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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
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Results for social capital
15 results foundAuthor: United Nations. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Title: Exploring Policy Linkages Between Poverty, Crime and Violence: A Look at Three Caribbean States Summary: Crime and violence threaten individual safety and affect the social, economic and political life of a country and its citizens. As one of the most critical issues affecting Caribbean societies today, crime and violence have a significant impact on the achievement of development goals. Lower levels of life satisfaction, the erosion of social capital, intergenerational transmission of violence and higher mortality and morbidity rates are just some of the nonmonetary costs of crime and violence. Direct monetary costs include medical, legal, policing, prisons, foster care and private security. This discussion paper seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge on crime and violence through an exploration of the possible policy linkages between poverty, crime and violence, using data from Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago. It does so against the backdrop of increasing concern for the impact of violence on the social and economic development and human welfare of Caribbean societies. In addition to the primary objective of exploring the policy and programming linkages between poverty reduction programming and that aimed at reducing crime and violence, the study includes an overview of crime and poverty statistics in the three countries under investigation as well as a review of literature which examines the crime, violence and poverty nexus. Finally the paper seeks to generate discussion regarding future research that could inform public policy in this sensitive area. Details: Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago: ECLAC, 2008. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 7, 2011 at: http://www.eclac.org/publicaciones/xml/2/33252/L.172.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Trinidad and Tobago URL: http://www.eclac.org/publicaciones/xml/2/33252/L.172.pdf Shelf Number: 131584 Keywords: Economics and CrimePoverty (Caribbean)Social CapitalViolenceViolent Crime |
Author: Draine, Jeffrey Title: Social Capital and Reentry to the Community from Prison Summary: Each year over 600,000 men and women return to the community from prison, a number that is expected to grow with legal and economic pressures to shrink the size of prison populations. This process of egress is referred to as prison reentry, or just “reentry” and it implies that these individuals are leaving prison and reentering the community. The “community” to which these individuals are returning is unclear both in terms of its spatial and social geography. For many returning individuals, the geographic location of their communities is uncertain. Some do not know the state, county, or city to which they will return in the months and weeks preceding their release. Where they will live depends on the conjoint decisions of family, friends, the returning person, and the parole board (for those leaving prison under parole supervision). These housing decisions often rest on shifting sands that set only in the days prior to release. The social geography of the “community” is also uncertain. Community, as a social concept, implies relationships with individuals, with institutions, and a whole set of family and social ties that work together. The resources connected to many of these ties stretch beyond the concept of social support. They are part of the economic fabric of a community that connects community members to jobs, housing, and health. Research shows that people leaving prison disproportionately return to at-risk communities; that is, communities characterized by high rates of unemployment, crime, drug use, and poverty (Rose & Clear, 1998). People returning to these communities find themselves entering places where resources are already strained by social problems and their social ties to these resources have been weakened by time incarcerated. Access to housing, employment, and health resources has the potential to help vulnerable people with health and behavioral health problems succeed in community living. While it is well-recognized that resources matter in terms of successful reentry, very little conceptualization has underpinned this conclusion. Researchers at the Center, using a social conceptualization process, developed a framework for understanding “community” and its role in the reentry process for people with behavioral health problems. Details: New Brunswick, NJ: Center for Behavioral Health Services & Criminal Justice Research, Rutgers University, 2009. 4p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Brief: Accessed October 7, 2011 at: http://cbhs.rutgers.edu/pdfs/Research%20Brief_Social_Capital.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://cbhs.rutgers.edu/pdfs/Research%20Brief_Social_Capital.pdf Shelf Number: 123008 Keywords: Prisoner ReentrySocial Capital |
