Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

“Cry Harder!”: How Parents Traffic Their Children Through Forced Child Begging And Child Labor, Abigail K. Bellocchio

Sociology and Criminology Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines the complex intersection of socioeconomic and cultural factors influencing forced child begging, a form of human trafficking, across different global regions. Through comprehensive literature analysis and examination of data from the Global K-anonymized Dataset from Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative (2021), this research reveals a critical gap in human trafficking discourse: the absence of a unified definition and understanding of forced child begging. Despite affecting millions of children worldwide, forced child begging remains fragmented in academic literature, scattered across disciplines including child welfare, anthropology, and media studies rather than being centrally addressed in anti-trafficking frameworks. The research identifies that …

Examining The Motivational Circumstances Of Bias-Motivated Violence And The Likelihood Of Fatal Outcomes, Kathleen R. Sucher

Sociology and Criminology Undergraduate Honors Theses

Bias-motivated violence has emerged as an increasingly urgent social problem in the United States, with recent years witnessing significant rises in hate crimes against multiple marginalized groups. Although prior research has recognized that bias crimes are not motivated by a single factor, gaps remain in understanding how motivational circumstances relate to fatal outcomes and how situational factors differ between types of bias attacks. Using descriptive and bivariate analyses of cases from the Bias Homicide Database (2015-2022), this study examines the relationship between motivation, fatal outcomes, and incident characteristics in bias-motivated murders and attempted murders. Findings show that while predatory motivations …

Does The Private Prison Industry Perpetrate More Staff Sexual Misconduct Than In Federal Prisons?, Abigail Lutrick

Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper compares the reported statistics of staff-on-inmate sexual misconduct allegations in privately and federally operated correctional facilities. The federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) was first created with the goal of protecting public safety and promoting rehabilitation for criminal offenders humanely. As decades have passed, and the support for the validity of this mission has wavered, the federal government has implemented oversight and remedial programs to report on the misconduct that is evident in prison management in an attempt to curb these incidents. Previous research in this field highlights the waning reliability of institutional indicators to the success of correctional …

Deepfakes On Trial: Developing A High-Accuracy, Court-Admissible Ai Pipeline For Deepfake Detection In Corporate Fraud Litigation, Aiden J. Green

Honors College Theses

As deepfake technology advances, cybercriminals are increasingly using AI-generated videos and audios to impersonate executives and carry out sophisticated CEO fraud schemes. These synthetic forgeries target human trust and corporate communication systems, creating an urgent need for forensic tools capable of authenticating digital evidence with legal accuracy. This thesis presents a forensic-grade AI deepfake detection pipeline designed for this purpose, emphasizing courtroom admissibility, reproducibility, and evidentiary integrity. Built entirely with free, opensource tools, the framework combines metadata analysis, AI-powered spectrogram analysis, neural artifact detection, and facial manipulation recognition into a transparent workflow that accurately identifies synthetic media. It was trained …

Recognizing Injustice, Reclaiming Voices: Establishing A Missing Persons Database For Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women And Children In Nebraska, Bayly W. Watson

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Indigenous people have been the victims of harsh persecution since the time of colonization; this has negatively impacted Native communities and has contributed significantly to the ongoing crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Children (MMIWC) across the United States and Canada. Under Legislative Bill 154, Richards et al. (2021) conducted an initial study to identify missing Native cases in Nebraska and in 2023, the Attorney General appointed a Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) Liaison to help combat the number of missing Indigenous in the state. This thesis contributes to previous research by analyzing 20,049 reports from three …

Heat Induced Diagenesis And Osteometrics: An Experimental Approach To Assessing Thermal Alterations To Forensic Anthropological Data On Dry Bone, Audrey Holbeck

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Fire appears in forensic casework in instances of arson, vehicle fire, house fire, to conceal evidence, or, in increasing contemporary frequency, wildfire, as a result of climate change. Thermal alteration is a destructive process to osseous material and can impact the accuracy of identification methods and trauma analysis by alteration of the structure, appearance, and morphology of human remains. This study seeks to validate previous research on the metric and morphological changes bone undergoes when exposed to extreme heat, and how that may impede estimation of metric features such as stature. Three long bones, a humerus, femur, and tibia, from …

Comparative Analysis Of Gunshot Trauma And Decomposition In Southeast Nebraska, Alexandra C. Tieken

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Accurately identifying gunshot trauma (GST) in forensic anthropology remains a significant challenge, particularly in distinguishing the effects it has on decomposition. This study investigates how different types of gunshot trauma influence the rate and characteristics of decomposition in a humid continental climate, specifically southeastern Nebraska. Utilizing Sus scrofa domesticus (domestic pigs) as human proxies, four pigs were euthanized by professionals and subjected to controlled conditions at the Reller Prairie Field Station. Three pigs were inflicted postmortem with close-range gunshot trauma using a 9mm handgun, a 12-gauge shotgun, and an AR-15 rifle, while a fourth served as a trauma-free control. For …

