A Comparison of Racial Attitudes: Right of Police To Strike

A number of studies have focused on public perceptions of police and have concluded that black citizens have lower evaluations of police than their white counterparts. A review of the recent literature reveals that few studies have compared black and white respondents on attitudes toward strike activity among police despite the growing militancy of public employees. In this paper, the significant relationship uncovered between race and attitudes of university undergraduates (F = 30.3; p = .0001) is validated by examining a referendum vote of the general electorate on the right of public employees to strike. Comparative analysis suggests that black citizens are more sympathetic to the problems and tactics of urban police than their white counterparts. Data from the municipal referendum indicated that eighty four percent of the variance in voting patterns could be explained by the percentage of registered black or white voters in the Memphis precincts.     

The organizational justice effect among criminal justice employees: A meta-analysis*

Organizational justice has been shown to be an important predictor of criminal justice employees’ work-related perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors. In this study, we take stock of the organizational justice effect on criminal justice employees’ work outcomes by subjecting the literature to a meta-analysis. Multilevel modeling based on 1,924 effect size estimates drawn from 143 studies (95 independent data sets) was used to establish the empirical status of the organizational justice effect. The results indicate a sizeable relationship between organizational justice and justice system employee work outcomes (Mz = .256, CI = [.230, .283]). The findings also demonstrate that the organizational justice effect size varies slightly across several methodological variations. Specifically, the organizational justice effect size is larger when the concept is measured with scales that contain survey items tapping into all four dimensions of justice. Also, we found that outcome type, presence of confounding mechanisms, research design, and sample characteristics moderate the justice effect. We conclude that organizational justice theory is a useful framework for developing a more theoretically informed understanding of justice system employees’ work outcomes. We discuss the theoretical implications of the meta-analytic findings and avenues for future research based on the results.     

福利社会与发展中的斯堪的纳维亚福利国家

欧洲各国致力于福利国家的建设已逾百年,经历了两次世界大战.各国在社会投入水平和福利机构方面的巨大差异至今仍在,但是各国对于福利社会的可持续性的认可和公众对福利社会的高度承诺则是基本一致的.各福利社会有来自各方面的维系:中央政府或地方政府、公司企业、家庭和自发组织的机构.不同的福利社会体系与它们之间的关系长期以来对欧洲各福利国家有着不同的意义,形成了具有不同特点的福利制度.在20世纪最后十年里重建福利国家的痛苦过程中,经济增长和社会发展之间的关系一直是整个斯堪的纳维亚地区社会问题的争论热点.然而到目前为止,效率与平等之间的冲突大多得到了解决,在北欧五国都保持了福利政策的稳定.该地区独特的历史经验并不排斥发展中国家的政府和机构为了发展福利事业而积极推行普及政策所做出的努力.     

Public–Private Partnerships in International Agricultural Research: An Analysis of Constraints

Public–private partnerships are a potentially important means of conducting pro-poor agricultural research in many developing countries. Yet within the international agricultural research sector, there are few examples of successful collaboration that have contributed to food security, poverty reduction or agricultural development. This study hypothesizes that partnerships between public research agencies and private, multinational firms are constrained by fundamentally different incentive structures; prohibitive costs, both direct and indirect; mutually negative perceptions between the sectors; and high levels of competition and risk associated with valuable assets and resources. Based on a survey of key stakeholders and a review of the literature, findings suggest that the primary impediments to partnership are perceptions, competition and risk, while issues of costs and conflicting incentives are secondary. These findings suggest that investment in innovative organizational mechanisms and supportive public policies could facilitate more, and more successful, public–private partnerships in pro-poor agricultural research.     

Layers of decision: Linking social definitions of corruption and willingness to take action

The literature available about social definitions of corruption is surprisingly discrete from that which addresses the issue of whistleblowing or the reporting of crime and corruption. The current study, however, empirically links the two. A survey of more than 1300 public sector employees was undertaken to explore: i) how and why public sector employees define some behaviours as corrupt; ii) factors which may hinder public sector employees taking action about corruption which they may observe at work; and iii) the link between i) and ii). The study found that within the New South Wales (NSW) public sector, views about what constitutes corruption are diverse and that this has a significant, though not exclusive, impact upon the action respondents said they would take in response to workplace corruption. The study discusses other factors which also impact upon the stated decision not to take action about corruption and suggests some possible courses of action for addressing these factors.The research upon which this paper is based formed part of the research program of the Independent Commission Against Corruption.     