Author: Davis, Diane E. Title: Urban Resilience in Situations of Chronic Violence Summary: While the sources and forms of social and political violence have been extensively examined, the ways ordinary people along with their neighbors and officials cope with chronic urban violence have earned far less attention. This eight-case study of cities suffering from a history of violence explores this latter phenomenon, which we call resilience. We define resilience as those acts intended to restore or create effectively functioning community-level activities, institutions, and spaces in which the perpetrators of violence are marginalized and perhaps even eliminated. This report identifies the sets of conditions and practices that enhance an individual or a community’s capacity to act independently of armed actors. We specify the types of horizontal (e.g., intra-community, or neighborhood-to-neighborhood) and vertical (e.g., state-community) relationships that have been used to sustain this relative autonomy. Violence and responses to it are situated in physical space, and we look for the spatial correlates of resilience, seeking to determine whether and how physical conditions in a neighborhood will affect the nature, degrees, and likelihood of resilience. Urban resilience can be positive or negative. Positive resilience is a condition of relative stability and even tranquility in areas recently or intermittently beset by violence. Strong and cooperative relationships between the state and community, and between different actors—businesses, civil society, the police, etc.—tend to characterize positive resilience. Negative resilience occurs when violence entrepreneurs have gained effective control of the means of coercion, and impose their own forms of justice, security, and livelihoods. In such situations—most frequently in informal neighborhoods where property rights are vague or contested—the community is fragmented and seized by a sense of powerlessness, and the state is absent or corrupted. Our findings suggest that resilience appears at the interface of citizen and state action, and is strengthened through cooperation within and between communities and governing authorities. Resilience is robust and positive when ongoing, integrated strategies among the different actors yield tangible and sustainable gains for a particular community: improvement in the physical infrastructure, growing commercial activity, and communityoriented policing, to name three common attributes. When citizens, the private sector, and governing authorities establish institutional networks of accountability that tie them to each other at the level of the community, a dynamic capacity is created to subvert the perpetrators of violence and establish everyday normalcy. The security activities produced through citizen-state networks are most accountable, legitimate, and durable when they are directed and monitored by communities themselves, in a relationship of cooperative autonomy. More broadly, urban resilience benefits from good urban planning—promoting and investing in mixed commercial and residential land use, for example, particularly in areas of the city at-risk for crime, and building infrastructure that enables free movement of people within and between all neighborhoods (via pedestrian corridors; parks; public transport) to promote security and livelihoods. This speaks to the challenge of informality—the communities built up, usually on the city’s periphery, without regard to ownership rights. The legal entanglements of informality can be daunting, but some cities have finessed this to provide services, with substantially positive outcomes. Formal property rights or not, citizens of all income groups need to have the opportunity to live in vibrant areas where social, economic, and residential activities and priorities reinforce each other in ways that bring a community together in the service of protecting and securing those spaces. This process yields good results for the entire metropolitan area. Finally, this report develops the idea of legitimate security as a way to address the vexing interactions of the state and communities in the provision of security and positive resilience. The relationship of at-risk communities with the police is often troubled. Legitimate security addresses this by seeking to ensure democratic and participatory governance in every sense—political, civil, and social. It recognizes needs specific to marginalized and underrepresented populations, including ethnic/racial minorities, women, the poor, and indigenous groups. It is, moreover, a viable alternative to deleterious responses to insecurity—e.g., privatization of security, fortification of urban spaces, and vigilantism, among others. Legitimate security fosters broad participation and initiatives from “below” with an increased focus on multi-sector partnerships to provide more effective, lasting, and accountable ways forward for cities seeking security. Details: Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for International Studies; Washington, DC: United States Agency for International Development, 2012. 134p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 17, 2012 at: http://web.mit.edu/cis/urbanresiliencereport2012.pdf Year: 2012 Country: International URL: http://web.mit.edu/cis/urbanresiliencereport2012.pdf Shelf Number: 126361 Keywords: Crime PreventionNeighborhoods and CrimeSocial CapitalUrban Areas and CrimeUrban PlanningViolenceViolent Crime |
