Perception Of Insecurity Research Articles

The Role of Human Values in the Relationship Between Industry 4.0 and Job Insecurity in an Emerging Economy

ABSTRACTThis study analyses the relationship between Industry 4.0, human values and job insecurity in Colombia against significant technological changes and global economic challenges. It aims to understand how human values mediate the relationship between Industry 4.0's technological advances and the perception of job security in the current era of economic and social uncertainty. Utilising a Likert scale, the study gathered 714 survey responses from employees in medium and large Colombian companies. The study used a multistage multivariate analysis approach, starting with unidimensionality analysis, followed by reliability and validity analysis to measure accuracy. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were subsequently employed to test the underlying factor structures of the data. Finally, structural equation modelling integrated the findings, forming a model that sheds light on the relationships among the studied variables. The analysis revealed strong human values such as commitment, collaboration, tolerance, honesty and loyalty in the workplace. Interestingly, participants had a low perception of job insecurity, indicating a more complex relationship between technological advancements and job security perceptions. This study offers valuable insights into how human values shape the workforce's response to the rapid changes of Industry 4.0, particularly in an emerging economy like Colombia.

Sociodemographic factors associated with the level of citizen insecurity in the Peruvian population

Introduction: Citizen insecurity is a complex, multidimensional and multi-causal social problem, defined as the spaces where people feel insecure mainly due to organized crime in all nations that suffer from it. Objective: To analyzes the sociodemographic factors associated with public insecurity in a Peruvian population. Methodology: The research employed a non-experimental, quantitative design with a descriptive and cross-sectional approach. A total of 11,116, citizens participated, ranging from 18 to 85 years old (young adults, adults, and the elderly), of both sexes, and with any occupation, education level, and marital status. The study employed purposive non-probability sampling to select the participants. Results: More than 50% of the population feels unsafe, in public and private spaces. All analyzed sociodemographic variables (p < 0.05), showing distinctions in the perception of citizen insecurity based on age, gender, marital status, occupation, area of residence, and education level. It was determined that young, single students, who had not experienced a criminal event and reside in urban areas, regardless of gender, perceive a greater sense of insecurity. Contribution: The study is relevant due to the generality of the results in a significant sample, demonstrating that the study contributes to understanding how various elements of the socioeconomic and demographic context can influence the way in which individuals perceive insecurity in their communities, likewise, the perception of citizen insecurity directly affects the general well-being and quality of life of residents, influencing their behaviors and attitudes towards coexistence and public policies; which will help implement more effective actions in the sector to reduce crime rates.

Food for Thought: Young People and Youth Workers’ Perceptions of Food Insecurity and the Youth Work Response

While there is significant research on the impact of food insecurity, there is less so through the lens of young people and the youth work response. Therefore, this research presents findings from a small-scale United Kingdom-based study asking what are young people’s and youth workers perceptions of food insecurity and the youth work response. Focus group research methodology was adopted. The research recognised that food insecurity is part of a wider issue of poverty and inequality, and we explored how this is perceived by young people and youth workers at the Personal, Cultural, and Structural levels whilst also situating issues of food insecurity in the global context. Themes of togetherness, relationship, otherness, disempowerment, and learning were identified as key components in the youth work response to food insecurity. A number of recommendations are made, including the importance of highlighting the power of youth work in responding to young people experiencing food insecurity. The youth work approach has application to all professions working to challenge issues of food insecurity and social injustice.

BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE: URBAN VIOLENCE IN THE CITY OF CAMPINA GRANDE-PB

Urban and rural violence in Brazil affects the development and appropriation of public spaces. Rising crime generates fear, reducing interaction in urban environments and favoring their privatization. Campina Grande, a medium-sized city, faces challenges typical of large centers, such as violence that restricts the use of public areas. This study analyzes how violence influences the appropriation of these spaces, highlighting socioeconomic, legal, and ideological factors that shape their perception and use. The study seeks to understand the impact of violence on quality of life and the right to the city, exploring urban reorganization strategies. The research uses data from public agencies, such as IBGE and the Ministry of Justice, as well as academic sources, to map neighborhoods with the highest crime rates. The study reveals that violence in Campina Grande has fluctuated over the last two decades, with an increase until 2016 and a recent recovery. However, vulnerable areas such as Bodocongó and Malvinas remain impacted, with insecurity and a lack of infrastructure limiting the use of public spaces, reinforcing urban segregation. Even with the reduction in violence rates, the perception of insecurity still hinders social interaction in these places.

