The center's ongoing research focuses on a variety of areas:

• emergency communication policies and practices regarding non-English -speaking populations in Texas and Illinois; supported by a grant from the McCormick Foundation
• the effect of gendered voice-over  in radio advertising:
  exploring the judgment of females and males, as well as Latinos and non-Latinos in Texas, including Latinos' involvement with "advergames"
• analysis of the effect of the message strategies used in 2006 televised political advertising campaigns in Mexico

Research Topics

The center will Generate Grants that promote, support and disseminate research about a number of topics, including:

• the busniess and markets of Latino-oriented media
• what is needed to improve the quality of journalism practices in Latino-oriented news media
• Latnos' exposure to and uses of media
• the portrayals of Latinos in general market media, Latino media and other media
• Hispanic public opinion
• the effects of media -- be they Latino-oriented or general market media -- on Latino's opinions and behaviors related to politics, health or consumer issues
• the effects of television on the cognitive and personal development of Latino children
• the status and problems related to emergency communications with Spanish-speaking populations (e.g., during inclement weather or toxic spills)
• the changing regulations related to telecommunication industries and thier practices
• the telecommunications uses and needs of Latino audiences and communities