Author: Scroggins, Jennifer Rhiannon Title: Gender, Social Ties, And Reentry Experiences Summary: A great deal of research has been conducted on factors associated with successful prisoner reentry. However, except for a few studies on women's reentry, most studies have failed to examine the role of parolees' social ties in contributing to reentry outcomes. Additionally, most studies on prisoner reentry only focused on male parolees, and few addressed the influence of gender on reentry experiences. Thus, my goal in this dissertation is to understand the influence of gender on male and female parolees' social ties, and how the resources their ties provide shape their reentry experiences. My dissertation research examines men and women’s strong- and weak-tie relationships and the resources available to them via their relationships to understand how these resources shape their reentry experiences. Study data, which were collected from indepth interviews with fifty men and women under parole supervision, showed that they underwent many changes in their strong- and weak-tie relationships during and after incarceration. Shifts toward closer and more positive relationships with families and the addition of pro-social weak-tie relationships resulted in more tangible and intangible resources that were considered by the men and women as important to their reentry success. Data analysis showed that the relationship patterns experienced by the men and women in the present study were largely consistent with gendered relationship patterns described in the literature, but that patterns of resource availability from their social ties were less consistent with those described in the literature. Findings from the study suggest the influence of gender on men and women's social ties, as reflected in different patterns of strong-tie relationships experienced prior to, during, and after incarceration, and also reveal some similarities between men and women with regard to increases in the number of weak-tie relationships with various pro-social individuals after incarceration. By showing the significant role of social ties, especially strong-ties, in providing tangible and intangible resources to parolees upon their release from prison, this study provides support for social control theory and highlights the importance of helping ex-offenders develop and maintain positive social ties with pro-social individuals to enhance the availability of resources necessary for successful reentry. Details: Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee, 2012. 273p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed February 26, 2013 at: http://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2645&context=utk_graddiss Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2645&context=utk_graddiss Shelf Number: 127725 Keywords: Family TiesFemale OffendersGenderPrisoner Reentry (U.S.)Social Capital |
Author: Petrarca, Ilaria Title: The Historical Roots of Corruption and Economic Development in Italy Summary: We claim that a sequential mechanism linking history to development exists: first, history defines the quality of social capital; then, social capital determines the level of corruption; finally, corruption affects economic performance. We test this hypothesis on a dataset of Italian provinces, and address the possible endogeneity of corruption by applying an IV model. We use three sets of historical instruments for corruption: 1) foreign dominations in 16th-17th century, 2) autocracy/autonomous rule in the 14th century, and 3) an index of social capital between in the 19th-20th century. The results indicate a significant impact of historically-driven corruption on development. Details: Munich: Center for Economic Studies (CES), the Ifo Institute and the CESifo GmbH, 2013. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: CESifo Working Paper No. 4212; Accessed May 1, 2013 at www.cesifo.org/wp Year: 2013 Country: Italy URL: Shelf Number: 128581 Keywords: Corruption (Italy)Economic DevelopmentEconomics of CrimeSocial Capital |
Author: Wilson, David A. Title: Violent Crime: A Comparative Study of Honduras and Nicaragua Summary: This thesis explains variation between contemporary Honduras and Nicaragua in terms of their levels of violent crime. The thesis is driven by an empirical observation: Nicaragua, a country that shares a border with Honduras and where the U.S.-backed Contras waged a civil war against the Sandinista government during much of the 1980s, is considerably less violent than Honduras, which did not undergo civil war. This variation conflicts with expectations in studies of security in Central America that countries that have experienced civil war will, during the post-conflict period, experience higher rates of violent crime than countries that have not. In contrast, this thesis argues that in Nicaragua it was precisely the conclusion of the civil war that drew attention from domestic and international actors who implemented changes that resulted in the demilitarization of internal security, the reduction of weapons in society, and the emergence of social movements that gave ex-combatants voice through non-violent means. Honduras, which did not experience civil war and a subsequent peace process, has seen the circulation of large amounts of weaponry and ongoing military participation in internal security, which has meant human rights abuses and low social capital. Details: Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate School, 2009. 93p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed May 13, 2013 at: https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=703242 Year: 2009 Country: South America URL: https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=703242 Shelf Number: 128723 Keywords: Civil WarsGangsPost-Conflict SocietiesSocial CapitalViolenceViolent Crimes (Honduras; Nicaragua) |
