Events

CHAIRPERSON

Dr Connor Graham, Asia Research Institute, and Tembusu College, National University of Singapore

ABSTRACT

In this talk I will first review existing studies on social media and digital activism to propose gaps to be addressed in my study of Pink Dot, a well-known and most successful social movement to-date in Singapore. Scholars attribute the success of social movements and collective action to interpretive frames; and the framing of Pink Dot is examined through this lens. But it goes beyond just framing, as my research shows – it is also the way affordances of different platforms are understood and how they are used to engage multiple publics/audiences, multi-faceted interactions between online citizens, and the rise of new ways of expressing citizenry and self-identities. I will conclude with implications for further research and how the findings compare to studies of social movements in other Asian democracies.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Natalie Pang is Senior Research Fellow at IPS Social Lab at the Institute of Policy Studies. Natalie received her PhD in Information Technology from Monash University, Australia, where her research on participatory technologies in communities won her two awards: the Vice Chancellor’s Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence, and the Faculty of Information Technology Doctoral Medal. During her time in Melbourne, she also served as an Honorary Research Associate at Museum Victoria and was involved in the outreach and special projects department.

Prior to joining IPS, Natalie worked briefly at The Gallup Organization before joining Nanyang Technological University as Assistant Professor at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information. She has been Principal Investigator for externally funded projects and research centres, including the Centre of Social Media Innovations for Communities (COSMIC) 2010-2015, Social Media in Civic Engagement (SMICE) which was launched in 2016, and Bukit Brown Cemetery and Citizen Documentation since 2012.

Natalie has served as a member of the Advisory Committee on Bukit Brown Cemetery Documentation in 2012, and has been invited to present her research work on online communities to various public agencies and at international conferences. She has served in leadership roles in various academic associations and conferences such as International Communication Association (ICA) and the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T). She has also contributed to the development of residential education at Nanyang Technological University, where she continues to serve as part of the Resource & Advisory Committee.

She is an active contributor and reviewer for ISI journals, including New Media & Society, Computers in Human Behavior, Online Information Review, Information Technology & People, Chinese Journal of Communication, and Media, Culture & Society.

REGISTRATION

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