Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Sportisation And Values Of Competition : The Case Of Yo-Yoing, Ho Wang, Danny Kwong

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

Yo-yoing was a popular pastime in the 90s. It has now developed as a sport with standard rules. This research locates competitive yo-yoing within the sociology of sports, specifically, it builds on the lifestyle sports literature. I understand yo-yoing as a lifestyle sport, serious leisure, and subculture. I argue that competition is a site of meaning-making in competitive yo-yoing and delineate the community’s response to sportisation through interviews with 15 yo-yo players in Hong Kong and an examination of a Netflix documentary on yo-yo. The findings suggest 2 implications: a re-visit to the anti-competition discourse among lifestyle sports, and, a …

The Effect Of Contextual Uncertainty On Confidence Judgements In Perception And Its Relation To Metacognition, Wing Kiu Lam

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

Our brain processes noisy and incomplete information to make adaptive decisions and chooses appropriate responses based on the strength of our subjective evaluation. Such subjective evaluation of our decisions could be referred to our metacognition— the ability to monitor and recognize our own successful cognitive processing. What information does our metacognitive system take in during subjective evaluation? To what extent our metacognitive judgements are influenced by the context? The current study aims to investigate whether there is an effect of contextual uncertainty on confidence judgments when perceptual performance is controlled. In this study, participants were required to perform both type …

Advertisement, Media Bias, Political Polarisation, Sonal Chandra

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

When consumers value cognitive consistency between the news they read and policies they support, politicians are induced to make policies that conform to a polarized media landscape which not only depends on user subscription for revenue but also advertisement receipts. Following Guo et. al. (2018), I develop a model to study how the dependency on advertisement revenue affects media bias, political polarisation, and voter preferences. I show that though the equilibrium prices of the two newspapers fall when they depend on advertising receipts, the difference between the equilibrium prices and thus ideological position of a marginal voter remains unchanged, compared …

The Promulgation Of Urban Legends In Hong Kong: Li's Field As A Case Study, Lok Sang, Stephen Lee

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

In the midst of rapid social changes and modernization, urban legends survive as a stable but evolving structure which exist in many distinct and universal societies. To satisfy one’s psychological and social urges, people could actively engage in and swap between the roles of creators, co-creators and listeners of urban legends. Undeniably, the existence of urban legends have been taken for granted, as manifested by their recurring appearances in social interactions with social members like family members and acquaintances. Unlike fairy tales or historical stories, urban legends do trigger larger public attention and intrigue, even if the narrative elements of …

How Visual Confidence On Global Motion Is Affected By Local Motion Ambiguity And Type Of Motion Noise, And Its Correlation With Autistic Trait Tendency?, Man Wai, Angela Lam

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

Perceptual confidence has been found to correlate with task performance in general, and is believed to be independent of stimulus features. However, certain stimulus feature could induce a subjective sense of uncertainty, which could potentially influence confidence judgments beyond task performance. The present studies aimed at assessing the effects of the ambiguity of local motion signals on perceptual confidence on a global-motion task. Participants first discriminated the global motion directions of two multiple-aperture, global-motion patterns, one generated using multiple Gabor elements and the other using multiple Plaid elements. They then performed a two-interval, forced-choice confidence task by choosing which of …

A Socioecological Approach To Online Dating Goals And Self-Presentational Strategies In North American And Chinese Cultures, Cheuk Yue, Cherry Wan

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

In this study, a content analysis investigating the relationship goals and self-presentational strategies on online daters’ personal advertisements from both North America (n = 300) and Hong Kong China (n = 300) was conducted. Significant differences between the two cultures were found by adopting a socio-ecological approach. Great cross-cultural differences were found. Compared with Chinese, the North American were more likely to seek for an open and casual relationship, namely sexual interests and friendship, self-improvement and showing own uniqueness. In contrast, Chinese were more likely to initiate a committed relationship such as soulmate and romantic activities, express loneliness and resistant …

How Does Prior Lucky Event Affect Individual’S Risk Taking Preference?, Yuen Zhan Wong

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

We conducted a controlled experiment with Philippines domestic helpers and Lingnan undergraduate students to study if prior “lucky” event will increase their risk-taking behaviour. The major finding from our study is that prior lucky events do increase risk-taking behaviour among Philippines domestic helpers but not for students. Our study also found out that there are inconsistent behaviour of interviewees while choosing for options indicating their risk preference and this degree of inconsistency is greater among the Philippines group compared to the students group.

