History of Victimology At first (going back to the origins of criminology in the 1880s), anything resembling victimology was simply the study of crime from the perspective of the victim. With the exception of some psychological profilers who do this, nobody really advocates this approach to victimology anymore. The scientific study of victimology can be traced back to the 1940s and 1950s. Two criminologists, Mendelsohn and Von Hentig, began to explore the field of victimology by creating "typologies". They are considered the "fathers of the study of victimology."
After more observations verify the theory we can claim to have discovered the truth in the form of a general law. This approach is called verificationism. Positivists argue the patterns we observe, in nature and society can be explained in the same way by finding facts that caused them. Positivist sociologists thus seek to discover causes of patterns they observe. Like natural scientists they aim to produce general statements or scientific laws about how society works which can
Durkheim’s study on suicide is viewed as a well-known paradigm in sociological studies. The purpose of this essay is to explain how Durkheim was able to show the social causes of suicide through the analysis of statistics across several countries (Hassan, 1998). Durkheim chose to study suicide because in the 19th century sociology was not entirely recognised as an area of academic interest (Finchman, Langer, Scourfield & Shiner, 2011). In addition to this, Durkheim wanted to show that suicide was not just an individual act and that sociology played a part. This essay also intends to explore how Durkheim was able to
In 1866 he was appointed visiting lecturer atPavia, and later took charge of the insane asylum at Pesaro in 1871. He became professor of forensic medicine and hygiene at Turin in 1878, where he was later professor of psychiatry (1896) and criminal anthropology (1906]. He died in Turin in 1909) Cesare Lombroso holds a prominent position in the modem chronology. In fact he is considered to be the “father of modern criminology” (Mannheim, 1972: 232), During the 19th century his work gained attention as he integrated the concepts of atavism and “throwback” of criminals to an earlier stage in human evolution (Schaefer, 1969: 126). His work emphasizes on the different categories and types of criminals such as born criminals, criminaloids, and insane criminals, as well as research on female offenders.
The main argument starts with Durkheim who explains that sociology can be a science. Durkheim uses the example of suicide and how we can study such a personal and individual act in an objective manner using statistics. From his studies of suicides Durkheim found that there were patterns in the suicide rate which meant that the act wasn’t a product of the individuals motives but instead a social fact. The suicide therefore had to be a result of wider social forces which we have no control over. Durkheim went on to explain that the social facts responsible for determining the suicide rate were the levels of integration and regulation an individual has in a society.
His major writings are 'The Division of Labour', 'the rules of sociological method', 'Suicide' and 'The Elementary forms of religious life'. Suicide: One of Durkheim's most famous studies was concerned with the analysis of suicide (Durkheim 1952, originally published in 1897). In his book, he has given a fine sociological analysis of suicide which is based as the theory of sociology or collective mind. The book is praised as a research classic. Suicide seems to be a purely personal act, the outcome of extreme person unhappiness.
Science is the use of systematic methods of research and investigation and the logical analysis of arguments in order to develop an understanding of a particular subject matter (Giddens, 1986). By using this definition of a science, many sociologists believe that sociology resembles a science in its approaches and procedures. It is always considered a science, since it fulfils the main components of a science. It is theoretical. Being theoretical means that the data obtained by the research are used to formulate theories which consists of coherent and logically related principles which are used to explain various social phenomena such as issues affecting the public.
The influential theorist that best aligns some of my personal views on sociology is Karl Marx and his conflict theory and his conflict perspectives. In this paper I will explain what the conflict theory and the conflict perspective is and why I have chosen this theorist. I will also explain why I believe this theorist best aligns with my personal views on sociology. “Karl Marx (1864-1920) argued that it is tension and conflict that motivate us to think and act differently” (Vissing, 2011, p. 1.3). Karl Marx was a social theorist from the twentieth century, and he alleges that cause and effect are one of the most social actions that motivate us.
Science as defined above is sometimes called pure science to differentiate it from applied science, which is the application of research to human needs. Fields of science therefore are commonly classified along two major lines: - Natural science, the study of natural world and social sciences, the systematic study of human behaviour and society. According to Giddens (2006:4), “sociology is the systematic study of human social life, groups and societies.” It is a dazzling and compelling enterprise as its subject matter is our own behaviour as social beings. Sociology deals with the ways that social structure and culture are related. Social structure is defined by a variety of ideas.
Suicide Among Young People - Is It Contagious? By Ystgaard, Mette First Published in the Norwegian Journal Suicidologi 1997 The article informs us about several different studies of suicide among young people, for example, do the media have the power to push people to commit suicide or extinguish suicide? Such things as books, TV, movies, music, and local tragedies have been blamed for being contagious situations. In the former West Germany in 1989, a TV show that was a six episode series describing the suffering of a young man and how he threw himself in front of a train and died. The story intended as a suicide prevention measure had the opposite effect.