Digital Commons Network^™

An Assessment Of Scales Measuring Constructs In Tests Of Criminological Theory Based On National Youth Survey Data, Todd A. Armstrong, Daniel R. Lee, Gaylene Armstrong

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Researchers have utilized the National Youth Survey (NYS) data to test a variety of theoretical explanations of criminal behavior. Here, the authors offer an assessment of scales used in tests of criminological theory based on NYS data. The authors conducted this assessment to provide results informing future tests of theory. Their analyses focus on understanding the extent to which scales representative of different theories are actually based on the same item content. They test for two distinct processes that may explain this phenomenon. In the first process, scales measuring a given construct are attributed to different theories. In the second …

Nebraska’S Immigrant Population: Economic And Fiscal Impacts - Ollas Report No. 5, Christopher Decker, Jerry Deichert, Lourdes Gouveia

Latino/Latin American Studies Reports

Immigration issues have once again assumed center stage in policy circles at every level of government in the United States, as the number of new immigrants, many undocumented and many from Latin American nations, has risen markedly in recent years. This is certainly true in Nebraska. According to US Census figures for 2000, the total immigrant population in Nebraska was estimated to be 74,638. By 2006, this figure had risen to 99,500, a 33.3 percent increase. By comparison, the total native-born population in the state grew less than 2.0 percent over the same six-year period.

This study attempts to quantitatively …

In The Balance: Immigrant Economic Contributions And The Advancement Of Human Rights In Nebraska - Ollas Policy Brief No. 1, Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado, Lourdes Gouveia

Latino/Latin American Studies Policy Briefs

No abstract provided.

Bookreview: Price, B. E. (2006). Merchandizing Prisoners: Who Really Pays For Prison Privatization? Westport, Ct: Praeger. 187 Pp, Gaylene Armstrong

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Review of Price’s Merchandizing Prisoners: Who Really Pays for Prison Privatization?

The Organizational, Community And Programmatic Characteristics That Predict The Effective Implementation Of After-School Programs, Todd A. Armstrong, Gaylene Armstrong

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

To identify characteristics predicting the effective implementation of after-school programs, in-depth interviews were conducted at five sites randomly selected from a subset of 16 ACE after-school sites serving high risk youth in a southwestern city. Qualitative data from structured in-depth interviews, follow-up telephone conversations with personnel as well as researcher observations during site visits were synthesized. Data identified three constellations of characteristics associated with effective implementation: staffing, community and programmatic. Staffing characteristics included limited staff turnover and sufficient training. Community characteristics included cultural sensitivity and community integration. Programmatic characteristics included clearly defined program goals and specific program content. Researcher observations …

Keep Public Places Open To The Autistic, Karen Falconer Al-Hindi, Carol Salber, Shawn Neff

Geography and Geology Faculty Publications

What does it mean to be "well-behaved"?

A recent Associated Press article (Aug. 17 World-Herald) discussed the "disruptive behavior" of individuals with autism. As mothers and activists on behalf of children with autism, we have a different perspective.

The Measurement Of Psychopathy: Dimensional And Taxometric Approaches, Emily M. Wright

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This article extends the debate over personality disorders as dimensional or taxonic phenomena to the study of psychopathy and relates this issue to questions surrounding whether behaviors or personality traits best represent psychopathy. Proponents of dimensional measurements of psychopathy consider personality traits to be important constructs of psychopathy, whereas proponents of taxometric measurements consider behaviors to be important characteristics of psychopathy. After a brief introduction to the measurement of psychopathy, taxometric and dimensional measurement techniques are explained, their assumptions addressed, and their strengths and weaknesses discussed. Empirical evidence for each technique is then critiqued, and methodological problems are described. It …

"From Troubled Ground To Common Ground": The Locust Grove African- American Cemetery Restoration Project: A Case Study Of Service-Learning And Community History, Steven B. Burg

Project Summaries

This article chronicles a movement to restore Shippensburg, Pennsylvania's Locust Grove Cemetery, a historic African-American burial ground. The cemetery faced persistent troubles exacerbated by changing demographics in the surrounding neighborhood, its caretakers' limited resources, and the community's history of racial discrimination. Beginning in 2003, Shippensburg University applied history students assisted with research, grant writing, and interpretative materials. By 2005, a community coalition formed that built on the students' efforts, ultimately mobilizing the resources needed to finish the restoration. This case study illustrates the complex dynamics of a community preservation campaign and ways Public History programs can support such efforts.

