Digital Commons Network^™

Comparing Asian Immigrants Offending Rates With Other Immigrants., Shamim Ara Pia

Theses and Dissertations

Asian Americans are the fastest-growing population in the United States (U.S). They are characterized by parental attachment, school commitment, neighborhood involvement, and belief. The association between Asian immigrants and crime is multifaceted and requires an in-depth investigation. This study aims to compare the offending rates of Asian immigrants with those of other immigrants, such as immigrants from Europe, Central and South America, Australia, and Africa based on Travis Hirschi’s social bonding theory. The data for this study are drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), which is a nationally representative study of students in …

Peer Cybervictimization ( Pcv ) Among University Students In Bangladesh And Institutional Disciplinary Body ( Idb ) Under Routine Activity Theory ( Rat ), Selimul Quader

Theses and Dissertations

Research on cybervictimization of Bangladeshi students is scarce, but the research that does exist suggests a high prevalence of victimization followed by low extent of reporting. None of the extant research exclusively studied peer cybervictimization (PCV) in relation to students’ knowledge of the university authority, hereinafter the institutional disciplinary body or IDB. As per the added propositions of Routine Activity Theory (RAT) (Felson, 1995), the IDB can potentially contribute to guardianship building by alerting students about handlers-managers in the university premises and thereby reduce PCV among students. Thus, the knowledge of (the presence of) the IDB can respond to the …

Courtesy Stigma And Mental Health: Exploring The Lived Experiences Of The Mothers Of Registered Sex Offenders, Kimberly Ann Ingold

Theses and Dissertations

While there is a plethora of research exploring how registered sex offenders are negatively affected by the registry, little research has examined how the consequences of the registry affect their family members. More specifically, the mothers of registrants have received even less study even though mothers typically receive blame for their child’s outcomes - including delinquency and criminality. The current paper examines if, and how, the mothers of registrants experience courtesy stigmatization from their child’s arrest and conviction along with how that affects their personal relationships, finances, and mental health. The study utilizes a mixed-methods research design, as 178 women’s …

No Such Thing As Nappy, Alan Roosevelt Atkins

Theses and Dissertations

This supportive statement examines how my upbringings influenced my cultural and societal perspectives and how I strive to challenge perceptions of race, history, and culture through my artwork. I include representations of people from various diasporas in drawings, prints, and animations to speak to the global reach of colorism and Eurocentrism. Influenced by the DIY nature of punk art and the urgency of protest art, I utilize materials such as Sharpies, fabric markers, collage, and cardboard. Use of cardboard suggests commercial exchange and the physical movement of goods from one place to another, as well as modern throw-away culture. Parallels …

Cyberbullying Among College Students, Gifty Yaa Asiamah

Theses and Dissertations

There is an epidemic of cyberbullying in higher education, impacting college students. The purpose of this study is to examine cyberbullying among college students. The incidence and awareness of cyberbullying in a college sample shed further light on the issue and explored college students' experiences with the phenomenon. A mixed-methods analysis was conducted on 278 college students from Illinois State University. Results showed that 44.8% of students had experienced cyberbullying, with females being more likely to be victims, international students, and those of sexual orientation being more likely to experience cyberbullying. According to the data, the most prevalent social media …

Using An Anti-Deficit Framework To Explain The Academic Achievement Of Black Men In Higher Education: A Narrative Inquiry, Donald E. Reed

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the academic experiences of Black men who have completed their bachelor's degrees at predominantly white institutions (PWIs), utilizing an anti-deficit perspective. Despite the reality that only 36% of Black men achieve their undergraduate degrees within six years, this study shifts the narrative from focusing on obstacles to emphasizing success strategies, aiming to narrow the opportunity gap between Black men and their White peers. Through narrative inquiry and the Anti-Deficit Achievement Framework, this research not only showcases the resilience and determination of these individuals but also illuminates the varied strategies they employ to navigate their higher education journey …

