Leder hårdare straff till färre brott? Det sambandet ämnar vi undersöka i denna uppsats. För att att göra det analyserar vi 2010 års straffmätningsreform som förlängde straffen för allvarliga våldsbrott. Reformen påverkade vissa brott men inte alla, vilket vi utnyttjar som ett naturligt experiment i en difference-indifferencesansats. De brottstyper som påverkades används som behandlingsgrupp, medan de som inte påverkades används som jämförelsegrupp. Därefter tolkas skillnaden i förändring hos de båda gruppernas brottsfrekvenser ut. När hela efterperioden analyseras finner vi ingen statistiskt signifikant effekt. Analyseras varje år i efterperioden för sig finner vi en negativ och statistiskt signifikant effekt på 14,9 % av reformen året efter den trädde i kraft (2011). / Do longer prison sentences lead to fewer committed crimes? This paper pursues to evaluate this causation through a difference-in-differences analysis. In 2010, there was a reform in Sweden that meant to make prison sentences longer for some crimes. The fact that the reform affected some crimes but not others is exploited as a natural experiment. We use the types of crime that were affected by the reform as a treatment group and the types of crime that were not affected as a control group. Then we assess the difference in frequency change of the two groups of crimes after the reform took effect. When the whole post reform period is analyzed, we find no statistically significant effects. When the effect is isolated one year after the reform was implemented (2011) we find a statistically significant effect of 14.9 %. There is no statistically significant result when the reform is isolated for 2012 and 2013.

Goal of a master thesis was to explore connection between aggression and interpretation of ambiguous social situations. In theoretical part of thesis author described theories of aggression, he was dealing with sources of aggression and also with criminal aggression with an overlap to typology of violent offenders. Author also described the problematic of ambiguous social situations and phenomena connected with it. In empirical part of thesis the main goal was to explore interconnection between aggression and interpretation of ambiguous social situations; and to compare group of inmates convicted for committing a violent crimes (n=30) with comparison group (n=30) in external aggression, understanding of ambiguous social situations and perceived social worth. For the purpose of exploring ambiguous social situations, methods DSS and SIP-AEQ were used. For exploring of external aggression were used Rosenzweig's PFT and for perceived social worth the SWS method. Two of four hypotheses were confirmed.

More than half a century after the liberation of the majority of African countries, Africa is facing major socio-economic challenges including unemployment, slow economic growth and inequality. With waves of violent service delivery protests over the last few years throughout South Africa, it is now more than ever vital to identify the key challenges to development and the ways to overcome these trials. The importance of plans for development, and that reliable data plays an essential role in development have been wildly discussed, especially as the legitimacy and reliability of plans are highly dependent upon the quality of the data utilised. Even though data plays such a significant role in development, quality up to date data is expensive, difficult to obtain and in many instances not available. Furthermore, South Africa and many developing countries do not have the luxury of such data, nor the skills and resources to develop high quality statistics on a regular basis. In the light of the importance of accurate up-to-date data for planning and the lack of the aforementioned data in South Africa, the dissertation explores means of ‘accessing’ high quality up-to-date data by the use of ‘proxy indicators’. The dissertation seeks to explore whether it would be possible to use proxy indicators to measure local economic conditions and to identify a set of proxy indicators that accurately portray the economy. The study commences with an analysis on the relationship between a number of proxy indicators and the national economy in order to identify a set of proxy indicators that accurately portrays the economy where after the accurate indicators is empirically tested to that of the local economy in three study areas. The study established that six proxy indicators can be used to measure the local economy in South Africa. These are the (1) number of middle class residential properties sold, (2) growth in residential building activity, (3) retail sales of durable goods including business profit, (4) hardware sales including business profit, (5) volume of sales of spare parts for vehicles and (6) fuel consumption. Apart from the fact that the indicators mirror the economy to a high degree, a number of trends with regards to the dynamics of the relationship between the indicator and the economy were revealed. The study demonstrated that there is merit in further studies regarding the use of proxy indicators in planning / Dissertation (MTRP)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Town and Regional Planning / unrestricted