Wildfire And Decomposition: A Taphonomic Analysis Of Thermal Alterations And Decomposition, Ashley Novak

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Within the field of forensic anthropology, practitioners may be faced with remains that have been thermally altered by thermal alterations caused by wildfire. Within the field, very little research has been conducted examining how these thermal events impact rates of decomposition. While research has been conducted generally on the effects of thermal alteration on decomposition, these studies do not look through this lens and provide answers to the question of how do thermal alterations caused by wildfires affect rates of decomposition? This research examines the effects of thermal alteration caused by wildfire on the rate of decomposition. A decompositional study …

Firearm Trauma Across Time: Investigating Civil War Gunshot Trauma And Their Impact On Modern Forensic Analysis, Morgan K. Reeder

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

This thesis will examine the ballistic trauma caused by Civil War-era firearms and ammunition. These weapons, each with distinct characteristics, had a profound impact on the nature of combat and the resulting injuries. By investigating how these firearms’ ammunition interacted with human bone structure, this research will offer a detailed analysis of the trauma these weapons produced.

This research intends to answer several key research questions. First, how did the different types of Civil War firearms affect skeletal remains? Second, what are the key characteristics of gunshot trauma caused by these firearms in terms of bone fracturing and fragmentation, and …

Trends In Dna Aanalysis To Determine Postmortem Interval: A Systematic Lilterature Review, Victoria S. Kashkin

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Forensic taphonomy is a recently popular field within forensic anthropology with limited research in the Central Great Plains. Given decomposition varies by region, more studies must be done to understand aspects of decomposition in this region. However, it is one of the most important subfields of forensic anthropology since determining postmortem interval (PMI) is extremely important to successfully identifying a missing individual if other indications of who the individual is are nonexistent. In this study, a systematic literature review was conducted to answer what trends are seen in research being done for using DNA to determine PMI, and what methods …

Testing Revenge Pornography Using The General Strain Theory And Online Disinhibition Effect, Jesus Manuel Guardado Hernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The current study tests whether perceptions of general strain and online disinhibition effect could explain the intent to commit Revenge Pornography (RP). The data was collected using an online survey that was launched on a research platform called "Connect Cloud Research." After gathering the data, bivariate correlation and multiple regression analysis were necessary to establish the relationship and causality. Results were mixed, showing that there is a positive correlation with general strain and online disinhibition effect factors with the intent to commit RP, while multiple regression indicated that the independent variables did not predict the intent to commit RP. Unexpectedly, …

Extralegal Factors Influencing Judicial Perceptions Of Defendants With Mental Illness, Hailey Erdbruegger

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The United States has one of the highest prison populations in the world. This means millions of individuals are either incarcerated or under other forms of supervision by the criminal justice system at any one given time. All those millions of individuals had to move through the U.S. criminal courts and thus engage with multiple forms of courtroom participants along the way. Of those millions coming through the system, many have either been diagnosed with a mental illness, or have self-reported having a mental illness. This makes the personal beliefs, stigmas, and biases of the previously mentioned courtroom participants regarding …

The Reentry Experience Of Returning Citizens From Prison, Christina M. Kadelski

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In 2022, over 1.2 million individuals were housed in federal or state prisons in the U.S., in addition to over 514,000 individuals housed in local jails at mid-year (Bureau of Justice, 2024). As released individuals return to their communities, they face the daunting task of re-integration into the community. The purpose of this study was to identify how returning citizens experience reentry to their communities upon release from prison, their perceptions about their reentry experience, and to learn about their unique responses to the reentry process. This study aimed to explore the experience of these individuals to better understand counseling …

Juror Decision-Making In Context, Kassandra Jovellanos

Criminal Justice

The United States criminal justice system was designed to be one of fairness, where everyone is equal in the eyes of the law. However, that does not seem to be case, and one instance of this is how a defendant’s gender identity influences juror decision. Much literature exists on juror reaction to the cisgender binary, yet there is a gap in research on how juries react to transgender defendants and how pretrial media exposure interacts with this effect. This study aims to answer this question, as well as look into the interaction of pretrial publicity on juror decision when still …

Deep-Fake Revenge Porn: The Intersection Of Artificial Intelligence And Revenge Porn For A Modern Attack On Women, Eva C. Hunt

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This study aims to provide a legal analysis grounded in gender legal theory to critique current legislation enacted in the United States. It focuses on the societal and gendered impacts of revenge porn, particularly examining how victimization differs across genders. The legal analysis explores state-by-state legislation addressing revenge porn, assessing the severity of criminal penalties and the timeline of enactment. For current contextual reasons, the study evaluates how emerging Deepfake artificial intelligence technologies intersect with and complicate existing revenge porn laws. Finally, it analyzes the extent to which each state has incorporated Deepfake AI considerations into its legal framework.

