One of the many questions Criminologists have, especially those aspiring to become university professors, is should they conduct research in collaboration with local criminal justice organizations?
Satisfactorily answering this question is difficult and there is neither a single, nor a simple answer. Why? There are lots of conflicting messages that Criminologists are given and trying to sort out what makes sense on an individual basis is challenging.
For example, depending on a job candidate’s background, members of an academic department recruitment committee, in an effort to convince the individual that their institution is an attractive employment option, may enthusiastically promote the potential for forming research partnerships with local criminal justice agencies, and painting a picture of these organizations as welcoming collaborators. Whereas the reality may be something completely different.
That being said, both job candidates and criminologists working in academic departments should carefully assess the advantages and disadvantages of embarking on this path before they invest considerable resources and find that they are totally frustrated with the outcome.
Advantages
There are at least seven benefits when professors from local universities co-produce research with nearby criminal justice agencies (they are rank ordered from least to most important)
To begin with, building a research partnership with a local criminal justice agency may not only facilitate hands on learning experiences for some of your more motivated students, but it may also provide data for their masters thesi or doctoral dissertations and/or pave the way for future employment for them.
Additionally, working closely with the local criminal justice agency may lead to valuable networking opportunities. This can help to build and sustain relationships that may lead to additional future research collaborations or job opportunities.
Moreover, collaborative efforts may result in tangible and practical results, such as reducing official crime rates, increasing officer retention, and enhancing community satisfaction. In other words, this type of research might provide a practical and relevant dimension to academic work.
Conducting research with a local agency often provides access to valuable data and resources that may be otherwise difficult to obtain.
Collaborative projects with criminal justice agencies may open doors to additional funding sources and grants, which may not be available to Criminologists who have not decided to partner.
Furthermore, the experience gained through partnerships can enrich the Criminologist’s teaching, enabling them to bring real-world examples and insights into their classrooms, which can benefit students.
Finally, and most importantly, conducting research with local criminal justice agencies may lead to a series of important scholarly publications, than what might be afforded through alternative strategies.
Disadvantages:
Partnering with local criminal justice organizations is also fraught with challenges. There are at least nine prominent drawbacks that Criminologists should be aware of.
To begin, although you might think that any self-respecting criminal justice agency would welcome your expertise, and be willing to partner. But criminal justice agencies may be skeptical about the need for external researchers mulling through their records, data, or obseserving their activities. Building trust can be a challenging process, and not all agencies will readily embrace outside assistance.
In a parallel manner, agencies may be hesitant to partner due to past negative experiences with other outside researchers or organizations that have since departed.
Not only inside your academic department, but within your university and beyond, there may be professors or departments with existing research relationships with local criminal justice organizations. This might lead to collaborative opportunities, but more likely competition for scarce resources.
Another point to consider is that the objectives and priorities of a university researcher and a criminal justice agency may not always align. For example the scholar may be interested in improving conditions inside a correctional facility, but the management would rather have you do work on employee retention.
Similarly researchers may have to compromise on their autonomy and research agenda, as projects with organizations may be guided by the agency’s needs and priorities.
Also it may be very difficult to get access to sensitive data and this may raise ethical and legal concerns.
Most importantly, establishing and maintaining research partnerships usually require long-term commitments. And sometimes these relationships go bust. For example, a new police chief/commissioner is hired, they worked in a city on the other side of the country, and they want nothing to do with you or your university. Or they have colleagues that they worked with in their previous position that they prefer working with.
This investment may divert your attention away from publishing, teaching, service activities and family and friends.
Alternatively, if you have a variety of different/diverse scholarly research interests, anticipate changing universities that are geographically distant from the local criminal justice agency, or you are considering moving into university administration (positions where conducting research is much harder to do) then forging a research partnership with a local criminal justice agency might not be wise. In other words, it may be difficult to justify the initial investment to spend on the collaboration.
Making Peace with your decision
The decision to partner with local criminal justice agencies is a complex one, one that should be carefully considered, including a engaging in relatively sophisticated cost-benefit calculation. The decision and process should align with your career goals, your department’s, college’s and university’s organizational culture, the specific agency’s needs and receptiveness, and your willingness to make a long-term commitment.
