Social Psychology and Interaction Commons^™

Object To Your Affection, Melissa J. Lauro

SURGE

Recently a guy in one of my classes defended objectification of women on the grounds that if he cares for a girl, he will treat her like he treats his most treasured objects; he used his coat as an example. He said that he loved his coat, he wouldn’t let it touch the ground, and he took great care of it; he would do the same for any girl he cared about, for “his girl.” [excerpt]

In The Absence Of Peace, Emma R. Okell

SURGE

Today, the Monday after the attack, all of the flags were at half mast. Everything continued as normal, as if nothing had happened. Yet there was an intensity in the air. I didn’t notice the increased police, but it was easy to feel the increased security. [excerpt]

When Justice Demands Inequality, John Thrasher, Keith Hankins

Philosophy Faculty Articles and Research

In Rescuing Justice and Equality G.A. Cohen argues that justice requires an uncompromising commitment to equality. Cohen also argues, however, that justice must be sensitive to other values, including a robust commitment to individual freedom and to the welfare of the community. We ask whether a commitment to these other values means that, despite Cohen’s commitment to equality, his view requires that we make room for inequality in the name of justice? We argue that even on Cohen’s version of egalitarianism equality, freedom, and welfare are not always compatible. Justice will require trade-offs between these values. Sometimes, equality will need …

Predictors Of Police Reporting Among Hispanic Immigrant Victims Of Violence, Dane Hautala, Kirk Dombrowski, Anthony Marcus

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine predictors of police reporting among Hispanic immigrant victims of violence. A sample of 127 Hispanic immigrants was generated through a chain-referral procedure in the city of Hempstead, New York. Participants were asked about their most recent victimization experiences, and detailed information was collected on up to three incidents. The analyses were based on a total of 214 separate victimization incidents, one third of which were reported to the police. Logistic regression analyses indicated that serious injury, multiple-victim incidents, and perceptions of discrimination increase the odds of a police report. Moreover, incidents involving …

Alcohol Expectancy, Drinking Behavior, And Sexual Victimization Among Female And Male College Students, Kimberly A. Tyler, Rachel M. Schmitz, Scott A. Adams

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

College students have high rates of heavy drinking, and this dangerous behavior is strongly linked to sexual victimization. Although research has examined risk factors for sexual assault, few studies have simultaneously studied the various pathways through which risks may affect sexual assault and how these pathways may be uniquely different among females and males. As such, the current study uses path analyses to examine whether alcohol expectancies mediate the relationship between social factors (e.g., hooking up, amount friends drink) and drinking behavior and experiencing sexual victimization, and whether drinking behavior mediates the relationship between alcohol expectancies and sexual victimization among …

Citizen Volunteers In Prison: Bringing The Outside In, Taking The Inside Out, Lisa Kort-Butler, Sarah E. Malone

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The United States correctional system relies heavily on citizen volunteers, but there is little contemporary research on prison volunteers, which is further limited by sample and geographic region. The purpose of this project was to explore the role of citizen volunteers, including investigating why they volunteer and what their experiences with inmates and prison staff are like. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with citizen volunteers in the penal system of a Midwestern state. Volunteers had altruistic or faith-based motivations, viewing themselves as ‘seed planters’ but not saviors, and placing priority on building relationships. They described how volunteering transformed their views on …

Multi-­‐Method Assessment Of Isil, Michael Nagata, Ali Abbas, Scott Atran, Bill Braniff, Andrew Bringuel, Muayyad Al-Chalabi, Sarah Canna, Jocelyne Cesari, Jacquelynn Chinn, Jon Cole, Steven Corman, Jonathon Cosgrove, Allison Astorino-Courtois, John Crowe, Richard Davis, Natalie Flora, James Giordano, Craig Giorgis, Mackenzie Harms, Benjamin Jensen, Richard John, Randy Kluver, Larry Kuznar, Gina Ligon, Leif Lundmark, Clark Mccauley, William H. Moon, Sophia Moskalenko, Dan Myers, Ryan Pereira, Stacy Pollard, Philip Potter, Hammad Sheikh, Johannes Siebert, Peter Simi, Lee Slusher, Anne Speckhard, Jason Spitaletta, Laura Steckman, Shalini Venturelli, Jeff Weyers, Lydia Wilson, Detlof Von Winterfeldt

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

"The contents of this paper reflect some of the work that Dr. Cabayan and his colleagues are doing to help us understand and comprehend this “intangible power” across a unique enterprise of academicians, scientists, policy intellectuals, current and former Foreign Service, military, and intelligence professionals. Most importantly, their efforts to improve our comprehension will enable us to adjust our efforts, our operations, our investments, and our risk-­‐calculations to more effectively contest it and the organization that wields it. I am grateful for their tireless work in this regard, and I commend it to the reader."

