Timothy K. F. FUNG 馮繼峯 Associate Professor and Programme Director of Organizational Communication Concentration
BSocSc, MPhil HKBU, PhD UW-Madison
(852) 3411-7381
tfung@hkbu.edu.hk
CVA Room 921

Dr. Timothy Fung’s research focuses on the processes of how people seek, process, interpret, and react to messages about issues related to health, environment, and science, as well as how media cover risk-related issues. His research in these areas appeared in top-ranked academic journals such as Journal of Health Communication, Health Communication, Science Communication, Energy Policy, Mass Communication & Society, and International Journal of Public Opinion Research.
Dr Fung’s work have been recognized by various organizations through research awards and grants. He received the Article of the Year Award and several top conference paper awards from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). He also awarded competitive grants from General Research Fund (GRF) of the Research Grant Council, and the Department of Health of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.
Community outreach is an integral part of Dr. Fung’s research. He has been making use of the knowledge out of his research on narrative persuasion to serve different health organizations to develop effective persuasive messages using animation and micro-movies. For example, he collaborated with the Renal Companion Association to develop theory-driven animated stories to persuade patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD) to adhere to treatment regimen, and the animated story was made into a DVD to distribute to patients. Local news media covered the project. In addition, he worked with the Hong Kong Society of Transplantation to design an evidence-based animated story, “Say Your Wish Save a Life” to promote family discussion about organ donation among young adults. The Department of Health of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government adopted the animated story for its organ donation promotion. This project was awarded the HKBU Knowledge Transfer Award in 2017.
Collaborated with the Primary Care Office of the Department of Health, Dr. Fung’s most recent knowledge transfer project was to develop a narrative-based videos to promote the idea of family doctor to parents of young children. The Public Service Announcement (PSA) has been broadcasting on TV stations in Hong Kong since January 2018 (Also see the Editor’s edition). Another 3-mintue narrative-based video has been showing on the Primary Care Office’s Youtube channel (Also see the Editor’s edition). Collaborated with The Hong Kong College of Family Physicians and the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong, Dr. Fung recently produced an explainer animation to promote the family doctor healthcare concept.
Research InterestsRisk Communication
Health Communication
Science Communication
Environmental Communication
PublicationsRefereed Journal Articles (Since 2007)

Siu J.Y.M., Fung, Timothy K. F., Leung H.M. (2019). Social and cultural construction processes involved HPV vaccine hesitancy among Chinese women: A qualitative study. International Journal for Equity in Health, 18(1), 147. doi: 10.1186/s12939-019-1052-9
Siu J.Y.M., Fung, Timothy K. F., Leung H.M. (2019). Barriers to receiving HPV vaccination among men in a Chinese community: A qualitative study in Hong Kong. American Journal of Men’s Health, 13(1), 1-13. doi: 10.1177/1557988319831912
Fung, Timothy K. F. (2019). The role of counterfactual thinking in narrative persuasion: Its impact on patients’ adherence to treatment regimen. Health Communication,?34(12), 1482-1493. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2018.1500432
* Article of the Year Award, Communicating Science, Health, Environment, and Risk Division, Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication

Fung, Timothy K. F., Yan, W. J., Akin, H. (2018). In the eye of the beholder: How news media exposure and audience schema affect the image of the United States among the Chinese public. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 30(3), 443-472. doi:10.1093/ijpor/edx01
Kim, S. C., Namkoong, K., Fung, Timothy K. F., Heo, K., Gunther, A. (2018). Understanding public opinion change of HPV vaccination controversy: Effect of exemplification and the mediating role of projection. Health Education, 118(5), 402-412. doi: 10.1108/HE-01-2018-0006
Fung, Timothy K. F., Griffin, R., & Dunwoody, S. (2018). Testing Links Among Uncertainty, Affect and Attitude Toward a Health Behavior in a Risky Setting. Science Communication, 40(1), 33-62. doi:10.1177/194?
Fung, Timothy K. F., Ng, Y. L., Lam, M. F., & Lee, Kelvin, K. W. (2017). Psychosocial factors predict nonadherence to PD treatment: A Hong Kong survey. Peritoneal Dialysis International, 37(3), 331-337
Fung, Timothy K. F., Lee, Kelvin, K. W., & Lam M. F. (2016). A formative research as the groundwork for designing evidence-based adherence promotion campaigns for patients on peritoneal dialysis. Journal of Communication in Healthcare, 9(2), 98-108
Chan, K., Siu, J., & Fung, Timothy K. F. (2016). Perception of acupuncture among users and non-users: A qualitative study. Health Marketing Quarterly, 33(1), 78-93
Chan, K., Tsang, L., & Fung, Timothy K. F. (2015). Consumers’ attitudes toward acupuncture: A quantitative study. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, 9(2), 158-17?
