The death of Jill Meagher: crime and punishment on social media

This paper aims to identify and analyse several predominant issues and discourses as they relate to the burgeoning interrelationship between social media, crime and victim. Abstract In this paper we analyse the kidnapping, rape and murder of Jill Meagher as a case study to highlight a range of issues that emerge in relation to criminalisation, crime prevention and policing strategies on social media - issues that, in our opinion, require immediate and thorough theoretical engagement. An in-depth analysis of Jill Meagher’s case and its newsworthiness in terrestrial media is a challenging task that is beyond the scope of this paper; rather, the focus for this particular paper is on the process of agenda-building, particularly via social media, and the impact of the social environment and the capacity of ‘ordinary’ citizens to influence the agenda-defining process. In addition, we outline other issues that emerged in the aftermath of this case, such as the depth of the target audience on social media, the threat of a ‘trial by social media’ and the place of social media in the context of pre-crime and surveillance debates. Through the analysis of research data we establish some preliminary findings and call for more audacious and critical engagement by criminologists and social scientists in addressing the challenges posed by new technologies

Social Networking Sites and Crime: Is Facebook more than just a Place to Procrastinate?

This paper analyses the most popular social networking website (SNS)2—Facebook—and its engagement with crime. Through media analysis of several Australian and international newspapers and using case studies, the paper investigates the context in which Facebook was recently linked to issues around crime prevention and crime repression. This paper hopes to prompt the debate around a potential role of SNSs in addressing crime, and their impending impact on policy changes. Finally, the paper emphasises the need for such an engagement within a broader context of critical criminology.Sydney Institute of Criminology; School of Social Sciences at the University of Western Sydne

An Approach to a Comprehensive Test Framework for Analysis and Evaluation of Text Line Segmentation Algorithms

The paper introduces a testing framework for the evaluation and validation of text line segmentation algorithms. Text line segmentation represents the key action for correct optical character recognition. Many of the tests for the evaluation of text line segmentation algorithms deal with text databases as reference templates. Because of the mismatch, the reliable testing framework is required. Hence, a new approach to a comprehensive experimental framework for the evaluation of text line segmentation algorithms is proposed. It consists of synthetic multi-like text samples and real handwritten text as well. Although the tests are mutually independent, the results are cross-linked. The proposed method can be used for different types of scripts and languages. Furthermore, two different procedures for the evaluation of algorithm efficiency based on the obtained error type classification are proposed. The first is based on the segmentation line error description, while the second one incorporates well-known signal detection theory. Each of them has different capabilities and convenience, but they can be used as supplements to make the evaluation process efficient. Overall the proposed procedure based on the segmentation line error description has some advantages, characterized by five measures that describe measurement procedures