Digital Commons Network^™

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 96, No. 15, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Bertucci, Leo. An Alumnus’ Journey to Shape Education – Gary Houchens
• Latimer, Jacob. Student Government Association Prepares for Another Unusual Semester
• Differing State & WKU Quarantine Guidelines Are Confusing, But It Has to Be Done
• Pepke, Brenna. The Man Behind the Tie – Tyreon Clark, Boys to Men Leadership Group of Kentucky
• Gaylord, Kaden. Hilltoppers Series Against Old Dominion Postponed – Basketball
• Snyder, Sean. Kicking It Again, Lady Topper Soccer is Back
• Kieser, Nick. Views: Charles Bassey Continues to Bulk Resume for NBA

What Does The Public Want Police To Do During Pandemics? A National Experiment, Justin Nix, Stefan Ivanov, Justin T. Pickett

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

We administered a survey experiment to a national sample of 1,068 US adults in April 2020 to determine the factors that shape support for various policing tactics in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents were sharply divided in their views about pandemic policing tactics, and were least supportive of policies that might limit public access to officers or reduce crime deterrence. Information about the health risks to officers, but not to inmates, significantly increased support for “precautionary” policing, but not for “social distance” policing. The information effect was modest, but may be larger if the information came from official …

Political Partisanship And Male High School Students Who Carry Handguns, John Page, Wayne L. Davis

Lincoln Memorial University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Handguns play a significant role in criminal activity. About 66% of all murders and 40% of robberies involve firearms. Because there are about than 470 residents for each full-time police officer in America, the police cannot effectively protect individual citizens. According to the differential association theory, criminality is a product of shared values, motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes that can be influenced by perceptions of the legal code. Democrats and Republicans have different views on reducing social harm via gun-control legal codes, and each political party creates its own unique ambience. Indeed, because each political party believes that its gun-control …

So What, Now What? Using Social Media Activism To Inform Power-Conscious Prevention Of Gender-Based Violence, Andrea R. Thyrring

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We will not end gender-based violence by responding to it. Experts and national organizations agree that effective primary prevention programs are essential to stopping harmful behaviors before they start (DeGue et al, 2014; American College Health Association, 2016; American College Health Association, 2018; Townsend, 2017; Schneider & Hirsch, 2018; McMahon et al, 2019), so much so that primary prevention to address gender-based violence on college campuses has been mandated by state and federal policy (SB 19-007, 2019; Institutional Security Policies and Crime Statistics, 2020). In order to be effective, primary prevention programs should be tailored to the community in which …

Well-Being In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2021 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Heather Akin, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Timothy Meyer, Steven A. Schulz

Nebraska Rural Poll

This year, rural Nebraskans gave similar assessments of their current situation as they did last year. However, their optimism about their future is slightly lower than last year. And, this year, more rural Nebraskans agree that people are powerless to control their own lives as compared to last year.

Residents of the North Central region are the regional group most likely to believe they will be better off ten years from now. And, residents of both the North Central and Panhandle regions are more likely than residents of other regions of the state to believe they are much better off …

Political Partisanship And Female High School Students Who Physically Fight On Campus, Chance Honeycutt, Wayne L. Davis

Lincoln Memorial University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Democrats and Republicans have different platforms on how to modify the social learning environment. According to the social learning theory, people learn to be aggressive through their life experiences. These experiences include personally observing the behaviors of others and modeling them. Personal behaviors are a product of learning the norms, values, and behaviors of society. Indeed, learning is a by-product of the interaction with others and is influenced by perceptions of the legal code. Because people experience culture conflict when they are exposed to different and opposing attitudes of acceptable behaviors, and because Democrats and Republicans have different attitudes toward …

Is There A Difference Between Democrat And Republican States In The Percentage Of Male High School Students Who Have Ever Used Marijuana?, Jordan Caldwell, Wayne L. Davis

Lincoln Memorial University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

There are opposing viewpoints on whether marijuana should be legalized. Democrats and Republicans have different attitudes toward the drug. Democrats believe marijuana should be legalized for medical patients, if it is prescribed by a physician and is needed to reduce severe pain. In addition, Democrats believe that the war on recreational marijuana has been a waste of time and government resources. Many Democrats are in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana because it is considered normal by social standards. Republicans, on the other hand, oppose legalizing medical marijuana because they believe other drugs can be prescribed by physicians to reduce pain …

Trust In Media, Institutions And Health Information In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2021 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Heather Akin, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Timothy Meyer, Steven A. Schulz

Nebraska Rural Poll

Rural Nebraskans’ confidence in many institutions has not changed much during the past four years. However, more rural Nebraskans have a great deal of confidence in the public safety agencies in their community than they did in 2017. Conversely, fewer rural Nebraskans express a great deal of confidence in the presidency than they did in 2017.

