Do Work-Family Conflict and Resiliency Mediate Police Stress and Burnout: a Study of State Police Officers

Occupational stress and burnout have long been recognized as common hazards among police officers. The present study examines whether demographic characteristics and assignment affect police officers’ work-family conflict (WFC), resiliency, stress and burnout, and whether WFC and resiliency mediate the stress and burnout of police officers. The data were collected from a Mid-Atlantic state police agency in the United States of America through a web-based survey. Regression results revealed that minority officers tended to have lower levels of WFC and burnout and better educated officers reported lower degrees of WFC and stress. WFC was positively related to stress and burnout, while resilience was inversely linked to stress and burnout. The effects of race and education disappeared when WFC and resiliency entered the regression, suggesting that their impact was largely mediated by WFC and resiliency. Lastly, stress was found to be positively associated with burnout. Implications for research and policy are discussed.     

Book reviews

Volodymyr Kubijovy? (ed.), Ukraine: A Concise Encyclopaedia. Prepared by Shevchenko Scientific Society. Foreword by Ernest J. Simmons. Volume II. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1971. xliii + 1394 pp.

Ellendea Proffer (ed.), The Early Plays of Mikhail Bulgakov. Translated by Carl R. Proffer and Ellendea Proffer. Bloomington and London: Indiana UP, 1972. xxvii + 418 pp. $10.00. £4.75.

Ellendea Proffer and Carl R. Proffer (eds.), Mikhail Bulgakov: Diaboliad and Other Stories. Translated by Carl R. Proffer. Bloomington and London: Indiana UP, 1972. xx + 236 pp. $5.95. £2.85.

Philip Hanson, The Development of Advertising in Eastern Europe. London: The Advertising Association [1973]. (Research Studies in Advertising No. 7.) 140 pp. £1.75 (paperback).

Josef Breburda (ed.), Landwirtschaftliche Probleme der Ukraine. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1971. 235 pp.

Werner G. Hahn, The Politics of Soviet Agriculture, 1960–1970. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins UP, 1972. xix + 311 pp. £5.65.

Gayle Durham Hollander, Soviet Political Indoctrination. Developments in Mass Media and Propaganda Since Stalin. New York: Praeger Publishers and London: Pall Mall Press, 1972. (Praeger Special Studies in International Politics and Public Affairs.) xviii + 244 pp. £6.25.

Zvi Y. Gitelman, Jewish Nationality and Soviet Politics. The Jewish Sections of the CPSU, 1917–1930. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton UP, 1972, and London: OUP, 1973. xii + 573 pp. $20.00. £10.00.

Michael Waller, The Language of Communism. A Commentary. London: The Bodley Head, 1972. 183 pp. £2.00.

Joseph S. Berliner, Economy, Society and Welfare: A Study in Social Economics. New York: Praeger Publishers and London: Pall Mall Press, 1972. xvii + 196 pp. £5.75.

James R. Millar (ed.), The Soviet Rural Community. A Symposium. Urbana and London: University of Illinois Press, 1971. xv + 420 pp. $12.50. £6.00.

J. Wilczynski, Profit, Risk and Incentives under Socialist Economic Planning. London: Macmillan, 1973. viii + 232 pp. £5.50.

E. L. Johnson, An Introduction to the Soviet Legal System. London: Methuen, 1972. viii + 243 pp. £1.60 (paperback).

Roy D. Laird, The Soviet Paradigm. An Experiment in Creating a Mono‐hierarchical Polity. New York: The Free Press and London: Collier‐Macmillan Publishers, 1971. xxviii + 272 pp. £4.00.

George R. Feiwel, Industrialization and Planning under Polish Socialism. Vol. I—Poland's Industrialization Policy: A Current Analysis. Sources of Economic Growth and Retrogression. Vol. II—Problems in Polish Economic Planning. Continuity, Change, and Prospects. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1971 and London: Pall Mall Press, 1972. (Praeger Special Studies in International Economics and Development.) xxv + 748 pp. and xvii + 454 pp. £10.50 and £8.50.

Dorothy W. Douglas, Transitional Economic Systems: The Polish‐Czech Example. Introduction by Lynn Turgeon, New York and London: Monthly Review Press, 1972. xxxii + 375 pp. £4.90.

David McLellan, The Thought of Karl Marx. An Introduction. London: Macmillan, 1971. ix + 237 pp. £3.50. £1.50 (paperback).

Daniel Tarschys, Beyond the State. The Future Polity in Classical and Soviet Marxism. Stockholm: Scandinavian University Books, 1971. 261 pp. (paperback).     

Police officers’ attitudes toward their role and work: A comparison of black and white officers

This study tests whether Black and White police officers differ in job-related attitudes. The analyses focus on officers’ attitudes toward police role, selective enforcement, legal restrictions, and departmental problem-solving efforts. Survey data were collected from the Indianapolis Police Department (IPD) during the summer of 1996. Findings show that compared to White officers, Black officers tend to have a broad role orientation, be less selective, and have positive attitudes toward legal restrictions. Implications for future research and policy are also discussed.     

