Digital Commons Network^™

An Analysis Of Sex Trafficking Support Services In Mental Health Care For Survivors, Darian Marie Alexandria Auge

Graduate Research Papers

This study is an examination of the current mental health care services for sex trafficking survivors. Sex trafficking is a growing epidemic in the United States and the need for mental health care for survivors is growing. This study examines the mental health disorders and consequences survivors face due to prolonged trauma. This study also examines current shortterm and long-term interventions that are suggested in the literature for care for sex trafficking survivors. Additionally, this study explores any current mental health treatments and programs and looks at any current resources available to sex trafficking survivors. This study examines options for …

The Impact Of Gendered Racial And Bisexual Microaggressions On The Access To Decent Work For Black Bisexual Women: An Examination Of The Moderation And Mediation Effects Of Work Volition And Proactive Personality, Angela Chloe Lewis

Dissertations

This purpose of this research was to examine the impact on gendered racial microaggressions and bisexual microaggressions on the ability to access decent work for Black bisexual women. The mediation effect of proactive personality on the relationship between gendered racial microaggressions and bisexual microaggressions with decent work was explored in this study. The moderation effect of proactive personality on the relationship between gendered racial microaggressions and bisexual microaggressions with decent work was explored in this study as well. Gendered racial microaggressions was measured using the Gendered Racial Microaggression Scale (GRMS; Lewis & Neville, 2015). Bisexual microaggressions was measured by the …

Effects Of A Self-Forgiveness Intervention On Recovery From Substance Use Disorders, Michael Saltzman

Dissertations

Previous research has highlighted the relationship between shame, guilt, and problematic substance use (Gueta, 2013; Luoma et al., 2019; McGaffin et al., 2013; Rahim & Patton, 2015). Self-forgiveness has been associated with positive outcomes for individuals in recovery with substance use disorders (SUDs), though only one prior study has explored the effects of a selfforgiveness intervention for individuals in treatment (Scherer et al., 2011). This study examines the effects of a self-forgiveness intervention on state shame and guilt, state self-forgiveness, and drug avoidance self-efficacy, and it is the first intervention study to focus on self-forgiveness for individuals with SUDs receiving …

Animal Abuse And Psychopathy: Examining Psychopathic Personality Traits In Both Animal Abusers And Non-Abusers, Allison Renegar

Master's Theses

Despite the soaring popularity of household pets in America, very little thought is given about the rights of our domesticated animals to exist free from harm and abuse. Little research has been done concerning animal abuse as most studies measured animal abuse dichotomously, providing essentially no contextual information. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between psychopathy and animal abuse using the Psychopathic Personality Traits Scale (PPTS; Boduszek et al., 2016) and the Boat Inventory on Animal-Related Experiences (Boat Inventory; Boat, 1994) while accounting for other factors including what types of animals are abused and the methods …

Understanding Threats To Public Officials, Peter Simi, Seamus Hughes

Reports, Projects, and Research

Threats against public officials are ticking up, a disturbing trend that NCITE researchers are charting in a 10-year examination of federally investigated threats. Since 2013, researchers have counted 501 such threats, most resulting in conviction. Threats were most commonly made against members of the criminal justice system, from law enforcement officers to judges. Elected officials and those who run or manage elections comprised the second most-targeted category. Educators and healthcare workers also received threats. The following graphics show further analysis. It is important to note that the figures capture only federally charged cases. There is a high bar for such …

Applying Normal Accident Theory To Ideological And Nation-State-Sponsored Cybercrimes, Thomas J. Holt, National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, And Education Center

Reports, Projects, and Research

This project aims to explore a new perspective on cyberattacks by applying normal accident theory, typically used to analyze complex system failures, to the realm of cybersecurity. The goal is to gain insights into the factors contributing to cyberattacks and identify potential strategies to prevent and mitigate them. Applying normal accident theory to cyberattacks reveals that while complete prevention is challenging, focusing on human and organizational aspects of cybersecurity can significantly reduce risks. Encouraging adherence to best practices and establishing cybersecurity audit and compliance entities are critical steps toward a more resilient cybersecurity landscape.

