Revolutionizing Academic Activism: Transpraxis,Critical Pedagogy,and Justice for a People Yet to Be

One strain of thought that is both consistent with and an amplification of academic activism (Belknap in Criminology 53(1):1–22, 2015) is the critical criminological literature on transpraxis. As a theory of change, transpraxis advances a thesis on the dialogical and relational pedagogy of mutual struggle, of shared being and becoming. In addition, this literature critiques the dominant philosophy of human risk management and the current culture of captivity politics in which the struggle for transformative (i.e., interdependent and collective) change is “finalized.” We argue that, in the present era, processes of humanness and expressions of culture de-vitalize (e.g., homogenize, normalize, territorialize) this existence. In so doing, humanness and culture tend toward Hegelian reaction-negation dynamics, thereby forestalling and/or foreclosing justice for an awaiting people. Accordingly, this article outlines the dimensions of transpraxis as theory, explains how revolutionary academic activism necessitates a critical pedagogy for a people yet to be, and it reconceives the educational terrain of criminological activism as the pedagogy of becoming. We argue that the transpraxis properties of this pedagogy facilitate revolutionary academic activism and further the radical potential of transformative justice. This activism and potential exist for the multitude.     

All hat and no cattle: How house bill 2926 paves the way for progress in the reinstatement of parental rights,but falls short of providing parents with an accessible resource

Texas' foster care system is overpopulated, underfunded, and doing a grave disservice to the children in its care. Specifically, the foster care system is violating the constitutional rights of children regarding how they must be taken care of while in the State's custody. Parents whose custodial rights were involuntarily terminated now have a clear path for petitioning to regain their rights thanks to Texas House Bill 2926. Much of House Bill 2926's value is lost in the legalese used to write it, which is the problem my proposed solution, The 2926 Project, aims to remedy.     

Functional anonymisation: Personal data and the data environment

Anonymisation of personal data has a long history stemming from the expansion of the types of data products routinely provided by National Statistical Institutes. Variants on anonymisation have received serious criticism reinforced by much-publicised apparent failures. We argue that both the operators of such schemes and their critics have become confused by being overly focused on the properties of the data itself. We claim that, far from being able to determine whether data is anonymous (and therefore non-personal) by looking at the data alone, any anonymisation technique worthy of the name must take account of not only the data but also its environment.This paper proposes an alternative formulation called functional anonymisation that focuses on the relationship between the data and the environment within which the data exists (the data environment). We provide a formulation for describing the relationship between the data and its environment that links the legal notion of personal data with the statistical notion of disclosure control. Anonymisation, properly conceived and effectively conducted, can be a critical part of the toolkit of the privacy-respecting data controller and the wider remit of providing accurate and usable data.     

Policy,Practicalities, and PACE s. 24: The Subsuming of the Necessity Criteria in Arrest Decision Making by Frontline Police Officers

PACE, as amended by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, establishes a complex framework of factors that police officers must consider during arrest decision making. Officers must possess a reason to arrest, it must be necessary to arrest for that reason, and they must give at least a ‘cursory consideration’ to alternatives. Based on a four‐year ethnographic study of frontline officers from two forces in Northern England, we argue that the 2005 reforms have not achieved their aims. The new regime tasks officers with undertaking a complex legal assessment prior to arrest, but officers are often confused about the necessity criteria which, moreover, is typically a minor consideration in contrast to demanding practical and policy pressures. This means that unlawful and non‐human‐rights‐compliant arrests continue to be regularly made and, equally significantly, many suspects are escaping the criminal justice system because officers are not considering arrest alternatives.     

“That's How She Talks”: Animating Text Message Evidence in the Sexual Assault Trial

This ethnographic study of criminal sexual assault adjudication shows how prosecutors, defense attorneys, and witnesses animate text message evidence. In contrast to other forms of courtroom testimony, text messages function as multiauthored representations of recorded correspondence in the past. Attorneys and witnesses animate texts authored by or said to characterize persons represented at trial. By whom and how the texts are animated shapes trial processes. Through a detailed comparative case analysis of two Milwaukee, WI, sexual assault trials, this article attends to the process by which text messages are said to personify or characterize authors’ meaning and intent. This animation of electronically transmitted text speaks to credibility and variably emphasizes a witness's place within gendered and racialized cultural norms. Rather than unsettling the trope of “he said, she said,” text messages become contested evidence animated by court actors within contexts of long‐standing cultural narratives of sexual victimization and offending.     

