Media Ecology: An Approach to Understanding the Human Condition, 

In his new book, Strate, professor of communication and media studies, examines how smartphones, apps, and social media shape us as human beings. He expands on an intellectual tradition, one spearheaded by Neil Postman and Marshall McLuhan (who taught at Fordham), that’s about much more than understanding any one particular medium.

“It starts with the understanding that those things we pay attention to, like screens, are not just gadgets,” he said. “We think we can turn them on or off, but when you look at them as part of our environment, we can’t escape them.”

Even people who don’t use social media will be inadvertently affected by it, said Strate, because its use is ubiquitous—much the same as persons who don’t fly and yet must content with planes continuously flying overhead. “We are living in an environment that is full of these mediations that influence us.”

“We all speak with a language we didn’t create. That influences how we express ourselves and in how we think,” he said.e

Forensic Social Work: Psychosocial Legal Issues Across Diverse Populations and Settings, 2 ed., co-edited by Tina Maschi, Ph.D., and George Stuart Leibowitz, Ph.D. (Springer Publishing, 2018)

“We’ve come a long way from forensic texts just being about expert testimony in court, but to include the systems of care,” said Tina Maschi, Ph.D. associate professor in the Graduate School of Social Service, the book’s co-editor. “Whatever angle or systems you are looking at, the problems still emerge.”

A collection of articles by leading academics and professionals, Forensic Social Work looks at the latest research and practices in the field. Readers learn to integrate socio-legal knowledge when working with diverse populations, and to become familiar with common forensic issues in the major settings of health care, social and protective services, the child welfare system, the criminal justice system, school systems, immigration services, and addiction treatment facilities, among others.

Among the topics discussed are the use of restorative justice around the globe; the application of “cultural humility,” in which social work practitioners are mindful to put aside biases when working with clients with cultural differences; and the importance of teaching ethics in forensic social work environments.

(Listen to Tina Maschi speak about the book.)

Cognitive Development in Digital Contexts, co-edited by Fran C. Blumberg, Ph.D., and Patricia J. Brooks, Ph.D. (Elsevier Science & Technology Books, 2017)

Cognitive Development in Digital Contexts provides a survey of the impact of digital media on key aspects of children’s and adolescents’ cognitive development pertaining to attention, memory, language, and executive functioning.

The co-editors sought to present content pertinent to how children and adolescents evaluate the content presented to them via different types of screen media; what many scholars see as an aspect of media literacy, according to Blumberg. Both women had a goal to highlight how cognitive development was impacted by exposure and use of digital media.

“This focus has surprisingly remained largely neglected amid societal concerns about pathological media use and vulnerability to media effects such as demonstrations of physical aggression, cyberbullying, and Internet addiction,” said Blumberg, associate professor in the Division of Psychological and Educational Services at the Graduate School of Education.

The intended audience includes educators, researchers, policymakers, and media designers dedicated to examining and promoting children’s and adolescents’ cognitive growth in the digital era.

Essays in International Money and Finance: Interest Rates, Exchange Rates, Prices and the Supply of Money Within and Across Countries, by James Lothian, Ph.D. (World Scientific Publishing, 2017)

A collection of papers by Lothian, Distinguished Professor of Finance and holder of the Toppeta Family Chair in Global Financial Markets, Essays in International Money and Finance focuses on the empirical performance of international monetary and financial theory. Within the broad scope of topics, one paper focuses on a study of exchange-rate behavior over the 200-year period from 1791 to 1990.

The featured papers were written over a 40-year period and have received the attention of other scholars, said Lothian, which is why he decided to assemble them together.

“The papers share a broadness in scope of another sort, with concerns for both history and in some instances, the history of economic thought and with emphases on both open-economy and closed-economy models of economic behavior,” he said.

Ethics in Anthropology of Business, co-edited by Timothy de Waal Malefyt, Ph.D., and Robert J. Morais, Ph.D. (Routledge, 2017)

Malefyt, a clinical associate professor in the Gabelli School of Business, said that the anthropology of business is a relatively new field that takes a “cultural perspective of how people in groups may fit particular patterns.”

The timely collection of essays examines ethical challenges for anthropologists working in industries such as advertising, market research, and design. In a contributed chapter on advertising, Malefyt writes that ethics in that field can often prove complicated. He cites the popular Virginia Slims ads, which, in spite of being advertisements for cigarettes, had a positive effect on the feminist movement with their “You’ve come a long way” tag line.

