Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Reduction Of Observable Robbery And Larceny-Theft In The Twelve Largest Cities In The United States From 1980 To 2009, Andrew J. Costello

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The reduction in crime rates that occurred in large cities across the United States (US) over the course of the past two decades has been the subject of much speculation and research. However, there have been no definitive empirical studies that conclusively determine the causes for this phenomenon. The goal of this study is to identify the impact of certain factors to the reduction of crime in large US cities that occurred over the past two decades by examining data over a thirty-year period (1980-2009). The identification of contributing factors may allow government officials, both on a local and national …

Forensics Far More Than What’S Seen On Tv, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Towards Engaged Scholarship, John R. Nolon, Michelle Bryan Mudd, Michael Burger, Kim Diana Connolly, Nestor Davidson, Matthew Festa, Jill I. Gross, Lisa Heinzerling, Keith H. Hirokawa, Tim Iglesias, Patrick C. Mcginley, Sean Nolon, Uma Outka, Jessica Owley, Kalyani Robbins, Jonathan Rosenbloom, Christopher Serkin

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Structural Overdelegation In Criminal Procedure, Anthony O'Rourke

Journal Articles

In function, if not in form, criminal procedure is a type of delegation. It requires courts to select constitutional objectives, and to decide how much discretionary authority to allocate to law enforcement officials in order to implement those objectives. By recognizing this process for what it is, this Article identifies a previously unseen phenomenon that inheres in the structure of criminal procedure decision-making.

Criminal procedure’s decision-making structure, this Article argues, pressures the Supreme Court to delegate more discretionary authority to law enforcement officials than the Court’s constitutional objectives can justify. By definition, this systematic “overdelegation” does not result from the …

Indiana, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides an overview of key Civil War developments in Indiana and how this conflict impacted Indiana.

Assessing The Readability Of Capital Pattern Jury Instructions, Rachel Small, Judith Platania, Brian L. Cutler

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Data obtained from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (2003) indicate that 29% of adults have a Basic level of prose literacy. Prose literacy refers to the knowledge and skills needed to comprehend and use information from continuous texts, such as editorials, news stories, and instructional materials. In the current study we examined each state’s capital sentencing instructions for their readability using a highly reliable word-analysis tool. We found that reading levels of sentencing instructions significantly surpassed the reading comprehension abilities of American adults. All but three states’ instructions were above the twelfth grade reading level. In addition, legal principles …

Seeing Is Believing: The Csi Effect Among Jurors In Malicious Wounding Cases, Corey Call, Amy K. Cook, John D. Reitzel, Robyn D. Mcdougle

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

With the popularization of television crime shows that focus heavily on forensic science, such as CSI and its spin-offs, concerns about a new threat to jury trials have emerged in recent years. Dubbed the “CSI effect,” this phenomenon has reportedly come to influence the way jurors perceive forensic evidence at trials based on the way forensic evidence is presented on television. While the CSI effect has been the topic of much discussion throughout the popular press, the CSI effect has seldom been empirically tested. In this study, we present a selection of media accounts as well as criminological and …

Cutting The Bread, Frans G. Von Der Dunk

Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program: Faculty Publications

Why the draft Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Received Force against Outer Space Objects (PPWT) will not work—whereas the Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities may.

Distinguished Historical Geography Lecture: Carceral Space And The Usable Past, Karen M. Morin

Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of Attitudes Toward Sexualized Advertising In Las Vegas, Ashley Crisp, Alexis Kennedy

McNair Poster Presentations

This study explores the attitudes of college-level criminal justice students as to their perception of sexualized advertising in Las Vegas, and if these attitudes have any correlation with the participant’s length of residency. The study also correlates college-level student’s attitudes toward sexualized advertising and how religious they rate themselves. Female participants who lived in Las Vegas for 5 years or more on average agreed advertisements in Las Vegas are too sexualized. In contrast, female participants who were either born in Las Vegas or lived there less than 5 years neither agreed nor disagreed that advertising was too sexualized. As for …

Development Of Micro Volume Dna And Rna Profiling Assays To Identify The Donor And Tissue Source Of Origin Of Trace Forensic Biological Evidence, Brittany Morgan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In forensic casework analysis it is necessary to obtain genetic profiles from increasingly smaller amounts of biological material left behind by perpetrators of crime. The ability to obtain profiles from trace biological evidence is demonstrated with so-called ‘touch DNA evidence’ which is perceived to be the result of DNA obtained from shed skin cells transferred from donor to an object or person during physical contact. However, the current method of recovery of trace DNA involves cotton swabs or adhesive tape to sample an area of interest. This "blindswabbing" approach may result in the recovery of biological material from different individuals …

