Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Criminology'

A broad definition of environmental crime prevails in “green criminology”, encompassing also those dimensions of damage, injustice and social harm often neglected by criminal law and by the criminal justice system. Through this approach, we will explore a situated environmental scenario: Huelva, a town in southern Spain, heavily polluted by a huge industrial and chemical plant established during the 1960s and built in close proximity to the town. We shall examine this case of environmental crime through a still unfolding criminological perspective, identifying the theoretical issues encountered and the methodological approaches to be taken when studying an ongoing case of conflict and of environmental crime. The ethnographic research I present also employs “photo-elicitation interviews” as a new source of qualitative data for criminology applied to the environmental field. It opens some “sensitizing” dimensions on socio-environmental conflict and environmental crime that may also prove useful when observing the “sensitive environments” of other realities.

The prevention of crime and certain types of crime is a central issue in criminology. In Ukrainian and foreign criminological science there is a wide range of concepts and approaches to understanding the concept and essence of this activity. Uncertainty exists even at the level of the conceptual apparatus. An interesting approach for criminology is the approach to this problem in the United States, in particular the ratio of criminal law to criminological means of countering crime.
The prevention of crime and certain types of crime is a central issue in criminology. In Ukrainian and foreign criminological science there is a wide range of concepts and approaches to understanding the concept and essence of this activity. Uncertainty exists even at the level of the conceptual apparatus. An interesting approach for criminology is the approach to this problem in the United States, in particular the ratio of criminal law to criminological means of countering crime.

Des dels primers estudis sobre presons ha existit un interès per conèixer com les persones viuen el seu empresonament i les causes del seu comportament dins de la institució penitenciària. Els comportaments que les persones duen a terme durant la seva privació de llibertat configuren el fenomen de l’adaptació a presó. No obstant, la literatura no ha partit d’una definició específica d’aquest concepte i s’ha centrat principalment en explorar el mal comportament com a indicador d’una falta d’adaptació, assimilant tots dos aspectes. Aquest treball defineix l’adaptació com un procés d’interacció entre les persones empresonades i la institució penitenciària, proposant que una persona es trobarà adaptada a presó quan participi dels objectius de rehabilitació i reinserció de la institució i contribueixi a un clima social ordenat. Hi ha quatre perspectives que han explicat les causes de l’adaptació a presó: la teoria de les privacions, que situa les causes del comportament adaptatiu en l’assimilació de la cultura penitenciaria i la resposta a les penalitats de l’empresonament; la teoria de la importació, que considera que l’adaptació depèn de les característiques i valors amb els quals les persones arriben a la institució; la teoria de l’afrontament, que estableix que els comportaments adaptatius sorgeixen de la interacció entre individu i ambient, depenent el seu resultat dels recursos personals i socials dels quals les persones disposen; i la teoria de la gestió, que considera que l’estil de direcció dels centres penitenciaris i les accions amb el personal influeixen en el comportament de les persones empresonades. Aquesta tesi doctoral té per objectiu utilitzar les anteriors teories per explorar l’adaptació a les presons espanyoles. Amb aquesta fi, s’han dut a terme dues recerques empíriques que han explorat dos elements centrals per a l’adaptació al nostre sistema penitenciari: la imposició de sancions i la progressió penitenciària. Les dues recerques s’han publicat com a articles en revistes científiques, de manera que aquesta tesi adopta un format per compendi d’articles. Per a la realització dels anàlisis s’ha partit de la mostra del projecte de recerca “Empresonament i Reincidència”, desenvolupat pel Grup de Recerca en “Desistiment del Delicte i Polítiques de Reinserció” de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, que recull dades d’autoinforme sobre l’experiència de l’empresonament al final de la condemna. Els resultats destaquen que les teories de l’adaptació tenen diversa capacitat explicativa, si bé resulta rellevant la seva integració per a una millor comprensió del fenomen. Específicament es destaca que la teoria de les privacions es confirma parcialment, ja que tot i que l’ambient negatiu a presó no resulta significatiu, la victimització patida sí es relaciona amb més problemes d’adaptació. En segon lloc i respecte de la teoria de la importació, la desavantatge prèvia ‒en concret l’historial penal i el consum de drogues‒ dificulta l’adaptació. En tercer lloc, els recursos d’afrontament ‒destacant el suport familiar‒ es relacionen amb una adaptació positiva. Finalment i reafirmant la teoria de la gestió, el suport del personal penitenciari i la percepció de legitimitat en les seves accions contribueixen a l’èxit del procés d’adaptació. El treball finalitza amb propostes per la millora del procés d’adaptació de les persones que compleixen una pena de presó, amb una especial atenció a aquells col·lectius que presenten més dificultats per assolir-la, destacant les persones en situació de desavantatge social i les persones estrangeres.
Desde los primeros estudios sobre prisiones ha existido un interés por conocer cómo las personas viven su encarcelamiento y las causas de su comportamiento dentro de la institución penitenciaria. Los comportamientos que las personas llevan a cabo durante su privación de libertad configuran el fenómeno de la adaptación a prisión. No obstante, la literatura no ha partido de una definición específica de este concepto y se ha centrado principalmente en explorar el mal comportamiento como indicador de una falta de adaptación, asimilando ambos aspectos. Este trabajo define la adaptación como un proceso de interacción entre las personas presas y la institución penitenciaria, proponiendo que una persona se encontrará adaptada a prisión cuando participe de los objetivos de rehabilitación y reinserción de la institución y contribuya a un clima social ordenado. Existen cuatro perspectivas que han explicado las causas de la adaptación a prisión: la teoría de las privaciones, que sitúa las causas del comportamiento adaptativo en la asimilación de la cultura carcelaria y la respuesta a las penalidades del encarcelamiento; la teoría de la importación, que considera que la adaptación depende de las características y valores con los que las personas llegan a la institución; la teoría del afrontamiento, que establece que los comportamientos adaptativos surgen de la interacción entre individuo y ambiente, dependiendo su resultado de los recursos personales y sociales de los que las personas disponen; y la teoría de la gestión, que considera que el estilo de dirección de los centros penitenciarios y las acciones del personal influyen en el comportamiento de los presos. Esta tesis doctoral tiene por objetivo utilizar las anteriores teorías para explorar la adaptación en las prisiones españolas. Para ello se han llevado a cabo dos investigaciones empíricas que han explorado dos elementos centrales para la adaptación en nuestro sistema penitenciario: la imposición de sanciones y la progresión penitenciaria. Ambas investigaciones se han publicado como artículos en revistas científicas, por lo que esta tesis adopta un formato por compendio de artículos. Para la realización de los análisis se ha partido de la muestra del proyecto de investigación ‘Encarcelamiento y Reincidencia’, desarrollado por el Grupo de Investigación en ‘Desistimiento de la Delito y Políticas de Reinserción’ de la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, que recoge datos de autoinforme sobre la experiencia del encarcelamiento al final de la condena. Los resultados destacan que las teorías de la adaptación tienen diversa capacidad explicativa, si bien resulta relevante su integración para una mejor comprensión del fenómeno. Específicamente se destaca que la teoría de las privaciones se confirma parcialmente, pues aun cuando el ambiente negativo en prisión no resulta significativo, la victimización sufrida sí se relaciona con mayores problemas de adaptación. En segundo lugar y respecto de la teoría de la importación, la desventaja previa –en concreto el historial penal y el consumo de drogas– dificulta la adaptación. En tercer lugar, los recursos de afrontamiento –destacando el apoyo familiar– se relacionan con una adaptación positiva. Por último, y reafirmando la teoría de la gestión, el apoyo del personal penitenciario y la percepción de legitimidad en sus acciones contribuyen al éxito del proceso de adaptación. El trabajo finaliza con propuestas para la mejora del proceso de adaptación de las personas que cumplen una pena de prisión, con un foco específico en aquellos colectivos que presentan mayores dificultades en su logro, destacando las personas en situación de desventaja social y las personas extranjeras.
Since the first studies on prisons, there has been an interest in knowing how people experience their incarceration and the causes of their behavior within the penitentiary institution. The behaviors that people perform during their imprisonment determine the phenomenon of prison adaptation. However, the literature has not departed from a specific definition of this concept and has focused mainly on exploring misbehavior as an indicator of a lack of adaptation, assimilating both aspects. This doctoral thesis defines adaptation as a process of interaction between prisoners and the penitentiary institution, considering that a person will be adapted to prison when they participate in the rehabilitation and reintegration objectives of the institution and contribute to order and a pacific social climate. Four perspectives have explained the causes of adaptation to prison: the deprivation theory, which places the causes of adaptative behavior in the assimilation of prison culture and the response to the pains of imprisonment; the importation theory, which considers that adaptation depends on the characteristics and values with which people arrive at the institution; the coping theory, which establishes that adaptative behaviors arise from the interaction between individuals and the environment, which results depend on the personal and social resources that people have; and management theory, which considers that the management style of prisons and the actions of the staff influence the behavior of prisoners. This doctoral thesis aims to use the previous theories to explore the process of adaptation in Spanish prisons. With this objective, two empirical investigations have been carried out to explore two key elements for adaptation in our prison system: the imposition of sanctions and a prison progressive release. Both investigations have been published as articles in scientific journals, so this thesis adopts format of compendium by publications. The sample used comes from the research project “Imprisonment and Reoffending”, developed by the Research Group on “Desistance from Crime and Reentry Policies” of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, which collects self-report data about the experience of incarceration at the end of the prison sentence. The results highlight that adaptation theories present distinct explanatory capacity, although their integration is relevant for a better understanding of prison adaptation. Specifically, it is highlighted that deprivation theory is partially confirmed because even when the negative environment in prison is not significant, the victimization suffered is related to greater adaptation problems. Second, and concerning importation theory, prior disadvantage –specifically criminal record and drug use– make adaptation more difficult. Third, coping resources –emphasizing family support– are related to positive adaptation. Finally, and supporting management theory, the support from prison staff and the perception of legitimacy in their actions contribute to the success of the adaptation process. This work ends with proposals to improve the success in the adaptation process of people who are serving a prison sentence, with a specific focus on those groups that present the greatest difficulties in achieving it, particularly people with social disadvantage trajectories and foreigners.
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Programa de Doctorat en Dret

