Depictions of correctional officers in newspaper media: an ethnographic content analysis

The public relies on the media for most of its information about the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, media depictions of justice actors are not always accurate which, in turn, can lead to distorted images about the system and its operations. Using ethnographic content analysis to analyze 489 articles from major newspapers across the United States, this study seeks to discern how correctional officers and the jobs that they perform are portrayed in print media. The results suggest that correctional officers are overwhelmingly portrayed negatively, with 79.6% of the articles in the research sample presenting one of six distinct negative themes. A typology of these themes is explored in detail, along with its implications for societal support for corrections and correctional officers, especially with regard to the media’s potential contributions to officers’ job stress, burnout, and job dissatisfaction.     

The filtered encounter: online dating and the problem of filtering through excessive information

Technologies are meant to enable us to contact more people, more often, and in this way “network” with others. Applied to dating, this would appear to be a good thing, as people would thereby benefit from having additional choice. However, the flip side of the coin is that because of the increased choice we get a case of too much information, too many choices, too many potential (and potentially unsatisfying) mates. We find in a qualitative study of online daters that filtering through the many options, partners and choices offered by online dating sites is a prime concern in online dating. Our aim in this paper is to characterize these filtering techniques, and also to discuss their potential social impact. We find that filtering begins at the initial screening process as daters try to “catch out” incongruous behaviour before investing too much energy in someone unsuitable. Participants quickly become increasingly technologically literate of the code-based features of the site in their quest for greater filtering efficiency. They also come to rely on the cultivation of their own filtering “instinct”. In the end, however, the prevalence and ongoing practice of filtering creates what can only be termed a shopping culture of dating, which often serves to sap the dating energies of participants.     

Allegations Lost and Found: the afterlife of Dominican sugar slavery

In 2007 visual media reports revived allegations that sugar was being produced in the Dominican Republic using the labour of Haitian slaves. Beyond raising the general public's awareness of the plight of migrant sugarcane workers, the films and their surrounding publicity have led to the Dominican sugar slavery allegation being adopted in yearly global overview reports produced by agencies of the US Departments of Labor and State. The Dominican Republic has as a result been put back on an aid-and-trade-sanctionable track, more than 15 years after sugar slavery last featured as an allegation in any leading monitor group's reports. All this, plus evidence that one videographer knew central aspects of the allegation to be false at the moment of its public release, mark the revival of the Dominican sugar slavery allegation as a precursor to the media furor triggered by the Kony 2012 ‘viral video’. Analysis of the visual media afterlife of Dominican sugar slavery suggests that the ‘Kony effect’ may be less new than meets the eye, for Kony 2012 is not the first video campaign to promote yesterday's human rights crisis as today's imperative for action.     

The origins of quare impedit

The writ of quare impedit was, until the mid-nineteenth century, a standard real action for the recovery of advowsons. This article argues that the writ was most likely created between 1187 and 1196, and that it was, at least in part, a response to pressure from religious houses that acquired advowsons by charter of gift and were precluded from bringing the writ of right of advowson or the assize of darrein presentment.     

Biological protective factors of criminal offending: implications for risk assessment research and practice

Despite the recognition of the practical and theoretical contributions of protective factors in risk assessment practice, the field has granted significant attention to psychosocial protective factors to the apparent neglect of biological protective factors. This review found a wealth of evidence which strongly and convincingly indicates that biological factors such as high intelligent quotient, executive functioning, skin conductance, and resting heart rate offer protection against criminal and antisocial behaviors. More importantly, the literature is supportive of the view that both risk and protective factors co-occur in the same variables, thus questioning the practice of classifying a set of variables as strictly risk or protective. Specifically, the risk–protective effect is contingent upon individual’s rating as high or low on the factor in question. It is recommended that researchers, academicians, and practitioners strive in their efforts to canvass other salient factors beyond the psychosocial factors as these factors can significantly and positively impact the risk assessment field, both theoretically and practically.     

Natural Mentoring Relationships as a Protective Factor for Victims of Bullying

School bullying is associated with a host of unfavorable psychosocial outcomes, even as victims enter college. Thus, the identification of modifiable protective factors remains an important goal of psychological research in the context of resilience theory. The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating effect of natural mentoring relationships (NMRs) on the association between peer victimization and college adjustment. Participants were 239 undergraduate students from a rural Midwestern university. Results indicated that higher levels of past peer victimization were associated with higher levels of depression and interpersonal problems. The presence of NMRs moderated the relationship between past peer victimization and interpersonal problems. Though further study is necessary, NMRs among school-aged students who experience bullying may be beneficial.     

Jettisoning Illusions About the Median Mandate

We endorse G. Bingham Powell's cautionary corrective to challenge Paul Warwick's conclusions that the median mandate thesis needs to be jettisoned because there is not a close match between median voter and government left‐right positions. More to the point, however, we go beyond Powell's mild caution to challenge Warwick's rejection more assertively and thoroughly. We show his rejection mistakes responsiveness for congruence, misapprehends how and why the median mandate thesis distinguishes between those two concepts, and fails to take account of a measurement artifact associated with his survey data.     

Recreational Sporting Activity Vehicle‐Related Deaths

Deaths occurring in the setting of nonprofessional, vehicle‐related, recreational sporting activities occurring on land or in water during warm or winter months represent a diverse group of cases. These deaths tend to involve scenarios where the participants are purposefully attempting to enjoy themselves prior to experiencing sudden, catastrophic accidents resulting in lethal outcomes. Ultimately, many of the deaths are related to the high speed at which these vehicle‐related activities normally occur. Three broad categories of factors may play contributory roles in death: human factors, vehicle factors, and environmental factors. A series of selected cases are presented, representing examples of varying activity types, involving motorized and nonmotorized vehicles, land and water activities, and warm weather and cold weather environments. For each case, the various human, vehicle and environmental factors believed to be contributory to the accident are considered, and strategies for prevention of these and similar deaths involving recreational sporting vehicles are presented.