john s. and james l. knight foundation community ...john s. and james l. knight foundation community...

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Community Indicators Project

A Report on Public Opinion in

Akron, Ohio

Conducted by

Princeton Survey Research Associates, Inc.

Princeton Survey Research Associates911 Commons Way 1211 Connecticut Avenue NW

Princeton, New Jersey 08540 Washington, D.C. 20036(609) 924-9204 (202) 293-4710

July 1999

♦♦♦♦ PRINCETON SURVEY RESEARCH ASSOCIATES ♦♦♦♦REPORT ON PUBLIC OPINION IN AKRON – JULY 23, 1999

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SURVEY OVERVIEW 1

THE KNIGHT FOUNDATION COMMUNITY INDICATORS PROJECT 1SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS 2COMMUNITY HEALTH INDICATORS 2LOCAL ISSUES IN AKRON 4

PERCEPTIONS OF THE COMMUNITY 5

RATINGS OF COMMUNITY INSTITUTIONS 5LOCAL MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS 6INFLUENCES ON PERCEPTIONS OF LOCAL INSTITUTIONS . . . 6. . .AND THE LOCAL MEDIA 7COMMUNITY SAFETY 8INFLUENCES ON PERCEPTIONS OF SAFETY 8FUTURE PLANS TO LIVE IN AKRON 9INFLUENCES ON FUTURE PLANS TO LIVE IN AKRON 9

COMMUNITY PROBLEMS 9

MOST IMPORTANT COMMUNITY PROBLEMS 11INFLUENCES ON PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNITY PROBLEMS 11

CITIZENSHIP 12

CONNECTION WITH NEIGHBORS 12PERSONAL EFFICACY 12INFLUENCES ON FEELINGS OF EFFICACY 12VOLUNTEERISM 13INFLUENCES ON VOLUNTEERISM 14CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS 14INFLUENCES ON CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS 15CITIZEN APATHY IS A PROBLEM 15

EDUCATION 16

CHILDREN'S WELL-BEING 17

PROBLEMS IMPACTING CHILDREN 17GIVING MONEY AND TIME 17


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ARTS AND CULTURE 18

ARTS AND CULTURAL RESOURCES IN AKRON 18NON-PROFIT ARTS AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES 18OTHER TYPES OF LEISURE ACTIVITIES 19INFLUENCES ON ATTENDANCE OF NON-PROFIT ARTS AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES 19GIVING AND VOLUNTEERING FOR ARTS AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES 20

LOCAL ISSUES 20

VIEWS ABOUT AKRON YOUTH 20INFLUENCES ON VIEWS ABOUT AKRON YOUTH 21SCHOOL BUSING 22INFLUENCES ON OPINIONS ABOUT SCHOOL BUSING 22THE FUTURE OF RACE RELATIONS 22

SURVEY METHODOLOGY 24

SAMPLE DESIGN 24WEIGHTING 24STATISTICAL TESTS 25RESPONSE RATE 26

TOPLINE RESULTS 27


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Survey Overview

The Knight Foundation Community Indicators ProjectThe John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants to

non-profit organizations.1 A segment of The Foundation’s grant-making is devoted to projectsthat have a national scope, but Knight Foundation also operates as a local funder in a fixed groupof 26 communities.2 In order to better serve its local community grantees, Knight Foundationdeveloped the Community Indicators project to document the social health of these communities.As an evaluative tool, the Community Indicators project will provide quality-of-life measures inthe 26 communities that Knight Foundation seeks to affect through its local grant making. Theindicators will establish baseline measures of social health that can be used in future years asevaluative benchmarks against which the progress of grantees’ programmatic efforts can bemeasured. Once established, key indicators will be tracked over time and used to help identifyopportunities and needs within and across communities. The information gathered for theproject will also be made available to community groups, non-profit organizations, and nationalleaders to aid them in efforts to bolster community health on the local level.

The design for the Community Indicators Project specifies two paths of inquiry. The firstpath is telephone surveys in Knight Foundation’s 26 communities. The second path involves thedevelopment of community profiles for these same communities using local, state and nationaldata sources. The profiles are intended to serve as a complement to the impressionistic data fromthe surveys. The Akron Community Indicators Survey is one of 26 community surveysconducted on behalf of Knight Foundation by Princeton Survey Research Associates (PSRA).The survey measures Akron residents’ civic engagement and their attitudes related to the sevenpriority interest areas in Knight Foundation’s Community Initiatives Program: education; artsand culture; children and social welfare; community development; homelessness; literacy; andcitizenship.

1 For more information about the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, including a copy of its most

recent annual report, contact the Foundation at (305) 908-2600 or visit the web site athttp://www.knightfdn.org. Established in 1950, Knight foundation makes national grants in journalism,education and arts and culture. Its fourth program, community initiatives, focuses on 26 communitieswhere the Knight brothers published newspapers. The Foundation is wholly separate from and independentof those newspaper enterprises.

2 The 26 Knight Foundation communities are: Aberdeen, S.D.; Akron, Ohio; Biloxi, Miss.; Boca Raton, Fla.;Boulder, Colo.; Bradenton, Fla.; Charlotte, N.C.; Columbia S.C.; Columbus, Ga.; Detroit, Mich.; Duluth,Minn.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Gary, Ind.; Grand Forks, N.D.; Lexington, Ky.; Long Beach, Calif.; Macon, Ga.;Miami, Fla.; Milledgeville, Ga.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Philadelphia, Penn.; St. Paul, Minn.; San Jose, Calif.;State College, Penn.; Tallahassee, Fla.; Wichita, Kans.


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Survey HighlightsThe idea of community seems to be alive and well in Akron, Ohio3. Most people

perceive their city as a good place to live, and do not foresee moving from the area in the nextfive years. Many also believe that they as individuals can help make Akron an even better place.People are generous: many residents share their time or money to help local charities and non-profit organizations, especially those focused on disadvantaged people. People are also activeparticipants in the social, cultural and civic activities of the city. Like every place in the UnitedStates, the Akron area has problems. Among the most pressing are: the number of unsupervisedchildren and teenagers, citizen apathy, and crime, drugs or violence. Yet, residents are involvedin efforts aimed at dealing with a variety of social concerns. The survey findings suggest that thechallenge in Akron is to get more people, many of whom are quite satisfied with their ownquality of life, to become active agents in efforts to sustain and improve the overall quality of lifein the community.

Community Health IndicatorsThe survey reveals the following attitudes and levels of involvement among Akron

residents that are of particular importance and relevance for the Community Indicators Project.

� Most Akron area residents believe they can have a positive effect on their community.About one quarter (28%) say they can have a big impact in making their community abetter place to live and another four in ten (42%) think they can have a moderate impact.(See p.12)

� Akron residents who believe they can have an impact on their community say the mosteffective ways to do so are to get other people involved (42%) and to volunteer time(38%). (See p.12)

� A majority of Akron residents (57%) did volunteer work for some type of organization inthe year preceding the interview. Almost three in ten residents did so for an organizationthat helps poor, elderly or homeless people (29%), and as many spent time helping ayouth development program such as a day care center, scouts or little league (27%).Slightly fewer spent time helping a tutoring or other educational program (22%), aneighborhood or civic group (17%), or an arts or cultural group (14%). (See p.13)

� Nine in ten residents (89%) contributed money or personal belongings to a charitable ornon-profit organization in 1998. Most residents contributed to a religious organization(68%) or an organization that helps poor, elderly or homeless people (61%). About halfgave a donation to a school, college or other educational organization (49%), a hospital orhealth organization (48%), or a youth development program (46%). (See p.14)

3 The interviews for the survey were conducted in Summit County, Ohio. All mentions of the Akron area or

of Akron stand for the entire county. The survey includes no information about any geographic areasmaller than the county.