Ultimately, while partnerships with local organizations can be rewarding, they require careful consideration and a nuanced approach to navigate the potential advantages and disadvantages.
Co-producing research with a local criminal justice agency can offer numerous advantages and opportunities for criminologists working at a university.
However, this relationship also comes with its own set of challenges and potential disadvantages.
Ultimately, the decision to partner, as well as the individual researcher’s career goals and interests is a personal one.
Effective communication, clear expectations, and a shared commitment to the goals of the partnership can help mitigate some of the challenges and maximize the advantages.
Photo: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing in the Hollywood movie “Top Hat”
https://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2023-09-20-at-3.53.40-PM.png641562Jeffrey Ian Rosshttps://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/jeffrey-ian-ross-logo-04.pngJeffrey Ian Ross2023-09-21 14:24:282024-02-04 12:45:29Should Criminologists partner with local Criminal Justice Agencies to conduct research?
Sure you can make your way through a handful of respectable Japanese cookbooks or watch YouTube instructional videos, as I have, but this approach also has its limitations.
Instead, you’re more likely to find occasional short-term workshops, specializing in highly specific Japanese food items (e.g., Ramen, etc.) offered online through platforms like Udemy, or in person, made available by cooking schools, such as Sur la Table, or Japanese cultural organizations (e.g., The Japan-America Society of Washington, DC), typically located in big cities.
So, what options are available for enthusiasts like me, living in the United States who want to improve their ability to cook Japanese food?
Fortunately, I located an educational program that opened the doors to authentic Japanese culinary expertise.
The Bronze Certification Journey
It turns out that in 2016, Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), in collaboration with The Association for the Advancement of the Japanese Culinary Art (AAJ), (the oldest Japanese culinary research organization in the country, with a membership of 10,000 Japanese chefs), developed a set of guidelines for recognizing individuals’ expertise in preparing Japanese Food.
This system classifies the expertise of Japanese chefs into three categories: Bronze, Silver and Gold. In order to achieve each level, candidates must successfully pass both written and practical tests.
The good news is that the Bronze certification can be earned entirely online through an accredited asynchronous course supervised by AAJ and sponsored by MAFF.
The classes are offered in English and only available for foreigners, with deadlines for the three stages (i.e., beginner, intermediate and advanced). A handful of designated Japanese cooking schools administer the certification process.
Over the past year, I enrolled in the courses, diligently watched instructional videos, and completed tests for the beginner, intermediate, and advanced stages. To deepen my connection with the subject matter and those managing the course, between earning my intermediate and completing the advanced Bronze certification, I completed a basic Japanese language class, and visited Tokyo where I had the pleasure of meeting the owner, course manager, and principle chef of Tsjuki Cooking School.
Pros and Cons of the Certification Process
On the Down Side
If you thrive best with face-to-face instruction and struggle with independent learning via distance modalities (esp. receiving instruction via videos and taking tests on-line, and submitting videos of yourself mastering cooking particular dishes) this course may not be suitable for you.
Although the videos are well produced, some content may seem repetitive. For example, it’s not really necessary to see one video on how to scale, clean, and fillet a horse mackerel and another one repeating this process with sea bream. In other words, once you have seen one video on this topic then any subsequent lessons are probably going to seem redundant. Then again, this is not necessarily a bad thing, because it reinforces the same basic skills.
Additionally, the continuous low-volume elevator music playing in the background of the videos can be a little annoying. Also watching online videos can become monotonous and lead to fatigue, although taking notes, as I did, can alleviate this issue. It remains unclear whether the course designers intend for participants to cook along with the videos or merely take notes, potentially extending the course duration if the former is preferred.
On the positive side
Despite these challenges, the course presents a well-structured series of instructional videos. The slow pacing allows for pausing and note-taking at your own pace. Additionally, the inclusion of different narrators and occasional slow-motion sequences enhances the understanding of various cooking processes.
One major advantage of this course is the satisfaction of completing an accredited program, ensuring accountability in your culinary education.
Although some casual observers may question the effectiveness of learning through videos, written texts, online tests, and self-taped video submissions, it proves to be a practical approach, especially when compared to limited alternatives.
My own journey had its share of hurdles; I even had to retake half of the final practical test on fish filleting. However, the chef’s detailed feedback on my strengths and areas for improvement proved invaluable.
