Digital Commons Network^™

Examining The Effect Of Case And Trial Factors On Defense Attorneys' Plea Decision-Making, Kelsey S. Henderson

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations

Defense attorneys are attuned to the defendant’s likelihood of conviction at trial, based on the strength of the evidence, in forming their plea decisions. A higher threshold for conviction (i.e. unanimous jury verdict rule versus majority rule), could affect defense attorneys’ willingness to take cases to trial. In this study, we examined defense attorney decision-making by presenting defense attorneys with a hypothetical case summary in which the jury verdict rule was unanimous versus majority rule (experiment one, N = 82), and the strength of the evidence was weak versus strong (experiment two, N = 81). In experiment one, there was …

College Students’ Perception Of Racism On A Predominantly White College Campus, Johnathan Garcia Ramos

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

Racism is a controversial but present topic in our society. Researchers have identified negative outcomes associated with interactions with racism, microaggression, and racist campus climate. Because universities tend to have racially/ethnically diverse student populations, students might experience racism on campus, which could negatively impact their academic performance. The purpose of this research is to examine how students at a four-year liberal arts institution in the Rocky Mountain region perceive racism on a predominantly white campus and to explore possible associations between racism problems on campus, students’ academics, experiences or witnesses of racism, students’ year in school, and college within the …

Health Implications Of Incarceration And Reentry On Returning Citizens: A Qualitative Examination Of Black Men’S Experiences In A Northeastern City, Jason M. Williams, Sean K. Wilson, Carrie Bergeson

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

While a great deal of research captures the lived experiences of Black men as they navigate through the criminal legal system and onto reentry, very little research is grounded in how those processes are directly connected to their health. Although some research argues that mass incarceration is a determinant of poor health, there is a lack of qualitative analyses from the perspective of Black men. Black men face distinct pathways that lead them into the criminal legal system, and these same pathways await them upon reentry. This study aims to examine the health implications associated with incarceration and reentry of …

The Effects Of Variations In Confession Evidence And Need For Cognition On Jurors' Decisions, Kelsey S. Henderson, Lora M. Levett

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations

The reliability of a confession partially depends on the interrogation methods used and the confession’s content. Confronting suspects with evidence gives a suspect knowledge of nonpublic details, increasing the likelihood of a false confession (Gudjonsson & Pearse, 2011; Leo, 2009), and makes the confession harder to judge as more or less reliable. That is, if a confession is consistent with case facts but details of the crime were communicated to the suspect during interrogation, it is difficult to judge whether the confession is a product of the suspect’s knowledge of the crime or the details that were communicated during the …

Vocational And Life Skills Monthly Data Update: August 2020, Uno Nebraska Center For Justice Research, Katelynn Towne

Reports

Grantees use an online data management system to submit data on participants served under their Vocational and Life Skills programming. This data is due monthly and reflects all services provided during the previous month to participants. Evaluators at the Nebraska Center for Justice Research work with grantees directly to manage data entry errors on an ongoing basis during update calls and site visits.

The current data derives from an active database, from which data is being entered and updated daily. Data values, including previously submitted information, may fluctuate depending on the duration of lag between service delivery and data entry. …

(Non-Consensual) Sex, Drugs & Rock N’ Roll: Sexual Harassment And Violence At Live Music Events, Miliaikeala Sj. Heen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Music concerts and festivals draw millions of attendees in the United States and internationally annually. Half of the U.S. population goes to live music events each year, with 33% going to concerts and 18% going to festivals (Nielsen Music 360, 2017). Despite the fact that these events provide security for the safety of both performers and attendees, the context of these events may facilitate various forms of sexual violence. Research has revealed high levels of harassment, groping, and other forms of unwanted sexual behavior at music festivals and concerts. The current study will utilize a national survey to examine unwanted …

Developing A Maceration Method For Isolation Of Dna From Cancellous Bones, Bryan Bernal