Every Breath You Take: An Examination Of The Natural Phenomenon Of Stalking, Gordon A. Crews, Sara K. Green, Paige A. Heinrich

Criminal Justice Faculty Research

Everyone is a potential stalker, given the right set of circumstances. There are a vast number of tools readily available—from social media networking to easily accessible websites that provide background checks for a minimal fee—that allow individuals to observe the life (or lives) of whomever they so desire. But what are the innate, essential traits and characteristics of an individual that extends beyond the more normative expression of romantic interest and the general curiosity that is a natural and accepted occurrence for anyone who has ever been infatuated with another? This paper will consider the intentionality and motivation behind stalking, …

Killing For Fun: A Study Of The Effect Violent Videogames Have On The Player, Mike Goracke

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Many studies have been done to see if there are aggressive effects on people that play violent videogames. Even in the early 80s, there was concern that games like Pac Man were too violent for youth. Most studies have concluded that violent games have a negative effect on young people. Yet, I believe that many of these studies had flaws in the research methods. Therefore, I based my study on a previous study done by Bushman and Anderson (2002). My study consisted of a sample of 10 male Minnesota State University (MSU) students who listened to a scenario that would …

Should Sociology Care About Theories Of Human Nature?: Some Durkheimian Considerations On The ‘Social’ Individual, Michael W. Raphael

Graduate Student Publications and Research

Theories of human nature underlie major positions not only in social science but also in the public sphere and its relationship to inequality. When it comes to Durkheim, his theory of human nature is often confused with his critiques of intellectual individualism and his historical argument concerning moral individualism. This paper proposes to analytically separate Durkheim’s apparently intertwined positions to show Durkheim’s concept of the ‘social individual’ as found within his theory of human nature. This is the difference between society as the object of analysis where the individual is slowly expressed historically in regard to the transition from mechanical …

Toward A Biocommunicable Cartography Of Health Decision-Making In The Amazon Basin Of Ecuador, James Cartwright

Lawrence University Honors Projects

This paper comprises a critical, ethnographic study of health communication in a rural community of Amazonian Ecuador. By synthesizing approaches from anthropology, discourse studies, and public health, the study explores how conversations influence health decisions, how communities understand health systems, and how macrostructural discourse changes the political economy of healthcare in Ecuador. My work draws on the recent theoretical development of ‘biocommunicability’ in anthropology as well as earlier sociological research on knowledge construction. Most importantly, this paper offers a critique of current interventions by NGOs in the region.

From Within The Abyss: Drug Users In Areas Of Rural Poverty, G. Eric Latham, Jr.

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This research was completed to deal with many unanswered questions regarding drug use, specifically drug use in areas of rural poverty. Look at any "Faces of Meth" billboard or listen to any corporate-news program and one might assume there is a drug epidemic in rural areas. Without research, this allows the viewer to assume that poverty is the fault of the drug user who happens to live in rural places. This study sought to take a qualitative and ethnographic methodology to "embed" the researcher in this setting to see for himself whether these views were valid or invalid. The questions …

Not Just Welfare Over Justice: Ethics In Forensic Consultation, Philip J. Candilis, Tess M. S. Neal

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

The ethics of forensic professionalism is often couched in terms of competing individual and societal values. Indeed, the welfare of individuals is often secondary to the requirements of society, especially given the public nature of courts of law, forensic hospitals, jails, and prisons. We explore the weaknesses of this dichotomous approach to forensic ethics, offering an analysis of Psychology’s historical narrative especially relevant to the national security and correctional settings. We contend that a richer, more robust ethical analysis is available if practitioners consider the multiple perspectives in the forensic encounter, and acknowledge the multiple influences of personal, professional, and …

A Thin Blue Line And The Great Black Divide: The Inter And Intra Departmental Conflict Among Black Police Officers, Their Agencies, And The Communities In Which They Work Regarding Police Use Of Force Perception By Black Americans In A Southwestern State, Vance Debral Keyes

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the relationship between Black police officers, Black citizens, and their external environment using a group of 30 police officers and citizens to establish the connection between police officer race and perceptions by same race citizens within the context of police use of force. I use the term Black to be inclusive of African Americans as well as others of African descent without regard to their ethnicity or national origin. Criminal justice means system application whereas criminology is the study of criminal behavior. In America, there exists a history of volatility between the police and Black communities. While …

Review Of Klansville, U.S.A.: The Rise And Fall Of The Civil Rights-Era Ku Klux Klan, Peter Simi

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

A review of Klansville, U.S.A.: The Rise and Fall of the Civil Rights–Era Ku Klux Klan by David Cunningham.

