Digital Commons Network^™

The Widened Hearthstone Urban Playgrounds As The Infrastructure Of Public Mothering, 1900-1930, Alexandra Miller

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the limitations on their formal political involvement, women across the United States took control of the Progressive Era playground movement, and playground advocates nationwide argued that urban play spaces constructed motherhood into the city. While many mothers used playgrounds for child care, playground directors used the maternal authority constructed into playgrounds to promote their ideas about ideal citizenship. One playground director, Mabel E. Macomber, called this aspect of playground work the “'mother' element,” believing, as did other workers and advocates, that playgrounds were part of the apparatus of urban mothering, and in the case of many poor working women, …

The Risk Of Protection: Examining The Contextual Effects Of Child Protective Services On Child Maltreatment Fatalities In The U.S., Cosette Morgan Mccullough

Theses and Dissertations

Much research has been done in the field of child homicide. While child homicide is a statistically rare event, it is especially pervasive in the United States. A subsection of research in the child homicide literature is the topic of child maltreatment fatalities, defined as when a child is killed through the means of maltreatment, such as physical abuse or neglect. What has been less so researched, however, is the combination of factors that can affect a child’s fatality risk. The current study seeks to expand on the previous research using the 2019 Child File of the National Child Abuse …

Racial Equity Analysis: Access To Permanent Housing And The Vulnerability Index – Service Prioritization Decision Assessment Tool (Vi-Spdat), Mary Ann Priester

Theses and Dissertations

Purpose: This study aimed to replicate and extend national research within the local context of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Continuum of Care by using propensity score methods to examine the relationships between race, program outcome, and housing prioritization among subpopulations of individuals experiencing homelessness.

Methods: This study used secondary data analysis and propensity score methods to examine deidentified client-level Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) data collected from January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2021 by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Continuum of Care (CoC).

Results: Findings indicate that Whites are more likely to exit homeless services programs to temporary or institutional destinations vs. permanent housing …

The Code Of The School: Investigating The Age At Which The"Code"Begins To Influence School Violence Among Students, Yoo Akakpo

Theses and Dissertations

The school-to-prison pipeline has sparked debate about disciplinary measures amongpolicymakers and school officials. Despite extensive research into student violence, there is little data on the age at which students start using violence in school. This study uses a critical qualitative analysis to determine what age or grade level students understand the importance of fighting, respect, and social status. I conducted the study's research in the Midwest, primarily focusing on students suspended after fighting in Chicago and Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. The Code of the School will be utilized as a theoretical basis to explore this qualitative study of African American students and …

Mothering Experiences Of Women In Jail, Bothwell Piason

Theses and Dissertations

Women make relatively small proportions of incarcerated population worldwide, but the rate at which they have been incarcerated over the past four decades in the U.S. has outpaced that of their male counterparts. Although carceral trends show declining patterns in prison population numbers, the jailed population continues on an upward trend (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2022), studies have focused more on prison than jail. The disproportional incarceration of women is evident in jails where the majority of women incarcerated are mothers of young children (Sawyer & Bertram, 2022). The current paper explores mothering experiences of women in two Midwestern jails, …

Delivering Computer-Based Training Within State Prisons, Kunal Jha

Theses and Dissertations

Internet-connected devices are ubiquitous, and our built environment allows us to tap into formerly impossible solutions. As our world increasingly depends on technology to operate, one demographic cannot gain exposure to internet-connected devices or web-based educational programs: incarcerated individuals. The Department of Justice reports that 5 out of 6 State Prisoners are arrested and returned to prison within nine years of their initial release. Research shows that education is a pathway to reducing the U.S. prison population. Individuals who participated in any educational program are 43 percent less likely to return to prison.1 Prisons in the United States often partner …

Lo Bueno Y Lo Malo – Assessing Admissions Staff And Practices Supporting Undocumented Students At Illinois’ Four-Year Public Universities, Dave Marcial

Theses and Dissertations

Illinois has enacted legislative policies to provide access to higher education and state funding opportunities for undocumented students. Public Act 093-0007, Illinois RISE Act, and Illinois House Bill 3438 all have implications for Illinois four-year public universities and community colleges.

