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A Comparative Examination Of Background Attributes, Criminogenic Factors, Status Changes, And Preparatory Activities Across Ideological And Non-Ideological Mass Shootings, Brynn Schuetter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The overall focus of this study is the relevance of extreme ideology as a distinguishing factor underlying the motivational circumstances of mass shootings in the United States over the last few decades. Along with comparatively examining the lethality of mass shootings, background attributes, criminogenic factors, status changes, and preparatory activities are compared across ideological and non-ideological mass shooters. Data are extracted from the Extremist Crime Database (ECDB), the Bias Homicide Database (BHDB), and Schildkraut’s Database on Mass Shootings. Results highlight key differences in offenders’ experiences of personal status changes and engagement in preparatory activities prior to committing mass shootings. These …

News Framing Of The Ukrainian-Russian War: A Comparative Analysis Of Russian And American News Media, Alina Rudakova

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted with the goal of exploring ways in which American (The New York Times) and Russian (TASS) print news media frame the Ukrainian-Russian War. Along with examining the differences and similarities in primary framing techniques used by American and Russian news, the focal point of this study was to identify who is portrayed as an aggressor and who is illustrated as a victim in this conflict. Informed by the news media framing literature and construction of the social problems perspective, this study was led by two research questions: (1) How do the American and Russian news media …

Dyslexia Training: The Impact On The Perceptions And Knowledge-Base Of Pre-Professionals Preparing To Work In K-12 Educational Settings, Colby Fowler

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research explores the perceptions and understanding of dyslexia among first-year graduate students in speech-language pathology. Employing survey methodology, specifically a pre- and post-survey approach, this research investigates the attitudes and knowledge that the participants have in understanding and addressing dyslexia at the beginning of their graduate training. The study seeks to uncover the existing awareness, potential misconceptions, and the overall preparedness of these emerging professionals in dealing with individuals affected by dyslexia. Through a comprehensive survey analysis, the research aims to contribute valuable insights that can inform the development of targeted educational strategies and interventions within speech-language pathology programs, …

Adults Matter Too: An Examination Of State Adult Missing Persons Policies And Procedures To Implement A Best Practices Handbook, Hunter Smith

Honors Theses

The most recent estimates put the number of active missing person records at 97,127. Over the past eight years, child active records have decreased by 2,530, while adult active records have increased by 14,696. While there is no clear explanation for this trend, a common theory is that there are multiple federal and state laws requiring the entry of missing people under the age of 2; however, very few, if any, extend to adults. Additionally, there is a lack of standardization across available policies and procedures for where these cases should be reported, the time frame for doing so, and …

A Cultural Communication Perspective On Hispanic Students’ College Experiences, Yanrong (Yvonne) Chang

Communication Faculty Publications

Guided by the theoretical assumption that college life is a culturally situated, symbolic process of interaction between students and various others, this qualitative study attempts to explore how minority students’ home culture, which is different from the dominant college culture, helps them make sense of their college experiences. The respondent interviewing method was used to obtain Hispanic students’ responses to questions that allow them to share their experiences, which were centered around student-professor interactions. A total of 112 Hispanic college students from a comprehensive university in South Texas participated in the study. Results confirmed the significance of examining minority students’ …

Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Exposure Risks In Us Carceral Facilities, 2022, Lindsay Poirier, Derrick Salvatore, Phil Brown, Alissa Cordner, Kira Mok, Nicholas Shapiro

Statistical and Data Sciences: Faculty Publications

Objectives. To assess the US incarcerated population’s risk of exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). Methods. We assessed how many of the 6118 US carceral facilities were located in the same hydrologic unit code watershed boundaries as known or likely locations of PFAS contamination. We conducted geospatial analyses on data aggregated from Environmental Protection Agency databases and a PFAS site tracker in 2022 to model the hydrologically feasible known and presumptive PFAS contamination sites for nearly 2 million incarcerated people. Results. Findings indicate that 5% (∼310) of US carceral facilities have at least 1 known source of PFAS contamination …

The Implications, Magnitude, And Development Of Traumatic Brain Injury For Individuals Undergoing Treatment For Opioid Use Disorder, Hannah G. Mitchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is an established bidirectional relation between substance use and traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Despite the high rate of prescribing opioids for pain management following a TBI and the epidemic of opioid use disorder (OUD) in the United States, scarce research has specifically analyzed the association between TBI and OUD. In a series of three interrelated manuscripts, the present study will first examine the prevalence and features of TBIs among persons seeking treatment for OUD. Next, the present study will evaluate the association between TBI and indicators of risky health behaviors and OUD severity, including the risk of overdose and …