Epidemiological methods and public health theories can be tied to theories of crime and delinquency and used to create evidence-based policy. Interdisciplinary theoretical approaches to existing, and emerging, public health and criminal justice problems hold great promise. Differential association theory postulates that close association with delinquent peers leads to an increase in deviant activities such as illicit drug use. Social cognitive theory postulates that health behavior change is driven by the interaction of (a) cognitive states that support a health outcome, (b) the social and contextual environment, (c) and individual action. Combined, these theories can be applied to drug eradication programs as well as other health and crime issues. Focus groups and interviews were performed to identify rates of illicit substance use among incarcerated African American adolescent male gang members and nongang members. The policy recommendations illustrate the convergence of criminological and epidemiological theory under the new paradigm of epidemiological criminology or ??EpiCrim.??

Prompted by the need to expand the criminological enterprise, I put forward a criminology of education that offers a deeper understanding of education’s purpose in contemporary society. In tracing the reconfiguration of social security and understandings of citizenship in Western capitalist societies, education is situated as a centrally important institution of social governance. Moving from ‘the social’ as the predominant category of governance to smaller, individualized units of governance such as the ‘community’ has produced a post-social state which involves significant implications for political institutions, including crime control and education. This is illustrated by the ‘criminalization of schools’ thesis, which posits that schools increasingly take on responsibilities for governing crime to the point that they are now governed through crime. Market preparation constitutes another governing principle of education, encapsulated in what can be termed the ‘marketization of schools’, which points to education’s role in producing lean, active citizens. I draw on the work of Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu for explicating the features of governance and discipline, and their articulation. I then turn to explore the empirical referent found in recent efforts to rethink and reorganize student discipline policies in Ontario schools. The ‘discovery’ of bullying in Ontario is suggested to be a discursive reality that made possible the implementation of a program of regulation. From this, we see that education is conceptualized and represented as a ‘security apparatus’, and education policies as increasingly concerned with managing public safety and social order.

Peace bonds are a legal tool of governance dating back to 13th c. England. In Canada, a significant change in the application of peace bonds took place in the mid-1990s, shifting their purpose from governing minor disputes between individuals to allowing for persons who have not been charged with a crime to be governed as if they had. Given the legal test for a peace bond has always been the determination of ‘reasonable fear’, the advent of these ‘specialized’ peace bonds suggests that the object of reasonable fear has changed. Despite their lengthy history, peace bonds have limited coverage in academic literature, a weakness compounded by a predominant doctrinal approach based in a liberal framework. The central inquiry of this thesis moves beyond this predominant perspective of ‘peace bonds as crime prevention’ by developing a governmental criminology, which deepens our understanding of the role of specialized peace bond law in contemporary society. Specifically, governmental criminology takes a Foucaultian critical legal studies approach, which acknowledges legal pluralism and sets out the historical context required for analysis. Ultimately, by unearthing underlying social, economic, and political power relations it is possible to critique the accompanying modes of calculation of fear and risk, thus challenging the regimes of practices that make specialized peace bonds possible. Specialized peace bonds merely manage the consequences of a criminal justice system limited by social, political, and economic circumstances, in a broader biopolitical project of integrating risky populations.

Writing has a central role in UK higher education as a technology for, and signifier of, the learning, teaching and assessment of students. The nature and quality of student writing has also become an important issue outside the academy, particularly in the context of a globalised neo-liberal knowledge economy discourse which emphasises the importance of transferable and employability skills. Although there is a considerable body of research relating to student writing, the work that I undertook for earlier professional doctorate assignments suggested that the role of academic staff in regulating student writing was under-researched and under-theorised. The research carried out for this thesis sought to address this gap in knowledge by focussing on two central questions. Firstly, what role do academic staff play in regulating student writing? Secondly, how is this role shaped by the specific departmental, disciplinary and institutional contexts in which they are located? The research was undertaken in a criminology department in a post-1992 university in the UK. It was positioned in an academic literacies framework which conceptualises writing as a social practice, and drew on linguistic ethnographic methodologies to explore the written feedback that staff give on student writing. The written feedback encounter is where staff and student expectations about academic writing practices intersect, and is therefore a telling site for the study of educational discourses relating to knowledge and how it is represented. Data were collected from three main sources: written feedback and comments given by academic staff on 120 pieces of student work; 18 interviews with staff about academic writing; and institutional policies and procedures relating to marking, assessment and feedback. Employing a range of theoretical perspectives, including those informed by feminist and poststructuralist analysis, these texts were analysed to explore the relationship between institutional discourses, pedagogical practices and identity construction. My research showed that there was a considerable disjuncture between the institutional discourses which governed marking, assessment and feedback and the actual feedback practices of staff. Despite the strong scientific and positivist discourse that pervaded institutional documentation on assessment and feedback, some staff drew on a range of alternative pedagogical discourses and engaged in assessment practices which were more subjective and localised in nature. This gap between the institutional discourse and the situated literacy practices was mediated to some extent by the assessment coversheet and marking procedures which worked to provide an appearance of consistency and agreement to external audiences. This promoted a technical rational approach to feedback which obscured the epistemological and gatekeeping functions of feedback. The thesis concludes that the effective theorisation and teaching of student writing rests on an understanding of how academic staff construct and police the boundaries of appropriate knowledge in their discipline. This approach draws on existing academic literacies theories but argues for a more holistic model which understands academic writing as co-constructed through the practices of both students who produce the written work and the academic staff who mark it.

