Digital Commons Network^™

Just Home: Understanding Cycle Of Housing Instability And Justice Involvement In Missoula County, Mckenzie Javorka, Elizabeth Sabbath, Kaitlin Fertaly

Independent Living and Community Participation

The Just Home project in Missoula County, Montana, is a collaborative initiative supported by the MacArthur Foundation to address the intersection of housing instability and justice system involvement. Led by Homeword, Inc. and the Missoula County Community Justice Department, the project seeks to develop sustainable, community-driven solutions that reduce incarceration and improve housing outcomes for vulnerable populations. To inform this work, the University of Montana’s Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities conducted a comprehensive community needs assessment using mixed methods, including administrative data analysis, qualitative interviews with service providers, and community engagement with unhoused and justice-involved individuals.

Findings show that housing …

Police & Civilian Interaction: Developing A Survey Of Social Attitudes Toward Law Enforcement For Public Administrators, Austin Mendez

Honors Theses

This thesis presents an informational overview of a wide variety of controversial topics related to modern police and civilian interaction. Additionally, it presents specific survey development theory meant to aid in the creation of a highly accessible survey instrument for use by public administrators. Public administrators may find particular value in the development and continuous improvement of public policy and community education programs based on feedback from constituents. This writing focuses on survey development theory, a historical overview of relevant legal cases establishing police discretion, issues facing people in custody, legal protections specific to police, militarization, federal partnerships, police training, …

Using The Narrative Roles Questionnaire Within An Academic Setting, Toby Stipp

Student Theses and Dissertations

Criminal profiling has become a useful tool for many agencies when investigating a variety of crimes. The proposed study used a questionnaire originally designed for criminal behavior and profiling, the Narrative Roles Questionnaire (NRQ), and observed if it could be translated to an academic setting pertaining to academic cheating. A pilot study involving definitions of the four narratives in the NRQ revealed that both the Professional and Victim narratives are more likely to be the narratives that academic cheaters would acknowledge. In the proposed study, participants were asked to write down a cheating scenario and fill out the full NRQ …

African American’S Accessibility To Culturally Appropriate Mental Health Services, Latasha Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mental disorders are a major cause of disability in the United States, disproportionately affecting African Americans (AAs) since the Post-Civil War era (1865-1877). Despite prior studies on racial disparities in mental health care, evidence-based delivery protocols for racial and ethnic minority groups remain underdeveloped. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of AA when accessing culturally appropriate mental health services, using qualitative, phenomenological research methods. The theoretical framework for this investigation was based on social stress theory, which explored individual experiences and community change. Six AA males and females, from Gregg County, Texas, and the Louisiana …

Integrative Treatment Providers’ Perspectives: Gender Differences For Adult Survivors Of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Amanda M. Robinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The long-term effects that individuals suffer because of childhood sexual abuse may impact their physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social health. Treatment providers and helping professionals working with childhood sexual abuse survivors offer a unique insight into the impact of the trauma based on the gender of the survivor. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore integrative treatment providers’ perceptions of treating male versus female adult survivors of sexual abuse. Seligman’s positive psychology was used for the theoretical framework of the study, and the conceptual framework was based on Engel’s biopsychosocial model. The data for this study were …

Women's Roles In Countering Violent Extremism In Nigeria, Adebimpe Adenike Falade

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Violent extremism presented significant challenges to Nigerians, especially women and children in Northern Nigeria. Women’s consistent roles in the fight for gender equality have been overlooked in the academic literature although their role as valuable players in this fight is essential in achieving the required paradigm shift. Guided by Wollstonecraft’s liberal feminist theory, the purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to gain a deeper understanding of women’s roles in combating violent extremism in Nigeria so that strategies and policies could be devised to promote a continuing inclination toward gender equality. The research questions addressed the experiences of women who …

Community-Level Analysis Of Anti-Asian Hate Crime, Jisoo Cho, Jinuk Jeong, Christopher Han-Fai Seto