The Double-Edged Sword of Short-Time Work: Job Insecurity, Financial Stress, and Leisure Experience during COVID-19

AbstractFor many employees, the COVID-19 pandemic-related policies triggered concerns about job security. At the same time, companies in many countries made greater use of state-financed short-time work (i.e., where employees could keep their jobs, work less or not at all, and still receive a substantial surrogate wage). Even though such a measure certainly helps mitigate negative financial effects, employees in short-time work can be expected to experience job insecurity and financial stress. It can also be assumed that the additional free time is not experienced positively in times of lockdowns and social distancing. Therefore, the effects of short-time work during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020 on employees’ perceived job insecurity, financial stress, and their leisure experience were examined in Germany. The results of a cross-sectional online study (N = 343) showed that short-time workers experienced greater job insecurity and financial stress as compared to full-time workers. Furthermore, the perception of job insecurity and financial stress among short-time workers was negatively related to satisfaction with their leisure time (i.e., leisure experience).

Impact of career development, job insecurity, and tech awareness on the quiet quitting of hospitality employees in Indonesia

Employee performance is one of the main drivers for company development. However, there is an emergence of quiet quitting behavior, which many Generation Z workers experience. This behavior is detrimental to the company because it affects employee performance. The objective of this study is to analyze the influence of perceptions of career development opportunities, job insecurity, and awareness of intelligent technology on quiet quitting and its correlation with work performance, especially in Generation Z in Jakarta, Indonesia. This paper adopts an explanatory research design to elucidate the causal relationships between these variables using quantitative methods. Stratified random sampling was used to ensure representative data. Questionnaires were distributed to 289 hotel employees in Jakarta, capturing diverse perspectives across various job roles and departments. The data were analyzed using SmartPLS. The results showed a significant negative relationship between perceived career development opportunities and quiet quitting behavior. A positive and significant relationship exists between job insecurity and quiet quitting behavior. The study identifies a positive correlation between awareness of smart technology and quiet quitting behavior. Additionally, the paper reveals a significant negative relationship between quiet quitting behavior and employee performance. Perceived career development opportunities significantly reduce quiet quitting behavior, while job insecurity and awareness of smart technology increase it. Quiet quitting behavior, in turn, significantly negatively impacts employee performance. Organizations can develop targeted strategies to reduce this behavior by understanding the factors influencing quiet quitting.

Bankers and Sheriffs? The Economy, Public Security, and Vote Intention for Presidential Incumbents in Central America

ABSTRACT Students of Latin American politics have identified the economy and public security as relevant determinants of voting behaviour. This article extends those insights to Central America. We use a decade of AmericasBarometer data from 2008 to 2018 to study whether voters in six Central American countries prioritise economic or public security issues when casting votes for the incumbent candidate or party. The results reveal that positive economic perceptions – retrospective national outlook in particular – help explain rewarding incumbents. In turn, the perception of insecurity, more than crime victimisation, is related to punishing incumbents. Therefore, the evidence suggests Central Americans behave like bankers and sheriffs when casting votes, although economic views weigh more than public security perceptions. The results indicate strikingly similar accountability patterns across countries.

The Paradox of Job Retention Schemes: A Latent Growth Curve Modeling Approach to Immediate and Prolonged Effects of Short-Time Work on Job Insecurity and Employee Well-Being

Many countries rely on short-time work to prevent mass layoffs in economic crises. Despite serving to protect jobs, short-time work may trigger job insecurity perceptions, which may impair employee well-being. Moreover, past experiences of unemployment may increase susceptibility to job insecurity in response to short-time work. Drawing on Conservation of Resources (COR) Theory, Appraisal Theory and temporal stressor-strain models, this study investigates effects of short-time work on the development of job satisfaction, life satisfaction and affective well-being via perceived job insecurity across 6 years, considering previous unemployment as a moderator. We used propensity score matching to account for selectivity into short-time work and calculated latent growth curve models with N = 1211 employees in Germany (619 affected by short-time work, 592 controls). Short-time work predicted higher levels and an immediate increase in job insecurity, followed by a decrease over time. Both levels and changes in job insecurity were associated with levels and changes in well-being. Indirect effects of short-time work on well-being via job insecurity persisted 2 years after short-time work. We found no difference between previously unemployed respondents and others in their reactions to short-time work. The findings support COR theory and a prolonged stress-reaction model, showing lingering effects on well-being via job insecurity even after short-time work ends. The study supports short-time work as an antecedent of job insecurity and reveals temporal dynamics between job insecurity, its antecedents and outcomes over time. When implementing short-time work, employers should aim to mitigate concerns about job security to protect employee well-being.

Update on radiation protection of the thyroid gland

In recent years, concern about the effects of ionizing radiation on exposed individuals has led to the need to regulate and quantify the use of diagnostic and therapeutic techniques. Geopolitical events in recent times have also increased the population's perception of insecurity regarding ionizing radiation, and we increasingly face patients reluctant to undergo certain types of scans in our nuclear medicine services and, albeit less frequently, in radiology services. This article aims to summarise the extent to which ionizing radiation is present in our daily lives and how diagnostic and therapeutic procedures can affect our health, particularly from the perspective of their effects on the thyroid gland, one of the body's most radiation-sensitive organs.

