A survey of research foci and paradigms in media and communication Master's dissertations and doctoral theses in South Africa

This study set out to evaluate the foci and paradigms of research in media and communication at Master's and doctoral levels in South Africa. A sample of 241 dissertations and theses in the communication, journalism and media studies programmes of nine universities, from 2004 to 2013, categorised into historically black, historically white Afrikaans-medium and English-medium, were obtained from the databases of the National Research Foundation and some of the universities. The findings show that the production of PhD theses is far lower than that of Master's dissertations. Qualitative design tended to be the dominant approach adopted, followed by a mixed methods approach, and the quantitative approach. The focus of most of the theses is journalism, followed by general media studies. The findings further show that historically black universities bottom the table in the production of related theses and dissertations, while white English-speaking universities top the list. Also, there is evidence of a relationship between the historical origin/language of the universities and the research designs adopted, as well as the research focus of the theses. The article recommends, among others, the need for a clear-cut statement of research methodologies and designs in such theses and dissertations, greater motivation for enrolment in PhD programmes, a strengthening of historically black universities for better performance in postgraduate research, and the incorporation of the experimental method in media research in South Africa.     

Development and Validation of a Technique for Casting Anatomical Features and Toolmarks

Time may elapse between examination of marks inflicted on the body and comparison with a potential weapon. Two‐dimensional photographs may be inadequate for effective comparison of a three‐dimensional mark with a putative instrument. Taking a cast and producing a positive image results in a lasting three‐dimensional record. This project aimed to develop and demonstrate the accuracy of an easy technique for production of long‐lasting positive images (using plaster of Paris and dental alginate). Casts of facial features of embalmed cadavers were used to produce a positive image of the face (death mask). Measurements of distances between facial anatomical landmarks were compared with measurements of distances between the same landmarks on the death masks to assess accuracy of reproduction. There were no significant differences between cadaver and death mask in 6 of 9 measurements, indicating this technique has high accuracy with less mobile facial features, but produces deformation of pliable features.     

Offender-focused police intervention in residential burglary and theft from vehicle hot spots: a partially blocked randomized control trial

Objectives

To test an offender-focused police intervention in residential burglary and residential theft from vehicle hot spots and its effect on crime, arrests, and offender recidivism. The intervention was prevention-focused, in which detectives contacted offenders and their families at their homes to discourage criminal activity.

Methods

The study was a partially blocked, randomized controlled field experiment in 24 treatment and 24 control hot spots in one suburban city with average crime levels. Negative binomial and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression were used to test the effect of the presence of intervention and its dosage on crime and offender recidivism, and examination of average and standardized treatment effects were conducted.

Results

The analyses of the hot spot impact measures did not reveal significant results to indicate that the treatment had an effect on crime or arrest counts, or on repeat arrests of the targeted or non-targeted offenders living in the hot spots. However, the relationships, while not significant, were in a promising direction.

Conclusions

The collective findings from all four impact measures suggest that the intervention may have had some influence on the targeted offenders, as well as in the treatment hot spots. So, while the experimental results did not show an impact, they are promising. Limitations include large hot spots, the low case number, low base rates, and inadequate impact measures. Suggestions are provided for police agencies and researchers for implementing preventive offender-focused strategies and conducting studies in suburban cities.

     

Understanding transnational bribery: a corporate crime framework

Despite calls for utilizing white-collar and corporate crime frameworks to study corruption, the role of corporations in supplying bribes to foreign government officials is not well understood. In the current study, we draw upon a recent framework designed to examine the transnational corporate bribery process from an opportunity theory perspective. We apply the framework to a sample of individuals and organizations with enforcement actions levied against them by the United States Department of Justice’s Fraud Section for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 between 2011 and 2016. Using an exploratory mixed methods approach, we assess the prevalence and qualitative nature of multiple components of the framework. Our goal is to develop a systematic way to apply it to different sets of bribery data and to move toward a fuller theoretical account of transnational corporate bribery. Our findings demonstrate the significance of the corporate role in foreign bribery, the utility of the bribery process framework, and some areas of refinement and future theoretical development.

