Digital Commons Network^™

Differences In Training Programs And Time Trial Performances Of Teenage Sprint Freestyle Swimmers, John Andrew Stratman

Online Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of three different training programs on timed swims made by competitive teenage sprint freestyle swimmers of both genders during a typical five-month high school season. Coaches from five teams assigned 49 female and 38 male swimmers from age 13 through age 17 (M = 14.97 years) into one of three training programs. The programs were P1 (swim only, n = 20), P2 (swim plus plyometrics, n = 59), and P3 (swim plus plyometrics and weights, n = 8). Competitive swim experience ranged from novice to seven years or more (M …

Revulsion And Palatability: The Staying Power Of Death Penalty Rituals - Last Meals And Beyond, Angie Wheaton

Online Theses and Dissertations

The United States has a rich history surrounding capital punishment, and execution rituals are central to this history. The death penalty regime has evolved from a primarily private-based justice system to the state-carceral capital punishment system we have today. This thesis uses three historical eras as the framework for analyzing methods of executions and the rituals that surround them. Throughout each period, rituality has helped cushion the revulsion that is inherently present when taking the life of a human being. If revulsion is not managed, the legitimacy of capital punishment can be questioned. The apex of the capital punishment legitimacy …

Nowhere To Go: The Trend To Criminalize The Nation's Homeless, Jessica Anderson

Online Theses and Dissertations

The criminal justice system often uses much force in its response to the homeless population. The homeless are often targeted and have their basic human dignities trampled as law enforcement destroys their property and jails them for activity essential for human existence as those activities are criminalized. With the negative perception held by much of the criminal justice system, no homeless person can receive impartial treatment at the hands of the criminal justice system. This ethnographic study researches the trends in the criminalization of the homeless by interviewing seven respondents for their experiences and observations.

Factors That Contribute To Success In Policing Based On Prior Military Experience, Thomas Salem Fagan

Online Theses and Dissertations

This research attempted to determine whether current law enforcement officers with military experience felt that they were more prepared for their jobs in the agency than officers without military experience. Law enforcement officers from two police departments were selected to take a survey based on their military backgrounds. This survey was completed and the results were reviewed.

It was concluded that law enforcement officers with military experience felt that they were more prepared for the job and had an edge over other officers with no background in the military. In addition, officers with combat experience also felt that they had …

Relationships Among Self-Construal, Goal Motives, And Goal Outcomes And The Moderating Effects Of Culture, Tao Jiang

Online Theses and Dissertations

The current study intended to test a model which integrated different self-construal types, goal motivation types, and goal outcomes, and also to test the moderating effects of culture on the model. Based on previous literature, a hypothesized model was proposed. 250 American university students and 246 Chinese university students were recruited to test this model. All the participants completed several scales that measured the levels of three types of self-construal, four types of goal motive, goal-direct effort and progress, and two components of well-being. Based on the preliminary analyses, an adjusted model was generated. The results of the adjusted model …

A Study Of Rural Police Leadership Behaviors In Kentucky: A Full Range Perspective, Frank P. Kubala Jr.

Online Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the leadership behaviors of rural police chief's in Kentucky through their self-perceptions and the perceptions of their subordinate officers utilizing the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) Form 5X Short. The author assessed differences in the leadership factors of the Full Range Leadership Model and leadership outcomes between rural police chiefs and their subordinate officers. The sample included 47 rural police chiefs from 4 different regions of Kentucky and 94 of their subordinate officers.

The results indicate that 8 out of the 9 leadership factors differed between the self-reported ratings by the rural police …

Examination Of Racial Bias On The Mmpi-2 Restructured Form Among African Americans And Caucasians, Willie Floyd Mcbride Iii

Online Theses and Dissertations

Although it is widely known that the link between ethnicity and psychopathology is undeniable, there still remains ambiguity concerning the possibility of racial bias on measures assessing psychopathology. The current study examined the extent to which the MMPI-2-RF is affected by racial bias. Using a sample of 1017 college students, the current study examined whether ethnicity acted as a moderating variable in the MMPI-2-RF's ability to predict conceptually relevant criteria for African Americans as it does for Caucasians. Step-down hierarchical linear regression test were implemented to determine the presence of prediction bias and whether there were indications of slope and …

Police Deception: A Survey Of Eku Students, Jason Anthony Nicholson

Online Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Police deception has been both good and bad for society. Deceptive interrogation is an effective method of gaining confessions and convictions. It is also dangerous in that it raises the potential for false confessions, damages police-citizen relationships, damages case strength, and encourages lying in other aspects of policing. The purpose of the study was to gauge the opinions of students regarding deceptive interrogation by police. A survey was administered to a purposive sample of undergraduates at Eastern Kentucky University. The survey asked questions regarding the students' level of approval toward different scenarios of police deception. It also asked some …

Risk To Public Safety Posed By Adjudicated Delinquent Juvenile Sex Offenders: Do They Really Need To Register, Donna Susan Mynatt