This dissertation focused on understanding the training, knowledge, and support of the admissions staff at all twelve public four-year universities. A survey was created with the assistance of content experts to gauge admissions staff institutional training and knowledge as it pertains to supporting undocumented students. Approximately 90 admissions staff were identified for the study and 57 participants responded from all …

Predictors Of Probation Outcome And Recidivism Among Nonviolent Drug Offenders In Mandated Treatment, Kira Elisabeth Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Since the early 1990’s, the criminal justice system has been attempting to address the growing numbers of drug crimes and incarcerations resulting from policy decisions meant to discourage drug use and trade. To address resulting overcrowding in the prison system, drug courts and state mandated drug programs were devised to supervise and treat offenders in the community. Many factors have been identified that affect recidivism and related outcome measures for those mandated to drug treatment programs and probation terms, including age, gender, race, duration of treatment, and dosage of treatment. The current study found that age, gender, treatment duration, and …

Shared Reflection On The Perceived Effect Of Culturally Responsive School Leadership On Student Suspension Data In K-8th Grade Chicago Public Schools, Christopher Alan Donald Graves

Theses and Dissertations

Racial discrimination in schools in the U.S. has resulted in a disproportionate number of Black students receiving exclusionary and punitive consequences, in which they are more likely to end up part of the School to Prison Pipeline and less likely to graduate. The researcher completed interviews with eight elementary school principals in Chicago Public Schools whom were identified using publicly available data. All participants were selected for their prior success in reducing the number of Black student suspensions by at least 20% during the years of 2016-2019. The focus of this study was to determine (1) What school leadership practices …

International Criminal Trials Creating A Dominate Narration Of History And Overlooking Historical Blind Spots, Hoor El Masry

Theses and Dissertations

History is key to developing a better understanding of the world, what has happened in the past helps one understand the present. Understanding and studying history helps one understand the identity of his country and other countries as well. History can be the link to understanding and connecting events. You can understand why Israel is hated by Arabs when you study the history of its creation. The definition and the determination of history itself are complicated. Regardless of how major the event you are learning about, history remains the stories which are narrated about this specific event. Historians support these …

The Egyptian National Anti-Trafficking Law ‘Adoption Process And Assessment’, Nourhane Awad

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is about the impact of Egyptian national laws on the protection of African migrants and refugees. Egypt has been considered a transit country for African migrants and refugees fleeing their countries toward European countries or Israel in the past due to its specific geographic location. For that reason, Egypt is considered one of the essential parts of the trafficking process in the middle east. For that reason, it is essential to study and explore how the Egyptian government is controlling and governing the trafficking of persons. In addition, it is important to understand its institutional setup and framework …

Safety Behind The Computer Screen: Gauging Public Perceptions About Teacher Student Sexual Abuse, Kilby E. Raptopoulos

Theses and Dissertations

Female sex offenders are often portrayed in the media more leniently than male sex offenders, which could influence the way the public perceives these offenders. Further, the media is not always accurate in how they portray sex crimes either which can translate to misconceptions among the public specifically regarding sex offenders. The purpose of this research was to explore media coverage of teacher student sexual abuse in relation to the public’s reaction to these news stories. The current study utilized news stories to analyze reader comments on a news website to understand 1) how teacher sex offenders are portrayed, 2) …

A Structural Examination Of Organizational Justice, Self-Legitimacy, Employee Engagement, And Civic Engagement In Police, Mary Isis Wuestewald

Theses and Dissertations

Recently, the concept of police self-legitimacy has spurred research interest. Several studies have demonstrated beneficial outcomes associated with officers who are confident in their own authority. The current dissertation builds on this emerging area of study by examining the influence of organizational justice on police self-legitimacy, as well as self-legitimacy’s impact on employee engagement and civic engagement in police officers. Survey data were gathered from a sample of 1,391 officers from variously sized agencies across seven regions of the United States. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. The results indicate that organizational justice is a key component …

Diseño Instruccional En La Planeación Didáctica Del Programa Académico De Contaduría Pública En Una Universidad Privada De Colombia, Rafael Humberto Pinzon Alfonso

Theses and Dissertations

El propósito de esta investigación fue analizar el diseño instruccional en la planeación didáctica de los cursos del área financiera (matemáticas, análisis financiero y administración financiera) del programa académico de Contaduría Pública en la modalidad presencial. La metodología de esta investigación fue de corte cuantitativo no experimental, cuyo procedimiento fue el estudio de caso que permitió hacer un análisis del Diseño Instruccional en la Planeación Didáctica de los cursos del Área Financiera del programa de Contaduría Pública en una Universidad Privada en Colombia. Los participantes del estudio fueron 262 estudiantes del programa académico de Contaduría Pública de los cursos objeto …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Chronically Absent Students, Programs And Interventions: A Mixed Method Study, Claudia Lisi Laplante

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed method study was to examine the relationships between teachers' academic department, years of experience, tenure status, and their knowledge of chronically absent students and the existing programs and interventions to support absent students in their schools. The study utilized a district of five junior-senior high schools in a suburb of New York, which is ethnically and economically diverse. Participants of this study took a survey composed of questions from two different surveys from the organization Attendance Works (an organization dedicated to the improvement of school attendance nationwide). Interviews followed to better interpret and triangulate the …