The Association Between Immigration And Recidivism Among Juveniles: Exploring The Effects Of Acculturation, Moral Disengagement, Employment And Community Involvement., Juanita Mirekuaa Sefa

Theses and Dissertations

The topic of immigration remains a highly debated issue, particularly in light of rising worldwide migration and its potential impacts on crime rates. This study aims to investigate the association between immigration and recidivism among juveniles and the mediating effects of acculturation, moral disengagement, employment, and involvement in community activities on recidivism. The data for this study is drawn from the Pathways to Desistance study of serious adolescent offenders. It follows approximately 1354 serious adolescent offenders, of which 210 are second-generation and 83 are first-generation immigrants. Recidivism was measured using a period of twelve months. Findings indicated that second-generation immigrants …

Criminalization Of Environmental Harms In Bangladesh And The United States, Md Lokman Hussain

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores and compares the nature, features, and measures of criminalization of environmental harms in Bangladesh and United States. The exploration is based on the descriptive and analytical comparison of the legal frameworks addressing the environmental harms in these two countries. To explore how are environmental harms criminalized in Bangladesh and United States, following aspects were described and compared: the criminalizing power of the state, criminalization of environmental harms regarding air pollution, water pollution, protection of biodiversity, waste management, and use of pesticide, theoretical frameworks in explaining criminalization, role of constitution and international law.

The Social Construction Of Sex Trafficking Among Three Agencies Seeking To Address The Problem, Alexis Lange

Theses and Dissertations

Since 2000, there has been a growing interest in human trafficking by researchers, governments, organizations, law enforcement, and the general public. One form of human trafficking that has captured the most interest and awareness is sex trafficking. However, despite the growing research and understanding of the problem, there is no shared, collective understanding and definition of sex trafficking. Various constructions and approaches have made it challenging to prevent sex trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute traffickers. For this research, I will take a social constructionist/social problems perspective by interviewing three agencies about how they identify, define, frame, and approach to the …

“Who Will Guard The Guards Themselves ”: A Phenomenological Discourse Analysis On How Whiteness And White Supremacy Are Upheld By White Hearing Officers On Community College Campuses, Amanda Jane Mesirow

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how whiteness and white supremacy are upheld by white hearing officers on community college campuses. The literature shows that racial bias exists in K-12 discipline systems, that no reporting mandates on demographics exist in higher education conduct, and that community colleges often serve minoritized students. Therefore, the problem statement centers on the connection between community colleges conduct systems and whiteness/white supremacy.Data was collected via interviews with three community college conduct practitioners, as well as a review of documents from their institutions’ conduct offices. The study’s research methods were phenomenological discourse analysis and …

The Historical Evolution Of State Capacity And Its Effect On Democratization: A Case Study Of Egypt, Ashley Elizabeth Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Why are some states able to democratize while others are not? This thesis examines the connection between state capacity and democratization utilizing a case study of Egypt and a controlled comparison with Tunisia. Via process tracing, I determine that Egypt has a deeply institutionalized, strong coercive state capacity and a weak administrative capacity. These iterations of state capacity developed during Egyptian state formation from 1805-1840 and were further institutionalized at two critical junctures: early British occupation from 1883-1907, and Nasser’s presidency from 1952-1967. Path dependency makes successful democratization unlikely because of the significant legacy left in Egypt during these critical …

Transition Planning And The School To Prison Pipeline: A Phenomenological Study Investigating The Lived Experiences Of Alternatively Placed High School Black Males With High Incidence Disabilities, Brandon Garrett Thornton

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to better inform researchers and practitioners on best practices to ensure that their transition planning practices are person-centered and culturally responsive. Using a phenomenological approach, purposeful sampling was used to conduct semi-structured interviews regarding the shared educational lived experiences of two alternatively placed Black high school males with high incidence disabilities with respect to their transition planning. Participants perceived their transition planning to be student-centered, and expected favorable employment outcomes. Additionally, the participants’ choice to be alternatively placed played a role in their perception of transition outcomes. School personnel also played a pivotal …

