【Article by GCIT】
Honoka Fukuda, a second-year graduate student in the Master’s Program in Global Communication and Innovation Technology (GCIT) at National Chengchi University (NCCU), has received the Top Paper Award in Health Communication at the 75th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA). She will present her research in June in Denver, USA, highlighting not only her academic excellence but also the strong capabilities of GCIT students in international communication.

Her award-winning paper, titled “How Effectively Do Helplines Work Against the Werther Effect in News Coverage?” explores the role of media in suicide prevention efforts. The study demonstrates GCIT’s commitment to developing both practical communication skills and rigorous academic research training.

The International Communication Association (ICA) is a prestigious academic organization in the field of communication, boasting over 5,000 members from more than 80 countries worldwide. Fukuda expressed her gratitude for receiving this recognition and for the support of Taiwan's National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), which is sponsoring her trip to present at the conference. She looks forward to engaging in scholarly exchanges with international experts.

Her experimental research examines the "Werther Effect," which describes the potential increase in suicide rates following media coverage of suicides by public figures. The findings indicate that while including helpline information in news reports can promote positive reflections on life among audiences, the extent to which audiences identify with the public figure in question has an even greater impact on shaping their responses. This insight provides new empirical evidence that can help develop more effective suicide prevention strategies in media reporting.

The study was supervised by Assistant Professor Christine Cook, a faculty member at GCIT specializing in media psychology, whose research encompasses topics such as online deviant behaviors, trolling culture, and cyberbullying.

Fukuda’s achievement not only highlights the academic research potential of GCIT students, but also underscores the program’s excellence in bridging global communication theory and practice, while encouraging students to address critical social issues through empirical research.

[此中英文稿和圖片以及全球傳播與創新科技碩士學位學程均獲得中華民國文化部的補助。]