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Yoga programs have taken root, and in some cases flourished, in correctional institutions across the globe, yet few scholars have examined this phenomenon from critical theoretical and qualitative perspectives. The goals of this paper are to explicitly link scholarly discussions of yoga in prisons with theoretical developments in criminology, sociology, and human geography; and to use these diverse perspectives to develop a theoretical understanding of the possibilities and limits of yoga as a transformative spatial practice in carceral settings. Drawing on qualitative data collected on prison yoga, primarily in Canada, this paper considers three lines of theoretical inquiry. Firstly, it examines yoga classes as an “institutional display” that facilitates social interaction between prisoners and community members, yet also serves administrative interests. Secondly, it considers the possibilities for yoga spaces to enable forms of emotional expression that may not be permitted in other areas of the institution. And thirdly, it discusses the implications of yoga in carceral spaces beyond prisons. The paper draws heavily on the emergent field of carceral geography, as well as sociological and criminological research, to advance these arguments. In presenting these theoretical analyses, this paper advocates for a deeper theoretical exploration of the multiplicity of spatial meanings of yoga in carceral settings.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed how correctional systems, including parole processes, work and function. As essential workers, parole officers continued to work through the pandemic, despite the upheaval to their typical occupational routines. Through these challenging times, they worked to meet the needs of parolees; yet, the challenges brought on by the pandemic caused considerable stress and created new occupational risks and vulnerabilities. Drawing on interviews with 54 community parole officers in Canada, this paper identifes these challenges and stressors. Specifically, we identify three COVID-19 related occupational stressors salient across interviewees' narratives: (1) Changes to workload, routines, and work-life boundaries; (2) Effects of decarceration policies; and (3) Navigating support and supervision in the face of added health risks and reduced ability to interact with clients. Drawing on studies of occupational stress in community correctional work, we make several recommendations for correctional services in building a resilient (post) pandemic parole system. Keywords: pandemic; parole; health; COVID-19 La pandemie de la COVID-19 a considerablement modifie la façon dont les systemes correctionnels, y compris les processus de liberation conditionnelle, se deroulent et fonctionnent. En tant que travailleurs de premiere ligne, les agents de liberation conditionnelle ont continue a travailler pendant la pandemie, malgre le bouleversement de leurs routines professionnelles typiques. Les defis poses par la pandemie ont cause un stress considerable et cree de nouveaux risques et vulnerabilites professionnels. S'appuyant sur des entre vues avec plus de 54 agents de liberation conditionnelle au Canada, cet article identifie ces defis et facteurs de stress. Plus precisement, nous identifions trois facteurs de stress professionnels lies a la COVID-19 qui ressortent des recits des personnes interrogees : (1) les changements dans la charge de travail, les routines, et les delimitations entre le travail et la vie ; (2) politiques de decarceration ; et (3) navigation dans le soutien et la supervision face a des risques accrus pour la sante et a une capacite reduite a interagir avec les clients. En nous appuyant sur des etudes sur le stress professionnel dans le travail correctionnel communautaire, nous formulons plusieurs recommandations pour les services correctionnels dans la construction d'un systeme de liberation conditionnelle resilient (apres) la pandemie. Mots cles: pandemie; parole; sante; COVID-19, Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant implications for Canada's federal parole system, and in particular the working conditions and realities of the more than 1,200 federal parole officers who [...]

