A restorative justice alternative to crime prevention termed reintegrative shaming theory by Braithwaite has seen increased attention as an alternative to retributive justice, although empirical investigations of its efficacy are limited. The purpose of the present study was to test confirmatory measurement and structural models of reintegrative shaming theory in order to assess the underlying theoretical model and the application of this theory in response to drunk driving offenses. Nine latent constructs were included in these models: reintegration, stigmatization, perceived fairness, self esteem, shame-guilt, embarrassment-exposure, unresolved shame, offender responsibility, and family support. Multigroup structural equation modeling was used to assess for measurement invariance of indicators used to measure these nine latent constructs between 724 drunk driving offenders randomly assigned to traditional court processing versus offenders assigned to reintegrative shaming conferencing following arrest. Partial metric and partial scalar invariance were found. Thus, analyses proceeded by conducting tests for significant differences in the latent means between groups. Offenders assigned to conferencing reported significantly higher mean values on the constructs reintegration, perceived fairness, self-esteem, shame-guilt, and family support, supporting Braithwaite's theory. Finally, a structural model was hypothesized based upon Braithwaite's theory to assess the relationships between the latent constructs. Three additional structural paths were included to achieve an acceptable model fit. This structural model was found to be partially invariant between groups. As predicted, a higher level of reintegration was associated with greater perceived fairness, while a higher level of stigmatization was related to decreased self-esteem and lower perceived fairness. In turn, greater self-esteem and perceived fairness were significantly related to higher reported experiences of shame-guilt and lower ratings of embarrassment exposure. Greater perceived fairness also corresponded to lower reported unresolved shame. Finally, greater shame-guilt was significantly related to greater offender responsibility and family support, while unresolved shame was significantly related to less offender responsibility acceptance. The findings from the current study support Braithwaite's hypotheses regarding the importance and benefits of disapproving of the criminal act and not the person, while allowing offenders to accept responsibility for their actions and attempt to remediate the wrong that they committed.

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The employment of persons with criminal records has become an increasingly important issue in the Western world. Literature on Canadian hiring practices in relation to persons with criminal records, however, is severely lacking. This thesis aims to make a significant contribution to the field of criminology by investigating how employers evaluate the employability of persons with criminal records, as well as their attitudes and perceptions towards this population. Through eight open-ended and low-structured interviews with owners and/or hiring managers in the city of Ottawa and using the theoretical framework of H. Blumer’s (1969) symbolic interactionism (SI), E. Goffman’s (1963) stigma, and J. Braithwaite’s (1989) reintegrative shaming for analysis, this thesis attempts to gain insight into the barriers and challenges of professional integration for persons with criminal records. This study ultimately revealed that: (1) criminal record verifications were seldom used among employers to check for past convictions; (2) employers were willing to hire persons with criminal records (under specific conditions); and that (3) employability was based primarily on whether the candidate in question had the skillset required for the position, making the criminal record a secondary consideration. Contrary to popular belief, the results also suggest that while employers may be socially aware of this stigma, not all engage in stigmatizing and/or shaming behaviour towards persons with criminal records during the hiring process. Further, it is often the case that when making decisions, employers must decide between catering to the needs of their business or hiring a prospective candidate despite their criminal record. This study opens new avenues of inquiry concerning persons with criminal records and professional reintegration while proposing future directions for research. RÉSUME La réinsertion professionnelle des personnes judiciarisées est un sujet qui a acquis une grande importance dans le monde occidental. Toutefois, la littérature détaillant les pratiques d’embauche des employeurs Canadiens est limitée. Cette thèse vise donc à contribuer au champ de connaissance sur le sujet. Elle a pour objectif d’analyser comment les employeurs évaluent l’employabilité des personnes avec un casier judiciaire, leurs attitudes ainsi que leurs perceptions de cette population. Sur la base de huit entretiens ouverts et non-structurés avec des propriétaires et/ou responsables du recrutement dans la ville d’Ottawa et en utilisant le cadre théorique de l’interactionnisme symbolique d’H. Blumer (1968), la théorie du stigmate d’E. Goffman (1963) ainsi que celle du reintegrative shaming de J. Braithwaite (1989), cette thèse aspire à une meilleure compréhension des obstacles dans la réinsertion professionnelle des personnes avec un casier judiciaire. Cette étude révèle que (1) la fréquence des vérifications des casiers judiciaire est rare, (2) que les employeurs désirent embaucher les personnes judiciarisées (mais sous certaines conditions) et (3) que l’employabilité est basée principalement sur les compétences requises pour le poste. Le casier judiciaire devient donc une considération secondaire. Ces résultats suggèrent que même si les employeurs sont conscients du stigmate, un comportement stigmatisant or humiliant envers les personnes avec un casier judiciaire n’est pas la norme lors du processus d’embauche. Lors de la décision finale, le dilemme des employeurs porte davantage sur les besoins de leur entreprise versus ceux du candidat que sur le casier judiciaire de ce dernier.

