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Eliminating Rule 609 To Provide A Fair Opportunity To Defend Against Criminal Charges: A Proposal To The Advisory Committee On The Federal Rules Of Evidence, Jeffrey Bellin

Faculty Publications

Federal Rule of Evidence 609 authorizes the admission of prior convictions to impeach criminal defendants who testify. And in this important and uniquely damaging application, the [r]ule’s logic fails, distorting American trials and depriving defendants of a fair opportunity to defend against the charges. The Advisory Committee [on Evidence Rules (the “Advisory Committee”)] should propose the elimination of Rule 609 and prohibit cross-examination with specific instances of a criminal defendant’s past conduct when those instances are unrelated to the defendant’s testimony and unconnected to the case.

This short essay begins by setting out the proposed rule change alongside a proposed …

Beyond The Screen: Understanding College Students’ Perspectives On Cyberstalking, Gabrielle Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous research regarding the victimization of college students is primarily geared toward physical or sexual encounters. There is a limited scope of research regarding the online victimization of college students, specifically those involved in Greek life organizations. Furthermore, there is a misinterpretation of the definition of cyberstalking among college students, as many students are unaware that they have been personally victimized (Cass, 2011). This study seeks to examine college students’ perceptions of online victimization and how they may vary. The different student impressions and the prevalence of online victimization were examined using self-reported data from students enrolled in a university …

Project Foresight Annual Report, 2022-2023, Paul 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 …

An Examination Of Products That University Of Mississippi Students Consume For Managing Their Stress, Kiersten Rickard

Honors Theses

Students are notoriously one of the most stressed groups in our society. Stress is a complex topic; causes, mitigation methods, and manifestations of stress all vary in an individual. Being that stress is an universal experience, this research capitalizes on the importance of stress and the methods used to mitigate stress. This study looks at, among other ideas, stress on the University of Mississippi campus in regards to demographics and the products (caffeine, sleep aids, over the counter medicines, stress supplements, and CBD) that students use. Results demonstrate that, overall, higher stress levels correlate to higher product usage rates. The …

Barriers To And Facilitators Of Care: Exploring How Low-Income Women Access Reproductive Healthcare In A Rural Community, Sydney Taylor Casey

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to gain a comprehensive understanding of the experiences of low-income women living in a rural community when accessing reproductive care and bring awareness to the barriers and facilitating factors they encounter. The present study adopted a post positivism paradigm and was conducted in a rural county in Northern California. A combination of quantitative and qualitative data was gathered through demographic surveys and individual interviews with twenty-two participants. A bottom-up approach was utilized for the phases of qualitative data analysis, which included open coding, axial coding and selective coding. Data analysis revealed thirteen open …

Major Factors Of Sustaining Recovery After Relapse From A Substance Use Disorder, Amanda Tei Sandhurst

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Relapse is a common and often-expected occurrence among individuals with substance use disorders. Relapse can be defined as returning to a problematic behavior after abstaining for a period of time (Marlatt & Witkiewitz, 2005). It is the inability to maintain life in sobriety and is not an isolated event, but rather a process (Gorski & Kelley, 1996). The problem with relapse is that it can result in continued substance use and abuse, which can then lead to other major consequences. This study looks at ten individuals in recovery who experienced a past relapse after having a period of abstinence and …

Supporting Formerly Incarcerated Individuals In Higher Education: A Quantitative Study, Lisa Marie Jones-Wiertz

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

People from various backgrounds in the United States have college aspirations. However, those with marginalized characteristics, particularly formerly incarcerated individuals, face multiple barriers in their quest for higher education. This study carries a twofold purpose: (a) determining the extent to which formerly incarcerated individuals in higher education in California feel supported and (b) determining types of support associated with educational success among formerly incarcerated individuals in higher education in California. Using the Person-in-Environment Framework, the nonprobability sampling methods of convenience and snowball, and a quantitative research design, this study surveyed 51 formerly incarcerated students enrolled across the California State University …

Substance Use Treatment Within The Us Prison System, Timothy Hicks

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study examines the challenges and effectiveness of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment within US prisons, focusing on treatment availability, accessibility, and outcomes. Through a literature review spanning PsycINFO, Academic Search Premier, Criminal Justice Abstracts, JSTOR, and PubMed, it addresses the literature gap and healthcare needs for incarcerated individuals. The research identifies limited SUD treatment availability and explores the impact of medication-assisted treatments (MATs) and therapeutic interventions. It highlights barriers such as systemic stigma and inconsistencies in treatment access and quality. Findings advocate for evidence-based treatment's role in reducing recidivism and call for policy reform and enhanced collaborative efforts to …

