TY - JOUR
T1 - Globalization and people's interest in foreign affairs
T2 - A comparative survey in Hong Kong and Taipei
AU - Lee, Francis L.F.
AU - He, Zhou
AU - Lee, Chin Chuan
AU - Lin, Wanying
AU - Yao, Mike Z.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research received funding support from the Center of Communication Research at the City University of Hong Kong.
PY - 2012/4
Y1 - 2012/4
N2 - Globalization signifies the increasing interconnectedness among different parts of the world. But few studies have examined whether and how the processes of globalization relate to people's interests in foreign affairs. This study tackles the question at the individual level. It identifies transnational social connections, willingness to move abroad, foreign language abilities, and perceived impact of globalization as four factors representing people's connections with and orientations toward the processes of globalization. These four factors are hypothesized as correlates of people's interest in foreign affairs. Analysis of a comparative survey (N = 1117) conducted in Hong Kong and Taipei generally supports the hypotheses, but the results also show that social contexts may shape the strengths of the relationships among different factors. The analysis also explores the problematic of causality. The results suggest that some, but not all, aspects of individuals' connections with globalization can influence interest in foreign affairs.
AB - Globalization signifies the increasing interconnectedness among different parts of the world. But few studies have examined whether and how the processes of globalization relate to people's interests in foreign affairs. This study tackles the question at the individual level. It identifies transnational social connections, willingness to move abroad, foreign language abilities, and perceived impact of globalization as four factors representing people's connections with and orientations toward the processes of globalization. These four factors are hypothesized as correlates of people's interest in foreign affairs. Analysis of a comparative survey (N = 1117) conducted in Hong Kong and Taipei generally supports the hypotheses, but the results also show that social contexts may shape the strengths of the relationships among different factors. The analysis also explores the problematic of causality. The results suggest that some, but not all, aspects of individuals' connections with globalization can influence interest in foreign affairs.
KW - Foreign language abilities
KW - Globalization
KW - Interest in foreign affairs
KW - Perceived impact of globalization
KW - Transnational social connections
KW - Willingness to move abroad
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U2 - 10.1177/1748048511432604
DO - 10.1177/1748048511432604
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84859031353
SN - 1748-0485
VL - 74
SP - 221
EP - 239
JO - International Communication Gazette
JF - International Communication Gazette
IS - 3
ER -