Changing types of homicide in Scotland and their relationship to types of wider violence

The lack of information about the relationship between homicide and violence was identified as a gap in knowledge almost 30 years ago. Despite this, little research has been conducted worldwide regarding this relationship on a national level since then, and the results of that research have been very contradictory. This lack of research includes Scotland, despite its unenviable reputation of being the most violent country in the Western world. Even so, many studies make unsupported assumptions regarding the relationship between the trends in homicide and wider violence. In order to fill this gap in research, the aim of the thesis is therefore to examine the changing characteristics and patterns of homicide in Scotland and to determine the extent to which changes in homicide reflect the changing characteristics and patterns in wider violence. Overall, both homicide and violence have more than halved over the past twenty years in Scotland. But this is not just a numbers game. Due to the heterogenous nature of these crimes, although the overall picture is one of decline, there might be certain types of homicide and violence that have remained stable, or even increased over this time. In order to examine the relationship between homicide and violence in Scotland, subtypes of both homicide and violence were identified and compared over time. Two datasets were used in the current study; a homicide dataset gathered from the Scottish Homicide Database, spanning from 1990-2015, and a violence dataset gathered from pooled survey sweeps of the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey, spanning from 2008- 09 to 2014-15. Multilevel latent class analysis was used to identify subtypes of both homicide and violence using classifying variables relating to the victim, offender and to the incident of lethal and non-lethal violence. This study presents the first use of this type of multilevel latent class analysis in all criminological research. The results identified four main types of homicide (Stabbing homicides, No Weapon-bludgeoning homicides, Rivalry homicides and Femicides) and four main types of violence (Domestic, Public No Weapon, Public Weapon, and Work-related). When the homicide typology and the violence typology were compared over time it was found that although there are some differences in the subtypes identified, the overall trends in these two crimes seem to follow a similar pattern over time. A key finding from this study is that the general decrease in both homicide and violence was driven by a reduction in the same type of violence, namely violence committed by young men in public places and involving the use of sharp instruments. However, this general decrease in violence masks a hidden relative increase in both lethal and non-lethal forms of domestic violence over time. This thesis will argue that the trends in homicide and violence indeed do follow a similar pattern over time, but that an overall picture of decline does not mean that all types of violence or homicide are decreasing equally. This has vital implications for violence policy. Improved and specific prevention strategies are needed for certain types of lethal and non-lethal violence, such as domestic violence, in order to ensure that all types of violence are prevented equally. This study will also make important theoretical contributions, in that all theories making assumptions about the trends in homicide and violence should examine disaggregated subtypes of these crimes in order to provide a holistic explanation of the changes in these crimes. Limitations of the study are discussed as well as future implications of these findings for policy and theory

Homicide drop in seven European countries: General or specific across countries and crime types?

This study examines homicide trends in seven European countries – Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden and Switzerland – all of which manifested a substantial drop in homicide mortality between 1990 and 2016. By using data from the European Homicide Monitor, a coding scheme created to enable cross-country comparisons, combined with the national cause-of-death statistics, we explore generality versus specificity of the homicide drop. We examine changes in the demographic structure of victims and offenders and disaggregate homicides by different subtypes of lethal incidents, such as family-related homicides referring to conflicts between family members, and criminal milieu homicides occurring in the context of robberies, gang-related conflicts or organised crime. Results point to the generality of the drop: in most of the countries studied, the declining trend included all homicide types. The overall decline in homicide mortality was driven mostly by the decline in male victimisation and offending. In most of the countries, the gender distribution of victims and offenders changed only slightly during the study period, whereas the development of the distribution of homicide types manifested greater diversity. Our findings illustrate the benefits of disaggregated analyses in comparative homicide research

