Pooja Ichplani is skilled at designing and conducting participatory evaluations for programs, and is well-versed in using narrative inquiries, particularly the Most Significant Change Technique – a participatory monitoring and evaluation method. Her areas of interests include social and behavior change communication for health and well-being of vulnerable populations. Her dissertation analyses the role of interpersonal network variables in influencing disclosure about intimate relationships. Informed by this and driven by communication theory, she aims to facilitate development of community-led, culturally compatible programs for primary prevention of intimate partner violence in the long-term.
Her work is published in the Journal of Environmental Media, The Journal of Development Communication, and The Indian Journal of Home Science. She has presented at major conferences including IAMCR, ICA, SSCA, INSNA Sunbelt among others.
Ichplani was awarded Gold Medal after graduating M.Sc. Development Communication and Extension which she pursued from Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi (India). Her masters' dissertation evaluated Video Volunteers as a participatory video collective and how it created spaces for micro- as well as macro-level changes, including normative shifts. This work was recognized by IAMCR 2019 as the winner of Schiller Award. She has also worked with Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Communication Programs and Kantar’s Public Division in India before joining the doctoral program at the School of Communication in FSU’s College of Communication and Information.
Education
Ph.D. Communication Theory and Research. Florida State University (2024 expected)
- Certificate in Program Evaluation (2023)
M.Sc. Development Communication and Extension, University of Delhi (2017)
- Major in Health Communication
B.Sc. (Hons.) Home Science, University of Delhi (2015)
- Major in Development Communication and Extension
Research Interests
Health and well-being, social justice, interpersonal networks, participatory communication research, critical-cultural studies, persuasion, program design and evaluation
Teaching Interests
Health Communication. Intercultural Communication, Diffusion of Innovations
Publications & Research
Select publications:
Ichplani, P. (2022). Agroenvironmental narratives of transformative resistance: How participatory videos frame climate change in India. Journal of Environmental Media, 3(1), 33-63. https://doi.org/10.1386/jem_00071_1
Ichplani, P. (2022). (Re)thinking ethics and moral behaviors as complex contagions: A qualitative content analysis of networks in The Good Place. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 6(3), 314-327. https://doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2022.09.004
Wendorf Muhamad, J., Yang, F., Ichplani, P., & Huse, L.K. (2022). Gendered spaces: Examining women’s online well-being and relationship maintenance patterns. The Journal of Development Communication, 33(1), 24-31.
Ichplani, P., Kumar, A., & Mayberry, J. (2018). Engaging rural communities in communication processes. The Journal of Development Communication, 29(2), 39-53.
Ichplani, P., Kumar, A., Upadhyay, R., & Mayberry, J. (2018). Community correspondents and micro-level changes: A study of Video Volunteers’ initiative. The Indian Journal of Home Science, 30(2). 20-31.
Grants & Awards
CCI Travel voucher for winning lightning research talk, 2023. Funded by the College of Communication and Information, Florida State University.
Doctoral Research Award (Communication – Theory and Research), 2023. Awarded by the College of Communication and Information, Florida State University.
UROP Materials Grant 2022-23. Funded by the Center of Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement.
C.W. Shipley Family Endowed Scholarship/Fellowship, 2022. For meritorious graduate student in School of Communication, Florida State University.
Herbert Schiller Award, 2019. Conferred by the International Association of Media and Communication Research (IAMCR).
Top paper presentation in ICTs and Sustainability, 2018. Awarded by the Home Science Association of India (HSAI).
B.J. Patel Memorial Gold Medal, 2017 for outstanding student of M.Sc. Development Communication and Extension. Awarded by the University of Delhi.