Media Literacy News Post Archives

iRT Researchers to Present for the ECHO@edu: Campus Violence Prevention Program

Elizabeth Porter2023-07-19T12:56:13+00:00

July 19, 2023, Durham, NC – iRT Research Scientists Drs. Reina Evans-Paulson and Christina Dodson will lead an interactive Zoom session for the Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance’s ECHO@edu: Campus Violence Prevention program on August 10, 2023 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The ECHO program is an international evidence-based model for training and peer-to-peer learning. The Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance invites staff at colleges, universities, and community colleges to join to discuss best practices in sexual and intimate partner violence primary prevention and new developments in peer education programs. Evans-Paulson and Dodson will present a session entitled [...]

iRT Researchers to Present for the ECHO@edu: Campus Violence Prevention ProgramElizabeth Porter2023-07-19T12:56:13+00:00

iRT to Lead Media Literacy Education Workshop at the National Prevention Network Conference

Elizabeth Porter2023-07-17T18:53:17+00:00

July 17, 2023, Durham, NC – iRT Senior Research Scientist Dr. Janis Kupersmidt will lead an interactive workshop at the National Prevention Network (NPN) Conference in Birmingham, Alabama, on August 17, 2023, to discuss iRT’s research on the use of evidence-based media literacy education programs and strategies to prevent or reduce substance abuse. The NPN Conference hosts prevention professionals, coalition leaders, researchers, and federal partners annually to highlight recent research and best practices in the substance abuse prevention field. The theme of the 2023 session is “Advancing Prevention Science Through the Lens of Change: How Sweet It Is!” Dr. Kupersmidt will [...]

iRT to Lead Media Literacy Education Workshop at the National Prevention Network ConferenceElizabeth Porter2023-07-17T18:53:17+00:00

Latest Edition of Media Ready Spanish Incorporates New Substance Misuse Prevention Content

Elizabeth Porter2023-07-19T17:30:07+00:00

March 16, 2023, Durham, NC – The fourth and newest edition of iRT’s evidence-based, instructor-led media literacy and substance misuse prevention program for middle school students, Media Ready Spanish, has been released. Media Ready Spanish provides youth with skills to critically analyze media content that contains harmful messages about alcohol, drugs, tobacco products, and vapes. The Spanish version of the program continues to use Latin American Spanish in the translations to provide teachers with the opportunity to present all instructional materials to their students in their native language. Through Media Ready’s series of 10 fully scripted, highly interactive lessons, students practice [...]

Latest Edition of Media Ready Spanish Incorporates New Substance Misuse Prevention ContentElizabeth Porter2023-07-19T17:30:07+00:00

Journal of Health Communication Publishes iRT’s New Research on Media Aware Parent

Elizabeth Porter2023-02-23T20:45:18+00:00

January 31, 2023, Durham, NC – Media Aware Parent, one of iRT’s self-paced, online prevention programs, is designed to equip parents of teens with the skills they need to engage in high-quality conversations with their children about sexual and relationship health, teach their children to think critically about media messages, and create effective family rules around media use. A previous paper published by Dr. Tracy Scull and her colleagues at iRT reported on the impact of the program after access to it for one month. At that point in time, the Media Aware Parent program improved parents-adolescent communication, and parents and [...]

Journal of Health Communication Publishes iRT’s New Research on Media Aware ParentElizabeth Porter2023-02-23T20:45:18+00:00

iRT Collaborates on a Cultural Adaptation of a Parent-Child Communication Program

Elizabeth Porter2022-12-30T19:24:52+00:00

December 30, 2022, Durham, NC – Literature suggests that Latino parents, like other communities, lack confidence in their knowledge and ability to discuss sex and relationships with their kids. However, few resources are available to guide parents in communicating with their teenagers about sexual health, especially in a culturally relevant format. iRT’s self-paced, interactive online program, Media Aware Parent, is designed to help parents navigate conversations with their teenagers about sex, relationships, and media. Dr. Tracy Scull, Senior Research Scientist for iRT, and Dr. Mercedes M. Morales-Alemán, Assistant Professor for The University of Alabama, aim to adapt Media Aware Parent to [...]

