title: Sleuths and Spies: the rise of the 'Everywoman' in detective and thriller fiction of the 1920s

authors: Bydder, Jillene

subjects: women in fiction

abstract: The 1920s, frequently referred to as the ‘Roaring Twenties’ or the ‘Jazz Age’, are often associated with opulent lifestyles and the emergence of striking fashion and furniture trends. Themes in the history of women in crime and thriller fiction show, however, that this decade was also a difficult period in the West, one of widespread financial hardship and of living in the shadow of social turmoil: anti-Semitism, conspiracy theories and fear of the foreign dominated the mainstream press as well as popular fiction. It was also a period in which women were working to navigate their way through a society changed forever by the experience of war. This paper examines some of the well-known detective and thriller fiction writers of the 1920s – Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, John Buchan and William Le Queux – and shows how their characters chart the sexualisation of women as well as women’s resistance to the prevailing views of the day. Fictional women of this period represent ‘Everywoman’: independent and intelligent and, most importantly, sleuths and spies in their own right.

text: Sleuths and Spies: the rise of the 'Everywoman' in detective and thriller fiction of the 1920s The 1920s, frequently referred to as the ‘Roaring Twenties’ or the ‘Jazz Age’, are often associated with opulent lifestyles and the emergence of striking fashion and furniture trends. Themes in the history of women in crime and thriller fiction show, however, that this decade was also a difficult period in the West, one of widespread financial hardship and of living in the shadow of social turmoil: anti-Semitism, conspiracy theories and fear of the foreign dominated the mainstream press as well as popular fiction. It was also a period in which women were working to navigate their way through a society changed forever by the experience of war. This paper examines some of the well-known detective and thriller fiction writers of the 1920s – Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, John Buchan and William Le Queux – and shows how their characters chart the sexualisation of women as well as women’s resistance to the prevailing views of the day. Fictional women of this period represent ‘Everywoman’: independent and intelligent and, most importantly, sleuths and spies in their own right.

year: 2013

title: Accessing child sexual abuse material: Pathways to offending and online behaviour

authors: Wortley, Richard

subjects: CSAM

abstract: Background: Most research examining the consumption of online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) has focused on offenders' demographic and psychological characteristics. While such research may assist in the development of therapeutic interventions with known offenders, it has little to offer the development of interventions for the vast majority of offenders who are never caught. Objective: To learn more about the offending strategies of CSAM offenders, in order to inform prevention efforts to deter, disrupt, and divert individuals from their pursuit of CSAM. Participants & setting: Seventy-five male CSAM offenders, who were living in the community and were voluntarily participating in a treatment programme. Methods: Participants completed a detailed self-report questionnaire focussing on their pathways to offending and their online behaviour. Results: Most participants reported that they did not initially seek out CSAM but that they first encountered it inadvertently or became curious after viewing legal pornography. Their involvement in CSAM subsequently progressed over time and their offending generally became more serious. The most notable feature of participants' online behaviour was the relative lack of sophisticated technical expertise. Opportunity and other situational factors emerged as mediators of offending frequency. Offending patterns were affected by participants' psychological states (e.g., depression, anger, stress), offline relationships and commitments (e.g., arguments with spouse, loss of job), and online experiences (e.g., blocked sites, viruses, warning messages). Conclusions: Findings suggest that many offenders are receptive to change and may be potentially diverted from their offending pathway.

text: Accessing child sexual abuse material: Pathways to offending and online behaviour Background: Most research examining the consumption of online child sexual abuse material (CSAM) has focused on offenders' demographic and psychological characteristics. While such research may assist in the development of therapeutic interventions with known offenders, it has little to offer the development of interventions for the vast majority of offenders who are never caught. Objective: To learn more about the offending strategies of CSAM offenders, in order to inform prevention efforts to deter, disrupt, and divert individuals from their pursuit of CSAM. Participants & setting: Seventy-five male CSAM offenders, who were living in the community and were voluntarily participating in a treatment programme. Methods: Participants completed a detailed self-report questionnaire focussing on their pathways to offending and their online behaviour. Results: Most participants reported that they did not initially seek out CSAM but that they first encountered it inadvertently or became curious after viewing legal pornography. Their involvement in CSAM subsequently progressed over time and their offending generally became more serious. The most notable feature of participants' online behaviour was the relative lack of sophisticated technical expertise. Opportunity and other situational factors emerged as mediators of offending frequency. Offending patterns were affected by participants' psychological states (e.g., depression, anger, stress), offline relationships and commitments (e.g., arguments with spouse, loss of job), and online experiences (e.g., blocked sites, viruses, warning messages). Conclusions: Findings suggest that many offenders are receptive to change and may be potentially diverted from their offending pathway.

year: 2024

title: Reducing our prison population: Past failures and new approaches

authors: Tauri, Juan Marcellus

abstract: Earlier this year the Minister of Justice, Andrew Little announced the latest in a long line of reviews, taxpayer-funded summits and inter-agency, ‘wholeof-government’ projects stretching back to the late-1980s, all aimed in some form or other, at making the criminal justice system more ‘safe’ and ‘effective’. Officially launched at a summit held in Porirua in August 2018, the aim of the latest review is to reduce New Zealand’s prison muster by 30% over the next 15 years. And unsurprisingly, given our significant over-representation in prisons, a specific focus of the review is on identifying ways to significantly reduce Māori over-representation in the prison population. This commentary represents a modest offering in response to the current government’s stated aim of making the justice system safer and more effective, and to reduce the prison muster, and it is based on two core arguments, namely that successive governments and the public service have failed to reduce offending and imprisonment and that successful solutions require community empowerment and government/public service accountability.

text: Reducing our prison population: Past failures and new approaches Earlier this year the Minister of Justice, Andrew Little announced the latest in a long line of reviews, taxpayer-funded summits and inter-agency, ‘wholeof-government’ projects stretching back to the late-1980s, all aimed in some form or other, at making the criminal justice system more ‘safe’ and ‘effective’. Officially launched at a summit held in Porirua in August 2018, the aim of the latest review is to reduce New Zealand’s prison muster by 30% over the next 15 years. And unsurprisingly, given our significant over-representation in prisons, a specific focus of the review is on identifying ways to significantly reduce Māori over-representation in the prison population. This commentary represents a modest offering in response to the current government’s stated aim of making the justice system safer and more effective, and to reduce the prison muster, and it is based on two core arguments, namely that successive governments and the public service have failed to reduce offending and imprisonment and that successful solutions require community empowerment and government/public service accountability.

year: 2019