ABSTRACT Titel: Teorin som omgärdar den fula kriminologin - Cultural criminology, en introduktion. Författare: Johanna Sundquist Nyckelord: Cultural criminology, world risk society, risksamhälle.   Dagens medialandskap är grundad i det skriftbaserade samhället och har därför stora möjligheter till samhällskritik. Vi som mediakonsumenter har också idag större möjlighet att kritisera media men också att kritisera via media än tidigare. Dagens samhälle genomsyras också av en mediekonsumtion av aldrig tidigare sedda mått (Christie, 2004:69). Vi pumpas med information i TV, i radio, på Internet - via bloggar, twittrar, communities och forum. Aldrig förr har heller kriminalitet getts sådan uppmärksamhet i media (Jewkes, 2004:141). Inte bara information kring kriminalitet erbjuds via de olika mediekanalerna utan även ett nöjeskapande kring brottsligheten. Trots att människan alltid varit fascinerad av det normbrytande så har intresset för kriminalitet alternativt brottsbekämpning aldrig varit så populärt. Vår kultur absorberar kriminaliteten som underhållning. Samtidigt har vi heller aldrig varit så rädda för att utsättas för brottslighet. Cultural criminology utforskar de sätt som dagens kultur har kommit att internalisera kriminalitet och brottspreventiva medel. Cultural criminology pekar på den centrala roll som ugly criminology har i porträtteringen av brottslighet och det budskap som medföljer den porträtteringen. Den allmänna synen, som konstruerad av populärkulturen, på kriminalitet och brottsprevention, den gemensamma oron inför den konstruerade bilden av kriminalitet i samhället, uppfattningen av risken att bli utsatt för brott samt civila brottspreventiva åtgärder blir fokus i modern kultur.    Uppsatsens är utförd i form av en litteraturstudie inom vilken en av författaren utförd mindre mediastudie också ges plats. Uppsatsens syfte är att avhandla vad som i de anglosaxiska länderna benämnts "cultural criminology". En ansats görs även att introducera begreppet cultural criminology i en svensk kontext. Ett övergripande syftet är även att driva den tes som talar för hur så kallade "ugly criminology" och ett vad jag väljer att kalla kulturgörande av kriminologi bidrar till framfarten för vad Beck benämner "risksamhället".    Uppsatsen finner att kulturaliserandet av kriminalitet genom starkt ökad medial uppmärksamhet har gjort att vår vardag påverkas av ugly criminology; avhandlade av kriminalitet, i någon form. Även om vi inte aktivt söker den i form av information eller förströelse så når den oss via analog eller digital media. Den finner att kulturaliserande i form av ökad medieexponering också påverkar vår uppfattning av hot och risk i samhället. Vi ger mening till vår rädsla genom att läsa tidningen i vilken vi ser att rädslan är befogad. Det är genom den mediebefogade rädslan som vårt riskkalkylerande befästs och vår tro på det otrygga samhället lever vidare. Författaren hävdar att cultural criminology likt bland annat det mediala planet i samhället efterliknar den anglosaxiska modellen också är på stark frammarsch.

This doctoral thesis is intended to demonstrate that my research, scholarship and publications have made a significant and coherent contribution to the development of criminology as a popular discipline in the higher education sector. My growing interest and research into the relationship between the media and crime and criminal justice is reflected in the structuring of this thesis, with the major substantive sections being examples of my work in this area (chapters 2 to 8). This interest has also been driven by an essentially realist position and belief that crime is a real issue for both people and society. This submission consists of a brief contextualizing introduction to my research, scholarship, writing and publication in relation to my own career in higher education and to the development of the discipline of criminology plus a number of chapters containing specific examples from my publications. The final section continues from the commentary provided in the introduction, reviewing the body of my work in relation to my academic career generally as it moved from sociology to criminology as that discipline emerged and grew within the higher education sector. Here I have attempted to summarise my theoretical stance; this is not a straightforward task as I have been involved in scholarship, research, writing and publishing in sociology and criminology for well over thirty years, as well as teaching and developing courses and programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels; and it is difficult to step outside of this work to envisage it as an academic journey. Nevertheless, I feel in recent years that my work has come to represent almost a complete circle, or at the least to have a recognisable path and pattern, which is really the impetus behind this submission. The submission is based around my more recent scholarship and writing on the media, crime and criminal justice; this work is a development and to some extent culmination of my academic career as a researcher, scholar, lecturer and writer. Although I have written quite widely on social theory, sociology and particularly criminology and criminal justice, my more recent research and writing has been to examine and analyse the importance of the media’s representation of crime and justice. In doing this, and in the body of my writing and publishing, there has been what might be termed a theoretical style or thread which I feel indicates a certain coherence and also provides a cogent case for this doctoral submission. Overall, my argument is that my work generally and as evidenced in this submission particularly, has helped to conceptualise how media representations have played a key role in helping develop a greater understanding of crime, criminals and justice. Furthermore, and while adopting an objective and critical approach, how such representations deserve to be accepted as real and therefore legitimate and important areas of examination. I have tried to argue that the academic study of crime and justice, in all its forms, should take account of the importance of the media, both historically and throughout its development, in helping an understanding of the extent and form of, and also the explanations for, crime and the control of it.

To address the primary problem of racial profiling by police, many states have passed legislation that require police departments to collect demographic data on those with whom the officer comes into contact; these data are later evaluated by supervisors. The problem lies in the possibility for police officers to disengage, or depolice, when faced with data collection policies that may be viewed as lessening the officer's discretion. It was this potential to depolice as related to policy interpretation that formed the conceptual framework for this study. As a result, implementation of racial profiling policies may negatively impact the very minorities they are designed to protect. The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify and analyze the possible correlationship between statutory racial data tracking, the frequency of racial profiling discussion, the officer's time in policing, and history of disciplinary procedures for violating profiling policy in the decision to either stop or not stop a motorist when the race of that motorist is observed to be that of a racial and ethnic minority. A forward stepwise logistic regression was utilized to analyze data collected from a sample of 176 police officers in the Midwest recruited through police organizational contacts. The results showed the only significant predictor in a police officer's decision to stop or not stop a minority motorist was the presence of a state statute requiring the collection of racial profiling data. This information can be useful to administrators and policy makers in addressing allegations of racial profiling. Understanding the influence of mandated racial profiling data collection policies on police officer behavior offers potential explanation when analyzing individual officer minority contact ratios, and may prompt policy revision to effect equal treatment of all citizens regardless of race or ethnicity.

La guerre et son étude ont pendant longtemps été un domaine appartenant au champ des sciences politiques, car elle relevait de la sphère inter étatique. Suite aux deux grandes guerres du 20 siècle, le droit et la sociologie s'y sont intéressés et ont d'ailleurs développé des concepts ainsi que des théories afin d'aborder la guerre: que ce soit le droit international et la pénalisation de certains comportements à travers un système de justice international où que ce soit par l'étude des acteurs et des mouvements de la guerre. Or, la criminologie en tant que discipline des sciences sociales spécialisée dans l'étude du crime, la pénologie du crime et les politiques de contrôle de la criminalité ne s'est pas ou très peu aventurée dans l'étude des guerres et plus précisément dans l'étude des crimes de guerre. Cette recherche se veut un exercice pratique de l'application de théories criminologiques à un cas présentant une situation de crime de guerre. Le choix s'est arrêté sur l'affaire somalienne de 1993, une situation délicate bien connue par le public canadien de par sa vaste médiatisation. Pour cette étude, nous cherchions à évaluer et à sonder l'utilité d'une application de théories criminologiques en choisissant comme objet d'étude l'interprétation des membres des propres Forces canadiennes des évènements de l'affaire somalienne les. Compte tenu l'univers technique des militaires, ainsi que la complexité de l'affaire somalienne, cette étude ne cherchera pas à contribuer à l'étude des interprétations sociales des crimes de guerre, mais elle évaluera le processus d'application de deux théories criminologiques à cet objet d'étude. Nos choix méthodologiques ont dans leur ensemble constitué une partie de notre objet de recherche. À travers une méthode qualitative, nous avons recueilli et choisi deux témoignages de militaires de la Commission d'enquête royale et d'un des procès à la cour martiale à travers desquels s'insérait un récit des évènements. L'analyse narrative a été appliquée permettant de déceler des caractéristiques narratives quant au contenu, mais également quant à la fonction du narrateur de ces récits. Bien que l'échantillon choisi est très limité l'analyse du matériel a permit de tirer certaines tendances. L'analyse de la mobilisation des cadres normatifs pour définir le caractère déviant ainsi que celle de la gestion des problèmes sous la perspective de la profession à dans les deux cas permis d'identifier qu'il existe plusieurs interprétations des évènements et ce, malgré la culture sociale militaire et la même formation académique à caractère militaire. D'autre part, ces deux analyses indiquent que la position hiérarchique du militaire devient un facteur important non seulement lorsque vient le moment de définir le crime de guerre, mais également quant à la gestion du problème suite à ces évènements. Ainsi, bien que les militaires partagent des caractéristiques sociales, professionnelles et culturelles communes, ce sera plutôt l'appartenance au groupe militaire et plus encore la position hiérarchique occupée au sein de l'institution qui influencent l'interprétation des militaires par rapport à des situations telles que les crimes de guerre. Au delà de ces résultats, cette étude vise plutôt à contribuer au débat quant à l'absence des études sur les crimes de guerre en criminologie.

