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Volume 17, Christian O’Neill, Kyara Greene, Savva Sidorov, Laura Bisaillon, Luke Clemmer, Hannah Gordon, Kitt Benson, Taylor Blount, Rachel Danzitz, Nicholas Duellman, Chase Gionis, Hima Fernando, Seth Franzyshen, Onyx Gonzalez, Bryan Lin, Samantha Start, Ysabel Wells, Maggie Duncan

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction Dr. Amorette Barber, Director, Office of Student Research

From the Editor Dr. Hannah Dudley-Shotwell

Cover Artist’s Statement Maggie Duncan

On Mentoring Dr. Yulia Uryadova

Ukrainian Resistance in the Face of Russification: Nestor Makhno and Anarchism

by Christian O’Neill

Life Vest by Kyara Greene

Isolation and 16S rRNA Identification of Bacteria from Fire Department Connection Pipe by Savva Sidorov

The Effectiveness of Planned Exercise in Reducing ADHD Symptoms in Children by Laura Bisaillon & Luke Clemmer

Linguistic Analysis on Confidence and Communication Strategies with Disparities Between Sign Fluency and Hearing Impairment by Hannah Gordon

Freedmen in Indian Territory by Kitt …

The Hollywood Rap And Trap Culture Industry And Its Portrayal Of Crime, Youth Socialization, And Anti-Social Behavioral Norms, Ishika Sen

Honors Theses

This thesis synthesizes and reflects on media effects and hip-hop studies to examine how the Hollywood rap/trap industry participates in the influence of normalization of crime and anti-social behaviors, substance use, and the sexualization of women among youth (ages 13–21). I integrate analytic evidence on media violence with lyric/content analyses of rap and critiques of the criminal justice system in hip-hop. Specific subtopics from my outline include: theoretical frameworks (media-violence, social learning, cultivation, cultural criminology); corporate marketing and social-media amplification; youth vulnerability; and three patterned domains which include substance abuse, gun violence, and the sexualization of women, often leading to …

Disparities In Policing Through The Lens Of Indigenous Communities In Michigan: A Research Proposal, Abigail Ruddle

Honors Theses

This study examines the historical and contemporary factors shaping relationships between Indigenous communities and law enforcement in the United States, with a specific focus on tribal nations in Michigan. Using a historical framework that includes treaty-making, forced removal, and evolving legal decisions, this research examines the use of treaties and diplomacy to initiate new socio-political structures in Native American communities. Similarly, the emergence of policing in the United States impacted the relationship between law enforcement and Indigenous communities by creating hostility and distrust. The existing literature highlights themes of police violence and the paradoxical nature of over-policing and under-policing in …

Exploring How Experiential Learning Enhances Undergraduate Education: Insights From The Wmu Cold Case Program With Michigan State Police, Maura Killips

Honors Theses

Experiential learning has become an increasingly important component of undergraduate education, particularly in fields that demand high levels of professional judgment, empathy, and technical skills. This thesis examines how the Western Michigan University (WMU) Cold Case Program (CCP), in partnership with the Michigan State Police, serves as a model of experiential learning that both enriches students’ academic experiences and contributes to real-world investigative work. Drawing on literature about experiential learning as well as my firsthand participation in the program, I analyze how structured hands-on engagement with unsolved homicide and missing persons cases has shaped undergraduate development at WMU.

Key program …

Narratives, Neurons And Narcotics: The Neurological Impacts Of Biased Crime Media And How It Disproportionately Impacts Black And Brown Drug Defendants, Jade Celestine

Honors Theses

This thesis examines how crime media and neurological bias shape the experiences of Black and Brown drug defendants in the United States criminal justice system. Drawing on existing research in psychology and neuroscience, this explanation outlines the role of perception and threat detection in the formation of implicit bias while also emphasizing a need to expand the use of neurocriminology to all legal actors. Particular attention is given towards the influence of media portrayals of criminal cases, especially for drug-related offenses and how that impacts the audiences on a neurological level. An analysis of historical factors, such as the War …

An Evaluation Of The Anomie Theory In The Criminal Justice System, Emma K. Schneider

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Anomie Theory is a sub-theory of social structure theory and focuses on someone's sense of normlessness when society is ever-changing, and a person of low economic status lacks social ties or a way to legitimately obtain the goals of social norms, resulting in resorting to aggravation and anger. Émile Durkheim originated the idea and went on to give a new way to observe and study crime. The criminal justice system implements this through federal aid and help after imprisonment, but there is still a lot that can be done to progress this theory. This occurs in everyday life, and it …

How Gender Impacts Mock Jurors’ Receptiveness To Aggravating And Mitigating Evidence In Capital Trials, Jolie E. Parker

