Digital Commons Network^™

Foreclosures And Crime: Testing Social Disorganization Theory In The Suburbs, Sara Hoskin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Foreclosures have increased in the US since the 1970’s. The increase in foreclosures has caused concern among some researchers on their affect on crime. Social disorganization theory measures the effect various structural characteristics, such as poverty, residential instability/mobility, racial/ethnic heterogeneity, and family disruption have on crime. This study, though, is concerned with residential instability/mobility, or the presence of foreclosed houses in neighborhoods. Although most studies using this theory look at low-income neighborhoods, the following research looks at middle- and upper-income neighborhoods, which have been greatly affected by foreclosures. The theory also argues that the level of collective efficacy can reduce …

Italian-American Ethnic Concentration, Informal Social Control, And Urban Violent Crime: A Defended Neighborhoods Approach, Hollianne Elizabeth Marshall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the impact of white ethnic concentration on robbery and homicide in Chicago and New York City. As one of the first to disaggregate white ethnic populations, this study has the expectation that Italian-American concentration will have a stronger influence on robbery and homicide than any other white ethnic concentrations. This study is founded on prior qualitative research suggesting that the reputation of Italian-Americans influences the behavior of outsiders in their communities. The data show there is a significant and negative relationship between Italian-American concentration and the violent crimes robbery and homicide. This relationship only exists for white …

Hazardous Risk Management Survey And Inland Water Survey., Ayodeji Abimbola Lasisi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The trucking industry is the largest freight sector, making up about 70 percent of all domestic shipment in the United States and contributes greatly the American economy. About 10 billion tons of goods are shipped annually and of that, about 800,000 shipments of hazardous materials are transported in the United States each day by trucks, resulting in 300 million annual shipments (Federal Motor Carrier Security Administration). These hazardous materials (HazMat) range from relatively harmless products, such as hair spray and perfumes, to bulk shipments of gasoline by highway cargo tanks, to transportation of poisonous, explosive, and radioactive materials. The complexity …

Mitochondrial Dna Analysis By Denaturing High-Performance Liquid Chromatography For The Characterization And Separation Of Mixtures In Forensic Samples, Richard Kristinsson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A mixture of different mtDNA molecules in a single sample is a significant obstacle to the successful use of standard methods of mtDNA analysis (i.e., dideoxy dye-terminator sequencing). Forensic analysts often encounter either naturally occurring mixtures (e.g., heteroplasmy) or situational mixtures typically arising from a combination of body fluids from separate individuals. The ability to accurately resolve and interpret these types of samples in a timely and cost efficient manner would substantially increase the power of mtDNA analysis and potentially provide valuable investigative information by allowing its use in cases where the current approach is limited or fails. Therefore, this …

Substance Abuse And Mental Disorders Among State And Federal Prison Inmates., John Richard Haggerty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research consistently demonstrates that prison inmates are more likely than the general population to suffer from both mental disorders and substance abuse. The current study explored the relationship between diagnoses of mental disorders and maladaptive substance use among state and federal prison inmates. Linear regression analysis was used to ascertain the prevalence of comorbidity of substance abuse and mental disorder, and multiple models were constructed to determine the direction of relationship between the two disorders. Overall, mental disorders and substance use were positively related within the sample, though mixed conclusions were drawn regarding the exact nature of their relationship. Recommendations …

Identifying Interventions That Work In Juvenile Justice: An Analysis Of The Moral Kombat Program., Thelma Deneen Mcgowan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Effective intervention programs play a fundamental role in reducing rates of juvenile delinquency. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy that is strongly supported by research (ACT, 2010). Moral Kombat (MK) is an intervention that combines character-building and CBT concepts in programs for at-risk and delinquent juveniles with the goal to change their belief systems, thus improving their behaviors (Marchant, 2009). The purpose of the study was to evaluate the extent to which MK incorporates the principles identified in the literature as necessary for a CBT program to be successful. The occurrences of the 11 CBT principles identified in …

Sequence Detection And Comparative Analysis Of The Hv1 And Hv2 Control Regions Of Human Mitochondrial Dna By Denaturing High-Performance Liquid Chromatography, Sarah E. Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research was the evaluation and forensic validation of Denaturing High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (DHPLC) as a sequencingindependent means of detecting the presence of sequence differences in pair-wise mixtures of non-concordant amplicons of human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). The reproducibility and efficacy of DHPLC results, including amplification reproducibility, injection reproducibility, and column-to-column reproducibility were measured, showing negligible assay-to-assay variability. In addition, cross-contamination on the DHPLC columns demonstrated very low level DNA carryover between a high-abundance sample and subsequent zero-volume injections.

