Practices of Goverance and Control:
Theoretical Underpinnings
TRUE-FALSE (20)
1. A theory is a set of claims used to interpret reality.
Answer: true
2. The types of deviant and criminal conduct that bring young males – and some
females – to the attention of the justice system have varied considerably over time.
Answer: false
3. How the conduct of young people is understood and governed has undergone little
variation over time.
Answer: false
4. As the understanding of an out-of-control youth population became firmly etched in
the public mind, strategies to deal with the problem soon followed.
Answer: true
5. The Canadian public demanded a reform and rehabilitation focused approach to
youth justice during the 1990s.
Answer: false
6. The reformable young offender requires punishment first and foremost.
Answer: false
7. The discourse of intrusive punishment lends itself to an approach that is tough on
youth crime.
Answer: true
8. Theories such as “laughter is a sign of happiness” exist in a vacuum inside
academia.
Answer: false
9. The terms debunking and sociological imagination can be used interchangeably.
Answer: false
10. Canadian society is organized along lines of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and age.
Answer: true
Page: 19
11. Sex refers to the socio-cultural ideas (beliefs, values, and attitudes) and
accompanying practices (behaviours, expressions, and characteristics) associated
with being male—masculinity—and/or being female—femininity.
Answer: false
Page: 19
12. A consensus approach is based on the assumption that agreement exists among
members of society on matters related to youth crime and justice.
Answer: true
Page: 19
13. Feminist scholars claim that women have been included as subjects and producers
of knowledge.
Answer: false
Page: 20
14. Criminology has historically focused on men “as men” and boys “as boys.”
Answer: false
Difficulty: difficult
Page: 20
15. The “forgotten One” is the disenfranchised, marginalized individual or group in
society and their systemic exclusion; the voiceless.
Answer: false
Page: 23
16. Youth-at-risk discourse acts as a powerful truth claim.
Answer: true
Page: 31
17. A counter-discourse aims to sustain the status quo.
Answer: false
Page: 31
18. Risk discourse does not impact social inequality.
Answer: false
Page: 32
19. Neo-liberalism assumes that citizens need to become more responsible and
governments need to reduce the size and cost of their operations.
Answer: true
Page: 34
20. Governmentality as a way of thinking about government is embodied in a distinct
set of objectives (ends) and the practices (means) used to realize them.
Answer: true
Page: 36
MULTIPLE CHOICE (40)
1. Rose argues that ____________ is the most intensively governed sector of personal
existence.
a. childhood
b. adolescence
c. adulthood
d. retirement
e. golden years
Answer: A
2. An advocate of what discourse below would state, “Youth are vulnerable and in
need of assistance and protection”?
a. punishable young offender
b. reformable young offender
c. discipline and punishment
d. media
e. popular
Answer: B
3. Which of the following groups has been a target of a discourse of discipline and
punishment?
a. violent youth
b. squeeze kids
c. Aboriginal youth
d. female offenders
e. all of the above
Answer: E
4.
Foremost in political rhetoric and public discussions was the claim that the
government through law and legislation must come ____________ problematic
youth.
a. down faster and more efficiently on
b. down easier and less punitively on
c. to be smarter, thoughtful, and more intelligent for
d. down tougher, stronger, and harder on
e. to implement more creative and innovative solutions
Answer: D
5. What approach captured by the saying “if we are tough on crime, if we punish
crime, then [youth] get the message” holds young people accountable for their
criminal actions and applies more punitive sanctions?
a. intrusive punishment
b. rehabilitation
c. restitution
d. restorative justice
e. improvement punishment
Answer: A
Skill:
6. What are the assumptions, discourses, concepts, and implications of various
responses to youth crime called?
a. theories
b. theoretical underpinnings
c. theoretical tools
d. research methods
e. causes of youth crime
Answer: B
7. Choose the statement below that most broadly completes the sentence. Using your
sociological imagination requires you to make connections between individual
young people and ____________.
a. their siblings
b. the family in which they live
c. their friends and peer associations
d. the media
e. the society in which they live
Answer: E
Page: 19
8. A ____________ approach is based on the assumption that agreement exists among
members of society on matters related to youth crime and justice, which stems from
shared beliefs, values, and goals.
a. critical
b. conflict
c. consensus
d. critique
e. convoluted
Answer: C
Page: 19
9. A ______________ approach assumes that individuals and groups in society hold
conflicting social, political, cultural, or economic interests, which often pit powerful
groups against the marginalized.
a. critical
b. conflict
c. consensus
d. critique
e. convoluted
Answer: B
Page: 20
10. What was the point of departure of feminist criminology, beginning with the work
of Carol Smart?
a. popular discourse
b. biology
c. female-centredness
d. Criminology’s androcentric nature
e. a hope for a better future
Answer: D
Page: 20
11. Recently, feminist scholars prefer what term to describe girls and women in conflict
with the law?
