Undergraduate Thesis (in Chinese)

Publicity is vital for a civil society organization to raise funds, influence policy and build beneficiary communities that contribute to its social capital. However, many grassroots NGOs in China might not have a rapport with state-owned, traditional media. With the rise of microblog (Weibo), some NGOs become the fast learners in the uptake of social media. Focused on the case of Smile Angel Foundation, this research aims to analyze how this organization presents themselves and engages the online community. I further evaluate the message effect based on various types of online presence and social engagement strategies. 

October 2014 - June 2015

Internet Censorship Circumvention (ICC) technology, such as uProxy and Freegate, enable young people in China to access otherwise blocked sites.  In this sense, not only is ICC technology political empowerment, but the online resilience to censorship becomes an integral part of civic engagement. Drawing upon Adaptive Saturation Theory, this study finds that Chinese youth is building their self-actualizing citizenship through use of ICC technology. In applying Diffusion of Innovation theory, it is suggested that ICC technology will not get diffused among the general population. However, there is a potential for it to be widely adopted among the young and the educated. 

October 2013 - December 2013

Conflicts and cooperation among the powerful countries can be manifest in the voting behaviors in the United Nations Security Council. This study used Social Network Analysis to visualize the voting structure of the member countries, and the cliques among states were identified and made comparisons before and after the Cold War ends.

September 2014 – December 2014

As the bloc of countries made of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa - known as BRIC or BRICS - continues to witness tremendous growth, is it perceived in the United States as a potential threat or partner? Is there a change in the way the bloc is reported depending on international and domestic foreign and economic events? This research analyzes how news stories pertained to BRICS countries are framed by four of the most circulated American newspapers. 

January 2012 - July 2012

This study analyzed three Chinese government official Microblogs in terms of content focus, presentation forms, and social influence.