List of Current Research Projects in Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information. Project Title

Transcription

1 Research Projects List of Current Research Projects in Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information Externally Funded Projects Type of Project NRF-IDM NRF-IDM NRF A*Star HPB Principal Investigator & Collaborator(s) A/P Ravi Sharma [Co-PI & Collaborators: Prof Desai Narasimhalu, Prof Marcel Machill, Prof Steven Wildman, Prof Omar El Sawy, Prof Feichin Ted, Dr Francis Pereira] A/P Dion Goh [Co-PI & Collaborators: Asst/P Alton Chua, Asst/P Lee Chei Sian, A/P Rebecca Ang, Mr Gary Chan, Mr Jack Yong Ho, Mr Adam Paulus] Asst/P Vivian Chen [Co-PI & Collaborators: A/P Chen I-Ming, Dr Lim Hock Seng, Asst Prof Duh Been-Iirn, Asst/ P Tzuo Pei Wen] A/P Theng Yin Leng [Co PIs: A/P May Lwin, Asst Prof Jung Younbo, Dr Shengdong Zhao (NUS), Ms Jamie Ng Suat Ling (Institute for Infocomm Research) A/P May Oo Lwin [Co PIs: A/P Theng Yin Leng, Asst Prof Jung Younbo] Project Title Business Models for Interactive Digital Media Services & Policy Implications for Regulators MARGE: Layering Gaming Interactions in Mobile Content Sharing Environments Enhancing Education in Environmental Awareness: A Game-Based Approach to Ambient Learning A 2 GameF 3 : Design and Development of an Intergenerational Digitally Mediated Fitness Game for Elderly Users Impact of Media and Message Types on Obesity Related Behaviours HPB A/P May Lwin Nutrition and Food Choice Behaviours HPB A/P May Lwin Impact of Digital Gaming Technology on Physical Activity and Obesity Related Behaviours /current projects as at 21 Dec 09 Page 1

2 MOE Funded Projects Type of Project Principal Investigator & Collaborator(s) Project Title AcRF-Tier 1 A/P May Oo Lwin Information Communication Technology for Health: Improving Health Care and Disseminating Health Messages using Mobile Communication AcRF-Tier 1 Prof Hao Xiaoming Exposure to Ads and materialism among Youth in Singapore AcRF-Tier 1 Asst/P Na Jin Cheon Sentiment Summarization of Multiple Genre Review Documents AcRF-Tier 1 AcRF-Tier 1 Asst/P Alton Chua (Co-PI: A/P Theng Yin Leng) Asst/P Lee Chei Sian (Co-PI: Dr Lee Chu Keong) Asst/P Xu Xiaoge A/P Stephen Teo Asst/P Shirley Ho Asst/P Suwichit Chaidaroon Asst/P Debbie Goh Asst/P Hyo Jung Kim Asst/P Liew Kai Khiun Asst/P Natalie Pang Automated User-Based Question-Answering System Investigating the Effective Use of Social Computing Applications: The Role of Individual Differences Comparing Media Systems in Asia The Asian Cinema Experience: Concepts, Styles and Spaces Advancing the Spiral of Silence Theory Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility: A Comparative Study among Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia Traditional and Online News Framing Effects on Anti-Immigration Attitudes in Singapore Testing a Health Message Processing Model (HMPM) to Predict the Effects of Health Messages on Health Behavioral Intentions Trans-local Multimedia: Radio, Television Hong Kong (RTHK) and the Communication of Health and Wellness in Hong Kong, Southern China and the Cantonese-speaking Diaspora User-generated Resources in Public Spaces: Analysing the Impacts of New Media on Resource Characteristics and rational Choices in /current projects as at 21 Dec 09 Page 2

