ASSIGNMENT
Guardianship is the presence of one or more people who can potentially stop a crime and is a key factor in deterring criminals. With technology coming into the mix, it creates new challenges to understand what guardianship is: when you do not see anyone, but you do see cameras, is someone watching you? As guardianship is vital to deter criminals, it is necessary that we know what guardianship can consist of and how we can make sure that guardianship is present in for example neighbourhoods to deter burglars.
In this internship, you will help set up a new research project about guardianship. In this project, there are several you can choose to work on. The first is to help set up a study in which people will respond to different crime scenarios, to see which factors help (or hinder people) from intervening when this is necessary. For example, if intervening means a guardian is in danger, are they still willing to intervene? The second is a study where we aim to see when technology mimicking the presence of a person is seen as human or as an AI feature. For example, if we see a light suddenly turning on in a house, do we think the homeowners are there or are the lights turning on automatically due to a timer? Your own input into the topic of the internship is valued and highly appreciated, and thus, there are more potential topics you can work on. Irrespective of the topic, you have to be willing to do literature research, collaborate to construct new research and collect data and analyse data.
KEYWORDS
Guardianship; crime prevention.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ORGANIZATION
The section Psychology of Conflict, Risk and Safety at the University of Twente has a distinctive and unique profile in the areas of risk perception and risk communication, conflict and crisis management and the antecedents of risky, antisocial and criminal behaviour. It currently includes 16 research staff members and 8 PhD students. We work from both a psychology and an engineering perspective and cooperate with other scientific disciplines, based on the “high tech, human touch” profile of the University of Twente.
AVAILABILITY
Usually anytime. This internship is open to 2 students.
INTERESTED?
Please contact the internship coordinator Miriam Oostinga (m.s.d.oostinga@utwente.nl).
LITERATURE
- Reynald, D. M. (2009). Guardianship in action: Developing a new tool for measurement. Crime Prevention and Community Safety, 11(1), 1-20.
- Van Sintemaartensdijk, I., Van Gelder, J. L., Van Prooijen, J. W., Nee, C., Otte, M., & Van Lange, P. (2021). Mere presence of informal guardians deters burglars: A virtual reality study. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 17(4), 657-676.