When Visiting Professor of Communication John Adams sent a student's paper to the Eastern Communications Association to be considered for presentation at its 2006 conference, it was the first time Adams had done so for a Hamilton student. Not only was it the first paper to be submitted by a Hamilton student, but now it's the first paper to be competitively accepted for presentation at the conference. Katie Riposta '06 and her paper, "Internet as Point of Purchase: The Function of Word of Mouth Communication," will be making the trip to Philadelphia, Pa., for the 97th annual Eastern Communications Association Conference, April 26-30. She will be presenting the paper as part of a panel that includes the top five submissions for Lambda Pi Eta 2006.
The Eastern Communications Association was established in 1910 and is the oldest professional communication association in the United States. At the ECA conference, many topics in communications are discussed by panels that are sponsored by different communications disciplines and organizations. The National Communications Honor Society, Lambda Pi Eta, is a sponsor of a panel at this year's conference. Katie, being the president of the Hamilton College Chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, submitted her paper with hopes of being accepted on the Lambda Pi Eta panel. Her paper was sent for review in October and she received word in February that she would be one of five members on the panel at the conference. To be considered for the honor society, one must have completed 16 full credit courses, maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 88 for all courses taken and at least a GPA of 90 in all communication courses taken.
Katie wrote the paper for Professor Adams in his Communications Theory course last semester. The assignment was to pick a communications phenomenon to investigate. Katie chose the diffusion of innovation theory which explains the effect of the communicative force of diffusing innovation talk on producing change in social systems. "Word of mouth" advertising has in the past been strictly through face to face communication. Katie looks at the Internet as a new way for marketers to use word of Mouth advertising. She discusses "'built in' functions employed by marketers to promote word of mouth 'sales' from consumer to consumer; that is marketers can assume the likelihood of purchase will increase if an adopter informs a member of his/her social circle, for they will most likely have similar personality characteristics. "Overall, I aim to raise the prospect of what future research can and needs to do with such an influential, interactive environment for people to spread ideas," she said.
For Katie, the paper was about more than the diffusion of innovation theory and word of mouth advertising on the Internet: it is about the effort she has put in and how far she has come as a communication student. "It reflects on my whole experience at Hamilton College." She says she owes much of what she has accomplished as a student to her communication professors: "Professor Adams has been a great role model for me. He helped me organize my thoughts for my paper in communication theory last year and also remained a constant inspiration and resource in the revision process for submission to the ECA," katie said. She credits Professor Catherine Phelan for getting her involved and interested in the communication program and Professor Susan Mason for all her help and insight. "I sincerely look forward to representing Hamilton College at the Eastern Communication Association Conference in April. I think Hamilton's communication department deserves more credit...there are some exceptional professors who really help students in the pursuit of excellence," Katie noted.
Katie is a communication major and anthropology minor from Chester, New Jersey. She has been a member of the cross country team where she has earned three varsity letters. She was named to the 2003 and 2005 New England Small College Athletic Conference All-Academic teams and the 2003 and 2004 Liberty League All-Academic teams. Katie will present her paper on Thursday, April 27, at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel, where the conference is being held.
-- by Mike Kennett