公务员创新行为:文献述评与研究展望

创新行为俨然成为公务员适应新时代高素质干部队伍建设要求的典型行为模式,以及公共部门适应职能转变和服务再造要求的内生动力。本研究基于对已有研究的系统梳理与深入分析,构建了一个系统的公务员创新行为研究框架。本研究从公私部门成员创新行为差异及争议切入,围绕公务员创新行为的概念内涵、多层次影响因素及复杂作用机制进行系统回顾并展开评述,呈现新制度主义理论、自我决定理论等在公务员创新行为塑造中的深层逻辑。在此基础上,本研究展望未来方向:(1)以回应跨国文化背景、科层制组织特征、现实工作场景实现公务员创新的情境化研究;(2)在新时代中国场景中实现公务员创新行为的量表开发、跨层次系统性形成机理探索;(3)拓展公务员创新行为的效能机制研究,实现微观层面行为创新与中观层面组织创新、宏观层面政策创新的呼应衔接。     

The Unfulfillable Promise of Meritocracy: Three Lessons and Their Implications for Justice in Education

This paper draws on a literature in sociology, psychology and economics that has extensively documented the unfulfilled promise of meritocracy in education. I argue that the lesson learned from this literature is threefold: (1) educational institutions in practice significantly distort the ideal meritocratic process; (2) opportunities for merit are themselves determined by non-meritocratic factors; (3) any definition of merit must favor some groups in society while putting others at a disadvantage. Taken together, these conclusions give reason to understand meritocracy not just as an unfulfilled promise, but as an unfulfillable promise. Having problematized meritocracy as an ideal worth striving for, I argue that the pervasiveness of meritocratic policies in education threatens to crowd out as principles of justice, need and equality. As such, it may pose a barrier rather than a route to equality of opportunity. Furthermore, meritocratic discourse legitimates societal inequalities as justly deserved such as when misfortune is understood as personal failure. The paper concludes by setting a research agenda that asks how citizens come to hold meritocratic beliefs; addresses the persistence of (unintended) meritocratic imperfections in schools; analyzes the construction of a legitimizing discourse in educational policy; and investigates how education selects and labels winners and losers.     

Citizenship,Belonging and Attachment in the ‘War on Terror’

The ‘war on terror’ has had an enormous impact on citizens’ legal rights and legal status. Using data from interviews with British Pakistani Kashmiri Muslims, this paper explores how the change to citizens’ legal rights and legal status in the ‘war on terror’, the legal dimension of citizenship, has impacted the psychological dimension of citizenship. Through denoting legal rights, equality and status the study revealed the powerful role of the state and the police in shaping citizens’ perceptions of the legal dimension of citizenship. The paper explores how changes to participants’ perceptions of their legal status and legal rights are instrumental in shaping the psychological dimension of citizenship—participants’ sense of loyalty, belonging and attachment to their British identity and their Islamic identity.     

Determinants of citizen support for community-oriented policing

The extent to which community members are willing to cooperate with the police and become involved with various community crime prevention programs depends on citizen perceptions of the police and of the community in which they reside. The purpose of the present study is to explore factors that affect support for community policing in a small rural city. Findings revealed that the majority of respondents supported community policing. Using community survey data collected from over 400 citizens in a small metropolitan area in the intermountain West, this study also explored the importance of demographic factors, community characteristics, and public perceptions and experiences with police in predicting citizens’ support for community policing. Citizen support for community-oriented policing varied somewhat by demographic factors (i.e., gender, education), and by community characteristics (i.e., disorder, social cohesion).     

A Multilevel Examination of the Relationship Between Racial Tension and Attitudes Toward the Police

Prior research has established the effect of race and ethnicity on citizens’ perceptions of the police. This paper serves to build on this body of literature by examining the effect of racial tension on attitudes toward the police. Specifically, we conduct multilevel analyses using survey data from Seattle, Washington to explore whether individual perceptions of racial tension and/or community-level racial tension are related to residents’ attitudes toward the police. The results show that attitudes toward the police were generally less favorable among respondents who perceived racial tension or mistrust in their communities. Additionally, community racial tension had significant contextual effects on residents’ perceived racial profiling by the police. This study has implications for future police policy: understanding how racial tension shapes perceptions of the police will assist in selecting and adapting crime control strategies.     