     

The effectiveness of various strategies to improve DNA analysis of formaldehyde-damaged tissues from embalmed cadavers for human identification purposes

Formalin-fixed tissues provide the medical and forensic communities with alternative and often last resort sources of DNA for identification or diagnostic purposes. The DNA in these samples can be highly degraded and chemically damaged, making downstream genotyping using short tandem repeats (STRs) challenging. Therefore, the use of alternative genetic markers, methods that pre-amplify the low amount of good quality DNA present, or methods that repair the damaged DNA template may provide more probative genetic information. This study investigated whether whole genome amplification (WGA) and DNA repair could improve STR typing of formaldehyde-damaged (FD) tissues from embalmed cadavers. Additionally, comparative genotyping success using bi-allelic markers, including INDELs and SNPs, was explored. Calculated random match probabilities (RMPs) using traditional STRs, INDEL markers, and two next generation sequencing (NGS) panels were compared across all samples. Overall, results showed that neither WGA nor DNA repair substantially improved STR success rates from formalin-fixed tissue samples. However, when DNA from FD samples was genotyped using INDEL and SNP-based panels, the RMP of each sample was markedly lower than the RMPs calculated from partial STR profiles. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that rather than attempting to improve the quantity and quality of severely damaged and degraded DNA prior to STR typing, a more productive approach may be to target smaller amplicons to provide more discriminatory DNA identifications. Furthermore, an NGS panel with less loci may yield better results when examining FD samples, due to more optimized chemistries that result in greater allelic balance and amplicon coverage.     

A prospective follow-up of children with anorexia nervosa

We report on a prospective follow-up (mean 3.1 years) of 22 children with anorexia nervosa (mean age at onset—12.1). Adequate information was obtained for 18 children. The specific outcome was good in 10 (55.5%), intermediate in 5 (27.8%), and poor in 3 (16.7%); none had died. No prognostic factors were identified. The findings are compared with those from the long term follow-up of a previous cohort of children with anorexia nervosa, and confirm the unsatisfactory prognosis for this age group.Major research interest concerns the etiology and treatment of eating disorders in children and adolescents.Has been with the Eating Disorders Research Team since 1992. His major interest is research methodologyHas been with the eating disorders Research Team since 1989. Her major interests are in obsessional-compulsive problems and eating disorders in children.Major research interests include eating disorders in children and adolescents, cystic fibrosis, the effects of transplantation in children and adherence to treatment. Chief Editor ofClinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Has been collaborating with the Eating Disorders Research Team since 1985.     

Predicting and Preventing the Theft of Electronic Products

The research presented within this paper was conducted as part of a 2-year project (Project MARC) to develop and render operational a mechanism to assess the risk of theft of electronic products. Clarke and Newman (Secured goods by design - a plan for security coding of electronic products. London: Department of Trade and Industry, 2002) proposed the use of two checklists—one to measure vulnerability, the other to measure security—as a means of categorising products according to their vulnerability to theft. Consultation with key stakeholders yielded the common view that such a mechanism was worth pursuing, but that it must reflect the language of those who would use it. An extensive consultation with stakeholders from ten European member states ensued. Participants were asked to rate a range of electronic products in terms of vulnerability and security, and to explain their ratings. Their responses were used to develop two checklists that incorporate a variety of factors, weighted according to the frequency with which they were expressed. The crime vulnerability checklist developed within this paper is judged fit-for-purpose as a provisional measurement but we urge caution in relation to the security checklist.

Activist Lawyers in Post‐Tiananmen China

What do the activities of twenty‐first‐century Chinese lawyers tell us about the origins and prospects of legal activism under authoritarianism? This essay fits China's Human Rights Lawyers (2014) into an emerging literature on authoritarian legality. The book offers an insider view of a circle of lawyers interested in using China's newly accessible courts as a platform for social activism. It highlights the difficulty of rights lawyers’ day‐to‐day work against the backdrop of the Chinese state's long‐term experiment in how to harness the power of law without ceding political control.     

Prisons,Proportionality and Recent Penal History

A leading aim of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 was to install the principle of proportionality as the primary rationale for sentencing and to bring about a reduction in the use of imprisonment.  In the decade that followed the prison population in England and Wales rose steeply.  This article examines the reasons for the rising use of prison, in order to assess whether proportionality (or ‘just deserts’) was tried and failed.  It argues that in practice the proportionality principle was overwhelmed by other influences, and that deterrence and incapacitation were the main drivers of the increasing use of imprisonment.  The article goes on to argue that proportionality theories have within them the resources to produce penal moderation, notably the ‘drowning out’ argument, the human rights argument, and decrementalism.  The article concludes by rejecting the claim that proportionality theories are likely in practice to result in escalating punishment.