Author: Cardia, Nancy Title: Exposure to Violence: What impact this has on attitudes to violence and on social capital Summary: The speed of the process of urbanization is one of the causes of the poor quality of urban life in general and this in turn relates to the growth of violence, in particular of violent crime throughout Brazil._In 1940 about a third of Brazilians lived in urban areas (12 million people) and by 1991 that number had increased to 70 percent of the population (123 million people). The speed of the process of urbanization is one of the causes of the poor quality of urban life in general and this in turn relates to the growth of violence, in particular of violent crime throughout Brazil. Lack of political power and of political efficacy by the majority of the population is also the cause of poor urban environments and violence. Details: Sao Paula, Brazil: Center for the Study of Violence University of São Paulo, 2007. 42p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 28, 2013 at: Year: 2007 Country: Brazil URL: Shelf Number: 129197 Keywords: HomicidesSocial CapitalUrban AreasViolence (Brazil)Violent Crimes |
Author: Schroeder, Kari Britt Title: Local norms of cheating and the cultural evolution of crime and punishment: a study of two urban neighborhoods Summary: The prevalence of antisocial behavior varies across time and place. The likelihood of committing such behavior is affected by, and also affects, the local social environment. To further our understanding of this dynamic process, we conducted two studies of antisocial behavior, punishment, and social norms. These studies took place in two neighborhoods in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. According to a previous study, Neighborhood A enjoys relatively low frequencies of antisocial behavior and crime and high levels of social capital. In contrast, Neighborhood B is characterized by relatively high frequencies of antisocial behavior and crime and low levels of social capital. In Study 1, we used an economic game to assess neighborhood differences in theft, third-party punishment (3PP) of theft, and expectation of 3PP. Participants also reported their perceived neighborhood frequency of cooperative norm violation ("cheating"). Participants in Neighborhood B thought that their neighbors commonly cheat but did not condone cheating. They stole more money from their neighbors in the game, and were less punitive of those who did, than the residents of Neighborhood A. Perceived cheating was positively associated with theft, negatively associated with the expectation of 3PP, and central to the neighborhood difference. Lower trust in one's neighbors and a greater subjective value of the monetary cost of punishment contributed to the reduced punishment observed in Neighborhood B. In Study 2, we examined the causality of cooperative norm violation on expectation of 3PP with a norms manipulation. Residents in Neighborhood B who were informed that cheating is locally uncommon were more expectant of 3PP. In sum, our results provide support for three potentially simultaneous positive feedback mechanisms by which the perception that others are behaving antisocially can lead to further antisocial behavior: (1) motivation to avoid being suckered, (2) decreased punishment of antisocial behavior, and (3) decreased expectation of punishment of antisocial behavior. Consideration of these mechanisms and of norm-psychology will help us to understand how neighborhoods can descend into an antisocial culture and get stuck there. Details: PeerJ 2:e450; DOI 10.7717/peerj.450. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 13, 2014 at: https://peerj.com/articles/450.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://peerj.com/articles/450.pdf Shelf Number: 134072 Keywords: Antisocial Behavior (U.K.)CheatingNeighborhoods and CrimePunishmentSocial CapitalStealingTheftUrban Areas |
Author: Kivivuori, Janne Title: The Robustness of Self-Control as a Predictor of Recidivism Summary: In prior research, we examined the correlates of self-assessed re-offending probability (SARP) in a sample of Finnish short-term prisoners (Kivivuori and Linderborg 2009 and 2010). We observed that multiple variables tapping the social adjustment and social deprivation of the prisoner were associated with SARP. Having few or no siblings, having lived outside nuclear family conditions during childhood, lack of parental supervision during youth, and negative events during adulthood increased the variety of offences the prisoner projected to his post-release future. Negative events were incidents that reflect poverty or the breaking of social ties: being fired from a job, divorce, being evicted from an apartment, need to seek social assistance, need to loan money from friends and relatives, and mental health problems. The research additionally