Soft Substance Usage And Productivity In The Patrol Officer Population, Patrick Brady

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Consumable substances have long been used to enhance performance and ease nerves in first-responder populations. Among these substances, caffeine and nicotine products are some of the most frequently used by law enforcement. For the purposes of this study, these substances will be coded as “soft substances” (SSs). As opposed to hard substances (heroin, methamphetamines, crack-cocaine, etc.) SSs are non-criminalized substances that do not significantly change one’s state of consciousness; these substances are also commonly used during the workday (e.g. nicotine used on smoke breaks, caffeinated drinks consumed during the day). Usage rates of SSs in the law enforcement population surpass …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Intersection Between Sex Trafficking And Domestic Violence: A Cross-Cultural Study Of The United States And India, Rachel A. Napier

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Domestic violence survivors are affected by long-term trauma from abuse, which can lead to them being more vulnerable and susceptible to sex trafficking tactics. Sex trafficking survivors are also at risk of becoming involved in an abusive relationship because they may have been previously exposed or due to a normalization of abuse. Both domestic violence and sex trafficking are prevalent issues within the world that continue to be ongoing due to their hidden nature. This study highlights the connections between domestic violence and sex trafficking and how each can be portrayed differently based on the environment and cultural norms within …

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story: A Comparative Analysis Of The Representations Of American Serial Killers In News And True Crime Media, Jenelle Walters

Honors Theses

Serial killers are a subject that have fascinated individuals for centuries in both news and entertainment media. Although research has been done on the representations of serial killers in news media, little research has attempted to connect the representations seen in the news media to those seen in true crime entertainment media. Through the use of four case studies, a comparative analysis was done to compare the framing seen in the original news articles, both local and national, to the framing seen in the later true crime films, documentaries, and series. Although the framing originally seen in the news media …

Job Satisfaction Levels In The Correctional Field Based On Gender, Minal Chughtai

Honors College Theses

The overall purpose of this study was to research and understand the different levels of job satisfaction when it comes to female and male correctional officers and determine if female officers have greater levels of job satisfaction than their male counterparts. This study is a systematic review of different research articles that analyze correctional officers’ job satisfaction levels. This information will then be synthesized into one cohesive paper. The results will display the various factors that contribute to job satisfaction levels of correctional officers, such as gender perception, job burnout and stress, and other workplace variables. The overall findings of …

The Sexual Assault Survivor Experience Of Medical Forensic Examinations, Brielle Simonsen

Honors Theses

Following a sexual assault, survivors may seek medical forensic examinations (MFEs) at hospitals. MFEs can be important in identifying and prosecuting the assailant and in receiving necessary physical and psychological care, yet many survivors choose not to undergo the examination. In this qualitative study, I explored survivor experiences of MFEs at United States hospitals to identify possible areas for improvement of the MFE experience. Understanding these experiences is essential to reducing barriers to care, minimizing further harm, and supporting survivor recovery.

Investigating Exoneration Patterns Among Juveniles, Kristin Mahan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Exoneration from crime has been studied among adults, but exoneration of juveniles (i.e., persons under age 18) has not been analyzed as a separate entity, despite distinct legal systems and developmental considerations. Wrongful conviction, while not always indicative of innocence, devastates lives of convicted individuals and their families, while increasing public mistrust and sometimes failing to convict truly guilty individuals. This devastation, as well as vulnerability to wrongful conviction, is significantly increased for youth who miss out on crucial developmental years, milestones, and opportunities.

In the current study, I examined differing and intersecting contributors (i.e., individual characteristics, crime characteristics, legal …

Influence Of Biotic And Abiotic Factors On Decomposition And The Determination Of Time Since Death: Applications Of Forensic Entomology And Taphonomy, John Oladapo Obafunwa

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

The determination of the postmortem interval (PMI) is essential for the investigation and successful prosecution of suspected cases of homicide. While the forensic pathologist might be able to draw fairly accurate conclusions during the initial 24–36 hours, beyond this period, the assistance of other experts like forensic entomologists and taphonomists would be required. The present study was designed to observe the postmortem changes in Sus scrofa placed in a cage in Nebraska, located in the American Central Great Plains. The setting is in an open grassland in late spring to early summer. The observed variables with respect to biotic and …

Maggot Mass Effect On The Development And Survival Of Forensic Blow Flies, Akomavo Fabrice Gbenonsi

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Forensic entomology scientists use blow flies' developing patterns to estimate the postmortem interval (PMI). However, larval aggregations produce metabolic heat, resulting in complex microclimates that may change growth timetables. This study investigates how larval density and associated temperature changes affect the development and survival of two forensically essential blow fly species, Lucilia sericata and Calliphora vicina.

