Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Expert Witness Testimony On Juror Verdict: Psychiatry Versus Psychology, La Shonine Gandy-Smith

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of expert witness testimony on juror verdicts. We, further, assessed whether there would be a difference in the relative influence of MDs and PhD expert witnesses. Undergraduate and graduate students served as mock jurors and were presented with an insanity case which either (a) a PhD testified for the defense and a MD testified for the prosecution or (b) an MD testified for the defense and a PhD testified for the prosecution. After analysis of verdicts, an Insanity Defense Attitudes Survey, and specific witness credibility evaluations indicated no bias toward …

Indirect Screening: Enhancing Identification Of Illicit Drug Use During Pregnancy, Courtney Smith

Theses and Dissertations

OBJECTIVE: Most drug use screening measures rely on and are validated against self-report. Fear of negative consequences often promotes denial of drug use. For pregnant women, social stigma and fear of legal consequences make underreporting of drug use even more likely. An indirect screener that could effectively identify pregnant women at risk for illicit drug use without reliance on disclosure would be clinically significant. The purpose of the current study was to develop and validate an indirect measure of prenatal drug use by comparing correlates of prenatal drug use to urinalysis results. METHOD: Pregnant women attending an OB appointment at …

Parental Acceptance-Rejection Theory And Court-Involved Adolescent Females: An Exploration Of Parent-Child Relationships, Teacher-Student Relationships, And Adolescent Socio-Emotional Functioning, Kathleen S. Tillman

Theses and Dissertations

Although the current literature provides a limited description of court-involved adolescent females, research that examines their unique characteristics is scarce and fails to adequately address the psychological, developmental, and interpersonal needs of these young women (Calhoun, Jurgens, & Chen, 1993; Girls Study Group, 2008). Consequently, the purpose of the current study was twofold. First, the study sought to understand court-involved adolescents' experiences with mental illness and maternal, paternal, and teacher rejection. Second, the study sought to examine whether the assumptions of the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Theory (PARTheory) could be applied to understand predictors and correlates of social and emotional functioning among …

Absence Of Sense Of Community In E-Learning Courses: Can The Implementation Of Tools Used By Facebook Help?, Stacy Marie Harter

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis looks at whether or not a sense of community in e-learning classes can be created by implementing tools such as those used by the social network Facebook. E-learning is convenient for many students, but lacks the same feeling of community found in traditional classroom courses due to the absence of body language and face-to-face communication. Body language is a form of non-verbal communication that allows for a person's feelings and/or ideas to be expressed without the use of spoken language. These elements are missing from online conversation thus hindering meaningful communication and the creation of the sense of …

An Extension Of Life Course Theory Into The Child Welfare System, Shaun M. Gann

Theses and Dissertations

Over the past 20 years, Sampson and Laub's age-graded theory of informal social control, or life course theory, has become the epitome of developmental criminological theories. Life course theory is based on the premise of life trajectories that are influenced by turning points. Much research has examined possible turning points in the adult life course, such as marriage, employment, military service, and childbirth. However, few studies have attempted to determine possible turning points in the juvenile life course. In an attempt to address this lack of knowledge on juvenile turning points, this thesis presents an extension of life course theory …

Examining Juvenile Transfer Practices In Arkansas For The Years 2000-2005., Joseph Mcsherry

Theses and Dissertations

There has been a trend over recent decades to hold juvenile offenders more accountable for their actions and punish them more severely, which has resulted in more diverse avenues to transfer these offenders to adult court. This research examines emerging literature related to transfer and sentencing of juvenile offenders in criminal court. Further, this research will explore the characteristics of juvenile offenders transferred in Arkansas between 2000 and 2005. Results of the analysis will be discussed along with implications and limitations of the study.