A Systematic Review On The Effectiveness Of The Gun Violence Restraining Order, Bonnie Galloway, Yasmeen Gonzalez-Ayala

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background: Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO) is a type of restraining order that prevents individuals, who pose a significant risk to themselves or others from having, owning, and buying firearms, firearms parts, ammunition, or magazines. This gun law was enacted in January 2016, in response to the many mass shootings that had occurred prior to this legislation. Objective: This study systematically reviewed published articles to examine the effectiveness of GVRO. Methods: We used the following databases to identify articles: OneSearch, Google Scholar, and Google. The search terms used included “gun violence restraining orders” and its abbreviation “GVRO,” combined with other …

A Comparative Analysis Of Body Modification Biases In The Mental Health Field, Lonese Ramsey

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Societal norms continue to shift and challenge our thoughts and beliefs. The notion of the standards of professionalism has evolved to assimilate to the steady progression in the field of mental health. However, change is not typically readily accepted by everyone. This is evident in the noticeable differences in the experiences of people from different generations. Unquestionably, body modifications are becoming increasingly popular throughout mainstream society. This shift has invariably impacted the landscape of professionalism and beliefs and values that are held true in the mental health profession. Limited studies have been conducted to identify if any correlations exist between …

Online Deception: The Impact Of Language In Text-Based Deception Detection, Stephanie Dayle Avila

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

In today’s digital age, spreading false information online can have serious consequences, from affecting elections to undermining public health efforts. Despite the issue's importance, there’s been relatively little research into better understanding how people make decisions about lies and misinformation online. My project dives into this challenge by exploring how specific language cues, like grammar errors or unusual word choices, influence people’s perception of statements in terms of deceit online. I examined how people react to these cues through three separate but related studies when reading truthful and deceptive statements. The first two studies showed that true statements with grammatical …

Adhd Knowledge: Support For Current Measures And Connections To Stigma And Intervention, Megan E. Golson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Many children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be at-risk for social, educational, and daily functioning challenges. Identifying ADHD and beginning intervention as early as possible improves outcomes for children with ADHD. Research suggests that parents, teachers, and the general population have more favorable opinions about ADHD interventions the more they know about ADHD. While many measures of ADHD knowledge have been created to measure this, there is little research on the validity of these measures. Further, additional research is needed to better understand relation between ADHD knowledge and intervention favorability. The two studies in this dissertation aim to fill these …

El Testimonio De Los Niños De El Parque: Discipline Practices And The Impact On Public High School Students, Francisco E. Huizar-Gonzalez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

What happens to our students when they do not complete their studies and drop out of school? Perhaps this question is probably not something that we reflect on as educators. This study seeks to amplify three studentsâ?? voices and explore their unique experiences and the challenges they faced after they did not complete their high school studies. The interviews that I conducted tell the story of three minority students from lower-income families. Their stories highlight the overall purpose of this study, which is how students who find themselves involved in disciplinary issues are pushed out of school. The interviews capture …

Resource Scarcity Caused By Environmental Changes: Driving Factor In Terrorism Attacks In Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Amaris Bustamante

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Climate change, resource scarcity, and terrorist attacks are ever-growing crises that disproportionately impact different states. They are crises that can impact the stability and resilience of humanity in the following decades if they are not addressed and mitigated. This study addresses the impact of resource scarcity caused by climate change that can then serve as a driving force in terrorist attacks in climate-sensitive and conflict-prone states. The objective of this mixed-methods study is to identify the correlation between climate changes that lead to resource scarcity such as rainfall and surface temperatures with terrorist attacks when taking into consideration other demographic, …

The Kids Aren’T Alright: Examining The Spatial Concentration Of Drug Crime Near Schools In Little Rock, Arkansas, Jason Neeley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the last two decades, violence and death stemming from drug activity has become a concern to communities across the country. Increasingly, policymakers and law enforcement agencies have sought to understand where drug activity is located, including in and around schools, and why some places are more susceptible to drug problems than others. The current study explores two related questions: (1) How do drug crimes spatially pattern around schools? and, in turn, (2) What are the neighborhood-level predictors of the concentration of drug crime? Focusing on Little Rock, Arkansas, I examine the spatial distribution of drug offenses and overdoses within …