The Suppression Of Hooliganism And The Rise Of The English Premier League, Clarie Etter

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

The history of English football is intertwined with the history of violence among fans. This violence has evolved as the game, and cultures have changed. This violence is better known as hooliganism. Modern hooliganism is commonly recognized as having its beginnings in the 1960's and became particularly violent and common place in the 1980's. This violence caused many injuries, property damage, and even death in what came to be known as the English disease. After over a decade of this violence marring the game, hooliganism began to be taken more seriously by the European football leagues, authorities, and all those …

Reflections On The Metamorphosis At Robben Island: The Role Of Institutional Work And Positive Psychological Capital, Wayne F. Cascio, Fred Luthans

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners from South Africa were imprisoned on notorious Robben Island from the mid-1960s until the end of the apartheid regime in 1991. The stark conditions and abusive treatment of these prisoners has been widely publicized. However, upon reflection and in retrospect, over the years, a type of metamorphosis occurred. Primarily drawing from firsthand accounts of the former prisoners and guards, it seems that Robben Island morphed from the traditional oppressive prison paradigm to one where the positively oriented prisoners disrupted the institution with a resulting climate of learning and transformation that eventually led to freedom …

A Content Analysis Of A&E'S Hoarders, Samantha J. Redwine

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The interest in hoarding has peaked since its first clinical definition in 1996 and is evident by six television shows centered on the topic. This thesis reports the results a content analysis of two seasons (21 episodes) of the popular T.V. series A&E’s Hoarders. People rationalize hoarding in ways that both differ and overlap. Doctors, professional organizers, hoarders and their loved ones collectively frame hoarding as a medical and mental health problem. The results suggest that Americans’ perceptions of hoarding behavior has shifted from one that is deviant behavior to one that is medicalized.

How Is The Most Segregated City In The Country Addressing Disproportionate Minority Contact With A Juvenile Burglary Restorative Justice Program And What Implications Exist For Community Based Restorative Circles? : Conflict Analysis And Recommendations, Lauren Thrift

Capstone Collection

Milwaukee, Wisconsin is considered the most segregated city in the country and has the most disproportionate rate of minorities in Wisconsin’s juvenile justice system. The State of Wisconsin recognizes disproportionate minority contact (DMC) is a product of both differential offending by minorities and the racist differential processing by the juvenile justice system. Milwaukee’s residents are locked in a conflict about the role of racism in the high rates of minority crime and whether to address DMC with more stringent punishment or increasing alternatives to incarceration. The entrenched segregation between African American and Caucasian neighborhoods and social groups reinforces polarization, increasing …

Changing Paradigms: Community Policing In Calabar, Isael Gonzalez Goodman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

On April 27, 2011 the first community base of Salavador was installed in the neighborhood of Calabar representing a new model of policing focusing more on prevention rather than repression. Before the arrival of the base, Calabar was a community where many feared to enter. Constant shootings between rival gangs and sporadic police invasions made it a dangerous places to live in. Since the implantation of the base a new era for the community has begun and people can now walk up and down the streets of their neighborhood freely without fear of being struck by stray bullets. Additionally, the …

Adolescent Dating Violence: How Should Schools Respond?, Jeanne L. Surface, David Stader, Thomas Graca, Jerry Lowe

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

Educational leaders have a substantial degree of control over students and generally have a tremendous influence on the decisions that they make. District administrators are already involved in comprehensive efforts to stem sexual harassment, teen violence and bullying; therefore, they may be well positioned to identify and address the problem of teen dating violence. Unfortunately, school district failure to take action is far too common, despite the statutory duty to ensure the safety of all students during school hours and at school sponsored events. School districts can be held liable for student dating violence under Title IX, under 42 U.S.C. …

How Porous Are The Walls That Separate Us?: Transformative Service-Learning, Women’S Incarceration, And The Unsettled Self, Coralynn V. Davis, Carol Wayne White

Faculty Journal Articles

In this article, we refine a politics of thinking from the margins by exploring a pedagogical model that advances transformative notions of service learning as social justice teaching. Drawing on a recent course we taught involving both incarcerated women and traditional college students, we contend that when communication among differentiated and stratified parties occurs, one possible result is not just a view of the other but also a transformation of the self and other. More specifically, we suggest that an engaged feminist praxis of teaching incarcerated women together with college students helps illuminate the porous nature of fixed markers that …

The Pedagogy Of Pornography: What Popular Pornography On The Internet Teaches Us About Aggression And Consent, Anthony Springrt Jr.

