Digital Commons Network^™

Reimagining Success In Specialty Courts: Developing A Recovery-Oriented Success Model (Rosm) To Guide Funding, Evaluation, And Participant Outcomes In Massachusetts, Kerri Cianciarulo

Master’s Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Clemson Commencement Program, December 2025, Clemson University

Clemson Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

The Other Side Of The Wall: A Study On The Impact Of Paternal Incarceration On African American Children, Chance M. Wideman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative dissertation explores the long-term psychological, relational, and systemic impacts of paternal incarceration on adult children. Guided by Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Theory, Attachment Theory, and Family Process Theory, this study examines two research questions:

(1) What types of childhood trauma are associated with paternal incarceration?

(2) How does the childhood trauma associated with paternal incarceration impact one in adulthood?

The study draws on three in-depth narrative interviews with adults who experienced paternal incarceration in childhood. These interviews, framed as dialogic and reflexive spaces, illuminate the deep and layered consequences of incarceration across the lifespan.

Five central findings emerged: …

Looking Down The Road: The First Steps To A Public Interest Law Career, Amy Leipziger

Vanderbilt Social Justice Reporter

No abstract provided.

April 4, 1968: A Law Student’S Night In The Memphis Jail, Alex Jay Hurder

Vanderbilt Social Justice Reporter

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Sir Basil Liddell Hart: Life, Thought, Legacy, Kevin Mcaleer

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Bruce Oliver Newsome

Reviewed by: Kevin McAleer

Bruce Oliver Newsome’s book examines the life of Sir Basil Liddell Hart, and his claim to have invented the Blitzkrieg style of war used by the Germans during World War II. Newsome provides evidence that disputes this claim, which the reviewer commends for its thoroughness and nuanced point of view.

©2025 Kevin McAleer

Child Maltreatment And Recidivism: Do Maltreatment Patterns Influence General And Violent Reoffending?, Nan Li, Matt Shelton, Elena L. Grigorenko

Psychological Science Faculty Publications

This study examined whether patterns of maltreatment predicted reoffending among 5,194 justice-involved youth (JIY) from a large Texas juvenile probation department. Using latent class analysis on five maltreatment types (physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and exposure to domestic violence), we empirically identified three classes: “Poly-victimization” (17.8%; high across all types), “Psychological Maltreatment” (15.3%; high emotional abuse and neglect), and “Low Maltreatment” (66.9%; low/moderate across types). JIY in the “Poly-victimization” and “Psychological Maltreatment” classes were more likely to engage in general and violent reoffending within 1 year controlling for covariates. These findings highlight the varying importance of different maltreatment …

Does Legal Cynicism Mediate The Relationship Between Parental Incarceration And Child Delinquency?, Elizabeth Rose Bishop, Theresa Moore

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Research has explored the extent of the prison boom from its origin in the 1970s to the present where the issue of high prison populations remains today. However, the inmates are suffering a multifaceted array of consequences to their actions. Directly they are serving a legal sentence but indirectly families that are left behind also suffer unforeseen aftermaths. Literature diving into the prison boom and wide array of implications of incarceration has only recently begun and, as it has increased over time, has begun to turn the lens to this vulnerable population that has been left behind. Families that are …

Dying To Belong? The Impact Of Thwarted Belongingness Among Those Who Attempt Suicide In Jail, Dayana R. Escobedo, Mckenzie Wood

The Guardianship Journal

Suicide and attempted suicide remain a major concern in correctional facilities. Jail personnel have developed unique ways of responding to incarcerated individuals who display signs of suicidal ideation, but may be less equipped to identify who may be suicidal upon arrival at the facility. Among potential markers for suicidal behaviors are incarcerated individuals struggling with feelings of thwarted belongingness, or a feeling of disconnection and lack of closeness. Applying a quantitative methodology, this study utilized data obtained from a mid-sized jail in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. The data, retrieved from correctional officer reports and intake …

Influencing The Meteoric Rise Of Ai: Centering Ethics, Law, And Society In Urgent Policy Reform, Erin L. Shah Mspm, Heath A. Clark Mba, Xarlene B. Choi Bs, Garrett K. Chan Phd

The Guardianship Journal

Artificial intelligence (AI) represents a transformative technological advancement with the potential to yield extraordinary societal benefits while simultaneously introducing significant potential harms to individuals, governments, and society. The adoption of AI has outpaced the ability of society to collectively and cohesively respond through the implementation of adequate regulatory guardrails. While AI presents novel benefits and challenges, the broader dynamic of responding to new, uncharted technologies has historical precedence. The article's methodological approach employed empirical research using law articles and policies. As such, the article explores the benefits, challenges, and actual or potential harms in three business sectors: business and finance, …

Engaging Seminars: The Impact Of Storytelling In Public Safety Education, Mimi Gough, Glenn L. Walton

