Research 11


Monitoring the impact of policy


Fear of crime has fallen to its lowest level for eight years, a new policy monitoring study based at the University has revealed.


The first findings from the National Policy Monitor, based in the Department of Government, suggest falling crime rates are influencing public attitudes. In April 2004 more than four out of 10 people felt fearful about crime, but by August 2012 that figure had fallen to less than one quarter.


Change


Eight years ago around 45 per cent of those affected by a crime were happy with the way police dealt with it, while 55 per cent were unhappy. By August 2012 those positions had reversed.


Over a similar period, police recorded crime fell by 21 per cent from 11.6m crimes per year to 9.1m in 2012.


The National Policy Monitor is a new monthly longitudinal survey which will track public attitudes on a wide range of policy issues. Directed by Professor Paul Whiteley from the Department of Government, it will build on findings from two earlier studies.


Professor Whiteley said changes in policing strategy could have contributed to increased public satisfaction with the services provided. “It looks as if the reduction in crime that has occurred over the years is actually beginning to pay off,” he said.


The findings were released on Society Central, the new social policy news website based at Essex forging better connections between academic researchers and those involved in the policy-making process.


www.essex.ac.uk/government/research/ national_policy_monitor.aspx www.societycentral.ac.uk


Haitian women taking produce to a market in the border area


News in brief


Mood swings The environment does little to improve the mood or self-esteem of adolescents while exercising, according to a new study published in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research.


The study showed doing exercise improved both the self-esteem and mood of adolescents, but different environmental scenes did not make any difference. This contrasts with a similar study carried out with adults which found performing physical activity whilst viewing nature improved their mood and self-esteem to a greater extent than exercise alone.


Business and the


supernatural Dr Kathleen Riach from Essex Business School is researching paranormal activity in the workplace and how it can impact staff relationships and morale, and ultimately productivity and turnover.


Working with Dr Simon Kelly from Bradford University School of Management, Dr Riach is looking for interviewees willing to speak about unusual occurrences such as strange noises, moving objects, disembodied voices or cold spots; stories and urban myths about company buildings or history; and ghost stories used to promote an ‘experience’ such as a haunted room in a hotel.


To tell your story, contact Dr Kathleen Riach, e-mail: kriach@essex.ac.uk or telephone: 01206 872373.


Supporting the Breaking down boundaries


A Leverhulme Research Fellowship worth £23,408 has been awarded to Professor Maria Cristina Fumagalli to help continue her work on rethinking the literary history of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.


The island is divided politically between the Dominican Republic in the east and Haiti in the west, but Professor Fumagalli is identifying cultural strands which break through the traditional border.


She said: “Haitian and Dominican literatures are studied in isolation and border relations have always been tense and complicated by divisive ideologies. However, travelling along the border I have witnessed positive mutual cultural influences and collaborative linkages.


“My intention is to produce a comparative, interdisciplinary and multilingual literary and cultural history of Hispaniola’s borderland and, most importantly, to contribute to the much- needed across-the-border cultural exchange.”


vulnerable Research carried out with Tendring District Council has led to practical action to support vulnerable adults living in bedsits.


A joint project arose from growing concern that people living in bedsits in a coastal town were becoming increasingly marginalised.


Dr Caroline Barratt from the School of Health and Human Sciences interviewed 19 bedsit residents in one coastal town, along with a smaller number of landlords.


The project has led to practical suggestions, including drop-ins for residents, information packs for landlords and partnerships which might mean fewer vulnerable people living in these concentrations of low-cost housing.


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