Shepard, Leslie A., ed. Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology; A Compendium of Information on the Occult Sciences, Magic, Demonology, Superstitions, Spiritism, Mysticism…
Abstract
Shepard, Leslie A., ed. Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology; A Compendium of Information on the Occult Sciences, Magic, Demonology, Superstitions, Spiritism, Mysticism, Metaphysics, Psychical Science, and Parapsychology. 2d ed. 3 vols. Detroit: Gale, 1985. $245. 1,617p. ISBN 0–8103–0196–2. OCLC 10457831. As its title indicates, the Encyclopedia treats a wide range of topics. A reader can find in its three volumes information on witchcraft, spiritualism, the development of the field of parapsychology at Duke University, unidentified flying objects, and the Reverend Jim Jones. Like the first edition, this is based on two older, single‐volume works, the Encyclopedia of Occultism by Lewis Spence and the Encyclopaedia of Psychic Science by Nandor Fodor. Over three thousand entries from these books appear, largely intact, in the present work. A few minor editorial changes are made for clarity, and many minor inaccuracies are corrected. Moreover, additional sections, paragraphs, sentences, dates, or addresses are added where the editor feels there is a need for updating. The entries of Fodor and Spence are supplemented by over thirteen hundred new entries written by the editor. These articles largely reflect fields, events, persons, organizations, and periodicals of the period since the publication of the earlier volumes.
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Jack R. Greene, Christian Mouhanna, Sema A. Taheri and David Squier Jones
Throughout the world the police have undergone considerable criticism for a lack of transparency and accountability. Many police agencies across the world have been grappling with…
Abstract
Purpose
Throughout the world the police have undergone considerable criticism for a lack of transparency and accountability. Many police agencies across the world have been grappling with how to improve transparency and accountability, as well as public acceptance of the police, most especially in minority and immigrant communities, which are the places where aggressive police tactics are often most visible.
Methodology/approach
This chapter considers policing in Boston, United States, and Bordeaux, France, framed by a three-part medical intervention model. The central thesis here is that in their quest to shed their other social support roles or in undercounting and undervaluing such efforts the police lose an opportunity to reframe the police legitimacy discussion. While issues of police legitimacy have been predominantly framed as fair treatment at the point of being stopped, admonished, arrested, or detained, much of what the police do to actually support communities is not much accounted for in the present legitimacy discourse.
Findings
Our preliminary findings suggest that public contact with the police goes well beyond issues of crime. Individuals and communities use the police for preventing harm, responding to a wide array of needs and for mitigating harm and fear, all of which help frame public opinion toward the police and hence shape the level of legitimacy accorded the police.
Originality/value
Analysis of police data from Boston and impressions from a developing effort in Bordeaux consider how the police are organized and what they do in these very different cultures, thereby broadening the conception and measurement of police efforts that support or detract from legitimacy.
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Jack R. Greene, Thomas M. Seamon and Paul R. Levy
Gives historical background to the new interest in “showcasing” inner cities of the USA. Focuses on Philadelphia as an example of government‐business alliance. Notes the former…
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Gives historical background to the new interest in “showcasing” inner cities of the USA. Focuses on Philadelphia as an example of government‐business alliance. Notes the former negative attitudes of public and private police toward each other and contrasts this with the growing understanding of their complementary roles.
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Matthew J. Hickman, Alex R. Piquero, Zachary A. Powell and Jack Greene
Klockars et al. use scenario methodology to measure perceived seriousness, level of discipline warranted, and willingness to report fellow officers engaged in various negative…
Abstract
Purpose
Klockars et al. use scenario methodology to measure perceived seriousness, level of discipline warranted, and willingness to report fellow officers engaged in various negative behaviors. These data are used to characterize the occupational culture of integrity in a given agency, relative to other agencies. What remains unclear is whether these agency-level findings mask important meso- and micro-level variation in the data (i.e. at the precinct/district and officer levels) that may contribute to a more complete understanding of an agency’s culture of integrity. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This study replicates and extends Klockars et al.’s work using data from a survey administered to 499 Philadelphia police officers, with the goal of both validating their methodological approach and exploring the need for multi-level theory in the study of police integrity. In addition to comparing the results from Philadelphia to those obtained by Klockars et al., the authors test for differences across officer demographics, and explore variance in the willingness to report various behaviors at both the officer- and district-levels.
