Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Forensic Analysis Of Skin-Safe Stamp Pad Inks, Swetha Rajagopal

Student Theses

Skin-safe stamp pad inks are currently being used at locations such as clubs, zoos and other events with the purpose of stamping individuals that visit the location. This is done in an attempt to monitor the number and activity of visitors. Ink manufacturing companies generally tend to experiment with a number of different combinations of the different components of ink, in order to obtain desirable properties. The combinations are usually proprietary and that very nature of the inks ends up making them, possibly unique and individual. The analysis, identification and possible individualization of the chemical composition of these inks could …

Female Genital Mutilation In The United States: Estimating The Number Of Girls At Risk, Phyllis Chesler

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Female genital mutilation (FGM) destroys the capacity of women to experience sexual pleasure. It causes serious medical complications such as bleeding, painful urination, cysts, dangerous and recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections, the growth of scar tissue that make marital intercourse a nightmare and that turns childbirth into an experience of danger and torture. Due to immigration, FGM now poses a potential health crisis in the West, both in Europe and in the United States. To estimate how many girls who live in the West are at risk, one can measure the prevalence of FGM in the non-Western countries where …

Shootings, Strain, And Safety On A College Campus: An Analysis Of Perceptions Of Safety And Concealed Carry, Amanda S. Bishop

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

School and campus shootings are a contemporary problem in the United States. Because of these shootings, colleges have enacted new policies to ensure safety on their campuses, including concealed carry on campus. The State of Tennessee has a unique law in place that allows colleges to create their own policies regarding concealed carry on campus, with the stipulation that only full-time faculty and staff can carry concealed weapons. East Tennessee State University is one campus with this policy. East Tennessee State University students, faculty, and staff were questioned via email survey about their perceptions of safety on campus and opinions …

Detection Of Larval Aggregations Using A Drone Mounted Thermal Imaging Camera, Megan Descalzi

Master's Theses

When a body’s temperature reaches ambient temperature after death, remote detection of the body can become difficult. At this point, useful search tactics include the use of cadaver dogs, search parties and aerial imaging devices, all of which can be costly and time-consuming for every day law enforcement use. This study investigated the potential of a novel search technique in which a small, unmanned aerial system (drone) mounted with a forward-looking infrared radar (FLIR) was utilized to detect decomposing animal carcasses via the heat generated by associated Diptera larval aggregations. Hot water baths were utilized as analogs for larval aggregations …

Mapping Sex Offenders And Treatment Centers In Relation To Social Disorganization, Amber Amin

Master's Theses

Research shows that the clustering of Registered Sex Offenders (RSOs) is connected to social disorganization. Residential patterns disrupt the reintegration of the RSO population. Utilizing data from Queens and the Bronx, NYC, this study examines RSO clustering in the two boroughs and explores the proximity of community resources to RSO addresses that may assist reintegration. Using data from the New York Megan’s Law and census data for Queens and Bronx Counties, maps were created to study the residential patterns of RSOs. The results show clustering of RSOs in areas with variables pertaining to high social disorganization and a lack of …

The Power Of Prosecutors, Jeffrey Bellin

Faculty Publications

One of the predominant themes in the criminal justice literature is that prosecutors dominate the justice system. Over seventy-five years ago, Attorney General Robert Jackson famously proclaimed that the “prosecutor has more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America.” In one of the most cited law review articles of all time, Bill Stuntz added that prosecutors—not legislators, judges, or police—“are the criminal justice system’s real lawmakers.” And an unchallenged modern consensus holds that prosecutors “rule the criminal justice system.”

This Article applies a critical lens to longstanding claims of prosecutorial preeminence. It reveals a curious …

Perceptions Of Soring In Tennessee Walking Horses, Hannah Medford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of soring in the Tennessee Walking Horse industry. Although a limited amount of research has focused on the practice, this is the first known study to utilize a criminological lens to better understand the perceptions and motivations of its use. The study relies upon data collected from Tennessee Walking Horse trainers, event attendees, and Designated Qualified Persons (DQPs), which are analyzed via a mixed-methods approach. Agnew’s (1998) theory on the causes of animal abuse serves as the theoretical framework for this analysis. Results provide a moderate amount of support for …

Analysis Of Spheno-Occipital Synchondrosis (Sos) Fusion In A Contemporary Southern Nevada Subadult Hispanic Population Using Archival Cone-Beam Computerized Tomography (Cbct) Images, Megan Baker

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study employs the three-dimensional visualization capability of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) to investigate the relationship between chronological age and timing of fusion of the spheno-occipital synchondrosis in a male/female subadult Hispanic population of Southern Nevada. The sample includes cross-sectional data of 374 orthodontic patients (166 males and 208 females) aged 8-20 years. The SOS is scored by a four-stage scoring system as completely open (stage 0), less than half fused (stage 1), more than half fused (stage 2), or completely fused (stage 3) as visualized in the midsagittal plane in the CBCT image. The relationship between SOS fusion stage …

