Digital Commons Network^™

Diminishing And Preventing Homelessness: A Managerial Audit Of Santa Clara County Nonprofit Organizations Addressing Homelessness, Sergio J. Gonzalez

Master's Projects

While the problem of homelessness intensifies in the United States, the search for solutions becomes increasingly crucial. As the number of homeless people in Santa Clara County, California continues to surge, various sections of government and nonprofit organizations have intensified their search for ways to reduce the problem. There have been many proposed ideas for a solution, such as policy options and emergency measures to address local crises. For example, the city of San Jose, California, has opened a “bridged housing” community, allocating 80 tiny homes with beds, a desk, and air conditioning in two locations to serve as temporary …

Diversifying Police Departments Through Community-Oriented Based Policing, Beverly J. Pettrey

Student Scholarship

The racial and ethnic diversity of a police department is a crucial component to improving police relationships with communities. Diversity efforts by American police departments have been complicated by small applicant pools for the last several years, particularly among qualified female and minority applicants. One way for police departments to attract more racial and ethnic minority applicants to improve community relations is to use community-oriented policing.

Montclair Magazine (Fall/Winter 2020), Montclair State University

Montclair: The magazine of Montclair State University

No abstract provided.

The Mediating Role Of Emotion Dysregulation In The Association Between Intimate Partner Victimization Types And Symptoms Of Depression In Young Hispanic Women, Maria Gabriela Copeiro De Lestarpe

Theses and Dissertations

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is defined as the abuse or aggression that occurs in a close relationship. Statistics show that the most prevalent types of IPV are psychological, physical, and sexual. In the U.S. 1 in 4 women (24.4%, or 29.2 million) are victims of IPV before the age of 25. Minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged women are most likely to experience it. Depression, among others, is one of the harmful consequences resulting from IPV victimization. The present study focuses on the role of emotion dysregulation in the association between IPV and depression. It was hypothesized that emotion dysregulation mediates the …

Local Offenses, Brenner M. Fissell

Fordham Law Review

Criminal law is generally thought to exist within two jurisdictional levels: federal and state. Neglected in the legal mind, and in legal scholarship, is the vast body of criminal law promulgated by local governments. While one should ask “what” is being criminalized by cities, towns, and villages, one should also ask “how” these offenses are written. The offense-drafting practices reflected in state criminal law have been extensively studied, but this has never been attempted for local offenses. This Article undertakes that task. After surveying a large number of local criminal codes, this Article concludes that local offenses routinely fail to …

Justifying Force: Police Procedurals And The Normalization Of Violence, Emily Brenner

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

Much like the CSI effect in forensic crime dramas, portrayals of law enforcement in crime media can potentially skew a viewer’s perception of what the profession actually entails. Many studies address the depiction of law enforcement in the media, but few solely examine the use of force by television police officers, and the impact this may have on frequent viewers. In an era of calls for accountability over growing attention towards police brutality and misconduct, the media as an influencer has the potential to play a role in how real-world instances of brutality are perceived, and more importantly, how it …

Decriminalizing Prostitution: Embracing The Swedish Model By Removing The Mistake-Of-Age Defense From New York’S Stop Violence In The Sex Trade Act, Carley Cooke

Journal of Law and Policy

In recent years, New York has re-focused on the widely debated topic of how to best manage and regulate prostitution in the United States. As a state-level issue, the debate presents an invaluable opportunity to re-examine how New York as a society views sex work. The answer in New York focuses on the idea that sex work is real work, where workers should be able to carry out their profession without stigma or fear of arrest. As it stands, the proposed reform largely focuses on decriminalizing both the purchase and sale of sex. This approach contrasts with the legal structure …

Detecting Mens Rea In The Brain, Owen D. Jones, Read Montague, Gideon Yaffe

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

What if the widely used Model Penal Code (MPC) assumes a distinction between mental states that doesn’t actually exist? The MPC assumes, for instance, that there is a real distinction in real people between the mental states it defines as “knowing” and “reckless.” But is there?

