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

Inequalities In Us Child Protection: The Case Of Sex Trafficked Youth, Lisa Werkmeister Rozas, Jason Ostrander, Megan Feely

School of Social Work Faculty Publications

This article demonstrates how structural social work theory and critical consciousness development can be used to help facilitate a transition from a deficit model approach to an inequities perspective in a child welfare system that was working to improve the identification of and services for domestic minor sex trafficked youth (DMST). The response of Connecticut’s child welfare system to the issue of DMST is provided as an example of how a child welfare systems could apply an inequities perspective to a population involved in and at risk for exploitation. Structural social work theory helps illustrate how neo-liberalist social structures in …

“It Ruined My Life”: The Effects Of The War On Drugs On People Who Inject Drugs (Pwid) In Rural Puerto Rico, Roberto Abadie, C. Gelpi-Acosta, C. Davila, A. Rivera, Melissa Welch-Lazoritz, Kirk Dombrowski

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background—The War on Drugs has raised the incarceration rates of racial minorities for non-violent drug-related crimes, profoundly stigmatized drug users, and redirected resources from drug prevention and treatment to militarizing federal and local law enforcement. Yet, while some states consider shifting their punitive approach to drug use, to one based on drug treatment and rehabilitation, nothing suggests that these policy shifts are being replicated in Puerto Rico.

Methods—This paper utilizes data from 360 PWID residing in four rural towns in the mountainous area of central Puerto Rico. We initially recruited 315 PWID using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) and collected data about …

Transgender Individuals Among An Online Adult Baby Diaper Lover Community Sample: An Exploratory Study, Elizabeth Gibson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

There is a lack of literature on the transgender community and individuals with atypical sexual interest which can lead to multiple aspects of stigma based on an individual's gender identity and sexual preferences. The current study used archival data that was collected by researchers at the University of Minnesota in the Program of Human sexuality in 2011. Data was collected using an online survey which sought to survey online communities of individuals who identify as Adult Baby Diaper Lovers (ABDL). In this study, 83 transgender and gender variant individuals were analyzed with five main research questions. We were interested in …

Productive Paddles And Productive Power: An Exploration Of Transgender Individuals' Negotiation Of Identity Through Bdsm Practices, Riley Zahn

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Productive Paddles and Productive Power: An Exploration of Transgender Individuals' Negotiation of Identity through BDSM Practices is a thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts in Communication Studies from Minnesota State University, Mankato in April of 2018. It explores the ways in which transgender individuals negotiate their identities through BDSM practices. To collect data, eight semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted revealing four key themes: BDSM as identity negotiation, BDSM as power enactment, embodied confirmation, and BDSM as trauma survivorship. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications, limitations and future avenues of …

Assessment Of The Impacts Of Marijuana Legalization In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Michael Lynch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As marijuana legalization expands in the United States, communities that are shifting rapidly from prohibition to legalization are impacted greatly. As South Dakota remains one of the only states in the nation that has not engaged the marijuana reform movement in any manner, it is vital to assess potential impacts marijuana legalization might have on the state. Although there are several marijuana impact reports that analyze potential health and economic impacts of legalization, few address political and criminological implications that impacted areas undergo as a result of this policy change. Subsequently, there is a need to analyze the impacts of …

Analysis Of Residential And Auto Break-In Records In Taipei City, Afnan Althoupety, Aishwarya Joy, Juchun Cheng, Priyanka Patil, Tejas Deshpande

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Taipei City is the capital of Taiwan. It has population of 2.7 million living in the city area of 271 km2 (104 mi2). There are totally 12 administrative districts in this city. To maintain the safety of the city, Taipei City Police Bureau has arranged regular patrol routes with focus on the high-risk area where residential and auto break-in occurs. Due to limited police resource, resident neighborhood also organized volunteered patrol teams to enhance the security in residential area. Based on past file record history, the Bureau would like to understand the high-risk districts and time schedule to improve their …

Rape Myths And Hookup Culture: An Exploratory Study Of U.S. College Students' Perceptions, Timothy T. Reling, Michael S. Barton, Sarah Anna Becker, Matthew A. Valasik