3 the Knowledge Commons Asst/P Joanna Sin Acculturation Information Seeking in a 2.0 World Asst/P Shin Wonsun Parental Mediation of Children s Exposure to Interactive Advertising School Funded Projects Type of Project Principal Investigator & Collaborator(s) Asst/P Arul Chib [Collaborator: Komathi ALE (research student)] Asst/P Angela Mak [Collaborator: Lee Mui Hean (research student)] A/P Benjamin Detenber [Collaborator: Thanomwong Poorisat (research student)] A/P Dion Goh [Collaborator: Esther Tan (research student)] A/P Dion Goh [Collaborator: Tan Jean Lee (research student)] Prof Hao Xiaoming [Collaborator: Rita Zahara (research student)] Prof Hao Xiaoming [Collaborator: Wen Nainan (research student)] Asst/P Jung Younbo [Collaborator: Shallyn Leow (research student)] Asst/P Marko Skoric [Collaborator: Grace Kwan (research student)] A/P May Lwin [Collaborator: Benjamin Li (research Project Title Low-cost computing in Child Education: Impact of User-Relevant Training & Ownership in the Asian Rural Context Corporate Social Responsibility in the Media - Whose Agenda? Testing the Heuristic-Systematic Model in the Context of an Online Health Discussion Board Designing a mobile user interface with context sensitive features for tourism Advancing the Social Skills Intervation Paradigm using Digital Game-Based Learning War on terrorisum Not on Muslims College Students' Involvement with Celebrities and their Intention to undergo Cosmetic Surgeries Using Computer Game to Promote Knowledge and Healthier Behaviour for Cardiovascular Health among Youths and Older Adults in Singapore The Relationship of Social Capital and Cyber Bullying: An Empirical Study of Singaporean Youths The Proteus Effect versus Stereotype Threat : Motivation & Performance of overweight /current projects as at 21 Dec 09 Page 3

4 student)] A/P May Lwin [Collaborator: Mindawati Wijaya (research student)] A/P May Lwin [Collaborator: Jiang Chao (research student)] A/P May Lwin [Collaborator: Yeo Su Lin (research student)] Asst/P Na Jin Cheon [Collaborator: Luke Tan (research student)] A/P Theng Yin Leng [Collaborator: Shalini Chandra (research student)] Asst/P Vivian Chen [Collaborator: Hong Renyi (research student)] Asst/P Vivian Chen [Collaborator: Tee Yock Sian (research student)] Asst/P Arul Chib [Co-PI: Asst/P Younbo Jung] Asst/P Arul Chib [Co-PI: Yeoh Kok Cheow] Asst/P Augustine Pang Asst/P Augustine Pang [Co-PI: A/P May Lwin] Asst/P Bradley Freeman [Co- PI: Asst/P Xu Xiaoge, Mr Andrew Duffy] teenagers in a physical exercise video game Influencing child food preferences : The impact of message framing & interactivity on efficacy and intention to consume fruits & vegetables An Examination of the Usage and Understanding of Nutrition Labels and their Role in Health Promotion Public Health Campaigns versus Food Advertising: A Model of Joint Interactive Effects on Attitudes and Behavioural Intentions towards Food Consumption in Singapore, China and USA Influence Detection within Blogosphere Exploring Virtual Worlds Usage Intentions as a Collaborative Tool Anti-discipline in New Media Work: The Case for Free Labor More than a Costume: Parasocial Interaction in Cosplaying Multi-million Dollar Deal for Laptops in Education: Assessing the Impact of OLPC in rural Asia Enhancing the Lives of Foreign Domestic Workers through Acquisition and use of ICTs Toward a Journalist-centric Approach in Managing the Media by Public Relations Practitioners: Testing the Mediating the Media Model Preparedness versus Paranoia: Examining the Effects of Over-Communicating Health Crisis Preparedness Messages Towards a cluster effect: Coverage of the Arts in Singapore's print media /current projects as at 21 Dec 09 Page 4