If there are such psychological differences, there must also be brain differences. Consequently, the moral legitimacy of the Model Penal Code’s taxonomy of culpable mental states – which punishes those in defined mental states differently – depends on whether those mental states actually correspond to different brain states in the way the MPC categorization …

The Law On Police Use Of Force In The United States, Christopher Slobogin, Brandon Garrett

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Recent events in the United States have highlighted the fact that American police resort to force, including deadly force, much more often than in many other Western countries. This Article describes how the current regulatory regime may ignore or even facilitate these aggressive police actions. The law governing police use of force in the United States derives in large part from the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. As construed by the United States Supreme Court, the Fourth Amendment provides police wide leeway in using deadly force, making custodial arrests, and stopping and …

Punishing Pill Mill Doctors: Sentencing Disparities In The Opioid Epidemic, Adam M. Gershowitz

Faculty Publications

Consider two pill mill doctors who flooded the streets with oxycodone and other dangerous opioids. The evidence against both doctors was overwhelming. They each sold millions of opioid pills. Both doctors charged addicted patients hundreds of dollars in cash for office visits that involved no physical examinations and no diagnostic tests. Instead, the doctors simply handed the patients opioids in exchange for cash. To maximize their income, both doctors conspired with street dealers to import fake patients — many of them homeless — so that the doctors could write even more prescriptions. Both doctors made millions of dollars profiting off …

Policing Farm Crime: An Exploratory Study Of Agricultural Crime Units, Brianna Lynn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the practices, perceptions, and operations of agricultural crime units. To date, there has been little research conducted on policing agricultural crimes and no known research on units specializing in investigating them. The study utilizes data gathered from qualitative interviews with agricultural crime investigators across several states to fill this gap in the literature. The results allow for an examination of the fundamental practices of agricultural units, their perceptions and their experiences. In addition, they point to several implications for both policy and practice that may serve to guide our efforts to combat …

Understanding Why Individuals Use Club Drugs At Raves And Electronic Dance Music Events: A Peer Cluster Theory Approach, Brandi N. Burns

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Raves and Electronic Dance Music (EDM) events are part of a growing culture of entertainment for young people around the world. The dangers of these events include fatalities related to drug use, overheating, dehydration and lack of harm reduction services. This study explores drug use at rave events through a survey examining EDM attendee experiences. Using a binary logistic regression model, this investigation examines the relative importance of five factors: (1) peer group drug use and (2) peer influence on behavior, drawn from peer cluster theory, (3) presence of security features that may dissuade drug use controls for rational choices, …

A Preliminary Analysis Of Project Ag Aware: Sbirt In Agricultural Work Settings, Rachel L. Rutt

Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health

Background: An increasing number of individuals are being negatively affected by substance abuse in the U.S. and Nebraska communities. These communities are seeing immense increases in opioid prescribing rates, especially in rural areas. The aims of this study are to 1) describe the study population of agricultural workers in Nebraska; 2) estimate the prevalence of alcohol misuse, illegal drug use, and anxiety among agricultural workers in Nebraska; and 3) examine factors associated with alcohol misuse among agricultural workers in Nebraska.

Methods: Adult agricultural workers (N=1,206) completed a paper or online survey for Project Ag Aware. Alcohol misuse, illegal drug use, …

From Overdose To Crime Scene: The Incompatibility Of Drug-Induced Homicide Statutes With Due Process, Kaitlin S. Phillips

Duke Law Journal

As the opioid epidemic ravages the United States, federal and state legislators continue to seek various ways to mitigate the crisis. Though public health advocates have successfully pushed for harm-reduction initiatives, a contrasting punitive response has emerged. Across the country, prosecutors and legislators are turning to drug-induced homicide (“DIH”) statutes as a law-and-order response to the crisis. DIH statutes, which can carry sentences as severe as life in prison, impose criminal liability on anyone who provided drugs that led to a fatal overdose. Though DIH laws are often justified as tools to target large-scale drug distributors, in reality, they more …

High School Education Professionals' Explanations Of The Impacts Of Military Stress On Military Dependent Students' Development, William John Buchleitner Iv

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this explanatory case study is to understand how the military culture and inherent stress affect the development of military dependent high school children as explained by high school professionals. For this research, military stressors were identified as combat deployments, permanent change of stations, and living within a military household. The conceptual framework that influenced this research was the social cognitive theory as developed by Albert Bandura and Ronald Akers’ social learning theory, both of which explain how children learn from observing individuals and their environments. This study sought to answer the central research question: How do high …

A Study Of Student Experiences Of Racial Microaggressions At A Hispanic-Serving Institution, Alexandra E. Hughes