Online Theses and Dissertations

This study examined sexual and non-sexual recidivism among a sample of delinquent juvenile sexual offenders (JSOs) following commitment to a state juvenile correctional agency. Both juvenile and adult recidivism rates were studied. The results showed a low rate of sexual recidivism and a high rate of non-sexual recidivism across a 4-year follow-up period past age18. Logistic and linear regression identified 4 significant predictor variables of non-sexual recidivism. JSOs that were non-white, un-related to the victim in the initial offense, or used another location for the initial offense other than their own home, were significantly more likely to commit non-sexual recidivism. …

The Effects Of Trust On Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis, Matthew Vincent Petrella

Online Theses and Dissertations

This meta-analysis examined the relationship between trust and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB). Trust has been studied extensively in the literature, and three referents of trust have been identified: interpersonal, organizational, and overall. OCB have also been studied extensively from a wide variety of perspectives. Dirks and Ferrin (2002) meta-analyzed the relationship between these two variables, and they found significant relationships between 1) interpersonal trust and OCB and 2) organizational trust and OCB. The purpose of the present research was to update the literature on these relationships. Twenty-three studies were found that measured the relationship between at least one of the …

The Effectiveness Of An Emergency And Defensive Driving Techniques Course Component: Analyzing Student Response To Searching, Identifying, Predicting, Deciding And Executing Skills, Christopher Bradley Millard

Online Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effectiveness of an Emergency and Defensive Driving Techniques Course by measuring the students' visual and perceptual skills. The final analysis involved 117 students who participated in Eastern Kentucky University's (EKU) Traffic Safety (TRS) 233. Records were obtained through the Traffic Safety Institute and contained no identifying information. Records obtained included a generic unique identification number, gender, pre-test scores and post-test scores.

Kentucky Sro Programs: An Examination Of Impact On Reported Criminal Violations And Board Violations, William John Sullivan

Online Theses and Dissertations

School violence has become a focal point throughout the United States, sparked by violent mass killings at schools throughout the nation. In response to these horrific attacks, school officials, law enforcement, parents, and others have taken measures to improve school safety. One of the most substantial efforts includes the utilization of specially trained police officers (SROs) in our schools. Currently, there are approximately 230 SROs assigned to Kentucky schools (KASRO, 2013) and an estimated 20,000 SROs nationally (Myrstol, 2010). Regardless of the importance of maintaining safe schools and an environment that is conducive to learning, relatively little research has been …

The Upper Big Branch Mine Explosion: Occupational Hazard Or Preventable Tragedy; A Look At State-Corporate Crime, Cassandra Tate

Online Theses and Dissertations

Corporate crimes, defined as "illegal and harmful acts committed by officer and employees of corporations to promote corporate interests," have a greater impact on society than many street crimes. Corporate crime includes a range of white-collar crimes that affect employees and consumers. White-collar and corporate crimes are often ignored by the media unless there is involvement in some high profile scandal. There tends to be a paucity of research associated with coal industry related corporate crimes. This includes personal and death related events in the coal mining industry. This was evident in the 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch …

Can The Triarchic Model Differentiate Between Psychopathy And Antisocial Personality Disorder?, Tina Dilem Wall

Online Theses and Dissertations

Although Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) represents the closest diagnostic equivalent to psychopathy in the DSM-IV, it has long been recognized as failing to capture the full range of the construct. The current study examined the degree to which boldness, a trait domain within the triarchic conceptualization of psychopathy (Patrick et al., 2009) that captures fearlessness, dominance, and low stress reactivity, represents a distinct difference between psychopathy and APD. Utilizing a sample of 108 male prison inmates, the current study examined the extent to which boldness, relative to meanness and disinhibition (indexed by the Triarchic Psychopathy measure; Patrick, 2010), accounted for …

The Impact Of Personality, Mindfulness, And Symptoms On Response To Brief Meditation, Miranda Westbrook

Online Theses and Dissertations

Mindful awareness is described as: (1) awareness "in the moment"; (2) that involves acceptance/non-judgment; and (3) is intentional (Kabat-Zinn, 1984). This awareness has gained popularity for use in therapeutic settings, based on consistent findings that mindfulness-based interventions have a beneficial effect on psychological and physical functioning (Baer, 2003; Grossman, et al., 2004). However, the factors that predict the extent to which one may enter into and benefit from an inducted mindful state have not been thoroughly investigated. The current study sought to investigate such factors, including personality characteristics, psychological symptoms, and dispositional mindfulness.