Justificatory Liberalism and Same‐Sex Marriage

Supporters of Justificatory Liberalism (JL)—such as John Rawls and Gerard Gaus—typically maintain that the state may not coerce its citizens on matters of constitutional essentials unless it can provide public justification that the coerced citizens would be irrational in rejecting. The state, in other words, may not coerce citizens whose rejection of the coercion is based on their reasonable comprehensive doctrines (i.e., worldviews). Proponents of the legal recognition of same‐sex marriage (SSM) usually offer some version of JL as the most fundmental reason why laws that recognize marriage only if it is a union between one man and one woman are unjust. In this article I argue that the application of JL in support of legal recognition of SSM does not succeed because the issue under scrutiny—the nature of marriage—is deeply embedded in, and in most cases integral to, many (if not most) citizens’ reasonable comprehensive doctrines. Thus, I argue that because of the effects and consequences of the legal recognition of SSM, it results (or will result) in a violation of JL against dissenting citizens.     

Police officers’ perceptions of organizational justice and their trust in the public

Research in organizational psychology has consistently demonstrated that employee perceptions of organizational justice have significant effects on employee attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors. Similar studies utilizing the organizational justice model in policing have also noted these effects, including the relationship of justice perceptions with officer attitudes toward the public. Recent theoretical developments in policing contend that the association between internal perceptions of justice and external attitudes may be the result of organizational and supervisory practices that ‘trickle-down’ into the police-community relationship. This paper explores this association by assessing the effects of officer perceptions of organizational justice on officer trust in the public. A sample of patrol division police officers were surveyed using measures taken from the organizational justice literature and Mayer, Davis, and Schoorman’s model of organizational trust. Results show a strong relationship between perceptions of organizational justice and trust in the public even when other relevant predictors are controlled.     

Public satisfaction with the South Korean Police: The effect of residential location in a rapidly industrializing nation

Recent years have witnessed growing research interest in citizen perceptions of the police. This was likely the result of the community policing movement, which sought to strengthen ties between citizens and the police, as well as to concerns about the legitimacy of the police. Most of this research focused on police agencies in the United States, and little research had been conducted on citizen perceptions of the police in Asian countries. This study sought to fill this void through an analysis of citizen perceptions of the police in South Korea. To address these issues, telephone interview survey data gathered from 11,500 randomly selected citizens were obtained in the rapidly industrializing country, South Korea. Several sets of multiple-regression models were estimated to assess the effect of urbanization, demographics, evaluations of police services, and perceived corruption on citizen satisfaction with police. The results suggested that citizens in small to mid-sized cities and large urban cities were less satisfied with police than were residents of rural areas. In addition, age, evaluations of police service, and perceptions of corruption were related to citizen satisfaction. The results were discussed in comparison to previous research in Asia and the United States and other Western countries.     

Assessing the Direct and Indirect Effects of Legitimacy on Public Empowerment of Police: A Study of Public Support for Police Militarization in America

The process‐based model dominates contemporary American research on police‐community relations and perceptions of police. A sizable literature has examined the linkages between procedural justice, legitimacy, compliance with the law, and cooperation with police. Less examined is the relationship between legitimacy and public empowerment of police. This study examines this relationship, focusing on police militarization. We first examine the direct effect of legitimacy on public willingness to allow police to become more militarized. Drawing from cognitive psychology and rational choice theories, we then consider indirect paths between legitimacy and empowerment, concentrating on two anticipated consequences of militarization—an increase in police effectiveness and possible harm to civil liberties. Using a national sample of over 700 American adults, and structural equation modeling, results indicate legitimacy has both direct and indirect effects on police empowerment, in part by shaping assessments of the possible consequences of empowerment. Implications for theory and policy are discussed.     

Public perceptions of police efficacy and image: The “fuzziness” of support for the police

Most studies concerning police-community relations have operationalized support for-law enforcement agencies in unidimensional terms. The present study dissects the notion of support for the police into two distinct dimensions: efficacy and image. Efficacy includes perceptions of the police ability to protect citizens, solve crime, and prevent crime. Image includes perceptions of friendliness and fairness of the police. A series of conventional individual-level and contextual variables are modeled in an effort to explore their relative influence on citizen perceptions of police efficacy and image. Data gathered from a national telephone survey of 1,005 citizens reveal that support for local police is both complex and multidimensional. Moreover, the results demonstrate that efficacy and image are independent dimensions, and that each is susceptible to quite different ratings depending upon which independent and dependent variables are modeled. Thanks go to Dennis Longmire, Barbara Sims, and Timothy Flanagan for providing the data used in this study.     