The Impact of College Students" Perception of Food Insecurity on Healthy Eating Habits and Life Satisfaction

The Impact of College Students" Perception of Food Insecurity on Healthy Eating Habits and Life Satisfaction

Städte als Knotenpunkte von Konflikten. Die Rolle transnationaler Konzerne in städtischen Konflikten um Lieferketten und Logistik

AbstractMuch conflict studies scholarship on cities has focused on post-war urban reconstruction. However, high rates of violence and perceptions of urban insecurity, particularly in Latin America, have diluted the clear distinction between armed conflict and peace. From a different perspective, logistics studies have pointed out the conflictive impacts of goods movement on urban communities where efficient supply chains are the ultimate priority. This contribution offers an explorative reading of the 2021 protests in Colombia (‘paro urbano’) as the manifestation of a conflict in supply chain urbanism, and foregrounds the role of TNCs (transnational corporations) in escalating the conflict. Particularly in the city of Cali, protesters blocked roads and access for businesses for weeks. While contesting the national government and highlighting the extreme urban inequality exacerbated by policies primarily catered to TNCs and direct investments, they employed the role of the city as an essential logistics node as leverage in the conflict.

How do perceptions, fears, and experiences of violence and conflict affect considerations of moving internally and internationally?

Abstract This article draws on cross-country survey and qualitative data for local areas within Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Somalia to explore how perceptions, fears, and experiences of violence affect how young adults consider whether or not to move, internally, within their own countries, or internationally. We shed new light on how different forms and intensities of violence and conflict, ranging from tribal violence in Northern Nigeria to the encroachment of the Taliban in Afghanistan, affect these considerations. We show that, in most cases, perceiving insecurity, fearing, or having experienced violence does not result in people considering moving. However, where significant, it is specific fears and experiences that affect considerations, rather than general perceptions of insecurity. We observe distinct patterns across the local areas, related to the duration, intensity, and nature of the conflict, underscoring the salience of sub-national-level data to better understand the interplay of conflict and mobility.

Do urban renewal programs make suburbs safer? A fine-grained GIS and space syntax study of an urban renewal project in the city of Toulouse

ABSTRACT This paper evaluates the impact of urban renewal programs (PRU) on creating a safe environment. People’s perceptions of PRU and its impact on security were collected through questionnaires and sketch maps. This study applies a space syntax approach to analyse the spatial and structural properties of successive urban space evolutions and compare them with people’s perceptions of security. The findings reveal a strong correlation between areas with high levels of social housing concentration, poverty rates and insecurity. Surprisingly, visually controlled areas are vulnerable and attractive locations for drug trafficking. Density indicators have a minor influence on the perception of insecurity.

Exploitative Leadership and Vertical Knowledge Withholding: Examining Multiple Mediational Effects

This study analyzes the relationship between employee’s perceptions of exploitative leadership and their vertical knowledge withholding and the mediating roles of employee’s perception of job insecurity, organizational injustice, and hostile attribution bias. A time lag study was conducted to test hypotheses by data collection in three phases from the 402 employees working in three service sectors (i.e., banking, telecommunication, and higher education) of Pakistan. Results of statistical analysis showed that (i) employees who experience high levels of exploitation from leaders are more likely to withhold knowledge; (ii) exploitative leadership has a significant influence on hostile attribution bias, perceived job insecurity, organizational injustice; (iii) perceived job insecurity and perceived organization injustice function as strong mediators between the relationship of exploitative leadership and vertical knowledge withholding; and, (iv) hostile attribution bias acts as a strong mediator between exploitative leadership and perceived job insecurity. This study explains the connection between employees’ perceptions of exploitative leadership and resultant knowledge withholding tendency, with specific consideration of individual and organizational factors to explain this process. The organizations should develop a culture within the organization that discourages knowledge withholding practices and motivates positive leader-employee relationships.

Armed conflict, insecurity, and attitudes toward women's and girls' reproductive autonomy in Nigeria

