Emre Umar | Correctional Healthcare

President of Correctional Medical Care

Tag: corrections

Russian Prison Body Art

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On January 24, 2019

In Uncategorized

Although tattooing in prison is a worldwide phenomenon, perhaps nowhere was it more important than Russia, or to be more accurate, the Soviet Union.

In ancient Greece and Rome, tattoos were used to mark criminals. This was also done in 19th century Russia, against the will of the prisoners. However, over time they evolved to be an in-group marking, and one of honor at that.

The important of the tattooing peaked in the Soviet era, in the 1950s, where the consequences for having body art that was considered unearned were severe, up to and including death. Examples of meanings (from Wikipedia):

  • Cross – The traditional “thieves’ cross” is usually tattooed on the chest. This was very common.
  • Ships – With full sails it can indicate someone that has fled from custody, a gulnoy or gulat, or that a wearer is a nomadic thief who travels to steal.
  • Dragons – Indicate a “shark” or someone who has stolen state or collectively owned property.[

Although the heyday of Russian/Soviet prison tattooing and art is past, its influence lives on today and is a part of pop culture in the country.

Transactional Leadership Theory

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On November 2, 2018

In Emre Umar's Healthcare Blog

The transactional leadership theory started in the mid-20th century by Max Weber, the German sociologist and economist who did a great deal of work on bureaucracy. Transactional leaders respect authority and structure, managing people within a set framework within an organization they adhere to. Today it is largely contrasted with transformational theory, which is seen as a more proactive, less punitive style of management.

One strength of it is promoting performance via rewards, which is a positive trait of transactional leadership because it recognizes good effort and performance and can positively reinforce the good behavior.

A second strength is that transactional leadership is effective to help retain the status quo. Bass and Avolio partially describe transactional leadership as “leadership that supports the status  quo  through  mutual  leader  and follower self-interests across three dimensions: contingent  reward,  active  management-by-exception, and  passive  management-by-exception.” While status quo maintenance may not always be a positive trait for a company, in times when the existing state of affairs is in a positive state, the ability to continue that harmony is seen as a benefit.

A third strength is the standardization of expectations for all employees. If a rather rigid set of standards have been culturally and organizationally established by the leader, employees know what is expected and know that if they do not perform up to a certain level there will be a set of escalating consequences administered.

The Beginnings of the NCCHC

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On August 2, 2017

In Emre Umar's Healthcare Blog

The National Commission on Correctional Health Care is the main organization setting the standards to which providers of health care in correctional facilities adhere. But before the NCCHC, there was a project led by the American Medical Association to improve the level of care provided in jails and prisons. Seeing it as woefully inadequate, the AMA took the first steps to creating their Jail Program in 1971.

By 1976, they had a developed program, and began accrediting sites who met their strict standards as the first correctional health care accreditation program. By 1979, the program was in 23 states. As the AMA program grew and because it’s own independant entity, those involved realized it was time to spin it off. In 1983, the NCCHC was formed as a non-profit organization to keep the mission of the AMA Jail Program alive, which it has done up to the present day.

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