Carla Cesaroni
PhD

Depictions of Youth Homicide: Films Set in Rural Environments

This paper, Depictions of Youth Homicide: Films Set in Rural Environments, reviews portrayals of youth homicide within six films that are set in rural environs. It examines depictions concerning the environment or setting of the film, including how media may explore notions of formal and informal social control as a means by which to explain some aspects of rural crime.

The Role of Fairness in the Adjustment of Adolescent Boys to Pretrial Detention

This article explores one key aspect of staff/prisoner relations—the role of fairness—as a predictor of young people’s adjustment to pre-trial detention. Participants were one hundred thirty-seven 13- to 19-year-old youth held in one of five secure youth detention centers in southern Ontario, Canada.

View more - The Role of Fairness in the Adjustment of Adolescent Boys to Pretrial Detention

The Self and the ‘Selfie’: Cyberbullying Theory and the Structure of Late Modernity

This paper addresses the lack of conceptual and theoretical consensus around cyberbullying and problems associated with overreliance on mainstream criminological thinking to explain this phenomenon.

View more - The Self and the ‘Selfie’: Cyberbullying Theory and the Structure of Late Modernity

The Importance of Institutional Culture to the Adjustment of Incarcerated Youth and Young Adults

In this article, we discuss key findings from research that focuses on the experiences and adjustment of youth in custody and pre-trial detention. Problems with the overuse of segregation for both adolescents and young adults are debated. Complemented by theory and research on emerging adulthood – the developmental period following adolescence – we highlight the need for attention to the experiences of young adults in prison.

View more - The Importance of Institutional Culture to the Adjustment of Incarcerated Youth and Young Adults

Bullying Enters the 21st Century? Turning a Critical Eye to Cyberbullying Research

Current concerns around cyberbullying emphasize child-victims and have prompted calls for understanding and reaction to an alleged new type of child-offender. Though there is little doubt that cyberbullying is a phenomenon with potential for real harm, there remain a number of critical gaps in the cyberbullying literature. This article has two primary goals: a) to confront some methodological issues surrounding the study of cyberbullying; and b) to draw attention to the potential of established criminological theories of delinquency for explaining cyberbullying. *This article was featured in Anderson Cooper’s CNN Special: The Bully Effect in March, 2013.

View more - Bullying Enters the 21st Century? Turning a Critical Eye to Cyberbullying Research

Putting Youthful Offending and Victimization into Context, Diversity, Crime & Justice in Canada, Second Edition

In the compelling second edition of Diversity, Crime, and Justice in Canada, hate-crime specialist Barbara Perry brings together 17 of the country's leading scholars to address issues of inequality as they intersect with crime and social justice. Through a balance of theoretical and practical discussions, students will discover how collective identities-not just of race, class, and gender, but of religion, ability, sexuality, and age-play a crucial part in determining the nature of an individual's encounter with the criminal justice system.

View more - Putting Youthful Offending and Victimization into Context, Diversity, Crime & Justice in Canada, Second Edition

Expert Witness

At the request of the Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth, on November 12, 2013, Dr. Cesaroni appeared as an expert witness at the Ontario coroner’s inquest into the death of Ashley Smith, a 19-year-old woman who died in 2007 in a segregation cell. Among the 104 recommendations handed down by the jury, many of Dr. Cesaroni’s recommendations were affirmed. A report she co-authored on the inquest is available at www.provincialadvocate.on.ca.

Assistant Dean

Dr. Cesaroni has served on dozens of internal university committees including the FSSH Leadership Team Committee, Graduate Program Directors Committee, Graduate Studies Committee, Hiring Committee and Tenure Committee.

Associate Professor

Dr. Cesaroni teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Punishment and Society, The Prison Experience, and Youth Crime and Violence. She has received numerous teaching and research awards at UOIT including a prestigious Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Award in 2010, the second such award of her career.

Board of Directors

Since 2009, Dr. Cesaroni has lent her expertise to FERN, a not-for-profit, professional and family driven resource and education centre located in York Region, Ontario. FERN is dedicated to providing support, materials, knowledge and guidance to families and educators.

Indigenous Youth: Issues Currently Impacting Strategies to Address Overrepresentation in the Youth Justice System

“Aboriginal Peoples” is a collective name for all of the original peoples of Canada and their descendants (National Aboriginal Health Organization (NAHO). Section 35 of the Constitution specifies that Aboriginal Peoples in Canada consists of three groups; First Nations, Inuit and Metis (NAHO). It should be noted however, that the term “Indigenous” (meaning native to the area), is the term used by the United Nations, for Aboriginal Peoples in Canada and is increasingly used by Aboriginal scholars and advocates to describe Aboriginal Peoples collectively, inclusively and to recognize the place of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada’s late- colonial era (NAHO). ($9,949.30)

Meeting the Needs of Aboriginal Justice-Involved Youth in the Context of Community Sentencing

This five-year research project examines effective ways to promote rehabilitation for Aboriginal justice-involved youth. ($190,660)

A Comparative Studt of Incarcerated Young Adults in Scotland and Canada

A four-year, cross-national study of incarcerated young adults between 18 and 24 years of age in Scotland and Canada. ($97,282)

Working Effectively with Justice Involved and High Risk Youth Program

Program Director for a series of 12 modules on various aspects of working with high risk, justice involved youth including the history of youth justice in Canada, ethical issues, consent and confidentiality, assessment, mental health issues and addictions, evaluation of programming. ($7,000)

Report to the Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children & Youth Concerning the Death of Ashley Smith

Principal investigator for research outlining the adjustment issues of incarcerated young people including the impact of segregation. ($12,515)

Therapeutic Interventions for Seriously Violent Youth: An Update of Scientific Literature

Principal investigator for a research summary of the most recent work on interventions for violent youth, in particular youth involved in homicides. ($9,734)

The Use of Segregation on Incarcerated Youth

Consultant on the research literature and data available on the use of isolated segregation, and the impact segregation has on incarcerated youth. ($5,500)