Professor
Dean's Office
Dr. Sparks’ research interests encompass the processes of social communication in advertising and the mass media, theories and methods in audience research and reception analysis, and the political economy of tobacco and alcohol control.
Contributions:
Pantani, D., Sparks, R., Sanchez, Z. M. & Pinsky, A. (2012) ‘Responsible drinking’ programs and the alcohol industry in Brazil: Killing two birds with one stone?, Social Science and Medicine, 75, 1387-1391.
Jette, S., Sparks, R., Pinsky, I., Castaneda, L. & Haines, R. (2009). Youth, sports and the culture of beer drinking: Global alcohol sponsorship of sports and cultural events in Latin America, In Wenner, L & Jackson, S. (Eds.), Sport, Beer, and Gender: Promotional Culture and Contemporary Social Life, Peter Lang Publishing, New York, NY: 75-95.
Jette, S., Wilson, B. & Sparks R. (2007), Female youths’ perceptions of smoking in popular films, Qualitative Health Research, 17 (3): 323-339.
Sparks, R., Young, M. L., & Darnell, S. (2006). Convergence, corporate restructuring, and Canadian online news, 2000-2003, Canadian Journal of Communication, 31 (2), 391-423.
Sparks, R., Dewhirst, T., Jette, S., & Schweinbenz, A. (2005). Historical hangovers or burning possibilities: regulation and adaptation in tobacco and alcohol sponsorship, In J. Amis and T.B. Cornwell (Eds.), Global Sport Sponsorship, Oxford & New York: Berg, 19-66.
Keywords:
Mass communication; Consumer culture; Public health; Tobacco and alcohol control.
robert.sparks@ubc.ca
Departmental profile page
Departmental profile page