Conceptualizing ‘Triple Segregation’: A Study of International Student Integration at UBC (ongoing)

UBC currently hosts hundreds of international students in its Vantage College, a first-year program designed for international students interested in intensive academic English preparation. From conversations with Vantage instructors, staff and students, I noted a ‘triple segregation’ that certain students experience (from mainstream society, from the larger university population, and from the Vantage community itself). Given that Mainland Chinese students are overrepresented in Vantage college (about 70%), students who do not speak Mandarin or share similar cultures could feel marginalized in both academic and social dimensions. Such realities can be burdensome and hamper the success of certain students. By conducting four focus groups with 24 students and comparing the experiences of Vantage students with general international students, I hope to investigate whether or not Vantage attendees (be they Chinese or other minorities) face greater levels of segregation due to their English language abilities and the nature of their program. This study is funded by the Centre for Student Involvement and Careers.

A Sea-Change: The Role of Transnationalism in Altering Attitudes towards Homosexuality and Same-sex Marriage

For my first independent research study, I examined the effects of transnational engagements on international students’ attitudes towards homosexuality and same-sex marriage. This mixed-method study, comprising of an online survey with 90 respondents and follow-up semi-structured interviews with 10 participants, marks one of the first attempts at delineating how remittance behavior can influence societies with limited civil-political liberties to adopt more accepting views towards sexual minorities.

The findings of this paper have been presented at the following conferences:
– American Sociological Association Annual Conference | Chicago, IL
– Canadian Sociological Association Annual Conference | Ottawa, ON
– UBC Graduate Students Research Conference | Vancouver, BC
– UBC Multidisciplinary Undergraduate Research Conference | Vancouver, BC

HIV Stigma Interventions — A Scoping Review (ongoing)

Role: Researcher
Principal Investigator: Olivier Ferlatte
Community-Based Research Center for Gay Men’s Health

For this community-based study, we seek to uncover all existing interventions, programs and campaigns that target HIV stigma. In tandem with the scoping review, we are conducting an environmental scan by asking sexual health organizations and queer resource centers across Canada: what are the things that REALLY work to reduce stigma associated with HIV? The goal here is to synthesize our findings and craft a comprehensive and effective anti-HIV stigma social media campaign that will be released in Vancouver in 2016.

Investigating Hookups – A Queer Youth Perspective

This is a community-based study that I am super excited to be part of. We know that contemporary research on sexual health identifies “hooking up” as a part of normal adolescent development in many Western societies. However, most research on this topic focus on participants who are heterosexual. In this research, we hope to better our understanding of the motivations, experiences and outcomes of hooking up among gay, lesbian and bisexual young adults aged 18-24.

Identity, Attitudes and Genetic Ancestry Testing Study

Role: Research Assistant
Principal Investigator: Dr. Wendy Roth
UBC Department of Sociology

Having the honor to work with one of the world’s leading scholars on race & ethnicity has been an amazingly rewarding experience for me. Since April 2015, I have been assisting Dr. Wendy Roth on her large-scale project on DNA ancestry testing. The research is interested in how DNA test takers understand and interpret their results about ancestry, and whether or not the process itself has any impact on their ethnic or racial identities, attitudes, and concepts. This study is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.