Digital Commons Network^™

State Reform And Respect For The Rights Of The Disabled People: A Reflection On The Olmstead Decision The Case Of New York State, Roseanne L. Flores

Publications and Research

Individuals with serious mental illness are often forced to live in institutional settings which limit their freedom and rights to become fully integrated into the community. The Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999) decision ruled that states must provide individuals with disabilities the opportunity to live in the most integrated settings based on their needs. Since that time several lawsuits have been filed on behalf of individuals with disabilities against states for failing to comply with the Olmstead decision. New York State is one such state. The purpose of this paper is to describe the lawsuit which was brought …

Zero Textbook Cost Syllabus For Art 1012 (Art History Survey Ii), Karen Shelby

Open Educational Resources

This introductory course presents a global view of art history through slide lectures and museum visits, with an emphasis on works of art found in New York City museums. It selectively surveys the visual arts of Europe from the Renaissance to the twentieth century and concurrent historical periods in Asia (India, China, Japan), Africa, Mesoamerica, South America, Native North America, and the United States.

Are Dhs Technology Grants For Local Police Departments An Effective Tool Against Terrorism?, Erika Mcginty

Student Theses

This paper examines the effectiveness of allocating funds to the nation’s police departments for the prevention of domestic terrorism, as is done annually through the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Grants Program. The program, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Administration, has distributed billions of dollars since its 2003 inception in equipment, software, and technology services based on the recipient police agencies’ own risk assessments of local terrorism. Much of the technology desired by police consists of systems of mass surveillance; this thesis focuses on implementations of surveillance video cameras or CCTV, license plate readers, and unmanned aerial vehicles. …

Range Of Detection For Proteins And Dna From Fingerprints On Fired And Unfired Cartridge Casings, Stacey-Ann R. Sterling

Student Theses

Cartridges and spent cartridge casings can be probative pieces of evidence. Unfortunately due to a combination of factors such as exposure to high temperatures and initially low amounts of biological material on the surface, DNA testing so far has been mostly unsuccessful for these items. Typing other marker systems, such as protein polymorphisms, on the same biological evidence would add power of discrimination. To explore this option we developed a DNA-protein trypsin-based co-extraction method that was optimized for unfired and fired cartridges. Various sample wet and dry collection methods and multiple metal casings, such as aluminum, nickel, steel, and brass …

Optimizing A Method For Simultaneous Recovery Of Proteins And Dna From Fingerprints, Steven Kranes

Student Theses

DNA testing on touched objects is a valuable tool in forensic investigations, but DNA is usually present in low amounts, causing poor STR typing results. For touch DNA evidence, there is a clear need for additional individualization, especially for highly probative samples. This could be achieved by testing genetically variable proteins. The goal of this project was to develop a DNA/protein co-extraction method to facilitate DNA and protein testing on the same evidence item. Existing DNA extraction methods were carefully adjusted to allow for downstream mass spectrometry analysis. Initial experiments on saliva and fingerprints placed on glass suggested that trypsin …

The Divinity Of Crime: How Spirituality Can Strengthen The Resilience Of Criminal Organizations, David R. Vegvari

Student Theses

This thesis conducts a systematic analysis of open source data that discusses ideational factors of resilience in criminal organizations. It does this by looking at the role of spirituality – referred to as an individual’s moral or ethical codes influenced by cultural, ethnic, and religious values – and its effects on an organization’s durability, impenetrability, and adaptability. To understand spirituality as a factor of resilience in criminal organizations, it is delineated into four Dimensions of Spiritual Influence (DoSI). They are (1) trust, (2) spiritual neutralization, (3) strategic arenas, and (4) the logistical use of spiritual institutions. In order to analyze …

A Cross-Cultural Examination Of The Conformity Effect When Co-Witnesses Discuss A Crime, Sungil Bang

Student Theses

Prior research has shown that discussions with a co-witness can lead to the spread of false information, better known as the memory conformity effect. Specifically the effects of independence and interdependence on memory conformity have been examined. People who perceived their selves as a distinctive and unique were related to less memory conformity whereas those who identified themselves within their social relationships were not related to memory conformity. One of the limitations of the previous study is that they only focused on Western populations even though there is a cultural difference between Western European culture and Eastern Asian culture in …

Posttraumatic Reactions To Psychosis: A Qualitative Analysis, Weili Lu, Kim T. Mueser, Stanley D. Rosenberg, Philip T. Yanos, Neisrein Mahmoud

Publications and Research

The current study aimed to evaluate the potentially traumatic aspects of psychotic symptoms and psychiatric treatment of psychosis using qualitative methods. Participants included 63 people with first episode psychosis or multiple psychotic episodes recruited from an inpatient psychiatric unit and an urban state psychiatric hospital in the North East region of the United States. Quasi-structured interviews were used to explore those aspects of symptoms and treatment that were perceived as traumatic Emotional reactions to the most traumatic aspect of symptoms and treatment, during and after the event, were also examined. Participants described a number of traumatogenic aspects of psychotic symptoms, …