Faculty Publications

The present study provides the first known systematic examination of the association of hookup culture endorsement and rape myth acceptance. Multivariate regression analysis was conducted to test the primary hypothesis that hookup culture endorsement would be the primary predictor of rape myth acceptance levels among a sample of 422 U.S. college students. Findings indicated the existence of a complex relationship in which rape myth acceptance increases or decreases based upon the form of hookup culture endorsement examined. Beliefs that hookups are harmless and elevate social status increased rape myth acceptance, whereas beliefs that hookups express sexual freedom decreased rape myth …

A Little Dab Will Do Ya: An Exploration Of First Time Dabbers On Youtube, Christopher L. Coker

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This thesis project is an in-depth examination of a rising subculture within cannabis users. With this research project, my aim was to explore and provide insight into the initial experiences of novice cannabis concentrate use as represented on YouTube while they are initiated into this emerging cannabis subculture. Referred to as “dabbing” or “dabs,” this highly potent and concentrated form of cannabis is being utilized by cannabis users to achieve greater highs and effects than those from the traditional cannabis flower. In this study I explored first-time “dabbers” by drawing from social media content in the form of YouTube videos …

Public Perceptions Of Homelessness In Humboldt County, John Thomas Krapf

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Homelessness is a social and political issue of great importance in the United States. For every 10,000 people in the U.S. 17 are experiencing homelessness (Bishop et al. 2017). Despite being a consequence of structural factors in the economy such as a lack of affordable housing and livable wages, the news media often frames the issue as an outcome of individualistic factors such as deviant characteristics, criminality, and personal flaws like drug addiction and mental illness. This study examines public perceptions of homelessness in Humboldt County. To explore this question, I conducted a content analysis of 94 articles on homelessness …

Breaking The Prison-Jihadism Pipeline: Prison And Religious Extremism In The War On Terror, Gabriel Rubin

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Desistance From Crime Of Serious Juvenile Offenders: Examining The Social And Individual Differences, Lisa Dunkley

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

There is an overrepresentation of youths with disabilities in the juvenile justice system. As a result, each year thousands of juvenile offenders despite of the seriousness of the crimes committed, are released from incarceration with the hopes of living a successful life in society. Despite progressive research on identifying factors associated with desistance, it is still unclear what factors contribute to desistance for serious juvenile offenders and especially those with disabilities. The current study investigated the individual differences (e.g., moral disengagement, motivation to succeed and impulse control) and social factors (e.g., employment, education and maternal warmth) that are important in …

Evaluating Stigmatizing Attitudes Among Clinicians Toward People With Abdl And Pedophilic Interests, Katlyn Hanson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Because child sexual abuse continues to be covered by mainstream media, the public has become more aware of the paraphilic interest pedophilia. While there is no definitive correlation between an individual with pedophilic interests and offenses against a child, strong public stigmatization toward these individuals remain. Additionally, stigmatizing attitudes have been found toward other paraphilic interests such as fetishes. This is the first study to evaluate and compare clinicians' attitudes toward the paraphilic interest pedophilia and the fetish interest community of Adult Baby/Diaper Lovers (ABDL). Clinicians were randomly assigned to one of three survey conditions assessing their attitudes toward people …

Sex Composition And Female Offending: Under The Impact Of The One-Child Policy, Ting Wang

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

This dissertation explores the mechanisms of the increasing female crime in China from the effect of the one-child policy, which is treated herein as a natural experiment. Data reveal that the women’s share of documented crime dramatically increased after the mid-1990s when the first one-child generation reached the age of legal responsibility. This change reflects the interplay of the behavioral change and the net-widening effect.

