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Kyshawn ('Shawn) Smith

Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Radford University
Chapter Member: Virginia SSN

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About Kyshawn ('Shawn)

Smith's research focuses on theories, practices, and policies of crime where some form of community or environment is the focal point. His work tends to investigate social networks and the acts of networking related to crime in various communities/environments. He researches and teaches on matters pertaining to social capital, collective efficacy, social disorganization, prisoner re-entry, or variations in criminal activity between urban and non-urban spaces. Increasingly, this work is stemming into considerations of digital communities and environments.

Publications

"Rush-Hour Traffic: Self-Presentation of Defendants in Speedy Traffic Court Cases" (with Maryann Stone, Angela Overton, Cassandra McDade, and Elizabeth Monk-Turner). Criminal Justice Studies: A Critical Journal of Crime, Law, and Society 27, no. 4 (2014): 439-456.

Explores the numerous factors that influence the decisions rendered in traffic court. Discusses how one physically presents themselves in court (e.g. wardrobe, visible tattoos, style of hair, piercings).

"Exploring Trust in Perception of Crime Models in South Africa" (with Leroy Hamilton Jr.). African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies 7, no. 1 (2013): 85-100.

Examines the Afrobarometer 2.5 survey that was administered 10 years after the abolition of apartheid in South Africa to assess attitudes on a number of public issues. Explores those topics pertaining specifically to crime and safety. Reveals a number of positive correlations between self-reported trust and positive opinions on those topics. 

"African American Digital Practices: Mobile E-Health and Residential Segregation" (with Roderick S. Graham). Sociological Focus (2017).

Discusses "Black Twitter," a collective composed primarily of African Americans who have managed to effect change through the microblogging platform Twitter. Uses a corpus of 16,000 tweets collected during a 10-day period to compare interaction patterns (tweets, favorites, and replies) and thematic content. Suggests that compared with other hashtags and the publics they represent, #BlackTwitter possesses more of the characteristics of a counterpublic.