A Proposal For Creating A Sports Themed First-Year Writing Course For Student-Athletes, Christopher Osborn Bell

Theses and Dissertations

A sports themed writing course could be a good start to helping student-athletes with their college writing. Studies have indicated that the majority of student-athletes are academic underachievers and are considered to be at a high risk of dropping out when they reach the college level. Many institutions are struggling to find ways to help their student-athletes succeed because colleges depend upon athletic programs to generate revenue and prestige which can also lead to higher enrollments. There is a general agreement that student-athletes aren't getting the same value out of their education as non-student-athletes, but there seems to be a …

Basic Writers Writing In Their Zone Of Proximal Development Through Intertextual Links, Cynda Alexander

Theses and Dissertations

Students in Basic Writing classes are separated from their peers who are mainstreamed into regular composition classes, stigmatizing them as having substandard skills. Preconditioned to question their ability to write, they arrive in class with zero confidence and varying degrees of ability to construct meaning. Students rely on their prior knowledge to fill in the gaps between texts. Their ability to accommodate and assimilate new information to their prior knowledge is dependent on their ability to link with it. Since semiotician Julia Kristeva first used the term intertextuality in 1967, there has been a great deal of interest in intertextuality, …

School Resource Officer Programs: Implementation's Effect On Student Perceptions Of Safety, Stephen Clipper

Theses and Dissertations

School Resource Officer (SRO) Programs are a widely implemented community policing initiative in schools. The limited research on SRO Programs suggests that there are implementation differences between programs. This study explores the effect that implementation style has on program effectiveness as measured by student perceptions of safety as well as student reporting behaviors. This study found mixed results. Direct analyses revealed students who attend schools with community-oriented SRO programs feel slightly safer. Multi-level modeling was utilized to determine the effects that individual and school level variables have on perceptions of safety and on the ability of SRO programs to affect …

Examination Of Male Batterer Typology In An Upper Midwest Sample, Jay R. Phillippi

Theses and Dissertations

Interpersonal violence is a pervasive and costly problem in many domains in our society. The study of interpersonal violence has included the origins of battering behavior, impact on victims, batterer treatment, and treatment completion. Recently, researchers have focused on the taxonomy of batterers. There is now ample evidence that batterers are not a homogenous group. The consensus among researchers is identifying types could lead to effective treatments for each type; however the call for the application of typology to clinical intervention has not been effectively answered.

The purpose of this study was to examine male batterer types with the use …

Medicalization As A Trojan Horse: Changes In Erectile Enhancement Advertising, Robert Wood

Theses and Dissertations

Medicalization as a Trojan Horse: Changes in Erectile Enhancement Advertising By Robert D Wood, M.S. A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University, 2011 Major Director: Sarah Jane Brubaker, PhD, Graduate Program of Sociology This thesis investigates the medicalization of “inadequate penis size” through an analysis of online advertising of “male enhancement,” or erectile enhancement (EE) products. The process of medicalization, as defined by Peter Conrad, is the process by which non-medical problems become defined and treated as such (2007). With the advent and success …

Leading A Readiness Program For Low-Income Students Within A Preschool Setting, Renee Murtaugh

Theses and Dissertations

The solution to narrowing the achievement gap between low socioeconomic students and high socioeconomic students has included endless approaches and interventions, including full day pre-school programs (NAEP, 1999; Snow, Burns, & Griffith, 1998).This action research project focused specifically on the needs of low-income preschool students and concentrated on closing the achievement gap among the SES subgroups within the By-the-Sea School District preschool Kindergarten classrooms. Using Monahan's (2003) 9-Step Change Model as a framework for change, classroom teachers worked collaboratively with the researcher to make the necessary changes to their classrooms and school to better meet the needs of low-income students. …

Exploring Financial Knowledge, Behaviors, And Economic Socialization In An Incarcerated Population: A Mixed Methods Analysis, Lindsay Larson Call

Theses and Dissertations

Using a mixed method design, this study explored financial knowledge, behaviors, and economic socialization in a sample of men (N = 155) incarcerated in a Midwestern county jail. A financial knowledge assessment, adapted from the FLLIP assessment (Zhan, Anderson, & Scott, 2006), was administered as well as a survey of financial behaviors and criminal history characteristics. Based on responses to the quantitative survey, a theoretical sample of participants (n = 12) was selected to participate in in-depth, qualitative interviews regarding economic socialization to the formal economy, particularly banks. Quantitative analyses revealed that the mean financial knowledge score for the sample …

High School Teachers' Perceptions Of Cyber Bullying Prevention And Intervention Strategies, Sterling V. Stauffer