How Marketing On Instagram Affect Hong Kong Youths' Perception Towards The Idea Of An "Ideal-Self", Ming Chu, Brittany Chan

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

A lot of researches have been made on how marketing on Instagram affects young adults – but not so much on teenagers in Hong Kong. How one forms their “ideal self ” can be seen on Instagram as other public Instagrammers inspired many of these youngsters’ accounts. There is currently little information available regarding how marketing on Instagram affects teenagers’ perception of an “ideal-self ” in Hong Kong, hence I would like to propose to conduct a research on it to fill up this research gap.

Is Education A Solution To Inequality? A Comparison On How People Perceive Educational Inequality And Social Mobility In Hong Kong, Wing Tung Szeto

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

This paper would examine how people in Hong Kong perceive the correlation between educational inequality and social mobility, using public opinion as the major research approach. An opinion survey is conducted to obtain the overall attitude towards educational inequality and social mobility, followed by comparisons on the social issues using official statistics and figures as published by the government and academia. The paper would compare the differences between how the general public perceive the issue of educational inequality and social mobility as reflected in the opinion survey, and the reality of the issues as presented by official data.

A Study Of Occupational Health : Disclosing Homosexuality In The Workplace, Yim Yam, Whywhy Chan

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

In this study, the associations among disclosing homosexuality, discrimination and occupational health was examined, as well as the associations among disclosing homosexuality, workplace sexual identity management strategies and occupational health. It is aimed to investigating whether discrimination serves as a moderator between disclosing homosexuality and occupational health, plus whether workplace sexual identity management strategies serves as a mediator between disclosing homosexuality and occupational health. In total, 225 gays and lesbians full-time workers in Hong Kong were participated in this study through completing an online questionnaire. Results showed that discrimination serves as a moderator between disclosure and job satisfaction, and workplace …

Types Of Persuasive Message Promoting Blood Donation In Hong Kong, Pui Chuen Tam

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

Based on Ferguson, Farrell, & Lawrence (2008)’s study on persuasive messages promoting blood donation, this study has identified a characteristic of persuasive message that could influence Chinese participants’ behavioral intention to donate blood. Participants (N = 66) were randomly assigned to read one of the four messages with different focuses and framings. They then indicated their behavioral intention to donate blood after reading the messages. Two-way ANCOVA, with self-efficacy as covariate indicated that respondents after reading altruistic messages reported a higher intention to donate blood than those who read egoistic messages. Moreover, it is also revealed that within people with …

The Precebo Illusion Of Pain Analgesia Using The Cold Pressor Task, Man Chun Kam

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

Everybody feels physical pain at some time in their life. Although physical pain can protect us from seriously harming ourselves, pain can also be harmful. Studies have revealed that unrelieved pain can have a long lasting harmful effect on both physical and psychological health (Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, 2006). Therefore, pain analgesia has long been an important issue in various fields, such as medical, biological and psychological field. In the current study, pain analgesia was studied through a psychological phenomenon called precebo illusion.

Structural Realism And The New Cold War, Ka Ho Wong

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

The Cold War mentality such as misperception which is deep-rooted in the American and Russian government has triggered the revival of U.S.-Russian conflicts. The new Cold War would be a continuation from the past that operates with an action-and-reactions model. However, with the change of geopolitical situation, the new Cold War would be conducted in different means.

The structural constraints suggested by the structural realist would be an explanation for the emergence of new Cold War. The structural realism makes contributions of the idea of misperception，over-exaggeration, and balance of power that is a product of an anarchic international system. The …

Superstitious Precebo Illusion : Does Luck Charm Really Gives You Luck? It's Mere Possession Does!, Pik Ying Chan

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

Superstition is quite common in the modern society, people still hold superstitious beliefs and often engage in superstitious rituals that bring good luck. For example, Feng shui is the most popular superstition among Chinese and carrying a Feng shui luck charm such as mystic knot and red envelopes was believed to bring good luck. Likewise, in Western superstition, similar astrological talismans are believed to strengthen different qualities of the possessor. When one believes that certain object carried mystical power, having possession of it would grant the owner access to those powers. Nonetheless, the mystic power of these talismans is questionable …