This thesis considers the criminalisation of environmentally harmful corporate behaviour in Scotland, examining environmental law in Scotland through the lens of green criminology. The objective is to reach a conclusion as to whether an ecological extension of the criminal law, criminalising more corporate created environmental harms in Scotland, would increase protection of the environment. The aims of the thesis are threefold: firstly, it aims to rationalise the application of an ecological perspective to law. This is done in a literature review of green criminology and eco-philosophy, with particular attention paid to eco-critical criminologists. Secondly, it aims to explain that an extension of the criminal law to criminalise more environmentally harmful corporate behaviours would be both valuable and legitimate under the liberty limiting principles underlying the Scottish criminal system. This is achieved through an explanation of the theory of criminal law and applying the lens of green criminology to the principles which control the Scottish criminal system. Thirdly, the thesis aims to provide a description of the current legal framework that controls companies in Scotland, achieved by describing corporate structure and liability and current environmental protection in Scotland. The concluding analysis finds that increased criminalisation, based on the insights of green criminologists, would not be an effective mode of protecting the environment from harms caused by companies in Scotland.

Violence is considered a public health problem in the United States, yet little is known about the benefit of using a combined epidemiology and criminology (EpiCrim) approach to focus on urban youth gun violence. The purpose of this general qualitative study was to determine in what ways Akers and Lanier's EpiCrim approach in tandem with Benet's polarities of democracy approach is explanatory of gun homicides by youth in U.S. urban areas and if the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System adequately addresses gun abatement measures. Data were collected through semi structured interviews of 16 criminal justice practitioners and medical professionals with experience relative to juvenile justice policies pertaining to gun violence. Interview data were inductively coded, then subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. The findings indicate that EpiCrim provides a platform to focus research efforts on complex issues that are drivers for behavioral risk factors associated with youth gun violence in urban areas. Participants perceive a necessity for legislative revisions supporting gun violence research and the reduction of privacy issues that pose barriers to EpiCrim research. EpiCrim research can provide data that help identify the root cause of youth gun violence in urban areas, and the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System does not fully address gun abatement measures. The positive social change implications stemming from this study include recommendations to local, state, and federal legislatures to explore legislative action to incorporate EpiCrim strategies as a method to reduce gun violence among youth in urban communities.

An estimated 200,000 juveniles are tried as adults yearly and receive punitive sentences intended to deter juvenile crime and increase public safety. Few qualitative studies on juveniles sentenced as adults and contradictory results indicate a need for further research. This study used a qualitative, phenomenological interpretive design, with the conceptual frameworks of general and specific deterrence and rational choice theories. In-depth interviews took place with 12 incarcerated adults serving sentences (24--540 months) for juvenile crimes. The research questions explored their knowledge of transfer laws and adult sentencing and perceptions of deterrence from future criminal activity. Coding of transcripts and audio files was distilled into meaning units following the hermeneutical tradition, and triangulation was used to identify overarching themes and patterns. Findings revealed that no participants understood application of transfer to adult court to them, and 10 (83%) revealed ignorance of juvenile transfer laws. Thus, they did not weigh costs or benefits prior to offending (general deterrence) or exercise rational decision making; however, 11 (92%) would have reconsidered offending if they were aware of adult sentences. Half admitted the impacts of incarceration would not deter them from future offending (no specific deterrence), and half believed negative factors would prevent recidivism. Study results can prompt further research in juvenile offenders' knowledge and decisions regarding adult sentencing. Implications for social change include dissemination of findings to deter adolescents from criminal behavior. Findings may also aid policymakers' reevaluation and revision of sentencing policies for juvenile offenders to help prevent juvenile crime and recidivism and increase public safety.

En esta investigación a nivel de doctorado, se busca discutir las transformaciones ocurridas en la política criminal nacional de las últimas décadas del siglo pasado que, a partir de la Constitución de la República vigente, adoptó el paradigma del consenso como la principal forma de solución de conflictos de naturaleza penal. Después de cotejar el Sistema de Juzgados Especiales idealizado para cumplir la misión constitucional con las teorías preventivas y deslegitimadoras, será posible confirmar la adherencia de los institutos despenalizantes, creados por la Ley n. 9.099/95, a los postulados de los movimientos abolicionistas, especialmente a partir de los pensamientos de Nils Chistie. A propósito de esta constatación y delante de la percepción de que los resultados prácticos derivados de la inejecución de esta política alternativa han resultado en el incremento exponencial del número de personas privadas de libertad, serán abordadas las causas y las consecuencias de esta contradicción a fin de reparar las incompatibilidades y apuntar posibles soluciones. La metodología empleada encuentra soporte en la experiencia de la práctica jurisdiccional y tiene base en referenciales teóricos. El objetivo de este proyecto es confirmar que el uso del modelo de justicia penal consensual brasilero, se alinea a los dictados constitucionales y a la realidad contemporánea, caracterizada por la complejidad del fenómeno criminal. La principal hipótesis es demostrar que, aunque la política criminal trazada por el constituyente brasilero haya determinado la adopción de un sesgo alternativo para el ejercicio del control social, las incapacidades técnicas de los actores jurídicos y la resistencia de las corrientes teóricas minimalistas al paradigma abolicionista han resultado en el avance de los modelos punitivos. La superación de estas vicisitudes implica el cambio de la cultura de la lógica del conflicto para la del consenso y, además de eso, traspasa la comprensión de que la diversidad de los fenómenos conflictivos no cabe apenas en una única moldura resolutiva, razón por la cual será en la confluencia de paradigmas – abolicionistas y minimalistas – la mejor opción de afrontamiento.
En aquesta recerca a nivell de doctorat, es busca discutir les transformacions ocorregudes en la política criminal nacional de les últimes dècades del segle passat que, a partir de la Constitució de la República vigent, va adoptar el paradigma del consens com la principal forma de solució de conflictes de naturalesa penal. Després d'acarar el Sistema de Jutjats Especials idealitzat per complir la missió constitucional amb les teories preventives i deslegitimadoras, serà possible confirmar l'adherència dels instituts despenalizantes, creats per la Llei n. 9.099/95, als postulats dels moviments abolicionistes, especialment a partir dels pensaments de Nils Chistie. A propòsit d'aquesta constatació i davant de la percepció que els resultats pràctics derivats de la inejecución d'aquesta política alternativa han resultat en l'increment exponencial del nombre de persones privades de llibertat, seran abordades les causes i les conseqüències d'aquesta contradicció a fi de reparar les incompatibilitats i apuntar possibles solucions. La metodologia emprada troba suport en l'experiència de la pràctica jurisdiccional i té base en referencials teòrics. L'objectiu d'aquest projecte és confirmar que l'ús del model de justícia penal consensual brasilero, s'alinea als dictats constitucionals i a la realitat contemporània, caracteritzada per la complexitat del fenomen criminal. La principal hipòtesi és demostrar que, encara que la política criminal traçada pel constituent brasilero hagi determinat l'adopció d'un biaix alternatiu per a l'exercici del control social, les incapacitats tècniques dels actors jurídics i la resistència dels corrents teòrics minimalistes al paradigma abolicionista han resultat en l'avanç dels models punitius. La superació d'aquestes vicissituds implica el canvi de la cultura de la lògica del conflicte per la del consens i, a més d'això, traspassa la comprensió que la diversitat dels fenòmens conflictius no cap amb prou feines en una única motllura resolutiva, raó per la qual serà en la confluència de paradigmes – abolicionistes i minimalistes – la millor opció de afrontar-ho.
The present doctorate level investigation aims to discuss the transformations that occurred in the national criminal justice policy during the final decades of the past century which, starting from the promulgation of the current Federal Constitution, adopted the paradigm of consensus as the main means of solution of conflicts of a criminal nature. After drawing a comparison between the Special Criminal Courts system, developed to fulfill the constitutional aim, and the preventive and de-legitimizing theories, it will be possible to confirm the adherence of the decriminalizing institutes, created by Law n. 9.099/95, to the postulates of the abolitionist movements, especially in view on Nils Christie's thoughts. Regarding this verification and in light of the perception that the practical results ensued from the non-enforcement of this alternative policy resulted on an exponential increase in the number of people deprived of freedom, the causes and consequences of such contradiction will be analyzed in order to observe the incompatibilities and propose potential solutions. The employed methodology finds support in the experience of jurisdictional practice and is based on theoretical frameworks. The goal of this project is to confirm that the usage of the consensual criminal justice model is aligned with the constitutional dictates and the current reality, characterized by the complexity of the criminal phenomenon. The main hypothesis is to demonstrate that, although the criminal policy outlined by the Brazilian constituent has determined the adoption of an alternative bias towards the exercise of social control, the technical insufficiencies of the legal agents and the resistance offered by the minimalist line of thought against the abolitionist paradigm has produced an intensification of the punitive models. The overcoming of such flaws requires a cultural shift from the logic of conflict to that of consensus and, furthermore, demands the comprehension that the diversity of conflict phenomena cannot be contained within a single resolutive frame. For that reason, the confluence of both paradigms - abolitionist and minimalist - poses the best option.

This dissertation explores the construction of humanitarian insecurity as a social problem; more particularly, it suggests the rise of a moral panic about a perceived "new and growing threat" to humanitarian actors in the post-Cold \Vax era. Whilst there is nothing that has radically changed in the nature of the threat to humanitarian actors throughout the twentieth century and earlier, the grmving perception of "shrinking humanitarian space" has encouraged the adoption of security policies that deepen the conditions for some of the problems that humanitarian actors face today. By linking moral panic theory with Bourdieu's social theory, this thesis shows that disproportionate reactions to humanitarian security can be sociologically understood, not as a collective mistake in understanding, but, rather, as a meaningful response to effects of hysteresis in the field of humanitarian aid. Particularly, it shows that the collapse of faith in the pre-modem humanitarian system and the rise of new ways of working "on" rather than "in" conflict precipitated a deeper sense of disorientation about what humanitarian actors stand for in the post-Cold War era. This, in turn, has provided a fertile ground for a moral panic about humanitarian insecurity to take root and flourish, as well as for humanitarian security experts to promote the adoption of a 'culture of security' across the aid community in an effective way. By encouraging reflexivity about the social processes and relations through which specific types of knowledge on humanitarian insecurity are transfonned into power, this dissertation helps develop a critical criminology of aid that breaks with expert and media predispositions towards the status quo and engages with the ways in which existing power structures directly contribute to the very "problem" of humanitarian insecurity.

This PhD thesis consists of two sections, each supported by a bibliography. The critical commentary reflects on the research and writing process I embarked upon for my doctoral novel and how I drew upon criminological theory and research to inform it. Also examined is how contemporary writers of crime fiction might best use the resources offered by criminological research. I chose to write a historical rather than contemporary novel about criminology to explore the influence that historical ideas about crime might have on the way we perceive it today; to examine, challenge and critique dominant nineteenth-century theories about the female offender and their present day legacy, specifically by creating strong female characters including plausible female villains and basing my characterization on the history and theory of criminology; and to look at the beginnings of the modern ‘scientific’ approach to crime, as typified by one of my central real life characters, the ‘father’ of modern criminology, Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909). My intention was to use Lombroso’s second major study, La Donna Deliquente (or Criminal Woman) with a view to considering how criminology can be used in writing crime fiction. Drawing on relevant examples from both criminological literature and fiction, the critical commentary begins by discussing Lombroso’s ideas together with the scientific and cultural context of those ideas and their legacy and their influence on my writing of the novel. Lombroso’s work and that of his contemporaries is then further explored through the representations of the female offender in nineteenth-century fiction and historical crime fiction set in the period that I drew on when researching the novel. The writing of The Devil’s Daughters is then examined, focusing on the roles of its female characters and how criminological theories informed my own creative process. I conclude by discussing examples of criminological theories that have featured in contemporary crime fiction and making suggestions of how they might be drawn on in the future, thus enriching both forms. The Devil’s Daughters, my doctoral novel, set in Turin in 1888, is a historical crime thriller that describes an investigation into a series of murders of young women. I introduce the work of Cesare Lombroso and his assistant Salvatore Ottolenghi (also a character in the novel), and make extensive use of Lombroso’s work in framing the story including quotations at the beginning of each chapter. As well as a young Scottish hero, there are several strong female characters who play dominant roles in the narrative, either as detectives or perpetrators thus challenging late nineteenth century attitudes towards female offenders.

Employee Assistance Programmes are considered to have grown immensely since an EAP was first introduced in 1986 and formally structured (EAPA-SA, 2010). The first EAPA-SA standards document was developed in 1999 and revised in 2005 and 2010 to ensure it reflects local and international best practices. The goal of the study was to explore the EAP practices of EAPA-SA members benchmarked against EAPA-SA standards. A survey was conducted by a group of students with EAP professionals, specifically registered as EAPA-SA members in 2014, under the supervision of Prof. L. S. Terblanche. The researcher identified the need to benchmark existing EAP practices against the EAPA-SA Standards document to assess whether these practices fulfil their purpose. The research focused on assessing the Monitoring and Evaluation standards of EAPs as applied in SA practices, benchmarked against EAPA-SA standards. The findings reveal less than half of respondents confirmed the existence of a monitoring and evaluation strategy in their practices. Less than half confirmed that monitoring is performed by their EAPs. Evaluation responses were alarming, as few confirmed evaluation of their EAPs. EAP core technologies are also covered by but a few respondents. Internal EAP practitioners were identified as the main persons responsible for monitoring and evaluation. Low percentages of respondents confirmed carrying out EAP evaluations. Avoidance of monitoring and evaluation may be due to anxieties and embarrassment that could arise from any negative findings of the EAP. It is crucial to engage outside, trained evaluators for programme monitoring and evaluation for the purpose of objective programme evaluation.
Mini Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
Social Work and Criminology
MSW
Unrestricted

Despite the undeniable significance of the `race and crime' stream in criminology, knowledge held by minority ethnic groups on these matters is still much overlooked. It is this gap in the literature that this thesis begins to fill, based on both fieldwork and documentary research. The case-study through which the importance of minority ethnic views is investigated is a Bradford Pakistani one. The neglect by academic criminological accounts of a systematic analysis of minorities' views, and their cultural specificities, may be imputed in part to the fear of pathologisation. On the other hand, many media accounts seem to look at alleged `dysfunctionalities' of certain groups. After September 11th 2001 and July 7th 2005, Muslim communities seem particularly susceptible to negative stereotyping. The research looks at `cultural agency', avoiding ill-fitted generalisation and stereotypes based on an imposed essentialisation of the Bradford Pakistani community. This thesis analyses Bradford Pakistanis' perceptions of crime and its production, construction, sanctioning and prevention, through an `emic' approach. Thus, emic units are discovered by the analyst in the specific reality of a study and the social actors, rather than created by her/him a priori, or by imposing universal categories created for other settings. Through collecting perceptions around crime ethnographically, the research revealed that Bradford Pakistanis' perceptions of crime and control are a combination of the formal and informal, or British and `traditional' Pakistani, that are no longer separable in the diasporic context. The emic of cultural agency can be said to legitimise the term community criminology, but not in the sense that Bradford Pakistanis possess exclusive and monolithic criminological discourses, labelling, preventive strategies and rehabilitation practices. Rather, they engage with mainstream criminological and policy discourses in a way that might well be considered a kind of reflection representative of the position of their diaspora: community for them does not only include their traditional structures but all the intracommunal and intercommunal relations that are meaningful to them, both as resources and constraints.

