Digital Commons Network^™

Social Networks, Supportive Behaviors, And Perceived Social Support As Predictors Of Drug Court Completion, Tasha M. Ramirez

AYSPS Masters Theses

Purpose: The understanding of sociodemographic variables and drug court completion is well documented in the drug court literature, but the application of theoretical predictors is often neglected, leading to a gap in theory and practice. To fill this gap, this study examined the utility of social support theory in explaining the differences between those who complete the drug court program and those who fail to do so. Using Cohen’s definition, social support was conceptualized as social networks, supportive behaviors, and perceived support.

Methods: Participant survey data and drug court data from the National Institute of Justice’s Multi-Site Adult …

Criminalizing The School: An Investigation Of How Current School Safety And Disciplinary Policies Contribute To The Overrepresentation Of Traditionally Marginalized Students Within The Criminal Justice System, Dia Clark

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

This study focuses on the nature of school discipline policies and their impact on student sentiments about how they are viewed by school staff. The study follows the research to illustrate a connection between unremitting surveillance and discipline and corresponding higher levels of violence, drop-out rates, and student, as well as teacher, dissatisfaction. The study concludes that while violence must be met with consequences, too often the perception of potential student violence or criminal behaviors is influenced by racial bias. I contend that hostile school environments in which trust is lacking between school staff and students develops poor student self-perceptions …

Revolutionary Departures: Reimagining The World Of Black Fatherhood, Clinton Boyd Jr.

Sociology Dissertations

The term “Deadbeat Dad” is often associated with Black fathers, suggesting they have relinquished their parental responsibilities. While research has emerged in recent years examining the social institution of Black fatherhood, many of these studies have yet to interpret their findings through an analytical lens that prioritizes race, gender, and social class status. To fill this gap, I utilize the theories of systemic racism and controlling images to explore how race, gender, and class-based oppression affects the fatherhood experiences of low-income, Black men. Further, I draw on these theories to explore how low-income, Black fathers challenge the credibility of the …

Event-Specific And Individual Factors Impacting College Students’ Decisions To Intervene During A Potentially Risky Scenario: A Vignette Study, Chrystina Hoffman

AYSPS Dissertations

Sexual victimization on college campuses is a widespread issue in the United States. Institutions of higher education have attempted to address the issue of sexual violence through various prevention programs, including bystander intervention initiatives. Unfortunately, much of the extant literature on bystander intervention has focused on the relationship between bystander characteristics, group size, group membership, and willingness to intervene. Little is known about how situational characteristics (e.g., victim and offender characteristics) affect a bystander’s likelihood of intervening during sexual violence. It is imperative to understand and investigate the potential impact of incident-specific factors as these variables have the potential to …

Event-Specific And Individual Factors Impacting College Student' Decisions To Intervene During A Potentially Risky Scenario: A Vignette Study, Chrystina Yong Hoffman

Criminal Justice and Criminology Dissertations

Sexual victimization on college campuses is a widespread issue in the United States. Institutions of higher education have attempted to address the issue of sexual violence through various prevention programs, including bystander intervention initiatives. Unfortunately, much of the extant literature on bystander intervention has focused on the relationship between bystander characteristics, group size, group membership, and willingness to intervene. Little is known about how situational characteristics (e.g., victim and offender characteristics) affect a bystander’s likelihood of intervening during sexual violence. It is imperative to understand and investigate the potential impact of incident-specific factors as these variables have the potential to …

Lost In The Park: Learning To Navigate The Unpredictability Of Fieldwork, Elizabeth Bonomo, Scott Jacques

CJC Publications

No abstract provided.

How Does The Association Between Social Support And Drug Court Completion Vary By Drug Of Choice?, Mary Jane Parker

Criminal Justice and Criminology Theses

Drug courts are a common way of handling drug-related cases in the criminal justice system, with the goal of treating the clients’ substance dependency and related criminal behavior. Despite their popularity and effectiveness, some clients are not successful in drug court. Therefore, to improve drug court and client success, this study examines how social support and drug of choice impact drug court completion and how drug of choice moderates the association between social support and drug court completion. Utilizing logistic regression to analyze data from three Indiana problem-solving courts that serve drug-involved offenders, this study finds mixed effects on how …

Atlanta Youth Count 2018 Community Report: The Prevalence Of Sex And Labor Trafficking Among Homeless Youth In Metro Atlanta, Eric Wright, Ana Laboy, Melanie Turner, Nicholas Forge, Cody Wallace, Asantewaa Darkwa, Kara Tsukerman, Zoe Webb, Madison Higbee, Renee Shelby