included two measures tapping the dimension of personal self-control. We observed that low self-control and high youth crime involvement were associated with increased SARP. One of the basic goals of the research is to examine social factors and self-control as correlates of SARP, when both are simultaneously controlled in a single model. In this respect, the core finding was that social factors and self-control were both significant correlates of SARP. These findings were based on a cross-sectional survey of short-term prisoners in Finland (Kivivuori & Linderborg 2009 and 2010). The basic structure of the data was cross-sectional, even though the outcome variable was pseudo-longitudinal (offences subjectively projected to post-release future). In reporting the cross-sectional findings, we also anticipated the logical next step, namely, replacing the subjective and cross-sectional outcome variable (SARP) with a genuinely longitudinal outcome variable (Kivivuori & Linderborg 2010, 137). In this research brief, we build on this by using a genuinely longitudinal outcome variable of recorded recidivism (RR) after release from prison. Replacing SARP with RR enabled us to do three things: first, we examined whether the prisoners' estimates concerning their own future behaviour were correct. Second, we assessed whether variables associated with SARP remain robust predictors when their link to RR is investigated. Third, we tentatively assessed whether SARP itself, now conceptualised as prisoner desistance optimism during the prison term, is a predictor of recidivism. Details: Helsinki: National Research Institute of Legal Policy, 2012. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Research Brief 25/2012: Accessed February 27, 2015 at: http://www.optula.om.fi/material/attachments/optula/julkaisut/verkkokatsauksia-sarja/E9Lo8aUWV/25_research_note.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Finland URL: http://www.optula.om.fi/material/attachments/optula/julkaisut/verkkokatsauksia-sarja/E9Lo8aUWV/25_research_note.pdf Shelf Number: 134729 Keywords: DesistanceRecidivism (Finland)ReoffendingSelf-ControlSocial CapitalSocial Control |
Author: Hamman-Obels, Princess Title: Social Mechanisms for Preventing and Controlling Violence: Voices from Two Neighborhoods in Abuja Summary: In this study I examine how social mechanisms work in the context of violence and crime prevention and control in Abuja, using a micro-sociological approach. I wanted to enhance understanding of local social mechanisms for direct violence control and prevention as well as social context factors that enable or disable the success of measures for violence control and prevention. I did this by comparing the everyday life of urban dwellers in Dutse Apo, a marginalized non-violent neighborhood and Durumi II, a marginalized violent neighborhood in Abuja based on primary source materials and field research that involved observations, interviews and a Focus Group discussion. The comparison between these two neighborhoods, which have similar socio-economic characteristics but different outcomes in terms of violence and crime, shows the importance of social institutions. My findings indicate that social institutions, such as social control and social capital in terms of neighborhood local leadership, socio-political interactions, ethnic association, belonging and community, are important mechanisms that influence (outbreaks of) violence as well as crime prevention and control. Details: Bielefeld, Germany: Universitat Bielefeld, 2015. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Violence Research and Development Project - Papers - No. 12: Accessed June 11, 2016 at: http://www.uni-bielefeld.de/icvr/docs/hamman-obels.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Nigeria URL: http://www.uni-bielefeld.de/icvr/docs/hamman-obels.pdf Shelf Number: 139384 Keywords: Crime Prevention Neighborhoods and Crime Social CapitalSocial Control Socio-economic Conditions and Crime Violence Violent Crime |
Author: Stubbs, Claire Title: Resilience to Re-offending: mechanisms supporting young men to oversome adversity Summary: This study investigated the mechanisms supporting young men's resilience to reoffending. Resilience was defined as "the outcome from negotiations between individuals and their environments for the resources to define themselves as healthy amidst conditions collectively viewed as adverse" (Ungar, 2004a, p.32). The philosophical approach was critical realist (Bhaskar, 1978) and the methodology used was narrative enquiry, employing content analysis (Lieblich et al., 1998) to elicit mechanisms from the data. Eight young men with previous involvement in the criminal justice system were recruited from organisations in Hastings, East Sussex. They participated in a narrative interview which explored their life stories and the mechanisms utilised to change their offending trajectory. The study used Hart and Blincow's Resilient Therapy (RT) Framework (2007), to categorise the data. Mechanisms within the framework, located within categories such as Basics, Belonging, Learning, Core Self and Coping, were applied to the young men's experience, to understand the application of RT in promoting resilience to reoffending. All categories of RT were pertinent in nurturing their pathways to resilience. Further analysis of