Fringe benefits: The hidden costs of unionization and collective bargaining in corrections

Public Sector Unionization is a phenomenon characterized by rapid growth. Many studies have found, however, that the pay differential between unionized and non-unionized public sector employees is relatively small. This study posits the theory that one possible explanation is that unionized public sector employees are making gains in an area where the cost of concessions is somewhat hidden. Specifically, that unionized public sector employees enjoy a substantial lead in number of fringe benefits. The public sector area chosen for study is that of corrections. A questionnaire was constructed and mailed to all 50 state correctional systems assessing whether or not employees received 35 fringe benefits. The fringe benefits are divided into five categories and reported in tabular form. In addition, the fringe benefits are examined as a composite index and a comparison is then made between unionized and non-unionized employees. The results clearly show that unionized correctional employees have a considerable advantage in the number of fringe benefits enjoyed.     

The Discriminant Validity of Perceptual Incivility Measures

Researchers have been unable to determine whether individuals’ estimates of incivilities can be separated from constructs such as crime and victimization. Accordingly, survey respondents’ perceptions of incivilities were compared first to their perceptions of neighborhood crime and then to their personal victimization experiences. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that perceptions of incivilities (of the physical variety) loaded on factors separate from personal victimization. It was not clear, however, whether perceptions of incivilities were independent from perceived crime. Even so, the findings provide some evidence that estimates of incivilities represent a construct separate from estimates of crime, thereby increasing the likelihood that certain perceptual incivility measures enjoy discriminant validity.     

Going beyond Ascribed Identities: The Importance of Procedural Justice in Airport Security Screening in Israel

Today, passengers at every major Western airport are subjected to heightened levels of security screening that not only are inconvenient, but also raise important questions about the treatment of members of specific groups that are seen as presenting special security risks. Our study examines the importance of ethnic identity in explaining perceptions of legitimacy in airport screening among a random sample of Jewish and Arab passengers in Israel. The main hypothesis of our study is that ethnicity will play a major role in predicting passengers’ attitudes toward the airport security process. In fact, our survey shows that Israeli Arab passengers are, on average, significantly more negative regarding the legitimacy of security checks than Israeli Jewish passengers are. However, using a multivariate model, we find that ethnicity (Arab versus Jew) disappears as a significant predictor of legitimacy when we included factors of procedural justice and controlled for specific characteristics of the security process. The results of our research indicate that differences in legitimacy perceptions are by and large the result of the processes used in airport screening and not a direct result of ethnic identity. In concluding, we argue that profiling strategies aimed at preventing terrorism, which often include embarrassing public procedures, may actually jeopardize passengers’ trust in airport security. Such security is dependent on the cooperation of citizens, and heightened security procedures focused on particular groups may compromise legitimacy evaluations and thus the cooperation of the public.     

Perceptions of community policing in a small town

Much of the information regarding community policing is based upon research conducted in large urban areas. In contrast, this article utilizes survey data to examine resident perceptions of community-policing practices in a small southern town. Low response rates from minority citizens, along with the negative impressions reported by minority participants, point to race as a major concern. Black respondents are less willing to trust the police, express greater dissatisfaction with the police, and grade the police significantly lower than do white participants. Interestingly, community-policing measures do not appear to enhance perceptions of the police. Suggestions for future research are offered.     

Social Constructionism and Criminology: Traditions,Problems and Possibilities

Over the last twenty years, the prison system, border controls, crime prevention programmes, anti‐terror measures and private security companies have expanded within Europe. This article discusses some of the implications. It will be argued that we are witnessing a paradigmatic shift in the manner in which state‐sanctioned force is employed. The distinction between what is criminal, to be dealt with by the justice system, and what creates a ‘perception of security’—formerly to be dealt with by social policy—is being eroded at both macro‐ (‘war on terror’) and micro‐ (‘public order’) levels. The rule of law is giving way to a security mentality, where force is employed on the basis of risk assessments. Social problems are re‐interpreted as security threats, and met with measures recreating the original threats. This gives the policy field a distinctive rationality of its own.