Mh Travers

Sentencing in the Children's Court: an ethnographic perspective

This paper presents findings from an ethnographic study, based on observing hearings and interviewing practitioners in the Youth Justice Division of the Magistrates’ Court in Hobart, Tasmania. Although there is a large academic literature by jurists on the philosophical principles, and social scientists on the attitudinal and institutional factors shaping court decisions, there have been few studies that examine what actually happens in the courtroom. This paper argues that much can be learnt about the collaborative nature of judicial work, the administrative side of decision-making (neglected by most studies) and the welfare values informing work in this court, through examining sentencing hearings.

Understanding law and society

1. Introduction 2 . Classical Thinkers 3. The Consensus Tradition 4. Critical Perspectives 5. Feminism and Law 6 . The Interpretive Tradition 7. Postmodernism and Difference 8. Legal Pluralism and Globalisation 9. Conclusion

Postmodernism and Qualitative Research

It is suggested at some point in each of these books that, instead of taking features of the social world like gender or race for granted, as happens in positivist or objectivist social science, constructionist or postmodern qualitative researchers (the terms are used inter-changeably) should examine how they are used in talk, and how their meaning changes in different circumstances or over time. A good example, which for some reason is not discussed, is the term ‘postmodern’ which enjoyed a few years of popularity in social science during the 1990s, but has since almost disappeared from social scientific discourse. At the height of the movement, the term appeared in almost every title in publisher’s catalogues, and there were liberal references in every paper given at conferences. Today, it remains in vogue in certain sub-fields of qualitative research, and in cultural studies, but has been side-lined in sociology. You will not, for example, find postmodernism given much emphasis in introductory textbooks, and the average undergraduate is more likely to learn about qualitative research through coding transcripts into analytic themes rather than writing poems or experimenting with new literary forms. In reviewing these texts, I will consider what is distinctive about postmodern qualitative research, focusing on the epistemological assumptions, the implications for practice and the concept of an ‘interview society’. The general argument in each book is that a new kind of qualitative research is desirable and necessary: one that celebrates indeterminacy and constructionism through exposing the short-comings of positivism as an R E V I E W E S S AY 267

Evaluation Research and Criminal Justice: Beyond a Political Critique

Abstract This article is intended to stimulate reflection and debate about the relationship between pure and applied research in criminology. The central argument is that evaluation research, which has almost become a dominant paradigm in researching criminal justice, has lower methodological standards than peer-reviewed social science. It considers this case in relation to quantitative and qualitative methods, and examines examples of a ‘flagship’ and ‘small-scale’ evaluation. The article concludes by discussing the implications for evaluators (who are encouraged to employ a wider range of methods), funding agencies and criminology as an academic discipline.

Reflecting on comparison: A view from Asia

This chapter reflects on themes developed in Comparative Criminology in Asia. It considers the practical and political character of asking comparative questions, and the theoretical traditions that inform comparative research. The chapter also summarizes a study by Setsuo Miyawaza that examines the reception of Asian research in mainstream Western criminology journals. This indicates that research about relatively few Asian countries, particularly China, reaches an audience in Western countries. The chapter ends with some optimistic thoughts on how Asian criminology might develop theories that recognize and address distinctive values, institutions, and practices in Asian countries.

Governmentality as critique: the diversification and regulation of the Australian housing sector

As the housing affordability crisis in Australia deepens, policy-makers have expended considerable resources in establishing new regulatory practices to enhance the role of the community housing sector. Ostensibly, the rationale for a new tier of regulation is to assure potential institutional investors (e.g. pension funds, investment trusts and banks) that community housing organisations are accountable and safe places to invest. Our paper adopts an alternative reading of diversity and housing regulation, drawing upon the governmentality thesis advanced by Michel Foucault in an empirical study about the early stages of regulation of affordable housing providers. Amongst our claims are: first, that policies to diversify and regulate the housing sector constitute a radical political project to commercialise welfare provision and second, these policies are likely to generate additional bureaucratic burdens and close off possibilities for progressive reform. The paper also considers the value of the governmentality approach for critical investigations in the field of housing.

The Children's Court in Tasmania

Tasmania is the smallest state in Australia with a population of 500,000. Drawing on interviews with magistrates and other practitioners working in the Youth Justice Division of the Magistrates Court of Tasmania, this chapter considers both practical and policy issues in child protection and how this state responds to child protection and youth offending. During 2010, a dedicated Children’s Court was established, and youth matters were listed before a single magistrate. The chapter reports on a wide range of views among magistrates on policy and practice issues.

Understanding Comparison in Criminal Justice Research: An Interpretive Perspective

This article explores some implications of interpretive philosophies of social science, developed by thinkers such as Max Weber and Peter Winch, for conducting comparative research in criminal justice. These address the meaningful character of human activities but, unlike constructionism and postmodernism, respect the objective and constraining character of institutional realities. Drawing on American empirical studies that employ qualitative methods to explain statistical variation, the article shows how interpretive traditions often find it difficult freeing themselves from positivist assumptions and fall short of investigating how social actors understand and engage in comparison in their everyday lives. A discussion of data collected in an ethnographic study of childrens courts in Australia demonstrates how a more thorough-going and consistent approach to comparison is possible within this interpretive framework.

Asian Values, Crime and Social Change

A central issue for Asian criminologists is whether there are distinctive patterns of offending in Asian countries and, if so, how these can be explained by distinctive social institutions and cultural values. This chapter contrasts two approaches to investigating this problem. Quantitative criminologists, drawing on the ideas of Emile Durkheim, seek to develop a cross-cultural theory or global criminology (Karstedt 2001) that explains international variation. Interpretivists, influenced by Max Weber, look at how intellectuals and criminal justice professionals in different countries construct and use their own theories about crime (Nelken 2010). Three sources of information are considered: the 1990s Asian values debate; cultural nationalism in China; and how some criminologists in Japan, South Korea and China view the crime problem.

The idea of a Southern Criminology

ABSTRACT Southern Criminology is a theoretical perspective that shifts the focus from the state criminal justice process to global inequalities, transnational crime, and postcolonial politics. While recognising the importance of this shift in perspective for a globalising world, this paper asks two difficult questions. Firstly, how easy is it to generalise about whole regions of the world in advancing a political viewpoint? Secondly, is it possible for those in the West to imagine an alternative global criminology, if non-Western societies really do have different cultural values and epistemologies? For example, how should we respond to traditional practices among Indigenous Australians or a Confucian understanding of crime? These questions may make a Southern Criminology sound impossible in the same way as other varieties of critical theory. But this paper is intended to strengthen this emerging movement by acknowledging, and working through, potential difficulties.