Produktkalkylering och prissättning

Att prissätta en produkt kan vara svårt och att välja en lämplig metod för produktkalkylering likaså. För att kalkyleringen skall ge en rättvisande bild bör man känna till vilka kostnader företaget har samt hur man kategoriserar dessa. Valet av kalkyleringsmetod beror bland annat på hur situationen i företaget ser ut och behovet av information. Man kan komplettera sin produktkalkyl genom att använda sig av en prissättningsstrategi, vilken kan hjälpa företaget att nå sina önskade mål. Examenarbetets teoretiska del kommer att presentera olika prissättningsstrategier och kalkylmodeller. I arbetets empiriska del kommer prissättningen av uppdragsgivarens kalkylobjekt att granskas, till detta kommer en kalkyleringsmodell som passar företagets behov att väljas. Resultatet av kalkylerna visade stora säsongsskillnader vilket sänkte lönsamheten för hela året. Om företaget kunde justera prisnivån och byta prissättningsstrategi under lågsäsongen kunde man på lång sikt öka lönsamheten.Tuotteen hinnoittelu sekä oikean menetelmän valinta tuotelaskenassa voi olla vaikeaa. Jotta laskelma antaisi oikeudenmukaisen kuvan, täytyy tietää yrityksen kulut sekä kuinka nämä luokitellaan. Laskelmamenetelmän valinta on riippuvaista yrityksen tilanteesta ja informaation tarpeesta. Tuotelaskelman voi täydentää hinnoittelutaktiikalla, mikä voi auttaa yritystä saavuttamaan tavoitteensa. Opinnäytetyön teoriaosuus sisältää erilaisia hinnoittelumenetelmiä sekä laskentamalleja. Työn empiirisessä osassa tarkastetaan toimeksiantajan tuotteen hinnoittelua, ja tähän pitää valita yrityksen tarpeisiin soveltuva laskentamalli. Laskelmien tulokset näyttävät, että sesonkien isot eroavaisuudet laski kannattavuutta koko vuoden kannalta. Säätämällä hintaluokkaa ja vaihtamalla hinnoittelumenetelmää matalasesongin ajaksi, pystyttiin pitkällä tähtäimellä nostamaan kannattavuutta.Pricing a product as well as choosing a method of product cost calculation can be a difficult task. The calculation should provide a fair presentation of the total costs of producing a product. To be able to do this, one needs to have a solid understanding of the distinction between different types of costs and know how to classify these properly. The cost calculation method one should use depends on various factors, for example the situation in the company or the requirement for data. To complete a product´s cost calculation, one could use a pricing method which might help a company reach its desired results or goals. In the theoretical part of the thesis various pricing and cost calculation methods are explained. The empirical part will review the pricing of company X’s new product. To succeed in doing this, a suitable calculation method will be chosen. The result of the calculation showed a clear difference in seasons which resulted in a decrease in the overall profitability throughout the year. If the company would adjust its pricing strategy and lower the price during the low seasons it could result in a higher profitability long-term.Den empiriska undersökningen är hemligstämplad

‘You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?’ : A Hauntological Analysis of Carceral Violence in Majora’s Mask

More than mere entertainment, video games can be studied as cultural texts, relevant for the interpretation and understanding of the public imaginary relating to crime. Drawing on ideas of Gothic and popular criminology and using a critical lens of hauntology, this study aims to explore themes of carcerality in the video game The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. By constructing the text of Majora’s Mask as a horror game, and a cultural text ‘in distress’, encompassing a crypt incorporating a phantom of past trauma, this paper identifies themes of carceral violence within the text as symptomatic of a deep, haunting disillusionment of carceral justice. Relating back to the culture and context in which the game was created, we argue that this cultural text is ‘haunted’ by the trauma of lost ideals in relation to punishment; a deep disillusionment towards a carceral machinery producing the socially dead instead of rehabilitating them

In the Shadow of the Monster: Gothic Narratives of Violence Prevention

This article examines narratives by professionals working on preventing gender-based violence in Sweden through a Gothic lens. It draws on interviews with authorities responsible for preventing gender-based violence in one region of Sweden and explores the way national policies are translated into regional action. Our analysis shows how the “reel” is adopted by the professionals and becomes a part of the “real,” resulting in implications for policy. By looking at the participants’ narratives through a Gothic lens, this article argues that local-level professionals working to prevent violence frame gender-based violence as a problem of two “othered” groups: the “Immigrant Other” and the “Rural Other.” Through a narratological strategy of illumination and obscurity, these groups of offenders are rendered both uncanny and monstrous by the respondents—a monstrosity that obscures any violence occurring outside this framing. The problem of gender-based violence is relegated from the site of the mundane to the sphere of the monstrous

