Monday 25 October 2010

New technology in 'crime control'

I am a fan of new technology but sometimes it can just go too far. This is what I would call 'scary stuff':

http://mashable.com/2010/10/25/sex-offender-tracker/

What, exactly, is the point of this aspect of the App: "an augmented reality view allows users to look through the camera lens of their smartphones to pull up addresses in any given direction" I can't see any point other than making people even more scared than they already must be if they are using this app.

I am a fan of new technology but sometimes it goes wrong: offenders unmonitored as tagging system fails

How cool- it's the twenty-first century panopticon, especially this bit: The offenders - about 300 in the state, most of them sex offenders - were never aware they were not being tracked, state Department of Corrections spokeswoman Linda Eggert said.

I wait, in dread, for the day that the app in the first story gets access to the data in the second.

Monday 11 October 2010

Criminology Seminars starting again with Sytske Besemer and Murray Straus

This Thursday (14 October 2010) the IoC Public Seminar Series for Michaelmas term will start with a talk by professor Murray Straus on corporal punishment by parents and links to criminal behaviour. This seminar will be preceded by a presentation given by Sytske Besemer, PhD student at the IoC, on the intergenerational transmission of violence. Sytske's presentation starts at 4.30, professor Straus' presentation will begin at 5.30. All are welcome!
For an overview of talks this term, visit the Institute of Criminology website.

Monday 4 October 2010

Amy Nivette wins 2010 ASC Gene Carte student paper competition

We are delighted to announce that Amy Nivette, Ph.D. student at the Institute of Criminology in Cambridge, has won the 2010 ASC Gene Carte Student Paper Competition with her paper titled 'Cross-national predictors of homicide: A meta-analysis'. The prize will be awarded at the Annual Meeting Awards Ceremony of the American Society of Criminology on Wednesday 17 November at 6.30.

Below is the abstract of Amy's paper:
"Cross-national research has increased in the past few decades, resulting in a large body of empirical research. In particular, cross-national studies are often limited in data sources, which restrict variable selection to debatable proxy indicators. This study therefore utilizes meta-analytic techniques to examine major cross-national predictors of homicide in order to determine strengths and weaknesses in theory and design. The findings indicate several critical limitations to cross-national research, including biased sample composition, a lack of theoretical clarity in predictor operationalizations, and an overwhelming reliance on cross-sectional design. The predictors that showed the strongest mean effects were Latin American regional dummy variables, income inequality indicators and the decommodification index. Conversely, static population indicators, democracy indices, and measures of economic development had the weakest effects on homicide."

Friday 1 October 2010

Fellowship program

Five College Fellowship Program 2011-12*

Five Colleges is pleased to announce its search for Fellows for the
2011-2012 academic year.

Five College Fellowships offer year-long residencies for doctoral students
completing dissertations. The program supports scholars from
under-represented groups and/or scholars with unique interests and histories
whose engagement in the Academy will enrich scholarship and teaching.
Normally, four fellowships are awarded each year.

Each Fellow is hosted within an appropriate department or program at Amherst
College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College or Smith College. (At
Smith, recipients hold a Mendenhall Fellowship.) This is a residential
fellowship. Fellows are provided research and teaching mentors and connected
through the consortial office to resources and scholars across the five
campuses, which include UMass Amherst. The office also supports meetings of
the Fellows throughout the year.

The fellowship includes a stipend of $30,000, a research grant, health
benefits, office space, housing or housing assistance, and library
privileges at all five campuses belonging to the consortium.

While the award places primary emphasis on completion of the dissertation,
most fellows teach at their hosting institution, but never more than a
single one-semester course.

*Date of Fellowship:* August 31, 2011 to May 31, 2012 (non-renewable)
*Stipend:* $30,000
*Review of Applications Begins:* January 3, 2011
*Awards Announced:* March 2011

For application instructions, go to:

http://www.fivecolleges.edu/academic_programs/academprog_fellowship_app.html