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Productivity And Perceived Work Environment Of Work Groups In Poland, Donald L. Gusfa

Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the relation between levels of productivity and perceptions of autonomy among similar work groups. The analysis of data obtained did not support a tendency for perceptions of high autonomy among workers to be directly related to high levels of productivity. Data were obtained from workers at six carbide tool manufacturing plants in Poland who were administered the Work Environment Scale (WES) Form R (Moos, 1981) to measure perception of autonomy. The data were collected in February 1991. Analysis of the WES data used the Kendall tau test to investigate the relation …

Preferred Motivators For Previously Incarcerated Criminals, Selma R. Massey

Dissertations

The issue of motivators has been studied by a number of researchers and practitioners in education, sociology, and psychology. Many of these studies have linked motivators to behavior (Coffey, 1987; Coleman, 1987; Gellerman, 1963; Gould & Sigall, 1977). Questions remain, however, as to which motivators are viewed by actors themselves as the most preferred influencers of behavior. The primary objective of the research was to compare the rank order of the most frequently cited motivators identified in research studies and the rank order of the most preferred motivators as perceived by previously incarcerated criminal respondents. A secondary objective was to …

An Historical Analysis Of The Racial, Community And Religious Forces In The Establishment And Development Of St. Monica's Parish Chicago, 1890-1930, Helen Kathryn Marie Rhodes

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Coping Behaviors Preferred By Regular High School Students In Their Relationship To Gang-Affiliated Students, James Joseph Skomer

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Juvenile Justice: An Examination Of Disparities In Dispositions, Michael P. Brown

Dissertations

The present study tests the utility of status characteristics and expectation states theory in the context of the juvenile court. The theory contends that there is dispositional certainty when case related factors are consistently rated serious or nonserious; the severity of the sanction will reflect the seriousness of the case. However, the likelihood of sentencing disparities based on individual characteristics (e.g., race and SES) increases as case related factors become increasingly inconsistent, with some rated serious and others rated nonserious.

Data to test this theory were collected from the Kalamazoo County Juvenile Court, Kalamazoo, Michigan in June and July, 1990. …

The Criminal Justice System: The Impact Of Legal And Extra-Legal Variables, Sanderson Charles Jeter

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the effect of legal and extra-legal variables on the processing and sentencing outcomes of defendants. The data for this study were extracted from the case files of Kalamazoo (Michigan) County Circuit Court. The sample population is comprised of criminal defendants randomly selected and who were processed in the circuit court from May, 1987 through May, 1988. The statistical procedure applied was cross - tabulation, utilizing a chi-square measure of association. Legal and extra-legal variables independently and collectively have different effects on the processing and sentencing outcomes of defendants. Results indicate that legal variables (e.g., type of crime …

Crime And Development: A Comparative Analysis, Dick Taver'shima Andzenge

Dissertations

The study examines the extent to which social and economic development might be related to crime. Modernization theory of crime posits that the process of social and economic development involves changes in the society which are criminogenic. These changes include: urbanization, industrialization, longevity or increased life expectancy, increased manufacturing and gross domestic products. According to this theory these characteristics alter social tendencies to stability and conformity, and therefore result in increased deviance and crime.

This study tests the theory by using longitudinal data collected over a 25-year period from 54 countries. A sample of these data representing 34 countries from …

Private Versus Public Operation: A Comparison Of Two Juvenile Restitution Programs, Sudipta Roy

Dissertations

The present research focuses on the effectiveness of two restitution programs for juvenile offenders, one in Elkhart County, Indiana, and the other in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Effectiveness refers to the impact of the two restitution programs on offender restitution to their victims and on offender recidivism. The two programs are a Victim Offender Reconciliation Project (VORP) in Elkhart County and a non-VORP restitution program administered by the Juvenile Probate Court in Kalamazoo County. The VORP is operated by a private agency--the Center for Community Justice, while the Kalamazoo program is publicly operated. This study focuses on the impact of the …

Causes Of Juvenile Delinquency In Jordan, Ayed A. Irfaifeh

Dissertations

This dissertation sought to examine the extent to which a set of social bonding factors were helpful in preventing delinquency in the Jordanian society. A sample of 147 juveniles (male eleventh-graders) from seven public high schools in the Tafielah Covernate and its localities completed a self-reported survey. Their answers were useful in ascertaining whether or not Hirschi's (1969) social control theory was indeed applicable cross-culturally, especially in a society dissimilar to the United States. Within the theoretical confines of Hirschi's theory, the descriptive data suggest that Jordanian youth have similar cultural beliefs, values, attitudes, and affiliation to the convention order …

A Study Of Leadership Styles Of The County Sheriffs In The State Of Michigan, David A. Miramonti

Dissertations

This study sought to determine if there was an identifiable preferred leadership style used by law enforcement administrators, as represented by the county sheriffs in the state of Michigan. The study also sought to determine whether there was any relationship between certain previously identified variables and leadership style preference. Finally, the study gathered information about the background of county sheriffs.