iRT Collaborates on a Cultural Adaptation of a Parent-Child Communication ProgramElizabeth Porter2022-12-30T19:24:52+00:00

iRT Enhances Media Literacy Education and Substance Use Prevention Program for Children

Elizabeth Porter2023-07-19T17:59:24+00:00

December 30, 2022, Durham, NC – iRT is pleased to announce the third and newest edition of Media Detective Spanish, a media literacy, alcohol, tobacco, and vaping misuse prevention program designed for elementary school students. The Media Detective program consists of instructor-led, interactive classroom activities and hands-on practice opportunities to help students apply critical thinking skills to analyzing the media messages they consume. The Spanish version of Media Detective provides all curriculum content in Spanish to allow teachers to present program content in the language that students are most comfortable with. Media Detective Spanish’s updated edition has expanded upon past editions [...]

iRT Enhances Media Literacy Education and Substance Use Prevention Program for ChildrenElizabeth Porter2023-07-19T17:59:24+00:00

iRT Receives Grant for Development of a Parent Training Program to Improve Tween Health

Elizabeth Porter2022-12-14T20:25:31+00:00

November 30, 2022, Durham, NC – innovation Research & Training (iRT) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to develop and evaluate a self-paced, interactive online program designed to educate parents about tween development and help them have high-quality conversations with their tweens about puberty, body-image, relationships, sexuality, and media use. Preadolescence is an integral time in development for children to form lifelong beliefs about appearance, gender roles, relationships, and sex. Children are more susceptible to eating disorders, dating violence perpetration, aggressive behavior, and decreased self-confidence [...]

iRT Receives Grant for Development of a Parent Training Program to Improve Tween HealthElizabeth Porter2022-12-14T20:25:31+00:00

iRT Awarded Grant for Development of a Parent-Focused Media Literacy Education Program for Adolescent Substance Use Prevention

IRT Inc2023-01-11T19:44:17+00:00

September 2021, Durham, NC - innovation Research & Training (iRT) is honored to share that it has received a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to develop and evaluate the Media World Parent program. iRT Senior Research Scientist, Dr. Tracy Scull, is the Principal Investigator for the project. She is joined by Co-Investigators, Dr. Christina Dodson and Dr. Katie Stump. The team will create an evidence-based program to help parents effectively communicate with their middle school-aged children about substance use and media. Media World Parent will build upon several of their previously funded projects, including the classroom curriculum, [...]

iRT Awarded Grant for Development of a Parent-Focused Media Literacy Education Program for Adolescent Substance Use PreventionIRT Inc2023-01-11T19:44:17+00:00

New Study from iRT Finds Web-Based Media Literacy Program an Effective Vehicle for High School Sex Ed

IRT Inc2023-01-11T19:38:12+00:00

May 14, 2021, Durham, NC - Web-based media literacy education was found to be an effective way to promote sexual health and critical media analysis in high school students, according to a new randomized controlled trial published in the Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives. The findings were reported by innovation Research & Training (iRT), a behavioral sciences research company. Decades of research have shown that school-based, comprehensive sex education is an effective way to improve adolescent sexual health. However, yesterday’s programs don’t necessarily work today; with the pervasiveness of smartphones and online social networks, adolescents’ constant access to media means [...]

New Study from iRT Finds Web-Based Media Literacy Program an Effective Vehicle for High School Sex EdIRT Inc2023-01-11T19:38:12+00:00

Dr. Scull Appointed to Center for Scientific Review Study Section

IRT Inc2021-05-03T13:25:07+00:00

Durham, NC, May 2, 2021 – The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Center for Scientific Review (CSR) has selected Dr. Tracy Scull, Senior Research Scientist at innovation Research & Training, for her demonstrated achievement and competence to serve as a member of the Psychosocial Development, Risk and Prevention (PDRP) Study Section for a four-year term, beginning this July. The CSR is responsible for organizing the peer review groups and study sections that evaluate most of the research grant applications sent to NIH. It works to execute fair, independent, expert, and timely scientific reviews for NIH grant applications. “I am honored to [...]

Dr. Scull Appointed to Center for Scientific Review Study SectionIRT Inc2021-05-03T13:25:07+00:00