Publications and Research

Motivated by the surge in anti-Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study examines the community characteristics associated with the likelihood of their occurrence from 2020 to 2023 through interracial conflict and social disorganization perspectives. Analyzing data from the New York City Police Department and the American Community Survey across 2,198 census tracts, we find that communities with higher levels of Asian population, racial heterogeneity, and residential instability have higher odds of experiencing anti-Asian hate crime. However, concentrated disadvantage and defended neighborhoods (White, Black, and Hispanic) are not significant across all estimated models. These findings have important implications for …

Indiana Prison Writers Workshop: The Power Of Group Cohesion And Creative Expression Among Incarcerated Individuals, Lindamarie Olson, Debra Des Vignes, Amy Mclean, Bailey Wester, Uche Nwatu

Journal of Prison Education Research

Objective: The present study describes the development of the Indiana Prison Writers Workshop (IPWW), a creative writing workshop, based in group theory and designed for incarcerated settings. Methods: Quantitative evaluation data from IPWW workshops conducted from 2023-2024 were analyzed using IBM SPSS V. 29. Prior to the workshop, 149 men responded to questions on class expectations and goals, and 115 men responded at workshop conclusion. Open-ended qualitative responses from post-workshop data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Quantitative data demonstrates the effectiveness of IPWW in teaching writing skills and reflects participants’ agreement that the workshops provide opportunities to share their …

After The Catastrophe: Rwanda's Transformation, Zhijun He

International Studies Honors Projects

Standard development theory holds that recovery requires institutions first: courts, fiscal systems, the rule of law. Rwanda in 1994 had none—and rebuilt a state. The state must extract to build capacity, deliver to build legitimacy; when both collapse simultaneously, no entry point remains. Somalia's three-decade failure confirms the trap. Rwanda broke it.

This thesis argues that Rwanda's trajectory is not an exception to the good governance consensus but a refutation of it. Through analytical synthesis of the existing scholarship on four post-genocide institutional mechanisms— gacaca community courts, umuganda collective labor, imihigo performance contracts, and ingando political education camps—the thesis develops …

Reimagining Discipline: Elementary School Counselors’ Experiences Implementing And Advocating For Restorative Practices As An Alternative To Exclusionary Discipline, Kim Kelly

Dissertations

School counselors are positioned as leaders and advocates within their school communities, playing a critical role in promoting equitable practices and systemic change. Despite decades of research indicating the harmful effects of exclusionary discipline, this approach continues to be implemented in schools across the United States. Emerging literature has indicated restorative practices as an alternative discipline approach that promotes equity, reduces disproportionality in school discipline, and fosters a positive school climate. This research focused on the experience of elementary school counselors advocating for and implementing restorative practices as an alternative to exclusionary discipline. Through a hermeneutic phenomenological and social constructivist …

Which Virtues Are 'The' Virtues? A Rank-Ordered Analysis Of Virtues In Leadership, Maegan L. Winegar

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The current research study was conducted from an Aristotelian and Christian understanding of virtue within leadership. Nineteen virtues were identified in the literature review and discussed as essential for living a life of eudaimonia or flourishing. Within the literature review, a gap was identified in the discrepancy between how the general public conceptualizes virtue and how philosophers, psychologists, and theologists understand virtue. Additionally, scientific research in leadership is inconsistent in the operationalization of virtue, which limits the ability to research virtues in leadership validly and reliably. Therefore, this study provided the general public with an online survey of 19 virtues …

Analysis Of The Relationship Of Spirituality And Spiritual Bypass On The Resilience Of Survivors Of Homicide In The U.S., Katie Ann Wiggins

