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This study explores how socioeconomic resources are related to trust in conventional businesses and e-businesses in China. Based on data collected in 2013 from three major cities, the authors found that people who perceived themselves as upper-class were more likely to trust both conventional businesses and e-businesses. Further analysis also suggested that people with self-perceived higher status were more likely to trust conventional businesses than e-businesses. The authors suggest that people with more socioeconomic resources are likely to be able to exchange their socioeconomic resources for other resources. They can command more resources to influence and extend their social network for their own benefit. In addition, those with more socioeconomic resources usually know how to utilize institutional arrangements to their benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning about political issues through the new core subject of Liberal Studies (LS) in senior secondary education in Hong Kong has become ‘socially problematic’ amid mounting concern of politicians and pundits who see a link between such learning and the recent waves of student protests. Using data from in-depth interviews with senior secondary students in Hong Kong, we explore how politically disengaged and engaged youth experienced their LS learning and how they perceived and made sense of the relationship between LS learning and political participation or its absence. Our findings indicate that while there appear to be circumstances that give rise to diversified learning experiences, LS has little bearing on youth political participation or otherwise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]