Social Network Analysis

Nos últimos trinta trinta anos, houve profundas mudanças na forma como compreendemos o crime e a justiça criminal. O crime tornou-se um evento simbólico, um verdadeiro teste para a ordem social e para as políticas governamentais, um desafio para a sociedade civil, para a democracia e para os direitos humanos. Segundo David Garland, professor da Faculdade de Direito da New York University, um dos principais autores no campo da Sociologia da Punição e com artigo publicado na Revista de Sociologia e Política , número 13, na modernidade tardia houve uma verdadeira obsessão securitária, direcionando as políticas criminais para um maior rigor em relação às penas e maior intolerância com o criminoso. Há trinta anos, nos EUA e na Inglaterra essa tendência era insuspeita. O livro mostra que os dois países compartilham intrigantes similaridades em suas práticas criminais, a despeito da divisão racial, das desigualdades econômicas e da letalidade violenta que marcam fortemente o cenário americano. Segundo David Garland, encontram-se nos dois países os “mesmos tipos de riscos e inseguranças, a mesma percepção a respeito dos problemas de um controle social não-efetivo, as mesmas críticas da justiça criminal tradicional, e as mesmas ansiedades recorrentes sobre mudança e ordem sociais”1 (GARLAND, 2001, p. 2). O argumento principal da obra é o seguinte: a modernidade tardia, esse distintivo padrão de relações sociais, econômicas e culturais, trouxe consigo um conjunto de riscos, inseguranças e problemas de controle social que deram uma configuração específica às nossas respostas ao crime, ao garantir os altos custos das políticas criminais, o grau máximo de duração das penas e a excessivas taxas de encarceramento.

http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rsocp/n20/n20a15.pdf

The culture of control: crime and social order in contemporary, society

sleep loss and associated sleepiness and daytime impair- ments in adolescence are a serious threat to the academic success, health, and safety of our nation's youth and an important public health issue. Understanding the extent and potential short- and long-term repercussions of sleep restriction, as well as the unhealthy sleep practices and environmental factors that contribute to sleep loss in adolescents, is key in setting public policies to mitigate these effects and in counseling patients and families in the clinical setting. This report reviews the current literature on sleep patterns in adoles- cents, factors contributing to chronic sleep loss (ie, electronic media use, caffeine consumption), and health-related consequences, such as depression, increased obesity risk, and higher rates of drowsy driving accidents. The report also discusses the potential role of later school start times as a means of reducing adolescent sleepiness. Pediatrics 2014;134:e921-e932

/pdf/insufficient-sleep-in-adolescents-and-young-adults-an-update-3kbxqbk7kf.pdf

Insufficient Sleep in Adolescents and Young Adults: An Update on Causes and Consequences

OBJECTIVE: To review the effects, adverse consequences, and extent of energy drink consumption among children, adolescents, and young adults.

METHODS: We searched PubMed and Google using “energy drink,” “sports drink,” “guarana,” “caffeine,” “taurine,” “ADHD,” “diabetes,” “children,” “adolescents,” “insulin,” “eating disorders,” and “poison control center” to identify articles related to energy drinks. Manufacturer Web sites were reviewed for product information.

RESULTS: According to self-report surveys, energy drinks are consumed by 30% to 50% of adolescents and young adults. Frequently containing high and unregulated amounts of caffeine, these drinks have been reported in association with serious adverse effects, especially in children, adolescents, and young adults with seizures, diabetes, cardiac abnormalities, or mood and behavioral disorders or those who take certain medications. Of the 5448 US caffeine overdoses reported in 2007, 46% occurred in those younger than 19 years. Several countries and states have debated or restricted energy drink sales and advertising.

CONCLUSIONS: Energy drinks have no therapeutic benefit, and many ingredients are understudied and not regulated. The known and unknown pharmacology of agents included in such drinks, combined with reports of toxicity, raises concern for potentially serious adverse effects in association with energy drink use. In the short-term, pediatricians need to be aware of the possible effects of energy drinks in vulnerable populations and screen for consumption to educate families. Long-term research should aim to understand the effects in at-risk populations. Toxicity surveillance should be improved, and regulations of energy drink sales and consumption should be based on appropriate research.

/pdf/health-effects-of-energy-drinks-on-children-adolescents-and-4reqnomoe9.pdf

Health Effects of Energy Drinks on Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults

Caffeine ranks as one of the top most commonly consumed dietary ingredients throughout the world. It is naturally found in coffee beans, cacao beans, kola nuts, guarana berries, and tea leaves including yerba mate. The total daily intake, as well as the major source of caffeine varies globally; however, coffee and tea are the 2 most prominent sources. Soft drinks are also a common source of caffeine as well as energy drinks, a category of functional beverages. Moderate caffeine consumption is considered safe and its use as a food ingredient has been approved, within certain limits, by numerous regulatory agencies around the world. Performance benefits attributed to caffeine include physical endurance, reduction of fatigue, and enhancing mental alertness and concentration. Caffeine has also been recently linked to weight loss and consequent reduction of the overall risks for developing the metabolic syndrome. However, the caloric contribution of caffeine-sweetened beverages needs to be considered in the overall energy balance. Despite all these benefits the potential negative effects of excessive caffeine intake should also be considered, particularly in children and pregnant women.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1750-3841.2010.01561.x

Caffeine (1, 3, 7-trimethylxanthine) in Foods: A Comprehensive Review on Consumption, Functionality, Safety, and Regulatory Matters

