International Journal of Criminology and Sociology

Naxal Insurgency in India: Managing Conflict through Empowerment

2024-01-26T12:53:20+00:00

The election of an indigenous (Adivasi) lady as the President of India added a new dynamic to the centuries-old Naxal insurgency in India. Not receiving a fair deal after India’s independence, the Naxals adopted Maoist ideology. By 2010 the insurgency engulfed one-third of India and posed a serious security challenge. Since then, the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments have adopted different strategies to curtail the insurgency, but it still persists. Against this backdrop, this article briefly discusses the historical antecedents; delineates in detail the operational strategies adopted by the Naxals, the counter-insurgency strategies adopted by the Congress and BJP governments; developmental challenges faced by the Adivasis; and suggests recommendations for how the President of India, an Adivasi herself, can be instrumental in containing the Naxal insurgency threats through empowerment.

Disentangling the Contexts of Adolescent Substance Use: An Examination of Gender Differences

2024-02-12T14:37:48+00:00

Previous studies of adolescent substance use have noted how adolescent substance use is influenced by both protective and risk factors. Additionally, researchers have also noted the gradual convergence of female and male substance use, resulting in similar substance use patterns across the two. Using data from a nationally representative sample of high school seniors, this study examines the distinct effects of contextual factors upon the substance use by adolescent females and males. While both girls and boys do report similar patterns of substance use, the analyses demonstrate that peer, family, school, and work contexts affect females’ and males’ substance use in different manners. While peers readily affect drinking behaviors of each sex, peer influence yields significant associations with females’ vaping, but not males’. Among males, family contextual factors are associated with both vaping and marijuana use, while females’ vaping and marijuana use are more substantially affected by school and work contexts. The findings of this study, along with the implications thereof, are framed within the ecodevelopmental perspective.

The Role of Social Systems in Absorption of Immigrants in Israel

2024-02-12T14:37:45+00:00

Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) are the largest ethnic unit to have arrived in Israel and, as such, have had a major impact on Israeli society in cultural, social and demographic terms. The manner in which the immigrants were absorbed in social institutions influenced the adaptation strategies they adopted, which changed over time.

The research is aimed at examining the extent to which the immigrants have, according to their perception, adapted to the social frameworks, based on their experiences in connecting with the local population through the educational system and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The research is a qualitative one, in the framework of which interviews were conducted with 28 immigrants who had immigrated to Israel as children and adolescents.

The immigrants developed adaptation strategies which changed as they transitioned from the educational system to the military framework, and subsequently settled into civilian life.

The New Neighborhood Watch: An Exploratory Study of the Nextdoor App and Crime Narratives

2024-03-18T12:47:37+00:00

Community members use the Nextdoor App to prevent crime and circulate information when suspicious activity or criminal misconduct is afoot. The Nextdoor App operates like other popular social media platforms, but unlike Facebook and Twitter, it connects citizens based on geography instead of areas of interest. One unique aspect of the app is posting events and perceptions of suspicious behavior and criminal acts. User posts can provide narratives on feelings, incidents, and perceptions of crime in designated neighborhoods. This exploratory study focuses on how community members in an urban Colorado area use the app as a high-tech Neighborhood Watch. A qualitative research approach with a thematic analysis is implemented to examine neighbors’ perceptions of crime events and community safety. The findings depict that citizens engaged in Nextdoor communications are frustrated with petty community incivilities, property crimes, and law enforcement actions. In addition, the results show that lessons in being a capable guardian, possible increases in fear levels, and surveillance activities are important aspects of understanding social media and crime.

