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Expanding The Capabilities Of Firearm Investigations: Novel Sampling And Analytical Methods For Gunshot Residue Evidence, Courtney Helen Vander Pyl

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

During firearm-related incidents, the accurate collection and detection of gunshot residues (GSR) are crucial for reconstructing events and providing investigative leads. Regardless of the strong scientific foundations in the discipline, the standard practice for GSR can benefit from increased confidence in the results and the adoption of reference standard materials and screening tools that can lead to faster turnaround times and improved efficiency. Moreover, the implementation of comprehensive interpretation approaches requires strengthening the current body of knowledge on the transfer and persistence of inorganic and organic GSR compounds (IGSR, OGSR). As a result, the overall objective of this project was …

Correlates Of Risky Sexual Behaviors Among African American Females In Juvenile Detention Centers, Eghosa E. Asemota

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Introduction: In comparison to other demographics, research shows that African American female adolescents are over-represented in the United States Juvenile Justice System. Studies in this vulnerable population demonstrate higher rates of engagement in unsafe sex, and its attendant negative consequences of HIV infections, sexually transmitted diseases, and mistimed pregnancies. There is a paucity of studies that have specifically examined risky sexual behaviors amongst African American females in Juvenile Detention Centers. Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between the individual, family, peer, and societal factors, and engagement in risky sex among Black female detainees in Juvenile …

A Proportionality-Based Framework For Government Regulation Of Digital Tracing Apps In Times Of Emergency, Sharon Bassan

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Times of emergency present an inherent conflict between the public interest and the preservation of individual rights. Such times require granting emergency powers to the government on behalf of the public interest and relaxing safeguards against government actions that infringe rights. The lack of theoretical framework to assess governmental decisions in times of emergency leads to a polarized and politicized discourse about potential policies, and often, to public distrust and lack of compliance.

Such a discourse was evident regarding Digital Tracing Apps (“DTAs”), which are apps installed on cellular phones to alert users that they were exposed to people who …

The High Cost Of Federal Cannabis Prohibition, Michael Hunter

Student Works

No abstract provided.

The Inherent Problem With Mass Incarceration, Raff Donelson

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Second Look For Children Sentenced To Die In Prison, Kathryn E. Miller

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

America’S Extraordinary And Compelling Problem: An Assessment Of The Sentence Modification Process In The Federal District Courts And The Need To Remove The Bureau Of Prison’S Gatekeeper Role, Katherine Chenail

Suffolk Journal of Trial and Appellate Advocacy

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law—Constitutionality Of Police Caretaking Conduct Inside The Home—Calinga V. Strom, 141 S. Ct. 1596 (2021), Angela Bartucca

Suffolk Journal of Trial and Appellate Advocacy

No abstract provided.

Suicide Control In Charleston, South Carolina, Lynasyn Mckenzie Rogers

Selected Social Change Portfolios in Prevention, Intervention, and Consultation

Goal Statement: To reduce the rate of suicide attempts in Charleston, SC. Significant Findings: Suicide is a serious public health problem and is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021), 12.2 million Americans seriously thought about suicide and 1.2 million Americans attempted suicide in 2020. These numbers will only increase with Americas increase in mental health cases. There is not one single cause for suicide but occurs most often from undiagnosed and untreated depression. Stressors and health issues can converge with anxiety and substance problems creating …

Tennessee Forestry Commission 2020 Annual Report, Tennessee. Department Of Agriculture.

Forestry Commission Annual Report

No abstract provided.

Managing The Police Emergency, Adam Davidson

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

There is a policing emergency in the United States. Police across the country cause massive, widespread, and unpredictable physical harm—killings, beatings; psychological harm—negative stress-related birth and educational outcomes, general worsened mental health; and sociological harm—advancing the racial, gender, and economic hierarchies that undermine our work towards an equal society. Even after the largest protest movement in U.S. history in summer 2020, the traditional political process has failed to make significant inroads against this emergency.

This Article begins to explore in depth the legal ramifications of recognizing the policing emergency. It suggests that among the most important ramifications is unlocking a …

From The Legal Literature: America’S Paper Prisons: The Second Chance Gap, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Elderly, Detained, And Justice-Involved: The Most Incarcerated Generation, Rachael Bedard, Joshua Vaughn, Angela Silletti Murolo

City University of New York Law Review

The “graying” of the United States prison system is a well-documented phenomenon that describes the aging of the population currently held in U.S. state and federal prisons. This is generally attributed to the large number of individuals who are aging in place in prisons around the country due to long sentences and restrictive parole practices. Less well-known or well-characterized is the fact that the U.S.’s justice-involved population outside of prisons is also “graying”—that the demographics of people who are being arrested, jail detained, transferred to prisons on new criminal convictions, and monitored under community surveillance programs are also changing to …