Overall, most rural Nebraskans have confidence in their local institutions (public safety agencies in their community, public schools in their community, and voting and election systems in their county). However, most have very little confidence in many national institutions (the Presidency, the U.S. House …

Demystifying School Resource Officers: A Case Study, Alexis Sliva

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, there has been a dramatic spike in student arrests for behaviors that previously fell under the auspices of suspensions, expulsions, or family consultations. Black and Latinx students receive discipline and law enforcement referrals at superfluous levels compared to White peers. Additionally, the disproportionate and aggressive referral of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students for disciplinary action are often for infractions that are considered less severe than the actions of their White counterparts. Punitive discipline advances school-based pathways to the juvenile justice system (SPJJ), formerly known as the school to prison pipeline (STPP). School psychologists are …

Impacts Of The Pandemic In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2021 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Heather Akin, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Timothy Meyer, Steven A. Schulz

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most rural Nebraskans felt various impacts from the pandemic. While many rural Nebraskans had someone in their household that quarantined because of possible coronavirus exposure or who contracted COVID-19, most have friends or family in their community that quarantined or contracted the virus. Many rural Nebraskans also have friends or family both inside and outside their community who were hospitalized as a result of COVID-19 or who died as a result of it.

Most rural Nebraskans say the following were affected a fair amount or a great deal by the pandemic: their socialization with others, their life overall, and their …

Life In Nonmetropolitan Nebraskan Communities: 2021 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Heather Akin, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Timothy Meyer, Steven A. Schulz

Nebraska Rural Poll

Rural Nebraskans are less positive about the current change and expected future change in their communities this year. The proportion believing their community has changed for the better has typically been greater than the proportion believing it has changed for the worse. However, this year the proportion believing their community changed for the worse was slightly more than the proportion believing it had changed for the better (similar to what occurred in 2003 and 2009). The proportion viewing positive change in their community sharply declined from last year. The proportion believing their community has stayed the same increased sharply. Despite …

Trust In Media, Institutions And Health Information For Metropolitan And Nonmetropolitan Nebraskans [Research Brief], Rebecca J. Vogt, Heather Akin, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Timothy Meyer, Steven A. Schulz

Nebraska Rural Poll

Provides a synopsis of trust in media, institutions, and health information for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan Nebraskans from Nebraska Rural Poll researchers.

Includes details about confidence in institutions, trust in media, and health information.

The Nebraska Rural Poll sampled residents from non-metropolitan counties and regional trade centers in the state. The Nebraska Metro Poll sampled the seven counties that comprise the Lincoln and Omaha metropolitan areas. Both polls sent four mailings regarding or containing the surveys in the spring of 2021 and had an online response option.

Recidivism: A Case Study Of Reentry Resources And Their Impact On Successful Reentry Post-Incarceration, Marissa L. Sulmeisters, Lisa J. Pasko

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

This thesis details a case study regarding reentry resources available to returning citizens and their influence on recidivism (returning to prison) likelihood among people released from prison. It explores existing research on recidivism, describes the interviews conducted by the researcher, discusses the implications of this research, and suggests further avenues for research and exploration to better inform policies and future actions regarding reentry resources. Ultimately, this thesis concludes that the most useful resources for returning citizens include resources directed towards meeting basic needs like food, clothing, and transportation, housing resources, support/mentorship groups, family support, and employment organizations. Following further research …

Comparison Of Sexual Risk Behaviors Between Junior Male And Female Students At Pierz High School, Sandy Tautges

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of the study was to conduct a secondary analysis of Minnesota Student Survey data to compare selected sexual risk behavior of male and female eleventh grade students at Pierz High School. The secondary analysis revealed that the males and females are not significantly different with respect to the selected sexual risk behaviors. The conclusion can be reached that there is no need to tailor the sexual health instruction to students based on gender.

The Court Is In Recession: On The Implications Of The Covid-19 Pandemic For Indigent Defense Spending, Andrew L. B. Davies, Victoria M. Smiegocki, Hannah E. Hall

Other Publications

What is the likely effect of the recession brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic on indigent defense budgets in the United States? To look forward, we look backward. We examine data on county-level spending on indigent defense in Texas during the Great Recession of 2007–2009. Redistributive policies—those which use taxpayer funds to support individuals who themselves pay little or no tax—are particularly susceptible to cuts during times of fiscal stress. Yet our analysis shows indigent defense policy, measured in terms of spending and access to counsel rates, was generally stable through the Great Recession years, even in counties hit hardest. …

Exploring Group-Threat And Police-Involved Homicide : A Spatial Analysis Of Police Involved Homicide In Us Counties, Kyle Demori Maksuta