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The quantitative study examined the influence of spirituality and spiritual bypass on the resilience of homicide survivors, an area with limited research. This correlational design used multiple regression analysis to investigate how spirituality and case solution status moderated the effects of spiritual bypass on the resilience of homicide survivors. While substantial studies address grief from natural and sudden loss, there have been few that explore the experiences of homicide survivors grieving loss due to murder. It was the researcher’s anticipation that there would be a positive effect between spirituality and resilience in addition to the negative effect on resilience from …

Researching Public Perceptions Within Legal Precedents Related To The Use Of Police Swat Teams In South Carolina, Kristopher S. Ahler

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

SWAT deployments, the militarization of police, and the use of force by law enforcement are frequent staples of media attention, harsh public opinion, and judgment from the public. The public, with specific legislative limitations on demographics, such as age and criminal history, comprises those individuals selected to sit on juries, which make decisions about the reasonableness of police conduct in SWAT operations. SWAT teams wear militaristic uniforms, are heavily armed, and respond to hostage rescues, counterterrorism operations, apprehending armed and dangerous fugitives, serving high risk search and arrest warrants, active shooter response, and other high-risk operations. The concept and practice …

Exploring Effective Leadership Styles In Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Programs: A Qualitative Study, Tony Terrel Curtis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to examine the perceptions of adolescent addiction treatment counselors regarding effective leadership styles in addressing organizational, employee, and clientele needs. The study focused on leadership in substance abuse treatment programs, particularly the roles that various leadership styles, such as situational, servant, and transformational leadership, play in improving communication, organizational cohesion, and client care. Participants were 15 adolescent addiction treatment program counselors who had worked for at least 1 year and were currently residing in the southwest United States. Drawing from the contingency theory of leadership, the research revealed that different leadership styles …

Experiences Of Students Who Have Attended Disciplinary Alternative Schools: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Bonnie Marie Cox

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the school discipline-related experiences in the form of the exclusionary discipline for students who are currently at or who were previously at public alternative education schools in the state of Florida. At this stage in the research, school-discipline related experiences in the form of exclusionary discipline were generally defined as students’ individual experiences that may have contributed to their removal from their general education setting. This study sought to answer what the perceived experiences of current and/or former high school students who have recently attended a public alternative school as …

Correctional Officer Stress: The Effects Of Supervising Mentally Ill Inmates, Samuel T. Akers

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The work of correctional officers goes unnoticed and unappreciated even though the job is one of the most stressful and dangerous in the United States and worldwide (Pittaro, 2017). Correctional officers work with a population that has proven their propensity to commit offenses against others, such as assaults, rapes, and murders. Officers are on constant alert for threatened or realized personal attacks. Witnessing daily violence and mayhem causes work stress and adversity experienced by no other occupation, yet correctional officers’ occupation lacks research concerning stress on officers and how that stress negatively affects inmate supervision (Lambert et al., 2018). Without …

From Sketches To Stereotypes: Understanding Criminality Through Student Illustrations, Sandra Sicurella, Simone Tuzza

The Qualitative Report

This study investigates the use of comics to challenge stereotypes about criminals, acknowledging the partial and sensationalized nature of cultural production. It examines how TV series, films, and news influence students’ perceptions. Using Art-Based Research (ABR), a creative and uncommon approach in criminology, the research adopts comics as a pedagogical and investigative tool. The study aims to empirically validate this method, contributing to the academic debate on creative techniques in social research. It tests the hypothesis that visual storytelling can reveal beliefs related to the criminal imaginary and stimulate critical reflection. Three workshops were conducted with university students (aged 20–25) …

The Leadership Barrier: How Organizational Support, Culture, And Stigma Influence Mental Health Utilization In The Nypd, Ian Demodna

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined systematic barriers that affect NYPD officers' utilization of mental health resources. Despite efforts to provide mental health resources, deep-rooted stigma, rigid organizational culture, and inconsistent leadership support continue to impede officers' utilization. A survey was distributed to two groups of police officers: officers with 5 years or less of active service (n = 548) and 15 years or more of active service (n = 880). The survey questions focused on leadership support, organizational culture, and stigma to assess the differences in mental health utilization. The results showed no significant differences between groups in utilization (p = .437), …