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� Even with these substantial levels of civic engagement, a majority of residents (64%)consider citizen apathy at least a small problem in Akron. Other top problems in theAkron community include; the number of unsupervised children and teenagers (66%),crime, drugs or violence (68%). (See p.15)

� Practically all Akron residents (94%) feel at least somewhat safe from crime in theirhomes at night. Most also feel safe when walking in their neighborhood after dark(83%). However, significantly fewer residents (57%) feel safe when walking downtownat night. (See p.8)

� Education is an issue of concern for Akron residents. Almost half (45%) feel illiteracy isa problem in their community, including 15 percent who say it is a big problem. (See p.9)

� Residents’ opinions about the local public schools are mixed. Only a slight majority ratethe overall job performance of the public schools as good (42%) or excellent (17%). Athird rate the public schools as either fair (24%) or poor (8%). In addition, half indicatethat the low quality of local public school education is at least a small problem in theircommunity. (See p.16)

� The availability of affordable housing is of concern to about half (54%) of residents inthe Akron area. Also of concern are unemployment (48%), as well as tension betweendifferent racial and ethnic groups (46%). (See p.9)

� Homelessness is less of a concern among Akron residents. While 43 percent say this is atleast a small problem, more residents (54%) do not see it as a problem at all. (See p.9)

� Arts and cultural events are quite popular activities in Akron. A substantial majority ofresidents (69%) attended at least one type of non-profit arts or cultural event in the yearpreceding the interview. Half attended a play, dance, or other theater performance, and40 percent visited an exhibit at an art museum over this period. Fewer residents reportvisiting a science or history museum (36%) or going to hear a symphony orchestra(23%).(See p.18)

� A minority of the Akron public supports arts or cultural activities by volunteering orcontributing money. Less than one in five residents (14%) say they volunteered for anarts or cultural organization in the 12 months preceding the interview and an equalnumber (15%) report contributing to such an organization in 1998. (See p.20)


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Local Issues in AkronThe survey included questions about three topics of special interest in the Akron area:

influences on young people, the continued withdrawal of whites to suburban schools, and thefuture of community race relations.

� About equal numbers of Akron residents feel that parents, peers, and entertainment suchas music, film, television or video games have the biggest influence on the values andactions of children and teenagers today (29% vs. 26% vs. 26%). Far fewer feel eitherschools (9%) or churches and other religious organizations (6%) are the biggestinfluence.

� A strong majority of residents (80%) feel most teenagers who hang out in groups arelooking for something to do and aren't trying to cause any trouble. Only 15 percent feelmost teenagers hanging out in groups are involved with gangs and are looking to causetrouble.

� Most residents (71%) feel it is more important for children to attend school near theirhomes, even if most students are of the same race. One in five (20%) think it is moreimportant that children attend schools with students of other races, even if it meansbusing them some distance from their homes.

� Most residents (61%) feel that race relations will stay about the same in the Akron area inthe next five years. Twenty-eight percent feel that race relations will get better, and onein ten (9%) think that race relations will actually deteriorate.

These are among the findings of a new survey about the experiences and attitudes ofpeople living in the Akron area. This survey of adults aged 18 and older was conducted onbehalf of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation by Princeton Survey Research Associates(PSRA). A representative sample of 500 adults was interviewed by telephone during the periodJune 9 through June 17, 1999. For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95 percentconfidence that the error attributable to sampling is plus or minus five percentage points. Resultsbased on smaller subgroups are subject to a larger margin of sampling error. In addition tosampling error, the practical difficulties of conducting telephone surveys can introduce error orbias into their results.


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Perceptions of the Community

The majority of Akron residents are satisfied with their community with most sayingAkron is an excellent (19%) or good (52%) place to live. However, one in four Akron residentsgive only a fair (21%) or poor (4%) rating to their community. (See FIGURE 1)

Education affects community ratings, with those who have attended college being morelikely to give a positive rating (excellent or good) than those with less education (78% vs. 65%).4

In addition, people who feel that they can only have a small impact on making their community abetter place to live are more likely than those who have more confidence in this regard to givethe area a negative rating (43% vs. 18%).

Ratings of Community InstitutionsAkron residents think local institutions are doing a good job and are especially

complimentary of the performance of the local fire department. Ninety-one percent of residentsrate the fire department positively, including over half who say it does an excellent job (54%).As Table 1 shows, local public libraries share similar high ratings with 86 percent of residentsgiving either excellent or good ratings and only about one in ten (8%) giving fair or poor ratings.While the police department receives high ratings from the majority of residents (72%), aboutone in four (27%) feel the police department is doing only a fair or poor job. Ratings for localgovernment are not quite as strong with 61 percent of residents giving a positive rating and abouta third (35%) giving a negative rating. Local public schools receive about the same ratings aslocal government (59% positive, and 32% negative).

4 Throughout this report, differences are noted only if they meet the criterion of statistical significance at the

95% level of confidence.

Figure 1: Overall Community Rating

Excellent - 19%

Good - 52%

Only fair - 21%

Poor - 4%


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TABLE 1: JOB RATINGS FOR COMMUNITY SERVICESExcellent Good Fair Poor

% % % %Your local fire department 54 37 4 1

Your local public libraries 43 43 7 1

Your local police department 31 41 19 8

Your local public schools 17 42 24 8

Your city or town government 10 51 30 5

Local Media OrganizationsLocal media organizations have credibility among many of Akron area residents, though

there are substantial numbers of residents who remain skeptical about the news they read in thenewspaper and see on television. The survey asked about the local daily newspaper and localtelevision news program “you are most familiar with,” rather than specific media organizationsin the Akron area. Seven in ten (72%) say that they believe most of what they see on local TVnews, including 21 percent who say they believe almost all or all of what is reported. Still,almost one in four (22%) believe only some of what they see on local TV news and three percentsay they believe almost nothing reported in these programs. (See TABLE 2)

Akron residents have similar confidence in news and information they read in the localdaily newspaper. Seven in ten residents (68%) say they believe most of what is printed in thelocal paper, but nearly a third (30%) are skeptical about the believability of the informationprovided by this source.

TABLE 2: BELIEVABILITY RATINGS FOR LOCAL MEDIA ORGANIZATIONSAlmostall/All Most Only some

Almostnothing/Nothing

% % % %How would you rate thebelievability of. . .The local TV news program youare most familiar with 21 51 22 3

The local daily newspaper you aremost familiar with 17 51 24 6

Influences on Perceptions of Local Institutions . . .No single factor is helpful in explaining ratings across the five local institutions; rather,

the influences vary depending on the institution. Age, race and personal sense of efficacy arefactors important to ratings of the police department. For example, more residents under age 30say that the local police do a fair or poor job (38%) compared with older residents (23%). Racehas a large affect on ratings of the local police department with whites much more likely than


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African-Americans to give high ratings5. Three quarters of whites say the local policedepartment does an excellent (33%) or good (42%) job compared with only about half ofAfrican-Americans (18% excellent, and 29% good). Similarly, residents who feel they can havea big or moderate impact in making their community a better place to live are more likely thanthose who feel they can have little or no impact to give the police department a positive rating(78% vs. 55%).

Individuals’ sense of personal efficacy also makes a difference in rating the Akron publicschools. People who have little confidence in their ability to make a difference in the communityare more likely to give the public schools negative marks than those who think they can have animpact (47% vs. 27%). Interestingly, residents with children under age 18 give very similarratings to the public schools as those without children.

