Designing of Mobile Social Media - Research Proposal Example

Consumer psychology The design for how mobile social media tackle with Bangor Chinese undergraduate career issues. Background information Bangor University is a cosmopolitan society with students from all over the world. Key among such minority groups are students of Chinese descent. Chinese students constitute a large group of undergraduate students in the society. They face myriad challenges owing to their nationality. Firstly, English is a second language to most of such students a feature that makes communication difficult for them. Unable to communicate effectively with the rest of the student fraternity, the Chinese students face difficulties as they strive to integrate with others in the new society. The large number of the students compounds the manifestation of the problems that students from other countries face in new societies. Integration is a vital process in the development of students in institutions of higher education. Group studies are vital learning techniques that lecturers use in ensuring that students develop holistically, the Chinese students among other students from different cultures face challenges trying to integrate with the rest in their bid to participate in the groups. Participation of the Chinese students thus remains limited to the social and cultural factors that inhibit their socialization. The use of mobile phones coupled with the advent of social media on the other hand has provided the Chinese students with several opportunities to facilitate both their learning and integration in the college. Among the common mobile social media that students use in the college, include Facebook, Twitter and Instagram among many others. The social media provide the students with virtual groups. The selection of friends and the development of friends and networks in the social media relies on the likes and preferences that the students exhibit. This implies that a student easily selects friends with whom they share several values. Among the values the students consider in the development of their networks include similarity in career options and similarity in cultures. Additionally, the students readily interact with other students willing to assist them settle in the new society. The mobile social media thus help the students develop into holistic scholars who can interact with others in the society thereby adopt to their new environment. Among the questions that the research therefore seeks to answer, include: What are the social challenges that Chinese undergraduate students face in the campus? What factors influence the selection of the mobile social media that the students use in their interactions? How does the media help overcome the challenges they face? Is there any other complication and challenge they face while using the mobile social media? In a summary, the cultural difference presents myriad challenges to foreign students at the Bangor University key among whom are the Chinese students. The University must investigate the trend with the view of providing solutions to some of the challenges that the research seeks to investigate. The dwindling number of Chinese students enrolling at the university is a portrayal of the underlying crisis at the university. The use of mobile social media may help the foreign students adapt and integrate in the new society but the new type of media may also further compounds the problems that the foreign students face. The immediacy with which the students share information on the media commands that the students should share positive information about the facility. Sharing negative information destroys the reputation of the university thereby possibly accounting for the dwindling number of Chinese students enrolling at the university. Pain of the University The cultural disparity in the university continues to frustrate the efforts by the management of the university to develop a unified social setup in which every student enjoys a sense of belonging in order to enhance learning. Such factors that frustrate the efforts of the management include the language barrier since most of the Chinese students have difficulties comprehending English, which is often their second language. Additionally, most of the students use unique social media and are not always ready to adopt other common application that the management uses in facilitating communication within the university. The problem that the management of the university faces is both attitudinal and behavioral since the Chinese students portray reluctance in the adoption of new social media and are not always ready to interact with other students in order to enhance their integration in the new society. Relevant Psychology Theories and Psychology Methods overview The Chinese students at the Bangor University have successively portrayed a disapproving attitude as they have refused to adopt the new social media such as Wechat that the management of the university has defined as the appropriate media of communication in the society. The research thus investigated the factors that influenced the negative attitude that the Chinese students have portrayed coupled with the large-scale manifestation of such attitude. The fact that the management of the university has failed to influence the students to adopt the new mobile social media portrays a failure of