“There’s More to It Than Just a Box Check”: Measuring Prison Climate in Three Correctional Facilities

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (8) ◽  
pp. 1354-1383 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Susan Williams ◽  
Edward L.W. Green ◽  
William A. Chernoff
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Correctional Facilities ◽  
Maximum Security ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Medium Security ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Item Scale ◽  
Check Measuring

The imperative to heed social environment and power of the situation, particularly as applied to prison settings, dates to the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment; the widely cited study concluded that situational factors, not personality, created the damaging conditions observed. Despite critical need for research on prison climate, measurement has met stiff challenges, and little research on prison culture exists in the United States. This study applies a 17-item scale, primarily based on Essen Climate Evaluation Schema (EssenCES), an instrument validated in Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom. It was administered to inmates and staff in three correctional facilities in the U.S. Midwest, one medium security and two maximum security. Survey results demonstrate higher levels of cohesion at the medium-security facility, but multivariate analysis suggests a much more complex relationship between facility and environment, varying particularly in response to perceived inmate threat. Qualitative data suggest that understanding these associations is vital to building socially adaptive conditions and prosocial change.

Psychosocial causes of offending

2012 ◽  
pp. 1908-1917
Author(s):  
David P. Farrington
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Antisocial Behaviour ◽  
The United States ◽  
Criminal Careers ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
Poor Child ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Offending Behaviour ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal

Offending is part of a larger syndrome of antisocial behaviour that arises in childhood and tends to persist into adulthood. There seems to be continuity over time, since the antisocial child tends to become the antisocial teenager and then the antisocial adult, just as the antisocial adult then tends to produce another antisocial child. The main focus of this chapter is on types of antisocial behaviour classified as criminal offences, rather than on types classified for example as conduct disorder or antisocial personality disorder. In an attempt to identify causes, this chapter reviews risk factors that influence the development of criminal careers. Literally thousands of variables differentiate significantly between official offenders and non-offenders and correlate significantly with reports of offending behaviour by young people. In this chapter, it is only possible to review briefly some of the most important risk factors for offending: individual difference factors such as high impulsivity and low intelligence, family influences such as poor child rearing and criminal parents, and social influences: socio-economic deprivation, peer, school, community, and situational factors. I will be very selective in focussing on some of the more important and replicable findings obtained in some of the more methodologically adequate studies: especially prospective longitudinal follow-up studies of large community samples, with information from several data sources (e.g. the child, the parent, the teacher, official records) to maximize validity. The emphasis is on offending by males; most research on offending has concentrated on males, because they commit most of the serious predatory and violent offences. The review is limited to research carried out in the United Kingdom, the United States, and similar Western industrialized democracies. More extensive book length reviews of antisocial behaviour and offending are available elsewhere.

An Introduction to Q Methodology, a Research Technique

2001 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
pp. 293-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Corr
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Q Methodology ◽  
Quantitative Method ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Educational Issue ◽  
Q Sort

In an attempt to develop the range of research methodologies within the occupational therapy profession, it is necessary to consider methods that may be appropriate to use in studies. Q methodology has been used in the United States, and to a lesser extent in the United Kingdom, by a broad range of researchers, including psychologists, social scientists, educationalists, political scientists and other health care professionals. It is basically a quantitative method for analysing qualitative data, based on viewpoints. The process involves developing a Q sort pack (a number of items representing the range of ideas on a topic), administering the sort (asking participants to rank the ideas with reference to their own views), analysing the data (looking for patterns in the way that individuals respond) and interpreting the results. This approach has a number of potential uses in occupational therapy. It is recommended that this method is given consideration as a research tool when attempting to identify the perceptions of clients, colleagues, students or others on any service or educational issue.

The Costs of Pride: Survey Results from LGBTQI Activists in the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, and Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 498-524
Author(s):  
Christopher Pepin-Neff ◽  
Thomas Wynter
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The United States ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Online Forms ◽  
Very High

AbstractA comparative analysis of emotional taxation was conducted to investigate the affective cost of entering the political process among 1,019 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) activists in the United States (n = 355), the United Kingdom (n = 230), South Africa (n = 228), and Australia (n = 206). Four consistent trends were identified across these four contexts, with important implications for the study of social movements, youth activism, gender, sexuality, and race. First, levels of emotional taxation resulting from LGBTQI activist work were consistently very high. Second, emotional burdens were systematically greater for young, nonwhite, and transgender activists. Third, emotional taxation was compounded for activists whose identities crossed multiple marginalized groups. This finding supports the validity and importance of intersectional approaches to LGBTQI issues. Fourth, the sources of emotional taxation varied greatly among activists, and transgender activists were particularly stressed by public engagements such as major events and marches. Transgender nonwhite activists also indicated relatively high levels of emotional stress related to online forms of engagement, such as posting on Twitter and Facebook. These findings could help identify the kinds of activists who participate, the kinds of issues advocated for, and why certain tactics are used.

