Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Crime Victoria Public opinion'
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Bartlett, Tess. "The power of penal populism : public influences on penal and sentencing policy from 1999 to 2008 : a thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Criminology /." ResearchArchive@Victoria e-Thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10063/1086.
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Van, Slyke Shanna. "Social identification and public opinion on white-collar crime." Tallahassee, Florida : Florida State University, 2009. http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-10272009-160114/.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2009.Advisor: Thomas G. Blomberg, Florida State University, College of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed on Mar. 11, 2010). Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 133 pages. Includes bibliographical references.
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Fjellborg, Elin. "An Unfamiliar Crime Prevention Strategy : Collective Opinion on Restorative Justice Conferences." Thesis, Mittuniversitetet, Avdelningen för samhällsvetenskap, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:miun:diva-28682.
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Introduction: Renewed efforts for controlling criminality in Sweden are demanded by the Swedish Government. Restorative justice conferences (RJC), in Sweden known as mediation, can be described as a meeting mediated by a trained facilitator in which the offender and the victim of a crime meets, sometimes together with their friends and family. RJC aims to promote the offender to take responsibility for his or her actions and repair the damage the victim has suffered. Research on RJC shows promising results in regard of reduced recidivism and increased victim benefits. No Swedish publication studying public opinion on RJC has been found. The theoretical framework of reintegrative shaming stated that a community that offer reintegration is essential for successful crime prevention. Aim: To measure the level of RJC support held by a Swedish community sample in regard of different offender and offence characteristics. Method: Participants were recruited at a Swedish authority located in nine different cities (n = 192) and surveyed using an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was based on two scales measuring benefits of restorative justice and support for participation in restorative justice derived from a previous study. Results: The respondents had an overall positive attitude toward RJC. No respondent demographic was associated with the total level of restorative justice support although differences were found when using age and gender as independent variables. Respondents were more positive of RJC for juvenile offenders and non-violent crime. Discussion: A discussion regarding the public support for RJC in relation to offender recidivism is provided established on reintegrative shaming and previous empirical evidence. Concluding arguments for RJC to be extended in a wider context in the Swedish penalty system are presented.2016-06-01
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Rotimi, Adewale R. (Adewale Rufus). "Perceptions of the Seriousness of Crime and Attitudes Regarding Criminal Justice Issues: An Analysis of the 1982 American Broadcasting Corporation's News Poll of Public Opinion on Crime." Thesis, North Texas State University, 1987. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc331054/.
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This study deals with the analysis of public opinion about crime and attitudes regarding criminal justice issues along two major dimensions. The first part concerns how respondents rank crime among a list of nine social problems (unemployment, high interest rates, inflation, crime, the high cost of living, moral decline, taxes, dissatisfaction with the government, and Reagan). The second dimension examines some research questions. These are whether there was any association between the respondents' perception of crime trends and each of the following: demographic background, neighborhood safety, the death penalty, gun ownership, frequency of locking doors, avoidance of teenagers, and the evaluation of police job performance; and also whether there was any association between the respondents' victimization experience and seriousness of crime and police job performance. The data were obtained from the archives of the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research in Michigan.
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Feilzer, Martina Yvonne. "The 'crime scene' experiment : improving public knowledge through the provision of factual information on crime and criminal justice." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2007. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:d8834e3d-996d-400a-8c71-8fb1f3bb6a2b.
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This thesis explores the relationship between crime, media, and public opinion of crime and criminal justice. It sets out current levels of knowledge and contemporary debates in each of the three academic disciplines devoted to these aspects of social life, and discusses how they relate to each other. It focuses on the capacity of information and public education to influence levels of public knowledge of and, as a secondary concern, attitudes towards, crime and criminal justice. The empirical research at the heart of the thesis employed a mixed methods research study drawing on quantitative – experimental research using a public opinion survey – as well as qualitative research methods – in-depth interviews and contextual data. The experimental research, the Oxford Public Opinion Survey and the publication of the Crime Scene column, was designed to measure the impact of providing factual information about crime and criminal justice to the public in a naturalistic way, i.e. by using a local newspaper column as the conveyor of such information. The key finding from the research was that readership of the column was low and that the column had no measurable impact on readers. Overall, the research findings suggest that interest in, take-up, and retention of factual information on crime and criminal justice is not as high as previous empirical research has suggested. The Crime Scene study has implications for sociological theories of crime and punishment which rely on simplistic orthodoxies concerning the media’s importance in influencing public opinion on crime and criminal justice and the related assumption that ‘the public’ is straightforwardly punitive.
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Kochel, Tammy Rinehart. "Legitimacy as a mechanism for police to promote collective efficacy and reduce crime and disorder." Fairfax, VA : George Mason University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1920/4525.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--George Mason University, 2009.Vita: p. 219. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Justice, Law and Crime Policy. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed June 10, 2009). Thesis director: Stephen D. Mastrofski. Includes bibliographical references (p. 208-218). Also issued in print.
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Andrews, Alfred 1955. "Football : the people's game." Monash University, Dept. of History, 2001. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/9104.
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Wright, Jodie S. "Sentencing decisions : the public view of the effects of consequences of crime, offender remorse and type of crime." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2001. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1069.
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The Australian justice system is based in a conventional model of justice with the aim of uniformity in sentencing. It is important to ascertain public opinion on the relevance of different factors to be taken into account at sentencing as accurately as possible, in order to provide informed public opinion which may assist policy makers in making legislation or educating the public on these matters. The current study examined the impact of varying levels of victim harm (high or low) and offender remorse (high or low) for both person and property crimes on sentencing decisions made by both male (n = 99) and female (n = 94) members of the Western Australian public. The design was a 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 between subjects factorial, with dependent variables of length of sentence assigned (0-10 years jail), rated influence of four sentencing goals (retribution, rehabilitation, incapacitation and deterrence) on sentence choice, and responses to an open-ended question about the reasons for the sentence chosen. The main findings were that demonstrations of offender remorse and the level of harm caused to the victim appeared to be factors in public participants' sentencing. There was no difference in sentences assigned by male and female participants. Although the majority of participants believed they sentenced for rehabilitative reasons. Retribution appeared to be the major factor in the sentences assigned an outcome which reflects the focus of the Western Australian sentencing legislation. Implications arising from the results include the need for more public education in the areas of the functions or the courts, legal principles and theories, and options for victims of crime. Overall, the current study added to the body of research examining public opinions about the potential relevance of various victim and offender factors at the sentencing phase in the search for uniformity in sentencing.
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Burgason, Kyle Aaron. "Examination of the Death Penalty: Public Opinion of a Northeast Tennessee University Student Sample." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2010. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1744.
