Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance Commons^™

Refocusing On Adult Probation: Theory Versus Practice, Paul David Gregory

Dissertations

This dissertation is a case study of an adult probation department in a southern state. Adult probation is an important part of the criminal justice system, as it provides a reduced program cost compared with incarceration. Current literature proposes that adult probation is in crisis due to poor to sub-standard performance by probationers, a collapse in supervision, and decline in probation funding. This dissertation attempts to answer the question of possible causes for problems in the adult probation system. To accomplish this, this work focuses on how probation officers and clients are affected by contradictions occurring between the theory and …

State-Corporate Crime In Kalamazoo Department Of Public Safety: A Case Study Of Deviant Activity Between The Police And Computer Vendors, Steven Edward Reifert

Dissertations

This study focuses on the state corporate crime that occurred when Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety implemented two computer systems that never functioned as promised. Failure of these systems resulted in death, injury, and substantial waste of taxpayer money. A case study method is used to describe and explain how this social harm occurred. An integrated theory of state-corporate crime developed by Kauzlarich and Kramer (1998) is used to examine theintersection of deviance between corporate vendors, the public safety department, and the federal government. More specifically, this study explores this intersection on three levels---the political economic setting before, during, and …

An Examination Of Conflict Conversation In An Online Community: The Pie Fight At Dailykos.Com, Samantha Isabella Soma

Dissertations and Theses

The increasing popularity of the social web and online communities requires the attention of researchers of conflict resolution. Although there are many ways to resolve conflict offline, the ways in which conflict takes place within a native online context have not been much studied. Are any of the tools and strategies that are used to improve communication offline used successfully online, or are some other strategies taking their place? What communication patterns occur within an online community equipped with comment moderation capabilities? This research is a case study and addressed these questions by performing a qualitative analysis of comment conversations …

Art Imitates Life: Violence And The Music Of Metal And Rap, Gordon A. Crews, Angela D. Crews

Criminal Justice Faculty Research

The purpose of this presentation is to explore the similar evolution's of Black Metal and Gangsta Rap musical genres. The authors argue the following similarities exist: 1) different cultures and statements being made, but violence is a common thread (outcomes of violence and societal responses), 2) the music and lyrics in both reflect their cultures, histories, and lives, and, 3) there is a strong musical and lyrical expression of violence related to the behavioral expression of violence among the artists and the fans in both genres. Finally, the authors question whether art imitates life or life imitates art.

Seeking Justice For Victims And Offenders: A Needs-Based Approach To Justice, Patrick M. Gerkin

Dissertations

This dissertation is a case study investigation of a victim-offender mediation program in a mid-western state. Victim-offender mediation is one form of amuch greater movement currently emerging within the criminal justice system known as restorative justice. The focus of this dissertation is to examine the connections between theory and practice with regards to mediation as a form of restorative justice.

This research fills avoid in the restorative justice literature. It offers findings based on empirical research about the issues that are central to restorative justicetheory and practice. There is a wealth of theory claiming that restorative justice can deliver a …

The Effect Of Parenting Styles In Adolescent Delinquency: Exploring The Interactions Between Race, Class, And Gender, Yaschica Williams

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine how parenting style interacts with other variables related to characteristics of the child (i.e., race/ethnicity, class and gender) in producing delinquency. This research integrates the traditions of criminology and psychology by incorporating the research of two researchers renowned in their respective fields of study, Travis Hirschi from criminology and Diana Baumrind from psychology.

The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 (NLSY97) is used in this study to test hypotheses derived from Hirschi's (1969) social bond theory and Baumrind's (1966) parenting typology. These hypotheses examine the effects of family process variables and parenting …

The Masquerade Of Abu Ghraib: State Crime, Torture, And International Law, Dawn Rothe

Dissertations

On April 28, 2004, pictures of abuse and torture of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison by U.S. military personnel shocked many Americans. In the wake of the images, it became clear that several military personnel were involved in the acts of torture and abuse. This dissertation explores the interconnections of larger structural factors, state policies, and individual actors in an attempt to understand how and why torture and abuse occurred at Abu Ghraib. It builds upon an integrated theoretical model of state and corporate crime. The dissertation revises this model so that it can better address the complexities o …

