James Hawdon | |
---|---|
Born | United States |
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | Sociologist, academic and author |
Academic background | |
Education | B.A., Sociology M.A., Sociology PhD, Sociology |
Alma mater | Pennsylvania State University University of Virginia |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Virginia Tech |
James E. Hawdon is an American sociologist,academic,and author. He is a professor of sociology and a director for the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention at Virginia Tech. [1]
Hawdon is most known for his work on sociology,deviance cycles and cyber intolerance. Among his authored works are publications in academic journals, [2] as well as books such as The Causes and Consequences of Group Violence:From Bullies to Terrorists [3] and Marijuana in America:Culture,Political,and Medical Controversies. [4]
Hawdon is the recipient of the Wayman Mullins Award from the Society for Police and Criminal Psychology. [5] He is an associate editor of the American Journal of Criminal Justice. [6]
Hawdon completed his BA in sociology from Pennsylvania State University. Later he completed his MA and PhD in sociology from the University of Virginia. [1]
Hawdon began his academic career in 1987 as a lecturer at the University of Virginia and served until 1992. Subsequently,he joined Clemson University,where he held an appointment as an assistant professor of sociology between 1992 and 1997 and as an associate professor of sociology between 1998 and 2004. In 2004,he joined Virginia Tech,where he held multiple appointments,including serving as an associate professor of sociology from 2004 to 2008. Since 2008,he has been serving as a professor of sociology at Virginia Tech. [1]
Since 2011,he has been serving as the director of the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention at Virginia Tech. [1]
Hawdon's sociology research has won him The 2023 Fulbright-University of Turku Scholar Award,the 2005 Adele Mellen Prize for Contributions to Scholarship,and the 1988 Bierstedt Award in Sociology from the University of Virginia. He has authored numerous publications spanning the areas of drugs,policing,criminology and online hate speech including books and articles in peer-reviewed journals. [2] In 2022,he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Turku,Finland,in recognition of his on-going research contributions. [7]
Hawdon's criminology research has contributed to the identification of the social factors that contribute to crime as well as social responses to crime. His early research used data from several neighborhoods in South Carolina to analyze how community organizations and police-community relations affect crime rates,finding that community organizations can help reduce crime by increasing social capital and improving citizen perceptions of policy legitimacy. [8] [9] [10] In later research,he investigated how communities responded to mass tragedies. In studies of communities that suffered mass tragedies,including school shootings at Virginia Tech and in Jokela and Kauhajoki Finland,he and his colleagues found that incidents such as school shootings can evoke strong emotions and unify communities to restore their compromised sense of security through shared moral emotions. [11] Furthermore,his study established that the surge in solidarity is sustained by participating in community-focused events,and this heightened solidarity helps both community recovery and the wellbeing of community members even a year after the tragedy. [12] [13] [14] In related research,he explored the link between fear of different types of crimes and community solidarity,illustrating that fear of routine street crimes decreases solidarity,whereas concern over collective-targeted crimes like school shootings enhances community solidarity. [15] In a collaborative study with Matthew Costello,he conducted a criminological analysis to identify factors linked to participation in online attacks and offered recommendations to aid in the identification,mitigation,and prevention of online hate creation and dissemination. [16] Focusing his research efforts on cyberviolence,his study emphasized the significance of socio-demographic traits and online routines in sustaining cyberviolence while advocating for an integrative approach that draws from multiple criminological theories to comprehend the intricate factors influencing participation in cyberhate attacks among American adolescents. [17] In research with colleagues Thomas Dearden and Katalin Parti,he investigated the factors that lead to engaging in cybercrimes,finding strong support for Institutional Anomie Theory. [18] [19] They also conducted research on cybercrime victimization among businesses,suggesting that larger companies,those that do not have separate Wi-Fi networks for visitors and employees,and those lacking stringent data storage policies are significantly more likely to experience cybercrime victimization compared to other companies. [20] [21]
Hawdon's cyber intolerance research has provided insights into the role of social media platforms and other factors facilitating online hate speech and extremism. [22] [23] [16] His research on hate material exposure among Finnish youth emphasized the significance of fostering positive online behavior and minimizing negative online conduct to preserve social trust. [24] [25] [26] In his cross-national examination of youth and young adults' exposure to hate materials online,his study established significant variations across countries and presented evidence supporting the potential effectiveness of anti-hate speech laws in reducing such exposure. [27] Furthermore,he investigated the disparities in exposure to online hate material targeting sexuality and found that individuals residing in the southern United States and rural areas are more susceptible to such targeting based on sexual orientation. [28] In 2021,his study advanced the understanding of cyberhate by introducing Ronald Aker's Social Structure-Social Learning Theory (SSSL),shedding light on the social factors influencing its production. The research also emphasized the importance of acknowledging political rhetoric's role in the generation of online hate,urging policymakers to consider this aspect when addressing the issue. [29]
