Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

“Am I A Criminal?”: How College Students Conceptualize Misconduct And Crime, Talia J. Norby

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Institutions of higher education play a critical role in regulating student behavior; however, existing research has given limited attention to how students themselves interpret conduct addressed through campus disciplinary systems. The present study examined how college students differentiate institutional misconduct from crime in university settings and whether those judgments are associated with perceptions of institutional legitimacy. Data was collected through an online Qualtrics survey administered to 146 students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Participants were presented with six vignette-based scenarios depicting campus-relevant behaviors and asked to classify each as criminal or non-criminal, rate its perceived severity, and identify …

Barriers To Justice: A Comparative Analysis Of Barriers To Legal Aid Across Missouri Counties, Grace Fentress

Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study explores the complexity of the issue of legal aid and specifically the disparity in access to it across the state of Missouri’s counties, as they represent 115 different counties with diverse demographics throughout the state. By examining the number of legal aid organizations, funding levels, eligibility thresholds and geographical barriers, this study aims to identify what underlying factors contribute to disparities in legal accessibility. It is critical to address this question as the need for legal services is ever present and it is important that everyone has access to adequate representation. The findings of this study would ultimately …

Marketing The Library: Engaging Law Students With Dynamic Displays, Lisa A. Gooden, Ariel Newman

Faculty Works

Academic law libraries increasingly serve as dynamic, student-centered spaces that extend beyond traditional collections. This article explores practical and creative approaches to marketing library resources through engaging, low-cost displays and interactive experiences. Drawing on initiatives at the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law Library, the authors highlight strategies for introducing students to multiple formats of legal study aids, promoting faculty scholarship through institutional repositories, and fostering a welcoming library environment with interactive and frequently refreshed displays. Examples include multimodal displays that integrate print and digital resources, the use of QR codes and design tools to showcase faculty research, and …

From Prairie To Practice: Forensic Taphonomy, Ethics, And Regional Ecology In Southeastern Nebraska, Jessica F. L. Gammage

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Forensic taphonomy examines the postmortem processes that affect human remains within specific environmental contexts and plays a critical role in medicolegal death investigation. Despite significant advances in decomposition research, experimental studies remain geographically and environmentally uneven, limiting the transferability of postmortem interval (PMI) estimation methods across regions. The Central Great Plains are underrepresented in forensic taphonomic research despite its distinct ecological and geomorphological characteristics.

This thesis evaluates southeastern Nebraska as a specific regional setting for forensic taphonomic research by integrating ecological, pedological, and geomorphological data with current forensic literature. Tallgrass prairie vegetation, loess-derived soils, seasonal moisture variability, and dynamic fluvial …

Understanding Roma Oppression In Europe Through Humantarian Forensic Analysis, Christal L. Quinn

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

This thesis examines the marginalization of Roma people in Europe, and how humanitarian forensic practices may help Roma communities in their quest for justice and recognition. The study draws exclusively on secondary information to examine the social, political, and legal issues affecting the Roma communities, who have endured centuries of institutional discrimination, marginalization, and violence. This thesis identifies ways in which systematic oppression continues to limit Roma communities’ access to education, housing, healthcare, and legal protection through a review of relevant literature and applicable theoretical frameworks. The study also examines the relevance of forensic science, particularly its humanitarian applications, in …

Rehumanizing Anatomized Individuals: Using Osteobiographies As A Step Towards Reparative Justice, Lillie C. Turpin

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

In 1985, India banned the export of human remains. This ended the major trade route for primarily US and European anatomical supply companies. Until this point, companies like Carolina Biological Supply exploited and erased vulnerable people's identities, molding them into anonymous anatomical specimens. This study investigates the life and postmortem history of twenty-five individuals, previously used as anatomical specimens, housed at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Using an osteobiographical approach, this research reconstructs aspects of these individuals' lived experiences and examines how anatomical preparation practices reflect structural violence and apathy.