Ratings of the local government are influenced by income, with more affluent residentsgiving better ratings than those with less income. About two thirds (64%) of Akron residentswith annual family incomes of more than $20,000 give the local government positive ratingscompared with only half (50%) of those with lower incomes. Those with the annual incomesexceeding $60,000 are the most likely to give high ratings (71%).

. . .And The Local MediaAge influences opinions about the local print and broadcast media. Eighty-four percent

of Akron residents between the ages of 18 and 29 believe all or almost all of what they read inthe local daily newspaper. This proportion drops steadily as you look at older residents. Age hasa similar influence on ratings of local television news coverage. (See TABLE 3)

Finally, race is related to opinion about local daily newspapers. Seven in ten whitesbelieve all or almost all of what they read in these periodicals, while only half (51%) of African-Americans show this much faith with news from this source.

TABLE 3: BELIEVABILITY RATINGS FOR LOCAL MEDIA ORGANIZATIONSBY AGE

18-29 30-49 50-64 65 and older% % % %

Percent who say they believe allor almost all of. . .The local daily newspaper theyare most familiar with 84 68 60 59

The local TV news program theyare most familiar with 80 74 71 63

5 Analysis comparing whites and African-Americans excludes seven respondents who identified themselves asHispanic.


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Community SafetyResidents of the Akron area feel safe in their homes at night, but are less secure outside

the home. As Table 4 shows, almost all (94%) Akron residents feel at least somewhat safe fromcrime in their homes, with 70 percent feeling very safe. People feel less safe once they leavetheir houses. About half (48%) feel very safe walking around their neighborhood after dark, andone in ten (11%) feel not too or not at all safe. And only one in five (21%) feel very safe whendowntown at night.

TABLE 4: PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNITY SAFETYVerysafe

Somewhatsafe

Not toosafe

Not atall safe

Don't know/Refused

% % % % %How safe are you and yourfamily from crime . . .At home at night 70 24 4 1 1

When walking in yourneighborhood after dark 48 35 6 5 6

When downtown at night 21 36 17 11 16

Influences on Perceptions of SafetyGender, education, age and income are all factors related to feelings of safety in the

situations asked about in the survey. Men are more likely than women to say that they feel verysafe from crime when walking in their neighborhood after dark (60% vs. 38%), when downtownat night (26% vs. 15%), and even in their own homes at night (78% vs. 63%). Likewise, thosewith some college education are more likely than those who have not attended college to saythey feel safe in these situations.

Younger people perceive a greater degree of safety in their neighborhoods and in thedowntown area. For example, 89 percent of residents under age 50, compared with 74 percent ofolder residents, say they feel at least somewhat safe from crime when walking in theirneighborhood. In the same way, people with lower incomes generally feel less safe from crimethan higher-income people do. Specifically, only 62 percent of residents with annual incomes ofless than $20,000 say they feel safe (either very or somewhat) from crime in their neighborhoodafter dark, compared with 91 percent of residents with higher incomes.


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Similarly, people who live in the city of Akron are more likely to feel not safe whenwalking in their neighborhood at night, compared with those who live in a neighboringcommunity (17% vs. 5%).6

Future Plans to Live in AkronMost Akron residents are committed to living in the community — at least for the next

five years or so. Most residents (86%) plan on staying in Akron for the next five years, including77 percent who say they are happy living there. Fourteen percent of residents indicate they willprobably move from the Akron area in this time period, including about a tenth (9%) who areunhappy living in the area.

Influences on Future Plans to Live in AkronAge is the main factor that influences residents’ satisfaction with the Akron area and its

connection with mobility. Residents under age 50 are more likely than older people (21% vs.2%) to report that they are planning to move in the next five years. Younger residents are alsomore likely to report being unhappy living in the area (24% vs. 7%). Residents aged 18 to 29, inparticular, say they plan to move during this period.

In addition, more parents of children under age 18 than those without children say theyare planning to move in the next 5 years (29% vs. 11%).

Community Problems

Every community faces a variety of problems, from the mundane to the egregious. InAkron, the impressive finding is that residents consider most of their community’s problems tobe minor. The survey asked Akron residents to evaluate how much of a problem — big, small ornot at all — 12 specific issues are in the community where they live. No single issue stands outamong the list as particularly sensitive to Akron residents. However, a third (34%) say thenumber of unsupervised children and teenagers is a big problem. As Table 5 shows, no otherissue asked about in the survey is cited by more than about a quarter of the Akron public as a bigproblem and there are a number of issues that at least half of the residents see as not a problem atall.

6 234 people interviewed reported living in the city of Akron, while 264 reported living in a neighboringcommunity.


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There are four issues identified as big problems among most Akron residents: crime,drugs or violence; not enough affordable housing; too many unsupervised children andteenagers; and citizen apathy. On the other hand, there are as many issues that at least half ofresidents see as not being a problem: abandoned or run-down buildings; homelessness; tensionbetween different racial or ethnic groups; and a lack of arts and cultural activities.

TABLE 5: PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNITY PROBLEMSBig

problemSmall

problemNot a

problem% % %

Is the following a big problem, a small problem or not aproblem in the community where you live?Too many unsupervised children and teenagers 34 32 32People don’t get involved in efforts to improve the community 26 38 32Crime, drugs or violence 24 44 30Not enough affordable housing 22 32 41Not enough affordable, quality child care 23 22 35The public schools do not provide quality education 17 29 46Unemployment 15 33 44Illiteracy, that is people do not have basic reading skills 15 29 44Homelessness 13 30 54Tension between different racial and ethnic groups 11 35 51Not enough arts or cultural activities 10 31 52Abandoned or run-down buildings 8 28 62


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Most Important Community ProblemsThe typical Akron resident labels only two of the issues as big problems in the

community and four in ten (39%) do not think their community has any big problems. Whenasked to distinguish one problem from among the 12 included in the survey as the mostimportant problem in the community, 15 percent of Akron residents cite too many unsupervisedchildren or teenagers. A tenth (10%) say that the most important problem is crime, drugs orviolence. Citizen apathy, the quality of public school education, and the lack of affordablehousing complete the list of top problems. All the other problems asked about in the survey arenoted as most important by no more than five percent of residents.

TABLE 6: FIVE MOST IMPORTANT COMMUNITY PROBLEMS

Too many unsupervised children and teenagers (15%)Crime, drugs or violence (10%)

People don't get involved in efforts to improve the community (7%)The public schools do not provide quality education (7%)

Not enough affordable housing (6%)

Influences on Perceptions of Community ProblemsRace has a large effect on residents' perceptions of problems in the Akron community.

African-Americans are more likely than whites to say the following issues are big problems: toomany unsupervised children and teenagers (53% vs. 31%); citizen apathy (49% vs. 22%); crime,drugs or violence (46% vs. 21%); not enough affordable, quality childcare (50% vs. 19%); notenough affordable housing (44% vs. 18%); unemployment (38% vs. 12%); illiteracy (32% vs.13%); and homelessness (35% vs. 10%). On average, African-Americans cite approximatelyfour big problems in the Akron community while whites cite only two.

Not surprisingly, residents with annual family incomes less than $20,000 are more likelythan those with higher incomes to view a lack of affordable housing (35% vs. 18%) andunemployment (29% vs. 10%) as big problems.


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Citizenship

Connection With NeighborsThe fabric of Akron neighborhoods is generally tightly knit. Eighty percent of residents

say they know the names of their neighbors who live close to them, including 30 percent who saythey know the names of them all. Far fewer residents (20%) say that they do not know any oftheir neighbors’ names.

