Country Profile Paper

CJ 6360: Comparative Criminal Justice (Online)

CRN: 26141

Fall 2020

PROFESSOR INFORMATION:

Dr. Ashley Blackburn

Office: C340 (Commerce St. Bldg.)

Telephone: (713) 222-5326 or (832) 780-9741

Email: [email protected]

Office Hours: Thursdays, 4:00-5:00 pm or by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Prerequisite: Graduate Standing

This course provides an overview of selected international criminal justice systems with a primary

emphasis on the social, political, historical, cultural, and religious influences on the development of such

systems. The benefits of learning about the diversity of criminal justice systems worldwide will be

explored. Further, the course will examine crime rates, forms of criminality, police, courts and

correctional systems to compare and contrast criminal justice and criminology in other countries to the

United States.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:.

 Examine the importance of studying criminal justice from an international and comparative perspective.

 Explain the historical, cultural, political, religious, and social factors that have influenced the development of criminal justice systems in various countries.

 Compare and contrast different crime rates and forms of criminality in a variety of countries.

 Analyze recent literature related to the social, political, and legal issues affecting criminal justice systems around the world.

TEXTBOOK & READINGS:

The assigned text listed below is required for all students enrolled in this class. In addition, there

will be readings you will access via the UHD Library database and videos that can be accessed

via links on our Blackboard course page. Reading/video assignments are noted in the Course

Calendar. All students are expected to read the assigned readings/videos prior to/during the week

specified in the Course Calendar. The assigned readings/videos will serve as a foundation for the

discussion of issues online as well as quiz material.

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Terrill, R. J. (2015). World criminal justice systems: A comparative survey (9th ed.). New York:

Routledge. ISBN-13: 978-0323356466

Note on UHD Bookstore: A student of this institution is not under any obligation to purchase a

textbook from a university affiliated bookstore. The same textbook may also be purchased from

the publisher, or another independent retailer, including an online retailer.

COVID-19 COMMUNICATION & REPORTING:

Please keep up with all University and course communication regarding COVID-19 and related

issues that may impact the Fall 2020 semester. The following website provides such information:

UHD Emergency Management COVID Website

Additionally, students are encouraged to self-report COVID-19 exposure or a diagnosis. The

links to do so can be found on the website above.

ONLINE COURSES (TECHNOLOGY, OFFICE HOURS, COMMUNICATION, ETC.):

This is a fully online MSCJ/graduate course. As such, there will be no “face-to-face” class

meetings or office hours on campus. To maximize your success in online courses at UHD, you

should have access to a desktop or laptop computer running an up-to-date Windows or macOS

operating system, using the latest Firefox or Chrome browsers. A built-in or add-on webcam is

also often required in certain courses where multimedia tools (Zoom, VoiceThread, etc.) and/or

exam proctoring tools (Lockdown Browser, Monitor, etc.) are used. Chromebooks and some

other tablets are not compatible with test proctoring tools such as ProctorU or Lockdown

Browser. While the Blackboard App (e.g., on your phone) can be helpful for some course

features, UHD recommends that you do not use it for working on or submitting graded activities.

To avoid being disconnected at critical moments, we encourage you to access courses, in

particular exams, on a computer that is hardwired to the Internet router (via Ethernet using a Cat

5 or Cat 6 cable) as opposed to depending on Wi-Fi whenever possible. Additionally, certain

courses may require additional software downloads and installs, so you may need a machine with

permission to do that. For more information on taking Blackboard tests, see this guide. If you

are experiencing challenges with technology, please communicate with your instructor in a

timely manner and seek help from our UHD IT Support to identify possible solutions.

Office hours for this course will be held on Zoom by appointment. If students have something

they need to discuss with or ask me, please e-mail me to make an appointment for Zoom. Not

during office hours, the best way to contact me is by e-mail ([email protected]). While I will

generally check the UHD Blackboard course page once a day during the week, I utilize e-mail

more frequently. When contacted, I should generally be able to respond to your message within a

24-48 hour period. If you contact me during the weekend, I may not be able to respond until

Monday morning. Please be sure to pay attention to Announcements posted on our Blackboard

course page as that is how I will be disseminating important class-related information over the

semester. Outside of Blackboard Gatormail is the official student email of UHD. All email

correspondence from you and to you will occur using Gatormail.

