This thesis examines in detail the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 which allow for the incapacitation of the 'dangerous' offender. Incapacitation has been used as an example of a growing trend in criminal justice towards viewing crime in terms of risk. This risk discourse points to the use of actuarial practices and insurance techniques in this field, with a resultant 'abstraction' of the traditional view of crime as a moral wrong. The technologies of risk assessment are central to the very power of the discourse, it has been argued that these techniques further increase the effectiveness of control and that they are a response to a growing preoccupation in society with security. It is argued that risk is, in a sense, pre-political in that as risk takes hold, overtly political responses to crime become more difficult. Given that incapacitation has been used as an example of crime as risk, this thesis takes the form of a micro-study of the above incapacitatory legislation. It assesses the degree to which this legislation can be seen to be a part of the risk discourse. It is argued that on a general level the legislation does fit within the risk model, seeking to incapacitate 'bad risks'. However, it is argued that as the legislation has been conceived, formulated and employed, it does not make use of the actuarial techniques of risk assessment - seen as so central to 'internal dynamic' of the risk discourse - to a significant extent. Rather, it is argued that the legislation embodies a politically motivated appeal to the idea of risk rather than to risk assessment itself. It is concluded that this use of risk - once shed of its attendant technologies - far from making political responses more difficult, sits well with punitive responses demanded by a government of the right.

Introduction . Perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV) are considered a heterogeneous group of men. This has resulted in several attempts to classify IPV perpetrators into subtypes. Although a well-explored topic, the existing IPV typologies are not suitable for the police due to its reliance on clinical information. The present study aimed at constructing a typology of IPV perpetrators, based on information available to the police. Method. Data from 235 risk assessments conducted by police officers in Sweden, using the Spousal Assault Risk Assessment guide: Short Version (SARA:SV), was analyzed through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). Results. Three subtypes of IPV perpetrators were identified: the generally violent/antisocial (GV/A) perpetrator, the family only (FO) perpetrator, and the high risk (HR) perpetrator. Also, a fourth subtype emerged reflecting a victim profile, labeled the rational victim (RV). Discussion. Besides validating previously found IPV subtypes, we also identified two subtypes not previously described in the literature. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that clinical information concerning the perpetrator's mental health was not decisive in identifying the perpetrators constituting the highest risk for IPV. Noteworthy, the importance of considering victim vulnerability factors in an IPV risk assessment context was supported by the identification of the RV. However, the proposed typology needs to be validated in subsequent research. Keywords: intimate partner violence, perpetrator typologies, SARA:SV, risk assessment / <p>2013-06-11</p>

Dust and hybrid mixture explosions continue to occur in industrial processes that handle fine powders and flammable gases. Considerable research is therefore conducted throughout the world with the objective of both preventing the occurrence and mitigating the consequences of such events. In the current work, research has been undertaken to help advance the field of dust explosion prevention and mitigation from an emphasis on hazards to a focus on risk. Employing the principles of quantitative risk assessment (QRA) of dust and hybrid mixture explosions, a methodological framework for the management of these risks has been developed. The Quantitative Risk Management Framework (QRMF) is based on hazard identification via credible accident scenarios for dust explosions, followed by probabilistic Fault Tree Analysis (using Relex – Reliability Excellence – software) and consequence severity analysis, represented by maximum explosion pressure, (using DESC – Dust Explosion Simulation Code – software). Identification of risk reduction measures in the framework is accomplished in a hierarchical manner by considering inherent safety measures, passive and active engineered devices, and procedural measures. Dust explosion tests to determine icing and granulated sugar dust explosibility characteristics have been achieved in a 20-L Siwek chamber, and, accordingly, DESC fuel files were built and DESC has validated. Three industrial case studies are presented to show how the QRMF could has been helpful in reducing dust and hybrid mixture explosion risk at the Imperial Sugar refinery, the Semabla grain storage silo, and a hypothetical 400-m3 polyethylene storage silo. DESC simulations and Probit equation for structural damage provide the destructive percentage of each pressure zone in the simulations, followed by probabilistic FTA that were achieved for the first two case studies, before and after applying the framework. Detailed individual and societal risks calculations were made and F-N curves plotted for the two processes. The polyethylene silo case study is presented to show how inherent safety measures can be helpful in reducing dust and hybrid mixture explosion risk. The framework showed significant risk reduction to the point where the residual risks are acceptable for both processes. Finally, assessment results are compared and improvements measured. / The research main objective is: to manage the risks of any expected dust or hybrid mixture explosion in industrial complexes (large-scale).

As more contaminated sites are being discovered, new in situ remediation techniques need to be developed. Chemically treating soil with lime to increase soil pH is a method that may decrease the bioavailability of the contaminant. To test the usefulness of rendering metal-contaminated soils alkaline with dolomitic lime, to improve crop performance, field trials at a site in Port Colborne, ON, with soil nickel concentration (as high as 5000 mg/kg) from refinery emissions were completed. Oat and soybean yield, as well as plant uptake and bioavailabilty of nickel in soil were evaluated. Liming Ni-contaminated soils decreased soybean foliar Ni concentrations from 36.68 µg/g in unlimed fields to 19.98 µg/g in 50 t/ha limed fields in the 2007 growing season; yield of both oat and soybean in unlimed soils was the same (p>0.05) as at a reference site, suggesting that for these soils, remediation is not necessary for yield.

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Though an industrialized nation characterized by increasing secularization and liberalization, the Republic of Ireland has a long history of religious and morally-driven politics. Much of Ireland's economic success of the last ten years has been noted as a significant motivator for social change. However, a shift in the Irish moral sphere has been underway for at least thirty years. Despite a flourishing self confidence in National identity, already marginalized women---including drug-users, asylum-seekers from sub-Saharan Africa, and those in economically deprived communities of Greater Dublin---have felt increased social polarization. The cultural and epidemiological boundaries created between the 'healthy' Irish self and the 'dangerous' others have contributed to a unique climate regarding HIV/AIDS and cultural constructions of 'risk'. This anthropological analysis utilizes both political-economic and social constructionist frameworks so that both structural and discursive contributions to the spread of HIV/AIDS are examined. Particularly important are the ways competing discourses shape both practices and conceptions of HIV and the 'other'.

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