“Anthropologists are good at studying cultural issues and how they impact business,” Malefyt said. “Adding ethics can be very valuable.”

Think Big with Think Alouds, by Molly Ness, Ph.D., (Corwin, 2017)

In her new book, Molly Ness, Ph.D., associate professor in the Graduate School of Education, helps elementary school teachers focus on five strategies to develop strategic reading habits and improve K-5 students’ comprehension. These include: (1) Asking questions; (2) making inferences; (3) synthesizing information; (4) understanding the author’s purpose; and (5) monitoring and clarifying. The book builds on Ness’s long-term research on reading comprehension instruction.

Specifically, she presents a three-step planning process to build teachers’ ability to “think-aloud”. In a think aloud, a proficient reader models the thinking process that s/he uses to understand a particular piece of text. The new book is based on a yearlong research study that Ness undertook with public school teachers who were simultaneously enrolled in GSE classes.  Findings from the research study showed that, although think alouds are highly effective, they are not yet commonplace in classrooms today.

(Tom Stoelker and Veronika Kero contributed to this report.)

Timothy Malefyt, Ph.D., clinical associate professor of marketing at the Gabelli School of Business, said this was both by design and surprising.

“Super Bowl ads are different from normal ads. A company’s not going to present their regular-material ad. They’re spending nearly $5 million for 30 seconds, so they really want to have an effect; they really want to come on strong,” he said.

“They’re going to typically work on emotions, and they’re going to come up with something that’s provocative or humorous that makes you think of the brand in a new way.”

We sat with Malefyt for some good old-fashioned “Monday morning quarterbacking” on advertising’s biggest night of the year. Take a listen:

Full transcript below:

Patrick Verel: I feel like everybody talks about, “Oh, what was your favorite ad? What was the one you didn’t like the most?” I wonder for you, which one do you think was the most effective ad?

Timothy Malefyt: The Skittles ad was very clever. The guy … Romance your Skittles, and he was outside throwing Skittles, trying to get the girl’s attention, and the whole family, and a robber, and a police, and everyone else are taking advantage of that.

Another humorous ad was the Spuds MacKenzie. They’re really bringing him back, the ghost of Spuds MacKenzie, because he’s been gone for what, 10, 15 years now? We saw a powerful ad by Airbnb that said, “We all belong. We believe that no matter who you are, where you’re from, or who you love, or who you worship, we all belong.”

Patrick Verel: What are the ones that you felt like they were trying too hard, they were too kind of quote-unquote Super Bowl commercials?

Timothy Malefyt: I think some of the car ads were less memorable, although the Buick ad was clever. If your kid turned into another person, a super star, but that then again seemed it was borrowing from the Snickers ad that was famous years ago. Snickers tried an ad, trying to do something live, Snickers Live. That kind of fell flat. You remember that? The Snickers? This is live?

Patrick Verel: Oh, yeah, everything fell apart or something?

Timothy Malefyt: And everything fell apart. This is you when you’re hungry, and it didn’t quite get it. I think it tried. The idea was great, but it didn’t come across that well.

Patrick Verel: Yeah, yeah, I can see what you mean. When it was over, you’re just kind of like, “Wait, what did I just watch?”

Timothy Malefyt: I had to rewind it on the Tivo.

Patrick Verel: Is there one in particular that you felt really captured the zeitgeist of the mood of the country right now?

Timothy Malefyt: The strongest one, the 84 Lumber, which really showed a woman and her daughter, clearly Mexican immigrants, trying to make it to America. That was most powerful, and I think it was very reactive. People either really liked that or were against it. In fact, they had to continue this and I understand the rest of the story is that they’re in Mexico and they encounter a wall. There is a wall, but then there is a door in the wall, and they enter the door, and that’s kind of the saving grace.

But people in the Super Bowl tried to access this website and I guess it crashed, so they couldn’t get on. So I think there is a mood of expressing unity, diversity, we’re all together with this, from Coca-Cola to Airbnb, these really big campaigns were really trying to drive against that.

Patrick Verel: That 84 ad’s fascinating because it was like a lot of people sort of seeing in that ad what they wanted to see because the people who are favored one way focused on the wall, and then people who are feeling the other way focused on, but the wall has a door in it.

Timothy Malefyt: That’s a good way of putting that. I think you’re right, and I think that’s why it was very polarizing. Some people were really cheering that on, and other people were saying, “We need the wall.” So people took both sides out of it. Maybe that’s where commercials that are most provocative get people to react in some way.

