Abolition and pedagogy: reflections on teaching a course on alternatives to punishment,state repression and social control

Abolitionism is an important, but often overlooked, theoretical and political alternative to the failings and injustices of the penal system and other forms of social control. While many have documented different approaches to abolitionist strategy, few have explored the work that is done sensitizing individuals to abolitionism, including in university settings. Through an analysis of student journal entries, this study discusses how students enrolled in a mandatory abolition course engaged with the viability of, and barriers to, a world without prisons, punishment and other forms of control. By looking at abolition as a threshold concept, we consider how students negotiate the concept of abolition as a radical justice alternative. As the journal entries showed, while students were able to understand the basic tenets of abolition, many remained in a liminal state between the existing system and the unknown landscape of abolition, and could not see its viability or possibility as a radical alternative. We conclude that other learning strategies may have been helpful in moving student through such a ‘dangerous’ concept. Further research on sensitising individuals to abolition is needed given the current proliferation and intensification of penal and carceral institutions today.     

Punishment and Autonomous Shame in Confucian Thought

As recorded in the Analects, Kongzi (Confucius) held that using punishment to influence ordinary citizens will do little to develop a sense of shame (chi 恥) in them. This term is usually taken to refer to a sense of shame described here as “autonomous,” understood as a predisposition to feel ashamed when one does something wrong because it seems wrong to oneself, and not because others regard it as wrong or shameful. Historically, Confucian philosophers have thought a great deal about the habits and character traits necessary for someone to have a sense of shame that is truly autonomous. The article looks at their views on this matter and shows how they help to articulate the hypothesis that coercive punishments undermine or work at cross-purposes with the cultivation of an autonomous sense of shame. It then uses this analysis to explicate Kongzi’s proposal that governing people by cultivating a sense of shame is to be preferred to governing by threat of punishment. It concludes by weighing its merits as a view about effective governance, observing that its strength and plausibility depends on whether we take the threat of punishment to be direct or indirect.     

The Impact of Negative Publicity on Police Self-legitimacy

High-profile events involving police use of force in various cities throughout the US and internationally have garnered enormous media coverage and demonstrated the importance of police-community relations. To date little empirical attention has focused on how such events may negatively impact police officers. Using survey data from 567 officers, this study considers whether perceptions of negative publicity are adversely related to officers’ sense of self-legitimacy (i.e. the confidence they have in their authority). Findings revealed officers who felt less motivated as a result of negative publicity expressed less self-legitimacy. However, the degree to which officers felt their job had become more dangerous as a result of negative publicity was not significantly related to self-legitimacy. These findings increase our understanding of the sources of self-legitimacy and reveal that negative publicity surrounding law enforcement presents a unique challenge to officers’ confidence in their authority, which can have important implications for the community.     

Early detection and early intervention in prison: improving outcomes and reducing prison returns

Our aim was to investigate whether early detection was feasible in prison and whether it could improve mental health outcomes in young prisoners. A secondary aim was to explore whether it can reduce returns to prison. Between 2011 and 2014, a total of 2115 young prisoners were screened, 94 (4.4%) met criteria for ultra-high risk for psychosis and were offered an intervention, 52 actually received it. Return to prison data were sought on the 52 participants, receiving a formal intervention. Of the 52 prisoners who received an intervention, 30.8% returned to custody compared to national average reconviction rates of between 45.4 and 66.5%. Our results suggest that early detection is a feasible option in a prison setting, improving mental health outcomes and reducing returns to prison. Mental health outcomes were recorded for a sub-sample of those receiving the intervention. The results indicated statistically significant improvements on measures of depression, anxiety and psychological distress.     

Parenting in Emerging Adulthood: An Examination of Parenting Clusters and Correlates

