Digital Commons Network^™

Supporting & Protecting Repeat Missing Children From Different Residential Environments: A Scoping Review, Kirsty Bennett Dr, Petra Salisbury, Rebecca O'Keefe, Sharon Vincent, Bethany Mccarthy

International Journal of Missing Persons

Repeat missing children pose a significant financial burden onto services, including the police, social services, and health providers. Recognising that 37 to 65 percent of missing child reports each year are repeats, efforts have been made by academics and practitioners to understand this societal problem. Research has identified the risks causing children to go missing and the harms that they experience, but these focus primarily on children missing from residential care only. This PRISMA (2020) scoping review of 76 studies explores strategies implemented to prevent repeat missing episodes, and the role/influence of the home environment (e.g., with parents/guardians, and foster …

Policy Outcomes Of Culturally Integrated Health Care For African Americans, Victoria Aderin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite advancements in integrated care, persistent health care disparities and systemic barriers continue to contribute to poor health outcomes among African Americans. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the implementation of culturally integrated behavioral health care within the context of African American experiences, focusing on health care access and quality through a public policy lens. The study was informed by Ostrom's institutional analysis and development framework, health equity framework developed by the nonprofit organization Education Training & Research, and Hankivisky's intersectionality-based policy analysis. To gather data, semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 African American adults who receive …

Four Decades, Three Songs, Too Much Violence: Using Popular Culture Media Analysis To Prepare Preservice Teachers For Dealing With School Violence, Edward Janak, Lisa Pescara-Kovach

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

Since teacher education has morphed from normal schools into colleges of education, the goals of preparing teachers have expanded. While it is essential to prepare teachers to utilize scientifically proven methods as well as to read and use research in the field, there are ever-expanding other goals that must be met as well. For one example, with the increase of school violence taking place in the United States, it is imperative to include preparation for preservice teachers on how to prevent bullying and how to handle traumatic events, such as school shootings, with their future students. However, broaching such a …

Criminal Justice Update - November 2024, Mia Agudelo

Criminal Justice Updates

The Criminal Justice Update is a monthly newsletter created by the Adams County Bar Foundation Fellow providing updates in criminal justice policy coming from Pennsylvania's courts and legislature as well as the US Supreme Court.

Contents:

• Updates from PA Governor's Office (no updates this month)
• Updates from the PA Legislature
• Updates from the Courts
• U.S. Supreme Court: Criminal Law & Procedure
• PA Supreme Court: Criminal Law & Procedure
• PA Superior Court: Criminal Law & Procedure

The Heterogeneous Effects Of Cannabis Dispensaries On Crime: The Importance Of Foot Traffic, Thomas Lebesmuehlbacher, Justin Roush, Rhet A. Smith

Hunt Institute Working Paper Series

This paper pairs exact dispensary locations with city block level crime data to study the impact of medical cannabis dispensaries on crime in the state of Florida from 2016-2019. Leveraging a Florida state law that requires broadly uniform security provisions across dispensaries, we capture important dispensary heterogeneity by incorporating customer volume and local non-dispensary foot traffic with smartphone geopositional data. We use not-yet-operational dispensary locations as a control group and a geo-spatial difference-in-differences framework and find reductions in larceny, vehicle burglary, and motor vehicle theft following the opening of high-volume dispensaries. We fail to find evidence of similar deterrent effects …

Ai And Data Science For Public Policy, Kenneth Benoit

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Artificial intelligence (AI) and data science are reshaping public policy by enabling more data-driven, predictive, and responsive governance, while at the same time producing profound changes in knowledge production and education in the social and policy sciences. These advancements come with ethical and epistemological challenges surrounding issues of bias, transparency, privacy, and accountability. This special issue explores the opportunities and risks of integrating AI into public policy, offering theoretical frameworks and empirical analyses to help policymakers navigate these complexities. The contributions explore how AI can enhance decision-making in areas such as healthcare, justice, and public services, while emphasising the need …

Which Way? Experiences Of Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander People Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing Attaining Supports To Meet Their Interwoven Socio-Cultural, Health And Disability-Related Needs And Aspirations Within The Context Of Australia’S National Disability Insurance Scheme, Jody Barney, Alexandra Devine, Damien Howard, Marie Huska, Hannah Lack, Yeokyung Kim, Yi Yang, George Disney, Peter Summers, Ashley Mcallister

Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet

The life experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing are often more complex than for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are hearing, or non-Aboriginal Australians who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. In turn, this can make engaging with and benefiting from policies and programs such as Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) more complex, particularly for individuals living in remote settings. To understand more about these complexities, yarnings were held with 15 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander NDIS participants who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing living in rural …

Co-Producing Learning Space In A Prison-University Partnership, Ross E. Little

Journal of Prison Education Research

This article explores a classroom co-produced by learners serving prison sentences, undergraduate criminology students and a pair of lecturer-facilitators. This space, in a high security prison for men serving life sentences (‘HMP Lifer’), provides a good example of ethical praxis and moral sight working in combination to mitigate against moral and ethical blindness. It is a mechanism by which pedagogical concerns, and some human-centred ones, can be realised in an unconventional context.

