The Pragmatic Research Approach： A Framework for Sustainable Management of Public Housing Estates in Nigeria

The paper is based on a research which tries to explore, explain and develop a framework that would be used in the sustainable post-construction management of public housing estates. Literature review provides evidence of the extent of unoccupied, unfinished, vandalized, and abandoned social housing estates in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, signifying that the availability and management of decent public housing estates in the Niger Delta of Nigeria are lacking because the post-construction management practice is not as good as it should be. The aim of this paper is to assess and set out the methodology and rationale for adopting a strategy to the research. It further, thus, examines case study design strategy that follows exploratory and explanatory methods and other research worldviews as alternatives in philosophy, approach and in research methodology. In addition, the paper draws out the significance of pragmatism as current practical world thinking that is a better answer to a research study aim, objectives and questions which focus on real-life situations. It argues that the development of a framework for use in the post-construction management of social （public） housing estates in a sustainable manner is needed; and that, using a pragmatic philosophical perspective and approach of worldview through a mixed method （qualitative and quantitative） in a case study design line of inquiry in the research methodology would be a better proposition to adopt in the study. The paper recommends that the issues of sampling, validity, reliability, the relationship between the researcher and the subject and other research quandaries are vital when deciding on an appropriate method.     

农民工组织化犯罪的侦控对策——以地缘组织“老乡帮”为研究对象

城乡二元结构背景下,以老乡帮为主要犯罪形式的农民工组织化犯罪日益成为影响社会治安和社会稳定的一颗毒瘤。而老乡帮的存在是社会环境、群体因素、自然因素等多重作用的结果。通过对老乡帮制度性根源和侦控漏洞的剖析,提出信息化、协同化、组织化的侦控策略,可以为压缩老乡帮的生存空间提供理论支持。     

社会学视域下的青少年团伙犯罪

青少年团伙犯罪行为作为青少年犯罪的主要形式,其行为模式是与青少年自身的生理、心理等方面的特点和所处的社会环境无法分开的。青少年团伙犯罪的行为模式可分为纠合期、行动活跃期、消亡期。对青少年团伙犯罪行为模式的分析和解释可以找到对其治理的突破点。     

Withdrawal of Parental Responsibility: Lost Authority and a Lost Opportunity

This comment examines Re D (Withdrawal of Parental Responsibility), the first reported Court of Appeal decision on withdrawal of parental responsibility pursuant to section 4(2A) of the Children Act 1989. It demonstrates that the Court overlooked earlier Court of Appeal authority, resulting in tension in the Court's guidance. The comment criticises the Court of Appeal's characterisation of parental responsibility as entirely child‐centred and its uncritical acceptance that the child's welfare is the paramount consideration in applications for withdrawal of parental responsibility. It argues that such an approach may not adequately respect the parent's interests in retaining parental responsibility, especially in the context of an order which is more draconian in effect than a care order. The impact upon applications for removal of parental responsibility of the new presumption of parental involvement, which was implemented shortly after the decision in Re D, is also considered.     

谈卧底侦查

卧底侦查在侦查实践中有广泛的运用,它是内线侦查的一种方式。在侦破组织严密、行动隐蔽的犯罪集团案件中,具有十分重要的作用。文章对卧底侦查的含义、卧底侦查的条件、卧底侦查人员的选择和卧底人员的打入等几个方面作了探讨,以期在侦查实践中正确运用这一侦查措施。     

Community organization and gang policy response

Analysis of agency response networks in 21 urban areas reveals that the adoption of policy responses is significantly related to social network location. In the 1988 National Youth Gang Intervention and Suppression Program survey, agency representatives were asked to list agencies with which regular contact was maintained in the process of dealing with the youth gang problem. Policy response is measured by the adoption of four policy responses: (1) making staff training available, (2) having a policy for dealing with youth gang problems, (3) having a policy in writing, and (4) attempting to influence legislation on the youth gang problem. Rasch modeling supports the scalability of the four items. The STRUCTURE program is used to identify elements of network structure within each community-specifically cliques and equivalence structures. A generalized linear model analysis of variance of the policy response scale reveals that structural equivalence and clique membership account for 54% of the variation in policy response. An examination of clique means indicates that network structure may retard as well as enhance policy response adaptations. In policy terms, this finding suggests that network structure should be mobilized by those who wish to develop a unified, national-level response to youth gang problems at the local level.     

