Scott W. Phillips and James J. Sobol
The purpose of this paper is to compare two conflicting theoretical frameworks that predict or explain police decision making. Klinger's ecological theory proposes that an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare two conflicting theoretical frameworks that predict or explain police decision making. Klinger's ecological theory proposes that an increased level of serious crimes in an area decreases the likelihood an officer will deal with order‐maintenance issues, while Fagan and Davies suggest an increase in low‐level disorder will increase order maintenance behavior of police officers.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a vignette research design, the authors examines factors that may contribute to police officers’ decision to make a traffic stop in four jurisdictions with varying levels of serious crime. Ordered logistic regression with robust standard errors was used in the analysis.
Findings
Analysis of the findings demonstrates that officers who work in higher crime areas are less likely to stop a vehicle, as described in the vignettes. Additional predictors of police decision to stop include vehicles driven by teenaged drivers and drivers who were speeding in a vehicle.
Research limitations/implications
The current research is limited to an adequate but fairly small sample size (n=204), and research design that examines hypothetical scenarios of police decision making. Further data collection across different agencies with more officers and more variation in crime levels is necessary to extend the current findings.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the literature in two primary ways. First, it compares two competing theoretical claims to examine a highly discretionary form of police behavior and second, it uniquely uses a vignette research design to tap into an area of police behavior that is difficult to study (e.g. the decision not to stop).
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The purpose of this paper is to use Klinger's theory of negotiated order to examine whether district crime and deviance levels exert influence on levels of police cynicism towards…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use Klinger's theory of negotiated order to examine whether district crime and deviance levels exert influence on levels of police cynicism towards district residents. A secondary purpose is to discuss the policy implications for the proposed relationship between district crime and police cynicism.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews from the Project on Policing Neighborhood (POPN) and patrol district crime data were used to study whether crime and deviance levels exert influence on police cynicism of district residents (n=574). It was hypothesized that officers would be more cynical of citizens in districts with higher rates of violent crime compared with their colleagues assigned to districts with lower rates of violent crime.
Findings
The results of OLS regression analyses indicate that district violent crime rate was related to police cynicism and in the direction hypothesized, controlling for both individual and occupational covariates. Officers with more experience were also found to have lower levels of cynicism.
Research limitations/implications
Items used to construct the measure of police cynicism were adapted from the POPN survey data set which asked general questions about officer perceptions of district residents. Further research and better measures are necessary in order to examine the determinants of police cynicism with implications for explaining behavior. Findings from the study might be used by policymakers in terms of police assignment and deployment to high crime areas.
Originality/value
This is the first empirical attempt at examining Klinger's theory of social ecology. The study incorporates a policy argument based on the theoretical precepts and the results from the data analysis.
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Tanya Bondarouk and Christina-Maria Friebe
The purpose of this study is to offer an integrated literature review of shared services’ organizational structures by specifically focusing on centralization, specialization…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to offer an integrated literature review of shared services’ organizational structures by specifically focusing on centralization, specialization, control, and formalization mechanisms.
Methodology/approach
A sample consisting of 103 empirical and conceptual articles, identified in a structured literature search in Science Direct and Scopus, was analyzed. The focus was on exploring the structural dimensions of shared services in various fields: Supply Chains, Finance, Human Resource Management, and Information Technologies. Findings from the selected articles were codified alongside the structural dimensions drawn from contingency theory.
Findings
Most of the papers identified were concerned with the Human Resource function or with Accounting and Finance in the private sector. Purchasing was only mentioned in a few general articles and Marketing not represented at all, even though the literature suggests that shared services do exist in this field. This uneven distribution across fields, as well as the reality that many articles fail to make clear divisions between disciplines, is hardly conducive to identifying trends for individual disciplines, and only general trends for each dimension could be identified. Although centralization was one of the most discussed dimensions, there was no consensus as to whether shared services should be centralized or decentralized. Standardization and formalization were both found to be highly important, although a need for customization was also emphasized.
Implications
Future research should be oriented toward the structural dimensions of shared services in a broader range of fields as current findings are dominated by the Human Resource function. Another implication of our findings is that scholars could usefully test empirically the dimensions, especially those where opinions differed the most: centralization and specialization.
Originality/value
Earlier conceptualizations noted that the mixed shared service outcomes stem from the diversity in governance and several contingency factors. This work continues the exploration of the contingency factors and mechanisms that, through integration, allow shared services to respond to the environmental uncertainty. The value of this chapter is in examining the structures of different functional types of shared services that are reported as successful in the literature, thus offering an overview of best practices in organizing shared services.
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This article provides a broad overview of telecommunications and network‐related technologies. Topics covered include identification and review of network elements, analog and…
Abstract
This article provides a broad overview of telecommunications and network‐related technologies. Topics covered include identification and review of network elements, analog and digital signals, synchronous and asynchronous transmission formats, transmission media and equipment, transmission techniques and characteristics, multiplexing, network types, access technologies, network architectures and topologies, local‐area network technologies and attributes, protocols and protocol issues, gateways, internetworking, local networking alternatives, equipment certification, and various aspects of network management. It is intended to provide the practicing professional in the field of library and information science with a broad, up‐to‐date technical review that might serve to support and facilitate further investigation of current developments in networks and networking. Although the broad range of topics is not treated in depth, numerous references are provided for further investigation.
