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Research expertise: Internet and platform governance, social media, media manipulation, content moderation, privacy and surveillance, information control, digital security training, Chinese politics, Canada-China relations, Asian diaspora communities and identity politics.
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Geographical focus: Asia Pacific with a particular interest in China
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Academic background: Communications & political science trained
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Research methods and tools: Open-source intelligence, qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis (STATA, SPSS), social media research (NodeXL, Gephi, ForSight)
Book Chapter
"From Within: Improving Canadians' Attitudes Towards China" (Co-authored with Karl Yan), Moving Forward: Issues in Canada-China Relations, 2015, 103-110.
Papers & Op-eds
Intrusive Surveillance After the Coronavirus Pandemic, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Oct 19, 2021
Balancing Reality and Fear: Why An Alarmist Take on Chinese Influence Operations Is Counterproductive, Just Security, Jul 21, 2021
Ruan Lotus, Knockel J, Crete-Nishihata M. Information control by public punishment: The logic of signalling repression in China. China Information. 2021;35(2):133-157. doi:10.1177/0920203X20963010
Jia, Lianrui and Ruan, Lotus (2020) Going Global: Comparing Chinese Mobile Applications’ Data and User Privacy Governance at Home and Abroad. Internet Policy Review, 9(3). DOI:10.14763/2020.3.1502
Ruan, Lotus, Masashi Crete-Nishihata, Jeffrey Knockel, Ruohan Xiong, and Jakub Dalek. “The Intermingling of State and Private Companies: Analysing Censorship of the 19th National Communist Party Congress on WeChat.” The China Quarterly, 2020, 1–30. doi:10.1017/S0305741020000491.
Censored Contagion How Information on the Coronavirus is Managed on Chinese Social Media
One App, Two Systems How WeChat uses one censorship policy in China and another internationally
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Country Report on Kazakhstan
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Projects
Policy Briefs
2015 Asia Pacific Policy Project
- initiated ty the Institute of Asian Research & the Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering at the University of British Columbia
- focuses on continuing efforts, begun in 2014, to consider the implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative application in Mongolia
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