The Audi ad was really interesting. The Audi ad for equal pay. That was surprising for a car ad because most of the other car ads were either humorous, the Buick ad, or kind of showing performance. But the Audi ad had a strong social message and talked about gender equality or inequality I should say. I thought it would not be good for the car. It would not be relevant for the car commercial, had it not had the girl in the car, the toy car, racing against other boys and showing her competitive spirit. She really is one who would be out there in the world, and one that a father could be proud of in succeeding. This message was that gender inequality still exists and he’s hoping for change that will come and perhaps Audi is a part of that.

Patrick Verel: Was there anything from last night that genuinely surprised or shocked you?

Timothy Malefyt: No. I think this year, the ads were really relevant and were trying to push some buttons and provoke. There was nothing really out of place, nothing really great or really bad. They went with the whole mood of the country. I thought this is a good representation of really what you’d expect in high quality Super Bowl ads.

“They wanted us to study men who liked shaving. This segment seemed to defy the whole product category,” said the research team’s leader, Timothy de Waal Malefyt, Ph.D., associate professor of marketing at the Fordham Schools of Business. “Most of this target group disliked shaving altogether—a consumer category that was notorious for low involvement.”

Malefyt, a corporate anthropologist, set out to conduct ethnographic research on the shaving enthusiasts devoted to this premium-priced product line.

His work on behalf of BBDO and Gillette has inspired Malefyt’s long-term interest in brand rituals. The topic is the focus of his latest research and a chapter he authored in the soon-to-be-published Handbook of Anthropology in Business (Left Coast Press, 2014).

Not only did the shaving enthusiasts care about their appearance, Malefyt discovered, but they also greatly enjoyed their daily grooming routine—unlike their counterparts who simply wanted to get the job done. The Art of Shaving’s four-step process—pre-shave, lathering, shaving, and aftershave, complete with lathering brushes, premium blades, oils and fragrances—offered them a full experience that engages the senses.

“From this research we learned that brand rituals that involve process and effort can be something that celebrates the user and helps to develop skills they can share with other users,” he said.

In discussing what they liked about The Art of Shaving, the men interviewed talked about the fragrances, the skill of holding the razor at the right angle, and the types of blades they used—“all these sensory dimensions to shaving that most men never talked about.”

Malefyt said there are other brands that capture a similar sense of ritual and that are experiential, engaging, and sensorial. American Girl dolls are one example, in that girls can order a customized doll with their own features, they can get their hair cut and shampooed like their dolls, wear the same clothing, and learn about the history of period dolls through the book series. “There’s much more of a sense of involvement and a depth of experience with this brand than, say, a Barbie that you purchase at Wal-Mart.”

Wine clubs are another example of ritualistic, experiential brands. People learn new descriptors for expressing flavor bouquets and how to differentiate them. Each month, wine club members taste new wines and learn about the regions they are from and what foods pair well with them.

“The development of skills in rituals makes people feel that they own the brand,” Malefyt said. “They identify with it and talk about it with others. There’s a sense of community around that.”

Malefyt is among a niche of professionals who study business anthropology, a field that informs industries about how buyers are influenced by culture and human relationships. By studying consumer behaviors and shopping habits, business anthropologists help marketers better understand consumers’ needs and expectations.

“People think of anthropology as going off to study a tribe in Borneo,” said Malefyt. “Now, the world is fully developed and explored, but what has survived in anthropology are the tools to understand people from another point of view. That is really powerful.”

Malefyt’s research on consumer marketing is wide ranging, and includes specific types of purchasing experiences, such as consumer shopping habits in the grocery store. To illustrate how business anthropology can help to inform marketing strategies, he cites floor-cleaning products. Why consumers choose one cleaner over another may have less to do with the product itself and far more to do with individual ideas and relationships. Is the product environmentally friendly? Will a toddler crawl on the floor? Does a sparkling floor symbolize something you’d want guests to perceive about you? He says purchases and brand selection are more emotionally charged than we think.

Today, advertising is also more personal and sophisticated, Malefyt said. “Brands are not logos, they are experiences. Brands like American Girl, The Art of Shaving, Disney Vacations, and others create dialogue with the consumer rather than talk to them. But conversations require more social understanding of where the consumers are coming from, and that’s where anthropologists and sociologists can help out.”