There are two areas to the discussion. Firstly, the effects of incorporating students from outside the prison into the classroom space, such as enhanced proximity, the reduction of …

Revisiting Marcuse On Repressive Tolerance: A Twenty-First Century Retrospective, David Ingram

Philosophy: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Herbert Marcuse’s essay Repressive Tolerance (RP) has been praised by the Left and vilified by the Right for its alleged promotion of censorship targeting reactionary opinions and actions. I argue that this interpretation of the text is mistaken. According to my alternative reading of the text, RP should be understood as an exercise in provocation and irony aimed at defending civil disobedience and dissent. Marcuse’s defense of dissent, however, appeals to a critique of pure tolerance that exposes the unavoidably partisan practice of tolerance, which invariably favors the reigning undemocratic status quo. The choice whether to tolerate in a manner …

Gender Ideology And Gender Equality Policy Adoption, Wendell Christopher Lewis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Gender-based violence threatens the social and economic security of countries. Gender equality policies, which address the ideological and material relations of gender equality that support gender-based violence, are being stymied by antigender coalitions. Little is known of the concept called gender ideology used by this coalition to facilitate policy intractability of gender equality policies. This mixed-method study was intended to fill the theoretical and methodological gaps in the literature using the narrative policy framework to explore the concept of gender ideology and policy intractability during the National Gender Policy debate in Trinidad and Tobago between 2010-2018. The research questions focused …

Seeing The Whole Together Through Relational Mapping: A Method For Engaging In Complex Systems Change, John Paul Stephens

Faculty Scholarship

Complex global challenges cut across organizational and sectoral boundaries, increasing calls for holistic responses. Seeing the whole across diverse stakeholders is challenging for participants in complex systems, yet doing so is essential for engaging effectively in systems change. A promising new method known as relational mapping, based on relational coordination theory, has been used to facilitate complex systems change. Here, we propose that relational mapping can be applied to help participants (1) see the whole in relation to the parts, (2) share their explicit and tacit knowledge, (3) engage in dialogue across distinct perspectives supported by the map as a …

The Need For U.S. Stability Policing, John F. Hussey

Joint Force Quarterly

This article argues that the U.S. military needs a dedicated stability policing capability to establish public order, protect civilians, uphold the rule of law, and consolidate gains during the transition from combat operations to postconflict stability. Drawing on U.S. experiences in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, the author contends that military forces have often been ill prepared to perform civilian policing or train indigenous police forces, leading to overly militarized approaches that can undermine legitimacy and public trust. The article emphasizes that stability policing requires personnel with civilian law enforcement expertise, particularly during the critical period immediately following major combat operations. …

Failure To Implement Decentralization In Haiti As A Constitution Mandate, Alann Fils-Aime

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As of 2023, after 36 years, Haiti has yet to implement decentralization successfully per its 1987 Constitution mandate. The situation that prompted this research literature is to fill the literature gap to investigate the elites' responsibilities and their neglectfulness to implement decentralization as mandated by the Constitution. The generic qualitative methodology was the selected design to better understand the reasons for Haiti, as of 2023, and after 36 years, to remain unable to implement decentralization per its 1987 Constitution mandate successfully. Policy feedback theory served as the theoretical foundation for this study. Data were collected from semistructured Zoom or telephone …

Strategies To Empower At-Risk Males In Orange County Florida: A Community-Based Resource, Thressa Marie Fizer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In Orange County, Florida, community-based programs provide resources for at-risk males who are impacted by social determinant challenges. This study focused on the client intake assessment process of Agency OCF to identify gaps that would benefit from enhanced assessment processes and early intervention efforts creating greater opportunity for program placement of at-risk males in this distressed community. Community-based participatory research served as the interpretive lens and generic qualitative inquiry provided the methodological approach to assess the client intake processes. Yielding no participant responses during recruitment efforts, the study pivoted to focus on an in-depth review of publicly released assessments and …

An Ethnically Balanced Male Perspective Towards Police Officers Seeking Mental Health Counseling: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study, Arturo Parra