“I am Mother to my Plants”

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-182
Author(s):  
Breann Fallon
Keyword(s):  
Survey Methods ◽  
The United States ◽  
Initial Section ◽  
Religious Movements ◽  
New Religious Movements ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Ancient Egyptian ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Qualitative Survey ◽  
Survey Results

The tree stands as a sacred symbol in many faith traditions. Unsurprisingly, nature-based new religious movements are no exception. This article considers the manifestation of sacred trees in a number of religious traditions, including Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander spirituality, Abrahamic traditions, Ancient Egyptian religion, Buddhism, Hinduism, Norse mythology, the Shinto faith, and nature-based new religious movements. After this initial section, I present the findings of a fieldwork project undertaken in 2016. Using the survey as a tool, this project enquired into the use of trees, plants, and private gardens among practitioners from nature-based new religious movements. This survey makes use of both quantitative and qualitative survey methods, having been distributed to various nature-based new religious movements in New Zealand, Australia, Europe, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Despite extensive tree lore, these survey results present the tree as a peripheral plant in the practitioners' everyday practice, with the garden as a whole being more critical than any single variety of vegetation.

Communication Policy Changes from 1971 to 1991 in State Correctional Facilities for Adult Males in the United States

1994 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
GEORGE E. DICKINSON ◽  
THOMAS W. SEAMAN
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Correctional Facilities ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Communication Policy ◽  
Correctional Institutions ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Medium Security ◽  
Communication Policies

The objective of this research is to determine whether and how correctional institutions's policies on correspondence, visitation, and telephoning have changed between 1971 and 1991. Data were gathered in 1971, 1981, and 1991 from state correctional institutions for adult males in maximum and medium security facilities. The findings indicate to the authors that correctional institutions are making serious commitments to reduce the social isolation of inmates through more liberal communication policies. Implications for further research are suggested to determine the effects of inmates' increased contacts with the outside society through more liberal policies regarding correspondence, visitation, and telephoning.

On The Need for Broader Insight

1982 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 508-509
Author(s):  
Gary Livingston
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Potential Usefulness ◽  
Correctional Facilities ◽  
Maximum Security ◽  
Just Society

In 1981, a call for papers was sent to eighty correctional facilities in the United States, ranging from maximum security prisons for men to institutions for women to juvenile reformatories. To explain the rationale behind our invitation to prisoner-writers, perhaps the most eloquent account of the potential usefulness to criminal justice of prisoners' writings was offered by Gary Livingston, who has spoken from the view of the outcast. The publication of these papers represents a statement against repression as the means to social justice. Equally, it is an acknowledgment of how formidable is the matter of reform. Extending Livingston's term violence to unjust acts both large and small, we suggest that these voices offer promise of a better under standing of how we may achieve in fact the ideals of a just society. —Ed.

Cultural Awareness of Students in Communication Sciences and Disorders: A Mixed-Methods Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 1231-1242
Author(s):  
Celeste Domsch ◽  
Lori Stiritz ◽  
Jay Huff
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Global Awareness ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Short Term Study

Purpose This study used a mixed-methods design to assess changes in students' cultural awareness during and following a short-term study abroad. Method Thirty-six undergraduate and graduate students participated in a 2-week study abroad to England during the summers of 2016 and 2017. Quantitative data were collected using standardized self-report measures administered prior to departure and after returning to the United States and were analyzed using paired-samples t tests. Qualitative data were collected in the form of daily journal reflections during the trip and interviews after returning to the United States and analyzed using phenomenological methods. Results No statistically significant changes were evident on any standardized self-report measures once corrections for multiple t tests were applied. In addition, a ceiling effect was found on one measure. On the qualitative measures, themes from student transcripts included increased global awareness and a sense of personal growth. Conclusions Measuring cultural awareness poses many challenges. One is that social desirability bias may influence responses. A second is that current measures of cultural competence may exhibit ceiling or floor effects. Analysis of qualitative data may be more useful in examining effects of participation in a short-term study abroad, which appears to result in decreased ethnocentrism and increased global awareness in communication sciences and disorders students. Future work may wish to consider the long-term effects of participation in a study abroad for emerging professionals in the field.

Effectiveness of Programs for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amaia Del Campo ◽  
Marisalva Fávero
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Prevention Programs ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sexual Abuse Prevention ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Methodological Considerations

Abstract. During the last decades, several studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of sexual abuse prevention programs implemented in different countries. In this article, we present a review of 70 studies (1981–2017) evaluating prevention programs, conducted mostly in the United States and Canada, although with a considerable presence also in other countries, such as New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The results of these studies, in general, are very promising and encourage us to continue this type of intervention, almost unanimously confirming its effectiveness. Prevention programs encourage children and adolescents to report the abuse experienced and they may help to reduce the trauma of sexual abuse if there are victims among the participants. We also found that some evaluations have not considered the possible negative effects of this type of programs in the event that they are applied inappropriately. Finally, we present some methodological considerations as critical analysis to this type of evaluations.

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