5 Asst/P Brendan Luyt Asst/P Fernando Paragas Asst/P Younbo Jung [Collaborator: Asst/P Park Taezoon from MAE] Asst/P Younbo Jung Asst/P Younbo Jung Asst/P Younbo Jung Asst/P Marko Skoric Asst/P Na Jin Cheon Dr Paul Wu Asst/P Shirley Ho Asst/P Tsui-chuan Lin, Trisha Asst/P Tsui-chuan Lin, Trisha Asst/P Vivian Chen Asst/P Xu Xiaoge Exploring the Social History of Reading in Singapore Search and Scholarship: An Exploratory Study on Singaporean students' understanding and use of search engines and their practices regarding the gatekeeping, organization, and production of academic information It's the Role, Stupid Effects of Role Enactment and Embodiment on User Responses in Human- Robot-Interaction It's the Role, Stupid Effects of Role Enactment and Embodiment on User Responses in Human- Robot-Interaction Understanding Violence from a Role-Play Perspective: Effects of Various Types of Violent Video Games Effects of facial and attitude similarity between players and the game character on educating stress management in a video game Liberty City in a Fine City: A Study of Video Game Cultivation Effects in Singapore Mining of Product Comparisons from On-line Review Documents Measuring Community and Knowledge Formation using Structural Equation Model based on Altruism, Self-Esteem, Social Capital Theory and Social Cognitive Theory - A Case Study of Professional Seminar Expanding on the Cognitive Mediation Model: Understanding the Motivations behind Learning about the H1N1 Influenza from the News Exploring Mobile TV Opportunities in Singapore: A Socio-technical Perspective Interactivity and Relational Maintenance: Political blogging in Singapore Issues on Media Production Technology: When audiences create games Foreign TV News in the Global Village: The Case of Singapore /current projects as at 21 Dec 09 Page 5

6 School Funded Projects Type of Project (15k) (15k) (15k) (15k) (15k) (15k) (15k) (15k) Principal Investigator & Collaborator(s) Asst/P Arul Chib A/P Benjamin Detenber [Co- PI: Asst/P Mark Cenite, Asst/P Shirley Ho] Asst/P Shirley Ho [Co-PI: Prof Hao Xiaoming] Prof Stewart Auyash [Co-PI: A/P May Lwin, Asst/P Shirley Ho] Asst/P Angela Mak [Co-PI: Asst/P Suwichit Chaidaroon, Asst/P Augustine Pang, Asst/P Fernando Paragas] Asst/P Alton Chua [Co-PI: Asst/P Chang Kuiyu (SCE)] Asst/P Marko Skoric A/P Wayne Fu Project Title Investigating the complementarities of mobile usage vis-à-vis public access telecenters Understanding Public Perceptions of Homosexuals and Attitudes toward Media Portrayals of Homosexuals in Singapore Mass Media, Public Opinion, and Controversial Science: A Cross-Cultural Examination H1N1: A Study in Health Communication Work and Cancer Survivors: A Multi-Faceted Stakeholder Approach in Singapore Project Rendezvous: Where Entertainment and Instrumentality meet Social and Cultural Impact of Social Media: An Empirical Study Network-based Effects in the Dynamics of Online Social Media /current projects as at 21 Dec 09 Page 6

7 Project Write-up of Externally Funded Projects Business Models for Interactive Digital Media Services and Policy Implications for Regulators A/P Ravi Sharma Co-PI & Collaborators: Prof Desai Narasimhalu, Prof Marcel Machill, Prof Steven Wildman, Prof Omar El Sawy, Prof Feichin Ted, Dr Francis Pereira Division of Information Studies NRF-IDM To understand the emerging business-ecosystem for IDM, to construct valid models and pricing tools for the intermediaries, to develop a scenario planning framework for policy makers. The project undertakes to investigate business models that may be applied to the IDM marketplace and their policy implications for regulators. Two tracks will be addressed: 1) pricing and revenue streams, and 2) building a scenario-analysis tool for regulators. /current projects as at 21 Dec 09 Page 7