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How society views the use of the death penalty as a means of punishment greatly affects the decisions of lawmakers, politicians who use it as a platform for election, and the criminals who commit the crime of murder. This study used 40 different vignettes involving real-life murder scenarios in order for participants to form a more precise opinion of what the correct punishment for the crime should be. Given a choice between the death penalty, life without the possibility of parole, a prison term of their choosing, or other, participants were asked to assign a sanction for each vignette. Respondents were asked to answer demographic questions about themselves in order for these variables to be regressed to examine how their status relates to their opinion of the death penalty as a punishment for murder. Statistical analysis showed income level, political affiliation, and religious affiliation to be significant variables. Analysis of the vignettes themselves revealed substantial variation in individual's willingness to apply the death penalty across various types of murder.
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Erdonmez, Erhan. "The Effect of Media on Citizens' Fear of Crime in Turkey." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2009. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc11045/.
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This study was conducted on-site in Istanbul, Turkey, to determine the effects that mass media has on citizens' perceptions about fear of crime, in particular, and fear, in general. Specifically, the study was designed to (1) determine the tendency of citizens' media consumption, (2) determine the level of fear of crime among Turkish citizens, (3) establish the effect of media on citizens' fear of crime, and (4) determine if gender, age, educational level, neighborhood, and monthly income have an independent effect on fear of crime. To achieve this purpose, after administering a survey in Istanbul, the researcher collected appropriate data and then utilized regression analysis to examine the relationship between media variables and fear of crime. A survey consisting of three parts was administered to 545 Turkish citizens over the age of 18 who currently reside in Istanbul, Turkey. In Part I of the survey, respondents were asked to identify their trends in relation to media consumption, and in Part II respondents were asked to report their feelings about fear of crime. Finally, Part III consisted of socio-demographic characteristics including gender, age, marital status, level of education, and income. The media variables used for this study were, general TV viewing, watching crime drama, watching TV news, listening to radio news, reading newspaper news, and reading Internet news. Regarding the independent effects of socio-demographic variables on fear of crime, only gender was found to be significantly related thereby supporting the research hypothesis. From six media variables, only watching crime drama show and reading Internet news found to be related with individuals' fear of crime; however, this relation disappeared after controlling with socio-demographic variables. In addition, no cultivation effect could be found among the sub-groups of sample.
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Downe, Kristy. "Exploration of perceptions of justice amongst secondary victims of sexual crime." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2007. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/256.
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Justice is a key concept upon which society is built. Different interpretations of justice, and disagreements over what it demands, continue to complicate its meaning and application. Though academic and public discourse has added to knowledge as to what justice represents, developing an understanding of justice from the view of "everyday people" has important empirical and clinical implications. It is argued here that research grounded in people's lived experience yields a more comprehensive picture of justice in terms of how the concept is structured and secondly, how its meaning varies between individuals. Such knowledge can be used to develop judicial and community policies/services better suited to community needs. This research focused on perceptions of justice amongst family and friends of victims (secondary victims) of sexual assault or abuse. Evidence suggests that secondary victims are affected by victimisation similar to direct victims and furthermore, are important to direct victims' recovery. Sexual crime also represents an important form of crime in that it constitutes a particularly serious violation of personal boundaries. A grounded theory approach to empirical inquiry was adopted in this research in keeping with the emphasis on exploration and lived experience. Data was collected over 2 interrelated studies. In Study 1, 20 participants completed a pen-and-paper questionnaire. In Study 2, which constituted the main study, 29 participants took part in semi-structured interviews. Analysis revealed that a sense of justice emerged out of themes/concepts covering two major areas: the experience of victimisation and secondly, beliefs about justice per se. Victimisation impacted on participants similar to how contact with traumatised individuals results in secondary trauma in some carers, health professionals, and similar support figures. Justice themes/concepts relevant to participants overlapped with elements represented in procedural and retributive theories of justice, as well as centring on concepts, such as healing and recognition, which fall outside of traditional justice theory. Participants sought "good enough" rather than absolute justice and relatively few participants believed good enough justice had been achieved in their situation. Overall, findings indicated that justice is expressed and realised in different ways between individuals despite clustering around common themes/concepts.
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Cosand, Kalistah Quilla. "Black and Blue and Read All Over: News Framing and the Coverage of Crime." PDXScholar, 2014. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1793.
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This study explores the representation of crime in the news in relation to expressed emotion and intention for future action. Episodic and thematic framing (Iyengar, 1991) and narrative processing (Singer & Bluck, 2001) served as the theoretical foundations of this study and helped examine how scripted news stories involving crime influence levels of fear, anger, and empathy in individuals, and how these emotions subsequently affect behaviors. To measure these framing effects, an experimental manipulation was employed using three conceptually different news stories all involving gun-related crimes. One news story utilized an episodic format, while the other two stories used a thematic format (one positive and one negative). Emotional responses, levels of narrative engagement, policy support, perceived risk of victimization, and pro-social behavioral intentions were measured, all based on exposure to the specific type of news frame. The results of this study indicated that while types of news frames did not have a direct effect on readers' emotions, there was a significant relationship between emotions and future actions. For example, fear, anger, and empathy were significant predictors of perceived risk of victimization, policy support, and pro-social behavioral intentions, respectively. These findings contribute to the understanding of the role emotions play in predicting behavior, both within and beyond the scope of message framing.
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Pfigu, Tinashe. "Local responses to a travelling model of crime prevention and crime management : community policing in Stellenbosch, South Africa." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/71604.
