Susyan Jou

Heavy Metal Music Preference, Delinquent Friends, Social Control, and Delinquency

The authors examined the relationship between a preference for heavy metal music among a large sample of suburban high school youth (N = 715) and delinquency, controlling for parental and school-related variables, as well as delinquent associations. They found support for the hypothesis that heavy metal has an effect on delinquency when parental control is low. However, they found no support for the hypothesized interaction between a preference for heavy metal and delinquent peers. Contrary to expectations, those students with better school marks and a preference for heavy metal music had higher amounts of self-reported delinquency.

Public trust in the police in Taiwan: a test of instrumental and expressive models

Although public assessments of the police have become the focal concern of a substantial amount of research efforts since the 1970s, a very small number of studies have analysed public opinions on the Taiwan police. Using survey data collected from three cities and two counties in 2010, this study expands the existing literature by assessing whether Taiwan residents’ perceptions are distinguishable in terms of procedural-based trust and outcome-based trust and whether both the instrumental and expressive models are predictive of Taiwanese trust in the police. Findings revealed that the Taiwanese tended to conflate procedural-based and outcome-based trust. Both the instrumental model (concerns about safety) and the expressive model (trust in neighbours and perceived quality of life) were significantly linked to Taiwanese trust in the police. Satisfaction with government performance and media influence were also predictive of police trustworthiness. Directions for future research and policy are discussed.

Handbook of Asian criminology

The Handbook of Asian Criminology aims to be a key reference for international scholars with an interest in the broad theme of international criminology in general, and the Asian region in particular. Contextualization is a key theme in this book. The role of context is often underemphasized in international criminology, so the Handbook of Asian Criminologys premise that crime and the responses to it are best understood as deeply embedded in the cultural specificity of the environment which produces them will play a key role throughout the work. Attention will be given to country- and region specific attitudes towards crime and punishment.

Criminology in and of China: Discipline and Power

This sociohistorical study of the development of criminology in the People’s Republic of China not only considers available primary and secondary sources but also directly draws upon fieldwork interviews conducted with prominent scholars in China in 2007. Crime has been a silent partner in Chinese modernization, and law and order have been as central to the Chinese ruling elite’s priorities as the promise of prosperity and economic growth. Criminology as a field of study with recognized scholars and research publications has been established in China, and our article critically examines the development, focus and scope, direction and trends, and underpinning theories.

Taiwan's criminological “footprint” – a review and analysis of English-language publication trends for Taiwan and selected Asian comparators(2000–2010)

This article provides findings from a review of the published English-language literature of criminological research in and on Taiwan – over the period 2000–2010, and sets the findings against other Asian comparators. The article identifies tropes and trends in purpose, method, theory, and collaborative networks of criminological research on Taiwan. The findings and analysis, hold, as it were, a mirror up to the criminological communities in both Taiwan and other parts of the English-speaking world. We conclude with a consideration of these issues in the broader context of the “internationalization” of criminology.

Progress of Asian Criminology: Editors’ Introduction

It is traditional for editors to “talk up” the subject matter of their book; but in our case, arguably, the regional significance of the subject matter is self-evident. Within the Asian region, the People’s Republic of China has already overtaken Japan as the second largest economy in the world and is likely to take over the top spot by the end of this current decade (New York Times, 15 August 2010, “China passes Japan as second largest economy”). India is moving rapidly up the ladder and will soon become the third largest economy globally. The International Monetary Fund estimates that emerging Asia will be the main propellant of world economic growth in the coming decades. Europe, the USA, and Japan face serious recession. By contrast, the public financial system of Asian countries appears in relatively good shape, with debt ratios low, banking systems healthier, and corporate balance sheets less stressed. Furthermore, large foreign exchange reserves act as an insurance against unexpected “global” shocks (Tay 2010). Wages and incomes are rising and unemployment rates are not alarming. Regional trade is at an all-time high and the dependence on the USA and Europe for exports has declined. China now ships only 35 % of its exports to the USA and European Union countries (Kawai and Petri 2010).