罪刑关系宽和性的当下拓展与重申

作为罪刑关系的一种特性,罪刑关系的宽和性应在刑事一体化的领域得到拓展。若联系刑事理念和刑事实践的最新发展,则罪刑关系的宽和性应在当下拓展出当事人性、可合作性与可暂缓性,并且当事人性、可合作性与可暂缓性在相互渗透和相互说明之中"拱举"着罪刑关系的宽和性。由当事人性、可合作性与可暂缓性来充实的罪刑关系的宽和性是对罪刑关系本身的肯定,不仅有着深刻的人权意义,而且有着基本的刑事政策意义。罪刑关系是刑事法理论的一个制高点。     

Perpetrators of organised child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the UK: a review of current research

ABSTRACT

Researchers and professionals tend to agree that there continues to be a paucity of evidence on who perpetrates organised child sexual exploitation (CSE). This article provides a review of currently available research and data pertaining to this form of offending. It also considers gaps in existing research and some of the challenges surrounding current data recording. Beginning with a discussion of terminology surrounding organised CSE - which has also been called “group localised grooming”, “internal trafficking” and “contact child sex abuse” – there then follows a request for greater clarity of terminology. Finally, the specific issue of offender characteristics is broached through an examination of available research and evidence relating to the perpetrators of organised CSE.     

Race and Gang Affiliation: An Examination of Multiple Marginality

Criminological research has historically drawn a connection between race/ethnicity and gang membership. The focus on specific racial/ethnic groups and particular gangs in distinct geographical locations within ethnographic research, along with the lack of a comprehensive explanation, however, has limited this research. Thus, the true nature of the relationship between race/ethnicity and gang membership remains unclear. This research expands the contemporary literature regarding race/ethnicity and gang membership by utilizing multisite survey data to examine Vigil’s (1988 Vigil, J. D. 1988. Barrio gangs: Street life and identity in southern California, Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.  [Google Scholar], 2002 Vigil, J. D. 2002. A rainbow of gangs: Street cultures in the mega‐city, Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.  [Google Scholar]) multiple marginality framework of gang involvement for Whites, African Americans, and Hispanics. Results suggest that multiple marginality is a viable explanation for current gang membership. When examining the applicability of this theory for members of various racial/ethnic groups, important differences appear when examining current versus ever gang membership. For current gang membership, significant differences between racial/ethnic groups exist, with ecological/economic stress variables being significant for Whites and social control/street socialization elements representing the important predictors for African Americans and Hispanics. This pattern changes when examining those reporting ever being in a gang. For “ever” gang membership, social control/street socialization elements predict membership for all groups. Policy implications of these results are discussed.     

The Strategic Prevention of Gun Violence Among Gang‐Involved Offenders

Problem‐oriented policing has been suggested as a promising way to understand and prevent complex gang violence problems. A number of jurisdictions have been experimenting with new problem‐oriented frameworks to understand and respond to gun violence among gang‐involved offenders. These interventions are based on the “pulling levers” deterrence strategy that focuses criminal justice and social service attention on a small number of chronically offending gang members responsible for the bulk of urban gun violence problems. As part of the US Department of Justice‐sponsored Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, an interagency task force implemented a pulling levers strategy to prevent gang‐related gun violence in Lowell, Massachusetts. Our impact evaluation suggests that the pulling levers strategy was associated with a statistically significant decrease in the monthly number of gun homicide and gun‐aggravated assault incidents. A comparative analysis of gun homicide and gun‐aggravated assault trends in Lowell relative to other major Massachusetts cities also supports a unique program effect associated with the pulling levers intervention.