a. criminal women
b. deviant women
c. criminalized women
d. othered women
e. non-law abiding women
Answer: C
Page: 20
12. A focus on men “as men” and boys “as boys” in an attempt to explore masculinity
would have to involve looking at which of the following?
a. educational histories of boys and men
b. work histories of boys and men
c. gendered contexts in which men live
d. how sex conditions outcomes
e. ways men victimize women
Answer: C
Page: 20
13. ____________ is the partial exclusion of certain social groups from mainstream
society.
a. racism
b. discrimination
c. inequality
d. marginalization
e. privilege
Answer: D
Page: 21
14. Rather than determine which one is most significant, Minaker and Hogeveen
underscore the importance of making race, class, and gender ____________ .
a. comparisons
b. connections
c. evaluations
d. questions
e. criticisms
Answer: B
Page: 21
15. A common view of understanding crime causation based on explaining the
frequency, perceived seriousness, and social impact of youth crime would likely
start with what general question?
a. Why do young people commit delinquent acts?
b. Why don’t most young people commit delinquent acts?
c. Where can we most meaningful make changes in young people’s lives?
d. What is the social, economic, political, and historic context in which youth
crime and youth justice is situated?
e. When will we abolish youth crime?
Answer: A
Page: 22
16. An alternative view toward understanding youth crime that assumes there is more to
theorizing than exposing causes would likely start with what general question?
a. Why do young people commit delinquent acts?
b. Why don’t most young people commit delinquent acts?
c. Where can we most meaningful make changes in young people’s lives?
d. What is the social, economic, political, and historic context in which youth
crime and youth justice is situated?
e. When will we abolish youth crime?
Answer: D
Page: 22
17. Youth crime is multi-dimensional, which implies that it is misleading to discuss
isolated factors as ____________ youth crime.
a. influencing
b. contributing to
c. conditioning
d. pointing to
e. causing
Answer: E
Page: 22
18. How does a way of theorizing differ from a theory?
a. a way of theorizing is an approach to theory, not knowledge claims
b. a theory is objective, while a way of theorizing is subjective
c. a theory is subjective, while a way of theorizing is objective
d. a theory is an approach to theory, not knowledge claims
e. they are actually both the same thing
Answer: A
Page: 23
19. Those key individuals and groups whose claims are heard, who are granted the
status ‘expert’ and whose arguments are taken seriously and subsequently acted
upon are called ____________.
a. experts
b. disqualified authors
c. authorized knowers
d. academics
e. the powerful
Answer: C
Page: 23
20. For Merton, young people likely commit crime when a gap or ____________
exists between socially accepted goals and legitimate means of accessing these
goals.
a. drain
b. strain
c. blame
d. shame
e. aims
Answer: B
Page: 22
21. Which Canadian sociologist coined the term stigmatization?
a. Carol Smart
b. Erving Goffman
c. Bryan Hogeveen
d. Robert Merton
e. none of the above
Answer: C
Page: 22
22. ____________ did not differentiate between adult and youth offenders, but views
all criminals as rational, calculating actors.
a. contemporary thought
b. classical theory
c. positivism
d. social control theory
e. sub-cultural deviance theory
Answer: B
Page: 24
23. Consider the first wave of positivism and the 3 P’s. Which of the following does not
belong?
a. progressive
b. perfectibility
c. products of the environment
d. products of nature
Answer: D
Page: 24
24. Early positivists believed that behaviour was the result of ____________.
a. heredity
b. environmental forces
c. feeblemindedness
d. brain damage
e. sex role socialization
Answer: B
Page: 26
25. Underlying the strategies of philanthropic reformers to create better environments
for juveniles was a concern with
a. cause and cure
b. cause and effect
c. punishment
d. psychological problems
e. untreated addictions
Answer: A
Page: 26
26. The first wave of positivism recommended what kind of response to youth
deviance?
a. institutional
b. community-based interventions
c. generalist
d. biological engineering
e. boot camps
Answer: B
Page: 26
27. During what wave did “expert” knowledge come to challenge the judgment of nontrained individuals?
a. 1st wave
b. 2nd wave
c. 3rd wave
d. 4th wave
e. each wave
Answer: B
Page: 27
28. Eugenics discourse considered juvenile delinquents to be products of
a. bad family upbringing
b. their environment
c. inferior breeding and defective genes
d. improper schooling
e. bad role models
Answer: C
Page: 27
29. What was the biggest challenge the philosophy and practices of modern juvenile
justice system came up against with the emergence of the eugenics argument?
