Digital Commons Network^™

Benumbed Compulsion, Philip E. Stern

Student Theses

Benumbed Compulsion is a musical representation of the intense emotions that we live with and become used to carrying. Though we become desensitized to these feelings, they may pour out of us either subtly or explosively. The tidal dynamics and back-and-forth motion between the two dominating harmonies express the emotions we feel compelled to experience but often become numb to their effect.

Laypeople’S Perceptions Of Secondary Trauma In Criminal Justice System Workers, Mariah Simone

Student Theses

This study sought to examine laypeople’s perceptions of secondary trauma experienced by criminal justice system workers. Specifically, how these perceptions of exposure to secondary trauma influence laypeople’s perceptions of those workers’ memory ability. To investigate these perceptions, we collected data from 70 participants in a Pilot Study, 383 participants in Study 1, and 408 participants in a Replication of Study 1 regarding their perceptions of secondary trauma in various criminal justice careers. Specifically, using a modified Autobiographically Memory Questionnaire to examine how their perceptions of secondary trauma exposure affects their perceptions of memory ability in these workers. We also collected …

Investigating The Relationship Between Foster Care And Sex Trafficking: What Factors Are Maintaining The Cycle Of Abuse, Shannon M. Budgell

Student Theses

Sex trafficking is a global crime and human rights issue that benefits abusers at the detriment of vulnerable groups, including children involved in the United States welfare system. This meta-synthesis explored the risk factors present within the United States foster care system that expose children to potential victimization. Using qualitative research, the purpose of this study was to review sex trafficking exploitation and analyze the current policies creating this vulnerability in the nation’s child welfare services. Upon completing a systematic literature search, nine studies were included by meeting the following criteria: qualitative or quantitative research studies published in English any …

The Method Development And Validation Of Designer Benzodiazepines In Oral Fluid Using Solid Phase Extraction And Lc-Ms/Ms, Jenna L. Monsell

Student Theses

Oral fluid is a useful biological matrix. Collection is non-invasive, quick, observable, and its correlation between oral fluid and blood drug concentration make oral fluid an important matrix to use as a roadside test. Designer benzodiazepines have become increasingly popular over the years, adversely affecting motor skills and leading to driving under the influence. Many previous studies have focused on the method development and validation of designer benzodiazepines in blood and hair but fail to validate a method to detect designer benzodiazepines in oral fluid. This study focuses on the method validation of 13 designer benzodiazepines in oral fluid using …

Linguistic Impact On The Use Of The Reliable Digit Span For Performance Validity In A Sample Of English-Spanish Bilingual Adults, Amy Polinsky

Student Theses

Performance validity tests (PVTs) are used alongside neuropsychological assessments to help detect suspect effort. One of the most widely used PVTs, the Reliable Digit Span (RDS), and its latest version, the RDS-revised (RDS-R), have been widely accepted as valid and reliable within the general population. However, as the United States becomes increasingly globalized, questions arise regarding the validity of language-based tests such as the RDS and RDS-R amongst English-Spanish bilingual populations. This study used a within-subject design with 28 bilingual undergraduate students, testing them on the Digit Span (the test that RDS results are based on) in both English and …

“No One’S Hearing Me”: A Grounded Theory Case Study Of One University's Institutional Discourse And Women Staff Perceptions Of Campus Climate, Lorianne Crowder

Student Theses

This qualitative case study explores the relationship between institutional discourse and women staff perceptions of campus climate at one public university. Through a critically informed grounded theory approach, findings revealed how ambiguous institutional values functioned as empty signifiers which, while aimed at creating the image of inclusivity, were subject to various interpretations that may have fostered conditions for the dismissal of care ethics and relational knowledge expressed by women staff. Embedded hierarchies also persisted, shaping recognition of women staff along gendered, racialized, and professional lines. Despite exclusionary discourse cultivating climates of epistemic marginalization, women staff exhibited agency through connection and …

