Digital Commons Network^™

Screening For Insider Threats In Us Law Enforcement: A National Sample Of Department Policies And Practices State Of Practice Guide, Erin M. Kearns, Sadaf Hashimi, Jessica Huff, Justin Nix, Natalie Cotton

Reports, Projects, and Research

For decades, violent extremist groups in the U.S. have encouraged their members to infiltrate law enforcement agencies. While there are anecdotal examples of insider threats in law enforcement, we do not have a systematic understanding of whether these are isolated incidents or indicative of a more pervasive issue. To address this gap, the current project took a multi-method approach to examining department-level policies and procedures around screening and hiring.

The State of Practice Report is the major deliverable from this grant focused on multi-pronged formative research on insider threats in U.S. law enforcement. Broadly, we were interested in the extent …

Sacred Heart University Magazine, Volume 5, Issue 2, Sacred Heart University

Sacred Heart University Magazine

No abstract provided.

Volume 108, Number 1 (2024)

Judicature

No abstract provided.

Lost In Translation: A Qualitative Narrative Study On The Lived Experiences Of Bipoc Individuals With High-Functioning Autism Transitioning To College, Aiyeesha L. Hill

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Transitioning to college can prove overwhelming for BIPOC individuals with high-functioning autism (HF ASD) from low-income families (Accardo et al., 2019; Elias & White, 2018; Lambe et al., 2019). This qualitative study addressed the challenges these families faced or will face, fears and concerns about going to college, and the level of support received from high schools and postsecondary institutions, while determining if race and economic status have a bearing on access to information about transition planning. The methodology used for this study was a narrative design to gain insight into the lived experiences of this marginalized group and give …

Alternative Dispute Resolution In Agency Administrative Programs, Kristen Blankley, Kathleen Claussen, Judith Starr

Articles

This Article studies how federal agencies use and might better use different types of alternative dispute resolution (ADR)-including mediation, conciliation, facilitation, factfinding, minitrials, arbitration, and the use of ombuds-in the programs Congress has entrusted them to administer. The use of ADR by the executive branch of the federal government to resolve disputes with or among private actors has deep historical roots. ADR related to managerial agency matters such as employment or procurement is well-established across the government and performed under a uniform set of laws. Much less has been known, however, about the scope and reach of ADR in the …

Exploring The Role Of Occupational Therapy In The Criminal Justice System At The County Level, Marisa Given

Occupational Therapy Student Capstones

No abstract provided.

Cycles Of Change: Msw Portfolio, Paul T. Everett

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

The purpose of this portfolio is to share my experience with these cycles from the individuals I have worked with, to families, groups and my community, implementing Just Practice’s own core process cycle of cultivating social justice through an integrated approach to practice. Relying on examples from my coursework and practicum opportunities, I offer critical self-reflection of my own values and assumptions shaping my ethical and professional behavior, demonstrating my growth as an advanced integrated practitioner. Incorporated are the theoretical approaches I have utilized in bringing historical, cultural, and political perspectives towards understanding difference, oppression, and social-justice oriented action. I …

Msw: Portfolio, Dorothy Leigh Mccombs

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

MSW journey

Mandatory Mediation In England And Wales: A Paradigm Shift In Dispute Resolution, Mckayla Bogda

Journal of Dispute Resolution

In May of 2023, Tribunals in England and Wales had a backlog of nearly 144,000 cases. In a press release issued on July 25, 2023, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) unveiled a significant policy change to combat this backlog. Under its new directive, individuals or entities wishing to pursue debt recovery claims of £10,000 or less are required to engage in mediation proceedings prior to their case’s adjudication in the small claims courts of England and Wales. This transformative shift signifies a departure from the traditional adversarial litigation model of both of these countries’ judicial systems.

Systemic Regulation Of Artificial Intelligence, Yonathan Arbel, Matthew Tokson, Albert Lin

Articles

Today's artificial intelligence ("AI") systems exhibit increasing capabilities across a remarkable variety of tasks. The rapid growth in AI ability has caught the attention of policymakers, parliaments, and the United Nations. These entities are increasingly looking towards regulating AI, not only in its particular applications, but as a technology. Yet legal scholarship has thus far offered little to this new and critical regulatory conversation, which has instead been dominated by computer scientists and technologists.

This Article begins the project of assessing AI's broader risks and law's role in addressing them. These risks are wide ranging -they span harms to vulnerable …

When Demography Is (Not) Destiny: Exploring Identity And Issue Cross-Pressures Among Latino Voters In The 2020 Presidential Election, Álvaro José Corral, David S. Leal

Political Science Faculty Publications

Objective

Scholars have struggled to understand Donald Trump's surprising levels of Latino support in two consecutive presidential elections. We test three hypotheses to better understand the strength and weakness of Trump, Biden, and both political parties.