While students will have access to an electronic copy of this syllabus on UHD Blackboard,

students are encouraged to print a hard copy to keep with their course materials. Students are

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expected to keep up with class and university deadlines (Fall 2020 Academic Calendar). If you

find that you are unable to complete what is required for this class, you should withdraw from

the course immediately. It is your responsibility to complete the withdrawal process. If you do

not withdraw and assignments/assessments go uncompleted, this could lead to a failing grade for

you at the end of the semester.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

The following section lists the required components of this course. ALL work submitted must be

original to this class this semester (e.g. not previously submitted for another course).

Assignment Formatting:

ALL written assignments will be uploaded through Blackboard and will be checked for

plagiarism using TurnItIn.com. E-mailed assignments will only be accepted on an emergency

basis.

Formatting for written assignments, specifically referencing/citations, should conform to the

specifications of the American Psychological Association (APA). If you are unfamiliar with

APA citation style, please see the APA Publication Manual (5th or 6th edition) or refer to the

following website: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/. Microsoft Word also has

a tool to assist you with creating a bibliography/reference page. For instructions see the

following website:

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Create-a-bibliography-81b1ba4a-6d0b-4475-88ca-

f150ed6f49a0

ALL written assignments (except discussion forums entries) should be typed, double-spaced in

Times New Roman 12 pt. font. ALL written assignments should have a cover page and a

reference page. Points will be deducted for spelling and grammar mistakes so be sure to

proofread your document. There are tools to assist you with proofreading. One such tool is

Grammarly (https://www.grammarly.com/).

Students are not allowed to use Wikipedia or similar non-reliable sources for assignments. All

resources used for academic would should be scholarly (academic texts, academic journal

articles) or based on other reliable sources (e.g. government data/policy).

UHD offers an Academic Support Center where students can go to receive assistance in a

number of areas including writing. Please see their website for more information:

http://www.uhd.edu/academic/colleges/university/asc.html.

See Blackboard for further assignment instructions and example assignments. Dr. Blackburn is

always willing to assist with writing and assignment formatting and to review drafts of written

work as long as drafts are submitted at least 3-5 days ahead of the assignment due date. Don’t

hesitate to contact me if you have questions regarding written assignments.

Student Online Learning Self-Assessment

In this course, students are required to take the “Student Self-Assessment” for online

learning. This assessment will help you and your professor to pinpoint any assistance you might

need as you pursue online learning.

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The “Student Self-Assessment” can be accessed at www.tinyurl.com/UHDonlinereadiness. You

will submit a completion certificate or screen shot of completion for credit.

Quizzes

At the end of each module, there will be a required quiz based on the reading assignments and

videos that have been covered within the module. See the Course Calendar for dates of these

quizzes.

Discussion Forums:

Students will be required to participate in a discussion forum for each course module. Students

will be split into two groups for purposes of these forums. Please make sure you know which

group to which you belong and that you only participate in that group’s discussion. You will

only be graded on your contributions to your group’s forum. Instructions for each forum will be

given within the individual forum. All contributions, including responses to others, must be

thoughtful and thorough. Only saying that you agree with their point is not enough. You should

explain why you agree or not.

Students should consider their original thread to be a mini-paper (1 page in length) and formulate

their work in a Word document and then copy and paste the text into the discussion thread. That

way, if there is an Internet connection failure, etc. while you are working, you will not lose your

work. Also, Word will assist you with proofreading. All citations (in text and on reference list)

should be in APA format.

Contributions must be completed/uploaded at the time in which the Blackboard discussion forum

is open. Original threads will be due by Thursdays so that there is time left in the week for

discussion.

Country Profile Paper and Presentation:

Each student will be responsible for completing a country profile project. Each student will write

on a different country. These will be chosen on a first come – first serve basis (i.e., you should

notify me of your chosen country as soon as possible or it might be taken by someone else).

Selections are due to be submitted by the Friday of the second week of class. Students may not

choose the United States or any of the model nations discussed in the text book, including those

discussed in the Islamic Law chapter. In addition, students may not choose countries that

example papers/presentations have covered (see Blackboard). As I receive country selections, I

will make a list on Blackboard so everyone knows which countries have been selected at that

time.

Once a country is selected, students will be required to research the country, write a paper and

develop a corresponding presentation using Power Point (or another presentation format) which

will be recorded using Zoom. Students will upload both their presentation file and their Zoom

recording file to Blackboard and these will be shared with the class.

For this Country Profile project, students should focus on (but are not limited to) the following

areas: current crime and victimization rates, crime policies, and police, legal, and correctional

systems. Further, students may delve into the historical and cultural impacts on the criminal

justice system as this provides context for why these systems have emerged as they are. The

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profile paper should be no longer than 10-15 pages, not including the cover page and reference

page(s) (see formatting instructions above).