White residents are more likely than African-American residents to know the names ofall their neighbors. Eighty-four percent of whites know the names of their neighbors, including athird (31%) who know them all. Only 63 percent of African-Americans know the names of theirneighbors. Conversely, more African-Americans than whites say that they do not know thenames of any of their neighbors (37% vs. 16%).

As might be expected, residents who have “put down roots,” such as homeowners andthose who have lived in the area for more than ten years, are more likely to know their neighbors.For example, 32 percent of residents who have lived in Akron for more than 10 years say thatthey know the names of all of their neighbors. Fewer newcomers (22%) report this muchconnectedness to their neighbors. Similarly, homeowners are more likely than their counterpartsto know all of their neighbors' names (88% vs. 59%).

Personal EfficacyMost Akron area residents believe they can have a positive effect on their community.

About a quarter (28%) say they can have a big impact in making their community a better placeto live and 42 percent think they can have a moderate impact. Nineteen percent say they canonly have a small impact and about one in ten (9%) feel they can have no impact at all.

Akron residents who believe they can have an impact on their community say the mosteffective ways to do so are to get other people involved (42%) and to volunteer time (38%).Only seven percent think that complaining to authorities is the way to bring about change, andfewer still (3%) say giving money is most effective.

Influences on Feelings of EfficacyGender, education, and income are factors that influence feelings of personal efficacy.

While men and women are about equally likely to feel they can have a big impact in makingtheir community a better place to live, women are more likely to feel they can have a moderateimpact (46% vs. 36%), and men are more likely to feel they can have only a small impact (25%vs. 14%).


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Akron residents who have at least some college education are more likely than those withless education to feel they can have a big impact (33% vs. 22%), as are those making more than$20,000 annually compared with those earning less (32% vs. 18%).

There are also some differences among demographic groups as to specific ways to havean impact. For instance, college graduates are more likely than those with less education to feelthat volunteering time is the most effective way to have an impact, and they are less likely to feelgetting other people involved is most effective. (See FIGURE 2)

VolunteerismA majority of Akron residents (57%) volunteered for some type of community program

or group in the 12 months preceding the interview. Three in ten (29%) residents did so for anorganization that helps poor, elderly or homeless people, and about as many spent time helping ayouth development program (27%). Slightly fewer Akron residents volunteered time to atutoring or educational program (22%), a neighborhood or civic group (17%), or an arts orcultural group (14%). (See TABLE 7)

Figure 2: Personal Efficacy by Education

0102030405060

College grads Less thancollege grads

Perc

ent Get other people

involvedVolunteer time


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TABLE 7: VOLUNTEERISM IN THE PAST YEARYes%

In the past 12 months have you volunteered your time to . . .A program that helps poor, elderly or homeless people 29

A youth development program, such as a day care center, scouts orlittle league 27

A tutoring or other educational program such as an after-schoolprogram or Sunday school class 22

A neighborhood or civic group, such as a block association orneighborhood watch 17

An arts or cultural group, such as a museum, theater or music group 14

Influences on VolunteerismLevels of volunteerism are strongly related to education. Those who have attended

college are more likely than others to report volunteering for at least one type of communityorganization in the year preceding the interview. Specifically, more Akron residents who haveattended college say they volunteered for a youth development program (34% vs. 20%), atutoring or other educational program (33% vs. 12%), or an arts or cultural group (21% vs. 8%).In fact about seven in ten (68%) residents who have some college education have volunteered inthe past 12 months for at least one of the programs asked about, compared with approximatelyhalf (47%) of those with less education.

Age and income are also important in predicting levels of volunteerism. For example,residents under age 50 are more likely than those who are older to spend time helping out a youthdevelopment program (33% vs. 18%), or a tutoring or other educational program (25% vs. 16%).Income has a similar effect with Akron residents who make $20,000 or more annually beingmore likely than those making less to have volunteered at all in the past year (63% vs. 33%).

Feelings of personal efficacy and parental status are also related to this type ofcommunity involvement. People who feel that they can have a big impact on their communityare more likely to have volunteered for at least one type of community organization than thosewho feel they can have only a moderate or a small impact (71% vs. 53% and 46%, respectively).Likewise, parents of children under age 18 are more engaged overall than non-parents.Specifically, more parents than non-parents report volunteering for youth development programs(43% vs. 19%) and tutoring or other educational programs (33% vs. 17%).

Charitable ContributionsAkron is a generous community. Nine in ten residents (89%) contributed money or

personal belongings to some type of organization in 1998. As Table 8 shows, most residents


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contributed to a church, synagogue or other religious organization (68%), and to organizationsthat help the poor, elderly or homeless (61%). Approximately half gave a donation to a school,college or other educational organization (49%), a hospital or health organization (48%), or ayouth development program (46%). Far fewer gave charitable contributions to arts or culturalorganizations (15%). In addition, 42 percent of residents report contributing to some type oforganization not specifically asked about in the survey.

TABLE 8: CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS IN 1998Yes%

In 1998, did you or anyone in your household contribute to . . .Churches, synagogues or other religious organizations 68

Organizations that help poor, elderly or homeless people 61

Schools, colleges or other educational organizations 49

Hospital or health organizations, including those that fight particulardiseases 48

Youth development programs or organizations for children 46

Arts or cultural organizations 15

Influences on Charitable ContributionsIncome and education are the factors that most influence charitable giving. Those who

have annual incomes of more than $20,000 are more likely than those making less money tocontribute to each type of organization asked about in the survey. In fact, everyone interviewedwith an annual family income of $60,000 or more contributed to an organization in 1998. Thosewho have attended college are also more likely to have contributed to every type of organization.

Age, gender, and political ideology also affect contributing. For example, Akronresidents age 30 and older are more likely than younger residents to contribute to religiousorganizations (72% vs. 50%), and organizations that help the poor, elderly, or homeless (64% vs.47%). Gender affects contributions to organizations that help the poor, elderly or homeless, withwomen more likely to make contributions than men (66% vs. 55%). Likewise, conservatives aremore likely than liberals to contribute to churches, synagogues or other religious organizations(75% vs. 59%).

Citizen Apathy is a ProblemThese substantial amounts of civic engagement notwithstanding, a majority of residents

(64%) say that people’s lack of involvement in efforts to improve the community is a problem inthe community where they live, including one in four (26%) who consider this a big problem.Some residents (7%) even rank citizen apathy as the community’s most important problem. Still,32 percent do not perceive it as a problem at all.


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Education

Education is an issue of concern for many residents in the Akron area. Almost half(45%) feel that illiteracy is a problem in the community where they live, including 15 percentwho say it is a big problem.

Residents' ratings of the local public schools are mixed. Over half of residents rate theoverall job performance of the public schools as good (42%) or excellent (17%). Still, a quarter(24%) say the schools do only a fair job, and eight percent rate the schools poorly. At the sametime, 46 percent indicate that the low quality of local public school education is a problem in thecommunity, while an additional 46 percent say that it is not.

TABLE 9: IS THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION PUBLIC SCHOOLS PROVIDE A PROBLEM?Rating of Local Public Schools

Excellent Good Fair Poor% % % %

The public schools do not provide qualityeducation–is this a big problem, a smallproblem or not a problem?Big problem 1 7 29 75

Small problem 12 32 48 15

Not a problem 83 58 17 9

As Table 9 shows, residents who give a low rating to the job performance of publicschools are also likely to say that the quality of education is a problem in the community. Thosewho rate the public schools as either excellent or good are much more likely to say the quality ofeducation as not a problem.