Phenomenological Study Of The Lived Experiences Of The Constraint Of Law Enforcement Under The De-Policing Movement, Darren A. Kenyon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative and descriptive phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of law enforcement officers in relation to how the de-policing movement may have constrained their ability to proactively enforce the law and interact with the citizens they serve in Connecticut. This study employed Fritz Heider’s attribution theory as a theoretical framework. Data was collected through a series of semi-structured interviews conducted online via Zoom with 10 participants who were employed as police officers or sergeants for a municipal law enforcement agency in the State of Connecticut. These participants were selected through purposive and snowball sampling …

The Lingering Wound: Examining The Interplay Of Cultural Mistrust, Help-Seeking Attitudes, And Race-Based Counseling Preferences Among Black Americans, Jean-Robert Langlois

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This mixed-methods study examined the relationship between cultural mistrust, help-seeking attitudes, and race-based counseling preferences among Black Americans. Prior research has suggested that there is a notable underutilization of mental health services within the African American community. There is a lack of studies that integrate both quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the reasons behind this underutilization. Participants were recruited through a convenient sampling method and a total of 74 individuals aged 18 and older agreed to take part in the study. The Client Preference Scale (CPS), the Cultural Mistrust Inventory (CMI), the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychology Help Scale-Short …

Unveiling The Detrimental Effects Of Racial Profiling On Hispanics In The Rgv By Dps Under Operation Lone Star, Veronica G. Salinas

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this applied study was to solve the problem of whether racial profiling by DPS on the Hispanic community in the RGV was indeed an ongoing issue that was causing adverse impacts. Moreover, to design better training for DPS troopers to address the problem of racial profiling against Hispanics. The setting of this study was based on Hispanics born or raised in the RGV. Interviews and focused groups were used to collect data. The MAXQDA was used to help analyze and identify common themes. The two main common themes were positive and negative experiences, with 11 out of …

Pathway Out Of Homelessness, Budwa (Bud) Sous

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This phenomenological case study aims to understand the homeless individuals' relational Transformational Experience (TE) and their choice to complete the transitional pathway journey from homelessness at a faith-based shelter. Developed in 1938 by John Dewy, TE has become a comprehensive and complex framework that describes how learners interpret, confirm, and give meaning to their experiences. As a result, this study's framework uses a hermeneutic and relational approach to explore and highlight relational barriers the homeless faced following their transition out of a Midwest homeless shelter. However, research has not adequately recognized how a restored relationship contributes to cognitive and behavioral …

Transformative Teaching: Enhancing Spiritual Growth In The I'M A Part Church Through Prison Ministry Program Insights, Arlen K. Parham

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The research project strived to equip the leadership of small churches with the tools to improve spiritual maturity among church members by utilizing a holistic, evidence-based curriculum developed with transformative teaching from prison ministry insights. The goal is to bring an evidence-based prison curriculum from a correctional setting and implement it in a church setting to improve spiritual maturity. The congregants of the I’m A Part Church agreed to be a test model. The curriculum will advance the church’s mission to invest in others by creating a vetted transformative teaching program. The addition of the transformative teaching curriculum is geared …

Vigilante Justice Violence In Ghana: Does A Visible Police Force Reduce Support For Instant Justice?, John Ampomah

Theses

Vigilante justice remains a persistent issue in Ghana, with a significant portion of Ghanaians subscribing to it to address their grievances. While existing research has examined the social and cultural drivers of vigilante justice in Ghana, the role of visible police presence (i.e., police station and police patrol) on vigilante justice has received limited attention. This study seeks to add to the literature by exploring the relationship between visible police presence and support for vigilante justice by drawing on Black’s (1983) Self-Help Theory. First, I argue that a visible police force directly reduces public support for vigilante justice and indirectly …