This article considers if sport, broadly defined, can be constructed as a decolonizing practice for Indigenous Peoples incarcerated in Canadian prisons. Situating our analysis within transformative and decolonizing approaches to sport for development, we bring together disparate literatures—on settler colonialism and Indigenous incarceration, decolonization and Indigenous resurgence, and sport and incarceration—to critically analyze possibilities and limitations of sport as a vehicle for decolonization in an inherently colonial institution. Recognizing the structural constraints to such a process, we also critique the settler colonial state and criminal justice system in which many Indigenous Peoples are enmeshed. The article contributes to sport for development's ongoing engagement with issues of decolonization and criminal justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a scoping review of qualitative scholarly publications on sport and physical activity in secure custody facilities for young people published over a 22-year period, finding the literature remains geographically, substantively, and theoretically scant. We identify and assess predominant themes in the following four areas: (1) sport's potential contribution to young persons' rehabilitation and desistance; (2) the structure and organization of sport programs; (3) sport and coping with the experience of incarceration; and (4) other themes, including health outcomes and gender and race. Our scoping review provides a foundation for researchers and policymakers to advance knowledge about sport-based interventions in the lives of young people who are incarcerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the initial stages of carcinogenesis, transformation events occur in a single cell within an epithelial monolayer. However, it remains unknown what happens at the interface between normal and transformed epithelial cells during this process. In Drosophila, it has been recently shown that normal and transformed cells compete with each other for survival in an epithelial tissue; however the molecular mechanisms whereby "loser cells" undergo apoptosis are not clearly understood. Lgl (lethal giant larvae) is a tumor suppressor protein and plays a crucial role in oncogenesis in flies and mammals. Here we have examined the involvement of Lgl in cell competition and shown that a novel Lgl-binding protein is involved in Lgl-mediated cell competition. Using biochemical immunoprecipitation methods, we first identified Mahjong as a novel binding partner of Lgl in both flies and mammals. In Drosophila, Mahjong is an essential gene, but zygotic mahjong mutants (mahj(-/-)) do not have obvious patterning defects during embryonic or larval development. However, mahj(-/-) cells undergo apoptosis when surrounded by wild-type cells in the wing disc epithelium. Importantly, comparable phenomena also occur in Mahjong-knockdown mammalian cells; Mahjong-knockdown Madin-Darby canine kidney epithelial cells undergo apoptosis, only when surrounded by non-transformed cells. Similarly, apoptosis of lgl(-/-) cells is induced when they are surrounded by wild-type cells in Drosophila wing discs. Phosphorylation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) is increased in mahj(-/-) or lgl(-/-) mutant cells, and expression of Puckered (Puc), an inhibitor of the JNK pathway, suppresses apoptosis of these mutant cells surrounded by wild-type cells, suggesting that the JNK pathway is involved in mahj- or lgl-mediated cell competition. Finally, we have shown that overexpression of Mahj in lgl(-/-) cells strongly suppresses JNK activation and blocks apoptosis of lgl(-/-) cells in the wild-type wing disc epithelium. These data indicate that Mahjong interacts with Lgl biochemically and genetically and that Mahjong and Lgl function in the same pathway to regulate cellular competitiveness. As far as we are aware, this is the first report that cell competition can occur in a mammalian cell culture system.

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in Canada, leisure activities and spaces became major sites of public debate and emotional expression about the efficacy, ethics, and social impacts of restrictive public health measures, as well as sites for the support or defiance of pandemic-related restrictions. In this paper, we analyze the ways that news media understood and represented public health measures and their relation to recreation, and participation therein. We focus on: 1) how media contributed to public understandings of social control and diffusion of surveillance; 2) how recreation became something of a 'flashpoint' as restrictions were imposed and, conversely, a symbol of freedom, liberty from governmental control, and return to so-called 'normalcy' as public health measures were lifted; and 3) how leisure was constructed in ways that privilege affluent consumers and citizens, with relatively little concern expressed for the implications of the pandemic on marginalized or vulnerable populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research note addresses the substantial theoretical and empirical gaps in understanding event leadership and highlights the need for urgent scholarly attention in this area. In both the events industries and event studies there still exists a prevailing view that leadership is conducted only by those in formal leadership positions. In the wider frame of leadership studies, this view has been largely dismissed. We therefore challenge the conventional view of leadership in the event sector, and call for engagement with contemporary, rather than traditional, perspectives of leadership, and a shift in understanding of leadership as an integral aspect of the creation and delivery of event experiences. Specifically, we propose that one of the contemporary theories of leadership, that of shared leadership, provides an effective model that could be developed further by other scholars to empirically understand how this theory can improve working practices in events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on existing literature on organizational culture in correctional work, in the current article we augment scholarship on community correctional services, specifically parole work, by considering how organizational culture, as narrated by frontline parole officers, impacts parole officers" feelings toward their work and their own health and well-being. Using the insights gained from 150 qualitative interviews with parole officers across Canada, we empirically show how participants described organizational culture as (1) imbued with social networks and hierarchies and (2) inherently reactive. We then provide insight into their perceived relationships with management. Participants explained they largely felt uncomfortable voicing concerns or making suggestions for improvements, in addition to feeling their work did not receive the respect and appreciation it deserved. We draw attention to the implications of perceptions on parole officers' feelings toward their job and sense of self, as well as the potential impact of organizational culture on parole officers' feelings of safety and emotional well-being on the job. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many police organisations employ and rely on public servants to complete specialised tasks with their organisations. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) regularly hires public servants known as Detachment Services Assistants (DSAs) to take on various support roles. As part of DSAs' many clerical and administrative responsibilities, these workers must often perform emotional labour across different job tasks, which in turn, can be a personal yet occupationally mandated source of stress and strain. In the current study, we draw from semi-structured interviews with DSAs (n = 54) to investigate the different situations in which DSAs undertake emotional labour, the various styles of emotional labour DSAs perform, and the negative toll emotional labour places on DSAs in their workplace. Our research aims to contribute to the broader emotional labour literature on policing and the niche police literature on public servants, a form of civilian staff, employed by the RCMP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]