The Social Attitude to Genetically Modified Crops in Contemporary China: a Data Analysis of 1800...
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The Social Attitude to Genetically Modified Crops in Contemporary China:
a Data Analysis of 1800 Weibo Users
Hui YuSociology Department of Fudan Univer
sity, Shanghai
Introduction
• Thirty years of reform and opening up in China :
• Chinese social structure changes, especially economic and social structure;
• Class differentiation;• Interests diversification;
The origin of this study
Social attitudes polarized to some extent.
Social media has become an important expression platform of social attitudes.
•
How about people's social attitude in various aspects?Corruption, house price, redistribution, environmental protection, hukou and so on.
what are the major factors that influence people's social attitude in present China?
it is a complex question
People's social attitude changed and polarized
During the past few years, we concentrated on the sub group’s social attitudes in social media.
People's social attitude information collected via social media(Weibo)
Why it could be possible?• First, a great numble of people can read, expres
s and disscuss with others on the social media.• Second, netizen independent expression throug
h social media reflect their social attitude.• Third, social media provides a way for the wide d
issemination and alienation of social attitude.
Data collection
Probability proportionate to size sampling (PPS)– We obtain 1800 Sina weibo users of 36 social
status groups, recently. Traced blog post fromJuly, 2013 to July, July, 2014.questionnair: 7parts, 345 variables1 month for data collect.
Observational method Content analysis method
Netizens' Social Attitudes in Social Media
Genetically Modified CropsClass IdentitySocial Emotions12 hot issuesand so on
Background, two fuse: 1 、 Cui Yongyuan and Fang Zhouzi, from network debate to abuse , then on the court.2 、 CCTV said trace transgenic ( 2014.7.26 )
• Former CCTV television host:
Cui Yongyuan • Fang Zhouzi
Some information of the debate, abuse and the news on the court have been deleted.
GM crops debates in China
The GM crops
• supporters: we believe in science, or shortage of food need GM crops, and so on.
• opponents: some support maybe bought by interest group.
• The subtext is that the interest group grow stronger in the process of reform and opening up,
In social media, GM crops not science or technology problem
At present:• Rumors proliferating.• Anti-GM crops in social media became someone's vocati
on.• Some people attempt to be well-known through reverse
GM crops in social media.• Government afraid to be related to GM crops.• The work activity of researches who major in GM crops h
ave been cracked down.
Measurement
• What is the social attitude of weibo users toward genetically modified crops?– support;– reverse;– unable to determine.
• Other influences have been measured in our questionnaire.
Attitude Toward Genetically Modified Crops(N=287)
AttitudeFrequenc
y
Percent
(%)
Val idpercent
(%)
Support 51 2.8 17.8
Reverse 236 13.1 82.2
Unable to
determine
1513 84.1 ——
Total 1800 100.0 100.0
more opponents than supportors
Age and Attitude Toward Genetically Modified Crops
Atti tude after1990
between1980-1989
between1970-1979
between1960-1969
before1960
Support3
27.3%1112.1%
912.7%
512.8%
522.7%
Reverse8
72.7%8087.9%
6287.3%
3487.2%
1777.3%
Total11
100.0%91
100.0%71
100.0%39
100.0%22
100.0%Pearson Chi -Square=3.403,df=4,si g. (2-si ded)=0. 493
No significant correlation between age and attitude toward genetically modified crops.
Living Area And the Attitude Toward Genetically Modified Crops
• No significant correlation between living area and attitude toward genetically modified crops.
Atti tude East middlepart West NortheastHongkong,
Macao, Taiwan,
Abroad
Support3517.1%
619.4%
418.2%
0.0%
523.8%
Reverse17082.9%
2580.6%
1881.8%
6100.0%
1676.2%
Total205100.0%
31100.0%
22100.0%
6100.0%
21100.0%
Pearson Chi -Square=1.954,df=4,si g. (2-si ded)=0. 744
Education And The Attitude Toward Genetically Modified Crops
• No significant correlation between education and attitude toward genetically modified crops.
Atti tudeGraduate
and aboveUndergraduate
J unior col lege &
vocational col lege
High school
and below
Support1523.1%
1211.2%
214.3%
0.0%
Reverse5076.9%
9588.8%
1285.7%
5100.0%
Total65
100.0%107100.0%
14100.0%
5100.0%
Pearson Chi -Square=5.357,df=3,si g. (2-si ded)=0.147
Different social status Groups Have Different Attitude Toward Genetically Modified Crops
• However, significant relationship between social status and attitude toward genetically modified crops in statistic
Atti tude BussinessmanIntel lectual &
technical
personnel
UnderclassParty &governmentpersonnel , civi l
servants
Reverse3186.1%
10876.1%
5393.0%
4484.6%
Support5
13.9%3423.9%
47.0%
815.4%
Total36
100.0%142100.0%
57100.0%
52100.0%
Pearson Chi -Square=8.787,df=3,si g. (2-si ded)=0. 032
Media trust is a key factor
• Food security feeling, political trust and interpersonal trust havn't significant correlation to the social attitude toward genetically modified crops.
• however, media trust significant, trust media and reversal gene crops.
• when controlled other individual characteristic variables in regression model, media trust still significant.
Different Media Trust, Different Attitude Toward Genetically Modified Crops
• Significant correlation between media trust and attitude toward GM crops.
Attitude Di strust Trust
Support6
25.0%
18
10.2%
Reverse18
75.0%
158
89.8%
Total24
100.0%
176
100.0%
Pearson Chi -Square=4.365,df=1,si g. (2-si ded)=0.037
How about the interaction between social status and media trust?
Significant relation:– social status – Media trust
Table7 Correlation Analysis of Occupation, media trust
and Atti tude Toward GMCrops
mediatrust
Occupation Support Reverse
Distrust
Bussinessman2
22.2%
7
77.8%
Intel lectual &technical
personnel
3
60.0%
2
11.1%
Underclass0
.0%
7
100.0%
Party &government
personnel , civi l servants1
33.3%
2
66.7%
Pearson Chi -Square=5. 748,df=3,si g. (2-si ded)=0. 125
Trust
Bussinessman1
5.9%
16
94.1%
Intel lectual &technical
personnel14
17.5%
66
82.5%
Underclass0
.0%
43
100.0%
Party &government
personnel , civi l servants3
8.3%
33
91.7%
Pearson Chi -Square=9. 998,df=3,sig. (2-si ded)=0. 019
Pearson Chi -Square=12.087,df=3,si g. (2-si ded)=0. 007
In the sample:
• Distrust media, social status havn’t significant influence;
• Trust media, social status have significant influence.
social status would influence people’s attitude toward GM crops, and it’s effect partly explained by the media trust.
Conclusions and Discussion
• Media trust significantly affect people’s attitude toward transgenic, and it's an important factor on the formation of people’s attitude.
Looking Ahead
• It's a exploratory analysis, media trust maybe a key variable that can explain social attitude toward different social topics.
• More work need to be put into this subject.