Fung, Timothy K. F., Choi, D. H., Scheufele, D. A., & Shaw, B. (2014). Public opinion about biofuels: The interplay between party identification and risk/benefit perception. Energy Policy,73, 344-355.
Edgerly, S., Vraga, E., Dalrymple, K., Macafee, T., Fung, Timothy K. F. (2013). Directing the dialogue: The relationship between YouTube videos and the comments they spur. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 10(3), 276-292
Namkoong, K., Fung, Timothy K. F., Scheufele, D. (2012). Politics of emotion: News media attention, emotional responses, and participation during the 2004 U.S. presidential election. Mass Communication & Society, 15(1), 25-45
Fung, Timothy K. F., Namkoong, K., & Brossard, D. (2011). Media, social proximity and risk: A comparative analysis of newspapers coverage of avian flu in Hong Kong and in the United States. Journal of Health Communication, 16(8), 889-907
Fung, Timothy K. F., Brossard, D., Ng, Isabella. (2011). There is water everywhere: How news framing amplifies the effect of ecological worldviews on preference for flooding protection policy. Mass Communication & Society, 14(5), 553-577
Ekdale, B., Namkoong, K., & Fung, Timothy K. F, Perlmutter, D. (2010). Why Blog? (Then and Now):?Exploring the Motivations for Blogging by Popular American Political Bloggers. New Media & Society, 12(2), 217-234
Fung, Timothy K. F. (2008). Banking with a personalized touch: Examining the impact of website customization on commitment. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 9(4), 296-390
Sheer, V. & Fung, Timothy K. F. (2007). Can email communication enhance professor-student relationship and the evaluation of a professor? Some empirical evidence. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 37(3), 289-306
Book Chapters
Zhao, X S. & Fung, Timothy K. F. (2014). Review of political communication. In J Hong. (Eds) Current trends in Communication Research. Beijing: Tsinghua University Press. [In Chinese]
Fung, Timothy K. F., & Scheufele, D. (2013). Social norms, spiral of silence, and framing effect: How social norms influence the way we respond to opinion disagreement and mediated messages? In W. Donsbach, C. Salmon, Y. Tsfati. (Eds) The impact of the spiral of silence theory: New perspectives on communication and public opinion. Taylor & Francis: London.
Fung, Timothy K. F., Vraga, E., & Thorson, K. (2010). When Bloggers Attack: Examining the Effect of Negative Citizen-Initiated Campaigning in the 2008 Presidential Election. In L. L. Kaid & J. A. Hendricks (Eds.).Techno-Politics and Presidential Campaigning: New Technologies, New Voices, New Voters, 83-101. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Research Report, Professional Magazine, Contract Research (Since? 2010)
Fung, Timothy K. F., & Chun, W. T. (2018). Intervention evaluation report for “My Family Doctor” promotional video. A Commissioned Research for Primary Care Office, Department of Health, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.
Fung, Timothy K. F., Yuen, Y. Y., Wong, L. K. (2017). Factors influencing the adoption of family doctors among young adults: A focus group study. A Commissioned Research for Primary Care Office, Department of Health, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.
Fung, Timothy K. F. (February 2014). Science versus the public: Using the case of Pneumococcal infection to discuss how to strengthen public health policy making', Media Digest, Radio Television Hong Kong, 14-15.
Selected Conference Papers & Presentation
Fung, Timothy K. F., Namkoong, K., Kim, J., Lai, P. Y. Integrating psychometric paradigm of risk and issue attention cycle: A study of risk information in news coverage of avian and swine influenza. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Virtual Conference, August 4-7, 2021. *Top Faulty Paper Award
Fung, Timothy K. F., Lai, P. Y., Griffin, R., Dunwoody, S. Examining antecedents to accuracy- and defense-motivated information insufficiency in the COVID-19 pandemic. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Virtual Conference, August 4-7, 2021. *Top Faulty Paper Award
Siu J.Y.M., Fung, Timothy K. F., Leung L.H.M. Barriers to receiving HPV vaccination among men in a Chinese community: A qualitative study in Hong Kong. Paper presented at the 23rd IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion, April 7-11, 2019, Rotorua, New Zealand.
Siu J.Y.M., Fung, Timothy K. F., Leung L.H.M. A qualitative study on the barriers to getting vaccinated against human papillomavirus among men in Hong Kong. Poster presented at the 32nd International Papillomavirus Conference in conjunction with AOGIN 2018, October 2-6, 2018, Sydney, Australia
Fung, Timothy K. F. The role of counterfactual thinking in narrative persuasion: Its impact on patients’ adherence to treatment regimen. Paper presented at the annual conference of Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Washington, D.C., August 6-9, 2018. *Top Faulty Paper Award
Fung, Timothy K. F. Risk Perception, efficacy belief, and safety climate: Information seeking for workplace health and safety among flight attendants. Paper presented at the annual conference of Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Washington, D.C., August 6-9, 2018.