Student Theses

Prior to isolating DNA, it is necessary to remove any biological materials that may be present on commingled remains. Manual maceration of the outer surface is time-consuming. This study will address this issue by developing a simple method for processing bone samples prior to DNA isolation. A liquid-based technique was applied to macerate bone fragments by incubating bone fragments in an enzyme solution, removing potential contaminants, followed by a bone tissue disruption. Swine (Sus scrofa) bones were used to simulate human bones. Microscopic analysis suggested this method was effective for surface material removal. The methods effect on the …

The 23: Racial And Other Demographic Differences In The Assignment Of Risk Factors For Individuals Found Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity In Virginia, Dominique Raquel Blanchette

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) acquittees uniquely walk the line of involvement in both the criminal justice and mental health systems, both of which have literature indicating the presence of underlying racial biases related to practices and outcomes. The current study examined 366 forensic charts from an inpatient psychiatric hospital in Virginia to examine potential differences in the number of risk factors assigned for NGRI acquittees based on a variety of demographic variables. Information about demographic characteristics, psychiatric history, and criminal history was recorded and analyzed. It was hypothesized that younger age, male gender, a psychotic diagnosis, violent …

New Jersey Overdose Prevention Act: Police Officers’ Experiences At A Drug Overdose Scene, Michael Ziarnowski

All Theses And Dissertations

The number of drug overdose deaths in the United States from opioids has led to national attention about the problem commonly described as the “opioid epidemic.” Federal and state policymakers have shifted from a hardline punitive approach to a rehabilitative approach in an attempt to save lives. Good Samaritan Laws (GSLs) and advances in medicine have been implemented differently in different states. For example, the enactment of the New Jersey Overdose Prevention Act (NJOPA) and the use of naloxone by first responders are ways that state officials try to save lives. However, there is limited research on the first responders’ …

The Application Of A Simple Tissue-Disruption Method To Dna Extraction For Species Identification, Jordana R. Fox

Student Theses

The TissueLyser II was used to disrupt animal bones and plant tissue without dry ice or liquid nitrogen for species identification. Bone fragments of fresh swine (Sus scrofa) ribs were used. A 521bp fragment of the cyt b locus was analyzed, and the BLASTn results confirmed that the origin of all the samples was swine (E-value = 0.0). Bone fragments of bovine, chicken, duck, fish, sheep, and swine were also used to test the procedure. An approximately 600bp fragment of the COI locus was analyzed, and the BLASTn results confirmed the origin of all the samples (E-value = …

Archaeology Or Crime Scene? Teeth Micro And Macro Structure Analysis As Dating Variable, Jessica A. Vincenty

Student Theses

Simple methods to aid in the determination of forensic or archaeologic relevancy of skeletonized remains have been researched since the 1950s. With advances in microscopic imaging techniques and machine learning computer data analysis methods the relevancy of decontextualized, comingled remains has room for improvement. This thesis is a study done to pioneer a new approach to analyzing dental skeletal remains to determine forensic relevancy.

Archaeological dental samples collected from the ancient city of Ur in modern day southern Iraq in addition to modern dental extractions were processed for scanning electron microscopy imaging. Archaeological and modern samples displayed different surface and …

Getting Up: An Ethnography Of Hip Hop Graffiti Writers, Their Art, And Perceptions Of Society's Reactions., Theodore Malone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This ethnographic analysis of the modern hip hop graffiti writing subculture connects the separate but complementary theoretical constructs of serious leisure (Stebbins 1982), dark leisure (Smith and Raymen 2016), recreational specialization theory (Bryan 1977), and edgework (Lyng 1990) and situates the writer “standpoint” (Smith 1987) in terms of interrelations of policy and written discourse. Past research found that writers were motivated by fame and status, to express artistic skills, and to control and destroy space (Brewer and Miller 1990). Others found that writers sought to express contestant notions of style and resist economic and political authority (Ferrell 1996; 2006), and …