Akron residents note one of their community’s problems is that people do not getinvolved in efforts to improve the community. They may be right, but in terms of education,there is evidence that some concerned residents are getting involved and trying to make adifference. People who feel the quality of education is a big problem are getting involved intutoring or other educational programs at higher rates than those who feel the quality ofeducation is a small problem or not a problem (33% vs. 21%). In fact about half (56%) of thosewho feel education is the biggest problem in their community have either volunteered in the pastyear for a tutoring or youth development program.


17

Children's Well-being

Akron residents are worried about their children, their schools and about problemsaffecting children in and out of the classroom. Residents are also willing to contribute time andmoney to work with children in their community.

Parents of children under age 18 are more likely to foresee moving away from the Akronarea in the next five years than those without children (19% vs. 11%). Similarly, parents areslightly more likely to report being unhappy living in Akron than those without children (22%vs. 15%)7.

Problems Impacting ChildrenThe problems most directly impacting children are high on the list of Akron area

residents' concerns. Three of the top six problems are child-related. A third of residents (34%)feel that the number of unsupervised children and teenagers is a big problem in their community,though this is not perceived as a gang issue. (See the discussion in "Local Issues", on p.20 formore detail on this aspect.) In addition, a quarter (23%) of residents feel there is not enoughaffordable, quality child care, and one in six feel that the failure of the public schools to providea quality education is a big problem.

Giving Money and TimeSchools and youth development programs are frequently the recipients of contributions

from Akron residents. Altogether, 55 percent of Akron residents gave either time or money toyouth development programs, including 18 percent who donated both. Half of residents (49%)donated money or personal belongings to schools, colleges, or other educational organizations in1998. Likewise, 46 percent contributed to youth development programs or children'sorganizations in that year. This places the level of contributions to such groups behind that ofchurches and organizations that help the poor, elderly or homeless, and on par with contributionsto hospitals and other health-related organizations.

Additionally, 22 percent say they volunteered for a tutoring or other educational programduring the past 12 months, and a quarter (27%) volunteered for a youth development programsuch as a day care center, scouts or little league.

7 This difference is significant at the 90% confidence level.


18

Arts and Culture

Community support of non-profit arts and cultural activities such as theater performancesand museum exhibits is often considered an important dimension of overall community healthand is of particular interest in the Community Indicators project. The survey asked aboutattendance at arts or cultural events, as well as volunteerism and charitable giving related to artsand cultural organizations. In an effort to provide a more complete picture of residents’ socialactivities, as well as to acknowledge the broad range of recreational interests of the public, thesurvey also asked about other types of leisure activities, including going to see a movie or livesports event.

Arts and Cultural Resources in AkronAkron residents are pleased with the job performance of the cultural institutions

specifically asked about in the survey and indicate that they would like to have more of thesekinds of resources from which to choose. Eighty-six percent of residents say that the local publiclibraries do an excellent or a good job serving their community. Only one in ten (8%) residentsgive the libraries low marks. But the survey suggests that substantial numbers of residents arenot satisfied with the quantity of cultural resources. Forty-one percent of residents say that notenough arts or cultural activities is at least a small problem in the community where they live.Still, 52 percent report that this is not a problem at all.

Non-Profit Arts and Cultural ActivitiesArts and cultural events are fairly popular activities in Akron. A majority of residents

(69%) attended at least one type of non-profit arts or cultural event in the year preceding theinterview. Fully half say that they attended a play, dance, or other theater performance and fourin ten say they visited an exhibit at an art museum or other place that displays art work over thisperiod. Slightly fewer residents (36%) visited a science or history museum and about a quarter(23%) say they went to hear a symphony orchestra.

TABLE 10: FREQUENCY OF ATTENDANCE AT NON-PROFIT CULTURAL ACTIVITIESIN THE PAST YEAR

Number of Times Attended 0 1 2 3-5 6+% % % % %

In the past 12 months about how many times have you. . .

Attended a play, dance or other theater performance 49 17 11 13 8

Gone to an art museum, or other place that displays art work 59 18 11 7 4

Gone to a science or history museum 63 18 9 7 2

Gone to hear a symphony orchestra 76 13 4 4 3


19

Akron residents tend to participate in non-profit arts or cultural events just one to twotimes per year. (See TABLE 10) Still, a sizable minority (21%) did see some type of theaterperformance on three or more occasions in the past year. Fewer went to an art museum (11%), ascience or history museum (9%), or a symphony orchestra performance (7%) as often as thisover the same period of time.

Other Types of Leisure ActivitiesResidents of the Akron area engage in leisure activities such as going to movies or sports

events in fairly large numbers and on a regular basis. Specifically, about two-thirds of residents(68%) went to see a movie in the past year and almost as many attended a sports event (62%).Somewhat fewer (58%) attended a live music performance other than a symphony orchestra overthe same period. About a third of Akron residents report that they took in a movie at least sixtimes in the past year (31%). Slightly fewer report attending a sports event (26%) as frequentlyover this same period, and only one in seven report going to hear live music other than asymphony (14%) this often. (See TABLE 11)

TABLE 11: FREQUENCY OF OTHER TYPES OF LEISURE ACTIVITIES IN THE PAST YEAR

Number of Times Done 0 1 2 3-5 6+% % % % %

In the past 12 months about how many times have you. . .

Gone to see a movie 31 6 11 20 31

Gone to see a sports event 37 10 12 14 26

Gone to hear live music performance other than a symphony 39 13 15 17 14

Influences on Attendance of Non-profit Arts and Cultural ActivitiesAge, education and income are characteristics related to whether or not people attend

non-profit arts or cultural events. Older people, those who do not have any college education,and those with lower incomes are the least likely to attend a performance or visit an exhibit. Forexample, more residents under age 50 than older residents report visiting a science museum(43% vs. 25%) or an art museum (47% vs. 28%) in the past year. Similarly, those who haveattended college are more likely to have participated in any of the non-profit cultural activitiesasked about in the survey. Specifically, those with some college education were far more likelythan those without any college education to have attended a play, dance or other theaterperformance (67% vs. 36%), gone to an art exhibit (59% vs. 25%), gone to a science or historymuseum (53% vs. 22%), or gone to hear a symphony (38% vs. 11%).

A similar pattern emerges across income brackets: those with annual incomes under$20,000 per year being about half as likely as those in higher-income brackets to say they


20

participated in any of the four types of non-profit activities. For example, only about a quarter ofthose making less than $20,000 (23%) attended a play or other theater performance, comparedwith 62 percent of those with higher incomes.

Giving and Volunteering for Arts and Cultural ActivitiesSupport for arts and cultural groups in Akron is moderate. Fourteen percent of residents

volunteered time in the past year, while an equal proportion contributed money or personalbelongings (15%).

Residents who have attended college and affluent residents are the core supporters of artsand cultural organizations. Those with at least some college education are more likely tovolunteer time (21% vs. 8%), or make contributions (24% vs. 8%). Residents with annualincomes of at least $60,000 are more likely than those with lower incomes to contribute money(24% vs. 13%) to arts or cultural organizations, but are no more likely to volunteer their time.

Residents who attend arts or cultural events are also the people who contribute to arts orcultural organizations. One in five residents who attended at least one arts or cultural event inthe year preceding the interview report volunteering time for such an organization, and an equalproportion (22%) reports contributing money or goods. Almost all of those who did not attendan arts or cultural event in the past year failed to either contribute their money or their time(98%).

Local Issues

The survey included questions about three topics of special interest in the Akron area:influences on young people; the continued withdrawal of whites to suburban schools; and thefuture of race relations.

