Although each chapter reviews current research in a specific corrections area and the implications for correctional policy, several themes unify the volume. One theme concerns the emergence of the rational bureaucratic model of correctional administration, with its increased attention to due process and accountability. A second theme running through several chapters regards the impact of the Nation's political climate on prison management and the interaction between the private sector and correctional systems. The issue of the individual inmate and his/her relationship to the correctional environment is the focus of several chapters as well. A third theme is the problem of using significant research findings for improved correctional management within a climate of limited resources. Among the specific topics discussed are the effectiveness of correctional rehabilitation, the privatization of prisons, inmates' right of access to the courts, equal protection for female inmates, sentencing reform, correctional industries, prison classification, prison guards as agents of social control, and inmate adjustment to prison. Chapter references, subject index. For individual chapters, see NCJ 120305-16.