Police Use Of Force And Officer Injury: A Closer Examination Of The Impact Of Taser Deployment And Contextual Factors, Jason Kuzik

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Using secondary data from the Henderson Police Department (NV), a study was conducted to explore the contextual relationships of officers, subjects and situational characteristics related to use of force encounters. A series of research questions examine the combinations of contextual factors (i.e., officer demographics, subject demographics, and event-specific characteristics) that are associated with different types of police use of force (e.g., Taser, non-Taser), officer injuries and subject injuries. Univariate analysis, Bivariate analysis and Conjunctive Analysis of Case Configurations examine the data and identify contextual profiles associated with police use of force. The analysis shows that there is variation in the …

Dental Age Estimation Of A Southern Nevada Hispanic Non-Adult Population Employing The London Atlas To Evaluate Archival Orthodontic Cone Beam Computed Tomography (Cbct) Images, Haley Buchanan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Age estimation is of societal importance for legal, forensic, and clinical reasons. The London Atlas of Human Tooth Development and Eruption, hereafter referred to as the London Atlas, was introduced as an improved method for determining dental age estimation. The London Atlas was developed from panoramic images of 528 living British Caucasian and Bangladeshi males and females aged 2 to 24 years and panoramic images of 176 archival human skeletal remains, aged 32 in utero to 2 years old, from two specimen collections (AlQahtani, Hector, & Liversidge, 2010). Further investigation is warranted to determine validity of the atlas’s use in …

The Relationship Between Aggression And Depression: Testing The Moderating Effects Of Age And Gender, Benjamin P. Comer

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to a) explore the research related to aggression and depression and b) test hypotheses that focus on the relationship between aggression and depression in relation to age and gender over time. Aggression and depression are discussed extensively by examining a broad range of literature that points to environmental, social, individual, psychological, and biophysiological influences. First, aggression and depression are discussed separately in terms of their underlying theory, biosocial perspectives, typologies, behavioral and personality abnormalities, brain structures related to each, and neurochemical/neurological influences. The final sections of the literature review discuss how aggression and depression …

Legal Consciousness Reconsidered, Lynette J. Chua, David M. Engel

Journal Articles

Legal consciousness is a vibrant research field attracting growing numbers of scholars worldwide. Yet differing assumptions about aims and methods have generated vigorous debate, typically resulting from a failure to recognize that three different clusters of scholars—identified here as the Identity, Hegemony, and Mobilization schools—are pursuing different goals and deploying the concept of legal consciousness in different ways. Scholarship associated with these three schools demonstrates that legal consciousness is actually a flexible paradigm with multiple applications rather than a monolithic approach.Furthermore, a new generation of scholars has energized the field in recent years, focusing on marginalized peoples and non-Western settings. …

Oral Argument Tactics On The Supreme Court Bench: A Comparative Analysis Of Verbal Tools Used By Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, And Gorsuch, Corinne Cichowicz

Politics Honors Papers

Oral argument scholars like Adam Feldman have categorized the Supreme Court justices’ behavior during oral argument using the approach-based method, labeling each as one-sided, even-handed, or restrained. This approach is too narrowly constructed. Scholars sometimes categorize justices in terms of the tools they use, which include questions, hypotheticals, declarations, interruptions, tone of voice, and silence (Feldman 2018a). Neither of these methods alone produce a nuanced analysis of each justice’s actions during an individual case or across a Term. As the Court’s composition and dynamics are continuously changing, scholarship on oral argument needs to adapt to …

Exploring The Women’S Needs And Risks Assessment (Wrna) In The Czech Republic, Tereza Trejbalova, Emily J. Salisbury

Graduate Research Symposium (2018 - present)

The focus of practitioners and academics alike has been shifting towards gender-responsive treatment of justice-involved women. One instrument that accounts for the realities of justice-involved women is the Women’s Needs and Risks Assessment (WRNA). In order to inquire about its validity outside the US, this tool was piloted in the Czech Republic in 2016 with 148 women prisoners. The study examined whether the WRNA is valid in the Czech Republic, and how well it predicts the disciplinary infractions of incarcerated women with different cultural backgrounds. Results suggest external validity of the WRNA as several of the gender-neutral (e.g., antisocial friends) …

Femicide In The News: How Newspaper Articles Represent The Killing Of Women & Girls In Detroit And Ciudad Juárez, Danielle Branch

Honors Theses

In the year 2017 alone, 87,000 women were intentionally murdered across the globe, while 58% of these victims were murdered by someone they knew — family members or intimate partners (Global Study on Homicide: Gender-Related Killing of Women and Girls, 2018). The intentional killing of women and girls, typically by men and motivated by gender, is classified as a crime called “femicide.” Broader definitions of femicide simply state that it is the murder of women and girls, by someone of any gender, regardless of their motive. In some regions of the world, this phenomenon is more prevalent than in others. …

Fans Gone Wild: An Interdisciplinary Review Of Spectator Violence, Ryan Radmall

Graduate Research Symposium (2018 - present)

Spectator violence refers to physical violence that occurs at special events within entertainment venues. This phenomenon can be problematic for event attendees, promoters, and security at these events.