The Components Necessary In A Clinical Day Program For A Successful Transition To Traditional School, Erica Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine what components of academic and therapeutic clinical day programs ensure success for students with mental health diagnoses as they transition back to conventional educational settings. This study focused on the importance of developing students' capabilities to fulfill their own needs within Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs through coping skills, academic skills, and ensuring those skills transition to their traditional home school setting. The research questions guiding this study were: 1. How is “successful reintegration” defined for students with mental health concerns by the students, families, teachers, and other school staff? 2. What program …

Factors That Contribute To Challenging Behaviors With Early Childhood Students, Jennifer N. Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There has been an increasing number of students being referred to mental health services due to behavioral problems they exhibit at school. Behavioral and social concerns impede academic success for the individual child as well as their classroom peers. Many factors can contribute to challenging behaviors in early childhood students within rural and high-poverty communities, an elementary school in the South-Atlantic region of the United States is experiencing some of those factors. The purpose of this qualitative research study is to investigate some of the possible factors which contribute to challenging behaviors and how those factors impact academic achievement. The …

The Relationship Between Sex Education And Women’S Sexual Liberation And Exploration: A Phenomenological Study, Jessica Ann Boyles

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Sex education in schools is a pivotal yet contentious aspect of adolescent development, with enduring impacts on individuals' sexual exploration and liberation. However, the types of sex education offered have varied over time, often disseminating misinformation, and reinforcing traditional gender norms. Particularly for women, sex education can perpetuate harmful stereotypes, limit sexual agency, and contribute to disparities in sexual and reproductive health. This qualitative study aims to address the gap of intersecting sex education and sexual identity by examining the relationship between women's sexual liberation and exploration in adulthood and the sex education they received. Drawing from a phenomenological approach, …

Essays On Macroeconomics And Market Failures, Bayarmaa Dalkhjav

Doctoral Dissertations

What are the macroeconomic consequences of market failure in the long and short runs? How do asymmetric information, externality, and lack of the rule of law contribute to resource misallocation, output, and the business cycle in an economy at the aggregate level? My research focuses on these research questions. Specifically, I explore the macroeconomic effects of asymmetric information, the external impacts of innovation decisions as a part of firm’s dynamic decisions, and the implications of corruption on the fluctuation of the business cycle.

In the first chapter, titled “Hidden Information as a Source of Misallocation: An Application to the Opioid …

2024 Nsu Commencement Schedule Of Ceremonies, Nova Southeastern University

NSU Commencement Programs

Nova Southeastern University (NSU) welcomes graduating candidates, their families, and friends to its Fort Lauderdale/ Davie campus for the 2024 commencement ceremonies.

This guide offers important information regarding NSU commencement, academic regalia, recognition events, and accommodations for your visiting family and guests.

Project Foresight Annual Report, 2022-2023, Paul J. Speaker

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Project FORESIGHT is a business-guided self-evaluation of forensic science laboratories across the globe. The participating laboratories represent local, regional, state, and national agencies. Economics, accounting, finance, and forensic faculty provide assistance, guidance, and analysis. Laboratories participating in Project FORESIGHT have developed standardized definitions for metrics to evaluate work processes, linking financial information to work tasks, and functions. Laboratory managers can then assess resource allocations, efficiencies, and value of services—the mission of Project FORESIGHT is to measure, preserve what works, and change what does not.

The benchmark data for the 2022-2023 performance period includes laboratory submissions for a variety of fiscal …

Graduate List - May 2024, University Of Nebraska At Omaha

Commencement Lists

No abstract provided.

Juvenile Diversion Programs In Minnesota Counties And Their Effect On Arrest Rates, Victoria Floden

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The rise of juvenile diversion programs in Minnesota has sparked widespread discussion, especially as the nation addresses its concerns about overcrowded jails and prisons stemming from past "tough-on-crime" policies. Minnesota has responded by creating alternative pathways for juvenile offenders, aiming to keep them out of the traditional justice system while still holding them responsible for their actions. However, research and existing literature are unclear as to which of these diversion programs help reduce juvenile arrest rates. Different factors in each case could provide insight into which programs are most effective. I seek to explain why certain Minnesota counties have been …

The Beast With Many Heads: Situational And Dispositional Differences In Physiological, Subjective, And Behavioral Responses To Social Rejection, Ellyn C. Maese