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This phenomenological study will aim to understand an ethnically balanced male perspective toward police officers seeking mental health counseling. Police Officers are routinely exposed to stressful and traumatic events, leading to acute and chronic disorders, mental illnesses, suicide ideation, and suicide, as research has indicated. Mental health counseling can play an essential role in intervention into mental health illness, providing critical tools to police officers to handle stress and potential mental illness. However, reluctance among the police community to seek mental health counseling continues to be prevalent. Possible cause for this reluctance are suggested through research as a direct result …

Can Officers Confidently Query State Vanity Plates & Account For License Plate Reader Inaccuracies?, Matthew Adam Simon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research explored whether Massachusetts police officers in Hampden County struggle to query state vanity plates through their mobile data terminals. When officers fail to attain a valid query response from their electronic inquiries, they cannot positively identify any pertinent data relating to a target vehicle. Consequently, the obstacles tied to this potential problem could provide criminals with an insulative layer of anonymity that shelters them from detection. This study employed a cross-sectional quantitative approach that sampled 164 police officers with traffic enforcement duties across Hampden County, MA. The study asked officers to answer a scalable questionnaire concerning their confidence …

Public-Private Partnerships In Fema: Strengthening Communities Nationwide, Rachael A. Zerr

Publications and Research

This paper explores the role of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in strengthening communities through collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It defines FEMA’s mission and outlines the concept of PPPs, emphasizing their importance in enhancing disaster response and recovery efforts. The paper provides framework for establishing a PPP with FEMA, including key steps and practices for successful collaboration. Additionally, it highlights several examples of effective PPPs, including a longstanding partnership with Verizon Wireless. Drawing from FEMA reports and private sector publications, the paper demonstrates how these partnerships contribute to resilience and preparedness, illustrating their potential to improve the efficiency …

Contextualized Transitional Justice Policy Development In Uganda: Differentiating Between Normativity Types In Evidence-Based Problem Analysis, Saghar Shahidi Birjandian

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article discusses the fundamental impact of normativity on producing evidence-based guidance for context-sensitive transitional justice policy. It draws on lessons learned from Uganda’s complex transitional justice context and extensive fieldwork to demonstrate the necessity and the means to differentiate between belief-based normativity and evidence-based normativity in conducting problem analysis as a crucial site that determines the integrity of evidence-based guidance. It also establishes that evidence-based normativity guiding problem analysis must include empirical evidence of societal dynamics and views of affected communities or there is a significantly higher risk of belief-based normativity decontextualizing strategy development. Findings establish significant substantive differences …

Beyond Assistance: Amplifying The Lived Experiences Of Marginalized Communities Navigating Support Service Systems In Mississippi, Karla Mccullough, Rodney Washington, Angela A. Omondi

Journal of Public Health in the Deep South

Background

Perceived dehumanizing experiences when interacting with social assistance caseworkers and providers can contribute to negative perceptions of the service system that may impede enrollment and retention of families in need thereby contributing to health disparities.

Purpose

This study aimed to use secondary analysis of qualitative data to explore the interaction between social services workers/providers and recipients from the perspectives of families seeking social support services in Mississippi.

Methods

This study analyzed secondary qualitative data from a sample of (n=15) representatives in Mississippi. Data was analyzed using a thematic analysis approach.

Results

Participants reported perceived dehumanized experiences such …

Criminal Justice Update - October 2024, Mia Agudelo

Criminal Justice Updates

The Criminal Justice Update is a monthly newsletter created by the Adams County Bar Foundation Fellow providing updates in criminal justice policy coming from Pennsylvania's courts and legislature as well as the US Supreme Court.

Contents:

• Updates from PA Governor's Office
• Updates from the PA Legislature
• Updates from the Courts
• U.S. Supreme Court: Criminal Law & Procedure (no updates this month)
• PA Supreme Court: Criminal Law & Procedure
• PA Superior Court: Criminal Law & Procedure

Patriarchy, Divided Societies, And Female Proponents Of Peace: A Comparative Case Study Of The Federation Of South African Women And The Northern Ireland Women’S Coalition, Briana Ibrahim

Global Studies Senior Capstone

FEDSAW and NIWC, two multi-community women's organizations promoting peace within conflict stricken societies, will be compared. An analysis of each organizations work, the commonalities they shared, and their core differences, will offer implications for the broader conversation on women's involvement in peace building.