GRADE BREAKDOWN:

Assignment Breakdown Percentage of Final Grade

Quizzes 30%

Discussion Forums 20%

County Profile Paper 30%

Zoom County Profile Presentation 20%

Total 100%

Final Course Grade Breakdown

A = 90-100%

B = 80-89.9%

C = 70-79.9%

D = 60-60.9%

F = 0-59.9%

LATE/MAKE-UP WORK:

The general rule for this class is that no late work will be accepted. However, given COVID-19

and related circumstances, I understand that emergencies may arise during the semester. If you

have an emergency, please do not wait to contact me. Let me know as soon as possible, so we

can decide together the best course of action for assignments and quizzes/the semester if needed.

EXTRA CREDIT:

There will be no extra credit offered for this class.

A GRADE OF “INCOMPLETE”:

Please see the UHD Student Handbook for an explanation of when a grade of Incomplete is

appropriate.

GRADING:

As assignments and assessments are graded, grades will be posted on BB. Students can log on to

BB to view your grades once they have been entered. Final grades will be posted according to

the University schedule. If you ever have a concern about your grade(s) please don’t hesitate to

speak with me.

UHD STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES:

UHD has developed many resources to support your learning. The University has developed a

website that will offer a “one stop shop” for access to many of the resources you might need this

semester to support your educational goals. Please access this website to get started:

https://tinyurl.com/SSR2020. If you do not find the resource you need on this website, please

contact me and I will make every effort to connect you with the help you need.

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COURSE ATTENDANCE:

Your failure to engage course material, or make contact with Dr. Blackburn to adequately

explain your absence by the 10th class day of the semester will result in your being

administratively dropped from this course. Being dropped from this course may affect your

enrollment status and/or your financial aid eligibility.

COURSE ETIQUETTE/NETIQUETTE:

Students are expected to be considerate of and display tolerance for others’ views and statements

given during the semester. If/when disagreement occurs, students are to act considerately.

Although this is a nontraditional course (i.e. not meeting together in a classroom), all comments

and language should still be respectful and appropriate for a college community. Do not use

profanity or other disparaging remarks in your assignments including discussion forums.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: (From: PS 03.A.19 and UHD Student Handbook)

The UHD Academic Honesty Policy states, "Students must be honest in all academic activities

and must not tolerate dishonesty." Students are responsible for doing their own work and

avoiding all forms of academic dishonesty.

The most common academic honesty violations are cheating and plagiarism. Cheating includes,

but is not limited to: Submitting material that is not one's own, Using information or devices that

are not allowed by the faculty member, Obtaining and/or using unauthorized material,

Fabricating information, Violating procedures prescribed to protect the integrity of a test, or

other evaluation exercise, Collaborating with others on assignments without the faculty

member's consent, Cooperating with or helping another student to cheat, Having another person

take an examination in the student's place, Altering exam answers and requesting that the exam

be re-graded, Communicating with any person during an exam, other than the faculty member or

exam proctor.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to directly quoting the words of others without using

quotation marks or indented format to identify them, using sources of information (published or

unpublished) without identifying them, and/or paraphrasing materials or ideas of others without

identifying the sources.

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT STATEMENT OF REASONABLE

ACCOMODATIONS:

The University of Houston-Downtown complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of

1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, pertaining to the provision of reasonable

academic adjustments/auxiliary aids for students with a disability. In accordance with Section

504 and ADA guidelines, UHD strives to provide reasonable academic adjustments/auxiliary

aids to students who request and require them. If you believe that you have a documented

disability requiring academic adjustments/auxiliary aids, please contact the Office of Disability

Services, One Main St., Suite 409-South, Houston, TX 77002.

(Office) 713-226-5227

(Website) https://www.uhd.edu/student-life/disability/Pages/disability-index.aspx

(Email) [email protected]

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*It is important for students to understand that no accommodation can be made by an individual

instructor for a student without specific direction from the Office of Disability Services.

COURSE EVALUATIONS:

Course evaluation forms will be made available electronically towards the end of the semester. I

would like to encourage you to complete these evaluations as they often provide useful feedback.

SYLLABUS SUBJECT TO CHANGE:

This syllabus is tentative and subject to change. Changes, if any, will be announced.

COURSE CALENDAR AND TOPICS:

Some weeks will be busier than others. Be sure to prepare for the weeks where you have more

work to complete.