Methods

We conduct bivariate and multivariate analyses of pre- and post-election surveys to identify sources of support (beyond national origin differences) that explain how Trump improved his level of support among Latino voters to reach the low- to mid- 30 percent range.

Results

Intra-Latino differences in ideology, identity (gender and religion), and immigration attitudes help explain Trump's relatively strong showing among Latinos in 2020. …

The Needless Search For A Founding-Era "Hearsay" Definition, Jeffrey Bellin

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Modern Confrontation Clause doctrine permits only unconfronted "out-of-court statements that would have been admissible in a criminal case at the time of the founding." To operationalize this concept, the Supreme Court identifies "testimonial hearsay" as the Clause's primary concern. Its opinions regularly dive into the historical record to refine what counts as "testimonial" but ignore that record in defining "hearsay." This omission cannot last. Cases in the lower courts, and one on the Court's recent docket, concern testimonial but (arguably) non-hearsay statements. And while confrontation jurisprudence is supposed to be tied to founding-era evidence law, the "hearsay" definition, casually referenced …

Saved By Naloxone: The Path To Sobriety?, Marli Rose-Firillo Fichtner

Theses and Dissertations

Beginning in the early 2000s, lawmakers sought to mitigate harm and reduce mortality rates by enacting various policies and increasing community outreach, such as educating society about the dangers of opioids. These efforts can be divided into two broad categories: Drug use prevention and harm reduction. Research has been conducted on both of these strategies, utilizing retrospective analysis on outcomes including crime and mortality, among others. It is of great interest to understand which policies are most effective. NALs are an example of harm reduction because they reverse overdoses should they occur. Preemptive naloxone distribution reduces the likelihood of fatal …

Exploring The Impact Of Neonatal Transport On The Health Of Black Preterm Infants And Psychosocial Challenges Faced By Parents In Relation To Social Determinants Of Socioeconomic And Racial Inequities, Karen Faye Warren

Theses and Dissertations

Neonatal transport is a unique aspect of preterm birth. This descriptive, exploratory dissertation study used a multiple-case study design, and mixed methods approach to describe the trajectory of Black preterm outborn infants and their mothers from birth, through transport to a referral center through NICU hospitalization until discharge, for a detailed analysis of each case. The specific aims were 1) Describe each infant's transport trajectory, including baseline characteristics of the community hospital of birth (size, level of care, birthing resources), transport characteristics (mode, distance, personnel), and infant health from birth to arrival of regional referral neonatal intensive care unit; 2) …

Enhancing The Codification Of Crimes Against Humanity: A Neutrosophic And Analytical Approach To International Legal Frameworks, Marcia Esther España Heredia, Jorge Washigton Soxo Andachi, Nemis García Arias, Karina Pérez Teruel

Neutrosophic Sets and Systems

The present paper investigates the process of codifying crimes against humanity, with a specific focus on the difficulties encountered in achieving regulatory consistency and precision within international legal traditions. Notwithstanding the implementation of the Rome Statute and the endeavors of the International Law Commission (ILC), there are still deficiencies in the codification, namely in the areas of preventing and punishing these offenses. By employing the Neutrosophic Analytic Hierarchy Process (NAHP), Delphi method, and Neutrosophic Cognitive Maps (NCM), this study reveals key elements that impact the codification process. These elements include the necessity for a distinct convention and the sufficiency of …

The Philosophy Of Incarceration And Punishment And Its Evolvement. Is It Enough?, Katherine Sebok

Capstone Projects – Politics and Government

This research project explores the evolution of incarceration philosophies and their disconnect from outdated prison infrastructure in the United States, with a focus on Illinois. From ancient civilizations’ reliance on retributive justice to the modern era’s emphasis on rehabilitation, punishment practices have evolved, yet many facilities remain stuck in the past. The “tough-on-crime” era deepened the divide, leading to overcrowding and neglect. While recent reforms prioritize rehabilitation, progress is hindered by outdated facilities. Illinois’ plans to demolish and rebuild Logan and Stateville Correctional Centers offer renewed hope, but the lengthy process requires significant investment and commitment from all involved parties.