Views about Akron YouthAkron residents are clearly concerned about their young people. More adults consider

the number of unsupervised children and teenagers a big problem than any other issue askedabout in the survey (See Community Problems section, p.9). When asked about who they thinkhas the biggest influence on the values and actions of children and teenagers today, Akron adults'opinions are about evenly divided across three of the groups mentioned in the survey. Nearlythree in ten say parents (29%), peers (26%), and entertainment such as music, film television orvideo games (26%) are the most influential. Far fewer residents feel the biggest influence isschools (9%) or churches and other religious organizations (6%).


21

While residents show concern about young people, they also feel that most Akron youthare not involved in gang activities and looking for trouble. Specifically, eight in ten residents(80%) say that most teenagers who hang out in groups are looking for something to do and arenot trying to cause trouble. Only 15 percent feel that teenagers who hang out in groups areinvolved with gangs and looking to cause trouble.

Influences on Views about Akron YouthIncome, age, and race are the factors related to opinions about who is most persuasive

with today's youth. People with annual incomes of less than $20,000 are more likely than thosemaking more money (13% vs. 4%) to feel churches and other religious organizations have thebiggest influence on the values and actions of children and teenagers today. And lower incomeresidents are less likely to say peers have the biggest influence (16% vs. 31%). Youngerresidents, namely those under age 50, are more likely than older residents to say peers are thebiggest influence on children and teens (31% vs. 19%). College graduates are more likely thanthose with less education to assert that parents have the most influence in this regard (40% vs.27%). interestingly, there are no differences between parents with children under age 18 andothers on views about which group has the biggest influence on the youth of today.

Both income and race affect views about young people's involvement with gangs. AsTable 12 illustrates, whites and residents with higher incomes are more likely to believe thatteenagers who hang out in groups are not trying to cause any trouble. In contrast, African-Americans and those with lower incomes are more likely to say that most teenagers who hangout in groups are involved with gangs and are looking to cause trouble.

TABLE 12: VIEWS OF AKRON YOUTH BY RACE AND INCOME

Annual Family Income RaceLess than$20,000

%

$20,000 ormore

%White

%

African-American

%Most teenagers who hang out ingroups…Are looking for something to do andaren't trying to cause any trouble

64 86 82 64

Are involved with gangs and are lookingto cause trouble

23 11 12 33

Gender and education also affect views about this issue. Men are more likely thanwomen to feel that teenagers hanging out in groups are not trying to cause trouble (86% vs.74%), as are residents with at least some college education (85% vs. 75% no college). On theother hand, more women than men say that teens who hang out in groups are involved withgangs (19% vs. 9%) as do more of those with no college education (18% vs. 10% college).


22

School BusingA strong majority of Akron residents (71%) feel it is important that children attend

schools near their homes, even if most students are of the same race. Far fewer residents (20%)express the view that children should attend schools with students of other races, even if it meansbusing them some distance from their homes.

Influences on Opinions about School BusingThe biggest factor influencing opinions about this issue is race. Many more whites than

African-Americans oppose busing children to schools with students of different races.Specifically, three-quarters of white residents (74%) feel it is more important for children toattend schools near their homes, even if most students are of the same race. Only slightly morethan half of African-Americans (55%) agree with this view. On the contrary, African-Americansare more likely than whites to feel it is important for children to attend schools with students ofdifferent races, even if it means busing students some distance from their homes (36% vs. 18%).

Age and education also come into play on this issue. More young people under age 30compared with those who are older say that it is more important to bus children to schools wherethey can be with students of other races (32% vs. 18%). Similarly, those with no collegeeducation are more likely than those who have attended college to favor busing students to moreracially diverse schools (25% vs. 16%).

The Future of Race RelationsMore Akron residents feel that race relations in their community will get better in the

next five years than feel the situation will get worse (28% vs. 9%). However, the majority ofresidents predict that the quality of race relations will stay about the same (61%).

Opinion about this issue is fairly consistent across demographic groups. Still, those whohave attended college are more likely than those with less education to feel that race relationswill get better in the next five years (35% vs. 23%). Also, those who feel racial tensions arecurrently a big problem are more likely than those who say such tensions are not a big problemto expect that race relations will get worse (17% vs. 5%).


23

Appendix


24

Survey Methodology

The survey results are based on telephone interviews with a representative sample of 500adults, 18 and older living in telephone households in Summit County, Ohio. The interviewswere conducted from June 9 through June 17, 1999.

Sample DesignThe sample for this survey was designed to produce a representative sample of telephone

households in Summit County. The selected sample is a random digit sample of telephonenumbers selected from telephone exchanges in Summit County and was drawn by SurveySampling, Inc. of Westport, Connecticut following PSRA’s specifications.

The random digit aspect of the sample is used to avoid “listing” bias. The design of thesample ensures this representation by random generation of the last two digits of telephonenumbers selected on the basis of their area code, telephone exchange (the first three digits of aseven digit telephone number), and bank number (the fourth and fifth digits). Only workingbanks of telephone numbers are selected. A working bank is defined as 100 contiguoustelephone numbers containing one or more residential listings.

The sample was released for interviewing in replicates, which are random subsamples ofthe larger sample. Using replicates to control the release of sample to the field ensures that thecomplete call procedures are followed for the entire sample. The use of replicates also ensuresthat the regional distribution of numbers called is appropriate. Again, this works to increase therepresentativeness of the final sample.

At least 10 attempts were made to complete an interview at every sampled telephonenumber. The calls were staggered over times of day and days of the week to maximize thechances of making a contact with a potential respondent. All interview breakoffs and refusalswere re-contacted at least once in order to attempt to convert them to completed interviews. Ineach contacted household, interviewers asked to speak with the “youngest male 18 or older whois at home.” If there was no eligible man at home, interviewers asked to speak with “the oldestfemale 18 or older who lives in the household.” This systematic respondent selection techniquehas been shown empirically to produce samples that closely mirror the population in terms of ageand gender.

WeightingNon-response in telephone interview surveys produces some known biases in survey-

derived estimates because participation tends to vary for different subgroups of the population,and these subgroups are likely to vary also on questions of substantive interest. For example,


25

men are more difficult than women to reach at home by telephone, and people with relativelylow educational attainment are less likely than others to agree to participate in telephone surveys.In order to compensate for these known biases, the sample data are weighted in analysis.

Claritas Data Services provided the demographic weighting parameters for SummitCounty. The population parameters are the demographic characteristics of households withadults 18 or older, which are then compared with the sample characteristics to construct sampleweights. The results have been weighted to adjust for variations in the sample relating to sex,age, race, and education. The weights are derived using an iterative technique thatsimultaneously balances the distributions of all weighting parameters.

Statistical TestsPSRA calculated the effects of the sample weights on the statistical efficiency of the

sample design, so that an adjustment can be incorporated into tests of statistical significancewhen using these data. This so-called “design effect” or “deff” represents the loss in statisticalefficiency that results from systematically undersampling (through sample design and non-response) parts of the population of interest.

The square root of the design effect should be multiplied by the standard error of astatistic in computing tests of statistical significance. Thus the formula for computing the 95%confidence interval around a percentage is:

npp

unweighted)1(

effectdesign 96.1−

××

The square root of the design effect for the full sample is 1.11. Using this formula, wecalculate the 95 percent confidence interval for results expressed as percentages in this study asplus or minus 5 percentage points for results near 50% based on the total sample.

The formula for computing the 95 percent confidence interval around a differencebetween two percentages is:

2

22

1

11

unweighted)1(

2 groupfor deff unweighted)1(

1 groupfor deff96.1n

ppn

pp −×+

−××

The above formulas may be used to calculate the confidence interval around anypercentage or any difference between percentages for the results reported.