Public Health Research Priorities To Address Us Human Trafficking, Emily F. Rothman, Hanni Stoklosa, Susie B. Baldwin, Makini Chisolm-Straker, Rumi Kato Price, Holly G. Atkinson

Publications and Research

In this Perspective, HEAL Trafficking, the nation's leading public health anti-trafficking organization maps out a national research agenda to tackle the problem of human trafficking. Given the paucity of research on trafficking, HEAL Trafficking engaged its membership in a consensus development process throughout 2016 to develop its national research agenda. HEAL Trafficking proposes five priorities that public health researchers should focus on in the decade ahead to make meaningful progress on preventing and responding to human trafficking in the Unites States.

Remotivating The Black Vote: The Effect Of Low-Quality Information On Black Voters In The 2016 Presidential Election And How Librarians Can Intervene, Andrew P. Jackson, Denyvetta Davis, James Kelly Alston

Publications and Research

In a phenomenon that was surprising to many, given the racially charged nature of the 2016 presidential election, black voter turnout was significantly lower than the previous two elections. Donald Trump’s victory is attributable to many factors, one of which was the lower participation of black voters in several swing states. To a lesser extent, black support for third-party candidates also aided Trump’s victory. The lower black turnout itself is attributable to several factors, but one factor specifically in the LIS realm was the prevalence of low-quality information and rhetoric and a susceptibility that some black voters had to this …

Peer Review Writing Feedback, Monica D. Foust

Open Educational Resources

This is a guide for students to use as they provide feedback to their peers on a piece of writing. The activity was done in groups of 3.

The Quantification Of Cocaine From The Erythroxylum Coca Plant And The Comparison On High Performance Liquid Chromatography And Gas Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy As An Analytical Method., Tuesday James

Student Theses

Cocaine is derived from the Erythroxylum coca plant, is a highly addictive stimulant abused all over the world. There are two types of Erythroxylum coca plants that produce cocaine; the E. Coca and E. Novogranatense. Cocaine exists as the salt, and the freebase which is typically referred to as “crack” due to the crackling sound it makes when heated. It is popular because it is inexpensive and easily available on the streets, mainly in poor urban areas. The purpose of this project was to determine the amount of cocaine that can be extracted from E.coca and to assess which analytical …

Interrogation Techniques In South Korea: What Happens In A Korean Interrogation Room?, Hyunjoo Lee

Student Theses

Recently, South Koreans have realized that, due to the techniques used during police investigations, suspects might often commit suicide or confess to crimes that they did not commit. Unfortunately, many studies in Korea are retrospective with regard to false confessions (i.e., case study), and no systematical research studies have been conducted on how Korean police officers interrogate suspects. To prevent events in which potentially guilty suspects are treated inhumanely and innocent suspects falsely confess, self-reported surveys were administered to 86 Korean police officers to systematically analyze how Korean police officers prepare for interrogations (e.g., interrogation training session attendance), how they …

Unafraid And Unapologetic, Still, Alyshia Gálvez

Publications and Research

Luis Saavedra, Melissa García Vélez, and Marlen Fernández were among the cofounders of the Lehman College DREAM Team, the first official group organized by and specifically for undocumented students at the City University of New York (CUNY). From their first semester on campus, until they graduated in 2014, Luis, Melissa, and Marlen worked tirelessly on campus, around the city, regionally, and at the federal level, demanding better services for undocumented students at the college and throughout the CUNY system, while also helping college and high school students mobilize on their own campuses. They engaged with national activist groups and debates, …

Species Identification Of Necrophagous Insect Eggs Based On Amino Acid Profile Differences Revealed By Direct Analysis In Real Time-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry, Justine E. Giffen, Jennifer Y. Rosati, Cameron M. Longo, Rabi A. Musah

Publications and Research

The colonization of decomposing remains by necrophagous insects such as blow flies is of forensic importance because the progression through the various stages of insect development can be correlated to time of death. The ability to infer this information hinges on accurate determination of the fly species that are associated with the entomological evidence collected. This evidence can include eggs, larvae, pupae, and puparial casings. Determination of the egg’s identity is particularly challenging because the eggs of multiple species are morphologically very similar. We report here that the species identity of fly eggs can be determined from their chemical fingerprint …

Presentation Of The Space Utitilization Task Force, John Jay College Of Criminal Justice

Reports and Publications from John Jay College

From email memorandum from President Travis June 2, 2017:

... I appointed an ad hoc Task Force on September 1, 2016, to look into the space use process, engage in broad consultation with campus stakeholders, and provide me with the resulting analysis and recommendations. I am writing today to share with you the final report of the Task Force and to inform the John Jay College community that I have adopted the recommendations of the Task Force.