Examining The Role Of Race, Gender, And Class In African-American Police Perceptions In Rural Kentucky, Paul Maxwell Blackhurst

Online Theses and Dissertations

Prior research has consistently demonstrated the role of race in understanding racial and ethnic differences in perceptions of the police. This research has overwhelmingly shown that Blacks and Latinos hold lower levels of trust and confidence in the police than do Whites and other racial minorities. The increased skepticism of the police expressed by minority citizens is commonly associated with racial profiling and documented racial disparities in police behavior. Although policing research has empirically demonstrated the influence of race on perceptions of the police, few studies have explored police perceptions from a rural context. By employing the Citizen's Attitudes Towards …

Suicide Terrorism: Understanding The Mindset And Motives, Joshua Daniel Goss

Online Theses and Dissertations

Suicide Terrorism plays major roles in devastating and destructing cities and their people while communities try to fight the Global War on Terrorism. The devastation and destruction can either be focused on individuals or a certain infrastructure. There are two tactics of executing the acts of suicide terrorism; strapping explosives to their bodies and or steering some sort of transportation into a place of gathering. The methodology of this study is an auto-ethnography. The auto-ethnography is designed to find understanding of personal experiences using a qualitative method of study. Understanding the motives and mindset of suicide terrorist can be very …

Rejecting The Rejecters: The Latent Effect Of Policy On Subculture, Ethan Maxwell Higgins

Online Theses and Dissertations

Specifically, this thesis is a look into rap lyrics, subculture, policy, reflexivity and the formation of the social self. In a broader vision, this thesis attempts to mold a theoretical pathway that illuminates where our cultural products "come from," not historically, but socially. Through the vehicle of rap lyrics I attempt to show that there is a historical and social structure that molds, limits and contains the very possibility of what music and lyrics can come to be. I try to show that the decisions we make on a national scale effects groups which have little political power, effectively recreating …

Sexual Victimization Among Sorority Women, Amanda Hinkel

Online Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies have shown that sorority women have been found to be at greater risk for sexual victimization (including rape and sexual assault) than non-sorority women (29% to 7% respectively; Minow & Einolf, 2009) for several reasons, including: frequent contact and association with fraternity men, the prevalence of alcohol in Greek life, and the effects alcohol has on the body once it is consumed. This paper summarizes research on the circumstances that increase the likelihood that sorority women will become victims of sexual assault, sexual coercion, or rape.

Since the research has suggested that one in four college women are …

Music Piracy And Its Criminalization: Understanding The Napster Era (1999) To Present Through Donald Black's Theory Of Moral Time, Craig Robert Jankowski

Online Theses and Dissertations

In the year 1999 Napster, a provider of music downloading software, broke news headlines around the world when copyright infringement lawsuits were filed against the company. Ever since then internet music piracy has been a very controversial topic and a target for criminalization efforts. In the field of criminology there have been few attempts to apply theory to the topic of internet music piracy. Theorization of internet music piracy has mainly focused on the illegal behavior of music piracy, explaining the motivations and knowledge behind it. Something that has been neglected in theoretical work of online music piracy is its …

Predicting Inmate Economic Conflict In Female Housing Units: Individual Factors Versus Social Climate Factors, Polina Andreyevna Karpova

Online Theses and Dissertations

Despite the fact that a number of studies have focused on different types of prison victimization, very little research has investigated inmate economic conflict. This study describes the context of inmate economic conflict and examines the factors that may account for the development of this conflict in female housing facilities. The secondary data analysis study is based on validated survey data from 3499 female inmates housed in fifteen correctional facilities located in seven different states. In addition to conducting descriptive statistical analyses, inmate economic conflict scores were regressed on a range of individual-related (background) and social climate-related (environmental) variables. This …

A Deconstruction Of Dexter: An Analysis Of Noble Cause Corruption Within A Crime Drama, Alyssa Lawrence

Online Theses and Dissertations

The literature on corruption within law enforcement typically addresses factors such as brutality, dishonesty, accepting bribes, and using falsified evidence. This research project examines noble cause corruption (NCC), an area that scholarship has ignored until the last ten years. NCC is defined by Crank and Caldero (2007) as using illegal means to achieve good ends. Although NCC is not a new phenomenon it has become of greater focus in television and movies. Many recent television shows have represented NCC in a positive light, almost disguising it as if it were not present. Therefore the topic of this paper is not …

Impact Of Disability On Celebration Of Wedding Anniversaries, Emily Lemaster

Online Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how married couples observe their wedding anniversaries. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 couples (four of which one partner has a disability) to determine how they celebrate their wedding anniversaries. This data was compared to how having a disability within the couple affects anniversary celebrations. Several themes emerged that were common among all participants including: an exchange of items, participants, reminiscing about the past, change within the marriage and celebration (which encompasses ritual and tradition). Few differences were noted in the couples who are living with disability. The most prominent is being …

Double Standards In Self-Deception: The Development Of The Self-Other Double Standards Scale, Benjamin T. Lindsay

Online Theses and Dissertations

Self-Deception creates a mental state in which an individual unquestioningly maintains a belief that has clearly been refuted and proven faulty by some information which the self-deceiver has come to possess. However, aside from personality trait measures, no measurement techniques have been developed which capture the act of Self-Deception in a laboratory setting. In order to fill this need, the current research sought to examine the relationship between self-deception and cognitive dissonance, and used this relationship to create the Double Standards scale.

In the current research, participants completed several surveys online. They then came into the lab, where they were …