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The recent advent of the Black Lives Matter movement has reinvigorated criminological inquiry into police violence. Recent advances in spatial analysis have opened new opportunities for understanding the spatial relationship between social structure and police violence. Spatial analysis is both statistically and substantively important to our understanding of police-involved-homicide (PIH), yet few studies have attempted to marry recent advances in spatial econometrics to this topic. The current study introduces spatial Durbin modeling (SDM) as a particularly useful approach to studying the spatial relationships between variables associated with group threat theory and PIH. Previous research has demonstrated the connections between group …

Longitudinal Examination Of Contextual Risk, Promotive Factors, And Psychosocial Functioning Using Structural Equation Modeling With A Sample Of Serious Adolescent Offenders, Daniel J. Knauer

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Mental health problems, including substance use problems, are more prevalent among adolescent criminal offenders than among the general population and are associated with an elevated risk of re-offending. It is important to understand what factors are associated with serious adolescent offenders’ future mental health and re-offending outcomes to promote their positive development. This study examined potential mechanisms behind established relationships between risk factors for mental health and criminal offending and psychosocial outcomes while integrating ecological theory and a risk and protective framework. To do this, a mediation model was examined using structural equation modeling in which contextual risk was hypothesized …

Bio-Spatial Policing In Theory And Practice: Examining Impacts And Resistance Through Mobilities And Children's Everyday Life, Emily Kaufman

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Despite decades of reforms and technological innovations, increasing evidence shows that state securitization disproportionately harms already racially, spatially, and socio-economically marginalized communities. My research investigates uneven impacts of state securitization, from punitive welfare programs to school surveillance to policing. Across sites, I focus on scales, voices and the everyday lived experiences often left out of scholarly discourse and sensational media. In the current climate of growing awareness and scholarship on police violence, my dissertation addresses three less-studied areas: 1) the interplay between racial, gendered, spatial, and technified police practices; 2) how these practices impact the everyday lives of those racially …

Examining Personal And Organizational Factors Leading To Police Officers’ Underutilization Of Employee Assistance Programs, Michael David Leary

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Police officers routinely get exposed to stressful or traumatic events throughout the tenure of their careers, which can lead to a build-up of emotions and internal stress. Consequently, research has shown that police officers have a higher suicide rate than the general public. Previous studies demonstrated that the majority of police officers have little knowledge about their provided employee assistance programs (EAP), and fewer yet have used the programs. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether a significant relationship existed between and among factors such as self-stigma of seeking help, social stigma of receiving psychological help, attitudes …

The City's Second Amendment, David Fagundes, Darrell A.H. Miller

Faculty Articles

Cities are increasingly common sites of contestation over the scope and meaning of the Second Amendment. Some municipalities have announced their opposition to firearm restrictions by declaring themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries. Others have sought to curtail gun violence by passing restrictive local regulations. Still others have responded to police violence by moving to demilitarize, disarm, or even disband their police forces. The burgeoning post-Heller legal literature, though, has largely overlooked the relationship between cities, collective arms bearing, and the Second Amendment. In sum, to what extent do cities themselves have a right to keep and bear arms? This Article …

Spatial Patterns Of Crime In District 05, Quito-Ecuador, 2016-2020, Pablo Esteban Ochoa Veloz

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The geography of crime in Ecuador has not been geographically studied. In Quito, few criminal studies have been developed from a geographic approach. This research focuses on studying trends and patterns of crime in Quito`s District 05 by employing spatial analytical tools using GIS (Geographic Information System), statistics and cartographic techniques. This study aims to contribute to the literacy in crime-related topic in the country. Quito´s District 05 houses a representative percentage of the city´s financial services, retail activities, and other tertiary services. This district is among the most important economic business district in the city which attract many people …

"Defund The (School) Police"? Bringing Data To Key School-To-Prison Pipeline Claims, Michael Heise, Jason P. Nance

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

Nationwide calls to “Defund the Police,” largely attributable to the resurgent Black Lives Matter demonstrations, have motivated derivative calls for public school districts to consider “defunding” (or modifying) school resource officer (“SRO/police”) programs. To be sure, a school’s SRO/police presence—and the size of that presence—may influence the school’s student discipline reporting policies and practices. How schools report student discipline and whether that reporting involves referrals to law enforcement agencies matters, particularly as reports may fuel a growing “school-to-prison pipeline.” The school-to-prison pipeline research literature features two general claims that frame debates about changes in how public schools approach student discipline …

Effects Of States’ Laws On Youth Physical Activity Participation And Obesity Prevalence, Chae Young Chang

