This study presents an extensive review of the scholarship on social networking service (SNS) in ... more This study presents an extensive review of the scholarship on social networking service (SNS) in the past half-decade. Through a full scan of the academic outputs published in seven high ranking or relevant Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journals from 2006 to 2011, eighty-four articles were identified for review. The topical, theoretical and methodological trends of current studies are summarized and discussed. The study hopefully provides not only an overview of current SNS research trends but also new insights for future research directions regarding this new interactive form of social media. This paper was awarded the Top Student Paper at the JungSook Lee Paper Competition of the Communication Technology Division of Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) annual conference 2012.
American journal of community psychology, Jan 10, 2015
Social media are found to facilitate social information exchange among lesbian, gay, and bisexual... more Social media are found to facilitate social information exchange among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals who are subjected to social stigma. This study tested the protective role of LGB-tailored social media uses and gratifications in promoting LGB group membership, which we hypothesized to reduce LGB stigma and enhance mental health among LGB individuals in Hong Kong. Based on a sample of 233 Chinese LGB individuals in Hong Kong, structural equation modeling showed evidence for our hypotheses, χ (df=62) (2) = 88.20, GFI = 0.95, CFI = 0.98, NNFI = 0.98, SRMR = 0.07, RMSEA = 0.04. Community surveillance, identity expression, and emotional support on social media may promote mental health by instilling a sense of group membership and reducing stigma. Social media may build camaraderie and bolster resilience among LGB individuals that may otherwise be difficult in conservative regions.
Individualist and collectivist cultural frameworks have been the dominant research paradigm in cr... more Individualist and collectivist cultural frameworks have been the dominant research paradigm in cross-cultural studies despite evidence of conceptual and measurement problems with collectivism. We propose a new theoretical framework of psychological functioning in Chinese societies that captures some of the useful elements of collectivism without its drawbacks. The relational orientation framework takes into account the variety of relations in an individual’s social and cultural environment. The model comprises a structural–relational factor grounded in sociological structuration theory and relational orientation characteristics, and a rational–relational factor that captures important aspects of agency based on social exchange theory. We discuss the framework’s role in providing an alternative to methodological individualism for research in Chinese societies.
This article presents a review of the scholarship on social networking services (SNS) in the peri... more This article presents a review of the scholarship on social networking services (SNS) in the period from 2006 to 2011. Through a full scan of the academic output published in six high-ranking communication journals listed in the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) within the six-year period, 84 directly relevant articles were identified. The study summarizes the objects of study, methodological preferences, and thematic patterns of recent SNS research. Challenges to the field and several reflections are addressed. The findings provide not only an overview of current ongoing research trends but also insights for future studies.
In many developed countries or regions, wide income disparities increase the difficulty in reduci... more In many developed countries or regions, wide income disparities increase the difficulty in reducing poverty. In their day-today lives, poor people often feel less accepted by the society. The failures in communicating with social groups and receiving social support leads to negative consequences on individual well-being and higher level of social exclusion. Based on the debate upon alternative approaches to conceptualizing and operationalizing poverty, this study attempts to verify a mediation model with data from a household survey (N= 1202) in Hong Kong. The results of structural equation modeling reveal that deprivation is a more powerful indicator than income poverty for specifying the negative relations of poverty with interpersonal communication, social support, and social acceptance; the negative impact of deprivation on social acceptance can be reduced by two significant mediators of interpersonal communication and social support. The results are discussed in terms of directions for future research and policy and welfare intervention.
