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Neighborhood And Environmental Predictors Of At-Risk And Problem Gambling In Massachusetts, Kendra E. Pugh

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Despite the widespread impact and negative effects of problem gambling (PG), limited attention has been paid to the environment where PG occurs. This study investigated the relationship between gambling on lottery and the zip code where gambling occurs, as well as the influence of individual-level characteristics that predict at-risk or problem gambling (AR/PG), among Massachusetts residents. A GIS analysis was conducted to identify vulnerable areas based on neighborhood characteristics, lottery sales, and AR/PG. Overall, residents of disadvantaged areas did not spend more money on lottery or have more lottery agents than residents of less disadvantaged areas. Some indicators of disadvantage …

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Risk Factors For Fatal Intimate Partner Violence And Domestic Violence Services Provided, Faith E. Alves

Honors Theses

The current study assessed the COVID-19 pandemic-related changes in risk factors for fatal intimate partner violence (IPV) among female victims. It additionally analyzed IPV services received before and during the pandemic. Data came from a system that most domestic violence (DV) agencies in Connecticut utilize to record their contacts with their clients, including an initial screening through a police-social service intervention. Results indicated that unemployment of the partner was significantly higher in the during-COVID group. Additionally, the delivery of criminal justice services was significantly higher in the pre-COVID group whereas delivery of law enforcement services was significantly higher in the …

Mental Health Services: Improving Utilization In Homeless Populations, Gurdeep Mann

DNP Qualifying Manuscripts

Emergency shelters provide a unique location to offer easily accessible services for unhoused individuals experiencing mental distress and serious mental illness. Housing First interventions do not improve mental health or social integration. It is important to consider alternative approaches to providing care for homeless individuals. This integrated review was undertaken to evaluate existing evidence of interventions that improve mental health awareness and utilization of mental health services among unhoused populations living in shelters. Assertive outreach is an important strategy that was shown to improve effectiveness of mental health programs in shelters; reconnect individuals with family; and help with psychological integration. …

Analyzing Methods To Mock The Ingestion Of Controlled Substances Within A Hair Strand Utilizing Libs Technology, Caitlin Deluke

Honors Theses

The analysis of controlled substance metabolites within the hair strand have been relied on within the scientific community, particularly in regard to Forensic Science and Criminal Justice practices. A common conflict when analyzing a strand, however, involves manipulation of one’s hair, be it through bleach and dyes or detox shampoos. Therefore, research must be conducted to determine how these manipulation efforts affect the concentrations detectable when it comes to lab analyses. This would allow for clarification within data analysis and potentially prove purposeful intent to cover up the ingestion of a controlled substance. In order to research these manipulation effects …

Activist, Entrepreneur, Leader: The Influence Of Social Justice Advocacy And Entrepreneurial Orientation On Leader Self-Efficacy, Kathleen Q. Johnson

Dissertations, 2020-current

This quantitative study examined individual entrepreneurial orientation and social justice advocacy as antecedents to leader self-efficacy in the complex and dynamic context of the opioid epidemic. Throughout history, leaders have emerged in response to societal challenges; leadership is not restricted to the boundaries of hierarchical, administrative, bureaucratic organizational frameworks. Complexity leadership theory and its recognition of leadership in complex adaptive systems provides an overarching framing. Five characteristics of individual entrepreneurial orientation were incorporated: risk-taking, innovativeness, perseverance, passion and proactiveness (Santos et al., 2020). Social advocacy activity was measured using the social issues advocacy scale (Nilsson et al., 2011). The dependent …

Examining The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Violent Crime In The City Of Pittsburgh, Brittany Urban

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research is to examine patterns of Part I crimes [including Part I Person/Violent: Homicide, Rape, Aggravated Assault, and Robbery, and Part I Property: Burglary, Larceny-Theft, Motor Vehicle Theft, and Arson, as defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Standards] in The City of Pittsburgh, framing the COVID-19 pandemic as a major stressor that Robert Agnew’s General Strain Theory suggests may lead to increased opportunity for crime, due to the perceived unjustness of the associated lockdown orders and potential incentive for criminal coping (Agnew 1992). This descriptive analysis is based primarily upon …

Unpacking The Implementation Of Restorative Practices: A Case Study Of Race, Equity, And Change, Theresa Helyn Holtsbery

Dissertations - ALL

This research examined two types of change enacted by implementing Restorative Practices to address racially disproportionate disciplinary practices at an urban middle school. The first was change at a systemic, organizational level and the second as a paradigm shift in the negotiation of race, equity, authority, and Restorative Practices. The research explores essential change components in the planning, enactment, and sustainability of RP implementation and details the history and rationale for selecting RP. This study also explores the perspectives and actions of school staff as they negotiate the intersections of RP, race, equity, and authority. Qualitative data was collected during …