The Guardianship Journal

This paper examines the important role of storytelling in higher education as a technique for engaging students in course content and applies its relationship to the experiential learning theory (ELT) in which learners are actively seeking knowledge through authentic application. Storytelling can be a particularly effective method when used during live online seminars in public safety education, since this particular program of study often relies on verbally communicating realistic and credible information. Sharing various examples of actual encounters can help students better prepare for these types of situations when they face them in their future careers. Incorporating evidence to support …

The Impact Of Absent Fathers In Forensic And Criminal Justice Settings, Sara J. Bradley

Master of Arts in Human Services

This capstone examines the interplay between father absence, marginalization through economics, and larger structural factors in shaping youth crime and intergenerational patterns of risk. This review synthesizes studies in family instability, neighborhood disadvantage, and barriers to paternal involvement in demonstrating the interplay between larger forces in shaping developmental outcomes. Father absence correlates with diminished protective factors, increased exposure to stressful contexts, and elevated dangers of system contact. Larger structural factors of concentrated poverty levels, resource scarcity in neighborhoods, and inconsistent levels of support upon return from incarceration exacerbate dangerous outcomes and intergenerational patterns. The applications analysis in this capstone evaluates …

Lost In Translation: How The Criminal Justice System Fails Individuals With Autism, J.Mckenna Harris

Master of Arts in Human Services

Adults with autism spectrum disorder face significant challenges throughout the criminal justice system, from initial police contact through incarceration. This capstone examined how the core features of autism, literal language processing, difficulty reading social cues, sensory sensitivities, and executive function deficits, create vulnerabilities that legal professionals frequently misunderstand. The literature review revealed a consistent pattern: behaviors rooted in autism are routinely misinterpreted as signs of guilt, defiance, or lack of remorse. During interrogations, individuals with autism are highly susceptible to false confessions because they struggle with abstract legal language, tend to comply with authority figures, and cannot predict the consequences …

The Impact Of Absent Parents And Harsh Parenting In Forensic Mental Health Settings, Jamcelia M. Jackson

Master of Arts in Human Services

This capstone paper explores the impact of absent parents and harsh parenting practices on children and adolescents within forensic mental health settings. Informed by recent peer-reviewed studies on trauma-informed, attachment-based, and resilience frameworks, this paper synthesizes evidence linking disrupted caregiving, inconsistent discipline, and punitive practices with emotion dysregulation, externalizing behaviors, and justice involvement. Special attention is given to the interaction of family processes with factors such as poverty, racism, service access, that shape risk and protection across development. Key findings suggest that early adversity is associated with delinquency, substance use, and poorer mental health, whereas supportive relationships, culturally responsive parenting …

Impact Of Childhood Abuse And Trauma On Ptsd, Charlie Schultz

Master of Arts in Human Services

Child abuse and trauma is very present in our society today and there is a strong link between child abuse and PTSD. A strong literature review was carefully crafted that highlighted the importance of understanding PTSD and childhood trauma. Chapter two included a major in-depth look at the link between PTSD and childhood trauma and the lasting results. The literature review explained not only how PTSD is linked with childhood trauma, but it also included a really in depth look at PTSD and how it relates to some of the other known mental childhood disorders. The paper explained the major …

A Comparative Analysis Of Domestic Violence Legislation In India And The United States: Understanding Protection Of Women Against Violence Act 2005 And Violence Against Women Act 1994, Deon Rodrigues

2025 Fall Honors Capstones Projects - Archive

Domestic violence continues to affect millions of individuals worldwide, yet legal systems respond to it in very different ways. This research compares how India’s Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (2005) and the United States’ Violence Against Women Act (1994; 2021) protect victims and hold offenders accountable. Using a comparative legal analysis, the study examines both laws’ language, enforcement mechanisms, and effectiveness through court cases, government reports, and statistical data. By identifying the strengths of the United States model such as mandatory arrest provisions and victim support systems, the study aims to propose practical reforms for India’s legal framework. …

Beyond Gun Control: How March For Our Lives Frames Gun Violence Prevention As Positive Peace, Ashley E. Nickels, Amanda D. Clark

Peace and Conflict Studies

March for Our Lives (MFOL) is a youth-led social movement that has redefined the framing of gun violence prevention, expanding it beyond policy-focused gun control efforts to a broader vision of positive peace. Rather than positioning gun violence solely as a matter of firearm regulation, MFOL constructs it as a structural justice issue, linking it to systemic inequities such as racial oppression, economic inequality, and political disenfranchisement. This study examines how MFOL’s movement framing reshapes understandings of gun violence prevention by emphasizing community transformation, intersectional justice, and collective safety. Drawing on framing theory, we analyze how MFOL presents gun violence …

Beyond Precedent: Sexual Violence As An Act Of Genocide In The International Criminal Tribunal For Rwanda, Ciara Kilroy

Peace and Conflict Studies

Wartime sexual violence (WSV) has been a characteristic of violent conflict throughout recorded history, yet has failed to illicit the same international attention and condemnation as other war crimes. WSV has also been a particularly pervasive method of destruction during genocide, in which women make up the majority of victims and are targeted for both their gender and group membership. However, sexual violence is not enumerated as a crime of genocide in the 1948 Genocide Convention. Despite its absence from the formal genocide convention, legal institutions have still attempted to hold perpetrators responsible for sexual violence during genocide. This paper …

Programing Ai With Ethics, Conor Anderson

Best Integrated Writing

As artificial intelligence grows increasingly ubiquitous, it’s pertinent to examine its fundamentals as well as its greater implications. Anderson discusses the ethical implications of AI.

