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Article
Publication date: 23 April 2020

Paige S. Thompson, Bryce E. Peterson and Daniel S. Lawrence

This paper explores community members' perceptions of the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD)'s body-worn camera (BWC) program, examining knowledge and support of the program and…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper explores community members' perceptions of the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD)'s body-worn camera (BWC) program, examining knowledge and support of the program and its impact on views of procedural justice and legitimacy.

Design/methodology/approach

A two-wave, online survey was administered to Milwaukee-area residents in the fall of 2017 and summer of 2018, yielding 1,527 respondents. Multivariate regression analyses focus on overall relationships between sociodemographic characteristics, community member knowledge of the program, procedural justice and legitimacy and support for BWCs.

Findings

Community members are supportive of BWCs and view officers as procedurally just and legitimate; however, perceptions were significantly lower among Black respondents. Respondents with knowledge of the BWC program were more likely to view officers as procedurally just, but program knowledge did not increase support for it.

Research limitations/implications

Police agencies may benefit from improving community awareness of their BWC program as knowledge of the program is positively linked to the views of departmental procedural justice and legitimacy. However, education efforts alone are not sufficient in improving police–community relations. Future research should examine how policing stakeholders can engage the community to build views of legitimacy associated with BWC policies.

Originality/value

Findings provide insight into community member perceptions of a large BWC program in a major US city. Results demonstrate the relationship between knowledge of a department's BWC program and views of procedural justice and legitimacy and support for BWCs.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 43 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2006

Sebastiaan Rothmann

The purpose of this paper was to assess the expectations of policing of citizens and police members in South Africa and to determine citizens' perceptions of the police.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper was to assess the expectations of policing of citizens and police members in South Africa and to determine citizens' perceptions of the police.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper shows a cross‐sectional survey design was used. Stratified random samples of both the police (N=677) and the community (N=2,153) were taken in the North West Province of South Africa. The measuring battery for the community contained two sections, namely a section with biographical questions and items about contact with the police, neighbourhood concerns and confidence in the police, and a section about expectations. The measuring battery for police members also included two sections, namely a section with biographical questions, and a section with questions about their (police members') perceptions of the community's expectations.

Findings

The paper finds that regarding community expectations, a principal component analysis with a direct oblimin rotation resulted in four internally consistent factors, namely crime prevention, crime investigation, control, and assistance. The results showed that members of the community and the police differ regarding perceptions of present policing priorities. Most police members reported that their performance in serving the community was good, while a total of 47 percent of community members who had contact with the police showed little confidence in the police, and 44 percent felt dissatisfied with the service they received from the police.

Research limitations/implications

The paper researches the relationship between what the community expects of the police and the perception police members have of their functions in only one province in South Africa. More research into expectations in other provinces is needed.

Originality/value

The results of this paper can be used as a baseline for future studies of the expectations of, and satisfaction with, the police in South Africa.

Details

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, vol. 29 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 January 2018

Odhiambo Odera, Albert Scott and Jeff Gow

This paper aims to identify factors influencing and shaping community perceptions of oil companies which present fertile ground for a better understanding of their actions.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to identify factors influencing and shaping community perceptions of oil companies which present fertile ground for a better understanding of their actions.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative methodology is adopted where primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews from members of three communities in the Niger Delta: Ogbunabali community in Port Harcourt (Rivers State), Biogbolo community in Yenagoa (Bayelsa State) and Ogunu community in Warri (Delta State). The interview data were recorded, transcribed and qualitatively analysed using content analysis with NVivo software.

Findings

Perceptions regarding negative and positive aspects of the oil companies were identified. These included environmental concerns; lack of compensation; health effects; lack of social development; neglect of communities; not creating employment opportunities; and providing community and educational support.

Research limitations/implications

A major limitation regards the small number of respondents selected from the communities. The sample of the interviewees was constrained by their availability and accessibility, which might have injected some bias. Gathering data from other stakeholders such as non-governmental organisations, consumers, investors and creditors may provide a deeper understanding of social and environmental practices. Another approach would be to extend this study by examining the perceptions of relevant government officials towards social and environmental concerns in developing countries.