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine college students’ experiences of racial microaggressions at a Hispanic serving institution. The participants were undergraduate and graduate students from a large higher education research institution in South Texas. The study had a qualitative approach with a two-step process of Phase 1 and Phase 2. Phase 1 of the study consisted of a participant selection survey sent to students via e-mail to obtain their experiences of racial microaggressions. In Phase 2, three focus groups were the means used to collect data. The findings suggested that there were experiences of racial microaggressions at the …

Justice As Justifiability: Mandatory Minimum Sentences, Section 12, And Deliberative Democracy

UBC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Covid-19 On Domestic Violence And Immigrant Families., Abha Rai, Susan Grossman, Nathan Perkins

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

The COVID-19 pandemic has threatening implications for all individuals; and has been particularly unsettling for immigrants. Given their unique positionality in the U.S., the intersectional discussion about the impact of this pandemic on immigrants and issues of family violence is salient. The position of some groups of immigrant women is even more precarious due to the increased dependency on their spouse/partner for emotional, economic and immigration-related reasons. While immigrants have been on the frontlines as responders for COVID-19, there are limited policies that provide them with healthcare, employment guarantee, or benefits. Further, the immigration restrictions created by the U.S. Government …

The Global Rise Of False Testimony For False Pleas, Lucian E. Dervan

Law Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines the growing global reliance on plea bargaining and challenges the foundational assumption that innocent defendants do not plead guilty absent coercion. Through a comparative analysis of the United States, Japan, and South Korea—jurisdictions at different stages of formalizing plea bargaining—the authors combine doctrinal review with cross-cultural laboratory experiments to assess the prevalence of false guilty pleas and false testimony induced by plea incentives. The findings demonstrate that a significant number of innocent participants are willing to plead guilty in exchange for leniency and, critically, to provide false testimony implicating others to secure favorable outcomes. These tendencies persist …

Bargained Justice: The Rise Of False Testimony For False Pleas, Lucian E. Dervan

Law Faculty Scholarship

In Bargained Justice: The Rise of False Testimony for False Pleas, Andrew M. Pardieck, Vanessa A. Edkins, and Lucian E. Dervan examine the empirical foundations of plea bargaining in the United States and its global expansion to jurisdictions such as Japan and South Korea Challenging the longstanding assumption that innocent individuals do not plead guilty absent overt coercion, the authors conduct cross-cultural laboratory experiments to test whether the innocent will falsely plead guilty and falsely implicate others in exchange for leniency. Building on prior research demonstrating high rates of false guilty pleas among innocent participants, the study extends the …

The Determination Of G1 And G7 Ballistic Coefficients Of .22lr Caliber Ammunition In Gypsum Board Through Doppler Radar Acquisition, Jose A. Colon Jr.

Student Theses

In this experiment, a method of calculating ballistic coefficients of .22LR (long rifle) caliber ammunition was developed using Doppler radar to track the pre-impact and post-impact velocities of projectiles passing through gypsum board. The method demonstrated has distinct advantages in accuracy and flexibility over conventional chronograph projectile tracking that forensic firearm experts should consider when determining the optimal method to obtain a ballistic coefficient (BC). G1 and G7 ballistic coefficients were determined for three .22LR ammunition brands with respective muzzle velocities of approximately 1050ft/s (320m/s), 1230ft/s (375m/s), and 1640ft/s (500m/s) fired from a Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic carbine using an Infinition …

Overcoming The Systemic Challenges Of Wealth Inequality In The U.S., David Peter Stroh

The Foundation Review

The galvanizing public murder of George Floyd and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black and Hispanic people have put structural racism and its influence on wealth inequality in the U.S. into stark relief. As multiracial groups express outrage at these visible disparities, we risk missing the other side of the coin: that wealth inequality in turn fans structural racism. Moreover, as they reinforce each other, these two factors erode the social, economic, and political viability of our democracy. Understanding and then breaking this vicious cycle are essential to realizing our renewed commitment to a country that works everyone.

This …

Holiday 2020

The Weldon Times

A student-run publication from the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University.

Co-Editors in Chief: Tiffany Leung, Madison Ranta

Graphic Design & Layout: Alexandra Fox

Cardiac Electrophysiology: Exploring Racial And Gender Outcomes Of Treatment Of Paroxysmal And Persistent Atrial Fibrillation Using Sotalol And Dofetilide, Nicole Lanette Bradford-Love

Dissertations

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the association between gender and racial lines in the conversion and sustainment of normal sinus rhythm (NSR) from paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) and persistent atrial fibrillation using the anti-arrhythmic drugs (AADs) sotalol and dofetilide.