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

The alarming prevalence of obesity and lack of physical activity among adolescents led to immediate policy action to address these concerns. Accordingly, many states introduced and enacted their own legislation to encourage physical activity in schools. Few studies have explored the effectiveness of the new legislation, however, especially at the state level. To answer the fundamental question of whether policy is effective and to describe the varying effects of state obesity policies, this study analyzed the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System from 2007 to 2017. Using the difference-in-differences method, this study found that legislative efforts to encourage physical activity had …

Uncovering An Alternative Social Structure To Social Dominance: A Blend Of Ethnography And Community Based Participatory Research, Andrew A. Fox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated social structures that are alternative to the prevailing assumption of Social Dominance Theory (SDT), which is that all human interaction is based on social hierarchies. The implications of social dominance impact health at an institutional, interpersonal, and intrapersonal level. The intersection of these levels of social dominance cause health disparities that perpetuate gaps between populations. This study explored one community organizing group who is challenging social dominance by creating alternative social structures. The methods of this study included Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and Arts Based Research (ABR) as ways to generate middle-range theorizing and attempt to …

A Gender And Race Theoretical And Probabilistic Analysis Of The Recent Title Ix Policy Changes, Jordan Wellington

Scripps Senior Theses

On May 6th, 2020, after extensive public comment and review, the Department of Education published the final rule for the new Title IX regulations, which took effect in schools on August 14th. Title IX is the nearly fifty year old piece of the Education Amendments that prohibits sexual discrimination in federally funded schools. Several of these changes, such as the inclusion of live hearings and cross examination of witnesses, have been widely criticized by victims’ rights advocates for potentially retraumatizing victims of sexual assault and discouraging students from pursuing a Title IX claim. While the impact of the new regulations …

Face Masking Violations, Policing, And Covid-19 Death Rates: A Spatial Analysis In New York City Zip Codes, Tse-Chuan Yang, Seulki Kim, Stephen A. Matthews

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The use of face masks during a pandemic and compliance with state and local mandates has been a divisive issue in the United States. We document variation in face masking violation rates involving police enforcement in New York City and examine the association between police-enforced face masking violations and COVID-19-related death rates. We assemble a Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP) code–level data set from the New York City Open Data, Department of Health, and the American Community Survey (2014–2018). We use maps to demonstrate the spatial patterning of police-enforced face masking violation rates and COVID-19-related death rates. Using a Bayesian spatial …

Promising Little Things To Strengthen Social Connections, Caitlin Coyle, Setarreh Massihzadegan

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

Unlike “best practices”, promising practices only require the successful implementation of a program or activity and some level of information that suggests a positive outcome for participants. One key advantage of using promising practices is that they can be adapted and there is flexibility in implementation styles and environments. As well, starting with a promising practice can help solve community problems, and save the trouble of reinventing the wheel. If someone has already found an effective way to resolve an issue or advance the cause, it makes sense to use it. The intention of this document is to alert those …

Beyond The Second Sidewalk: A Study Of Collective Efficacy At Institutions Of Higher Education And Surrounding Communities, Rebecca Decesare

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Social disorganization theory (Shaw 1942; 1969) suggests that communities with greater racial heterogeneity, residential mobility, and low socioeconomic status will be less organized, thereby less able to collectively repel criminal behavior. These characteristics describe many institutions of higher education (IHEs), so we should expect that IHEs would have higher crime rates than neighboring areas with greater social organization. However, recent explorations of social disorganization have considered the mitigating concept of collective efficacy. This research suggests that the characteristics of social control, social cohesion, and trust present in communities will mitigate crime (Sampson 1997). These community characteristics also describe many IHEs. …

“Basic Stuff I Should Know About My Kids, I Don’T Know”: Incarcerated Mothers’ Perception Of Incarceration’S Effects On Mother-Child Relationships, Narissa Haakmat

Online Theses and Dissertations

Tougher sentencing policies have resulted in a dramatic increase in the jail and prison populations in the United States over the past few decades. The number of women who are spending time behind bars have vastly increased as a result of this. Despite increased interest in this area of research, a variety of questions remain as to how women experience incarceration. Most women who are incarcerated are mothers, but few criminologists have explored how imprisonment affects motherhood and mothers’ perception of the mother-child relationship during incarceration. The research presented here contributes to this body of literature by exploring the effects …

The Political Imagination: Introduction To American Government, Peter Kolozi, James E. Freeman

Open Educational Resources

The Political Imagination: Introduction to American Government provides realistic, critical analysis as well as a hopeful, engagement-oriented narrative that encourages students to understand the important role they can play in the political system and in crafting a society in which they want to live. The Political Imagination draws on social and political theory and history offering an analytical as well as normative framework to think about the substance of politics, the procedures and institutions of government, and a dynamic, socially contingent definition of political power.