tricia wang  

tw  ^at sign^ triciawang  ^dot^ com  

Department of Sociology, University of California San Diego, 401 Social Science Building, 9500 Gilman Dr. La Jolla, California 92093-0533, USA

  

 

EDUCATION

    Ph.D.               

    (anticipated for 2011)            Sociology, University of California, San Diego

 

    B.A. magna cum laude          Communication, University of California, San Diego

    (2001)

 

 

AWARDS & HONORS

• Selected Participant in Dissertation Workshop on Social Capital and Civic Engagement in Asia; Toronto, CN; The Asian Institute at the University of  Toronto (2009)

• George E. Brown Award for UC MEXUS-CONACYT collaborative grant project with Barry Brown, Gloria Marks and Jesus Favela; University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States (2008-2009), $2500

• Young Scholar Award for the China-India-US Workshop on Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Workshop;  National Indian Institute of Science; Bangalore, India  (2008)

• Sociology Department Graduate Student Funding (2007-2008), $25,000

• China in the World Summer Fellowship; Leeds University, Worldwide University Network;  Leeds, UK  (2007)

• National Aeronautics Space Agency (NASA) International Space Station Earthkam Fellowship; La Jolla, CA, USA (2001)

 

RESEARCH 

 

Fieldwork Experience

Rural Village in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico and Southern California, United States; Information communication technology usage in migrant sending and receiving communities; survey and ethnography; Jan. 2008 - ongoing

 

Bangalore and Chennai, India; cellphone usage, water gathering practices, and telecommunication policy; ethnography; July 2008

 

Bangalore, India; NGO’s role on technology innovation policies; ethnography; July 2008

 

Shanghai, Chinal Internet Cafes and Cellphones; ethnography; July 2008

 

Research Positions

Research Assistant on “Appropriate networks: Developing appropriate communication technologies for rural & international links.” Communication Department, UC San Diego (Sept. 2008 – Present)

 

Research Assistant for Dr. Gershon Shafir on "The Study of Human Rights  Studies at European Universities."  Sociology Department, UC San Diego (March 2008 - Present).

 

Research Grants Received 

Research Grant for “Appropriate networks: Developing appropriate communication technologies for rural & international links” Redes adecuadas: Desarrollo de tecnologías de comunicación adecuadas para fortalecer vínculos entre comunidades rurales transfronterizas” University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States (UC MEXUS) (2008-2009), $20,000

 

Research Grant for “Preliminary Field Site Exploration for Researching Information Communication Technology Among Urban Chinese Migrants in Shanghai and Beijing.” University of California Pacific Rim Research Fund (2008), $4,000

 

Research Grant for “The Impact of Cellphones on How Informal Laborers Share Job Information:  Undocumented Mexican Laborers in the Informal Economy.”  University of California Labor and Employment Research Fund (LERF) (2008), $4,000

 

Travel Grant for fieldwork on “Data Collection of ICT-based communication between San Diego, CA and Oaxaca, Mexcio.”   Sociology Department, UC San Diego (2008), $600

 

Research grant for “Data Collection on ICT-based communication between low-income Oaxacan migrants in San Diego County and their families in the Mixteca region of Oaxaca.” University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States (UC MEXUS) (2007-2008, research assistant), $1,500

 

Research Interests

Internet/Telecommunication Policy, Digital Rights, Information Society, Social Capital,  Inequalities, Migration, Youths, Urbanization, Technology, Citizenship, Sociology of Culture, China

 

 

 

PAPER IN PROGRESS FOR SUBMISSION

• Internet Access as a Social Right: Implications for Social Citizenship

• Case-Study of how Oaxacan migrants in San Diego County Use Cellphones to Communicate with their Families in Mexico (co-authoring with Leah Muse-Orlinoff)

• The Reproduction of a Stratified Global Informal Economy in Virtual Games: The Case of World of Warcraft’s Chinese Goldfarmers  

 

 

 

 

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

Cellphone and Landline Telephone Use in Rural Mexico: Emerging Practices from a Migrant Sending Village

2008    Technologies for Emerging Regions (TIER); UC Berkeley, CA, USA.

 

Technology Policy and Social Rights: The Case of India and China

2008    China-India-US Workshop on Science, Technology and Innovation Policy; Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India; Invited Presentation

 

Internet Access as a Social Right: Implications for Social Citizenship

2008    International Sociological Association's Research Committee on Poverty, Social Welfare and Social Policy (RC 19); Stockholm, Sweden; Accepted Paper

 

The Reproduction of a Stratified Global Informal Economy in Virtual Games: The Case of World of Warcraft’s Chinese Goldfarmers

2007     China in the World: Stratification; White-Rose East Asia Center, Leeds University, Leeds, UK; Invited Roundtable Presentation

 

 

  

TEACHING APPOINTMENTS

• Reader, “African Societies Through Film,”  Sociology, University of California, San Diego, Professor Kris Kohler (Fall 2007)

• Teaching Assistant, “Natural Disasters and Human Culture,”  Culture, Art, Technology Writing Program at Sixth College, University of California, San Diego, Professor Linda Strauss (Spring  2007)

• Teaching Assistant, “A History of Time,”  Culture, Art, Technology Writing Program at Sixth College, University of California, San Diego, Professor Stefan Tanaka (Winter 2007)

• Teaching Assistant, “Culture, Art & Technology,”  Culture, Art, Technology Writing Program at Sixth College, University of California, San Diego, Professor Steve Carlisle (Fall 2006)

• Teaching Assistant, “Digital Non-Linear Editing 101,”  Communication, University of California, San Diego, Professor Zeinabu Davis (Spring 2002)

 

 

 

 

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Professional Service

 

• Graduate Student Reviewer, Science, Technology, and Human Values, Journal of the Society for Social Studies of Science (2007-2008)  

 

 

Memberships

• Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR)

• International Sociological Association

  • Section Memberships

    • Poverty, Social Welfare and Social Policy

    • Science and Technology

    • Communication, Knowledge and Culture

• American Sociological Association

  • Section Memberships

  • Communication and Information Technology

• Sociology of CultureInternational Journal of Communication

 

 

 

OTHER INFORMATION

Languages:     Proficient in Mandarin (Spoken), Working Knowledge of Spanish (Written and Spoken)

Blogs:               www.youmeiti.com, www.culturalbytes.com