Fung, Timothy K. F., Yan, W. J., Akin, H. In the eye of the beholder: How news media exposure and audience schema affect the image of the United States among the Chinese public. Paper presented at the annual conference of Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Chicago, IL., August 9-12, 2017.
Fung, Timothy K. F., Ng, Y. L., Lam, M. F., & Lee, Kelvin, K. W. A formative research for designing evidence-based adherence promotion campaigns for patients on peritoneal dialysis. Paper presented at the 1^st Public Relations Society of China and 9^th Public Relations and Advertising conference, Hong Kong, December 3-6, 2016.
Fung, Timothy K. F., Ng, Isabella, Lam, M. F., & Lee, K. W. K., Deciding to discuss organ donation with parents: An in-depth interview study with Chinese young adults. Paper presented at the 26^th International Congress of the Transplantation Society, Hong Kong, August 18-23, 2016.
Fung, Timothy K. F., Griffin, R., & Dunwoody, S. Testing Links Among Uncertainty, Affect and Attitude Toward a Health Behavior in a Risky Setting. Paper presented at the annual conference of Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, San Francisco, CA., August 6-9, 2015. *Top Three Faculty Papers Award
Fung, Timothy K. F., Lee, K. K. W., & Lam M. F. An Exploration of Sociopsychological Factors Associated With Suboptimal Adherence to Therapeutic Regimens Among Patients on Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis. Paper presented at the annual conference of International Communication Association, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 21-25 May, 2015.
Fung, Timothy K. F., Choi, D. H., Scheufele, D. A., & Shaw, B. Public opinion about biofuels: The interplay between party identification and risk/benefit perception. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of International Communication Association, Seattle, WA, USA, May 22-28, 2014.
Chan, K., Tsang, L., & Fung, Timothy K. F. Consumers’ attitudes toward acupuncture: A quantitative study. Paper presented at the International Conference on Research in Advertising (ICORIA), Amsterdam, the Netherland, June 26-28, 2014.
Chan, K., Siu, J., & Fung, Timothy K. F. Perception of acupuncture among users and non-users: A qualitative study. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the International Association for Intercultural Communication Studies, Vladivostok, Russia, October, 2013.
Fung, Timothy K. F. & Scheufele, D. A. Availability, cultural values and value-framing: Exploring how framing effects vary across cultures. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of AEJMC, Chicago, IL, August, 2012.
Kim, S. J., Fung, Timothy K. F., Brossard, D. Potential for cancer care or health threats producer?: Interaction effects of news frame and information processing style on further information seeking about nanotechnology. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of AEJMC, St. Louis, MO, August, 2011.
Fung, Timothy K. F. Akin, H., & Ryan, B. The window to the United States: Examining the effects of media exposure on Sino-American relations among the Chinese public. Paper presented at the annual convention of the Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research, Chicago, IL, November 2010
Edgerly, S., Vraga, E., Fung, Timothy K. F., Kdalrymple, K. & Macafee, T. Directing the dialogue: The relationship between Youtube videos and the comments they spur. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of AEJMC, Denver, Colorado, August, 2010.
Fung, Timothy K. F. & Hillback, E. Psychological Reactance and News Coverage of Health?? Risks: Examining the Moderating Role of Personality Traits on Perceived Threat and Freedom Restoration. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of Society of Risk Analysis. Maryland, December, 2009. **Top student paper (2^nd place)
Edgerly, S., Vraga, E., Fung, Timothy K. F., Moon, T. J., Veenstra, A., & Yoo, W. H. Youtube as a public sphere: The proposition 8 debate. Paper accepted for presentation at the Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers, Milwaukee, WI, October, 2009.
Fung, Timothy K. F. & Hillback, E. Health risk as a threat to freedom: Exploring the role of psychological reactance in reactions to West Nile Virus news coverage. Paper presented at Science Communication Interest Group, the Association for Journalism and Mass Communication Annual Conference, Boston, Aug. 200 **Eason Award for the Best Student Paper
Vraga, E., Thorson, K., Fung, Timothy K. F., & Meyer, H. Emotions vs.
cognitions? Testing competing models of response to a media message in
predicting participation. Paper presented at Communication Theory & Methodology Division, the Association for Journalism and Mass Communication Annual Conference, Boston, Aug. 200 **Top student paper?