Letter To The President: Longitudinal Critical Discourse Analysis Of Academic And Hip Hop Genres In A Rap Narrative Program, Debangshu Roygardner

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The objective of this study was to examine an in-school rap narrative workshop through critical discourse theory (Bamberg, 2012; Daiute, 2014). Twelve youth from a public school serving youth in urban Houston, TX were recruited from an in-school and after-school Hip hop/Rap narrative program to participate in a two-year cohort research study. The primary research question guiding the study was “How do young people participating in a school-based Hip hop/Rap program use a wide range of narrative genres for literacy and psycho-social development over two years in the program?”

The data-intensive study involved assessments of literacy and psycho-social development via …

Seaport Vulnerability To Criminal Networks: A Mixed Method Approach To Measuring Criminological Vulnerability In The Top 30 U.S. Container Ports, Leonid Lantsman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Seaports form a unique space for criminological examination. As the locus points for the majority of international and domestic trade criminal network access to a port can provide outsized benefits. While ports are physical spaces they are underlined by complex systems incorporating public and private agencies, companies and small entities. Underlying the administrative and logistical activity at the port is a jurisdictional web of public and private security regulatory agencies. The complexity of the environment creates vulnerabilities that criminal networks can use to gain access to ports. This dissertation developed a Seaport Vulnerability Framework (SVF), developed from the rational choice …

Diplomas Vs Incarceration: Does Intersectionality Affect Black Men And Women Differently?, Chelsie Burchett

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Racial minorities are disproportionately imprisoned or sent to jail for reasons including racial profiling, unfair drug laws, and a biased judicial system. Black men are often subject to unwarranted searches and stop-and-frisks. These are meant to protect neighborhoods from criminal activity, when in fact they are often used to target people of color in destitute neighborhoods. Some scholars argue that a lot of differential treatment towards Black men stems from automatic thought processes, or implicit biases on the part of law enforcement officers. These are seen as unconscious and instilled by societal stigmas, rather than the result of careful deliberations. …

The Advanced Spectroscopic Analysis Of Organic Gunshot Residue And Explosives, Jennifer M. Leonard

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

With the prevalence of shooting cases and terrorist attacks/or threats that plague the current state of the criminal justice system, it is of paramount importance to be able to detect, identify and interpret the presence of gunshot residue or explosives material. This concern is seen in law enforcement agencies and the media throughout the United States and abroad.

Currently, the typical method of analyzing gunshot residue in most crime laboratories serves to identify the inorganic constituents of the primer residue, namely lead, barium and antimony. However, it is possible that the organic matter from the propellant could provide different information …

Investigating The Risk Factors Of Intimate Partner Violence (Ipv) Among Korean Immigrant Women In America, Chunrye Kim

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Objective: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious social problem. Due to the underutilization of public and private human and social services due to language barriers, their illegal status, and stigma associated with violence, both victims and offenders of intimate partner violence are rarely captured by either the criminal justice system or public health radar screens (Hicks & Li, 2003). Also, the “model minority myth” has led to the underestimation of the risk of violence against women among Asian immigrants and thus leads to an underinvestment of research and service resources for this vulnerable population (Leong & Lau, 2001; Rhee, …

The Socioemotional Impact Of Disparate Student Discipline: An Examination Of Racial Bias And Out-Of-School Suspensions, Amelia Barbadoro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Most schools find it challenging to effectively manage disruptive student conduct such as violent outbursts, antisocial behavior, bullying, talking back, and truancy. One management tool utilized by teachers and administrators attempting to quell unruly behavior is exclusion through the use of suspension. Out-of-school suspension rates within the United States have been rising since the 1970’s, with a dramatic increase evident after 2002, with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act. The higher use of out-of-school suspensions reflects the growth of zero tolerance policies which mandate predetermined, typically harsh consequences or punishments (such as suspension and expulsion) for a …

Automatically Guilty: Associations Between Evidence And Guilt, William E. Crozier Iv

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Both real-life cases and laboratory research demonstrate that confession evidence is very convincing—even when it should not be. Could this be due to an automatic association between a confession and guilt? We tested this possibility using a Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) list, which measures automatic associations by presenting participants with a list of words that are thematically related but, importantly, lack the word describing the theme (“critical lure”). When the association between the list words and the theme is sufficiently strong, participants incorrectly report seeing the critical lure. We hypothesized that participants would show more false recall for seeing “guilty” on a …

Procedural Justice For Youth: Discrepancies In The Provision Of Defense Counsel For Youth In The Juvenile Justice System, Emily K. Pelletier