8 MARGE: Layering Gaming Interactions in Mobile Content Sharing Environments A/P Dion Goh Co-PI & Collaborators: Asst/P Alton Chua, Asst/P Lee Chei Sian, A/P Rebecca Ang, Mr Gary Chan, Mr Jack Yong Ho, Mr Adam Paulus Division of Information Studies NRF-IDM In this project, we propose an innovative twist to the creation, seeking and sharing of content by introducing passive multiplayer role-playing pervasive gaming elements into mobile content sharing activities. Play is intertwined unobtrusively with the collaborative creation, seeking and sharing of information such that these activities become the mechanics of gameplay. Here, we create a persistent layer of alternate reality over digital information associated with the real world by weaving a storyline into mobile content sharing. To achieve this goal, a multidisciplinary approach to address four objectives will be undertaken: (1) Construct a framework for mobile content sharing through gameplay; (2) Design our proposed gameplay for mobile content sharing using the framework; (3) Implement a system (MARGE Mobile Alternate Reality Gaming Engine) that realizes our vision of mobile content sharing through gameplay; and (4) Evaluate MARGE and examine its social implications of use. The deliverables of our proposed research are expected to find wide applicability in a variety of contexts and industries including telecommunications service providers, tourism, culture and heritage, education and training, and advertising and marketing. /current projects as at 21 Dec 09 Page 8

9 Enhancing education in environmental awareness: A game-based approach to ambient learning Asst Prof Vivian Chen Co-PI & Collaborators: A/P Chen I-Ming, Dr Lim Hock Seng, Asst Prof Duh Been-Iirn, Asst/ P Tzuo Pei Wen Division of Communication Research NRF-IDM This project aims to develop educational games to enhance students learning of weather and environmental issues in Singapore. Mobile and web-based games will be designed and made available to students across schools in Singapore. The content of the game will be created based on pedagogical objectives and allow students to have access to real time weather and environmental information obtained through weather stations at individual schools data (as part of The National Weather Study Project). The technique of connecting the database to the mobile device and website will be developed. The interface of the game design will utilize usability and interaction design principles to make sure students have good user experiences with the mobile device and the web interface. Based on education theories, good classroom climate and collaborative learning enhance better learning outcomes. Game playing allows students to have frequent interaction with their peers and teachers and create a more intimate learning environment. It also promotes learning together with others via discussions. Therefore, this project will also assess the effectiveness of the new learning device and platform. It includes the evaluation of the accessibility of the games, the effectiveness of using games as a teaching tool, the impact of game playing on relationship building among students and teachers and the consequential effects on learning. /current projects as at 21 Dec 09 Page 9

10 A 2 GameF 3 : Design and Development of an Intergenerational Digitally Mediated Fitness Game for Elderly Users A/P Theng Yin Leng Co-PI: A/P May Oo Lwin, Asst/P Jung Younbo Division of Information Studies A*Star (SERC) The world population is greying rapidly. Worldwide, governments in countries realise that for elderly users to remain an active part of society, efforts have to be undertaken to ensure active aging. It is recognised that active ageing leading to social integration and healthy living among elderly users is dependent on two major health behaviours: regular exercise and healthy consumption. In this project, we propose that Interactive Digital Technology offers a number of possible approaches to exercise, healthy food consumption and social interaction. Specifically, this proposed project will conduct research on assessing the efficacy of digital fit programme utilizing the newly launched Nintendo Wii Fit, in promoting regular exercise and healthy food consumption among elderly users in Singapore (aged 65 years and above). We will extend its purpose for intergenerational gaming among elderly and young users, and aim to design, develop and evaluate a game prototype called A 2 GameF 3 (All-Ages Digitally Mediated Game for Fitness, Fun and Friendship). /current projects as at 21 Dec 09 Page 10

