Discrimination and deprivation: The effects of social comparisons

This article deals with relative deprivation with regard to wages, particularly the effects of gender and occupational sex-type on justice evaluations and on the perception of individual and fraternal deprivation. Underlying this analysis of the factors that allow perceived discrimination to be translated into feelings of deprivation is the basic assumption that workers in different occupational and gender categories report different levels of relative deprivation primarily because of their diverse comparison criteria for evaluating their rewards. The empirical findings point to systematic gender and occupation-type differences in choice of comparison others and in justice considerations.This is a revised version of a paper presented at the 1988 meetings of the Social Justice and Societal problems convention, Leiden, The Netherlands.     

A Cross-National Analysis of the Mediating Effect of Economic Deprivation on Crime

This study develops and tests a model of economic deprivation and crime using data from 52 nations for the years 1995–1999. The model, centering on the role of absolute and relative economic deprivation in mediating crime, predicts that social change causes variation in economic deprivation, which, in turn, leads to variation in crime rates. The results show that the relative deprivation variable, income inequality, mediates a large portion of the effects of two social change variables, population growth and urbanization, on homicide, while one of the absolute deprivation variables, GDP, transmits a great part of the effects of social change variables on theft. Both social change variables were found to have a weak direct connection to homicide and theft rates. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.     

POVERTY,INFANT MORTALITY,AND HOMICIDE RATES IN CROSS-NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE: ASSESSMENTS OF CRITERION AND CONSTRUCT VALIDITY*

This article assesses the extent to which the infant mortality rate might be treated as a “proxy” for poverty in research on cross-national variation in homicide rates. We have assembled a pooled, cross-sectional time-series data set for 16 advanced nations from the 1993–2000 period that includes standard measures of infant mortality and homicide and contains information on the following commonly used “income-based” poverty measures: a measure intended to reflect “absolute” deprivation and a measure intended to reflect “relative” deprivation. With these data, we assess the criterion validity of the infant mortality rate with reference to the two income-based poverty measures. Also, we estimate the effects of the various indicators of disadvantage on homicide rates in regression models, thereby assessing construct validity. The results reveal that the infant mortality rate is correlated more strongly with “relative poverty” than with “absolute poverty,” although much unexplained variance remains. In the regression models shown here, the measure of infant mortality and the relative poverty measure yield significant positive effects on homicide rates, whereas the absolute poverty measure does not exhibit any significant effects. The results of our analyses suggest that it would be premature to dismiss relative deprivation in cross-national research on homicide, and that disadvantage is conceptualized and measured best as a multidimensional construct.     

论我国剥夺军衔制度的法律属性及其立法完善

作为对部分较重犯罪军人和预备役人员的一种处罚，剥夺军衔一直伴随着我国军衔制度的实行而在实践中适用。然而，由于立法规制上的矛盾和缺陷，使我国剥夺军衔在适用性质上一直存在争论，在适用对象上也不尽合理，这已经在一定程度上影响到剥夺军衔的实施效果。如何解决这一问题，本文通过我国剥夺军衔的立法现状考察及适用性质和适用对象分析，提出了应当将剥夺军衔明确规定为一种只对部分较重犯罪的现役军人和预备役军官适用的附加刑，纳入〈中华人民共和国刑法〉等立法建议。     

Poverty, Inequality, and City Homicide Rates

Messner's recent investigation of homicide and relative and absolute economic deprivation is replicated here, but cities rather than SMSA's and three years (1950, 1960, 1970) rather than one (1970) are considered. Because of tremendous intra-unit variation for SMSAs with respect to homicides and sociodemographic characteristics (an important variation that is masked when data are aggregated on a SMSA level), cities are a preferable unit of analysis in cross-sectional investigations of homicide. Where M e s m found a significant negative relationship between percentage of poverty (absolute deprivation) and homicides, I consistently find the opposite pattern as predicted. In both studies, however, there is only a slight and nonsignificant relationship between relative economic deprivation (income inequality) and homicides. Unlike Messner, however, I do not consider this finding surprising. At best, there is only a weak theoretical linkage between homicide and relative economic deprivation. Accordingly, the results of this investigation for both absolute and relative deprivation are neither "perplexing" nor do they warrant the "serious reconsideration of the linkages between poverty, inequality and the homicide rate" that Messner (1982: 112) calls for.     