Undergraduate Theses

This study examines how gender influences mock jurors’ receptiveness to aggravating and mitigating evidence in capital trials. Drawing on prior research that highlights the critical role of mitigation in reducing death sentences and persistent gender differences in death penalty attitudes, this study addresses a gap in the literature by analyzing how gender shapes responses to specific types of evidence rather than general support for capital punishment. Using a quantitative survey of 209 participants, the research analyzes Likert-scale responses measuring how various aggravating and mitigating factors impact sentencing preferences. Results indicate a weak but consistent relationship between gender and receptivity to …

Res Historica, Volume 5, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta, Lindsay Rae Smith Privette Phd

Res Historica

The 2026 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lindsay Rae Smith Privette, Julia Ackerman, Callyn Wright, Logan Davis, and John Hinton. Cover art by Mary Beth Lee.

Beyond The Badge: How Internal Culture Contradicts External Service In Urban Police Departments, Rowan Bari Eiselman

Educational Studies Student Papers and Posters

This ethnographic study examines how gendered workplace culture and mental health culture shape officer retention in two urban police departments: the Orange Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department's 77th District. Through ride-alongs, observations, and informal interviews with nine current and retired officers (four female, five male) across various ranks conducted between March and April 2026, this research reveals a troubling contradiction: departments tasked with serving diverse communities struggle to support diversity within their own ranks. Female officers navigate professional isolation, prolonged competence-proving expectations, and implicit career-versus-motherhood choices, with experiences varying significantly between the more supportive Orange PD and …

Beyond The Individual: Exploring Structural Explanations Of Homelessness Through Thematic Analysis Of Extant Research, Madison R. Mcclain

Senior Theses

This thesis examines how homelessness is defined, explained, and addressed within contemporary U.S. research using Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Intersectionality as guiding frameworks. Through a qualitative, deductive thematic analysis of 16 peer-reviewed articles, this study identifies six key themes related to structural causation, policy governance, measurement practices, racial inequality, dominant narratives, and intersecting systems of disadvantage. Findings reveal that while structural explanations of homelessness are widely acknowledged, they are inconsistently defined and often insufficiently theorized. Institutional systems primarily function to manage rather than resolve homelessness, while measurement practices and definitions actively shape who is recognized and prioritized. Additionally, structural …

Listening To Survivors: A Community Conversation, Jonathan Jackson

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Making Space To Learn: Prison-Less Places, Nicole Patrie

Journal of Prison Education Research

Diversifying modalities or modes of program delivery inside prisons is necessary and important to increase access to programs; however, this also demands that learning is intended to occur in most places of a prison. In this paper I present the concept prison-less places, relational, temporary places where the prison is less noticeable and where learning becomes possible. Exploring three dimensions of learning, I argue that the existence of prison-less places brings balance to these dimensions and is crucial for learning to occur inside prisons. As the boundaries between program and prison space become more fluid and permeable with modalities …

Who Is Presidential? Women’S Political Representation, Deflection, And The 2016 Election, Kaitlin M. Boyle, Chase B. Meyer

Faculty Publications

In 2016, Hillary Clinton was the first woman to gain the presidential nomination from a major political party in the United States, yet she was unsuccessful. The current study explores barriers to being elected as president for women generally and Hillary Clinton specifically. Using the propositions and tools of affect control theory, we demonstrate how women’s political representation shapes cultural sentiments about women and the president. In a nationwide sample of Americans surveyed shortly before the election, we find women’s representation on the state level influences voter preferences through these cultural sentiments: More women in politics makes a woman president …

Military Sexual Trauma And Suicidality: An Analysis Of Interpersonal Risk Factors, Jacquelyn Burckley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Suicide remains a major public health concern, particularly among military personnel and veterans, who experience elevated risk compared to civilian populations. Military sexual trauma (MST), defined as sexual assault or harassment during military service, is a significant risk factor for suicidality, yet less is known about how characteristics such as recency and revictimization influence suicide severity. This study aimed to examine the relationship between MST victimization and suicide severity and to evaluate whether the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide explains suicide severity among MST victims. Using data from a large military sample, logistic regression and mediation analyses were conducted to assess …

Social Control And Neglect At A Crossroads: Unpacking The Interactive Effects Of Residential Segregation And Violence On Pretrial Detention, Paige Vaughn, Joshua H. Williams

Faculty Publications

Racial segregation and violent crime are both important predictors of jurisdiction-level criminal justice outcomes, yet little research has examined their influences on front-end detention patterns and how they may interact to shape local punishment practices. The current study uses official sources and Vera Institute of Justice data spanning 1496 decennial county-years (374 counties from 1980 to 2010) to examine the independent and combined effects of county-level racial segregation and violent crime on pretrial detention rates. Drawing on group threat and minority neglect arguments, we find that high segregation levels are associated with neglect, especially in violent areas. Reduced segregation between …