Non-Partner Sexual Violence Among International College Students In The United States, Kruti S. Chaliawala, Rebecca A. Vidourek, Keith A. King

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The prevalence of non-partner sexual violence among college students is a pressing concern that demands urgent attention. Although an integral part of the education system, international college students are often underrepresented in various studies. This calls attention to understanding the cultural nuances and multiple factors affecting this population. The current research delves into the experiences of sexual abuse among international students within the last 12 months, focusing specifically on incidents where sexual penetration or unwanted sexual touching occurred without consent. The study sheds light on the frequency and demographics associated with these distressing incidents using data from a large-scale survey …

Selected U.S. Government Statistical Agencies And Their Data, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Provides introductory and detailed overview of U.S. Government agencies statistics. Includes examples of how an individual U.S. law authorizes government agencies to compile statistics for particular congressional committees and the general public. Statistics cover topics such as demography, defense, foreign assistance, economic growth, criminal justice, energy, Social Security, and Medicare.

Review Essay: Exploring Strategy In India, Vinay Kaura

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Authors: Rajesh Basrur and Feroz Hassan Khan

Reviewed by Dr. Vinay Kaura, assistant professor, Department of International Affairs and Security Studies, and deputy director, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Sardar Patel University of Police, Security and Criminal Justice, Rajasthan, India

Dr. Vinay Kaura reviews two similarly named books that Kaura writes will be “an indispensable reference for South Asian security for years to come.” He praises Rajesh Basrur’s Subcontinental Drift for “incorporating domestic factors to explain Indian’s foreign policy” and provides a helpful overview of Basrur’s three case studies and “policy drift.” Kaura also overviews Feroz Hassan Khan’s book, …

Policy Tools For Youth Development In African American Communities, Adedapo Oladipo Adeyanju

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many African American adolescents live in disadvantaged neighborhoods due to decades-long segregationist housing policies. Living in these settings have isolated them from mainstream society and put them at risk for developmental issues and engagement in risky behaviors and violent crime as young adults. The purpose of this study was to examine past experiences of public housing beneficiaries exposed to concentrated poverty and their perceptions of how their neighborhood characteristics affect adolescent development. Research questions examined how housing policies have inhibited development or isolated Black youths to specific housing programs, affecting their opportunities to be better citizens. The theoretical framework for …

The Effects Of Body-Worn Cameras On Officer Training, Report Writing, Discretion, And Officer-Initiated Enforcement, David I. Rios

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research addressed police officers' perceptions of body-worn cameras and how the technology impacted their assigned responsibilities. The research allowed police officers to discuss their personal experiences with a device geared to provide law enforcement transparency and accountability. This qualitative study was guided by Smith's institutional theory, in which organizations strive to attain and maintain legitimacy within the communities they serve. Under the institutional theory, police-issued body-worn cameras (BWCs) have become the latest technological gadget, allowing transparency in law enforcement encounters with citizens. The methodology used was a qualitative research approach to capture data until saturation was met. Patrol officers …

Community-Based Nonprofit Approach To Period Poverty Among Women And Girls In Shelby County, Tennessee, Rosalind Stevenson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Period (menstruation) poverty affects women and girls in United States. In some U.S. cities, feminine hygiene items are becoming inaccessible and unaffordable to women and girls due to unequal taxation of feminine hygiene products. This case study involved exploring experiences of a Shelby County, Tennessee nonprofit’s female volunteers and recipients who receive free feminine hygiene products. Using a convenience sample of seven female participants, the feminine mystique theory was used to guide thematic interpretations via semistructured interviews involving gender-based pricing or pink taxes and effects of feminine hygiene affordability for women and girls. Resulting major themes included: free feminine hygiene …

Design Thinking Strategies For Complex Situations: Covid-19 In Western Australia And New South Wales, Terence Love, Paul Cozens, Trudi Cooper

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This paper outlines an argument for changing the foundation of design thinking practices to include causal feedback loops instead of primarily predicting futures using linear causal relations. The paper suggests for most real-world design situations the traditional linear causal perspective is insufficient and leads to lower value design outcomes. The authors propose instead designers address real-world complex design situations via design methods that include feedback loops, which require different design methods and tools. The discussion in the paper follows the understanding of systems researchers. The authors provide an example of the significant differences in outcomes using a comparative case study …

Educational Neglect In Utah: How The State Allows Children To Fall Through The Cracks, Celeste D. Barker

Transforming Communities

Chronic absenteeism due to educational neglect is a prevalent social need in the state of Utah. Thousands of children in Utah are falling through the cracks of the system that is designed for their success and it is imperative that Utah’s State Legislature examines this dilemma more closely. It is recommended that the legislature examine real cases of educational neglect and realize how current decision making and policy framework is impacting the future success of Utah’s children. Modifications include extending the scope of intervention to secondary school-aged children, creating standardized attendance infraction letters for every school district in Utah, reevaluating …

Review Of The Little Book Of Restorative Teaching Tools: Games, Activities, And Simulations For Understanding Restorative Justice Practices, Olivia Engling

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.