Street youth, strain theory, and crime

Utilizing a sample of homeless street youth, the study examined a more complete model of the classic strain perspective whereby relative deprivation, monetary dissatisfaction, monetary goals, and objective structural factors lead to crime. It also explored the interactions between these factors and the conditioning effects of peers, beliefs, and attributions. The results revealed that relative deprivation, monetary dissatisfaction, monetary goals, homelessness, and unemployment were related to crime. Further, monetary dissatisfaction and relative deprivation were conditioned by objective economic situations in their relationship with a number of illegal behaviors and interactions between monetary goals and monetary expectations and achievements were associated with crime. The results are discussed in light of the classic strain theories and suggestions are offered for future research.     

Rising punitivity in times of economic crisis? Assessing the relationship between the economic situation and the longing for harsher sanctioning

This paper analyses if the economic situation is related to punitivity, that is, if adverse of economic patterns go along with a longing for harsher sanctions in the population. Several scholars have postulated that increased economic insecurities and anxieties may lead to the preference for harsher sanctioning. Empirical research, however, could not confirm the link between individual economic conditions and punitivity. We therefore introduce the concept of relative deprivation as mechanism between the economic situation and punitivity. Database is a nationwide representative survey (N = 3,073) with a multilevel design that allows to differentiate between the individual and the county level conditions. Our analyses confirmed the impact of the regional economic situation on punitivity. The objective individual situation, however, has no influence on punitivity, when we control for relative deprivation and education. Additionally, we find a significant impact of relative deprivation on punitivity. Relative deprivation itself is dependent on the individual economic situation as well as on the county level economic conditions.     

农民土地维权行动方式考察及法律对策研究

在评析国内外农民土地维权三种观点基础上,认为＂日常抵抗＂、＂依法抗争＂、＂以法抗争＂三种理论模型均存在一定的缺陷,认为就农民阶层的行为动力层面考察,相对剥夺理论更具价值与逻辑双向解释力。根据该理论,主张中国乡村地权的残缺以及法律的倾斜,导致失地农民阶层谈判能力缺失或被削弱,当上访与司法救济均呈现为低效应时,失地农民往往倾向于选择群体性维权路径,以追求维权行动的有效性与利益的最大化,在此基础上进而提出农村土地国有化,土地法权模型趋向开放性,简单化方向发展为解决困局的可能之路。     

Race, economic inequality, and violent crime

The current study used data drawn from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) and the census to investigate the relationship between indicators of interracial and intraracial economic inequality and violent crime rates, including White-on-Black, White-on-White, Black-on-White, and Black-on-Black offenses. Multivariate regression results for ninety-one cities showed that while total inequality and intraracial inequality had no significant association with offending rates, interracial inequality was a strong predictor of the overall violent crime rate and the Black-on-Black crime rate. Overall, these results were interpreted as consistent with J.R. Blau and Blau's (1982) relative deprivation thesis, with secondary support for P.M. Blau's (1977) macrostructural theory of intergroup relations. The findings also helped to clarify the unresolved theoretical issue regarding which reference group was most important in triggering relative deprivation among Blacks. It appeared that prior studies were unable to find support for the relative deprivation thesis for Black crime rates because of data and methodological limitations.     

Changing the law,changing the culture: rethinking the "sleepy resident" problem

Ms. Whetsell examines the Bell Regulations, which limit New York's hospital residents' work hours and require increased supervision from senior doctors, in light of the currently pending federal bill that seeks to do the same. The article argues that the federal government should draw lessons from the New York experience before proceeding with similar guidelines. The article notes that many roadblocks have prevented successful implementation of the New York policy, including a long-standing tradition of "hazing" first-year residents with long, unsupervised hours; medical community resistance to the notion of residents' sleep deprivation and dislike of government interference; and a general fear within the medical community of increased medical malpractice liability and other indicia of "blame culture." The Article concludes that the most effective approach to patient safety related to residency sleep deprivation should work within hospital culture, not against it. The proposed alternative approach would encourage patient safety strategies that value teamwork and cross-discipline collaboration, and consequently result in greater satisfaction for residents, hospitals, and patients.     

