Terrorism‐Centric Behaviors and Adversarial Threat Awareness*

This article estimates situational awareness in a diverse collection of police officers with respect to their individual ability to identify nine key behaviors that are indicative of terrorism activity. The selected group of police officers was drawn from state, county, and municipal law enforcement organizations. The terrorist‐centric behaviors were presented to the test group in multicomponent text‐based scenarios that emulate real‐world police events and respondents were instructed to rate each scenario component on an 11‐point Likert‐type suspicion scale. With the exception of terrorist fundraising, law enforcement personnel tended to view all of the terrorist‐centric activities and behaviors as at least “somewhat suspicious.” The activities that could also be associated with “conventional” criminality such as weapons acquisition received higher ratings than those activities more exclusively related to terrorism such as recruiting. We also noted statistically significant differences based on agency type, officers’ assignment (patrol or detective), experience, gender, agency size, and education. Race had no effect.     

Indigenous people policing indigenous people: the potential psychological and cultural costs

This research reports on the link between feelings of spirituality and how Navajo police officers tend to enforce European-based law. Previous research suggests that a link exists between the officers’ depth of feeling of spirituality and the officers’ attitude toward the effectiveness traditional methods of social control; however, this research goes a step further and examines the impact of cultural dissonance on the stressors faced by Navajo police officers. The enforcement behavior of the Navajo officers was used as a proxy for the intensity of their feelings concerning the usefulness of traditional versus European-based forces of social control; the underlying assumption being tested is that self-determination is not only a state of law but a state of psychological being. A snowball method of sample development was used to select officers for intensive interviews. The findings suggest that the officers’ feeling of spiritual connectedness to his/her culture is inversely related to the strictness of the enforcement of European-based laws. In other words, the more spiritual the officer, the less likely the officer is to rely solely on European-based laws, and the greater the reliance on other methods of problems solving. The finding also suggest that in addition to the stressors normally encounter by all police officers, Navajo officers faced additional stressors that are specific to indigenous officers policing in indigenous communities.     

"Anything Can Happen With Police Around": Urban Youth Evaluate Strategies of Surveillance in Public Places

In order to document urban youth experiences of adults in positions of public authority, including police, educators, social workers and guards, a broad based street survey of 911 New York City-based urban youth was conducted in which youth, stratified by race, ethnicity, gender and borough, were asked about their experiences with, attitudes toward, and trust of adult surveillance in communities and in schools. In-depth telephone interviews were conducted with 36 youth who have experienced serious, adverse interactions with police, guards, or educators. Findings suggest that urban youth, overall, express a strong sense of betrayal by adults and report feeling mistrusted by adults, with young men of color most likely to report these perceptions.     

Dilemmas in the daily work of social insurance officers

Social insurance officers, through their work with rehabilitation, have become an important part of the welfare state. The aim of this study was to explore the nature of the dilemmas they experience in their daily work using the critical incident technique. Dilemmas reported concerned 1) cooperation with other agents in the rehabilitation process, 2) internal social insurance routines and 3) direct client management. Consequences of dilemmas were delayed handling, extra work, emotional strain and ethical conflicts. The dilemmas were handled through continued rehabilitation, coordination measures and decision-making. The findings showed the division of medical investigation and benefit decision in two authorities, the lack of education in behavioral sciences among the officers and divergent goals in different authorities. Further studies are needed on the rehabilitation process as well as the daily practice of social insurance officers.     

Occupational socialization and cynicism toward prison administration

Corrections officers occupy a crucial position in the institutional organization of prisons, and translate the policies and goals of prison administrations into action. This study focuses on the formation of cynicism toward prison administration and the factors that foster or inhibit it. I examine this type of cynicism by using questionnaire data from 198 first-line corrections officers at a medium-sized, medium security state prison. Cynicism toward prison administration peaks among officers in their first month of duty. However, cynicism declines with increased experience among officers who endorse rehabilitative goals, but does not decline among those who do not endorse such goals. Additionally, stress and frustration and perceived influence on administrative superiors are consistently related to cynicism toward prison administration among all officers. The data suggest that a subculture of cynical officers may form among first-line officers due to variations in occupational socialization processes. Three conceptual themes from symbolic interactionist theories of occupational socialization are presented that could lead to improvements in future research on corrections officers.     

