Public Perception Of Safety Research Articles

Who wants safer cities? Perceptions of public safety and attitudes to migrants among China's urban population

Most extant research in the economics of crime literature has focused on explaining variations in crime rates. Public action to prevent crime, however, is often dependent on the level of concern about public safety that is expressed in public perceptions surveys. The economics of crime literature has largely overlooked responses to such surveys as data sources and therefore it has not accounted for the role that public opinion might have in mobilizing public action against crime. We use a unique survey administered in 2003 in 32 Chinese cities to examine the determinants of perceptions of public safety among China's urban population. One of our major findings is that individuals who have a negative perception of rural–urban migrants living in their city have a poor perception of public safety. We also find that the unemployment rate, the masculinity ratio and expenditure on armed police in the city in which the individual resides, whether the individual lives in the coastal region as opposed to the central or western region and average changes in housing prices and average changes in rental prices in the city in which the individual lives are important predictors of perceptions of public safety.

Heely injuries: A new epidemic warranting a government health warning!

Heelys, the new craze gripping the nation, were first introduced to Ireland in 2005 having been available in the United States since 2000. Designed as "the only shoe with a removable wheel in the sole" and initially marketed among rollerbladers and skateboarders they have been adopted by children as contemporary footwear. From April to June 2006, all patients presenting to trauma orthopaedic services at our institutions with injuries sustained while wearing Heelys were included in this study. Thirty-nine patients are included in this study. The mean age was 9.1 years (range 7-13, median 9 years). Of the 39 patients referred to the orthopaedic service, 8 required admissions to hospital. One patient admitted following a head injury, required craniotomy and evacuation of an extradural haematoma. The significance of the injuries encountered demonstrates the potentially devastating results from the use of Heelys. The public perception of safety is incorrect and manufacturers rightly recommend strongly the use of safety gear.

Discontinuity and Disaster: Gaps and the Negotiation of Culpability in Medication Delivery

This paper shows how discontinuities in the process of drug delivery enable but also underdetermine the isolation of a culprit in adverse medication events. A case example illustrates how we are forced to abandon conceptualizations of blame that assume a dichotomy (either culpable or not), and shift instead to a more nuanced version that estimates the degree to which an actor desired, generated, or could have foreseen the harmful outcome, and the extent to which constraints external to the actor altered the event. The paper concludes that meaningful safety interventions in a system as diverse, socially embedded and complex as health care delivery cannot just build on "good science" (e.g., good methods) to generate "root" causes. Rather, they need to somehow be sensitive to how and which narratives of success and failure are created, as these constrain which countermeasures are likely to be encouraged, funded, and accepted.

The Health and Social Service Needs of Transgender People in Philadelphia

SUMMARY Two Philadelphia-based HIV service organizations and a local university collaborated on a study of health and social service needs of transgender people. Transgender people were the primary resource for the development of the needs assessment survey. In this article, the survey development process, including two discussion groups and two focus groups, are described. Findings on barriers to care, violence, perception of public safety and comfort, suicide and health and social service needs are presented. Total sample size was 81, with 49 male-to-female and 32 female-to-male transgender individuals. Most (68%) were African American. About half of the respondents had thought about attempting suicide. High levels of violence were reported, especially among male-to-females. Health and social service needs included job training/work, dental care, health care, legal services, transportation, education and housing.

Crime and Crime Prevention in South Africa: 10 Years After

South Africa's transition since 1994 has required an extensive overhaul of its institutions and laws. The last 10 years have been characterized by a flurry of new policies and legislation in the criminal justice sector. After 1994, one of the government's priorities was the National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS). The NCPS recognized the social and developmental causes of crime, as well as the need to involve a range of government departments and civil society partnerships. The strategy has, however, lost momentum as a result of public and political pressure to deliver decisive, short-term solutions. Since 1999, the government's focus has been on tough law enforcement interventions and on passing new laws aimed at improving criminal justice functioning. This article argues that South Africa's criminal justice system has performed well considering the challenges it has faced since 1994. The task now is to deal with increasingly negative public perceptions of safety and renew efforts to prevent crime by tackling the social and developmental factors that are beyond the scope of the police and courts.

Practicing chemical process safety: a look at the layers of protection

This presentation will review a few public perceptions of safety in chemical plants and refineries, and will compare these plant workplace risks to some of the more traditional occupations. The central theme of this paper is to provide a “within-the-fence” view of many of the process safety practices that world class plants perform to pro-actively protect people, property, profits as well as the environment. It behooves each chemical plant and refinery to have their story on an image-rich presentation to stress stewardship and process safety. Such a program can assure the company’s employees and help convince the community that many layers of safety protection within our plants are effective, and protect all from harm.

Outdoor education: Research topic or universal value? Part Two

This paper follows the theme of part one in that it sets out to discover if the history of outdoor education provides its modern exponents with a legacy of prescribed conservatism or alternatively a form of education which embraces, or is capable of embracing, diversity of theory and practice. Focusing on local authority residential outdoor education centres it begins with the 1970s through the 1980s and ends with the 1990s. Secondary sources are used and include government and civil service education circulars as well as the body of literature that relates to outdoor education. The paper analyses how discussions of philosophical underpinnings and aims, together with the public perception of safety and risk came to influence the practice of outdoor education. This leads to a discussion of terminology and the role of outdoor education as a curricular subject. The influence of market forces on the provision of outdoor education and the increasing call for cost effectiveness is analysed in relation to the increasingly diverse range of activities coming under the umbrella term of outdoor education. The evidence shows that throughout this period significant changes regarding the nature of outdoor education are observable. However, within this flux one point is clear. The body of outdoor education literature attaches more importance to outcomes relating to personal and social education than environmental education and this point will be the bridge between part two and part three.