In today’s educational landscape, online instruction is becoming increasingly prevalent, even among traditional instructors and professors. Moreover, my experience with this course has provided valuable insights that I can use to enhance my own teaching methods.
A Taste of Mastery
Completing the Bronze Certification has been a rewarding journey, one that has opened more doors for me towards a deeper understanding of Washoku. Even though it may not be the ideal choice for everyone wanting to improve their ability to cook Japanese food, for those willing to embrace distance learning and a bit of repetition, it offers an accredited path to mastering the art of Japanese cuisine.
As culinary education continues to evolve, embracing online modalities can be a valuable step toward acquiring new skills and knowledge.
(Those interested in my Washoku – traditional Japanese cooking, may want to visit https://www.instagram.com/_gaijinchef/)
https://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG_2415.jpg640514Jeffrey Ian Rosshttps://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/jeffrey-ian-ross-logo-04.pngJeffrey Ian Ross2023-09-14 16:59:172024-09-15 12:08:41Why, how, and what I learned by earning my Bronze Certification in Japanese Cooking
Summer has ended and the exceedingly hot and inhospitable temperatures that accompanied it this year in many places in the United States and elsewhere is slowly dissipating.
While climate scientists and activists debates skeptics about the reality of climate change, one undeniable fact remains: the relentless heat has taken a toll on our environment and disproportionately impacted vulnerable groups.
Among those affected are farmworkers, laboring for hours under the scorching sun, harvesting the produce that makes its way to our supermarket shelves. There are also construction workers, racing to build new housing developments to meet consumer demand. Then, there are the homeless individuals struggling to survive each day on the unforgiving streets of our urban centers. And there are countless others who live and work in buildings without adequate air conditioning or ventilation.
One of the most severely impacted groups, however, are prisoners, in the southern part of United States who are forced to live and work in abysmal conditions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Historically, correctional facilities in this region have been characterized by their intense summer heat. Picture chain gangs toiling in the fields under the blazing Mississippi Delta sun, or the sweat boxes used as punishment in Arkansas prisons depicted in the 1980 film Brubaker.
However, the adverse effects of climate change, including extreme heat and humidity, are now reaching even the northern states, impacting jails and prisons in that regions.
So, what are the consequences of living in such extreme heat and humidity?
The impact of the heat extends beyond inmates. Correctional workers and some administrators are also grappling with the challenges of working in sweltering facilities.
Why is this the case? Many of the jails and prisons in the south of the United States, no less the country, are very old and have not renovated or retrofitted their institutions with adequate air conditioning systems. Why? These states are comparatively poorer than northern states, and the last thing politicians in these states want to do is to advocate for additional spending on correctional facilities. Past the road projects, and other public works projects the provision of air condition to jails and prisons is seen as a luxury.
Why has this situation persisted? Many of the jails and prisons in the southern United States, and across the nation, remain outdated and have not undergone renovations or retrofits to install adequate air conditioning systems. The root cause? Comparatively limited financial resources in these states, and the reluctance of politicians to advocate for increased spending on correctional facilities. In the hierarchy of public projects, air conditioning for jails and prisons is often perceived as a luxury, secondary to road projects and other public services the states provide.
As we move past another scorching summer, it is vital to recognize the dire consequences of extreme heat on vulnerable populations, including inmates and those who work in correctional facilities. By taking concrete actions, such as budget reallocation and federal support, we can alleviate the suffering caused by inadequate air conditioning and move closer to ensuring humane conditions for all. The time for change is now.
Photo: From the movie poster for Oh Brother, where art though?
https://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2023-09-07-at-9.25.22-PM.png438948Jeffrey Ian Rosshttps://jeffreyianross.com/wp-content/uploads/jeffrey-ian-ross-logo-04.pngJeffrey Ian Ross2023-09-08 14:21:472024-09-22 12:19:38Oh Brother, where art the air conditioners?
Should Criminologists partner with local Criminal Justice Agencies to conduct research?
/by Jeffrey Ian RossOne of the many questions Criminologists have, especially those aspiring to become university professors, is should they conduct research in collaboration with local criminal justice organizations?
Satisfactorily answering this question is difficult and there is neither a single, nor a simple answer. Why? There are lots of conflicting messages that Criminologists are given and trying to sort out what makes sense on an individual basis is challenging.