The available literature in the field established the main hypothesis: that a humanistic style of leadership is preferred. Eight other hypotheses were developed to analyze the relationship between the variables of age, educational level, education major, years in law enforcement, …

Child Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Teachers In Iowa Schools: Implications For School Principals, Virgil W. Murray

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of An Organizationally-Focused School-Based Delinquency Reduction Program: The Milwood Project, H. Preston Elrod

Dissertations

An extensive body of research exists which links various aspects of schooling to delinquency. Despite a small body of research suggesting that school-based delinquency reduction programs which employ democratic problem solving to alter the social organizational climates of schools are viable, few evaluations of such programs exist. The object of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of a three year school-based delinquency reduction project designed to alter the social organizational structure of a public junior high school.

This research describes the development, implementation and evaluation of the project which was guided by three interrelated theoretical perspectives: (1) the role …

Competencies Needed By The Chief Executive Officer Of A Local Affiliate Of The National Urban League, Inc., Walter Melvyn Brame

Dissertations

This study, using a modified Delphi method, generated and measured the perception of importance for twenty-three competencies needed for the effective leadership of a local affiliate of the National Urban League. Second, the study sought to determine which of the competencies were performed, shared, delegated or not performed at the respective affiliates. Third, the study sought to determine the extent to which selected demographic factors were related to the perception of importance. Last, the study sought to build a consensus as to the importance of the competencies.

The perceptions of the importance of the twenty-three competencies on a four point …

Crew: The South Shore Community's Response To Youth Unemployment, Joan Marie Payne Hill

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Psychological Needs Of Sex Offenders Of Children As Measured By The Personality Research Form, Shirley Anne Miller

Dissertations

Major contributors in the field of child sexual abuse have agreed that sex offenders who sexually abuse children are not primarily motivated by sexual desire and have proposed that the simultaneous satisfaction of a number of psychological needs is the prominent motivation of sex offenders of children. Few attempts have been made to empirically validate the clinical and theoretical impressions regarding the psychological needs of this group using psychological measures designed to assess needs or motives.

The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent the assumptions about the psychological needs of sex offenders of children would be …

An Evaluation Of An Intervention Program For Juvenile Probationers, Kevin I. Minor

Dissertations

Although the efficacy of correctional rehabilitation was questioned during the early 1970s, recent research has demonstrated that certain intervention programs, when implemented under appropriate conditions, are effective in reducing illegal behavior. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of a court-based intervention for juvenile probationers.

The program was developed on the basis of caseworkers' assessments of youths' problems and needs. The theoretical perspective underlying the intervention consisted of a joint combination of critical, social control, and differential association theories. A major implication of theory is that the juvenile court's capacity to facilitate informal social control should be …

An Analysis Of The Use Of Special Masters For Assuring Compliance With Judicial Decrees In Corrections Litigation, Richard J. Liles

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze the recent practice of judges appointing remedial special masters to oversee the implementation of consent decrees and court orders. These orders are a response to the spate of inmate suits demanding compliance with the constitutional guarantees provided in the Fourth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. As more courts have become involved in adjudging the constitutionality of conditions in correctional institutions, there has been a trend toward the judge becoming a quasi-manager in assuring compliance with the court's orders. To conduct this oversight, they have turned more and more to the practice of hiring …

Recidivism Of 17-21 Year-Old Misdemeanants Participating In A Prosecution Diversion Program, Gerald D. Snodgrass

Dissertations

Criminal activity involving the youthful offender is a serious problem in law enforcement. The monetary considerations of processing a criminal case in the established criminal justice system are not declining. Youthful crime, like all forms of criminal activity, is a considerable drain on the resources of this country. The personal costs to the 17-21 year-old offender may include curtailment of employment opportunities, limited educational prospects, and the establishment of adverse life patterns, leading to further criminal involvement. The youthful offender who resorts to crime again and is arrested because of such criminal activity adds additional costs to the criminal justice …

The Relationship Between Learning Disabilities And Juvenile Delinquency In Macomb County Juvenile Court (1983-84), Rita M. Bologna

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the link between learning disabilities and juvenile delinquency in the Macomb County Juvenile Court System. Because of the presence of several key variables, it was believed that learning disabilities was a unique trait of the detained population.