This study examined how larval density and associated thermal profiles affect the development of both blow fly species. Using a split-plot design, we tested four larval densities at 25°C and 30°C, with temperature gradients measured via thermocouple at four mass positions three times …

Saving Lives: Changing Perceptions Of Naloxone Distribution For Opioid Overdoses, Ryan Turner

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated the impact and community perceptions of Narcan® (naloxone) distribution in El Paso County, Texas, as a harm reduction strategy amid the ongoing opioid epidemic. Drawing from a mixed-methods approach, the research surveyed 368 participants comprised of opioid users, family members, first responders, and community members who engaged in Narcan® training facilitated by two nonprofit organizations. The study explored four main questions: perceptions of Narcan® among different community stakeholders, patterns of Narcan® administration, whether the availability of Narcan encouraged drug use, and its effectiveness in reducing overdose deaths. Findings revealed widespread support for Narcan® distribution, although some community …

"Alone I Can't, But Together We Can": A Photovoice Study To Explore Insights Of Assisted Outpatient Treatment (Aot) From Providers Working With Individuals With Serious Mental Illness (Smi)., Monica G. Urquieta

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) is a court-ordered mental health treatment program for individuals with SMI (bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and schizophrenia) who have a history of noncompliance with treatment and are at risk of deteriorating or causing harm to themselves or others. This dissertation examined the perceptions and experiences of thirteen providers (lawyers, judges, case managers, psychiatrists, housing navigators, treatment guardians, nurse practitioners, therapists and peer support specialists with lived experience) on the AOT program for clients with SMI; and the environments that shape these perceptions, taking into account a system and community-based approach focusing on how the unique …

Book Review: Midnight Cry: A Shooting On Sand Mountain, Ann Fuller

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Bullet Ricochet And Tunnelling Of Wood Substrates, Abdelrahman Khalifa

Student Theses

With the overall rise in shooting incidents throughout the country, most notably in urban areas, the capabilities and limitations of current forensic examinations of firearms-related incidents have become more apparent. An underappreciated aspect of shooting incidents is the phenomenon of bullet ricochet, which has led to ricochet-related injuries, with some cases proving fatal. Although there are processes and generally accepted standards for bullet trajectory analysis, ricochet analysis typically requires outside input from firearm examiners. Additionally, current research regarding ricochet on wood surfaces remains less thoroughly investigated than ricochet analysis on other yielding surfaces. The goal of this research was to …

Transfer Of Material Derived From Polymer-Jacketed Bullets During Cycling And Discharge, Ethan A. Frazer

Student Theses

The goal of this study was to determine alternative ways to connect a polymer-coated bullet to the handgun from which it was fired. Polymer-coated bullets are lead projectiles encased in a synthetic coating, which may vary between brands and/or models, to reduce barrel friction and heavy metal exposure. Federal Syntech^® Total Synthetic Jacket (TSJ) ammunition presents unique challenges to firearms examiners as its synthetic coating may not retain the individualizing striations found in traditional unjacketed or metal-jacketed bullets.

In this study, 9mm TSJ ammunition was fired through multiple traditionally rifled aftermarket Glock barrels. Cloth targets were set up at …

How Alternative Sentencing Methods Can Reduce Recidivism And Incarceration Rates For Drug Offenders In Wisconsin, Mitchell D. Fugate

Master of Public Administration Capstone Papers

The criminal justice system in the U.S. has typically been focused more on punishment in the past, but in recent times has shifted more towards implementing rehabilitative measures as a means to reduce the recidivism rate, and thus decrease the overall incarceration rates for the U.S.. An area that is especially different is drug offenses, as many of those that are arrested are addicted, and punishment does not address that addiction directly. By using alternative sentencing as a means of rehabilitation for drug offenses, the criminal justice system can work to address the issues at the root causes as well …

The Multigenerational Impact Of Mass Incarceration On Families In Southern California, Adelle G. Phillips

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Mass incarceration has been a serious social issue in the United States, affecting directly and indirectly millions of individuals and families, particularly those with minority backgrounds. The generational impact of this social issue is significant. This study aimed to explore the perspectives of individuals on the multigenerational impact of mass incarceration on their families. Using convenience and snowball sampling techniques, this mixed-methods study surveyed residents of Southern California who have been affected by incarceration, either personally or through a family member (n = 63). Descriptive statistics demonstrate that the vast majority of the participants (92.1%) reported a moderate to very …