This study uses a data set on adolescent offending, originally collected by a team of researchers at the Vera Institute of Justice in New York City, to critically examine the role of incarceration in criminal rehabilitation. A theoretical explanation of recidivism is constructed using four criminological theories: life course theory (Sampson & Laub 1993), differential association theory (Sutherland 1939), deterrence theory, and reintegrative shaming theory (Braithwaite 1989). This thesis uses these theories to investigate societal factors that may contribute to young offenders’ recidivism (versus successful rehabilitation). It is argued that youths who: (1) come from unconventional family environments, (2) possess deviant peer associations, (3) receive incarceration as punishment, and (4) undergo a stigmatizing shaming process are more likely to recidivate. The combination of these factors is also expected to be intensified during incarceration. An empirical examination of the effects of these factors on recidivism supports the main hypotheses advanced. Although conventional family environments and deviant peer associations are successful in determining first-time offending, results from this study suggest that these are inadequate as predictors of recidivism. Conversely, an extension of Braithwaite’s (1989) reintegrative shaming concept was found to be a strong predictor of subsequent offending. Medium sentence lengths in prison were associated with increased risk to recidivate. Most importantly, the results gathered some support for restorative justice approaches to criminal rehabilitation. Future considerations for recidivism research are explored. / Thesis (Master, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2009-12-16 15:53:46.514

Scholars generally assume that states are shamed for their own behavior, but they can also be shamed for the lack of investigation for violence perpetrated by domestic non-state actors. I engage this previously-unstudied phenomenon and develop a theory to explain how states will respond to being shamed for failing to control domestic violence. I examine two types of outcomes: the governments' change in behavior, and the accountability efforts against state agents that have abused human rights. For the government's reaction to being shamed for violence from non-state organizations, I develop a theory to examine changes in coercive state capacity – including military and police personnel – since this reaction may largely exacerbate human rights violations. I hypothesize that states shamed due to abuses by violent non-state organizations (VNSO) will increase military personnel to halt criminal violence and respond to the international spotlight. I then examine the relationship between naming and shaming states over physical integrity abuses by different types of perpetrators and human rights prosecutions. Using newly coded data on the types of perpetrators shamed in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) country reports, I find that shaming over abuses that include VNSO as perpetrators decreases the likelihood of expanding their police force when the state has the military patrolling the streets and is likely to increase the predicted number of police prosecutions, particularly if the shaming is over killings from VNSOs. Lastly, I examine how changes in coercive capacity affect human rights violations and the number of violent episodes from VNSOs.

This study examines how the #MeToo-movement was influenced by different forms of informal justice on the social media platform Twitter in 2017. Furthermore, online U.S. news media is analyzed in its contributory role during the movement. Thus, these two sites of analysis also highlight the interplay between social media and online news sources. Therefore, the research questions are: R.Q. 1: How were different forms of informal justice facilitated through networked activism on Twitter during the 2017 #MeToo-movement?R.Q. 2: In what ways did the reporting of online U.S. news media contribute to the mechanisms of informal justice on social media during the 2017 #MeToo-movement? Both questions are answered through two independent qualitative content analyses: The first critically evaluates 80 tweets from the social media platform Twitter that were published between October 15 - December 31, 2017, with the hashtag #MeToo; the second reviews 12 online articles from online U.S. news sources that reported about the online proliferation of the #MeToo-movement.While the results contained online shaming of celebrities and public figures, no distinctive forms of punishment or vigilantism could be identified within the samples. Furthermore, victims of abuse engaged in self-disclosure without exposing their abusers. Still, informal justice could be understood as a way to speak up against societal injustice by expressing a clear warning towards sexual perpetrators through digitally networked activism. At the same time, online news source merely reiterated social media developments without engaging in additional online shaming. However, these news sources also participated in #MeToo-related justice by spreading further awareness about the movement. Thus, a reciprocal relationship between social media and online U.S. news media became evident.

TikTok differs from how the media audience is used to seeing other social media platforms. When opening the app, the user does not see the friends you have decided to follow. Instead, you are faced with an algorithmically decided and never-ending feed of content personified individually for the specific user. In recent years, TikTok has become a prominent and rapidly growing platform, especially among younger media users. The emergence of TikTok usage among the youth implies an increased need for examining cultural phenomena that are performed on this platform. This study will be exploring the emergence of the online phenomenon known as mediated public shaming on TikTok by critically reviewing how young Swedish TikTok users are engaging in and experiencing the mediated public shaming that is occurring on TikTok as well as its effects by taking a theoretical departure from media literacy theories. The study is a qualitative reception study where the empirical material is conducted by one-to-one interviews with nine mundane Swedish TikTok users between the ages of 16–27. It was discovered that young TikTok users have a complex relationship with the mediated public shaming they face on TikTok and engage in the concept in a rather objective and reflective manner. They do, however, express concern that the design of the media, in conjunction with mediated public shaming, may allow for subconscious effects of their opinions. Looking forward, there is an indicated compelling need for continued research within the field, proposedly further research of online cultures’ roles in the determination of platform design and construction of algorithms.

This research explores the impact of proscription on non-state groups' behaviour, specifically regarding their use of violence. Recognizing that counterterrorism measures influence the behaviour of targeted groups, this thesis builds on existing literature that identifies proscription as a critical tool used by governments. Utilizing Social Identity Theory (SIT) and the naming and shaming principle to explain group behaviour, the analysis focuses on the shaming mechanism associated with terrorist designation. The developed theory posits that groups perceive their terrorist designation as an existential threat, prompting increased violence as a defensive strategy. A within-case comparison of Boko Haram before and after proscription reveals inconsistent shaming effects but shows changes in the group's narrative and identity. These findings challenge the proposed theory, suggesting that terrorist labels may bolster group identity. The study underscores the complex dynamics of labelling and its potential to increase violence and civilian casualties.

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