scholarly journals Hong Kong Unraveled: Social Media and the 2019 Protest Movement

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anonymous

Social media played a toxic role in the Hong Kong protests of 2019, overwhelming diverse voices and taxing mainstream media to a degree that it relinquished traditional principles of discovery and balance. As in other places where social media has mixed with politics, it helped polarize the Hong Kong public and dominated international views of the protests. Among other consequences, Hong Kong became a pawn in geopolitical rivalry between China and the United States, in part because both China and the United States accepted the view that Hong Kong was in the throes of full-fledged rebellion. Left behind were voices in the middle ground, the business community, and others who were mostly silent witnesses as Hong Kong devolved into widely traded scenes of violent protest.

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. e25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayeon Song ◽  
Kikuko Omori ◽  
Jihyun Kim ◽  
Kelly E Tenzek ◽  
Jennifer Morey Hawkins ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julianna C Hsing ◽  
Jasmin Ma ◽  
Alejandra Barrero-Castillero ◽  
Shilpa G Jani ◽  
Uma Palam Pulendran ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Health behavior is influenced by culture and social context. However, there are limited data evaluating the scope of these influences on COVID-19 response. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to compare handwashing and social distancing practices in different countries and evaluate practice predictors using the health belief model (HBM). METHODS From April 11 to May 1, 2020, we conducted an online, cross-sectional survey disseminated internationally via social media. Participants were adults aged 18 years or older from four different countries: the United States, Mexico, Hong Kong (China), and Taiwan. Primary outcomes were self-reported handwashing and social distancing practices during COVID-19. Predictors included constructs of the HBM: perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and cues to action. Associations of these constructs with behavioral outcomes were assessed by multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS We analyzed a total of 71,851 participants, with 3070 from the United States, 3946 from Mexico, 1201 from Hong Kong (China), and 63,634 from Taiwan. Of these countries, respondents from the United States adhered to the most social distancing practices (χ<sup>2</sup><sub>3</sub>=2169.7, <i>P</i>&lt;.001), while respondents from Taiwan performed the most handwashing (χ<sup>2</sup><sub>3</sub>=309.8, <i>P</i>&lt;.001). Multivariable logistic regression analyses indicated that self-efficacy was a positive predictor for handwashing (odds ratio [OR]<sub>United States</sub> 1.58, 95% CI 1.21-2.07; OR<sub>Mexico</sub> 1.5, 95% CI 1.21-1.96; OR<sub>Hong Kong</sub> 2.48, 95% CI 1.80-3.44; OR<sub>Taiwan</sub> 2.30, 95% CI 2.21-2.39) and social distancing practices (OR<sub>United States</sub> 1.77, 95% CI 1.24-2.49; OR<sub>Mexico</sub> 1.77, 95% CI 1.40-2.25; OR<sub>Hong Kong</sub> 3.25, 95% CI 2.32-4.62; OR<sub>Taiwan</sub> 2.58, 95% CI 2.47-2.68) in all countries. Handwashing was positively associated with perceived susceptibility in Mexico, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, while social distancing was positively associated with perceived severity in the United States, Mexico, and Taiwan. CONCLUSIONS Social media recruitment strategies can be used to reach a large audience during a pandemic. Self-efficacy was the strongest predictor for handwashing and social distancing. Policies that address relevant health beliefs can facilitate adoption of necessary actions for preventing COVID-19. Our findings may be explained by the timing of government policies, the number of cases reported in each country, individual beliefs, and cultural context.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bridgette Baldwin

Published: Bridgette Baldwin, Black, White, and Blue: Bias, Profiling, and Policing in the Age of Black Lives Matter, 40 W. NEW ENG. L. REV. 431 (2018).The United States has experienced a series of murders at the hands of the police in recent years, from Michael Brown to Tamir Rice to Eric Garner. The brutalization of Black people at the hands of the police is not new, but many are being introduced to the concept of police brutality through the channels of social media. Hashtags like #BlackLivesMatter and #TakeAKnee have revolutionized the conversation about racism and policing, bringing these incidents into mainstream media and common conversation. This movement has led to a deeper discussion on the following questions: (1) Why are Black people viewed as violent by the police?; (2) Why are these murders and acts of brutality being seen so regularly?; and (3) What has the criminalization of communities of color done to damage the public's perception of Black communities? This Article attempts to answer all of these questions, coming to the conclusion that while the police brutality of Black people is not new, our understanding of why these incidents occur has developed into a deeper understanding of the institutional racism behind police brutality.


10.2196/23720 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. e23720
Author(s):  
Julianna C Hsing ◽  
Jasmin Ma ◽  
Alejandra Barrero-Castillero ◽  
Shilpa G Jani ◽  
Uma Palam Pulendran ◽  
...  

