Cops and COVID: an examination of California officers' perceptions and experiences while policing during a pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Shjarback ◽  
Obed Magny
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Sensitive Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Police Agencies ◽  
Police Executives

PurposeUsing online survey data from a sample of 440 police officers in California throughout May 2020, the current study collected time-sensitive information on officers' perceptions and departmental experiences in the wake of the pandemic. It examined officers' perceptions of agency responsivity as well as their perceptions of morale, stress and risk following agency responses and changes in policy patterns, service delivery innovations and other administrative challenges.Design/methodology/approachCOVID-19 had a tremendous impact on the law enforcement community, who continued to work and adapt in order to provide public safety. During the first few months of the pandemic, a number of national data collection efforts set out to understand what police agencies, at the organizational-level, were doing to address the crisis. Largely missing from these initial discussions were the perspectives of individual officers, particularly how they felt about their respective departments ensuring safety and balancing risk.FindingsResults from ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions found that the number of departmental changes made in the wake of COVID-19 that reduced police–public contact was associated with (1) increased levels of perceived agency responsivity to officer needs (i.e. balancing officer safety, taking active steps to maintain officers' mental health) and (2) reduced levels of perceived negative outlook (e.g. stress, low morale, danger/risk). Policy implications and the importance of police executives' decisions during crisis are discussed.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first, to the authors’ knowledge, to examine perceptions of policing during the pandemic from an individual officer point of view rather than an organizational standpoint.

scholarly journals Transitioning from pandemic to normalcy: what police departments can learn from the rank-and-file

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Janne E. Gaub ◽  
Marthinus C. Koen ◽  
Shelby Davis
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Body ◽  
Police Departments ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Coding Schemes ◽  
Police Agencies ◽  
Police Executives ◽  
Police Personnel

PurposeAfter more than 18 months of life during a pandemic, much of the world is beginning to transition back to some semblance of normalcy. As that happens, institutions – including policing – need to acknowledge changes that had been made during the pandemic and decide what modifications and innovations, if any, to continue moving forward.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use semi-structured interviews and focus groups of police personnel in the United States (US) and Canada. The sample includes police officers and frontline supervisors (n = 20). The authors conduct qualitative analysis using deductive and inductive coding schemes.FindingsThe sample identified four areas of adaptation during the pandemic: 1) safety measures, 2) personnel reallocation, 3) impacts on training and 4) innovation and role adjustments. These areas of adaptation prompted several recommendations for transitioning police agencies out of the pandemic.Originality/valueA growing number of studies are addressing police responses to the pandemic. Virtually all are quantitative in nature, including all studies investigating the perceptions of police personnel. The body of perceptual studies is extraordinarily small and primarily focuses on police executives, ignoring the views of the rank-and-file who are doing the work of street-level police business. This is the first study to delve into the perceptions of this group, and does so using a qualitative approach that permits a richer understanding of the nuances of perception.

scholarly journals Network competence in Finnish SMEs: implications for growth

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lasse Torkkeli ◽  
Olli Kuivalainen ◽  
Sami Saarenketo ◽  
Kaisu Puumalainen
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Competence Development ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Competencies ◽  
Network Competence ◽  
Apply Regression Analysis ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how network competence is related to the growth of domestic and international SMEs originating from the Nordic region. Business networks have been found to drive internationalization of SMEs in the Nordic context, but the impact of network-related organizational competencies on them has not been considered. Design/methodology/approach – The authors apply regression analysis on a sample of 298 Finnish SMEs across five industry sectors, gathered via an online survey in 2008, and with the data having been updated for its financial indicators up to 2010. Findings – The authors find that cross-relational network competence is a significant predictor of growth in internationally operating SMEs. This result is robust across measures among the firms. In comparison, the network competence of domestically operating SMEs is not related to their growth, and relationship-specific competence does not influence growth. Research limitations/implications – The study does not account for longitudinal aspect of competence development. Growth is measured by the growth in sales and assets, and there are other ways to measure organizational growth. A single-country context also extends some restrictions on the generalizability of the results, although they could be expected to hold across small, open economies similar to Finland and the Nordic area. Practical implications – The results imply that the strategic aims of SMEs determine their need for network competence, those SMEs seeking internationalization and growth through geographic expansion come to benefit from developing certain types of network competence. Social implications – Policy implications arise where governments in Finland and in the Nordic area may aid SMEs’ internationalization efforts by enabling the growth-seeking firms with increased resources for competence development. Originality/value – This is the first study to examine how the organizational competencies to develop and manage business networks, in particular dyadic and network-level competencies, come to determine realized growth outcomes in domestic and international SMEs. It contributes to the theory of SME internationalization and international entrepreneurship from the business network point of view, while providing further knowledge on internationalization of SMEs originating from the Nordic area.