INCOME INEQUALITY AND HOMICIDE RATES: CROSS-NATIONAL DATA AND CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORIES

Previous studies have identified but failed to explain satisfactorily the positive relationship between income inequality and homicide rates. This paper proposes an explanation based on the concept of relative deprivation, but also reviews the criminological literature in a search for other theoretically relevant variables. After assessing problems of sampling and measurement, and using a considerably larger sample than used in previous studies, multiple regression analyses reveal positive net effects of both inequality and population growth (reflecting a higher proportion of young people) on homicide rates. Further analyses show that the effects of inequality on homicide are more pronounced in more democratic nations, a finding supporting the relative deprivation explanation. Income inequality also has stronger effects in more densely populated countries, in wealthier nations, and in countries with larger internal security forces.     

Constituent Demand and District‐Focused Legislative Representation

Legislative responsiveness to constituent demands is integral to the concept of representation. Yet, research on district‐focused legislative behavior and priorities, such as allocating resources to districts, has largely ignored constituent demand as an explanatory variable. In this article, we propose a demand‐based theory of district‐targeted legislative resource allocation. The theoretical model suggests that district demand for legislative resources is determined by the district’s relative deprivation of such resources and that legislators have an electoral incentive to respond to district demand due to the credit‐claiming opportunities associated with doing so. These possibilities are tested with region‐wide mass and elite survey data from Latin America, and the results suggest that constituent demand is not only a normatively but also an empirically important predictor of district‐focused legislative behavior.     

Participation in Prison Activities: An Analysis of the Determinants of Participation

The positive associations of participation in prison activities (e.g. socio-cultural activities, educational courses, sports activities, vocational training, etc.), including reduction of recidivism, improvement of wellbeing and contributions to self-worth, are increasingly recognized. However, little is known about the characteristics by which participants differ from non-participants. In response to this research gap, this study aims to examine the determinants of inmate participation in prison activities. The determinants are categorized as outlined by the importation (individual characteristics) and deprivation (prison life characteristics) frameworks. Survey data derived from a research project in a remand prison in Belgium (N?=?486) provided the empirical evidence for the multiple linear regression analyses. The findings indicate that individual deprivation variables are more likely to predict participation. However, our findings also highlight that the combined effects of importation and deprivation characteristics are more powerful in explaining activity participation. The article concludes by discussing some paths for future prison research and implications for theory and practice. It provides impetus to organize and increase participation in prison activities, taking into account the diverse characteristics, needs and competences of the prison population.     

NO COMMUNITY IS AN ISLAND: THE EFFECTS OF RESOURCE DEPRIVATION ON URBAN VIOLENCE IN SPATIALLY AND SOCIALLY PROXIMATE COMMUNITIES*

The link between resource deprivation and urban violence has long been explored in criminological research. Studies, however, have largely ignored the potential for resource deprivation in particular communities to affect rates of violence in others. The relative inattention is notable because of the strong theoretical grounds to anticipate influences that extend both to geographically contiguous areas and to those that, though not contiguous, share similar social characteristics. We argue that such influences—what we term spatial and social proximity effects, respectively—constitute a central feature of community dynamics. To support this argument, we develop and test theoretically derived hypotheses about spatial and social proximity effects of resource deprivation on aggregated and disaggregated homicide counts. Our analyses indicate that local area resource deprivation contributes to violence in socially proximate communities, an effect that, in the case of instrumental homicides, is stronger when such communities are spatially proximate. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for theories focused on community‐level social processes and violence, and for policies aimed at reducing crime in disadvantaged areas.     

