Kirsty Bennett and Jason Roach
The purpose of this study is to explore the review mechanisms’ efficacy from the perspective of cold case reviewers. Live homicide review mechanisms at the 7- and 28-day stage of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the review mechanisms’ efficacy from the perspective of cold case reviewers. Live homicide review mechanisms at the 7- and 28-day stage of an inquiry seek to prevent the case becoming cold (or unsolved) by ensuring lines of inquiry have been suitably identified and progressed. There is also a requirement to ensure the investigation was not swayed by faulty decision-making or cognitive biases. However, the use of the review processes in preventing unsolved cases is unclear, and not subject to much academic discussion.
Design/methodology/approach
This exploratory study explores the review functions through the lens of cold case detectives, currently reviewing unsolved cases to identify progression opportunities. The study uses data from a seven-month, non-participatory observation period with a two-force collaborative cold case unit and 13 semi-structured interviews with cold case review officers. The observations and interviews were simultaneously analysed adhering to an inductive approach to Thematic Analysis.
Findings
The results show procedural guides (e.g. the Major Crime Investigation Manual) are important quality assurance mechanisms for review officers, helping ensure the appropriate and necessary lines of inquiry have been pursued. However, they were keen to emphasise the importance of intuition in progressing cases but felt continuously hindered by a lack of resources and large numbers of applicable cases. To the best of the authors’ knowledge this study is the first exploration of cold case detective’s experiences of the live review processes and how they may pose challenges in case progression for cognitive errors and biases. While the study has identified some challenges facing review officers in nine police forces across the UK, wider examination of policies, practices and mechanisms should be explored to develop the current procedural guidance (e.g. NPCC, 2021).
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge this exploratory study is the first exploration of cold case detective’s experiences of the live review processes and how they may pose challenges in case progression for cognitive errors and biases. While the study has identified some challenges facing review officers in nine police forces across the UK, wider examination of policies, practices and mechanisms should be explored to develop the current procedural guidance (e.g. NPCC, 2021).
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In England and Wales, on average one child every week is a victim of homicide. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether different victim-risk profiles and suspect variables…
Abstract
Purpose
In England and Wales, on average one child every week is a victim of homicide. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether different victim-risk profiles and suspect variables can be differentiated for specific victim ages.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a preliminary analysis of more than 1,000 child homicides committed in England and Wales between 1996 and 2013, from data provided through the Homicide Index. Statistical techniques such as cluster analysis were used to identify specific victim-risk profiles and to analyse suspect variables according to the age of victim.
Findings
The findings present a clearer picture of the risk-age relationship in child homicide, whereby several specific risk profiles are identified for specific child ages, comprised of crime variables including; likely victim and suspect demographics, the most likely circumstances of the homicide and methods of killing. Using similar techniques, a number of tentative clusters of suspects implicated in child homicide are also described and analysed, with suggestions of further analysis that might prove of value.
Practical implications
The practical implications cannot be understated. For those professionals working in the fields of child protection and criminal investigation the identification of risk profiles promises to provide a back-cloth with which to practice when confronted with complex and distressing child homicide scenarios. This research promises most to those currently training in related professions.
Originality/value
Although the statistical level of risk has been linked with the age of a child (with younger children being most vulnerable to killing by a parent or step-parent and older children most vulnerable to killing by acquaintances and strangers), extant research is yet to progress beyond the identification of broad age-risk categories. The paper concludes with a discussion of the likely implications for those charged with reducing and investigating child homicide and outlines the possibility of future research.
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Maria Ioannou and Laura Hammond
Homicidal behaviour is influenced by a complex interaction of behavioural, situational and environmental factors that raise many challenging psychological questions. A large and…
Abstract
Purpose
Homicidal behaviour is influenced by a complex interaction of behavioural, situational and environmental factors that raise many challenging psychological questions. A large and continually growing body of research has explored the crime of homicide, its epidemiology, victims and perpetrators. The area is developing rapidly, opening up new avenues of study. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This special issue of the Journal of Criminal Psychology brings together an exciting array of papers on homicidal behaviour, examining a wide range of issues including juvenile homicide perpetrators, school shootings, child homicide, homicide-suicide and differences in offence behaviours and victim characteristics between hard-to-solve one-off homicides and serial homicides.
Findings
The range of papers included in this special edition cover a wide range of aspects of homicidal behaviour, reflecting the importance of – and the need for – applied research moving away from examining general homicide to specialised research focusing on subtypes of homicide and subgroups of homicide offenders. A research agenda is proposed.
Originality/value
This editorial gives an introduction to the themes explored in this special issue and provides an overview of the selected papers.
