Immigrants as Symbolic Assailants

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jize Jiang ◽  
Edna Erez
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Partisan Politics ◽  
Current Configuration ◽  
Immigration Control ◽  
Minority Threat ◽  
The Social

Despite little evidence of an immigration-crime nexus, many American jurisdictions have adopted a punitive approach to undocumented immigrants and an increasingly restrictive and exclusive system of immigration control. The extensive deployment of criminal justice measures to address the immigration “problem” led to the growth of a crimmigration apparatus—a mesh of immigration and criminal justice systems. Drawing on extant literature and applying the framework of the penal field, the article examines the social dynamics, processes, and consequences of crimmigration. It is argued that the portrayal of immigrants as “symbolic assailants” has facilitated the creation and operation of crimmigration under the guise of crime prevention rather than for addressing terrorism and national security—the presumed purpose of utilizing crimmigration practices. The current configuration of crimmigration across the United States is the interactive product of minority threat, partisan politics, and federalism of the American government system, which have jointly formed a “multilayered patchwork” of immigration control. The article first outlines the analytical framework; reviews the social construction of immigrant “criminality”; and describes the punitive and exclusive laws, policies, and enforcement practices established as responses to this “threat.” The dilemmas, contradictions, and contestations associated with crimmigration, including collateral impacts on immigrants, their families and communities, and the criminal justice system, are analyzed; and policy implications are drawn and discussed.

scholarly journals Amnesty or Abolition?

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 54-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Lytle Hernández
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Undocumented Immigrants ◽  
Mass Incarceration ◽  
The United States ◽  
Immigration Control ◽  
The Social

Convicts and undocumented immigrants are similarly excluded from full social and political membership in the United States. Disfranchised, denied core protections of the social welfare state and subject to forced removal from their homes, families, and communities, convicts and undocumented immigrants, together, occupy the caste of outsiders living within the United States. This essay explores the rise of the criminal justice and immigration control systems that frame the caste of outsiders. Reaching back to the forgotten origins of immigration control during the era of black emancipation, this essay highlights the deep and allied inequities rooted in the rise of immigration control and mass incarceration.

scholarly journals Methodological and Measurement Advances in Social Determinants of HIV: View from NIH

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Greenwood ◽  
Paul Gaist ◽  
Ann Namkung ◽  
Dianne Rausch
Keyword(s):  
Social Determinants ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Structural Determinants ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Suboptimal Care ◽  
The Social ◽  
Hiv Acquisition ◽  
Ecological Momentary

AbstractSocial determinants are increasingly understood as key contributors to patterns of heightened risk for HIV acquisition and suboptimal care and treatment outcomes. Yet, the ability to rigorously model, map and measure these nuanced social dynamics has been a challenge, resulting in limited examples of effective interventions and resource allocation. In 2016, the United States National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) issued a Request for Applications calling for methodological innovations around the social determinants of HIV. In May of 2019, NIMH, in collaboration with American University’s Center on Health, Risk and Society and the DC Center for AIDS Research, sponsored a symposium to bring together the funded teams to share accomplishments, distill lessons learned and reflect on the state of the science with other key stakeholders. Presentations focused on causal inference, multi-level analysis and mathematical modeling (Models); geospatial analytics and ecological momentary assessments (Maps); and measurement of social and structural determinants including inequalities and stigmas (Measures). Cross-cutting and higher-level themes were discussed and largely focused on the importance of critical and careful integration of social theory, community engagement and mixed methodologies into research on the social determinants of HIV.