Women have historically been the subject of stereotypes – especially criminalized women as they are constructed in the mass media. These stereotypes become particularly problematic when they are invoked in infotainment media – a genre that combines information and entertainment and presents itself as primarily factual. As such, ideological messages delivered through infotainment are also (re)presented as truthful and may be more likely to be taken up by an unquestioning audience. This research aimed to answer the following research question: How does infotainment portray women who commit serious violent crime? In order to answer this question, a qualitative content analysis was employed and “Deadly Women”, a televised infotainment series that narrates and re-enacts true crime stories of women who kill, was selected as a case study. The sample consisted of previously identified typologies: mothers who kill their children, women who kill their partners, adolescent girls who kill, and vigilantes who kill their abusers. Stemming from a critical feminist framework, the analysis revealed that Deadly Women relies on two primary trajectories to explain the violence committed by women and girls. While both trajectories emphasized gendered stereotypes that involved emotionality and mental health issues, they were nonetheless distinct. The first trajectory evoked narratives of the ‘emotionless’ and ‘psychopathic’ perpetrator; while the second trajectory characterized the offender as overly ‘emotional’ and ‘depressed’. These trajectories, along with their related variables, problematically (re)presented violent women and girls in simplistic and dualistic manners that served to obscure rather than to clarify the circumstances surrounding their crimes.

This research paper aims to examine how local boroughs in the South suburbs of Stockholm work with matters relating to radicalism and violent extremism with roots in white power environments and Islam. The paper will look at the different challenges faced by the local Boroughs in tackling the problems in the future. The empirical material that forms the basis of this paper have been collected through semi structured interviews with local coordinators employed by three different boroughs within the South suburbs of Stockholm. The theoretical framework of the study is formed by a typological model that comprises different kinds of crime prevention exercises with backgrounds in superordinate values. The empirical material has been analyzed in relation to crime prevention as a societal phenomenon depending on what preventive method has been given the timely aspect related to primary, secondary or tertiary prevention. Results show that radicalism and violent extremism are phenomenon with substantial complexity, according to all participating coordinators, white power environments tend to be significantly more violent in their behaviour and serves as the primary local threat whereas activities relating to radical Islam is more limited. The coordinators speak about the necessity to work for an inclusive society rather than controlling which risks stigmatizing the individuals who could be considered in an already weak and resource scarce situations. The study show that the boroughs dominant prevention mechanisms are formed of structural and socialization prevention methods rather than effective reduction and/or controlling prevention. / Denna studie syftar till att undersöka hur kommuner i Stockholm söderort arbetar med frågor som rör sig kring radikalisering och våldsbejakande extremism rörande vit makt-miljöer och islamistisk extremism samt vilka utmaningar som deltagande kommuner uppger föreligga i framtiden. Det empiriska underlag som studien innefattas av är inhämtat genom semi-strukturella intervjuer med samordnare inom tre olika kommuner i Stockholm söderort.   Studiens teoretiska ramverk utgörs delvis av olika typer av en typologisk modell som innefattar olika typer av brottspreventiva åtgärder och hur dessa typer utgörs med bakgrund av olika överordnade värden. Studiens empiriska material är analyserat i anknytning till brottsprevention som samhällsfenomen i sig samt vilket avseende som preventiva åtgärder utgör i relation till insatsens tidsaspekt-primär/sekundär/tertiär prevention.   Studiens resultat redogör att radikalisering och våldsbejakande extremism är ett komplext fenomen. Samtliga samordnare som deltagit i studien poängterar för vit makt-miljöer som den våldsbejakande miljö som utgör det primära hotet i kommunerna samt att vetskapen gällande aktiviteter av islamistiska extremist-miljöer är mer begränsad. Samordnarna belyser nödvändigheten att arbeta för ett inkluderande samhälle som ska förebygga utanförskap snarare än kontrollutövande insatser som riskerar att stigmatisera individer som redan är i en resurssvag position.   Studien visar på att kommuners dominerande preventionsåtgärder utgörs av struktur och- socialisationsåtgärder snarare än effektiviseringsåtgärder och/eller kontrollåtgärder.