Strategies Leaders Of Stem-Focused Education Nonprofit Organizations Use To Engage Hiring Corporations, Andrew Kanas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some leaders of nonprofit Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) focused nonprofit education organizations lack strategies to engage STEM-focused hiring corporations to support their organizations’ missions. Nonprofit leaders are concerned about engaging individuals, organizations, and government entities to help support sustainability. Grounded in human capital theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies leaders of nonprofit STEM-focused education organizations use to engage STEM-focused hiring corporations to support their nonprofit organizations’ mission. The participants consisted of five board members of a nonprofit partner organization in the U.S. state of Florida who successfully managed STEM-focused stakeholder engagement. …

Implementing The Sponge City Concept On North Carolina’S Federal Emergency Management Agency’S Acquired Properties, Artriel Askew Kirchner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In North Carolina, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers a grant program to assist communities with purchasing flood–prone, private properties to decrease the effects of flooding within flood–prone communities. In flood management, incorporating the Sponge City concept within federally acquired properties is not widely considered by flood management professionals as an effective means to manage floods. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the feasibility of incorporating the Sponge City concept on federally–acquired properties to reduce significant flooding within designated flood–prone communities. The concept of disaster recovery, which focuses on the process of restoring, …

Mental Health-Medical Crisis Team Impact On First Responder Outcomes On Persons With Mental Illness, Mary Josephine Lakey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Persons with mental illness (PMIs) are 16 times more likely to experience harm when interacting with police than individuals without mental illness. This inequity has recently become prominent in American discourse due to the ubiquitous use of cell phones and social media, where videos of incidents between police and PMIs circulate. In this generic qualitative research, members of a collaborative mental health and emergency medical service professionals (EMSPs) team in an urban area were interviewed to assess the team members’ perceptions of the impact of the program on frequency of adverse outcomes during interactions with PMIs. The theoretical framework for …

Large Culvert Inspection Procedures: Guidelines For Indot, Scott M. Grier, Christopher S. Williams

JTRP Technical Reports

Within the state of Indiana, there are approximately 9,000 structures with unsupported span lengths that range from 4 ft to 20 ft that the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is responsible for maintaining. These structures are referred to as large culverts by INDOT. The agency recognized the need to improve culvert inspection procedures so that inspection data that is collected can provide essential information to asset engineers who make decisions regarding culvert management. The purpose of the project described in this report was to identify best practices for the inspection and management of these structures to develop guidelines that optimize …

Regulations Governing Psychologists: An International Survey., Hee Sun Kim, Seowon Yoon, Gaeun Son, Euntaek Hong, Amanda Clinton, Catherine L. Grus, David Murphy, Alex M. Siegel, Eleni Karayianni, Michael O. Ezenwa, Georgia Zara, Germán Gutiérrez, Daniel Balva, Jeanyung Chey, Kee Hong Choi

School of Psychology

This study aimed to examine legal regulations on psychologists worldwide, such as those related to professional status and training models. An online survey was conducted by members of the Global Psychology Alliance and Asia Pacific Psychology Alliance. The survey included information on the legal status of psychologists in 55 countries. Representatives of 28 countries provided their responses, whereas information on the legal status of psychologists in 27 European countries was obtained from research data reported by the European Commission in 2016. We found that 80% of the 55 countries included in this study regulated professions in the field of psychology …

Doppler Lidar Observations Of The Wildfire Environment: Applications For Monitoring Downslope Wind Events And Prescribed Fires, Alan C. Huston

Master's Theses

Extreme wildfire activity is often associated with downslope windstorms which cause fires to spread rapidly. To limit the potential for a utility-caused ignition, Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) can be used preemptively during predicted wind events. The timing of when winds might mix down to the surface and impact the power grid infrastructure is difficult to predict due to the interaction of the atmosphere with complex terrain. To improve the spatial and temporal accuracy of wildfire mitigation during PSPS events, the deployment of a mobile Doppler LiDAR was used to monitor the vertical structure and evolution of two downslope wind …

Complexity Thinking And Broadband Internet Penetration In Lagos, Nigeria, James Hyacinth Akpoja

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractConsidering the speed at which information and knowledge can transverse nations and organizations, the importance of broadband Internet connectivity cannot be overstated. The general problem is that the Nigerian broadband Internet penetration is considerably low, at 33% compared to other parts of the world. The specific problem is that community members and leaders have the behavioral intention to allow broadband Internet infrastructure deployment (BIID) at the local community level in Lagos. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between perceived usefulness (PU), perceived benefits (PB), perceived ease of use (PEoU), and perceive security (PS), and …

Police Officers’ Perspectives Regarding The Militarization Of The Jamaica Constabulary Force, Anthony Hugh Mclaughlin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Crime is the main public safety issue and a significant threat to human and economic development in Jamaica. To curtail the worsening crime problem, the prime minister of Jamaica has declared a state of public emergency in certain parishes. Policy makers currently lack understanding of how the militarization of the Jamaica Constabulary Force has affected communities and citizens in Jamaica where states of public emergency have been declared. The purpose of this general qualitative study was to understand police officers’ perspectives on the militarization of the Jamaica Constabulary Force. The theoretical framework was the operational-styles theory, which offered a means …