The Yaan earthquake occurred in April 2013, which measured 7.0 on the Richter scale, caused 196 p... more The Yaan earthquake occurred in April 2013, which measured 7.0 on the Richter scale, caused 196 people died, 11,470 injured and USD 6.9 billion economic loss. The Yaan area were also severely affected by the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008. This research examined the impacts of structural social capital (social association) and cognitive social capital on the psychological status (depression, life satisfaction) of survivors of the Yaan earthquake. Based on a survey of 495 respondents, structural equation models were constructed to test the mediation effects of cogni-tive social capital on the relationships between structural social capital, depression, and life satisfaction of respondents with disaster impact as a control variable. This study also examined the paths of impact of the three components of cognitive social capital (sense of community, trust, and social connectedness) on survivors' psychological status. The findings indicated the following. 1) The disaster impact had negative effect on cognitive social capital (β = −.15, p < 0.05), but no effect on structural capital (β = −.06, n.s.); disaster impact also had positive effect on depression (β = .16, p < 0.01) and negative effect on life satisfaction (β = −.13, p < 0.05). 2) Structural social capital had positive effect on cognitive social capital (β = −.35, p < 0.001) and cognitive social capital had negative effect on depression (β = −.44, p < 0.001). Structural social capital had indirect effect but no direct effect on depression. The impact of structural social capital on depression was fully mediated by cognitive social capital. 3) Cognitive social capital had positive effect on life satisfaction (β = .44, p < 0.001). Structural social capital had indirect effect but no direct effect on life satisfaction. The impact of structural social capital on life satisfaction was fully mediated by cognitive social capital. 4) Sense of community has a positive effect on life satisfaction (β = .72, p < 0.05), but no effect on depression. 5) Trust has a negative effect on depression (β = −.41, p < 0.05), but no effect on life satisfaction. 6) Social connectedness has a negative effect on depression (β = −.16, p < 0.05), but no effect on life satisfaction. The research highlighted the importance of building and maintaining cognitive social capital in a community affected by disaster. It also makes recommendations for social workers to improve trust and social connectedness in the pre-disaster and disaster relief phases to buffer depression. After a disaster, it is recommended to facilitate a sense of community to improve the life satisfaction of survivors.
Individualist and collectivist cultural frameworks have been the dominant research paradigm in cr... more Individualist and collectivist cultural frameworks have been the dominant research paradigm in cross-cultural studies despite evidence of conceptual and measurement problems with collectivism. We propose a new theoretical framework of psychological functioning in Chinese societies that captures some of the useful elements of collectivism without its drawbacks. The relational orientation framework takes into account the variety of relations in an individual’s social and cultural environment. The model comprises a structural–relational factor grounded in sociological structuration theory and relational orientation characteristics, and a rational–relational factor that captures important aspects of agency based on social exchange theory. We discuss the framework’s role in providing an alternative to methodological individualism for research in Chinese societies.
Contemporary large-scale protest campaigns are often marked by the presence of a wide array of in... more Contemporary large-scale protest campaigns are often marked by the presence of a wide array of individual-and small-group-based actions initiated by the participants themselves. However, scholars have rarely examined whether and how the participant-initiated actions are connected with each other, whether and how they are connected to the movement leaders, and whether the interconnections among the participant-initiated actions relate to existing divisions within a protest. This study examines 138 participant-initiated Facebook pages established during the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong in 2014. The analysis shows limited connections among the pages on social media, and limited connections between these pages and the leading groups. Nonetheless, pages sharing the same thematic concern were more likely to be connected with each other through page liking and content sharing. Pages sharing the same ideological predilections were more likely to be connected through page liking, yet less likely to be connected through content sharing. Implications of the findings are discussed.
Population growth and urbanization have resulted in the emergence of mega cities in recent decade... more Population growth and urbanization have resulted in the emergence of mega cities in recent decades. While compact urban fabrics and high residential density imply intensive interactions between man and environment, the living environment may be one of the most important factors affecting quality of life (QOL) of city dwellers. With this in mind, this paper seeks to understand the manners in which the residents relate themselves to the places they live and how they derive neighborhood and QOL, in such way that the relationship between living environment and QOL can be understood. A random telephone survey (N = 1,114) was conducted in Hong Kong. Results showed that different levels of neighborhood satisfaction varied in residents of different housing types and living environment was a significant predictor of resident’s QOL. Other than the architecture of housing, this paper highlights the importance of services and facilities for the development of social relations and community building. This paper may supplement to the Western QOL studies and provide reference for urban planning initiatives for Asian cities.
This paper develops a better understanding of organization–public relationships (OPR) by analyzin... more This paper develops a better understanding of organization–public relationships (OPR) by analyzing empirical studies published in academic periodicals from 2000 to early 2011. A clear trend in the early years of the past decade was a greater focus on scale development, whereas in the latter half of the decade the emphasis was on scale application. Two main streams of OPR research reflect distinct clusters of authorship and research foci. In addition to providing a research summary, this study consolidates the lessons learned from OPR scholarship and provides suggestions for future research.
Cyberpsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking, 2011
This study explores whether and how gratifications and psychological traits impact people’s Faceb... more This study explores whether and how gratifications and psychological traits impact people’s Facebook use. First, a factor analysis of an online survey (N= 437) outlined a unique set of gratifications obtained from the use of Facebook. Six aspects of gratifications (i.e., social surveillance, entertainment, recognition, emotional support, network extension, and maintenance) were identified. Results from regression analyses showed that psychological traits (i.e., collective self-esteem, online emotional openness, and traitlike communication apprehension) were strong predictors of most Facebook gratifications. Additionally, gratifications and, to a lesser extent, psychological traits significantly predicted Facebook usage, both in perceived importance and different indicators in the level of Facebook use.
Social media are found to facilitate social information exchange among lesbian, gay, and bisexual... more Social media are found to facilitate social information exchange among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals who are subjected to social stigma. This study tested the protective role of LGB-tailored social media uses and gratifications in promoting LGB group membership, which we hypothesized to reduce LGB stigma and enhance mental health among LGB individuals in Hong Kong. Based on a sample of 233 Chinese LGB individuals in Hong Kong, structural equation modeling showed evidence for our hypotheses, χ (df=62) 2 = 88.20, GFI = 0.95, CFI = 0.98, NNFI = 0.98, SRMR = 0.07, RMSEA = 0.04. Community surveillance, identity expression, and emotional support on social media may promote mental health by instilling a sense of group membership and reducing stigma. Social media may build camaraderie and bolster resilience among LGB individuals that may otherwise be difficult in conservative regions.
This article presents a review of the scholarship on social networking services (SNS) in the peri... more This article presents a review of the scholarship on social networking services (SNS) in the period from 2006 to 2011. Through a full scan of the academic output published in six high-ranking communication journals listed in the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) within the six-year period, 84 directly relevant articles were identified. The study summarizes the objects of study, methodological preferences, and thematic patterns of recent SNS research. Challenges to the field and several reflections are addressed. The findings provide not only an overview of current ongoing research trends but also insights for future studies.
This study presents an extensive review of the scholarship on social networking service (SNS) in ... more This study presents an extensive review of the scholarship on social networking service (SNS) in the past half-decade. Through a full scan of the academic outputs published in seven high ranking or relevant Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journals from 2006 to 2011, eighty-four articles were identified for review. The topical, theoretical and methodological trends of current studies are summarized and discussed. The study hopefully provides not only an overview of current SNS research trends but also new insights for future research directions regarding this new interactive form of social media. This paper was awarded the Top Student Paper at the JungSook Lee Paper Competition of the Communication Technology Division of Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) annual conference 2012.
American journal of community psychology, Jan 10, 2015
Social media are found to facilitate social information exchange among lesbian, gay, and bisexual... more Social media are found to facilitate social information exchange among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals who are subjected to social stigma. This study tested the protective role of LGB-tailored social media uses and gratifications in promoting LGB group membership, which we hypothesized to reduce LGB stigma and enhance mental health among LGB individuals in Hong Kong. Based on a sample of 233 Chinese LGB individuals in Hong Kong, structural equation modeling showed evidence for our hypotheses, χ (df=62) (2) = 88.20, GFI = 0.95, CFI = 0.98, NNFI = 0.98, SRMR = 0.07, RMSEA = 0.04. Community surveillance, identity expression, and emotional support on social media may promote mental health by instilling a sense of group membership and reducing stigma. Social media may build camaraderie and bolster resilience among LGB individuals that may otherwise be difficult in conservative regions.
Individualist and collectivist cultural frameworks have been the dominant research paradigm in cr... more Individualist and collectivist cultural frameworks have been the dominant research paradigm in cross-cultural studies despite evidence of conceptual and measurement problems with collectivism. We propose a new theoretical framework of psychological functioning in Chinese societies that captures some of the useful elements of collectivism without its drawbacks. The relational orientation framework takes into account the variety of relations in an individual’s social and cultural environment. The model comprises a structural–relational factor grounded in sociological structuration theory and relational orientation characteristics, and a rational–relational factor that captures important aspects of agency based on social exchange theory. We discuss the framework’s role in providing an alternative to methodological individualism for research in Chinese societies.
This article presents a review of the scholarship on social networking services (SNS) in the peri... more This article presents a review of the scholarship on social networking services (SNS) in the period from 2006 to 2011. Through a full scan of the academic output published in six high-ranking communication journals listed in the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) within the six-year period, 84 directly relevant articles were identified. The study summarizes the objects of study, methodological preferences, and thematic patterns of recent SNS research. Challenges to the field and several reflections are addressed. The findings provide not only an overview of current ongoing research trends but also insights for future studies.