BackgroundArmed conflict and insecurity have been linked to deteriorations in reproductive health and rights globally. In Nigeria, armed violence has taken a significant toll on women's and girls' health and safety. However, knowledge is limited about how conflict shapes attitudes surrounding their ability to make autonomous decisions on relationships and childbearing. Drawing on a socioecological framework and terror management theory, we aimed to investigate the association between conflict, insecurity, and attitudes toward women's and girls' reproductive autonomy in Nigeria. MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study using data from two sources: the World Values Survey (WVS) and the Uppsala Conflict Data Program-Georeferenced Event Dataset (UCDP-GED). Nationally representative data on attitudes of 559 men and 534 women was collected by WVS in 2017–2018. Linear probability models estimated the association between attitudes toward five dimensions of women and girl's reproductive autonomy (contraception, safe abortion, marital decision-making, delayed childbearing, early marriage), respondents' perceptions of neighborhood insecurity using WVS data, and geospatial measures of conflict exposure drawn from UCDP-GED. ResultsExposure to armed conflict and perceived neighborhood insecurity were associated with more supportive attitudes toward access to safe abortion among both men and women. Among women, conflict exposure was associated with higher support for contraception and the perception that early marriage can provide girls with security. Conflict-affected men were more likely to support a delay in girls’ childbearing. ConclusionOur findings suggest that conflict and insecurity pose a threat to, but also facilitate opportunities for, women's and girls' reproductive autonomy. Contraception, abortion, early marriage, and postponement or childbearing may be perceived as risk-aversion strategies in response to mortality threats, livelihood losses, and conflict-driven sexual violence. Our findings foreshadow changes in fertility and relationship patterns in conflict-affected Nigeria and highlight the need for health programming to ensure access to contraception and safe abortion services.

Effects of temperature on job insecurity: Evidence from Australia

This study examines the relationship between temperature fluctuations and job insecurity in Australia, a country increasingly experiencing the impacts of climate change. Utilising data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey combined with satellite-based temperature data, we assess the influence of temperature deviations on perceptions of job insecurity. Our analysis reveals that higher temperatures are significantly associated with increased job insecurity. This effect is more pronounced in specific states such as New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia. Mechanism analysis identifies mental health deterioration and energy poverty as key mediators in this relationship, explaining how environmental stressors translate into employment-related anxieties. Our study’s findings highlight the need for interventions that address both the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on the labour market.

Genius Malignus oder Verantwortung: Descartes und die Konspirologie

This paper aims at developing an understanding of conspirational thinking as a means for dealing with epistemic and practical insecurity. This strategy of coping with insecurity results in the construction of a metaphysical system, which is centered around the idea of a nearly omnipotent conspirator. The paper argues that there is a relatedness between the Cartesian cogito and conspirational thinking. The latter can be conceived of as an aberration from the philosophical search for a fundamentum inconcussum. After the relevance of the thought of Descartes for the current theorizing on conspirational thinking is explained with reference to its historical context in the first part of the paper, the second part shows that the motive for conspirational thinking lies in the repudiation of responsibility in the face of an often overwhelming perception of insecurity. The third part of the paper reflects on possibilities for the weakening of this ethical motive for conspirational thinking building on the Cartesian concept of generosity.

Looking for Individual-Level Evidence for the Ethnic Security Dilemma Revisited: A Study of Balochistan

We look for micro-level evidence of the security dilemma in Pakistan’s Balochistan province using data derived from a 2011/2012, nationally representative survey of 16,279 Pakistanis as well as 2017 Pakistani census data. Using mixed effects generalized linear model for a binary dependent variable to identify determinants of individual perceptions of insecurity, we find that respondents who distrust the government are significantly more likely to feel insecure. Respondents in districts with greater in-group shares are significantly less insecure while those residing in districts with greater out-group share feel more insecure. We find modest evidence that cross-cutting cleavages can mitigate perceived insecurity.

How does AI technology integration affect employees’ proactive service behaviors? A transactional theory of stress perspective

While AI technology is widely integrated into service creation and delivery processes, the empirical evidence about its impact on employees has been mixed. Based on transactional theory of stress, this study explores how service employees appraise and react to AI technology integration utilizing data collected from employees of service companies that integrated AI technologies into their operations. Findings suggest that AI technology integration is simultaneously appraised by employees as both a positive challenge, leading to employees' thriving at work and enhanced proactive service behaviors, and as a hindrance, leading to job insecurity perceptions and decreased proactive service behaviors. Furthermore, this study investigates employees' IT mindfulness as a boundary condition that impacts the effects of AI technology integration on employee appraisals and finds that IT mindfulness can attenuate the relationship between AI technology integration and employees' hindrance appraisals. Findings provide insights on how service companies can effectively integrate AI technologies into their operations to enhance employees’ proactive service behaviors.

La Evolución de la Criminalidad Organizada a Nivel Nacional y la Seguridad Ciudadana

One of the phenomena that has evolved in recent years is national and international organized crime, which is more violent every day, generating a climate of insecurity among people; In this sense, this work had the objective of "Analyzing the evolution of organized crime at the national level and its impact on citizen security." A qualitative approach was used, phenomenological design, performing a bibliographic review and journalistic data. As a result, it was established that crime, citizen insecurity and the perception of insecurity have increased in recent times. It was concluded that public security policies and justice operators do not have the expected achievements in the fight against this phenomenon at the national level.