Studiens fokus ligger på att undersöka om det finns skillnader i framställningen mellan en kvinnlig respektive manlig mördare i svenska medier. De svenska mediernas språkbruk i relation till gärningspersonerna i de undersökta artiklarna ligger till grund för studien. 18 stycken artiklar analyseras tagna från Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter och SVT Nyheter. Studiens syfte är att se om skillnader i framställningen existerar, och i så fall hur de syns. Analysen utgörs av en kritisk diskursanalys, även kallad CDA, samt Carvalhos ramverk för textanalys. Carvalhos ramverk skapar en möjlighet för texten att analyseras i olika steg då den kategoriserar olika teman genom vilka språket kan analyseras. Objekt, aktörer, språk, diskursiva strategier och ideologiska ståndpunkter är de kategorier vilka genom språket analyseras. Från de språkmässiga strategier och val som medierna gjort kan en analys sedan göras som grundar sig i det teoretiska ramverket. Kritisk diskursanalys används som metod men även teori tillsammans med genusteori om stereotyper samt medielogiken.   Resultatet visar att en av de mest återkommande företeelserna i alla medier är hur gärningspersonerna framställs genom motsatta traditionella stereotyper. Mediernas varierande fokus på detaljrikedom gällande brotten är något som bidrar till hur de två gärningspersonerna framställs. I resultatet diskuteras även hur framställningen av gärningspersonerna säger något om dagens samhälle i Sverige. / The focus of this study is to see if there are any differences in the how Swedish media portrays female and male killers. Swedish media’s use of language in relation to the news articles about the perpetrators is the basis of the study. 18 news articles from the newspapers Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter and SVT Nyheter were analyzed. The purpose of the study is to see if there are any differences in the portrayal and if so, how they are shown. The analysis constitutes of a critical discourse analysis, also known as CDA, and the framework for text analysis created by Carvalho. The framework creates the possibility of analyzing the texts step by step and helps categorize the different themes in which the language will be analyzed. The categories used in the analysis are object, actors, language, discursive strategies and ideological standpoints. By looking at the linguistic strategies and the choices made by the media we can analyze the material in accordance with the theoretical framework. Critical discourse analysis is the used method as well as theory, along with gender theory about stereotypes and media logic.   The results from the analysis discusses the different discourses found. One of the most prominent phenomenon found was the fact that Swedish media portrayed the killers as their stereotype opposite to them. The results also discuss if the portrayal of the perpetrators can tell us anything about society as a whole.

Derrière l’expression « récit de meurtre » se dissimule une hybridité romanesque propre à la fin du XIXe siècle. En prenant appui sur diverses formes de fiction du crime (des écrits naturalistes et décadents, des romans, des contes et nouvelles et des feuilletons), il conviendra de déterminer quelles en sont les caractéristiques narratives. L’analyse est au cœur du sujet : l’enquête judiciaire, le profilage d’une psychologie de l’assassin et les références historiques constituent autant de pistes présentes dans ce type de récit. Un nouveau type de criminel apparaît ; le criminel élabore de nouvelles méthodes et évolue dans un univers moderne. Cette évolution est guidée par la nécessité de séduire un public plus vaste car l’écriture du crime suscite un véritable engouement. Si la presse transforme le journaliste en enquêteur, lui confiant la mission de tenir le lecteur informé des mystères urbains qui l’entourent, les romanciers sont amenés à puiser leur inspiration dans les récits d’enquête et les portraits criminels relayés par la presse. En outre, la notion de mystère est sous-jacente à celle de récit de meurtre dans la mesure où ces écrits cauchemardesques oscillent entre fantasme et réalité. Il s’agit ainsi de montrer que l’acte démesuré du meurtre recouvre la simple notion de thématique ; par son étude des déviances sociales, l’écrivain cherche à verbaliser des angoisses populaires. Plusieurs influences seront donc à prendre en compte : avec la perspective du changement de siècle, les récits sont affectés par la vague de pessimisme qui balaye l’Europe. Les débuts hésitants de la IIIe République, les Affaires et les attentats anarchistes marquent les esprits. L’objectif de cette thèse sera donc de définir ce qu’est le récit de meurtre à travers ses différentes formes, et son rôle médiatique. / There is a novelistic hybridity of “the narrative of murder” conducive to the late of the 19th century. Rested on several forms of crime’s fictions (it refers to decadents and naturalists works, novels, short stories, serials), I should explain its narrative forms. Analysis is at the very heart of this matter: inquest, psychological profile of the murderer and historical references participate to these narratives. A new kind of murderer comes out; criminal uses new skills as he evolves in a modern world. This evolution is header by the need to reach a wide audience for murder’s writing arouses such keen interest. If the press tends to change the journalist into a detective, assigning him the mission to keep the reader informed about urban mysteries surrounding, novelists draw their inspiration from the narrative of criminal investigation and portraits of criminals reported by newspapers. Besides, the notion of mystery is related to the one of murder’s narrative in so far these nightmarish writings oscillate between fantasy and reality. The aim is thus to explain the murder as an excessive act which goes beyond the simple idea of a thematic. Thanks to his study of social deviances, the writer tries to voice popular fears. Many influences must be taken into account: due to the turn of the century, a wave of pessimism sweeps through Europe. The third republic’s hesitant beginnings, the “Affaires” and the anarchist attacks make an unforgettable impression. The aim of this thesis will be to define the narrative of murder through the exhibition of its different forms, and its place in media environment.