Haunting the Margins : Excavating EU Migrants as the ‘Social Ghosts’ of Our Time

Using the spectral as a conceptual metaphor, we explore narratives within Sweden’s welfare institutions and policy discourses surrounding vulnerable EU citizens. We aim to provide a new understanding of vulnerable EU citizens as the social ghosts of our time by exploring how the concept of the social ghost and hauntology can be used to perform ethical critique of social injustice. By excavating examples from already gathered material, we explore the unseen within the already seen to critically examine how vulnerable EU citizens are constructed in social welfare narratives. We argue that the terminology of vulnerable EU citizens not only is constructed as uncanny and abject but also as social ghosts, denied a social and political identity and forced to haunt the margins of societal life. Moreover, we argue that the Swedish state becomes a site for necropolitical power, enabling but also perpetuating lingering violent effects on Roma people

The consistency of sexual homicide characteristics and typologies across countries : a comparison of Canadian and Scottish sexual homicides

Although similar subtypes of sexual homicide have been described crossnationally, no study has directly examined whether two samples from different jurisdictions are comparable. This study therefore aimed to examine whether any substantively meaningful subtypes of sexual homicide cases could be identified in each sample, and if so, whether these subtypes were similar across jurisdictions. Two samples of male sexual homicide offenders were compared: a Scottish sample (n=89) and a Canadian sample (n=150). Subtypes were identified in each sample using LCA, identifying a 3-class solution in each sample. Despite differences between samples on the bivariate level, two very similar subtypes (Controlled-Organized and Diverse) emerged in both samples. Despite differences at the bivariate level, the similarities at the multivariate level indicate similarities in underlying offence pathways which underpin heterogeneity in sexual homicide offenders. The similarities between the subtypes identified suggests potential universality of types of sexual homicides cross-nationally

Homicide drop in seven European countries : general or specific across countries and crime types?

This study examines homicide trends in seven European countries – Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden and Switzerland – all of which manifested a substantial drop in homicide mortality between 1990 and 2016. By using data from the European Homicide Monitor, a coding scheme created to enable cross-country comparisons, combined with the national cause-of-death statistics, we explore generality versus specificity of the homicide drop. We examine changes in the demographic structure of victims and offenders and disaggregate homicides by different subtypes of lethal incidents, such as family-related homicides referring to conflicts between family members, and criminal milieu homicides occurring in the context of robberies, gang-related conflicts or organised crime. Results point to the generality of the drop: in most of the countries studied, the declining trend included all homicide types. The overall decline in homicide mortality was driven mostly by the decline in male victimisation and offending. In most of the countries, the gender distribution of victims and offenders changed only slightly during the study period, whereas the development of the distribution of homicide types manifested greater diversity. Our findings illustrate the benefits of disaggregated analyses in comparative homicide research.This study examines homicide trends in seven European countries – Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden and Switzerland – all of which manifested a substantial drop in homicide mortality between 1990 and 2016. By using data from the European Homicide Monitor, a coding scheme created to enable cross-country comparisons, combined with the national cause-of-death statistics, we explore generality versus specificity of the homicide drop. We examine changes in the demographic structure of victims and offenders and disaggregate homicides by different subtypes of lethal incidents, such as family-related homicides referring to conflicts between family members, and criminal milieu homicides occurring in the context of robberies, gang-related conflicts or organised crime. Results point to the generality of the drop: in most of the countries studied, the declining trend included all homicide types. The overall decline in homicide mortality was driven mostly by the decline in male victimisation and offending. In most of the countries, the gender distribution of victims and offenders changed only slightly during the study period, whereas the development of the distribution of homicide types manifested greater diversity. Our findings illustrate the benefits of disaggregated analyses in comparative homicide research.Peer reviewe