Food for Thought, part of the Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relation's Lunch on Us series, is a weekly noontime discussion focused on topics relevant to the Asian American community. Past discussions include topics such as nutrition, mental health, sexual health, and media representation of Asian Americans.
Margaret Ng is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois in the Department of Journalism. She is also an affiliated Faculty in Computer Science. Her research areas include journalism, communication technology, and social media. Methodologically, she takes a hybrid approach that combines big data, machine learning, as well as survey, and experimental research on media platforms. Her current research seeks to extend the diffusion of innovations theory by studying social media users’ post-adoption behavior and examining the mechanisms that drive user discontinuance and readoption.
Her previous journalistic works have largely focused on visual design and data analysis. Margaret worked as an infographic designer at Seattle Times and National Geographic Magazine. One of her collaborative works -- The Cathedral of Florence -- won a prestigious gold medal from Malofiej International Infographics awards. She was also a data journalist and web designer at the Center for Public Integrity and Investigative Reporters and Editors, where her works earned her the White House Correspondent’s Association Scholarship, which was presented by President Obama and Mrs. Obama in 2014.
With half the world now online, a handful of websites dominate globally. Yet, little is known about how homogenous or geographically distinct are global web use patterns. Focusing beyond popular sites, this presentation inquiries into how and why countries, including examples within Asia, are similar in their web use patterns.