The Wonder-Clause, Anna Gelpern, Mitu Gulati

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Greek debt crisis prompted EU officials to embark on a radical reconstruction of the European sovereign debt markets. Prominently featured in this reconstruction was a set of contract provisions called Collective Action Clauses, or CACs. CACs are supposed to help governments and private creditors to renegotiate unsustainable debt contracts, and obviate the need for EU bailouts. But European sovereign debt contacts were already amenable to restructuring; adding CACs could make it harder. Why, then, promote CACs at all, and cast them in such a central role in the market reform initiative? Using interviews with participants in the initiative and …

Banks And Governments: An Arial View, Anna Gelpern

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Financial systems and public treasuries are communicating vessels: strength or weakness in one flows to the other, and back. This chapter considers the implications of this insight using case studies from Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The connection is not unique to Europe, although it does not always result in feedback effects, or the ‘doom loop’ that has made headlines since 2010. Events now known as banking or government debt crises often have had elements of both, and could have gone either way. Policy and political choices determined their path. In all cases, governments were as indispensable for resolving banking …

Originalism And The Unwritten Constitution, Lawrence B. Solum

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In his book, America’s Unwritten Constitution, Akhil Reed Amar contends that to properly engage the written Constitution, scholars and laymen alike must look to extratextual sources: among them America’s founding documents, institutional practices, and ethos, all of which constitute Amar’s “unwritten Constitution.” In this article, the author argues that contemporary originalist constitutional theory is consistent with reliance on extraconstitutional sources in certain circumstances. He establishes a framework for revaluating the use of extratextual sources. That framework categorizes extratextual sources and explains their relevance to constitutional interpretation (the meaning of the text) and constitutional construction (elaboration of constitutional doctrine and …

Originalism And Constitutional Construction, Lawrence B. Solum

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Constitutional interpretation is the activity that discovers the communicative content or linguistic meaning of the constitutional text. Constitutional construction is the activity that determines the legal effect given the text, including doctrines of constitutional law and decisions of constitutional cases or issues by judges and other officials. The interpretation-construction distinction, frequently invoked by contemporary constitutional theorists and rooted in American legal theory in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, marks the difference between these two activities.

This article advances two central claims about constitutional construction. First, constitutional construction is ubiquitous in constitutional practice. The central warrant for this claim is conceptual: …

Identity Theft Among College Students, Laura B. Lucas

Masters Theses

Identity theft is prominent and is specifically affecting the general population of young adults. There is a void the in research that focuses on parental influence regarding identity theft on their college children. Prior research shows that identity theft is rapidly growing and is a problem. (Winterdyk & Thompson, 2008). The aims of this study are to enhance the awareness of identity theft, and to show the importance of identity theft education. Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory is applied to the study as well, and is used a potential guide to understanding the effects of parental behavior and perceptions of …

Gender And Programming: A Comparison Of Program Availability And Participation In U.S. Prisons For Men And Women, Courtney A. Crittenden

Theses and Dissertations

The current study examines the state of prison programming across the U.S. and whether availability of and participation in prison programs varies by gender and other key factors such as the interaction effects of race and gender, self-identified needs, and facility-level characteristics. Using Morash, Rucker, and Haarr's (1994) study, the last major study comparing prison programming for men and women in U.S. prisons, as a guide, I explore the current state of prison programming using national-level survey data. The results indicate that gender does indeed matter for both prison programming availability and participation with women having more programs available to …

Once Bitten, Thrice Wise: The Varying Effects Of Victimization On Routine Activities And Risk Management, J. Michael Vecchio

Criminal Justice & Criminology: Faculty Publications & Other Works

While the relationship between offending and victimization is well established, less is understood about what contributes to the varied effects of victimization on future behavior. Drawing on qualitative interviews from a sample of at-risk men, the study explores recognized and unrecognized effects of victimization on subsequent behavior and management of lifestyle risks both within and across narratives. Findings demonstrate a range of perceived effects on behavior and risk management, with the presence or absence of substantive effects related to whether the event was both severe and directly attributable to involvement in at-risk behavior. Consequences for the victimization–termination hypothesis are discussed.

The Politics And Practicalities Of Reentry: A Case Study Of The Reentry Environment In A Suburban Community, Carlene Sipma-Dysico

Dissertations

Although inquiry into reentry has grown significantly in the past decade, studies concerning formerly incarcerated persons entrance back into society tend to look at the outcomes and consequences of reentry, not the process. This "what works and what doesn't work" research approach (Seiter and Kadela 2003) leaves some very important aspects of reentry unexamined. While determining the efficacy of programs designed to reduce recidivism is important for public safety, social policy creation, and budgetary considerations, the role of the community in reentry remains largely unexplored.