Raising The Cyber Guard: Analyzing The Cost And Use Of The National Guard In Local Municipal And State Cyber Defense, Hunter Lacroix

Theses and Dissertations

Cybersecurity is a national priority for the Homeland Security enterprise. Yet, despite a prioritization at the federal level, municipal and state governments have struggled to incorporate the National Guard in cyber incident response. Cyber incidents strain municipalities and states, which have spent significant resources to mitigate cyber threats. The glaring gap in the National Guard’s role in municipal and state cyber incident response warrants two key questions as to why the National Guard isn’t more readily used. “Is it cost prohibitive to use National Guard assets when compared to private entities?” Or “is there an underlying sociological disconnect regarding the …

An Examination Of The Sufficiency Of Emergency Planning In New York City Hospitals For Vulnerable Populations Needing Communication Or Language Assistance, Rosemary Mcdonnell

Theses and Dissertations

Background: While all populations are susceptible to certain hazards that may expose their vulnerabilities in a disaster, populations with no or limited English proficiency, sight limitations, and hearing limitations are especially at risk due to communication and language barriers that they consistently experience. Purpose: This study explored the sufficiency of emergency planning that vulnerable populations with communication barriers may receive in a New York City hospital setting. It investigated the emergency plans, procedures, and practices that hospitals have for these specific, at-risk populations. The sufficiency of these were measured in accordance with their ability to meet the appropriate regulatory standards …

A Case Study On The Role Of Pre-Departure Training In Study Abroad Experiences, Lampeto Efthymiou

Theses and Dissertations

As students need to attain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to live and work in a diverse global society, they participate in study abroad opportunities offered by higher education institutions to assist them with intercultural learning. However, prior research shows that the level of intercultural learning in study abroad programs can vary substantially. The purpose of this case study is to investigate how a program’s use of pre-departure training relates to the development of global competence in participants of a short-term study abroad program. The participants of this study come from a purposive sample who attended a community college in …

Help, Is It Worth It For Me(N)?: A Study Of Factors Affecting Black Men's Perception Of Resource Management Strategies In Community College, Bryce E. Tolbert

Theses and Dissertations

Nationally, men of color are graduating college at the lowest rates of all race gender subgroups. Prior research suggests this population faces unique obstacles as it relates to race and gender and these challenges are often invisible and difficult to resolve. Academic supports can help students overcome these obstacles; however, it is not clear that they are influencing Black men’s academic help-seeking behavior and, thus, their educational outcomes. Using the Motivated Learning Strategies Questionnaire and data from Knight Community College, two multiple regressions and three t-test were used to explore the relationship between value, expectancy, program participation and resource management …

The Effects Of Long-Term Incarceration On Women: An Investigation Of The Re-Entry Journey Of Four Long-Term Incarcerates Living At A Re-Entry Program, Francine White

Theses and Dissertations

The social problem under investigation was that although there had been a general rise in the number of incarcerated women in the United States, these women faced several challenges trying to re-enter society upon their release from incarceration. The purpose of this qualitative single case study research was to explore how a re-entry program, from the perspective of previously incarcerated women, attempted to integrate incarcerated women back into society. The study considered how the re-entry program could be designed to reduce recidivism in women. The research design was a qualitative case study with six data sources: individual interviews of previously …

Perceptions Of Mentoring Kings And Effects Of The Hochman Method On High School Boys Of Color, Kelly Mckay Downing

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the Hochman Method’s Sequence for Notetaking Instruction on male high school students of color. This method of notetaking was an integral part of the curriculum offered by the Mentoring Kings Initiative, a critical mentoring program providing formal and informal mentoring to male students of color. Specifically, the study explored how bolstering the Hochman Method’s explicit notetaking instruction with critical mentoring and culturally responsive pedagogy intrinsic to the Mentoring Kings Initiative affects student comprehension, self-efficacy, and notetaking mastery. Perceptions of the Mentoring Kings Initiative among these male high school students …

A Measure Predicting Treatment Outcome For Sexual Offenders, Kaitlin Alyssa Guston

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers generally agree that treatment reduces the likelihood of sexual offender recidivism. However, studies show attrition rates of up to 85% in some treatment programs for sex offenders. Because many risk factors for recidivism and treatment attrition are the same, the present study used gold-standard risk assessments to predict which sex offenders would not complete a community treatment program. The Static-99r, Stable-2007, and URICA assessed static risk factors, dynamic needs, and responsivity to treatment for 289 sex offenders. Pre-treatment scores from the sex offenders in the sample indicated that these assessment instruments could predict treatment attrition for sex offenders in …

When The Verdict Is Not So Black And White: Juror Perceptions And Judgments Of Biracial Defendants, Mariah Sorby