Findings
Results indicate that bivariate relationships between officer-level demographics and willingness to report fellow officers are negated when controlling for theoretically relevant attitudinal variables such as cynicism and, consistent with Klockars et al., perceived seriousness of the underlying behavior. In addition, there is significant district-level variation in the average willingness to report fellow officers, and this variation can be explained by both organizational and environmental variables. On balance, the findings provide support for a multi-level approach to the study of police integrity.
Originality/value
While the Klockars et al. approach addresses macro-level variation in police integrity, this study contributes important findings at the meso- and micro-levels.
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Matthew J. Hickman, Zachary A. Powell, Alex R. Piquero and Jack Greene
Relying on a moral development theoretical framework, the purpose of this paper is to argue that the perceived seriousness of a particular behavior is a reflection of one’s…
Abstract
Purpose
Relying on a moral development theoretical framework, the purpose of this paper is to argue that the perceived seriousness of a particular behavior is a reflection of one’s broader attitudes toward ethical behaviors. Attitudes toward ethical behavior should provide both an elaborated explanation for the relationship between the perceived seriousness of a behavior and the likelihood of reporting a fellow officer for that behavior, as well as an alternative approach to the measurement and assessment of police integrity outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data from a sample of 499 Philadelphia police officers, the current study uses a modified fifteen item ethics scale first developed by Hyams (1990) and used by others, in order to examine its relation to integrity outcomes. The paper provides a full descriptive and measurement analysis of the scale and then explores its utility in understanding integrity outcomes through a variety of hypothetical scenarios.
Findings
While the perceived seriousness of a behavior is strongly predictive of the likelihood of reporting a fellow officer who engages in that behavior, the findings suggest that seriousness may be a proxy for attitudes toward ethical behaviors.
Originality/value
While Klockars et al.’s approach to the measurement of police integrity has been an important contribution to integrity research, other measures of police integrity such as attitudes toward ethical behavior are also useful as they move us conceptually from assessing attitudes toward ethical behavior to their antecedents – the strength of underlying value premises shaping subsequent attitudes.
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Matthew J. Hickman, Alex R. Piquero, Brian A. Lawton and Jack R. Greene
The work of scholars who study police deviance has yet to result in the development of a substantive theory with which to frame their collective efforts. Recently, Tittle advanced…
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The work of scholars who study police deviance has yet to result in the development of a substantive theory with which to frame their collective efforts. Recently, Tittle advanced a general theory of deviance that may help to fill this gap. The central premise of Tittle’s control balance theory is that the amount of control to which one is subject relative to the amount of control one can exercise (the control ratio) affects both the probability of deviance as well as the specific form of deviance. Examines the utility of control balance as a new theoretical orientation in police deviance research. Presents a framework for conceptualizing control balance within the special context of police deviance and, using data collected specifically for the purpose of operationalizing the control ratio, provides an empirical test. The data are drawn from a survey administered to 499 Philadelphia police officers. Scenario methodology was used to investigate the effects of officer control ratios on the probability of reporting a fellow officer who covers up an incident in which another officer was discovered driving while intoxicated (off duty), and second physically abuses a suspect in custody. Consistent with predictions derived from Tittle’s theory, results indicated that officers with control deficits are more likely to report fellow officers who engage in the behaviors portrayed in the scenarios. Future research directions are discussed.
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Matthew J. Hickman, Alex R. Piquero and Jack R. Greene
Police supervisor decision making with regard to disciplinary action has received scant empirical study in general, and has yet to be examined across gender. In this paper, we use…
Abstract
Police supervisor decision making with regard to disciplinary action has received scant empirical study in general, and has yet to be examined across gender. In this paper, we use official departmental disciplinary data from the Philadelphia Police Department for the period 1991‐1998 to study the extent to which gender parity exists in the formal disciplinary system. Three questions are investigated: (1) Is there an observable gender disproportionality in the police discipline punishment rates? (2) Is any observed gender disproportionality attributable to gender discrimination in the police disciplinary process or some earlier decision stage? (3) If any observed disproportionality is not attributable to the police disciplinary process, does the aggregate finding mask variation within offense categories? Three findings emanate from our effort. First, the results suggest that there is a minimal observed gender disproportionality. Second, with roughly 100 per cent of the observed gender disproportionality attributable to differential involvement in charging, it appears that the observed disparity can not be attached to the police disciplinary process. Third, the aggregate analysis masks offense‐specific variation in the percentage disproportionality unexplained by differential involvement in charging. Implications for police disciplinary practices and directions for future research are addressed.