Ph.D Students
Jae Eun Chung
Jae Eun Chung is a doctoral student at the USC Annenberg School. Before coming to USC, she studied at Indiana University with a focus on media economics and worked for IBM. She is currently interested in online community participation and its impacts on social capital generation.
Jessica Gould
Jessica Gould (B.A., UC Santa Cruz) is a doctoral student at the Annenberg School for communication Her research focuses on organizational communication. She is interested on the use of communication technologies in organizational settings, and the communication issues faced by hi-tech start up firms. Additionally, conducts research on Web 2.0 technologies.
Jingfang Liu
Jingfang Liu's current research interests include ICT and social change at the organizational, societal, and global levels, the intersection of environmental sustainability, business innovation, and technology, space between technologies and cultural values, online communities, NGO network, and international communication. Prior to coming to USC Annenberg, she worked as an IT business analyst and consultant for various organizations including Cox Communications, Georgia.gov, and small businesses, and served clients such as GE and the Federal Home Loan Bank. She originally came from Beijing, China, and obtained an M.S. in CIS (Computer Information Systems) and an M.A. in Applied Linguistics, both at Georgia State University. She also holds a B.A. in English.
Courtney Shultz
Courtney Schultz graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Human Biology. During her undergraduate career, she focused on environmental and health policy and was also a four year varsity letter winner for women's volleyball, winning a National Championship in 2004. In March 2007, Courtney earned her M.A. from Stanford's Department of Communication in Media Studies. As a research assistant in the Communication between Human and Interactive Media Lab, she worked on a number of studies dealing with communication technology. The topics included mobile phones, Human Robot Interaction, Human Computer Interaction, and ownership of digital media. At Annenberg, she hopes to continue her work with communication technology in Media, Culture, and Community and Interpersonal and Health Communication.
Hayeon Song
Hayeon studies new media and health communication. Her recent research interests focus on the effect of identity (or self-concept) on attitude and behavior change. Her dissertation examines how Latinos in Los Angeles deal with their ethnic identity, and how this in turn influences their attitude toward health problems and preventive behaviors. She also has a keen interest in self-presentations in new communication technology (e.g., video games, websites, and blogs) with an emphasis on self-avatars.
Helen Hua Wang
Helen Hua Wang is a doctoral student at USC's Annenberg School for Communication and a graduate researcher at the Center for the Digital Future and the Annenberg Program on Online Communities. Her research interests revolve around health promotion and social change via entertainment-education interventions, with a focus on new media platforms such as virtual gaming worlds and online communities. Some of her current research projects include understanding determinants of online community participation (based on the TAM model and Uses & Gratifications perspective); social connectivity on- and off-line (analyzing empirical data from the World Internet Projects) and entertainment-education through digital games (exploring the possibilities of using games for social change). Helen holds a B.A. in Japanese Language and Culture from Beijing University, China and a M.A. in Mass Communication and Media Studies from San Diego State University.
Matthew Weber
Matthew Weber is studying the intersection of media industries, emerging communication technology and social networks. He is interested in the emergence, growth and eventual decline of online communities, as well as the changing business practices that result from the collision of brands and communities. Methodologically, Matthew is working to advance network theory in the area of graph modeling and to develop techniques for managing large-scale data analysis. Previously, he worked as a media strategist for Starcom Worldwide and as an brand manager for Tribune Corp., where he launched multiple new media initiatives. Matthew holds a B.S . in Industrial Engineering and Economics from Northwestern University, and an M.S. in Journalism and Media Management from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