For example, depending on a job candidate’s background, members of an academic department recruitment committee, in an effort to convince the individual that their institution is an attractive employment option, may enthusiastically promote the potential for forming research partnerships with local criminal justice agencies, and painting a picture of these organizations as welcoming collaborators. Whereas the reality may be something completely different.
That being said, both job candidates and criminologists working in academic departments should carefully assess the advantages and disadvantages of embarking on this path before they invest considerable resources and find that they are totally frustrated with the outcome.
Advantages
There are at least seven benefits when professors from local universities co-produce research with nearby criminal justice agencies (they are rank ordered from least to most important)
To begin with, building a research partnership with a local criminal justice agency may not only facilitate hands on learning experiences for some of your more motivated students, but it may also provide data for their masters thesi or doctoral dissertations and/or pave the way for future employment for them.
Additionally, working closely with the local criminal justice agency may lead to valuable networking opportunities. This can help to build and sustain relationships that may lead to additional future research collaborations or job opportunities.
Moreover, collaborative efforts may result in tangible and practical results, such as reducing official crime rates, increasing officer retention, and enhancing community satisfaction. In other words, this type of research might provide a practical and relevant dimension to academic work.
Conducting research with a local agency often provides access to valuable data and resources that may be otherwise difficult to obtain.
Collaborative projects with criminal justice agencies may open doors to additional funding sources and grants, which may not be available to Criminologists who have not decided to partner.
Furthermore, the experience gained through partnerships can enrich the Criminologist’s teaching, enabling them to bring real-world examples and insights into their classrooms, which can benefit students.
Finally, and most importantly, conducting research with local criminal justice agencies may lead to a series of important scholarly publications, than what might be afforded through alternative strategies.
Disadvantages:
Partnering with local criminal justice organizations is also fraught with challenges. There are at least nine prominent drawbacks that Criminologists should be aware of.
To begin, although you might think that any self-respecting criminal justice agency would welcome your expertise, and be willing to partner. But criminal justice agencies may be skeptical about the need for external researchers mulling through their records, data, or obseserving their activities. Building trust can be a challenging process, and not all agencies will readily embrace outside assistance.
In a parallel manner, agencies may be hesitant to partner due to past negative experiences with other outside researchers or organizations that have since departed.
Not only inside your academic department, but within your university and beyond, there may be professors or departments with existing research relationships with local criminal justice organizations. This might lead to collaborative opportunities, but more likely competition for scarce resources.
Another point to consider is that the objectives and priorities of a university researcher and a criminal justice agency may not always align. For example the scholar may be interested in improving conditions inside a correctional facility, but the management would rather have you do work on employee retention.
Similarly researchers may have to compromise on their autonomy and research agenda, as projects with organizations may be guided by the agency’s needs and priorities.
Also it may be very difficult to get access to sensitive data and this may raise ethical and legal concerns.
Most importantly, establishing and maintaining research partnerships usually require long-term commitments. And sometimes these relationships go bust. For example, a new police chief/commissioner is hired, they worked in a city on the other side of the country, and they want nothing to do with you or your university. Or they have colleagues that they worked with in their previous position that they prefer working with.
This investment may divert your attention away from publishing, teaching, service activities and family and friends.
Alternatively, if you have a variety of different/diverse scholarly research interests, anticipate changing universities that are geographically distant from the local criminal justice agency, or you are considering moving into university administration (positions where conducting research is much harder to do) then forging a research partnership with a local criminal justice agency might not be wise. In other words, it may be difficult to justify the initial investment to spend on the collaboration.
Making Peace with your decision
The decision to partner with local criminal justice agencies is a complex one, one that should be carefully considered, including a engaging in relatively sophisticated cost-benefit calculation. The decision and process should align with your career goals, your department’s, college’s and university’s organizational culture, the specific agency’s needs and receptiveness, and your willingness to make a long-term commitment.
Ultimately, while partnerships with local organizations can be rewarding, they require careful consideration and a nuanced approach to navigate the potential advantages and disadvantages.
Co-producing research with a local criminal justice agency can offer numerous advantages and opportunities for criminologists working at a university.
However, this relationship also comes with its own set of challenges and potential disadvantages.
