International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

search-icon

The Measurement of Quality of Life on Criminal Activities and Weather Changes

Open access

Siti Rasidah M D Sakip, Anis Zulaikha Mohd Zukri, Suraya Masrom, Khalidatulakmal M D Ismail

Pages 1197-1209 Received: 15 Jan, 2023 Revised: 17 Feb, 2023 Published Online: 19 Mar, 2023

http://dx.doi.org/10.46886/IJARBSS/v13-i3/10068
The prevailing weather conditions greatly influence human behaviour, activities, and quality of life, including crime. Previous studies have reported that crime focuses more on socio-economic, demographic, and municipal determinants, regardless of weather conditions. There is relatively complex research to explore the relationship between criminal behaviour and climate change towards the quality of life. Thus, measuring the quality of life can be important in understanding the impact of criminal activities and weather changes on individuals and communities. In the case of criminal activities, measuring the quality of life can help us understand how crime affects people's physical and mental health, social relationships, economic opportunities, and overall well-being. By assessing the impact of crime on quality of life, policymakers and law enforcement officials can better understand the actual costs of crime and develop more effective strategies for preventing and responding to criminal activities. Therefore, this paper explores the research gap to evaluate the validity and reliability of instruments for measuring the quality of life based on criminal activity and weather changes. This paper explores and describes the validity and reliability of a questionnaire/survey and discusses the finding of the measurement of quality of life-based on criminal activities and weather changes. This study uses a quantitative approach by using a random distribution of a questionnaire to residents in three states facing high crime rates. The survey involved 51 residents' respondents from the community. The findings of this paper show that this questionnaire is valid for measuring the quality of life with a substantial value of Cronbach's Alpha for the construct. The physical domain measured 0.91, psychological indicated 0.90, environmental indicated 0.71, and social indicated 0.77. Non-significant items will be restricted for each latent variable and reviewed and rearranged to ensure the number of items measuring each construct is satisfactory in future research. Measurement validation can be used to explore crime and behaviour in future research. This paper provided knowledge for future research about developing a quality-of-life questionnaire based on criminal activity and weather changes as environmental factors. More importantly, the researcher has discussed these measures and provided the suggested quality of life domain. Thus, measuring the level of satisfaction and perception would be helpful in future research (based on the QOL domain).
Bracy, N. L., Millstein, R. A., Carlson, J. A., Conway, T. L., Sallis, J. F., Saelens, B. E., … King, A. C. (2014). Is the relationship between the built environment and physical activity moderated by perceptions of crime and safety? International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 11(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-11-24
Campbell, R. K. (1986). The Effect of Temperature on Insulin. The Diabetes Educator, 12(1), 80. https://doi.org/10.1177/014572178601200124
Cao, X. J. (2016). How does neighborhood design affect life satisfaction? Evidence from Twin Cities. Travel Behaviour and Society, 5, 68–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tbs.2015.07.001
Cohen, L. E., & Felson, M. (1979). Social Change and Crime Rate Trends: A Routine Activity Approach. American Sociological Review, 44(4), 588. https://doi.org/10.2307/2094589
Corcoran, J., & Zahnow, R. (2021). The Effect of Weather on Assault. Environment and Behavior, 54(2), 300–326. https://doi.org/10.1177/00139165211014629
Estoque, R. C., Togawa, T., Ooba, M., Gomi, K., Nakamura, S., Hijioka, Y., & Kameyama, Y. (2019). A review of quality of life (QOL) assessments and indicators: Towards a “QOL-Climate” assessment framework. Ambio, 48(6), 619–638.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-018-1090-3
Fareed, M., & Hussain, M. Y. (2013). Keberkesanan Program Bandar Selamat: Persepsi Komuniti di Bandar Kulaijaya, Malaysia. Akademika, 83(1), 25–34.
Fillenbaum, G. G., & Smyer, M. A. (1981). The development, validity, and reliability of the OARS multidimensional functional assessment questionnaire. Journals of Gerontology, 36(4), 428–434. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronj/36.4.428
Ghani, Z. A. (2017). A comparative study of urban crime between Malaysia and Nigeria. Journal of Urban Management, 6(1), 19–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jum.2017.03.001
Han, J., Liang, H., Hara, K., Uwasu, M., & Dong, L. (2018). Quality of life in China’s largest city, Shanghai: A 20-year subjective and objective composite assessment. Journal of Cleaner Production, 173, 135–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.10.097
Hur, M., & Nasar, J. L. (2014). Physical upkeep, perceived upkeep, fear of crime and neighborhood satisfaction. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 38, 186–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2014.02.001
Keles, R. (2012). The Quality of Life and the Environment. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 35(December 2011), 23–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.02.059
Lersch, K. M., & Hart, T. C. (2020). Geographies of Behavioural Health, Crime, and Disorder (Vol. 126). Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-33467-3
Mouratidis, K. (2021). Urban planning and quality of life: A review of pathways linking the built environment to subjective well-being. Cities, 115(April), 103229.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2021.103229
Sakip, S. R. M., Johari, N., Abdullah, A., & Salleh, M. N. M. (2013). Assessing Sense of Community Dimension in Residential Areas in the Malaysian Context. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 105, 655–663. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.11.068
Singh, A. S. (2017). Common Procedures for Development, Validity and Reliability of a Questionnaire. Swaziland: Department of AEM, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Swaziland. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, 5(5), 790–801.
Srinivasan, R., & Lohith, C. P. (2017). Pilot study - Assessment of validity and reliability. In: Strategic marketing and innovation for Indian MSMEs. India studies in business and economics. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3590-6
Taherdoost, H. (2018). Validity and Reliability of the Research Instrument; How to Test the Validation of a Questionnaire/Survey in a Research. SSRN Electronic Journal, 5(3), 28–36. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3205040
Trujillo, J. C., & Howley, P. (2021). The Effect of Weather on Crime in a Torrid Urban Zone. Environment and Behavior, 53(1), 69–90. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916519878213
Turkoglu, H. (2015). Sustainable Development and Quality of Urban Life. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 202(December 2014), 10–14.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.08.203
Wawrzyniak, Z. M., Borowik, G., Szczechla, E., Michalak, P., Pytlak, R., Cichosz, P., … Perkowski, E. (2018). Relationships between Crime and Everyday Factors. INES 2018 - IEEE 22nd International Conference on Intelligent Engineering Systems, Proceedings, 000039–000044. https://doi.org/10.1109/INES.2018.8523999
West, C. (1990). from the SAGE Social Science Collections . All Rights. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 9(2), 183–205. Retrieved from
http://hjb.sagepub.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/content/9/2/183.full.pdf+html
Sun, Y. (2005). Development of Neighbourhood Quality of Life Indicators. Community-University Institute for Social Research.