This study explores the phenomenon of serial murder from the perspective of narrative psychology. Using a case study approach and a grounded theory analytical process this qualitative study utilised the narrative concept of the imago to explore the motivation and development of those who commit serial murder in South Africa. The aim is increase our theoretical understanding of serial murder in directions that support offender profiling. Semi-structured interviews with two South African men who committed serial murder were undertaken and analysed alongside archival data. Their imagoes formed the focus of the analysis. This analysis included a consideration of how the individual’s motivations and developmental patterns were reflected in their crime scenes. This study demonstrated that imagoes play a significant role in the motives for offending, and development of offence behaviours, in men who commit serial murder. The imagoes help create motives; then embody these motives by encouraging and justifying certain types of behaviour in the individual. Interactions between imagoes were particularly significant in this regard. The dominant imago associated with the individual’s self was also associated with the development of a behavioural template for offending, and was thus especially significant in embodying motive. The development of offending was further encouraged by the separation between imagoes involved in offending and those that are not. However differences between the case studies were also observed, such as the extent to which imagoes develop in interaction with others and the roles played by their imagoes in the developmental narrative of their offending. These findings shed novel theoretical light on the study of serial murder in South Africa. It suggests directions for research into the role of narrative and culture in offending, and for the study of the imago as an embodied mode of interpersonal interaction. It also offers opportunities for research aiming to support offender profiling, and proposes a possible synthesis of competing conceptions of serial murder. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Psychology / unrestricted

The phenomenon of serial murder is a crime characterised by a paucity of scientific information and an excess of popularised fictional material, contributing to the existence of inaccurate perceptions of serial murder. Although serial murder has been committed since the fourteenth century it only gained notoriety with the intense media coverage of the Jack the Ripper case in 1888. One of the most important reasons for society’s morbid fascination with this phenomenon is because of the view of it as a “motiveless crime”. Available literature shows that research undertaken to determine the origin and the motivation behind serial homicide generally focuses on singular aspects of serial murder. In most cases the research is directed by theories of the psychoanalytic school, most notably that of Sigmund Freud. Another research approach is to develop models and methods for classifying serial killers. Despite the value of these models and the research that has been done the information they can provide is limited. In most cases the research and the models focus on singular aspects associated with the development of serial murderers, for example, the internal conflicts experienced by the child. The goal of this study is to determine which internal and external factors influence the personality development of the serial murderer. The research therefore focuses on how these factors were internalised and expressed behaviourally by the individual. To achieve this the psychosocial perspective, which consisted of three psychological theories, was used to determine the role of both internal and external influences in the personality development of the individual. The method of research deemed most suitable to undertake the study is the qualitative approach, and more specifically the explanatory case study method. The data for the research was obtained by using a semi-structured interview and relevant documentation concerning each of the two case studies. Seven research questions were formulated to find answers to the personality development of the serial murderer and his behaviour. The questions were also formulated to ensure the validity of the data and to substantiate the findings based on the psychosocial perspective. The psychosocial perspective was used to analyse the two case studies and to compile a detailed explanation for the personality development and the personality structure of each of the serial murderers. The three psychological theories were combined in such a way that it could show the influence of internal and external factors on the personality development. This included the influence of the family atmosphere as well as behaviour and personality types that developed. In conclusion the extent to which answers were obtained regarding the seven research questions and the extent to which the aim of the research has been achieved is highlighted. Finally recommendations are made concerning future research and possible areas on which researchers should focus. / Dissertation (MA (Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Psychology / unrestricted

