Researcher

My Expertise

Race and Ethnicity, Identity, Work and Labor, Migration, Contentious Politics, Urban Sociology, Social Media

Keywords

Fields of Research (FoR)

Sociology, Social policy, Sociology of migration, ethnicity and multiculturalism, Culture, representation and identity

Biography

Yao-Tai is a lecturer of Sociology and Social Policy in the School of Social Sciences at UNSW. His research interests include Race and Ethnicity, Identity, Migration, Work and Labour, Contentious Politics, and Social Media. Prior to joining UNSW, Yao-Tai was an assistant professor of sociology at Hong Kong Baptist University (2017-2021). His Ph.D. dissertation examines under what circumstances and how migrants from China, Taiwan, and Hong...view more

Yao-Tai is a lecturer of Sociology and Social Policy in the School of Social Sciences at UNSW. His research interests include Race and Ethnicity, Identity, Migration, Work and Labour, Contentious Politics, and Social Media. Prior to joining UNSW, Yao-Tai was an assistant professor of sociology at Hong Kong Baptist University (2017-2021). His Ph.D. dissertation examines under what circumstances and how migrants from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong draw boundaries within the pan-Chinese identity in Australia, as well as the cultural and economic meanings of co-ethnic exploitation in the Australian cash-in-hand labour market, and policy implications.

Recently, Yao-Tai has been conducting research into Hong Kong's contentious politics through various perspectives such as urban sociology, cultural politics, global networks, and data activism. His other work includes timely research related to the COVID-19 pandemic by adopting big data analytics to examine social media discourses.


My Grants

2023 Asia Study Grants, National Library of Australia

2023 School of Social Sciences Research Grant – Individual Research Strategy Scheme

2022 Arts, Design and Architecture (ADA) Faculty Research Grant – Seed Funding Scheme

2022 Arts, Design and Architecture (ADA) Faculty Research Grants Scheme (SPF02)


My Qualifications

PhD (University of California, San Diego) MA (National Taiwan University) BA (National Taiwan University)


My Awards

2021      The Sigma Awards for Data Journalism (Project: Hong Kong Lennon Wall Collection)

2021      45th The Golden Tripod Awards for Publication (Digital Publishing category – Digital Content award), Ministry of Culture, Taiwan

2021      25th Human Rights Press Awards (Multimedia), The Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong, Amnesty International, and the Hong Kong Journalists Association

2021     Best Presentation Award, European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS) Annual Conference

2020     A. Noam Chomsky Rising Star Emerging Scholar Award, Society of Transnational Academic Researchers (STAR)

2020     Faculty Early Career Teaching Award, Hong Kong Baptist University 

2017     Dissertation Writing Award, Department of Sociology, UCSD

2016     Graduate Student Paper Award, Racial and Ethnic Minorities Division, Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) 

2016     American Sociological Association Student Forum Travel Award

2016     The Lee Student Travel Fund Award, Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP)

2015     Young Scholar Award, China Times Cultural Foundation, New York 

2014     Summer Research Grant Awards, Department of Sociology, UCSD

2013–14 UC California Studies Consortium (UCCSC) Award, University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI)

2013     The Dean of Social Science Research Fund Award, UCSD


My Research Activities

Book Project

Lennon Walls: Co-authoring Contentious Repertoires through Protest Walls

Other Ongoing Projects

Channeling Exploitation? The Role of Co-Ethnic Agent

The Everyday Interaction and Boundary Making/Unmaking between Mainland Skilled Professionals and Locals in Hong Kong

The Changing Rhetoric of Racial Discrimination against Chinese Migrants in Australia after 1973


My Engagement

Ad-hoc Reviewer for Journals

American Journal of Sociology, Big Data & Society, British Journal of Sociology, Canadian Review of Sociology, China Perspectives, Cities: The International Journal of Urban Policy and Planning, Critical Sociology, Cosmopolitan Civil Societies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Current Psychology, Current Sociology, Development and Society, Economic and Labour Relations Review, Ethnic and Racial StudiesEurope-Asia Studies, European Journal of Social Psychology, Hong Kong Studies, Human Relations, Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power, International Journal of Comparative SociologyInternational Journal of Hospitality Management, International Migration, International Migration Review, International Sociology, Internet Research, Journal of Contemporary Asia, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, Journal of Labor and Society, Journal of Youth Studies, Nationalities Papers, New Media & Society, Patterns of Prejudice, Qualitative Sociology, SAGE Open, Social Inclusion, Social Movement Studies, Social Transformations in Chinese Societies, Sociological Inquiry, Sociological Quarterly, Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, The Sociological Review, Urban Affairs Review, Urban Studies, Work, Employment and Society

2023        Coding for 2023 Digital Society Project (DSP) Expert Cycle

2022–      International Advisory Board, British Journal of Sociology

2022–      Research Committee Member, School of Social Sciences, UNSW

2022–      Executive Council Member of Australian Taiwanese Friendship Association

2022        Workshop Facilitator for Year 10 Experience Day for High School Students, UNSW

2021–24  Editorial Board, Work, Employment and Society

2022        Program Committee, International Conference on Social Media & Society (SMSociety22)

2021        Organizing Committee, Work, Employment and Society Conference

2021        A. Noam Chomsky Global Connections Awards Committee, Society of Transnational Academic Researchers

2021        Awards Judge for Networks 2021: A Joint Sunbelt and NetSci Conference

2020–      Expert Roster for Peer Review of United Nations Networks on Migration

2019–      Features Editor, Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism

2019        Award Judge & Commentator for the 7th Global Social Sciences Graduate Student Conference, HKBU

2018    Discussant for a regular session “Encompassing Margins: Globalizing Race and Ethnicity” at the Annual Meeting of ASA. Philadelphia, PA.

2017     Graduate Student Paper Award Committee, Racial and Ethnic Minorities Division, Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) 

2014–      Executive Council Member of Taiwan Working Holiday Youth (T-WHY)

Professional Association Membership

Association for Asian Studies (AAS)

American Sociological Association (ASA)

Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism (ASEN)

British Sociological Association (BSA)

European Association of Taiwan Studies (EATS)

International Sociological Association (ISA)

Society for Hong Kong Studies

Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP)

Taiwanese Sociological Association (TSA)

The Australian Sociological Association (TASA)


My Teaching

• ARTS 2870 Citizens, Action, and Dissent

• SOSS 3001 Quantitative Social Research

• SRAP 5021 Policy, Advocacy and Activism in the Digital Age

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Location

Level 1, Room 123, Morven Brown Building