The accuracy with which DHPLC technology can be used to screen both evidence and control samples in the context …

Louisville-Jefferson County Police Consolidation : Officers' Perception Of Organizational Justice., Joseph Sterling Grant 1962-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on how the 2001 consolidation of the Louisville Division of Police (LPD) and Jefferson County Police Department (JCPD) impacted police officers' perception of fairness of the process. To accomplish this, the study asked four research questions: 1) How do police officers view a just department?, 2) How do police officers' justice judgments affect their reaction to the organization and supervisors?, 3) How do police officers form overall perceptions of fairness?, and 4) How do LPD and JCPD officers differ in their perceptions of fairness of the consolidation? A systematic random sample with replacement was used to invite …

How Collaborative The Collaboration? : Assessing The Collaboration Of Services For Juvenile Offenders., James G. Dickerson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Juvenile delinquency with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders has become an increasing problem within the United States. In part this can be attributed to the excessive number of delinquent youth entering the juvenile justice system with untreated substance abuse and/or mental health disorders-thus requiring juvenile justice to become a default system for substance abuse and mental health intervention and treatment services. In an effort to combat this problem, governmental, mental health, social support agencies, and school systems have formed interagency collaborations to provide more effective treatment services. One such interagency collaboration is the JETS Program, a court diversion …

A Study Of The Grant Writing Policies And Practices Of Municipalities In Polk County Florida Having A Population Less Than 25,000, Michael Scott Carter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to identify the grant writing policies and practices of the fifteen municipalities in Polk County, Florida having a population less than 25,000, compare these findings qualitatively, and to present the data in a form usable by any city in Polk County so each city can make any needed adjustments to their grant writing strategy that will increase their success of grant funding. This study is needed now because smaller cities are continuing to feel the effects of the recession, a slumping housing market, and a reduction of real estate property values which means lower …

Determinants Of Interpersonal Trust, Organizational Commitment For Performance Within Kyrgyz National Police, Erlan Bakiev

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Improving organizational performance is an essential goal for any type of organization. This process involves varieties of methods, polices and strategies. One of the important elements of organizational performance is trust-building process which deeply depends on leadership efforts of ranked employees and managers. Literature has enough empirical evidence on influence of trust and trusted work environment on organizational performance. Aftermath of recent riots and clashes in Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyz National Police (KNP) officers are demoralized by the actions of both previous and current governments which bear corruption, bribery and clan type of ruling. These facts led to untrustworthy environments and relationships …

Identification Of Factors Influencing The Commission Of Burglaries, Mustafa Donmez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As in many countries, burglary is a very serious crime in Turkey. Scientific methods and techniques are needed to solve complex burglary cases. This study is completed in the Bursa Police context since they classified many crime data conducive to scientific studies under a project called BEMTAP. The main purpose of this study is to examine the factors influencing the commission of burglaries, using an epid-criminological perspective. It can be argued that factors leading to the commission of a crime are important for formulating preventive strategies in the community. In this study, the contributing factors are categorized into three main …

The Resident Assistant As Paraprofessional Counselor And Crisis Interventionist: A Study Of Lived Experience, Eric W. Owens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Counseling and helping services on college campuses have changed greatly in recent decades, yet the services provided by college counseling centers are hardly keeping pace. Campuses have turned to other means of addressing the increased need for helping services, including training paraprofessionals to address many counseling and crisis situations that occur on college campuses. One of the most ubiquitous groups of paraprofessional helpers are resident assistants, undergraduate students trained to work with students living on campus who present with counseling or crisis intervention needs.

The concerns students bring to resident assistants are often beyond the scope of their training and …

Federal Drug Sentencing: An Evaluation Of The Consistency, Proportionality, And Fairness Within Cases, Lindsay Barron

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

National drug policy has contributed to prison population growth in the United States. Blacks and Hispanics are minorities in the population, but are overrepresented as defendants in criminal courts and as inmates in prison. The purpose of this research is to evaluate fairness in federal drug sentencing. The current study uses data compiled by the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) to examine the sentence lengths of federal drug defendants sentenced in 2008. Linear ordinary least squares (OLS) regression is used to model the relationship between race/ethnicity and sentence lengths. The analysis of this research is framed by the focal concerns …

Instability In The South: The Implications Of Mexican State Failure On U.S. National Security, Shadd Allen Pease

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the implications of Mexican state failure on United States national security. The growing instability in Mexico due to the actions of the various drug trafficking organizations (DTOs), government corruption, possible human rights abuses and Mexican insurgent groups is examined in order to understand why the Mexican state may fail.