Sociology Faculty Publications

The 2018 Atlanta Youth Count (AYC18) was a follow-up study to the 2015 Atlanta Youth Count and Needs Assessment (AYCNA), expanded in 2018 to specifically address sex and labor trafficking among youth experiencing homelessness in metro Atlanta. The goals of this project were to: 1) provide metro Atlanta service providers, policymakers, and youth advocates with practical information on the size, nature, and needs of the homeless, precariously housed, and runaway youth in our community who are involved in various forms of sex and labor trafficking; 2) collect information that can be used to develop and refine policies, programs, and interventions …

The Relationship Between Parental Criminal History And Substance Use On Child Mental Health, Janhavi A. Dubhashi

Public Health Theses

Background: Since 1991, the number of children with incarcerated mothers has increased by 98% and those with incarcerated fathers has increased by 58%. Estimates from the National Survey of Children’s Health suggest that more than 5.1 million children have had a parent incarcerated at some point. Parental incarceration and parental substance abuse can have broad negative impacts on children. Both are considered “adverse childhood experiences” that cause high levels of toxic stress and can lead to lasting harms, both psychologically and physically.

Objective: This research analyzes the relationship between two ACES – parental criminal history and parental substance use …

A Multilevel Examination Of The Effects Of Neighborhood Structural Conditions, Program Availability, And Program Attendance On Parole Supervision Outcomes, John Prevost

Criminal Justice and Criminology Dissertations

Between 2008 and 2016 the parole population in the U.S. increased by 44,000 to 870,500 (Kaeble & Cowhig, 2018) and about one third of prison admissions annually are parole violators (Carson, 2015). Participation in programs that address criminogenic needs leads to fewer re-incarcerations (Andrews & Bonta, 2010). Moreover, neighborhood conditions and the availability of programs across neighborhoods are related to returns to prison (Hipp et al., 2010).

This study extends research on parole outcomes by investigating whether neighborhood conditions related to disadvantage negatively affect the number of treatment programs available, the number of program attendances by parolees, and the occurrence …

Epistemic Injustice In Sexual Assault Trials, Emily Tilton

Philosophy Theses

Those who commit sexual assault are rarely brought to justice: for every 1000 rapes, only seven will result in a felony conviction. There are numerous factors that contribute to the fact that sexual assault goes largely unpunished, and legal reform alone is not a sufficient solution—but it is an important part of the solution. In this paper, I develop an account of the epistemic injustice that rape victims face in criminal trials, and I argue that this, at least in part, helps to explain not only why conviction rates are so low, but why previous feminist legal reform has not …

Dismantling Rape Culture: The Need For A Comprehensive Educational Approach, Chase Halsne

Philosophy Theses

The perpetuation of rape culture is a central issue for feminist theory. In this paper, I argue for a comprehensive educational approach for undermining rape culture. I begin by outlining the reliance of rape culture on problematic social norms, particularly dominant conceptions of sexuality. I then briefly sketch a comprehensive educational approach and its advantages. Included in this sketch are critiques of two other feminist strategies for undermining rape culture: feminist legal reform and feminist self-defense training. I conclude by considering possible objections and attempt to provide solutions to foreseeable problems with my approach.

Encouraging Action During Overdose Events – The Good, The Bad, And The Barriers, Thomas Griner

Public Health Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: Timely medical attention could decrease mortality following drug or alcohol overdose events, but overdose victims and witnesses often delay or fail to seek professional help because they fear police involvement. Statutes that provide immunity from criminal action may have an important impact on the likelihood of seeking timely treatment. As overdose deaths have increased despite legislative attempts to encourage contacting authorities during overdoses, other measures should be considered. In Georgia, recent legislation should make opioid antagonist products like naloxone more accessible to the public.

METHODS: The first paper systematically analyzes variability in Medical Amnesty Laws (or “Good Samaritan Laws”) …

Empty Seats At Circle Time: A Phenomenological Perspective Of Social-Emotional Learning In Preschool, Alicia C. Burford

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

The disparate rate of young children who are removed from early learning programs due to behavioral concerns was the concern addressed by this study. Through the tenets of hermeneutic phenomenology, the researcher sought what is known and not yet known about school leaders’ experiences with early childhood expulsions and suspensions, with a particular focus on their perceptions of social-emotional learning as an intervention means for preschool children. Hermeneutics is a research methodology aimed at producing rich, textual descriptions of individuals’ experiences to connect with the experiences of others in a collective sense. Qualitative data were collected from in-depth personal interviews …

Writing Herstory: Examining The Intersectional Identities Of Black Women In Educational Leadership, Natasha N. Johnson