Arab Authoritarianism And Us Foreign Policy, Ki Chun Luk

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

This qualitative research aims to examine the nature and reasons for America support for Arab authoritarian regimes in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and to provide further details by examining the inferiority of liberal cultures and superiority of realist approach and continuation/discontinuation of this existing approach after/during the Arab Spring by case studies. In order to have a systematic analysis, alternative theoretical models, including a revised national interest model, the neoclassical realist US grand strategy model (Dueck ,2008),the international conditions analysis by Petras (2011),and US domestic politics model will be examined. Currently, the issue under study suffers from little systematic …

How Does The Hong Kong Current Refugee Policy Affect The Life Of Protection Claimants?, Kwan Ki Man

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

About 6,000 refugees, asylum seekers and torture claimants (collectively “protection claimants”) are struggling to survive in Hong Kong. It is undoubted that they are an underprivileged and marginalized group in Hong Kong. Since Hong Kong is not the signatory of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, protection claimants do not enjoy legal status or formal rights to welfare services in Hong Kong. Without the right to work, protection claimants must survive on $1,500 a month for accommodation and bags of food equivalent to $1,200, or they may risk to work illegally in Hong Kong. This thesis examines …

The Implications Of China’S ‘String Of Pearls Strategy’ On Relations With Indian Ocean Nations, Maleehah Iman Ali

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

This thesis contends that China pursues the String of Pearls Strategy for now, primarily for mercantile purposes and as a means to ensure energy security and not to contest the US or deliberately threaten India. All countries depend on sea channels for trade; hence they seek stability at sea and sea control. China is no exception. I believe that China will abide by the ‘peaceful rise’ mandate as too much is at stake for her both domestically and internationally. This will hold true as long as China’s interests are safe. The evidence presented here forth, will substantiate that the steps …

Public Sector Reforms In Hong Kong In The 1990s, Kwun Hong Chan

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

1989 was the year Hong Kong echoed to the public-sector reform or New Public Management Reform (NPM-reforms) trend among the Western developed countries. (Cheung 1996a: 31, Lee 2001: 55) Since then, public sector had been injected the ingredient of the private sector management. Citizens started to be treated as paying customers for quality services rather than receiving “one size fits all” services. (Sankey 2001: 3) “Value for money” had been emphasized in this financial management reform launched by the Finance Branch of the Hong Kong Government.

Unlike the above reform, the public sector reform in 1992 had been more fundamental, …

A Study Of The Reasons And Functions Of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (Nssi) Among Students In Hong Kong And United Kingdom, Sze Yiu, Cindy Wong

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

This study examines non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in a community sample of adolescents and young adults in Hong Kong and United Kingdom. Non-suicidal self‐injury (NSSI) refers to direct, deliberate destruction of one’s own body tissue in the absence of intent to die. Apart from investigating the reasons and functions of non-suicidal self‐injury (NSSI), this study also examined the gender as well as cultural differences in self‐injurious behaviors. Functional Assessment of Self‐Mutilation (FASM) was used to examine non‐suicidal self-injury (NSSI).

Overall, 17.1% (n=46) out of 269 participants (n=269) endorsed engaging in non-suicidal self‐injury (NSSI) in the past 12 months, with more females …

The Determinants Of Voluntary Job Turnover In Chinese Medium And Small Enterprises: A Case Study, Jia Jia Li

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in China are developing rapidly. They are becoming more and more important to China’s economic restructuring and to the national economic development. However, since SMEs started appearing relatively late and the development history in China is relatively short, a lot of aspects are still unripe and a series of problems exists. Especially, the job turnover rate is commonly high in Chinese SMEs. The high level of turnover will badly affect the survival and development of SMEs. This research focuses on the factors that affect job turnover in China. The factors are divided into six …

Parental Edation, Family Income, And Peer Group On Children's Academic Performance In China, Chi Zhang

Bachelor of Social Sciences – Senior Theses

Previous studies have established that children from richer family backgrounds are generally observed to have higher educational outcomes than other youth. However, the mechanism through which household income affects the child’s outcomes remains unclear. Meanwhile, other studies point out that parental education and the peer effects also have influences on children’s achievement. This paper estimates the effects of parental human education, family income and peer group on children’s education performance using a data of about 300 students from primary and high schools in China which includes extensive background information at the student, parents and friend level. The research finds that …