In many developed countries or regions, wide income disparities increase the difficulty in reduci... more In many developed countries or regions, wide income disparities increase the difficulty in reducing poverty. In their day-today lives, poor people often feel less accepted by the society. The failures in communicating with social groups and receiving social support leads to negative consequences on individual well-being and higher level of social exclusion. Based on the debate upon alternative approaches to conceptualizing and operationalizing poverty, this study attempts to verify a mediation model with data from a household survey (N= 1202) in Hong Kong. The results of structural equation modeling reveal that deprivation is a more powerful indicator than income poverty for specifying the negative relations of poverty with interpersonal communication, social support, and social acceptance; the negative impact of deprivation on social acceptance can be reduced by two significant mediators of interpersonal communication and social support. The results are discussed in terms of directions for future research and policy and welfare intervention.
The Yaan earthquake occurred in April 2013, which measured 7.0 on the Richter scale, caused 196 p... more The Yaan earthquake occurred in April 2013, which measured 7.0 on the Richter scale, caused 196 people died, 11,470 injured and USD 6.9 billion economic loss. The Yaan area were also severely affected by the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008. This research examined the impacts of structural social capital (social association) and cognitive social capital on the psychological status (depression, life satisfaction) of survivors of the Yaan earthquake. Based on a survey of 495 respondents, structural equation models were constructed to test the mediation effects of cogni-tive social capital on the relationships between structural social capital, depression, and life satisfaction of respondents with disaster impact as a control variable. This study also examined the paths of impact of the three components of cognitive social capital (sense of community, trust, and social connectedness) on survivors' psychological status. The findings indicated the following. 1) The disaster impact had negative effect on cognitive social capital (β = −.15, p < 0.05), but no effect on structural capital (β = −.06, n.s.); disaster impact also had positive effect on depression (β = .16, p < 0.01) and negative effect on life satisfaction (β = −.13, p < 0.05). 2) Structural social capital had positive effect on cognitive social capital (β = −.35, p < 0.001) and cognitive social capital had negative effect on depression (β = −.44, p < 0.001). Structural social capital had indirect effect but no direct effect on depression. The impact of structural social capital on depression was fully mediated by cognitive social capital. 3) Cognitive social capital had positive effect on life satisfaction (β = .44, p < 0.001). Structural social capital had indirect effect but no direct effect on life satisfaction. The impact of structural social capital on life satisfaction was fully mediated by cognitive social capital. 4) Sense of community has a positive effect on life satisfaction (β = .72, p < 0.05), but no effect on depression. 5) Trust has a negative effect on depression (β = −.41, p < 0.05), but no effect on life satisfaction. 6) Social connectedness has a negative effect on depression (β = −.16, p < 0.05), but no effect on life satisfaction. The research highlighted the importance of building and maintaining cognitive social capital in a community affected by disaster. It also makes recommendations for social workers to improve trust and social connectedness in the pre-disaster and disaster relief phases to buffer depression. After a disaster, it is recommended to facilitate a sense of community to improve the life satisfaction of survivors.
Individualist and collectivist cultural frameworks have been the dominant research paradigm in cr... more Individualist and collectivist cultural frameworks have been the dominant research paradigm in cross-cultural studies despite evidence of conceptual and measurement problems with collectivism. We propose a new theoretical framework of psychological functioning in Chinese societies that captures some of the useful elements of collectivism without its drawbacks. The relational orientation framework takes into account the variety of relations in an individual’s social and cultural environment. The model comprises a structural–relational factor grounded in sociological structuration theory and relational orientation characteristics, and a rational–relational factor that captures important aspects of agency based on social exchange theory. We discuss the framework’s role in providing an alternative to methodological individualism for research in Chinese societies.
Contemporary large-scale protest campaigns are often marked by the presence of a wide array of in... more Contemporary large-scale protest campaigns are often marked by the presence of a wide array of individual-and small-group-based actions initiated by the participants themselves. However, scholars have rarely examined whether and how the participant-initiated actions are connected with each other, whether and how they are connected to the movement leaders, and whether the interconnections among the participant-initiated actions relate to existing divisions within a protest. This study examines 138 participant-initiated Facebook pages established during the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong in 2014. The analysis shows limited connections among the pages on social media, and limited connections between these pages and the leading groups. Nonetheless, pages sharing the same thematic concern were more likely to be connected with each other through page liking and content sharing. Pages sharing the same ideological predilections were more likely to be connected through page liking, yet less likely to be connected through content sharing. Implications of the findings are discussed.