A Tobacco-Free Service-Learning Pilot Project, Sherry Bassi, Janet Cray, Lois Caldrello

Higher Education

This pilot project was a collaboration between a public university school of nursing in New England and an elementary school in southeastern Connecticut, with 450 student participants. The school was selected because of the presence of poverty, health disparities, and single-parent homes in the population. Eighteen nursing students participated as part of a service-learning project. The nursing students provided tobacco-use education. Fourth and fifth grade students were taught components of the pro-health tobacco education program, the Tar Wars curriculum. Other age-appropriate strategies targeted grades pre-kindergarten through 3. One hundred percent of fourth and fifth grade students achieved the learning objectives; …

State Rural Development Policy: The Role Of The Community Development Block Grant Program, Robert Blair, Jerry Deichert, David J. Drozd

Publications

A partnership of the federal government and the states implement rural community development policy today, yet researchers rarely examine the nature and efficacy of this extensive intergovernmental collaboration. The authors collected data on Community Development Block Grant awards made by one state to small and rural communities for a variety of development projects over a period of more than ten years, and using a modified rural classification system detected patterns and trends in allocation. This study seeks to determine if a federally funded program assists states address the development needs of a diverse mix of rural communities. Do federal block …

Adolescents With Two Nonresident Biological Parents: Living Arrangements, Parental Involvement, And Well-Being, Valarie King, Katherine C. Stamps, Daniel Hawkins

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

We know little about children who have two living nonresident biological parents. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examines the diverse living arrangements of U.S. adolescents in this situation, the kinds of relationships they have with each of their nonresident parents, and the consequences of these arrangements for child well-being. Differences between these adolescents (N = 502) and those who have one nonresident biological parent (N = 4746) are also examined. Results point to certain groups of adolescents with two nonresident parents who are at particular risk of exhibiting higher levels of behavior problems …

Centered But Not Caught In The Middle: Stepchildren's Perceptions Of Dialectical Contradictions In The Communication Of Co-Parents, Dawn O. Braithwaite, Paige W. Toller, Karen L. Daas, Wesley Durham, Adam C. Jones

Communication Faculty Publications

The researchers adopted a dialectical perspective to study how stepchildren experience and communicatively manage the perception of feeling caught in the middle between their parents who are living in different households. The metaphor of being caught in the middle is powerful for stepchildren and this metaphor animated their discourse. A central contribution of the present study was to understand the alternative to being caught in the middle and what this alternative means to stepchildren. Reflected in the discourse of stepchildren is that to feel not caught in the middle is to feel centered in the family. Stepchildren's desire to be …

Seeds Of Innovation, Omaha World-Herald

Scholarship of Metropolitan Mission

What an encouraging development a University of Nebraska at Omaha professor describes in a Midlands Voices essay today. UNO, she explains, is working with small-business owners in north Omaha to improve their computer and telecommunications skills.

As noted by Sajda Qureshi, an associate professor in UNO's College of Information Science and Technology, the project has benefited a variety of "microenterprises" in north Omaha. Among the different types of businesses helped: a delicatessen, tutoring services, a massage therapist, a cake decorator, a pet groomer, a modeling agency and a house for inmates re-entering society.