Theses and Dissertations

Results from recent meta-analyses have indicated that bully prevention programs tend to produce little discernable change in student behavior. Possible reasons include a lack of teacher buy-in and teachers' questioning about the effectiveness of such programs. Teacher buy-in is an essential ingredient when implementing and maintaining effective school-based interventions, including bully prevention programs. In order to examine teachers' perceptions, a questionnaire was administered to 66 high school teachers in a western U.S. urban high school. The questionnaire examined teachers' attitudes regarding the impact of cyber bullying on students; which intervening strategies teachers were likely to use when dealing with cyber …

Are All Immigrants Criminals? Societal Perceptions Across Select Social Groups, Catherine F. Tindall

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the perceptions toward immigrant criminality in Utah of four distinct social groups: state legislators, immigrants, law enforcement personnel, and incarcerated immigrants. Each group was examined separately and found to have a variety of perceptions among their members. Themes emerged that provided insight into the overlap and complexity of these differences across social groups. Legislators appeared the most dichotomous: some believed immigration and crime to be positively correlated, especially for undocumented immigrants, while others perceived no such connection. Among immigrants, perceptions were extremely diverse, but generally represented by reference to an unsubstantiated stereotype that immigrants committed crime at …

Perceptions Of The Members Of An Online Support Group For Women With Gynecologic Cancers And Pre-Cancers Regarding Online Support, Illness, Information, And Awareness, Elaine Parrish

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of women diagnosed with gynecologic cancers or pre-cancers regarding participation in an online support group. The study contributed to the literature regarding online support for women with gynecologic cancers and pre-cancers. The data were analyzed using the descriptive univariate analysis method of frequency distribution presented in percentages. Out of a population of 472 members of an online support group for women with gynecologic cancers and pre-cancers, 379 (80%) participated in the study. A survey instrument consisting of 6 parts was used in this study. Part I and Part IV of …

Sweet Mercy: A Scientific Investigation, Aubrey Gartner

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the following studies is to understand the factors that are related to and influence a person’s merciful behavior toward an offender. I define mercy as an act by a person who has the authority to do so that administers or recommends less negative consequence or punishment than is deserved by someone justly deserved. In Study 1, undergraduate students (N = 400) completed the Mercy Meter, a self-report measure of mercy. The Mercy Meter’s scale structure and psychometric properties were examined using Item Response Theory Rasch Analysis. A 14-item, 2-factor scale was established with good psychometric properties. Evidence …

Rural Adolescent Perceptions Of Quality Relationships, Jessica L. Semler

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore experiences and perspectives of rural adolescents regarding quality or healthy relationships. The Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) method was used to analyze the qualitative data. Twelve eighth grade adolescent participants from three rural Midwestern junior high schools participated in the present study. Each participate completed an in-person, semi-structured interview. Specifically, questions were asked regarding participants meanings of healthy and unhealthy relationships, their perceptions of their current relationships with peers, family, and other adults, what they hoped for in future relationships, their ideas about why healthy relationships are important, and how they believe …

Intimate Partner Violence In Rural Areas, Amanda J. Dudgeon

Theses and Dissertations

Intimate partner violence is a major health care issue in the United States, affecting millions of women annually. The incidence and prevalence of intimate partner violence is essentially the same in rural areas as compared to non-rural; however, rural survivors are faced with barriers in obtaining help and services that non-rural survivors are not. Multiple mental and physical health problems are associated with intimate partner violence and billions of health care dollars are spent annually due to abuse. Nurses need to understand the problem of intimate partner violence and routinely screen all women for abuse. This article describes the unique …

Experience Of Supervision Scale: The Development Of An Instrument To Measure Child Welfare Workers' Experience Of Supervisory Behaviors, Mary Parente

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop and test the Experience of Supervision Scale, which measures the experience of supervisory behaviors from the perspective of child welfare workers. Child welfare supervision is gaining increased attention as states struggle to improve performance measures of their child welfare systems. However, the lack of a standardized instrument which measures supervision through an analysis of supervisory behaviors from the supervisee’s perspective has hindered efforts in these areas. The Experience of Supervision Scale is based on Kadushin’s three function casework supervision model of supervision (administrative, educational, and supportive) which was chosen as the theoretical …