Population growth and urbanization have resulted in the emergence of mega cities in recent decade... more Population growth and urbanization have resulted in the emergence of mega cities in recent decades. While compact urban fabrics and high residential density imply intensive interactions between man and environment, the living environment may be one of the most important factors affecting quality of life (QOL) of city dwellers. With this in mind, this paper seeks to understand the manners in which the residents relate themselves to the places they live and how they derive neighborhood and QOL, in such way that the relationship between living environment and QOL can be understood. A random telephone survey (N = 1,114) was conducted in Hong Kong. Results showed that different levels of neighborhood satisfaction varied in residents of different housing types and living environment was a significant predictor of resident’s QOL. Other than the architecture of housing, this paper highlights the importance of services and facilities for the development of social relations and community building. This paper may supplement to the Western QOL studies and provide reference for urban planning initiatives for Asian cities.
This paper develops a better understanding of organization–public relationships (OPR) by analyzin... more This paper develops a better understanding of organization–public relationships (OPR) by analyzing empirical studies published in academic periodicals from 2000 to early 2011. A clear trend in the early years of the past decade was a greater focus on scale development, whereas in the latter half of the decade the emphasis was on scale application. Two main streams of OPR research reflect distinct clusters of authorship and research foci. In addition to providing a research summary, this study consolidates the lessons learned from OPR scholarship and provides suggestions for future research.
Cyberpsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking, 2011
This study explores whether and how gratifications and psychological traits impact people’s Faceb... more This study explores whether and how gratifications and psychological traits impact people’s Facebook use. First, a factor analysis of an online survey (N= 437) outlined a unique set of gratifications obtained from the use of Facebook. Six aspects of gratifications (i.e., social surveillance, entertainment, recognition, emotional support, network extension, and maintenance) were identified. Results from regression analyses showed that psychological traits (i.e., collective self-esteem, online emotional openness, and traitlike communication apprehension) were strong predictors of most Facebook gratifications. Additionally, gratifications and, to a lesser extent, psychological traits significantly predicted Facebook usage, both in perceived importance and different indicators in the level of Facebook use.
Social media are found to facilitate social information exchange among lesbian, gay, and bisexual... more Social media are found to facilitate social information exchange among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals who are subjected to social stigma. This study tested the protective role of LGB-tailored social media uses and gratifications in promoting LGB group membership, which we hypothesized to reduce LGB stigma and enhance mental health among LGB individuals in Hong Kong. Based on a sample of 233 Chinese LGB individuals in Hong Kong, structural equation modeling showed evidence for our hypotheses, χ (df=62) 2 = 88.20, GFI = 0.95, CFI = 0.98, NNFI = 0.98, SRMR = 0.07, RMSEA = 0.04. Community surveillance, identity expression, and emotional support on social media may promote mental health by instilling a sense of group membership and reducing stigma. Social media may build camaraderie and bolster resilience among LGB individuals that may otherwise be difficult in conservative regions.
This article presents a review of the scholarship on social networking services (SNS) in the peri... more This article presents a review of the scholarship on social networking services (SNS) in the period from 2006 to 2011. Through a full scan of the academic output published in six high-ranking communication journals listed in the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) within the six-year period, 84 directly relevant articles were identified. The study summarizes the objects of study, methodological preferences, and thematic patterns of recent SNS research. Challenges to the field and several reflections are addressed. The findings provide not only an overview of current ongoing research trends but also insights for future studies.
This entry discusses the origins, theoretical traditions, and methodological development of the f... more This entry discusses the origins, theoretical traditions, and methodological development of the field of media addiction in the past two decades. Specifically, the theoretical underpinnings, definitions, symptoms, and assessments of media addiction are reviewed, and its critical overlap with the research on chemical-based addiction is addressed. On the basis of this conceptual review, a content analysis of the latest developments in four of the most frequently researched media addiction themes in recent years is presented: Internet addiction, online game addiction, smartphone addiction, and cybersex addiction. This review and its results then serve to inform conclusions about the significance and relevance of media addiction and its context-specific contingencies and to suggest several fruitful directions for future research.
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