Critical Impairments To Globalizing The Western Human Rights Discourse, Nikitah O. Imani

Black Studies Faculty Publications

This article focuses on the philosophical implications of Euro-centrism and Eurocentric discourse for the Western human rights narrative. It is argued that there is insufficient theoretical and practical consideration of those implications, particular for advocacy and activity in the so-called “Third World” where such arguments frequently become mere vehicles for the advance of economic and political neocolonialism. In many ways, colonialism with a humanistic, liberal democratic “face”. Finally, a proposition is advanced that if the Western human rights discourse is to be effectively corrected and evolve into a global one, critiques of Euro-centrism from outside the Western discursive world must …

Convocation Address: "Uno 100: Central To Our City, Fulfilling The Promise", Uno Office Of The Chancellor

Chancellor’s Speeches

Good morning, welcome to you all. Many thanks to Sally Ganem and all of our Centennial Hosts, our congressional delegation, Mayor Fahey, Regent Schroeder and members of the Board of Regents, President Milliken, International guests and all of our colleagues from throughout the University of Nebraska system for joining us on this very special day.

One year ago tomorrow, during my installation ceremony, a quote from the Danish philosopher Soren Kirkegaard provided a context for my remarks when he wrote, "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forward."

Strategies For Becoming A Nation Of Service, Servicenation

School K-12

Strategies for Becoming a Nation of Service represents a vision, endorsed by more than 110 ServiceNation coalition members, to unleash the energy of citizens on our most pressing social challenges by strengthening and increasing community and national service opportunities. This policy agenda proposes meaningful opportunities for service at every key life stage, and for every socioeconomic group, from kindergarten through the post-retirement years. These proposals will help instill a culture of service at an early age and provide opportunities for Americans to continue serving throughout their lifetimes. The policy proposals aim to make service a defining ethic of what it …

101 Ideas For Combining Service & Learning, Florida International University

Service Learning, General

Opportunities within the following areas are discussed: anthropology, accounting, art, biology, business, liberal studies, computers, education, English, environment, history, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology,

Toward An Ideal Relational Ethic: Re-Thinking University-Community Engagement, Steve Garlick, Victoria J. Palmer

Service Learning, General

This article argues for the importance of developing a relational ethic to guide university-community engagement practices and processes. Our objective is to demonstrate that ethical 'engagement bridges' can be formed to link higher education institutions (HEis), human capital at the community level, and the important global questions of our day that resonate with regional communities. Taking centre place in this triad is the notion of being-for, an ideal form of togetherness put forward by Zygmunt Bauman (1995) in his early work on globalisation and post-modernity. Being-for is presented in this article as a moral aspiration that, if embraced, can tie …

Spirit Of Giving Teacher Resource Guide, Volunteer Center Orange County

Curriculum

Spirit of Giving is a non-denominational, multi-faceted Service-Learning experience that will provide your 1st and 2nd year students with the unique opportunity of "feeling the joy and elation of receiving" that translates into the spirit of volunteerism and giving back to others. This project will enhance and support academic curriculum.

Just Forms, Brevard Community College

Curriculum

This document includes: Assessment, Community Partner Forms, Credit Hour, Employee Service Project (ESP), Faculty, Marketing, Recognition, Student, and Assessment.

Doing What We Know We Should: Engaged Scholarship And Community Development, Bruce Muirhead, Geoff Woolcock

Partnerships/Community

Community Engagement has become a familiar term in the Australian higher education lexicon in recent years. Professor Sir David Watson (2007, p. 1) from the University of London claims that now 'hardly any university, anywhere in the world, would dare not to have a civic engagement mission. The question is: how real, and how effective are these?'. A vital strategy to building and sustaining democracy lies in the unique constellation of intellectual, social and financial capital existing within the modern university. The key lies in the expertise embodied within the university, the socialisation role of mass higher education and the …

Community-University Partnerships: Achieving Continuity In The Face Of Change, Linda Silka, Robert Forrant, Brenda Bond, Patricia Coffey, Robin Toof, Dan Toomey, David Turcotte, Cheryl West

Partnerships/Community

A challenge most community-university partnerships will face after having established themselves is how to maintain continuity in the face of change. The problems besetting communities continually shift as new issues bubble up. Similarly, the goals of the university partners often fluctuate. And the partners themselves shift: people working in non-government organizations often move in and out of positions and university partners may change with tenure or shifts in university priorities. In light of all of this flux, can stable community-university partnerships be built and, if so, how?

