Criminology Commons^™

Print News Media And Prisoner Reentry: An Exploratory Study Of Local Newspapers In 2018, Sydney Gaughan

Sociology and Criminology Undergraduate Honors Theses

In hopes to fill gaps on this subject, the current study uses ethnographic content analysis on newspaper articles while investigating the following research questions: (1) How does local news media portray recidivism by reentering prisoners? and in turn, (2) What are some characteristics of those news articles associated with the likelihood of local media using specific portrayals or “frames”?

There are several reasons to examine these research questions. First, this research aims to convey how local news media might use their positions to create narratives for public consumption that foster worry and panic. This study can shed light on the …

Extreme Far-Right Murder-Suicide Attacks In The U.S. And Germany: A Comparative Storyline Analysis, Hayden Lucas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite increasing empirical research on suicide terrorism since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, prior studies have focused primarily on radical Islamic terrorism in non-Western contexts. As a result, less is known about how murder-suicide attacks committed by other ideological movements unfold, particularly the extreme far-right in North America and Europe. Researchers have begun to theorize the social and psychological processes believed to play a role in the radicalization of suicide terrorists. However, the observable, situational processes shaping radicalized individuals when planning, preparing for, and executing suicide terrorism remain underexplored. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify intervention points by …

Immigration And Crime In The News, 2014-2018: Do Focusing Events And Policy Windows Affect Framing?, Abigale Rongey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although an abundance of literature demonstrates that immigrant populations are less crime-prone than the native-born population, the majority of Americans believe that immigration inherently threatens the security of the United States. Because Americans are not well versed in the complex issues of immigration and crime, public opinion is undoubtedly influenced by media outlets’ crafted narratives that simplify circumstances and events into easily digestible material. The current study examines how media behavior changes and responds to social and political events by examining “frames” utilized in articles that produce narratives about immigration and crime. Using content analysis of over 1,700 articles published …

Framing Responsibility For Bullying: An Ethnographic Content Analysis, Kayla Knight

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study is to explore ways in which American print news media frame responsibility for adolescent and teen bullying. More specifically, how media portray responsibility for the underlying causes and consequences of bullying, as well as for responding to bullying, are examined. Drawing from media studies and the construction of Social problems literature, the study is guided by two broad research questions, 1) How do American news media frame responsibility for bullying? and 2) What news sources, or "claims-makers," are selected as authorities on bullying in news media articles? Articles published between 2009 and 2013 are …

Paws In Prison: A Second Chance, Tiffany King

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The documentary film Paws in Prison: A Second Chance takes an in-depth look at a program that has been incorporated in seven Arkansas prisons since 2011. Select inmates housed in these prisons are chosen to learn how to become dog trainers during their sentences. They spend 24 hours a day with dogs that were rescued from shelters where they may have been euthanized. This project incorporates interviews with inmates in the Paws in Prison program, wardens at the Maximum Security Unit and the Tucker Unit, and volunteers who spend time teaching inmates how to train and socialize their dogs. The …

21st Century Radicalization: The Role Of The Internet User And Nonuser In Terrorist Outcomes, David Wayne Woodring

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines differences between users and nonusers of information communication technologies (ICTs) within the pre-incident planning processes for domestic terrorist movements operating within the United States. In addition, this study is the first quantitative exploration of the prevalence, types, and purposes of ICT use within terrorist movements, specifically environmental, far-right, and Islamic extremist movements. Using "officially designated" federal terrorism investigations from the American Terrorism Study (ATS), we analyzed extracted evidence of ICT usage among individuals (n =331) engaged in the pre-incident planning processes as members of terrorist movements between 1995-2011. While we find significant differences in terrorist ICT use …