scholarly journals The impact of a local community engagement intervention on residents’ fear of crime and perceptions of the police

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 168-180
Author(s):  
Steven Lockey ◽  
Les Graham ◽  
Tom Redman ◽  
Yuyan Zheng ◽  
Gillian Routledge ◽  
...  

Policy-makers have called for community engagement to be made central to police operations in England and Wales, yet little empirical investigation has been undertaken in this context to support its efficacy. This article uses a quasi-experimental research design to review a community engagement intervention that aimed to develop citizens’ perceptions of social capital in their community, improve their perceptions the police, and reduce fear of crime and antisocial behaviour (ASB) incidents. We also develop and test a conceptual model that explores the mechanisms by which social capital may influence citizens’ fear of crime and perceptions of the police, positing that local area potency; the belief that a group can be effective in achieving its goals, may be an important mediating mechanism. Results of independent samples t-tests indicate that the intervention was successful in meeting its objectives in the area it was trialled. There were significant increases in social capital, local area potency, confidence in the police and perceptions of police community focus, and decreases in fear of crime and ASB. These results were generally not evident in a control area. Structural equation modelling results supported the hypothesized model, indicating that local area potency mediates the relationships between social capital and the project outcomes. These findings contribute to the limited empirical evidence in support of the positive influence of community engagement in the United Kingdom, and indicate that social capital and local area potency are important antecedents of citizens’ positive attitudes toward crime and the police.

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 109
Author(s):  
Massoomeh Hedayati ◽  
Aldrin Abdullah ◽  
Mohammad Javad Maghsoodi Tilaki

There is continuous debate on the impact of house quality on residents’ health and well-being. Good living environment improves health, and fear of crime is recognised as a mediator in the relationship between physical environment and health. Since minimal studies have investigated the relationship, this study aims to examine the impact of the house quality on fear of crime and health. A total of 230 households from a residential neighbourhood in Malaysia participated in the study. Using structural equation modelling, the findings indicate that housing quality and fear of crime can account for a proportion of the variance in residents’ self-rated health. However, there is no significant relationship between housing quality and fear of crime. Results also show that fear of crime does not mediate the relationship between housing quality and health. This study suggests that the environment-fear relationship should be re-examined theoretically.  


Author(s):  
Chuanyu Peng ◽  
Guoping Yuan ◽  
Yanhui Mao ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
Jianhong Ma ◽  
...  

Attention on, and interest in, life satisfaction has increased worldwide. However, research on life satisfaction focused toward the urban dwellers’ residential community is mainly from western countries, and the limited research from China is solely focused on the geriatric population via a narrowly constrained research perspective. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate urbanites’ life satisfaction toward their community, combining the psychological (behavioral community engagement, mental state of flow, and cognitive community identity), physical (PREQIs-perceived residential environment quality indicators: e.g., green area), and social perspectives (social capital). The proposed conceptual model was tested on a regionally representative sample of 508 urban community residents in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan province, China. Data were analyzed via a structure equation modelling approach in AMOS software. Findings suggested that all of the psychological, physical and social factors contributed to a prediction of life satisfaction. Specifically, social capital mediated the path from community engagement and flow to life satisfaction, and community identity mediated the path from flow experience and green area to life satisfaction. Additionally, social capital contributed to predict life satisfaction through its influence on community identity. Findings provide suggestions for urban designers and policymakers to focus on creating an urban community equipped with green area, which helps to promote physical activities that are flow-productive, to enhance residents’ identification to their residential community and, therefore, increase life satisfaction.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 164
Author(s):  
Okan Gültekin

This study tested the impact of physical education (PE) teachers’ social capital on job satisfaction and explained levels of social capital for job satisfaction. Study participants were 210 PE teachers. The research methodology used the correlational survey model, and the instruments administered were the Social Capital Scale,and the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Scale. For conducting scales’ confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modeling, SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 17.0 software were used. The model’s goodness fit index was: RMSEA = 0.081; SRMR = 0.082; CMIN\DF = 2.523; GFI = 0.922; CFI = 0.923; AGFI = 0.843; NFI = 0.913; Chi squared = 2832.001; df = 976 and p = 0.000. According to these results, the model fit index reached an acceptable and desired level. The effect of social capital on job satisfaction and the rate of explaining job satisfaction were tested. In relation to the study’s first hypothesis, it was revealed that PE teachers’ social capital level and job satisfaction were positively and significantly affected. In regard to the second hypothesis, there was a significant relationship between social capital levels and PE teachers’ job satisfaction. The study’s most significant finding was that social capital significantly predicted PE teachers’ job satisfaction.


2021 ◽  
pp. 47-58
Author(s):  
Şerafettin KELEŞ

In this study, the factors affecting the request and action of migration are examined with empirical method within the scope of neoclassical economic theories and behavioral economic thought. A survey of a selected sample was analyzed with structural equation modeling. There was a linear relationship between migration and economic expectation, social capital and hope. It was found that the Economic Expectation Variable had a very strong negative effect on individuals' decision to immigrate and desire to migrate (γ = -0.99; t = -17.87). Hope variable has a very strong negative effect on individuals' migration decision and desire to migrate (γ = -0.96; t = -13.66). The Social Capital Secret Variable has a negatively moderate effect on individuals' decision to immigrate and desire to migrate (γ = -0.48; t = -8.19). It was seen that economic and political conjuncture was effective in the decision of migration of individuals.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 95-113
Author(s):  
Abdulkareem Salameh Awwad ◽  
Mamoun Nadim Akroush ◽  
Majdy Issa Zuriekat ◽  
Yassir Yahya Al Masoudi

This article aims to examine the relationships between external and internal social capital, managerial human capital, and managerial knowledge structures, respectively. It also examines the effect of managerial human capital and managerial knowledge structures on firm performance in the telecommunications sector in Jordan. A questionnaire was distributed to 250 managers in the telecommunications sector in Jordan. Utilizing structural equation modeling, it was found that external social capital has a positive significant effect on internal social capital and managerial human capital. Internal social capital has positively and significantly affected managerial knowledge structures. Furthermore, both managerial human capital and managerial knowledge structure had affected firm performance positively. As technology is expanding in this sector, relevant knowledge and information is becoming a source of competitive advantage, thus managers in this sector should build beneficial ties that might enhance human resources' capabilities that benefit the decision-making processes.


Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 580 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roswin B. Valenzuela ◽  
Youn Yeo-Chang ◽  
Mi Sun Park ◽  
Jung-Nam Chun

Participatory forest management has been considered as a practical and effective strategy for sustainable forest management, especially in situations where land tenure is not securely settled. For effective forest restoration, local communities, as the cornerstone of participatory management, should be provided with incentives to facilitate their participation and active role. We postulate that participation in mangrove restoration projects can not only provide financial rewards but also yield intangible benefits for communities, i.e., social capital. The study was conducted in the province of Quezon, Philippines, using face-to-face interviews as the main method for data collection. Regression analyses were undertaken to assess the impact of local community participation in mangrove restoration projects on social capital and its potential benefits to people in terms of access to information and services, which are key components of livelihood. Results revealed that people’s participation in mangrove restoration projects contributes to increasing social capital, consequently improving their access to information and services. Local people’s participation is beneficial to communities, as it can improve their livelihoods.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-90
Author(s):  
Kirstin Hallmann ◽  
Anita Zehrer ◽  
Sheranne Fairley ◽  
Lea Rossi

This research uses social role theory to investigate gender differences in volunteers at the Special Olympics and interrelationships among motivations, commitment, and social capital. Volunteers at the 2014 National Summer Special Olympics in Germany were surveyed (n = 891). Multigroup structural equation modeling has revealed gender differences among motivations, commitment, and social capital. Volunteers primarily volunteered for personal growth. Further, motivations had a significant association with commitment and social capital. The impact of motivation on social capital was significantly mediated by commitment. Event organizers should market opportunities to volunteer by emphasizing opportunities for personal growth and appealing to specific values.


2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernd Frederik Reitsamer ◽  
Alexandra Brunner-Sperdin

This study investigates the impact of place perception on tourist well-being to provide an understanding of how destination attributes influence tourists’ response behaviors. Data were collected in a self-administered survey from 631 respondents in three Austrian tourism destinations. Factor analysis and structural equation modeling (Mplus 7.0) were employed to test the hypothesized relationships. Results provide empirical evidence that tourists perceive destination settings holistically and will report higher levels of psychological well-being if a destination provides an adequate combination of sensemaking (i.e. access and amenities) and exploratory attributes (i.e. attractions and activities, entertainment options, and local community). Findings also show that tourists’ well-being has a significant, positive impact on their intention to return and their desire to engage in positive word of mouth about the destination. Most importantly, an indirect-only mediation of well-being on the relationship between both sense-making and exploratory attributes and behavioral outcomes was found. An integrated view of the results can provide important considerations for tourism research and fruitful suggestions for destination management organizations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 108-125
Author(s):  
Chandralatha Subasinghe Menike Lakse Mudiyanselage

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of social capital on the performance of Small Enterprises (SEs) in an emerging economy, Sri Lanka. The study adopts a survey design and cross-sectional data collected by administering 200 questionnaires conducting face to face interviews. The social capital was measured by three dimensions namely, structural, relational, and conative social capital. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling. The results show that structural and cognitive social capital had a positive significant impact on the performance of SEs while relational social capital had demonstrated a negative statistically significant impact on the performance of SEs. This implies that the managers of SEs emphasize the social capital as a means to a source of finance and resources and access to business and market information by maintaining close ties with the stakeholders to achieve a competitive advantage. The findings will be useful for the owners/managers of SEs who should share their knowledge, opportunities, and resources with their suppliers, customers as well as employees of the organization such that they should try to share their goals and achieve success together with parties who are related and interested in the business.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 7541-7548

Social capital (SC) is vital in the form of networks since it acts as an agent for change of information and resources that can enhance the success or continued existence of women owned business entities. This study aims to examine the impact of SC on business performance (BP) of Muslim women entrepreneurs (MWEs) in small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka (EPSL). SC was measured with the dimensions of familial affiliation such as parents and or husband if married or support from any other family members, someone who acts as a role model, economic status during childhood and non-familial affiliations such as business associated or trade associations. Structured questionnaire was used as the data collection technique with the sampling frame of 260 respondents using simple random sampling technique. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with AMOS as the data analysis technique while employing SPSS 23.0. The analysis of the structural model showed that, non-familial affiliation had a significant and positive relationship with business performance of Muslim women entrepreneurs where as familial affiliation did not significantly influence on business performance of Muslim women entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka. In most of the conservative Islamic families, women are not often allowed go out of their homes and mix with their counter parts independently. This situation can be observed in Sri Lanka Muslim families specially, in the Eastern Province where majority come from rural areas. However, those who can break this situation and were able to make affiliation with the business associates and other related bodies could enhance their business performance. Muslim women entrepreneurs, trade chambers and decision making authorities may use this finding of the study as a template to gain insight in to the factors influencing social capital on business performance of Sri Lankan MWEs.


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