In addition to leading the ethnographic unit at BBDO Worldwide, Malefyt is the recipient of a National Science Foundation grant and a Fulbright fellowship in Spain. He has published widely and is co-author of the book Advertising and Anthropology: Ethnographic Practice and Cultural Perspectives (Berg, 2012). He holds a doctorate in cultural anthropology, and was a dancer with the Joffrey Ballet until a knee injury shifted his career path.

Malefyt is also involved in planning EPIC (Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference), which will bring together professionals from different disciplines around the world to discuss the multifaceted field of marketing. Sponsored by Fordham’s Center for Positive Marketing, the conference will be held at Fordham from Sept. 7 through 10, 2014.

Aditi Bagchi,

associate professor of law, LAW,

“ESPN Accused in Dish Case of Giving Comcast Better Terms,” Bloomberg, February 11

Tom Beaudoin, Ph.D.,

associate professor of practical theology, GRE,

“Woodford and the Quest for Meaning,” ABC Radio, February 16

Mary Bly, Ph.D.,

professor of English, A&S,

“How do Bestselling Novelists Court Cupid on Valentine’s Day?,” Washington Post, February 14

James Brudney,

professor of law, LAW,

“Nutter Seeks High Court’s OK to Impose His Terms on City Workers,” Philly.com, March 1

Charles C. Camosy, Ph.D.,

assistant professor of theology, A&S,

“Drone Warfare Faces Barrage of Moral Questions,” Catholic San Francisco, February 20

Colin M. Cathcart, M.F.A.,

associate professor of architecture, A&S,

“New York City Traffic Ranked the Worst Among the Nation: Study,” AM New York, February 6

Saul Cornell, Ph.D.,

The Paul and Diane Guenther Chair in American History, A&S,

“After Newtown: Guns in America,” WNET-TV, February 19

Carole Cox, Ph.D.,

professor of social service, GSS,

“Boomer Stress,” Norwich Bulletin, February 19

George Demacopoulos, Ph.D.,

associate professor of theology, A&S,

“Pope Resignation,” ABC, World News Now, February 28

Christopher Dietrich, Ph.D.,

assistant professor of history, A&S,

“Bad Precedent: Obama’s Drone Doctrine is Nixon’s Cambodia Doctrine (Dietrich),” Informed Comment, February 11

John Entelis, Ph.D.,

professor of political science, A&S,

“John Brennan,” BBC Radio, February 9

Howard Erichson,

professor of law, LAW,

“High-Stakes Trial Begins for 2010 Gulf Oil Spill,” Amarillo Globe-News, February 25

Laura Gonzalez, Ph.D.,

assistant professor of finance, BUS,

“Recortes al Presupuesto Podrían Afectar el Seguro Social y Medicare,” Mundo Fox, February 8

Albert Greco, Ph.D.,

professor of marketing, BUS,

“Why Would Anyone Want to Buy a Bookstore?,” Marketplace, February 25

Karen J. Greenberg, Ph.D.,

director of the Center on National Security, LAW,

“Alleged Sept. 11 Plotters in Court, but Lawyers Do the Talking,” National Public Radio, February 11

Stephen R. Grimm, Ph.D.,

associate professor of philosophy, A&S,

“Grants from Foundations and Corporations of More Than $100,000 in 2013,” Chronicle of Philanthropy, February 28

Tanya Hernandez, Ph.D.,
professor of law, LAW,

“Brazil’s Affirmative Action Law Offers a Huge Hand Up,” Christian Science Monitor, February 12

J. Patrick Hornbeck, Ph.D.,

assistant professor of theology, A&S,

“Vatican Conclave,” Huffington Post, March 4

Robert Hume, Ph.D.,

associate professor of political science, A&S,

“USA: Supreme Court Case Update – DOMA/Prop 8 Briefs Streaming In,” Gay Marriage Watch, February 28

Clare Huntington,

associate professor of law, LAW,

“Sunday Dialogue: How to Give Families a Path Out of Poverty,” The New York Times, February 9

Nicholas Johnson,

professor of law, LAW,

“Neil Heslin, Father of Newtown Victim, Testifies at Senate Assault Weapons Ban Hearing,”Huffington Post, February 27

Michael E. Lee, Ph.D.,

associate professor of theology, A&S,

“Tiempo: Watch this Week’s Show,” WABC 7, February 17

Joseph T. Lienhard, S.J.,

professor of theology, A&S,

“Remembering Benedict — the Teacher, the Traditionalist,” The Saratogian, March 1

Dawn B. Lerman, Ph.D.,

director of the Center for Positive Marketing, marketing area chair, and professor of marketing, BUS,