11 Impact of Media and Message Types on Obesity Related Behaviours A/P May Oo Lwin Co-PI: A/P Theng Yin Leng, Asst/P Jung Younbo Division of Public and Promotional Communication Health Promotion Board (HPB) Worldwide, governments have recognized that the improvement of public health is dependent on two major health behaviors: exercise and healthy consumption. With social marketing and edutainment theorists proposing that psychosocial factors such as selfefficacy and reflected appraisal are the keys for successful long-term programs for preventing obesity, intervention methods which enhance participation, fun and interaction appear particularly promising especially when targeting the young. We propose that digital technology offers a number of possible approaches to battling obesity. Our study examines the efficacy of a number of new interactive digital platforms for health communications and the prevention of obesity. In particular, we aim to assess knowledge acquisition, modification of attitudes, and influence on health behavior intention amongst children and youth in Singapore. Our findings will have implications for health communication strategies and policies. /current projects as at 21 Dec 09 Page 11

12 Nutrition and Food Choice Behaviours A/P May Oo Lwin Co-PI: -- Division of Public and Promotional Communication Health Promotion Board (HPB) Obesity is increasingly prevalent in Singapore. Whilst many factors contribute to obesity, unhealthful diet plays a significant role in bringing human body excessive fat which finally leads to overweight. To enable consumers to make proper food choices, appropriate design and display of nutrition labels require more attention from governments and from academic researchers. However, nutrition labeling studies in health communication have been focused on the U.S. or Europe. Thus, there is enormous scope to understand how local consumers make healthy choice behaviours and to study how nutrition labels can influence local consumer perceptions, behaviours, and choices. /current projects as at 21 Dec 09 Page 12

13 Impact of Digital Gaming Technology on Physical Activity and Obesity Related Behaviours A/P May Oo Lwin Co-PI: -- Division of Public and Promotional Communication Health Promotion Board (HPB) The use of advanced technology allows for fine-grain and ongoing tailoring and strategy delivery (Winett et al, 2005). We propose to utilize interactive digital approaches as a social marketing device to improve general health and prevent disease especially by modifying lifestyle variables involving diet and physical activity. An overall framework for examining this topic reflects our focus that health improvements can be ameliorated through both prevention and promotion activities. We believe that social marketing concepts can enhance the understanding of health issues, and see this research project as having a good potential to make a contribution to international academic research in health marketing, psychology, medicine and public policy. Locally, the findings should be useful to PSAs (public service agencies, e.g. Health Promotion Board), and governmental bodies (e.g. Ministry of Health). /current projects as at 21 Dec 09 Page 13

14 Information Communication Technology for Health: Improving Health Care and Disseminating Health Messages using Mobile Communication A/P May Oo Lwin Co-PI: -- Division of Public & Promotional Communication MOE The project seeks to examine the use of mobile communications to facilitate, accelerate and improve the quality of health and health messages in a variety of contexts. It aims to assess the influence of mobile communications on the delivery of prenatal care in Aceh, to compare the use of mobile communication as a means to deliver real-time health messages, to identify the antecedents to effective ICT utilization by health workers and by public health promotion campaigns, to identify unintended consequences of technology, and to provide a framework for future research looking at the use of ICTs/mobile communication in the provision of healthcare and the dissemination of health messages. /current projects as at 21 Dec 09 Page 14

15 Exposure to Ads and materialism among Youth in Singapore Prof Hao Xiaoming Co-PI: -- Division of Journalism & Publishing MOE The project studies the concern of young generation in materialism. The phenomenon deserves attention from researchers and educators because materialism is likely to result in self-doubt, insecurity, poor school performance and juvenile crimes. In this study, a theoretical framework is developed which uses the perceptions of peer norms as a key element to explain the possible connection between media influence and materialistic attitudes and behaviours among adolescents. Both surveys and experiments will be used to examine the associations between media exposure and materialistic values held by young people in Singapore. /current projects as at 21 Dec 09 Page 15