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Youth in the juvenile justice system experience racially disparate outcomes at all contact points throughout the system process, despite race-neutral state policies governing the juvenile justice system. States provide defense counsel for indigent youth in the juvenile justice system through policies containing race-neutral language; however, each state maintains different policies protecting youth rights to defense counsel. This study questions the relationships among state policies protecting youth rights to defense counsel, racially disparate outcomes for youth in the juvenile justice system, and state socioeconomic and racial composition. The study relies on content analysis to transform qualitative state policies into quantitative data …

Narrating School, Narrative Self: Identity, Agency And The Hidden Curriculum Of (Hetero)Normativity, Mikela Bjork

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation analyzes sober women’s narratives of their schooling experiences to reflect on how educators and policy makers can improve the schooling experiences for othered students.. Inspired by the self-reflective and agentic pedagogy found within the figured world of Alcoholics Anonymous, I focused on the narratives of women in Alcoholics Anonymous, ages 18-85, as they narrated their schooling stories from pre-Kindergarten up to the last grade they completed. What the data of this qualitative research project reveals is that, despite the detrimental culture of denial at home and school, the participants, through the radical act of self-reflexivity and personal narrative, …

Learning To Disclose: A Post Colonial Autoethnography Of Transracial Adoption, Joni Schwartz, Rebecca Schwartz

Publications and Research

This autoethnographic research project examines the transformational learning of a transracial adoptive adult mother and daughter through the lens of postcolonialism. As collaborative researchers, adult adoptee and adoptive mother, examine this lifelong learning experience through critical self-reflection, qualitative meta-analysis, and autoethnographic research methods within the overarching historical and sociopolitical context of Haiti. The findings address the lived complexities of increasingly hybrid families, particularly around the contentious boundaries of race, nationality, and colonial history, as they impact transformational learning. Color blindness and racial identity development for both mother and daughter within their relationship are explored. Implications for adult educators around the …

Transitional Healthcare Coordination In New York City Jails Among People With Chronic Health Conditions: Contributions To Reduced Reincarceration And Improved Health, Janet J. Wiersema

Dissertations and Theses

People in correctional settings often have poorer health than the general US population. For example, it is estimated that 27.9% of persons in jail have hypertension, 8.1% have diabetes, and 1.6% have HIV, compared to 25.6%, 6.5%, and 0.5%, respectively, in the general population. Jail and other correctional settings are also increasingly recognized as viable places to engage poor and underserved communities into the healthcare system by offering transitional care coordination services to connect people to healthcare and other services to meet priorities after incarceration. At the same time, recidivism is an issue—over 50% of persons in New York City …

Treatment, Supervision, And Recidivism Of Individuals Convicted Of A Sex Offense In The United States: A Pilot Study, Gabriele F. Trupp

Student Theses

Although, previous research has shown that treatment programs for individuals convicted of a sex offense have the potential to lower sexual recidivism rates (Hanson & Bussiere, 1998; Hanson et al., 2002; Losel & Schmucker, 2005), there is some pause as to the methodological strength of these studies (Furby, Weinrott, & Blackshaw, 1989; Rice & Harris, 2003). Additionally, the literature is mixed regarding which elements of supervision for individuals convicted of a sex offense contribute to lower sexual recidivism (Aos, Miller, & Drake, 2006; Aytes, Olsen, Zakrajsek, Murry, & Ireson, 2001; Buttars, Huss, & Brack, 2016; McGrath, Cumming, Hoke, & Bonn-Miller, …

A Validation Of The Detection Of Barbiturates In Hair By Elisa, Alisa M. Valentino

Student Theses

An original method to extract and detect barbiturates, specifically secobarbital, in hair by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), has been developed. Drug-free hair specimens were fortified with an exaggerated amount of secobarbital to produce a homogeneous, true positive sample to be utilized to test the drug extraction efficiency from hair. Drug extraction using hair extraction buffer (HEB) from Immunalysis was compared to a base digestion using 1M NaOH. After LCMS/MS analysis, HEB extraction was deemed a successful method for extracting barbiturates from hair. Using this method, the Barbiturates Direct ELISA Kit from Immunalysis was evaluated for its potential use in the …

Procedural Justice And Citizen Compliance: Police Officer Demeanor And Crime Severity, Shiny Sharma

Student Theses

Little is known about how police officer demeanor impacts citizen compliance under specific conditions such as the severity of a crime. Using a sample of 141 college students, we randomly assigned vignettes that manipulated crime severity type (e.g., petty theft or armed robbery) and police officer demeanor (e.g., procedurally just or not procedurally just) to gain a better understanding of this nuanced relationship. Participants were more likely to report suspicious behavior, regardless of crime severity, if the officer demeanor was procedurally just. Additionally, participants were more likely to consent to a search and report a suspicious person in the procedurally …