Yuping Mao, Ph.D.
Yuping Mao, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Communication Studies
Area of expertise: Health Communication & Quantitative Research Methods
Yuping.Mao@csulb.edu
What are your Research interests?
Born and raised in China, I have worked and lived in the U.S., Canada, and the Netherlands for more than a decade. My multicultural experience sparks my interests in intercultural and international communication, in particular, Chinese immigrants’ and Asian population’s communication. I have published my research on intercultural communication in social media, organizational, and health contexts. My research interests in health communication focus on the following areas: cross-cultural interpersonal communication between patients and health professionals, health information diffusion among different cultural groups, and media effects on health behaviors in topics such as homelessness and tobacco control. My recent works focus on doctor-patient interpersonal communication on maternal issues in China as well as in the U.S. My publications and ongoing research on intercultural communication on social media include topics such as Chinese migrants’ use of Podcast for English language learning and integration in Canada, how Chinese migrants in Western countries use Facebook for acculturation and maintenance of different social networks, and how Twitter has been used by English speaking community and Chinese speaking community to engage in public discourse on international political and social issues.
What are your Teaching interests?
I agree with Loris Malaguzzi, an outstanding researcher and an exceptional educator, that research and teaching should not stand on opposite banks and just watch the river flow by; instead, they should embark together on a journey down the water. I regard my role of an educator as a professional priority, and I believe teaching is a great way of sharing knowledge. I am passionate of teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses on communication, culture, and health. I also enjoy supervising both undergraduate and graduate students on their research projects and theses.
What courses have you taught?
I have taught a wide range of undergraduate and graduate communication courses on topics such as intercultural communication, research methods, health communication, media campaigns, and culture, new media and international business. I have supervised many undergraduate theses and seven MA theses. I am currently co-supervising a Ph.D. student Lei Yang in the Department of Media and Communication at Erasmus University Rotterdam on her doctoral project on Chinese ethnic groups’ health communication.
How do you serve the department and the university and the community?
I have served as reviewer for ten different academic journals on media and communication, and have been invited by book editors to review several book chapters. I have also reviewed book proposals and books for major publishers such Sage and Routledge.