From the Inside/Out

2011 ◽  
Vol 56 (7) ◽  
pp. 1037-1062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aida Y. Hass ◽  
Caryn E. Saxon
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Restorative Justice ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Prisoner Reentry ◽  
Comprehensive Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
Attitudes And Perceptions ◽  
Rehabilitative Measures ◽  
Alternative Processes ◽  
Inside Out

The application of criminal justice sanctions is often misguided by a failure to recognize the need for a comprehensive approach in the transformation of offenders into law-abiding citizens. Restorative justice is a growing movement within criminal justice that recognizes the disconnect between offender rehabilitative measures and the social dynamics within which offender reentry takes place. By using restorative approaches to justice, what one hopes of these alternative processes is that the offenders become reconnected to the community and its values, something rarely seen in retributive models in which punishment is imposed and offenders can often experience further alienation from society. In this study, the authors wish to examine factors that contribute to failed prisoner reentry and reintegration and explore how restorative reintegration processes can address these factors as well as the needs, attitudes, and perceptions that help construct and maintain many of the obstacles and barriers returning inmates face when attempting to reintegrate into society.

Social Norms and the Relationship Between Cigarette Use and Religiosity Among Adolescents in the United States

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Gryczynski ◽  
Brian W. Ward
Keyword(s):  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Reference Group ◽  
The United States ◽  
Negative Association ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Cigarette Use ◽  
Learning Networks ◽  
The Social ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Social Learning Processes

This study investigated the social dynamics that underlie the negative association between religiosity and cigarette use among U.S. adolescents. Using data from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the authors used a theory-based conceptual model (vicarious learning networks [VLN]) to examine the role that key reference group norms play in the religiosity—smoking relationship. This relationship is partially mediated by parents’ and close friends’ perceived disapproval for smoking. However, religiosity maintains a strong negative association with smoking. Consistent with the VLN model, cigarette use varied substantively based on reference group normative configurations. To the extent that the protective effects of religiosity arise from its influence in structuring the social milieu, some of religiosity’s benefits could potentially be leveraged through interventions that promote healthy norms among reference groups within the social network. The VLN model may be a useful tool for conceptualizing the transmission of health behavior through social learning processes.

Queer Criminology and Ethnography

2021 ◽  
pp. 268-287
Author(s):  
Vanessa R. Panfil
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Priority Areas ◽  
The Social ◽  
International Projects ◽  
Organizing Principles

This chapter outlines what is entailed by queer criminological ethnographies. It first discusses the methodologies and findings of notable ethnographic works about LGBTQ populations, including those not originally designed as ethnographies, and also briefly reviews relevant interview-based or participatory action studies. It next explores discussions of queer epistemology in queer criminological work and the social science enterprise to evaluate to what extent there is a “queer method” and what its organizing principles are (or should be). It then evaluates several debates relevant to conducting ethnography in queer criminology, including methodological and political considerations such as how to situate the work and whether traditional ethnographic approaches are appropriate. The chapter presents detailed descriptions of priority areas for future research, including international projects. The chapter closes with a discussion of policy implications that may emerge from queer criminology ethnographies, which are relevant not only for criminal justice settings but for criminology as a field.

Examining the Language of Carders

2011 ◽  
pp. 127-143
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Holt
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Sensitive Information ◽  
The Social ◽  
Web Forums ◽  
New Form ◽  
Insight Into

The threat posed by a new form of cybercrime called carding--or the illegal acquisition, sale, and exchange of sensitive information--has increased in recent years. Few researchers, however, have considered the social dynamics driving this behavior. This chapter explores the argot, or language, used by carders through a qualitative analysis of 300 threads from six web forums run by and for data thieves. The terms used to convey knowledge about the information and services sold are explored in this chapter. In addition, the hierarchy and status of actors within carding communities are examined to understand how language shapes the social dynamics of the market. The findings provide insight into this emerging form of cybercrime, and the values driving carders’ behavior. Policy implications for law enforcement intervention are also discussed.

