Immersive Learning Research Network

Computer games have now been around for over three decades and the term serious games has been attributed to the use of computer games that are thought to have educational value. Game-based learning (GBL) has been applied in a number of different fields such as medicine, languages and software engineering. Furthermore, serious games can be a very effective as an instructional tool and can assist learning by providing an alternative way of presenting instructions and content on a supplementary level, and can promote student motivation and interest in subject matter resulting in enhanced learning effectiveness. REVLAW (Real and Virtual Reality Law) is a research project that the departments of Law and Computer Science of Westminster University have proposed as a new framework in which law students can explore a real case scenario using Virtual Reality (VR) technology to discover important pieces of evidence from a real-given scenario and make up their mind over the crime case if this is a murder or not. REVLAW integrates the immersion into VR as the perception of being physically present in a non-physical world. The paper presents the prototype framework and the mechanics used to make students focus on the crime case and make the best use of this immersive learning approach.

Between "uxor", "mater" and "concubina". Profile and identity of the Emperor Constantine in Late Roman legislation

We aspire to shape the Constantine’s personality in particular by analyzing his loving relationship, first with Minervina and then with Fausta, and not forgetting the bond with his mother Helena, hence the reference to uxor, mater and concubina in our title. We will analyze if these women exercised any influence on the composition of his production rules and, if so, to what extent they were able to determine the historical development of the following decades. From this point of view we must consider in general the emperor had to combine their political claims and government with these relationships, showing great skill in handling times and ways, always putting the first to the second.

Counting Crime: an explanation of falling crime rates

The current crime decrease is defying traditional criminological theories such as those espoused by Bonger (1916) who researched the relationship between crime and economic conditions and stated that when unemployment rises so does crime. In both the USA and the UK crime has dropped dramatically while unemployment has risen. Both the USA and the UK have been in a deep recession since 2008 but the crime rate has decreased dramatically in both countries. Over the past 20 years it has halved in England and Wales. So how do we explain this phenomenon? Crime is down across the West but more so in Britain (see Figure 1). In England and Wales crime has decreased by 8% in a single year (2013). Vandalism is down by 14% and burglaries and vehicle crime by 11%. The murder rate in the UK is at its lowest since 1978; in 2013, 540 people were killed. Some less serious offences are vanishing too; antisocial behaviour has fallen from just under 4million incidents in 2007-08 to 2.4million. (The Economist 20/4/13). According to the most recent annual results from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), crime is at its lowest level since the survey began in 1981; the most recent annual figures from the survey, Latest figures from the CSEW show there were an estimated 7.3 million incidents of crime against households and resident adults (aged 16 and over) in England and Wales for the year ending March 2014. This represents a 14% decrease compared with the previous year’s survey, and is the lowest estimate since the survey began in 1981.

Writing Violence: the legal, moral and aesthetic Implications of creative non-fiction.

This essay began as a hybrid critical/creative paper that was presented as part of an all-female panel discussing the intersections between writing and extreme violence. My own paper was on the relationship between my creative nonfiction novel The Museum of Atheism and the real life murder of six-year-old beauty queen, JonBenet Ramsey. This essay is an attempt to represent the writing process of the creative nonfiction author, and to consider the ways in which critical theory can be used to highlight, or conversely obscure, fictional writing. In addition to considering the effect of using a real story, a true crime, as the basis for a semi-fictional work, this essay will also consider the relationship I had as a writer to my publisher, editor and agent, and their interventions in the writing process to ensure that facts were deliberately skewed or warped in order to avoid litigation. Finally, I will consider my own relationship to the material, and the impact that this had on the writing process.

Reproducing violence: Rihanna, Chris Brown and the aestheticisation of the Ciudad Juarez Femicides.

When Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte worked with MAC to create their Autumn/Winter 2010 makeup collection and based their ideas on the murdered women of Ciudad Juarez, there was a public and industry outcry which led to the withdrawal of cosmetics with names such as ‘Factory’ ‘Juarez’ and ‘Ghost Town’. Rodarte tapped into the borderland mythologies of Juarez and crated an illusory fantasy world which sought to simultaneously obliterate and venerate the dead women. One eyeshadow, ‘Bordertown’, appears to look like chunks of rotting flesh streaked with blood. The models for their catwalk show had hollow blackened eyes, green-white pallor and lips that had been bloodlessly ‘lip-erased’ with a product specifically designed for the purpose. In Spanish, maquillar is to make up, to assemble. The women in the factories are asked to repeat simple mechanical operations thousands of times a day to make up the products which will be sold by global corporations. At the same time their images are being assembled, made up and aestheticized to create a cosmetic erasure of the crimes which they are subject to. When two American women and a global company make profit from this dangerous cosmetic erasure in order to sell products, the borders between bodies, countries, art and crime become leaky through the act and the illusion of symbiosis between the women of Ciudad Juarez and the products they inspired is threatened by the haunting of exploitation. Since then, the situation has become more complex. Chris Brown got a neck tattoo, based, he says, on the promotional material produced by MAC for the Rodarte sisters campaign. The image, which is of a skull, bears a striking resemblance to the police photographs of his ex, and now current, girlfriend, superstar Rihanna. The controversy over gendered violence, race and exploitation, begun by Rodarte and MAC, came back, haunting, once again. This paper seeks to address these connections, and ask what happens when domestic violence collides with globalism, fashion and murder.

Conflictos de interés, riesgo y presiones que enfrenta a diario el periodista en La Troncal y sus sectores aledaños

El presente trabajo Riesgos y presiones del Periodista en La Troncales de trascendental importancia en el sentido que en nuestra ciudad, no existe un periodismo de vanguardia. El periodista en La Troncal, tiene un campo de acción que está empezando, está todo por hacerse; sin embargo, no deja de ser menos notorio los riesgos y presiones. Por lo tanto, no deja de ser peligrosa esta actividad para quien la ejerce. Una muestra del riesgo latente, constituye los casos que presentamos aquí en esta tesina. Así por ejemplo, el hecho de Byron Baldeón, fue un suceso que causó conmoción a nivel internacional por la crueldad con la que se actuó. Este asesinato sigue todavía en investigación, pues hasta la vez no se ha llegado a encontrar a los culpables. Así mismo, el caso de Carlos Bejarano Ramos que pasó el susto de su vida y quien estuvo a punto de morir con toda su familia se salvaron por un milagro, la bomba que fue lanzada a su morada no estalló. En conclusión, este tema que presentamos en la tesina es interesante porque el periodista en este sector se desempeña en un ambiente de mucho riesgo y lo que es peor sin apoyo de su patrono y de ninguna asociación, pues laboran algunos hasta sin seguro social lo cual hace más dramática la situación en que se hallan la mayoría de los aficionados y profesionales del periodismo tanto como de La Troncal y El Triunfo.

Unpacking insanity defence standards: an experimental study of rationality and control tests in criminal law

The present study investigated the impact of different legal standards on mock juror decisions concerning whether a defendant was guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity. Undergraduate students (N = 477) read a simulated case summary involving a murder case and were asked to make an insanity determination. The cases differed in terms of the condition of the defendant (rationality deficit or control deficit) and the legal standard given to the jurors to make the determination (Model Penal Code, McNaughten or McNaughten plus a separate control determination). The effects of these variables on the insanity determination were investigated. Jurors also completed questionnaires measuring individualism and hierarchy attitudes and perceptions of facts in the case. Results indicate that under current insanity standards jurors do not distinguish between defendants with rationality deficits and defendants with control deficits regardless of whether the legal standard requires them to do so. Even defendants who lacked control were found guilty at equal rates under a legal standard excusing rationality deficits only and a legal standard excluding control and rationality deficits. This was improved by adding a control test as a partial defence, to be determined after a rationality determination. Implications for the insanity defence in the Criminal Justice System are discussed.