Hawdon's drug research offers a comprehensive analysis of deviance cycles and their correlation with social and economic shifts in American society. [30] His early research contributed to understanding how policy rhetoric influences the creation,sustenance,and termination of moral panics related to drug policies,ultimately concluding that President Reagan skillfully incited a public moral panic concerning drug policies. [31] In related research,his book Drugs and Alcohol Consumption as a Function of Social Structure:A Cross-cultural Sociology provides insights into how rationalization and modernization influence drug and alcohol consumption patterns across diverse cultures and social structures,offering information for designing policies and interventions to reduce drug use and related harms. [32] His book Encyclopedia of Drug Policy explored the dimensions of the War on Drugs,employing academic perspectives to examine subjects encompassing Mexican kingpins,Colombian cartels,narco-terrorism,heroin production,and governmental spending. [33] His 2022 book,Marijuana in America:Culture,Political,and Medical Controversies, offers an exploration of medical,legal,historical,and cultural issues surrounding cannabis in the United States and the modern world. [34] In a collaborative study with Robert Todd Perdue,his study emphasized the inadequacy of current data on novel psychoactive drug (NPD) abuse and proposed the use of big data for predictive analysis to address emerging NPD challenges through improved data collection and analysis. [35]
In ordinary language,a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term crime does not,in modern criminal law,have any simple and universally accepted definition,though statutory definitions have been provided for certain purposes. The most popular view is that crime is a category created by law;in other words,something is a crime if declared as such by the relevant and applicable law. One proposed definition is that a crime or offence is an act harmful not only to some individual but also to a community,society,or the state. Such acts are forbidden and punishable by law.
Organized crime is a category of transnational,national,or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity,most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of illegal business,some criminal organizations,such as terrorist groups,rebel forces,and separatists,are politically motivated. Many criminal organizations rely on fear or terror to achieve their goals or aims as well as to maintain control within the organization and may adopt tactics commonly used by authoritarian regimes to maintain power. Some forms of organized crime simply exist to cater towards demand of illegal goods in a state or to facilitate trade of goods and services that may have been banned by a state. Sometimes,criminal organizations force people to do business with them,such as when a gang extorts protection money from shopkeepers. Street gangs may often be deemed organized crime groups or,under stricter definitions of organized crime,may become disciplined enough to be considered organized. A criminal organization can also be referred to as an outfit,a gang,crime family,mafia,mob,(crime) ring,or syndicate;the network,subculture,and community of criminals involved in organized crime may be referred to as the underworld or gangland. Sociologists sometimes specifically distinguish a "mafia" as a type of organized crime group that specializes in the supply of extra-legal protection and quasi-law enforcement. Academic studies of the original "Mafia",the Italian Mafia,as well as its American counterpart,generated an economic study of organized crime groups and exerted great influence on studies of the Russian mafia,the Chinese triads,the Hong Kong triads,and the Japanese yakuza.
Victimology is the study of victimization,including the psychological effects on victims,the relationship between victims and offenders,the interactions between victims and the criminal justice system—that is,the police and courts,and corrections officials—and the connections between victims and other social groups and institutions,such as the media,businesses,and social movements.
A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear that some evil person or thing threatens the values,interests,or well-being of a community or society. It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue",usually perpetuated by moral entrepreneurs and mass media coverage,and exacerbated by politicians and lawmakers. Moral panic can give rise to new laws aimed at controlling the community.
Articles related to criminology and law enforcement.
Like rational choice theory,conflict theory,or functionalism,pure sociology is a sociological paradigm —a strategy for explaining human behavior. Developed by Donald Black as an alternative to individualistic and social-psychological theories,pure sociology was initially used to explain variation in legal behavior. Since then,Black and other pure sociologists have used the strategy to explain terrorism,genocide,lynching,and other forms of conflict management as well as science,art,and religion.