COURSE CALENDAR:

UNIT READING ACTIVITIES DATE

AVAILABLE

DUE DATE

MODULE 1: COURSE INTRODUCTION

Week

of 8/24

Syllabus

Text: Introduction

Module 1

Article/Websites

Complete Online Self-

Assessment

Discussion Forum for

Module #!

Select Country to Profile

(due Friday, 9/6)

8:00 am on

Monday

8:00 am on

Monday

11:59 pm on

Sunday (8/30)

Original thread

(OT) due by

11:59 pm on

Thursday; All

responses to be

completed by

11:59 pm on

Sunday (9/7)

MODULE 2: ENGLAND

Week

of 8/31

Text: Chapter 1

Module Videos

Discussion Forum for

Module #2

Select County to Profile

(due Friday by 11:59 pm)

8 am on

Monday

Original thread

(OT) due by

11:59 pm on

Thursday; All

responses to be

completed by

11:59 pm on

Sunday (9/7)

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Week

of 9/7

Text: Chapter 1

(continued)

Module 2

Articles/Websites

Module Quiz #2 8:00 am on

Thursday

11:59 pm on

Sunday (9/13)

MODULE 3: FRANCE

Week

of 9/14

Text: Chapter 2

Module Videos

Discussion Forum for

Module #3

8:00 am on

Monday

Original thread

(OT) due by

11:59 pm on

Thursday; All

responses to be

completed by

11:59 pm on

Sunday (9/20)

Week

of 9/21

Text: Chapter 2

(continued)

Module 3

Articles/Websites

Module Quiz #3 8:00 am on

Thursday

11:59 pm on

Sunday (9/27)

MODULE 4: JAPAN

Week

of 9/28

Text: Chapter 3

Module Videos

Discussion Forum for

Module #4

8:00 am on

Monday

OT due by 11:59

pm on Thursday;

All responses to

be completed by

11:59 pm on

Sunday (10/4)

Week

of 10/5

Text: Chapter 3

(continued)

Module 4

Articles/Websites

Module Quiz #4 8:00 am on

Thursday

11:59 pm on

Sunday (10/11)

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MODULE 5: SOUTH AFRICA

Week

of

10/12

Text: Chapter 4

Module Videos

Discussion Forum for

Module #5

8:00 am on

Monday

OT due by 11:59

pm on Thursday;

All responses to

be completed by

11:59 pm on

Sunday (10/18)

Week

of

10/19

Text: Chapter 4

(continued)

Module 5

Articles/Websites

Module Quiz #5 8:00 am on

Thursday

11:59 pm on

Sunday (10/25)

MODULE 6: RUSSIA

Week

of

10/26

Text: Chapter 5

Module Videos

Discussion Forum for

Module #6

8:00 am on

Monday

OT due by 11:59

pm on Thursday;

All responses to

be completed by

11:59 pm on

Sunday (11/1)

Week

of 11/2

Text: Chapter 5

(continued)

Module 6

Articles/Websites

Quiz #6 8:00 am on

Sunday

11:59 pm on

Sunday (11/8)

MODULE 7: CHINA

Week

of 11/9

Text: Chapter 6

Module Videos

Discussion Forum #7

8:00 am on

Monday

OT due by 11:59

pm on Thursday;

All responses to

be completed by

11:59 pm on

Sunday (11/15)

11/16 Text: Chapter 6

(continued)

Module 7

Articles/Websites

Quiz #7

Country Profile Paper

and Presentation Due (by

11:59 pm on 11/22)

8:00 am on

Thursday

11:59 pm on

Sunday (11/22)

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MODULE 8: ISLAMIC LAW & REVIEW PROFILE PRESENTATIONS

Week

of

11/23

Text: Chapter 7

Module Videos

Review Profile

Presentations on BB

Discussion Forum #8

Thanksgiving Holidays

(November 25-28)

8:00 am on

Monday

OT due by 11:59

pm on Thursday;

All responses to

be completed by

11:59 pm on

Sunday (12/6)

Week

of

11/30

Text: Chapter 7

(continued)

Module 8

Articles/Websites

Discussion Forum #8

(continued from last

week)

Quiz #8

8:00 am on

Monday

11:59 pm on

Sunday (12/6)

11:59 pm on

Sunday (12/6)

Week

of 12/7

Last

Day of

Class

Review Classmate

Presentations (Posted

to Blackboard)

Reflection Discussion

Forum (only original

thread required – no

responses to others)

8:00 am on

Monday

11:59 pm on

Monday (12/7)