The prison officer is central to prison life, yet understandings of this role are limited. This thesis argues that the two overarching (and often competitive)conceptualisations of prison officers' work as custodial work or human services work are limited. Eight conceptualisations of prison officers' work from the correctional literature are identified - Para-military officer, Security Officer, Warehouser of prisoners, Public Servant /bureaucrat, Professional, Manager of Prisoners , Therapist and Case Manager. These conceptualisations are defined and related to one another by examining their construction through discourses of prison purpose and prison process (Adler and Longhurst 1994). The thesis develops the analysis of du Gay (1996) that organisations use discourse as a means of constructing work identities for their employees and the work of Halford and Leonard (1999) who argue that workers are active agents in this process and do not always take on the identity the organisation is seeking to promote. The thesis addresses three research questions How has the role of the prison officer been conceptualised by the South Australian Department for Correctional Services over time? How is the role of the prison officer currently conceptualised by personnel working within South Australian prisons, what influences the way the role is conceptualised and what purposes do these conceptualisations serve? To what extent have the new conceptualisations of the role of the prison officer, articulated by the Department for Correctional Services in the last ten years, been adopted by staff within prisons and what determines the influence of these new conceptualisations? These questions are addressed using qualitative research techniques of document analysis and semi-structured interviews. The thesis identifies that in recent decades the Department has emphasised conceptualisations of the role constructed from normalisation and rehabilitative discourses. Interviewees, forty-four working in three South Australian prisons, (both departmental and privately managed), conceptualised the work of a prison officer as complex and unique and identified three influential audiences for the performance of prison officers' work – prisoners, officers and their colleagues, and the Departmental hierarchy. Interviewees constructed the role of the prison officer in terms that would earn respect for the work from each of these audiences and manage the vulnerability of the officer as a worker and a prison officer. Half of those interviewed conceptualised the prison officer based on a Manager of Prisoners. Other interviewees, critical of the role within their prison, described it as a Warehouser and saw the competition between custodial and human services roles as irreconcilable. The thesis argues that Departmental discourse can be seen to have a significant influence on the conceptualisation of the prison officer’s role by those working within prisons, but that it competes for influence with the discourse of the other powerful audiences for the performance of prison officers' work – prisoners and other staff.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Temple University, 2008. / Title from title screen (viewed on September 26, 2008). "Document No.: 222678" -- Grant transmittal document. "Date received: May 2008" -- Grant transmittal document. "Award number: 2007-IJ-CX-0006" -- Grant transmittal document. "This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice." Includes bibliographical references (p. 165-174).

Bibliography: leaves 109-114. / This study explores the attitudes of the magistrates, prosecutors, and the probation officers at the Sexual Offences Court at Wynberg Magistrates Court regarding the sentencing of male child sexual offenders, as well as the types of sentences passed on sex offenders. A combination of documentary evidence, that is, court files, and qualitative and quantitative research methods was used. The quantitative aspect of the research lies in the aggregation of data collected from the court files. The qualitative dimension of the study is reflected in the interview schedules administered to the judicial officials and probation officers. The research findings indicate that magistrates and prosecutors are well informed about significant legislation that influences the sentencing of sex offenders. It emerged from the findings that the value systems and personal biases of magistrates surface when passing sentences on sex offenders. Lack of training opportunities for all judicial officials and probation officers in addition to a poor prison system with inadequate rehabilitation structures, were regarded as key challenges faced during the sentencing process. In the light of the research findings, recommendations were made to address the inconsistent sentencing practices of magistrates in regard to sexual offenders.

The 35,882 former offenders released by Virginia's Department of Corrections during the period of July 1, 1998, through June 30, 2002, are profiled using data provided by Virginia's Department of Corrections and Department of Correctional Education as well as the Virginia Employment Commission. Demographic characteristics of recidivating and non-recidivating former offenders released during this period, with sub-groupings to include gender, race, age, employment status, earnings, employment stability, and educational completion, as defined in the operational definitions of the study, are detailed, and the researcher's observations are noted. / Ph. D.