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Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The mention of any form of crime in South Africa for the most part invokes fear of both an unknown or known perpetrator who may strike at any time and inflict harm to one’s body and property. Through ethnographic work that generated qualitative data, the study explores, interprets and analyses what community policing is in practice from three selected localities: Die Boord, Kayamandi and Kylemore in the Stellenbosch Municipality of the Western Cape. This is illustrated throughout the thesis by the descriptions and analysis of processes, ideas and performances of community policing from the local level. Therefore, the important issues the thesis brings out centre on how people define and perform community policing and their perceptions of it. In light of the above statements, how people understood community policing and how they created local sensibilities about community policing as a response to crime informs the discussion and analysis in the thesis. In the process, I bring out what informed people’s perceptions of community policing, how people talked about crime or conceived of security. In so doing, the study aims to use local examples to reveal the at times muted and ignored responses to not only community policing, but also to broader issues around crime prevention and crime management policy and practice. Moreover, the thesis illustrates the numerous ways in which local experiences and constructions of crime shape the practice of community policing. Through the use of ethnography, the study analyses the notion of security in terms of local perspectives, local history and local security needs. The study further explores the relevance of the ‘racialised’ and class experiences of crime and security, as well as social divisions of age and gender in order to understand the differences in perceptions and reactions to community policing at the local level. The notions of the ‘travelling model’ and ‘translation’ provide theoretical constructs to examine how community policing is conceived of in policy at the national and provincial levels in South Africa and the links with the constant changes in the international discourse of crime prevention and crime management. The thesis concludes by illuminating the complexities involved in reforms to crime prevention and crime management in South Africa in response to changing patterns of crime and to criminals who have become ever bolder in their endeavours. In the process, the thesis offers a critique of and sheds light on, to what extent the realities of crime and its related problems in South Africa inform the re-reading of community policing and broader issues around crime prevention and crime management.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die noem van enige vorm van misdaad in Suid-Afrika roep ’n vrees van beide ’n onbekende of bekende oortreder op wat op enige oomblik kan toeslaan en skade aan ’n mens se liggaam en eiendom kan aanrig. Deur die gebruik van etnografiese werk wat kwalitatiewe data opgelewer het, verken, interpreter en analiseer hierdie studie die praktyk van gemeenskapspolisiëring in drie geselekteerde woonbuurte: Die Boord, Kayamandi en Kylemore in die Stellenbosch Munisipaliteit van die Wes-Kaap. Dit word in die proefskrif geïllustreer deur die beskrywings en analise van prosesse, idees en opvoerings van gemeenskapspolisiëring op die plaaslike vlak. Die belangrike kwessies wat die proefskrif dus na vore bring, sentreer rondom mense se definisies van gemeenskapspolisiëring, hoe hulle dit opvoer en hul persepsies daarvan. Die bespreking en analise in die tesis word, in die lig van die bogenoemde stellings, ingelig deur hoe mense gemeenskapspolisiëring verstaan en hoe hulle plaaslike denkbeelde oor gemeenskapspolisiëring as ’n antwoord op misdaad geskep het. Ek bring in hierdie proses na vore wat mense se persepsies van gemeenskapspolisiëring ingelig het, sowel as die manier waarop mense oor misdaad gepraat het of oor sekuriteit gedink het. Die studie probeer om op hierdie wyse plaaslike voorbeelde te gebruik om die somtyds onderdrukte en geïgnoreerde reaksies, nie slegs op gemeenskapspolisiëring nie, maar ook op wyer kwessies rondom misdaadvoorkoming en misdaadbestuur, in beleid en praktyk, te onthul. Die tesis illustreer verder die verskeie maniere waarop plaaslike ervarings en konstruksies van misdaad die praktyk van gemeenskapspolisiëring vorm. Deur die gebruik van etnografie analiseer die studie die begrip sekuriteit in terme van plaaslike perspektiewe, plaaslike geskiedenis en plaaslike sekuriteitsbehoeftes. Die studie verken verder die relevansie van ’rasiale’ en klaservarings van misdaad en sekuriteit, sowel as sosiale verdelings van ouderdom en geslag om sodoende die verskille in persepsies en reaksies op gemeenskapspolisiëring op die plaaslike vlak te verstaan. Die opvattings rondom die ‘reisende model’ en ’vertaling’ bied teoretiese konstrukte om ondersoek in te stel na hoe gemeenskapspolisiëring in beleid op nasionale en provinsiale vlakke in Suid-Afrika verstaan word en die skakels met konstante veranderings in die internasionale diskoers oor misdaadvoorkoming en misdaadbestuur. Die tesis sluit af deur die kompleksiteite wat by misdaadvoorkoming en misdaadbestuur in Suid-Afrika betrokke is, te belig, in antwoord op veranderende patrone van misdaad en op misdadigers wat steeds meer vrypostig geword het. In die proses bied die tesis ’n kritiese blik op en belig dit die mate waartoe die realiteite van misdaad en verwante probleme in Suid-Afrika die herlees van gemeenskapspolisiëring, sowel as wyer kwessies rondom misdaadvoorkoming en misdaadbestuur, inlig.
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Unter, Kevin A. "The New Orleans Police Department: Melding Police and Policy to Dramatically Reduce Crime in the City of New Orleans." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2007. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/599.
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In 1996, the New Orleans Police Department implemented the COMSTAT management and accountability style of policing. Within three years of that implementation, murder was cut by over fifty percent and violent crime fell by nearly the same amount; overall crime was cut by over one-third compared to just three years ago. This dissertation seeks to explore the reasons crime declined so rapidly in New Orleans post-COMSTAT implementation, compared to crime in the rest of the country. Drawing on political and criminological theories of policing as well as sociological theories, variables unique to each set of theories were identified and tested alone and against competing explanations. Utilizing higher-ordered time series methodology, two analyses were conducted. The first utilized interrupted time-series analysis to identify the nature of COMSTAT's impact on New Orleans' crime trends, measured as changes in the current quarter compared to the same quarter of the preceding year. The results show that while COMSTAT had a significant impact on the crime trends, the effects were short-lived. The second analysis utilized traditional time series methodology to examine the impacts of the individual variables on the overall crime trends. The results show that while policing variables and sociological variables have little effect on the overall crime trends both individually and when tested together, the findings indicate policing variables play a larger role than sociological variables when included together. As another independent test of the effects of crime, public opinion data obtained via the University of New Orleans' Survey Research Center from 1986-2004 show that the public was very positive towards the NOPD's efforts in dramatically reducing crime and fear of crime in New Orleans during this period. The overall results for policy makers then indicates that reductions in crime resonate positively with city residents and future policy decisions should be made with that goal in mind.
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Bullis, Judith Elaine. "A social-psychological case history : the Manson incident." PDXScholar, 1985. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/3564.
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This study examines the social-psychological impact of of the Manson incident; which begins with the Tate-Labianca murders, continues with the arrest of Charles Manson and some of his followers, continues with the trial of Charles Manson and the co-defendants, and results in a popular image.
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Millard, A. D. "Are the people listening to Government's good advice : source credibility in Government attributed social marketing messages : a thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Commerce and Administration /." ResearchArchive @Victoria e-thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10063/1288.
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Abu, Anzeh Mohammed Bara. "Le crime d'honneur en droit pénal jordanien." Thesis, Lille 2, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2015LIL20001/document.