Building Community Through Creativity & Social Practice Arts, Saira Siddiqui

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Social practice art is an artistic genre aimed to positively affect communities by addressing social and political change. Social practice art is collaborative, participatory, and involves people and places to help address these changes. The focus of this master’s project is to engage in a deeper understanding of how creativity and change leadership plays a role in the process of a social practice artist, and their pursuit to use art, culture, and creativity to connect people to each other and their environments. The outcomes of the project include insights into how creativity can be used in action to manage a …

The (Im)Mobility Of Being: The Anti-Black And Colonial Roots Of Contemporary Policing, Korey Tillman

Sociology ETDs

Popular debates over policing often revolve around spectacular forms of police violence that grab national media attention. In this study, I examine the everydayness of contemporary U.S. policing and the antiblack and colonial roots that sustains its many forms. Drawing on three years of ethnographic fieldwork with a grassroots abolitionist organization and homeless service provider, and 23 interviews with Black adults across the U.S., I show how mundane policing serves as sites of racialization where the category of human is contested. I offer stops as an analytic to observe how these mundane forms of policing occur in places such as …

How Systematically Increasing Estimator Variables Affects The Confidence-Accuracy Relationship, Amber M. Giacona

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have used signal-detection theory-based approach to show that when police use proper practices with eyewitnesses, highly confident witnesses will be highly accurate even when viewing conditions may be suboptimal (Wixted & Wells, 2017). This is referred to as the pristine conditions hypothesis. There have been multiple, and often contradictory, studies that have investigated the relationship between viewing conditions and memory degradation (Giacona et al., 2021; Grabman et al., 2019; Lockamyeir et al, 2020; Semmler et al., 2018). In the current study, I systematically manipulated five estimator variables (lighting, distance, retention interval, exposure duration, and race) as either suboptimal or …

Examining School Awareness And Support For Children Of Incarcerated Parents: Perceptions Of Educators And Caregivers, Wanda Labrador

Education Doctoral

This qualitative phenomenological study investigated the perceptions of educators and caregivers of children of incarcerated parents (CIP) regarding how CIP may best be supported and whether they receive the social-emotional support they need at school. Additionally, this study gives voice to a subject that affects many but is considered by few, and can benefit CIP, educators, and caregivers.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) framework is the theoretical structure for the study. SAMHSA’s framework includes the four Rs principles of the trauma-informed approach: realization, recognition, response, and resisting re-traumatization. The data were collected using one-to-one semi-structured interviews …

Investigation Into The Utility Of The Submaxillary Gland Androgen-Regulated Protein 3b (Smr3b) As A Normalizing Factor In Oral Fluid, Alejandro Ocampo

Student Theses

Oral fluid is a biological sample of increasing interest in clinical and forensic toxicology. This matrix is easy to obtain, it shows a low biohazard risk, and it reflects recent drug exposure. However, the interpretation of its quantitative values is limited, due to the high inter- and intraindividual variability. The investigation of normalization factors in this biological matrix may improve the interpretation value of oral fluid. This study investigated the potential of two signature peptides from the submaxillary gland androgen-regulated protein 3B (SMR3B) as normalization factors in oral fluid. SMR3B was digested in trypsin and the signature peptides SMR3B-1 and …

Method Development And Validation Of Controlled Substances On A Gas Chromatography - Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometer, Regina E. Filus

Student Theses

The goal of this project was to perform a validation and a method development for an Agilent 7890 Gas Chromatograph connected to a Thermo iS50 Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometer in order to put the instrument into functional and operational use. Both instruments are connected via an interface allowing for simultaneous analysis of a sample. A custom-made in-house library was created in order to search and compare to future unknown case samples. Reference materials were run and reviewed in order to determine which method and concentrations would provide the best infrared scans, and the sample repeatability runs were used to develop …