Christian Fundamentalism, Authoritarianism, And Attitudes Toward Rape Victims., Christie Arine Carr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on the relationship of five variables: rape myth acceptance, attitudes toward rape victims, sex roles, authoritarianism, and Christian fundamentalism. Also, differences between men and women were compared. The study was conducted at East Tennessee State University, and 100 people participated. Contrary to past research, Christian fundamentalism was not a significant predictor of rape myth acceptance or attitudes towards rape victims, but there were significant relationships between all of the other variables. Men were found to be more accepting of rape myths and had a more negative view of rape victims than did women. Implications of these findings, …

The Relationship Between Tobacco, Alcohol, And Marijuana Use Among Teenagers., John Donald Rose

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use among teenagers. This study examined three research questions: (1) Is there a relationship between demographic characteristics (i.e., sex and race), the attitudinal variable (attachment to family), and the admitted use of marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco among teenagers? (2) Is there a relationship between the use of marijuana by teenagers and the use of tobacco by teenagers? (3) Is there a relationship between the use of marijuana by teenagers and the use of alcohol by teenagers?

The data used for this paper were from the …

Bullying Behavior In Middle School: The Effects Of Gender, Grade Level, Family Relationships, And Vicarious Victimization On Self-Esteem And Attitudes Of Bullying., Jennifer Mongold

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research was conducted to investigate the effects of gender, grade level, family relationships, and vicarious victimization on self-esteem and attitudes of bullying. A self-report questionnaire was administered to sixth and seventh graders at a middle school to 436 students of whom 209 were males and 224 were females. Each home base classroom was systematically sampled for a random sample. The survey consisted of several demographic questions as well as questions regarding the previously mentioned variables. The mean age was 11.8 with 80.7% indicating they were white and 19.3% indicating another race. In the overall regression equations, gender and family …

Childhood Reflections Of Adult Male Incarcerated Child Sexual Abusers., Linda H. Garrett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Child sexual abuse has existed since earliest recorded history. It is believed that one in three females and one in five males are sexually abused before their 18^th birthday, and many researchers believe this is a gross underestimation of the problem. Child sexual abuse has been studied extensively from the perspective of the victim. Child sexual abusers have been studied over the last few decades but with inconsistent definitions and methods applied among studies. This qualitative study explored the childhood reflections of 8 incarcerated child sexual abusers in a southern Appalachian prison. One-on-one in-depth interviews were conducted at the …

Mujeres De Frente: Conciencia, Amistad Y Voz En La Cárcel De Mujeres El Inca, Rachel Nordberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Pasé el mes de este proyecto de estudio independiente en Quito, la ciudad capital del Ecuador. Hablaba y participaba con el grupo Mujeres de frente, externas e internas en la cárcel de mujeres de Quito, un colectivo de mujeres dentro y fuera de la cárcel de mujeres que está en el barrio quiteño el Inca. En este ensayo, estudio desde las perspectivas de las Mujeres de frente, el ambiente sociopolítico del Ecuador y la resultante caracterización y criminalización de las internas, además de la pobreza y cómo se relaciona a las experiencias de criminalización. Comento en las distintas concepciones qué …

Not Only A Consequence Of Power, But Also One Of Its Strategies: An Interview With Lorna Rhodes, Matthew Wolf-Meyer, Lorna Rhodes

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[Introduction]

In 2004 Lorna Rhodes published Total Confinement: Madness and Reason in the Maximum Security Prison as part of the University of California Press’s Public Anthropology series. This ethnographic manuscript – supplemented by a number of articles – took as its object of anthropological analysis the supermax prison system in Washington State. In so doing, Rhodes brought to the fore questions of power and agency as they are shaped by prison officials, prisoners, psychiatrists, and other stakeholders in the state-run prison system. In the following, Rhodes discusses her current research, American culture, and her views on academia and ethnography with …

Slavery In The 21st Century, Paul R. Rickert

Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper briefly examines the modern practice of slavery. It attempts to demonstrate that slavery is a larger problem than most understand, does exist in the United States, and will outline some effective means to combat it.

A Macro-Level Analysis Of Divorce Rates And Juvenile Violent Crime And Drug Abuse In Virginia, Bianca Maria Conn

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

With one out of every two marriages statistically doomed to fail, we must ask ourselves: how does this affect children? This thesis examines the relationship between divorce rates in the 135 cities and counties in Virginia and rates of juvenile violent crime and drug abuse. Social disorganization, used as a main source of reference in this study, is helpful in understanding how divorce affects juveniles at the community level. Family disruption, due to parental divorce, supports the notion that there is less juvenile supervision in the home and in effect the community, which leads to juvenile delinquency.