the methods that that the management have employed to counter the effects of the negative attitude. The manifestation of the refusal by Chinese students to adopt the new social media is evident with its effects being the dwindling number of Chinese students registering at the facility. The theory of planned action explains that if an individual indents to behave in a particular manner then the person will in did behave as such. The theory provides a conducive platform for investigating the behavior of the Chinese students in showing abject refusal to adopt the new mobile social media and using such as formal means of communication. The theory dictates that the behavior of an individual relies on both the attitude and subjective norms. The theory hints that the decision to snub the use of the new mobile social media is an inherent behavior that the university should investigate in order to address the problem. Additionally, the students share their thoughts on their own social media in their own language. Such factors inhibit the efforts by the management to reclaim the reputation of the university. As discussed earlier, the social media are spontaneous. This implies that the communication is equally spontaneous as the students share the information among themselves. Mobile social media are common in the contemporary society owing to the advantages of mobile phones. Mobile phones are personal and ever on, their mobility implies that users have the phones thus the social media at all times. This feature makes the media effective thus validating the decision of the management of the university to use social media in communicating vital information concerning the operation of the facility. However, the feature compounds the effects of the negative reputation of the university especially among the Chinese students who share such information among themselves in their own local dialects. This acts as an increased motivation for the students to snub the university as the number shows. The theory of planned behavior on the other hand investigates the relationship beliefs and behavior. Behaviors are inherent and motivated by the beliefs that people share. Beliefs on the other are cultivated for over a period through ideas that people share on a social feature. This way, the decisions to behave in a particular manner thus arises from the past ideas that influence the thoughts of individuals. Chinese students at Bangor for example have shared their grievances among themselves in their own dialects and in the unique social media. Furthermore, such students share their experiences with other Chinese some of who are prospective students at Bangor. This way, Chinese students develop beliefs about Bangor among other universities I the United Kingdom. This explains the dwindling number of Chinese students registering at the university. Methods The suggestion and solution technique provides realistic suggestions to the probable solutions and the factors contributing to the undesirable behavior of the Chinese students at Bangor University. Additionally, the technique provides the management with effective ways of measuring the effectiveness of the techniques. The decision to use WeChat as an official means of communication in the university is a cost effective way of managing communication at the university. However, the application has a negative reputation thereby requiring a prompt evaluation of the usability of the application as a medium of communication in the university. The management must therefore reconsider the suitability of the application. The management must concentrate on changing the attitudes of the Chinese students. The university requires an all-inclusive media of communication, one that has a cross-cultural appeal in order to appeal to the international community. The university needs rebranding with the view of appealing to the Chinese community. Additionally, the management requires an effective media of communication, one that will change the attitudes of the Chinese minority at the university. The problem is attitudinal a feature that influences the behavior of the students who shun integration and the use of the social media selected by the management (Ajzen, 2002). Anticipated timeline, possible challenges The research that runs for three month involved several activities in order to study the subject group effectively thereby making realistic solutions to the problem the university faces. Among the activities involved, include the analysis of the issues with the client. This involves obtaining the view of the university and investigating their thoughts on the manifestation of the problem. Other activities include coping with the ethnic issues involved in the research especially owing to the multi ethnic feature of the problem in the case. The researcher then specifies the theories and the methods to use in the research. Data collection is a vital process that will incorporate the investigation of the social problem and its manifestation in the society. The data collection methods used in the research includes the use of structure questioners that seek particular issues in the society. Additionally, the research uses interview as a data collection technique. Through interviews, the researcher engaged the respondents at personal levels. After obtaining the data, the researcher processes the information; make conclusions