – Media During Wartime.