West 219 Show: Bail Reform, Anslem Michael Joseph

Capstones

Should freedom have a cost? Bail is an amount of money judges order defendants to pay in order to await trial out of jail. The bail system was designed to ensure that defendants would return to court to face their charges. However, criminal justice advocates argued that bail became a form of pretrial punishment as defendants, mostly black and brown people, are ordered to pay high bail costs without being convicted of any crimes. This led to New York legislators taking action in creating a new bail reform law in 2019 which eliminated cash bail for most misdemeanors and some …

The Relationship Between Urban Green Space Perception And Use Within The Adolescent Population: A Focused Ethnography, Rachel Lyons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Greenspace is beneficial for improving adolescent mental health, yet we still do not understand the connection between the built environment and subjective mental wellbeing. We also lack understanding of how this population uses greenspace and how they feel when in it. Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was threefold: to understand why adolescents use greenspace, to identify how they use greenspace, and to explore how they feel when they are in greenspace. Methods: participated in a focused ethnography that utilized auto photography for photo elicitation. Braun and Clark's (2006), six phases of thematic analysis were used to guide …

Dexmedetomidine As An Adjunct Therapy To Neuraxial Anesthesia In Labor And Delivery, Anthony Nungesser

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

In 2011, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) declared the opioid crisis an epidemic, and in 2017 it was declared a public health emergency. In labor and delivery, neuraxial anesthesia has been used for over a hundred years to provide pain relief for parturients. Although many alternatives have been studied, opioids are the most frequently used local anesthetic adjuvants, and their use in neuraxial blocks has evolved over the last 50 years (Swain et al., 2017). While neuraxial opioids have proven to be an effective adjunct for pain relief, they are associated with undesirable side effects as well as the …

Legal Representation For Complainants Of Sexual Violence In The Criminal Justice System: A Proposal To Advance Women's Equality, Karen M. Bellehumeur

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Very few survivors of sexual violence choose to engage the Canadian criminal justice system despite the fact that we expect law to be an effective tool to combat sexual violence. Since the vast majority of sexual violence survivors are female, the criminal justice system is failing women. This failure is largely because of the harm it causes by re-victimizing sexual assault complainants. Much of that harm arises from misunderstandings about trauma and from the existence of rape myths and gender stereotypes.. I argue that the criminal justice system’s treatment of female sexual violence complainants violates their section 7 and 15 …

Traumatic Brain Injury And Psychopathy In Incarcerated Men And Women, Tessa Cappelle

Psychology ETDs

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most suffered injuries with detrimental effects on the individual’s health, personality, and behavior. Overlap exists between TBI sequelae and symptoms of psychopathy. Both conditions are especially prevalent in incarcerated populations which makes studying their interrelation critical. Two studies examined the relationship between history of TBI (TBI+ vs. TBI-) and psychopathy (via the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised; PCL-R) in adult incarcerated men and women at correctional facilities in New Mexico and Wisconsin. Study 1 included 342 women, study 2 included 1049 men. Measurement invariance was evident for TBI+ and TBI- for both studies. TBI+ …

Press Freedom Under Threat In Europe: A Case Study Analysis Of The Increasing Threat To Press Freedom In Greece, Italy, And Hungary, Maya O'Leary-Cyr

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research critically examines the legal systems of European countries and their relationship to press freedom. This research focuses on the vexatious legal threats used by government officials and corporations to silence journalists. These legal threats are known as SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation) and their use has increased exponentially in the last decade. Considering the scope of the problem, this research analyzes the issue through the lens of European countries Greece, Italy, and Hungary. Being members of the European Union, each of these countries have an obligation to uphold the democratic standards put forth by the EU as …

“Have You Seen Me?”: Forensic Art For Human Identification, Mckenzie Stommen

Honors Theses

Forensic art for human identification is used to identify victims, suspects, and unidentified decedents. The field is highly interdisciplinary, and forensic artists draw on a broad range of skills, knowledge, and relationships with colleagues to complete this work. This paper will focus mainly on age progression and forensic facial reconstruction, although more applications of forensic art do exist. The case study in forensic art discussed here took the form of an age progression.