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Phénomène tabou et peu étudié en droit pénal, le crime d'honneur au Moyen-Orient et dans le monde arabe ne cesse d'alimenter les unes de la presse dans le monde et de relever les antagonismes existant entre les juridictions occidentales et orientales. Souvent qualifié d'inhumain ou relevant de pratiques d'un autre âge, le phénomène du crime d'honneur figure en Jordanie parmi les crimes qui retiennent le plus l'attention publique. On estime qu'un homicide sur quatre est assimilable à ce crime, dans ce pays où l'honneur familial est considéré comme la clé de voûte de l'équilibre social. Toute menace à cet équilibre serait donc le signe d'une décadence à punir afin de rétablir l'ordre originel. Les circonstances du meurtre sont autant d’éléments qui génèrent condamnation ou indulgence de l’opinion publique et de la justice. La position délicate du législateur face au traitement des affaires de crimes d'honneur mérite des éclaircissements historico-culturels et un examen précis des résolutions et des recommandations internationales rendues à l'intention des juridictions jordaniennesAs a taboo subject that has not been researched enough in the Criminal Law field, crime of honour in the Middle East and in Arab world continues to feed international press headlines and to raise up differences in views between Eastern and Western jurisdictions. Often described as inhuman or as a practice from another age, the phenomenon of honour killings appears among the crimes that attract the most public attention. In Jordan - where family honour is considered as the cornerstone of social balance - studies showed that one of four crimes is a crime of honour. Any threat to this social balance would be a sign of decadence to be punished in order to restore the original balance. The circumstances of honour murders are among elements that generate either conviction or indulgence from public and justice. The delicate legislature position to face up honour crime cases deserves cultural and historical clarifications and an accurate review of international resolutions and recommendations towards Jordan jurisdiction
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Chang, Rosa Elena. "Contemporary Perceptions of Immigrants as Threats: Is the Perceived "Criminal Immigrant" Image Supported?" Scholarly Repository, 2009. http://scholarlyrepository.miami.edu/oa_dissertations/258.
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This study examined Americans' perceptions of immigrants as threats and their implications on immigration policy views as well as immigrants' actual involvement in crime. Images of immigrant groups result from the perceived threats they pose to the crime rate, economy, political power, and nativism (Blumer 1958). I argued that these perceptions result in opposition to immigrants and support for stronger measures to exclude undocumented immigrants. Of special interest for this study was the "criminal immigrant" stereotype. Previous studies demonstrate that immigrants are not highly crime-involved even when they experience additional stressors during their adaptation processes. Yet, according to Agnew's (1992) general strain theory, immigrants may be prone to criminality due to additional strains they experience while adjusting to the new country. However, many immigrants, through transnational activities maintain ties with family and friends overseas, thereby making the immigration experience less stressful. I argued in this study that immigrants' underinvolvement in crime is partly due to their transnational ties, which may serve a protective role as social support and thus condition the effects of strains. To examine the implications for policy views of perceptions of immigrants and immigrants' actual crime involvement, the 2004 General Social Survey (GSS) and the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey (CILS) were used. The hypotheses were tested by conducting univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses. Overall, perceived immigrant threat affects opposition to immigrants and support for stronger measures to exclude undocumented immigrants. Among the various groups examined, the levels of opposition to immigrants differ from that of support for stronger measures to exclude undocumented immigrants. In terms of immigrants and crime, immigrants were not disproportionately involved in crime, as is widely believed by the American public. Contrary to hypotheses, however, immigrants' strains were not significant predictors of crime, and transnational ties did not condition the effects of strains on crime. It is recommended that future research be designed using more comprehensive data set(s) that represent and reflect the growing immigration population in the United States. Particularly, research should include measurements of micro-level social dynamics specific to immigrants such as additional measures of transnational ties and resilience.
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Bannister, Benjamin. "Secondary victims' perceptions of justice : implications for forensic psychology." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 2013. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/559.
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An emerging area of study has begun to look at the perceptions of justice of the family and friends of crime victims – or, secondary victims. It is important to improve understanding of secondary victims’ experiences of justice, partly because knowledge about how they perceive justice may help forensic psychologists assist them more effectively. This research attempted to assess how well existing justice theories could account for secondary victims’ perceptions of justice, and also help determine what is important to them. Using the largely ignored group of secondary victims of non-sexual violent crime, the research consisted of two interrelated stages. In Stage One, qualitative analysis was used to determine the justice perceptions of 22 secondary victims. The findings revealed that a combination of principles from various theories of justice were present in secondary victims’ views. However, participants also endorsed unique aspects of victimisation that did not link directly to existing theories. Importantly, many participants made primary victim and offender outcome comparisons using seven variables. Three related to the primary victim and four related to the offender. A second stage of research involved 156 potential secondary victim participants drawn from the community. They responded to a scenario involving a victim of crime, in order to determine whether they considered the same seven variables identified in Stage One in deciding whether justice had been achieved for that victim. The results showed that participants considered these variables when making comparisons of outcomes, and did so irrespective of whether they felt justice had been achieved in the given scenario. Overall, the findings of the two stages of this research represented an important step towards a more comprehensive understanding of the justice experiences and perceptions of secondary victims of violent crime, and therefore have important implications for forensic psychologists working with this group.
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Pires, Carlos Rogério Guedes. "O debate público sobre segurança no estado do Rio Grande do Sul : uma aproximação desde a ética do discurso." reponame:Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da UFRGS, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10183/8276.
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O presente trabalho é uma tentativa de aplicação da ética do discurso (HABERMAS e APEL) ao debate público sobre segurança no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, no período 2001/2002. Entende o debate como formação discursiva da opinião e da vontade políticas e o interpreta em termos de racionalidade comunicativa. O debate transcorreu em um contexto de aumento da criminalidade e problematização das noções de crime e punição (YOUNG), alimentando um sentimento de insegurança da opinião pública capaz de influenciar programas legislativos e políticas públicas. A partir da análise da imprensa escrita buscou-se avaliar a qualidade do debate a partir de condições ideais de justificação, pressupostos do discurso ou situação ideal de fala (HABERMAS), notadamente em relação ao critério de inclusão de temas e participantes. Concluiu-se pelo caráter excludente do debate, seja em relação a determinados temas, seja em relação a determinados grupos; e que a exclusão de temas e grupos deu origem a movimentos de protesto que podem ser interpretados como uma luta por reconhecimento (TAYLOR, HONNETH e FRASER).The present work is an attempt of application of the ethics of the speech (HABERMAS and APEL) to the public debate on security in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in period 2001/2002. It understands the debate as discursive formation of the opinion and of the will politics and interprets it in terms of communicative reason. The debate has occurred in a context of increase of crime and crisis of the crime and punishment knowledge (YOUNG), feeding a fear of crime in the public opinion capable to influence legislative programs and public policy. From the analysis of the written press one searched to evaluate the quality of the debate from ideal conditions of justification or ideal situation of speaks (HABERMAS), specifically in relation to the criterion of inclusion of subjects and participants. It was concluded for the exclusive character of the debate, either in relation of determined subjects, or in relation of determined groups; and that the exclusion of subjects and groups gave rise to protest movements that can be interpreted as a fight for recognition (TAYLOR, HONNETH and FRASER).
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Stent, Alison. "Reading the Sowetan's mediation of the public's response to the Jacob Zuma rape trial: a critical discourse analysis." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002940.