Theses and Dissertations

Racial disparities are a persistent issue within the United States criminal justice system. Past research has investigated how defendant characteristics (e.g., race and phenotype) and juror attitudes and beliefs (e.g., stereotypes and prejudice) influence mock juror case judgments and perceptions. This literature has primarily investigated outcomes for monoracial defendants. However, there is a significant need for research investigating outcomes of multiracial defendants. The purpose of this project was to investigate the influence of phenotype, crime stereotypes, and juror attitudes on case judgments and perceptions of Black-White Biracial defendants compared to White and Black defendants. Participants were randomly assigned to view …

Gamification: Game-Based Learning / Serious Games And 21st Century Soft Skill Development In Nursing Education, Stephanie Marie Adams

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the development of 21st century skills through gamification, game-based learning (GBL), and serious games in nursing education in institutions of higher education in the United States. This paper reviews the history of gamification in nursing pedagogy through three domains of research. It includes an overview of research related to the development and implementation of gamification, GBL, and serious games in nursing education as well as the impact on the development of 21st century skills in digital natives. The focus was on the historical literature related to gamification, GBL, and serious games at institutions of higher education in …

Building Personal Friendships In A Multicultural Society, Fatemah Almadani

Theses and Dissertations

Friendship ranks highly among the social issues that develop and creates a stable andprosperous society. However, people tend to focus more on individuals who share social values while making friends. On the other hand, in a multicultural society, people work, leave, or learn together to share such values. The diversity of the origin of people living in the United States (US), especially in major cities, varies significantly regarding race, ethnicity, and religion, resulting in super-diverse urban setups. This study examined the multicultural friendship between international Arab students studying in the US and their American counterparts. The study was guided by …

The Effect Of A Prior Criminal Record On Juror Decision Making, Emily Haynes

Theses and Dissertations

Evidence of a prior criminal record can be admitted if it holds substantial probative value (Fed. R. Evid. 403) or to evaluate defendant characteristics and credibility (Fed. R. Evid. 404.; Fed. R. Evid. 609). However, despite admittance for these purposes, the evidence of a prior criminal record has been demonstrated to influence verdicts and ratings of guilt. The majority of previous research supports the conclusion that a prior criminal record, specifically a prior conviction, inflates guilty verdicts. The present study sought to assess previous findings related to the evidence of a prior criminal record and expand upon the literature by …

Educator Perceptions On Equity And Inclusion In The Classroom, Brittany N. Melfi

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study is to identify solutions that can improve equity and inclusion measures in the educational classroom settings for all school community members. This qualitative research explores educators’ perceptions of solutions and barriers to improving equity and inclusion in education. Currently, there is limited research from this stakeholder perspective. This bottom-up research approach aims to determine the needs of those stakeholders in the immediate environment and what supports they feel are necessary to make immediate and lasting change. The qualitative research study took place in a small Pennsylvania school with an enrollment of 387 students and …

Trauma Education In Social Work Curricula: An Innovative Approach To The Teaching Of Trauma-Informed Care, Jennifer M. Schlinger

Theses and Dissertations

Many professionals, especially social workers, work with individuals who have a history of or are experiencing trauma. If students understand the trauma their clients have experienced, they are better suited to meet the individual where they are and help them work towards their goals. Social work professors must prepare their students by instructing them about different types of traumatic experiences, the impacts, assessment tools, and various intervention strategies. I used a qualitative research approach and document analysis to understand how social work programs incorporate education related to trauma and trauma-informed practice into their curricula. This method allowed me to gain …

Exploring Organizational Recidivism With A Focus On Federal Environmental Crime, Isaac M. Mvula

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the recidivism rates of organizational offenders convicted of federal environmental crimes. Individual recidivism has received considerable attention from re-searchers over the years. This is not so with organization recidivism. This dissertation aims at put-ting greater light on this subject. The study focuses on environmental crime because of the critical need to preserve the earth’s ability to sustain life. Federal environmental criminal prosecution da-ta maintained by the EPA was the study population. The population included prosecutions of organizational offenders from 1994 to 2013. The total number of organizational prosecutions was 73625 and the total number of organizational offenders …

Does Race Matter? An Experimental Vignette Study On Harm Severity, College Student Discipline, And Restorative Justice, Terrill O. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests individuals’ support for harsher sanctions for wrongdoers increase in association with the perceived severity of the harm caused. To date, however, research has focused mostly on retributive modes of punishment and has less often addressed restorative sanctions. Furthermore, research has documented racial disparities in conduct sanctioning, especially within elementary and secondary school-based settings, with research suggesting that students of color (e.g., Black students) are sanctioned harsher than White students. Surprisingly, racial disparities in student conduct sanctions within higher education settings have rarely been examined. The present study therefore sought to fill a void in the literature by examining …