A Quantitative Assessment of Zygomatic Projection for Ancestry Estimation

Anterior zygomatic projection (ZP) is historically referenced as a useful trait in ancestry estimation, particularly when differentiating between Native Americans and U.S. Whites and Blacks. However, methods of assessing ZP vary, are susceptible to multiple interpretations, and have not been quantitatively validated. This study uses 228 3D surface scans of U.S. Whites, U.S. Blacks, and Native Americans to quantitatively test the ZP methods published by Rhine in 1990 (Skeletal attribution of race: methods for forensic anthropology, Albuquerque, NM, Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, 1990) and Bass in 1995 (Human osteology: a laboratory and field manual, Columbia, MO: Missouri Archaeological Society, 1995). Two ZP angles and two distances, representing method interpretations, were collected and analyzed via ANOVA and discriminant function analyses. Although significant ancestry differences were found across all variables, only the Bass inferior zygomatic distance successfully differentiated the pooled Native American group from pooled U.S. Whites/Blacks (73.7% correct). Arctic Native Americans, displaying the most projecting zygomas, are driving group differences. Significant overlap in measurement distributions were observed between groups in all variables, indicating limited forensic utility.     

Psychosocial comparison of carers and noncarers

Abstract

Limited exploration of young carers’ (YCs) impacts includes noncaregivers, thus reducing our understanding of YCs’ unique characteristics. Secondary comparative analyses of 124 YCs (n?=?72 females, Mage?=?12) and 124 noncarers were conducted to examine family, individual, and social contexts. Statistical analyses revealed YCs were different from non-YCs, suggesting caregiving could be a contributing factor in altering temperament and family dynamics as well as lowering self-esteem and raising the incidence of depressive symptoms. A comprehensive YC profile resulted from the findings. This profile may help promote identification and recognition of YCs.     

Youth Engagement and Suicide Risk: Testing a Mediated Model in a Canadian Community Sample

Suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents in many industrialized countries. We report evidence from a mediation model linking greater youth activity engagement, spanning behavioral and psychological components, with lower suicide risk through five hypothesized intrapersonal and interpersonal mediating factors. Self-report survey data (15% French, 85% English) were gathered from a community sample of 5,015 Canadian adolescents participating in a mental health promotion program. Youth (M _age = 15.77, SD = 1.42, 50% female) were from two urban centers in southern Ontario, Canada. Youth engagement (youth’s most important type of activity, frequency of involvement, and psychological engagement), suicide risk predictive factors (self-esteem, current concerns, depressive symptoms, coping ability, and connections with others), and suicide risk (ideation and attempts) were assessed. Consistent with the hypothesized mediation model, enjoyment and stress in youth’s most important activity and various activity types were associated with the various hypothesized suicide risk predictive factors, which in turn were related to suicide risk. Implications for conceptualizations of youth engagement as a multidimensional construct and for suicide risk prevention efforts are discussed.     

Children's recall of emotionally arousing, repeated events: a review and call for further investigation

The influence, if any, of emotional arousal on memory is a controversial topic in the literature. Much of the research on memory for emotionally arousing events has focused on a few specific issues (e.g., differences in types of details recalled in emotionally arousing and neutral events; increasing ecological validity). Although gaining more recent attention, a neglected area in the literature has been memory for instances of repeated, emotionally arousing events. This issue has important implications for understanding children's ability to recall events in a forensic setting. We review existing findings on memory for emotionally arousing events in general and particularly in children, children's memory for events that occur repeatedly, and then discuss the scarce research on repeated emotionally arousing events and the need for further research in this area. We conclude that although it is clear that children are capable of accurately reporting arousing and repeated experiences, it is also apparent that circumstances both within and outside the control of investigative interviewers influence this ability.     

The politics of requesting: Strategic behavior and public utility regulation

Extant models of public utility regulation assume that regulated firms make the same rate adjustment requests regardless of the political environment they will face during the rate case. Focusing on information asymmetries, the repeated interaction between the firm and the regulatory commission, and behavioral assumptions about the goals of regulators, a new model is proposed that assumes firms strategically and rationally plan their requests to respond to political and agency, as well as standard economic factors. An implication of the new model is that the effect of political factors, such as grassroots advocacy and regulator election, should be observed in request equations rather than in award equations where they are traditionally sought. This new model is tested using data from 54 telephone rate cases. The results indicate that firms do respond strategically to political factors (especially to regulator elections), and also to agency factors (such as workload), by increasing their requests. This partially explains a puzzling result in the literature and has implications for regulatory policy, interest group behavior, democratic institutions, and public management.