Publishing Inequality In Lgbtqia+ Research In Psychology: A Content Analysis, Mackenzie L. Fingerhut

Student Theses

Despite the American Psychiatric Association’s removal of homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1973 and ego-dystonic homosexuality in 1987, nonheteronormative sexual orientations remain stigmatized and underrepresented in scientific literature. To estimate the prevalence of LGBTQIA+ topics in popular psychological research, the author queried more than 20,000 articles from 1987 to 2022 in the two most cited journals in each of four major domains (cognitive, clinical, developmental and social). In addition, the author randomly queried 20% of all empirical articles published from 1987 to 2021 in the top eight empirical journals to understand how often sexuality …

Transgender And Gender Nonconforming Individuals And Intimate Partner Violence Resources In Lgbtq+ Organizations, Claire Herr

Student Theses

A meta-analysis reporting on the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization of transgender populations found transgender people were two to three times more likely to experience IPV than cisgender people (Peitzmeier et al., 2020). The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) (2012) found transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people, particularly transgender women and transgender Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), were more likely to be threatened and harassed by their abusive partners than cisgender people. TGNC people may be at a high risk of IPV due to the lack of services designed for TGNC victims of IPV. Once …

Hair And Drugs: The Impact Of Dry Shampoo And Gel On Cocaine-Contaminated Hair, Marialejandra Faure Betancourt

Student Theses

Hair is a biological sample used in forensic toxicology to identify and quantify drug exposure. However, when interpreting analytical results, hair can be challenging due to the presence of external contamination. Previous studies have shown that cosmetic treatments remove drugs within the hair shaft decreasing their concentration. Nevertheless, not enough information is available to explain this phenomenon. This study focused to determine whether cosmetic products such as dry shampoo and gel influence the concentration of externally deposited cocaine (COC) and benzoylecgonine (BE) in different hair types/colors. Hair samples from fifteen COC-free volunteers of various hair colors/types were collected and divided …

The Antagonistic Anatomy Of Anti-Shippers: A Thematic Analysis, Adrian A. Stone

Student Theses

Within the transformative fandom community is an ideologically-affiliated group known as anti-shippers, whose rhetoric contends that fictional interests are an indication of those held in reality. Anti-shippers focus solely on fictional material perceived to be sexual in nature and make frequent references to pedophilia. This rhetoric is used to justify harassment against individuals who do not share in their beliefs. As this population primarily operates on social media, this study was designed to conduct an exploratory investigation into themes gleaned from posts authored by anti-shippers on Twitter. Utilizing latent content analysis, a total of 187 posts from 222 unique users …

Method Development And Validation Of Controlled Substances On A Gas Chromatography - Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometer, Regina E. Filus

Student Theses

The goal of this project was to perform a validation and a method development for an Agilent 7890 Gas Chromatograph connected to a Thermo iS50 Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometer in order to put the instrument into functional and operational use. Both instruments are connected via an interface allowing for simultaneous analysis of a sample. A custom-made in-house library was created in order to search and compare to future unknown case samples. Reference materials were run and reviewed in order to determine which method and concentrations would provide the best infrared scans, and the sample repeatability runs were used to develop …

An Application Of The Coercive Control Framework To Cults, Sarah E. Feliciano

Student Theses

The present study utilized the coercive control framework to systematically assess coercion in cults. Former cult members (N=52) of various groups (e.g., psychological & self-help related) were interviewed via telephone for 1.5 to 3 hours. The sample was 67.31% female, 67.31% Caucasian, and 63.46% American; age ranged from 24-68 years old. An existing codebook was used by multiple coders with high intercoder reliability (89.66%). Coercive control tactics were present in all 52 narratives. Manipulation, intimidation, and microregulation were the tactics most frequently utilized. Sexual coercion/abuse, deprivation, and degradation were used least. Data also provided coercive subtactics specific to cults but …