scholarly journals The secret of organisation success

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alma Maria Rodríguez-Sánchez ◽  
Maria Vera Perea
Keyword(s):  
Collective Efficacy ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Behavioral Approach ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Resilience ◽  
Multilevel Perspective ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Resilience Capacity

Purpose – The concept of the “resilient organisation” has gained popularity as a concept that might aid organizations survive and thrive in difficult or volatile economic times. Knowing which factors may contribute to building organizational and team resilience is one of the questions that still remain unsolved. The purpose of this paper is to examine and review different conceptualisations of this emergent topic in the management literature, taking into account the common features of resilience capacity in organizations and teams. Design/methodology/approach – To examine the literature on resilience, the authors will focus on team resilience. The authors depart from the psychological-behavioral approach to study resilience and instead take a multilevel perspective (i.e. taking into account organizational and team factors). Findings – From a psychological-behavioral point of view the authors posit that there is a lack of research on which factors build team resilience. This review clarifies and relates independent and isolated studies on resilience taking into account the resources both at team and organizational level (i.e. collective efficacy, transformational leadership, teamwork, organizational practices) that build team resilience capacity. Research limitations/implications – Taking into account this review, future studies should analyze empirically the relationship between these factors that build up team resilience. Practical implications – With this review the authors try to provide guidance as to which aspects of the organization both research and practitioners should focus on. Originality/value – In sum, this literature review examines organizational and team factors that may build team resilience from a psychological-behavioral perspective, taking into account the multilevel view.

Organisational justice’s relationship with job satisfaction and organisational commitment among Indian police

2016 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanif Qureshi ◽  
James Frank ◽  
Eric G Lambert ◽  
Charles Klahm ◽  
Brad Smith
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Organisational Commitment ◽  
The North ◽  
Organisational Justice ◽  
Distributive Fairness ◽  
Police Agencies ◽  
Indian State

The concept of justice plays an important role in shaping the attitudes of citizens towards criminal justice agencies. Additionally, research indicates that police officers’ perceptions of justice within their own organisation can affect their attitudes towards it. Most of the research to date has focused on police officers in Western nations; however, the effects of organisational justice could be universal (i.e. cut across different police agencies and nations) or contextual (i.e. vary between cultures). The current study examined the association between perceptions of two dimensions of organisational justice, distributive (fairness in outcomes) and procedural (fairness in procedures/processes), with job satisfaction and organisational commitment among Indian police officers. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis of survey data collected from 827 officers stationed in the Sonepat and Rohtak districts in the north Indian state of Haryana indicated that perceptions of distributive justice and procedural justice (in terms of promotions and evaluations) had significant positive relationships with both job satisfaction and affective organisational commitment. The findings support the contention that perceptions of organisational justice have important effects on Indian police officers.