Skeletal analysis of twenty-five individuals revealed a range of biological profiles, …

Non-Destructive Automated Classification Of Human And Large Mammal Long Bone Fragments: A Deep Learning Approach Using Micro-Ct Histomorphology And Grad-Cam Interpretation, Kathleen Marie Kelley

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

This study explores the development and validation of an automated, deep learning system designed to differentiate human from large mammal long bone fragments using micro-CT imagery. A comprehensive dataset of cross-sectional µCT images was assembled from human and animal skeletal material processed at the DPAA, Nebraska. A convolutional neural network (CNN) based on a ResNet-18 architecture, utilizing transfer learning from ImageNet weights, was trained to classify µCT images as human or animal. The model achieved a mean classification accuracy of 89.85% (± 8.27%) across five sample-level cross-validation folds, with a sensitivity of 96.21% and a 95% bootstrap confidence interval of …

Restorative Justice In Cache Valley: Building Community Resilience Through Restorative Practices, Rivkah Haubner

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Restorative justice as a field of study is primarily applied to criminal justice proceedings or similar topics. As such, its use as a tool in political organizing is an underdeveloped field. Due to its Indigenous history, restorative justice has intrinsically ant-colonial, anti-imperial, and anti-racist roots and is therefore already situated within the ethos of many progressive movements. Historically, radical movements within the United States and across the world experienced both internal and external pressures that undermined their goals. Restorative justice offers a framework through which to understand political action as a whole and specific tools to address internal conflict within …

A Meta-Analysis On Joinder Effects: Do They All Have The Same Magnitude?, Amelia M. Tisk

Student Theses

The present meta-analysis examined whether different forms of joinder and procedural consolidation produce varying levels of prejudice in adjudicative decision-making. Although joinder procedures improve judicial efficiency, psychological research has suggested that combining charges, defendants, or plaintiffs within a single proceeding may increase conviction likelihood, liability judgments, and broader perceptions of wrongdoing. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted across 22 independent study effects examining charge joinder, defendant consolidation, plaintiff consolidation, multiple-complainant procedures, and related aggregation paradigms. Effect sizes were converted to Pearson’s r whenever possible. Overall, procedural aggregation produced a moderate effect on adjudicative outcomes, r = .27, 95% CI [.22, .32]. …

Trauma-Informed Approaches In Correctional Settings, Mahlet T. Habtemeskel

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Trauma‑informed care (TIC) has become an important framework for understanding and responding to the needs of incarcerated individuals, who experience disproportionately high rates of childhood adversity, interpersonal violence, and systemic trauma. Research has shown that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) early victimization shapes individual behavior patterns, justice system involvement, and emotional regulation (Ratcliff et al., 2025; Marotta, 2022). Traditional correctional models rooted in punishment, control, and surveillance often repeat the dynamics of past trauma, exacerbating emotional dysregulation, behavioral challenges, and recidivism (Desai, 2019; Slovinsky, 2023). This thesis examines the theoretical foundations, implementation strategies, and outcomes of trauma‑informed approaches in correctional settings …

Volume 17, Christian O’Neill, Kyara Greene, Savva Sidorov, Laura Bisaillon, Luke Clemmer, Hannah Gordon, Kitt Benson, Taylor Blount, Rachel Danzitz, Nicholas Duellman, Chase Gionis, Hima Fernando, Seth Franzyshen, Onyx Gonzalez, Bryan Lin, Samantha Start, Ysabel Wells, Maggie Duncan

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction Dr. Amorette Barber, Director, Office of Student Research

From the Editor Dr. Hannah Dudley-Shotwell

Cover Artist’s Statement Maggie Duncan

On Mentoring Dr. Yulia Uryadova

Ukrainian Resistance in the Face of Russification: Nestor Makhno and Anarchism

by Christian O’Neill

Life Vest by Kyara Greene

Isolation and 16S rRNA Identification of Bacteria from Fire Department Connection Pipe by Savva Sidorov

The Effectiveness of Planned Exercise in Reducing ADHD Symptoms in Children by Laura Bisaillon & Luke Clemmer

