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Ben 
Zefeng Zhang

Hi there!

I am a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Michigan School of Information (UMSI), co-advised by Dr. Oliver Haimson and Dr. Michaelanne Thomas. 

 

My primary research interests are digitally mediated labor, mobility, data/infrastructure, and marginality. I am interested in understanding the interplay among labor, mobility, infrastructure, and large cultural narratives.

 

Currently, I am conducting multi-sited ethnographic research for my dissertation in/from the Global South. Prior to graduate school, I worked for a few years as a journalist and photographer in Beijing, China. I enjoy cycling, swimming, running, scuba diving, and mountaineering. Please feel free to contact me directly.

Research areas:

  • Human-Computer Interaction and Social Computing

  • Science, Technology, and Society (STS)

  • Information Communication Technologies & Development (ICTD)

  • Labor, Migration, Infrastructure, and Data

  • China studies

Updates

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Workshop paper accepted for CHI 2023

A workshop paper I co-authored with Oliver Haimson and Michaelanne Thomas titled "The Labor of Training Artificial Intelligence: Data Infrastructure, Mobility, and Marginality" has been accepted for the Behind the Scenes of Automation workshop at CHI 2023. I am also very excited to be serving as a Student Volunteer (SV). April 17, 2023

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Lieberthal-Rogel Travel and Research Fellowship

​I am very honored to receive the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies' Lieberthal-Rogel Travel and Research Fellowship. I am so excited that this award will support my research for Summer 2023! April 14, 2023

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Rackham International Research Awards (RIRA)

I am very excited to announce that I have been awarded an International Institute Student Fellowship for my early dissertation fieldwork in China! April 14, 2023

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Acceptance to the 2023 Digital IDEAS Summer Institute

I will be participating in the 2023 Digital IDEAS Summer
Institute on Digital Physical Entanglements: Environments, Bodies, and Space this July at the Digital Studies Institute, University of Michigan.  March 21.2023

 

DIS 2023 program committee

I am serving on the program committee for DIS 2023 as an associate chair in Critical Computing and Design Theory & Change Through Design track. Very excited to support the paper-reviewing process!  Feburary. 21.2023

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Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant funding received

I received a Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant for my early dissertation fieldwork in China. January 31.2023

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Acceptance to Digital Ethnography Research Centre Summer Program

I will be participating in the Digital Ethnography Research Centre summer program on Digital Ethnography Fieldwork and Analysis: Studying hybrid contexts of human+ non-human+ more-than-human entanglements this Feb at RMIT University! January 20.2023

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I'm now a Ph.D. Candidate!

So excited to announce that I passed my Field Prelim Exam today, and I'm now a PhD Candidate! Thanks so much to my prelim committee for all of their support and valuable feedback: Julie Hui, Kentaro Toyama, Michaelanne Thomas, and Oliver L. Haimson. August 25.2022

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Paper accepted for CSCW 2022 

I am excited to announce that my pre-candidacy paper, "The Chinese Diaspora and The Attempted WeChat Ban: Platform Precarity, Anticipated Impacts, and Infrastructural Migration," co-authored by Oliver L. Haimson and Michaelanne Thomas, has been accepted for CSCW 2022. June 17.2022

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Received Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award! 

I received UMSI’s Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) of the Year Award for the 2021-2022 academic year. I very much enjoyed working as a GSI in the Bachelor of Science in Information (BSI) courses - SI 482: Interaction Design Studio and SI 350: UX Field Research in the Public Sector. May 31.2022

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Workshop papers accepted for CHI 2022 HCI Across Borders

Our workshop papers Migrations in the U.S. and Five Declarations on Borders for HCI: A Series of PositionStatements from the AnthroTech Lab were accepted by CHI 2022 HCI Across Borders workshop. This workshop focus on “Navigating Shifting Borders at CHI.” March 20, 2022

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Papers accepted for CSCW 2022

"Social Media's Role During Identity Changes Related to Major Life Events," a paper I co-authored with Shanley Corvite (lead author) and Oliver L. Haimson, and "Separate Online Networks During Life Transitions: Support, Identity, and Challenges in Social Media and Online Communities," co-first-authored with Tianxiao Liu, Shanley Corvite, Oliver L. Haimson and co-authoredNazanin Andalibi. were accepted for CSCW 2022.  March 18, 2022

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I passed my doctoral pre-candidacy defense!

I passed my pre-candidacy paper and defense today. Thanks so much to my committee for their support along the way: Kentaro Toyama, Michaelanne Thomas, and Oliver L. Haimson. September 23, 2021

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Paper accepted for CSCW 2021 

"The Online Authenticity Paradox: What Being 'Authentic' on Social Media Means, and Barriers to Achieving It," co-authored with Oliver L. Haimson (lead author), Tianxiao Liu, and Shanley Corvite. June 17.2021

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Workshop paper accepted for CHI 2021

A workshop paper I co-authored with Oliver Haimson and Michaelanne Thomas titled "The Chinese Diaspora: Overlapping Life Transitions, Barriers, and HCI" has been accepted for the Migration and Mobility in HCI Workshop at CHI 2021. May 8, .2021 

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I'm starting my PhD in Information at UMSI!

I'm starting my PhD in Information this fall at University of Michigan School of Information (UMSI). I am excited about working with Dr. Oliver Haimson and Dr. Michaelanne Thomas in the coming years. August 25, 2020

Affiliation:

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