Safety Perceptions Essay Example Essay Example

Safety Perceptions Essay Example Paper Safety Perceptions Essay Introduction This question explores a deeply opinionated aspect of our modern society. Most research on the questions about gun control has produced statistical results that predominately provide us with either a positive or negative outlook. What this study is intending to do is to look into the subject matter with a qualitative aspect to see what society perceives about gun control laws. The study is to find out how gun control laws impact perception of safety upon society. The results from this study will add to the existing wealth of employed statistical studies. Additional research will need to be conducted to discover how this study will add to the qualitative reports on the subject matter. As of right now we are unaware of any qualitative reports that study how gun control laws impact perception of safety upon society. This study will shed light on the topics of gun controls laws, and possibly discover new aspects on the impact of such laws. Literature Review In recent stories from the new s, we have heard of everything from home invasions to challenges to our 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. Recently in Oklahoma a young other shot and killed an intruder to protect her 3-month-old baby on New Year’s Eve, less than a week after the baby’s father died of cancer (Dolan, 2012). How does this woman feel now that she encountered a situation where her and her child’s life was at risk? How did she feel before the encounter? So many factors play into what society perception of safety Is when it comes to the topic of gun control laws. There have been over 260 cases that have challenged gun control laws (Peers, 2010). With so many incidents and actions taken, we cannot help but question what society feels about gun control laws. Safety Perceptions Essay Body Paragraphs In the study â€Å"Exploring the Relationship Between Support for Gun Control Measures and Understanding of Gun Control Issues†(1998) the authors L. J. Mortality and I. E. Hearse made an attempt to determine how knowledge of gun control Issues affects support for gun control. A quantitative study was completed by performing telephone surveys In a selected area In the state of Valhalla. A sample size of 350 responses was acquired over a one week period from the city of Richmond. The sample was predominantly women and white. This doesn’t provide a true sample of the population as a whole but does give some insight in to the sample elected. The results from this study were incomplete. The research did not determine In which order understanding of gun control issues and support for gun control are acquired (Morality, Hearse, 1998). The study looked at a correlation between two pieces of knowledge, the knowledge of gun control laws and issues. Both of which have relevance to the perception of safety with guns and gun control laws by exploring what level of understanding society has when it comes to gun control. Certainly knowledge impacts the perception of one’s views when it comes to the subject of safety. Beyond knowledge, we have to wonder If cultural aspects play a part In society perception of safety. Perceptions† the researchers D. M. Kahn and D. Barman proposed that cultural theory plays a large part in the perception of risk in the topic of gun control. They conducted a quantitative study of cultural theory of risk, applied that to gun control, and then they present the results from an original empirical study that demonstrates that attitudes toward gun control do in fact bear the relationship to cultural orientations posited by cultural theory (Kahn, Barman, 2003). The data source was the 1998-2000 General Social survey. The study tells us that there are many influences to society’s perception, especially when it comes to t he topic of guns and gun control. The study has found a link between cultural orientations on the subject of gun-risk perception (Kahn, Barman, 2003). This provides additional information to the understanding of how society’s perception of safety is impacted by gun control. There are additional factors that contribute to this perception. Mass media has played a major role in the perception of safety. Kenneth Doodler conducted a study titled â€Å"Media Influence on Attitudes Towards Guns and Gun Control†. Doodler set out to examine whether media consumption affects attitude toward gun control. His study used pre existing data from a National Opinion Survey on Crime and Justice (NOSES) which was a quantitative study conducted through the use of surveys. Doodler’s results tell us that consistent with cultivation theory, crime show viewing influences attitudes towards guns and gun control. Viewers are more likely to disagree with gun control and agree that being ar med is the best defense against criminals (Doodler, 2002). Doodler’s study focuses on one of the questions asked in this study. His study helps o support how the media influences society’s perception on guns and gun control laws. Another aspect to understanding society’s perception is how people can define themselves by association to an organization. A study, â€Å"Defining Who You Are By What You’re Not: Organizational Desertification and The National Rifle Association† by Kimberly D. Eyelash and C. B. Patriarchy explores the concept of organizational desertification through a qualitative investigation of cognitive relationships with the National Rifle Association. Their findings suggest that organizational desertification s a self-perception based upon a cognitive separation between ones identity and the organizations identity (Eyelash, Patriarchy, 2001). The