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CYBERBULLYING AMONG YOUTHS IN HK, MACAO AND GUANGZHOU Cyberbullying among youths in Hong Kong, Macao and Guangzhou Lapman Wan UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL Graduate School of Education A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Education (EdD) in the Faculty of Social Science and Law April, 2018 CYBERBULLYING AMONG YOUTHS IN HK, MACAO AND GUANGZHOU 1 Declaration I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the University's Regulations and Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes and that it has not been submitted for any other academic award. Except where indicated by specific reference in the text, the work is the candidate's own work. Work done in collaboration with, or with the assistance of, others, is indicated as such. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author. SIGNE .. DATE:.....16th May,2018.................. CYBERBULLYING AMONG YOUTHS IN HK, MACAO AND GUANGZHOU 2 Dedication To God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in whose strength I stand. To my parents for their endless love and encouragement. To my brilliant and supportive wife, sweet and kind-hearted sons CYBERBULLYING AMONG YOUTHS IN HK, MACAO AND GUANGZHOU 3 Acknowledgement There are numbers of people that I must gratefully acknowledge and thanks for their contribution in various ways, to help me through the six years academic journey. I would like to show my deepest gratitude to Helen Manchester and Shelley Mckeown Jones. They are my supervisors and angels in my road to knowledge. My heartfelt thanks to their support, patience, concern, wisdom and comments. Special thanks to Prof. Harvey Goldstein and Dr. George Leckie, who guided me to work out and applied multi-level modeling in my data analysis. My gratitude to all the partners and helpers in Guangzhou, Macao and Hong Kong who participated in this study, to thank for their generous support in the preparatory period and the data collection. Without their wholehearted support, this study will never be a success. I must show my deepest gratitude to my family. My lovely wife Fong Fong, who has been so patient and supportive in my years of study, I must thank her for taking up some of the roles that I should have shoulder as a father. Thanks to my sons Kin, Kit and Chun, who have been so understanding and study together with me day and night. Special thanks to Dr. Anora, Dr. Cora who helped me so much and provided useful suggestions in my study. My earnest thanks to Kenneth and my buddies who organized study trips in Bristol and study group in Hong Kong. Last but not least, I would like to thank all the staffs of the Bristol EdD programme who have supported and helped in my study. CYBERBULLYING AMONG YOUTHS IN HK, MACAO AND GUANGZHOU 4 Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ 11 Chapter One: Introduction ........................................................................................................ 13 Background ........................................................................................................................................... 13 Researcher Experience Leading to this Study ................................................................................... 15 Pragmatist Epistemology ..................................................................................................................... 17 Significance of the Study ...................................................................................................................... 18 Research Goal ....................................................................................................................................... 19 Methodology .......................................................................................................................................... 21 Research Questions............................................................................................................................... 23 Organisation of the Thesis ................................................................................................................... 24 Chapter Two: Literature Review .............................................................................................. 25 Studies on Cyberbullying ..................................................................................................................... 25 Definitions of Cyberbullying ................................................................................................................ 27 Culture and Cyberbullying .................................................................................................................. 30 Gender and Cyberbullying .................................................................................................................. 31 Roles in Cyberbullying ......................................................................................................................... 32 Technology and Cyberbullying ........................................................................................................... 33 Digital Cultures of Young People ........................................................................................................ 36 Online Privacy and Gender ................................................................................................................ 37 Perceived Anonymity ......................................................................................................................... 39 Theories of Cyberbullying ................................................................................................................... 40 Ecological Systems Theory ................................................................................................................ 43 The Process ........................................................................................................................................ 44 The Context ........................................................................................................................................ 47 School and Peers System ............................................................................................................... 48 Family System ............................................................................................................................... 49 Exosystem & Macrosystem (Culture and Country Variation) ....................................................... 49 Technology and Ecological Systems ............................................................................................. 50 Chronosystem (Time) ......................................................................................................................... 53 Ecological Framework and Cyberbullying......................................................................................... 54 Forms and Measurement of Cyberbullying ....................................................................................... 55 Impacts of Cyberbullying .................................................................................................................... 58 CYBERBULLYING AMONG YOUTHS IN HK, MACAO AND GUANGZHOU 5 Helping hand in cyberbullying ............................................................................................................ 58 Rationale for the Current Research .................................................................................................... 59 Chapter Three: Research Design .............................................................................................. 63 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 63 Rationale for Utilising Mixed Methods............................................................................................... 66 Research