A Comparative Analysis Of Demographic Characteristics Of Male Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators, Katherine M. Thompson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Intimate partner violence is a significant and widespread social issue with far-reaching personal, societal, and economic consequences. Nonfatal strangulation is an act of violence that is considered a strong predictor of homicide within violent relationships. While research about nonfatal strangulation has improved, there is still limited knowledge about individuals who commit acts of strangulation within violent relationships. This study was an investigation of demographic characteristics of male individuals who commit acts of strangulation within intimate relationships. This research was grounded in the power and control theory, general strain theory, and social learning theory. The research questions for the study examined …

The Impact Of Race On Sentencing Outcomes In The United States, Tijana Krivokapic

Honors Theses

The United States, with just 5% of the world’s population, houses nearly a quarter of the world’s prisoners. Moreover, the racial composition of the United States prison population is 56.8% White, 38.0% Black, 2.9% Native American, and 1.5% Asian (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2023). This highlights the disproportionate presence of minority offenders in the prison system, prompting concerns about racial disparities in sentencing. While research on sentencing is robust, much of the research relies on outdated data sources. This study adopts a contemporary approach by utilizing current data to examine whether the race of an offender affects two essential sentencing …

Love Thy Neighbor: A Content Analysis Of Nextdoor™ Posts Discussing The Homeless Population In Spokane, Olivia Harrington

Diversity & Social Justice in Education Conference

Homelessness, as it is portrayed in American media (e.g. news, social media, films, television) is riddle with misinformation and stereotype application. These stereotypes place individual blame on those experiencing homelessness, claiming that they are drug addicts, violent, and not worthy of help. 61% of Americans have not researched homelessness on their own, meaning they solely depend on media for their information (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2024). Furthermore, research has provided evidence that this culturally dominant messaging impacts Americans’ level of empathy and willingness to support policies of care (e.g., Medicaid, food stamps, shelter services) (Johnson et al., 2009). This …

Warriors And Guardians: Police Recruit Role Orientation And Heterogeneity, Robert Boxerman

Dissertations

American police have experienced an expansion of duties over the last century, and their function has become increasingly diverse. As a result, researchers have developed role orientation typologies to understand how officers view themselves, their attitudes toward their work, and their responsibilities. One such typology is the warrior/guardian framework, where warrior-oriented officers see themselves as crime-fighting soldiers in conflict with criminals, while guardian-oriented officers view themselves as protectors of the community and providers of broader public services. Despite its popularity, there is limited empirical evidence supporting this framework. Further, little research examines how police recruits differentially view their role as …

Investigating Cold Homicide Cases In Michigan: Combining Systematic Research With Experiential Insight, Jaqueline Chavarria

Honors Theses

According to the Michigan State Police (2023), murder/non-negligent manslaughter, commonly known as homicide, is the “willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another.” The Murder Accountability Project suggests there could be over 20,000 unsolved homicide cases in Michigan between 1965 and 2023 (2024). Despite the prevalence of unsolved cases, scholarly analysis on the topic is limited. This study examines solvability factors, also known as clearance factors, for cold homicide cases in Michigan by conducting a systematic literature review with news publications. Additionally, this study incorporates experiential insight, offering a holistic exploration of solvability factors. Using a systematic approach, 15 …

Mental Health Wellness For Female Law Enforcement Executives And Their Perception Of Proactive Mindsets, Cindy Elizabeth Baughman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative study aimed to examine how female law enforcement executives perceive the use of mental health wellness in their professions. The phenomenological design provided an increased understanding of the lived experiences of those interviewed, specifically regarding their use of mental health wellness. The snowball sampling technique was utilized to recruit seven female law enforcement executives at the Sheriff, Under Sheriff, Chief, or Deputy Chief rank. One-on-one interviews were completed, data collected from the interviews was transcribed using NVivo software, and collectively, common themes amongst the participants’ interviews were identified. The gap in the research and the associated qualitative interview …