Serious and violent juvenile offenders cause a disproportionate amount of harm to society, yet this population receives very little attention within the realm of empirical research. This research study examined the recidivism outcomes of 296 serious and violent offenders previously exposed to rehabilitative treatment in the Capital and Serious Violent Offender Program provided by the Texas Youth Commission. This group of juveniles was followed for three years following their release from institutionalization. This analysis revealed that 52% of those released were rearrested at least once during the follow-up period for any offense, while 48% of those released desisted from crime altogether. Of those 296 released, 34% were rearrested for at least one new felony offense. The analyses indicate that those involved in various forms of institutional misconduct during institutionalization were significantly more likely to recidivate. African-American race and institutional misconduct in the form of rule infractions emerged as the most consistent predictors of recidivism for this sample. This study concludes with a discussion of policy implications and risk assessment related to the decisions that are made to release this population of violent juvenile offenders.

How does the level of clientelistic distribution effect the risk of violent challenges towards the state in democracies? The relationship between democracy and violent conflict has been extensively tested, with diverging results. Utilizing time-series data from 162 independent democratic states ranging from 1946 to 2018, the relationship is here tested by separating the informal institutions of democracy from the formal. And running the level of clientelistic distribution, a conflicting informal institution, as the independent variable in a linear probability model. Which shows that an increase in the level of clientelism significantly increases the risk of violent challenges.

Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva hur kurdiska kvinnor rekonstruerar könsroller, normer och värderingar i spänningsfältet mellan den kurdiska kulturen och det svenska samhället utifrån en hedersdiskurs. Utifrån syftet har studien diskursanalys som metod och teori med stora, och stundtals nationella, diskurser i fokus. Empirin i studien består av tidigare forskning och sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med kurdiska kvinnor. Kvinnorna i studien deltar fritt oberoende av varandra och de har blivit tillfrågade om de vill delta via bekanta eller på kurdiska forum i sociala medier. Resultatet uppnås genom en kategorisering av den insamlade empirin där fyra olika teman har skapats; Att tillhöra kollektivet, kvinnans möjliga identiteter, våldskapitalet i den kurdiska kulturen och för nationen. Studiens teori och metod består av en diskursanalys inspirerade av Foucault med begreppen identitet, subjektsposition och makt i fokus liksom Bourdieus teori om symboliskt kapital. Inledningen av studien belyser Kurdistans bakgrund och ett perspektiv på det kurdiska samhällets uppbyggnad. Det teoretiska perspektivet är kontextberoende och består av en hedersdiskurs som förekommer på nationell nivå liksom på kollektiv nivå i det kurdiska samhället. Den internationella forskningen kretsar kring patriarkala samhällen med könsroller, våldsnormer och hederskultur i fokus. Den nationella forskningen belyser intersektionella perspektiv utifrån makt, klass och i viss mån etnicitet. Resultatet visar att kvinnan är ett objekt, att våldet är norm och att nationsbyggandet är viktiga principer inom den kurdiska kulturen. Studien problematiserar till viss del även Islams påverkan på den kurdiska kulturen liksom betydelsen av avsaknaden av ett eget moderland för kurder. I studiens slutdiskussion konstateras att Sverige och svenskarna till stor del saknar kulturkompetens vilket skulle kunna vara ett viktigt verktyg för ett framtida samhällsbyggande då flera olika kulturer ska förenas och vävas in i en och samma samhällsgemenskap. Det konstateras också att det behövs mer kunskap kring kulturella skillnader avseende normer och värderingar vilket rimligtvis behöver forskas mer kring för att svenska myndigheter ska kunna förstå hur ett framtida arbete mot hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck ska bedrivas liksom hur verksamheter som främjar jämställdhet ska organisera sitt arbete. / The purpose of this study is to describe how Kurdish women reconstruct gender roles, norms and values in the field between the Kurdish culture and the Swedish society from an honour discourse view. With this purpose the study use discourse-analysis as method and theory with large and occasionally national discourses in focus. Empirical data in this study derives from earlier research and from six semi-structured interviews with Kurdish women. The women of this study participate freely independent of each-other and has been asked if they want to attend via acquaintances or at Kurdish forums in social media. Results are achieved by categorisation of the collected empirical data into four designed themes; to belong to the collective, possible identities for women, violence capital in the Kurdish culture and for the nation. The study´s theory and method consists of a discourse analysis inspired by Foucault with the concepts of identity, subject position and power in focus as well as Bourdieu´s theory of symbolic capital. The introduction of the study elucidates the background of Kurdistan and a perspective on the structure of the Kurdish society. The theoretical perspective is context-dependent and consist of an honour-discourse that exists on a national level as well as on the communal level in the Kurdish society. International research shed light on patriarchal societies with focus on with gender-roles; violence norms and honour-culture. The national research accent intersectional perspectives regarding power, class and to some extent ethnicity. Results show that women are objects, violence is a norm and building of a nation are important principles within the Kurdish culture. The study also problematizes to some extent the influence of Islam on Kurdish culture and that the absence of their own country is of importance. In the concluding discussion it is observed that Sweden and the Swedes substantially lack cultural-competence which could be an important tool for society-development in the future when several different cultures need to be joined together in the same social community. It is also concluded that more knowledge about cultural differences in regards to norms and values is necessary which reasonably should be more studied as Swedish authorities needs to understand how future work against honour-related violence and oppression should be conducted as well as how activities that promotes equality should be organised.