The Code Of The School: Investigating The Age At Which The"Code"Begins To Influence School Violence Among Students, Yoo Akakpo

Theses and Dissertations

The school-to-prison pipeline has sparked debate about disciplinary measures amongpolicymakers and school officials. Despite extensive research into student violence, there is little data on the age at which students start using violence in school. This study uses a critical qualitative analysis to determine what age or grade level students understand the importance of fighting, respect, and social status. I conducted the study's research in the Midwest, primarily focusing on students suspended after fighting in Chicago and Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. The Code of the School will be utilized as a theoretical basis to explore this qualitative study of African American students and …

Mothering Experiences Of Women In Jail, Bothwell Piason

Theses and Dissertations

Women make relatively small proportions of incarcerated population worldwide, but the rate at which they have been incarcerated over the past four decades in the U.S. has outpaced that of their male counterparts. Although carceral trends show declining patterns in prison population numbers, the jailed population continues on an upward trend (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2022), studies have focused more on prison than jail. The disproportional incarceration of women is evident in jails where the majority of women incarcerated are mothers of young children (Sawyer & Bertram, 2022). The current paper explores mothering experiences of women in two Midwestern jails, …

Lo Bueno Y Lo Malo – Assessing Admissions Staff And Practices Supporting Undocumented Students At Illinois’ Four-Year Public Universities, Dave Marcial

Theses and Dissertations

Illinois has enacted legislative policies to provide access to higher education and state funding opportunities for undocumented students. Public Act 093-0007, Illinois RISE Act, and Illinois House Bill 3438 all have implications for Illinois four-year public universities and community colleges.

This dissertation focused on understanding the training, knowledge, and support of the admissions staff at all twelve public four-year universities. A survey was created with the assistance of content experts to gauge admissions staff institutional training and knowledge as it pertains to supporting undocumented students. Approximately 90 admissions staff were identified for the study and 57 participants responded from all …

Shared Reflection On The Perceived Effect Of Culturally Responsive School Leadership On Student Suspension Data In K-8th Grade Chicago Public Schools, Christopher Alan Donald Graves

Theses and Dissertations

Racial discrimination in schools in the U.S. has resulted in a disproportionate number of Black students receiving exclusionary and punitive consequences, in which they are more likely to end up part of the School to Prison Pipeline and less likely to graduate. The researcher completed interviews with eight elementary school principals in Chicago Public Schools whom were identified using publicly available data. All participants were selected for their prior success in reducing the number of Black student suspensions by at least 20% during the years of 2016-2019. The focus of this study was to determine (1) What school leadership practices …

Understanding Juvenile Correctional Officers' Perceptions About Safety And Care Of Youth In Their Facilities, Megan Patterson

Theses and Dissertations

There is an increasing need to understand the environment confined juveniles are exposed to in America. This study examines the conditions of confinement for juveniles in detention facilities, mainly focusing on the indices of control, care, quality of life, and programs for confined youths. The study further examines how these confinement conditions are associated with juvenile detention officers’ level of concern with the facility operation. Anonymous Likert scale surveys were administered to active juvenile detention officers. Results from this study provide better insight into understanding performance-based standards in juvenile detention facilities and specify what areas need to be improved for …

Victim Advocates’ Perception Of The Reluctance Of Sexual Assault Survivors Reporting, Nastasha Andrea Powers

Theses and Dissertations

Within the United States of America, more than half of all violent crimes go unreported (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2021). Failure to report to the police is a particular problem in cases of sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence. These crimes can carry a stigma that deters disclosure to both formal and informal sources. To better understand underreported sexual assault crimes, it is essential to look at the specifics of reporting. Data from victim advocates, who are practitioners who work with victims daily, finds that many victims of sexual violence never report the incidents to the criminal justice …