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Pornography remains a highly discussed and hotly debated topic within the academy and popular culture. Despite declining revenues for pornographic content, the proliferation of the Internet makes pornography easier to access than ever before. This study examines aggression and consent in popular pornography on the Internet. One hundred scenes across five highly trafficked Web sites’ “most viewed” sections were selected for analysis. Consistent with existing research literature, women were overwhelmingly the targets of aggressive acts and typically expressed consensual reactions to acts of aggression. The results are examined within the context of social learning theory to posit what ideas and …

Beliefs About Alcohol And The College Experience, Locus Of Self, And College Undergraduates’ Drinking Patterns, Lizabeth A. Crawford, Katherine B. Novak

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

The purpose of this study is to assess the extent to which locus of self (institutional versus impulse), measured using the Twenty Statements Test (TST), moderates the relationship between beliefs about alcohol and the college experience (BACE) and alcohol use among college undergraduates. Although the majority of our respondents listed more idiosyncratic personal characteristics and preferences than consensual social roles in response to the TST, the number of students classified as institutionals was notably higher than what has been reported within the literature. In opposition to our hypothesis that BACE would affect levels of alcohol consumption primarily among these individuals, …

Dating Violence, Don't Ignore It!, Jeanne L. Surface, David Stader, Thomas Graca, Jerry Lowe

Educational Leadership Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

Educational leaders have a substantial degree of control over students and generally have a tremendous influence on the decisions that they make. District administrators are already involved in comprehensive efforts to stem sexual harassment, teen violence and bullying; therefore, they may be well positioned to identify and address the problem of teen dating violence. Unfortunately, school district failure to take action is far too common, despite the statutory duty to ensure the safety of all students during school hours and at school sponsored events. School districts can be held liable for student dating violence under Title IX, under 42 U.S.C. …

Stereotype Threat In Criminal Interrogations: Why Innocent Black Suspects Are At Risk For Confessing Falsely, Cynthia J. Najdowski

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Little theoretical attention has been paid to evidence that Blacks are overrepresented in samples of false confessors compared to Whites. One possible explanation is that innocent Black suspects experience stereotype threat in interrogations and that this threat causes Black suspects to experience more arousal, self-regulatory efforts, and cognitive load compared to White suspects. These psychological mechanisms could lead innocent Black suspects to display more nonverbal behaviors associated with deception and, ironically, increase the likelihood that police investigators perceive them as guilty. In response, investigators might engage in more coercive tactics and exert more pressure to confess on Black suspects than …

From Victim To Abuser An Analysis Of Child Sex Offenders, Ava M. Adinolfi

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to identify potential risk factors for becoming a child sex offender, more specifically for sexually offending against a girl versus a boy victim. The 2004 Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities was used for this study. Data were drawn from 11,569 one-hour computer assisted interviews with male inmates.

The results from this study confirm one of the two hypotheses set out in this research. Compared to rapists and female object sex offenders, boy object sex offenders were more likely to report a history of sexual abuse prior to age 18. The etiological factors …

Beliefs About Alcohol And The College Experience As Moderators Of The Effects Of Perceived Drinking Norms On Student Alcohol Use, Lizabeth A. Crawford, Katherine B. Novak

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Many students view the abuse of alcohol as integral to the student role. Thus, they feel entitled to drink heavily without sanction. OLS regression was used to assess the extent to which these beliefs about alcohol and the college experience moderate the effects of descriptive and injunctive campus drinking norms on students’ levels of alcohol consumption. Overall, respondents who perceived that same-sex students on their campus drank heavily tended to drink heavily themselves. This relationship was, however, strongest among individuals who viewed the abuse of alcohol as part of being a student. Although general injunctive norms were not themselves associated …

Routine Activities As Determinants Of Gender Differences In Delinquency, Katherine B. Novak, Lizabeth A. Crawford

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

This study examined the extent to which gender differences in delinquency can be explained by gender differences in participation in, or response to, various routine activity patterns (RAPs) using data from the second and third waves of the National Education Longitudinal Survey of 1988. While differential participation in routine activities by gender failed to explain males’ high levels of deviance relative to females, two early RAPs moderated the effect of gender on subsequent deviant behavior. Participation in religious and community activities during the sophomore year in high school decreased, while unstructured and unsupervised peer interaction increased, levels of delinquency two …

Campus Safety: Assessing And Managing Threats, Mario Scalora, Andre Simons, Shawn Vanslyke

Mario Scalora Publications

Since the shootings at Virginia Tech, academic institutions and police departments have dedicated substantial resources to alleviating concerns regarding campus safety. The incident in Blacksburg and the similar tragedy at Northern Illinois University have brought renewed attention to the prevention of violence at colleges and universities.

Campus professionals must assess the risk posed by known individuals, as well as by anonymous writers of threatening communications. The authors offer threat assessment and management strategies to address the increased demands faced by campus law enforcement, mental health, and administration officials who assess and manage threats, perhaps several simultaneously.