Entries by Jeffrey Ian Ross

The timeless wisdom of TAMPOPO

Several recurrent themes are present in Japanese films. One of them is references to food, cuisine, or washoku (i.e., traditional Japanese cooking). A great example within this genre is the 1985 comedy Tampopo, directed by Japanese filmmaker Juzo Itami. This movie (clocking in at 115 minutes), with performances by actors who are now household names […]

Should You Earn a PhD in Criminology/Criminal Justice or an Allied Field?

Somewhere deep inside of you, or at the back of your mind, a voice calls out, urging you to pursue a Ph.D. in Criminology/ Criminal Justice (CJ). Perhaps you like to binge on late-night TV shows featuring handsome, charismatic police officers and drop-dead gorgeous and brilliant detectives solving complex crimes. Or maybe your passion for […]

Lights, Camera, Corrections

Many films have been made about convicts, prisons, or set in American correctional facilities. On the one hand you have documentaries that provide a history of a particular correctional facility, a longstanding challenge, an incident or series of incidents (like a riot), the death penalty, and some of the solutions that have been attempted. On […]

Taking stock of the scholarly study of graffiti and street art

The streets, utility poles, and back alleys of large urban centers in most big cities are epicenters for all manner of graffiti and street art. Predictably this activity engenders lots of responses. Notwithstanding the longstanding desire by property owners, ghost buffers, and moral entrepreneurs to deter this activity and remove this work from the surfaces […]

In Praise of Back Alley Mechanics

In bustling urban environments various businesses exist, each selecting the locations where to operate based on factors like rent, profitability, and access to customers, suppliers, workers etc.. In addition to the more well-known and visible commercial entities (such as retail establishments), numerous service and manufacturing businesses operate in less conspicuous areas—industrial/office parks, suburbs, on the […]