Psychology Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

Threats to humans’ deep-rooted social needs are associated with strong physiological, emotional, and behavioral responses that are linked to systems for physical pain responses. Yet, prior research has also revealed inconsistencies in responses to social threats, which may be related to differences in situational or dispositional factors. In exploration of these potential explanations, the proposed research aims to investigate physiological, subjective, and behavioral responses to two distinct types of social threat experiences. This study will involve analyzing data collected from a sample of 127 students at a midwestern state university who participated in a laboratory experiment in which they faced …

An Apt Analogy?: Rethinking The Role Of Judicial Deference To The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Post-Kisor, Amy Walker

Fordham Law Review

Since its inception in 1984, the U.S. Sentencing Commission (the “Commission”) has struggled to garner and maintain a sense of legitimacy among federal judges. The tension is both a story about competing expertise between judges and the Commission and competing values, namely uniformity and individuality. In 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court in Stinson v. United States prioritized uniformity by telling lower courts to treat the Commission as they would any other administrative agency. Lower courts—for the most part—faithfully executed this directive until 2019, when the Supreme Court in Kisor v. Wilkie gave them another option, one that seemed to leave …

Storytelling For Social Change: Using Victim Narratives From Social Media To Disrupt Rape Myth Acceptance Among College Students, Grace Carmack

Journalism Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study employed a narrative intervention experiment aimed at challenging college students' acceptance of rape myths (RMA). Rape myths are erroneous beliefs that shift blame for sexual violence (SV) from perpetrators to victims and encompass stereotypical misconceptions about women. Three authentic narratives, shared anonymously on social media by college victims of sexual violence, were selected for their varying levels of graphic detail and situational context. The study's objective was not only to interrogate RMA among college students but also to discover which of the three narratives was most effective in reducing RMA among readers, utilizing the Transportation Theory as a …

The Opioid Epidemic In Virginia: Comparing Case Studies Of County-Level Implementation Of Opioid Response Plans, Sydney Elyse Fox

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This project entails a mixed method review of the implementation of opioid policies in the 133 cities and counties of the Commonwealth of Virginia using van Meter and van Horn’s (1975) Model Theoretical Framework as a guide. This study focuses upon understanding how the characteristics of successful implementation intersect with the components of opioid policy, controlling for education, poverty, and health insurance coverage, and how that interaction may lead to reduced overdose deaths. According to van Meter and van Horn, political agreement is necessary to create a policy with an administrative mechanism to implement. This administrative mechanism, along with resources, …

Homelessness, Trauma, And Drug Use As Contributing Factors To Increased Sentencing, Elise N. Whitlock

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Mass incarceration has been a pervasive issue in American society with longstanding effects on individuals and their communities. Several factors have been shown to intensify these effects and contribute to the cycle of recidivism, such as homelessness, trauma, and drug use. The current study investigated the association between these and several other factors and the number of sentences an individual had received in their lifetime. A cross-sectional sample (N= 24,808, 25% female) of adult inmates from the periodic Survey of Prison Inmates was used to test these hypotheses. Exploratory factor analysis and subsequent regressions indicated a significant association between higher …

An Analysis Of Truancy Causes And Prevention Programming In Clark County, Nevada, Jennifer Ashley Fletcher

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In the United States truancy prevention is lacking two key elements to success; research that explains the causes of truancy and empirical evidence for best practices of truancy prevention. Truancy has been a problem in academics since the early 1900’s, when truancy became illegal. Since then, truancy rates have continued to see a steady increase, and today approximately 10% of public school students in the United States are truant every day (Maynard et al., 2017). To combat this problem, research needs to be conducted to understand why truancy happens. However, there is a severe lack of research on this topic; …

Persisting Inequity: School Administrators’ Social Dominance Orientation And Disciplinary Practices, Abigail Johnson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Empirical research has established that exclusionary discipline is applied to black students at a higher rate than white students for similar offenses, and that this disproportionality cannot be attributed to the severity or frequency of misconduct. Exclusionary discipline, which removes a student from the educational setting, poses significant challenges to academic and social well-being and introduces a host of proximal issues for black students. This dissertation draws upon Social Dominance Theory (SDT), which examines how beliefs aligned to existing hierarchies perpetuate discrimination and oppression, to explore how administrators' anti-egalitarian beliefs and disciplinary practices influence the disproportionate application of exclusionary discipline …

Self-Perception And Positive Stereotype Endorsement, Aileen Lovitt

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The origin and reasoning behind the use of racial stereotypes has been a point of interest for researchers over the years. Many different theories have been proposed including those related to cognitive, evolutionary, and motivational explanations. However, most of these theories and the research backing them primarily focus on negative stereotyping. The origin of positive stereotyping, which also has negative implications associated with their use, has not been evaluated fully. Previous research has suggested that the motive to preserve self-worth and positive self-concept may play a role in stereotype endorsement. Two studies were conducted with the purpose of investigating whether …

Adverse Childhood Experiences: Why Trafficking Victims End Up Running Away, Getting In Trouble, And Being Homeless, Makaylen Tadeo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Sex trafficking of youth is something that requires people to think deeper as to how they ended up trading sex in the first place. Literature has shown that within adverse childhood experiences, abuse plays a significant factor. There are many types of abuse and a variety of harmful effects it can have on a child that is not only limited to physical and mental health but also to how they grow up and live in the world. Using the life course theory, this current study wanted to apply the concepts to explain how specific adverse childhood experiences in the form …

Seeking Sanctuary: An Analysis Of U Visa Policies In Omaha, Nebraska And Their Impact On Immigrant Communities, Emma Ehmke

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Since 2000, immigrants have been eligible for U visa status if they are a victim of a particular crime and assist law enforcement in criminal investigations. However, challenges arise for numerous reasons with the I-918 Supplement B form, which must be signed by an agency certifier within law enforcement or an attorney’s office. This study examines the policies of six law enforcement agencies and attorney’s offices in the Omaha Metro Area through semi-structured interviews to understand their approach to U visas and the characteristics of successful applications. The study aims to uncover variations in agency procedures and understandings and the …

Ethics In Law And The Effects On Mental Health: An Interview Study, Kaitlyn Nyffeler

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

On August 2, 1983, The American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct were adopted by the House of Delegates. This set of rules provides legal professionals with the guidance needed to uphold the rule of law and to preserve justice. In this set of rules, lawyers learn the duties of confidentiality, client relations, diligence, and the overall conduct owed to the courts. Furthermore, these duties can be demanding and oftentimes challenging. Therefore, this study examined the different ethical rules as they apply to lawyers and how these demands can impact their mental health. Interviews were conducted with six lawyers …

Policy Solutions For Juvenile Cyber-Deviant Behaviors: Insights From Criminological Theory, Holly Verity Williams

All Dissertations

The aim of this thesis is to develop a deeper understanding of online deviance as a phenomenon among juveniles, both in terms of engagement and victimization, by applying Attachment Theory, Social Learning Theory, and Self-Control Theory. Throughout the literature, Attachment Theory, Social Learning Theory, and Self-Control Theory have been attributed as key criminological theories in the explanation of juvenile deviance offline, but little research has been applied to online deviance in this way. This thesis seeks to apply the same criminological theories to the phenomenon of online deviance among juveniles and compare outcomes to both online and offline deviance among …

Restorative Circles Training Through Video Modules: A Case Design With A Teacher From The Midwest, Diedra A. Reeves

Psychology Theses, Dissertations, and Student Creative Activity

Schools have been employing zero-tolerance policies for decades without knowing the true consequences these disciplinary procedures have on students, especially culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. Restorative Practices are a useful tool that can be implemented as an alternative disciplinary method. The current study focuses on restorative circles, which has shown evidence for improving school climate and teacher-student relationships, as well as reducing inappropriate disciplinary practices. Restorative circles mend relationships and bring the school community closer together. The purpose of the current study was to provide restorative circles training via online video modules to one elementary school teacher in the …

A Review Of Training For First Responders When Interacting With Individuals With Diagnoses, Mackenzie Drost, Robbie Hanson

Theses

Safety is a priority for first responders when responding to calls, but there have been numerous cases in which unintentional harm was caused when interacting with individuals with diagnoses or disabilities. Thus, it seems as though effective training procedures for these professionals is critical. However, training for first responders varies from state to state and can depend on the county in which the services are provided. Although behavioral skills training (BST) has a well-established history of training non behavior-analytic professionals and although there have been some encouraging recommendations for the effective dissemination of applied behavior analysis (ABA) to those outside …

Social Media And The Court: Exploring Impacts, Challenges, And Legal Considerations In The Digital Age, Jordan Gruce

University Honors College

Social media has become a greater concern to the judicial system as mistrials and overturned convictions continue to take place because of internet-related juror misconduct. This paper sought to understand the implications of social media on the criminal justice system through its use by jurors, judges, attorneys, and individuals outside of the courtroom. It was found that information regarding criminal cases presented online is often negative, biased, and sensationalized, and frequently contains prejudicial evidence that can undermine a defendant’s right to a fair trial by an impartial jury. Jurors may commit misconduct by researching a case online or by communicating …