James Popham, Mary McCluskey, Michael Ouellet and Owen Gallupe
Police-reported incidents of cybercrime appear to vary dramatically across Canadian municipal police services. This paper explores cybercrime reporting by police services in eight…
Abstract
Purpose
Police-reported incidents of cybercrime appear to vary dramatically across Canadian municipal police services. This paper explores cybercrime reporting by police services in eight of Canada's largest municipalities, assessing (1) variation over time; (2) variation across jurisdictions; and (3) correlates of reporting volumes.
Design/methodology/approach
Data was collected from a combination of national Uniform Crime Report statistics and annual reports by police services. Two repeated one-way ANOVA tests and a Pearson's r correlation matrix were used to assess variation and correlation.
Findings
Findings suggest that police-reported cybercrime varies significantly across jurisdictions but not over time. Moreover, negative relationships were observed between police-reported cybercrime incidents per 100,000 residents and calls for service per 100,000, as well as number of sworn officers per 100,000.
Research limitations/implications
The study assessed a small sample of cities (N = 8) providing 32 data points, which inhibited robust multivariate analyses. Data also strictly represents calls to police services, therefore excluding alternative resolutions such as public–private interventions.
Practical implications
Canadian provincial and federal governments should consider engaging in high-level talks to harmonize cybercrime reporting strategies within frontline policing. This will mitigate disparity and provide more accurate representations of cybercrime for future policy development. Additionally, services should revisit internal policies and procedures, as it appears that cybercrime is deprioritized in high call volume situations.
Originality/value
This paper introduces previously unreported data about police-reported cybercrime incidents in Canada. Furthermore, it adds quantitative evidence to support previous qualitative studies on police responses to cybercrime.
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Michal Misiak, Malgorzata Sobol, Lukasz Sakowski, Marta Kowal, Aleksandra Jurczyk and Lidia Wojtycka
The goal of the present research was to resolve two problems with contemporary methods used to assess consumer food waste: the lack of established categories of food wasting…
Abstract
Purpose
The goal of the present research was to resolve two problems with contemporary methods used to assess consumer food waste: the lack of established categories of food wasting behaviours and difficulties in assessing food waste. In Studies 1 A and 1 B, a five-factor questionnaire for measuring food wasting behaviours was developed. Study 2 and Exploratory analyses verified whether the questionnaire allows for predicting the amount of wasted meat, dairy and bakery and a range of socioeconomic characteristics.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on pre-registered studies, a new questionnaire for measuring the frequency of food wasting behaviours, the Food Wasting Behaviours Questionnaire (FWBQ), was developed.
Findings
The results provided evidence that behaviours associated with food wasting could be narrowed down to five distinctive basic categories: (1) discarding food because of its' unpalatability; (2) preventing food waste through buying only the necessities; (3) preventing food waste through planning; (4) preventing food waste through sharing and (5) preventing food waste through feeding animals. The FWBQ allowed for investigating the socio-economic factors that influence food wasting behaviour. Finally, the FWBQ allowed for predicting the amount of wasted meat, dairy and bakery products. Also, particular factors were associated with a range of socioeconomic characteristics.
Originality/value
The FWBQ has been shown to be an inexpensive and easy-to-use method for systematising distinct categories of food wasting behaviours and demonstrating their determinants. The study takes an empirical approach (rather than intuitive) to distinguish separate categories of food wasting.
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Ryley McConkey, Nikhila Kalia, Eugene Yee and Fue-Sang Lien
Industrial simulations of turbulent flows often rely on Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence models, which contain numerous closure coefficients that need to be…
Abstract
Purpose
Industrial simulations of turbulent flows often rely on Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence models, which contain numerous closure coefficients that need to be calibrated. This paper aims to address this issue by proposing a semi-automated calibration of these coefficients using a new framework (referred to as turbo-RANS) based on Bayesian optimization.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors introduce the generalized error and default coefficient preference (GEDCP) objective function, which can be used with integral, sparse or dense reference data for the purpose of calibrating RANS turbulence closure model coefficients. Then, the authors describe a Bayesian optimization-based algorithm for conducting the calibration of these model coefficients. An in-depth hyperparameter tuning study is conducted to recommend efficient settings for the turbo-RANS optimization procedure.
Findings
The authors demonstrate that the performance of the k-ω shear stress transport (SST) and generalized k-ω (GEKO) turbulence models can be efficiently improved via turbo-RANS, for three example cases: predicting the lift coefficient of an airfoil; predicting the velocity and turbulent kinetic energy fields for a separated flow; and, predicting the wall pressure coefficient distribution for flow through a converging-diverging channel.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is the first to propose and provide an open-source black-box calibration procedure for turbulence model coefficients based on Bayesian optimization. The authors propose a data-flexible objective function for the calibration target. The open-source implementation of the turbo-RANS framework includes OpenFOAM, Ansys Fluent, STAR-CCM+ and solver-agnostic templates for user application.
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James Poon Teng Fatt, Meng Wei, Sze Yuen and Wee Suan
Defines corporate image and looks at the expectations of the various stakeholders and the message which the image aims to convey to each one.Outlines the details of a study of 200…
Abstract
Defines corporate image and looks at the expectations of the various stakeholders and the message which the image aims to convey to each one.Outlines the details of a study of 200 questionnaires covering the stakeholders perceptions in relation to corporate image and a target market in Singapore. Concludes that corporate image can have significant effects on perception and suggests further areas for research.