Linguistic Analysis on Confidence and Communication Strategies with Disparities Between Sign Fluency and Hearing Impairment by Hannah Gordon

Freedmen in Indian Territory by Kitt …

Decomposition Study Using Pigs In Southeastern Nebraska During The Fall And Winter Seasons, Ryan Bodine

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

When an individual is found deceased, one of the tools used in the identification process is estimating the post-mortem interval (PMI). This estimate is used to determine how long an individual has been deceased once their remains are found. To estimate an accurate PMI, knowing how decomposition is affected by external factors is key. The transition period from fall to winter in southeastern Nebraska consists of fluctuating temperatures as the seasons transfer from fall to winter. This thesis investigates how decomposition is affected during this transition period while also looking at two different environments that are common in Nebraska, prairies …

Exploring The Biocultural Profile Of The Undocumented Populations Of The Sonoran Corridor: A Skeletal Assessment Of The Prevention Through Deterrence Strategy, Mary A. Vaughn

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Over the last thirty years the mortality rate of the undocumented population at the US-Mexico border has risen, requiring methods distinguishing US-born individuals from immigrants to improve the likelihood of identification and repatriation through foreign consulates. Forensic anthropologists with the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner (PCOME) have advocated for the use of the biocultural profile, combining the biological profile with factors including oral health, osteological stress, and personal effects. The biocultural profile serves two purposes, functioning both as a tool for identification and with which to document structural inequality within communities of origin.

This study examines changes in …

The Hollywood Rap And Trap Culture Industry And Its Portrayal Of Crime, Youth Socialization, And Anti-Social Behavioral Norms, Ishika Sen

Honors Theses

This thesis synthesizes and reflects on media effects and hip-hop studies to examine how the Hollywood rap/trap industry participates in the influence of normalization of crime and anti-social behaviors, substance use, and the sexualization of women among youth (ages 13–21). I integrate analytic evidence on media violence with lyric/content analyses of rap and critiques of the criminal justice system in hip-hop. Specific subtopics from my outline include: theoretical frameworks (media-violence, social learning, cultivation, cultural criminology); corporate marketing and social-media amplification; youth vulnerability; and three patterned domains which include substance abuse, gun violence, and the sexualization of women, often leading to …

Service Providers’ Perceptions Of Mckinney-Vento Implementation: Supporting Academic Performance And Attendance In K-12 Students’ Experiencing Homelessness, Darci Mcrae

Honors Projects

In Wood, Lucas, and Ottawa County, Ohio, approximately 2,508 students or 2.6% of total enrollment experience homelessness. The McKinney-Vento Act (MVA, 1987) aims to reduce educational barriers for these students by ensuring access to transportation, school enrollment, school supplies, and additional educational support. Despite these provisions, the effectiveness of MVA implementation varies among school districts due to differences in staff training, funding, procedures, and the diverse needs of students experiencing homelessness. This study examines service providers’ perceptions of how the MVA is implemented in public school districts and how it affects attendance and academic performance among K–12 students’ experiencing homelessness. …

Program And Proceedings, The Nebraska Academy Of Sciences 1880–2026: 146th Anniversary Year, One Hundred-Thirty-Sixth Annual Meeting

Nebraska Academy of Sciences: Programs and Proceedings

Program and abstracts of the proceedings for the Nebraska Academy of Sciences 136th annual meeting, 2025

Sessions

Aeronautics and Space Science

Anthropology

Biological and Medical Sciences

Earth Sciences

Ecology, Sustainability, and Environmental Science

Physics and Engineering

General Poster Session

2026 Maiben Lecture: Shifting Extremes: Understanding Nebraska’s Changing Climate and Preparing for What Lies Ahead, Deborah Bathke

2026 Friends of Science Awards: Julie Shaffer and Irina Filina

2026 C. Bertrand and Marian Othmer Schultz Colleaguate Schoalrship Award: Piper Ryschon and Bryce Reeson

In Memoriam: Paul Royster

Disparities In Policing Through The Lens Of Indigenous Communities In Michigan: A Research Proposal, Abigail Ruddle