The population consisted of 517 male and female detained and adjudicated delinquents that were admitted to the facility during the 1983-84 school year. Biographical and crime related data were gathered by hand searches of the legal file. The learning disabled or non-learning-disabled classification resulted from interpretation of the scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test …

The Implementation Of Deterrence: A Multi-Approach Assessment Of The Impact Of Recent Changes In Anti-Drunk Driving Legislation On Reducing Alcohol-Involved Fatalities, Josef R. Soper

Dissertations

The objective of this study is to determine if anti-drunk driving legislation, enacted between January 1979 and December 1983, has significantly reduced the number of alcohol-involved traffic fatalities.

At the macro-level, 60 consecutive months of alcohol-involved fatality data were requested from the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Sixteen states supplied the requested data. The Box-Jenkins technique for interrupted time-series analysis was used to determine if a change in the state's drunk driving law impacted the frequency of alcohol-involved fatalities in that state. Results are discussed in relation to the statewide impact of anti-drunk driver legislation.

At the micro-level, …

A Historical Study Of Mental Health Programming In Commercial And Public Television From 1975 To 1980, Jan Jones Sarpa

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Outcomes Of Hospitalized And Incarcerated Sex Offenders: A Study Of Offender Types, Recidivism Rates, And Identifying Characteristics Of The Repeat Offender, Francine R. Rattenbury

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Study Of The Psychological Profiles Of A Selective Sample Of Incarcerated Females Versus Non-Incarcerated Females, Karen Ladd

Dissertations

Problem. Psychological testing is used in penal institutions at the initial time of incarceration. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of developing distinct psychological profiles for incarcerated females.

Method. The psychological assessment instrument employed to develop these profiles is the Sixteen Factor Personality Questionnaire (16PF). The data which were computed and analyzed to test the eight null hypotheses were provided by a selective sample group of 622 subjects in two penal institutions in Indiana.

Findings. (1) There is no significant difference between personality profiles of incarcerated white females who are property offenders and personality profiles of …

Socioeconomic Change And Deviance: Homicide And Suicide, Conrad M. Kozak

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Sexual And Non-Sexual Assault Prosecution, Susan Caringella-Macdonald

Dissertations

In 1974 the state of Michigan enacted what has come to be referred to as model rape legislation. A salient objective of the Criminal Sexual Conduct (CSC) Code in this state was to facilitate the comparable rather than unique handling of sexual assaults in the criminal justice system. The primary purpose of this study was to discern whether or not this objective of equitable case treatment was realized through implementation. The focus of this research was therefore directed towards the discovery of differences in sexual and non-sexual assault case prosecutions. Specific aspects of legal change involving corroboration requirements, consent and …

An Investigation Of A Circular Scaling Model Applied To Selected Scales From The Mmpi, Joseph F. Smoley

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Schematic Approach To Understanding Probation Officers' Judgments Of Criminals, Arthur J. Lurigio

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The Differences Between Prison College Graduates And The Total Released Inmate Population On Recidivism By Risk Category, James Jay Haviland

Dissertations

When a convicted felon is considered for parole from a correctional institution, several factors relating to his experience while incarcerated are presented before the Parole Board. One of the factors which is considered favorably by the Board and indicative of rehabilitation is an individual's participation in educational programs while serving his sentence. This implies a non-verbal quid-pro-quo exchange. Its effect is to fill classrooms even where no formal requirement compels enrollment (Bowker, 1982, 241).

The purpose of this research was to determine if the completion of a two-year post secondary program while incarcerated, resulted in a lower rate of recidivism …

Need-Press Congruence And Attitudes Toward Job Satisfaction And The Alcoholic In Staff Of Residential Treatment Programs, Ernest MaìRquez

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Descriptive Study Of In-Service Training Programming For Correctional Officers In County Jails In The State Of Michigan, Deborah S. Karns

Dissertations

Social trends towards accountability have motivated correctional facilities to improve the professionalism of their staff. This study investigated in-service training of correctional officers as an avenue to improve professionalism in the correctional facility. The study was concerned with only the county jails of the state of Michigan.

Three investigatory areas were developed to research training in Michigan county jails. These areas included a review of the existing literature, a review of Michigan county jail training programs, and a survey of Michigan sheriffs concerning their existing training programs (descriptive theory) and what they perceived should be incorporated into training (normative theory). …