Fung, Timothy K. F., Vraga, E., Thorson, K., & Meyer, H. When bloggers attack: Examining the effect of negative citizen-initiated campaigning in 2008 presidential election. Paper presented at Mass Communication & Society Division, the Association for Journalism and Mass Communication Annual Conference, Boston, Aug. 2000
Fung, Timothy K. F., Brossard, D., & Ng, I. There Is Water Everywhere: How News Framing Amplified the Effect of Ecological Worldviews on Preference for Flooding Protection Policy. Paper presented at Mass Communication Division, the International Communication Association, Chicago, May, 2009.
Namkoong, K., Thorson, K., Fung, Timothy K. F., & Bora, P. Uncivil Engagement: Linking Incivility to Political Participation Through Negative Emotions. Paper presented at Political Communication Division, the International Communication Association, Chicago, May, 2009.
Namkoong, K., Heo, K., Kim, S., Fung, Timothy K. F., & Gunther, A. Testing a Projection Explanation for Exemplar Effects. Paper presented at Mass Communication Division, the International Communication Association, Chicago, May, 2009.
Fung, Timothy K. F., Namkoong, N., & Brossard, D. Social Proximity and Risk: A Comparative Analysis of Media Coverage of Avian Flu in Hong Kong and in the United States. Paper presented at Science Communication Division, the Association for Journalism and Mass Communication Annual Conference, Chicago, Aug. 2008.
Namkoong, K., Fung, Timothy K. F. & Scheufele, D. The Politics of Emotion: Voter emotions, news media use and participation. Paper presented at Communication Theory and Methodology Division, the Association for Journalism and Mass Communication Annual Conference, Chicago, Aug. 2008.
Thorson, K., Fung, Timothy, K. F., & Vraga, E. How you feel makes you what you are: Partisan reactions to political incivility online. Paper presented at Communication Theory and Methodology Division, the Association for Journalism and Mass Communication Annual Conference, Chicago, Aug. 2008.
Ekdale, , Namkoong, K., Fung, Timothy K. F. Hussain, M., Arora, M. & Perlmutter, D. From Expression to Influence: Understanding the Change in Blogger Motivations over the Blogspan. Paper presented at Communication Technology Division, the Association for Journalism and Mass Communication Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., Aug. 2007.
Awards/Grants/Honors1. Honors and Awards
? Top Faculty Paper Award, Communicating Science, Health, Environment, and Risk Division, Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication (2021).
? Article of the Year Award, Communicating Science, Health, Environment, and Risk Division, Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication (2020)
? School/Faculty Performance Award in Scholarly Work, the President’s Award Scheme, HKBU (2019)
? Top Faculty Paper Award, Communicating Science, Health, Environment, and Risk Division, Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication (2018).
? Outstanding Performance in Scholarly Work, School of Communication, HKBU (2018).
? Knowledge Transfer Award, Knowledge Transfer Committee, HKBU, (2017).
? Top Three Faculty Papers (with Robert Griffin and Sharon Dunwoody), Communication Theory & Methodology Division,Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication (2015)
? Knowledge Transfer Award Nominee Finalist, Knowledge Transfer Committee, HKBU (2015, 2019)
? Helen Firstbrook Franklin Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship (2010)
? Top Student Paper (Second Place), (with Elliott Hillback), Risk Communication Specialty Group, Society for Risk Analysis (2009)
? Eason Award for the Best Student Paper (with Elliott Hillback), Science Communication Interest Group, Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication (2009)
? Top Student Paper (with Emily Vraga and Kjerstin Thorson), Communication Theory & Methodology Division, Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication (2009)
? Sir Edward Youde Memorial Research Fellowship, Sir Edward Youde Memorial Foundation (2001)
? Outstanding Research Award, Chinese Communication Society (2000)
2. Research Grants
? Principal investigator, Research Impact Support & Enhancement Fund, HKBU (2021)
? Principal investigator, Initiation Grant for Faculty Niche Research Areas, HKBU (2020)
? Principal investigator, Primary Care Office, Department of Health, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (2017)
? Principal investigator, General Research Fund (GRF), University Grant Council (UGC), Hong Kong (2015, 2020)
? Co-investigator, General Research Fund (GRF), University Grant Council (UGC), Hong Kong (2016)
? Principal investigator, Knowledge Transfer Partnership Seed Fund, HKBU (2015, 2017)
? Co-investigator, Knowledge Transfer Partnership Seed Fund, HKBU (2013)
? Principal investigator, Faculty Research Grant II, HKBU (2017, 2016, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011)
? Principal investigator, Faculty Research Grant I, HKBU (2016)
3. Teaching Grant
? Principal investigator, Service-Learning Mini-Grant Grant, HKBU (2019)
? Co-investigator, Service-Learning Mini-Grant Grant, HKBU (2020, 2021)
Media interviews1.Horizons
2. Research & Impact@HKBU