Eyewitness Recall And Identification Accuracy: Effects Of Stress In An Extreme Haunt And A Haunted House, William Blake Ridgway

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The impact of stress on eyewitness recall and identification accuracy has been studied extensively but with somewhat inconsistent results. Understanding the effects of stress are important if they are to be generalized to victims or witnesses of real crimes. This study consisted of two experiments that used an extreme haunt and a haunted house to examine attendees’ ability to recall details of and identify actors encountered, as a function of state anxiety and in the context of Deffenbacher’s (1994) catastrophe model of memory performance under anxiety. The results showed that physiological (i.e., heart rate) and psychological (i.e., State Anxiety Inventory) …

Implicit Attitudes, Explicit Attitudes, And Priming: A Preliminary Analysis Of Factors Affecting Use Of Force Decisions, Christopher Allen Forepaugh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examines the effects of priming, situational factors, and attitudes on deadly force decision making. A small sample of undergraduates completed high-fidelity deadly force simulations. Simulation results were compared across experimental conditions and various attitudinal and demographic factors. Participants were generally accurate when assessing the threat posed by suspects. Participants primed to expect a threat were more accurate in their decisions but were no more likely to shoot an unarmed suspect. Participants were more accurate when responding to unarmed suspects. Participants more likely to exhibit implicit bias were less accurate. Several attitudinal and demographic traits were associated with deadly …

Intimate Partner Violence Risk Assessment: The Additive Value Of Victim Reported Risk, Jennifer Joanne Johnson

Dissertations and Theses

Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects millions of people in the United States, causing negative generational consequences to the victim and the community. The criminal justice system has increased its preventative strategies to combat this issue through mandatory arrest laws and the use of risk assessment tools for determining the likelihood of offender recidivism. Risk factors included in standardized and actuarial risk assessment tools have been found to be relatively good predictors for violent recidivism.

This study assesses the predictive accuracy of risk factors through bivariate correlations and multiple logistic regression analysis. The risk factors analyzed include demographic information, mental health …

Correctional Quackery: A Study Of Program Availability And Inmate Assaults In Adult Correctional Facilities, Casey Jay Legere

Dissertations and Theses

A wide variety of correctional programs have incited a debate regarding the utility and worth of programs within the correctional system. For some, programs are assigned strict qualifications and this narrow focus limits those that are "worthy"; all else are "correctional quackery." These harsh limitations do not allow for the consideration of secondary outcomes as measurements of value. Using negative binomial regression, this study examines 449 state correctional facilities to consider associations between program availability (categorized as correctional quackery or not) and incidence rates of violent assaults among inmates. The minimal significant results yield inconclusive findings but do offer some …

Identifying Typologies Of Failure To Appear, Ciara Mcglynn

Dissertations and Theses

Empirically tracking when defendants fail to appear (FTA) for their court date is important for virtually all court systems. Factors related to FTA can inform court decision-making. Developing a typology of FTAs may provide added accuracy in pretrial detention decisions and using pretrial risk assessments. The current exploratory study expands on current knowledge of factors associated with FTA by identifying profiles of those most likely to fail to appear, and comparing with profiles of those who do show up for their court date. Seven cluster profiles were established for FTAs, and eight cluster profiles were established for non-FTAs. While there …

A Systematic Content Analysis Of The Justice Reinvestment Programs Across Oregon Counties, Lorena Ambriz

Dissertations and Theses

High levels of imprisonment and its associated costs have pressured criminologist and policymakers to create and establish new policies intended to reduce incarceration spending and lower the number of individuals under correctional facilities. Justice Reinvestment Initiatives (JRI) have been developed with the basic idea of redirecting the $54 billion annual incarceration spending toward rebuilding human resources and physical infrastructure of high-risk communities. These initiatives should create local programs that promote successful reentry, reduce recidivism, decrease prison usage, and improve public safety. Oregon passed the Justice Reinvestment Act in 2013, which allowed for all 36 Oregon counties to implement JRI programs …

