O. Oko Elechi

A Preliminary Study of Gender Differences in Death Penalty Views of College Students From Bangladesh, China, Nigeria, and the United States

This study examined whether there were any gender differences among college students in Bangladesh (N = 258), China (N = 524), Nigeria (N = 274), and the United States (N = 484) in death penalty support and belief in the criminological ideologies (retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, morality, life without parole, and innocence) to support or oppose it. No significant gender difference between men and women in the overall level of death penalty support was observed except in the United States. In addition, although there were some gender-based differences in reasons to support or oppose the death penalty, the differences were not as common and only rarely as pronounced as in the United States. The findings indicate that the gender gap in capital punishment views may be limited to the United States.

Formal and Informal Crime Control Views in Bangladesh and the United States

Crime control methods can be grouped into two major categories: formal and informal. Formal crime control uses the law and government agencies (e.g., police, courts, and prisons) to deter crime, whereas informal crime control utilizes moral and social institutions (e.g., the family, religion, peers, and neighborhood groups) to deter illegal behaviors. This exploratory study used t tests, chi-square tests, ordinal ordered regression, and ordinary least squares regression analyses of survey data from 258 Bangladeshi and 484 U.S. college students to explore students’ perceptions of formal and informal crime control. Bangladeshi students had more support for both formal and informal crime controls than their U.S. counterparts; however, U.S. students were more likely to feel that being rejected by family, neighbors, and peers was effective at deterring crime. Both groups felt that punishment by the law was needed to deter repeat offenders. When asked to rank formal and informal crime control mechanisms, Bangladeshi students ranked family higher than U.S. students did, whereas U.S. students ranked the importance of peers higher than Bangladeshi students. Bangladeshi respondents also ranked the neighborhood as being important to controlling crime. Overall, the results indicated that Bangladeshi respondents strongly supported most methods of both formal and informal crime control. U.S. respondents were generally more supportive of formal than informal methods, although they were less supportive than Bangladeshi respondents, perhaps because of pessimism over longstanding issues with crime.

Crime Views on Two Continents: An Exploratory Study of Views of Nigerian and U.S. College Students Toward Crime, Criminals, Treatment, and Punishment

World views, including views toward crime, criminals, punishment, and treatment, are shaped by societys social structure, culture, and the dominant political/economic paradigms. These views are known to differ widely from society to society and even within a society. This study compares the crime views of Nigerian undergraduate students with that of undergraduate students in the United States of America. Findings from this study indicate significant differences in views between Nigerian and American college students toward crime, criminals, punishment, and treatment. Interestingly, there were also mixed views on punishment and rehabilitation among Nigerian respondents, which may reflect the dichotomy of the restorative justice‐based informal criminal justice system and the more punitive official criminal justice system. The differences in views regarding crime and criminality are attributed partly to the cultural differences and the level of economic and technological developments between the two countries.

Gender and Capital Punishment Views Among Japanese and U.S. College Students

Gender is a strong predictor of death penalty support and views in the United States, with men being more supportive and punitive than women. This exploratory study was undertaken to determine whether these same differences would be present in Japan, a nation that also imposes the death penalty. Students at a Japanese university and a U.S. university were surveyed. While the proportion of students supporting the death penalty in the United States and Japan were similar, U.S. women were less supportive and less punitive than U.S. men, while Japanese women were more likely to support the death penalty and hold more punitive views than Japanese men.

Living the Good Life: The Effects of Job Variables on Nigerian Prison Staff Life Satisfaction

Life satisfaction is an important concept for both workers and employing organizations. Past research on the spillover theory has found that higher life satisfaction results in lower absenteeism and turnover/turnover intent, higher job performance, and better mental and physical health. The current study examined how job variables (i.e., job stress, job involvement, and job satisfaction) were associated with life satisfaction among Nigerian prison staff in an attempt to determine whether the aforementioned workplace variables have similar or different effects across nations. Data for this study came from a survey of 120 responding staff at a prison located in the Ebonyi state in Southeast Nigeria. In a multivariate ordinary least squares regression analysis, job stress had significant negative effects on life satisfaction, and job involvement and job satisfaction had significant positive effects. The findings for job stress and job involvement are consistent with that found among U.S. correctional staff. The finding that job involvement had a significant positive effect differs from that reported for U.S. staff. The results suggest that prison administrators should attempt to lower job stress and increase job involvement and job satisfaction.

Exploring the effects of work environment variables on the job satisfaction of Nigerian correctional staff

Abstract Correctional staff job satisfaction is critical for the staff’s well-being and low turnover. This study’s focus was identifying variables that predicted job satisfaction for Nigerian correctional staff and comparing the findings to past studies of US correctional staff job satisfaction. One hundred and twenty correctional staff from Nigeria were surveyed. The personal characteristics of age, gender, and tenure were not significant predictors of satisfaction in the multivariate analysis. Similar to finding for US correctional staff, job autonomy, quality of supervision, and instrumental communication all had significant positive effects on Nigerian correctional staff job satisfaction. Contrary to previous findings on US prison staff, neither job variety or role overload were significant predictors of Nigerian staff job satisfaction. Other factors may account for this discrepancy, including working conditions, the socio-economic environment and availability of job opportunities.

Gender and cultural differences on death penalty support and views among Indian and U.S. college students

ABSTRACT The death penalty is used as a criminal sanction in 58 out of 193 United Nations countries across the globe, yet the vast majority of research on capital punishment views has been conducted on Western nations, particularly the United States. This study examined the level of death penalty support among college students from both India and the United States. U.S. students expressed greater support for capital punishment compared to their Indian counterparts. In addition, men in both countries were more likely to support the death penalty. The reasons for supporting or opposing capital punishment also varied by gender and nation. Men expressed greater support for reasons of retribution, deterrence, and incapacitation, whereas women were more likely to oppose capital punishment for the reasons of rehabilitation, innocence, and morality. There were differences by nation on rationales to support or oppose capital punishment. Except for incapacitation, Indian students were more polarized in their reasons to support or oppose the death penalty. The findings support the contention that gender and culture play a role in the capital punishment views of the respondents in this study.