Digital Commons Network^™

Race & Non-Racial Characteristics In Sentencing Length And Sentencing Type Disparity, Davis A. Estes

Theses and Dissertations

Utilizing data from the United States Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities (SISCF) 2004, this research investigates the possibility that African American drug offenders receive lengthier prison sentences and are imposed more range of time or indeterminate sentences as opposed to flat sentences based on race and/or non-racial characteristics; specifically parole status prior to sentencing, plea agreement status, prior criminal history, education status prior to arrest, employment status prior to arrest, and parental incarceration. While regression analysis revealed racial sentencing disparity for length of sentence and type of sentence (p< .05 and p< .001 respectively), among non-racial characteristics, only education status prior to arrest proved a significant predictor for length of sentence (p≤ .001). African American drug offenders were more likely sentenced to indeterminate sentences as opposed to flat sentences and were less likely to receive short sentences of 0 to 4 years or medium sentences of 4 to 10 years as compared to long sentences of 10 or more years. Potential research implications include the necessity for additional research regarding racial sentencing disparity as length or type of sentences as opposed to disparity as a numerical or a percentage difference between racial groups as well as the utilizing of inmate data that encompasses recent changes in drug sentencing laws, e.g. crack cocaine versus powder cocaine. Future research might also consider the evolution of marijuana laws in the United States and the potential impact on racial sentencing disparity.

Boston Marathon Bombing And Experiences Of Solidarity: The Race To Understanding, Caitlin M. Price

Theses and Dissertations

Near the Boston Marathon’s finish line on April 15, 2013, an innocent looking backpack disguising a pressure-cooker bomb full of shrapnel detonated. Seconds later, another explosion happened amidst crowds of marathon spectators. Despite being one of the worst attacks on United States soil, an outpouring of positive and pro-social behavior occurred. Communities come together after disasters. Solidarity was felt between victims, first responders, and the community but with varying experiences. Through a content analysis of 12 oral histories collected by the WBUR Our Marathon Collection, three distinct kinds of solidarity experiences were uncovered: visceral, care-work, and virtual. This case study …

The Immersive Media Library @ Vcu, Michael Rosenthal-Mix

Theses and Dissertations

Answering the call issued by John Underkoffler in 2010 about the future of UI, I have imagined the Immersive Media Library (IML) as an annex of the main VCU library, offering a concentration of visually immersive spaces to compliment the space the university is already building in the renovated Cabell Library. The design is new in that the emphasis is placed on the collaboration between librarians and visitors in creating new work. Focusing on the interpersonal might be unexpected from program with such an emphasis on new technology - but I see it as vital part of the new computing …

Postcession, Evan D. Pomerantz

Theses and Dissertations

This is a series of daily writings. Each day consists of a new topic and is closed at the end of the day. The ideas presented are philosophical, humorous, rambling, lamentations, incantations, doubt-ridden, aesthetic pep talks which combine into an affective representation of my studio practice’s becoming. There will be little congruency, some stories, and a lot of parallels because that is who I am.

One Script, Two Perspectives: Generation Me And The Staging Of Really Really, Kirstin R. Hensley

Theses and Dissertations

Really, Really, by Paul Downs Colaizzo, is loosely based on the 2006 Duke University sexual assault scandal resulting from what proved to be a false accusation of rape made against three members of the men’s lacrosse team. After individually reading the play, Jorge Burmudez and I both arrived at differing opinions of who was the true victim, in turn inspiring this thesis, which is an exploration of two separate productions of the play demonstrating contrasting perspectives/outlooks regarding sex crimes within sports organizations in the university setting. It will describe our process from conceptualization to a post-mortem talking about particular …

Long Live Bohatch: Why A Law Firm Partner Can Be Expelled For Following The Rules Of Professional Conduct, David A. Grenardo

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

American Military Justice: Responding To The Siren Songs For Reform, David A. Schlueter

Faculty Articles

Today, the American military justice system is being subjected to sweet and enticing calls for reform. At first hearing, the well-intentioned proposed reforms appeal to a sense of justice. On closer examination, however, those proposed reforms threaten the essence and functionality of an effective and efficient system of criminal justice that is applied in world-wide settings, in both peacetime and in war.

In the last several decades, an increasing number of commentators have recommended reforms to virtually every component of the military system. The most recent round of proposals arose from frustration and anger that many feel towards the military’s …

The Ancient Magna Carta And The Modern Rule Of Law: 1215 To 2015, Vincent R. Johnson

Faculty Articles

This article argues the text of the Magna Carta, now 800 years old, and reflects many of the values that are at the center of the modern concept of the Rule of Law. A careful review of its provisions reveals the Magna Carta demonstrates a strong commitment to the resolution of disputes based on rules and procedures that are consistent, accessible, transparent, and fair; and to the development of a legal system characterized by official accountability and respect for human dignity.