The Antagonistic Anatomy Of Anti-Shippers: A Thematic Analysis, Adrian A. Stone

Student Theses

Within the transformative fandom community is an ideologically-affiliated group known as anti-shippers, whose rhetoric contends that fictional interests are an indication of those held in reality. Anti-shippers focus solely on fictional material perceived to be sexual in nature and make frequent references to pedophilia. This rhetoric is used to justify harassment against individuals who do not share in their beliefs. As this population primarily operates on social media, this study was designed to conduct an exploratory investigation into themes gleaned from posts authored by anti-shippers on Twitter. Utilizing latent content analysis, a total of 187 posts from 222 unique users …

An Application Of The Coercive Control Framework To Cults, Sarah E. Feliciano

Student Theses

The present study utilized the coercive control framework to systematically assess coercion in cults. Former cult members (N=52) of various groups (e.g., psychological & self-help related) were interviewed via telephone for 1.5 to 3 hours. The sample was 67.31% female, 67.31% Caucasian, and 63.46% American; age ranged from 24-68 years old. An existing codebook was used by multiple coders with high intercoder reliability (89.66%). Coercive control tactics were present in all 52 narratives. Manipulation, intimidation, and microregulation were the tactics most frequently utilized. Sexual coercion/abuse, deprivation, and degradation were used least. Data also provided coercive subtactics specific to cults but …

Suspicious Or Autistic? Evaluating Responses To A Behavioral Analysis Interview, Kendall Jackson

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The Behavioral Analysis Interview (BAI) of the Reid Interrogation technique (Inbau, et al., 2013) consists of 15 questions to identify deception or truthfulness. Research indicates these cues are unreliable and trained officers are no better than chance at detecting deception (Kassin, Meissner & Norwick, 2005; Meissner & Kassin, 2002). This study aimed to examine how innocent autistic individuals’ response to the BAI in a mock arson case were perceived. College psychology students (n=218) rated the truthfulness/deceptiveness reading one of the two responses, with half informed of the diagnosis. Overall, the responses were rated as more deceptive when the suspect was …

Taxonomizing Information Practices In A Large Conspiracy Movement: Using Early Qanon As A Case Study, James A. Hodges

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This paper presents a taxonomy of the information practices apparent in an imageboard discussion thread that was influential in jump-starting the worldwide QAnon movement. After introducing QAnon with a review of literature, the author examines 4Chan /pol/ thread #147547939 (key in introducing multiple key elements of the QAnon narrative) to enumerate and classify the information practices deployed by discussion participants. In conclusion, the paper expands beyond existing research’s previous focus on outright fabrication, showing that early QAnon participants’ information practices are also defined in large part by suspicious and idiosyncratic modes of reading authentic sources, not simply the propagation of …

Food Insecurity And Residential Segregation Among Adults In The United States: The National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey 2017- March 2020 Pre-Pandemic Data., Chandre' L. Chaney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Food insecurity is when a household has insufficient food supply due to limited economic resources. It is a public health issue that continues to persist. The health, social, and economic impact affects millions of people nationwide. Residential segregation is a primary cause of inequities and health disparities. It shapes the differences in socio-economic conditions between Blacks and Whites living in the U.S. This country is segregated across racial lines in many of our most populated metropolitan cities. Americans worship in different churches, learn in disparate schools, and live in separate neighborhoods. Residential segregation has consequences that impact the economy, professional …

Understanding The Crisis: The Evolution Of Indigent Defense In Oregon, Molly Pettit

University Honors Theses

On any given day in Oregon, hundreds of people charged with a crime do not have an attorney to represent them. Many of these people are in custody, and some face charges as serious as murder. How did our public defense system reach the point of crisis? What can be done about it? This paper provides a general overview of the right to counsel nationally before narrowing the focus to the state of Oregon. Using scholarly articles, historical documents, footnotes, meeting transcripts, and interviews, I explore the beginnings of court-appointed counsel in Oregon, and document how it has grown and …

