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About
Criminologist, Scholar, & Consultant
Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D., is a criminologist at the University of Baltimore and co-founder of Convict Criminology. His approach is shaped by nearly a decade of work before entering academia, as a courier, cab driver, corrections worker, and union shop steward. It is further grounded in three decades of visiting correctional facilities across North America, Europe, and South America, researching the conditions inside them, and having conversations with convicts and correctional officers and administrators. It also draws on interviews with formerly incarcerated people outside those facilities, and on ethnographic fieldwork on street culture and on graffiti and street art internationally. Ross has published more than thirty books and shares his expertise on corrections, policing, political crime, street culture, and graffiti and street art through scholarship, public writing, speaking, media commentary, and consulting.
What Kind of Scaffolding Should University Instructors Provide?
/by Jeffrey Ian RossDetermining what additional support promotes learning versus what substitutes for skills university students need to develop remains an open question. The issue isn’t really about the amount of scaffolding instructors provide. It’s about the type. Some forms of support actively build student capacity. This includes detailed rubrics that demystify expectations, sample essays that illustrate strong […]
Not All Black Knitted Longshoreman’s Hats Are Created Equal
/by Jeffrey Ian RossFor as long as I can remember, when the winter months arrive, I wear a black leather jacket and a black knitted longshoreman’s hat. The hat is basically a simple knit cap beanie; snug-fitting, brimless or minimally brimmed, made from wool or acrylic, originally worn by dock workers, fishermen, laborers, sailors, and stevedores. I’m a […]
This Month’s Song on Heavy Rotation
/by Jeffrey Ian RossFor the past month, and even longer, Maurice “Mobetta” Brown’s “Stand Up,” released on his 2017 album, THE MOOD, has dominated my playlist. The song, much like his title track “The Mood,” is an infectious piece of music that has burrowed into my consciousness like few songs in recent memory. Brown, a New Orleans-based jazz […]