Vets Just Want Fair Benefits, Patricia E. Roberts

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Leaning Out: Exploring Organizational Advocacy Activities From An Open Systems Perspective, Lauri Goldkind

Social Service Faculty Publications

his article explores the effect of organizational culture on engagement with advocacy activities, both traditional and electronic. The Competing Values Framework offers a model for understanding how organization's culture influences behavior. Using a sample of nonprofit providers from across the country, the author hypothesized that organizations that use electronic advocacy tools are more involved with advocacy activities of all types. A paper and pencil survey was used to collect data on organizational culture, advocacy tools and techniques, perceived effectiveness of the advocacy tools, policy goals, organizational sustainability goals as well as barriers and facilitators of electronic advocacy. The study used …

A Digital Environment Approach: Four Technologies That Will Disrupt Social Work Practice., Lauri Goldkind, Lea Wolf

Social Service Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Curricular Goals, Music And Pacing: The Case Study For Hip Hop Music In Children's Educational Television, Creshema R. Murray, Cynthia Nichols

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

As an answer to the McCollum and Bryant (2003) charge for scholars to use the pacing index that they created to measure the pace of current children's programs, this paper examines the use of Hip Hop music in a children's television show, Hip Hop Harry, and the relationship that this show has with the eighty-five shows that were analyzed in McCollum and Bryant's initial study. Hip Hop Harry is an Emmy award nominated show on The Learning Channel, which prides itself on using Hip Hop culture and music as a medium to educate preschoolers from diverse backgrounds. Through content analysis, …

Hip Hop Culture In A Small Moroccan City, Brian Seilstad

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

This paper explores Hip Hop culture by tracing its development from the global level through the Arab world to finally its manifestation in Morocco. Hip Hop culture is defined broadly as a wide range of artistic expressions-rap, graffiti, breakdancing, DJing, etc.-and also a mind-set or way of life. The focus on the Moroccan context starts at the national level, pointing out some of the key artists, issues Moroccan Hip Hop faces, and how this has been explored by scholars of Hip Hop. The paper focuses on an ethnographic exploration of Hip Hop culture in Ifrane, a small Moroccan city. An …

Hip Hop On Film: Performance Culture, Urban Space, And Genre Transformation In The 1980s, Renette Smith Mccargo

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

Book review of Hip Hop on Film: Performance Culture, Urban Space, and Genre Transformation in the 1980s, by Kimberly Monteyne (2013).

Curricular Goals, Music And Pacing: The Case Study For Hip Hop Music In Children's Educational Television, Creshema R. Murray, Cynthia Nichols

Journal of Hip Hop Studies

As an answer to the McCollum and Bryant (2003) charge for scholars to use the pacing index that they created to measure the pace of current children's programs, this paper examines the use of Hip Hop music in a children's television show, Hip Hop Harry, and the relationship that this show has with the eighty-five shows that were analyzed in McCollum and Bryant's initial study. Hip Hop Harry is an Emmy award nominated show on The Learning Channel, which prides itself on using Hip Hop culture and music as a medium to educate preschoolers from diverse backgrounds. Through content analysis, …

Tweeting And Blogging: Moving Towards Education 2.0, Tian Luo, Teresa Franklin

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This paper reports on an exploratory study that employed Twitter and blogs as instructional Web 2.0 tools to support student learning in an undergraduate-level class. Case study methodology entailing a usage survey, an exit survey, and 12 in-depth semi-structured interviews was sought to examine patterns and characteristics of students' usage of social media and to elicit their perceptions on how the incorporation of Twitter and blogs facilitated their learning. Findings demonstrate that as advanced users of social media, the students highly embraced the incorporation of Twitter and blogs in the class. Not only were the students motivated to utilize social …

An Exploration Of Student Experiences With Learner-Centered Instructional Strategies, Jill E. Stefaniak, Monica W. Tracey

STEMPS Faculty Publications

In this exploratory study, we examined how undergraduate students experience learning in a learner-centered teaching environment and their perceptions of motivation towards learning material in an introductory public speaking communications course. Six faculty members participated in a semester-long study where their teaching strategies were observed. Three faculty members participated in a cognitive apprenticeship where they were taught how to implement learner-centered instructional strategies into their coursework. Participants were 109 students who were enrolled in an introductory public speaking course. Data was collected by means of classroom observations, interviews, and the administration of a survey. Our findings indicated that students who …

Kill The Dinosaurs, And Other Tips For Achieving Technical Competence In Your Law Practice, Antigone Peyton

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

It is a challenge to practice law in the digital age. This is particularly true when a practice involves significant e-Discovery, Intellectual Property, and technology law—areas in which technical issues merge with legal ones. One of the major challenges of bringing a law practice up to twenty-first-century standards relates to dinosaur thoughts, a.k.a. an “old ways are best” mentality.