New developments in artificial intelligence, facial recognition, computed tomography, and DNA have implications for forensic art, and have already begun to find a place in the field. …

An Updated Look At Mental Health Services In American Public And Private Prisons, Lieren E. Tyira

Student Theses

People residing in American prisons have the legal right to mental health care while incarcerated (Justia, 2021). This is important, as the prevalence of mental disorders is high in this population (Prins, 2014), and incarceration is a psychologically damaging experience, which hinders a person’s success at rehabilitation. Numerous of issues related to the mental health services (MHSs) in both public and private prison facilities have been reported in recent years, which warrants systematic exploration. The little existing research comparing the presence of MHSs in these facilities has produced mixed results, it uses out-of-date datasets, and none has explored MHSs in …

Safety Valves: A Band-Aid Solution To The Ills Of Mandatory Minimums?, Venus Sayed

LLM Theses

This work examines the Supreme Court of Canada’s statutory safety valve proposal in the case of R. v. Lloyd as a solution to the problems presented by mandatory minimum sentences. The thesis develops a safety valve matrix which allows various valves to be plotted along broad-narrow and high-low discretion matrices. Following a review of the development of exemptions in Canadian jurisprudence, the paper then takes a comparative approach of analysis to look at three similarly placed jurisdictions – Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. By examining the statutory safety valves in use in these jurisdictions, this work concludes …

Criminal And Remorseful Face-Type Effects On Legal Decision Making, Beth B. Stevens

Psychology Theses

Both defendant remorse and criminal appearance contribute to how harshly defendants are sentenced during a criminal trial, wherein signs of remorse are associated with more lenient sentencing punishments, and criminal appearances are associated with harsher punishments. Recent literature suggests that defendants’ faces can naturally look more remorseful or criminal, despite intent, and that these facial cues can impact legal outcomes. The current study investigated the extent to which face-type judgments of remorse and criminality interact to influence legal system punishments for different crimes. Using an online face-judgment task, participants made parole decisions and recidivism judgments while viewing a series of …

Addressing The Drug Problem: The Establishment Of Drug Courts And Evaluating Their Effectiveness, Diana Blick

Theses

Throughout the United States during the past few decades, there have been problems with the use of drugs. There has and always have been issues with drug addiction and drug crimes in terms of how to address those problems. From the harsh consequences of the Rockefeller Drug laws in 1973 to the establishment of the first drug court in 1989, there have been reforms to the drug laws to reduce the severity for punishments of drug offenses. The first drug court in the United States was established in Miami, Florida before spreading throughout the United States. The first drug court …

In Ny’S Prisons, People Have Started Programs To Wrestle With Their Crimes, Wyatt L. Stayner

Capstones

People inside New York prisons have started rehabilitative programs to grapple with the crimes that sent them to prison in the first place. The state doesn't create or emphasize these programs, but incarcerated people have taken the initiative to the programs and take hold of their rehabilitation.

https://www.wyattlstayner.com/programs-in-prison

Wage Theft In Construction Is The Greatest Form Of Theft And We Do Nothing About It, Alexandra B. O'Connor

Capstones

I looked at the construction industry in New York City and state to analyze the prevalence of wage theft. The unaccounted and accounted for wage theft in the industry directly correlates with its low-wage and immigrant workforce.

Decreasing Trash In Local Creeks: A Program Evaluation Of The City Of San Jose’S Direct Discharge Trash Control Program, Lakeisha Bryant

Master's Projects

The entire San Francisco Bay was once a navigable waterway in the 1850s during the Gold Rush era. Large amounts of sediment from upstream erosion and mining flowed to the bay resulting in the downsizing of the bay’s square miles (Environmental Protection Agency, 2022). As a result of intense development on the bay shores and adjacent lands, the bay faces several challenges that affect its water quality and threatens aquatic ecosystems. Pesticides, mercury, metals, and pathogens are just a few substances in the bay that cause unhealthy conditions for aquatic life and threaten human health. California’s Water Resources Control Board …

The Pendulum Of Juvenile Justice Policy: Examining The Creation And Implementation Of New York State’S Raise The Age Legislation, Mary Xitco

Theses

This paper discusses changes in juvenile justice policy, focusing largely on the last 40 years. Juvenile justice policy has historically transitioned quickly from conservative punitive strategies to liberal rehabilitative and lenient strategies. We see this most recently with the tough on crime strategies of the 1990s lowering the age of responsibility to now where states have decided to start raising the age of criminal responsibility up to 18 years old. This paper looks closely at what caused this most recent shift and gives historical context as to how juvenile justice policy trends may have predicted this.

An Analysis Of New York State’S Bail Reform: Identifying And Addressing Gun Violence With The Give Executive Team, Hannah Hodge

Theses

In 2020, the New York legislature passed the bail reform law. The law included amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law (L 2019, ch 59, Part JJJ), eliminating cash bail and pretrial detention for non-violent crimes, and giving more guidance to judges setting bail (Rodriguez, 2022). Since the enactment of bail reform, there has been considerable debate concerning its impact on crime and violence. In spite of the ongoing debate about bail reform, few evaluations to date have ascertained bail reform’s impact on violence. The Monroe County Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) Executive Committee has commissioned the RIT Center for Public …

The Ongoing Search For Democracy: A Comparative Analysis Of Racial Equality In Cuba And The United States, Michael T. Siderio Jr.