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In this minithesis I conduct a critical discourse analysis to take on a double-pronged task. On the one hand I explore the social phenomenon of the contestation between supporters of then-ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma and supporters of his rape accuser. The trial, which took place in the Johannesburg High Court between mid-February and early May 2006, stirred intense public interest, both locally and internationally. The performance of thousands of Zuma’s supporters and a far smaller number of gender rights lobby groups, both of whom kept a presence outside the court building throughout the trial, received similar attention. Second, I examine how the Sowetan, a national daily tabloid with a black, middle-class readership, mediated the trial through pictures of the theatre outside the court and letters to the editor. The study is informed by post-Marxist and cultural studies perspectives, both approaches that are concerned with issues of power, ideology and the circulation of meaning within specific sociocultural contexts. A rudimentary thematic content analysis draws out some of the main themes from the material, while the critical discourse analysis is located within a theoretical framework based on concepts from Laclau & Mouffe’s theory of meaning, which assumes a power struggle between contesting positions seeking to invalidate one another and to either challenge or support existing hegemonies. This is further informed by, first, Laclau’s theorisation of populism, which assumes that diverse groupings can unite under a demagogue’s banner in shared antagonism towards existing power, and second, by concepts from Mamdani’s theorisation of power and resistance in colonial and post-colonial Africa, which explicates three overarching ideological discourses of human rights, social justice and traditional ethnic practices. The study, then, explores how these three discourses were operationalised by the localised contestations over the trial.
22
Benjamin, Arlene. "Community counsellors' experiences of trauma and resilience in a low-income community." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/86553.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Violence is considered a global mental health problem. The rate of violence in South Africa is amongst the highest in the world and much of this violence is disproportionately skewed towards the poorer and historically disadvantaged communities. Low-income communities continue to bear the brunt of historical legacies of violence which are perpetuated through current ongoing cycles of interpersonal and community violence. While much has been documented about trauma and resilience in environments where the violence or traumatic event has ceased, there is a dearth of literature conceptualising trauma and resilience in contexts where the violence persists. Furthermore, even fewer studies have captured how trauma and resilience are conceptualised from the perspectives of the voices who experience this violence daily. The social constructionist framework of this study aims to contribute to the knowledge of how trauma and resilience is constructed by those who experience ongoing violence, and whether resilience and healing does occur in an environment of continuous traumatic stress. The voices of the participants of the study provide an additional perspective from that of community-based counsellors. Their dual experience of living and working in a violent community gives a rich insight into the relationship between trauma and resilience. The study is located in Hanover Park, a low-income community, notorious for its high levels of community violence. The participants are community-based counsellors who volunteer at Organisation X, a community-based ecological intervention that has been developed in response to addressing the cyclical impacts of ongoing violence and continuous trauma. The research design is a purposive in-depth case study of eighteen counsellors, investigating the narratives of their lives within its real-life context. Follow-up focus groups held with the counsellors were guided by ideas and practices of narrative theory. The narratives were analysed using thematic content and experience-centred form analysis. Multi-level themes related to trauma and resilience were constructed by the participants. It was revealed that the trauma effects related to systemic ongoing violence are viewed as maladaptive features of negative resilience. At the same time positive resilience which promotes healing, empowerment and transformation is possible despite negative and violent environments. The perspectives of community counsellors which offer critically important insight into their experience of the context of violence, and the complex interconnecting of individual, interpersonal and social aspects of trauma and healing in disadvantaged communities, could also inform future evidence-based interventions, provide alternate paradigms within which mental health professionals could position themselves to engage in issues of social justice and psychosocial health.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geweld word wêreldwyd as 'n geestesgesondheidsprobleem beskou. Die voorkoms van geweld in Suid-Afrika, is tans een van die hoogstes in die wêreld en die meeste van hierdie geweld neig om veral die armer en histories benadeelde gemeenskappe negatief te raak. Gemeenskappe in die laer inkomstegroepe is dus die mense wat die spit afbyt, omdat hierdie historiese nalatenskap van geweld deur die huidige voortdurende kringloop van interpersoonlike en gemeenskapsgeweld voortleef. Alhoewel daar alreeds baie dokumentêre bewyse bestaan oor trauma en veerkragtigheid in omgewings waar geweld of traumatiese gebeure beëindig is, is daar 'n gebrek aan literatuur wat trauma en veerkragtigheid vasvang waar geweld die orde van die dag is. Daar is verder nog minder studies wat vaslê hoe trauma en veerkragtigheid uit die oogpunt van die betrokkenes wat geweld daagliks ervaar, gekonseptualiseer word. Die sosiale konstruksionisme raamwerk van hierdie studie beoog om 'n bydrae te lewer oor hoe , indien wel, trauma en genesing beleef word deur diegene wat voortdurende geweld ervaar in 'n omgewing waar aanhoudende traumatiese stres voorkom. Die deelnemers aan hierdie studie verskaf 'n addisionele perspektief van die van gemeenskapsberaders. Hul tweeledige ervaring van leef en werk in 'n gewelddadige gemeenskap verskaf 'n dieper insig in die verhouding tussen trauma en veerkragtigheid. Die buurt waar die studie gedoen is, is Hanover-park - 'n lae inkomste gemeenskap wat berug is vir hoe vlakke van gemeenskapsgeweld. Die deelnemers is beraders uit die gemeenskap wat vrywillige werk doen by Organisasie X - 'n gemeenskapsgebaseerde ekologiese intervensie wat ontwikkel is om die sikliese impak van voortdurende geweld en trauma te verminder. Die navorsingstudie is 'n doelgerigte diepgaande gevallestudie van agtien beraders wat hul lewensverhale binne die werklike konteks ondersoek. Die beraders het die opvolg fokus-groepe gelei deur idees en die narratiewe teorie in die praktyk toe te pas. Die vertellings is geanaliseer deur gebruik te maak van die tematiese inhoud en 'n ervarings-gesentreerde analitiese formaat. Veelvlakkige temas wat verband hou met trauma en veerkragtigheid is deur die deelnemers saamgestel. Dit het aan die lig gebring dat die effek van trauma wat verband hou met voortdurende sistemiese geweld geag word as wanaangepaste kenmerke van negatiewe veerkragtigheid. Terselfdertyd is die positiewe veerkragtigheid wat genesing, bemagtiging en verandering evorder moontlik, ten spyte van negatiewe en gewelddadige omgewings. Die vooruitsigte van die gemeenskapsberaders wat belangrike en kritiese insig in hul ervarings binne geweldsverband bied, die ingewikkelde verbondenheid van die indiwiduele, interpersoonlike en sosiale aspekte van trauma en genesing in benadeelde gemeenskappe kan insiggewend wees vir toekomstige ingryping. Dit kan alternatiewe modelle voorsien waarvolgens beroepslui in die geestesgesondheidveld hulself kan inrig om kwessies van sosiale geregtigheid en psigo-sosiale gesondheids-toestande aan te spreek.
