Digital Commons Network^™

Final Master's Portfolio, Michael Cullen

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio represents the best of the author's work in the MA program in English (individualized track) at Bowling Green State University. Included are an analysis of two Ray Bradbury short stories via eco-criticism and poststructuralism; a creative writing course unit on dystopian fiction; an analysis of several Black films through critical race theory; and an original short story.

Are Constitutional Rights Enough? An Empirical Assessment Of Racial Bias In Police Stops, Rohit Asirvatham, Michael D. Frakes

Northwestern University Law Review

This Article empirically tests the conventional wisdom that a permissive constitutional standard bearing on pretextual traffic stops—such as the one announced by the Supreme Court in Whren v. United States—contributes to racial disparities in traffic stops. To gain empirical traction on this question, we look to state constitutional law. In particular, we consider a natural experiment afforded by changes in the State of Washington’s rules regarding traffic stops. Following Whren, the Washington Supreme Court first took a more restrictive stance than the U.S. Supreme Court, prohibiting pretextual stops by police officers, but later reversed course and instituted a …

Modern Sentencing Mitigation, John B. Meixner Jr.

Northwestern University Law Review

Sentencing has become the most important part of a criminal case. Over the past century, criminal trials have given way almost entirely to pleas. Once a case is charged, it almost always ends up at sentencing. And notably, judges learn little sentencing-relevant information about the case or the defendant prior to sentencing and have significant discretion in sentencing decisions. Thus, sentencing is the primary opportunity for the defense to affect the outcome of the case by presenting mitigation: reasons why the nature of the offense or characteristics of the defendant warrant a lower sentence. It is surprising, then, that relatively …

Prison And Jail Civil Rights/Conditions Cases: Longitudinal Statistics, 1970-2021, Margo Schlanger

Law & Economics Working Papers

These tables relating to prison and jail civil rights litigation in federal court update prior-published versions, using data available as of April 6, 2022.

The Tables show longitudinal statistics about case filings, features, and outcomes, for jail/prison civil rights and conditions cases and for the entire federal civil docket, grouped by case category.
List of tables:
Table A: Incarcerated Population and Prison/Jail Civil Rights Filings, FY1970–FY2021
Table B: Pro Se Litigation in U.S. District Courts by Case Type, Cases Terminated Fiscal Years 1996–2021
Table C: Outcomes in Prisoner Civil Rights Cases in Federal District Court, Fiscal Years 1988–2021
Table D: …

Public Health Policy On The Covid-19 Pandemic And Its Impact On The Behavior Patterns Of Families, Fakir Al Gharaibeh, Laura Gibson

Journal of International Women's Studies

This study examined the public health measures adopted by the Jordanian government that contributed to stemming the spread of the pandemic and the impact of these measures on the behavior patterns of families. Content analysis was used with 117 news briefs, and interviews were conducted with 20 families identified through snowball sampling. Ecological systems theory and a public health model are used to frame our understanding of the results. We found themes from interviews that included a shift to online education, use of social media, changes in consumer behavior, and social initiatives.

How Do Cultural Similarities With Providers And Caregivers Shape The Management Of Chronic Conditions?, Maygui Jean

Symposium of Student Scholars

Previous research has outlined evident disparities in the development of chronic health conditions among African Americans compared to other groups, with African American men disproportionately affected by almost every disorder investigated. Examinations into chronic health conditions revealed that social determinants of health stemming from structural racism combined with cultural elements, compounded by the fact that African American men are much less likely to have access to health insurance, are highly related to the health burdens of African American men. Yet, much literature exploring the experiences, expectations, and effects of chronic health conditions rarely focuses specifically on African American men. The …

The Value And Impact Of Internships, Maitland Gilbert

Symposium of Student Scholars

The purpose of this research is to examine how students perceive the value and impact of completing an internship. This project is analyzing the data in context with the Criminal Justice department interns.