researchers chose the NORA because of its notoriety in the media and the sample of part icipants would have familiarity with the NORA. This study provides insight into the understanding of how people define who they are by what you are not (Eyelash, K. D. ). One portion of their study was a large scale survey of public attitudes about the NORA. In their findings † desertification is also partially explained by the degree to which respondents agreed that personal experiences had affected their perceptions of the NORA. † (Eyelash, K. D. ). A portion of the findings have told us that personal experiences from the respondents have influenced their perception. We also found that society’s perception also plays a role on our children’s lives and is effected by their education and parental influence. Patricia Howard completed a qualitative study to determine what parents’ beliefs about children and gun safety. Howard accomplished the study by sending out surveys to 230 parents of children in elementary school. They received 82 returned surveys . This was a low percentage of about firearm storage in the home; (2) Examine parents’ primary belief about firearm safety programs for children: and (3) explore the parents’ perception about their child’s behavior around guns (Howard, 2005). What is of most interest for this study is the third part of the study? Howard finding say that parental perception about their child’s behavior around guns support the fact that their child would not touch a gun unless an adult was present (Howard, 2005). All of these studies have looked into the perception of guns and gun control. They have all provided valuable information. They all come to a conclusion that there are many aspects that impact society’s perception of safety in regards to gun control laws. But what is missing is the understanding of why and how gun control laws impact the perception of safety in society. Approach This research is a phenomenology study on how gun control laws impact the percep tion of safety upon society. A phenomenology study is described as basic lived experience. A strength derived from this approach is you are able to gain insight by learning of the participants experience related to the proposed research question. A nakedness is that the research conducted is based on the opinions of the participants. Although this may seem irrelevant but in fact it makes it difficult to analyze the data. For this study, this approach fits as it goes into a subject matter that is based in life experience. The question naturally lends itself to a phenomenological study. It asks for the perception of safety, which in turn is part of our life experience. Methodology The study will consist of interviews with approximately 1 5 participants. The participants would be adults between the ages of 21 to 70. The participants could include prior and active military service, law enforcement, and the civilian population. All of the participants will be asked to sign an informed co nsent agreement and will be provided a disclosure form with all of the details for this study. A participant can, at any time removed themselves from the study. The interviews require only subjective opinions and answers from the sample of participants. The interviews would be recorded both visually and audibly. In addition the interviewer should keep notes as the interview progresses. The notes from the interviewer needs to be bracketed and will be treated as such. The audio video tapes will be collected and transcribed. These recording will be kept in a locked cabinet and all data on computers will be encrypted . The following is a list of questions that will be asked of the participants during their interviews. 1 . Could you explain what safety is when it comes to gun control? 2. How do gun control laws impact your perception of safety? 3. How have gun control laws had an impact on your life? If so explain. 4. What has the media done to influence you and societies perception of s afety around the subject of gun control laws? 5. How do you feel about gun control laws? Room the interviews. The data will be broken down into categories, and common keywords can be found. With the data collected one can summarize the finding to produce a report that outlines the common understanding of the perception of safety about gun control in today’s society. Results and Conclusion After conducting multiple interviews the findings from my research do in fact say that gun controls laws have an impact on the perception of safety in society. When analyzing the data collected, it was found that those interviewed felt that gun control laws had a negative effect upon their perception of safety. A common statement was that the laws help to discourage responsible, law abiding citizens from owning firearms, thus meaning that criminals are more likely to feel secure in the knowledge that their victims are unarmed. In addition the government’s ever growing control over the ability of citizens to own firearms weakens the rest of our freedoms. The findings tell us that society doesn’t perceive they are safer as a result of gun control laws. Further research would be needed to determine how safety is defined in the eyes of society. Also one would need to further explore what factors are influencing society perception. The study has provided additional insight in to the perception of safety, and provides addition directions for further research. We will write a custom essay sample on Safety Perceptions Essay Example specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Safety Perceptions Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Safety Perceptions Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer