Digital Commons Network^™

Social Support, Mental Health Problems, And Rule Infractions: A Study Of Female Inmates, Suraiya H. Shammi

Theses and Dissertations

Currently there are few studies that solely focused on female inmates and their mental health problems. There is huge lack of in-depth examination on the impact of social support variables on overall rule infractions. Using a multilevel analysis, this study analyzed the moderation effect of social support variables on rule infractions among female inmates (n=2,930) from the 2004 Survey of Inmates of State Correctional Facilities in the United States. Findings suggest that almost 55% of the sample suffered from mental health problems where female inmates with mental health problems reported significantly higher rates of minor rule infractions (78%). Also, the …

Unraveling The Temporal Aspects Of Victimization: The Reciprocal, Additive, And Cumulative Effects Of Direct/Vicarious Victimization On Crime, Yeoju Park

Theses and Dissertations

The current study aims to assess the continuous impact of direct/vicarious victimization on subsequent victimization and delinquency/crime across waves using an incorporated model of Agnew’s general strain theory and the lifestyle/routine activities perspective. This study also aims to assess the additive and cumulative impact of dual victimization (i.e., exposure to direct and vicarious victimization) on offending. A cross-lagged model is conducted to examine the impacts of direct victimization, vicarious victimization, and delinquency/crime at an early point in time on these variables at later points in time using three waves from the Pathways to Desistance Study. Negative binomial regression models and …

The Impact Of Race/Ethnicity On Sentencing: A Matching Approach, Travis Jones

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to study the direct impact of race/ethnicity on sentencing of federal drug offenders. In order to accomplish this goal, an exact matching approach is utilized to generate strata containing white, black and Hispanic offenders who are matched based on relevant legal and extra-legal factors derived from focal concerns theory. The total sentences (i.e. fines, probation, incarceration, etc.) of matched offenders are then compared pairwise to determine which offender received the more severe sentence. The findings overall do not suggest that black and Hispanic offenders receive more severe sentences to comparable white offenders; however, drug …

The Role Of Coping Behaviors And Intoxication In Trauma Symptomology Subsequent To Sexual Victimization, Danika Martine Charles

Theses and Dissertations

College women are at an elevated risk for sexual victimization compared to the general population. One possible reason for the increase risk of sexual victimization on college campuses is that college is inherent with greater freedom and less supervision. This unsupervised environment may encourage students to explore alcohol and other drug use and abuse and engage in risky sexual behavior, which are risk factors for sexual victimization. Sexual victimization is defined as unwanted behaviors and tactics that range from oral, anal, vaginal contact or penetration where the perpetrator uses force, intimidation, or coercion. Sexual victimization is often conceptualized in terms …

An Analysis Of Police Shootings In Dallas, Texas, 2003-2018, Steven Mccain

Theses and Dissertations

Legal establishments authorize police discretion of deadly force if they believe the threat to life or great bodily harm outweighs to threat presented by a criminal. Policing has been reactive when modern weapons of the times are used for criminal purposes. The adaptation process by police has made firearms necessary tools for conflict resolution. The Supreme Court also plays a role in determining what is reasonable use of deadly force, as these situations are rare with little precedent that require judicial review. Research on deadly force examines micro-level characteristics to better understand these situations. This study contributes to existing literature …

Public Punitiveness: The Intersection Of Racial Attitudes And Empathy, Arsala Aneeq Khan

Theses and Dissertations

Public punitiveness has grown in recent decades and two components that help explain this rise are negative racial attitudes and empathy. For this thesis, a survey was passed out to 66 undergraduate criminal justice students at a mid-sized southern university. In order to better understand respondent relationship to punitiveness, a factor analysis was conducted that divided punitiveness into three scales. These scales were subsequently measured using three OLS regression analyses testing punitiveness with negative racial attitudes, empathy and control variables. The results showed no significant relationships between negative racial attitudes, empathy, and punitiveness. However, control variables such as age and …

The Forgotten Voices: African American Male Adult Learners And Their Experiences In Higher Education, Ajeenah H. Nuriddin-Little

Theses and Dissertations

This narrative inquiry research explored the lived experiences of six African American male adult learners enrolled at a four-year public research institution in an urban area located in the northeastern United States. The following questions guided the study: (a) How do African American male adult learners at a four-year research institution describe their experiences? (b) What environmental factors do African American male adult learners feel have shaped their academic success or non-academic success in college? (c) How does the double consciousness framework help to explain or make sense of the narrative of the African American male adult learner? This study …

“No One Ever Forced Them To”: Law Enforcement Perceptions Of And Experiences With Human Sex Trafficking, Chloe Parker

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I explore how law enforcement officials in Mississippi and Alabama make sense of and respond to human sex trafficking cases. The central questions guiding this research project are: How do law enforcement officials perceive sex trafficking and what does this mean for victim identification and treatment? By conducting 20 interviews with law enforcement officials, I offer insight into how the training, or lack of training, officers receive impacts victim identification, labeling, and treatment. Further, I examine how perceptions, experiences, and training work to influence officer responses to those that do not fit a typical victim narrative, such …

Toward The Development Of A Practitioner-Friendly Delay Tolerance Assessment And Treatment For Typically-Developing Children, Kaitlynn Mary Gokey

Theses and Dissertations

Delay discounting is the decrease in the value of a reinforcer as a function of the delay to the delivery of the reinforcer. Individuals who exhibit steep delay discounting are commonly referred to as ‘impulsive’ and are at a greater risk of behavior problems such as poor academic performance, addiction, and excessive risk-taking. One effective intervention is a concurrent activity, in which the individual must complete a task demand during the waiting period. Rules and rulegoverned behavior also play a critical role in improving delay discounting rates across populations, and may be used as an intervention to promote self-controlled responses. …

Relationships Between Parental Involvement, Socioeconomic Status And Literacy Skills, On Graduation Rates, Juvenile Incarceration Rates, And Psychiatric Hospitalization Rates, For Mississippi Youth, Karla Weir

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between two sets of variables with the first including parental involvement, literacy skills, and socio-economic status and the second including graduation rates, incarceration rates and psychiatric hospitalization rates. The study methodology included three separate multiple regression analyses. Data were collected from archival sources through the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), Mississippi Department of Mental Health, and the Mississippi Department of Human Services Youth Divisions. The results of this study indicated that socio-economic status has a statistically significant relationship with high school graduation rates and youth psychiatric hospitalization rates in the …

Students' Perceptions Of School Resource Officer Quality And School Safety, William Cooper

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, school resource officers (SROs) and their role in the context of school safety have become a popular topic of research. In this study, I analyze data from 31,156 students from over 100 schools in Kentucky to better understand how students perceive SROs and the impact of SROs on their perceptions of school safety. The findings reveal that males, students who liked having an SRO at their school, students who saw their SRO at several locations on campus during the typical school day, and students who viewed their SRO as more than a law enforcer felt safer at …

Representaciones EróTicas Bataillianas En Farabeuf (1965) De Salvador Elizondo Y SalóN De Belleza De Mario Bellatin (1994), Omar Steven Ramirez

Theses and Dissertations

The following thesis focuses on the study of Georges Bataille’s theories on eroticism through two Mexican novels. The analysis of Mexican author Salvador Elizondo’s Farabeuf (1965) will center in the relationship between the rite/sacrifice of the female protagonist to satisfy the male protagonist’s sexual desires. In addition, it will focus on the development of a mise-en-scène through the male protagonist manipulation of the female character. In the second one, Mexican-Peruvian Mario Bellatin’s Salón de belleza (1994), the analysis will try to explore how the protagonist, a male barber, will convert his beauty salon into a type of sanatorium where young …

Associations Between County-Level Socioeconomic Status And Opioid Overdose Rates In Northern New England, Samuel Godfrey

Theses and Dissertations

Background – The opioid epidemic persists as a significant concern to public health as the proliferation of fentanyl presents additional risks for illicit opioid users. States such as Maine and New Hampshire experience far greater opioid overdose rates compared to the overall US opioid overdose rate. Many studies on the opioid epidemic use socioeconomic and macroeconomic factors individually but few use a composite index of multiple of these measures. Limited attention has been paid to the need for a composite index of socioeconomic status at the small area (county) level designed to quantify the impact of socioeconomic status on the …

The Utility Of Using Virtue Locales To Explain Criminogenic Environments, Hunter Max Boehme

Theses and Dissertations

Place-based criminology has a long history of examining the potential causes and correlates of criminogenic environments. This line of scholarship has been able to establish that crime, levels of social guardianship, and racial/ethnic groups are unevenly distributed throughout space. Routine activity theory and environmental criminology are two prominent explanations of the causes of criminogenic environments. Specifically, the crime generator and crime attractor scholarship (Brantingham & Brantingham, 1995) has found recent success uncovering which certain land uses that may be “risky facilities” (e.g., pawn shops, payday lenders, bars). However, these paradigms have yet to discover which businesses are crime-reducing and an …

Fundamentally Different Stories That Matter: True Crime Podcasts And The Domestic Violence Survivors In Their Audiences, Kelli S. Boling

Theses and Dissertations

This audience reception study qualitatively examines women who identify as both domestic violence survivors and fans of true crime podcasts. Using a feminist, critical cultural lens, this study explores why these women are drawn to these podcasts and how the content presented intersects with their lived experiences as domestic violence survivors. Employing a multi-method approach, I interviewed 16 women who listen to true crime podcasts and identify as domestic violence survivors as well as six hosts/producers of true crime podcast media and conducted an in-depth narrative analysis on one of the most popular podcasts mentioned by my participants. Sixteen in-depth …

Trajtimi I Pacientëve Që Janë Përdorues Të Alkoolit Në Institutin E Psikiatrisë Dhe Forenzikës Të Kosovës (Ipfk), Vedat Ademaj

Theses and Dissertations

Çrregullimet psikiatrike ndodhin më shpesh në mesin e alkoolikëve sesa në popullatën e përgjithshme. Çrregullimet psikiatrike që alkoolikët më së shpeshti i pësojnë përfshijnë çrregullimet e humorit (p.sh., depresioni), çrregullimet e ankthit dhe çrregullimi i personalitetit antisocial. Vlerësimi i simptomave psikiatrike në pacientët me alkool është i komplikuar nga

marrëdhënie të shumta që ekzistojnë midis pirjes së rendë, simptomave psikiatrike dhe faktorëve të personalitetit. Për shembull, alkoolistët me depresion që ndodhin mund të jenë në rrezik më të madh të problemeve psikosociale, relapsit dhe vetëvrasjeve. Në të kundërt, pirja e rëndë mund të prodhojë ose përkeqësojë simptoma depresioni ose ankthi. …

Examining The Impact Of Illicit Drug Use On Prescribed Psychotropic Medication Adherence, Lauren Natalie Stroker

Theses and Dissertations

The ever-increasing rates of prescription drug utilization in the United States, coupled with the high rates of non-adherence to psychotropic medications by patients, makes this area of research an increasingly important field of study. Previous studies have elucidated the critical factor medication adherence plays in the effectiveness of treatment and overall clinical outcomes for patients and the deleterious effect of non-adherence; one of them being substance (ab)use. The present study was conducted in an effort to add to the existing literature examining medication nonadherence and substance use. The current study looked to expand the research examining the relationship between substance …

Overcoming The Conflict Of Jurisdiction In Cybercrime, Abdelmonem Mohamed Magdy Khalifa

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the different approaches to managing the conflict of criminal jurisdiction over cybercrime with the aim of comparing the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. It argues that the most effective solution to this dilemma is to determine certain factors to be considered and evaluated by a body established for such a purpose or by the concerned states themselves in order to decide which country will take the exclusive competence over the cybercrime in accordance with the facts of each individual case and taking into account the characteristics of cybercrime. Establishment of these factors should reflect the interests …

Impact Of Artificial Intelligence On Education For Employment: (Learning And Employability Framework), Akram Marwan

Theses and Dissertations

Sustainable development has been a global goal and one of the key enablers to achieve the sustainable development goals is by securing decent jobs. However, decent jobs rely on the quality of education an individual has got, which value the importance of studying new education for employment frameworks that work. With the evolution of artificial intelligence that is influencing every industry and field in the world, there is a need to understand the impact of such technology on the education for employment process. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and assess how AI can foster the education for …

Assessing The Impact Of Crisis Intervention Team (Cit) Training And Local Mental Health Resource Availability On Officer Perceptions Of Efficacy In Responding To The Mentally Ill, Chelsea Jordan Bennett

Theses and Dissertations

Police officers are often the first responders to emergency mental health and crisis situations, with almost one-third of all mental health referrals stemming from law enforcement interaction. As a result of deinstitutionalization, a large number of mentally ill individuals have become involved in the criminal justice system and brought to police attention, resulting in unnecessary arrests and an overrepresentation of individuals with mental illness in jail populations. Recent decarceration trends have now placed the focus on diverting individuals with mental illness into treatment. However, officers often lack the proper skills, training, and knowledge of how to interact with individuals with …

Bayesian Analysis Of The Epsilon Skew Exponential Power Distribution, Michael Ghebremeskel Weldensea

Theses and Dissertations

The Epsilon Skew Exponential Power Distribution (ESEP) that was introduced by Elsalloukh et al. (2005) is an asymmetric distribution used for modeling asymmetric data. The ESEP includes Normal, Laplace, Epsilon Skew Normal (ESN), and Epsilon Skew Laplace (ESL) as particular cases, Elsalloukh et al. (2005). In the present study, since the ESEP distribution encompasses members with skewed and symmetric distributions, we perform and investigate the Bayesian analysis of this distribution using the methods of latent variables and uniform scale mixture for implementing the most common Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm known as Gibbs sampling. Furthermore, we develop the posterior …

All-Offender Ignition Interlock Laws & Dui Arrest Rates, Kathleen E. Soper

Theses and Dissertations

This research examines whether all-offender ignition interlock laws cause statistically significant decreases in DUI arrest rates. Data consist of state and county-level arrest totals over a 16-year period. A difference-in-differences regression model with fixed effects for entity and time is used for the analysis. Results are inconclusive.