23
Sullivan, Paul John. "Australian attitudes towards computer crime." Thesis, 1995. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/15266/.
Full textAbstract:
This investigation compares the responses of university
staff and students of a Faculty of Business with those of
the staff and students at the New South Wales Police
Academy, in Goulburn. The research tested the attitudes of
the respondents to computer fraud, credit card fraud,
copying software and hacking into computer systems. The
research found, from questionnaire responses, that computer
crimes are considered to be insignificant compared with
other crimes which have far less impact on society in
financial terms. Hacking, in particular, which costs
Australian society an increasing amount each year, was ranked at a very low level of significance. Further, the research found a significant difference between the university and police responses to whether or not hacking and copying software are considered to be criminal activities.
24
Patterson, Jill. "Deconstructing neoliberal rationality in an increasingly punitive society: Canadian public support for "tough on crime" policies." 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1993/30705.
Full textAbstract:
Research has shown that criminal justice policy in Western democratic societies has become increasingly punitive (e.g. Wilson and Petersilia 2010), and that the public largely supports these policies, despite the fact that crime rates have been declining (e.g. Roberts 2003). However, few studies have attempted to explain this paradox in the context of neoliberalism, and within a Canadian context. Using the 2011 and 1997 Canadian Election Study, this project employs logistical regression and a comparative analysis to examine the extent to which neoliberal governance has produced prejudicial attitudes towards racialized “Others,” social and economic insecurity, and attitudes that individualize causes of poverty, and the extent to which these factors predict support for punitive treatment of violent young offenders. The results of this study show that the advent of neoliberalism has precipitated racialized “othering” towards Aboriginal people, which has increased punitive attitudes, but that insecurity and individualization, in relations to punitive attitudes, was present previous to 1997.October 2015
25
Pitfield, Doreen Jennie. "Public opinion on sentencing in Pretoria." Thesis, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/15792.
Full textAbstract:
Summaries in English and AfrikaansThe study explores the beliefs and wishes of respondents in Pretoria concerning crime seriousness and criminal sentencing in South Africa. It is suggested that in a democracy, the legal system must reflect the values of the individual citizen if it is to achieve a legitimacy based upon the concepts of moral consent and universality, and argues that this can only be achieved when all citizens have a voice. The study undertakes and reports on a survey of 400 units, across race divisions in and around the City of Pretoria by initially emulating, and thereafter extending, the British Crime Survey. The thesis offers seven chapters divided into two primary components. The first component, chapters one to four, systematically debate the historical/theoretical foundations of sentencing practice (both globally and in respect of South Africa), and identifies the inherent problems faced by contemporary criminal justice systems. The study utilises sentencing literature to provide an in-depth appraisal of theoretical paradigms and, thereafter, evaluates the successes and failures of various sentencing options. The second component, chapters five to seven, unpack the Pretorian research in relation to various other foreign research surveys, and culminates by offering a South African sentencing guide (severity index) based upon the research findings. The findings identify the people of Pretoria to be punitive. Respondents are shown to regard rape and driving whilst over the legal alcohol level causing the death of an innocent victim as the most serious crimes, followed by deliberate murder, selling illegal drugs and terrorism. Percentage differential between these "most serious" crimes is negligible. Many respondents indicate long prison sentences or the death penalty for these specific offences. Overall, Blacks prefer imprisonment whilst Whites are shown to be more conservative and more amenable to other sentencing options. Gender differences in relation to seriousness and sentence scores are slight, but females and the older age group are noted to be more fearful of being victimised even though this fear is not supported by actual victimisation rates. The study justifies the motivation fot the inclusion of public opinion into sentencing policy by recording a 72 percent positive response to people involvement in the sentencing of offenders.
Hierdie navorsing verken respondente in Pretoria se menings en verwagtinge aangaande die erns van misdaad en vonnisoplegging in Suid·Afrika. Die uitgangspunt is dat die regsplegingstelsel veronderstel is om die waardes van die gemeenskap te reftekteer, gebaseer op die konsepte van morele eenstemmigheid en universaliteit, en argumenteer dat dit binne 'n demokrattese bestel slegs kan realiseer as alle inwoners inspraak daarin het. Die navorsing en rapportering gaan oor 'n opname van 400 eenhede in en om die stad Pretoria oor rassegrense heen. Die Britse misdaadopname het as vertrekpunt gedien vir die ontwikkeling van die opname. Die tesis bestaan uit sewe hoofstukke wat verdeel is in twee hoofkomponente. Die eerste komponent, hoofstukke een tot vier, debatteer sistematies die histories/teoretiese begrondings van die vonnisopleggingspraktyk (beide globaal en ten opsigte van Suld-Afrika), en identifiseer die inherente probleme waarmee kontemporere strafregsplegingstelsels gekonfronteer word. Die navorsing gebruik vonnisopleggingsliteratuur om 'n in-diepte beoordeling te maak aan teoretiese paradigma om die sukses en mislukking van die verskillende vonnisopleggingaopsies te evalueer. Die tweede komponent, hoofstukke vyf tot sewe, behels die navorsing in Pretoria in vergelyking met verskeie ander buitelandse navorsingsondersoeke en bereik 'n hoogtepunt deur 'n Suid-Afrikaanse vonnisopleggingsgids (ernsindeks) voor te hou, gebaseer op die navorsingsbevindings. Die navorsingsbevindings identlfiseer respondente van Pretoria as strafgeorienteerd. Respondente beskou verkragting en bestuur van 'n motor terwyl die persoon se alkoholbloedinhoud oor die wettige perk is en die dood van 'n onskuldige slagoffer veroorsaak, as die ernstigste misdade. Dit word gevolg deur opsetlike moord, die handel in onwettige dwelmmiddels en terrorisme. Persentasie afwykings tussen die "ernstige" misdade is onbeduidend. Menige respondente is van mening dat lang termyne van gevangenisstraf of die doodsvonnis vir hierdie misdade toepaslik is. Oorhoofs gesien, verkies Swartmense gevangesetting, terwyl blankes meer konserwatief maar ook meer ontvanklik blyk te wees met betrekking tot ander vonnisopsies. Genderverskille in verhouding tot die erns- en die vonnistellings is gering, maar vroue en die ouer ouderdomsgroepe vertoon groter vrees vir viktimisasie, alhoewel hierdie vrees nie ondersteun word deur werklike viktimisasieratio's nie. Hierdie navorsing onderskryf die motivering vir die oorweging van die gemeenskapsmening in formulering van vonnisopleggingsbeleid met die resultaat dat 72 persent respondente gemeenskapsbetrokkenheid in die vonnisoplgeging voorstaan. '
Criminology and Security Science
D. Litt. et Phil. (Criminology)
26
Lattimore, Lillie L. "Immigration, Crime, And Punishment: Minorities' Perception Of Immigrants And Attitudes Towards Punitive Policies." 2017. http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/political_science_theses/70.