Background Health behavior is influenced by culture and social context. However, there are limited data evaluating the scope of these influences on COVID-19 response. Objective This study aimed to compare handwashing and social distancing practices in different countries and evaluate practice predictors using the health belief model (HBM). Methods From April 11 to May 1, 2020, we conducted an online, cross-sectional survey disseminated internationally via social media. Participants were adults aged 18 years or older from four different countries: the United States, Mexico, Hong Kong (China), and Taiwan. Primary outcomes were self-reported handwashing and social distancing practices during COVID-19. Predictors included constructs of the HBM: perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and cues to action. Associations of these constructs with behavioral outcomes were assessed by multivariable logistic regression. Results We analyzed a total of 71,851 participants, with 3070 from the United States, 3946 from Mexico, 1201 from Hong Kong (China), and 63,634 from Taiwan. Of these countries, respondents from the United States adhered to the most social distancing practices (χ23=2169.7, P<.001), while respondents from Taiwan performed the most handwashing (χ23=309.8, P<.001). Multivariable logistic regression analyses indicated that self-efficacy was a positive predictor for handwashing (odds ratio [OR]United States 1.58, 95% CI 1.21-2.07; ORMexico 1.5, 95% CI 1.21-1.96; ORHong Kong 2.48, 95% CI 1.80-3.44; ORTaiwan 2.30, 95% CI 2.21-2.39) and social distancing practices (ORUnited States 1.77, 95% CI 1.24-2.49; ORMexico 1.77, 95% CI 1.40-2.25; ORHong Kong 3.25, 95% CI 2.32-4.62; ORTaiwan 2.58, 95% CI 2.47-2.68) in all countries. Handwashing was positively associated with perceived susceptibility in Mexico, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, while social distancing was positively associated with perceived severity in the United States, Mexico, and Taiwan. Conclusions Social media recruitment strategies can be used to reach a large audience during a pandemic. Self-efficacy was the strongest predictor for handwashing and social distancing. Policies that address relevant health beliefs can facilitate adoption of necessary actions for preventing COVID-19. Our findings may be explained by the timing of government policies, the number of cases reported in each country, individual beliefs, and cultural context.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 32-54
Author(s):  
Silvia Spitta

Sandra Ramos (b. 1969) is one of the few artists to reflect critically on both sides of the Cuban di-lemma, fully embodying the etymological origins of the word in ancient Greek: di-, meaning twice, and lemma, denoting a form of argument involving a choice between equally unfavorable alternatives. Throughout her works she shines a light on the dilemmas faced by Cubans whether in Cuba or the United States, underlining the bad personal and political choices people face in both countries. During the hard 1990s, while still in Havana, the artist focused on the traumatic one-way journey into exile by thousands, as well as the experience of profound abandonment experienced by those who were left behind on the island. Today she lives in Miami and operates a studio there as well as one in Havana. Her initial disorientation in the USA has morphed into an acerbic representation and critique of the current administration and a deep concern with the environmental collapse we face. A buffoonlike Trumpito has joined el Bobo de Abela and Liborio in her gallery of comic characters derived from the rich Cuban graphic arts tradition where she was formed. While Cuba is now represented as a rotten cake with menacing flies hovering over it ready to pounce, a bombastic Trumpito marches across the world stage, trampling everything underfoot, a dollar sign for a face.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry Spitzer ◽  
Brent Heineman ◽  
Marcella Jewell ◽  
Michael Moran ◽  
Peter Lindenauer

BACKGROUND Asthma is a chronic lung disease that affects nearly 25 million individuals in the United States. There is a need for more research into the potential for health care providers to leverage existing social media platforms to improve healthy behaviors and support individuals living with chronic health conditions. OBJECTIVE In this study, we assess the willingness of Instagram users with poorly controlled asthma to participate in a pilot study that uses Instagram as a means of providing social and informational support. In addition, we explore the potential for adapting photovoice and digital storytelling to social media. METHODS A survey study of Instagram users living with asthma in the United States, between the ages of 18 to 40. RESULTS Over 3 weeks of recruitment, 457 individuals completed the pre-survey screener; 347 were excluded. Of the 110 people who were eligible and agreed to participate in the study, 82 completed the study survey. Respondents mean age was 21(SD = 5.3). Respondents were 56% female (n=46), 65% (n=53) non-Hispanic white, and 72% (n=59) had at least some college education. The majority of respondents (n = 66, 81%) indicated that they would be willing to participate in the study. CONCLUSIONS Among young-adult Instagram users with asthma there is substantial interest in participating in a study that uses Instagram to connect participants with peers and a health coach in order to share information about self-management of asthma and build social connection.


Author(s):  
Michael C. Dorf ◽  
Michael S. Chu

Lawyers played a key role in challenging the Trump administration’s Travel Ban on entry into the United States of nationals from various majority-Muslim nations. Responding to calls from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which were amplified by social media, lawyers responded to the Travel Ban’s chaotic rollout by providing assistance to foreign travelers at airports. Their efforts led to initial court victories, which in turn led the government to soften the Ban somewhat in two superseding executive actions. The lawyers’ work also contributed to the broader resistance to the Trump administration by dramatizing its bigotry, callousness, cruelty, and lawlessness. The efficacy of the lawyers’ resistance to the Travel Ban shows that, contrary to strong claims about the limits of court action, litigation can promote social change. General lessons about lawyer activism in ordinary times are difficult to draw, however, because of the extraordinary threat Trump poses to civil rights and the rule of law.


2020 ◽  
pp. 002087282097061
Author(s):  
Qin Gao ◽  
Xiaofang Liu

Racial discrimination against people of Chinese and other Asian ethnicities has risen sharply in number and severity globally amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This rise has been especially rapid and severe in the United States, fueled by xenophobic political rhetoric and racist language on social media. It has endangered the lives of many Asian Americans and is likely to have long-term negative impacts on the economic, social, physical, and psychological well-being of Asian Americans. This essay reviews the prevalence and consequences of anti-Asian racial discrimination during COVID-19 and calls for actions in practice, policy, and research to stand against it.


Author(s):  
Peter Westwood

Abstract This article describes the evolution of inclusive education in Hong Kong, moving from segregation via integration to inclusion. The outside influence of education policies and trends from Britain, Australia, and the United States are identified, and the current situation is described. In particular, obstacles that are encountered on the route to inclusion are compared with those found in other countries. These obstacles include large class size, teachers’ often negative attitudes, parents’ expectations, teachers’ lack of expertise for adapting the curriculum and for providing differentiated teaching, and ongoing conflicts between the notion of ‘inclusive schooling for all’ and the ‘academic standards agenda’.


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