Methods

A secondary data analysis was performed to assess the relationships of the independent and dependent variables listed above. Using SPSS v. 24 descriptive statistics were obtained and initially evaluated for accuracy with histograms. A cross-tabulation frequency table was produced to determine the number of variables that fell into each dependent category. Following this, the frequencies were …

Conceptualizing Social Capital As Access To Social Network And Mobilization Of Network Resources: A Study Of Workplace Literacy Programs And Low-Income Somali Refugee Workers, Angela Uchechukwu Nwude

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a substantial body of literature on the economic benefits of workplace literacy programs, and much less empirical studies on the social or non-economic outcomes of workplace literacy programs, particularly in the context of low-income refugee workers. Adopting a social network approach, this study examines the impact of workplace literacy programs on the social capital development of Somali refugee workers. Social capital can be defined as the network of relationships possessed by an individual or social group that facilitates their access to emotional, instrumental, or informational resources, essential for their daily survival, stability, or upward mobility. This study takes …

The Relationship Between Virginia Title 1 Spending And Minority Male Graduation Rates: A Longitudinal Study, Anastacio B. Marin

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Over the past two decades, education funding in the United States has been redistributed to schools that lack sufficient financial resources to meet the needs of students (Boyle & Lee, 2015). The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, the reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), was enacted to increase academic accountability and achievement throughout the nation’s public-school systems. Nationwide, there is a persistent achievement gap between historically marginalized students and their affluent peers. This gap is evident in the Commonwealth of Virginia when measuring student proficiency on End of Course Assessments (EOCAs). For schools serving a large …

Black Girls In 3d Disruptive, Defiant, And Disrespectful: Case Studies Of Culturally Responsive And Sustaining Classroom Management Practices In An Urban Middle School, Janeen Perry-Campbell

Teaching & Learning Theses & Dissertations

Extensive research has been conducted on the disproportionate amount of suspensions that occur among Black boys, however, there is an emerging body of research that suggests that the rate of suspensions among Black girls is increasing. The most common behaviors that Black girls receive office referrals for, are subjective behaviors such as being disruptive, defiant, and disrespectful. (Nunn, 2018). The purpose of this study was to examine how Culturally Responsive Classroom Management (CRCM) strategies reduce the disproportionate amount of suspensions that Black girls received. This qualitative study conducted through case studies focused on how the teachers’ culturally responsive and sustaining …

Defying The Odds: The Resilience Of African American Youth In The Face Of Differential Treatment In The Classroom, Frank R. Wood Jr.

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

In the education system, African American youth are confronted by deficit-based narratives of intellectual inferiority and defiance that inform teaching pedagogies, curricula, and classroom management strategies, such as school discipline practices. In light of available research documenting the deleterious effects of low expectations and treatment by teachers on the academic outcomes of African American youth, this body of knowledge also underscores the importance of racial socialization and positive perceptions of school bonding in safeguarding the academic achievement and success of African American youth. However, the lack of criminological inquiry into the complex associations between perceptions of differential treatment by teachers, …

An Examination Of The Relationship Among Social Services Support, Race, Ethnicity And Recidivism In Justice Involved Mothers, Ne’Shaun Janay Borden

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Historically, women have been ignored and minimized in criminology research and theory, leading to gaps in the literature on justice involved women. In recent years, there has been more focus on women as their rates of involvement in the justice system have increased. Previous studies have found that pathways to justice involvement are different for women and men, with women experiencing higher rates of victimization, sexual abuse and mental health concerns. Further, justice involved women are unique in that over 80% are mothers or primary caregivers for minors. General Strain Theory is used to assert that receiving support should reduce …

A Multiple Case Study Investigating Principles Of Design And Implementation Of Operational Safety Plans For Crises At Colleges, Universities, And Affiliated Institutions, Antonio Passaro, Jr.

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

In the wake of the 2007 Virginia Tech tragedy, the Virginia state legislature mandated that all college-affiliated institutions create an operational safety plan for natural and manmade crises. Previous empirical research has mostly focused on documenting faculty and students’ perceptions of campus safety, preparations for manmade crises over natural disasters, and enhancing specific aspects of emergency responses for future incidents. Thus, design and implementation “best practices” for higher education operational safety plan protocols is an understudied, yet burgeoning area of inquiry. To address this literature gap, a comparative case study of five institutions was conducted using a novel document analysis …