View captioned video at https://youtu.be/LBTVEMm_C70

Best Integrated Writing Fall 2025 - Complete Edition, Wright State University School Of Humanities And Cultural Studies, Tracy Smith, Kristie Mckiernan

Best Integrated Writing

Best Integrated Writing includes excellent student writing from Integrated Writing courses taught at Wright State University.

A Forensic Lens On Aces & Trauma, Greta K. Cruz

Master of Arts in Human Services

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have emerged as a critical area of research in childhood development and the prevention of criminal behavior. The framework of this topic continually provides updated information on the impact of criminal behavior on children. Understanding the long-term effects of trauma on mental health, the influence of criminal behavior, and patterns of recidivism across the lifespan when children are exposed to a single form of adversity or multiple forms of adversity. This research aims to synthesize recent empirical data/findings of how specific ACEs, such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, exposure to familial violence, and household substance misuse, …

Program Review Report 12-16-25, Angela Brock

Program Review Committee

No abstract provided.

Strategic Planning Book 2019-2025, Dmacc

Strategic Planning

"A small team worked diligently throughout the summer and fall to complete the Strategic Plan Book, a lookback at DMACC’s goals, initiatives, and progress over the past several years. This comprehensive booklet highlights key success metrics like reduced DFW rates and improved credit hour completion and includes narratives about achievements in quality and excellence across the district." ~ Office of Institutional Effectiveness 12/15/2025

Investing In Youths And Their Families: A Proposal For Grant Funding To Expand Mental Health Services At A Community-Based Center, Eliana M. Lopez

ETD Collection

Mental health services across the United States remain inequitably distributed, leaving under-resourced communities with limited access to essential services (Breslau et al., 2022). These disparities persist even in large metropolitan areas like New York City (NYC), with the Bronx, one of the city’s most historically marginalized and under-resourced borough, being especially vulnerable to disparities in mental health care (Breslau et al., 2022). The Family Advocacy Program (FAP), a community-based center part of the Department of Pediatrics at Jacobi Medical Center (JMC), is presently in need of additional financial resources to further expand their services to meet the rising mental health …

Free Will, Responsibility, And The Corporation: A Critique Of Corporate Criminal Liability, Declan C. Lawson

William & Mary Law Review Online

Part I of this Note will provide background on the relationship between free will and criminal liability and discuss the extant theories underpinning corporate criminal liability. Part II will examine the shortcomings of those theories. Part III will argue for a free will-based approach for apportioning blame for corporate criminal conduct. Such an approach is both theoretically and practically justified.

This abstract was taken from the author's introduction.

The Impact Of Restorative Justice On Student Behavior, Marisol Gonzalez

Masters Theses (Archived)

This thesis critically examines the effects of Restorative Justice practices on student behavior within a predominantly Latinx charter school context. The research aims to identify the specific behaviors affected by the implementation of Restorative Justice frameworks. Utilizing a mixed-methods methodology, the study triangulates qualitative data from comprehensive staff interviews with quantitative analyses of incident referral records. The findings indicate a substantial enhancement in students’ sense of responsibility and emotional intelligence, and overall suspension rates decreased. These outcomes underscore the need for sustained professional development and institutional support to enhance the efficacy and sustainability of Restorative Justice initiatives in educational settings.

Ucc Minutes 12-16-25, Angela Brock

UCC Agendas/Minutes

No abstract provided.

Icc Agenda 12-16-25, Angela Brock

Individual Course Committee (ICC)

No abstract provided.

Approved Courses 12-16-25, Angela Brock

Individual Course Committee (ICC)

No abstract provided.

Art And Reentry: A Study On The Role Of Art Programs In The Reentry Of Formerly Incarcerated People, Angelina Paulus

Honors Theses

Arts programs are a well-established method of rehabilitation in prisons, yet limited research has examined the role of arts programs specifically during the post-incarceration reentry process. This qualitative study explores how participation in an arts-based reentry program shapes the emotional, social, and identity-related experience of formerly incarcerated individuals during reentry. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five formerly incarcerated men who formerly participated in As We Emerge, a performance-based theater and monologue program offered through EMERGE Connecticut in New Haven, CT. Using inductive thematic analysis, three primary themes emerged: (1) processing emotions, (2) the development of social support and community connections, …