TTLA: Rumors and Rumor Generation in Semi-Public Spaces (Case Study of Coffee Shops in Hanoi)

1. Full name of the researcher:Lu Thi Mai Oanh2. Gender: Female

3. Date of birth: April 20, 1987 4. Place of birth: Nghe An.

5. Decision on recognition of PhD students No. 3684/QD-XHNV dated December 31, 2015 by the President of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities

6. Changes in training process: No

7. Thesis topic: Rumors and rumor formation in semi-public spaces(Case study)pcoffee shops in Hanoi).

8. Major: Sociology 9. Code: 62310301

10. Scientific advisor: Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quy Thanh

11. Summary of new results of the thesis:

- This study shows that in semi-public spaces, through social media channels and interpersonal communication, the public engages in discussions on a wide range of topics not only related to individuals or social groups but also to topics in the public sphere. The results of the study show that there are significant differences in the topics discussed and disseminated according to gender, education level, and occupation.

- There are two basic processes of rumor formation or transformation: “from untruth to believe as true and sometimes change behavior” and “from one content to another”. Through the “personal lens” (such as needs, interests, concerns, etc.) of individuals and groups, “stories” are created that are conveyed with more detailed and reasonable content for them. The spatial context with high uncertainty (for example, the context of natural disasters) and ambiguous information content also play an important role in the emergence of rumors.

- Rumors cannot develop without mechanisms that guide the process of transmitting information between individuals and groups. Due to the different reception of information and the psychological and social backgrounds of the transmitters, the individual transmitters often receive information and transmit their own backgrounds, leading to changes in content. In particular, the mechanism of transmitting rumors is often emphasized according to four rules: re-exchange with additional emphasis on the seriousness of the news, adding and simplifying details of the content, and re-exchanging information according to one's own judgment. However, the rules are often expressed in their own way in each different space and through the multi-dimensional communication process.

- Due to the lack of sufficient information, it is often difficult for individuals to assess the accuracy of rumors. Therefore, to limit rumors, it is necessary to focus on increasing the provision of sufficient, transparent, and timely information. In addition, personal and organizational responsibility for the information released or transmitted needs to be emphasized more.

- Coffee shops - semi-public spaces in Vietnam have created an environment suitable for the cultural and social characteristics of Vietnamese people to become a place for information exchange and a foundation for the formation and development of rumors. The study has basically achieved the set objectives and the research questions have been clarified through qualitative and quantitative evidence. However, the study still has limitations such as only focusing on clarifying the process of social interaction without studying and analyzing in depth the diversity of typical rumors in specific contexts according to each time point to have a perspective and evaluate the mechanism of formation and spread of rumors from more aspects.

12. Practical applicability: (if any): Used as reference material in teaching the subject of sociology of communication and public opinion.

13. Further research directions: Further research on typical cases of rumors in different contexts.

14. Published works related to the project:

- Lu Thi Mai Oanh, Nguyen Quy Thanh (2018), “Mechanism of rumor dissemination in semi-public spaces: Case study of coffee shops in Hanoi”,Journal of Sociology(2), pp. 37-49.

- Lu Thi Mai Oanh (2018), “Conditions for the emergence of rumors: Overview of the problem and research methods”,Education and Society Magazine(1), pp. 314-319.

- Lu Thi Mai Oanh (2018), “Classifying rumors in semi-public spaces: A case study of coffee shops in Hanoi”,Journal of Social Psychology(11), pp. 13-22.

- Nguyen Quy Thanh, Lu Thi Mai Oanh (2019), "The mechanism of rumor transmission in semi-public spaces, approached from sociological research",Journal of Political Science Information(1), pp. 75-77.

- Lu Thi Mai Oanh, Nguyen Quy Thanh (2019), “Social network theory in rumor research”,Vietnam Journal of Social Sciences(8), pp. 68-76.

INFORMATION ON DOCTORAL THESIS

1. Full name:Lu Thi Mai Oanh2. Sex: Female

3. Date of birth: April 20, 1987 4. Place of birth: Nghe An

5. Admission decision number: 3684/QD-XHNV December 31, 2015.

6. Changes in academic process: No

7. Official thesis title: Rumor and its formation in semi-public spaces(An accumulative case studies in selected cafe in Hanoi).

8. Major: Sociology 9. Code: 62310301

10. Supervisors: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quy Thanh

11. Summary of the new findings of the thesis:

- This research shows that in semi public space, via social media and interpersonal communication channel, the publics engaged in diverse discussion topics ranging from individual, group and public affairs and matters. It shows a significant difference in the discussion topics by gender, education level and occupation.

- There are two ways of forming a rumor: “from none to something” and “from one content to another content”. Through “personal lenses”, transmitted “story” are supplied with more details and become more regional. The context of a high level of uncertainty (for example, natural disaster) and the ambiguity of the content play an important role in forming rumors.

- Rumor cannot be created without a transmission mechanism for interpersonal and inter-group information. Due to receptivity, the psychological backgrounds of transmitters are different. Therefore, their rumors are transmitted based on their background and receptivity, which leads to distortion of the content. In that, transmission mechanism is complied with the laws, including increasing of importance, sharpening, simplifying and re-telling according to individual's judgment. However, the laws of rumor transmission are deferred from private, public, and semi-public space and via multi-facetted communication.

- Because of the lack of information, rumor transmitters are difficult to evaluate the accuracy of a rumor. Hence, to eliminate rumors, it is crucial to provide sufficient information, transparency, and timely. Additional, personal and corporate responsibility in information disclosure must be strengthened.

The cafe, a semi-public space in Vietnam creates an environment suitable to sociocultural characteristics of Vietnam which can be a realm for information exchange and ground for forming and developing rumors. Overall speaking, the research has fulfilled the objectives and answers to a certain extent of the aforementioned questions. However, the research also has limitations, for example, the focus made on social interaction, but there is a lack of deeper investigations and chronological analysis about rumor diversity. This will bring more understandings about the mechanism of rumor forming and transmission from multiple perspectives.

12. Practical applicability, if any: Used as a reference in teaching communication sociology, public opinion.

13. Further research directions, if any: Further research on typical rumor cases in different contexts.

14: Thesis-related publications:

- Lu Thi Mai Oanh, Nguyen Quy Thanh (2018), “Diffusing mechanism of rumor in semi-public spaces: A study of cafe-shops in Hanoi”,Sociology(2), pp. 37-49.

- Lu Thi Mai Oanh (2018), “Conditions for rumor rising: overview and research method”,Journal of Education and Society(1), pp. 314-319.

- Lu Thi Mai Oanh (2018), “Classification of rumors in semi-public spaces: A study of cafe -shops in Hanoi”,VASP Journal of social psychology(11), pp. 13-22.

- Nguyen Quy Thanh, Lu Thi Mai Oanh (2019), "The mechanism of spreading rumors in semi-public spaces. A sociological perspective",Journal of Political Science Information(1), pp. 75-77.

- Lu Thi Mai Oanh, Nguyen Quy Thanh (2019), “Theory of Social Network in Study of Rumours (8),Journal of Vietnam Academy of social sciences(8), pp. 68-76.