the data elicited additional resilient mechanisms absent within RT. Proposed additions included Clothes within the Basics compartment, and Humour, an important mechanism facilitating coping and affiliation, included within the Belonging and Coping compartments. Social capital was instrumental to the young men's resilience, providing them with essential coping resources; a further recommendation was to rename the Belonging compartment "social capital". This research challenges common discourses of risk. The young men demonstrated how the experiences and environments where they encountered risk were important in cultivating their resilience to reoffending. Within counselling psychology, this reinforces the notion of focusing on the subjective experience of the individual, embracing uncertainty, bracketing assumptions and extending traditional boundaries when promoting resilience with vulnerable young men. This study corroborated existing research demonstrating resilience as the outcome of both individual and social processes (Luthar and Cicchetti, 2000; Prilleltensky, 2005; Hart and Blincow, 2007). With respect to counselling psychology practice it presents a challenge to individualised therapeutic interventions, encouraging counselling psychologists to become active participants in changing the social systems that impact on an individual's resilience, reconciling their roles as healers with their role as change agents. RT (Hart and Blincow, 2007) provides a systemic application of mechanisms targeting both micro- and macro-level processes, offering an extension to counselling psychology practice necessary to promote resilience to reoffending. Details: Middlesex, UK: Middlesex University and Metanoia Institute, 2014. 234p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed July 29, 2016 at: http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/13802/1/CStubbs_thesis.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/13802/1/CStubbs_thesis.pdf Shelf Number: 139896 Keywords: Behavioral CounselingMale OffendersRe-offendingRecidivismSocial Capital |
Author: Nasir, Muhammad Title: It's No Spring Break in Cancun: The Effects of Exposure to Violence on Risk Preferences, Pro-Social Behavior, and Mental Health in Mexico Summary: Exposure to violence has been found to affect behavioral parameters, mental health and social interactions. The literature focuses on large scale political violence. The effects of high levels of criminal violence – a common phenomenon in Latin America and the Caribbean – are largely unknown. We examine drug violence in Mexico and, in particular, the effects of exposure to high municipal levels of homicides on risk aversion, mental health and pro-social behavior. Using a nonlinear difference-in-differences (DID) model and data from the 2005-06 and 2009-12 waves of the Mexican Family Life Survey, we find that the surge in violence in Mexico after 2006 significantly increased risk aversion and reduced trust in civic institutions while simultaneously strengthening kinship relationships. Although the deterioration of mental health due to violence exposure has been hypothesized to explain changes in risk aversion, we find no such effect. This suggests that the literature may be potentially missing out on other relevant channels. Details: Rimini, Italy: Rimini Centre for Economics Analysis, 2016. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper: Accessed March 6, 2017 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2690100 Year: 2016 Country: Mexico URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2690100 Shelf Number: 141343 Keywords: Mental HealthRisk AversionRisk-Taking BehaviorSocial CapitalViolence |
Author: Kukharskyy, Bohdan Title: Gun violence in the U.S.: Correlates and causes Summary: This paper provides a county-level investigation of the root causes of gun violence in the U.S. To guide our empirical analysis, we develop a simple theoretical model which suggests that firearm-related offenses in a given county increase with the number of illegal guns and decrease with social capital and police intensity. Using detailed panel data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the period 1986-2014, we find empirical evidence for the causal effects of illegal guns, social capital, and police intensity consistent with our theoretical predictions. Based on our analysis, we derive a range of policy recommendations Details: Tubingen: University of Tubingen, 2017. 49p. Source: Internet Resource: University of Tubingen Working Papers in Economics and Finance: Accessed September 1, 2017 at: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/152251/1/877956375.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/152251/1/877956375.pdf Shelf Number: 146992 Keywords: Gun Violence Gun-Related Violence Illegal Guns Social Capital |
