ICTs and Opinion Expression: An Empirical Study of New-Generation Migrant Workers in Shanghai

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the opinion expression of new-generation migrant workers and empirically examine its relationship with ICTs in China. It differentiates two kinds of problems that the migrant workers encounter, labour rights problems and personal emotion problems, as well as three types of expressive channels, interpersonal networks, new media, and institutional channels. By analysing the data from a questionnaire survey conducted in Shanghai of China (N D 869), we find that when faced with realistic problems, the intention of expression among newgeneration migrant workers is relatively high on the whole. In terms of expressive channels, they would like to express more via interpersonal network, followed by new media channels, and least via institutional channels. The online news and online interaction have been found to be significantly related to the expressive intention through new media, although they have no direct impact on offline expression. We conclude this chapter by discussing the academic and practical implications of this study.

Impact of Information Society Research in the Global South

“…Zhou (2015) in his chapter 'ICTs and opinion expression: An empirical study of newgeneration migrant workers in Shanghai' examines the basic pattern and antecedents of Chinese rural-to-urban migrant workers' intentions to express themselves, finding that new media channels have become an important space for discussing problems. Intermediaries such as the media (especially online media) have become essential in influencing people's understanding of policies and issues and can foster better understanding among stakeholders of diverse backgrounds and capacities.…”

“…Chib et al from the perspective of user adoption of information technology (Min et al 2008;Zhou 2015). Many researchers examined mobile banking as an emerging ICT artefact 112 A.…”

“…With the rapid expansion of the Internet across various social strata, it also gained a striking penetration among the group of new-generation migrant workers. An earlier survey conducted in Shanghai found that 75.4 % of new-generation migrant workers are Internet users, among whom 74.5 % are reading bulletin board system (BBS), 65 % are posting messages on BBS or online forums, 76.4 % are reading blogs (including microblogs), and 65 % of them are writing their personal blogs or microblogs (Zhou and Lu 2011). In this sense, they are "information have-less".…”

The Impact of mFinance Initiatives in the Global South: A Review of the Literature

“…The largest group of studies (n D 29) investigated the reasons for technology adoption, with some using theoretical models for explanation or validation of the findings. Many researchers examined mobile banking as an emerging ICT artefact from the perspective of user adoption of information technology (Min et al 2008;Zhou 2015). The most commonly used theories in information technology adoption included the theory of reasoned action and its extensions, the technology acceptance model (TAM), the extended TAM and the unified theory of use and acceptance of technology.…”

Research on the Impact of the Information Society in the Global South: An Introduction to SIRCA

“…Intermediaries such as the media (especially online media) have become essential in influencing people's understanding of policies and issues and can foster better understanding among stakeholders of diverse backgrounds and capacities. Zhou (2015) in his chapter 'ICTs and opinion expression: An empirical study of newgeneration migrant workers in Shanghai' examines the basic pattern and antecedents of Chinese rural-to-urban migrant workers' intentions to express themselves, finding that new media channels have become an important space for discussing problems. Zhou concludes that since the availability of online platforms and mobile phones have the ability to empower migrant workers, policymakers and social activists may get inspirations from these findings to consider designing effective campaigns via online platforms to facilitate the active opinion expression among new-generation migrant workers in China.…”