Full textAbstract:
This project focuses on the perception of immigrants as criminals, but more importantly, how this negative perception of immigrants can influence the population’s support for strict punitive policies. The question I seek to answer: will common negative perceptions of immigrants affect public support for more stringent punitive policies? The literature on what makes people punitive mostly focuses on the role of race and hostile feelings that lead to punitive feelings towards an immigrant. In this project, minorities and their attitudes in contrast to past studies that focus on White Americans will be central to the analysis. Analysis of both the 2012 National Election Survey and 2001 Los Angeles Social Survey data is used to explain how the relationship between economic threat and negative perceptions of immigrants lead to respondents becoming more punitive. Although respondents who feel economic threat are more punitive, there is a difference in significance between Whites and Blacks.
27
Antunes, Hugo Militão. "O crime em Portugal durante o Estado Novo." Master's thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10071/2762.
Full textAbstract:
O crime em Portugal durante o Estado Novo.
A repressão política realizada pelo Estado Novo constituiu uma realidade inequívoca em Portugal ao longo de 41 anos. A ausência de liberdade de imprensa foi uma das faces daquela repressão. A mediatização de factos susceptíveis de contrariar os interesses do sistema político vigente constituiu-se enquanto principal obstáculo da censura. Esta realidade constitui o ponto de partida de um estudo de caso que pretende perceber qual a relação entre a censura e um fenómeno social portador de uma carga simbólica particularmente negativa – a criminalidade.Crime in Portugal during the political system of «Estado Novo». The political repression conducted by «Estado Novo» was a clear reality in Portugal over 41 years. The lack of press freedom was one of the faces of that repression. The media coverage of facts was revised and censored so that any that would contradict the interests of the established political system could be shut. This reality is the starting point of a case study that aims to find out the relationship between censorship and a shocking social phenomenon - crime.
28
Fusco, Nina Marie. "Media coverage outside the courtroom : public opinion of restrictions imposed on news journalists and psychological effects on crime victims." Thèse, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1866/6051.
Full textAbstract:
Comme les études sur la couverture médiatique ont démontré qu’elle influence pratiquement toute personne qu’elle touche, des consommateurs aux jurés aux témoins, les deux études de cette thèse doctorale ont respectivement examiné l’opinion du public sur l’imposition de restrictions sur les médias dans les palais des justices et l’impact de la couverture médiatique sur la santé mentale des victimes de crime.
Le gouvernement québécois a récemment introduit des restrictions sur les médias dans les palais de justice afin de minimiser l’influence des journalistes et des caméramans. Bien que l’affaire a atteint la Cour suprême du Canada, une étude préliminaire a trouvé que le public est largement favorable à ces restrictions (Sabourin, 2006). La première partie de cette thèse doctorale cherchait à approfondir ce sujet avec un échantillon plus représentatif de la population.
Deux cent quarante-trois participants comprenant six groupes expérimentaux ont rempli des questionnaires mesurant leur opinion de ces restrictions. Les participants ont été divisé en deux conditions expérimentales où ils ont visionné soit des clips audiovisuels démontrant une atmosphère de débordement dans des palais de justice ou des clips plutôt calmes. Un troisième groupe n’a visionné aucun clip audiovisuel. De plus, il y avait deux versions du questionnaire ayant 20 items où les questions ont été présenté en sens inverse. L’étude a trouvé qu’une grande majorité des participants, soit presque 79 pourcent, ont supporté la restriction des médias dans les palais de justice. Il est intéressant de noter qu’un des groupes n’a pas supporté les restrictions – le groupe contrôle qui a lu les énoncés supportant l’absence des restrictions en premier.
La deuxième composante de cette thèse doctorale a examiné l’impact des médias sur les victimes de crime. De nombreuses études expérimentales ont démontré que les victimes de crime sont particulièrement susceptibles à des problèmes de santé mentale. En effet, elles ont trois fois plus de chances de développer un trouble de stress post-traumatique (TSPT) que la population générale. Une étude a confirmé cette conclusion et a trouvé que les victimes de crimes qui avaient une impression plutôt négative de leur couverture médiatique avaient les taux les plus élévés de TSPT (Maercker & Mehr, 2006). Dans l’étude actuelle, vingt-trois victimes de crimes ont été interviewé en utilisant une technique narrative et ont complété deux questionnaires mésurant leur symptômes du TSPT et d’anxiété, respectivement. Une grande proportion des participantes avaient des symptômes de santé mentale et des scores élévés sur une échelle évaluant les symptômes du TSPT. La majorité des narratives des participants étaient négatives. Les thèmes les plus communs incluent dans ces narratives étaient l’autoculpabilisation et une méfiance des autres. La couverture médiatique ne semblaient pas être liée à des symptômes de santé mentale, quoique des facteurs individuels pourraient expliquer pourquoi certains participants ont été favorables envers leur couverture médiatique et d’autres ne l’été pas.
Les résultats de ces deux études suggèrent que le public approuve la restriction des médias dans les palais de justice et que des facteurs individuels pourraient expliqués comment la couverture médiatique affecte les victimes de crime. Ces résultats ajoutent à la littérature qui questionne les pratiques actuelles qu’utilisent les médias.As media coverage has been shown to influence virtually everyone that it reaches, from its consumers to jurors in cases with pretrial publicity to eyewitnesses, the two studies that comprise the present dissertation respectively investigated the public’s opinion on imposing restrictions on the media in courthouses and the impact of media coverage on the mental health of crime victims. The Quebec government recently imposed restrictions on the media in courthouses in order to reduce the interference of journalists and cameramen. While the issue reached the Supreme Court of Canada, the public were found to be largely in favour of these restrictions in a preliminary study (Sabourin, 2006). The first part of this dissertation sought to further investigate this topic with a more representative sample of the population. Two hundred forty-three participants in six experimental groups filled out questionnaires that measured their opinion of these restrictions. There were two conditions with audiovisual clips showing either a media circus-like atmosphere or relatively calm proceedings in Quebec courthouses. A third control group did not view any audiovisual clips. There were also two versions of the twenty-item questionnaire where the questions were presented in reverse order. This study also found overwhelming support for the restrictions; nearly 79 percent of participants supported restricting media presence in courthouses. Interestingly, one experimental group did not – the control group that read statements that supported an absence of restrictions first. The second component of this dissertation examined the impact of the media on crime victims. Crime victims have been shown to be especially susceptible to mental health problems. Indeed, they are three times as likely as the general population to develop Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). One study confirmed this finding and found that crime victims who had negative impressions of the media coverage of their cases had the highest rates of PTSD (Maercker & Mehr, 2006). In the present study, twenty-three crime victims were interviewed using a narrative technique and completed two questionnaires that respectively measured their PTSD symptoms and anxiety. A great proportion of participants were found to have mental health symptoms and high scores on the Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R). The majority of the narratives of these participants were negative. The most common themes included in these narratives were self-blame and suspiciousness of others. Media coverage did not appear to be related to any mental health symptoms, although individual factors may explain why some participants were favourable towards the coverage and others were not. The findings of these two studies suggest that the public approves of restricting media presence in courthouses and that individual factors may explain how media coverage impacts crime victims. These results add to the literature that calls current practices used by the media to gain coverage into question.