Honors Theses

This study examines the historical and contemporary factors shaping relationships between Indigenous communities and law enforcement in the United States, with a specific focus on tribal nations in Michigan. Using a historical framework that includes treaty-making, forced removal, and evolving legal decisions, this research examines the use of treaties and diplomacy to initiate new socio-political structures in Native American communities. Similarly, the emergence of policing in the United States impacted the relationship between law enforcement and Indigenous communities by creating hostility and distrust. The existing literature highlights themes of police violence and the paradoxical nature of over-policing and under-policing in …

Applications Of Suas Thermal Imaging And Lidar At Letort Spring Garden Preserve: An Independent Study, Kelsey Wardell

Harrisburg University Other Works

No abstract provided.

قراءة تحليلية نقدية لمقتضيات المادة ٢٣٥ من قانون الإجراءات المدنية الملغاة ولمقتضيات المادة ٨٥ من اللائحة التنظيمية من قانون الإجراءات المدنية الاتحادي, خالد زاهر

Proche-Orient, Études juridiques

This paper addresses one of the conditions for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgements in the United Arab Emirates, namely verifying the jurisdiction of the foreign court that issued the judgment. In this regard, the UAE Civil Transactions Code provides that the Emirati enforcement judge cannot order the enforcement of a foreign judgment before verifying that the Emirati courts do not enjoy exclusive jurisdiction over the dispute that had led to the issuance of the judgment or the order, and that the foreign court that issued the judgment or the order enjoys jurisdiction under the international jurisdiction rules laid …

الدفع بعدم الإختصاص في قانون الإجراءات المدنية الإماراتي, أحمد حجال

Proche-Orient, Études juridiques

This study addresses the procedural regime of the objection to jurisdiction, which is one of the procedural defenses that raise in the UAE law the issue of the applicable procedural rules. Before which courts and at what stage of the litigation this defense can be raised, and who is the party entitled to raise it? May or should the court raise it proprio motu? Did the Emirati law adopt the traditional categorization of objections to jurisdiction, that is founded on the jurisdiction rules as such? The rules of absolute jurisdiction are the ones whose violation results in a lack …

Statistical Analysis Of Dispatch Data For A Mid-Sized Exurb Of A Midwestern City, Andrew Rain, Callie Demarest, Desi Snyder, Seth Baur

2026 Student Academic Showcase

This research investigates trends of dispatch and staffing data for a small suburban police department in Missouri. One of the goals of this research is to look into the staffing trends of the officers. By analyzing trends in the clock-on/clock-off data of these officers, we enable the police department to more efficiently place their resources during busy periods and to predict days that have been busy in the past. In addition, we explore the relationship between different aspects of weather and the number of events that occur in a day, which could further improve staffing. Finally, we analyze the effect …

Workers' Compensation Court Summer Clerkship: Funded By The Feinstein Institute Summer Fellowship Program, Judy Akid

Political Science Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Exploring How Experiential Learning Enhances Undergraduate Education: Insights From The Wmu Cold Case Program With Michigan State Police, Maura Killips

Honors Theses

Experiential learning has become an increasingly important component of undergraduate education, particularly in fields that demand high levels of professional judgment, empathy, and technical skills. This thesis examines how the Western Michigan University (WMU) Cold Case Program (CCP), in partnership with the Michigan State Police, serves as a model of experiential learning that both enriches students’ academic experiences and contributes to real-world investigative work. Drawing on literature about experiential learning as well as my firsthand participation in the program, I analyze how structured hands-on engagement with unsolved homicide and missing persons cases has shaped undergraduate development at WMU.