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

There is growing research pointing to the universal, collective identity of black women in the United States. While this is promising, there remains, historically, an underrepresentation of black women in and en route to the highest levels of organizational leadership. The divide is even more amplified in the field of education, a sphere in which women are largely represented as a whole. This is particularly relevant for black women considering the incongruence that lies between their heightened levels of educational attainment as compared to their generally lower status in the organizational pecking order. In the effort to advance both theory …

Spatial Analysis Of County Level Drug Overdose Deaths And Associated Factors, Over Two Time Periods In The United States, Sunanda Sarkar

Public Health Theses

ABSTRACT

Spatial Analysis of County Level Drug Overdose Deaths and Associated Factors, Over Two Time Periods in the United States

By

SUNANDA SARKAR

April 18, 2019

INTRODUCTION: Recently, drug overdose is being considered as an important public health issue, the magnitude of which is yet to be adequately explored. The United States is experiencing a wide range of drug overdose problems over the past decades, where fatal overdoses have tripled from 1999 to 2016. Geographic approaches to drug overdose death research have emerged in recent years. Studies demonstrated that overdose mortalities are not equally distributed across different geographic areas. Therefore, …

A New Frontier Of The College Alcohol Culture: #Socialmedia, Tammy M. Turner

Learning Sciences Dissertations

The college alcohol culture glorifies high-risk drinking while minimizing potential negative consequences. A social ecological framework can be used to understand the college alcohol culture in institutions of higher education (IHEs) because the framework provides a synergistic tapestry of multiple factors such as: individual, institutional, and environmental. The role of social media is important to explore as social media has created a new frontier for college students to navigate throughout their college experience. The social ecological framework was used as a guide for this study; to explore the college alcohol culture within social media, specifically Twitter. The tweets in IHE …

Invisible Girls: Victimization, Teacher Support, And Pathways To Punishment For Black Girls, Samantha D. Martin

Sociology Theses

Black girls’ unique experiences of victimization, deviant behavior, and punishment are largely obscured from discourse on the cradle-to-prison pipeline. While there have been many studies that establish a link between victimization, offending, and criminalization, few quantitative studies capture the unique processes of resistance and punishment that victimized Black girls experience. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult health, I explore the relationships between adolescent victimization, teacher support, and exclusionary punishment for Black and white girls. By centering the experiences of Black girls, I aim to generate a causal model that accounts for the ways in which …

“You Are Not A Woman”: Disposable Mothers And The Clandestine Baby Factories In Nigeria, Irene Agunloye

Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Theses

My thesis ““You are not a Woman”: Disposable Mothers and The Clandestine Baby Factory in Nigeria”, seeks to address the exclusion and marginalization of infertile (barren) women, their experiences and voices from the ‘cult of motherhood’. The thesis is also a rallying cry for education, sensitization and action against the clandestine baby factories in Nigeria. Consequently, a screenplay is used to narrate an authentic account of this on-going assault on young unsuspecting women, bringing to light the driving force behind baby factories. In future, this screenplay will be filmed and used for advocacy to conscientize the general public (communities, government …

Race And The Impact Of Parental Incarceration On Childhood Outcomes, Asantewaa Darkwa

Sociology Theses

Using Waves I and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), this thesis analyzes the relationship between parental incarceration and adverse life outcomes. More specifically, I examine the associations between parental incarceration and education, depressive symptoms, and criminal justice involvement. Using binomial logistic regression, I examine the differences between youth that had an incarcerated parent (mother, father, or both) compared to not having a parent incarcerated. Results indicate that Individuals experiencing parental incarceration were statistically more likely to experience negative outcomes compared to those that have not experienced parental incarceration.

Partnering People With Deep Learning Systems: Human Cognitive Effects Of Explanations, Sean Dougherty

Business Administration Dissertations

Advances in “deep learning” algorithms have led to intelligent systems that provide automated classifications of unstructured data. Until recently these systems could not provide the reasons behind a classification. This lack of “explainability” has led to resistance in applying these systems in some contexts. An intensive research and development effort to make such systems more transparent and interpretable has proposed and developed multiple types of explanation to address this challenge. Relatively little research has been conducted into how humans process these explanations. Theories and measures from areas of research in social cognition were selected to evaluate attribution of mental processes …

Fiscal Transparency Andaccountability, Alex Hathaway, Carolyn Bourdeaux, Emily Franklin