This study entitled Non-clinical service practice standards in South African Employee Assistance Programmes was conducted by Moses Dumisani Kubheka following a discussion between the study leader Prof. Terblanche and the MSW class of 2012. It was however, discovered that EAPA-SA Standards document has merely been based on work study group and document analysis. The need for empirical study was therefore necessitated. The goal of the study was to explore through benchmarking the extent to which non-clinical services are implemented in the practice in a South African context. This research had an applied research goal since the findings will bring about improvement in the field of EAP. The study was approached in a quantitative paradigm. The study had an explorative and descriptive research purpose. A survey design was applied in the study and non-experimental design as no variable were manipulated. An on-line questionnaire was compiled after an intense literature review on non-clinical services was conducted. The questionnaire was designed using Qualtrics an IT software programme for on-line collection and analysis of quantitative data. (See annexure 4). No sampling was done as all registered EAPA-SA members for the year 2014 were involved in the study. Participants were provided with the link to access the on-line questionnaire and complete it anonymously. The data from completed questionnaires were cleaned and all which were 30 minutes and less were eliminated as the criteria that was set during piloting was 45 minutes and more. The total of 64 responses were analysed; interpreted and presented in a form of tables. It has been discovered through empirical study that, the majority of EAPA-SA membership is females form public sector. Some of the respondents are not directly involved on the production level, but occupies positions as managers and related fields, consultants responsible for training and lecturing in the field of EAP, while others are responsible for the EAP and wellness field in a combined manner. The majority of the respondents (60%) is aware of the EAPA-SA Standards document, however, respondents with more years of experience in the EAP field seem not to utilise the EAPA-SA Standards document, but solely rely on their experience. Reasons and views for non-utilisation of the Standards document, ranged from no access to the Standards document, not aware of the Standards document and the impracticality of the Standards document. Organisational consultation practice as a core technology is confirmed by most of the respondents (48%). A structured process during organisational consultation is confirmed by 45%. Some of the respondents responded that consultation is seen as Human Resource Management function and if practiced, its only in crisis situation. Dependents of employees are less involved during consultation. HR matters in general, seem to be the matter most frequently consulted about. Training seem to be practice by the majority of the respondents across all sectors. Reasons for no EAP training ranged from: not part of the policy, lack of knowledge, nor part of SOP, capacity limitation, no independent EAP section, not the role of the consultant and training is too expensive. First-line supervisors seem to be group mostly targeted during supervisory training and EAP services, confidentiality, role of supervisors and referral procedure seem to be the most common content of training. Moreover, data projector, training manuals and brochures seem to be the most utilised training aids, whilst role-plays, emails, case study seem to be less frequently utilised. Marketing of EAP in practice is done by internal EAP staff in almost all sectors. Marketing strategy is confirmed by the majority from full-time private practice, while application of the seven Ps of marketing mix is confirmed only by 37% of EAP professionals and mostly from the public sector which may be an indication of limited knowledge of theoretical concept. Meetings, brochures and internet seem to be the methods commonly utilised to market EAP.
Mini Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
Social Work and Criminology
MSW
Unrestricted

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
Este trabalho tem como questão principal compreender a fomentação das propostas penalizantes e despenalizantes em nossa organização social. Sua área de investigação se destina aos saberes político-criminais que subsidiam tanto as práticas governativas de administração pública e disciplinarização dos corpos, a partir de processos de criminalização de atos e pessoas, quanto as propostas contemporâneas de abolição desses mecanismos. Para tanto, o presente estudo partiu do exame das técnicas de resolução de conflitos em circunstâncias distantes dos poderes característicos da justiça estatal. Respaldadas na forma do velho direito germânico, apreciamos as articulações políticas e administrativas das sociedades da Germânia Antiga à época queinexistiam uma justiça centralizada para solucionar acontecimentos danosos ou conflitantes em seu cotidiano. Em seguida, ao passar por elementos constitutivos do direito canônico, examinamos as ressonâncias das premissas de pecado e de culpa - advindas da moral escolástica - na constituição do conceito de crime como um evento infracional e penalizável. Adentramos, a seguir, na análise do complexo de processos sociais, políticos e econômicos que formalizaram o modelo de justiça criminal através da consolidação do Estado absolutista. A partir da institucionalização da ideia de crime, com atenção especial ao panorama político e econômico da época, ponderamos também as referências filosóficas que compunham o cenário de emergência de diversas teorias crimino-penais. Emergidas de um repertório de combate às monarquias administrativas, apresentamos as proposições da Escola Clássica da criminologia, concernente às formulações apontadas na obra “Dos delitos e das penas” (1764) de Cesare Beccaria. A seguir,...
This work has the main issue to understand the fomentation of the proposals penalizing or not existing in our social organization. His area of study is aimed at knowledge political-criminal that supports both the governance practices of public administration and disciplining of bodies, from processes of criminalization of acts and people, as the contemporary proposals for abolition of these mechanisms. Therefore, this study came from examining the practices of conflict resolution in circumstances remote from the power characteristic of the state justice. Backed in the form of the old Germanic law, we appreciate the joints and administrative policies of the former societies of Germany at the time that did not exist a centralized justice to resolve conflicting or harmful events in their daily lives. Then, while passing by the constituent elements of canon law, we examine the resonances of the premises of sin and guilt - stemming from the moral scholasticism - the constitution of the concept of crime as an event and penalizável infraction. We entered, then the analysis of complex processes of social, political and economic problems that have formalized the model of criminal justice from the consolidation of the absolutist state. From the institutionalization of the concept of crime, with special attention to political and economic landscape of the time, also ponder the philosophical references that formed the backdrop for the emergence of several theories criminals, criminal cases. Emerged in a repertoire to combat administrative monarchies, we present the Classical School of Criminology, concerning the formulations presented in the book Of Crimes and punishment ...(Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Orientador: Joel Sales Giglio
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campionas, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas
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Resumo: O presente trabalho objetiva a investigação psicanalítica do imaginário coletivo de homicidas acerca do matar. Compreendendo o método psicanalítico como um método investigativo nas ciências humanas e partindo de um paradigma intersubjetivo, realizamos seis entrevistas individuais para a abordagem da pessoalidade coletiva da pessoa que comete homicídio - réus confessos do crime de homicídio do Centro de Ressocialização de Mogi Mirim, SP - acerca do ato de matar. Valemo-nos de uma mediação dialógica conhecida como Procedimento Desenhos-Estórias com Tema, desenvolvida por Aiello-Vaisberg. As entrevistas foram realizadas dentro da própria Unidade prisional referida, mediante convites aos participantes, antecedidos por pesquisas em prontuário criminológico. A partir das entrevistas, narrativas transferenciais sobre o acontecer clínico foram confeccionadas; o material, considerado psicanaliticamente à luz da Teoria dos Campos de Herrmann e de interlocução com o pensamento winnicottiano, foi tomado para a captação dos campos de sentido afetivo-emocional que organizam o imaginário coletivo estudado. O quadro geral permitiu a organização das concepções imaginativas enquanto emergentes de três campos de sentido afetivoemocional: "Acontecimento fatídico "Um mundo próprio"; e "Dramática humana". A partir deste estudo, criamos/encontramos três motivações que poderiam estar sustentando o ato de matar no Imaginário Coletivo de nossos entrevistados
Abstract: This paper is intended as a psychoanalytical investigation of the collective imagination of murderers on killing. In our understanding of the psychoanalytical method as an investigative method for the Humanities, and with an intersubjective paradigm as the starting point, we conducted six personal interviews for an approach to the collective personality of people who commit murder - defendants who admitted to have committed murder and are undergoing reeducation at the Resocialization Center of Mogi Mirim, SP - regarding the act of killing, [and] we resorted to a dialogic mediation known as Procedure Drawings-Story with Theme, developed by Aiello-Vaisberg. The interviews were conducted inside the prison facility itself through invitations extended to those undergoing participants, preceded by research of criminal records in order to locate those who were serving sentences for the aforementioned crime. With the interviews as a starting point, transferential narratives on clinical events were carefully prepared; the material, considered psychoanalytically under the light of Herrmann's Field Theory and an interlocution with Winnicottian thought, was considered in order to capture the affective-emotional sense fields that organize the Collective Imaginary subject to study. This overview allowed imaginative conceptions to be organized while emerging from three affective-emotional sense fields: "fateful event"; "one's own world" and "human dramatics," which is organized around the belief that human living, a very complex phenomenon, encompasses both destructive and violent deeds and constructive and kind deeds, and such deeds are capable of being done by every human being. We concluded that, based on this study, three motives could be supporting the Collective Imaginary for the conduct of the interviewed murderers
Mestrado
Ciencias Biomedicas
Mestre em Ciências Médicas