Sexual Assault Disclosure: Understanding How The Reception Of Disclosure Effects Survivors’ Mental Health, Jade Buchanan

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Sexual Assault is a rampant issue in the United States that affects Americans across race, gender, and lifespan. The United States’ continually fails to provide comprehensive physical and mental healthcare to Survivors post-assault. Survivors experience a lack of access to formal support systems and post-assault care that for Survivors of Sexual Assault could dramatically impact post-traumatic cognitions. Furthermore, there are several factors of a Survivors identity that interact with and shape their experience with these unique supports systems. The purpose of this research is to engage in a meta-analysis of how adult Survivors’ gender, race, support received, and experiences with …

Progress And Challenges In Combating Corruption In Ukraine: Pathways Forward, Semen Kravtsov, Kostiantyn Orobets, Nataliia Shyshpanova, Oksana Vovchenko, Olena Berezovska-Chmil

Journal of Strategic Security

In the context of war, the issue of corruption in Ukraine and abuse of office attracts great attention from experts, scholars, and civil society. The article aims to highlight the dynamics of combating corruption in Ukraine. This includes its main challenges, achievements, and ways of overcoming them in the context of war. The paper employs analysis and synthesis methods to study the dynamics of combating corruption in Ukraine. The authors have reviewed reforms in various sectors to identify key achievements in each corruption risk area. The article highlights the key achievements in the dynamics of combating corruption in Ukraine during …

Confrontation, The Legacy Of Crawford, And Important Unanswered Questions, Paul F. Rothstein, Ronald J. Coleman

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The right to confront has a long history. In the United States, the Confrontation Clause provides: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right… to be confronted with the witnesses against him[.]” One of the most troublesome areas of Confrontation Clause jurisprudence has been the Clause’s application to “hearsay statements offered against a criminal defendant pursuant to a hearsay exception or exemption[.]” The Supreme Court’s confrontation analysis in this situation once hinged on the statement’s reliability, with the traditional hearsay rule and its exceptions and exemptions as a guide. But in Crawford v. Washington, the Court considered …

Testing A Model Of Ethnic/Racial Discrimination, Ethnic Identity, And Adult Attachment In College Students, Kenneth L. Ayers

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Ethnic/racial minoritized Americans encounter a disproportionate amount of discrimination throughout their lifetime that often has negative effects on their well-being and mental health. Although the impact of discrimination on symptoms of depression and substance use has been widely studied, understanding of the mechanisms through which these associations exist are still largely unknown. From the perspective of the Cultural Development and Psychopathology Framework, the effects of discrimination on psychopathology (i.e., depression symptoms and alcohol use) are likely mitigated by normative developmental processes. One such developmental outcome that has been determined to partially mediate the impact of cultural stressors (i.e., ethnic/racial discrimination) …

First Through The Black Glass Ceiling: Towards Understanding The Communication Of Successful “First” Black Women Of Martinsville, Dasha L. Dillard

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

The present study investigated the communication Black women ‘firsts’ of Martinsville, Virginia received and how resilience is communicated throughout one’s lives. Seven Black women who once worked or lived in Martinsville, Virginia were interviewed to discover the resilience themes through their professional lives and how resilience was a factor in how these women became ‘firsts’ in their respective fields. The study's findings show that certain personality and communication traits define and equip Black women to succeed and overcome adversities in today’s society. Furthermore, women who exhibited personality qualities such as assertiveness, faith, rebellion, and self-preservation and communication qualities such as …

Do Public Accommodations Laws Compel “What Shall Be Orthodox”?: The Role Of Barnette In 303 Creative Llc V. Eleni, Linda C. Mcclain

Faculty Scholarship

This article addresses the U.S. Supreme Court's embrace, in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, of a First Amendment objection to state public accommodations laws that the Court avoided in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission: such laws compel governmental orthodoxy. These objections invoke West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette 's celebrated language: "If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith …

Alternative Dispute Resolution In Agency Administrative Programs, Kristen Blankley, Kathleen Claussen, Judith Starr

Journal of Dispute Resolution

This Article studies how federal agencies use and might better use different types of alternative dispute resolution (ADR)—including mediation, conciliation, facilitation, factfinding, minitrials, arbitration, and the use of ombuds—in the programs Congress has entrusted them to administer. The use of ADR by the executive branch of the federal government to resolve disputes with or among private actors has deep historical roots. ADR related to managerial agency matters such as employment or procurement is well-established across the government and performed under a uniform set of laws. Much less has been known, however, about the scope and reach of ADR in the …

