L. Cao - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by L. Cao

Research paper thumbnail of In Times of Political Crisis, Why People Support the Police: Police Legitimacy in Taiwan

International Criminology

The current research examines the support for the police during a political crisis. Relying on a ... more The current research examines the support for the police during a political crisis. Relying on a random sample collected from the Taipei metropolitan area a month after the Sunflower Movement in 2014, we have found that perceived police legitimacy functioned well, whereas the political party preference, a proxy measure of powerholder legitimacy, exerts the strongest positive impact on the support for the police during the crisis. We conclude that political orientation structures perceived legitimacy and sustains the support for the police during the social movement. In addition, policing by virtue, an alternative model of democratic policing is discussed within the context of Taiwan. The study leads us to believe that the Confucian culture is not destined to be authoritarian and violent, but is capable of regenerating itself as an alternative form of democratic policing, and possibly more broadly, governance.

Research paper thumbnail of Family, welfare, and delinquency

Journal of Criminal Justice, 2004

Data from a five-wave panel probability sample of families in the State of Washington were analyz... more Data from a five-wave panel probability sample of families in the State of Washington were analyzed to test the hypothesis that female headship and welfare experience increased participation in and frequency of juvenile delinquency. Appropriate statistical models of random effect probit and negative binomial were employed. Results indicated that there were no direct effects of female headship and welfare experience on either prevalence or frequency of juvenile delinquency. Instead, it was found that the number of adult presence in a household and the child's school attachment significantly reduced the probability of delinquency and the tendency of being referred again in court.

Research paper thumbnail of Forces of Production and Direction

Homicide Studies, 2003

This research examines the utility of the stream analogy of lethal violence. Based on frustration... more This research examines the utility of the stream analogy of lethal violence. Based on frustration/aggression thesis and attribution thesis, expanded integrated models of total lethal violence and the suicide-homicide ratio are proposed. Using updated cross-national data, the results of regression analysis indicate that income inequality and economic development remain to be the predictors for the direction of lethal violence expressed as suicide, as the stream analogy predicts, after the divorce rate and unemployment rate are controlled for. The authors’ data also reveal that the divorce rate greatly increases the total amount of violence but does not influence the percentage of lethal violence that is expressed as suicide over homicide.

Research paper thumbnail of Acceptance of Prostitution and Its Social Determinants in Canada

International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology, Jan 15, 2015

The nature of collective perception of prostitution is understudied in Canada. Except some rudime... more The nature of collective perception of prostitution is understudied in Canada. Except some rudimentary reports on the percentages of the key legal options, multivariate analysis has never been used to analyze the details of public opinion on prostitution. The current study explores the trend of public attitude toward prostitution acceptability in Canada over a 25-year span and examines the social determinants of the acceptability of prostitution, using structural equation modeling (SEM), which allows researchers to elaborate both direct and indirect effects (through mediating variables) on the outcome variable. Results show that the public has become more acceptant of prostitution over time. In addition, the less religious, less authoritarian, and more educated are more acceptant of prostitution than the more religious, more authoritarian, and less well educated. The effects of religiosity and authoritarianism mediate out the direct effects of age, gender, gender equality, marriage,...

Research paper thumbnail of Public attitudes toward the police

Journal of Criminal Justice, 1998

ABSTRACT Comparative research on the police in Japan and in the United States is largely based on... more ABSTRACT Comparative research on the police in Japan and in the United States is largely based on qualitative or participatory observation techniques. These studies in general seem to suggest that the Japanese public has a higher evaluation of their police than the Americans. The present study uses quantitative data from both countries and attempts to test the hypothesis that the Japanese public has higher confidence in their police than does the American public. Preliminary findings in the multivariate analysis indicate, surprisingly, that the Japanese have significantly lower confidence in their police compared to Americans.

Research paper thumbnail of Curbing Police Brutality: What Works?: A Reanalysis of Citizen Complaints at the Organizational Level, Final Report

Research paper thumbnail of A test of Lundman’s organizational product thesis with data on citizen complaints

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 2000

Research paper thumbnail of Social Change and Anomie: A Cross-National Study

Research paper thumbnail of Race and satisfaction with the police in a small city

Journal of Criminal Justice, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of From authoritarian policing to democratic policing: a case study of Taiwan

The literature of democratic policing has neglected the case study of unique geopolitical situati... more The literature of democratic policing has neglected the case study of unique geopolitical situation. This study examines Taiwan, one of the few countries that has experienced a relatively peaceful transition from authoritarian policing to democratic policing. While the push from the dangwai movement was necessary, democratisation could not be so peaceful without benign concession from ex-president Chiang Ching-Kuo and his hand-picked successor Li Denghui. The article then contrasts the essential characteristics of democratic policing with these of authoritarian policing before the lifting of martial law in 1987. We contend that to endure democracy, the police must accept and embody democratic values in their practices. The difficulties to democratic reforms come from both despotic past and jaundiced interpretation of Confucianism. The essay represents a systematic attempt to explore the spread of democratic policing to a post-Confucian society.