Stories Matter: Reaffirming The Value Of Qualitative Research, Samantha Mcaleese, Jennifer M. Kilty

The Qualitative Report

While the social sciences are experiencing narrative and emotional turns that are largely based on exploratory and theoretical qualitative research, the problematic dismissal of qualitative research approaches continues to loom large outside academia. Frequently described as a collection of “anecdotal stories,” qualitative research is dismissed as unscientific and unreliable— comments that limit the perceived usefulness of qualitative findings, especially in terms of policy reform. This article problematizes evaluating qualitative research according to quantitative measures of rigour and explores the richness and value of documenting experiential stories and the process of storying in social science research. Notably, we take up the …

Recovery After Genocide: Understanding The Dimensions Of Recovery Capital Among Incarcerated Genocide Perpetrators In Rwanda, Kevin Barnes-Ceeney, Lior Gideon, Laurie Leitch, Kento Yasuhara

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Utilizing survey data from 302 men and women incarcerated in the Rwandan correctional system for the crime of genocide, and structured interviews with 75 prisoners, this mixed methods study draws on the concept of recovery capital to understand how individuals convicted of genocide navigate post-genocide healing. Genocide smashes physical and human capital and perverts social and cultural capital. Experiencing high levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms with more than two-thirds of the sample scoring above typical civilian cut-off levels, raised levels of depression, and high levels of anxiety, and failing physical health, the genocide perpetrators require multiple sources of recovery capital …

Program And Proceedings: Nebraska Academy Of Sciences 1880–2019, 139th Anniversary Year, One Hundred-Twenty-Ninth Annual Meeting, April 12, 2019

Nebraska Academy of Sciences: Programs and Proceedings

Program

Aeronautics and Space Science

Collegiate Academy: Biology

Biological and Medical Sciences

Chemistry and Physics

Teaching and Learning the Dynamics of Cellular Respiration Using Interactive Computer Simulations Workshop

Life After College: Building Your Resume for the Future Workshop

Collegiate Academy: Chemistry and Physics

Aeronautics and Space Science, Poster Session

Maiben Memorial Lecture: David Swanson

Anthropology

Applied Science and Technology

Earth Science

Environmental Sciences

Teaching of Science and Math

Socioeconomic Influences On Property Crime Rates: A Study In Virginia's Counties, Mary Passley

Student Scholar Showcase

Most research on factors and causes of crime, whether property or violent crime, focuses on individuals’ behavior or their surrounding environment. In this research, I explore the idea of socioeconomic factors correlated to property crime. I conducted a retrospective design to fully explore United States Census data and crime data gathered by the Bureau of Justice Statistics to discover statistically significant variables connected to property crime. Significant findings were shown by average people per house and retail sales per capita in all counties. Additional significant findings were percent employment change and percent with high school degree or higher in low …

Copyright: A Powerful Tool To Protect, Preserve, And Promote Your Research, Paul Royster, Sue Ann Gardner

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Presentations

Copyright begins at “birth”

You can also register.

The holder of copyright controls the ability of others to distribute: reproductions, derivatives, translations, performance

Length of term = until you die + 70 years

Licensing and contracts

Permissions

Publisher contracts

Creative Commons licenses

Gold Open Access/APCs

Predatory journals

"Can I use this {image / quote / video clip / ...} in my {lecture / course materials / dissertation / ...}” ?

Public domain (= no copyright)

Educational use = Not Infringement

Plagiarism vs. infringement

Fair Use (1): Re-using copyrighted materials in your own work--legally

Fair use (2): The 4 Factors

Who …

Police Body-Worn Camera Perceptions Pre/Post Deployment, Aaron Veerman

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if officers’ perceptions of Body-Worn Cameras (BWCs) changed over the course of a six-month pilot program. Officers from a Midwest police department were surveyed prior to or shortly after receiving their BWCs (Pre-Test) and again approximately six months later (Post-Test). Once completed, independent samples t-tests, mean comparisons, and Pearson’s correlations were used to analyze the data. This study did not produce many significant differences in officers’ perceptions over the course of the study, according to t-test results. However, several significant differences were found after each shift was analyzed separately. Overall, less than …

No Soldier Left Behind: A Comprehensive Analysis Of Veterans’ Treatment Courts, Stephen Ramunno