初婚年龄的影响因素分析——基于CGSS2006的研究

本文基于“2006年中国综合社会调查”（CGSS2006）数据,使用事件史分析方法,探讨了城乡居民初婚年龄的变化趋势及其社会经济原因。研究发现,教育、职业和家庭的社会经济特征对初婚年龄有着显著的影响,并表现出性别和户籍差异。教育程度对女性初婚年龄的推迟效应大于男性,高等教育对农村户籍女性初婚年龄的推迟效应大于城市户籍女性,技术类职业相比非技术非管理类职业,对农村户籍男性居民的初婚年龄有着显著的提前效应。在城市户籍居民中,父母的教育程度越高,子女的初婚年龄越晚;兄弟姐妹越多,初婚年龄越早。对城市和农村户籍居民而言,父亲从事管理类职业对儿子的初婚年龄均有显著的提前效应,而且对农村户籍居民的影响要高于城市户籍居民。     

Environmental Vulnerability in Public Perceptions and Attitudes: The Case of Israel's Urban Centers

Objective. This article investigates how urban environmental vulnerability to hazards reflects in the perceptions and attitudes of the public in three major cities in Israel: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa. Our central argument is that the differences between the residents' perceptions and attitudes toward environmental issues are related mostly to the actual hazard levels of their communities, whereas individual differences in socioeconomic characteristics are of lesser importance in this regard. Methods. The research was based on survey data of representative samples of the adult residents in the three cities. The differences in attitudes and perceptions among the three samples were statistically assessed by means of analysis of variance. Results. We found relatively strong and consistent relationships between actual environmental vulnerability to hazards in the three cities and their residents' attitudes toward environmental issues. The relationships with socioeconomic characteristics, such as education and income, were considerably weaker and less consistent. Conclusions. The results of this research indicate that environmental concern is not exclusive to groups and individuals characterized by postmaterialist values. Rather, the urban public in general is responsive to the environmental vulnerability of its community. This conclusion supports the argument that attitudes toward the environment are mainly affected by instrumental considerations of objective environmental problems rather than by subjective values.     

Is Combat Pay Effective? Evidence from Operation Desert Storm*

Objective. To determine whether combat pay for U.S. Army officers has been adequate to maintain troop strength during wartime in the all‐volunteer military. Methods. Data from a panel survey of 3,800 officers collected one year prior to Operation Desert Storm and again during the Iraqi engagement are used. The primary economic indicator of work disutility—the marginal rate of substitution (MRS) or tradeoff of time for money—is estimated; and the MRS‐hourly pay relationship in both time periods is determined. Results. Combat pay was found to be generally adequate to offset increases in wartime disutility. Additional payment was required for male officers in only two branch groups, and these involved relatively small numbers of personnel compared to the larger Combat Arms branches. Conclusions. We find no evidence that a market‐oriented volunteer army could not maintain adequate troop strength during wartime, at least in environments similar to that of the early 1990s when these data were collected.     

Soft,small, malleable,and slow: Corporeal form and movement in social workers' and police officers' talk about practice in a Multi‐Agency Safeguarding Hub

Child and family social workers in Britain are increasingly working in multidisciplinary settings such as Multi‐Agency Safeguarding Hubs (MASHs). This article uses discourse analysis techniques to examine data from an ethnographic study of children's social workers and police officers working together in a MASH, considering the corporeal forms and movements that practitioners evoked in their talk about practice. Social workers used metaphors of slow movements and soft, small, and malleable bodies, in contrast to the fast movements and firm trajectories alluded to in police officers' talk. The paper draws on this analysis to identify differences in social workers' and police officers' forms of knowledge and ways of valuing practice implicit in their accounts of good practice. It contributes to recent discussions of space, mobility, and embodiment in social work literature and shows how discursive analyses can add to the developing knowledge about these matters. The paper suggests that evaluations of multiagency settings such as MASHs should attend to practitioners' distinctive forms of knowledge and imagination.     