a. Eugenics was based on the view that juvenile offenders were malleable
and could be reformed
b. Eugenicists presumed that permanent solutions were the only method
appropriate for feeble-minded delinquents
c. the juvenile justice system did not advocate rehabilitation and reform
d. the philosophy of the Juvenile Court matched eugenics arguments very
closely
e. none of the above
Answer: B
Page: 28
30. In 1913 W.L. Scott stated that children are like ____________.
a. adults
b. a lump of putty
c. a piece of coal
d. a rare jewel
e. a closed door
Answer: B
Page: 28
31. Who was W.E. Blatz? The most
a. influential scholar in the environmental psychology approach to Canadian
juvenile justice
b. controversial scholar in the environmental psychology approach to
American juvenile justice
c. notorious juvenile delinquent in the early days of the Juvenile Court
d. remarkable woman in the field of juvenile justice scholarship
e. dislikeable judge in the Juvenile Court
Answer: A
Page: 28
32. Which of the following statements BEST captures of one the main differences
between the 1st and the 3rd wave of juvenile justice in Canada?
a. juvenile justice in Canada had not yet been influenced by the rise of the
expert by the 3rd wave
b. having concern for a problem or the financial ability to do something
about it was considered sufficient qualification to be accepted as an
authority in juvenile justice in the 3rd wave
c. the emphasis each group placed on the mind was distinct
d. juvenile justice in Canada was influenced by the rise of the expert during
the 1st wave, but this influence began to wane by the 3rd wave
e. all of the above
Answer: C
Page: 29
33. Once again, the criminal conduct of young people was understood as reflective of
their individual experiences and social circumstances. This statement is referring to
the 30s and 40s, when which way of understanding youthful misbehaviour came
onto the scene?
a. feminist theory
b. risk discourse
c. interactionism
d. social control theory
e. positivism
Answer: C
Page: 29
34. A new perspective which saw criminal and deviant acts as stemming from
____________ social groups and institutions led to a shift in understanding between
1965 and 1975 that focused on statuses rather than the characteristics of individuals.
a. labeling of
b. social controls on
c. rehabilitation of
d. punishment of
e. experiences of
Answer: A
Page: 30
35. Why was the critical edge of labeling theory lost?
a. it did not see how the YCJS was responsible for youth crime in creating
criminals through the labels it invoked and the sanctions it employed
b. labeling theorists only contextualized micro-level processes of labelling in
the societal context of social structures, but failed to focus on the labels
themselves
c. some labeling theorists tended to ignore the authorized knowers doing the
labeling
d. it gave too much power to authorized knowers
e. most labeling scholars shifted their focus to macro issues of power
Answer: C
36. A critical theoretical discourse begins from what premise?
a. society is guided by fundamental principles of justice, respect, and
tolerance for the other
b. developing counter-discourses is a waste of time
c. an acceptance of dominant paradigms and belief in inhospitable social
relations
d. society is hierarchically organized and, as such, the dominant elite produce
discourses that guide definitions of crime and practices of governance
e. human beings are essentially bad creatures
Answer: D
37. Stanley Cohen referred to what as a “Mickey Mouse concept” that was like a
hammer, making it analytically meaningless?
a. social control
b. censures
c. shaming rituals
d. culture of control
e. punishment
Answer: A
38. What name did Colin Sumner give to categories of denunciation or abuse lodged
within very complex, historically loaded practical conflicts and moral debates?
a. social control
b. censures
c. shaming rituals
d. culture of control
e. punishment
Answer: B
39. Which two key forces are at work accompanying what Ulrich Beck called the “risk
society”?
a. non-conservatism and the social welfare state
b. cooperation and the collectivity
c. responsibilization and neo-liberalism
d. de-responsibilization and liberalism
e. consumerism and the globalized marketplace
Answer: C
40. In terms of risk discourse, Kelly Hannah-Moffat argues that “female offenders are
more often deemed higher risk because of their risk to ____________, whereas
high-risk male offenders are more likely to pose a risk to ____________.”
a. themselves/others
b. others/themselves
c. society/society
d. other female offenders/other male offenders
e. male offenders/female offenders
Answer: A
SHORT ANSWER (5)
1. Discuss what the meaning of theory is as it relates to youth crime.
2. Describe how the category of the “other” can be useful in understanding youth
crime. Illustrate with an example.
3. Compare and contrast how a positivist would conceptualize juvenile delinquency
with a classical perspective.
4. Describe the main solutions to juvenile deviance that Eugenics advocated and
why.
5. What is rights discourse? How and when did it alter the state of juvenile justice in
Canada?
ESSAY (6)
1. Compare and contrast the common view and the alternative view toward
understanding youth, crime, and society.
2. Describe the “reformable young offender.” Provide one likely response to youth
offending based on this view. Contrast this with the “punishable young offender”
and discuss the implications of this shift in understanding.
3. How does your “starting point” (initial theory on youth crime) compare to any 2
of the theoretical perspectives explored in the chapter?
Describe the 3 waves of positivism, the types of knowledge that
dominated during each period, and who the authorized knowers were. Illustrate how each
influenced juvenile justice in Canada.
4. Youth-at-risk discourse is a powerful truth claim. Explain and illustrate this
statement discussing the collapse and slippage of risk/need.
5. Demonstrate how Foucault’s claims about power/knowledge are significant with
respect to knowledge claims about youth and crime.