Honors Student Research

This Capstone Project is structured as a comparative analysis of the fight for racial equality for Afro-Cubans in Cuba and how it compares to racial equality for African Americans in the United States, specifically focusing on contemporary issues relating to employment and economic opportunities, as well as police brutality. Historical background will be given on each topic within the scope of racial equality, and a comparative analysis on how they are similar and how they differ will also be provided. The overarching goal of the research on historical background and doing the comparative analysis is to synthesize both respective movements …

Examining Case Clearance Through A Quantitative Approach, Libnah Rodriguez

Theses

The police force bears a fundamental responsibility to bring about justice for crime victims. To best fulfill this role, police officers must hold offenders accountable, beginning with their swift apprehension. Given this expectation, police agencies, and the public alike, have used clearance rates as a direct measure of police performance. However, despite its significance to victims, communities, and society at large, the complexities inherent to case clearance are rarely understood. Indeed, their definition, theoretical importance, and current figures are seldom examined among citizens and police agencies. This working paper will attempt to address this gap in knowledge by discussing the …

White Savior Projects: An Examination Of The Antitrafficking Social Movement, Jennifer A. Cheek

Theses and Dissertations

For this dissertation, I conduct an ethnography of three antitrafficking programs; interview 38 activists and survivors of trafficking; and analyze organizational texts, websites, and social media. I examine the history of the antitrafficking movement. Among the three organizations, activists provide housing; food, clothing, and hygiene items; medical services; mental health services and counseling; mentorship; education for survivors; a 24-hour hotline; outreach; case management and referrals; training for law enforcement; a drop-in center; and education and awareness events. I examine activists’ diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational framing of sex trafficking, and other framing tactics, such as frame alignment, frame diffusion, frame resonance, …

Examining The Malleability And Influence Of Attributions On Discipline Responses To Child Misbehavior, Jenna E. Russo

Theses and Dissertations

Attributions of child behavior have been shown to influence discipline responses and ultimately, child developmental trajectories. Research highlights various social-psychological factors in the formation of attributions, largely characterized as stable. However, research also demonstrates the efficacy of attribution retraining (AR) programs in restructuring individuals’ explanations for various outcomes. This study examined a trauma-informed training intervention with an AR component designed to evoke balanced and contextual attributions of child behavior among child-serving professionals. Of particular interest was the malleability and stability of attributions, and their influence on discipline responses. From pre- to post-training, there was a significant decrease in hostile attributions …

Studying The Trends Of Domestic Violence In The South Asian Communities Of Shelby County, Ketaki Nandkishor Saokar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Abuse in South Asian countries is a significant problem, in large part due to cultural characteristics that support patriarchal views. Unfortunately, little is known about South Asian individuals once they move to the United States. One of the primary research questions was determining the most common form of domestic violence for a South Asian population living in the US, and the role of patriarchal views for DV experiences. Primary data were collected on basic demographics, religious background, country of origin, alcohol use, frequency of abuse, and patriarchal beliefs using Qualtrics. Data were collected between May and October 2022. Multiple imputations …

Effective Treatment Modalities, Recommendations, And Desired Outcomes For Adolescents With Co-Occurring Disorders, Madelynn J. Revord

Counselor Education Capstones

This Capstone Project analyzes and assesses recent research of different modalities of treatment for adolescents with co-occurring disorders. While conducting research on this topic, the common goal of effective treatment for adolescents with co-occurring disorders includes eliminating continued substance abuse, resolving conduct concerns, developing appropriate coping skills, correcting negative thoughts and/or behaviors, decreasing delinquency, and addressing reoccurring mental health symptoms. Multidimensional family therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, group therapy, and individual therapy are compared to formulate effective clinical approaches for adolescents with co-occurring disorders. Adverse childhood experiences, risk and protective factors, suicidality, community involvement, parental education and early intervention, …

Review Of Conceptualizations, Peer Interventions, And Principles And Standards In Approaches To Intimate Partner Violence (Ipv), Sara Fister

Counselor Education Capstones

Intimate partner violence (IPV), a type of domestic violence, is a human rights issue that is considered a global health concern. The daunting statistics outline the immense need for principles and standards for approaches to IPV. The overarching goal of this review is to explore peer support and peer mentorship as a potential adjunct service to a comprehensive service program for IPV victim-survivors. Conceptualization, theory, and frameworks; social support and peer support; the self-identity of IPV victims; single versus integrative services; service enhancement; evaluation; and advocacy and interventions are investigated in relation to IPV services, in general, and peer support, …