Collaring the cybercrook: an investigator's view

In 1996 the U.S. Federal Computer Incident Response Capability (FedCIRC) reported more than 2500 incidents, defined as adverse events in a computer system or networks caused by a failure of a security mechanism, or an attempted or threatened breach of these mechanisms. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Computer Crimes Squad, Washington, D.C., estimates that less than 15 percent of all computer crimes are even detected, and only 10 percent of those are reported. Without solidly built investigative techniques, which would contribute to a public perception of safety, the very stability of today's military and commercial institutions, not to mention the cybermarkets that are envisioned for the Internet, is called into question. The paper discusses types of computer crime and security attacks. It also presents a classification of the types of security crackers.

TRANSPORT OF MOX FUEL

The regulatory framework which governs the transport of MOX fuel is set out, including packages, transport modes and security requirements. Technical requirements for the packages are reviewed and BNFL's experience in plutonium and MOX fuel transport is described. The safety of such operations and the public perception of safety are described and the question of gaining public acceptance for MOX fuel transport is addressed. The paper concludes by emphasising the need for proactive programmes to improve the public acceptance of these operations.

Public perception of safety and metal detectors in an urban emergency department

Violence within the emergency department (ED) is an area of concern for both the staff and public. Emergency physicians and nurses express a great deal of concern for their personal safety. The use of weapons in events occurring in the ED has prompted a call for the widespread use of metal detectors. The use of these devices can meet with resistance regarding concerns over the creation of a bad image. This study examined the opinion of the public as to personal safety in an urban ED and sought public opinion regarding the use of a metal detector. Although the majority of the 303 persons surveyed felt safe (75%) in the ED and were satisfied with the level of security (68%), two thirds reported they would feel better if a metal detector was in use. Women were more likely than men to prefer the use of a metal detector. A small percentage (11%) of the public reported a fear of being physically harmed in the ED. Concerns about the potential for a negative image caused by use of a metal detector do not appear warranted in this urban ED.

The U.S. program for fusion nuclear technology development

The Fusion Nuclear Technology (FNT) research and development program in the United States is shaped by a hierarchy of documents and by the environment for nuclear energy existing in the United States. The fission nuclear industry in the United States has suffered problems with public perception of safety, waste disposal issues, and economics as influenced by safety and environmental issues. For fusion to be a viable energy alternative, it must offer significant improvements in these areas. The hierarchy of documents defining objectives, plans, and strategy of the U.S. FNT program consists of the Magnetic Fusion Program Plan (MFPP) (February 1985), The Technical Planning Activity Final Report (January 1987), the Finesse Program Report (January 1987), and the Blanket Comparison and Selection Study Final Report (September 1984). In addition, two other documents are also significant in shaping FNT policy. These are the IEA report on Material for Fusion (December 1986) and the Summary of the Report of the Senior Committee on Environmental, Safety, and Economic Aspects of Magnetic Fusion Energy (September 1987). The U.S. Magnetic Fusion Program Plan defines four key technical issues (magnetic confinement systems, properties of burning plasmas, fusion nuclear technology, and fusion materials). The goal of the plan is to establish the scientific and technological base required for economic and environmental assessment of fusion energy in the early post-2000 time period. The Technical Planning Activity (TPA) provides the program logic for accomplishing the MFPP goal. The Development and Technology Program of the Office of Fusion Energy contains the two key technical issues: Fusion Nuclear Technology and Materials. The FNT program seeks to develop safe and environmentally acceptable systems to ensure fuel (tritium) self-sufficiency, and energy conversion systems. The fuel self-sufficiency program consists of programs to breed tritium in blankets and for processing the tritium both from the blankets and the plasma exhaust. At present only a small amount of effort is devoted to the energy conversion systems, with most of the effort on tritium production and handling. The blanket program is focused on critical feasibility issues for both solid and liquid breeders, and the Tritium System Test Assembly is focused on safe handling and processing of tritium. Throughout the blanket program, emphasis is placed on low activation materials and safety. This talk will provide details of the FNT research and development program including its structure and budget for FY 1988.

Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach

Since the turn of the twentieth century, legislation in Western countries has expanded rapidly to reverse the brief dominance of laissez faire during the nineteenth century. The state no longer merely protects against violations of person and property through murder, rape, or burglary but also restricts ‘discrimination’ against certain minorities, collusive business arrangements, ‘jaywalking’, travel, the materials used in construction, and thousands of other activities. The activities restricted not only are numerous but also range widely, affecting persons in very different pursuits and of diverse social backgrounds, education levels, ages, races, etc. Moreover, the likelihood that an offender will be discovered and convicted and the nature and extent of punishments differ greatly from person to person and activity to activity. Yet, in spite of such diversity, some common properties are shared by practically all legislation, and these properties form the subject matter of this essay.