Social Support, Mental Health Problems, And Rule Infractions: A Study Of Female Inmates, Suraiya H. Shammi

Theses and Dissertations

Currently there are few studies that solely focused on female inmates and their mental health problems. There is huge lack of in-depth examination on the impact of social support variables on overall rule infractions. Using a multilevel analysis, this study analyzed the moderation effect of social support variables on rule infractions among female inmates (n=2,930) from the 2004 Survey of Inmates of State Correctional Facilities in the United States. Findings suggest that almost 55% of the sample suffered from mental health problems where female inmates with mental health problems reported significantly higher rates of minor rule infractions (78%). Also, the …

The Relationship Between State-Level Dynamics, Firearm Policies, And County-Level Homicides, Shawn M. Ratcliff

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation examines the causes and effects of four major firearm-related policies in the United States: Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW), Stand Your Ground (SYG), Child Access Prevention (CAP), and Universal Background Checks (UBC). Applying a social movement approach, the first research question addresses how a social movement organization (SMO) has employed resources to shape the adoption of (counter-)movement-related legislation. Using the gun rights movement as a case-in-point, I explore how campaign contributions – conceptualized as a professionalized SMO resource – have been employed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) to shape the adoption of CCW, SYG, CAP, and UBC laws …

Time Series Analysis Evaluating Mortality Rates And The Differences Of How States Investigate Deaths, Jordan M. Bruhn

Dissertations and Theses

Mortality statistics are essential to both public health and criminal justice systems. The causes of death that are determined by death investigators influence whether a criminal investigation is opened or not. Prior research suggests a high degree of variability for death investigator requirements across states, which may attribute to inaccurate death reporting. This research provides a 20-year evaluation of the differences in state death investigation laws and their impacts on rates of mortality. This study examines the variation in mortality rates by answering if there is a difference in mortality rates for states requiring medical examiners and states requiring coroners …

The Effect Of Money Supply(M2) On Real Magnitudes In The Economy Of Jordan A Rational Expectations Approach_X000d_, Hussain Talafha, Monther Share

Al-Balqa Journal for Research and Studies البلقاء للبحوث والدراسات

This study applies a neo-classical model to test the impact of anticipated and un anticipated growth in money supply (M2) on some key economic variables in the Jourdan economy for the period (1968:1-1988:4). The model consists of four equations: (i) the money supply growth equation;(ii) the growth in unemployment rate equation; (iii) the real growth in GNP equation; and (iv) the growth in price level equation (inflation rate). The study investigates the relationships and hypotheses using two stage least square method which is applied at the first difference logarithm structural equations. The first stage is applied to the money supply …

Analysis Of Construction Industry In Jordan 1980 - 1990, Mohammed A.S. Hiyassat, Hasan M. Tantawi

Al-Balqa Journal for Research and Studies البلقاء للبحوث والدراسات

The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the performance of the construction industry in Jourdan during the past decade. For this purpose, the authors addressed the following issues: 1- The size of the industry which is expressed in terms of volume and contribution to gross domestic products (GDP). In this section, the causes and effects of fluctuations are discussed. 2- Contribution of the industry to the country’s fixed asset formations, and finally 3- The structure of construction contractor_x000D_ _x000D_

Eliminate The Harassment Of Putting Shame On Someone For Something, Mr. Subhi Al-Bassam

Al-Balqa Journal for Research and Studies البلقاء للبحوث والدراسات

Some old linguistics said that the verb Aiyara (Reproach) with the preposition Al-Ba a (of) is not a good language. But some of them said it is not a very good language, this article proves, through the investigation of classic Arabic prose and poetry, and through grammar, that the verb Aiyara (Reproach) with the preposition Alba a (of) is highly correct. And is better than to be without the preposition Alba a (of).