This presentation will share the work of a project to assess the perceived value and impact of Criminal Justice internships through a content analysis of student reflections about their experiences while enrolled in an internship course. The research is governed by an IRB research protocol working with faculty internship coordinators. The methodology will allow for reoccurring themes to become evident and shed light on what the interns …

Sample Holiday Cards: Examples To Help Visualize Your Families Holiday Card Or A Reinforcement Of Racism And Heteronormativity In America., Chasidy Harris

Symposium of Student Scholars

The United States is considered a "melting pot" with a diverse population of citizens. Each year, thousands of Americans send out holiday cards, and increasingly these cards are ordered online in bulk and are decorated with photos for family and friends. However, evidence shows that current advertising does not typically reflect the diversity present in the United States population. This research aims to show how the advertisement of photo holiday cards through sample cards posted on the retailer's website includes mostly white heterosexual couples and families and fewer same-sex couples (with and without children), racial-ethnically diverse families. This research will …

Bullying: How Feelings Of Fatalism May Influence Youth Choices To Offend, Tammy Shartzer

Theses

School age bullying continues to be a source of intense research as it is commonly linked to increased levels of delinquency in adolescents. In an effort to understand the process through which bullying victimization is linked to increased levels of delinquency, researchers continue to explore environmental and psychological components. This study used both OLS regression and negative binomial regression to examine the relationship between traditional and cyberbullying victimization and delinquency to assesses if fatalism mediates or moderates this relationship. An individual with fatalism often feels they are stuck within a revolving cycle of bad happenings and are powerless to change …

Utah State University Commencement, 2022 - Brigham City, Kaysville & Tremonton Campuses, Utah State University

Commencement Programs

2022 Commencement Ceremony for the Brigham City, Kaysville & Tremonton Campuses of Utah State University.

Cardozo Law News Brief: April 15, 2022, Benjamin N. Cardozo School Of Law

Cardozo Law News Brief 2022

Featured Faculty:

• Ekow N. Yankah
• Deborah Pearlstein
• Betsy Ginsberg
• Jessica Roth
• Alma Magaña

Campus News:

• Cardozo Ranked #7 on Hollywood Reporter's List of Top Law Schools for Entertainment Lawyers
• Civil Rights Clinic and NYCLU File Lawsuit Challenging Censorship in New York Prisons

Events:

• The Parthenon Marbles Case and the Universal Museum Myth: Policies and Politics

Living In A Divided America: The Housing Policies That Have Segregated Our Country And Oppressed African American Wealth, Jenna M. Barnes

Honors Theses

The aim of this thesis is to highlight the wrongdoings that the American government and people have caused through poor housing practices and provide solutions to this expansive problem. This honors thesis investigates the discrimination that has taken place within the housing industry and implications it has had on African American wealth. The findings of this research uncover the lending procedures and zoning that kept black communities segregated and restricted integration. Discriminatory housing practices have obstructed African American’s from home ownership, which is the easiest way to build and pass on wealth. The biggest factors that have increased the wealth …

Driving Change: A Model For Collaborative Librarianship In Prince George’S County, Maryland, Nicholas A. Brown, Kyla Hanington

Collaborative Librarianship

The Prince George’s County Memorial Library System (PGCMLS) has a long-standing partnership with the county’s human rights education and enforcement agency, the Office of Human Rights (PGCOHR), formerly the Prince George’s County Human Relations Commission (PGCHRC). The two agencies serve over 967,000 Prince Georgians, a majority-Black (64.4%) and Latin or Hispanic (19.5%) population with a sizable immigrant community (22.7%). The civil rights issues of 2020 hit close to home in Prince George’s County and the agencies have sustained a multi-year effort to provide residents with opportunities to learn how to engage with social justice topics for personal and collective advancement. …

Resource Map Of Expenditures For Tennessee Children And Youth, Annual Report To The Legislature 2022, Tennessee. Commission On Children And Youth.

Resource Map Report

No abstract provided.

(In) Visible In The Field And In The Data: Uncertain, Hidden, And Homeless. Essays On The Conceptualization Of Homelessness, Elements Of Social Exclusion, And Integrity Of Social Relationships, Places, And Resources, Richard Neil Greene

Sociology ETDs

This dissertation includes three empirical chapters framed by an overarching introduction and conclusion. Together, they comprise a mixed methods and community engaged study on homelessness, mortality, and systems related to homelessness. This study uniquely speaks to the social construction of homelessness and construction of knowledge about homelessness from a sociological perspective. Data come from: 1) qualitative interviews (N=20) with field deputy medical investigators (FDMI) in New Mexico about conceptualizing homelessness and housing instability as a contributing cause of death; 2) quantitative death records comparing people affected by homelessness who were identified as having been engaged with services or were not …

"For All You Know, I Might Be A Black Panther": How The News Media Cultivated White Anxiety In The United States And Became A Modern Panopticon For Black Power, Caitlin Grace Leishman

History ETDs

Building upon French philosopher Michel Foucault’s analysis of Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon, I argue that throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, the news media and resulting culture nurtured and reinforced the postcolonial narratives that associated Blackness with criminality. I analyze the national newspaper coverage for their narrative portrayal of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP). The national media and U.S. government targeted the BPP and Black Power politics to discredit them and the overall movement for Black Liberation. I argue that this media-state project only intensified during the 1970s and into the 1980s with the country’s turn to …