The changing nature of the transition to adulthood in western societies, such as the United States, may be extending the length of time parents are engaged in “parenting” activities. However, little is known about different approaches parents take in their interactions with their emerging-adult children. Hence, this study attempted to identify different clusters of parents based on the extent to which they exhibited both extremes of control (psychological control, punishment, verbal hostility, indulgence) and responsiveness (knowledge, warmth, induction, autonomy granting), and to examine how combinations of parenting were related to emerging adult children’s relational and individual outcomes (e.g. parent–child relationship quality, drinking, self-worth, depression). The data were collected from 403 emerging adults (M age = 19.89, SD = 1.78, range = 18–26, 62% female) and at least one of their parents (287 fathers and 317 mothers). Eighty-four percent of participants reported being European American, 6% Asian American, 4% African American, 3% Latino, and 4% reported being of other ethnicities. Data were analyzed using hierarchical cluster analysis, separately for mothers and fathers, and identified three similar clusters of parents which we labeled as uninvolved (low on all aspects of parenting), controlling-indulgent (high on both extremes of control and low on all aspects of responsiveness), and authoritative (high on responsiveness and low on control). A fourth cluster was identified for both mothers and fathers and was labeled as inconsistent for mothers (mothers were above the mean on both extremes of control and on responsiveness) and average for fathers (fathers were at the mean on all eight aspects of parenting). The discussion focuses on how each of these clusters effectively distinguished between child outcomes.     

Validation of the Seratec® SeraQuant™ for the quantitation of prostate-specific antigen levels on immunochromatographic membranes

Abstract: Use of immunochromatographic membranes for the detection of prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) has become commonplace in forensic laboratories. Experiments were designed to test the newly developed Seratec^® SeraQuant? for accuracy, precision, and consistency in the quantitation of PSA. PSA standards were diluted with buffers and run on the instruments. Values obtained were examined for accuracy (was the correct value obtained?) and precision (were multiple sample values consistent?). To test for variation between instruments, large volumes of diluted PSA standard were run repeatedly on six units and the values obtained were plotted against the known PSA values to obtain a standard curve for each instrument. Fifty membranes having negative or weak positive results were then run on the six units, and the adjusted values were recorded and compared. Results of these experiments indicate that the instruments are accurate and precise in the quantitation of low levels of PSA.     

Developmental validation of feline, bovine, equine, and cervid quantitative PCR assays

Accurate DNA quantification is essential for optimizing DNA testing and minimizing sample consumption. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays have been published for human and canine nuclear DNA, and the need for quantifying other forensically important species was evident. Following the strategy employed for the canine qPCR assay, we developed individual assays to accurately quantify feline, bovine, equine, and cervid nuclear DNA. Each TaqMan-based assay incorporates a genus-specific probe targeting the Melanocortin-1 Receptor gene and includes a piece of synthetic DNA that acts as an internal PCR control for detecting inhibition. Developmental validations were carried out following the revised guidelines of the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods with modifications necessary for validation of nonhuman qPCR assays. All assays demonstrated the specificity, sensitivity, stability, reproducibility, accuracy, and precision required for forensic casework. The application of these assays to animal forensic DNA analysis has both conserved laboratory resources and improved genotyping results.     

Mitochondrial DNA sequencing of cat hair: an informative forensic tool

Approximately 81.7 million cats are in 37.5 million U.S. households. Shed fur can be criminal evidence because of transfer to victims, suspects, and/or their belongings. To improve cat hairs as forensic evidence, the mtDNA control region from single hairs, with and without root tags, was sequenced. A dataset of a 402-bp control region segment from 174 random-bred cats representing four U.S. geographic areas was generated to determine the informativeness of the mtDNA region. Thirty-two mtDNA mitotypes were observed ranging in frequencies from 0.6-27%. Four common types occurred in all populations. Low heteroplasmy, 1.7%, was determined. Unique mitotypes were found in 18 individuals, 10.3% of the population studied. The calculated discrimination power implied that 8.3 of 10 randomly selected individuals can be excluded by this region. The genetic characteristics of the region and the generated dataset support the use of this cat mtDNA region in forensic applications.     

Identifying and classifying juvenile stalking behavior

Despite the growing research in the area of stalking, the focus has been on adults who engage in this behavior. Unfortunately, almost no studies investigate the prevalence of this behavior in adolescents. Two cases are presented demonstrating not only that stalking occurs during the period of adolescence, but also that there is a significant difference in the motivation underlying this behavior that can be classified similarly to that of adult stalkers. Further, a suggested classification based on these two cases as well as our experience with other juveniles who have exhibited stalking behaviors is proposed. The first case involves a narcissistic youth who also possesses psychopathic traits, while the second involves a lonely, severely socially awkward teen. Juvenile stalking is a societal problem that has not yet garnered the attention it deserves, and all systems that deal with juvenile delinquency (juvenile court, law enforcement, and mental health personnel) as well as the school system must be educated to the prevalence and severity of this yet-to-be-recognized problem.