Race, Severe Mental Illness, And Crime: An Intersectional Look Into Stigma And Policy Implications, Elena Therese Vaudreuil

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Criminal behavior has been a long-discussed topic in the United States and often is tied to characteristics such as race and mental illness. The presumed connection between criminal behavior and being a member of a racial minority group or having a mental illness have been researched for years, however few researchers have sought to take an intersectional approach to investigate the unique experiences of people belonging to both groups in the criminal legal system. Using the lenses of attribution and intersectionality theories, the proposed studies sought to understand the effect of race that influences policy support of justice-involved people with …

Exploring The Barriers To Mental Health Treatment Among Justice-Involved Women Living In The U.S.-México Border Region, Rebekah Ruth Adair-Russell

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

For women in the criminal justice system, mental illness is a complicated and prevalent factor, with rates ranging from 49.2% to 67.9% (Bronson & Berzofsky, 2017). To address the mental health care that justice-involved women need, scholars have called for a closer examination of barriers that hinder access to mental health and substance use treatment among this population (Winham et al., 2015; Wilfong et al., 2021). Barriers to treatment can be attitudinal (i.e., stigma and fear) or structural (i.e., transportation, cost of treatment), yet few, if any, studies have examined how these barriers present in a group of justice-involved women …

Navigating The Black Nuances: Analyzing And Understanding The Intersectional Perspectives Of Black Transgender Arkansans Utilizing Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs, Kayla Alford

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis evaluates the current needs of the Black Transgender community in Northwest and Central Arkansas. The participants of this study were asked 40 questions based on each tier of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The participants of the study were three Transgender men, two Transgender women, and three non-binary individuals. Eight semi-structured interviews were completed utilizing narrative theory to expound on the personal experiences and duality of being Black and Transgender through a personal lens. The findings of this study were categorized into eight themes, which were basic needs, safety, love and belonging, esteem, self-realization, essence of being Transgender, lack …

Examining The Impact Of Parental Punishment And School Punishment On Delinquency And Criminal Justice Contact, Mia Robert

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prior research states the important role that both parents and schools play in setting children up for success. However, few researchers have studied how parents and schools work in tandem to achieve these outcomes. The current study aims to fill this gap by understanding the relationship between parental harshness and exclusionary discipline at age 9, specifically suspension, and how it affects delinquency and later criminal justice contact at age 15. Using longitudinal data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), this study aimed to answer the following two research questions: 1) Does increased parental harshness and harsh …

Exploring The Intersection Of Masculinity, Mental Health, And Mass Shootings, Kaitlyn Campbell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Few studies have explored how intersecting challenges to masculinity and mental health can precipitate mass shootings. This study examines how responses to strained masculinity and mental health disorders combine across varying situational and social contexts to explain why and how offenders commit mass shootings. Data come from the U.S. Extremist Crime Database, Bias Homicide Database, and other open-source data on mass shootings. Drawing from Allison and Klein’s (2021) concept of “strained masculinity”, this study utilizes a qualitative narrative approach to uncover themes of strained masculinity and mental health issues among perpetrators of mass shootings. Different storylines emerge capturing ways some …

Barriers To A Real Second Chance: Seeking Redemption While Set Up For Failure, Kara Forrai

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

With the enactment of the Second Chance Act in 2008, there has been a need to better understand the effectiveness of prisoner reentry programs and the services that are provided within these programs. Since then, numerous articles have described the barriers that previously incarcerated persons encounter during reentry and how this increases the likelihood of recidivism. The goal of this current study is to understand what current barriers exist for individuals within a local reentry program and then to suggest future implementations that could reduce the impact of these barriers. To achieve this goal, qualitative research methods are employed to …

Discerning Moral Injury, Alexandra A. Merletti

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Moral injury is a recently developed psychological construct used to explain trauma that cannot be adequately explained by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It arises from experiences in which sufferers feel that they have violated deeply held moral beliefs and has multiple negative long term health and professional consequences for individuals affected. In order to better understand moral injury, this study seeks to understand how it is identified in individuals by others and utilizes Christie’s (2018) Ideal Victim Theory and Gray and Wegner’s (2009) Moral Typecasting Theory as a theoretical framework. Participants for this study were 374 undergraduate students at the …