Periodismo literario y conflicto social en México en las crónicas de Charles Bowden y Judith Torrea

La presente comunicación analiza las relaciones entre periodismo literario y conflicto social a partir de la visión que sobre la violencia, el narcotráfico, los asesinatos, el crimen, las desapariciones etc., tienen las crónicas de Charles Bowden y Judtih Torrea. Bowden es un periodista norteamericano, recientemente fallecido, que ha vivido en primera persona el problema de la violencia a un lado y a otro de la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos. Por su parte, Judith Torrea, es una periodista española, Premio Ortega y Gasset 2010 de periodismo en Internet, afincada en Juárez y cuya obra se ha centrado en las desapariciones de mujeres en Juárez. La perspectiva de ambos profesionales, de procedencia y generación distinta, nos permite abordar el fenómeno del conflicto social mexicano no sólo desde el ángulo del análisis pormenorizado del problema, sino de la visión personal y en muchos casos subjetiva del periodista que se enfrenta in situ, y de manera personal a estas situaciones de conflicto. Nos centraremos para este doble análisis, de un lado La ciudad del crimen: Ciudad Juárez y los nuevos campos de exterminio de la economía global del periodista norteamericano Charles Bowden y Juárez en la sombra: Crónica de una ciudad que se resiste a morir de la periodista española Judith Torrea. Creemos poder contribuir de esta manera al estudio del periodismo literario a través de la crónica como género a partir de las adaptaciones que esta sufre en función del contexto del que trata. Centramos el caso en el estudio de Ciudad Juárez dada la importancia de este caso y su repercusión social y el eco internacional que tiene a lo que se añade el carácter fronterizo del problema y por tanto un fenómeno que posee una singularidad específica. This communication analyses the relationship between literary journalism and social conflict, from the point of view Charles Bowden and Judtih Torrea chronicles have about violence, drug trafficking, murders, crime, disappearances, etc. Bowden is an American journalist, recently deceased, who has experienced on the first hand the problem of violence on the border between Mexico and the United States. Meanwhile, Torrea is a Spanish journalist, awarded in 2010 with the Journalism on the Internet Ortega y Gasset Prize, settled in Juarez conflict and whose work is focused on the disappearances of women in Juarez. The perspectives of both professionals, who are from different origin and generation, allow us to deal with the situation of Mexican social conflict, from the angle of detailed analysis of the problem, and from the journalist’s personal view, often subjective, who had to cope with this reality. For this double analysis, we will focus, firstly, on Murder City: Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields by the American journalist Charles Bowden and, secondly, on City of Juarez: Under the Shadow of Drug Trafficking by the Spanish journalist Judith Torrea. Accordingly, we contribute to the study of literary journalism through the chronicle as genre with the adaptation it suffers depending on the context. Ciudad Juarez is the center of this investigation due to the importance of this case and its social impact and international repercussions. Besides, the border problem contributes to give a specific singularity to this.

Manos manchadas de sangre: los orígenes cristianos del mito antijudío del crimen ritual

La acusación antijudía del crimen o asesinato ritual gozó de una enorme popularidad en la Edad Media. A mediados del siglo XII, surgió de forma “espontánea” en diferentes lugares de la Europa medieval y dio lugar a infinidad de variantes. Su versión definitiva fue la del asesinato, preferentemente por crucifixión, de un niño cristiano a manos de los judíos con el fin de incorporar su sangre al pan ázimo. Sin embargo, su origen más remoto debe buscarse en la Antigüedad. De hecho, su más incipiente desarrollo puede encontrarse ya a comienzos del siglo V en el historiador cristiano Sócrates (Hist. Eccl., VII, 16), quien cuenta que hacia el año 415, en Inmestar (Siria), con motivo de las celebraciones de la fiesta de Purim, los judíos, embriagados por el vino, amarraron a un niño cristiano a una cruz y lo asesinaron. El relato de este hecho monstruoso plantea algunas dudas acerca de lo acontecido. Seguramente la historia sea falsa y se sitúe en el contexto de una ley del Codex Theodosianus del año 408 (XVI, 8, 18) que prohibía insultar a la Cruz durante la celebración de dicha festividad judía.