Research paper thumbnail of In Times of Political Crisis, Why People Support the Police: Police Legitimacy in Taiwan

International Criminology

The current research examines the support for the police during a political crisis. Relying on a ... more The current research examines the support for the police during a political crisis. Relying on a random sample collected from the Taipei metropolitan area a month after the Sunflower Movement in 2014, we have found that perceived police legitimacy functioned well, whereas the political party preference, a proxy measure of powerholder legitimacy, exerts the strongest positive impact on the support for the police during the crisis. We conclude that political orientation structures perceived legitimacy and sustains the support for the police during the social movement. In addition, policing by virtue, an alternative model of democratic policing is discussed within the context of Taiwan. The study leads us to believe that the Confucian culture is not destined to be authoritarian and violent, but is capable of regenerating itself as an alternative form of democratic policing, and possibly more broadly, governance.

Research paper thumbnail of Family, welfare, and delinquency

Journal of Criminal Justice, 2004

Data from a five-wave panel probability sample of families in the State of Washington were analyz... more Data from a five-wave panel probability sample of families in the State of Washington were analyzed to test the hypothesis that female headship and welfare experience increased participation in and frequency of juvenile delinquency. Appropriate statistical models of random effect probit and negative binomial were employed. Results indicated that there were no direct effects of female headship and welfare experience on either prevalence or frequency of juvenile delinquency. Instead, it was found that the number of adult presence in a household and the child's school attachment significantly reduced the probability of delinquency and the tendency of being referred again in court.

Research paper thumbnail of Forces of Production and Direction

Homicide Studies, 2003

This research examines the utility of the stream analogy of lethal violence. Based on frustration... more This research examines the utility of the stream analogy of lethal violence. Based on frustration/aggression thesis and attribution thesis, expanded integrated models of total lethal violence and the suicide-homicide ratio are proposed. Using updated cross-national data, the results of regression analysis indicate that income inequality and economic development remain to be the predictors for the direction of lethal violence expressed as suicide, as the stream analogy predicts, after the divorce rate and unemployment rate are controlled for. The authors’ data also reveal that the divorce rate greatly increases the total amount of violence but does not influence the percentage of lethal violence that is expressed as suicide over homicide.

Research paper thumbnail of Acceptance of Prostitution and Its Social Determinants in Canada

International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology, Jan 15, 2015

The nature of collective perception of prostitution is understudied in Canada. Except some rudime... more The nature of collective perception of prostitution is understudied in Canada. Except some rudimentary reports on the percentages of the key legal options, multivariate analysis has never been used to analyze the details of public opinion on prostitution. The current study explores the trend of public attitude toward prostitution acceptability in Canada over a 25-year span and examines the social determinants of the acceptability of prostitution, using structural equation modeling (SEM), which allows researchers to elaborate both direct and indirect effects (through mediating variables) on the outcome variable. Results show that the public has become more acceptant of prostitution over time. In addition, the less religious, less authoritarian, and more educated are more acceptant of prostitution than the more religious, more authoritarian, and less well educated. The effects of religiosity and authoritarianism mediate out the direct effects of age, gender, gender equality, marriage,...

Research paper thumbnail of Public attitudes toward the police

Journal of Criminal Justice, 1998

ABSTRACT Comparative research on the police in Japan and in the United States is largely based on... more ABSTRACT Comparative research on the police in Japan and in the United States is largely based on qualitative or participatory observation techniques. These studies in general seem to suggest that the Japanese public has a higher evaluation of their police than the Americans. The present study uses quantitative data from both countries and attempts to test the hypothesis that the Japanese public has higher confidence in their police than does the American public. Preliminary findings in the multivariate analysis indicate, surprisingly, that the Japanese have significantly lower confidence in their police compared to Americans.

Research paper thumbnail of Curbing Police Brutality: What Works?: A Reanalysis of Citizen Complaints at the Organizational Level, Final Report

Research paper thumbnail of A test of Lundman’s organizational product thesis with data on citizen complaints

Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 2000

Research paper thumbnail of Social Change and Anomie: A Cross-National Study

Research paper thumbnail of Race and satisfaction with the police in a small city

Journal of Criminal Justice, 2005

Research paper thumbnail of From authoritarian policing to democratic policing: a case study of Taiwan

The literature of democratic policing has neglected the case study of unique geopolitical situati... more The literature of democratic policing has neglected the case study of unique geopolitical situation. This study examines Taiwan, one of the few countries that has experienced a relatively peaceful transition from authoritarian policing to democratic policing. While the push from the dangwai movement was necessary, democratisation could not be so peaceful without benign concession from ex-president Chiang Ching-Kuo and his hand-picked successor Li Denghui. The article then contrasts the essential characteristics of democratic policing with these of authoritarian policing before the lifting of martial law in 1987. We contend that to endure democracy, the police must accept and embody democratic values in their practices. The difficulties to democratic reforms come from both despotic past and jaundiced interpretation of Confucianism. The essay represents a systematic attempt to explore the spread of democratic policing to a post-Confucian society.