Criminology

An increase in the amount of high-profile incidents and attacks in the West perpetrated by individuals subscribing to a variety of extremist ideologies over the past decade has led to an influx of academic research concerned with uncovering how and why it is that individuals become radicalized toward ideologically-motivated extremist violence. While such research has examined a diverse range of social, demographic, and psychological variables and their potential link/correlation to the radicalization process, there has yet to emerge an accurate or reliable ‘profile’ with respect to who is more or less likely to become radicalized or join extremist/terrorist movements. The primary aim of this dissertation is to present a novel theoretical approach which centers the concept of individual identity as the fundamental factor which drives individuals in the West toward involvement with extremist movements. This theory of identity, which presupposes that macro-level structural factors fundamentally dictate how individuals experience and internalize identity on a micro-level, is outlined by tracing how the concept of ‘identity’ has historically evolved in ‘Western’ culture up to its current iteration in modern, hyper-connected, late-capitalist society. Once outlined, this theory of identity is empirically applied to the digital media content of two extremist movements via a mixed-method approach that utilizes topic modelling, sentiment analysis, and thematic/discourse analysis. More specifically, the content of the so-called Islamic State (including videos, magazines, and Twitter posts) and the user-generated comments of the notorious far-right online community r/The_Donald are examined through this theoretical lens and analyzed with this mixed-method approach. Results indicate that, wittingly or not, modern extremist movements routinely incorporate questions of identity into both their propaganda and general discussions in a manner that provides simplistic solutions and answers to the complex problems of identity and self that are created and amplified within modern Western culture. As such, this dissertation argues that the attraction of extremist ideology and the potential for extremist violence is, at current, an inevitable byproduct of modern macro-level structural and economic conditions.

This study examines videos produced by the al-Hayat Media Center, a branch of the Islamic State’s (IS) larger media campaign aimed more specifically at Western audiences. Using a thematic analysis approach, recurring themes of 10 al-Hayat videos were identified with conclusions made regarding the specificities of the message and the target audience. It was found that al-Hayat videos cater to potential Western recruits and sympathizers by portraying life in the IS as spiritually and existentially fulfilling, while simultaneously decrying the West as secular, immoral, and criminal. By utilizing well-produced propaganda videos that tap into the dissatisfactions of Western Muslims, al-Hayat was shown to deliver a sophisticated and legitimate message that may play a role in the larger radicalization process.

Objectives:<p>Replicate previous experimental findings on the causal effect of deviant peer modeling and assess whether the gender of peer models is an important determinant of theft.<p>Methods:<p>A randomized control trial (n = 329 university students) in which participants were randomly placed into one of four deviant peer modeling groups (control, verbal prompting, behavioral modeling, verbal prompting plus behavioral modeling) and one of three confederate gender similarity groups (same gender, different gender, mixed gender) (4 × 3 factorial design, equal randomization). The outcome was theft of a gift card. Each session included two confederates and a single participant. This feature reduced measurement error over more common approaches where groups of participants take part in the study at the same time and in which uncontrolled interactions and/or threshold effects may act as confounders.<p>Results:<p>Participants were more likely to steal when exposed to confederates who behaviorally modeled theft (15.1% stole) or offered verbal support for theft and modeled it (11.1%) compared to controls (2.5%) or when confederates only talked about stealing (1.2%) (p = .001). Participants exposed to same-gender peers (7.3%) were as likely to steal as those exposed to different gender peers (5.5%) or mixed-gender peers (9.9%) (p = .464).<p>Conclusions:<p>Behavioral modeling was found to be an important determinant of theft. This replicates previous research in the area and offers arguably the strongest support to date for the influence of deviant peer modeling. Peer gender, however, was not found to be an important etiological component of theft. External validity is a limitation.

Much recent research has focused on examining various binary contradictions and employing metaphors pertaining to border security. Ultimately, this article argues that existing debates and metaphors are inadequate in describing what is understood and agreed upon in the literature in terms of borders. This article proposes a refinement of existing theory for contemporary borders, employing Baudrillard’s concept of ‘simulation’. The metaphor of the ‘simulated border’ functions to avoid debates surrounding geospatiality while also incorporating aspects of risk society and control in concluding that borders are anything but organic security environments, with the ‘stretched screens’ of border agents serving to produce dividuals that are tested within games of security to govern mobility anywhere in time or space.