Projeto de Graduação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Licenciada em Criminologia
A violência doméstica, contrariamente ao que se possa pensar, é um fenómeno de longa data e de extrema gravidade, que todos os anos regista números inimagináveis de denúncias e vítimas mortais no mundo. Associados a estes a números está muitas vezes o consumo de álcool, considerado um fator de risco, que continua a servir de justificação para estes atos, o que leva a que muitas vítimas acabem por não denunciar. Assim, constitui-se como propósito do presente trabalho perceber se o crime de violência doméstica está ou não mais presente em famílias onde o consumo de álcool é habitual e entender como o Criminólogo, no exercício das suas funções, pode prevenir e atuar para diminuir os casos de violência doméstica associados ao consumo de álcool.
Domestic violence, contrary to what one might think, it is a longstanding phenomenon and of extreme gravity, which every year registers unimaginable numbers of accusations and fatalities in all four corners of the world. Associated with these numbers is often the consumption of alcohol, considered a risk factor, but which continues to serve as an excuse for such acts, which means that many victims end up not reporting. Thus, the intent of the present study is to understand whether or not the crime of domestic violence is more present in families where alcohol consumption is usual and understand how the Criminologist, in the exercise of their functions, can prevent and act to reduce cases of violence domestic associated with alcohol consumption.
N/A

For decades, research has consistently demonstrated that minorities are overrepresented in the prison population, yet relatively little is known about whether juror perceptions about race and criminal culpability may impact this problem in the United States. Using Hill's folk theory of race and racism as the theoretical foundation, this cross sectional study examined the relationship between perceptions of the race of the defendant and the verdicts to be handed down. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 25 people who self-reported having served on a jury or were eligible for jury service within the past 5 years in a southwest Georgia community. The instrument used was original and designed to capture basic demographics of the respondents and perceptions about traits of the criminal defendants and their criminal culpability. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests to examine whether participants' perceptions of race, income, and education of the defendant were statistically associated. Income and educational ranges were assigned to the defendants. Findings revealed 76% of respondents believed that baggy clothes are predictors of criminality. Furthermore, 72% of participants associated baggy pants with African Americans. It is possible that a correlation exists between associating African Americans with baggy pants and baggy clothes with criminality. Chi square results indicate that participants' beliefs of whether defendants were 'likely or extremely likely' to commit criminal offenses based on race, education level, and income of the defendants were not statistically significant. These findings may be important to court systems in terms of better understanding race relations in the United States as it relates to justice system equality.

Employer Attitudes and Beliefs About Hiring Post-Incarcerated Offenders in Mississippi by Ora Starks MS, Criminal Justice, 1999 BS, Criminal Justice,1994 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Human Services Program Criminal Justice Specialization Walden University May 2018

Past research has shown that many youths in the United States age out of foster care group homes unprepared for independent living. Lack of connections to adults, low educational attainment, and homelessness are negative outcomes that have been linked to incarceration for youth who age out of foster care. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine how well the independent variables of connection to adults, educational attainment, and homelessness predict the dependent variable of likelihood of incarceration for African American males (n = 504) within 3 years after aging out of foster care group homes. The Bridges transition model was the theoretical framework for this study. Data came from the archived National Youth Transitional Database. Logistic regression revealed that connection to adults, educational attainment, and homelessness were not statistically significant predictors ("Ï?2 = 4.64,df = 3,p > .05) " of the likelihood of incarceration for African American males within 3 years of aging out of foster care group homes. The Nagelkerke R2 value showed that the independent variables accounted for only 2.9% of variance in the model. Additional research is needed to determine what services, skills, or resources African American males may need to minimize the likelihood of being incarcerated after aging out of foster care. Findings from this study could contribute to social change by providing professionals in human services and other fields with empirical evidence that there is a need to extend the range of services provided to African American males in foster care to minimize the likelihood of them experiencing incarceration after aging out of foster care.

Within the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice system, juvenile delinquency referrals have decreased, yet at the same time, juvenile recidivism rates continue to challenge policy makers. Using Hirschi's social learning theory as the foundation, the purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions of juvenile justice professionals about their experiences with youthful offenders in order to determine the causes of juvenile recidivism. Data came from in-depth interviews with 9 participants including state attorneys, judges, and mental health counselors from within the central region of the state of Florida. Data were analyzed and coded using Colaizzi's method. Two primary themes emerged from the analysis of data: First, participants perceived that the influence of peers and factors such as environment, family criminal and mental health history, substance and abuse, truancy have a significant effect on juvenile recidivism. Second, participants perceived that parent bonding is the most important factor in reducing recidivism among juveniles aged 17 and 18 years old. The positive social change implications of this study include recommendations to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice to implement, modify, and improve services and policy to reduce recidivism for juveniles aged 17 and 18 years old. This implementation, modification, and improvement may reduce recidivism among this subgroup of juvenile delinquents and may reduce the number of young adults entering the criminal justice system.

In 2017, Louisiana had the highest incarceration rate in the nation with 1,420 of every 100,000 adult males being placed in a state or local penitentiary. To address this issue, a series of criminal justice reforms were passed within the Louisiana legislature that released thousands of former offenders back into the community. The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand the attitudes, thoughts, and opinions of citizens in a single Louisiana city regarding ex-offender re-integration and disparities within the criminal justice system. March and Olsen's Rational Choice Institutionalism was used to explain how environment impacts individual perception and choices at the community and political level with policy implications. Data were obtained through interviews with 22 citizens from the selected city. Data were coded using a deductive iterative coding process, then subjected to thematic analysis. The findings indicated that the construction of perceptions on disparities within the criminal justice system and ex-offender reintegration was primarily formed through volunteerism, personal experiences, observations, conversations with others, exposure to different cultures, mass media, and family upbringing. Several factors were involved in residents formulating perceptions on the criminal justice system and ex-offender reintegration. These factors are embedded in the structures of mass media, community, political, educational, social, and economic systems. The results of this study may impact social change by informing policymakers about the necessity to construct policies focused on acknowledging and addressing current structural and systemic criminal justice policies that are respectful of the experiences and needs of restored citizens as well as citizens from all communities.

Gun violence is a problem in many communities across the United States that are characterized by poverty, and lack of quality education, yet little is known about the experiences of victims of gun violence in these places. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to better understand how people who have been victims of gun violence perceive problems and solutions associated with the production, distribution, and ownership of guns. Based on the theoretical framework of Rousseau's social contract theory, this study explored gun violence from the perspectives of 10 victims whose lives were directly or indirectly affected by gun violence to understand how victims perceive the obligations of government to the governed in terms of response to gun violence. Data from individual interviews were subjected to selective and open coding followed by a thematic analysis procedure. The key findings from this study revealed that gun violence victims were able to differentiate between the intended use of firearms and its abuse. The victims associated the abuse of firearms to deteriorating social factors. In accordance with the classic premise of the social contract theory, the victims thought that the fight against gun violence needed to be led by the affected communities. The results of this study demonstrated what appeared to be a new rendition of theory, that instead of challenging local authorities, the victims opted for a leadership-based collaborative approach to eradicate the underlying social weaknesses that lead to gun violence. The conclusions drawn from this study may provide insight into appropriate measures that can aid in social uplift among affected communities, such as modifications to existing gun control laws to promote safety and efficiency and citizen collaboration toward improved regulation.

