Gloria Ma

ResearchGate

ttps://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gloria_Ma4

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gloria-yuet-kwan-ma-235677a3/

Primary research areas

Environmental and design psychology, rehabilitation psychology, and community psychology

Specific research topics cutting across but not limited to: Socio-ecological approach to well-being; social diversity and stigmatization; universal design architectural accessibility and universal design; International Symbol of Access; social justice and collective actions in terms of crowdsourced accessibility mapping, disability experiential simulation, and disability advocacy

Bio

I joined the Lab in 2011; and I received my B.S.Sc in Psychology from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2014. I finished my undergraduate thesis regarding caregiving-specific worry and affiliate stigma among caregivers of children with physical disability under the supervision of Prof. Winnie Mak. I am awarded a Hong Kong PhD Fellowship by the Research Grants Council, Hong Kong, to pursue a PhD study in Psychology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong commencing from September 2014. I am currently working on my doctoral dissertation on the associations of perception of the International Symbol of Access and ableism.

Living with congenital muscular dystrophy as a power wheelchair user, I aspire to make full use of my personal experiences of living with disability and research training to boost disability research to promote social inclusion. On top of research pursuit, I actively participate in social advocacy, e.g. sharing of message of universal design and social inclusion as guest speakers at various organizations and media platforms. I also co-founded “Wheel Power Challenge” [https://www.facebook.com/wheelpowerchallenge/; “Wheel Power Charity Limited” with the Registered Company No.: 2534918, HKSAR], which organizes a series of experiential programs to cultivate empathy, to volunteer mapping of environmental accessibility from a positive and universal perspective, and to engage the community members in collective actions for disability advocacy.

Selected publications and conference presentations

Mak, W. W. S., Mo, P. K. H., Ma, G. Y. K., & Lam, M. Y. Y. (2017). Meta-analysis and systematic review of studies on the effectiveness of HIV stigma reduction programs. Social Science & Medicine, 188, 30-40.

Ma, G. Y. K., & Mak, W. W. S. (2016). Caregiving-specific worry, affiliate stigma, and perceived social support on Psychological distress of children with physical disability in Hong Kong. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 86(4), 436-446.

Ma, G. Y. K., Mak, W. W. S. (2016, November). Promotion of social wellbeing from civic engagement among the youth: Perspectives of sense of place and age. Poster presentation at the BeHealth 2 Conference, Hong Kong Society of Behavioral Health, Hong Kong.

Ma, G. Y. K., & Mak, W. W. S. (2016, August). Positive and negative components of self-compassion and affiliate stigma among caregivers of children with physical disability. Rapid paper presentation at the 23rd International Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, Nagoya, Japan.

Ma, G. Y. K., Yang, S. X., Chan, R. C. H., & Mak, W. W. S. (2016, August). Association between condom-use negotiation skills and actual condom use: Moderating role of the environmental context. Poster presentation at the 23rd International Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, Nagoya, Japan.

Ma, G. Y. K., & Mak, W. W. S. (2016, July). The moderating role of self-compassion in the relationship between anticipated architectural inaccessibility and perceived stigma. Oral presentation presented at the 31st International Congress of Psychology, Yokohama, Japan.

Ma, G. Y. K. (2016, January). Wheel Power Challenge: Fostering social inclusion through co-creation of accessibility map and inclusive workcamps in local community. Oral presentation at the International Behavioral Health Conference 2016, Hong Kong.

Key awards

Overall Champion and The Best Production Award, The “M21 video advertisement-making competition” organized by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Group which aimed at promoting community inclusion, 2015-2016
Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fellowship for Disabled Students 2015
Hong Kong PhD Fellowship 2014-15, Research Grants Council, HKSAR
HSBC Hong Kong Scholarship 2013-2014
Sir Edward Youde Memorial Scholarships for Disabled Students 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011
Outstanding Research Award, I.CARE Research and Studies Scheme 2011-2012, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Sir Edward Youde Memorial Awards for Disabled Students 2009, 2010

Funding received

“Wheel We Meet?@CUHK”: A collective action for promoting social and spatial inclusion of people with physical disability. Sponsored by the Programme on Promoting Understanding of Special Educational Needs 2016-2017 [for projects promoting the awareness of special educational needs in campus], The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Ecological approach to the association of justice and well-being: A closer examination into spatial justice. Funded by The Sustainable Development Goals Programme 2016, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Co-investigator; HKD50000).
Funding of HKD$10000 for carrying out social innovation projects with Wheel Power Challenge to promote social inclusion offered by Dream Plan, La Violet Charity Foundation Limited, 2015
Negotiating safer sex in Chinese culture: A comparative study of rural and urban China. Funded by The CUHK Millennium Development Goals Programme 2014-15, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Co-investigator; HKD50000).
Engaging the majority in anti-stigma collective action: An extension of the Social Identity Model of Collective Action. Funded by The CUHK Direct Grant for Research 2014-15, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Co-investigator; HKD50000)
Effects of anticipated architectural barrier and perceived stigma on social participation and psychological adjustment among people with physical disability in Hong Kong. Funded by The I.CARE Programme (Research and Study) 2013-2014, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Principal investigator).
Parental stress in parents of children with physical disability in Hong Kong. Funded by The I.CARE Programme (Research and Study) 2011-2012, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Principal investigator)