Criminology Student Work

Veterans’ Treatment Courts (VTCs) focus on rehabilitation, rather than incarceration, to address underlying causes of criminal behavior among veterans. Some criminal behavior in this population arises from substance abuse, traumatic brain injury (TBI), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other mental health concerns (Justice for Vets, 2018). In order to determine the effectiveness of VTCs and the services provided, an in-depth and systematic analysis is crucial. In this research, a systematic approach was employed to analyze the current VTC process, participants selected, and recidivism rates among those who complete the sanctioned requirements. Following an adapted meta-analysis framework, evaluations of VTCs were …

Ted Bundy: The Development Of A Serial Murderer, Danielle Rakestraw, Brad Cameron

Posters

Who is Ted Bundy, and why did he commit the crimes that he did? This study was devised to assess the life of Ted Bundy, one of the most prolific murderers in the United States. This secondary research study was conduct­ed using interviews from Bundy, biopsychosocial analyses conducted of him post-arrest, testimonials from people who knew him, and research regarding serial killer typologies and motivations. This information has been com­plied in the form of a poster board presentation, complete with the researcher’s own biopsychosocial assessment of Bundy, an analysis of the motivations for his crimes, and a timeline of his …

Ua12/2/2 2019 Talisman: Paradise, Wku Student Life

WKU Administration Documents

2019 Talisman yearbook.

• Good, Hannah. Paradise
• Morgan, Chelsea. What’s Your Paradise – Caden Dosier, Kenny Ott, Renesha Griffin, Jade Grabeel
• Rzayeva, Manzar. Don’t Wake Me Up Yet
• Fletcher, Griffin. Meet the Parrot Heads – Jimmy Buffett
• McCormick, Dillon. The Birds & the Bees – Sex Education
• Mohr, Olivia. The Gods Aren’t Dead – Samantha Williams, Paganism
• Robb, Hayley. Beyond the Rep – John Huffman, Buddy House, CrossFit
• Frodge, Jordan. Darkness Has Enveloped Me
• Baumgarten, Alex. Make Room – Bedrooms
• Brett, Amelia. A Place to Grow – Baker Arboretum
• Gordon, Zora. Backyard Attractions – Lost River Cave, Flea Land, Historic Railpark …

Involuntary Vs. Voluntary Care: The Mental Health Debate, Margaret Deparde

Honors Program Contracts

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Knowledge On Attitudes Towards The Us Supreme Court, Harlee Havens

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Knowledge regarding the judicial branch of the federal government, including the Supreme Court, is lacking in comparison to the two other branches. The Supreme Court generally receives better approval ratings than the executive and legislative branches of government. It is this relationship that I examine through a survey that measures knowledge and feelings of all three branches of government to assess if having more knowledge of the judicial branch has an impact on one’s feelings towards it. By measuring the knowledge of my respondents through a questionnaire that asked about information regarding, and functions of the US Supreme Court, I …

Prisons In The United States: A Need For Reform And Educational Rehabilitation, Amanda Alcox

Social Justice Student Work

The American criminal justice system holds almost 2.3 million people in 1,719 state prisons, 102 federal prisons, 1,852 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,163 local jails, and 80 Indian Country jails as well as in military prisons, immigration detention facilities, civil commitment centers, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in the U.S. territories. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Ex-convicts express that transitioning back into society, as well as finding employers willing to hire former inmates, is a difficult task. In this capstone, we will look at prison reform from the 1800s-to-today, we will determine which roles retributive …

Connecting The Dots For Missing And Runaway Children, Tayla Moore

Criminology Student Work

With the general public’s help, the amount of time a youth is missing may lessen greatly. Bringing a youth home as soon as possible would decrease the chances of a youth encountering danger or traumatic events which could lead to emotional and mental struggles in their future. Moreover, focusing on America’s ability to rehabilitate youth who have run away and become subject to trauma is very important to creating safer communities; runaway or traumatized youth are at greater risk of chronic criminal involvement, so reducing this trauma may decrease mass incarceration and/or recidivism rates throughout the United States of America. …

Nebraska Transcript (University Of Nebraska College Of Law), Volume 52, Number 1, Spring 2019

Nebraska Transcript

1 Dean's Message

2 Faculty Notes

7 Law College-Political Science team awarded Inclusive Excellence Development Grant

8 Space Law Program takes students, staff on inaugural rural telecommunications tour

9 Community Legal Education Project teaches elementary students about law, Constitution

10 Law students organize Day of Civic Engagement

11 Gregory Moran, ’18, wins 2018 Employee Benefits Writing Competition

11 Nebraska Law's pro bono work earns national honors

12 Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Lohier visits as Cline Williams Jurist in Residence

13 Former US Solicitor General Donald Verrilli delivers Lane Lecture on the rule of law

14 Nebraska Law partners …