Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Study Of Transformational Initiatives And Social Capital, Craig Dean Plain

Theses and Dissertations

A STUDY OF TRANSFORMATIONAL INITIATIVES AND SOCIAL CAPITAL

Organizations seek to improve themselves. They do so to become more efficient, to increase sales...indeed, to survive. Many have implemented various initiatives to transform themselves. For some, these efforts have paid off. Companies such as General Electric, Motorola, Allied Signal, and others have claimed billions of dollars in cost reductions and increases in revenue (Altinkemer, Ozcelik, & Ozdemir, 2011; Lucier & Seshadri, 2001). Such successes have driven many others to implement these transformational initiatives. Yet the failure rate hovers around 70% (Kotter J. P., 1995).

This study sought to expand the body …

An Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of Increased Judicial Oversight And Court-Ordered Batterer Intervention Programming In Milwaukee County Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Cases: Preliminary Findings, Nelida Cortes

Theses and Dissertations

In 1999, Milwaukee County was one of three locations in the United States chosen by the Office on Violence Against Women to participate in the Judicial Oversight Demonstration Initiative (JODI). JODI was a five year project aimed at testing the idea of whether an organized community response to domestic violence, with increased judicial and criminal justice involvement, would affect victims' safety and offender accountability. Due to its involvement with JODI, Milwaukee County implemented a number of procedural changes intended to increase victim safety, increase offender accountability, and reduce instances of domestic violence. The most prominent change was the institution of …

The Effect Of Urban Fortification On Public Space, Ryan Lee Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation contributes to empirical studies on the spatial extent and intensity of urban fortification/security zones and their influence on urban public space. Urban public space has been based on creating open and safe environments for city dwellers. However, ultra-secure urban spaces have been found to filter citizens, restrict movement, and modify individual behavior. This first part of this study determines where security zones manifest themselves, quantify the fortification of the security zones, and measure the intensity of these spaces in three major U.S. cities. The second part of the study offers an explanation of how social and commercial activity …

Finding Its Place: The Effect Of Race On Drug Court Outcomes, Ben Gilbertson

Theses and Dissertations

The most recent statistics on United States adult drug courts indicate that there are more than 1,400 courts currently in operation nationwide (National Institute of Justice 2013). This number is rather astounding, given that drug courts only emerged in Miami, Florida in 1989. However, what is more astounding is the fact that in the two decades drug courts have existed, they have been studied more than all other criminal justice programs combined (Honda and Sheen 2011; Marlowe 2010). As successfully completing one's drug court program (i.e., graduating) often indicates whether a former participant will recidivate, myriad researchers and federally-funded studies …

Family Policymaking In The Us And Uk From 1960 To 2010: A Comparative Analysis Of Civil Society And Legal Frameworks From A Feminist Perspective, Leah M. Persky

Theses and Dissertations

Why do countries have different family policy outcomes? This comparative analysis of maternity, paternity and family leave policies in the United States and United Kingdom traces the historical development of family policies from 1960-2010 in order to understand the trajectory of the gendered welfare state. The dissertation uncovers the impact that the social construction of gender has on family policy outcomes. I look to civil society activity and the legal framework for evidence of gender norms. Analysis draws on field research, interviews, archival sources and data collected from governmental and nongovernmental organizations. I suggest that the social construction of gender …

The Service And Re-Entry Needs Of Juvenile Offenders: American Indian Girls Impacted By Sexual Trauma, Rae Anne Marie Frey

Theses and Dissertations

American Indian (AI) youth experience incarceration (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2011; Easy Access to the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement, 1997-2010) and sexual abuse (Bachman, Zaykowski, Lanier, Poteyeva, & Kallmyer, 2010; Ellison, 2005; Hamby, 2008; Robin, 1997) at disparate rates in the United States. The present qualitative project utilized Extended Case Method to explore the service and re-entry needs of AI girls who are juvenile offenders and have been impacted by sexual abuse. This project includes secondary data detailing 58 cases of detained AI girls at a state-run female juvenile detention facility in the Midwest. Results indicated 26 of …

Parent-Child Communication About Marriage And The Displacement Of Marital Myths, Jennifer Anne Jackl

Theses and Dissertations

Marriage and divorce are common in the U.S. today, and the question of "why is the divorce rate so high?" lingers in popular culture. The purpose of this study is to examine the need for parent-child communication about marriage to determine if it can help to dispel marital myths that abound in U.S. society. This study takes a qualitative approach to the communication between parents and their children about the topic of marriage. Three research questions are asked regarding what messages were transmitted between parents and their (now adult) children about marriage, how accurate the children perceive these messages to …

Anabaptist Masculinity In Reformation Europe, Adam Michael Bonikowske

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies the connections between the Anabaptist movement during the Protestant Reformation and the alternative masculinities that developed during sixteenth-century Europe. It argues that Anabaptist men challenged traditional gender norms of European society, and through their unique understanding of the Reformation's message of salvation, these men constructed new ideas about masculinity that were at odds with Protestant and Catholic culture. Anabaptist men placed piety and ethics at the center of reform, and argued for the moral improvement of Christians. In separation from Catholics and mainstream Protestants, Anabaptists created a new culture that exhibited behavior often viewed as dangerous. The …

Race, Crime And Athletes: A Qualitative Analysis Of Framing In Local Newspaper Coverage Of Nfl Quarterbacks Michael Vick And Ben Roethlisberger, Kristi Grim

Theses and Dissertations

The present study researched the positive, negative, thematic and episodic framing contained in local newspaper coverage of two criminal investigations of National Football League quarterbacks: the Ben Roethlisberger rape case and the Michael Vick dog-fighting case. A qualitative analysis revealed stories about Roethlisberger were more likely to feature positive framing supporting the message that Roethlisberger was a good person who was innocent of criminal activity. By contrast, Vick articles were more likely to feature negative framing supporting the message that Vick was a criminal. In addition, articles on Roethlisberger were more likely to use thematic frames as a way to …