This thesis explores the implications of Mexican state failure on U.S. national security by providing possible scenarios such as continued operations into the United States by Mexican drug trafficking organizations, DTO relationships with American street gangs, regional instability, possible exploitation of the Mexican homeland by terrorist organizations, U.S. …

Rule-Based Decision Support System For Sensor Deployment In Drinking Water Networks, Natthaphon Prapinpongsanone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Drinking water distribution systems are inherently vulnerable to malicious contaminant events with environmental health concerns such as total trihalomethanes (TTHMs), lead, and chlorine residual. In response to the needs for long-term monitoring, one of the most significant challenges currently facing the water industry is to investigate the sensor placement strategies with modern concepts of and approaches to risk management. This study develops a Rule-based Decision Support System (RBDSS) to generate sensor deployment strategies with no computational burden as we oftentimes encountered via large-scale optimization analyses. Three rules were derived to address the efficacy and efficiency characteristics and they include: 1) …

Investigating Social Capital And Political Action In The Middle East, Amr Abdel-Wahab

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study addresses the relationship between social capital and political action in the Middle East. The research uncovers indicators of how social capital correlates with democratic action. Using data from the 2005 World Values Survey, the examination centers on indicators of trust and membership in civic organizations and how they relate to political action in the region. The paper concludes with discussion of how trust-building and reciprocity can be interpreted within the political context of the Middle East, and how the relevance of social capital will be an unavoidable consideration in the transition away from autocracy in the region, especially …

Analysis Of Behaviors In Crowd Videos, Ramin Mehran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, we address the problem of discovery and representation of group activity of humans and objects in a variety of scenarios, commonly encountered in vision applications. The overarching goal is to devise a discriminative representation of human motion in social settings, which captures a wide variety of human activities observable in video sequences. Such motion emerges from the collective behavior of individuals and their interactions and is a significant source of information typically employed for applications such as event detection, behavior recognition, and activity recognition. We present new representations of human group motion for static cameras, and propose …

Spectrum Sharing And Service Pricing In Dynamic Spectrum Access Networks, Swastik Kumar Brahma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traditionally, radio spectrum has been statically allocated to wireless service providers (WSPs). Regulators, like FCC, give wireless service providers exclusive long term licenses for using specific range of frequencies in particular geographic areas. Moreover, restrictions are imposed on the technologies to be used and the services to be provided. The lack of flexibility in static spectrum allocation constrains the ability to make use of new technologies and the ability to redeploy the spectrum to higher valued uses, thereby resulting in inefficient spectrum utilization [23, 38, 42, 62, 67]. These limitations have motivated a paradigm shift from static spectrum allocation towards …

A Contextual Approach To Learning Collaborative Behavior Via Observation, Cynthia L. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation describes a novel technique to creating a simulated team of agents through observation. Simulated human teamwork can be used for a number of purposes, such as expert examples, automated teammates for training purposes and realistic opponents in games and training simulation. Current teamwork simulations require the team member behaviors be programmed into the simulation, often requiring a great deal of time and effort. None are able to observe a team at work and replicate the teamwork behaviors. Machine learning techniques for learning by observation and learning by demonstration have proven successful at observing behavior of humans or other …

The Gay Of The Land: Queer Ecology And The Literature Of The 1960s, Jill Elizabeth Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation I argue not only that queer ecology is a legitimate and important next step for ecocritics and queer theorists but also that its literary application does a great amount of good in exploring and dismantling the natural/unnatural binary and exposing the ecological impact of the choices humans make everyday. I take as my method a combination of queer and environmental theory and literary criticism, as well as the foundational queer ecocritical works and include important historical and political perspectives influencing the emergence of the environmental and gay and lesbian movements. Through this dissertation, I legitimize more recent …

Storm Spotting And Amateur Radio: A Field Guide For Volunteer Storm Spotters, Michael Patrick Corey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Volunteers have played a critical part in relaying weather information since the middle 19th century. The effort of these volunteers has helped safeguard life and property when severe weather threatens. For almost 100 years Amateur Radio operators have played a critical part in severe weather preparedness and response. Amateur Radio operators not only bring a willingness to serve, but communications skills that provide an added benefit to any storm spotter program. The National Weather Service recognized this when developing the SKYWARN program during the 1960’s. Amateur Radio and the National Weather Service have developed over the last 40 years a …