Suicidal Ideation Among Survivors Of Childhood Sexual Abuse: The Role Of Shame And Sexual Grooming, Aysegul Yucel

Student Theses

Childhood Sexual Abuse (CSA) is a global public health issue, with 25% of girls and 5% of boys in the U.S. reporting abuse before the age of 18. While CSA is known to increase the risk of suicidal ideation in later life, the additional psychosocial factors involved are understudied. This study investigates the impact of abuse-related shame and sexual grooming on suicidal ideation in adults with CSA histories. Data from 118 undergraduate students were analyzed using binomial logistic regression and the PROCESS macro to explore direct and indirect effects. Results show that abuse-related shame significantly predicts suicidal ideation and mediates …

Eco-Anxiety Effects College Students, Alexa Edmundson

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

A survey was conducted on the UNL student population to evaluate whether college students, 18-25 year olds who are currently attending an accredited post-secondary school, are experiencing eco-anxiety and if eco-anxiety affects their pro-environmental behaviors. Climate change is taking a toll not only physically on us but also mentally. The mental health of people, especially college students, is not often studied in relation to climate change, but if we are to understand how to create change in this issue then we need to be looking at the whole picture. The hypothesis is that if college students are experiencing eco-anxiety, then …

How Gender Affirming Care Affects The Current Sex Estimation Standards In Forensic Anthropology: A Preliminary Study, Dakota Taylor

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Current sex estimation standards in forensic anthropology are based on individuals whose gender matches their biological/osteological sex, also known as Cisgendered individuals. Recently, transgender individuals have started to become more common in the forensic context due to the increase in hate crimes and violence. This research builds upon past research done on how facial feminization surgery can affect both visual and metric methods, where it was found that forensic anthropologists should rely on the visual methods if they suspect someone to be transgender due to it being more accurate and being able to clearly state the scars left on the …

The Pacifican May 2024, University Of The Pacific

All Issues - Student Newspaper, The Pacifican, Pacific Weekly

No abstract provided.

Women Rebuilding Their Lives Post Incarceration: The Obstacles Of Housing And Employment, Sydney Ward

English Undergraduate Honors Theses

According to a report from The Sentencing Project, "the female incarcerated population stands nearly five times higher than in 1980" and this trend has continued, which means that "at the national level, 47 out of every 100,000 women were in prison in 2020" (“Incarcerated Women and Girls.”). This means that women are leaving prison and beginning their reentry process into society every day, which is much easier said than done. With this reentry process, there are various barriers that each woman must overcome to reestablish their lives. When women are released from incarceration, the first thing they must do is …

The Perception Of Children As Reliable Eyewitnesses, Shelby Mcdonald

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Eyewitness accounts have been integral to the criminal justice system. However, given that not every criminal case has forensic evidence that is available or admissible, the reliance on eyewitness accounts conjures questions about believability. This is an important area of research because the over-belief of witnesses may lead to wrongful convictions, yet under-belief may leave the victim without justice. The current study investigated how child-witness age, race, role as a witness (bystander versus victim), and the gender of the juror influenced the perception of child eyewitnesses through the lens of the Witness Credibility Model. Participants were presented with the testimony …

Illinois State University, One Hundred And Sixty-Fifth Annual Commencement, May 2024, Illinois State University

Commencement Programs

Illinois State University
One Hundred and Sixty-Fifth Annual Commencement
May 2024

Paranormal Beliefs And The Big Five: Extrinsic Optimism, Trust In People, And Fantasy Proneness, Caitlyn Ariel Irene Harvey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There are many inconsistent findings on the relationship between paranormal beliefs and The Big Five. This study aims to clarify the correlations by assessing extrinsic optimism, trust in people, and fantasy proneness. Extrinsic optimism is associated with neuroticism and extraversion. Trust is associated with agreeableness. Lastly, fantasy proneness is associated with openness to experience. It was predicted that paranormal beliefs would be positively correlated with extrinsic optimism, trust in people, and fantasy proneness. It was also predicted that paranormal beliefs would be positively correlated with extraversion, agreeableness, and openness. Correlational and regression analyses were run to test these predictions. Results …