Attitudes Toward Spousal Caregiving in Late Adulthood

Abstract

The study dealt with differences in attitudes toward spousal caregiving among pre-retired (n = 269) versus retired (n = 250) Israelis. Attitudes toward spousal caregiving at times of illness were examined from three perspectives: Commitment to caregiving, perceived harmful effects of caregiving, and delegation of responsibility for caregiving. Compared with the pre-retired group, the retirees revealed higher levels of commitment and showed less of a tendency to delegate responsibility for caregiving. At the same time, they perceived caregiving as having more harmful effects. In addition, different variables were found to explain these attitudes among both groups of participants. Among the pre-retired participants, equality in household tasks contributed most toward explaining commitment to spousal caregiving. Among the retired participants, in contrast, past assistance from the spouse was one of the most significant variables. For both groups of participants, past assistance from the spouse and equality in division of household tasks were the best predictors of perceived harmful effects. With regard to delegating responsibility for caregiving, the most salient variables among both groups of participants were marital tension and equality in division of household tasks. No gender-based differences were found in attitudes toward caregiving.     

The Eric Garner Case: Statewide Survey of New York Voters’ Response to Proposed Police Accountability Legislation

The Eric Garner case was unique because this police-induced death was caught on video from before the moment of physical confrontation. A mixed-methods representative household survey and Garner's arrest video were used to determine NYS voters’ opinions (n = 119) about police indictment and Governor Cuomo's request for expanded authority. Respondents were asked whether the officers should face indictment, shown the arrest video, and then asked again about indictment. Prior to the video, a majority of respondents (n = 86; 57.4%) believed involved officers should have been indicted. After viewing, the proportion increased by 13.7%. A majority supported Cuomo's call for expanded authority to appoint a special prosecutor in cases where police are involved in civilian deaths. Study limitations include prior exposure to the footage and a low response rate. NYS voters generally supported Cuomo's proposal for appointing a special prosecutor; however, a quarter of respondents disagreed with the method of reform and expressed a: 1) preference for every case to go to trial; 2) preference for a case-by-case basis; or 3) distrust in state-appointed special prosecutors. This research could inform discussions regarding proposed system reforms. Future research with a less well-circulated video is needed to determine the extent to which videos of police-induced deaths affect public opinion.     

Getting to the Top: Selection and Training for Senior Managers in the Police Service

This paper examines the processes by which the senior police officers in England and Wales are chosen and prepared for their role. Based upon research interviews with a sample of chief constables and assistant chief constables, it develops a critical assessment of the quality of each of the three key stages in this respect: the selection of those considered to have the potential to become senior officers, senior management training, and the appointments process at police authority level. In the light of the assessments made, the paper considers alternative schemes to those which currently operate at each stage of the process.     

Generational conflict and provisions for the elderly in Hong Kong: The relevance of position‐based interest and values

Respect for the elderly and hence the associated rights support a generational contract. Nevertheless, the case of the recent debate on the universal retirement scheme in Hong Kong has raised concerns about its strength. We identify relevant items from the sixth wave of the World Values Survey to explore the orientations of different generations toward others. The analysis shows differences between younger and older generations. Regression analyses show that values are not significant in explaining the differences, but various positions, including sex, marital status, and education, and perceptions of the elderly are relevant. Such differences across generations might weaken the generational contract and potentially engender conflicts as shown in the recent debate about the retirement scheme. We suggest short‐ and long‐term interest calculations, informed by their positions, play a more significant role in policy discussions and decisions, rather than simply appealing to values.     

Equality and efficiency tradeoffs in affirmative action—Real or imagined? The case of women in policing

This article investigates rival predictions about the consequences of affirmative action on behalf of women in one previously male-dominated public sector occupation—police service. While some predict that the enhanced use of women police officers will diminish the quality of public services, others argue precisely the opposite point of view. It is suggested here that such predictions have much more to do with the political and ideological perspectives of advocates and opponents of affirmative action than with empirical observation. It is suggested further that this question of the impact upon the quality of public service of enhanced utilization of women is much deserving of careful empirical study. Such an analysis is presented here, and the results observed indicate that little if any effect upon police agency performance can be attributed to differing levels of female police officers.     

Police and Psychiatrists: A Case of Professional Dominance?

Drawing on data from a recent study and Freidson's theory of professional dominance, this article considers the contemporary nature of relationships between police officers and psychiatrists. The different strategies used by the two occupational groups in attempting to control the management of a group of patients considered by both to be “dirty work” is explored, as is the “political” agenda of police/psychiatric relations in the context of current mental health policy.     

