Social media and political participation : a case study of facebook as a plaftorm of communication, mobilization and action

Social media is increasingly used for political conversations and debate. In Hong Kong, social media has provided a convenient and accessible platform for stakeholders in the political arena to publicize their ideas and for users to be engaged in political discourse. This study aims at investigating the effects of social media on political participation among Hong Kong youth, who are generally regarded as “digital natives” and “critical citizens”. This study focuses on Facebook, the most widely-used social networking site in Hong Kong, and examines how Facebook use, connection and interactivity with political actors on Facebook, exposure to political information on Facebook and perceived information quality of Facebook relate to online and offline political participation among young people in Hong Kong. Questionnaires are collected from local post-secondary students and graduates aged between 18 and 29. Findings show that connection with political actors on Facebook and exposure to political information on Facebook mediate the impact of Facebook use on political participation, which echo the results of previous studies. Semistructured interviews are also conducted with sampled youth in order to explore the perception of Hong Kong youth on Facebook in terms of the intensity of interaction with political actors via Facebook pages and the quality of political information disseminated on Facebook. In light of the concept of public sphere and its later revisions, this research argues that social media add value to political engagement by offering alternative news and information source and facilitating a vibrant discussion of politics online. However, the effects of social media have to be qualified. Reactions to political information on Facebook and subsequent decisions on political participation also involve the expression of emotions and spontaneous response to a critical event, rather than merely depending on rational and critically informed debate. Explanations to the relationships between the variables are discussed. Sociological implications on the capabilities of social media in generating social capital and engaging users in the public sphere, as well as practical implications on the multidimensional use of social media applications and the usefulness of social media for stakeholders in socio-political aspects, are proposed. This study contributes to a greater understanding of the mobilization potential of social media in both online and offline political activism

Uncertain news: Trust and preventive practices in respiratory infectious diseases

Trust influences a range of human behaviors including health decision making. Over the past 60 years a significant industry has sprung up to influence public opinion and mobilize grassroots challenges against evidence-based threats to vested interests. Simultaneously, media reports of scientific fraud, misrepresentation, constantly changing “evidence” for health, and “hyped” predictions of disasters that were ultimately less significant amplify doubts about the reliability of scientific evidence and technology when hazards arise. This has contributed to the appearance of decay of trust in the veracity of scientific claims. Population responses during communicable disease epidemics illustrate these interacting processes that simultaneously create uncertainty and significant discomfort within communities. Research on the relative influences of formal versus informal information sources in driving protective behavior during recent influenza epidemics shows how both the uptake of everyday preventive practices such as hand hygiene, and specific health interventions, such as vaccination are affected by these processes. We review recent work on influenza-related personal preventive practices, with a particular focus on the shifting roles and utility of formal and informal sources in decision making among the public, and consider the implications within the context of prevailing levels of trust, uncertainty, and doubt surrounding health care recommendations.postprin

Child poly-victimization and Intimate Partner Violence in Wuhan, China

Session G4 - Panel 47: Family Violence Poly-Victimization in ChinaThis study is to examine the prevalence and correlates of child poly-victimization, and to investigate if IPV is a factor associated with child poly-victimization in a cohort of Chinese families. Using a multi-stage stratified sampling, about 1,000 households with children aged 0-17 were randomly sampled in the Wuhan city. Of each family, one of the parents or guardians will be invited to participate in the study. The Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ) and the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2) were employed as the major tools for measuring child victimization and IPV respectively. The data collection is still in progress and will be completed in June 2010. The prevalence rate of and the risk factors for child poly-victimization in Wuhan, China will be analyzed. Holding an assumption that inter-parental violence negatively impacts the family system, this study hypothesizes that children in families with IPV are more likely to experience poly-victimization compared with those whose parents are nonviolent. Thus, IPV as a factor associated with child polyvictimization will be tested using regression analyses. The findings will implicate that identification of child victims should be extended to cover multiple types of victimization, and thus screening of family violence should involve all family members.postprin

Child poly-victimization in Hong Kong

Session A1 - Panel 61: Youth Victimization in 3 Countries Using the NatSCEV Assessment ModelThis study is to examine the prevalence and correlates of child poly-victimization in a cohort of Chinese families in Hong Kong. The study is collecting epidemiological data through representative school and household surveys. From the school survey, a cohort of about 6,000 secondary students aged 15-17 will be interviewed in schools. From the household survey, a cohort of about 2,500 parents or guardians of children aged 0 – 17 and about 1,000 young persons aged 15 – 17 drawn from large representative samples from households in Hong Kong will be interviewed at home. The Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ) is employed as the major tool for measuring child victimization. The data collection is still in progress and will be completed in June 2010.The prevalence rate of and the risk factors for child poly-victimization collected through the school and household surveys will be analyzed and compared. The findings will also be compared with data collected in US and UK. Universal and culture-specific factors will be identified. The findings will implicate that identification of child victims using JVQ in different cultures.postprin

A study of children’s bullying victimization in Xi’an: prevalence, risk factors, and correlation with family violence

Session G4 - Panel 47: Family Violence Poly-Victimization in ChinaOBJECTIVE: Despite there is evidence supporting a substantial overlap between family violence and bullying victimization (Baldry, 2003; Shields & Cicchetti, 2001), few studies have been conducted to examine the co-occurrence or correlation between these two kinds of child victimization. This study aims to present an estimate of prevalence and risk factors of bullying victimization in a wide range of settings (school, street, and internet) and examine its association with family violence victimization in a cohort of Chinese children in Xi’an. METHOD: Using a three-stage stratified sampling design, a total of 2000 students were randomly selected from 24 schools in 3 districts (from both urban and rural areas) in Xi’an, China. Questionnaires were self-administrated by children subjects. The Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ) and Relational Aggression Scale were used as measures for direct and relational bullying victimization. Family violence includes four types: child abuse, witnessing spouse violence, elder abuse, and in-law conflict. RESULTS: The prevalence rate and the pattern of child bullying victimization will be computed and reported. The correlation between bullying victimization and family violence will be examined by regression analyses. CONCLUSION: The patterns of child bullying victimization occurred in different settings will be compared and discussed.postprin