Police officers’ role orientations

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 944-959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacinta M. Gau ◽  
Nicholas D. Paul
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Work Environment ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Community Policing ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Order Maintenance ◽  
Role Orientations ◽  
Maintenance Activities

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine police officers’ attitudes toward community policing and order maintenance, as well as the facets of the work environment that impact those attitudes. Design/methodology/approach Survey data come from a sample of officers in a mid-sized police department. Ordinary least squares regression modeling is used to examine community-policing, order-maintenance and law-enforcement role orientations. Findings Officers endorse community partnerships, but are less enthusiastic about order maintenance. They also display mid-level support for traditional law enforcement. Work–environment variables have inconsistent impacts across the three role orientations. Research limitations/implications This was a survey of attitudes in one department. Future research should examine officers’ involvement in community-policing and order-maintenance activities and any impediments to such activities. Practical implications The findings have implications for police leaders seeking to implement community policing and ensure street-level officers are carrying out partnership and order-maintenance activities. In particular, top management must foster a positive work environment and personally model commitment to policing innovations. Originality/value This paper adds to the currently sparse body of literature on officer attitudes toward community policing and order maintenance, and incorporates traditional law-enforcement attitudes as a point of contrast. This paper advances the scholarly understanding of police officers’ role orientations.

scholarly journals Are consumers loyal to genetically modified food? Evidence from Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fazlul K. Rabbanee ◽  
Tanzim Afroz ◽  
Mostafa Mahmud Naser
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Genetically Modified Food ◽  
Consumer Loyalty ◽  
Repurchase Intention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gm Food ◽  
Parsimonious Model

PurposeGenetically modified (GM) food has received considerable interest from academics and practitioners. However, research on consumer loyalty towards GM food is relatively sparse. Guided by the theory of planned behaviour, this study aims to explore the factors that influence consumer repurchase intention and behavioural loyalty towards GM food.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 464 Australian consumer panel members surveyed through a nationwide online survey, with data analysed by structural equation modelling using AMOS (v. 22.0).FindingsThe findings reveal that consumer loyalty towards GM food is influenced by the interplay between awareness of benefits and risks, situational and social influences and attitude and repurchase intention. Female consumers are found to not only possess a relatively more favourable attitude and repurchase intention, but also are more loyal towards GM food compared to male consumers. Unlike older consumers, younger consumers' loyalty towards GM food is influenced by their attitude and repurchase intention. The relevant policy implications of the findings are discussed.Practical implicationsAs consumers have contrasting views about GM food, to influence their loyalty, it is important for GM food industries as well as policy makers to better understand how to address consumers' varying concerns about GM food.Originality/valueThis study offers a parsimonious model for explaining the factors that influence consumer loyalty towards GM food.

Electronic word-of-mouth generation and regulatory focus

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Sohaib ◽  
Umair Akram ◽  
Peng Hui ◽  
Hassan Rasool ◽  
Zohaib Razzaq ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Regulatory Focus ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Electronic Word Of Mouth ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) motivations of regulatory-focused customers with positive and negative consumption experiences. Design/methodology/approach An online survey is conducted in Beijing and Shanghai. A random sampling technique is used to collect data from 854 respondents. Two scenarios of eWOM communication – positive and negative consumption experiences – are randomly assigned to each respondent. This study employs the structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis techniques. However, it uses ordinary least squares and logistic regression to analyze 137 participants in the experimental study. Findings Promotion-focused customers that aim for self-enhancement and obtaining social benefits are motivated to spread positive eWOM on social networking sites. However, prevention-focused customers are driven by vengeance and anxiety, revealing higher intentions to post negative eWOM on review sites. eWOM generation is subject to gender, as promotion-focused male customers spread it more than both prevention-focused and promotion-focused female customers. Moreover, platform assistance (PA) has a significant positive impact upon regulatory-focused customers and eWOM (positive vs negative) relationships. Practical implications This study provides a deeper understanding of motivational factors of eWOM communication. Specifically, in case of product or service failure, negative consumption experiences drive prevention-focused customers to generate negative eWOM. Thus, using various tactics, marketers need to shift customers from focusing on prevention to focusing on promotion. For example, redeemable free coupons can shift customer attention and generate positive eWOM. Originality/value This study provides unique insights about eWOM motivation across genders. It examines regulatory focus, positive vs negative consumption experiences and moderation of PA.