Originality/value

The qualitative research methodology utilised in this study uses content analysis to examine views of communities about oil companies’ commitments to their social and environmental concerns. An understanding of social and environmental commitments allows diverse stakeholders such as communities to become more engaged with issues affecting them.

Details

Journal of Global Responsibility, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2041-2568

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 October 2020

Jihye Kim, Hyung-Min Kim and Minseong Kim

The purpose of this study is to investigate the structural relationships between a sense of virtual community (SOVC), community satisfaction, community involvement, community

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the structural relationships between a sense of virtual community (SOVC), community satisfaction, community involvement, community commitment and alternative attractiveness in the online fan community context.

Design/methodology/approach

This study gathered and empirically analyzed data from 277 members of the online Super Junior fan community with frequency, reliability, confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modeling (SEM) with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 20.0 and AMOS 24.0.

Findings

The findings of SEM indicated that community satisfaction was significantly influenced by the four dimensions of SOVC, while community involvement was significantly affected by membership and fulfillment of needs. Also, community commitment and alternative attractiveness were significantly impacted by community satisfaction and community involvement. Lastly, privacy concern moderated the paths from influence to community satisfaction and from community satisfaction to community commitment, respectively.

Practical implications

The findings of this study should help online fan community administrators to reduce members' perception of alternative attractiveness (other fan communities) and to understand how privacy concern influences members' attitudes toward the online community.

Originality/value

In light of the findings, a greater understanding of the determinants of community commitment and alternative attractiveness along with privacy concern is critical in retaining virtual fan communities' members over the long-term.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 31 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 September 2018

Ernest Mensah Abraham, Valentina Asor, Florence Torviawu, Helen Yeboah and Frank Laryea

This paper aims to ascertain how knowledge of corporate social responsibility (CSR) by community members influenced their perception of Anglo Gold Ashanti (AGA) and its reputation.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to ascertain how knowledge of corporate social responsibility (CSR) by community members influenced their perception of Anglo Gold Ashanti (AGA) and its reputation.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a qualitative approach using the phenomenology design. The population of the study was the residents of the Obuasi Municipality and a sample size of 20 was used. Purposive sampling was used to select both the sample frame and the respondents for the interview. An interview guide was used to carry out the in-depth interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview notes.

Findings

The study found out that the CSR carried out by AGA was mainly for philanthropic or ethical purposes. The CSR of AGA was perceived to be very important for the Obuasi Municipality, except that it has not been done to the satisfaction of the community members. There was a gap between the perception of the community members about AGA’s CSR and the observed CSR activities of AGA.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are based on people’s experiences and may differ in another geographic area even within the same country. People’s experiences may be different from reality.

Practical implications

Detailed background study is required to understand the expectations of communities where mining firms operate.

Social implications

It is important for companies to appreciate the fact that communities in Africa have high expectations from entities doing business because there are real needs in communities.

Originality/value

Poor CSR practices will jeopardise the relationship between the firm and the community.

Details

Social Responsibility Journal, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-1117

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 March 2021

Hayley Cocker, Rebecca Mardon and Kate L. Daunt

This paper aims to elucidate instances whereby celebrity endorsements by social media influencers (SMIs) embedded within online consumption communities are perceived as…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to elucidate instances whereby celebrity endorsements by social media influencers (SMIs) embedded within online consumption communities are perceived as transgressive by their fellow community members. In doing so, this study provides insights into the new challenges and considerations that such community contexts present for celebrity endorsement.

Design/methodology/approach

The research team conducted a longitudinal, netnographic study of the YouTube beauty community, involving an initial phase of netnographic immersion followed by an investigative netnography that examined community members’ response to celebrity endorsements by 12 SMIs within the community.