26

Response RateFollowing is the full disposition of all sampled telephone numbers:

Non-sample numbers:Telephone number not in service 211Business or government number 444Fax or modem number 12575% of no answer on all attempts 113

893

Potential non-sample numbers:25% of no answer on all attempts 38No answer on last attempt 110Busy signal 24

172

Households with unknown eligibility:Call back another time 245Answering machine answers 149Language or health barrier 33Unavailable or away for duration 99

526

Households that refused interview 296

Households with no eligible member:No person 18 years or older 13Gender quota filled 41

54

Households with eligible member:Incomplete interviews 6Complete interviews 500

506

Total telephone numbers 2,446

PSRA calculates a response rate as the product of three individual rates: the contact rate,the cooperation rate, and the completion rate. Of the residential numbers in the sample, 55.1percent were contacted by an interviewer and 65.4 percent agreed to participate in the survey.Ninety-eight percent were found eligible for the interview. Furthermore, 98.8 percent of eligiblerespondents completed the interview. Therefore, the final response rate is 35.6 percent.


27

The Community Indicators Survey—Akron, COPRINCETON SURVEY RESEARCH ASSOCIATES FORTHE JOHN S. AND JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION

Topline Results

INTRODUCTION: Hello, my name is _______ calling for Princeton Survey Research of Princeton,New Jersey. We are conducting an opinion survey about life in your community. I’d like to ask a fewquestions of the youngest male, 18 years of age or older, who is now at home. (IF NO MALE, ASK:May I speak with the oldest female, 18 years of age or older, who is now at home?)

D1. RECORD RESPONDENT’S SEX:

46 Male54 Female

1. Overall, how would you rate the Akron area as a place to live? Would you say it is . . . (READ)

19 Excellent52 Good21 Only fair, OR4 Poor?4 (DO NOT READ) Don’t know/Refused


28

2. About how long have you lived in the Akron area? Have you lived here . . . (READ)

4 Less than one year13 One to five years7 Six to ten years

16 11 to 20 years, OR59 More than 20 years?*8 (DO NOT READ) Don’t know/Refused

3. And which of the following statements best describes how you feel about living in the Akronarea and your future plans, even if none is exactly right? Here are the statements . . . (READ INORDER) IF NECESSARY: Which one best describes how you feel?

77 I’m happy here and will probably stay for the next five years,8 I’m unhappy here but will probably stay for the next five years, OR9 I’m unhappy and will probably move in the next five years?4 (DO NOT READ) I’m happy here but will probably move in the next

five years/Happy but have to move1 (DO NOT READ) Other1 (DO NOT READ) Don’t know/Refused

4. I’m going to read a list of local institutions and organizations. For each one, please tell me if youthink they are doing an excellent job, a good job, a fair job, or a poor job serving yourcommunity. (First/How about) (INSERT ITEMS. ROTATE)—are they doing an excellent job,a good job, a fair job, or a poor job?

Excellent Good Fair PoorCan’trate

DK/Ref.

a. Your local police department 31 41 19 8 1 1b. Your local fire department 54 37 4 1 2 2c. Your local public schools 17 42 24 8 4 4d. Your city or town government 10 51 30 5 1 3e. Your local public libraries 43 43 7 1 3 3

8 An asterisk indicates of value of less than .5%


29

5. And, in general, how safe would you say you and your family are from crime at each of thefollowing locations? (First/How about,) . . . (READ AND ROTATE)—are you very safe,somewhat safe, not too safe or not at all safe from crime?

Verysafe

Some-whatsafe

Nottoosafe

Notat allsafe

DK/Ref.

a. At home at night 70 24 4 1 1b. When walking in your neighborhood after dark 48 35 6 5 6c. When downtown at night 21 36 17 11 16

6. Overall, how much impact do you think people like you can have in making your community abetter place to live . . . (READ)

28 A big impact42 A moderate impact19 A small impact, or9 No impact at all?3 (DO NOT READ) Don’t know/Refused

7. And what do you think is the most effective way people can have an impact? Is it to . . . (READAND ROTATE CATEGORIES)

Based on those who think they can have at least a small impact

42 Get other people involved38 Volunteer time7 Complain to authorities3 Give money7 (ALWAYS ASK LAST) Or some other way?3 (DO NOT READ) Don’t know/Refused

(n=451)


30

8. Now as I read a list of community programs and groups, please tell me if you spent timevolunteering for a program or group like this in the PAST 12 MONTHS. By volunteering I meanspending your time helping without being paid for it. In the past 12 months have you volunteeredyour time to (INSERT FIRST ITEM. ROTATE)? How about (INSERT ITEMS. ROTATE)?

Yes No DK/Ref.

a. A tutoring or other educational program such as anafter-school program or Sunday school class 22 78 *

b. An arts or cultural group, such as a museum, theater ormusic group 14 86 1

c. A youth development program such as a day carecenter, scouts or little league 27 73 0

d. A neighborhood or civic group such as a blockassociation or neighborhood watch 17 83 *

e. A program that helps poor, elderly or homeless people 29 71 *

Now still thinking about your activities . . .9. IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS, about how many times, if at all, have you done the following

activities? In the past 12 months, about how many times have you . . . (READ AND ROTATE)?IF NECESSARY PROBE: “Just your best guess is fine.” RECORD EXACT NUMBER

0 1 2 3-5 6-10 11+DK/Ref.

a. Gone to an art museum, or other place that displaysart work 59 18 11 7 2 3 1

b. Gone to a science or history museum 63 18 9 7 1 1 1

Items c & d rotated as a pair, in orderc. Gone to hear a symphony orchestra 76 13 4 4 2 1 1

d. Gone to hear any other type of live musicperformance 39 13 15 17 9 5 2

e. Attended a play, dance or other theaterperformance 49 17 11 13 5 3 1

f. Gone to see a movie 31 6 11 20 16 15 1

g. Gone to see a sports event 37 10 12 14 12 15 1


31

10. Next, I am going to read a list of some different types of organizations to which people contributemoney or personal belongings. By contributing, I mean making a voluntary contribution with nointention of obtaining goods or services for yourself. As I read each one, please tell me whetheryou or any member of your household contributed money or personal belongings to this type oforganization in 1998. (First/Next,) . . .(READ AND ROTATE)

PROMPT: In 1998, did you or anyone in your household contribute to . . .

Yes No DK/Ref.

Item a always asked firsta. Churches, synagogues or other religious organizations 68 32 1

b. Hospital or health organizations, including those that fightparticular diseases 48 51 1

c. Schools, colleges or other educational organizations 49 51 0

d. Arts or cultural organizations 15 84 *

e. Youth development programs or organizations for children 46 54 *

f. Organizations that help poor, elderly or homeless people 61 38 1

Item g always asked lastg. Some other type of group or organization I haven’t mentioned 42 58 *

On a slightly different subject . . .11. Do you happen to know the names of your neighbors who live close to you, or not? IF YES,

PROBE: All of them or only some of them?

30 Yes, know them all50 Yes, only some20 No, do not know any* Don’t have neighbors close by (VOL.)* Don’t know/Refused

12. As far as you know, are the people in your neighborhood all the same race as you, are most thesame race as you, is there a mixture of racial groups, or are most people in your neighborhood ofa different race from you?

27 All the same race32 Most the same race37 Mixture of racial groups5 Most a different race/Predominantly another race* Don’t know/Refused


32

13. Again, thinking about the Akron area . . . I’m going to read a list of problems some communitiesface. For each one, please tell me if it is a big problem, a small problem, or not a problem in thecommunity where you live. (First/Next,) . . . (READ AND ROTATE)—is this a big problem, asmall problem, or not a problem (in the community where you live)?

