Entries by Jeffrey Ian Ross

What Are the Most Important Questions to Ask About US Prison Conditions?

In the United States, numerous standards have been developed for the operation of correctional facilities. States and the federal government have constitutional protections. Professional bodies like the American Correctional Association and the American Jail Association offer accreditation. Courts have weighed in repeatedly. And yet most people who have spent time inside a correctional facility as […]

Why I Keep a Shopping Bag I Rescued from the Trash in Berlin

This past week, I rescued my favorite reusable shopping bag from our own trash bin. My wife had thrown it away. This wasn’t because it was splitting at the seams; I only noticed that after I rescued it. She threw it away because she’s never liked it. And this isn’t the first time I’ve rescued […]

Demystifying Visiting Scholar Positions

Periodically, academics seek and are given the title of visiting scholar. The designation sounds formal and flattering, and for many people it carries a great deal of symbolic weight. But there is considerable variation and confusion surrounding these types of arrangements. In general, visiting scholar positions are courtesy appointments. Sometimes, a visiting scholar position is […]

Whitewashing a Myth about Graffiti Abatement

This past weekend, I saw The Honey Trap. The play centers on a former British soldier who lost a close friend during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Years later, while participating in an oral history project, he gains access to interview tapes and discovers that one of the interviewees may have been involved in setting […]