Lived Experiences Regarding Family Relations Of Latina Undocumented Immigrants, Lissette Colon-Perez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Familismo is a complex multidimensional core cultural value in Latinx culture. But there is a lack of information related to Latinas who are undocumented immigrants and their experiences of familismo and family relations after the immigration experience. In the present study, a feminist hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used to examine these lived experiences. The purpose of study was to explore family relations as a core value in the lived experiences of Latina undocumented immigrants. The participants consisted of Latina immigrants over 18 years old who immigrated from Central America and who were living in a state from the Northeast without …

When Interpretive Communities Clash On Immigration Law: The Courts’ Mediating Role In Noncitizens’ Rights And Remedies, Peter Margulies

Touro Law Review

Immigration law gains clarity through the lens of Robert Cover's compelling work on law as a "system of meaning." Cover's vision inspires us to consider immigration law as a contest between two interpretive communities: acolytes of the protective approach, which sees law as a haven for noncitizens fleeing harm in their home countries, and followers of the regulatory approach, which stresses sovereignty and strict adherence to legal categories. Immigration law's contest between contending camps need not be a zero-sum game. As Cover and Alex Aleinikoff observed in their classic article on habeas corpus, a legal remedy can also be a …

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Practical Solutions For Police Executives To Reduce The Likelihood Of Disciplinary Action Being Overturned Through Arbitration, Spring Sendele

Mitchell Hamline Law Journal of Public Policy and Practice

No abstract provided.

The African American And The California Basic Skills Requirement For Teaching, Willie C. Thomas Ii

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study examines why the passing rates of African Americans on the CBEST are the lowest in California at 60%. Madkins (2011) identified licensure testing as a significant reason why African Americans cannot enter the teaching progression. According to Darling-Hammond et al. (2016), California has an ongoing credentialed teacher shortage. An even more significant need is for teachers of color. According to the California Department of Education (2021), 60% of the state’s educator workforce is White, while the state student body, multicultural and multilingual, is only slightly more than 22% White. While licensure testing for teachers is required in all …

Arlington: An Age And Dementia Friendly Action Plan, Caitlin Coyle, Beth Rouleau, Nidya Velasco-Roldán, Rebecca Mailman

Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications

This report describes research undertaken by the Center for Social & Demographic Research on Aging (CSDRA) within the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston, on behalf of the Town of Arlington and the Arlington Council on Aging. This plan was created uniquely for Arlington, with input from residents, community partners, local businesses, government leaders and aging experts. Surveys were conducted, focus groups were held and feedback was collected both pre and post-pandemic to create a plan that reflects the dynamic environment that we are all living in. Using collected data, survey results, feedback and input, this plan was …

Patient And Therapist Perceptions Of Respiratory Functioning Due To Spinal Cord Injury: Implications For Music Therapists, A'Marie Dotson

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Decreased respiratory functioning is a common symptom of spinal cord injury (SCI) and can impact individuals’ personal, professional, and social lives. In spite of this, researchers have not explored the use of music in the lives of individuals with SCIs or music’s role in their healthcare professionals’ treatment plans to improve respiratory functioning. The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand how decreased respiratory functioning affects individuals with SCIs and healthcare professionals through a multiple case study design. Participants were two individuals with SCIs and three healthcare professionals (physical therapist, recreational therapist, and music therapist) who worked with …

Do Law Enforcement Officers’ Attitudes And Knowledge Impact Their Likelihood Of Administering Naloxone?, Nicole Alexis Gulkis

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Law enforcement officers (LEOs) are integral public service providers who have been called upon by government personnel across state and local government bodies to aid in combating the opioid epidemic. As LEOs are often the primary front-line workers who encounter opioid overdose scenarios, more states across the nation are training LEOs to administer naloxone. The emergence of Coronavirus (COVID-19) has complicated LEOs’ involvement with naloxone administration because of shifts in policing strategies and occupational safety procedures. Given the current pandemic, concerns about contraction and transmission of COVID-19 must be considered for LEOs working in the frontlines of these concurrent public …

Inventory Of Cognitive Distortions: Validation Of A Measure Of Cognitive Distortions In A Forensic Sample, Eguono Voke Akpoduado

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Statistics suggest that crime is occurring at a startling rate and recidivism is a persistent problem in the American criminal justice system. Past research revealed that treatment focused on challenging criminogenic thinking aided in reducing recidivism. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine cognitive distortions used by criminals and to enhance evidence-based psychotherapy focused on challenging criminogenic cognitions. This study explored the psychometric properties of a self-report inventory of cognitive distortions using a forensic sample and examined overall differences in levels of cognitive distortions. Participants were recruited through social networking sites. Measures were the Inventory of Cognitive Distortions …

Looking At The Text, History, And Tradition Of The Second Amendment– “Steeped In Anti-Blackness”, Camila Blaha

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.