I'M Not A Virus: Asian Hate In Donald Trump's Rhetoric, Jennifer Zheng

Theses and Dissertations

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, expressions of anti-Asian sentiments have been on the rise. From March 2020 to June 2021, there were a total of 9,081 self-reported incidents of hate across the United States (Stop AAPI Hate, 2021). As the coronavirus spread into the United States, President Donald Trump immediately blamed China. He did so by referring to the virus as the “Chinese Virus” and used the hashtag #chinesevirus on Twitter (Weise, 2021). Anti-Asian sentiments expressed on Twitter grew after Trump’s tweet about the “Chinese virus” and the number of Chinese and other Asian hate crimes grew exponentially. …

Make America Kill Again: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Donald Trump’S Necropolitical Representations Through Conjunctural Use Of Twitter During His Presidency, Zach Thornhill

Theses and Dissertations

The presidency of Donald Trump set the stage for new forms of rhetoric that shaped national perceptions of different groups. Operating in different conjunctural moments, Trump used his Twitter account as a weapon to repetitively vilify different racial identities. Through negative representations of Black Lives Matter protestors and immigrants, Trump created a culture of incivility and hatred. Using these negative representations, Trump created necropolitical conditions that justified violence in the United States. This thesis will be a critical discourse analysis that examines how Trump was able to create the culture of incivility during his presidency.KEYWORDS: conjuncture, necropolitics, representations, rhetoric, nationalism

Understanding Female Millennial Administrators And Their Perceptions And Experiences Of Leadership In The Community College, Kerri Langdon

Theses and Dissertations

The perceptions and experiences of female community college administrators, particularly those that are part of the Millennial generation, have often been neglected in current research. This study examines community college leadership in a new context, by exploring the lived experiences of female identifying Millennials. More specifically, this study was developed to better understand how gender may impact Millennial women’s perceptions of leadership overall, as well as their perceived ability to move into senior-level leadership roles within the community college. Utilizing a qualitative methodology, this study included the use of semi-structured interviews to obtain data from twenty female Millennial community college …

Bystander Or Ally? : Predictors Of Adolescent Behavior In Response To Microaggressions On Social Media, Keeley Hynes

Theses and Dissertations

Microaggressions are a form of racism that Solórzano and Huber (2020) argue are understood and evaluated using the basic tenets of Critical Race Theory. Research suggests that high school students experience race- and sexuality-based microaggressions, although little is known about how microaggressive encounters that occur online impact adolescents. Research also suggests that college-age individuals are unlikely to intervene in response to microaggressive situations, but there do not exist any studies that highlight high schoolers’ responses to these transgressions. Although, there is evidence that adolescents experience online victimization based on their race (Tynes et al., 2008). Feelings of school connectedness, offensiveness …

Say Her Name: The Narrative Afterlives Of Breonna Taylor, Tyler S. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Within the growing literature and media coverage of police misconduct and brutality, Black women and girls are functionally invisible. Since the Black Lives Matter movement began the names of only two women have stood out among the Black male victims we know by name: Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor. Here, I will explore through a Black feminist analytic framework, how the intersectionalities of gender and race contributed to a delay in awareness and accountability for the death of Breonna Taylor. This content analysis looked at the media coverage of Breonna Taylor for the one-year period (3/13/20-3/13/21) to uncover the reasons, …

Restorative Practices: Its Impact On Racial Inequity In Pk-12 Schools, Shelia Evonne Boozer

Theses and Dissertations

PagesThis research explores the relationship between Restorative Practices and race, specifically how Black students experience RP when race is not centered. It also explores the ways anti-Blackness influences the implementation of restorative practices and results in further racial inequities and racial oppression through the lens of Critical Race Theory. The central research questions are: In what ways, if any, does RP address racial inequities in PK-12 schools? In what ways do districts implement RP? In what ways, if any, does RP impact institutional racism in school systems? How does RP address the social and emotional issues of historically marginalized students …

Community Needs Assessment For Mclean County, Hannah Lynn Curry

Theses and Dissertations

A community needs assessment was conducted for McLean County, Illinois assessing the community level resources that are in place for ex-offenders reintegrating into the community and further resources that are needed. The purposive sample included 7 local agencies that provided a range of reentry services. Intensive interviewing was conducted with respondents of local agencies. Audio-recordings of interviews were transcribed, coded through software and analyzed. Results indicated that boundary spanners and mental health services are the common types of resources in place for ex-offenders in McLean County. Further resources that are needed include housing, employment and mental health services.