Objective. To survey caffeine use by seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-graders and relate its use to age, sex, sleep characteristics, and day of week Methods. Students kept a daily, 2-week diary of their sleep times and use of caffeine containing drinks and foods. Data were analyzed by fitted multiple regression models Results. A total of 191 students participated. Caffeine intake ranged between 0 and 800 mg/d. Mean use over 2 weeks ranged up to 379.4 mg/d and averaged 62.7 mg/d (corrected for underrepresentation in our sample of boys, who consumed more caffeine). Higher caffeine intake in general was associated with shorter nocturnal sleep duration, increased wake time after sleep onset, and increased daytime sleep Sleep Patterns. Mean bedtime was 10:57 pm, and mean wake time was at 7:14 am. Older children delayed bedtime longer on weekends, and younger ones had longer nightly sleep durations. Sleep duration lengthened on weekends, reflecting the combined effects of the circadian timing system and a mechanism that regulates the duration of sleep. Caffeine (soda) consumption also increased on weekends, for reasons that may be primarily social Conclusions. Regardless of whether caffeine use disturbed sleep or was consumed to counteract the daytime effect of interrupted sleep, caffeinated beverages had detectable pharmacologic effects. Limitation of the availability of caffeine to teenagers should therefore be considered.

/pdf/caffeine-consumption-and-weekly-sleep-patterns-in-us-seventh-125s695vip.pdf

Caffeine Consumption and Weekly Sleep Patterns in US Seventh-, Eighth-, and Ninth-Graders

Judges assume that gruesome evidence can influence juror verdicts, but little is known about the manner in which the influence is manifested. In a 2 × 3 study that varied the gruesome content of photographic and verbal evidence, gruesome verbal evidence did not influence mock juror emotional states, and had no impact on the conviction rate. Mock jurors who saw gruesome photographs, compared with those who saw no photographs, reported experiencing significantly more intense emotional responses, including greater anger at the defendant. The conviction rate when visual evidence in the form of gruesome or neutral photographs was included was significantly higher than the conviction rate without photographic evidence. Mean ratings of the inculpatory weight of prosecution evidence by mock jurors presented with gruesome photographs were significantly higher than those by mock jurors who did not view any photographs. Further analyses revealed that mock juror anger toward the defendant mediated the influence of the gruesome photographs in enhancing the weight of inculpatory evidence.

Gruesome Evidence and Emotion: Anger, Blame, and Jury Decision-Making

A small but growing number of analysts of criminal activity have used social network analysis (SNA) to characterise criminal organisations and produce valuable insights into the operation of illicit markets. The successful conduct of SNA requires data that informs about links or relationships between pairs of individuals within the group. To date analyses have been undertaken with data extracted from offender databases, transcripts of physical or electronic surveillance, written summaries of police interrogations, and transcripts of court proceedings. These data can be expensive, time-consuming and complicated to access and analyse. This paper presents findings from a study which aimed to determine the feasibility and utility of conducting SNA using a novel source of data: judges’ sentencing comments. Free of charge, publically accessible without the need for ethics clearance, available at the completion of sentencing and summary in nature, this data offers a more accessible and less expensive alternative to the usual forms of data used. The judges’ sentencing comments were drawn from a series of Australian court cases involving members of a criminal group involved in the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine during the 1990s. Feasibility is evaluated in terms of the ability to produce a network map and generate the types of quantitative measures produced in studies using alternate data sources. The utility of the findings is judged in relation to the insights they provide into the structure and operation of criminal groups in Australia’s methamphetamine market.

Illuminating dark networks: a social network analysis of an Australian drug trafficking syndicate

There is a growing body of research using social network analysis to study criminal networks. The great majority of this research examines networks at a single time point. Although there are theoretical approaches which hypothesise on how criminal networks develop and grow, little empirical research has been conducted on the growth of criminal networks over time. This project documents the growth of a drug trafficking network. The aims were to examine and describe structural and functional changes in a criminal network across time. We found that the density of the network remained somewhat stable over time, although the network became more decentralised at the final time point measured. Centrality scores for individual nodes showed significant changes over time. Individuals changed the roles performed across time, consistent with the changing needs and focus of the network. Overall, our results support the characterisation of networks as flexible and adaptive.

Evolution of a drug trafficking network: Mapping changes in network structure and function across time

As a result of a high treatment attrition rate two significant changes were made from August 2005 to the New South Wales Department of Corrective Services custody-based intensive treatment programme for sexual offenders (CUBIT) that directly reflect advances in the field of sex offender treatment. This article outlines the rationale and outcomes of these changes. It is argued that the implementation of an open-ended (rolling) group treatment format has significant advantages over a closed group treatment format. Secondly, the programme is now emphasizing the importance of the use of positive therapist characteristics within the programme and in so doing has moved away from an overly manualized delivery of cognitive behaviour treatment. The positive outcomes produced by the changes are discussed.

David Bright

Papers

Caffeine Consumption and Weekly Sleep Patterns in US Seventh-, Eighth-, and Ninth-Graders

Gruesome Evidence and Emotion: Anger, Blame, and Jury Decision-Making

Illuminating dark networks: a social network analysis of an Australian drug trafficking syndicate

Evolution of a drug trafficking network: Mapping changes in network structure and function across time

Evolution of a Treatment Programme for Sex Offenders: Changes to the NSW Custody-Based Intensive Treatment (CUBIT)