shirley Ho Soo Yee

Biography

"Dr. Shirley Ho is a tenured associate professor in the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI). She received a Ph.D. in mass communications (minor: educational psychology) and a M.A. in journalism and mass communication from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 2008 and 2005, respectively. She also received a B.A. in communication studies (first class honors) from NTU in 2002. In 2004, She was awarded a four-year overseas scholarship by NTU to pursue her graduate studies at UW-Madison. She was a senior tutor in the WKWSCI at NTU from 2003 to 2008 (on study leave from 2004-2008). Her primary research area focuses on public opinion and media effects, which advances and applies prominent mass communication and public opinion theories in the interrelated contexts of science, health, and environmental sustainability. Some of the science- and health-related issues that she has examined include public opinion of nanotechnology, stem cell research, and climate change. Among her numerous involvements, she is the principal investigator of the large-scale, interdisciplinary project, “PONdER: Public Opinion of Nuclear EneRgy,” funded by the National Research Foundation. In addition, she is also the principal investigator of the project “Environmental Sustainability among Multiple Stakeholders; Communication as the Basis of Social Capital, Collective Action and Policy Support,” funded by NTU. Her secondary area of research focuses on extending public opinion theories to examine the impacts of new media and social-psychological factors on attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. The projects that she currently lead in this research area include “Digital Media Literacy: Cyber Wellness of Singapore Youths and Adults” (funded by the Media Development Authority) and “Cyberbullying and Parental Mediation Strategies: A Comparative Assessment of Children and Teenagers” (funded by the Ministry of Education), in addition to others. She has published papers in top-tier communication journals such as Communication Research, Journal of Health Communication, New Media & Society, Public Opinion Quarterly, Public Understanding of Science, and Science Communication, as well as journals in other disciplines such as Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation and Nature Nanotechnology. Her papers have won numerous top faculty paper awards at international conferences such as the ICA and AEJMC conferences. She is currently an Associate Editor for the Asian Journal of Communication, an Associate Editor for the Oxford Encyclopedia of Climate Change Communication, and an editoral board member of Environmental Communication and the Journal of Media Psychology. She served as Head (elected) of the Communicating Science, Health, Environment, and Risk (ComSHER) Division for the 2014-15 AEJMC conference. She has been an active member (invited) of the Program Advisory Committee for English Programs (PACE) at the Ministry of Communication and Information (2011-present). She has consulted for organizations and institutions such as the Singapore Institute of Management and the Ministry of Home Affairs. "

Research Interest

"Media effects and public opinion in the context of science, health, and environmental issues Impacts of new media and social-psychological factors on attitudinal and behavioral outcomes Mass communication theory and quantitative research methods"