The accuracy and validity of the Sheffield Features of Gait Tool

Gait is now widely used in the UK as a contributor to identification, and increasing interest is being shown in its use in both Europe and the US. One of the long standing criticisms of the use of gait as evidence has been the lack of a validated standard methodology. With the publication of the ‘Code of practice for forensic gait analysis’, and the adoption of the code as part of the ‘Codes of Practice and Conduct for forensic science providers and practitioners in the Criminal Justice System’ by the Forensic Science Regulator, forensic gait analysts are now required to provide evidence of the testing of the methods used. The Sheffield Features of Gait Tool is specifically designed to assist observational gait analysis in the forensic context, and was developed by forensic gait analysis practitioners based on their casework and trial experience. Birch et al 2019 reported the findings of a study undertaken to assess the repeatability and reproducibility of the tool. This paper reports the findings of a study undertaken to assess the accuracy with which analysts identified features of gait when using the tool.Fourteen participants, with experience in observational gait analysis, viewed footage of computer generated avatars walking, and completed the features of gait tool on multiple occasions. The results showed a mean accuracy score of 134.92 out of a possible 180 (74.96%), a standard deviation of 9.49 (5.27%) and a coefficient of variation of 7.03%, demonstrating a good degree of consistency between the scores (Cronbach’s alpha <0.90; ANOVA p-value <0.05).The findings of this study, coupled with those of the Birch et al 2019 study which showed there to be good levels of both repeatability and reproducibility of observations of features of gait made by the participants, suggest that the Sheffield Features of Gait Tool is a valid and fit for purpose method of observing and recording features of gait in the forensic context. The use of the tool provides the basis of a standardised methodology for observational gait analysis in the forensic context.     

The “Rights Awakening” of Chinese Migrant Workers: Beyond the Generational Perspective

ABSTRACT

?In the spring of 2010, the strike of the Honda workers in Nanhai instigated an on-going discourse on the “rights awakening” of the “new generation of migrant workers.” Since then, much has been written about these young workers, generally described as more pro-active and ready to stand up against their employers than the older and more subservient generation. Drawing from statistical findings from two factory-gate surveys in the metal mechanics and garment sectors in Shenzhen, this paper tests two hypotheses: (a) that workers of the younger generation are more cognizant of their legal rights than older workers; (b) that the younger generation wants to work fewer hours and to enjoy life more. We argue that this popular image of the younger generation of migrant workers is one-dimensional and reductive, as it focuses only on generational differences as an explanatory factor for worker activism, while ignoring other issues such as types of industries and payment systems. In this paper, we purport that these elements play important roles in shaping the attitude of this younger generation toward their work and rights.     

Conflicting Patterns of Thought in the Russian Debate on Modernisation and Innovation 2008–2013

This article draws conclusions based on an analysis of the relationship between economic ideas and institutional change in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia, so far covering roughly the years from 1971 to 2007. It analyses the recent debate on economic modernisation in Russian economics. We argue that the relative failure of transition has to be seen in the context of a ‘failed transition of the mind’ and that the recent modernisation debate resembles the debate of the Brezhnev period.     

Indian counterterrorism policy and the influence of the Global War on Terror

India has been a major victim of Islamist terrorism and has long fought against an array of Islamist terrorist groups. Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, India's previously lonely struggle against terrorism has taken place against the background of the US-led Global War on Terror (GWOT). After outlining India's Islamist terrorist challenge, this article examines India's evolving approach to counterterrorism and how the GWOT has influenced it. It concludes that India has adopted a localized, defensive, law-and-order approach to counterterrorism which has evolved in response to various attacks over the years but still remains seriously underdeveloped. The GWOT has influenced Indian counterterrorism in important ways, although its influence has been subtle and indirect rather than transformative. The GWOT has enhanced Indo-American counterterror cooperation, shaped India's terror environment by launching the war in Afghanistan and enriched Indian counterterrorism with American experience. Just as important, it has also had an impact on India's debate on counterterrorism, civil liberties and human rights.     

Promoting an Environmental Civil Society: Politics,Policy, and Russia's Post‐1991 Experience

In recent years the United Nations Environment Program, UN Conference on Environment and Development, and other international organizations have acknowledged the importance of civil society for engaging stakeholders in environmental change—especially at the local community level—and in promoting democracy. ¹ In Russia, efforts by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to promote reform since 1991 have aimed at achieving both objectives and face numerous political, legal, and attitudinal hurdles. This article examines these hurdles and the factors that facilitate development of an environmentally conscious civil society in Russia through analysis of the views of 100 representatives of environmental NGOs, news media, scientific community, corporations, and public agencies. We also investigate three abbreviated but illustrative vignettes that illuminate civil society impediments. Our thesis is that successful efforts to ensure adequate protection of Russia's environment require a strengthening of civil society.