CSLF Working Papers

Best practices in governmental budgeting and financial management often center on improving transparency to induce accountability and ensure fiscal health. This investigation draws on data collected as part of the Volcker Alliance’s Truth and Integrity in Government Finance project and analyzes transparency practices to determine how easily structural deficits can be seen. A review of the literature discusses the merits and effects of transparency, the possible pitfalls, transparency measurement indices, and best practices guidelines. The methodology describes data collection techniques to analyze explicitly disclosed structural deficits, multi-year revenue and expenditure forecasts, and other long-term liability forecasts. Our results show that …

Technology Enabled Social Responsibility Projects And An Empirical Test Of Csr's Impact On Firm Performance, Elizabeth Napier

Marketing Dissertations

Multinational firms publish annual corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports to signal to stakeholders they are ‘doing better by doing good.’ However, many firms have not effectively integrated technology with CSR to generate impactful long-term solutions. The era of mindful consumption is about creating hi-tech opportunities to satisfy consumers as well as limit resource use. In this research we examine how CSR is revolutionized by technology. We present research based on in-depth conversations with experts and illustrative case studies on how AI is disrupting the world of CSR. Specifically, we examine how the latest technologies in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine …

A Systems Approach To The Opiod Epidemic, Georgia Health Policy Center

GHPC Briefs

No abstract provided.

Emerities Newsletter, Spring 2019, Georgia State University Emeriti Association

Emeriti Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of Family And Provider Factors Predicting Behavior Change In Real-World Implementations Of A Behavioral Parenting Model, Jessica Brown

Public Health Dissertations

Background: Child maltreatment is a significant public health problem affecting more than 3.4 million children per year in the U.S. Child welfare systems, like public health and mental health systems, have moved to adopt evidenced-based programs, and many have adopted BPTs. One challenge is ensuring that when models are scaled-up, they are delivered with fidelity and positive outcomes are maintained.

Purpose: There is broad agreement that implementation of evidence-based practices is a key strategy to reducing child maltreatment. However, it is also important to examine outcomes and variation in outcomes among disseminated programs because (1) program impacts can be inconsistent …

Detecting Illicit Drug Ads In Google+ Using Machine Learning, Fengpan Zhao, Pavel Skums, Alex Zelikovsky, Eric L. Sevigny, Monica Swahn, Sheryl M. Strasser, Yubao Wu

EBCS Proceedings

Opioid abuse epidemics is a major public health emergency in the US. Social media platforms have facilitated illicit drug trading, with significant amount of drug advertisement and selling being carried out online. In order to understand dynamics of drug abuse epidemics and design efficient public health interventions, it is essential to extract and analyze data from online drug markets. In this paper, we present a computational framework for automatic detection of illicit drug ads in social media, with Google+ being used for a proof-of-concept. The proposed SVM- and CNN-based methods have been extensively validated on the large dataset containing millions …

Characteristics Of Bitcoin Transactions On Cryptomarkets, Xucan Chen, Mohammad Al Hasan, Pavel Skums, Xintao Wu, Mohammad Javad Feizollahi, Marie Ouellet, Eric L. Sevigny, David Maimon, Yubao Wu

EBCS Proceedings

Cryptomarkets (or darknet markets) are commercial hidden-service websites that operate on The Onion Router (Tor) anonymity network. Cryptomarkets accept primarily bitcoin as payment since bitcoin is pseudonymous. Understanding bitcoin transaction patterns in cryptomarkets is important for analyzing vulnerabilities of privacy protection models in cryptocurrecies. It is also important for law enforcement to track illicit online crime activities in cryptomarkets. In this paper, we discover interesting characteristics of bitcoin transaction patterns in cryptomarkets. The results demonstrate that the privacy protection mechanism in cryptomarkets and bitcoin is vulnerable. Adversaries can easily gain valuable information for analyzing trading activities in cryptomarkets.

Analysis Of The Genetic And Neurological Components Of Opioid Addiction, With Public Health Perspectives Of The Opioid Epidemic In The United States Of America, Janhavi A. Dubhashi

DISCOVERY: Georgia State Honors College Undergraduate Research Journal

Opioid addiction has reached epidemic levels around the world, with over-prescription of opioid pain relievers being an often-cited reason for the epidemic in the USA. This project looks at opioid addiction from three perspectives: a review of literature dealing with the neural pathways involved in opioid use and addiction; the underlying genetic differences that can increase the risk of opioid use disorder; and an overview of the public health aspects of the epidemic. The paper will conclude with a review of current and new treatments based upon a growing neurobiological and molecular understanding of opioid use disorder.

An Evidence Based Cybersecurity Approach To Risk Management: Risk Management And "Market For Lemons", David Maimon

EBCS Presentations

No abstract provided.