Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-84).

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Dr. of Criminology)--University of California, Berkeley, June 1967. / Bibliography: leaves 403-413.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boise State University, 2010. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-65).

Thesis (M.A.)--Boise State University, 2010. / Title from t.p. of PDF file (viewed July 13, 2010). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-65).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1919.

Although female inmates are considered to be the population who are at high risk of committing suicide, little attention has been paid to this field, since most of suicide in correctional facilities are typically committed by males. This paper attempted to investigate some psychological factors which may affect female inmates’ suicidal ideation. Specifically, this paper focused on the role of psychache, intense and chronic psychological pain which leads to suicide. The data was collected from 95 female inmates in two Canadian prisons. The results indicated that psychache was the only factor which predicted the participants’ level of suicidal ideation. Therefore, it is suggested that the screening tools which focus on psychache will be useful in examining the inmates’ risk of suicide. Also, it shows that for the successful rehabilitation, providing the treatment which precisely addresses psychache among inmates is important.

Studies on female sex offending have been limited for a number of reasons, such as societal perceptions that females are incapable of engaging in such behaviors because of their role as caretakers and nurturers in society. However, over the past few decades, studies examining female sex offenders have increased, revealing that females do commit sexual offenses and differ from their male counterparts. We examined offender, victim, and offense characteristics of female sex offenders who were convicted from 1995 to 2013 (N = 223) in Arkansas and were sentenced to serve time in prison or placed on probation. We focused on the similarities and differences of solo and co-female sex offenders because we know from previous studies that the pathway of offending can differ between solo and co-female offenders, yet few studies have exclusively compared the similarities and differences among female sex offenders. Our data were collected from offender files that included basic personal offender information, offender survey and social history, criminal history, incident reports while incarcerated, court records, police investigation reports, initial offender and victim statements (prior to offender incarceration), and probation/parole reports. We believe the results of this study will provide further insight into the types of female sex offenders as well as the possible differences between co- and solo-offenders in relation to their victim preferences, risk levels, rehabilitation amenability, and recidivism propensities.

D. Litt. et Phil. / This study is an exploration of the experiences of crisis and identity. It looks specifically at these experiences from within the context of imprisonment from the concrete to the abstract. Imprisonment is not merely looked at from the physical point of view, but also the metaphorical. This means that the sense of imprisonment is not only limited to people who are serving out sentences imposed by the courts of law. We can all experience the sense of being imprisoned at some level or another, whether though a sense of isolation, being labelled and controlled, or experiencing restriction in various forms. The post-modern worldview that underlies this study is social constructionist theory. From this perspective, our sense of what is real is communally created within specific cultural and historical contexts. Language is used as the vehicle through which our meanings are constructed between people. The social constructionist view of people holds that we are open systems so that our sense of self is not only impacted by perturbing “others”, but is also shaped and transformed in relationship. The shaping of identity takes place through language processes and is circumscribed by particular contextual constraints. Identity is not viewed as a constant entity, but as an ever-evolving narrative (story) and a product of interaction with others in the world. Whereas the modern definition of “crisis” underscores the idea that it is, at best, “something” to be avoided, social constructionists describe it as a boundary experience that is communally constructed. Furthermore, if we draw on chaos theory, crisis can also be seen as a bifurcation point. This means that it is a moment in our experiences in which we are moved to make decisions and potentially proceed into new directions. Therefore, crisis holds transformational potential. The notion of exploring the transformative potential of crisis and the construction of identity sprung from a personal crisis experience around the discomfort of progressing into a professional identity. My practical training within the Johannesburg Female Prison provided a context fertile with stories of imprisonment, crisis and how these impact on identity construction. Therefore, the context of this study is prison, so that a discussion around constructions of criminality and its treatment is important to paint a fuller picture. These are discussed from the perspectives of modern criminology theories, as well as post-modern impressions of criminality and its treatment as embedded in historical and social contexts. Since this study underscores an intervention-action research approach, the implications of crisis as a potential catalyst for therapeutic change is also considered. The social constructionist understanding of therapeutic practice is that it is a relational process. Therapy is a co-creation between the client and therapist so that new ways of moving forward is a collective, not an individual achievement. This study, as a form of action research, was born out of a one and a half-year long therapeutic endeavour with a group of women offenders in the Johannesburg Female Prison. The theoretical principles of Appreciative Inquiry were used to guide the process of inquiry. Three levels of participants were involved in the collection of data: A diverse mix of women incarcerated in the Johannesburg Female Prison, the core group of women participating in the “Who am I?” therapeutic group, as well as myself. Information was in the form of written personal texts, interviews (conducted by the core group) and a newsletter. Thematic analysis was used to scrutinise the information and the following themes were identified: Loss and gain, power and helplessness, hope and despair, differentness and sameness as well as connection and disconnection. Typical character types (identities) and whether there were progressive, regressive or stable narrative plots (directionality of stories) were considered in the various themes as points of crisis. Finally, the findings are integrated with the theory by exploring social constructionist ideas about identity as being ever-changing, multiple and created in our togetherness. The principles of first and second order cybernetics are also used as systemic explanatory models of identity transformation and/or “stuckness”. The creation of therapeutic communities was explored as a tool to facilitate the reconstruction of crisis and the transformation of healing identities of women in prison. / Dr. C.J. Oosthuizen

This thesis presents an analysis of seventeen contemporary blockbuster films in which women kill people. The purpose of the analysis is to discover the "frames" with which film producers, directors, scriptwriters and actors portray women in film. The thesis first establishes the model in use in the analysis: Entman's model of frame analysis. Frame analysis posits that rhetors use frames, or lenses, through which they create, explain and solve problems, especially in a news cast. These frames are accepted, consciously or subconsciously, by the audience. Entman's model is integrated with Naylor's six categories of popular news portrayal of female killers, which suggests that the news portrays these women as witches, non-women, unmotherly, etc. Next, the thesis reviews previous literature on feminist film analysis, framing theory, and historical empirical and anecdotal evidence on female killers. This foundation, along with Entman's model, is then used to analyze seventeen films, chosen by gross, date and storyline, in which female characters kill. The conclusions are that the news and films portray women similarly, with one exception. Films allow for an extra category: the heroine. Further research should include a comparison of female and male killers in film and an historical review of female killers in film throughout the twentieth century to investigate transitions in frames. / Graduation date: 2000