The Sociotechnical Nature of Mobile Computing Work

2007 ◽  
pp. 152-171
Author(s):  
Steve Sawyer ◽  
Andrea Tapia
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Mobile Computing ◽  
The United States ◽  
Third Generation ◽  
Social Informatics ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Social Shaping Of Technology ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Shaping

In this paper we discuss the sociotechnical nature of mobile computing as used by three policing agencies within the United States. Mobile devices, access and service was provided via a third generation wireless network to a focal application, Pennsylvania’s Justice NETwork (JNET), a secure web-based portal connecting authorized users to a set of 23 federated criminal justice and law enforcement databases via a query-based interface. In this study we conceptualize mobility and policing as a sociotechnical ensemble that builds on the social-shaping of technology perspective and the tradition of sociotechncial theorizing focusing on the co-design of work practices and technologies to support work. Drawing from the social informatics tradition, we turn a critical, empirical, and contextual lens on the practices of mobility and work. Our analysis of the data leads us to find that the social and the technical are still separate in this mobile work context. This simple view of social and technical as related, but distinct, often leads to problems with collecting and interpreting evidence of ICT-based system’s design and use. We further note this over-simplification of sociotechnical action is likely to continue unless more viable analytic approaches are developed and the assumptions of the current techno-determinist approaches challenged more explicitly.

scholarly journals THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF RETIREMENT AND GENDER DIFFERENCES IN RETIREMENT TIMING

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S383-S383
Author(s):  
Michelle Silver
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pension Plans ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Social Construct ◽  
The Social

Abstract Retirement is an ever-evolving, dynamic, and complex social construct we associate with the end of one’s career. For some the term is a bad word and a term that needs to be retired, while others can’t wait to retire and enjoy the good life. This paper examines a brief history of retirement and theoretical work from feminist gerontology, while focusing on gender differences in the social construction of retirement and policy implications of 10 different government pension plans. In doing so, it looks at policy implications associated with the standard retirement age tied to public pension plans in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. Findings indicate that women live longer than men in each country, yet women retire earlier and receive lower pensions than men. As the landscape surrounding women’s work experiences changes and concerns about gender equity in salaries and workplace compensation continue to be raised, this paper extends the concerns to raise important questions about inequities in retirement.

Populism and the yearning for closure: From economic to cultural fragility

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 477-492
Author(s):  
Sibylle van der Walt
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social World ◽  
Western World ◽  
Far Right ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cultural Transformations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Western Democracies

Since the Brexit-vote and the election of a far-right businessman as President of the United States, the social sciences have been struggling to explain the societal conditions that nourish the increasing appeal of far-right parties and leaders in the Western world. The article’s main thesis is that the currently leading sociological paradigm, the theory of globalization losers, is not sufficient to understand the social dynamics in question. Starting from a discussion of the recent work of German sociologist Wilhelm Heitmeyer, it is argued that the best insight in far-right voter’s motivations and emotions can be found in the work of Margaret Canovan. The article shows further that a sociological investigation into the socio-psychological dynamics of the rise of the far-right should take into account broader cultural transformations that have been weakening the social world of Western democracies in the past 30 years, namely individualization, acceleration and demographic decline. In times of crisis (the ‘modernization’ of Eastern Europe and the financial crisis of 2007), these transformations become manifest as a general crisis of advanced capitalism.

State Speech vs. Hate Speech

2006 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-100
Author(s):  
Michael Weinman ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
The United States ◽  
The State ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Do So ◽  
New View

This is, indeed, another work on the subject of hate speech regulation in the United States. And yet, it is not just another such work. For my goal here is not to settle the jurisprudential arguments regarding the possibility of any specific hate speech regulation, either extant or yet to be conceived, withstanding a Constitutional test. Nor is it my intention to demonstrate, on the basis of a comparative study of existing legislation, that such regulation either is or is not effective in addressing or redressing the social ills of hatred, discrimination, and inequality. Rather, I will achieve greater analytical clarity about just what the harms of hate speech are. I do so in order to reinvigorate the question about regulation with a new view of what exactly the object needing attention is, by demonstrating that though there are real harms here, the state cannot provide a regulatory remedy (at least qua criminal justice). Thus, in my conclusion I will assert that the question of what we might do differently in response to hate speech can only be answered —however provisionally—insofar as we first confront how we need to think differently about it. Specifically, I will argue that we need to replace the emphasis on redressing harms once they have occurred with a new emphasis on addressing, and ultimately eliminating, the conditions which make those harms possible in the first place.

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