People

Rim H. Chaif, Ph.D., is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Zimmerman School of Advertising & Mass Communications at the University of South Florida. Her research focuses on strategic communication, digital media, and emerging technologies, particularly at the intersections of advertising, health, gender, and artificial intelligence. Her work examines issues such as persuasion and media effects, AI-generated and mediated communication, online health discourse, gender and representation, and the role of digital platforms in shaping contemporary communication.

Rim uses a range of computational and social science methods, including natural language processing, machine learning, social media analytics, experiments, content analysis, qualitative research, and mixed methods. Her research draws on large-scale digital data as well as experimental and qualitative approaches to investigate both emerging communication technologies and their social implications.

Before entering academia, Rim spent nearly a decade working as a journalist and communications professional in international and humanitarian contexts. Her professional experience across North Africa, Europe, and the United States informs both her research and teaching and brings an international perspective to her work in media and communication.

EDUCATION

• Ph.D., Journalism and Mass Communications, University of Kansas
• M.A., Intercultural Studies and Media Education, University of Calabria, Italy
• M.A., Strategic and Institutional Communication, Algeria
• B.A., French for Business, University of Tlemcen, Algeria

TEACHING AREAS

• Public Relations
• Advertising
• Strategic Communication
• PR Writing; Media Literacy
• Social Media
• Digital and Emerging Media
• Artificial Intelligence and Communication

research specializations

• Strategic Communication
• Media Effects
• Digital and Social Media
• Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies
• Health Communication
• Gender and Media
• Computational Communication Research