Anne M. Nurse

Teaching Human Rights Through Service Learning

This article describes an innovative service learning project designed for undergraduate courses examining human rights. The project vividly illustrated the role of dehumanization in affecting human rights. Within the broader context of discussions about human rights issues writ large, it forced students to reconsider questions about rights not accorded to those on the fringes of society. We discuss the project in detail, including its planning, implementation, and pedagogical value. The article begins with an overview of human rights education, followed by thoughts on the benefits and challenges of a service learning approach. It concludes with an assessment of the effectiveness of our activity.

The Structure of the Juvenile Prison Constructing the Inmate Father

Crime and adolescent fatherhood are generally discussed as separate social problems, with little attention paid to the fact that they increasingly intersect. In this article, the author discusses the structure of the juvenile prison and its effect on the relationship between inmates and their children. Placing prison structure into a historical and social context, the author examines its effects on father/child relations. This includes an analysis of the gendered nature of the institution, its patriarchal/punitive structure, and its high-stress environment. For the analysis, the author draws from observations at three California youth prisons, survey data from 181 parolee-fathers, and in-depth interview data from a subset of 20 of the survey respondents.

Juveniles and College Inside Out as a Way Forward

In this article the author argues that the Inside Out model is ideally suited to help incarcerated juveniles considering enrolling in college postrelease. The transition to college can be extremely difficult for such youth who may lack the cultural capital needed to succeed in higher education. This is unfortunate as research suggests that college can have a range of positive effects, including reduced criminality and increased earnings. With some adaptations to its curriculum, Inside Out classes can provide students with much of what they need to succeed. Best practices are described at the end of the article.

Knowledge and Behavioral Impact of Adult Participation in Child Sexual Abuse Prevention: Evaluation of the Protecting God’s Children Program

ABSTRACT This article presents findings from an evaluation of a popular adult training program (Protecting God’s Children) used in Catholic institutions, including schools, churches, and social service agencies. The study explores knowledge and behavior change based on pretest/posttest questionnaires administered to over 500 adults and follow-up questionnaires sent six months after the training. The participants in the training were compared to a control group of adults who did not participate in the program. The results indicate that participants arrive at the training with fairly high rates of preexisting knowledge but that the program increases knowledge across demographic groups. Follow-up surveys suggest that the new knowledge is retained over six months. The study indicates that the program is associated with an increase in participants talking to their own children about child sexual abuse. Participants also report sharing information with other adults and monitoring behavior around children more closely.

Construction of the Offender in Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Training for Adults

Until recently, the media was Americans’ primary source of information about child sexual offenders. Today, however, millions of adults attend child sexual abuse prevention trainings sponsored by churches, schools, and other organizations. This paper draws on participant observation in 22 sessions of a popular Catholic program. It examines how the curriculum frames child sexual offenders and how group processes support or challenge that framing. While such trainings have the potential to challenge incorrect stereotypes, group and organizational pressures often coalesce to perpetuate fear, anger, and an inability to see offenders as anything but “others.”

Juvenile Corrections in the Era of Reform: A Meta-Synthesis of Qualitative Studies

In this article, the authors synthesize knowledge from select qualitative studies examining rehabilitation-oriented juvenile residential corrections and aftercare programs. Using meta-synthesis methodology, the authors extracted and coded content from 10 research studies conducted by five authors across criminology, sociology, and social welfare disciplines. The total number of published works based on those studies analyzed was 18. Collectively, these studies offer insight into three major components of the juvenile correctional experience: therapeutic treatment and evidence-based practices, the shaping of identities and masculinities, and preparation for reentry. This analysis is particularly important as the United States is currently in an era of reform during which policymakers are increasingly espousing the benefits of rehabilitation for youth offenders over punishment. These studies took place before, during, and after this era of reform, and yet, the findings are surprisingly consistent over time, raising key questions about the effectiveness of the reform strategies.

Book Review: Mona Lynch Sunbelt Justice: Arizona and the Transformation of American Punishment Stanford, California, Stanford University Press, 2009. 267 pp.

plement this theoretical framework to fully observe a ‘‘controlled drug use’’ ideology. The discussion of these amendments is limited, that is, it becomes unclear from this research if Perrone is suggesting that these additions can be generalized to the drug-using populations outside of the club drug culture. Apart from this criticism, the study addresses and successfully links each of Zinberg’s concepts to the club drug culture while partitioning a unique approach of both consumerism and carnival as central features to the understanding of club culture. Furthermore, Perrone’s theoretical application does provide a persuasive argument for taking into consideration both capital and timing as germane indicators for measuring and applying changes in drug use—an accomplishment that builds on recent criminological literature addressing life-course indicators. Her findings suggest that capital might prove as the most significant variable in explaining how social context varies among ‘‘privileged’’ adult drug users. Perrone provides a solid history of both previous drug using subcultures as well as the historical, social, and cultural forces that began to define the ‘‘club drug’’ era. Up until the 21st century, the term ‘‘club drugs’’ seldom appeared in scholarly research. During 2001, data indicated a significant increase in the use and availability of ecstasy (or 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine [MDMA]) among America’s teenagers and young adults. Subsequently, MDMA became known and was considered the primary drug of choice among club going users. Although the use of MDMA was first renowned as the vanguard among club drug users, other illicit substances such as Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and Ketamine (or Special K) were also common to the club culture. Perrone’s latest research confirms those previous conjectures and suggests that these three particular substances are still very prevalent among today’s club drug users. Moreover, her research indicates a recent expansion in type of club drug use, noting an emergence in methamphetamines and prescription medications coupled with a growth in polydrug use behaviors within the club culture. This book is best suited for students in an upper level illicit drugs course as a supplemental text; where readers will be given a glossy insight into illicit drug use regarding a niche drug using population. This text may also prove useful for some advanced areas of social science where readers are interested in the procedures of field research, data collection, and qualitative methodology as a whole. Audiences who are curious about the investigation of deviant subcultures may also find this book aesthetically appealing. Readers are provided with intimate details regarding motivations and tribulations that adequately explain the onset and desistance for club drug use. As a final point, readers will be forced into a theoretical inquiry, where one must address those structural and interpersonal attributes intrinsic to both drug users and the club culture all together. Illicit drug use research in the form of ethnographies has recently been revitalized, proving as an invaluable tool for public health and criminal justice agencies. This book is as an essential contribution for these institutions, allowing one to rethink the criminal justice system as the sole intervention in curbing drug use. In lieu of merely analyzing drug policy and advancing drug use theory, I believe Perrone’s goal was to provide an image of the drug user, which is a sharp contrast to our contemporary thought, using questions of ritual and folklore. By challenging the reader to balance conventional norms and culture with illicit and deviant behavior, Perrone successfully leaves the reader questioning this dissonance.