The Future Of Deep Fakes: Analyzing The Potential Future Consequences Of The Widespread Use Of Deepfakes On The Policing Sector, Maryam Salem Alshamsi

Theses

In today’s world there is a growing uncertainty in terms of the truthfulness of what we see and hear. People digest a great amount of information throughout the day using their devices, yet the quality and credibility of content is in question. People question if we are experiencing and perceiving the same reality at this point. This issue is not novel, however, it has progressed and developed to a level of realism that deceives people and affect their comprehension of information. Rapid technological advancement has raised the concern of what is referred to as “Deepfakes”, a machine learning technique that …

Trends In The Return And Prosecution Of Isis Foreign Terrorist Fighters In The United States, Tanya Mehra, Merlina Herbach, Devorah Margolin, Austin C. Doctor

Reports, Projects, and Research

Approximately 300 Americans are estimated to have traveled or attempted to join the Islamic State (ISIS) as part of the group’s campaign in Syria and Iraq between 2013 and 2019. These individuals joined more than 53,000 men, women, and minors from roughly 80 countries. Often referred to as foreign (terrorist) fighters (FTF), these are individuals from third countries who travel to join a terrorist group to support its activities. In the United States (U.S.) context, the FTF designation does not denote the act of fighting itself, but rather the support of a designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO). While many of …

The Importance Of Acculturation Orientation In Understaanding The Impact Of Pre- And Post-Migration Stressors On Behavioral Health: Evidence From A Crisis Migrant Sample, Christopher P Salas-Wright, Michael G Vaughn, Mildred M Maldonado-Molina, Melissa Bates, Eric C Brown, María F García, José Rodríguez, Seth J Schwartz

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: We examine the interplay of acculturation orientation, cultural stress, and hurricane trauma exposure with behavioral health among Puerto Rican crisis migrants who relocated to the US mainland after Hurricane Maria.

METHOD: Participants were 319 adult (Mage = 39 years; 71% female; 90% arriving in 2017-2018) Hurricane Maria survivors surveyed on the US mainland. Latent profile analysis was used to model acculturation subtypes. In turn, ordinary least squares regression was executed to examine the associations of cultural stress and hurricane trauma exposure with behavioral health while stratifying by acculturation subtype.

RESULTS: Five acculturation orientation subtypes were modeled, three of which-Separated …

The Hidden Role Of Religiosity In Contemporary Public Education In The United States Of America, Marilyn Anderson Rhames

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The ‘separation of church and state’ is a fundamental precept of the United States, yet the phrase itself is not written in the Constitution and even Supreme Court justices disagree on how it should be defined. The ambiguity surrounding religious liberty is perhaps most felt in K-12 public education, where the fear of inflicting faith formation on impressionable students has inspired the vision of a secular, God-neutral, government-run school system. As such, federal and state laws dictate that public school educators who coerce students by promoting or inhibiting religious devotion risk losing their jobs. Yet, the reality is that the …

School Leader Perceptions About The Implementation And Utility Of Restorative Practices, Danielle Rutig

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological qualitative study examined school leaders' perceptions of using restorative practices within their schools. Participants included twelve school leaders who had experience with utilizing and implementing restorative practices. School leaders included: principals, assistant principals, deans, and administrative assistants. Research indicates that restorative practices are adapted to support specific school goals. Restorative practices are not practiced in isolation, as school leaders often couple restorative justice with social-emotional learning, trauma-informed practices, and other social-emotional supports. Restorative practices are tied closely to CASEL’s social emotional framework.

Data were collected via semi-structured interviews using a virtual platform. Themes that emerged from the analysis …

Pride Month: A Brief Overview Of Lgbtq+ Legal Issues, Wolf Law Library, William & Mary Law School

Library Book Displays

On display in the Wolf Law Library June-August 2023.