Bigproblem

Smallproblem

Not aproblem

DK/Ref.

a. Crime, drugs or violence 24 44 30 2

b. Unemployment 15 33 44 8

c. The public schools do not provide quality education 17 29 46 8

d. Homelessness 13 30 54 4

e. Not enough arts or cultural activities 10 31 52 7

f. Illiteracy, that is people do not have basicreading skills 15 29 44 12

g. Not enough AFFORDABLE, quality child care 23 22 35 20

h. Abandoned or run-down buildings 8 28 62 1

i. Too many unsupervised children and teenagers 34 32 32 2

j. People don’t get involved in efforts to improvethe community 26 38 32 5

k. Not enough affordable housing 22 32 41 5

Item l always asked lastl. Tension between different racial and ethnic groups 11 35 51 3


33

14. Of the problems you think are big ones in your community which one is the MOST importantproblem? Is it (READ ALL ITEMS WITH A “BIG” RESPONSE IN Q.13a-l)

15 Too many unsupervised children and teenagers10 Crime, drugs or violence7 People don’t get involved in efforts to improve the community7 The public schools do not provide quality education6 Not enough affordable housing5 Not enough affordable, quality child care2 Illiteracy2 Tension between different racial and ethnic groups1 Homelessness1 Not enough arts or cultural activities1 Unemployment* Abandoned or run-down buildings

1 (DO NOT READ) Other problem1 (DO NOT READ) Don’t know/Refused

39 No big problems mentioned in Q.13


34

CUSTOM QUESTIONS

Now, I’d like your opinion on a few more things. First, . . .

AKRO1. Thinking now about youth in Akron, which of the following groups do you think has thebiggest influence on the values and the actions of children and teenagers today? Would you say. . . (READ AND ROTATE CATEGORIES 1-5)

29 Parents,9 Schools,

26 Peers,6 Churches or other religious organizations,

26 Entertainment such as music, films, television or video games,3 (DO NOT READ) None of them4 (DO NOT READ) Don’t know/Refused

AKRO2. I’m going to read you two statements some people have made about teenagers in Akron. Pleasetell me if the first statement or the second statement comes closer to your view, even if neitherone is exactly right. Here are the statements . . . (READ AND ROTATE STATEMENTS)IF NECESSARY: Which one comes closer to your view?

80 Most teenagers who hang out in groups are looking for something to do and aren’ttrying to cause any trouble (OR)

15 Most teenagers who hang out in groups are involved with gangs and are lookingto cause trouble (OR)

2 (DO NOT READ) Neither4 (DO NOT READ) Don’t know/Refused

AKRO3. Some people say it is more important that children attend schools near their homes, even if itmeans that most students are of the same race. Others say it is more important that childrenattend schools with students of other races, even if it means busing children some distance fromtheir homes. Which of these views comes closer to your own?

71 More important that children attend schools near their homes, even if moststudents are of the same race

20 More important that children attend schools with students of other races, even ifthat means busing them some distance from their homes

5 (DO NOT READ) Neither4 (DO NOT READ) Don’t know/Refused

AKRO4. Looking ahead five years from today, please tell me if you think race relations in yourcommunity will get better, get worse, or stay about the same?

28 Get better9 Get worse

61 Stay about the same2 Don't know/Refused


35

MEDIA QUESTIONS

Now I have a few questions about where you get news and information. . .

M1. How often do you . . . (READ AND ROTATE)—every day, a few times a week, once a week,less than once a week, or never?

Everyday

A fewtimes

a weekOnce

a week

Less thanonce

a week NeverDK/Ref.

Items a & b rotated as a pair.Item a always followed item b.a. Read a NATIONAL daily newspaper

such as the New York Times orUSA Today 6 8 12 22 53 0

b. Read a LOCAL daily newspaper 51 18 19 5 6 0

c. Watch LOCAL TV news about yourviewing area 67 21 4 2 5 *

d. Go online to access the Internet for news,e-mail or other reasons? 19 14 6 8 52 0

M2. Please rate how much you think you can believe each of the following news organizations Idescribe. (First,/And) (READ AND ROTATE)? Would you say you believe almost all of whatit says, most of what it says, only some, or almost nothing of what it says?

Almostall/All Most

Onlysome

Almostnothing/Nothing

Can’trate

DK/Ref.

a. The LOCAL daily newspaper you aremost familiar with 17 51 24 6 2 1

b. The LOCAL TV news program you aremost familiar with 21 51 22 3 2 *


36

DEMOGRAPHICS

Finally, I have just a few questions so we can describe the people who took part in our survey . . .

D2. Are you now employed full -time, part-time, are you retired, or are you not employed for pay?

54 Employed full-time10 Employed part-time22 Retired12 Not employed2 Disabled (VOL.)* Student (VOL.)* Other (VOL.)* Don’t know/Refused

D2a. Are also you a full- or part-time student?

15 Total students

7 Yes, full-time8 Yes, part-time

84 No, not a student* Don’t know/Refused

D3. Are you married, living as married, widowed, divorced, separated, or have you never beenmarried?

47 Married4 Living as married

10 Widowed15 Divorced2 Separated

21 Never married1 Refused

D4. Are you the parent or guardian of any children under age 18 now living in your household?

32 Yes67 No* Don’t know/ Refused


37

D5. Are any of these children . . . (READ IN ORDER)

Yes No DK/Ref.a. Under age five? 13 87 0b. Five to 17 years old? 24 76 0

D6. Are you now registered to vote in your precinct or election district, or haven’t you had a chanceto register?

74 Yes/Don’t have to register26 No1 Don’t know/Refused

D7. In general, would you describe your political views as . . . (READ)

6 Very conservative,29 Conservative,38 Moderate,16 Liberal, OR3 Very liberal?8 (DO NOT READ) Don’t know/Refused

D8. How often do you go to church, synagogue, or some other place of worship? Would you say . . .(READ)

3 Daily38 About once week11 About once a month23 Several times a year, OR23 Don’t you go to worship services?1 (DO NOT READ) Don’t know/Refused


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D9. What is your age?

20 18 to 2921 30 to 3919 40 to 4920 50 to 6418 65 or older3 Refused

D10. What is the last grade or class you completed in school? (DO NOT READ)

2 None, or grade 1 to 815 High school incomplete (Grades 9-11)33 High school graduate, Grade 12, or GED certificate2 Business, technical, or vocational school AFTER high school

27 Some college or university work, but no four-year degree12 College or university graduate7 Post graduate or professional schooling after college1 Refused

D11. Are you of Hispanic or Latino background, such as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban or otherSpanish background?

1 Yes98 No1 Refused

D12. What is your race? Are you white, black, Asian, American Indian or some other race? IF RSAYS HISPANIC OR LATINO, PROBE: Do you consider yourself a WHITE(Hispanic/Latino) or a BLACK (Hispanic/Latino)?

85 White12 Black or African-American1 Asian or Pacific Islander* American Indian or Alaskan Native1 Mixed-race* Other1 Refused


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D13. Could you also describe yourself as mixed race because, for example, your parents orgrandparents have different racial backgrounds from one another?

18 Yes79 No2 Don’t know1 Refused

D14. Do you own or rent your home?

71 Own25 Rent2 Other arrangement2 Refused

D15. Approximately what is your total family income before taxes – just tell me when I get to the rightcategory. (READ)

8 Less than $10,00013 $10,000 to under $20,00013 $20,000 to under $30,00014 $30,000 to under $40,00020 $40,000 to under $60,00012 $60,000 to under $100,0007 $100,000 or over3 Don’t know

10 Refused

END OF INTERVIEW: Thank you very much for taking the time to answer the questions on thissurvey. We really appreciate it. Have a nice day/evening.

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