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Copyright by Kang Hui Baek 2015 The Dissertation Committee for Kang Hui Baek Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: PHYSICAL PLACE MATTERS IN DIGITAL ACTIVISM: INVESTIGATING THE ROLES OF LOCAL AND GLOBAL SOCIAL CAPITAL, COMMUNITY, AND SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES IN THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT Committee: Stephen D. Reese, Supervisor Thomas Johnson Renita Coleman Joseph Straubhaar Wenhong Chen PHYSICAL PLACE MATTERS IN DIGITAL ACTIVISM: INVESTIGATING THE ROLES OF LOCAL AND GLOBAL SOCIAL CAPITAL, COMMUNITY, AND SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES IN THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT by Kang Hui Baek, B. Political Science; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin May 2015 Dedication To my parents who helped me with their endless love throughout my doctoral journey. Acknowledgements This dissertation would not have been possible without the consistent support and encouragement of my committee members. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Stephen Reese, for his excellent guidance in providing me with numerous opportunities to develop my academic knowledge and scholastic attitudes. His advising has allowed me to take an intellectual journey as I have asked and answered for myself critical questions such as: Why should we be concerned about certain issues and how my research work may contribute to areas of academic pursuit. This training has helped me strengthen my critical thinking skills and trigger my intellectual curiosity. I owe deep appreciation also to Dr. Wenhong Chen who offered me much advice and insight on issues of social capital. Her wisdom and high expectations for academic research inspired and motivated me to do my best. Dr. Thomas Johnson in political communication supported and helped me to understand the importance of new media technology in political participation. Dr. Renita Coleman helped me to develop methodological frameworks for my research. Dr. Joseph Straubhaar helped me to gain global perspectives about media and political issues. Notably, I want to express my sincere gratitude to my dear friends and colleagues who consistently encouraged and prayed for me. They stood by me when I needed them. Their emotional support helped me to keep moving forward on my journey. Finally, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to my parents for their sacrifices and encouragement. Their love and support have allowed me to reach a new chapter in my life. v PHYSICAL PLACE MATTERS IN DIGITAL ACTIVISM: INVESTIGATING THE ROLES OF LOCAL AND GLOBAL SOCIAL CAPITAL, COMMUNITY, AND SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES IN THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT Kang Hui Baek, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2015 Supervisor: Stephen D. Reese This case study of the Occupy movement examines how different geographic forms of individual-level resources—local and global social capital—and community- level resources varying by place of residence play a key role in political activism in the digital age. To overcome the limited approach based on blind faith, in which social networking sites are unreservedly treated as sole mobilizing agents, this dissertation includes the exploration of how local and global social capital influence the way the use of social networking sites affects participation in the Occupy movement. In doing so, this dissertation goes beyond the exclusive focus on the effects of social capital formed and shared through the strength of a personal tie (i.e., strong vs. weak ties) on political participation considered in much of the current literature. Moreover, acknowledging that on-the-ground activities taking place in physical communities continue to be essential determinants of political engagement, this dissertation is intended to determine whether the communities in which individuals reside vi produce unique or specialized resources or environments, and how they provide different opportunities for involvement in the movement. From an online survey and in-depth interviews with participants in the U.S., this dissertation found that local and global forms of social capital had distinct effects on participation in the Occupy movement. This suggests that local social capital induced local participation, while global social capital encouraged global participation. In this vein, the use of social networking sites contributed to both local and global participation indirectly, through its effects on local and global social capital, respectively. Indeed, communities with politically liberal environments and high poverty levels were found to be favorable places for mobilizing participation. Global cities, New York City in particular, served as an optimal political space for encouraging participation in the movement because they provided diverse human resources and substantial political infrastructure. This dissertation makes an important contribution to our knowledge of political activism in the digital era. It highlights the situation that social networking sites are not sole contributors leading to political participation, and therefore, that the geographic dimension of social capital and community should also be carefully considered when examining political participation. vii Table of Contents List of Tables ......................................................................................................... xi List of Figures ...................................................................................................... xiii Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................1 Research Problem ...........................................................................................3 Study Purpose .................................................................................................6 Justification .....................................................................................................6 Definition of Key Terms .................................................................................8 Overall Framework .......................................................................................11 Chapter 2: Theoretical Background ..................................................................16 Digital Media and Political Participation ......................................................16 Social Capital and Political Participation .....................................................20 Network Capital ...................................................................................21 Participatory Capital ............................................................................28 A Sense of Citizenship .........................................................................32 Community and Political Participation .........................................................39 Community Size...................................................................................39 Global City ...........................................................................................44 Summary of Theoretical Issues .....................................................................48 Hypothesis and Research Questions .............................................................50 Chapter 3: The Mixed-Methods Case Study .....................................................56 Online Survey ...............................................................................................56 Sampling ..............................................................................................56 Sample Profile ......................................................................................62 Measures ..............................................................................................65 Analysis Procedures for the Online Survey .........................................76 Semi-structured In-depth Interviews.............................................................76 Sample..................................................................................................77 viii Analysis Procedures for the Interviews ...............................................83 Chapter 4: Results of the Online Survey ...........................................................84 Use of Social Networking Sites and Political Participation..........................88 Social Capital and Political Participation .....................................................91 Local and Global Network Capital ......................................................91 Local and Global Participatory Capital ................................................93 Local and Global Network Capital, Participatory Capital, and Use of Social Networking Sites .......................................................................96 Local and Global Citizenship.............................................................106 Local and Global Citizenship and Use of Social Networking Sites...107 Local and Global Network Capital, Participatory Capital, Citizenship, and Use of Social Networking Sites ..................................................110 Community Size and Political Participation ...............................................118 Chapter 5: Results of the Semi-structured In-depth Interviews ...................125 Use of Social Networking Sites and Political Participation........................129 Information and Communication Tools .............................................129