There has long been debate over what constitutes “effective” penal environments. The purpose of this article is to examine the effects of two disparate social environments on a group of women incarcerated in a maximum security prison for women. The two environments included the coercive penal environment where the women were confined and a cooperative workshop environment that was created in the broader penal context. The author's participant observation field notes help to understand what effects the contrasting environments had on participants' functioning in the project. Policy considerations and future research goals are suggested.
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