The increasing criminality of the one-child generation is attributable to the gap between the equal gender expectations of the individual, which has been reshaped by the unique socialization practices under the influence of the policy, …

Fostering Accountability And Repairing Harm: A Program Evaluation Of Restorative Justice At The University Of Denver, Ryan Smith

Higher Education: Doctoral Research Projects

Restorative Justice is a practice that incorporates harmed parties and the greater community in resolving harm or conflict, the ultimate goal of restorative justice being to make things right. This practice has been used increasingly in student conduct processes on college campuses across the United States. This doctoral research paper serves to evaluate the restorative justice program housed at the University of Denver, which has been using this process since 2012. Utilizing a responsive evaluation framework, the evaluation process consisted of interviews with program stakeholders, university staff and faculty members with a long term interest in the success of the …

Very Long Engagements: The Persistent Authority Of Bridewealth In A Post-Apartheid South African Community, Michael W. Yarbrough

Publications and Research

This article examines the persistent authority of the customary practice for forming recognized marriages in many South African communities, centered on bridewealth and called “lobola.” Marriage rates have sharply fallen in South Africa, and many South Africans blame this on the difficulty of completing lobola amid intense economic strife. Using in-depth qualitative research from a village in KwaZulu-Natal, where lobola demands are the country’s highest and marriage rates its lowest, I argue that lobola’s authority survives because lay actors, and especially women, have innovated new repertoires of lobola behavior that allow them to pursue emerging needs and desires for marriage …

Introduction: For Better Or For Worse? Relational Landscapes In The Time Of Same-Sex Marriage, Michael W. Yarbrough

Publications and Research

As same-sex marriage has become a legal reality in a rapidly growing list of countries, the time has come to assess what this means for families and relationships on the ground. Many scholars have already begun to examine how marriage is helping some same-sex couples, but in this introduction I call for a broader and more critical research agenda. In particular, I argue that same-sex marriage crystallizes a key tension surrounding families and relationships in many contemporary societies. On the one hand, strict family norms are relaxing in many places, allowing more people to form more diverse types of caring …

Child Abuse, Mental Health And Sleeping Arrangements Among Homeless Youth: Links To Physical And Sexual Street Victimization, Kimberly A. Tyler, Rachel Schmitz

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Physical safety is a primary concern among homeless youth because they struggle to secure basic necessities and a permanent place to live. Despite this, studies have not fully examined the numerous linkages that might explain risk for victimization within the context of material insecurity. In this study, we examine multiple levels of both proximal and distal risk factors at the individual (e.g. mental health), family (e.g. child abuse), and environmental levels (e.g. finding necessities) and their associations with physical and sexual street victimization among 150 Midwestern homeless youth. Results from path analyses show that child physical abuse is positively associated …

Demanding Reduction: An Exploration Of County-Level Characteristics Associated With Areas Of Human Trafficking In Florida, Madelyn Diaz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research on the prevalence of human trafficking (HT) is relatively scarce, even though more attention has been brought to this human rights issue in the past couple of decades. Widely known as a form of modern day slavery, trafficking of persons for sexual exploitative reasons to earn a profit for the trafficker occurs in every major city across the country, despite common misconceptions that it only thrives in foreign countries. To expand on limited existing literature on human trafficking, this research study explores possible correlations among areas of high violent crime rates, drug arrests, the presence of demand reduction strategies, …

Don't Do The Crime If You Can't Do A Man's Time: Examining Sentencing Disparities Using Offender Demographics, Vanessa Rinker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Looking back, America has seen its fair share of differences among its population, so it should not come as a shock that sentencing disparities are a serious criminal justice issue in the United States. Each year, thousands of people are sent to Federal prisons where they receive sentences for crimes they have been convicted of committing. The United States Sentencing Commission publishes these results annually. No matter the number of persons entering the prison system on the federal level, the number of female offenders often remains about the same (8555 in 2000; 9451 in 2007; and 9302 in 2008). While …

Understanding The Micro-Situational Dynamics Of White Supremacist Violence In The United States, Steven Windisch, Peter Simi, Kathleen Blee, Matthew Demichele

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

While substantial effort has been devoted to investigating the radicalization process and developing theories to explain why this occurs, surprisingly few studies offer explanations of the micro-situational factors that characterize how extremists accomplish violence. Relying on in-depth life history interviews with 89 former white supremacists, we analyzed the situational, emotional, and moral considerations surrounding white supremacist violence. Overall, we identified a variety of strategies white supremacists utilize for overcoming emotional and cognitive obstacles required to perform violent action. Furthermore, we also identified the callous effect of habitual violence. We conclude this article with suggestions for future research and recommendations for …