The victim-offender overlap has been extensively studied and documented overthe last decades. Various studies have identified young men as the most commonvictims of violent assault, yet the public, the media, but also criminologicalresearch have actively favored the discourse on the ideal victim. Consequently,not much is known about how victim-offenders experience and perceivevictimization.The present systematic literature review aims to analyze how violent victimizationis experienced and narrated by male victim-offenders in the context of hegemonicmasculinity. Secondly, it aims to analyze in how far the public’s attitudes ofvictim blaming and victim concern are affected by a belief in a just world.Collectively, these findings aim to create a better understanding of criminal men’svictim identities.The public’s empathy and concern are reserved to the innocent and vulnerablevictim; criminal men are perceived as culpable and deserving of victimization.The latter use violence as an instrument of dominance and subordination, in linewith hegemonic masculinity beliefs, and reject the victim identity (antithesis ofmasculinity), forming a new category of the nonideal victim.

Inom kursen för konflikthantering under musiklärarutbildningen på Kungliga Musikhögskolan i Stockholm (KMH) presenteras flera olika modeller för en effektiv konflikthantering. I föreliggande studie har två av dessa konflikthanteringsmodeller – Major Minor Equal (MME) och Non Violent Communication (NVC) ställts i relation till diagnoskriterierna för den neuropsykiatriska funktionsnedsättningen Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur konflikthanteringsmodellerna MME och NVC relaterar till diagnoskriterierna för ADHD samt att undersöka tre musiklärares utsagor kring konflikthantering och ADHD i sin vardag. I undersökningen tillämpades ett diskursanalytiskt perspektiv för att belysa vilka normer och subjektspositioner som framträder inom diskursen i litteraturen om konflikthanteringsmodellerna. Undersökningen omfattar även diskursen kring konflikthanteringsmodeller och ADHD musiklärare emellan. Intervjumetoden var en semistrukturerad fokusgruppintervju av tre musiklärare. I studiens resultat framträder att informanterna upplevde att elever med ADHD kan ha lättare för musikundervisning än mer teoretiska ämnen samtidigt som ämnets ljudande och röriga natur kan vara extra utmanande för denna grupp. Gällande konflikter och ADHD beskrev informanterna att konflikterna med elever som har ADHD skiljde sig såtillvida att de var mer oförutsägbara och impulsstyrda till sin karaktär. Studiens resultat påvisar även att det finns en risk att konflikthanteringsmodellerna MME och NVC är normativa och exkluderar elever med ADHD.