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Lala Hajibayova, Mallory McCorkhill and Timothy D. Bowman
In this study, STEM resources reviewed in Goodreads were investigated to determine their authorship, linguistic characteristics and impact. The analysis reveals gender disparity…
Abstract
Purpose
In this study, STEM resources reviewed in Goodreads were investigated to determine their authorship, linguistic characteristics and impact. The analysis reveals gender disparity favoring titles with male authors.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper applies theoretical concepts of knowledge commons to understand how individuals leverage the affordances of the Goodreads platform to share their perceptions of STEM-related books.
Findings
The analysis reveals gender disparity favoring titles with male authors. Female-authored STEM publications represent popular science nonfiction and juvenile genres. Analysis of the scholarly impact of the reviewed titles revealed that Google Scholar provides broader and more diverse coverage than Web of Science. Linguistic analysis of the reviews revealed the relatively low aesthetic disposition of reviewers with an emphasis on embodied experiences that emerged from the reading.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the understanding of the impact of popular STEM resources as well as the influence of the language of user-generated reviews on production, consumption and discoverability of STEM titles.
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Since the 1950s, the closet has been the chief metaphor for conceptualizing the experience of sexual minorities. Social change over the last four decades has begun to dismantle…
Abstract
Since the 1950s, the closet has been the chief metaphor for conceptualizing the experience of sexual minorities. Social change over the last four decades has begun to dismantle some of the social structures that historically policed heteronormativity and forced queer people to manage information about their sexuality in everyday life. Although scholars argue that these changes make it possible for some sexual minorities to live “beyond the closet” (Seidman, 2002), evidence shows the dynamics of the closet persist in organizations. Drawing on a case study of theme park entertainment workers, whose jobs exist at the nexus of structural conditions that research anticipates would end heterosexual domination, I find that what initially appears to be a post-closeted workplace is, in fact, a new iteration: the walk-in closet. More expansive than the corporate or gay-friendly closets, the walk-in closet provides some sexual minorities with a space to disclose their identities, seemingly without cost. Yet the fundamental dynamics of the closet – the subordination of homosexuality to heterosexuality and the continued need for LGB workers to manage information about their sexuality at work – persist through a set of boundaries that contain gayness to organizationally desired places.
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David M. Rosch and Jason Headrick
The Collegiate Leadership Competition (CLC) is a fast-growing tool for post-secondary student leadership development. There, teams practice with a coach for several months, then…
Abstract
The Collegiate Leadership Competition (CLC) is a fast-growing tool for post-secondary student leadership development. There, teams practice with a coach for several months, then compete against teams from other institutions to win competitions based on achieving outcomes and demonstrating effective leadership practices (e.g., authentic collaboration, positive conflict management techniques). In this study, 135 students participated in at least one wave of data collection. Initial results suggested that leadership capacity among participants showed a steady increase from initial pre-test through their competition date to a post-test measured months later. Scores among participants who identified as a man or woman did not statistically differ. These findings, though initial, may indicate that placing students in competitive environments can serve as an important tool to support their leadership development.
James M Connor and Jason Mazanov
Why has the reporting of scandal in sport been increasing? This paper focuses on the commercialisation of sport and changes in the media landscape. A case study of the Australian…
Abstract
Why has the reporting of scandal in sport been increasing? This paper focuses on the commercialisation of sport and changes in the media landscape. A case study of the Australian Rugby League competition and its long-running series of scandals concludes that scandal is inevitable in sport, and that marketing strategies must incorporate this. The authors propose a new strategy - embracement - as an effective way of mitigating scandal and leveraging for sponsor market position.
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Santiago Campero and Aleksandra (Olenka) Kacperczyk
Homophily, or the tendency for individuals to be attracted to those who resemble them, is significantly influential in the formation of startup founding and top management teams…
Abstract
Homophily, or the tendency for individuals to be attracted to those who resemble them, is significantly influential in the formation of startup founding and top management teams. But its role in subsequent stages of startup growth remains largely unclear. We consider the impact of homophily on matching of early workers to startups. We propose that, in the case of underrepresented minority groups, the tendency toward homophily plays an important role in this matching process, albeit in an asymmetric way. In particular, homophily exerts a stronger influence on the supply than the demand side: job candidates are more inclined to favor startups with demographically similar founders than startup founders are inclined to favor demographically similar job-seekers. Focusing on an important group of historically disadvantaged workers – women – we examine these arguments using unique data on the online recruiting of high-tech startups concentrated in the Silicon Valley. We find evidence suggesting that female candidates' propensity to apply to a job at a given startup increases with the proportion of female founders. However, startups with a higher proportion of female founders are not more likely than other startups to favor female candidates in personnel selection.