Approximately two million men and women are currently incarcerated in the nation's penitentiaries. Ninety percent of these inmates will eventually be released from prison. There is a need for prisons to provide services that will prepare these men and women for successful reentry into society. These services include education and vocational training. To determine the effectiveness of education/training, the perspective of the prisoner student is key to the field of correctional education. The voice of the prisoner student, however, is absent from the literature on prisoner education. This qualitative study examined the thoughts, feelings, experiences, and plans/goals of prisoner students at Southern State Penitentiary (pseudonym used). Oneon- one interviews with prisoner students were used, as well as brief observations of the classroom setting and operation. Surveys were completed by two corrections administrators to gain the perspective of the administrator in relation to the correctional education experience. Three emergent themes indicated a need to further study the prisoner student from this intimate perspective: student perceptions of success, regret of prior decisions, and rethinking the correctional education experience. The findings of this study have implications for the fields of elementary and secondary education, higher education, and correctional education.

M.A. (Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 1980. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-105). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

Thesis (Ed. Spec.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2009. / Field study. Includes bibliographical references.

This literature review highlights a number of factors considered important to the social climate of a prison. These factors are categorised as environmental (those external to the individual), interpersonal (relating to interactions with others), and individual (those internal and particular to the individual). These categories correspond broadly to existing theoretical approaches to understanding prison environments. The deprivation model is concerned largely with physical, structural, and contextual factors (features pertaining to the prison). In contrast, the importation model focuses on dispositional characteristics or static factors (features the individual brings to prison). While the deprivation model implies the environment shapes the individual, the importation model implies that the individual shapes its environment. Neither of these models, however, addresses the interactional and ongoing nature of adaptation to a social climate. While not exhaustive, the factors presented in this review are considered important for understanding the social climate of a prison. There are likely to be numerous other factors which also influence an individual's adjustment to the social climate (and the influence of adjustment on the climate). The model presented in this review attempts to draw these factors together, while recognising the inherent difficulties in attempting research from an interactional approach. That is, change is ongoing and individuals are continually evolving - as the person changes, the social climate changes and as the climate changes, the individual must change again. Research must continue to look at each of the individual components and their relationship with each other in order to understand the particular climate of an institution, while recognising the dynamic nature of adaptation. / Anger is an important emotion in correctional environments. Two individual difference variables that may significantly impact on anger arousal are gender and gender role identity. This study aimed to investigate the influence of gender role identity (over and above gender) on anger arousal and expression, in potentially anger-provoking conditions, in a sample of 585 Australian students. Results supported the prediction that gender role identity rather than gender is related to anger experience and arousal, with this finding being consistent across two different types of anger-triggering events. The results suggest that anger arousal is greater for masculine individuals when the intention of the provocation is ambiguous. The implications of these findings for those working with anger in prison setting are discussed. / Thesis (MPsy(Forensic))--University of South Australia, 2005.

Abstract: The role of correctional officers has undergone rapid changes in response to increased prisoner populations and professionalization of the workforce to respond to more diverse prisoner issues and problems, including high levels of prisoners with substance abuse and mental health issues, ageing prisoners, and increased prisoner cultural diversity. Research into prisoner health has resulted in the implementation of strategies and some improvements in prisoner health. However there has been no corresponding research into the health of correctional officers. The last comprehensive research into correctional officer health was conducted by Webster et al[1] in 1982. Recently, in 2002, the New South Wales Auditor General raised correctional officers?? sick leave as an issue of concern. This pilot study tested a questionnaire which included some comparison questions with Webster??s study, as well as researching some more recent health issues. The questionnaire appeared overall to be valid and user friendly, and would be suitable for a larger study, albeit with minor alterations. The results of the research, as expected of a small pilot study (n=30) generated more questions than answers, and raised areas to be tested in a larger research study. Some results of this study were a reduction in correctional officer smoking levels from 1982 (Webster 44.3%, Australian population 39.1%), and a lower rate of smoking at 13% than the general male population in Australia in 2004, at 18.6%. Job satisfaction was almost twice as high as in 1982, yet correctional officers have almost half the level of occupational self esteem. Correctional officers had higher levels of harmful alcohol consumption (10%,) than 1982 correctional officers (5%) and of the 2004 male population in Australia (7.5%), and the 1982 population (5%). Occasional harmful alcohol consumption was almost twice as high amongst correctional officers (86%) than amongst other workers (42.8%). A high percentage of correctional officers had been assaulted in the course of their work (76%), but few sought professional debriefing, with most preferring to discuss this with family members (54%) and co-workers (46%). Although the mental health of correctional officers appears somewhat poorer than that of the general population, this, and any link between harassment or assault by prisoners and mental health and occupational self esteem and rewards requires further research.