Childhood Sexual Abuse And Adulthood Mortality In Veterans Treated For Combat-Related Ptsd, Caroline M. Kelly

Theses and Dissertations

Adverse childhood experiences, such as sexual abuse, have consistently been found to be associated with negative health-related outcomes in adulthood. Combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be at particular risk for such outcomes, as this population has been shown to report elevated rates of childhood sexual abuse. Research also suggests that combat veterans with PTSD are at increased risk for early mortality and behavioral causes of death, such as suicide, accidents, and homicide. However, despite the high rates of early mortality and childhood abuse among veterans with combat-related PTSD, to date, the relationship between these phenomena within this …

The Stalking Experience, Jill M. Pokryfke

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Lineup Instructions On Eyewitness Accuracy, Joe H. Neal

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Timing And Depth Of Discussions Of Traumatic Material And The Stages Of Change In Psychotherapy: A Case Study, Lauren A. Desjardins

Theses and Dissertations

Currently, there is a lack of understanding of how the stages of change (SOC) relate to discussion of interpersonal trauma in therapy. This study aimed to explore the timing and depth of trauma discussion (TD) across the course of therapy in relation to SOC. The client in this single-case study was a 28-year-old African American female who recently moved to California and reported difficulties in relationships and work problems. The course of therapy lasted 21 sessions; of the 15 videotaped sessions, 6 contained discussions of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and workplace psychological harassment (WPH). Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC; …

Intimate Partner Violence And Group Therapy: The Voices Of Latino Men, Rogelio Serrano

Theses and Dissertations

Efficacy of group treatment for intimate partner violence (IPV) has been the subject of ongoing debate and has limited research depth with respect to specific populations of Latino men. The increasing Latino population of the United States provides a challenge for mental health practitioners who wish to deliver culturally informed clinical interventions. This study attempts to understand the experiences of Spanish speaking Latino men of Mexican origin, who are participating in mandated group treatment for IPV to provide insight for clinicians working with this population. A qualitative phenomenological approach was utilized to gather data from 10 men who identified as …

Examining The Occurrence Of Verbal And Non-Verbal Positive Emotional Expression During Discussion Of Interpersonal Trauma In Psychotherapy: A Case Study, Whitney A. Dicterow

Theses and Dissertations

Recent theories of positive emotion, including the broaden and build theory, propose that positive emotion can broaden one's range of thoughts and actions and build long-lasting personal resources (Folkman & Moskowitz, 2000; Fredrickson & Levenson, 1998). However, little research exists on how positive emotion is expressed in the context of discussing interpersonal trauma in psychotherapy. The current study explored the expression of positive emotion during discussions of interpersonal trauma over the course of an individual case of psychotherapy as related to the broaden and build theory. The client-participant in this single-case study was a 28-year-old African American female who presented …

Perceptions Of Stalking : Impact Of Victim Gender And Response, Heather Ellingson

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Process Consultation And Appreciative Inquiry In The Coaching Model At Los Angeles Universal Preschool, Karel Kreshek

Theses and Dissertations

Enabling American students to race to the top through the education reform launched by the Obama Administration begins with attention to its youngest citizens. Studies have shown that high-quality early childhood education is associated with improved school achievement in later years. However, limitations in the reach and effectiveness of federal and state preschool programs have prompted the creation of nonprofit organizations dedicated to improving access to preschool for underserved children. One such organization is Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP), whose design includes coaching for childcare providers to heighten the quality of their preschool programs. This study examined the use and …

Juvenile Offenders And Their Victims, Jennifer E. Swetits

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Student Perceptions Of A Dropout Prevention Academy, Dale Edward Miller

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the Academy Program of Fargo North High School helped students reach graduation, and to identify the respondents’ perceptions of the Academy Program of Fargo North High School. This study examined the relationship between respondents’ participation in the Academy Program in 9th grade and 10th grade and the Average Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR) of their 9th grade cohort, respondents’ perceptions of the Academy Program, and the transition to their 11th grade year.

The research questions which guided this study were:

1. What is the graduation rate of students in the Academy Program of …