before complaining a conclusive report that explains the prevalence of the problems and the possible solutions recommended to the management of the university. Challenges The researchers encountered several challenges key among which included: Language barriers The difficulty in locating the minority Chinese group Results The manifestation of the problem in the university is a serious social feature that is having serious ramification on the growth and operation of the university. The research investigates the prevalence of the problem in both the university and society with the view of developing an appropriate rebranding of the university and devising an appropriate communication medium for the university. The medium must embrace the holistic nature of such vital processes as communication with the view of improving the reputation of the university thus increasing the enrollment of Chinese students to the university and facilitating effective communication between the management and the students’ fraternity. Benefits of project to partner The client’s primary objective was to counter the dwindling number of Chinese students at the university. The research found appropriate ways for the university to improve the reputation of the university thereby influencing the attractiveness of the institutions. By developing an all-inclusive model of communication through the social media, the university will develop an effective way of influencing the attitudes of the Chinese students a feature that will change their behavior thereby motivating the special group to appreciate integration. Reference Ajzen, I. (2002). Perceived Behavioral Control, Self-Efficacy, Locus of Control, and the Theory of Planned Behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 32, 665-683. Appendix 2 Questionnaire 1. Are you female or male? ☐ Female ☐ Male 2. Are you from northern or southern part of China? ☐ Northern ☐ Southern 3. The annual income of your family (per person per year) is ☐ More than ￥250’000 ☐ ￥250’000-￥100’000 ☐ ￥100’000-￥50’000 ☐ Less than ￥50’000 4. Have you ever find any difficulties in understanding English announcements from the university? ☐ Never ☐ Rarely ☐ Several times ☐ Frequently 5. Do you think you will pay more attention if you can get messages in Chinese from International Office? ☐ Not really ☐ Maybe ☐ Definitely 6. How often do you check your university e-mails? ☐ several times a day ☐ once a day ☐ less than once a day 7. If you get e-mails about academic activities in Bangor, to what extent will you pay attention to it? ☐ Not at all ☐ A little ☐hard to say ☐ Some ☐ Very much 8. If you get e-mails about social activities in Bangor, to what extent will you pay attention to it? ☐ Not at all ☐ A little ☐hard to say ☐ Some ☐ Very much 9. If you get e-mails about career skills development in Bangor, to what extent will you pay attention to it? ☐ Not at all ☐ A little ☐hard to say ☐ Some ☐ Very much 10. How often do you check the announcements on Bangor University’s Facebook account? ☐ several times a day ☐ once a day ☐ less than once a day 11. If you get Facebook messages about academic activities in Bangor, to what extent will you pay attention to it? ☐ Not at all ☐ A little ☐hard to say ☐ Some ☐ Very much 12. If you get Facebook messages about social activities in Bangor, to what extent will you pay attention to it? ☐ Not at all ☐ A little ☐hard to say ☐ Some ☐ Very much 13. If you get Facebook messages about career skills development in Bangor, to what extent will you pay attention to it? 14. ☐ Not at all ☐ A little ☐hard to say ☐ Some ☐ Very much 15. How often do you check your Wechat messages? ☐ several times a day ☐ once a day ☐ less than once a day 16. If International Office in Bangor University opens its account on Wechat, will you follow it? ☐ Not at all ☐ Maybe not ☐hard to say ☐ Maybe ☐ Definitely 17. If you get WeChat messages about academic activities in Bangor, to what extent will you pay attention to it? ☐ Not at all ☐ A little ☐hard to say ☐ Some ☐ Very much 18. If you get WeChat messages about social activities in Bangor, to what extent will you pay attention to it? ☐ Not at all ☐ A little ☐hard to say ☐ Some ☐ Very much 19. If you get Wechat messages about career skills development in Bangor, to what extent will you pay attention to it? ☐ Not at all ☐ A little ☐hard to say ☐ Some ☐ Very much 20. Do you think if you can communicate with International Office in Chinese on Wechat, you will get their support more efficiently? ☐ Not really ☐ Maybe ☐ Definitel 21. Do you think if you can get support on Wechat efficiently, you will feel more satisfied with your experience in Bangor? ☐ Not really ☐ Maybe ☐ Definitel 22. To what extent do you think your feedback about your experience in Bangor matters for the university? ☐ Not at all ☐ A little ☐hard to say ☐ Some ☐ Very much 23. Do you think if your feedback makes a difference, you will feel more satisfied with your experience in Bangor? ☐ Not really ☐ Maybe ☐ Definitely 24. Would you like to know more about “why choose Bangor University”? ☐ Not at all ☐ Maybe not ☐hard to say ☐ Maybe ☐ Definitely 25. Would you like to share any messages about Bangor University on your Wechat account? ☐ Not at all ☐ Maybe not ☐hard to say ☐ Maybe ☐ Definitely 26. Do you think you will comment positively about Bangor University on your Wechat? ☐ Not really ☐ Maybe ☐ Definitely Read More