A Case Study Exploring Student-Teacher Relationships Two Years In The Aftermath Of A School Shooting In A Rural South-Central United States School, Lee Guidry

Liberty University Research Week

Doctoral

Applied

Smoking And Opiate Withdrawal Symptoms: The Impact Of Psychosocial Variables Among Individuals Receiving Medication Assisted Treatment For Opioid Detox, Cristina Abarno

LSU Master's Theses

Individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) endorse high rates of combustible smoking (Zale et al., 2015) which is associated with poorer outcomes (e.g., opioid craving and lower detoxification completion rates) among individuals receiving medication-assisted treatment (MAT; Mannelli, Wu, Peindl, & Gorelick, 2013) and lower smoking cessation rates in smoking cessation treatment (Okoli et al., 2010). The complex pharmacological relationship between opioids and nicotine may help explain these findings (Kohut, 2017), however little is known about psychosocial variables that influence MAT processes among combustible smokers with OUD. The present study sought to expand upon prior work (Mannelli et al., 2013) by …

Vol.49 N.38 April 14th 2022, Voice Media Ventures

Black Voice News

No abstract provided.

Beyond Access: Best Practices To Increase Success For Low-Income, First-Generation College Students, Samantha J. Bryant

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education at Morehead State University by Samantha J. Bryant on April 14, 2022.

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes April 14, 2022, University Of Rhode Island Faculty Senate

Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Lessons From Mcgirt V. Oklahoma's Habeas Aftermath, Ben Gibson

Denver Law Review

In the summer of 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma, concluding that Congress had never disestablished the historic boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s reservation. In reaching this decision, the majority and dissent in McGirt sparred about the impact the Court’s decision would have on the availability of post-conviction relief for prisoners who historically committed crimes on this and other reservations in Oklahoma. The dissent claimed this would create a clear pathway for scores of state prisoners to challenge their convictions. The majority insisted the results would not be so dire—state and federal …

Covid-19 Comes To The Colorado Supreme Court, Christopher M. Jackson

Denver Law Review

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged communities across the United States—and Colorado was no exception. The state government acted quickly to respond to this ongoing public health emergency, and those actions were soon subject to a variety of legal challenges. This Article analyzes the Colorado Supreme Court’s decisions resulting from those legal challenges. It argues that the court never sent a clear signal about how much flexibility it would give the government to meet this unprecedented crisis. Still, the court’s opinions suggest that a bare majority of justices are willing to take the existence of this international public health emergency …

The Necessity Of Co-Response Teams In Police Departments, Kathryn Helms

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Textual or Investigative

Reforming A Flawed System: Concepts For Modern Police Training, Education And Research, Bridget Gallagher

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Theoretical Proposal

The Decrease In Crime Violence And Re-Offence Rates Of Juveniles Involved In Musical Theater Arts Programs In The United States, Alexia Williams

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Theoretical Proposal

Community Resource Center, Molly Hercules

Student Research Symposium

This project highlights the importance of a safe space and intentional design- specifically when working with refugees in mind. The presentation will touch on the current global refugee crisis and propose a design plan for a refugee center; focused on alleviating these problems.

Need For Reform: The Prison System And Deaf Inmates, Catherine Pellini

Montserrat Annual Writing Prize

Anecdotal and empirical evidence reveal a severe lack of awareness, education and accessibility in the criminal justtice system for those who are deaf. These issues are most obvious and detrimental in the prison system and have serious ethical implications that need to be addressed.

Raging Hormones: Why Age-Based Etiological Conceptualizations Of The Development Of Antisocial Behavior Are Insufficient, Stuart F. White, S. Mariely Estrada Gonzalez, Eibhlis M. Moriarty

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

Developmental science, particularly developmental neuroscience, has substantially influenced the modern legal system. However, this science has typically failed to consider the role of puberty and pubertal hormones on development when considering antisocial behavior. This review describes major theoretical positions on the developmental neuroscience of antisocial behavior and highlights where basic developmental neuroscience suggests that the role of puberty and pubertal hormones should be considered. The implications of the current state of the science with respect to developmental neuroscience is considered, particularly what is known in light of development beyond puberty. This review shows that development continues to an older age …

Implementation Of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy And Narrative Therapy For Sexually Exploited Middle Childhood To Early Adolescent Children, Jessica Clowdis

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Theoretical Proposal