Pistorius (1996) was the first individual to introduce research on serial murder in the South African context with her psychodynamic approach to the phenomenon. Since then, others have followed, namely Labuschagne (1998, 2001) with his search for interactional and communication connections; Du Plessis (1998) from a grounded theory approach; and Hodgskiss (2001) with his assessment of South African offender characteristics and behaviours. Four more studies have been conducted, namely Hook’s post-structural deconstruction of narratives of a person who committed serial murder (2003); De Wet’s psychosocial perspective (2005); Barkhuizen’s intrapsychic object relations approach (2006); and Del Fabbro’s exploration of the phenomenon from a family systems paradigm (2006). To date, no attempt has been made to review these research endeavors. In this article, these studies are reviewed and their strengths and weaknesses with regard to theory, methodology and research findings debated. The author concludes with several recommendations for future research on the phenomenon of serial murder: greater communication between various disciplines (e.g. psychology, criminology, law) investigating serial murder; expansion of Hodgskiss’ research (2001) on offence characteristics for profiling purposes; and the relationship between psychopathology and serial murder. / Dissertation (MA (Clinical Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Psychology / MA / unrestricted

This study used data from the homicides in Chicago 1965-1995 dataset (N=9,340) to examine the relationship between the use of certain types of weapons in criminal homicides by gender, race, age, victim-offender relationship, motive, location, and changes over time. Differential association and sex-role theory were utilized to argue why gender differences would occur in type of weapon used in a homicide. Subculture of violence theory was used to emphasize that the place where the homicide occurs, the relationship between the victim and offender, motive of the offender, and the remaining variables affects the type of weapon used to kill. Significant relationships were found for all bivariate analyses performed. The type of weapon used to kill differs most by sex of offender, resulting in a moderately strong association. The type of weapon used to kill differs least by age of offender and although statistically significant, the association between the two is very weak.

The objective of this bachelor thesis was to examine how the lifetime sentenced Johanna Möller, who in 2016 persuaded her boyfriend to kill her parents, is portrayed in Swedish news journalism. We analyzed 46 articles published in Swedish tabloid describing her character after she received her sentence in August 2017. The research questions were: How is Johanna Möller portrayed as a character? How is Johanna Möller portrayed as a criminal? How is Johanna Möller portrayed as a woman? Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis (CDA) and the associated three-dimensional model was conducted to find and dissect discourses in the articles. We carried out the analysis from a gender-related theoretical perspective and drew parallels to earlier research concerning media and crime.  Through the analysis, five discourses could be identified; The Non-agent, The Evil Woman and The Good Boy, Temptress, The Bad Mother and She Who Never Does Right.    Not seldom is Johanna Möller described as promiscuous, evil and manipulative. Her role as a mother is also being repeatedly criticized even though her actual crimes are not related to her motherhood. Accordingly, the journalists are constantly looking for an explanation for her abnormal behaviour and she is often being described as a cold hearted yet emotional person, which can be seen as a significant paradox in the portrayal of her. Our conclusion is that no matter Johanna Möller’s actual crimes, her role as a woman has become the most present aspect of her actions.