Beyond Technophobia: Lawyers’ Ethical And Legal Obligations To Monitor Evolving Technology And Security Risks, Timothy J. Toohey

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Lawyers and technology have an uneasy relationship. Although some lawyers are early adapters, others take pride in ignoring technology because they believe it is alien to the practice of law. As Jody R. Westby observed, lawyers confronted with technology and security issues tend to have their “eyes glaze over” and “want to call in their ‘IT guy’ and go back to work.” But this technophobic attitude may no longer just be harmless conservatism. In the world of growing security risks, ignorance of technology may lead to violations of lawyers’ fundamental ethical duties of competence and confidentiality.

The Big Data Collection Problem Of Little Mobile Devices, Michael Arnold, Dennis R. Kiker

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

There should be little question that mobile device-based data are discoverable if relevant. However, as was the case with ordinary computer-based data a decade or more ago, there is a tendency to believe that there is only one way to collect such data—“forensically.”

Conducting U.S. Discovery In Asia: An Overview Of E-Discovery And Asian Privacy Laws, Lynn M. Marvin, Yohance Bowden

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The rapid expansion over the last decade of Asian corporations doing business in the United States and U.S. corporations doing business in Asia, has led to a marked increase in U.S. litigation involving Asian corporations as parties, requiring discovery of information located in Asia. According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, U.S. trade of goods and services with countries in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (“APEC”) totaled $2.9 trillion in 2013: exports totaled $1.2 trillion and imports totaled $1.6 trillion. It naturally follows that Asian corporations doing business in the United States are utilizing the American court system …

Infection And Dissemination Of Tav-Gfp Tagged Sindbis In Aedine Mosquitoes And Cell Lines, Jason J. Saredy

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Arthropod-borne-viruses (arboviruses) pose a global threat due to their ability to be transmitted by hematophagous insects to vertebrate hosts resulting in a range of serious infectious diseases. Sindbis virus (SINV) is the prototype arbovirus of the genus Alphavirus in the family Togaviridae. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of a fluorescent tagged reporter virus in both in vitro and in vivo environments. The fluorescent protein GFP was inserted between the Capsid and PE2 in the genome of TR339; SINV TaV-GFP (Wm. Klimstra Lab). This virus construct should have the same infectivity and virulence as wild type …

Constructing The 1889 Baist Atlas Of Richmond, Va: Building Blocks For Digital Projects, Lauren Work

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

The beautiful end product of a digital cultural heritage project is a wonderful thing. But building collaborative digital projects is challenging. VCU Libraries created an interactive 1889 atlas with ideas both old and new about use, access, engagement and collaboration.

Poster Description

The focus of this poster is two-fold. First, the collaborative effort to repair, digitize, preserve, plan and create an interactive website and digital representation of the 1889 Baist Atlas of Richmond will be documented. http://labs.library.vcu.edu/baist-atlas/

Second, the details of the iterative process and various approaches related to feedback, design, outreach, use, access and assessment portions of launching and …

Can You Spare 2 Hours? Target Your Audience With Customized E-News, Bettina Peacemaker, Patricia D. Sobczak, Martha Roseberry, Sue Robinson

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

E-newsletters (built in an affordable or free online mail platform) allow librarians to reach faculty with pointed, subject-based information. This poster features a sample from a series of e-newsletters created by liaison librarians, as well as tips for producing custom newsletters and discussion of impact.

Show Me The Data: Analyzing Item Level Metrics From Contentdm Reports To Aid Digital Collection Assessment, Lauren Work

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries recently launched several initiatives to increase the accessibility and enable greater discovery of our digital collections. Like many other organizations, we are interested in creating a standardized assessment approach to determine how these initiatives may help grow the impact of our digital collections, as well as demonstrating their overall value and use.

CONTENTdm reports are part of that standardized assessment. This session will provide an overview of how we are using Excel to quickly import, identify, track and report trends derived from CONTENTdm reports at the item level. This working approach has been used for small …

A Tale Of Two Digital Projects: Open Source Tools For Awesome User Engagement, Lauren Work

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

What do public media and Flickr have in common with Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries? Both provided the means for VCU to build upon open source tools and create new ways for users to engage with our digital collections.

This snapshot session will discuss the use of NPR's Quotable tool in partnership with the Richmond community featured in an oral history project, and will also showcase how the CONTENTdm to Flickr uploader tool built by VCU's web team was used to further user engagement with a unique digital atlas project.

Drawing 1, Steelman Library, Jon Seals

Syllabus Repository

No abstract provided.

Fundamentals Of Speech, Steelman Library, Richard C. Harris Dr.

Syllabus Repository

No abstract provided.

Western Art Appreciation, Steelman Library, Jon Seals

Syllabus Repository

No abstract provided.

Media Ethics, Steelman Library, Richard C. Harris Dr.

Syllabus Repository

No abstract provided.