29
Ramirez, Mark Daniel. "The Strategic Nature of Politics." 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2009-12-6972.
Full textAbstract:
Scholarship shows that the social construction of crime is responsible for the
public’s demand for tougher criminal justice policies. Yet, there remains disagreement
over several key issues regarding the relationship between strategic communication
and the punitiveness of the mass public. Little is known about the magnitude and
direction of changes in punitive sentiment over the last 50 years. Moreover, there is
disagreement over when the public began to demand punitive solutions to crime over
alternative policies. Many scholars point the racial turmoil of the 1960s, but none
have shown conclusive evidence of any fundamental change in punitive sentiment.
Finally, there is disagreement over what type of strategic appeal is most effective at
shaping public opinion.
The argument of this research is that the democratic nature of American pol-
itics creates an environment where the competition of ideas flourish. Political ac-
tors can use several types of strategic communication (agenda-setting, persuasion,
priming, framing) to shape political outcomes. The effectiveness of an appeal does
not remain constant over time, but should evolve around systematic social changes—
environmental conditions and social norms. Thus, there is a time varying relationship
between various appeals and public opinion.
A content analysis of crime news in the New York Times provides measures
of four types of strategic messages. Instrumental factors such as the economy and
public policy are also shown to influence the public’s desire for punitive criminal
justice policies. A Bayesian changepoint model provides a means to test when, if any,fundamental change occurred in the public’s punitive sentiment. Contrary to most
accounts, the changepoint model identifies 1972 as having the highest probability of
a breakpoint suggesting a public backlash against the Supreme Court’s Furman vs.
Georgia decision to abolish the death penalty.
Estimates from a state-space model show that different types of messages in
the media shape punitive sentiment and that the effectiveness of racial primes and
presidential attention to crime changes over time. Moreover, these changes are shown
to be a function of changes in social context and norms suggesting ways to improve
political communication.
30
Uang, Randy Sunwin. "Careful crackdowns : human rights and campaigning on public security in Latin America." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/ETD-UT-2012-05-5647.
Full textAbstract:
Crime and violence are regularly seen as being ripe for politicians to turn into campaign issues and win votes. This study argues, in contrast, that success on public security is not so automatic: human rights values constrain the use of security and the winning of votes on it. Even in Latin American countries, where voters' concerns about rampant crime and violence are among the highest in the world, considerations of human rights combine with low trust in security forces to restrict the viability of the issue in key ways. Examination of presidential campaigns in Colombia in 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2010 supports this claim. Success on security is a two-step process: invoking the issue and then gaining voter support on the topic. Usability depends on the absence of recent repression and the degree of organization of security threats. Then, winning votes on it depends on having a civilian background, a campaign that balances security with other issues, and messages of careful enforcement. These messages of careful enforcement promise targeted, deliberate use of security forces' enforcement activities in a way that pays attention to human rights, rather than promising unbridled enforcement, increased punishment, or programs of long-term prevention. This study therefore shows how candidates are forced to walk a fine line between promising to establish order and promising to protect basic rights and liberties. These findings are powerful, providing an understanding of public security in electoral campaigns that maintains a much closer fit with empirical reality than existing research. The results also provide a critique of the sociological school of vote choice and points to ways in which ownership of the issue of security may be leased away. Furthermore, because the results are driven by the spread of human rights values, the results demonstrate the importance of quick shifts in political culture as a factor that explains changes in political patterns.text
31
Burgess, Melissa. "Spatiotemporal patterns of avoidance in Kings Cross : an exploration of the environmental cues that trigger fear of crime." Phd thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/146468.
Full text
32
Ruys, Eva M. A. "Attitudes of comparative groups of business students (including hospitality and tourism) towards people with disabilities." Thesis, 1991. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/15676/.
Full textAbstract:
This study talks about the barriers people with disabilities face today and outlines recent developments aimed at breaking down these barriers. The research was undertaken to determine the attitudes of hospitality and tourism students of the Victoria University of Technology, Footscray Campus, towards people with didsabilities. The research was undertaken before graduation to determine whether these attitudes are any different from other business students of the University. As future managers and
industry leaders in tourism and hospitality, their attitudes are important.
33
Wong, Lily. "Attitudes towards the establishment of a local casino in three Victorian communities." Thesis, 1992. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/15733/.
Full textAbstract:
It is the aim of this thesis to identify existing gambling trends prior to the establishment of a local casino, and to then assess the consequential effects upon the community.
The three communities which comprise the sample population for this study are Keilor, Kew and Geelong. Each of the aforementioned had proposed a casino development for their respective community, and were selected on the basis of their geographic and demographic differences.
34
Cruz, Sara Varela. "A independência dos tribunais : o Tribunal de júri e a influência dos media." Master's thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10362/18256.
Full textAbstract:
Este trabalho tem por tema a influência dos media nos casos julgados em Tribunal de Júri, com especial enfoque numa possível influência nos juízes e nos jurados. Tem início, porém, com a análise de conceitos prévios, como o conceito material de crime, suspeitos, arguidos; passando pelos juízes e jurados, e pelos tribunais, com especial estudo nos tribunais de júri. Ganha relevância na questão da influência, analisando o papel dos jornalistas e dos jurados no tribunal em questão. Finaliza com uma amostra de conveniência, onde são abordados alguns casos em concreto, que nos podem espelhar a realidade que tentamos aqui provar.The subject of this work is on the influence of the mass media in trial’s by jury, with special focus on a possible influence that these may have on the judge and jury. However, it begins with the analissis of pre concieved concepts, with the concept of the crime, suspect’s, defendent’s; also looking at the judge’s, juries and judicial courts, with special atention to trials by Jury. The influence, gains relevence, analising the role of the jornalist’s and the juries in the trial in question. It end´s with a suitable sample of cases that can reflect the reality that we are attempting to prove.