16 Sentiment Summarization of Multiple Genre Review Documents Asst Prof Na Jin Cheon Co-PI: -- Division of Information Studies MOE The objective of the project is to develop an effective method for sentiment summarization of multiple review documents from various genres and to implement the method in a sentiment entity search engine. With the explosion of Web 2.0 platforms, there are enormous amounts of opinionated documents generated by various users on the World Wide Web. Expert reviews, user reviews, blogs, and discussion board are commonly used to express opinions about interesting subjects, such as movies, electronic products, and social issues. When opinions are expressed in texts, each genre of documents has a unique set of characteristics and implications which must be taken into consideration when summarizing sentiments across genres. In the project, the movie reviews are investigated as domain documents since a lot of movie reviews are available on the World Wide Web and they are written with various levels of complexity by different user groups. /current projects as at 21 Dec 09 Page 16

17 Automated User-Based Question-Answering System Asst Prof Alton Chua Co-PI: -- Division of Information Studies MOE Unlike search engines, Question Answering (QA) systems provide concise answers to questions formulated in natural language. Automated QA systems accept users question and return sentences from Web pages deemed to contain relevant answers. On the other hand, user-based QA systems allow users to post questions and receive answers offered voluntarily by others. In Automated QA systems, research gaps exist in the area of question-clustering and answer-selection. In user-based QA systems, current research efforts fail to address how the heavy dependence on other users participation can be alleviated. Moreover, scholarly inquiries into these two systems have yet to dovetail into a composite research stream where techniques gleaned from automated QA systems could be exploited for user-based QA systems. For these reasons, this proposal seeks to develop a coalesced research perspective on QA systems. Specifically, its aims are to: (1) develop an efficacious question-clustering technique intended for managing user-generated content; (2) develop a theoretical model that selects and ranks answers; (3) design and develop a content-extraction system that harness content from Web 2.0 platforms; (4) implement an automated user-based QA system which does not rely on the goodwill of users participation and (5) evaluate and refine the proposed system. This proposal is significant on three counts. First, it deepens the understanding of QA systems through tackling the two dominant themes of question-clustering and answerselection. Second, it represents one of the earliest attempts to integrate two disparate streams of QA research. Third, it offers an expeditious approach to harvesting knowledge from web-based communities. The proposed research is divided into four phases: (1) the theoretical development of question-clustering and answer-selection techniques; (2) the design and development of a content-extraction system; (3) the implementation of the proposed QA system; and (4) the evaluation and refinement of the proposed system. /current projects as at 21 Dec 09 Page 17

18 Investigating the Effective Use of Social Computing Applications: The Role of Individual Differences Asst Prof Lee Chei Sian Co-PI: Dr Lee Chu Keong Division of Information Studies MOE Social computing has transformed the way people communicate, share and collaborate online. Here, a fundamental issue is the relationship between the type of applications available and the individuals that employ them. While work in this area is nascent, early research has indicated that individual differences appear to play an important role in how and what social computing applications (e.g. blogs, wikis, social network services) are used to explore opportunities, or to manage problems or issues. Thus, the proposed project aims to fill this research gap and seeks to understand the relationship between individuals differences and the social computing applications used. Here, we will focus on these dimensions of individual differences: communication competence, individual preferences, motivations and the demographic profiles of the individuals. The project will use multiple data collection and analysis techniques. Specifically, data for the project will be collected via methods including surveys, interviews, and content that will be downloaded from a variety of representative social computing applications. In examining the relationship between individual differences and the use of social computing applications, the proposed project separates the context of use (i.e. workplace and non-workplace) because the social forces influencing the use and the effects of social computing are possibly different. Further, examining a variety of social computing applications will help to enhance our understanding on how the different applications can coexist and be used by individuals in various contexts. Limited work has been done to understand how, when and why individuals use a combination of social computing applications efficiently and effectively. Thus, from this proposed research, we aim to take an important step to expand our knowledge on the use of different social computing applications and how these applications can be integrated to afford individuals the resources they need to support social interactions at work or at play. /current projects as at 21 Dec 09 Page 18