The Effect Of Resource Quality And Species Interactions On Dermestes Maculatus, Sarah Aliahmad

Student Theses

Forensic entomology is the use and application of insect information in legal matters, particularly in death investigations as insects utilize decomposing remains as a food source to complete their life cycle. Dermestes maculatus (DeGeer), larder beetles belonging to the family Dermestidae, are of considerable forensic importance since their larvae are typically found on human corpses during the later stages of decomposition – the advanced and dry/skeletal stages. Dermestes maculatus can be useful in estimating the post-mortem interval (PMI) of a cadaver with advanced decomposition. The purpose of this study was to investigate the colonization (egg-laying) behavior of D. maculatus; …

Incels, Violence, And Masculinity: How Masculinity And Membership To Online Communities Shape Perceptions Of Violence, Meghan Scarlott

Student Theses

As online involuntary celibate (incel) forms have grown, they have become dominated by violent and misogynistic rhetoric. There have also been instances of offline violence being motivated by incel ideology and anti-feminist beliefs. Past research has established a link between inceldom and violent rhetoric through analysis of incel forum posts and activity. However, comparisons between non-incels and incels regarding masculinity and violence have rarely been conducted. We used a survey design to compare incels and non-incels on three factors: support for violence, inceldom characteristics, and internalized masculinity. Consistent with prior research, incels held more negative views of women and feminism …

Experienced And Anticipated Stigma Among People With Mental Illness When Interacting With Healthcare Workers, Shaindel Feuer

Student Theses

Research has found that most people have negative attitudes towards those with mental illnesses,

and the resulting stigma and discrimination can be dangerous. Unfortunately, mental health stigma and discrimination are also seen in healthcare providers, with potentially fatal consequences, given that people with mental illnesses have shorter lifespans and are more likely to become ill than members of the general population. This study explored anticipatory and experienced mental health stigma from the patient’s perspective in a sample of 275 people with self-reported mental illness recruited from the online panel Prolific. Between 30.3% (Everyday Discrimination Scale) and 44.1% (Stigma Scale) of …

Predatory Helpfulness: A Replication (And Expansion) Study Examining Grooming And Recruitment Tactics In Sex Trafficking, Tatum E. Kenney

Student Theses

Sex trafficking, as defined by the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (2000), occurs when a trafficker uses force, fraud or coercion to trap their target into exploitative commercial sex work. However, the fraudulent and coercive tactics traffickers use during the initial stages further obscure the exploitative nature of these relationships leading to trafficked women being victimized as criminals or simply overlooked. Basra et al. (2022) proposed a new framework—Predatory Helpfulness—to provide more cohesive terminology with which to organize, assess, and understand how traffickers form relationships with their intended victims. In this study, I used a mixed-methods …

Exploring Friendships In J.R.R. Tolkien’S Novels And Adaptations: A Study In Social Media, Fandoms, And Variations, Ashley D. Anderson

Student Theses

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy and their adaptations all reveal the importance of friendship and fandom. Utilizing theorists Walter Benjamin and Henry Jenkins the friendship theme is seen in the various stylistic elements in the films and novels; additionally, a look into the fandom presence on social media, their knowledge, and merchandise reveals why the stories have continued to interest audiences over many generations.

Open Fire: The Expansion Of 9mm Hollow Point Bullets In Relation To Tissue Thickness, Abigail Wilson

Student Theses

Bullets can be broadly differentiated into jacketed and unjacketed groups. Jacketed ammunition can be further broken down based on the bullet’s design, one of which is hollow points. This research examines a representative brand of jacketed hollow point bullets used in a common caliber cartridge, the 9mm Luger. A jacketed hollow point bullet is designed to expand when it encounters a viscous medium such as tissue. This experiment simulated tissue using ballistic gelatin and simulated skin using a chamois overlay. As a positive and negative control, a series of bullets were fired into a full-size block of gelatin to achieve …

