Abhik Roy

Biography

Prior to joining LMU, Professor Roy served as a tenured associate professor in the Department of Communication and Culture at Howard University. His teaching interests are in intercultural communication, communication theory, rhetorical theory and criticism, ethical/philosophical issues in communication studies, and intercultural rhetoric.

Professor Roy is the author of the book: Selling Stereotypes: Images of Women in Indian Television Commercials. He has published articles in numerous refereed journals, including Communication Studies, International and Intercultural Communication Annual, Journal of Applied Communication, Journal of Popular Culture, Language and Intercultural Communication, Southern Communication Journal, The Howard Journal of Communications, and the Western Journal of Communication, to name a few.

He has received several prestigious awards for his research and scholarship, including Howard University's John H. Johnson School of Communication's 2006 Exemplar Award for Excellence in Research, Teaching and Mentoring; 2003 B. Aubrey Fisher Best Article Award from the Western States Communication Association; Researcher of the Year Award, Howard University's John H. Johnson School of Communications, 2002, and the Ralph Cooley Award for Top Paper from International and Intercultural Communication Division, National Communication Association, 2002, among others. He has served on the editorial board of several prestigious journals, including Communication Theory, Communication Studies, Kenneth Burke Journal, The Howard Journal of Communications, and the Language and Intercultural Communication Journal.

Professor Roy's current research focuses on the rhetorical dimensions of nationalist identity movements and philosophical/ethical issues in intercultural communication theory and research.

Education (3)

University of Kansas: Ph.D., Postgraduate Studies

University of Kansas: M.S., Graduate Studies

Saint Xavier’s College: B.S., Undergraduate Studies

Areas of Expertise (3)

Intercultural Communication

Communication Theory

Rhetorical Theory and Criticism

Industry Expertise (3)

Training and Development

Research

Education/Learning

Articles (1)

Underrepresented, positively portrayed: Older adults in television commercials

Journal of Applied Communication Research

2009-05-21

This paper reports a content analysis of 778 television commercials. Commercials were examined for the presence of older adults. Commercials featuring older adults were then examined more closely to describe the nature of the portrayals. Consistent with previous research, older adults were shown to be underrepresented in the commercials examined, as compared to their presence in the population. This effect was particularly strong for older women and for members of ethnic minorities. However, older adults were found to be presented in a relatively positive light—as active, happy, and strong. In addition, older adults were shown to be least underrepresented in advertisements for financial services and retail chains, and most underrepresented in advertisements for automobiles and travel services. The results are discussed in terms of the changing position of the older adult consumer in the marketplace. Suggestions for future research are provided.

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