Coloring Outside The (Guide)Lines: Hispanic Race/Ethnicity, District Types, And Sentencing Outcomes In Immigration Offense Cases For Noncitizen Defendants, Paige S. Pagano

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines whether sentence length in federal immigration cases varies by Hispanic race/ethnicity, district type, and the intersection of the two among noncitizen defendants sentenced under Chapter 2L of the United States Sentencing Guidelines. Prior research has identified disparities in federal sentencing tied to race/ethnicity, citizenship status, and geographic context, but less attention has been given to how these factors are connected within immigration cases. The analysis uses individual-level case data for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 from the United States Sentencing Commission, analyzing 14,354 noncitizen defendants sentenced for immigration-related offenses in federal courts across the contiguous United States. Sentence …

Review Of Interrupting Violence: One Man’S Journal To Heal The Streets And Redeem Himself, Chris Hausmann

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Online Recruitment For Interview Participants Impacted By The Criminal Legal System, Sarah Lageson, Carolina R. Caliman, Elsa Chen, Ericka Adams

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"As technology has altered communication, qualitative criminologists have turned to digital spaces for a cost-effective approach to recruit participants who have been impacted by the criminal legal system. This paper analyzes the limits and benefits of online recruitment, detailing our experience recruiting 93 interviewees online for a qualitative study of criminal record expungement. We compare three approaches: social media advertisements, Amazon’s crowdsourced MTurk platform, and the opt-in survey platform Prolific, and analyze the financial and labor costs associated with each. We detail our experience individually screening 685 interested participants to obtain 86 qualitative interviews suitable for analysis. Our experience shows …

Fragmented Responses: Variability In Law Enforcement And Prosecutorial Approaches To Sexual Assault Cases, Veronica Gonzalez

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Sexual assault (SA) remains a pervasive issue in the United States, marked by low reporting rates, inconsistent investigations, and limited convictions. In response, researchers and practitioners have promoted a range of best practices aimed at improving law enforcement and prosecutorial responses. This qualitative study draws on interviews with 13 law enforcement agencies and 12 prosecutors' offices to explore how recommended practices—such as victim advocacy, specialized units, interagency collaboration, and case reviews—are interpreted and operationalized in the field. Findings reveal substantial variability, shaped not only by resource availability but also by leadership priorities, organizational culture, and the ambiguity of guidance documents. …

To Protect And To Serve? A Phenomenological Exploration Of Interactions Between Black Transgender Women And Law Enforcement In The Midwest, Anthony Banks, Kelli E. Canada, Erin L. Robinson, Mansoo Yu, Lynn Mie Itagaki

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Current research indicates transgender women of color are experiencing what is being referred to as an “epidemic of violence.” Law enforcement personnel are in a unique position to mitigate this violence among transgender women of color, however past research shows that law enforcement may in some instances perpetuate already existing violence with this population instead of preventing and intervening in these situations. This study aimed to add to the limited research by using an intersectional theoretical framework to better understand these interactions. Research questions were answered using a phenomenological research design. Data from 36 semi-structured interviews with Black transgender women …

"This Is Not A Scam!": Assessment Of An Awareness Raising Program Tackling Older Adults' Scam Victimization In A Multi-Method Study, Katalin Parti, Pamela Teaster, Susanna Rinehart, Charles Dye

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Interactive theatre has long been used to educate and empower communities and prevent crime across all age groups. Although older populations are disproportionately victimized through fraudulent online schemes, effective educational interventions, like interactive theatre, have not been utilized to increase crime awareness. This paper describes an explorational research project, analyzing the results of a theatre-based fraud awareness program aimed towards educating victims and their communities about scams targeting older people. The study employs a mixed-method research design to examine program impact. In applying multifaceted tools of data collection, such as survey, participant observation, and follow-up interviews, the research team identified …

Aging On Parole: A Thematic Analysis Of The Parole Officer’S Perspective, Angela Murolo

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"A growing proportion of people leaving prison are over 50 years old and will live at least temporarily under the supervision of a parole officer. While recidivism rates are lower for older people, there are physical, mental, and societal challenges that accompany advancing age that make successful reentry and reintegration a challenging experience compared to their younger counterparts. This presents novel challenges for parole officers who are tasked with supervising and counseling elderly people on parole. Surveys containing closed and open-ended questions were administered to N=25 parole officers to understand the differences in working with, counseling, and supervising older and …

From Courtrooms To Classrooms: Experiments In Survival, Justin Surdyka

Journal of Prison Education Research

The transformative powers of college-in-prison programs are known, but students get the grave of continued incarceration—even if we are fully rehabilitated. For the college-in-prison student who spends years in classes, degrees and parole denials are synonymous, especially for those of us who have committed violent off enses. We are educated but not redeemed in the eyes of the system. My classmates and I are the degrees behind the denials, the students behind the degrees, the prisoners behind the students, the human beings behind the prisoners who are the reason higher education in prison is praised for being transformative. Yet we …