Best Practices For Disaster Coverage: An Analysis Of How The Herald Newspaper And Wlox-Tv Covered Hurricane Katrina, Nicole R. Sheriff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A substantial amount of research has been done on Hurricane Katrina and its effects on New Orleans, Louisiana. However, few studies have focused on how the Mississippi Gulf Coast was affected by the hurricane. The purpose of this study is to bring attention to the reporting efforts of WLOX-TV and The Herald newspaper to cover Hurricane Katrina. This case study analyzes the practices WLOX and The Herald used to cover the hurricane and to explore which practices could be implemented in other newsrooms in the future. A total of four interviews were conducted with members from the newsrooms who had …

Bp's Use Of Twitter As A Crisis Communication Tool During The Gulf Oil Spill Crisis Response Phase, Lindsay Ann Jordan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

On April 20, 2010, British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig located in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, creating the largest oil spill in U.S. history. BP launched a major public relations response that targeted its online audience through strategic use of its corporate website, Twitter feed, Facebook page, YouTube channel, and Flickr photostream. This content analysis examines BP's use of Twitter during the crisis response phase of the oil spill. BP tweeted on 1,161 occasions from the time of the explosion to the capping of the well. All tweets during this 13-week period were coded by two separate coders to …

Seismic Tomography For The Integrity Assessment Of Earthen Dams And Levees., Leti Teklu Wodajo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dams are a vital part of a nation's infrastructure. Considering the fact that many of the dams in the United States have approached or are approaching their projected life expectancy of 50 years, these critical infrastructures represent a risk to public safety. Minimizing this risk requires an ongoing safety inspection, monitoring, maintenance and rehabilitation program. This research examines the use of a non-invasive geophysical seismic method to provide additional information where the usual visual inspection is insufficient and the comboring investigation is not an option. Even though seismic techniques provide valuable information of the subsurface strata, the interpretation is not …

Peak Performance Training, Matthew Gabriel Hallett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Peak performance is defined as an “episode of superior functioning” where an individual performs up to (and sometimes exceeds) their full potential (Privette, 1983, p. 1361). Most individuals do not consistently experience episodes of peak performance. After accounting for biological factors, motivation, and external constraints, the inability to achieve peak performance consistently is due to the challenge of successfully selecting and accessing knowledge and skills on demand while under pressure (Brown, 2009). This thesis describes the psychology of peak performance and skill training for peak performance. A peak performance training program is designed specifically for business professionals. The program was …

Modeling Mass Care Resource Provision Post Hurricane, Tammy Marie Muhs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Determining the amount of resources needed, specifically food and water, following a hurricane is not a straightforward task. Through this research effort, an estimating tool was developed that takes into account key demographic and evacuation behavioral effects, as well as hurricane storm specifics to estimate the number of meals required for the first fourteen days following a hurricane making landfall in the State of Florida. The Excel based estimating tool was created using data collected from four hurricanes making landfall in Florida during 2004-2005. The underlying model used in the tool is a Regression Decision Tree with predictor variables including …

Residential Broadband Access For Students At Walters State Community College., Mark A. Hurst

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the availability of internet access for students attending Walters State Community College during the spring semester 2010. In particular, it is unknown to what degree broadband internet access is available in the counties that Walters State considers the service area of the college.

The research was conducted during the spring semester 2010 including the months February, March, and April of 2010. Data were gathered by surveying currently enrolled students of the college. Twelve percent of the population responded to the study. The survey instrument covered the areas of demographics, Internet connection type …

Spatial Analysis Of Motor Vehicle Accidents In Johnson City, Tennessee, As Reported To Washington County Emergency Communications District (911)., Katharine D. Bennett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study spatially analyzes emergency 911 call-for-service records from January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2009 for motor vehicle accidents inside the corporate limits of Johnson City, Tennessee. Records were compared according to the land use classification for adjacent properties, roadway type, and traffic signal proximity. Data were evaluated through ArcGIS software using proximity analysis, point pattern analysis, and hotspot analysis.

Motor vehicle accidents evaluated during this study consist of accident locations reported to the Washington County Emergency Communications District concerning property damage, personal injury, and fatalities. Results indicate localized areas with the highest number of traffic accidents contain the …

Learning And Serving: An Exploratory Action Research Case Study Of A Middle School Service Learning Curriculum Project, Georgina Levey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Service learning, a natural link between community service and standards-based education, encourages students to learn about themselves in the context of the world in which they live. In other words, service learning is a method of teaching that enriches learning by engaging students in meaningful service to their schools and communities, and integrating that service with established curricula or learning objectives (NYLC Service-Learning Glossary, 2005). Educational service activities can be done directly or indirectly and they can have a varying degree of “involvement” ranging from community service, community exploration, community action or advocacy and research. In this study, a service …