Acoustic Factors In Forming Arabic Structure, Dr. Mohammed Jawad Al Nouri

Al-Balqa Journal for Research and Studies البلقاء للبحوث والدراسات

This paper is a study of the sound factors, which control the mechanism of sound changes, affecting Arabic sounds, when they hold adjacent positions, in certain morphological structural formations. It becomes clear to us, through linguistic patterns and examples in this paper, which are more influential than other adjacent sounds, that those sounds are characterized by certain features which make them dominant in the process of structural formation, most important among them are features of sibilant, velarization, voicedness, plosion, nasalization, being rolled, length of place of articulation, and the vowel characteristics called, in Arabic, (madd and liin). Moreover, it becomes …

The Perceptions Of Al-Yarmouk University Students To Practice Global Announcement Materials Which Are Concerned Human Rights In Jordanian Society., Amin Mohanna, Muhammad Al-Khawaldeh

Al-Balqa Journal for Research and Studies البلقاء للبحوث والدراسات

This study tries to reveal the university students viewpoint in practicing the article of the international declaration of human rights in Jordanian society > this was done through a random sample consisting of 192 students of facilities of arts and education in Yarmouk University > to measure this viewpoint the researchers designed an instrument for this purpose which included all the articles of the international declaration of human rights and monitored the responses of the members of this samples to these articles according to an evaluative scale consisting of four levels (4) being the highest and (1) the lowest . Eight independent …

Rain In The Modern Arabic Poem, Dr. Hussein Yousef Kharyush

Al-Balqa Journal for Research and Studies البلقاء للبحوث والدراسات

This research discusses the domains and the implicature of rain in the modern Arab poetry. Since the rain is connected to the origins of life, and is a symbol of renewal, the use of rain in the Arab poetry, in this way is considered among daring usages because it recaptures the historical symbols. And it’s used to express something about the Arab situations in this age. Finally, the new meaning dedicates new implicature of rain that is connected to the truth and reality when the poet loses this reality and seeks salvation.

Punishment In International Relief Agency Schools At Jordan As Teachers And Students See It., Dr. Muhammad Mustafa Abu Alia

Al-Balqa Journal for Research and Studies البلقاء للبحوث والدراسات

The purpose of this study is to know the viewpoints of teachers and pupils in UNRWA schools in Jordan towards punishment. A specially designed questionnaire was given to (862) pupils and (315) teachers from a random sample taken from five areas in Jordan. The Questionnaire consists of (34) items covering the following five domains: causes, aims, kinds, consequences of punishment as well as alternative and attitudes to punishment. The data obtained from the questionnaire were subjected to x2 (chi square) for the purpose to determining significant differences – in the above domains- between the teachers and pupils. The present study …

Critical Vision Of Novel By Abed Al- Mohsen Bader, Dr.Yousef Abu Al-Odoss

Al-Balqa Journal for Research and Studies البلقاء للبحوث والدراسات

This paper investigates Abdul-Muhsin Bades methodology in study and criticism of the novel. The paper concentrates on the following points: 1-The conditions necessary for the writer’s vision. 2- Abdul-Muhsins view of the Idealism, romanticism and Aestheticism. 3-The character and its role in writing the novel. 4- Importance of time and place in the structure of the novel. 5-language and style of the novel. 6-Some general comments.

Vowels Between Theoretical Standards And Pronunciation Characteristics, Dr. Samir Stitiah

Al-Balqa Journal for Research and Studies البلقاء للبحوث والدراسات

This research aim at classifying the theoretical and practical principles of vowels. Some of these principles are related to the acoustic features. The acoustic features can be observed in sonority and friction. The contextual criteria are observed in the phonological usages and practical linguistic level. However, the practical criteria can be easily observed in the articulatory features such as narrowing and the obstruction of the air- system. Cardinal vowels represent the duality of vowels, they represent the theoretical and practical aspects of vowels. Cardinal vowels are divided into: primary, secondary, and additional vowels. All cardinal vowels are defined according to …