Findings

This study identifies five recurring celebrity endorsement transgressions, each violating an established moral responsibility within the community. The paper explores how community members attribute responsibility for transgressive endorsements and identifies consequences for both the SMI and the endorsed brand.

Research limitations/implications

This study focused on a single consumption community, developing a deep understanding of the distinct moral responsibilities that shape the reception of celebrity endorsements within this context.

Practical implications

The paper presents managerial recommendations that will aid both SMIs and brands in implementing celebrity endorsements that avoid communal perceptions of transgression.

Originality/value

The analysis extends prior study on celebrity endorsement by SMIs by explaining when and why SMI endorsements are likely to be perceived as transgressive by the community and providing new insights into community member responses to transgressive SMI endorsements. It also extends wider theories of celebrity endorsement by highlighting the influence of consumption community contexts upon endorsement reception and examining consumer responses to celebrity endorsements perceived as transgressive in and of themselves.

Article
Publication date: 29 September 2023

Lois James, Stephen James and Renée Jean Mitchell

The authors evaluated the impact of an anti-bias training intervention for improving police behavior during interactions with community members and public perceptions of…

Abstract

Purpose

The authors evaluated the impact of an anti-bias training intervention for improving police behavior during interactions with community members and public perceptions of discrimination.

Design/methodology/approach

Fifty patrol officers from a diverse municipal agency were randomly selected to participate in an anti-bias intervention. Before and after the intervention, a random selection of Body Worn Camera (BWC) videos from the intervention group as well as from a control group of officers was coded using a validated tool for coding police “performance” during interactions with the public. Discrimination-based community member complaints were also collected before and after the intervention for treatment and control group officers.

Findings

The treatment group had a small but significant increase in performance scores compared to control group officers, F = 4.736, p = 0.009, R2ß < 0.01. They also had a small but significantly reduced number of discrimination-based complaints compared to control group officers, F = 3.042, p = 0.049, p2 = 0.015. These results suggest that anti-bias training could have an impact on officer behaviors during interactions with public and perceptions of discrimination.

Originality/value

Although these results are from a single municipal police department, this is the first study to suggest that anti-bias trainings may have a positive behavioral impact on police officers as well as the first to illustrate the potential for their impact on community members' perceptions of biased treatment by officers.

Details

Policing: An International Journal, vol. 46 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1363-951X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 5 June 2011

Linda R. Most

Research into the library as place investigates the role of public library buildings as destinations, physical places where people go for various reasons ranging from making use…

Abstract

Research into the library as place investigates the role of public library buildings as destinations, physical places where people go for various reasons ranging from making use of the library's resources and services or seeking to fulfill an information or reading need to less easily identified reasons that may include using the library's building as a place to make social or business contacts, to build or reinforce community or political ties, or to create or reinforce a personal identity. This study asks: How are one rural US public library system's newly constructed buildings functioning as places? The answer is derived from answers to sub-questions about adult library users, user, and staff perceptions of library use, and observed use of library facilities. The findings are contextualized using a framework built of theories from human geography, sociology, and information studies.

This case study replicates a mixed-methods case study conducted at the main public libraries in Toronto and Vancouver in the late1990s and first reproduced in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2006. It tests methods used in large urban settings in a rural, small-town environment. This study also expands on its antecedents by using thematic analysis to determine which conceptualizations of the role of the public library as place are most relevant to the community under investigation.

The study relies on quantitative and qualitative data collected via surveys and interviews of adult library users, interviews of library public service staff members, structured observations of people using the libraries, and analysis of selected administrative documents. The five sets of data are triangulated to answer the research sub-questions.

Thematic analysis grounded in the conceptual framework finds that public realm theory best contextualizes the relationships that develop between library staff members and adult library users over time. The study finds that the libraries serve their communities as informational places and as familiarized locales rather than as third places, and that the libraries facilitate the generation of social capital for their users.