Ultimately, the decision to partner, as well as the individual researcher’s career goals and interests is a personal one.
Effective communication, clear expectations, and a shared commitment to the goals of the partnership can help mitigate some of the challenges and maximize the advantages.
Photo: Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing in the Hollywood movie “Top Hat”
Why, how, and what I learned by earning my Bronze Certification in Japanese Cooking
/by Jeffrey Ian RossIf you don’t live in Japan, have knowledgeable, skilled, and willing Japanese relatives and/or friends, or want to work in the kitchen of a decent Japanese restaurant for an extended period, it’s challenging learning how to cook traditional or home style Japanese food (also known as Washoku).
Sure you can make your way through a handful of respectable Japanese cookbooks or watch YouTube instructional videos, as I have, but this approach also has its limitations.
With the exception of the Sushi Academy in Torrance, California, (which focuses on one of the most popular but admittedly narrow type of Japanese cuisine), no formal cooking schools dedicated to teaching aspiring Japanese chefs currently exist in the United States.
Instead, you’re more likely to find occasional short-term workshops, specializing in highly specific Japanese food items (e.g., Ramen, etc.) offered online through platforms like Udemy, or in person, made available by cooking schools, such as Sur la Table, or Japanese cultural organizations (e.g., The Japan-America Society of Washington, DC), typically located in big cities.
Unfortunately, this kind of instruction is short-term, superficial, and lacks widely recognized certification components.
So, what options are available for enthusiasts like me, living in the United States who want to improve their ability to cook Japanese food?
Fortunately, I located an educational program that opened the doors to authentic Japanese culinary expertise.
The Bronze Certification Journey
It turns out that in 2016, Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), in collaboration with The Association for the Advancement of the Japanese Culinary Art (AAJ), (the oldest Japanese culinary research organization in the country, with a membership of 10,000 Japanese chefs), developed a set of guidelines for recognizing individuals’ expertise in preparing Japanese Food.
This system classifies the expertise of Japanese chefs into three categories: Bronze, Silver and Gold. In order to achieve each level, candidates must successfully pass both written and practical tests.
The good news is that the Bronze certification can be earned entirely online through an accredited asynchronous course supervised by AAJ and sponsored by MAFF.
The classes are offered in English and only available for foreigners, with deadlines for the three stages (i.e., beginner, intermediate and advanced). A handful of designated Japanese cooking schools administer the certification process.
Over the past year, I enrolled in the courses, diligently watched instructional videos, and completed tests for the beginner, intermediate, and advanced stages. To deepen my connection with the subject matter and those managing the course, between earning my intermediate and completing the advanced Bronze certification, I completed a basic Japanese language class, and visited Tokyo where I had the pleasure of meeting the owner, course manager, and principle chef of Tsjuki Cooking School.
Pros and Cons of the Certification Process
On the Down Side
If you thrive best with face-to-face instruction and struggle with independent learning via distance modalities (esp. receiving instruction via videos and taking tests on-line, and submitting videos of yourself mastering cooking particular dishes) this course may not be suitable for you.
Although the videos are well produced, some content may seem repetitive. For example, it’s not really necessary to see one video on how to scale, clean, and fillet a horse mackerel and another one repeating this process with sea bream. In other words, once you have seen one video on this topic then any subsequent lessons are probably going to seem redundant. Then again, this is not necessarily a bad thing, because it reinforces the same basic skills.
Additionally, the continuous low-volume elevator music playing in the background of the videos can be a little annoying. Also watching online videos can become monotonous and lead to fatigue, although taking notes, as I did, can alleviate this issue. It remains unclear whether the course designers intend for participants to cook along with the videos or merely take notes, potentially extending the course duration if the former is preferred.
On the positive side
Despite these challenges, the course presents a well-structured series of instructional videos. The slow pacing allows for pausing and note-taking at your own pace. Additionally, the inclusion of different narrators and occasional slow-motion sequences enhances the understanding of various cooking processes.
One major advantage of this course is the satisfaction of completing an accredited program, ensuring accountability in your culinary education.
Although some casual observers may question the effectiveness of learning through videos, written texts, online tests, and self-taped video submissions, it proves to be a practical approach, especially when compared to limited alternatives.
My own journey had its share of hurdles; I even had to retake half of the final practical test on fish filleting. However, the chef’s detailed feedback on my strengths and areas for improvement proved invaluable.