Depolicing: An Empirical Analysis, Jacob Terrell Foster

Theses and Dissertations

Depolicing occurs when law enforcement officers disengage from proactive police work. In recent years, the term depolicing has become more popular with many seeing the phenomenon as negative. Prior literature has identified various predictors of such behavior. The current inquiry uses secondary data from a survey to further examine the predictors of depolicing. Respondents consisted of police officers from four different U.S law enforcement agencies. Results indicate that officers who experience higher levels of both public scrutiny and liability concerns are more inclined to depolice. Also, results indicate that experiencing higher levels of both public scrutiny and liability concerns are …

A Thematic Analysis Of Parenting Experiences Of Women In Prison, Pious Dananai Maedzenge

Theses and Dissertations

Given the increased representation of women in prisons, several collateral consequences have followed One of such consequences include, but are not limited to, the effect that incarceration has on incarcerated mothers given that, in most instances, they are the primary caregivers of their children. Using Braun and Clarke (2006; 2019) reflexive thematic analysis approach and secondary analysis of qualitative data, this study examines parenting experiences of women incarcerated in a Midwestern correctional center. Additionally, the researcher is interested in knowing the ways in which background experiences (i.e. sexual and physical abuse, drug dependency, and broken homes) shape women’s experiences of …

Are Websites Of Victim Service Organizations Representative Of Women Of Color? A Content Analysis, Loretta Addo-Danso

Theses and Dissertations

Intimate partner violence continues to be on the raise among women of color in the country. Many scholars have attributed this to the multiple factors such as race, class and sexual orientation that intersect to influence women of color’s experiences with intimate partner violence. Yet, there seems to be a gap in the services that are rendered to women of color who are survivors. To better understand how representative victim services are of women of color, a content analysis of victim service organizations’ websites nationwide was conducted to ascertain the extent to which the organizations are inclusive of survivors/victims of …

Dangerous Or Misunderstood? : Attributes Ascribed To Individuals With Mental Illness And Their Effects On Perceived Dangerousness, Sydni Lee Neal

Theses and Dissertations

Mental illness within the United States is fairly common; as of 2017 roughly 1 in 5 U.S. adults experienced a mental illness and 1 in 25 experienced a severe mental illness (NAMI, 2019). Despite these prevalence rates, there are many misconceptions about individuals with a mental illness. For example individuals with mental illness are perceived as dangerous (Angermeyer & Matschinger, 2003; Marie & Miles, 2008), unpredictable (Magliano et al., 2004; Wu et al., 2020), and aggressive (Adewuya & Makanjuola, 2008; Ozmen et al., 2004), despite research that suggests they are not more likely to be violent and/or dangerous (Hochstedler Steury, …

Interrogating Digital Rhetorical Privacy On Direct-To-Consumer Genetics Websites, Charles Fletcher Woods

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation uses an intersectional feminist methodology and digital rhetorical analysis to examine data related to direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetics websites. This work seeks to better understand how rhetorical power is distributed asymmetrically through the use of DTC-genetics and through the privacy policies which prescribe user actions on the sites. I detail and advocate for digital rhetorical privacy (DRP), a state of being when a user is confidant their digital data is free from unauthorized observances by nefarious computer technologies and other users. Through analysis I demonstrate that using DTC-genetics technology for police surveillance is an unethical action and a violation …