Identification Of Different Hair Dyes In Dyed Hair Using Attenuated Total Reflectance (Atr Ft-Ir), Surface Enhancing Raman Spectroscopy (Sers) Techniques, Nicholas Lovera

Student Theses

This investigation compares the ability of Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transfer Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR FT-IR) and Surface Enhance Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) to identify and differentiate different hair dye brands on dyed hair samples. Hair is a common type of trace evidence found at crime scenes and can provide numerous information through forensic hair analysis. Cosmetic hair treatment such as dying the hair different colors has grown and became popular, thus it can be a very common type of trace evidence. This study can provide a forensic scientist an additional method for analyzing dyed hair samples. The goal was to compare …

Dna Shedding Propensity And Individual Characteristics, Genesis Echavarria

Student Theses

This study attempted to correlate individual biological characteristics to the amount of DNA recovered from a person’s hands (representative of shedding propensity). We used adhesive D-Squame tape to collect DNA from the fingers of more than 100 volunteers with and without controlled activity after handwashing. Two no-activity samples were taken after 30 min from the non-dominant hand and two samples from the dominant hand were collected after 60 min of controlled activity. Involuntary touches during the 60-min activity period were counted. All samples were extracted for DNA, quantitated, and genotyped to detect mixtures. Skin measurements for hydration, sebum, and melanin …

Attorneys’ Questions About Time In Criminal Cases Of Alleged Child Sexual Abuse, Mckenna N. Cameron

Student Theses

In cases of alleged child sexual abuse, information about the timing of events is often needed to establish a timeline, determine specific charges, or establish witness credibility (Lyon et al., 2017). However, past developmental laboratory research has demonstrated that children struggle to provide accurate and reliable testimony about time, and there is currently a lack of field research examining how attorneys actually question child witnesses about time in court (Friedman, 1991; Wandrey et al., 2012). The current study analyzed 73 trial transcripts from cases of alleged child maltreatment containing a child witness between the ages of 5 to 17 years …

Analysis Of Polymer-Coated Bullets Using Spectroscopic Methods, Liana R. Albano

Student Theses

Polymer-coated bullets have gained popularity because they can reduce the user’s exposure to heavy metals in the ammunition. The synthetic jacket, which surrounds the lead core, is advantageous because it prevents metal-on-metal contact between the bullet and the bore. A challenge for firearms identification is that polymer-coated bullets do not retain unique markings that can be used to identify the gun, the way standard metal-coated bullets do. However, metal-coated bullets will result in a similar challenge if the bullet is too deformed once it is recovered. Another issue is that the composition of the polymer coating was never disclosed by …

The Relationship Between Sexting Behaviors And Image-Based Sexual Abuse (Ibsa): Does Sexting Predict Ibsa?, Seunghye Yang

Student Theses

With development of technology, Image-Based Sexual Abuse (IBSA), a new type of sexual abuse, has emerged. It is defined as nonconsensually creating nude or sexual images of others; nonconsensually distributing nude or sexual images of others; and threatening to distribute nude or sexual images of others (Henry & Flynn, 2019; Powell et al., 2019). As this is a relatively new phenomenon, risk factors for IBSA are not yet well understood. It has been suggested that sexting may be a risk factor for IBSA as the two behaviors share some common characteristics. For example, both sexting and IBSA involve sending or …

Witnessing Academic Dishonesty And Student’S Satisfaction With Learning, Motivation For Studying And Evaluation Of Faculty, Dawoon Lee

Student Theses

Academic dishonesty has been a long-term problem in secondary and higher education. Previous studies reported that an average of two-thirds of students reported that they have engaged in academic dishonesty in high school or college. This study explored witnessing academic dishonesty and its influence on students' experiences in the learning environment. The hypothesis is that witnessing academic dishonesty will negatively impact the student’s satisfaction with learning, motivation for studying, and evaluation of faculty. In conducting the study, participants (N = 250) completed an online survey assessing their satisfaction with learning, motivation for studying, and evaluation of faculty. Participants also reported …