Customary Deprivation: Perceptions of Legatee in Igbo land and Female Property Crimes amongst Enugu Urban Inhabitants

2024-03-29T11:14:46+00:00

This study aims to garner perceptions of Enugu inhabitants on the customary practice of property transfer to inheritors and its nexus to female property crimes (FPCs). Inheritance is an age-old practice which tends to favour male folks. Women have often been relegated to the kitchen. This practice is embedded in most African cultures where the birth of a male is valued over the birth of a female child. Denial of female rights of inheritance, denial of ownership of landed property, and female marginalization in almost all social institutions seem to stem from patriarchy which in turn tend to predispose women to property crimes. This study anchored on Relative Deprivation theory. Mixed method approach was adopted. Sampling of participant was based on multi-stage sampling procedure and purposive sampling. The sample size is 1015 for the quantitative part of the study and nine key informants for the qualitative aspect. This study found that the customary practice of legatee in Igbo land is embedded in patriarchy and this holds adverse economic effects for women, culminating in FPCs which involve women of youthful age who are mostly in full blown exposure of the existing privileges and cover offered to women in patriarchal societies especially when married. This study concludes that patriarchy understood as domination of vital social and political positions by men and exclusion of women from inheriting family lands and properties is implicit to FPCs.

Gender Differences in Facebook Addiction as a Coping Response to Social Stressors and Poor Self-Confidence

2024-03-29T11:14:45+00:00

The Threat Appraisal and Coping Theory suggests that when individuals perceive social stressors from important interpersonal relationships (family, friends, romance), and when they have poor self-confidence, they may display the coping behavior of seeking social support, including that provided by social media platforms such as Facebook. However, individuals who perceive intense social stressors and have poor self-confidence may use Facebook to the extent that it interferes with other areas of their lives. The present study examined this cognitive sequence that could lead to such Facebook addiction: SOCIAL STRESSORS à POOR SELF-CONFIDENCE à EXCESSIVE FACEBOOK. Because of past research showing gender differences in each of these variables, we hypothesized that women would be more likely to show the proposed cognitive sequence leading to Facebook addiction. Participants were 243 women and 209 men from a paid online Survey Monkey sample who reported demographics, three social stressors (family, friends, romance), self-confidence with Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale, and excessive Facebook use with the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale. Unlike our hypothesized results, moderated mediational analyses with 5000 bootstrapped samples found significantly higher indirect effect sizes for the three-variable sequence in men than in women, specifically when the social stressor was from family or romantic partners. One interpretation would be that when conflicts occur in intimate personal relationships (family, romance), women may have a wider network of real-life relationships in which they share their emotional concerns, whereas men are more likely to rely on online social media to vent concerns about intimate relationships.

The Political Economy of Contemporary Insecurity in Nigeria: Theoretical Issues and Explanations

2024-03-29T11:14:42+00:00

This paper examined the nature of contemporary insecurity in Nigeria. The paper adopts a qualitative methodology, and the data were gathered using documentary sources. It anchors on political economy approach using game theoretic modeling as theoretical framework. The paper argued that Nigerian state is currently facing internal security threats from separatist demands and ethnic militias to terrorism, cattle rustling, kidnapping for ransom, armed banditry, and armed robbery among others. It further stressed that Nigeria's frighteningly high level of insecurity makes its citizens live in constant fear. That Nigeria's socio-economic development has been badly impacted by this insecurity, which also has an influence on the credibility of Nigeria's international image. In order to address Nigeria's worries about insecurity, this paper concluded with policy recommendations, primarily for the National Assembly that corrupt practices must be addressed in order to restore peace in Nigeria. Also, to facilitate effective governance, which is necessary for upholding peace and stability in the country, the National Assembly must use the power of the legislative power derived from the constitution to improve responsiveness, transparency and accountability.

A Meta-Data Analysis on the Primary and Secondary Health Care Needs to Prevent Obesity among the High School Students in the United States

2024-04-13T11:01:15+00:00

Obesity in schools has grown to become one of the most dramatic features of the global obesity epidemic, with long-term consequences. It has become a public health challenge globally. This study is a meta data analysis of recently published articles in the refereed journals. Fifteen articles were purposively selected based on the criteria of obesity among the high school students and were analyzed to find the recent changing trends of obesity in schools. The analysis of studies demonstrates that school-aged children in the United States have a high prevalence of obesity. The findings provide evidence for prevention intervention strategies to reduce obesity in school-age children. The finding shows that there is a need for more greater awareness of the issues of obesity in schools and the author recommends the ways and means to reduce the obesity in schools in the United States. It is recommended that a healthy lifestyle during high school age is a must for teenagers to avoid obesity.