This dissertation examines how reentry is done at the community level; by practitioners of reentry, …

Reconciling Positivism And Realism: Kelsen And Habermas On Democracy And Human Rights, David Ingram

Philosophy: Faculty Publications and Other Works

It is well known that Hans Kelsen and Jürgen Habermas invoke realist arguments drawn from social science in defending an international, democratic human rights regime against Carl Schmitt’s attack on the rule of law. However, despite embracing the realist spirit of Kelsen’s legal positivism, Habermas criticizes Kelsen for neglecting to connect the rule of law with a concept of procedural justice (Part I). I argue, to the contrary (Part II), that Kelsen does connect these terms, albeit in a manner that may be best described as functional, rather than conceptual. Indeed, whereas Habermas tends to emphasize a conceptual connection between …

Book Review: Placing The Suspect Behind The Keyboard: Using Digital Forensics And Investigative Techniques To Identify Cybercrime Suspects, Thomas Nash

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

In this must read for any aspiring novice cybercrime investigator as well as the seasoned professional computer guru alike, Brett Shaver takes the reader into the ever changing and dynamic world of Cybercrime investigation. Shaver, an experienced criminal investigator, lays out the details and intricacies of a computer related crime investigation in a clear and concise manner in his new easy to read publication, Placing the Suspect behind the Keyboard. Using Digital Forensics and Investigative techniques to Identify Cybercrime Suspects. Shaver takes the reader from start to finish through each step of the investigative process in well organized …

Automating Vendor Fraud Detection In Enterprise Systems, Kishore Singh, Peter Best, Joseph Mula

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Fraud is a multi-billion dollar industry that continues to grow annually. Many organizations are poorly prepared to prevent and detect fraud. Fraud detection strategies are intended to quickly and efficiently identify fraudulent activities that circumvent preventative measures. In this paper, we adopt a DesignScience methodological framework to develop a model for detection of vendor fraud based on analysis of patterns or signatures identified in enterprise system audit trails. The concept is demonstrated by developing prototype software. Verification of the prototype is achieved by performing a series of experiments. Validation is achieved by independent reviews from auditing practitioners. Key findings of …

Book Review: Professional Penetration Testing: Creating And Learning In A Hacking Lab 2e, Joshua Bartolomie

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Organizations often strive for proactive information security programs in an effort to limit occurrence and impact of security breaches. However, traditional security programs run the risk of being unable to provide adequate insight and proactive awareness into real attack vectors that may exist within their organizations. With attack methods and efforts becoming increasingly aggressive, and effective, organizations must take equally assertive measures to protect their critical information and assets. Penetration testing is one of those tools that is often misunderstood, overlooked, and undervalued. A true adversary would not hesitate to exploit every potential to gain entry or cause a disruption …

Technology Corner: Calculating The Number Of Android Lock Patterns: An Unfinished Study In Number Theory, Gary C. Kessler

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Although one is unlikely to ever want to brute-force an Android lock pattern, many do wonder about the relative strength of the lock pattern versus a multidigit personal identification number (PIN). It becomes obvious pretty quickly that there are many more lock patterns than the 10,000 possible four-digit PINs.

Science Column: Reconstruction: The Experimental Side Of Digital Forensics, Fred Cohen

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Many in digital forensics seem to forget that the science part of digital forensics means experimentation and that implies a whole lot of things that most practitioners never learned.

Book Review: Iphone And Ios Forensic: Investigation, Analysis And Mobile Security For Apple Iphone, Ipad And Ios Devices, Simson Garfinkel

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

In April 2011 news outlets around the world revealed shocking news about Apple’s iPhone: for reasons that were not apparently clear, every iPhone contained a small SQLite database that logged where and when the user had been whenever the phone was turned on, and those records went back for pretty much as long as the user had owned their phone. Apple eventually declared that the data cache was the result of a bug and issued a software update to prune the database (it had previously grown without limit). Privacy activists rejoiced that their beloved iPhones were once again trustworthy. But …

Table Of Contents

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

No abstract provided.

Ethical Implications Of Intellectual Property In Africa, Dick Kawooya

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Accidental Detention: A Threat To The Legitimacy Of Venezuelan Democracy, Mabel Gabriela Durán-Sánchez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The main argument of this thesis is that the penitentiary crisis in Venezuela is brought about an inept criminal justice system whose functioning (or lack thereof) further exacerbates overcrowding in penitentiary facilities as well as violates the most basic human rights. More elaborately, I argue that the unintentional (mis)use of pre-trial preventive detention, one of the consequences of the inept criminal justice system, further exacerbates the overcrowding in prisons and creates serious human rights implications. The purpose of this study is to establish a connection between the penitentiary crisis in Venezuela, with a focus on pre-trial preventive detention, and the …

International Perceptions Of Stalking And Responsibility: The Influence Of Prior Relationship And Severity Of Behavior, Adrian J. Scott, Nikki Rajakaruna, Lorraine Sheridan, Emma Sleath

Research outputs 2013

This study investigates the influence of prior relationship and severity of behavior on perceptions of stalking and responsibility with a combined sample of 1,080 members of the community from Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Participants were presented with 1 of 12 versions of a hypothetical stalking scenario and responded to scale items regarding the behavior of a male perpetrator toward a female target. Prior relationship and severity of behavior influenced perceptions of stalking and responsibility, and the pattern of findings was consistent across the three countries. The perpetrator’s behavior was perceived to constitute stalking, and necessitate police …