In today’s educational landscape, online instruction is becoming increasingly prevalent, even among traditional instructors and professors. Moreover, my experience with this course has provided valuable insights that I can use to enhance my own teaching methods.
A Taste of Mastery
Completing the Bronze Certification has been a rewarding journey, one that has opened more doors for me towards a deeper understanding of Washoku. Even though it may not be the ideal choice for everyone wanting to improve their ability to cook Japanese food, for those willing to embrace distance learning and a bit of repetition, it offers an accredited path to mastering the art of Japanese cuisine.
As culinary education continues to evolve, embracing online modalities can be a valuable step toward acquiring new skills and knowledge.
(Those interested in my Washoku – traditional Japanese cooking, may want to visit https://www.instagram.com/_gaijinchef/)
Oh Brother, where art the air conditioners?
/by Jeffrey Ian RossSummer has ended and the exceedingly hot and inhospitable temperatures that accompanied it this year in many places in the United States and elsewhere is slowly dissipating.
While climate scientists and activists debates skeptics about the reality of climate change, one undeniable fact remains: the relentless heat has taken a toll on our environment and disproportionately impacted vulnerable groups.
Among those affected are farmworkers, laboring for hours under the scorching sun, harvesting the produce that makes its way to our supermarket shelves. There are also construction workers, racing to build new housing developments to meet consumer demand. Then, there are the homeless individuals struggling to survive each day on the unforgiving streets of our urban centers. And there are countless others who live and work in buildings without adequate air conditioning or ventilation.
One of the most severely impacted groups, however, are prisoners, in the southern part of United States who are forced to live and work in abysmal conditions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Historically, correctional facilities in this region have been characterized by their intense summer heat. Picture chain gangs toiling in the fields under the blazing Mississippi Delta sun, or the sweat boxes used as punishment in Arkansas prisons depicted in the 1980 film Brubaker.
However, the adverse effects of climate change, including extreme heat and humidity, are now reaching even the northern states, impacting jails and prisons in that regions.
So, what are the consequences of living in such extreme heat and humidity?
This past summer, there was a staggering increase in the number of inmates falling ill from heat exhaustion and tragically many of them died. Although we can blame the prolonged hot weather on climate change, it is no secret that correctional facilities in the United States have often lacked air conditioning, or if present, it is typically subpar or non-functional. What’s the effect on prisoners? Among other physical effects, the heat disrupts sleep patterns, leading to irritability due to sleep deprivation, which in turn can escalate into physical violence.
The impact of the heat extends beyond inmates. Correctional workers and some administrators are also grappling with the challenges of working in sweltering facilities.
Why is this the case? Many of the jails and prisons in the south of the United States, no less the country, are very old and have not renovated or retrofitted their institutions with adequate air conditioning systems. Why? These states are comparatively poorer than northern states, and the last thing politicians in these states want to do is to advocate for additional spending on correctional facilities. Past the road projects, and other public works projects the provision of air condition to jails and prisons is seen as a luxury.
Why has this situation persisted? Many of the jails and prisons in the southern United States, and across the nation, remain outdated and have not undergone renovations or retrofits to install adequate air conditioning systems. The root cause? Comparatively limited financial resources in these states, and the reluctance of politicians to advocate for increased spending on correctional facilities. In the hierarchy of public projects, air conditioning for jails and prisons is often perceived as a luxury, secondary to road projects and other public services the states provide.
Unsurprisingly, an increasing number of civil suits connected to these deplorable prison conditions, targeting wardens, state correctional systems, and corrections superintendents have been launched.
Much of the impending legal troubles could be preempted if the affected states reallocated their budgets to address the pressing issue of inadequate air conditioning in correctional facilities. Additionally, the federal government should establish emergency funds and allocate resources to assist struggling jails and prisons in purchasing and installing proper air conditioning systems.
As we move past another scorching summer, it is vital to recognize the dire consequences of extreme heat on vulnerable populations, including inmates and those who work in correctional facilities. By taking concrete actions, such as budget reallocation and federal support, we can alleviate the suffering caused by inadequate air conditioning and move closer to ensuring humane conditions for all. The time for change is now.
Photo: From the movie poster for Oh Brother, where art though?