Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

More Than What Meets The Eye: An Examination Of Characteristics That Impact Juvenile Justice Detention Decisions, Ashley Maria Buchanan

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Research shows that disparities still exist in the juvenile justice decision-making process, but there is a gap in our understanding of neighborhood characteristics that may affect those detention decisions. Therefore, this research examines structural factors influenced by social disorganization theory to explore the impact they have on juvenile detention decisions. Neighborhood parks and recreation centers are examined as important local institutions that provide informal social control to the neighborhood. The Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) for the city of Norfolk compiled juvenile justice data, and 2016 Census data were also used to obtain neighborhood structural information. Non-White juveniles were …

School Connectedness And Academic Success, Keyondra Michelle Wilson

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Using data collected from the Portsmouth Needs Assessment (2017) in Portsmouth, Virginia, this study focused on examining the relationship between school connectedness and academic success. The purpose of the study was to examine how aspects of school connectedness affects academic success. School connectedness was measured by examining self-report data regarding students’ sense of belonging, sense of culture and ethnic acceptance, classroom participation, and extracurricular activities. Academic success was measured by students’ self-reported grades and how often did they think that they would use the materials that they learned in the future. The results indicated that a student’s sense of belonging …

Exploring The Association Between How Social Media Affects Attitudes Toward Marijuana Legalization, Troy Adam Aubut Ii

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

As support for marijuana legalization continues to rise, it’s important to explore how the use of social media may be affecting the attitudes of Americans around this controversial topic. Social media has become a part of everyday life for most as it allows easy communication to anyone anywhere and allows the exchanging of influential ideas over a broad range of topics, especially marijuana legalization. As such, this study utilized data from the 2016 General Social Survey to examine the relationship between how the general use of social media affects attitudes toward marijuana legalization. The findings of this study suggest that …

Exploring Factors That Enhance Career Advancement For African-Americans Across Various Criminal Justice Occupations: A Qualitative Examination, Antonio Jon Bryer

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the factors that are important for African-Americans to reach executive-level positions within the field of corrections. Using nine semi-structured interviews with current and former executive-level corrections professionals, it was found that investments in social capital and human capital are the main career advancement enhancers. However, when it came to factors that were specific to African-American corrections professionals, a majority of the respondents mentioned proficiency as an enhancer.

When Silence Screams: An Examination Of Reporting Behaviors Among Sexual Assault Victims On Hbcu Campuses, Natasha Robinson

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

According to National Sexual Violence Resource Center (2015), 20% to 25% of college women experience a completed or attempted rape victimization during their college career, but less than 5% of college women file a report with law enforcement (Fisher, Cullen, and Turner 2000). Prior literature indicates that student characteristics/background, alcohol use, and affiliation with Greek life influence students’ chances of being sexually assaulted as well as victim decisions to report. Current research on campus sexual assault victimization and students’ decisions to report has neglected Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) but seem to show that minorities are less likely to …

Online Social Capital: Social Networking Sites' Influence On Civic And Political Engagement, Charles L. Bush

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines how using social networking sites (SNS) is correlated with levels of civic and political engagement of college students at Old Dominion University. Past research has yielded mixed results on the link between online social capital and civic and political engagement. Major limitations of past research include grouping together social networking sites that are substantially different and not considering these sites’ impact on the different forms of social capital. This thesis first examines how social networking site preference, intensity of use, and motives for use factor into an individual’s online social capital. Secondly, this thesis looks at how …

Policing The Drinking Community: An Assessment Of The Criminal Justice Response To Drunk Driving And Alcohol Related Crashes (1985 -2014), Richard James Stringer

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this study was to analyze the relationships among arrests, informal alcohol related social norms, and alcohol related fatal crashes in the U.S. from 1985-2014. Despite inexorable efforts to eliminate drunk driving, approximately twenty percent of the population drives after drinking (Drew, 2010). Although law enforcement arrests play a key part in policies to deter drunk driving, enforcement of DUI laws varies widely across the country (Erickson et al., 2015). However, no project has explored the relationship between structural factors related to community norms, enforcement, and automobile crashes. Thus, this project adds to the literature and understanding of …

Punishment As Pedagogy: An Exploration Of The Disciplinary Alternative School, Kaitlyn J. Selman

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

As school districts across the US attempt to reduce their reliance on exclusionary punishment—and declining suspension and expulsion rates are heralded as signs of success—understanding the complexities of education and carcerality remains an urgent matter. Through a critical content analysis of a number of sources, including existing historical and ethnographic research, code of conduct handbooks, school websites, news articles, and data reports, this dissertation foregrounds an institution that is framed as an “alternative” to exclusionary punishment, yet is motivated by the same carceral logics that have long-haunted the school’s practice of managing students.

Chapter I introduces relevant literature on disciplinary …

Predictors Of Medical Students’ Attitudes Towards Abortion And Their Changes Overtime, Rebecca Elizabeth Morales

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

As new legislation is regularly being introduced to minimize Roe v. Wade’s protection of women’s right to choose in a medical setting, it is imperative to study what predictors may have an impact on abortion attitudes within the demographic of medical students, as well as how these predictors impact one’s willingness to provide the service in the future. The current study then, uses data collected in 2000 and 2015 from a medical school located in Virginia, and in collaboration with a research university in the state to examine what factors are associated with a willingness to provide an abortion, as …