Author: Finkenbinder, Karen Title: Social Capital, Policing and the Rule-of-Law: Keys to Stabilization Summary: Social Capital, Policing and Rule-of-Law: Keys to Stabilization reflects a breadth of U.S. Army War College Strategy Research papers in which students tackled tough issues. The danger in compiling student papers is that an anthology can become a set of isolated, disconnected, anecdotal experiences. We have tried to select those that best describe the essentials of stability tasks and activities and the role they play in our success, failure, or combination thereof, in current and future operations. Stabilization is a process in which personnel identify and mitigate underlying sources of instability to establish the conditions for long-term stability. While long-term development requires stability, stability does not require long-term development. Therefore, stability tasks focus on identifying and targeting the root causes of instability and by building the capacity of local institutions. Stability, ultimately, aims to create conditions such that the local populance regard the overall situations as legitimate, acceptable, and predictable. These conditions consist of: the level of violence; the functioning of governmental, economic, and societal institutions; and the general adherence to local laws, rules, and norms of behavior. Sources of instability manifest themselves locally. First, instability stems from the decreased support for the government, a result of the government failing to meet the expectation of the locals. Second, instability grows from increased support for anti-government elements, a situation that usually occurs when locals see spoilers as those helping to solve the priority grievance(s). Lastly, instability stems from the undermining of the normal functioning of society when the emphasis must be on a return to the established norms. Stability tasks and activities are not things that we have only been doing in Iraq and Afghanistan. There is a long-time recognition that we have been doing this "other stuff" for a long time. But the term(s) keep changing. Professor Bill Flavin, the Chief of Doctrine, Concepts, Education and Training (DCET) at PKSOI and one of the Army's foremost experts in stability operations, has been keeping track of the various terms used to describe stability tasks and activities over the past fifty years. This list includes terms such as: attenuated conflict, nation building, marginal military operations, indirect war, lower-level war, brush fire war, low intensity conflict, constrained operations, and ambiguous war. But the essential message has not changed. That being: there is something, other than offense and defense, that the military always winds up doing. We may not know what to call it, but we know it when we see it. But because we do not know what to call it - we often try to hide it under the rug and keep tripping over it. Only then do we deal with it. But in the interim, we have lost the competencies required to do it well. My fear, and others, is that as we become leaner, we will forget how painful it was to trip over the rug and, once again, lose our hard-earned competencies in the stability arena. Details: Carlisle, PA: U.S. Army War College, 2013. 314p. Source: Internet Resource: PKSOI Papers: Accessed October 21, 2017 at: http://publications.armywarcollege.edu/pubs/1284.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://publications.armywarcollege.edu/pubs/1284.pdf Shelf Number: 147837 Keywords: PolicingRule-of-LawSocial Capital |
Author: Bernhardt, Mindy O'Hara Title: A Qualitative Look at Relationships and Social Support Within Criminogenic Envrionments Summary: Social Support is both a risk or protective factor when determining a person's likelihood of committing criminal acts. Traditionally viewed, it is beneficial in people's lives. However, depending on whether the source or provider of support is a criminal or a non-offender it can have either a positive or negative impact on the recipient's life. This study attempted to ascertain the effect of an additional related concept - the "message" or content of support - when measuring crime outcomes related to social support. Since people in criminogenic environments are subject to competing cultural demands that sometimes overlap (see e.g., Anderson, 1999), it has been postulated that even adherents to mainstream value systems in these environments might present a criminogenic message, while criminals might present a non-criminogenic message. In addition, such environments may engender specific forms of social support not employed in other environments. To determine the extent to which the content of messaging matters apart from the source, I engaged in semi-structured interviews with active offenders, asking them about their perceptions of social support from conforming and non-conforming others and what messages they believed were conveyed. They were also asked about their own intent regarding the messaging and the social support they provided to others. Based on these interviews, it was determined that the message presented could be different than the corresponding identity of the provider of social support, and that these could result in differential effects on attitudes toward offending. In the future, the social support message and the identity of the social support provider should be viewed as separate concepts and measured and analyzed apart to determine their individual effects on future offending and desistance. Details: Atlanta: Georgia State University, 2018. 138p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed August 20, 2018 at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=cj_diss Year: 2018 Country: United States URL: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=cj_diss Shelf Number: 150303 Keywords: Social CapitalSocial Support |