Explainable Artificial Intelligence: Methods And Evaluation, Gayane Grigoryan

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A wide array of techniques within explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) have been developed to measure the importance of features in machine learning models. A notable portion of these methods draws upon principles of cooperative game theory (CGT), with the Shapley value emerging as a widely used solution concept. Despite the rising prominence of the Shapley value, other promising solutions from cooperative game theory—such as the Nucleolus, Banzhaf power index, Shapley-Shubik power index, and solutions to conflicting claims problems—have been comparatively overlooked, even though they hold significant potential. In this dissertation, multiple XAI methods based on these other CGT solutions are …

A Criminological Analysis Of The “White Supremacy To Anti-Immigrant Violence Pathway”, Ida Oesteraas

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

White supremacy consists of intricate ideologies, systems, privileges, and personal beliefs that result in unequal outcomes based on race in various aspects of life, such as wealth, freedom, health, and happiness (Belew & Gutiérrez, 2021). This dissertation explores the manifestation of white supremacy across various societal levels and its consequent harm and violence against people of color, immigrants, and particularly immigrants of color from Latin America. Here, I coin the term “white supremacy to anti-immigrant violence pathway” to examine how white supremacy has intertwined with our institutions and society, demonstrating how the exclusion and policing of immigrants of color sustain …

Decriminalizing Academia: Black First-Generation Community College Students In Unsatisfactory Academic Standing, Gerome Maurice Bell, Jr.

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Community colleges serve as critical access points to higher education for Black students. However, current outcomes suggest that Black students are not being properly served in America’s community colleges. Although well-meaning institutional leaders often create policies and programs aimed at improving success rates for students from marginalized backgrounds, too often, the voices of those directly impacted by the policy are not considered. Consequently, little is known about the lived experiences of Black first-generation community college students, especially those in unsatisfactory academic standing. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Black first-generation students on …

Crisis In The Coalfields: State/Corporate Violence, Historical Trauma, & Concentrated Substance Misuse And Harm, Brooke Baker

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

What we frame as "the problem" in our society shapes our responses, which also shapes how and where we spend our resources. The prevailing narratives surrounding drug issues in rural coalfields, West Virginia, the Appalachian region, and arguably throughout the U.S. often mischaracterize the problem. This research explored the relationship between state/corporate violence, historical trauma, and concentrated substance misuse and harm in the rural, central Appalachian coalfields. This study employs a trauma-informed, critical ethnographic approach by utilizing participant observation and photo-elicitation interviewing to collect the data, and a critical qualitative framework to analyze it. The main findings of this research …

Attribute-Based Fine-Grained Access Control Using Verifiable Credentials, Srinivasa Dumpa

Student Theses

In the era of digital transformation, ensuring secure and privacy-preserving access control mechanisms is of paramount importance. Traditional identity-based access control systems often fall short in providing granular control and user autonomy over digital identities. This thesis presents a novel approach to access control by leveraging the power of verifiable credentials and attribute-based access control. The proposed system introduces a decentralized and user-centric framework that enables fine-grained access control based on specific attributes encapsulated within verifiable credentials. These tamper-evident digital credentials, stored in a user's digital wallet, contain a rich set of attributes that can be selectively disclosed to grant …

A Sleep Health Education Intervention Improves Sleep Knowledge In Social Work Students, Christine E. Spadola, Danielle Groton, Minjaal Raval, Cassie J. Hilditch, Kerry Littlewood, Philip Baiden, Suzanne Bertisch, Eric S. Zhou

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Introduction: Social workers, the largest group of mental health clinicians in the United States, play a pivotal role in mental health promotion. Despite the importance of sleep for mental health, there is no empirical research on sleep education interventions for social workers. Method: We designed an online sleep health education intervention to equip social work students to promote healthy sleep practices among their clients. An interdisciplinary team of experts devised the 90 min intervention using an empirically supported behavioral change theoretical model (COM-B). The intervention discusses multi-level factors that impact sleep and emphasizes considerations for health disparities in populations commonly …

Women Police Chiefs: A Self-Perception Of Women Officers In Law Enforcement, Tianshi Hao, Jesse Llamas, Kayleigh Axtell, Anshu Lal, Michael Llamas, Mira Fadel, Amor Roma

The Scholarship Without Borders Journal

A large body of literature substantiates women’s difficulties integrating into all levels of law enforcement. To understand the experiences of women police officers in the force, and to understand how law enforcement leaders view the role of women in leadership positions, this study focused on the perception of six women police officers–specifically, women police chiefs towards women who already assumed leadership positions, overcame challenges entering law enforcement and advancing into leadership positions, and collected their input on organizational decisions, policy, and recruitment of women officers. This study employs a qualitative phenomenological methodology and interviews six women police chiefs in depth. …