Key program …

Narratives, Neurons And Narcotics: The Neurological Impacts Of Biased Crime Media And How It Disproportionately Impacts Black And Brown Drug Defendants, Jade Celestine

Honors Theses

This thesis examines how crime media and neurological bias shape the experiences of Black and Brown drug defendants in the United States criminal justice system. Drawing on existing research in psychology and neuroscience, this explanation outlines the role of perception and threat detection in the formation of implicit bias while also emphasizing a need to expand the use of neurocriminology to all legal actors. Particular attention is given towards the influence of media portrayals of criminal cases, especially for drug-related offenses and how that impacts the audiences on a neurological level. An analysis of historical factors, such as the War …

An Evaluation Of The Anomie Theory In The Criminal Justice System, Emma K. Schneider

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Anomie Theory is a sub-theory of social structure theory and focuses on someone's sense of normlessness when society is ever-changing, and a person of low economic status lacks social ties or a way to legitimately obtain the goals of social norms, resulting in resorting to aggravation and anger. Émile Durkheim originated the idea and went on to give a new way to observe and study crime. The criminal justice system implements this through federal aid and help after imprisonment, but there is still a lot that can be done to progress this theory. This occurs in everyday life, and it …

From Books To Justice: Public Libraries Strengthening Legal Access Across Kansas, Lauren J. Franks, Ziwei Qi

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Legal self-help centers across Kansas allow access to legal information for self-represented litigants in civil court cases. However, there is a lack of these centers in rural areas. In areas where this resource does not exist, libraries, which already serve as a trusted community-centered hub, can help provide legal information and resources. This project aims to identify best practices in increasing access to legal information and survey key staff including self-help center staff, court staff such as court clerks and judges, and librarians, to help inform our integration of legal self-help services into public libraries. By executing a short anonymous …

The Role Of Dna Exoneration In The Bloodsworth Case, John T. Brasfield

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

In the Kirk Bloodsworth case, a man was falsely convicted for the rape and murder of Dawn Hamilton. He spent eight years in prison after being convicted through witness testimony, where he learned about DNA profiling. After submitting a request to check his DNA against the DNA left at the scene, he was exonerated. Later, the DNA left at the scene was checked against a database and got a hit on a convicted rapist who had been charged shortly after Mr. Bloodsworth. If there had been the same access to DNA technology during the trial or if they had listened …

False Confessions Of A Teenage Boy: The Case Of Brian Boles And Charles Collins, Rebekah Bottner

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

On February 8, 1994, James Reid was found dead in his apartment in New York. In the days following the murder, detectives spoke to several people who lived in the building, looking for potential leads or suspects, including 17-year-old Brain Boles. Boles was initially released from questioning after he signed a statement confirming his alibi and that barely knew Reid. A month later, Boles was arrested for a separate assault and robbery. For this crime, Boles confessed, but he was then subjected to an intense and lengthy interrogation for the murder of James Reid. Eventually, Boles also confessed to the …

Unlocking Minds Behind Bars: Inmates’ Perceptions Of Educational Services In Southeast Nigerian Prisons, Ijeoma B. Uche Dr, Okala A. Uche Dr, Agatha U. Nzewuji Dr

Journal of Prison Education Research

This study explores inmates’ perceptions of educational services in Southeast Nigerian prisons, focusing on their role in rehabilitation and reintegration. Using a qualitative design grounded in the capability approach and interpretive phenomenological analysis, data were gathered through in-depth interviews with 15 convicted inmates across three correctional facilities in Southeast Nigeria. Interviews were conducted in English and Nigerian Pidgin, and analyzed using NVivo 12. Findings revealed three major themes: the relevance and accessibility of educational programs, benefits such as improved self-worth, skill acquisition, and hope for reintegration, and key barriers like limited access, inadequate resources, and institutional apathy. Although the capability …

Ai's Double Edged Sword: Fighting Against Synthetic Csam, Shekhinah Adra Green

Cybersecurity Undergraduate Research Showcase

The rapid advancements in generative artificial intelligence has introduced new challenges in the production and distribution of synthetic child sexual abuse material (CSAM). AI has the capabilities of creating highly realistic imagery and videos, which  raises serious legal and ethical concerns, increasing the risk of harm, exploitation, and revictimization.

This paper discusses the legal improvements needed in order to lower the change of legal loopholes, how digital forensic analyst use advanced tools to identify and investigate synthetic material, and different methods to start the reduction of synthetic CSAM.