University-Community Engagement: What Does It Mean?, Jenny Onyx

Partnerships/Community

I want to reflect on the nature of Community-University engagement, its role, challenges and achievements. In this I start with 'engagement' and what that might mean in the context of a university-based research centre. There are, of course, many forms of engagement, but I wish to focus specifically on engagement as coproduction of knowledge. In this, our partner in the co-production of knowledge is the community, or rather civil society. I re-examine the nature of community, and the role of civil society in today's society. The article then outlines one significant research programme that emerged from the work of a …

Service Statistics 2008: Highlights And Trends From Campus Compact’S Annual Membership Survey, Campus Compact

Higher Education

The following pages summarize the findings of Campus Compact’s survey of member colleges and universities. This survey is conducted each year to gauge various measures of campus-community engagement and to assess current trends. Of the 1,190 Campus Compact members in 2008, 627 responded to the survey, a response rate of 53%.

An Assessment Of Cross-National Variation In Rates Of Incarceration, Ryan E. Spohn, Travis Linnemann

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Our theoretical approach compares the relative efficacy of multiple theories of law and social control. From a general social threat perspective, we find that variables reflecting the size of the unemployed youth population and general measures of income inequality have positive impacts on a nation's rates of incarceration. We also find partial support for one of Durkheim's laws of quantitative change and penal evolution, in that, all else equal, nations with a more authoritarian form of government utilize incarceration at a higher rate than their more democratic counterparts. We also find that the institutional anomie perspective, which has previously been …

Rural Superintendents: How Do Wyoming Rural Superintendents View And Respond To The Challenges Brought About By External Demands On Their Schools?, Jeanne L. Surface

Faculty Books and Monographs

Very little is known about how superintendents respond to and view the challenges brought about by increasing external performance demands on their schools. This important study uses a multi-case study format to create portraits of five rural superintendents, the challenges they face, and their responses to those challenges. The participant perceptions were organized into five themes: declining enrollment, isolation, board and community relations, celebrated accomplishments, and rural schools in contrast with urban or suburban schools. The superintendents were most proud of changes they had made to improve instruction in their districts. They spoke of challenges with bringing professional development to …

Is There Such A Thing As “Defended Community Homicide”?: The Necessity Of Methods Triangulation, Elizabeth Griffiths, Robert D. Baller, Ryan E. Spohn, Rosemary Gartner

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Data on homicides in Buffalo, New York, are analyzed to demonstrate the importance of “methods triangulation” for assessing the validity of quantitative measures. Defended community homicides are quantitatively operationalized as acts that occur in the offender’s community against a nonlocal victim. Poisson models provide strong support for the existence of defended community homicide, which is significantly more common in residentially stable and racially homogenous neighborhoods. However, subsequent qualitative analyses of the victim and offender characteristics and motives of these homicides undermine the “defended community” concept. Qualitative analyses are necessary to assess the validity of quantitative measures in criminological research.

Investigating Racial Disparity At The Detention Decision: The Role Of Respectability, Don L. Kurtz, Travis Linnemann, Ryan E. Spohn

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

A concern over inequity and the existence of racial disparity of youth served by the juvenile justice system has long been a topic of considerable interest among scholars, policymakers, and court offi cials. Numerous empirical studies undertaken by academics and various public and private organizations have attempted to shed some light on this phenomenon. Research fi ndings on disproportionate minority contact have hardly been uniform, leaving much of this practice unexplained. This study uses data obtained at the detention decision point over a three-year period examining variance in juvenile case processing related to race. Findings suggest that extra-legal factors influencing …