Details

Advances in Library Administration and Organization
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-014-8

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 October 2018

Vishag Badrinarayanan and Jeremy J. Sierra

Understanding consumer engagement in brand-centric collectives remains a critical area of interest in the branding literature. Although various antecedents have been examined in…

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Abstract

Purpose

Understanding consumer engagement in brand-centric collectives remains a critical area of interest in the branding literature. Although various antecedents have been examined in prior research, membersperceptions regarding how society evaluates such collectives remain under-explored. Focusing on brand tribes as the focal brand-centric consumer collective, the aim of this research is to examine and replicate the effects of inferences regarding societal approval (i.e. reputation, stigma and legitimacy) on members’ commitment to the tribe and brand tribalism.

Design/methodology/approach

Two distinct video game communities – one typically described in research and media as mainstream (Study 1; N = 242) and the other as deviant (Study 2; N = 926) – are used for data collection. Structural equation modeling is used to test hypotheses.

Findings

Interestingly, the significance and the direction of the paths differ meaningfully for these samples. For the mainstream community, reputation relates positively to legitimacy, while stigma relates inversely to both legitimacy and commitment. For the deviant community, reputation relates positively to legitimacy, while stigma relates positively to both legitimacy and commitment. For the mainstream community, reputation relates positively to commitment; for the deviant community, this relationship is non-significant. In turn, positive effects are found for legitimacy and commitment on brand tribalism (mainstream community) and for commitment on brand tribalism (deviant community).

Research limitations/implications

Using data from video gamers within mainstream and deviant communities may constrain external validity. As effect sizes in this setting are cognized, researchers have additional benchmarks for future brand tribalism research.

Practical implications

Perceived societal approval influences engagement in brand communities, albeit in different ways depending on the type of community. Therefore, perceptions of societal approval among current and potential brand community members must be acknowledged and understood by marketers. Within mainstream and deviant video game communities, such tribal-laden following exists. By further understanding determinants of brand tribalism, marketers and brand managers are in a better position to devise adroit strategies that appeal to targeted consumers, thereby boosting brand value.

Originality/value

Conceptualizing brand tribalism anthropologically, this study adds to the branding literature by examining cardinal, brand community/tribe-linked antecedents of brand tribalism, whereas previous study explores brand tribalism from the perspective of members’ evaluation of focal brands and existing community members. This investigation is fixated on membersperceptions of societal impressions of the brand tribe, offering novel insight to brand tribe formation. Further, although pure replication is pursued, the results of the path analysis between the mainstream and deviant community samples vary, suggesting not all tribes are formed equally even within the same industry/context.

Details

Journal of Product & Brand Management, vol. 27 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1061-0421

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 August 2016

Ernest Mensah Abraham, Adrienne Martin, Olufunke Cofie and Liqa Raschid-Sally

– The purpose of this paper is to explore people’s perceptions, stated attitudes, and observed and reported behaviour to water and other environmental quality.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore people’s perceptions, stated attitudes, and observed and reported behaviour to water and other environmental quality.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a mixed method approach. It employed a cross-sectional survey design. Ten communities were selected in Accra and its surrounding communities to indicate various levels of infrastructure provision and environmental quality. Four separate focus group discussions (FGDs) were carried out in each community, with a mixed group of older and young adult men and women, a group of men only, a group of women only, and a group of young adults only. Following the FGDs, further information was obtained through structured household questionnaire survey involving 443 respondents.

Findings

Different ideas were employed to explain people’s perceptions of water quality. There were common ideas such as on health, history of water use, perceptions which affect water use, and management of community activities which affect water sources. These ideas which emerged from the focus groups helped participants to assign meaning to their environment. Reported behaviour was influenced by the ability to pay for services, their availability and the influence of shared community norms. Although citizen participation in water and environmental management decision making was very limited, community collective action can be harnessed to enhance water and other environmental management.

Originality/value

Adopted an interdisciplinary approach that enabled explanations to phenomenon to emerge from the perspectives of the society rather than views being suggested to them. Thus, resulting in evidence-based issues for intervention.

Details

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, vol. 27 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7835

Keywords

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