Reconsidering strain theory: Operationalization,rival theories,and adult criminality

Recently a revisionist view of strain theory's empirical adequacy has emerged which holds that the theory's explanatory power depends on how it is operationalized. With an adult community sample, we empirically assess three separate measures of strain to explain self-reported crime: the gap between aspirations and expectations, blocked opportunities, and relative deprivation. The findings reveal that the aspirations-expectations measure is not related to criminal involvement, while perceived blocked opportunities and feelings of relative deprivation significantly affect adult offending. These relationships, however, fail to persist after measures from competing theories (i.e., low self-control, differential association, and social bond) are introduced as controls in the regression equations. Thus, measures from rival theories offer a more fruitful approach to explaining self-reported adult offending.A version of this paper was presented at the 1993 American Society of Criminology meetings, Phoenix, Arizona.     

ALIENATION IN PRISON ORGANIZATIONS:

The deprivation modelsuggests that prisonization and inmate opposition the prison organization are a function of the deprivations imposed by organization. Compliance theory maintains that alienationof the organiza tionf participants covaries with the coerciveness of the organization. Data obtained from inmates and officers in six adult correctional institutions are examined to test the hypothesis that inmate alienation is a result of the coer civeness of the institution and a cause of inmate opposition to the institu tion. The findings lend support to the hypothesized model and, further more, suggest the need to distinguish between absolute and relative deprivation.     

Deprivation, importation, and prison suicide: Combined effects of institutional conditions and inmate composition

Previous research on suicide in United States prisons focused on the characteristics of inmates who commit suicide while largely ignoring the prison context surrounding these suicides. The following analyses used national data on 1,082 state prisons in the United States to examine how prison conditions (deprivation) and inmate composition (importation) predict prison suicide. Results of a negative binomial regression model showed that the number of suicides was significantly increased in supermaximum and maximum security prisons (relative to minimum), under conditions of overcrowding and violence, and in prisons where a greater proportion of inmates received mental health services. Although deprivation variables were overwhelmingly predictive of suicide, the results pointed to the combined effects of institutional conditions and inmate composition on prison suicide.     

All Citizens are Created Equal,but Some are More Equal Than Others

Nationality is the legal bond between a person and a state that connotes full and equal membership of the political community. Yet, in the practice of states, not everyone who is admitted as a national enjoys the full package of rights attached, nor the same security of status. The phenomenon of inequality among citizens is particularly apparent when examining the question of how protected the legal bond itself is: citizenship by birth is more secure than citizenship acquired otherwise—such as by naturalisation—and mono citizens are less prone to withdrawal of nationality than persons with dual or multiple nationality. As nationality revocation gains new attention from states as a tool to counter terrorism, prompting much political, public and academic debate, the reality that this measure often applies only to particular sub-groups of citizens demands closer scrutiny. This article explores how law and practice on citizenship deprivation is to be evaluated against contemporary standards of international law. While states justify unequal application of citizenship deprivation measures by invoking the duty to avoid statelessness, this article shows that the application of other international standards such as non-discrimination and the prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of nationality calls into question the legitimacy of citizenship stripping as a security instrument. Finally, the article reflects on the broader implications of the current trend towards greater inequality of citizenship status as a reaction to the perceived threat that terrorism poses to the integrity of the state, discussing how the creation of different classes of citizen is in fact likely to have a deeper and more lasting impact on the foundations of liberal democracies.

     

管制附加剥夺政治权利的合理性质疑

我国刑法关于管制附加剥夺政治权利的规定的合理性存在疑问。从刑罚的内容上审视,剥夺政治权利的主要内容基本包含于管制之中 从刑罚的对象上审视,管制可以附加剥夺政治权利的适用范围十分狭窄 从刑罚的适用上审视,管制附加剥夺政治权利带来操作上的诸多麻烦。因此,管制附加剥夺政治权利的规定应取消为宜。     

我国刑罚体系外资格刑的整合

在我国刑罚体系外存在大量资格刑.这些资格刑无资格刑之名,行资格刑之实,且设计存在诸多不合理之处.为更好地发挥资格刑预防再犯的作用,有必要对这些体系外资格刑进行整合:在刑罚体系中增设禁止从事特定职业或活动资格;分解剥夺政治权利刑,将体系外的剥夺公职资格相关规定纳入其中;增设复权制度.