A (in)capacidade estatal de defesa dos direitos humanos : o incidente de deslocamento de competência nº 3 e a violência policial no estado de Goiás

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Centro de Estudos Avançados Multidisciplinares, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Direitos Humanos e Cidadania, 2015.

El surrealismo en la obra poética de Federico García Lorca

The main objective of this investigation is the retrieval of the study of possible Surrealism in Federico García Lorcás poetic work, a poet who enjoyed in his time prestige and international fame for decades, and still does. Numerous articles in magazines and newspapers of his time speak of his writings, literary activities and stand as a testimony of how well-regarded he was during his lifetime and even after his tragic murder death at the hands of fascists right after the outbreak of the Spanish civil war back in July 1936. Nevertheless, and for diverse reasons, literary ,social, as well as the extent of the studies, researches and abundant biographies about him, the study of Surrealism in all his works, such as in his playwrights for instance, has not been sufficiently expanded, and has been overlooked by the extensive bibliographies written about him. We have limited the investigation to his poetic works only. The extensive bibliographies written about him, is a fact that hindered and held back our efforts, as we had to resort to resources from different libraries, such as the Faculty of Philology of the UCM General Library, the Faculty of Information Science, the Student Residence, as well as the National Library. In addition to the analysis and commentary of his works, not to mention that current publications on him, various literary magazines and articles from the poet’s time have been consulted as well...

‘Cemented in their cells’: a human rights analysis of Blessington, Elliott and the life imprisonment of children in New South Wales

In 2010, two Australians, convicted in childhood of rape and murder, lodged a joint submission with the United Nations Human Rights Committee, claiming that successive changes to sentencing legislation in New South Wales breached their human rights by denying them any meaningful prospect of release. In this article, we examine the political, legislative and procedural moves that have resulted in Australian children being sentenced to life without parole or release. We argue that successive legislative changes in various Australian jurisdictions have resulted in a framework for sentencing decisions that is considerably out of step with international legal standards for criminal justice. These increasingly punitive legislative changes exacerbate Australia’s already declining record of cooperation with UN processes, and reveal Australia’s reluctance to respect the legitimacy and authority of international law. Against this troubling context, the views of the Human Rights Committee serve as a much-needed reminder about the importance of a principled approach to child sentencing that forecloses neither the goal of rehabilitation nor the prospect of release and reintegration.

Family violence in domestic homicides: a case study of women who killed intimate partners post-legislative reform in Victoria, Australia

This article examines the impact of legislative reforms enacted in 2005 in Victoria, Australia, on legal responses to women charged with murder for killing their intimate partner. The reforms provided for a broader understanding of the context of family violence to be considered in such cases, but we found little evidence of this in practice. This is partly attributable to persistent misconceptions among the legal profession about family violence and why women may believe it necessary to kill a partner. We recommend specialized training for legal professionals and increased use of family violence evidence to help ensure women's claims of self-defense receive appropriate responses from Victorian courts.

The implementation of feminist law reforms: the case of post-provocation sentencing

In 2005 the Australian State of Victoria abolished the controversial partial defence of provocation. Part of the impetus for the reforms was to challenge provocation’s victim-blaming narratives and the defence’s tendency to excuse men’s violence against intimate partners. However, concerns were also expressed that these narratives and excuses would simply reappear at the sentencing stage when men who had killed intimate partners were convicted of murder or manslaughter. This paper analyses post-provocation sentencing judgments, reviewing cases over the 10 year period since the reforms in order to determine whether these concerns have been borne out. The analysis suggests that at the level of sentencing outcomes they have not, although at the level of discourse the picture is more mixed. While sentencing narratives continue to reproduce the language of provocation, at the same time, post-provocation sentencing appears to provide opportunities for feminist judging – picking up on the spirit of the reforms – which have been taken up by some judges more than others.