The Selection of Parents and Children for Legal Action in Connection with Unauthorized Absence from School

Summary Information was obtained about four groups of poor school attenders.Parents of one group of the children had been invited to a meetingof the LEAs School Attendance Section. Parents of a second grouphad been prosecuted for their child's poor attendance. The thirdgroup consisted of children brought before the Juvenile Courtbecause of their poor school attendance, and the fourth groupwas of poor attenders against whom no formal action had beentaken. Interviews with education welfare officers provided informationabout the presenting problem for each group and the reasonsfor the action that was taken. Interviews with social workersinvolved with the group of children before the Juvenile Courtyielded very similar information to that provided independentlyby education welfare officers. The project identified some apparentproblems in the present system.     

SOCIAL AND FAMILIAL ASPECTS OF ATTEMPTED AND COMPLETED SUICIDE OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN VICTORIA

A prospective study of youth suicide was carried out to determine the causes of the dramatic increase of suicide rates in males 15 to 25 years of age. Comprehensive information was collected through coronial enquiries on all 148 cases of completed youth suicide in Victoria during a 16 month period. Similar data were obtained through in-depth interviews of 105 hospitalised and 101 non-hospitalised attempters. In this paper only social and familial aspects of youth suicide are covered. Whilst the family setting of youth who attempted or completed suicide was similar to that of the general population, a higher proportion were homeless or living alone. Contrary to common assumptions, family relationships were much closer among completed than among attempted suicides. The unemployment rates were not higher than in all young people, and few subjects named unemployment as cause, but a relatively high number of them were neither studying nor looking for work. A high proportion of those who completed suicide had prior contact with the police. In conclusion, social factors do not significantly affect suicidal behaviour in young people.     

The Continuing Significance of Race: An Analysis Across Two Levels of Policing*

Objectives. Survey research has demonstrated that there is significant race variation in perceptions of the police, with black citizens holding lower levels of trust than do whites. Although these differences have been well documented, few studies have examined if and how these differences vary across police organizations. Using survey data from the North Carolina Highway Traffic Study, the objective of this research was to explore the influence of vicarious experience and perceptions of racial profiling in accounting for racial variation in trust across two levels of policing—highway patrol and city/local police. Methods. Ordinal logistic regression was utilized to assess both their independent and combined influences as the methodology. Results. The results suggest that across both police agencies, the race gap in trust is strongly associated with vicarious experience and perceptions of racial profiling. Conclusions. The results provide some support for examining perceptions of police across levels of policing as the results suggest that perceptions of one police organization are not necessarily generalizable across them all.     

Parenting Stress and Perceived Family Functioning of Chinese Parents in Hong Kong: Implications for Social Work Practice

This article reports the results of a telephone survey (n = 1002) conducted in November 2008, which aimed to identify parenting stress and perceived family functioning of Chinese parents in Hong Kong; to explore the effects of the parents’ socio‐demographic characteristics (gender, family income, education and family structure) on the aforementioned stress and functioning variables; and to examine the interrelationship among these characteristics and the two variables in question. Results showed that the reported parenting stress was at average level, while the perceived family functioning was slightly below average. The results also indicated that the parenting stress of mothers, single parents, the low‐income and the less‐educated was higher than that of fathers, parents of nuclear and extended families, the high‐income and the better‐educated. Socio‐demographic characteristics except the parent’s gender had similar effects on perceived family functioning. Higher parenting stress was associated with lower family functioning, and explained a larger variance in the perceived family functioning than the socio‐demographic characteristics taken alone. The results of the study have provided empirical support regarding the interrelationships among the vulnerable groups in society, parenting stress and perceived family functioning. Implications of the study for social work practice are discussed.     

VICTIMS OF CRIME AND LAW AND ORDER IDEOLOGY: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This article will argue that conservative forces in the community have used the renewed concern for crime victims in order to further their own political positions, rather than to genuinely advance crime victims' interests. These forces, commonly referred to as the ‘law-and-order’ lobby, include right wing politicians, the police and some sections of the media. The ideology which informs their approach will be critically examined, as well as the most important specific policies relating to crime victims deriving from this ideology.