The formation of suspicion: A vignette study

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-284
Author(s):  
Scott W Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Police Training ◽  
The Body ◽  
Police Culture ◽  
Heuristics And Biases ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Vignette Study ◽  
Police Agencies ◽  
Survey Results

Being suspicious is part of police training, and is emphasized in police culture. Tversky and Kahneman argued that people make decisions based on a limited number of heuristic factors to reduce a complex task to likely probabilities ( Tversky A and Kahneman D [1974] Judgment under uncertainty: heuristics and biases. Science 185[4157]: 1124–1131). This study contributes to the body of scholarship studying police suspicion. It uses vignettes describing an incident involving characteristics important when police officers form suspicion. This design allows respondents to judge a situation before actual engagement. A convenience sample of police officers, supervisors, and administrators from police agencies of different sizes located in two different states responded to an online survey. Results demonstrated that the time of an event, the person’s race, and their manner of dress, contributed to the formation of suspicion. Other factors (i.e., suspect age, neighborhood) were not significantly related to suspicion. Further, respondents with few years of experience were more likely to see the conditions within a vignette as suspicious. The findings indicate that unacceptable stereotyping can result from using scanty or outdated heuristic tools to simplify decision-making. Further, there is a need for additional research examining the conditions related to suspicion formation.

scholarly journals Bursting the filter bubble: the mediating effect of discussion frequency on network heterogeneity

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 1161-1181
Author(s):  
Nadine Strauß ◽  
Laura Alonso-Muñoz ◽  
Homero Gil de Zúñiga
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Network Heterogeneity ◽  
Mediation Analyses ◽  
Filter Bubbles

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to identify the structural processes that lead citizens to escape their common social circles when talking about politics and public affairs (e.g. “filter bubbles”). To do so, this study tests to what extent political attitudes, political behavior, news media consumption and discussion frequency affect discussion network heterogeneity among US citizens.Design/methodology/approachSupported by the polling group Nielsen, this study uses a two-wave panel online survey to study the antecedents and mechanisms of discussion network heterogeneity among US citizens. To test the hypotheses and answer the research questions, ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions (cross-sectional, lagged and autoregressive) and mediation analyses were conducted.FindingsThe findings imply that political discussion frequency functions as the key element in explaining the mechanism that leads politically interested and participatory citizens (online) as well as news consumers of traditional and online media to seek a more heterogeneous discussion network, disrupting the so-called “filter bubbles.” However, mediation analyses also showed that discussion frequency can lead to more homogenous discussion networks if people score high on political knowledge, possibly reflecting the formation of a close network of political-savvy individuals.Originality/valueThe survey data give important insights into the 2016 pre-election situation, trying to explain why US citizens were more likely to remain in homogenous discussion networks when talking about politics and public affairs. By using two-wave panel data, the analyses allow to draw tentative conclusions about the influential and inhibiting factors and mechanisms that lead individuals to seek/avoid a more heterogeneous discussion network.

The effect of online learning on communication between instructors and students during Covid-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Alawamleh ◽  
Lana Mohannad Al-Twait ◽  
Gharam Raafat Al-Saht
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Online Classes ◽  
Online Chat ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sample Technique ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis study aims to explore whether online learning has an effect on communication between instructors and students in a negative way, whether online learning affects students' productivity levels and to evaluate and suggest ways of improving effective online communication between instructors and students.Design/methodology/approachThis study used is a quantitative research study which was conducted through a semi-structured online survey through a random sample technique.FindingsResults revealed that the vast majority agree with the questions of the study. Students still prefer classroom classes over online classes due to many problems they face when taking online classes, such as lack of motivation, understanding of the material, decrease in communication levels between the students and their instructors and their feeling of isolation caused by online classes.Research limitations/implicationsThis research studied the impact from students' perspective only as the sample was selected only from students.Originality/valueThis research reached the students’ point of view in a broader way which will help understanding the issues and provide effective solutions. This research suggested that instructors must communicate with their students and vice versa in more informal channels (instant messages online chat groups, audio calls, private video calls …) in parallel with the formal channels (online platforms, email …). Finally, instructors should encourage students to participate and study more by providing different kind of incentives.

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