“Study: Google, Facebook, Walmart Fill Consumer Needs,” Tech Investor News, February 12

Paul Levinson, Ph.D.,

professor of communication and media studies, A&S,

“Will Oscar Host Seth MacFarlane Be Asked Back? Probably Not,” Yahoo! News via Christian Science Monitor, February 26

Hector Lindo-Fuentes, Ph.D.,

professor of history and director of Latin American and Latino Studies, A&S,

“Escaping Gang Violence, Growing Number of Teens Cross Border,” WNYC, December 28

Timothy Malefyt, Ph.D.,

visiting associate professor of marketing, BUS,

“On TV, an Everyday Muslim as Everyday American,” The New York Times, February 8

Elizabeth Maresca,

clinical associate professor of law, LAW,

“Poll: 87 Percent Say Never OK to Cheat on Taxes,” KWQC, February 26

Carlos McCray, Ed.D.,

associate professor of education leadership, GRE,

“Cops Nab 5-Year-Old for Wearing Wrong Color Shoes to School,” Take Part, January 18

Micki McGee, Ph.D.,

assistant professor of sociology, A&S,

“Do Self-Help Books Work?,” Chicago Sun Times, February 21

Mark Naison, Ph.D.,

professor of African and African American Studies and history, and principal investigator of the Bronx African American History Project (BAAHP), A&S,

“Professor: Why Teach For America Can’t Recruit in my Classroom,” Washington Post, February 18

Costas Panagopoulos, Ph.D.,

associate professor of political science, A&S,

“Analysis: Obama to Republicans – Can We Just Move On?,” WHTC 1450, February 13

Kimani Paul-Emile,

associate professor of law, LAW,

“Some Patients Won’t See Nurses of Different Race,” Cleveland Plain Dealer via AP, February 22

Michael Peppard, Ph.D.,

assistant professor of theology, A&S,

“Big Man on Campus isn’t on Campus,” Commonweal, February 20

Francis Petit, Ed.D.,

associate dean and director of Executive Programs, BUS,

“Marissa Mayer Takes Flak for Gathering Her Troops,” E-Commerce Times, March 1

Rose Perez, Ph.D.,

assistant professor of social work, GSS,

“Education Segment,” Mundo Fox, January 21

Wullianallur “R.P.” Raghupathi, Ph.D.,

professor of information systems, BUS,

“¿Qué Tiene Silicon Valley para Producir ‘Frutos’ Como Steve Jobs?,” CNN, February 24

Joel Reidenberg, Ph.D.,

Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Chair and professor of law and founding academic director of the Center on Law and Information Policy, LAW,

“Google App Store Policy Raises Privacy Concerns,” Reuters, February 14

Erick Rengifo-Minaya, Ph.D.,

associate professor of economics, BUS,

“Noticias MundoFOX 10PM Parte II,” Mundo Fox Noticias, February 8

Patrick J. Ryan, S.J.,

The Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society, A&S,

“Pope Resignation,” WNBC, Sunday “Today in NY,” March 13

Susan Scafidi,

professor of law, LAW,

“Diamonds: How $60B Industry Thrives on Symbolism,” CBS This Morning, February 21

Christine Janssen-Selvadurai, Ph.D.,director of the entrepreneurship program at the Gabelli School of Business and co-director of both Fordham’s Center for Entrepreneurship and the Fordham Foundry, BUS,

“NYC Embraces Silicon Valley’s Appetite for Risk,” Crain’s New York Business, February 6

Ellen Silber, Ph.D.,

director of Mentoring Latinas, GSS,

“Mentoring Program Serves Young Latinas Aiming Higher in New York City,” Fox News Latino, February 25

Janet Sternberg, Ph.D.,assistant professor of communication and media studies, A&S,

“What are You Supposed to Do When You Have, Like, 106,926 Unread Emails?,” Huffington Post, February 25

Maureen A. Tilley, Ph.D.,professor of theology, A&S,

“Pope Resignation: Interview with Maureen Tilley of Fordham University,” WPIX, February 17

Terrence W. Tilley, Ph.D.,

Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., Professor of Catholic Theology and chair of the department, A&S,

“As Conclave to Select New Pope Begins, English-Speaking Cardinals Lead Charge to Reform Vatican,” Daily News, March 4

Peter Vaughan, Ph.D.,dean of the Graduate School of Social Service, GSS,

“Ceremony Held for NASW Foundation Award Recipients,” Social Work Blog, February 28

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