Followership： The Forgotten Kingmaker for Effective Leadership

Extensive studies have been carried out and theories expounded on leadership, yet no agreement has been reached on both definition and standards of leadership. The researcher takes the view that all the effort put on the study of leadership should have been directed toward the study of＂followership＂. The characteristics and types of followers are central to the success of any leadership in the particular environment. In this study, followership is classified as voluntary and not coerced. The leadership would therefore depend on the nature of the followers and their expectations, meaning that followers predetermine the nature of leadership. Critical to this is the nature of the power used by the leader in relation to the power of the followers. A continuum of followership is constructed along the extremes of transactional and transformational leadership styles. The continuum is a useful tool and model for effective leadership, effective leadership is therefore dependent on the level of the maturity of the followers and the agreeableness and congruency between the leader and the followers. The article concludes that effectiveness of leadership is a direct result of the willingness of the followers to be led in that particular fashion. Broadly speaking, effective leadership styles are customised to meet the followers＇ demands and expectations.     

Increasing jurors' participation in trials

A field experiment is reported that examines the advantages and disadvantages of two juror participation procedures: Allowing jurors to take notes during the trial, and allowing jurors to direct questions to witnesses. The presence or absence of both procedures was randomly assigned to 34 civil and 33 criminal trials in Wisconsin circuit courts. Following the trials, questinnaires were administered to judges, lawyers, and jurors. Overall, no evidence is found to support the hypotheses that juror notetaking would serve as a useful memory aid, would assist the jury with recall of the judge's instructions, or would increase the jurors' confidence in their verdict. The hypothesis that juror notetaking would increase juror satisfaction with the trial was supported. None of the findings supported the conclusion that juror notetaking was distracting, that notetakers were overly influential during the deliberations, that the jurors' notes were inaccurate, that the notes favored the plaintiff, or that the notes heightened juror disagreement about the trial evidence. It was hypothesized, but not found, that allowing juror questions of witnesses would uncover important issues in the trial and would increase the jurors' satisfaction with the trial procedure. However, juror questions did serve to alleviate juror doubts about the trial testimony, and provided the lawyers with feedback about the jurors' perception of the trial. No evidence was found to support the expectations that juror questions would slow the trial, would upset the lawyers' strategy, or that the question-asking procedure would be a nuisance to the courtroom staff. Furthermore, the lawyers did not appear overly reluctant to object to inappropriate questions from jurors, and jurors did not report being embarassed or angry when their questions were objected to.Dispute Resolution Research Center, Northwestern University     

Stone v. Powell: The impact on state appellate court judges' perceptions

This study addresses the question of whether the United States Supreme Court decision of Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465 (1976), has had a significant impact on the highest level state appellate courts. The study centered around a survey sent to every member of the highest appellate court hearing criminal appeals in each of the fifty states. The major finding of the research was that Stone v. Powell can be viewed along two dimensions: a narrow, substantive dimension applying the case as a Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule decision, or a broader, policy dimension of judicial federalism. It appears that, for the most part, state supreme courts have chosen to apply Stone v. Powell along the narrow, substantive dimension. Thus, state supreme courts have not assumed the position of equal partners with the federal courts in assuring adequate and appropriate disposition of federal claims.     

Teaching criminal justice research: An experiential model

Teaching research methods to undergraduate criminal justice students typically has been viewed as problematic. Students often experience considerable anxiety concerning required research courses and frequently lack the motivation to learn and appreciate the usefulness of research. Experiential case studies have been successfully utilized to teach criminal justice students the application of theory in practical situations. An evaluation of the experiential model was made in a post-test only control group research design with two groups of criminal justice research students. The results of the comparison supported the experiential approach and showed greater success utilizing this method over a traditional teaching method.     

Black homicide in a midsize southern city, 1980–1989

This study examined homicides from 1980–1989 in a midsize southern city (Chattanooga, Tennessee). More specifically, the study examined the homicide rate as it related to age, gender, and race of both the victim and offender, as well as the type of weapon used.