Thesis (Ph.D. (History)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / The subject of traditional leadership has been, and will always be, the subject of academic debate in various disciplines and varying objectives throughout the years. However, it is in South Africa to a large extent, but Venḓa specifically, that this study focuses on the discussion on the controversial subject of vhuhosi (traditional leadership) within the homeland system. This study specifically identifies vhuhosi and institutions of Vhavenḓa as a topic for research given its muddied history during the dark days of colonial subjugation and apartheid oppression and suppression. It is for this reason that this study explores South Africa’s homeland policy with specific reference to vhuhosi of Vhavenḓa and institutions (1898-1994). In order to do this the study starts by describing the nature of the relationship between the South African government and vhuhosi of Vhavenḓa on the eve of homeland policy as a way of setting the tone of the Afrocentric exploratory paradigm. The objective is to expose the gradual political and socio-economic changes that vhuhosi and institutions of Vhavenḓa were subjected to during South Africa’s political development. The study then analyses the development of ethnicity vis-à-vis the influence of ethnic identity during the period surrounding the establishment of Vhavenḓa homeland. Given this background it then describes the changing power relations between the South African government and mahosi within the Venḓa homeland. Significantly, the study examines the impact of Vhavenḓa homeland on the internal relations among mahosi of Vhavenḓa as well as Vhavenḓa’s cultural conception of royalty and governance. The current researcher identifies the Afrocentric theory as a vehicle to embark on the explorative nature of this study. Unlike other theoretical paradigms that conducted research on vhuhosi and institutions for colonial and apartheid objectives, the Afrocentric approach was preferred as it puts African values at the centre. Therefore the Afrocentric theory was preferred as a way of debunking the Eurocentric/Western and liberal research on African subjects such as vhuhosi and institutions. Hence oral interviews played an important role to complement the written and archival material available.

My diploma work follows up Czech Republic inhabitants' attitudes toward the death penalty. It also describes changes in death penalty perception in terms of historical aspect, its presentation to public society, changes in approach to death penalty and violence in general over time. It deals with execution types development, executioner's social position and craft. It brings elementary thoughts of advocates and opponents of the death penalty and describes related contemporary situation in the world. All these chapters are included for broader context description to allow me better use and identify results from the survey. The other part of my diploma work is survey with focus on attitudes toward the death penalty in Czech Republic. It was conducted in 2012-13, based on online respondent panel, with use of quantitative methods. This market research survey was executed on Millward Brown Czech Republic online panel with sample of 821 respondents. Results basically deliver knowledge of relation between attitudes toward the death penalty and sociodemographics, main arguments for and against the death penalty, clarifies the relation between attitudes toward the death penalty and some factors such as experience with crime or death penalty basic facts knowledge. I also evaluated if respondents' attitudes...

Förekomsten av psykisk ohälsa bland ensamagerande våldsverkare i Sverige studerades genom en tematisk analys på textdokument. Trettiofem av 70 ensamagerande våldsverkare valdes ut genom ett systematiskt slumpmässigt urval. Textdokumenten innehåller sekretessbelagd information ifrån Polismyndighetens system. Av de undersökta ensamagerande våldsverkarna hade 43 % en psykiatrisk diagnos och tecken på psykisk ohälsa fanns hos 34 %. Resultatet går i linje med internationell forskning som visar att ungefär 40 % av ensamagerande våldsverkare innehar en psykiatrisk diagnos. Sammanfattningsvis i aktuell studie uppvisade 77 % av de ensamagerande våldsverkarna tecken på psykisk ohälsa vilket kan indikera att antalet med psykiatriska diagnoser i studien kan ha underskattats. Således visade studien att psykisk ohälsa är en viktig riskfaktor för våld och Polismyndigheten behöver samverka med andra samhällsaktörer för att kunna förebygga, förhindra och upptäcka brottslighet från ensamagerande våldsverkare. / The frequency of mental illness among lone actors in Sweden were studied through a thematic analysis on textual documents. Thirty-five of 70 lone actors were chosen with a systematic randomized method. The textual documents contain closed source data from The Swedish Police Authority. Of the studied lone actors 43 % had a mental disorder and signs of mental illness were observed in 34 %. The findings are consistent with previous international research that shows that approximately 40 % of lone actors have a mental disorder. In summary current study outlines that 77 % of lone actors in Sweden show signs of mental illness which can indicate that the quantity of mental disorders could have been underestimated. Finally mental illness appears to be an important risk factor for violence and The Swedish Police Authority needs to cooperate with other social actors to be able to prevent and discover violent crimes from future lone actors.