School Leaders’ Response To The Increasing Population Of Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Learners, Nia Hulse

Theses and Dissertations

While schools become more representative of a growing minority population, school leaders are responsible for making school policies reflective of the increasing number of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) learners. The purpose of this study was to examine the practices employed by school leaders in growing CLD schools to determine to what extent they employed culturally responsive school leadership practices. The methodology for this study was a multiple case study design. Through this qualitative approach, data triangulation was achieved by conducting interviews, a questionnaire, and collecting artifacts. In addition, purposeful sampling was used to obtain a school leader from an …

The Intersection Of Social Stress, Mental Well-Being, And Sexual Health Among Black Women In Emerging Adulthood, Brandi Galloway

Theses and Dissertations

With an estimated 37,000 new HIV infections each year, HIV continues to be a major public health concern. HIV affects some populations more than others. Young Black women, in particular, are disproportionately affected by HIV. While being a woman does not typically increase a person’s HIV risk, being Black and being a woman does.

Data indicate that individual-level factors do not fully address the differences in HIV and STIs between Black emerging adult women and their White counterparts. Thus, it is critical to better understand contextual factors such as social stress and mental-wellbeing which might better account for these disparities. …

Social Learning Theory And Digital Piracy: Explaining Uploading Behaviors Of Digital Pirates, Cydney J. Lowenstein

Theses and Dissertations

Digital piracy has received significant attention in criminological research but almost no studies have explored illegal uploading and how it may differ from illegal downloading. It is important to examine what theories can explain illegal uploading behaviors and their related factors to develop more effective policies to address digital piracy. This dissertation examined whether Akers’ (1998) social learning theory could explain engagement in digital piracy, both illegal downloading and uploading behavior. Additionally, this research examined the relationship between reciprocity and digital piracy. Questionnaires were administered to 398 university students and 315 visitors to several online communities using a combination of …

Transforming Trauma: Performing The Works Of William Shakespeare As Rehabilitation For Incarcerated Individuals, Elyssa Mersdorf

Theses and Dissertations

This paper is the summation of my research and exploration into the history, social ramifications, and individual psychological impact of incarceration and the use of theatre as a vehicle of rehabilitation. Throughout my studies, I encountered evidence in the forms of personal accounts from theatre practitioners, scholarly articles, inmate testimonials, and historical journals regarding the success of such carceral theatre programs in the reformation of the prisoners they serve. How have past prison procedures and strategies hindered or helped inmates in their preparation for their transition from life in a penitentiary to reintroduction into larger society? What are the financial …

Spooky Stuff, Petra A. Szilagyi

Theses and Dissertations

A real imaginal exploration of the aesthetics of the supernatural.

Analysis Of Stigmatic Content In State Mental Health Legislative Proposals, David L. Conley

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the proven effectiveness of mental health interventions, services remain limited across the country. Social workers have repeatedly advocated for increased funding, but mental healthcare gaps persist. Disparities could be addressed through the policy process, but critical proposals often do not pass. One of the biggest barriers is the concept of stigma, which could extend into legislatures and influence mental health-related policy outcomes as a form of structural stigma. Factors that influence legislator voting behavior are found in the literature, but studies have not explicitly focused on structural stigma or mental health-specific policy outcomes. Thus, the present study aimed to …

Can School Be A Source Of Trauma? Assessing Academic Traumatic Stress As A Mechanism Underlying The Health Outcomes Of Black Undergraduate Students, Ebony A. Lambert

Theses and Dissertations

Research examining Black students’ school experiences demonstrates that exposure to oppressive power dynamics in schools may lead to adverse physiological and psychological consequences. Recent conceptualizations in public discourse further posit that traumatic educational experiences, operationalized here as academic trauma or the cumulative toll of adverse and oppressive experiences in academic settings, may influence Black students’ wellbeing even after they have graduated. However, academic trauma has yet to be investigated empirically, and the health contributions of such educational harm remain unstudied. Moreover, little is known about how culturally-relevant personal characteristics (e.g., emotion regulation strategies) influence Black students’ reactivity to academic trauma. …

The Relationship Of Legal History To Mood And Substance Abuse Symptoms Among Homeless Men And Women In A Residential Recovery Program, Lily A. Mkhitarian

Theses and Dissertations

Homelessness is a devastating experience that impacts hundreds of thousands of individuals in the U.S. each day. It has been widely reported that homeless persons experience higher rates of mental disorder, substance abuse, and physical illness than domiciled individuals. Homelessness is also associated with increased risk of exposure to trauma. In addition, about a quarter of homeless individuals in the U.S. report a history of incarceration. Certainly there are multiple pathways to both homelessness and incarceration. More research is needed on the implications and consequences of having a legal history on homeless persons. The purpose of this archival study was …