This thesis seeks to discover the extent to which popular cultural representations of crime and criminals or ‘crime from below’ is a legitimate concern for academic criminological study. In order to answer these questions the study explores the forms these representations take, their origins and development, the messages they convey, the ways in which they are mediated and how they might enhance our understanding of crime in all its forms. Also considered is the inter relationship between popular and academic criminology and the efficacy of using theoretical frameworks deployed in the analysis of cultural artefacts in criminological research. The study begins by examining the nature and origins of crime from below followed by a consideration of the role of the ‘new media’ - film, television and the Internet. It then turns its attention to the nature of the relationship between crime from below and academic criminology. This is achieved by considering the characteristics and popularity of crime as popular culture and the reasons for the discipline’s wariness of its study. The second part of the study comprises five case studies in which popular cultural representations of crime and criminals in their various forms, including images, press coverage, television documentaries and true crime literature are analysed, applying theoretical frameworks used in the study of media and popular culture. These examine the ways in which analyses using such material might add to criminological knowledge. The final conclusion of the thesis is that although we should be aware of its limitations, the study of ‘crime from below’ considerably enhances our understanding of crime, capturing in particular the extent to which representations give us a valuable alternative viewpoint. It is therefore not merely legitimate but crucial.

Bibliography: leaves 62-66.
In order to assist honours students and researchers in the Criminology Department at theUniversity of Cape Town to fully utilise resources available through the Internet and other online databases, an online electronic research skills tutorial was developed and implemented. The aim of this research is to assess whether this tutorial is a useful and efficient method of imparting information literacy skills and assisting users to use the rich array of information available electronically. The concept of information literacy is reviewed internationally and in South Africa, in order to place this research within this framework. Concepts of benchmarking and best practice are examined to assess whether the tutorial meets these criteria. Internet trainer certification is studied as well as the importance of linking information tutorials to specific subjects and integrating them with the curriculum. In developing and implementing this tutorial, other information literacy initiatives and Internet tutorials were examined to provide background information and to inform the construction of the tutorial. Initiatives at the University of Cape Town were explored to avoid duplication and overlap and to build on prior training of students and researchers. The practical component of this research reviews the implementation of the tutorial with 13 participants. The participants completed pre-tutorial assessment questionnaires, using open and closed questions, to assess their knowledge and skills. The questionnaire responses were scored on a scale of I to 5 and represented in graphical form. The participants completed the online tutorial, which introduced important sites for criminologists that can be found on the Internet as well as in other electronic databases, and explored how to use the Internet to support research. The tools and techniques to improve Internet searching were reviewed with the participants, as was the critical thinking needed to evaluate information found on the Internet. A post-course evaluation was completed to assess whether the participants had found this a useful experience, whether the course was at an appropriate level and whether the objectives of the course had been achieved. A self-administered follow-up evaluation questionnaire was completed 2 to 3 months after completion of the tutorial in order to assess whether the information contained in the tutorial had been used, sites visited and whether in retrospect, the participants found the experience a useful one. The findings of these questionnaires are analysed and presented in graphical form on a scale of 1 to 5. The analysis of the research shows that the participants of this case study found the experience of doing thc online research skills tutorial a valuable one and that it assisted in developing new skills and in providing a window into all the electronic resources available in their field.

A new approach to 'Third World' criminology is called for and I will propose in this thesis that the study of 'crime' in the 'Third World' should produce a 'cultural criminology' based on the 'cultural specificity' of a particular society. Central features in achieving 'cultural criminology' are cultural specificity and the cultural context within which all social interaction is located. Cultural specificity as applied to a society is primarily derived from ethnographic materials and should include an account of the pre-history and historical changes within that culture, an analysis of the commonalties and differences (where there are diverse cultures within a State) and an explicit statement of local definitions and conceptions of notions such as 'offence', 'justice' and 'reparation'. To be culturally specific is to present a "bottom-up" approach complementing and informing the customary analyses grounded in the political, economic and structural aspects of a society. This study seeks to determine cultural specificity in four societies within the nation of Papua New Guinea, a country made up of many diverse cultural groups and where more than 8000 languages are spoken. Western notions of "crime" and "offence" are discarded in favour of a search for local definitions and a central theme of this work is the cultural specificity of 'violence'. The notion of 'violence' is problematised and replaced with a contextual analysis of 'responses to injury' (grievances). Linking this analysis with a reinterpretation of decisions of the National and Supreme Courts in serious crimes of 'violence' produces knowledge about a range of responses, beliefs, values, expectations of conduct, the centrality of relationships, requirements for reciprocity and reconciliation, notions of justice and justifications, which, when taken together tend to suggest that despite modernisation, changes have been appropriate into a local conceptual framework for responding to and dealing with injuries.

To inform an emerging cartographic criminology, this thesis considers cartographic and geographic literatures that are not often present in criminological research. It offers both an historical overview of the way crime has traditionally been mapped within criminological discourse; and a critical review of contemporary crime mapping as an empirical criminological practice. It argues that contemporary "geographies of crime" are too often constructed in very abstract and dehumanising ways. As a result, they obfuscate and thus hamper our true understanding of the spatial dimension of crime. Cartographic criminology reconciles the relevant literatures in several vast disciplines (cartography, geography, criminology, and sociology) to address the growing use of crime and crime control maps. Focus is placed on dozens of different types of maps as case studies in this thesis to assist in developing a critical understanding of the many roles maps play, along with their consequences. By exploring these literatures and emphasising imagination in the mapping of deviance, crime, and control, cartographic criminology (re)imagines ways maps inform and shape our criminological knowledge. Cartographic criminology undertakes conventional criminology’s failure to critique its employment of crime maps and the consequences of their publications. This thesis values the multitudes and significance of maps and assembles interdisciplinary knowledge to strengthen its mission. This thesis establishes a fundamental appreciation of cartography by offering a brief review of cartography and identifying the insights that this field offers as a framework for situating crime maps. Additionally, it offers an overview of criminology’s engagement with maps and demonstrates the discipline’s failure to engage with the maps that are so often used. Various branches of geography (social, political, and cultural) inform the remaining chapters which focus on maps depicting a variety of criminal and deviant activity, the acquisition of the maps, and the general consequences of their use.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Cincinnati, 2008.
Advisor: John Eck. Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed Feb.16, 2009). Keywords: environmental criminology; handlers; routine activities theory. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

Abstract The issue addressed in this study was the increasing number of prisoners in U.S. prisons and the related issue of recidivism after release. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the experiences of 8 formerly incarcerated adults. The conceptual foundation of this study was based on Bandura's self-efficacy theory and Vygotsky's concept of the zone of proximal development and transformational learning. The research question for this study inquired about how released prisoners perceive their educational experiences in the MTM program. Participants were selected among adults who were incarcerated for at least 12 months and living in the community for at least 3 to 6 months since their release and are participants in a work skills program titled "Men Transforming Men" (MTM), which is designed to develop resilience and productive work skills to increase their ability to find a job. Data were collected from 8 participants in face-to-face interviews. To identify patterns and themes, the data were transcribed and coded using a web-based software application called Dedoose. The results of this study revealed four relevant themes: personal improvement goals, connecting with family and community, early release from prison, and improving their lives outside of prison. Further findings discovered the perception of each participant pertaining to the educational program overwhelmingly voiced their feelings about getting another opportunity to change. The positive social change implications of this research involves reducing the percentage of recidivism rates of formerly incarcerated individuals in the United States by increasing the number of parolees obtaining employment after release from prison.