The failure of postmodern criminology

Postmodernism has recently washed up on the shores of criminology, and is the subject of considerable theoretical debate. This essay critically assesses some of the most trenchant and relevant components of the theoretical bases for postmodernism, and sketches out their applicability to criminology. It argues that postmodernism can be of little assistance to intellectuals committed to critique and fundamental social change. While postmodernists look down so severely at ‘old-fashioned’ ‘meta-narratives’ like Marxism, it is now they who are falling off the contemporary agenda, because they are dated and theoretically flawed. My main argument is that the theoretical imporverishment of postmodernism creates an obstacle to the development of a truly critical criminology. One of the current challenges of critical criminology is to amplify the critique of postmodern criminology and to reorient the trajectory of critical criminology away from the postmodern detour. The essay explores the historical context of the emergence of postmodernism, the modernist/ postmodernist era, deconstructionism, ‘meta-narratives’, idealism, form and content, fragmentation/pluralism/relativism, absence of progressive praxis, conservatism and Marxism.     

The first three years in Charterland

Abstract: An examination of judicial decisions in the first three years of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms indicates that the Charter has fulfilled neither the worst fears of its critics nor the high hopes of its supporters. Jt has produced a flood of litigation in the lower courts which has gradually bubbled up to the Supreme Court of Canada and put that institution under a good deal of stress. Undoubtedly the Charter has resulted in the transference of some political activity from the political to the judicial arena. Although Canadian judges have shown themselves to be far more prepared to give effect to the constitutional Charter than they were to the statutory Bill of Rights, Charter decisions in these first three years have not seriously eroded the power of elected legislators. Most cases have involved challenges to procedural aspects of criminal justice. Few of the successful challenges have adversely affected policy interests of contemporary governments. The coming into force of the equality clause at the end of this three-year period could dramatically change this picture. In the meantime, the impact of the Charter on popular attitudes which many of the Charter's proponents said would be its most important effect remains unexplored.     

IDEOLOGY AND POLICY RESEARCH: THE CASE OF MURRAY'S LOSING GROUND

Ideology and policy research are intertwined in many ways; an example is Murray's Losing Ground which uses “science” to justify racial, sexual, and class discrimination. Murray is utterly faithful to the neoconservative version of how liberalism went wrong in the 1960s. He says an intellectual elite shifted the blame for poverty, crime and low achievement to “the system” destroying individual responsibility. But his argument is not supported by evidence. Data are bent tofit foregone conclusions. He argues that more people are becoming dependent on government support, but his method of counting who receives assistance is a fiction. Nevertheless his argument has wide appeal among Americans. Why? His argument touches the self-interested Social Darwinist in almost all of us.     

Focus of attention and locus of control as moderators of fraternal justice effects

The influence of a colleague's performance outcomes on individual's own subsequent performance was investigated. Internal and external locus of control subjects were given information about another person's outcome which indicated two things about organizational standards: how easy or difficult they were to meet and how stringently they were applied. An attentional focus manipulation was employed to influence how subjects used this information. Half of the subjects received a group-focus manipulation and the other half a self-focus one. We proposed that perceived difficulty of standards and stringency of application would interact with attentional focus and subject locus of control to alter subject's own subsequent performances. This expectation was supported by the data. Theoretical and applied implications of this result are discussed.     

Computer-Aided Instruction in Law: Theories, Techniques, and Trepidations

Legal education is only beginning to make use of the technological capabilities of computers as a medium for instructional design. In this article the authors show the applicability of computer-assisted instruction to law through programmed instructional techniques. They trace the two decades of development of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in law, the use and misuse of the computer's capabilities, the impact of CAI on law student attitudes and performance, and the positive student endorsement. They carefully analyze the computer's capacity for use in memory drills, tutorial sessions, and simulation exercises. They do not offer an unrestricted endorsement of the computer's capabilities but hope for the continuing development of CAI in the legal education process.