Study of family violence poly-victimization in China: design and preliminary findings

Session G4 - Panel 47: Family Violence Poly-Victimization in ChinaThe population survey adopts a combined approach in using school and household-based approaches. The school-based approach is more appropriate to gather information from children aged 15 – 17 to estimate the prevalence of child victimization experienced by them. The household-based approach, with both children aged 15 – 17 and parents with children aged below 18 were interviewed, is adopted. The household approach is the only viable option for interviewing parents and to collect information on child victimization experienced by children under age 15. The primary objective of this approach is to collect data to better estimate of prevalence rates of CSA and child victimization experienced by children under age 15, and to test a comprehensive profile of individual and family risk factors correlating to CSA and child victimization. From the school survey, a cohort of about 13,000 secondary students aged 15-17 will be interviewed in schools. From the household survey, a cohort of about 5,000 parents or guardians of children aged 0 – 17 and about 2,000 young persons aged 15 – 17 drawn from large representative samples from households in Hong Kong and 5 Mainland provinces will be interviewed face-to-face by trained interviewers. Data collection will be completed in June, 2010. Prevalence rates of IPV, elder abuse, in-law violence and child poly-victimization will be presented.postprin

Prostrating Walk in the Campaign against Sino-Hong Kong Express Railway: Collective Identity of Native Social Movement

Occupation, blockage and storming are not rare in social movements a decade after China resuming sovereignty in Hong Kong. The organizers and participants usually involve locally born young people. Some of them are secondary school students in their teens. They are known as the fourth generation or post-1980s born Hongkongers. The paper examines the cultural context of social movements involving these youth activists. It mainly studied the campaign against the Sino-Hong Kong Express Railway development project. The project called for the demolition of the Tsoi Yuen Village, a small rural village located on its designed route. Since then, the role of younger generation in social movements has been generally recognized. Social media are widely employed in all stages of the movements with citizen journalists actively involved. The impressive ‘prostrating walk’ imitating Tibetan pilgrims becomes the symbol of these youth activists. It keeps appearing in other campaigns including Occupy Central in Hong Kong in 2014. This paper argues that the rise of nativism, advancement in ICT technology and shifting towards new social movements contribute to the dominant role of youth in recent social movements of Hong Kong. Collective identity of Hongkonger in response to the top-down assimilation by China, strengthens the movement

Constructive Consciousness of Gen-pro: Transforming Political Engagement with a Proactive Behavior, a Progressive Attitude, and a Professional Mindset

Studies on young people’s political engagement commonly fall along the binary of engagement or disengagement. Young people’s political disengagement is typically captured by declining membership in political parties, low voter turnout, and political apathy. The engagement paradigm maintains that young people are increasingly turning to the digital space to engage politically. Though the representation of young people’s disengagement in politics may seem clear, how today’s young people understand politics, political engagement, and what meaningful political engagement means to them continue to be contested. Specifically in recent years, East Asian and Southeast Asian young people’s relationship with politics is experiencing significant transformation. Young people in these regions are increasingly at the forefront seeking for political changes, standing up to authoritarianism, and demanding accountability from their leaders. They are exhibiting attitudes and behaviors that depart from the Asian Values concept that demands obedience to authority and political consensus over confrontation. Young people from Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Taiwan are ideal research participants considering the deep influence of the Asian Values concept in these societies. This study uses online focus group interview to gain a deeper understanding of young people’s attitudes towards politics, political engagement, and digital engagement, how young people perceive the challenges to their political engagement, and what being politically engaged truly means to them. To understand if there is a difference between how young people and the older generation perceive politics and political engagement, this study recruits young people, non-Millennials, and non-Gen-Z participants for an online survey. The interviews reveal that while young people from different societies perceive politics differently, they largely associate political engagement with digital engagement. They share similar challenges to engaging in politics – institution-, personal-, and society-related challenges. The online survey uncovers an interesting finding. Not only do young people and the older generation have similar perceptions of politics, but they also share similar perceptions of political engagement. This study proposes two policy recommendations to better include young people in politics. Today’s young people represent a generation ready for opportunities. We must recognize them as agents of change, capable of making meaningful contributions

Student Expectations in the New Millennium

Higher education has experienced vast changes as a result of global political and economic developments. Cultural and social changes in the last decade have also added to the continuing evolution of higher education. These changes inevitably lead to changing expectations of students entering higher education. An adequate understanding of student expectations is crucial in ensuring a good fit between higher educational institutions and their students. This study attempts to carry out a baseline descriptive-quantitative research on student expectations in the higher education of Hong Kong. Four scales have been developed to measure students’ attitude toward: 1. job-oriented curriculum design, 2. user-friendly course delivery method, 3. opportunities for lifelong learning, and 4. student consumerism. Students’ priority of what makes a good university, their reasons for going to university, and their self-perception of ability to cope with university life are also explored. The Student Expectations Questionnaire (developed by the author) was used to gather data from 857 first-year undergrads from nine institutions of higher education in Hong Kong. Analyses include, among others, gender, age, major of study as well as institution comparisons