In the United States,the relationship between race and crime has been a topic of public controversy and scholarly debate for more than a century. Crime rates vary significantly between racial groups;however,academic research indicates that the over-representation of some racial minorities in the criminal justice system can in part be explained by socioeconomic factors,such as poverty,exposure to poor neighborhoods,poor access to public and early education,and exposure to harmful chemicals and pollution. Racial housing segregation has also been linked to racial disparities in crime rates,as black Americans have historically and to the present been prevented from moving into prosperous low-crime areas through actions of the government and private actors. Various explanations within criminology have been proposed for racial disparities in crime rates,including conflict theory,strain theory,general strain theory,social disorganization theory,macrostructural opportunity theory,social control theory,and subcultural theory.
Marxist criminology is one of the schools of criminology. It parallels the work of the structural functionalism school which focuses on what produces stability and continuity in society but,unlike the functionalists,it adopts a predefined political philosophy. As in conflict criminology,it focuses on why things change,identifying the disruptive forces in industrialized societies,and describing how society is divided by power,wealth,prestige,and the perceptions of the world. It is concerned with the causal relationships between society and crime,i.e. to establish a critical understanding of how the immediate and structural social environment gives rise to crime and criminogenic conditions. William Chambliss and Robert Seidman explain that "the shape and character of the legal system in complex societies can be understood as deriving from the conflicts inherent in the structure of these societies which are stratified economically and politically".
The feminist school of criminology is a school of criminology developed in the late 1960s and into the 1970s as a reaction to the general disregard and discrimination of women in the traditional study of crime. It is the view of the feminist school of criminology that a majority of criminological theories were developed through studies on male subjects and focused on male criminality,and that criminologists often would "add women and stir" rather than develop separate theories on female criminality.
In the fields of sociology and criminology,strain theory is a theoretical perspective that aims to explain the relationship between social structure,social values or goals,and crime. Strain theory was originally introduced by Robert King Merton (1938),and argues that society's dominant cultural values and social structure causes strain,which may encourage citizens to commit crimes. Following on the work of Émile Durkheim's theory of anomie, strain theory has been advanced by Robert King Merton (1938),Albert K. Cohen (1955),Richard Cloward,Lloyd Ohlin (1960),Neil Smelser (1963),Robert Agnew (1992),Steven Messner,Richard Rosenfeld (1994) and Jie Zhang (2012).
Sociology of terrorism is a field of sociology that seeks to understand terrorism as a social phenomenon. The field defines terrorism,studies why it occurs and evaluates its impacts on society. The sociology of terrorism draws from the fields of political science,history,economics and psychology. The sociology of terrorism differs from critical terrorism studies,emphasizing the social conditions that enable terrorism. It also studies how individuals as well as states respond to such events.
Routine activity theory is a sub-field of crime opportunity theory that focuses on situations of crimes. It was first proposed by Marcus Felson and Lawrence E. Cohen in their explanation of crime rate changes in the United States between 1947 and 1974. The theory has been extensively applied and has become one of the most cited theories in criminology. Unlike criminological theories of criminality,routine activity theory studies crime as an event,closely relates crime to its environment and emphasizes its ecological process,thereby diverting academic attention away from mere offenders.
Ronald Weitzer is an American sociologist specializing in criminology and a professor at George Washington University,known for his publications on police-minority relations and on the sex industry.
Jock Young was a British sociologist and an influential criminologist.
Deviance or the sociology of deviance explores the actions or behaviors that violate social norms across formally enacted rules as well as informal violations of social norms. Although deviance may have a negative connotation,the violation of social norms is not always a negative action;positive deviation exists in some situations. Although a norm is violated,a behavior can still be classified as positive or acceptable.
Victimisation is the state or process of being victimised or becoming a victim. The field that studies the process,rates,incidence,effects,and prevalence of victimisation is called victimology.
Criminology is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behavioural and social sciences,which draws primarily upon the research of sociologists,political scientists,economists,legal sociologists,psychologists,philosophers,psychiatrists,social workers,biologists,social anthropologists,scholars of law and jurisprudence,as well as the processes that define administration of justice and the criminal justice system.
The feminist pathways perspective is a feminist perspective of criminology which suggests victimization throughout the life course is a key risk factor for women's entry into offending.
James Densley is a British-American sociologist and Professor of Criminal Justice at Metropolitan State University. He is best known as co-founder of The Violence Project and as co-author of the bestselling book,The Violence Project:How To Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic. Densley has also published extensively on street gang issues and has been described as "among the most accomplished rising leaders of modern gang research in criminology." He was one of the top 250 most cited criminologists in the world in 2019.
Roderic Broadhurst is a criminal justice practitioner,academic,and author. He is an Emeritus Professor at the School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet) and Fellow of the Research School of Asian and the Pacific at the Australian National University (ANU).
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