Latino Men’S Barriers And Obstacles Towards Treatment Seeking Attitudes, Rebecca Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations

There is a drastic difference in the number of Latino men utilizing mental healthcare as only 24 percent of Latino men with a severe mental illness ever receive treatment. Previous research has revealed stigma and attitudes are important factors in the help seeking process, but with limited Latino participants. The current study gathered survey data from Latino male university students about their levels of stigma, attitudes towards both tele – health and in person counseling, perceived barriers and benefits, treatment history, and current levels of depression. It was revealed that in contrast to previous studies, Latino men’s social stigma is …

Differences In Due Process During Post-Conviction: Examining Jurisdictional Influence On Exoneration, Kimberly Hawkins

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research on wrongful conviction has found several factors associated with an erroneous conviction. As of yet, research has not delved into the jurisdictional effects on exoneration. Using the American State’s use of the death penalty for a proxy of punitiveness, this study will examine if there is a relationship between use of capital punishment and exoneration rates. The National Registry of Exonerations is the most comprehensive collection of exonerations to date and this secondary data source will be analyzed using logistic regression models to examine differences across policy environments. Result show that non-death penalty states have a much higher exoneration …

Racial Disparities In Women’S Imprisonment, Gift Onyinyechi Onwuadiamu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The total imprisonment rate in the United States, and racial disparity in imprisonment, have decreased substantially since 2008 (Carson, 2020), but research has not examined if disparity in women’s imprisonment rates has also declined, or what accounts for these changes. Guided by prior research and theory, this study examines racial differences in women’s prison admission rates from 2000 to 2019 in 25 states. Analyses examine changes over time, by state, and the effects of social structural characteristics that prior research has shown to be associated with women’s imprisonment disparities. Initial findings indicate that disparity has decreased, substantially, due to both …

Victims Of Coercive Plea Bargaining: Defendants Who Give False Testimony For False Pleas, Lucian E. Dervan

Law Faculty Scholarship

This Article synthesizes emerging empirical, doctrinal, and interdisciplinary research demonstrating how coercive plea bargaining practices produce false guilty pleas and false testimony, thereby generating a distinct and often overlooked class of victims within the criminal justice system. Drawing on exoneration data, laboratory-based plea decision studies, and case analyses—including documented wrongful convictions—the authors show that sentencing differentials, mandatory minimum statutes, pretrial detention, attorney advice, and systemic resource constraints can overbear the will of defendants, including the innocent. Contrary to longstanding judicial assumptions that guilty pleas are inherently reliable when entered with counsel, the Article demonstrates that structural incentives embedded in modern …

“If I Was That Cop…”: Improving Attitudes Toward Police Through An Educational Intervention For Use-Of-Force Knowledge And Empathy, Randle Aaron Molina Villanueva

All Dissertations

While public outrage in response to excessive force is appropriate and understandable (e.g., Rodney King), there are also use-of-force instances which may be misconstrued as excessive by civilians due to a lack of understanding of the law, policies, and procedures for police use of force (UOF). This can lead to negative perceptions of police officers. This poses a threat to healthy police-community relations, as positive perceptions of the police are reliable predictors of compliance and voluntary cooperation with them (Choi, 2021). To balance overly negative perceptions of police who are following protocol and potentially increase the positivity of perceptions, this …

Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Pedagogy In Art Education, Amelia Guido

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis explores the implementation of Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed (ECTI) ecosystem in art education. With the increasing levels of anxiety and depression among adolescents and the growing emphasis on social-emotion learning (SEL), this study sought to address the ways art education may benefit students socially and emotionally. However, through research, an understanding and a need for an equity-centered education was formed. While SEL practices place emphasis on utilizing the social and emotional skills-based core competencies, ECTI education focuses on addressing trauma and systemic inequities to create supportive and inclusive learning environments.

The literature review encompasses an understanding of trauma and its …