The Earth Gods' Parade is an important religious event held in Lantern Festival in Lunar New Year in Shezih region, Taipei City. The event constitutes and reflects the region's unique cultural...Show moreThe Earth Gods' Parade is an important religious event held in Lantern Festival in Lunar New Year in Shezih region, Taipei City. The event constitutes and reflects the region's unique cultural identity. However, the upcoming urban development plan proposed by Taipei City Government under Wen-je Ko in 2015 is going to affect the region and the event's future. While the parade is ignored in the urban plan, some local residents and activists nominate the event as Taipei City intangible cultural heritage. This research attempts to analyze how a place’s Intangible Cultural Heritage constitutes and reflects the place’s cultural identity. The research also portrays different roles of the Earth Gods' Parade in the conflict of new urban development plan.Show less
Cosmetic surgery in China has become particularly popular in the last decade. The country has faced a great economic development, which has led to the birth of the new Chinese consumer. Consumption...Show moreCosmetic surgery in China has become particularly popular in the last decade. The country has faced a great economic development, which has led to the birth of the new Chinese consumer. Consumption is particularly tied to self-representation and identity. To complete their identity through their appearance, individuals consume cosmetic surgery. For this reason, the beauty industry has developed new means to attract future clients: online advertising. Since few of the previous studies deal with the online aspect of cosmetic surgery in China, this dissertation aims to analyze how the new agents of advertisements (in this case websites) are used to compel clients. By employing discourse analysis to two cosmetic surgery platforms: Yuemei and Soyoung, the research demonstrates how the main means of these websites’ advertising are the users themselves.Show less