The three different …

A Case-By-Case Comparison Of The Classification Of Law Enforcement And Vital Statistics Data On Homicide, Marc Riedel, Wendy C. Regoeczi

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Publications

This study uses data from the California Linked Homicide File as a basis for evaluating the validity and reliability of homicide data. Case-by-case comparisons of variables reported by both agencies indicate that agreement between law enforcement and vital statistics data is highest with classifying homicides and victim gender and race and lowest with classifying victim age, manslaughters, and police justifiable homicides. The findings from a multilevel analysis examining what types of cases are unable to be linked over the two data-collection systems reveal that homicides involving Hispanic victims, weapons other than handguns, and family members other than intimate partners and …

Child Pornography: A Social Problem, W. Richard Wiita

Theses & Honors Papers

Our society is galvanized in that the sexual exploitation of children is an egregious crime. Yet, there is a vast store of child pornography materials readily available; materials that are the recordation of the child's actual sexual abuse. This document explores the history of child pornography, its current state and the environment in which it flourishes, the Internet. this research examines the scope of the problem and those that are associated with child pornography. This body of work is intended to provide greater understanding of the scope of the problem and provide clear and actionable public policy recommendations.

Children Of Incarcerated Mothers, Kisha Smith

Graduate Research Papers

Since 1990, the female prison population has increased significantly. In the United States, there are 721,500 incarcerated individuals who are parents of minor children. Many of these parents are mothers who experienced drug use and came from single parent families living in poverty.

Since 60 percent of children are primarily cared for by their mother, maternal incarceration results in many children being removed from their homes, resulting in internal and external problems as well as academic concerns. In addition, this situation can lead to emotional issues, such as grief and loss, and problems related to social adjustment. Consequently, children of …

Cyberbullying: A Workshop For Parents, Erin Jackson

Graduate Research Papers

There are many advantages to the new technology that is flooding the American way of life. However, with the good also comes the bad. Cyber-bullying is one example of the negative side of our ever-changing technology. Cyber-bullying can be very devastating for all people involved (Campbell, 2005). it affects the victim, the bully, family, and friends. With cyber-bullying on the rise, even more children will be affected in the future and the effects of this type of bullying will become more widespread.

The Inaugural Issue Of The Journal Of Knowledge And Best Practices In Juvenile Justice And Psychology

Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice

No abstract provided.

Policing And Social Control Of Public Marijuana Use And Selling In New York City, Bruce D. Johnson, Andrew Golub, Eloise Dunlap, Stephen J. Sifaneck, James E. Mccabe

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This article analyzes the history of policies by New York City government and police enforcement strategies to socially control marijuana use and sales in public locations—that is in the streets; parks; and quasi-public settings such as bars, restaurants, and stores. This particular article is organized around the laws, regulations, and enforcement associated with two central civic norms: (1) Users should not smoke marijuana in public settings (streets, parks) or in quasi-public settings such as stores, bars, restaurants, offices, etc. and (2) Persons should not sell marijuana in public and quasi-public settings. Occasionally, the authors make reference to marijuana use and …

Dynamics In Legislative Budgeting In Italy: 1982-2001, Carolyn Forestiere, Riccardo Pelizzo

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

For much of the First Republic, the Italian Parliament was notorious for its fiscal irresponsibility. However, using data over a 20-year period we note that the performance of the Parliament during the passage of the national budget changed over time. During most the 1980s the Parliament always spent more than the amount specified in the government’s Budget Bill. But this trend slowed towards the late 1980s, and of particular interest is that for several years during the 1990s the Parliament voted to spend less than what the government originally proposed. We explain this anomaly using institutional theories and contextual explanations.

Professional Perceptions Of Domestic Violence: The Relationship Between Causal Explanations And Views On Prevention And Intervention, Rachel A. Taylor

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The 1970s saw a shift of focus by professions responding to domestic violence cases perpetrated by men towards women within Australia. Their focus was targeted at the factors that surround male perpetrators? violent behaviour. As a result, a number of alternative interventions were established based on a new understanding of domestic violence. Wider explanations have therefore led professional groups to form different angles of approach. Consequently researchers have found that perceptions towards domestic violence and the effectiveness of relevant interventions remain controversial across professions (Laing, 2002). Based on the literature supporting the importance of consistent professional perceptions and responses towards …