Extraction Of Challenging Forensic Samples Using The Microgem Dna Extraction Kit, Falyn R. Vega

Student Theses

In forensic science, DNA extraction can be a tedious and resource-intensive process. Extraction with Proteinase K is an industry standard but has its drawbacks, such as requiring multiple ionic detergents and washing steps. MicroGEM has developed a new enzyme called forensicGEM that is temperature-dependent and compatible with mesophilic enzymes, offering complete DNA extraction in about 20 minutes in a single tube, limiting contamination, loss of sample, and working time. ForensicGEM can extract DNA from highly degraded samples, potentially leading to more complete STR profiles. Highly degraded tissue and bone samples were collected and extracted with the forensicGEM …

Mental Illness And Ethnic Identity And Their Relationship With Internalized Stigma Among Individuals Identifying As Latinx And Diagnosed With A Mental Illness, Melissa V. Martinez

Student Theses

Identity plays a key role in all matters regarding mental health, especially in experiences of stigma. Stigma, a term used to describe the processes of labeling and stereotyping of particular groups, has been shown to be a major contributor to mental health outcomes. Internalization of stigma, is an emotional and behavioral response that further affects an individual’s functioning beyond the effects of a mental disorder. The relationship between stigma and certain identities, such as gender, have been clearly demonstrated in prior research. However, identity is a complex concept that varies in meaning between individuals. The significance of a particular identity …

An Archival Exploration Of Lineup Fairness In Eyewitness Research, Phoebe Kane

Student Theses

In this study, we were interested in investigating if the Betaface facial analysis program reliably predicts eyewitness lineup choosing behavior. If face analysis programs are as good or better than human judgements, using them could be a reliably more efficient, reproducible, and equitable basis for choosing fillers and evaluating lineup fairness. We collected 27 datasets from eyewitness researchers and analyzed them to produce Betaface similarity values, which measured the similarity between all the photos in each array. We compared these Betaface data to the identification data from the original studies. Our analysis of the arrays via Betaface yielded data with …

Reproduction: The Ultimate Enemy Of Racial Passing In Harlem Renaissance Literature, Veronica Kordmany

Student Theses

"In this essay, I examine three texts that consider the repercussions of passing for Black Americans. Nella Larsen’s Passing (1929) serves as a namesake for this general idea, as two light-skinned African American women represent the divisionary approach to racial passing. In George S. Schuyler’s Black No More (1931) we see a passing Black man’s virility being tested as he enters an ‘alternate universe’, in which a scientific invention grants him full access to the wondrous white world he’d always dreamed of entering. Finally, in the middle of this textual spectrum is Angelina W. Grimké’s 1919 short story, “The Closing …

The Association Between Rape Myths And Continued Contact With The Perpetrator Following Sexual Abuse, Jainee Smith

Student Theses

Sexual violence is a widespread phenomenon. The term rape myth was first coined in 1980 by Martha Burt, and she defined it as “prejudicial, stereotyped, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims, and rapists” (Burt, 1980 p. 217). These myths, as well as any continued contact after a sexual assault, often lead to victim blaming, making it more difficult for victims to report any sexual assault. While rape myths were developed based on adult sexual assault, some research suggests that they also applied to child sexual abuse. This study will explore and expand the literature on rape myth acceptance and …

Metaperceptions Of Interactions Between Asian And African American Adults, Ariana Schlegel

Student Theses

In recent years, there has been a drastic increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States, as well as news stories highlighting African Americans as perpetrators of anti-Asian hate crimes. As such, the paper focuses on how Asian Americans expect to be perceived by others, and how those expectations may change depending on the race (African American or White) and gender (male or female) of the conversation partner. A survey was created, which employed deception to have participants believe that they would have a short video conversation with somebody else about a political topic, and which randomly assigned each …