Criminologists have extensively researched the problems generated by licensed establishments. Violent offending and disorderly behavior resulting from pubs, taverns, dance clubs and bars are of particular interest to this field of study. The relative density of these liquor establishments has been found to be associated with the level of violence and disorder in surrounding areas. A complex systems approach can be used to further understand the dynamic interplay between licensed establishments, violent offending and disorder, and urban planning decisions. The model presented here utilizes cellular automata as the mathematical framework to view the varying impact of liquor licensing density on crime. This study uses a sample of liquor establishments and crime data from the City of Vancouver in British Columbia. The cellular automata model incorporates transition rules which govern the change of city blocks from low-risk blocks to high-risk blocks. The results represented by a 50 × 50 cellular grid show that high-risk blocks multiply when liquor licenses are grouped. Two scenarios are presented to contrast the impact of grouping high-risk blocks which contain more liquor establishments and dispersing such blocks. A third scenario demonstrates how increasing the positive influence in a grouped scenario stops high-risk blocks from taking over the entire grid. Future iterations of this model will incorporate census data, public transportation data, land use data and entertainment districts from other cities to further analyze the effect of licensed establishments on the distribution of crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper will determine whether expanding Insite (North America’s first and only supervised injection facility) to more locations in Canada such as Montreal, cost less than the health care consequences of not having such expanded programs for injection drug users. <p>Methods: By analyzing secondary data gathered in 2012, this paper relies on mathematical models to estimate the number of new HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) infections prevented as a result of additional SIF locations in Montreal. <p>Results: With very conservative estimates, it is predicted that the addition of each supervised injection facility (up-to a maximum of three) in Montreal will on average prevent 11 cases of HIV and 65 cases of HCV each year. As a result, there is a net cost saving of CDN$0.686 million (HIV) and CDN$0.8 million (HCV) for each additional supervised injection site each year. This translates into a net average benefit-cost ratio of 1.21: 1 for both HIV and HCV. <p>Conclusions: Funding supervised injection facilities in Montreal appears to be an efficient and effective use of financial resources in the public health domain.

Background: Supervised injection facilities (SIFs) are venues where people who inject drugs (PWID) have access to a clean and medically supervised environment in which they can safely inject their own illicit drugs. There is currently only one legal SIF in North America: Insite in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The responses and feedback generated by the evaluations of Insite in Vancouver have been overwhelmingly positive. This study assesses whether the above mentioned facility in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver needs to be expanded to other locations, more specifically that of Canada’s capital city, Ottawa. <p>Methods: The current study is aimed at contributing to the existing literature on health policy by conducting cost-benefit and cost-effective analyses for the opening of SIFs in Ottawa, Ontario. In particular, the costs of operating numerous SIFs in Ottawa was compared to the savings incurred; this was done after accounting for the prevention of new HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) infections. To ensure accuracy, two distinct mathematical models and a sensitivity analysis were employed. <p>Results: The sensitivity analyses conducted with the models reveals the potential for SIFs in Ottawa to be a fiscally responsible harm reduction strategy for the prevention of HCV cases – when considered independently. With a baseline sharing rate of 19%, the cumulative annual cost model supported the establishment of two SIFs and the marginal annual cost model supported the establishment of a single SIF. More often, the prevention of HIV or HCV alone were not sufficient to justify the establishment cost-effectiveness; rather, only when both HIV and HCV are considered does sufficient economic support became apparent. <p>Conclusions: Funded supervised injection facilities in Ottawa appear to be an efficient and effective use of financial resources in the public health domain.

This study was conducted not only to explore how peers intervene to shape social networks but to capture the transformative role of peer-led intervention by local needle exchange programs and a supervised injection facility in Vancouver, Canada. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with peer volunteers as they were involved in their routine work activities. Interviews were analysed thematically using two methods of coding analysis. Findings suggest that peers were taking on important education and safety roles and were able to alter the behaviour, attitude, and intention of injection drug users within the Downtown Eastside area of the city. Further, peer injection drug users were able to reach individuals who were reluctant to seek medical help, housing, or prevention services. Peers serve as an agent of change in the Downtown Eastside to disseminate information and riskreduction skills to the most marginalized people.