Behind The Bar: How Bartenders And Regulars Co-Produce Guardianship In Neighborhood Bars, Jack I. Wexler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although bars are commonly conceptualized as sites of disorder and violence, they are also spaces where social order is routinely produced and maintained. Bars are frequent targets of crime prevention efforts because they tend to concentrate aggression, disorder, and crime; yet little is known about how barroom actors—owners, bartenders, and regular patrons—actively maintain order. Explanations typically emphasize (a) physical features of bars (layout, lighting, crowding, door policies), (b) individual and situational predictors (clientele mix, intoxication levels), and (c) the actions of formal controllers—owners, bartenders, and bouncers. I consider an additional, and overlooked informal controller: the bar regular. This qualitative, exploratory …

Domestic Violence In The Mountain West, 2026, Isabelle G. Graham, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Criminal Justice

This fact sheet presents 2026 data on domestic violence in the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The World Population Review report, “Domestic Violence by State 2026,” reports data on the percentage of women and men in each state who report experiences of domestic violence in their lifetime.This fact sheet highlights state-level data on different forms of domestic violence reported across the Mountain West.

Teaching And Learning Math In Prison: A Systematic Review, Giulia De Rocco, Enrico Angelo Emili, Elisa Miragliotta, George Richard Paul Santi, Alessia Muratori

Journal of Prison Education Research

The paper presents the first results of a systematic review of the literature on mathematics teaching and learning in prison. The paper explores, through a systematic review based on the PRiSMA method, the state of the art on the mathematics teaching-learning in prisons, focusing on theoretical frameworks that identify good educational practices, the role of affective aspects, the focus on inclusiveness and accessibility. The study is part of the LeMP project, 'Learning Math in Prison', which aims at exploring the conditions of mathematics teaching-learning in a prison context.

Facing State-Created Danger In Facial Recognition Technology, Esha Jain

Washington Law Review

When the police wrongfully arrest someone, that person faces distinct harms. Various scholarship, news articles, and studies document that AI-powered facial recognition technology (FRT) disproportionately misidentifies individuals from marginalized racial groups when used irresponsibly. Many of those sources indicate that police reliance on FRT without adequate vetting results in wrongful arrests. Yet law enforcement continues to misuse FRT.

This Comment contends that the 42 U.S.C. § 1983 state-created danger doctrine offers a potential remedy for plaintiffs harmed by police reliance on FRT. To prevail under this doctrine, plaintiffs must prove affirmative conduct, deliberate indifference, and proximate causation. If successful, these …

Remedying Copyright For Indigenous Australians: A Stolen Generations Perspective, Elizabeth Serventy, Koutras

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study presents a Judicial Intersectionality method that incorporates knowledge from arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. It aims to examine how historical legal, political, and social injustices against Indigenous Australians have persisted in various spheres. When considering the Stolen Generations period, attention is directed on addressing the existing insufficient copyright rights and enhancing future legal results for Indigenous artists. In order to achieve that objective, a unique and distinct copyright system is regarded as the most suitable resolution. Philosophically and pragmatically, this approach was aligned with the Australian Government's 2023 Referendum, which aimed to grant constitutional status to …

Hard Hats And Second Chances: A Phenomenological Study Of Employer Support In Construction-Based Reintegration, Christofer M. Pacheco

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study examines how formerly incarcerated individuals perceive and experience employer support during workplace reintegration in the construction industry. Although employment is widely recognized as a protective factor against recidivism, post-hire experiences from the perspective of justice-involved employees remain underexplored. Grounded in an interpretivist paradigm and informed by Social Support, Social Learning, and Identity perspectives, the study investigated how structure, self, and environment interact to influence retention, growth, and desistance.

Nineteen interviews were completed with six construction workers in New Mexico who had maintained employment for at least one year following incarceration. Through the use of Seidman’s three-interview …

Statewide Sanctuary Policies And Female Homicide Rates, 2016–2021, Kaitlin M. Boyle, Sophia Shaiman, Veronica Valencia Gonzalez, Wendy Regoeczi

Faculty Publications

The current study examines whether state immigration enforcement policies, such as sanctuary policies that limit local police cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, are associated with female homicide rates in the United States (2016–2021). We examine crude female homicide rates from the National Violent Death Reporting System (N = 244 state-years), which we stratify by race and ethnicity (Hispanic of all races, non-Hispanic Black, and non-Hispanic White) and victim–suspect relationship (domestic vs. stranger homicide). State-years with policies that are more protective of immigrants were not associated with higher homicide rates for any group. Instead, state-years with these policies reported significantly lower …